Sunday, December 16, 2012

Practical Scrappers: Card Sketch

Only 9 days until Christmas (can you believe it??) and over at Practical Scrappers, the ladies are showing us different takes on a card sketch.


And here's my take on it!  Please stop by the Practical Scrappers blog to check out some other fun examples and inspiration from a group of talented ladies :-)


Sunday, December 2, 2012

UnstampaBelles Challenge: Christmas!

I love that Christmas is everywhere in the blog world this week. In a few short weeks we'll have family in town and presents around the tree.  It's so exciting :-)

The ladies at the UnstampaBelles Challenge are getting into the spirit as well with this month's challenge.  Anything goes, as long as it's holiday themed and remember, No Stamps!!  :-)  :-)  :-)

This month's challenge is sponsored by Huggies Crafts.


All items are from the Raspberry Range and are completely coordinated!  Here's a breakdown of what the winner gets this month:

9 x 12 x 12 papers
1 packet self-adhesive Rhinestones
1 packet self-adhesive Pearls
1 Packet of brads
1 Packet gem brads
1 packet basic brads                     
2 packets assorted Ribbon, 5 x 1 metre per pack
2 packets rub on’s
2 packets alpha stickers.

So, here's my take on the challenge!  I've used repeating colors and shapes, a Merry Christmas sticker and Christmas tree brads.  


Please stop by the UnstampaBelles Challenge and show us your Christmas spirit!!



Saturday, December 1, 2012

Practical Scrappers: Easy Monogram Gift Tags

With the holiday season already in full swing, this scrappy gal is happy to say that all my shopping is DONE! Whoopee!  Now it's on to the most fun part of all, wrapping :-)

Today over at Practical Scrappers, I'm showing everyone an easy way to dress up a plain box or bag with something personalized, a monogram gift tag!  This is a super fast and easy project and uses whatever scraps and leftover you have laying around.  Nothing fancy required!


The first step is to break out your die cutter (or cut by hand) and make five copies of the same letter in cardstock.  Then, just glue them on top of each other to create a thicker tag.  If you have chipboard, that's even easier and just make one chipboard and one paper of your choice.


Next, decorate!  To recreate this clean and simple style, just follow the rule of threes.  Three strips of ribbon/fabric on one side, three buttons, bling or brads on the other side.  Easy as that!




Use them alone, or double them up for an extra personal touch.  They really shine against simple wrapping.   Extra bonus, when the presents are opened, they can be reused as ornaments.  It's a double gift! :-)


And, if you have a lot of duplicate names in your family, you can easily personalize the back, since it'simply made of cardstock.

Happy decorating everyone!

Go Fish Challenge Blog

It's that time of year again!  Can you believe it's already December??  Whoa!! We're still putting up our regular decorations since our move, so I'm not even sure where the Christmas ones are  :-)  There may be some DIY action around here...

Luckily, the craft room is in working order, so we can start making our Christmas cards.  Yay!  Today over at the Go Fish Challenge, we're sharing some holiday spirit, too.  I'm kicking off the holiday with this, my very first card of the season.





Please stop by the Go Fish Challenge to see what the other designers have created and to and show us your favorite holiday creation!  We can't wait to see it!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Practical Scrappers Frugal Finds: Paper Plates

Today over at Practical Scrappers, the ladies are showing us some creative ways to use paper plates in the ever popular, Frugal Finds feature!

I'm a self-acknowledged cheap-o so if I can find a use for something I already have in the house or can easily pick up at a dollar store, I'm excited.  Luckily for me, I found (and saved) a large stack of paper plates  from our move!

My project is VERY easy and could be revamped for any holiday. How cute would a Christmas wreath be wrapped in garland?!

Since the leaves are finally turning here in North Carolina, I went with a fall theme for this simple project.  First, I cut out the center of a paper plate, just leaving the outer ring.  Then, I wrapped and taped (on the back) twine all the way around.  Because the ridge of the plate is curved, it gave the illusion that my wreath was round!  Then, I hot glued the buttons, foliage, and sentiment.  Easy peasy.



Now hop on over to Practical Scrappers to see the other creative ways the ladies used their Frugal Find, paper plates :-)

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Go Fish: Home Decor Challenge

Hello crafty guys and gals!  It's time again over at the Go Fish Challenge to show us your creativity!

This challenge is all about home decor.  Use whatever supplies you like and get creative with your stash :-)



Here's my take on Home Decor.  Both of these picture frames were from my local Goodwill, and I thought they could use some sprucing up.  The dark brown frame was already beautiful, so I created a little love note to my husband :-)  The quote is actually from our wedding song!


The other frame, was white with baby ducks painted around it.  Cute, but not really adult enough to go with my other frame :-)  For this project, I used a piece of scrapbook paper and cut it to fit the outside of the frame.  Then I simply Mod Podged  the paper down and then put another layer over the top to create the smooth finish.

I can't wait to see what you create!!


Wednesday, November 14, 2012

It's been pretty quiet over here at Paper Pie.... :-)

And I wanted to let everyone in on why I've been missing a bit from the blog world these last few weeks.  On top of moving across the country and FINALLY digging out my craft supplies, we have this....

Image

We could not be more excited!!!!!!!!!!!!  

This is our first and we found out right before we packed out the house.   I have been holding in our excitement until we could finally start telling the world...our little one is due in May :-)

I'm starting to feel a bit more human as well, and am now off the couch and no longer so sick.  I'm feeling more creative and I'm back to the craft room this afternoon!  

Thanks for sharing in our big news and I look forward to getting back in the craft game now that the second trimester is finally here!!  :-)

  

Sunday, November 4, 2012

UnstampaBelles Challenge: Monochrome


It's November...can you believe it??  We're already past Halloween and cruising right into Christmas.  We're still unpacking in our new place (and making sloooow progress).   But I'm excited to say that the craft room is at least out of boxes :-)

Good timing too, because it's already time for another challenge over at the Unstampabelles!  This month, the theme is Monochrome.  The other designers have given us some really beautiful inspirations pieces as well.  We can't wait to see your creative take on this challenge, and remember...No Stamps :-)  Really stretch that stash, ladies!!

This month's challenge is also sponsored by:


And the winner gets a $25 gift certificate!  So exciting!!

So, please swing by the Unstampabelles Challenge and show us your own gorgeous (stamp-free) monochrome project!



Thursday, November 1, 2012

Go Fish! Color Challenge

Just in time for fall, Go Fish! is bringing a Autumn themed color challenge to you!  I hope you're able to pop over and show us your fabulous fall inspiration :-)


My craft room is still a disaster, but I was able to dig some things out of my boxes to create this card :-)  It's a modern take on a fall Thankful card.  I will be most thankful when I finally get my craft space organized and user friendly again!  It's true that you never know how much stuff you have until you move!

Hope to see you over at the Go Fish Challenge!


Monday, October 8, 2012

Practical Scrappers: Halloween

Happy early Halloween at Practical Scrappers :-)  Today the design team is showing us some spooky creations to get you excited for the upcoming fright fest!  I have to admit that I LOVE Halloween.  Not only is it my birthday, but strangers will give you CANDY just for showing up at their door.  As a child...it was a magical day :-)

For my card, I used a new Cricut Cartridge that I picked up at Walmart for just this occasion called, Bump in the Night.  So many cute little monsters on this cartridge it was hard to choose.  I finally settled on Fang since he looked so lovable :-)


Please stop by the Practical Scrappers site for more Halloween spookiness...

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Our new place

Here's an pic of my little doll house.  The kitties are loving all the low windows :-)



It's so exciting to have grass and trees again! In Las Vegas we had a beautiful view of the mountains behind our house, but gravel and pointy-poky shrubs in our yard.  Our new backyard has a giant primrose bush that's blooming bright pink flowers and taking up the long side of our deck.  We also have a very confused mourning dove who has a nest in the middle of our backyard on the ground!  She has two babies in it, and now I'm not sure how long we'll have to wait to mow our lawn.  I'm obsessively checking on those little babies, but they're big and fluffy, and not going anywhere :-)

I managed to get a good portion of the kitchen boxes unpacked yesterday, so hoping to wrap that up today and then start on the bedroom.  Like the movers said, you never know how much you have until you move.

Off to snoop on the baby birds and enjoy the cool fall Carolina weather on my patio.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Carolina on my mind...

We are officially in our new house in North Carolina and have internet!!!  Yahooooooo!!!!!! I've been trying to stay connected on my phone, but 4 days in the car traveling across the country did not leave me with stellar web access.   I'm so happy to be here, but slightly less thrilled with the boxes stacked to the ceiling I'll be dealing with. :-)

We decided to move into a smaller house this time around and now I'm not sure where my (possibly excessive) collection of cookware and dishes are going to live.  Luckily we have crawl spaces and an attic for all the seasonal stuff we used to stash in our massive closets.

I do love this house though.  It's yellow and white and reminds me of a little doll house.  The cats are loving it too, and are pretty thrilled to be out of the car.

Tomorrow I tackle the unpacking and I'm really hoping I'll have my craft room unpacked by next week.  There are so many cute craft and sewing stores in North Carolina, I can't wait to expand the "stash" :-)


Monday, October 1, 2012

Practical Scrappers: Using Canvas

The ladies of Practical Scrappers are showing us some great ways to incorporate canvas into your cards and layouts.  I know I have a bundle stashed in my fabric box, so it was fun to dig it out and play around.  I used mine to create ruffled rows on a Thank You card.  I've used a similar technique on a set of pillow covers, so I used that ruffle and shrunk it way down :-)


Here are my pillow covers:
Canvas, Ruffled, Pillow Covers


And here's my interpretation for my card!


Please stop by the Practical Scrappers site and see what the other creative ladies of the design team have come up with!

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Unstampabelles Challenge: Recycling

October 1st is a busy day here at Paper Pie!   We've had lots of project in the que so I'm excited to be sharing them today.

The ladies at the Unstampabelles Challenge are thinking Green and showing us paper crafted items featuring recycling!  I love to repurpose (partly because I'm a cheap-o) and it's fun to think of ways to bring new life to old items.

For my card, I repurposed the lace I found at a thrift store, the bird (which is from the packaging on some gift wrap), the background is a from a card-gone-wrong and has been living in my stash for months and the sentiment is cut out from the cover of an old notebook.

Please swing by the Unstampabelles Challenge and show us how you used recycling in your project!



Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Practical Scrappers: Transforming Black and White Photos with Chalk





Hello Practical Scrappers! Sarah here and today I'm going to demonstrate a cool vintage-looking technique for modifying photos.

On the wall at my grandmother's house hang large photos of her children taken in the 1960s.  The technique at the time had the photographer take the pictures in black and white and then, after development, color them with watercolors.  I loved the affect and have found a similar (much easier) way to duplicate it with chalk.


First, change your color photo to black and white and print to cardstock.  I used Picasa, because it's easy to operate and it's free!  Also, break out your colored chalk set.  I've had it in my stash for ages and was originally from Michaels.


Next, begin by shading in the skin tones.  For this photo of my mom and me, I started with light beige for the first layer.



Next, I layered on a light pink over all the skin tones.  It gives the skin a bit of a glow and tones down the yellows in the beige.


Now, add in the other highlights on your photo.  You can enhance hair color, eye color, lip color, cheek color....really anything. Don't be afraid to experiment with your palette!  I even added darker pink to the collarbones for a bit of depth.


Your final step is to give the edges of your picture a once-around with the sharp edge of an eraser to give you a clean line and catch any stray bits of color.


And you're done!  A customized, vintage photo transformation is as easy as that.  This technique works great with photos of babies and kids too.  Moms always love a custom card or scrapbook page with this soft finish.  

Finished Photo


Monday, September 17, 2012

Moving Schmooving...


So, I've been a bit MIA lately on the blog front.  I feel terrible that I've been missing out on everyone's fabulous creations!!  Hubby and I are in the middle of a move across the country and are still in the packing up stages here in Las Vegas.  It's always a challenge with the military since things are pretty short notice and you need clearance from everyone under the sun to drive away!

All of my beloved craft supplies will be packed up on Wednesday and I'm not sure when they'll be arriving in  North Carolina.  They tell me Oct. 5th, but I'm not holding my breath :-)  So, I have my DT posts linked up until around Oct. 15th in the hopes that my goodies will be safely in their new bonus room in NC.  Fingers crossed.

Wish us luck!  I feel like this move is slightly easier since we're only moving to another State and not another Country like last time....we shall see :-)

Happy Fall everyone and I hope to squeeze in some blog time in the next few weeks to see what everyone is creating!!!

Practical Scrappers: Babies

If you're like me, it seems there's a  new baby shower every weekend!  I've been sending out baby cards faster than I can make them it seems some weeks :-)  Luckily, they are one of my favorite cards to create.  I'm especially interested in using non-traditional color schemes.

Today over at Practical Scrappers the ladies are showing us cards and layouts all about the little ones :-)  Here's my take on a non-traditional baby card and please swing on by Practical Scrappers and check out what the design team has created!


Saturday, September 15, 2012

Go Fish Challenge: 1st Anniversary!

It's a very exciting celebration over at the Go Fish Challenge!  We are celebrating our first anniversary!  Yippee!!!

To help celebrate, we'll be asking you crafty folks for a clean and simple 1st anniversary card.  It's a fun challenge for anyone who's a CAS junkie (like myself).   So, please join us and hop on over to Go Fish for some inspiration from the design team :-)



Monday, September 10, 2012

Practical Scrappers: Hexagons

Today at Practical Scrappers the ladies are showing us some fun ways to use hexagons in your projects.  The shape is VERY trendy right now, and I love the interesting shapes they create when joined together.

For my card, I've used paper from Follow Your Heart by My Mind's Eye.  By cutting out the hexagons, rearranging them and then elevating a few random spots with doubled-up foam tape I was able to get dimension and visual interest with only a few easy steps!


Swing on by the Practical Scrappers website and see what other creative ways the designers are using Hexagons!

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Unstampabelles Challenge: Embossing

It's time again for another challenge with the Unstampabelles! As always, I love to see what the ladies create...without the use of stamps :-)  It's a great challenge to stretch the old noggin and dig deep into the craft stash.

This challenge features embossing, so hop on over to see what the talented design team has to inspire you and join in on the fun!



Saturday, September 1, 2012

Go Fish Challenge - Back to School Sketch

Today over that the Go Fish Challenge we have another super fun project for you!  We've provided the sketch and would love to see your interpretation of it :-)  Here's mine:



I love the quote and think it's a great reminder for anyone headed back to school.  Go after what you love and the rest will follow - the greatest advice I received when I was in school :-)

So, please head on over to the Go Fish Challenge to check out the other great creations from the design team and to show us yours as well!!  Happy sketching!

Friday, August 24, 2012

Cardboard Box to Custom Storage

As a very frugal (cheap-o) individual with an ever-growing craft stash, I'm always looking for creative and inexpensive storage solutions.  Everything in this tutorial came from the dollar store and the cardboard box was just a leftover from an Amazon order.  I can't be the only one who has a few of these laying around!

1. Supplies - cardboard box, packing tape, glue gun, glue sticks, grosgrain ribbon in black, and Contact Quick Cover Shelf & Drawer liner.


2. Decide on Size - Since this box was pretty small, I decided to fold the flaps up and secure them with packing tape.  It's  now twice the depth.  If you have a large box, you can cut off the flaps to make it smaller.


3.  Size your Contact Paper - Roll out the paper and measure to decide where to cut to cover your box on all sides, plus enough to fold over to cover the inside.  For my box I was able to cut two pieces which slightly overlapped.  Think of it as similar to wrapping a gift box.


4. Make the Cuts - in order for your contact paper to fold over nicely to cover the inside and outside, make the appropriate slits.

5. Fold - Pull the backing off of the contact paper, place the box back on top and start folding and wrapping.  The Contact paper has some give and forgiveness, so keep pulling and stretching until all the bubbles are gone.


6. Finishing Touches - To create a custom finished look, draw a line around the top edge with your glue gun. Adhere a long strip of grosgrain ribbon to the top edge.  If you're feeling fancy, you can add gems, hardware or I chose a simple bow.


7. Enjoy your new (almost free) storage!




Saturday, August 18, 2012

Unstampabelles Challenge - Halfway Point

Ok scrappers!  We're at the halfway point over at the Unstampabelles Challenge which means that you still have 2 weeks to show us your paper flower creations.  Yay!  Remember, the only rule is that you can't use stamps (even digitals for sentiments) so dig in to that stash and find those fun rub-ons, stickers and embellishments that have been waiting for their time to shine :-)

In honor of the halfway point, I've done a quick card with 3 tiny paper flowers.


The trees are rub-ons from Heidi Grace, the sentiment is a sticker from The Girls' Paperie and the flowers are Recollections Floral Embellishments.

So, pop on over to the Unstampabelles Challenge for some more design team inspiration and to share your own paper flower (stamp-free) creation.  Good luck!

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Go Fish Challenge - Summer Photos

It's a lovely summer day here in Las Vegas, and what a great way to celebrate....with a summer photo challenge from Go Fish!  Now, my photo is actually from a few summers ago when we lived in England.  This is a picture I took of the Jurassic Coast in the south of England.  I think it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

Since I'm more of a card gal than a layout gal, I decided to print a tiny polariod (from Picassa's Picnik function) and then added in the text - a quote that I adore from Ralph Waldo Emerson.

So, head on over to Go Fish! and show us your great summer pics and also check out our sponsor, Cards TV with Mary...she has some great stamps.  I can't wait to see what you create!