Little secrets Pocket Book

This is another one of Lauren's templates (My Timeless Templates).

(You can actually download this one for free on PaperTrey Ink's website.)

Those little templates can become addictive you know ;-)... and I started with this one just to see how it would work out but without a definite idea in my head... These days this kind of creative spontaneity is very rare since I am always looking for time and my "to do" list isn't quite empty...

After a little bit of brainstorming with Naomi, we decided to personalize this pocket-book for my parents. They are coming in January to watch the kids while I go deliver the latest addition to the family and to help afterwards (Thank God for caring parents!♥). I like to make little projects with Naomi for them, because I always think it will be nice to look at her drawings and sloppy handwriting in a few years from now! ;-)

So basically the little pockets here are designed to hold little secret messages/love notes/drawings she will make for them during their stay and I'll make more blank cards (like the ones here in the picture) if need be... That way they can keep everything together in the same place, and can just open the booklet and look at those when they are back in France, miles aways from us, and missing their grandkids! :-(

I kept it pretty simple because I expect it to be all nice and colorful once it's filled with Naomi's artwork! :-D I just used Martha punches for the scallops and flowers, and scalloped scissors for the brown spine. The flowers' centers are buttons.

Fluffles and his sweater...

Well you know me and my Fluffles... I have a soft spot for the little fur ball...

This is a card I made for my brother whose birthday is next Friday.

Yes I'll admit, shame on me, I never made a card for my brother before, I am pretty much paralized at the thought of making cards for guys!! :-S... This is a very new venture for me, I made the 1st card for my Dad not that long ago! ;-)

I used my new Cuttlebug Argyle folder (love it!), added some white Brilliance ink afterwards, and then unfortunately I assumed my ribbon was thick enough that the glue wouldn't sip through... well it did a little bit but I had already finished the card when it became obvious... According to my hubby those little mistakes make my cards look more homemade, LOL! ;-)

Thanksgiving memory booklet

This is another version of the little brag book, this time I made a little Thanksgiving memory book. Sorry the pics are bad, I took them at night and it's a little blurry and over or under exposed! :-(

The left booklet is for Naomi, she made little drawings of what she is thankful for on paper doilies cut with square nestabilities and wrote on the opposite page about it.

The right booklet is for us parents, we didn't get a chance to jot down our thoughts yet but we will soon... :-) Maybe we'll write a little note for Noah since he cannot yet, something about what he really seems to enjoy in life right now, so we can remember later on!♥

I had fun working on this with Naomi, she was proud to be included in it and I will love looking at this when she is a teenager! LOL! :-)

The little squirrel on the cover is from PaperTrey Ink, the stamps inside are a Holiday set from Martha Stewart at Michaels (lots of cool images in there).

(Sorry for the bad pics, but I took them in the sun...)

Baby Brag Book

Still not much creativity going on here since the whole family is super sick!! We all spent Thanksgiving in bed, the turkey is still in the freezer!... With all the coughing involved I'm surprised my little one is still safely tucked inside!! I had to take a little trip to the ER a week ago for an asthma attack, I am still not back on my feet but hope I will soon. Realizing it IS December freaked me out big time!!...

Anyway my little project here is a mini brag book for a friend who had a baby girl a few weeks ago. The inspiration is from a kit I bought last year, I can't remember the brand but everything came on a 12X12 sheet and was pre-cut. I made my own little version and will make more of those. (I'm working on one with Naomi as a little Thanksgiving keepsake, and I hope I'll find the time to make one with our new baby...)

I'll try to make a mini-tutorial if anyone is interested.

Basically it is 2 mini booklets nestled together in a cover, you can decide on the size or the number of pages...

This one here has 3 double pages in each booklet. I made little mats with the Nestabilities where she can just add her pics (wallet size works perfectly for those) and on the opposite pages I stamped a spot for journaling where she can add the date, who's with the baby or where it was taken etc... I made a little 4X4 (somewhat) matching card with the pea (from Stampin'Up).

The little giftbox is made with Lauren's template "Music Makeover" My timeless templates. If you haven't heard about My timeless Templates yet (is it possible?) they're available through Papertrey Ink, you download them in your computer and just print them, it doesn't get any easier than that! I obviously kept mine super simple, (didn't want Lauren's box to steal the spotlight of what's IN the box! LOL ;-))

Sunflower vase

Pretty much everyone is sick right now, and I have no time to stamp, which is just why I had to take the time to make a card to try and save my sanity! ;-)

The picture is pretty bad because I took it in full sun, sorry about that! ;-)

Very simple card: The vase is actually a die cut made with my Cuttlebug, it's hard to see on the pic but it looks like foil and is made from the inside of those Menthol Puff tissu boxes. If you haven't checked those out yet, you should! It's pretty cool and stands well to embossing in the Cuttlebug too! :-). The flower is also done with the Cuttlebug, I drew the grid in the middle with a Versamark marker and embossed it with clear powder, it has a nice shine IRL.

New Home

On the rare occasions that I click on my craft blog lately, I smile when I read the title because it seems like there isn't much creativity going on around here lately! LOL! I suspect it won't improve once my little bundle of joy gets here.... *sigh*

To my defense.... the last 2 1/2 weeks have been spent fighting headlice in the whole family... Naomi brought them home from school and she has been the one more affected but we all ended up with an itchy scalp at some point and we had to treat everyone (but the cat) at least twice (Naomi up to 5 times I think! And I cut a good 5 inches off her hair to make it easier!). We tried all kind of products on different family members, and let me tell you that, just as I suspected, the natural products work as well (even sometimes better!) than the nasty chemicals... So basically I spent my time combing heads for nits, and washing sheets, towels, stuffed animals, cushions.... It was a nightmare, Naomi missed a whole week of school altogether and Noah almost as much ! :-( And now that we seem to be seeing the end of it I am sick! I have a cold and bronchitis and feel like hell. :-( At least I'm glad my little guy is still inside and not in the middle of the pest and germs! Can you imagine dealing with headlice on a newborn?... Ack!

Anyway, in the meantime, my brother & family were busy moving in a new home in their beautiful Connecticut, and I found a little time this week-end to make a card for them! I used this set from Stampin'Up that was one of the very 1st stamps sets I ever bought and that I really love with the little tree in all 4 seasons... the house is from the $1 spot at Michaels. I saw pics of their beautiful garden and they have all those gorgeous trees and I instantly thought about this combination of the little house in the middle and the trees around. The ribbon looks black on the pic but it is really brown IRL. The house is very pale but I wanted it to be somewhat like their new house which is grey I believe... ;-)

As usual, with a click on the pic, you will be able to see a bigger version.

Baby box

You might remember this memory box I made for my sister-in-law who was expecting: http://dare2beecreative.blogspot.com/2008/02/baby-memory-box.html, she didn't know the baby gender so I tried to go with something somewhat neutral, and I really didn't feel like yellow or green. (She actually had a girl, I'm glad I put those 2 little pink buttons there!... ;-))

I had one box left (they're from Papertrey Ink) that I had bought for myself so I decided to make a memory box for MY baby! :-) And of course I went all blue (and a little light green) this time!... ;-)

The pics are a little overexposed but you get the idea.... It's the same concept anyway.

You go girl!

This is a card I made for my hubby's cousin who moved to NY a few months ago. She is french and has been working for a little less than a year in NY now and was first living with my husband's family on Long Island. But now she's living the NY life, in the center of the Big Apple and with a roommate, just like in the movies... I think this is a pretty big deal! ;-) She is in her early 20ies, and I can't say I would have been brave enough to take NY all on my own when I was this age, LOL!

Golden Thank You

I finally got around to make a card for Rae who sent me the huge blog candy. Of course I used some of the supplies she sent me!... :-)

It's hard to see on the pic but I used the metallic rub-on paste again, this time gold.

Flowery Thanks

A few months ago Kim (http://www.paperhugs.typepad.com/) posted on her blog that she had Prima leftovers from her old designer's days and she offered to send some randomly to her readers who would e-mail her their address. A couple of weeks ago I got an enveloppe in the mail with Prima flowers in it... :-)

I am so behind that I didn't get a chance to send her a Thank You card yet, but I knew I wanted to find a way to use some of those primas for her card. I also experimented with rub-on metalic paste and I think I was a little heavy handed there... ;-)... It's hard to see on the pic but it's green and gold on the cuttlebugged background and gold on the flowers themselves. The sentiment is embossed with copper powder to match the brads.

I think there is something missing on that card (probably a mat behind the cuttlebugged panel for starters or a more obvious sponging of the edges...) but with all those flowers already I was afraid to overdo it...

Paper play birthday

A quick birthday card I made for my sister-in-law whose birthday is in 2 days, I doubt she'll get it on time but it's the thought that counts, right?...

I don't know why the color of the flower is off on my pic, it is much lighter in real life or I wouldn't have used it (yellow is NOT my color!). The sentiment is stamped onto gros grain ribbon. I love those papers by Making Memories and I wanted a simple card to showcase them.

Coupon Book

When you get a new baby, at least at the beginning, companies such as Huggies, Pampers and Gerber send you coupons for diapers, baby food and such if you register with them.

Those sure are welcome and, in order not to lose them, I made myself a little coupon book...

You'll recognize the little bear from the baby planner (a piece of gift wrap) glued on the cover. I then made faux stitching with an opaque marker (Martha Stewart for Walmart) and covered it all with Contact paper since it will travel in my diaper bag. (I always have Contact paper at home since I cover most of my books with it, I'm a little obsessed with books that way... ;-)).

Then I glued the inside part that I had assembled with my sewing machine (I didn't want any sticky tape or glue coming undone or staying stuck to my coupons...) against the spine, sandwiching the ribbon in between the 2 layers. Once I was done I realized 4 tiny pockets likely wouldn't be enough, so I added the central panel as an afterthought, and just sewed it to the spine of the booklet.

I did consider stamping the "categories" with a mini alphabet, but thought it would just be too much! ;-) Since it is for me anyway I can do with the sloppy handwriting! :-)

Now hopefully I will remember to take the booklet with me before I go shopping! ;-)

Wine tag

Just a simple and quick little wine tag made with the new PaperTrey Ink set "Mazel Tov". It's so nice to have something for jewish Holidays now! :-) The little grapes at the bottom are by Jolee's, I just love their stuff!♥

Sympathy leaves

This is my card for the Judd family (Cammie's friends) who lost their 13 months old daughter out of the blue. (If you'd like to send them a card too, more info a few posts below in the World Card Making Day entry.)

I took the pic in the sun, sorry about the shadows and weird colors!... :-s

I don't think I have ever made a sympathy card before, I don't think anyone is comfortable making or writing those kind of cards... I kept the design pretty minimalist but, when I thought about them, I knew I wanted to use that paper. I just LOVE that paper (from Target $ spot), and someone you love passing away makes me think of a leaf falling from a tree. I can't even imagine the pain this family must be into after losing their child. But I didn't want to make a very sad or dark card though, those months spent with their little one were happy ones even if they were too short. It just makes you want to hug your children extra tight and not let them go.

Glittery birthday

A quick card I made for a friend whose birthday I just missed... Did I mention how behind I am in everything crafty (and not crafty too, LOL! ;-))?

The pic isn't really good because the sun is going down and I took the pic at my desk...

Happy 2nd birthday

This is the card I made for Janessa, the little girl with down syndrome and fighting leukemia, who is about to turn 2.

If you'd like to send her a card there is still a little time, check my previous post for info.

I have to confess that making cards for young children makes me as uncomfortable as making cards for guys! I never know what direction to take, I don't quite know how to make goofy or funny cards and don't have a clue what kids want to see on their cards (beside my daughter, but she is 7 1/2 already and easy to please since she's happy as long as I made the effort to make a card myself! ;-)).

So anyway, here I just used my dear Fluffles, colored with Prismacolor markers.

About 2 months ago a new Michaels store opened like 15 mn from my house! :-) I used one of their grand opening 50% off coupon to treat myself to some Prismacolors markers. I have been coveting Copics markers for a while now but I just can't swallow the $150 price tag! :-S Prismacolors markers are a cheaper version (of alcohol based markers) and for a beginner like me it is definitely enough! ;-)

This coloring was my 1st attempt at using them, and I can already see that it takes some practice to get the hang of it and get the shading right, but I'm looking forward to experiment more with them! I think this image is a little bright but for this card it works well since I wanted something cheerful. I added some stickles on some of the petals and the bee's wings and a few colored rhinestones at the bottom to make a little rainbow.

In the spotlight: Creativity Prompt

If you don't know Avital's blog, you should pay her a little visit... It is called "Creativity Prompt" and, as the name suggests, it is full of ideas to get your creative juices flowing. This can inspire you for your scrapbook layouts/journaling or cards or craft projects of all kind, but also just in your everyday life, help you re-focus on yourself or the people around you... ;-)

Check it out here!: http://www.creativityprompt.com/ :-)

Birthday Carte Postale

This is a card I made for my Dad's birthday (which, ahem, was a month ago...)

I am still not very comfortable with masculine card so that is an area that needs more practice... ;-)

My dad loves to write and he's the one sending postcards to people when he goes on vacation so I thought "Carte postale" was the set to use, especially since I had found this paper with pics of old postcards. My attempt at making the paper look more vintage didn't go so well though since the distress ink I used was obviously too dark, but I like the end result nonetheless. The sentiment and bird are heat embossed with copper powder so it has a nice patina IRL.

I don't know that it is very masculine but I like those colors, and if you can't send cards you're not too sure about to your close family, whom can you send them to? ;-)

L'Shanah Tovah!

Wishing all people of jewish faith a very Happy New Year.
May the year ahead be sweet and bring you peace, health and happiness.

L'shanah Tovah!♥

Baby planner

When I saw the holiday planners on Michelle's blog (http://michellewooderson.blogspot.com/) it instantly got the wheel turning into my head as to how to adapt this to my current "baby-on-the-brain" state!! All you need is a 5X8 junior notepad and 2 sheets of 8X11 cardstock.

Her version is chic and embellished, you can find her tutorial and template here: http://michellewooderson.blogspot.com/2008/09/holiday-gift-ensemble.html. It can be adapted to so many occasions! :-)

My version is way more simple but I wanted to be able to carry this in my bag without worrying that it might be torn or damaged in any way. For the cover focal point and the accents inside I just used some cute baby gift wrap, and I used my sewing machine on paper for the 1st time. That didn't exactly go as planned since I sewed on the wrong side of the cardstock and my machine wasn't set right for paper obviously either!! (if you click on the pics for a larger version it will be obvious!!) But hey, that was a first ever attempt and this is how you learn... but I admit I was too lazy or impatient to do it all over again! ;-) LOL! I also added a bit of ribbon so that it would stay closed in my bag.

In the little pocket I tucked some custom notecards, made from white cardstock with a little piece of wrapping paper wrapped around and rounded corners. I made one for names (serious brainstorming going on there) and one for my list of essentials! Plus one for whatever I will soon realize I forgot to plan for! ;-) ...

This was a fun and quick little project (if you omit the time spent fighting with the sewing machine of course...) and Naomi already wants me to make one for her!...(but without the sewing! Phew!) :-D

"To-do" album

This is not a very involved project on the creative side, but hopefully it will make my life easier nonetheless!! It's a journal I bought at Michaels for $1 and turned into a "to-do album" for the family.

I love to be organized but I am usually not!! The older I get, the more I forget things, and I hate lists (and sometimes misplace them!... ;-))

So I used little tabs with each family member's name to customize this booklet and have everyone's stuff in the same place (yes "baby" is written in pencil so I can erase it afterwards and write the baby's real name! ;-)). The tabs stamps are by Stampendous and you can find them here http://www.mylittlestampshack.com/catalog/item/5737001/5610981.htm. If you haven't visited Carrie's online store yet, it is time, she has a great selection of clear stamps: http://www.mylittlestampshack.com/

For the cover I just used a white label and stamped & embossed (for durability!) "to-do" to hide the original "journal" title.

Now let's just hope we actually do some of the things already listed in the booklet!... LOL ;-)

Baby shower card.

Yesterday I went to my 1st baby shower ever, it was fun and I had a good time. Don't get confused it was not MY baby shower, just the 1st one I went to. In France we usually celebrate a baby after his/her birth, not before. I don't know if we are more superstitious, but to us it seems weird to throw a party for a baby before the star of the show is actually here! The nice thing about the american way is that it celebrates the Mom! ;-)

The future Mom is expecting a little girl, and I got her a chocolate brown Sleepywrap (http://www.sleepywrap.com/, I got one for myself too but I'm not telling what color yet! ;-)), so I had to go with brown and pink, which is one of my favorite color combo, alongside the brown and light blue. I went to Babies R us this week-end and was surprised by the number of clothes with those color combos, very cute!

Anyway, a very simple card with no stamping. My Cuttlebug was giving me a very hard time and refused to cut anything (more investigation is needed...). Funny how I am always drawn to the polka dots embossing folder for baby cards... :-)

No stamping baby card

I made this baby card for my cousin and his wife who just had a baby girl.

The outfit I bought is green with cream polka dots, and I also found cute pink baby booties. That's where I picked the colors for my card. I heard the parents both don't like pink much, so I kept it just as an accent.

Did I ever tell you how much I love my Cuttlebug?... ;-)

ETA: For info, the little foot print charm can be found at Walmart (Wilson is the brand I think). It's a party favor's charm for baby showers, so you can find it in the baking/wedding/baby aisle next to the craft aisles. It comes in a pack of 6, all different colors.

Yet another purple b-day princess!... ;-)

This is a card I made for my niece who just turned 3 (Yes, oops, the bad aunt that I am sent the card late! :-(... but I guess "better late than never", right?...)

As you can guess the choice of colors was dictated by the age and gender of my young recipient! ;-)

The card in itself is a very simple tri-fold (one of the panel is a gift-card holder with slots) and the top layer was cuttlebugged and then I cut the windows in it and stamped on the card base. The top layer is raised with foam tape but it's hard to see that in the pic. I forgot to take a picture during the day and had to do it at night with the flash... :-S

NEWS!!!!...

What do you think?.....

The cover of a planner I bought recently....

Detail on the first page of my planner.....

With this obvious clues, you now understand why I have been absent from "paper-blogs-world" over the last months!... I was feeling exhausted and nauseous, among other things...

Yes, I am pregnant!! :-D After a long wait and a 3rd miscarriage in March, I am now 17 weeks along in a new pregnancy. It hasn't exactly been smooth sailing, the first trimester was very stressful and we spent way too much time in the doctor's office with reasons to believe that this baby would not make it. :-(

But he/she did! :-) We are now in a much better place, even though there are still some issues that might become problematic, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it (if we ever have to!). We are so grateful to have this little life with us, and I want to thank the people that were in the know and prayed for us. Your support was greatly appreciated!♥ :-)

Our baby is due end of January, and I bought this little planner (in the back to school section ;-)) to record some of my thoughts and/or facts about this pregnancy. I thought the little tees would be a nice fun little touch... :-) I might decorate it a little more once I know the baby's gender... ;-) ...

Giraffe window tri-fold

Lastly, the card to go with my niece's gifts for her b-day. She likes pink and purple, like any 4 years old girl ;-), hence the choice of color for the cardstock!...(and the addition of Stickles around the windows).

I colored the image with Kooh-i-noor pencils and baby oil. I was a little worried by the oil stains the baby oil makes on the paper but it almost completely disappeared when it dried and, since the panel is then glued on another layer, you don't see the stains that are on the back of the picture! ;-) I find it much harder to blend colors with oil than with OMS though.

For the budding writer

underside of the tin...

This is the other project for my niece Laura. There is also a little scrapbook album with pictures from her visit in Florida last summer but as you can see I am slightly behind, so that one won't make it on time for her b-day!... :-(

For the tin I used the same model than the one I made for Naomi months ago (http://dare2beecreative.blogspot.com/2008/04/message-tin.html) , with Melanie's stamps sets "What's in your tin 1 & 2".

Since my niece is only turning 4, and her Mom told me she loves little boxes of all kind and can carry them around all day, I decided to stick with a flat design (no flowers or raised embellishments on the top) this way it is also easier to slip them in a little bag without damaging anything! This time also, I added a layer of Contact paper (self-adhesive transparent paper) on the top and the bottom, that way the ink won't run and the paper won't get scratched.

The inside is pretty much identical to Naomi's tin: Mini Post-it notes and little gel pens, so she can leave little notes all around the house! :-D... The little heart is a paper clip.

L is for Laura

August is a busy month for birthdays just in the close family!

My husband, my Dad-in-law, my Dad, my Mom, my Grandma, and 2 of my nieces!!...

Needless to say I am slightly behind with the cards and such... :-S

Here is a letter for my niece Laura who's turning 4. I used this doodlebug design paper I really love, I should have just enough left to make her a little pens-tin, and make Naomi a letter too (when I find the time!)...

Berry sweet tee

I was waiting for the 15th to post this one, because of Gina K. guest designer call, but then it hit me that I used stamps from Paper Trey Ink alongside Melanie's "little tees" and that I am probably expected to use all Gina k. stamps for my submission... I guess that will give me an excuse to make more tee cards! (Heee!) ;-)

This card is for Lee, who has such a big heart it sure wouldn't fit in a little tee. She knows why I have been MIA and sent me the sweetest little note (in a beautiful handmade card of course! ;-)) alongside some pearl stickers and ribbon! She's so sweet I had to use that stamp from PTI...

And since it's for Lee, I just had to put some pink somewhere and some glitter, so I put Stickles on some of the stripes of the DP, it's hard to see but as always click on the pic and you'll get the giant version with all the details! ;-)

Going coastal tee

This new set by Melanie Muenchinger is so fun to play with... I just had to make a little "french sailor tee" because I adore them!

You know I like to mix up different stamps set from different companies... so here I used Melanie's set "Little tees", as well as Lizzie Anne's "Shore thoughts" and "By the sea", since it was perfect for my nautical theme...

I'll send this card to my friend Sandrine who just moved to New Jersey, she left the Florida coast for the Jersey coast so I guess she is still "going coastal".... She used to come scrapbook or make cards with me almost every week and I miss her and that special time! :-(

Patchwork

I was going through a Vera Bradley catalog the other day and thought I would use the fabric pics for a patchwork card. It was really a no-brainer but I like the mix of patterns and colors and it's a little different from stamps... :-) The pink flowers are Cuttlebug die-cuts.

I think it will be my Mom's birthday card.