Queen Bee

This is my submission for Day Two of the Tim Times Ten Give-A-Way Challenge. This was a challenge because I don't ever use the masking technique or much glitter. But I managed. We had to use a busy bee theme. What bee is busier than the queen?! I made up my own masking paint using some acrylic paint and water in a misting bottle I had laying around. My stencils were made on my Cricut machine using the Home Accents Cartridge. For a little glitz and glam, I used LuminArte! Two down, seven to go!

Life is a highway

This is my entry in the Tim Times Ten Grand Give-A-Way Challenge. For day one, we were instructed to create a tag with a nostalgic theme. When I think of happy memories, road trips definitely make the top five list. The best trips I have been on were by car. One of my favorite childhood memories is a driving trip to Wyoming. Since we have had kids my husband and I don't take it to the road like we used to. But, we have taken the boys to the aquarium in Dallas and hope to drive to the beach this summer. I will be taking it on the road this weekend to the Beale Street Music Festival. I suppose my husband is giving me an early Mother's Day gift. On the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again...

Taking a crack at digital scrapbooking

I love paper so it already seems like I am being unfaithful, but every since I read this Clover Lane post on scrapbooking with Picasa, I have wanted to give it a try. So here is my first attempt. I took is slow. I didn't download any fancy digital papers or embellishments, but this was fun and didn't take that long.  Picasa is a free program you can download and use to do all sorts of photo editing, not just scrapbooking. (It is also how I made the banner on my blog after reading this Clover Lane post.)

I probably would have learned even more, but I am not one who really reads instructions. I just kind of skimmed them to get the gist of it. It wasn't hard and if you are the type who is imitated by PhotoShop, this might be the route for you.  The down side is that you have to get them printed somewhere, so you are not totally finished once you are done on the computer. I am doing my research to find out the best place to send them. Some people use sites that allow you to create the books and have them printed there all at once. Picasa seems better to me because there is no logging in. You just work on your pictures whenever and then upload them all at once when you are ready to have them printed. Another thing to consider is whether you will have them bound, or printed into single sheets to insert in a regular scrapbook. The possibilities are endless. There just may be a place for digi cropping, but it will never replace the good old fashioned glue and scissors.

Do you do digital scrapbooking? Why or why not?

Get Well Mrs. Shute

Get Well Card made with Simply Sweet Cartridge

This week my oldest son's teacher was out sick. Hopefully a little card will brighten her day and speed her recovery.

Inside of Get Well card made with Simply Sweet Cartridge

Phew...

 
Here's another one of those posts that goes "instead of scrapbooking today I ..."

I ordered these bamboo shades from Overstock.com and Eric kindly installed them last week. One problem. Either they didn't come with the string strung, or he made sure they all fell out as he was putting them up. I spent the day looking at tutorials online until I found one that made sense and was able to string them myself. Success! I got the idea for doing this shade curtain combo from my favorite DIY blog Young House Love.

I enjoy decorating (meaning reading blogs about decorating), as much as I enjoy scrapbooking. They are one in the same really. The room is your paper, the furniture are your photos, wall color and accessories are your embellishments. 

What do you like to do that is not scrapbooking but just as cool?

Butter

The remains of the cake I baked my grandmother, for her 70th birthday

"You gotta use real butter, y'all," I said in my Paula Dean voice.

How to make an Easter accordion decoration

Here is an easy and inexpensive way to make a festive Easter decoration. All you need are:

• 2 sheets of 12x12 cardstock, 
• a stapler, 
• an Easter shape (measuring 7 inches or so), 
• double sided tape, 
• a hole punch,
• and string for hanging.

 
Step 1: Take a piece of card stock and fold it over one inch. Repeat your fold backwards and forward until you have folded the entire piece of paper. Fold your accordion paper in half so that it looks like a fan. Repeat on the second piece of cardstock.
 

 

 

 
Step 2:  Carefully staple each fan closed. I used on staple near the center of the fold and one close to the top. Then spread your fan open and staple the two fans together so that they create a circle.

 
Step 3: Using doubled sided tape, attach your shape to the front of your accordion circle. Punch a hole in the top of your circle Attach your string to the top of the circle. Voila!

 

These decorations can be made to match any theme, for any occasion (birthday parties, baby showers, etc.) You can hang them from the ceiling, or attach to a wall or door. Enjoy!

A cardboard cowboy

My little cowboy. I couldn't find my brown cardstock
so he's sort of cardboard toned. :-)

Last week my friend and I were playing with the Cricut machine. We had so much fun making paper dolls. I am supposed to laminate them for a dress up velcro book, but I probably won't get around to that. It was super fun though. Becky finished one book and started another. Though I hadn't technically finished anything, I contributed to the finishing of two projects. Success!

My hero! Don't you love his hairdo? :-)