I know, you're jealous....

There's room to add some more... ;-)

My "design team Loot"... ;-)

I hope you have noticed there is some space left in my big jar... ;-) There are 4 new colors of Trendy Twine  in the making... ;-P

Don't forget you still have a few days to enter my giveaway to win a sampler pack of the 6 basic colors... :-)

Secrets mini Tags-album

I made this little album for my daughter to write little secrets she wants to remember later on... I used Echo Park Springtime paper, the stamps are from My Thoughts Exactly  (this is the Birds & Bees set) and the other goodies are from Annie's Paper Boutique.

Basically I just made a cardstock and pattern paper cover around little kraft enveloppes/sleeves, and put little colored tags in the pockets...

To keep everything neatly in place,  I used magnet tape strips because it is flat.

For the inside I used mini Kraft sleeves that I covered on one side with pattern paper. I LOVE those mini sleeves, they are so tiny and cute and can be used for all kind of things. <3 :-)  I punched some holes in them with my Crop-O-Dile and attached everything together with some Trendy Twine...
                 

                                     

I left the other side natural since my daughter might want to use stickers in her album or scribble on them. Plus I like the contrast of the kraft with all the other colors. :-)

Inside each pocket I inserted a colorful tag. Those are so fun to use, and they come reinforced, I just added a tiny bit of twine to each one to make a little "pull handle"... ;-)

Each little tag is individually housed in its little pocket... but you could also chose to have a tag every other pocket etc... And the number of tags or pockets is really whatever you want it to be, you just adapt the size of the cover accordingly...

Here it is when you remove the tags. As you can see this is a really easy project that is fun and that kids will love receiving. You can use the pockets to stash little memorabilia like tickets to events or you could glue little pictures on the sleeves and write journaling on the tags, etc... You could also make a booklet without tags and use it like I do: to store those Box Tops for example or other little proof of purchase or clipped off food labels. No more stashing them as is in the kitchen junk drawer... ;-)

7 (very) random things.

A couple of weeks ago, Becki from The Happy Card Encouragement Factory (say that 5 times really fast ;-)) so nicely gave me a blog award that I did nothing about until now... *shame*

See, it's not that I am lazy, well I am but only a little bit, I think... ;-) but the thought of having to share 7 random things with you totally stopped me in my tracks. It was part of the game of accepting this award, as was passing it on to 8 more persons... Well I know it's not too cool but I won't be passing it on because, it is too hard for me to pick 8 blogs at the moment (well I said I was a little lazy...)...

As for the 7 random things, it's gonna be as random as it gets, and since I don't talk much about my personal life on this blog, here's your chance to learn a little more about me, but feel free to skip the post alltogether and I really won't hold a grudge... ;-)


1- I have recently been diagnosed with ADHD. This came as quite a shock for me but in retrospect sadly explain so much about my life! :-s It's been rocking my world a little as I try to figure out what to do next and how to get better since this won't go away with a good night's sleep... Now when you see in my blog posts that my brain won't connect today or that it took me forever to make a card it will all make sense... ;-)
 
2- My dream is to be a writer. Now I doubt it will ever happen because, I don't think I could write about something else than my life and I don't want to revisit some events from my past (and seriously nobody would want to buy that book), and also because I have lost a lot of my french and think primarily in english now, but I am not fluent enough in "litterary english" to write something that would be beautiful. I'm bummed about it... Maybe I will have to write my life story anyway for my grandkids... ;-)
 
3- In the last year or so I have started to believe in reincarnation. That is something that I found really disturbing at 1st and that turned my religious views upside down a little, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. I find it a little scary and rather fascinating at the same time.
 
4- I love (and collect) things in blue glass (bottles, glasses, votive holders...). (I told you it would be random! ;-))
 
5- This month marks the 10th anniversary of my uninterrupted living in the States (before that I lived here for 2 years before moving back to France for a year), and I will soon look into the naturalization process. (>.<)
 
6- I love peonies, probably because they bring back memories of my childhood garden. (Although the ones in that garden were hot pink, and I like the pale pink and cream variety...)
 
7- I have a start-crush on "Brangelina", I believe they are generous people that use their money and fame to make the world a better place and I admire that (plus I think they look good together but that's a different topic altogether... ;-)).

Trendy Twine Giveaway

I apologize for only posting this now but I currently have 3 sick kiddos at home, they all got "hand, foot & mouth disease" due to an outbreak at the toddler's school... :-S My 5th grader only went to school for 2 days before she had to stay home... >.< So much for back to school week! :-(

Needless to say, crafting time is non existent, and I didn't get a chance to do a back-to-school card like I had initially planned. Instead, I decided to use the time my husband provided yesterday (by watching my pack of little wolves) wisely, and made a card for my Mom's birthday. It is tomorrow and she won't get it on time, especially since it has to travel to France, but unfortunately this is the story of my life... ;-)

I used My Thoughts Exactly Birds & Bees stamps set, some cute Echo Park paper, and Lettering Delight SVG. And because this is all about the twine today, I used some yummy Twisted Lime green Trendy Twine. Nothing fancy, but a little bit of twine goes a long way to make your card fresh and fun!... :-) The floral paper is on foam tape (as are the bird and the talk bubble) which allows for the twine to be around the card and gives a little added dimension.

As you probably know, I have been lucky enough to be asked by Trendy Twine to be part of their new design team... :-) So in order to celebrate our debut, and to give you a little taste of what's to come, Lesley is giving away a Trendy Twine sampler pack to one lucky commenter. Believe me when I tell you that this twine is so much nicer in real life than you can imagine from the pictures only. Now is the chance to see for yourself. Also I want to point out that there are tons of uses for twine even if you are not a papercrafter. Twine makes any gift more festive and it's the perfect little touch to attach tags... :-)

I usually don't ask anything from you, but today I will be a little annoying and require that you go visit Trendy Twine's store page and then leave me a comment here telling me which color is your favorite. BTW, just so you know, more colors are in the making, especially a brown-orange combo for Thanksgiving and Fall projects, and a pale blue and pink combo which will be perfect for baby projects... ;-)

Please only leave one comment per person. For additionnal chances to win you can go like Trendy Twine Facebook page or become a follower of Trendy Twine's blog  (this will keep you updated on the new colors to come and on giveaways) and leave me an additional comment here letting me know you did so. So, just to be clear you can leave up to 3 comments, depending on what you did... ;-)

This giveaway will be ongoing till Labor Day (September 5th). Feel free to share the info with your friends! :-) On September 6th we will kick off the design team projects and there will be a challenge and more chances to win some gorgeous twine... :-)

Good luck! :-)

In the spotlight: SVGS By Bee

My dear friend Bee finally opened her little svgs shop SVGs by Bee! :-)
Go visit her for one of a kind all original svgs, you won't find mere copies of other companies' designs there! And she is also working on different types of files for other machines. She will sell individual svgs and mini collections... :-)

40 things

No project today... So this filler picture is just to show you the furry parasite that constantly tries to put his rear end on my projects... and the new desk calendar that is supposed to help me keep track of my new DT assignments (so that hopefully I can stop doing things at the last minute.... ;-)) and also will be a catch all for what goes through my head while I'm crafting... :-)

I just wanted to share with you one of my on-going projects.... Not that it is super original or anything, but it is something that I have been wanting to do since last year and I hope to finally start this year...
A lot of scrapbooking seems to be about family and kids pics, and vacations and such... I want to do those too, and I am terrible at it because I can't seem to find the time... >.< But I also want to be a little selfish and scrapbook about myself... ;-) Last year I turned 40, it was kind of an important milestone for me for many reasons that are personal and that I won't share here, but the more I thought about it the more I wanted to make a scrapbook album with 40 things about me. I didn't get to it not surprisingly, and now I am 41, but who cares?... I am still going to make this album that I hope to leave behind me so that my grandkids (and maybe great-grandkids) can learn a little bit about who their grandmother was... ;-) I plan on making some serious pages and a lot of not so serious pages. For example there will be a page about my love for clouds, and another one about all the different haircolors I sported in my life (luckily for that one there wasn't always photographic evidence...)...

Have you ever made a project like that? What is your special on-going project?...

The cat is out of the bag (and playing with twine)...

Yes, the cat is out of the bag and playing with twine!! Trendy Twine that is!!! :-D
Lesley made her announcement so I can share my little secret with you too... Trendy Twine now has a Design Team, and I am in it! :-D I am psyched and totally humbled, and I hope I can do this lovely cotton yarn justice!! :-P

My sweet and talented co-team members are Alyssa from My Thoughts Exactly, and Kimberly from Kimberly's Crafty Spot, I am so lucky!  :-D We should start showcasing projects in September so stay tuned!... :-)

Oh and a little reminder that right now and till Sunday night the sampler pack of 6 colors is on sale for only $6 right here. If you haven't tried Trendy Twine yet, now is your chance! :-D

"My Thoughts Exactly Thursday" (part 2) : Birthday fishes

This is post #2 for the My Thoughts Exactly Thursday, so if you missed post #1 just scroll down...
I took tons of pics and thought it would be better to separate in 2 posts...
First let me tell you I am in LOVE with this card! I hope I don't toot my own horn too often, but it's not everyday that my card comes out exactly the way I wanted it!!... So I am so thrilled about that! ;-)

When I saw this koi fish in the Asia collection of Lettering Delights, I knew right away I would use it... If I ever had my dream house one day it would have a zen garden with a pond with fishes... :-)
But back to my project... ;-P Please bear with me for the load of pics...

I cut out windows in my card front and background paper with Nestabilities, and used blue vellum paper as my "water"...

To have this as a true window, I used the same background as the card's front (origami paper) on the inside to have a finished look...

To reinforce the "water feel", I crumpled my vellum paper before flattening it again, I just love all the wrinkles this created! :-)

For my sentiment I used balsa wood and a Nestabilities tag, and stamped birthday Fishes from the Under the Sea set.

Don't forget to visit Alyssa's and Bee's blogs today for more projects with My Thoughts Exactly stamps! :-)

"My Thoughts Exactly Thursday" (part 1) : Fairy Dust

It's Thursday and this week it is my turn and Bee's turn to post our My Thoughts Exactly Design Team projects. :-)
I made this card for one of my nieces whose birthday is coming up... Every little girl love fairies, right?...

I used a fairy silhouette SVG that was a freebie from SVG Cuts (cut it out twice to have 2 arms and 2 wings), and used a beautiful dark blue shimmery cardstock (from PTI), and added a little bit of stickles for the "fairy dust"... ;-) (with that sentiment there HAD to be sparkle somewhere!... ;-))
The gift is made by simply cutting out a square and tying Trendy Twine around it. :-) (couldn't decide on the yummy colors, so had to use 2! ;-))

For the sentiment I used the Sweet Thoughts set, and wanted to have a little fun with it so I bent my stamps to give them this little curve and then cut my little banner around it by hand...

This is my post #1 for today since I took a lot of pics for my card #2. If you missed it post #2 is just above this one... :-)
Don't forget to visit  Alyssa's and  Bee's blogs today for more projects!... :-D

In the spotlight: Trendy Twine

Ok, unless you have been living under a rock, you know that baker's twine is all the rage in crafting lately. It has been for a while actually, which means that you have more and more options on the market... ;-)
This twine called Trendy Twine is different from the others. Not sure if you can see it very well in this picture, but Trendy Twine is tricolor. I was so excited to receive it that I didn't think of taking a pic before making a mess with it. You don't want to see what my cute little bundles look like now... (sorry Lesley... >.<) So basically, this twine is made of 2 colors (dark + light of the same hue) and then white, which gives it a distinctive look. It's yummy in real life... :-P

My favorites are the Blue Berry blue and the Strawberry Cupcake pink, and that new Krazy for Kraft shade is actually very versatile and add just a nice textural element to cards without taking away from the rest of the design... But let's face it I haven't found one I don't like... :-P
There is also a highly popular black and orange color, sure to be a hit for Halloween projects, and soon to come a new hue made of a baby blue and baby pink together, making it perfect for all those baby projects! :-)

Lesley the owner of Annie's Paper Boutique, (and the designer of the Trendy Twines) is really sweet and I like dealing with someone one of one instead of a big company, so I say if you haven't checked Trendy Twine yet, it is time to pay her a little visit and go see all her yummy colors from closer, she has very cute little samplers packs so you can try lots of colors!... :-D

Cute as a button

It's Thursday, so I am sharing with you a card made with My Thoughts Exactly stamps... :-)
I used the new set Sweet Thoughts again. When I saw the saying "cute as a", I knew I had to use it with that stamp set from Gel-a-tin. I have had it for years, and the concept of that card has been in my little "Ideas booklet" forever, so it was time to execute! ;-)

To create a frame for my buttons I used a rectangle Nestabilities with the rubber mat (for embossing) on the other side to prevent it from actually cutting through... The key here obviously is to use a thick cardstock... :-)
For my buttons background (and to have my buttons stay in their frames) I did some masking with Post-Its.

To finish it up, I found this cute little button that fit right onto my paper banner! :-) I refrained from putting twine through it because I thought it was too predictable and decided instead to use the twine on a random button on the card for something a little different... ;-)

Don't forget to visit Alyssa's blog for more projects today, and next Thursday is my turn (and the other Bee's... ;-)) to show you another project... :-p

My Thoughts Exactly August stamps release

It's that time of the month again: My Thoughts Exactly stamps release! :-)

This month there are 2 new stamps sets: Sweet Thoughts and Grillin' & Chillin'. The 1st one is all about, well, sweets!.. LOL And the 2nd one is about BBQ, picnics and pool parties... What better way to keep the summer spirit a little longer before Back to School sneaks on us?... ;-) 

As always, MTE stamps allow for a lot of playing around with words and creating just what you want... :-) You will see in the future how you can use those sayings in unexpected ways, but for today's projects I was pretty straight forward... :-)

For my 1st card I went all the way with the cupcake theme! And I used yummy Trendy Twine to make little sprinkles on my cupcake, just like one of the cupcakes on my background paper.... ;-) The digi paper and SVGs are from Lettering Delights. (It was my 1st time using photoshop to print digipaper and I was quite proud of myself, even if I had no clue what I was doing.... LOL Still I managed to make it lighter than the original, I even tried printing it on vellum but then it was a little too subdued...)

For my 2nd card I went with an ice-cream theme and used little tags to stamp my sentiment. Since MTE stamps come in little segments to assemble together, it's really easy to stamp them in all kind of different configurations... :-) I had a hard time picking between the Blue Berry twine and the Strawberry cupcake twine, so I decided to use both... :-D (And I used the new Kraft color to bring my little cone to life...)

Now that you have seen my projects, don't forget to visit Alyssa's blog. She has pics and links to all of the DT members' projects, plus a few interesting things to share with you!
For starters she will give away a stamp set to a lucky commenter, but also this month 2 of our talented DT members who design SVGs created a little surprise for you!: When you purchase the Sweet Thoughts stamp set, you'll receive the Sweet Shoppe Bag SVG (designed by Lenae from Sugar Gem) for free. And when you purchase the Grillin' & Chillin' stamp set, you'll receive the Burger-vite & its 2 envelopes SVGs (designed by my alter-ego Bee from Bee's Hive O' Drama) for free.
Both Lenae and Bee (aka Belinda) have projects using those SVGs on their respective blogs.
The cherry on top is a video of Brian (Alyssa's husband and the other half of My Thoughts Exactly) making his own card!.... ;-)
Don't forget to visit our other DT members' pages: Jennifer, Jessica and last but not least Thienly! :-)

Well I hope you enjoyed this release, and remember that there will be projects all month long (every Thursday) from Alyssa and the Design Team. :-)