it's been awhile...

Hello crafters!

So sorry it has been so long... life happens! I have been busy gathering up ideas for a non-traditional bachelorette party, bridal luncheon and crafts with the kiddos! I guess you can say I have been crafting but nothing is finished yet! I can however share some of the goodies from MY LITTLE SHOEBOX's new line UP IN THE TREES! This line was so much fun to play with and I am thankful I still have pretty papers to play with! So many ideas, so little time!

Princess of the Park

My Sweet

Sweet Love Birds

Happy Birthday!

Thank you for stopping by!

Creative Cheers!

CHA with MY LITTLE SHOEBOX...

I know it has been awhile... too long in fact!

This was my second trip to CHA and all I can say is WOW! There are SO many beautiful things that so many talented people put their heart and souls into creating for the show. The ladies on our team are EXTREMELY talented and are just delightful people to spend time with! I needed this trip to refresh, replenish and revive the creative juices that have laid dormant this winter!!!

First, let's start with MY LITTLE SHOEBOX...

there are so many pictures of our booth but I don't want to spoil any surprises!!!

A quick snap-shot of our booth!

Spending time with dear sweet Laurie!!!

{we are practically family!!!}

Helen and Pattie smiling for a picture under the ever-so-colorful glitter alphas!!!

Norine and Shemaine were our booth resident tech team! These two made sure to keep everyone up to date with fun things like samples, pictures, video of random people dancing at our class {wink, wink!}

Pattie and Linda smiling big!

I miss seeing their smiles in person and

I LOVED every minute I got to spend with these two lovely ladies!

Group shot in our booth!!!

We worked hard in that booth but we didn't forget to play a little too!

Spending an evening in Downtown Disney....

A quick trip to Sephora for some snazzy lip gloss!

mmmmmmmmwhahhhhhhhhhh

{kiss kiss}

We had a ball hanging out together, so much in common with so many wise words to live by! Whenever one of these sweet ladies laid down words of wisdom, I picked up my pen and wrote them down so I wouldn't forget. If I was thinking ahead, I would have had them write them down in their handwriting... note to self, save that for next time!!!

As for the rest of the show... WOW!

Crafters, we are all in for such a treat because there were so many beautiful papers, embellishments, mixed media pieces that I just makes me want to do two things for 2012...

1. LEARN TO SEW

2. BUY EVERYTHING!!!

PRIMA pretties...

The EVER SO CREATIVE Debby Schuh and Tim Holtz...

enjoyed spending a little time with these talented people!!!

JILLIBEAN SOUP...

L.O.V.E.

Gorgeous!!!

Having a little fun...

...with the very talented Jen who created this beautiful wreath using mason jar lids!!!

MAYA ROAD...

And then we stopped by the Thermoweb booth to see this friendly face!!!

Canvas Corp...

bring on the neutrals because everything in this booth was stunning!!!

OH MY GOODNESS!!!

ADORE IT...

activate the sewing machine - STAT!!!

Heidi Swapp...

there are no words for the amount of awesomeness radiating from this booth!!!

KRAFT KLUB INC...

They were right across from us so I drooled over this book for 4 whole days!

Note to self: must order ASAP!!!

CHA was amazing...

I am thankful for this opportunity...

I will cherish the memories...

AND SCRAP EVERY SINGLE PHOTO!!!

SUPER DUPER EXTREMELY GINORMOUS THANK YOU TO HELEN!!!

Lots of love and Creative Cheers!

HAPPY NEW YEAR CREATIVE FRIENDS!!!

Hope you all are starting the new year out with a bang... and a table full of new scrappy supplies! This is my first post since the WINTER WONDERLAND ornament challenge and I have to admit that my tree is still up because I enjoy walking by and seeing all those fun pictures embellished! It was a fun challenge and I appreciate everyone's comments and emails!

So... it is officially 2012 which means so many things! I don't know if you are the "resolution" type {I tend to make them and then forget - just being honest!} but either way this new year is a fresh start. I would like to spend more time one on one time with my hubby & our girls, take better care of myself and capture more of our everyday moments with my camera!!!

Speaking of everyday moments... you know that pile of "Must Scrap These" photos... well, here are some fun, new layouts using the DESTINATIONS line using pictures from that pile.

STORYTIME LAYOUT:

This layout was 100% inspired by the picture. Our family loves to read and the idea of making a mini-3D book using foam board and the bright papers and cardstock stickers just made my heart happy! I made sure to create a bookmark made of ribbon because we wouldn't want to loose our place in the story! I used a few of the role-up flowers along with the flag banners for the leaves to add additional dimension to the layout. The journalling was done using the a few of the icons which were popped using Therm-o-web's 3D Zots and of course the Mini Alphas and Glitter Alphas. I love this layout on the TRIP OF A LIFETIME Circle Scallop paper!!!

Journalling using the MINI ALPHAS, fussy-cut icons and CARDSTOCK STICKERS

A close up of the handmade story book from foam board and DESTINATIONS papers

THIS GIRL LOVES SUNGLASSES LAYOUT:

Let me start by saying this photo makes me laugh hysterically! I know you don't know my oldest whom I call our Desert Darling, however she is so the opposite of what this picture shows. She is kind, she is friendly, she ALWAYS has a smile on her face... never a growly-bad-to-the-bone look. To say the least when it came time to edit pictures I knew I had to scrap this one!!! I used the "B" side of the JOURNEY paper as my backdrop and then layered a newly-punched "B" side of the HAPPY HOUR strip of paper to the right of the layout. I really liked the look of the turquoise diecut rolly flower undone so that was added in the upper right corner. I used the punch out clouds - My Little Shoebox is known for their clouds and personally I can't get enough of them - to round out that same corner. I layered the picture on white cardstock {TIP: if I don't have white cardstock handy, I go to my scrap pile and reach for the My Little Shoebox Circle Scallops since their "B" sides are white} and then again on the "B" side of the SOUVENIR paper. The SPARKLE GLITTER ALPHAS and MINI ALPHAS make up the title along with a hand-cut heart out of the polka dot journalling tag on the POSTCARD paper.

An upclose look at the homemade paper rose and journal tag

SWEET ADDISON LAYOUT:

For this layout I wanted to highlight the bright-happy red and pink combination of this line. The HAPPY HOUR and SIT BACK AND RELAX papers are so pretty when they are layered together and then there is a pop of the fun turquoise color! I hand-cut the journalling tag off the POSTCARD paper and then layered it with the photo and the "B" side of the HAPPY HOUR paper. I added a few of the flowers from the diecut sheet and then added a homemade role up flower using the "B" side of the SOUVENIR paper. Making the title was the fun part... I like to stretch myself sometimes and I was trying to come up with a way to use all the fun icons on the JOURNEY and POSTCARD papers.

A closer look at ADDISON spelled out using random pieces within the DESTINATIONS collection... do they look familiar???

Here is how I made the letters to spell out ADDISON:

A = made from the triangle flag on the diecut sheet

d = flipped the "parking" sign to make a lower-case "d"

I = turned the "do not enter" sign to make the "I"

S = fussy cut out 2 of the "U-turn" red arrows and then turned them over to use the "B" side and connected the arrows to make an "S"

O = fussy cut out the "60 mph" sign and then layered it with white cardstock to create a white border

N = fussy cut the letter "N" off of the "ONE WAY" sign on the POSTCARD paper

Thank you for stopping by today!

Wishing you and yours a very happy new year!

Creative Cheers!