Just Two Midwest Girls Scrap Challenge: Be My Valentine!

Welcome back to another scrap challenge!  Our last challenge, scrap your goals, was won by Mandi!  She submitted her layout on our Facebook page (link found in my sidebar).  Take a look at her layout here.

Valentine's Day is right around the corner.  Kelly and I thought that with the day of love being just two weeks away, we thought we'd share some Valentine's Day cards.  Kelly was nice enough to send me half of the Carta Bella's Devoted collection that she won in a giveaway last year.  Now, those of you that have played with Carta Bella products before know how absolutely gorgeous their colors are.  I love how saturated the paper is and just adore the thick and textured patterned paper.

I unfortunately didn't get to play with this collection too much, but I did put together a few cards with the products.  Right now, I've been in a very simple card design mood, probably because I've been making a ton of Valentine's cards.

This envelope card didn't turn out how I envisioned in my head.  I should have stamped a sentiment inside instead of using stickers.

This is my favorite card I made with this collection.  It's a cute little mini card!  I've had this simple idea in my head for awhile and it was quick to make.  If you need to make a ton of cards, you can easily translate this into a larger size with larger hearts and there you go.

I made the envelope with a patterned paper from the Carta Bella line.  Everything else was from my Valentine's haul I did a few weeks ago.  My sister (as the social chair of her sorority) needed some cards to give to other fraternities and sororities on her campus.  I used this card design for the sororities.

So, there are all the cards I made with this collection so far.  I wish I had a little more time to play with the collection.  Play along with us!  Link up your Valentine's cards!  They can be new cards or past ones.  You can link your cards to my comments section below, in Kelly's comments section, or on our Facebook page!  Those that enter have a chance to win a $5 gift card to Two Peas in a Bucket.  You have until Thursday, February 13th at 8pm CST to play along!

Now, go check out Kelly's blog to see what she made!

xoxo,
Heather

Favorites From CHA-Winter: Part II

Okay, I am back with the second part of my favorites from CHA-Winter.  Let's jump right in...

My Mind's Eye

Record It!

Charmed

Each of the collections in the Record It! line come with a 6"x6" paper pad, word art prints, washi tape, enamel dots, and journaling cards kit.  Let's just say I wouldn't hate having everything from each collection that I like!

I really love the Charmed collection because of all the metallic gold!  I have actually already ordered this 6"x6" paper pad and am hoping to see it in my mailbox in the next week!

Just Splendid

Just Splendid 6x6 Paper Pad

Just Splendid Wood Dots

Just Splendid Journaling Cards Kit

I love the bright and playful colors of this collection.  Again, I have already ordered the wood dots and journaling cards kit...Can't wait to play!

Now & Then

Dorothy

Love this collection!  It's colors remind me a little of the Adorbs collection from the Summer 2013 release.  

Milo

Loving the blues, yellows, and greens in this collection.  

Mildred

Love the sprinkle of gold (or maybe it's kraft) in this collection.  And that heart paper!

Simple Stories

A Charmed Life

Just like the Milo collection in the MME Record It! line, these blues, greens, and yellows are just lovely!  I like the star confetti patterned paper that you can see in the lower right corner.

SN@P!

Um, yes!  I love this size binder and burlap is so trendy.  Also, I don't like to decorate the fronts of my albums (I worry about things falling off), so having the awesome chevron print is great!

I am so excited about these pocket pages!  I love square photos, so this will be a great addition to my mini albums.

These are awesome!  I've used washi tape to attached a photo over another photo or pocket, but it didn't have a protector.  Now, this takes care of that issue.

These are amazing!  I'm so glad photo sticker overlays are becoming popular.

DIY

Not that I really need help in creating my own embellishments, but these are just fun!  And there are so many stickers, enamel dots, and stamps in this line.

Studio Calico

Essentials

I want everything in this collection.  They really are essentials to have in your stash.

Lemon Lush

When I first saw a sneak peek of this line, I didn't like it, but the more I saw it being used, I really started to like it.  I like the lemon yellow and the purple in the papers.

Webster's Pages

Sprinkled with Love by Allison Kreft

I'm pretty sure I've loved almost everything Allison Kreft has designed.  Can't wait to play with this collection!

Okay, I think that was everything that I absolutely loved from the CHA Winter releases.  Of course, there are lots of bits and pieces from almost every new line that I like.  And it was really hard to choose what I really, really loved.  So what are you guys looking forward to adding to your stash?

xoxo,

Heather

How I'm Going to Document 2014

As you all know from this post, I have decided not to do Project Life in 2014.  I do still want to document those everyday moments throughout the year.  So, I happened to see a post on the Two Peas General Scrappin' Message Board highlighting a month-in-review scrapbook album.  The original blog post can be found here.  I thought this was a genius idea!  This woman broke down her complete process in how she prepares her album.  And this was all free!  I've taken classes I've paid for that provided just as much detail, photos, advice, and lists as this blog post.  It definitely motivated me to document 2014 in this way; a way I've never scrapbooked before.

There were two goals I had when taking on this project:  1) I wanted to use my stash and not buy anything specifically for this album and 2) I wanted to make all my layouts and embellishments for the year to make this process as easy as possible.  Well, I did buy the actual 12"x12" album and page protectors, but that's it!  I'm very proud of myself.  I used Recollections The Sweetest Thing paper stack found at Michael's.  I think this paper stack is the Michael's brand of My Mind's Eye's Sweetest Thing collection lines. I bought this huge paper stack 6 or so months ago and have barely used any papers.  I was happy to finally use this paper stack.  

So, here's where I started.

  

Sketch from Creating Keepsakes

  I knew I wanted a 2-page layout.  (Which is unusual for me because I've never done a 2-page layout!)  And I wanted to use landscape and portrait 4"x6" photos, as well as some square photos.  I spent so much time looking for a sketch.  I needed something simple with lots of photos and a journaling block. 

My next step was to make a mock layout.  I needed to make sure what I had envisioned in my head looked good on paper; I needed to see where I could add extra embellishments; and I needed to see how big my journaling block could be.  

Mock Month-in-Review Layout

Left side of mock layout

Right side of mock layout

The white paper represents photos.  I made notes on this layout and figured out where my embellishment clusters were going.  The sketch only showed 2 embellishment clusters, but I wanted three, for design purposes.  I literally made this layout as it would be for all 12 months in my album.  And I fell in love with this!  I don't usually scrapbook like this, like, at all.  But I still wanted to display photos from each month with some written highlights.  I realized I would need some more room for journaling, so I left one side of the journaling mat un-adhered to stick a journaling tag underneath.  

After my mock layout was constructed, I picked 5 patterned papers from The Sweetest Thing paper stack for each month.  I set aside all the ledger/graph/lined paper in this stack as well to be used for my journaling blocks, embellishment clusters, and scalloped borders.

A finished layout for one of the 12 months

Here is one of the completed layouts.  Everything has already been glued down, except for the circle embellishments (as they will be layered over photos) and the journaling block (I may type on the papers for maximum use).

Large embellishment cluster

This is the large cluster for the left side of the layout.  It looks like it's adhered, but it's just hanging out in the page protector.  

Small embellishment cluster

Here is the small circle embellishment cluster.  This will be layered over a photo and the journaling block on the right side of the layout.  

Banner embellishment cluster

This embellishment cluster is already adhered to the top right of each layout.  Each layout cluster uses a button threaded with twine, a wood veneer heart, and patterned paper the coordinated with each layout.

It took me what seemed like forever to finish all 12 layouts, but I did it!  I spend 2 days getting these layouts done.  Luckily, when I decided to work on this project, it was the Sunday of the crazy polar vortex, so I ended up having Monday off from work.  Which I took advantage of the time to complete the layouts.

All the layouts in their album!

The only thing I have to do at the end of each month is to print photos, journal each month's highlights/stories, and cut the title (month name) with my Cameo.

I am so excited to have a system to document 2014 already prepared in advance.  This will be really helpful in staying on top of the other projects and goals I have for the year.

I will show each month on my blog, so make sure to come back!  

How are you documenting your year for 2014?  Are you participating in Project Life?  Or did you come up with some other system?  Let me know in the comments section!

xoxo,

Heather

The Season of Love-Valentine's Cards

Valentine's Day is just around the corner.  I don't necessarily love it, but I enjoy it purely for the colors and the opportunity to make cutesy paper crafts!  I love pink!  I'm not ashamed to say how much I love pink.  I'm really liking the pink and aqua combination we're seeing in papercrafting, as well as with Valentine's products.  

Today, I wanted to share with you all some of the supplies I'm using for my fun Valentine's Day cards and crafts.  As you all know, I have an Etsy shop-Sweetly Made Designs-and I have been really busy designing, making, and uploading cards for the season of love.  I'll share some of the cards I've made as well.

Supplies

Maybe it's because I'm new to the papercrafting world (less than 2 years), but I didn't have any Valentine-themed products (well, I had one older Stampin' UP! stamp set).  I have some heart stamps and some patterned paper that could be Valentine's-y, but that is it.  I knew before Christmas was even here that I would be purchasing some Valentine-themed products.

Crate Paper's Love Notes 6x6 Paper Pad

American Crafts Valentine 6x6 Paper Pad (found at Target)

Stamps from Michael's (except for the "how sweet...", which is from Hobby Lobby)

Simon Says Stamp Falling Hearts Stencil

Simon Says Stamp Filled With Love Stamp Set-Collaboration with Mama Elephant

Simon Says Stamp Filled With Love Dies-Collaboration with Mama Elephant

Cards

Celebrate Love Card

Isn't this card too cute?!  I love the white-on-white of the card front on the card base.  I used modeling paste with the fallen hearts stencil for the tone-on-tone texture.  The tags, from the Filled With Love stamp set, are stamped in Stampin' UP! Coastal Cabana ink onto heavyweight white cardstock.  The sentiments are from the same stamp set and stamped in Stampin' UP! Melon Mambo ink.  I then die cut the tags with the coordinating die.  The small hearts on the twine were punched with patterned paper from the American Crafts paper pad.  The larger, dangling heart was cut with my Silhouette from paper found in Target's $1 section and backed with red cardstock for stability.  I wrapped pink and white twine around the card front, stringing on the medium-sized hearts and tags along the way.  I tied the large heart onto a separate piece of twine and tied it to the line to make it more of a hanging "charm."  The tiny hearts were die cut from pink cardstock and pink and aqua glitter paper using the Stitched Journaling Card Die Set from Lawn Fawn.

It's a really simple, yet beautiful Valentine's Day card.

Truly Smitten Card

I really, really love this card.  I think it's because it's less involved than most cards I make.  I used Stampin' UP! Crumb Cake for my card base.  The large heart is cut from a page from the book I'm using to make my More Happy Little Moments book.  There is this large heart that comes in this package of Dear Lizzy Lucky Charms Bits that I have hanging around my scrap room.  I really like the pattern of this heart, but I've never used it.  But it's a great size for a large heart element.  I've been using it as a stencil or mask to cut a heart from different paper.  The typewriter stamp is stamped with Tuxedo Black ink onto heavyweight cardstock, fussy cut, and then adhered with dimensionals.  The tiny hearts are die cut from pink cardstock using the above mentioned Lawn Fawn die set.  I took my white gel pen to add faux stitching around the card front.  

There are just a couple of the Valentine's Day cards I have been making.  I still need to make Michael's card and the cards I'm going to send to family and friends.  I have a couple ideas up my sleeve.

Are you making Valentine's Cards or projects this year?

xoxo,

Heather

Favorites From CHA-Winter: Part I

I was really hoping to keep this post down to one, but there are so many things I absolutely LOVE from CHA last week.

So, let's begin!  Melissa Stinson, over at the The Scrappy Jedi, does a great job on compiling all the new collections debuted at CHA-Winter.  That is where I go to see all the new releases.

American Crafts

DIY Shop

What I like most about this particular collection are the chalkboard labels and badges, the decorative tape, and the cork stickers.

Dear Lizzy-Daydreamer

I usually like all of the Dear Lizzy lines.  This line hasn't called to me yet, but it may take me seeing the product in person (like Polka Dot Party).  There are one or two papers I like.  I am really liking the dies and the rub-ons.

Amy Tangerine-Plus One

I really like the colors of Amy Tan's new line.  I'm really loving the pop of black among these bright colors.

Chic Tags

Cloud 9

Love this line!  I love everything in this line!  Check out the blog post for the full reveal.

Crate Paper

Styleboard by Maggie Holmes

**watch this video from scrapbook.com 
I've read that some people think this line looks so much like her previous lines (especially her original line, in my opinion), but I still like it.  Some of the papers I'm not too fond of, but there are some that I would definitely use. I like the gold "Dymo" label stickers, the decorative tape, the phrase roller stamp, the gold rub-ons, the doily embossing folder (!!), and the die set.  

Doodlebug Design

Kraft in Color 

I am so excited for this collection!  I love kraft and pairing that with some color is going to be awesome!  

Echo Park

Capture Life by Allison Kreft

What I love most about this collection are the bokeh prints!  I was watching a scrapbook.com video showing this line at CHA and it looks like the final patterned papers haven't yet been decided.  I hope they keep all the bokeh prints though!

Glitz Design

Carpe Diem

I love everything about this line!  This picture doesn't do it justice, so check out this video by scrapbook.com showing you this line.  I never used to like Glitz Design, but their Wild & Free collection released at CHA-Summer 2013 started to change my mind.   

Black & White

I am so excited about this collection!  One of my goals this year is to start my wedding album.  I've been struggling with the color scheme for my pages because I wasn't sure how exciting a black, white, and red album would be.  I didn't want to invite bold colors into my album that weren't represented at the wedding...basically I was it off.  Then this collection happened!  I already told my husband I'm buying every piece of this (probably a few doubles of some things) when it's released.

So, here's will I will stop for today.  There are a handful of other collections I am loving which I'll post about later this week or weekend.  What collections are you looking forward to from CHA?

xoxo,

Heather