Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day everyone! Are you enjoying the "unofficial" kickoff to summer? It couldn't be a more beautiful weekend here in Ohio! The sun is shining, it's warm out, lots of cookouts going on, I just love it! I did however decide to stay in for part of the day today and scrap! I was inspired by the holiday, so I decided to try something new!

I made this mini 4x4 chipboard album from scratch. I even did my own binding! I might do a tutorial on it next time that I make one of these, it was very simple to do! I also didn't have any red, white, & blue paper, so I had to dig through my scraps, so this album was made entirely from scrap papers from other projects! It makes me feel really good to use my scraps, so I'm extra proud of this little album!

My inspiration to make this album came from a challenge on the Pink by Design message board, the challenge is still open for entries through tonight, so if you want to enter, CLICK HERE. I'm always up for a good challenge, and this one seemed fun! This project also doubles for my Little Scraps of Heaven Designs design team project for today! I used the LSHD Celebrate The Fourth Pattern collection for the little bear and the stars on the cover of the album. I just love this collection, It's so festive and fun! The stamp that I used on the cover is from the Simple Joys set by Market Street Stamps. I even got out my heat gun and embossing powder for this one! I just love the look that heat embossing gives on stamps, it is just a little messy and I always forget that I have the tools to do it! I had a lot of fun making this album though, I hope you all enjoy it!

This album is available for purchase in my etsy shop :-)

Thanks for stopping by today! I also want to say a very BIG Thank You to all of those who have served and are serving our country right now for us! I have lots of friends and family members who are veterans and some who are serving right now. So thank you all for doing what you do!

Old Guys Rule - Father's Day Paper Bag Album

Let me say, scrapping for a man is a real challenge for me! Our Little Scraps of Heaven Design Team challenge for today was to do something for Father's Day since it is coming up soon (It's June 19th in case you were wondering!). I wanted to do something a little different than the normal, so I dug through my stash and came across these "Old guys Rule" chipboard stickers by Creative Imaginations. I also dug up some paper to match, I ended up using paper from the Granola line by Basic Grey. I figured that blues and browns would work perfectly for this project! So here is what I came up with...

I made this one a little different than I normally do my paper bag albums. I didn't want to add too many ribbons or flowers or anything girly, so I used binder clips on the side and tied a couple of ribbons to them. I used the Hawaiian Flower pattern from Little Scraps of Heaven Designs as well as the surfboard from the LSHD Fun in the Sun Monkey pattern collection. I wanted to give this album a "Dude" feel.

This album can be found for sale in my etsy shop.

Thanks for stopping by! :-)

Beach Blog Hop Blog Candy ***WINNERS***

And the winners from the "I'd Rather Be at the Beach" Blog Hop are...

Day 1 (handmade ribbon from kim): #62 Lisa R. said...
Awesome beachy album. Following both blogs. TFS joy4umetoo at hotmail dot com

Day 2 (Michael's $15 gift card and 2 bottles of stickles from Paula): #31 Jacqueline said... Great Album - love the colours. I am already a follower of both you and Paula's blogs. Stopped by and left some love for Paula. TFS.
Hugs ~ Jacqueline
madebyjacqueline.blogspot.com
madebyjacqueline(at)yahoo(dot)com

Day 3 (Market Street Stamps donated by Lisa): #27 Kimmarie Baker said...Emily! I absolutely love this album. I didn't see it in your store. Please email me the info on it. daughtersare3@yahoo.com I love MSS too. Great giveaway!

Day 4 ($20 Pink by Design Gift Card from Sarah): #19 Sherrie K. said...Beautiful layout. Your pictures are great. Look's like you had a blast. I like a lot of Pink by designs set but I am really liking the Designer Boots set. I would have a ball with set:) Thanks for sharing your talent and for a chance to win.
Sherrie K
http://sherriescraps.blogspot.com
jskoning at msn dot com

Day 5 (Prize #1 Paper & Embellishments from Jaime): #12 joydee1963 said...I did all 5 days ,All your project were great,I am a follower,joydee1963 at yahoo dot com

Day 5 GRAND PRIZE: #16 Tanya said...I love this clip board!!!! Great job!!! hugs, Tanya freddylswillima@windstream.net

I used random.org to pick all of the winners.

If you are a winner please send me your mailing address along with which prize you won to createserendipity@gmail.com so I can get these prizes out to you!

Craftiest Mom Contest - YOUR VOTES ARE NEEDED PLEASE!!! :-)

Recently I entered the Craftiest Mom Contest on the Cricut facebook page with this album that I made (shown above). I feel that I'm a pretty crafty mom and I work hard crafting to make a little bit of extra income for my family. I really enjoy crafting so it's a perfect job for me, plus I get to spend my days with my sweet daughter, Reagan. I can use all of your votes right now! It only takes second! If you all haven't had a chance to vote yet, please CLICK HERE and vote for me!!! You can vote daily, so if at all possible, I would appreciate that!!! I am offering up a drawing when this is all over to thank all of you for voting, so if you vote, please post a comment here or on my facebook page. If you vote more than once, please leave multiple comments! Thanks everyone!!!

Lisa's Birthday Bash Blog Hop!

Welcome to Lisa's very first Birthday Bash Blog Hop. We are here to celebrate and wish Lisa a very happy birthday! If you came from Leila's blog you’re on the right track. If not, and just lucked up on this blog, you can go back to the beginning HERE and hop along with us.

We're so excited to be doing this hop, and we have a fabulous line up with some very talented folks. There will be lots of fun projects, along with some great blog candy, and an AMAZING grand prize for this hop. This hop runs all day on May 23, so you have plenty of time to make it all the way through the hop. Check out each blog and see what BLOG CANDY you could possibly WIN!!

Today for my project I wanted to bring out one of my "oldies but goodies" that I made a few years ago when I first started selling my work. This is one of my favorite Birthday projects that I've done. I loved the Junkitz Salsa Celebration line of paper so much that I did a complete series of projects out of it and called it my "Birthday Extravaganza" series.

Here is the whole series:

Layout

Card

Altered bandaid tin & mini album

Cupcake album

Mini board book album

Paper bag album

I don't have any blog candy for this post... BUT if you check out the post HERE from the "I'd Rather Be At The Beach" Blog Hop, I still have my grand prize giveaway! The hop ended yesterday, but I have 5 days worth of blog candy here on my blog and I will be drawing a winner on Wednesday. So get your comments in!

There is also going to be an overall grand prize, which is being sponsored by Lisa from Scrapping with Lisa, she will be the first and last blog on the hop. In order to be eligible for the grand prize you must leave a comment on every blog in the hop, as well as become a fan of my blog and of Scrapping with Lisa on Facebook. If you don’t do facebook, this won’t count against you for the grand prize, just let me know that in your comment. You must do all this, it is mandatory in order to be eligible for the overall grand prize.

Hop right along to see what Jennifer has in store for you!

Here is the complete line up to the hop:
Lisa - http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/
Lisa - http://honeybearzdesigns2011.blogspot.com/
Michelle - http://queenofmycraftroom.blogspot.com/
Shawnee - http://quiverofangels.blogspot.com/
Shelly -http://kccroppers.blogspot.com/
Creativek Kuts - http://www.creativekuts.blogspot.com/
Deb - http://www.scrappingmamma.net/
Corrine - http://celebratingordinarymoments.blogspot.com/
Tristan - http://tristans-time-4-craftin.blogspot.com/
Mickie - http://littlescrapcorner.blogspot.com/
Rachelle – http://rachelle-rachellesplace.blogspot.com/
Sheri - http://highland-eyes.blogspot.com/
Melanie - http://melaniespapercraft.blogspot.com/
Christine - http://crabbycakescrafts.blogspot.com/
Bobbi – http://rockgirlcustomdesigns.blogspot.com/
Debbie - http://craftydeb-ddscrafts.blogspot.com/
Leila - http://mypapergrowsontrees.blogspot.com/
Emily - http://www.createserendipity.net/
Jennifer - http://craftycardgallery.blogspot.com
April - http://www.curlsngrins.blogspot.com/
Jennifer - http://scrapaholicjen.blogspot.com/
Ashley - http://scrappinpinkpiglet.blogspot.com/
Donna - http://comopark1886.blogspot.com/
Elsa - http://justafewdesigns.blogspot.com/
Shannon - http://www.purplelionpaper.com/blog
Ashley - http://www.theglamoroussideofscrapping.blogspot.com/
Monica - http://scraps2treasure.blogspot.com/
Lisa - http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/
Scrapping With Lisa on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Scrapping-with-Lisa/130882060268842

Made It Myself Mondays!

Happy Monday everyone! Did you all have fun last week checking out all of the awesome projects last week from Alex's "Made It Myself Mondays"? I know I did! Everyone's projects were so inspiring, so I decided to try it again this week! :-)

For today's project, I wanted to dig up another one of my "green" projects that I made. I know a lot of you save things to alter, so I'm always getting new ideas on things to alter!

For this project, I decided to make "Soup Can Flower Pots." A good way to go green, right?

First, I picked out some pretty acrylic paints that I wanted to use for the cans. After I painted them and let them dry, I sprayed them with some glitter.

Second, I chose my pretty papers and cut some flowers and flourishes with my cricut. Then I took my hot glue gun and glued the pieces to bamboo skewers.

Next, I took styrofoam squares and glued them into the bottom of the cans with hot glue. Take your flowers/skewers and stick them down into the styrofoam. I usually poke a hole then pull the skewer back out and put a little hot glue on it and stick it back in so it will stay.

Last, I stuffed the cans with paper shreds to fill the empty spots. you can also spray these with a little glitter to give them that extra sparkle. I also tied some ribbon around the cans for a finishing touch.

And here is my finished project:

These make great gifts too! Real flowers wilt and die, but paper flowers last forever! :-)

I hope you enjoyed this project! Thanks for stopping by!

I'd Rather Be At The Beach Blog Hop - Day 5!

Welcome to Day 5, the last day of the "I'd Rather Be At The Beach" Blog Hop. This hop has been sooo much fun! I just LOVE the beach and all of the beach themed projects that I've seen throughout the hop! Are you ready for what I have in store for you today? I've got BIG blog candy, a BIG sale in my Etsy shop, and a sweet little project!

REMEMBER, you MUST hop through the entire hop and comment on each blog to be eligible for any blog candy throughout this hop! There are lots of beautiful projects and lots of great blog candy, so by hopping along each day I can assure you that you will not be disappointed! :)

For today's project I was debating on doing an album or something different, so I decided to go with something different! :-)

I love altering things and clipboards have become one of my favorite things to alter! I used the "Shore Thing" paper collection from Imaginisce. I love this paper and have had it sitting on my shelf for quite a while! I also purchased the Beach penguin patterns from My Scrap Chick to use with this paper line. I plan on making an album with this paper line soon, but for now, I decided to just do this cute little clipboard. Oh, and the punch that I used on the bottom and on the tags is by ek success, one of my favorite punches that I own! I hope you all love this project! It was a lot of fun to make!

This little clipboard can be found in my Etsy shop for sale now!

Speaking of my Etsy shop... Some of you have mentioned that you wanted to buy a kit or an album or something from my shop... well, now is your time! TODAY ONLY I am offering a coupon code for 15% off your ENTIRE order! Just enter coupon code BEACH15 when checking out. That's not all! ALSO I am offering buy 3 get 2 free on all of my DIY kits! If you don't see one that you like, that's no problem! Just message me and I will make one up for you, any theme/any colors! This sale is today only and I am offering it to you all for being such wonderful friends for hopping along with me on my very first hop as a hostess!

And it gets better.... today's blog candy is just AWESOME!!!!

Today, Jaime from Books By J-ME has been so sweet to send this beautiful set of Beachy 6x6 paper with some chipboard embellishments for me to give away to one of you!

To win this, please check out Jaime's etsy shop HERE and add her to your favorites! I love ordering from her, she's always so quick to ship out and has the newest paper lines with great prices!

And for the GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY.... I am offering this:

One lucky hopper will win everything shown in the photo above which is:
The American Crafts Heat Wave Collection
48 Sheets 12x12 Designer Patterned Papers
1 pkg - Remarks Journaling Stickers
1 pkg - Remarks Accent Stickers
1 pkg - Remarks Alphabet Stickers
1 pkg - Chipboard Stickers
1 pkg - Beach House Chipboard Pieces
1 pkg - Matching Flair Adhesive Badges

To win the grand prize giveaway, make sure you hop through all of the blogs on this hop and leave lovely comments, these ladies have worked extra hard to put on this hop for you!

Also, leave me a comment... let me know what you're ultimate favorite getaway is... if it's a beach, let me know which beach you love to visit! My favorite place to visit is North Carolina. Ever since I was a little girl I have been a big fan of the whole entire state. We vacationed in the Outer Banks this past September then drove down to Sunset Beach, NC and got married. Such a beautiful place!!!

If you haven't became a follower of my blog yet, please do so! Also, check me out on facebook! And, if you haven't visited my etsy shop yet, please do so, take advantage of the sale, or add me to your favorites and come back and check it out later! I'm always adding new stuff to my shop and gladly take suggestions for new items!

If you missed out on any of the days of the hop, make sure you go back through my blog and check out all of the posts and leave a comment! I am offering up blog candy every day of the hop, so don't miss out on your chance to win!

Thanks so much to everyone for stopping by! This hop has been awesome and I hope you come back and check out my blog later as well!

Make sure you hop along and see what Dawn has in store for today!

And in case you get lost, here's the full lineup:
Emily: http://www.createserendipity.net
Dawn: http://dawnsdesignsthatdelight.blogspot.com/
Tricia: http://lshdesigns.blogspot.com/
Margaret: http://auntmargaretdesigns.blogspot.com/
Janet: http://www.createatdreamscrapbooks.blogspot.com/
Lisa: http://honeybearzdesigns2011.blogspot.com/
Theresa: http://www.thescrapbookingqueen.com
Lisa: http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/
Elsa: http://justafewdesigns.blogspot.com/
Martha: http://pattisscrapingtime.blogspot.com/
Dana: http://danascraftycorner.blogspot.com/
April: http://www.curlsngrins.blogspot.com/
Kim: http://kimmarieskorner.blogspot.com/
Gill: http://www.creationsbygillm.blogspot.com/
Jackie: http://jackrabbitscrappin.blogspot.com/

I'd Rather Be At The Beach Blog Hop - Day 4

Welcome to Day 4 of the "I'd Rather Be At The Beach" Blog Hop. This blog hop runs from May 18-22. You will find loads of projects with a beachy theme throughout this hop! If you love the beach as much as I do, then you won't want to miss this one! We have LOTS of blog candy to offer! Please check back daily for your chance to win! REMEMBER, you MUST hop through the entire hop and comment on each blog to be eligible for any blog candy throughout this hop! There are lots of beautiful projects and lots of great blog candy, so by hopping along each day I can assure you that you will not be disappointed! :)

Now for my project for today!

A lot of people often ask when I find the time to scrap my own photos.... Well, I really don't! If I get a chance to catch up with a friend for a crop, I usually work on my own photos, but that's very rare! I can honestly say that I enjoy making mini albums to sell much more than scrapping my own photos! I know, call me an oddball, but I think I am a little more picky when it comes to cutting up my photos and finding the perfect paper and embellishments!

Here is one of the last layouts that I did and I thought I would share. This layout is called "Paradise Found"

The colors in this layout aren't as good as they are in person, but it's hard to scan a layout and piece it together and get the colors to be true to the actual project. I made this layout shortly after I got back from a cruise that my friends and I went on. We sailed on the Carnival Destiny to Nassau, Bahamas. It was absolutely beautiful and a wonderful break from the Blizzard that we were having here in Ohio that year!

Here's a photo of me that was taken on an excursion, it almost looks unreal, but nope, that's me standing there in the middle of paradise! :-)

Here we are getting ready to board the ship again. This was such a fun trip!!! We went on "The Rock Boat" which is a cruise with lots of musical artists, so there was never a dull moment, and I was out in the middle of the ocean, so it doesn't get much better for me, well, except laying on a beautiful beach like the one shown above! :-)

Now for today's blog candy!

Sarah from Pink Cricut has been so generous to donate a $20 gift certificate to Pink by Design for me to giveaway! If you haven't got the chance to check out her stamps yet, YOU MUST!!! They are so adorable and such awesome stamp sets! I just love the sayings on the sentiment stamps!

To win all you have to do is:
Well, make sure you're following my blog... also, check out Sarah's blog and the Pink by Design Store. Lastly, leave me a comment telling me what you favorite Pink by Design stamp is!

I'm such a girly girl... so obviously, Designer Boots is my favorite Pink by design set :-)

Thanks so much for stopping by! Check back daily for more projects & prizes! Make sure you hop along and see what Dawn has in store for today!

And in case you get lost, here's the full lineup:
Emily: http://www.createserendipity.net
Dawn: http://dawnsdesignsthatdelight.blogspot.com/
Tricia: http://lshdesigns.blogspot.com/
Margaret: http://auntmargaretdesigns.blogspot.com/
Janet: http://www.createatdreamscrapbooks.blogspot.com/
Lisa: http://honeybearzdesigns2011.blogspot.com/
Theresa: http://www.thescrapbookingqueen.com
Lisa: http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/
Elsa: http://justafewdesigns.blogspot.com/
Martha: http://pattisscrapingtime.blogspot.com/
Dana: http://danascraftycorner.blogspot.com/
April: http://www.curlsngrins.blogspot.com/
Kim: http://kimmarieskorner.blogspot.com/
Gill: http://www.creationsbygillm.blogspot.com/
Jackie: http://jackrabbitscrappin.blogspot.com/

I'd Rather Be At The Beach Blog Hop - Day 3!

Welcome to Day 3 of the "I'd Rather Be At The Beach" Blog Hop. This blog hop runs from May 18-22. You will find loads of projects with a beachy theme throughout this hop! If you love the beach as much as I do, then you won't want to miss this one! We have LOTS of blog candy to offer! Please check back daily for your chance to win! REMEMBER, you MUST hop through the entire hop and comment on each blog to be eligible for any blog candy throughout this hop! There are lots of beautiful projects and lots of great blog candy, so by hopping along each day I can assure you that you will not be disappointed! :)

Now for my project for today!

I made another paper bag album... if you haven't figured it out yet, I LOVE to make albums, especially paper bag albums! This one also doubles for my project for today for the Little Scraps of Heaven Designs DT. We were supposed to create a project with stripes, polka dots, and a LSHD paper piecing. I used the cute little surfing monkey from the Fun in the Sun Monkey Pattern Collection. I do believe this is one of the smallest paper piecings that I have ever done! It gets really difficult when the monkey stands only 3 inches tall! Tweezers definitely come in handy! I hope you enjoy this album! I've been hanging onto this paper for the perfect project, so finally, I think I found it! The paper is from the "Beachy Keen" line by Bo Bunny.

I hope you enjoyed my little project for today! It is now up for purchase in my Etsy Shop!

Now for today's blog candy!

Lisa from Honeybearz Designs has been so awesome during this hop with helping me out! She generously donated 2 BEAUTIFUL Beachy stamp sets from Market Street Stamps for me to giveaway!

The winner for today will get the following stamp sets:

Sea Animals

Under The Sea

If you haven't checked out Market Street Stamps, make sure you do! Their stamps are AWESOME!!!

To win all you have to do is:
1. Stop by Lisa's blog here: http://honeybearzdesigns2011.blogspot.com/ and make sure you follow her blog!
2. Become a follower of my blog or facebook page if you aren't already
3. Leave a comment on this post letting me know that you stopped by and became a follower of my blog as well as Lisa's.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Check back daily for more projects & prizes! Make sure you hop along and see what Dawn has in store for today!

And in case you get lost, here's the full lineup:
Emily: http://www.createserendipity.net
Dawn: http://dawnsdesignsthatdelight.blogspot.com/
Tricia: http://lshdesigns.blogspot.com/
Margaret: http://auntmargaretdesigns.blogspot.com/
Janet: http://www.createatdreamscrapbooks.blogspot.com/
Lisa: http://honeybearzdesigns2011.blogspot.com/
Theresa: http://www.thescrapbookingqueen.com
Lisa: http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/
Elsa: http://justafewdesigns.blogspot.com/
Martha: http://pattisscrapingtime.blogspot.com/
Dana: http://danascraftycorner.blogspot.com/
April: http://www.curlsngrins.blogspot.com/
Kim: http://kimmarieskorner.blogspot.com/
Gill: http://www.creationsbygillm.blogspot.com/
Jackie: http://jackrabbitscrappin.blogspot.com/