Eye Candy - Tutorial

I love all the new shiny bits and baubles that many of the scrapbooking companies have come out with lately and I new as soon as I saw them that I had to try to make my own.  I tried label paper with glossy accents, inking them, chalking them, pearling them, alcohol inking them, hot glue dots (which I had a hard time making a actual bauble), and more.  Each time the product wasn't quite what I was looking for.  Just using glossy accents left flimsy pieces that seemed to bend and stick to itself too much.  So this time I tried something a bit different.

First, I used Aleene's Tack it Over & Over glue (you remember - the stuff I use to make my own pop dots?)  and placed small dots on the backside of a vinyl sheet that was used up.

I gave it a moment to dry.  Meanwhile, I punched lots and lots of circles with a regular circle hole punch.  I love this because I used up so many little scraps!  Then I stuck each dot on the glue and covered a bit with glossy accents.  Don't be shy here.  It will shrink a little when it is done and you want a bauble not a shiny dot!  Although you can go over with a second coating of glossy accents.  Let dry and VOILA!  The dots come off easy due to the tack-it and stick to any project.  Best yet, I can make them in any color, number, etc.  Here is a picture of the dots that I made.  Looks like that dot candy from when you were a kid right??

Arrows and Chevron Silohuette Freebies!

Who doesn't love arrows and chevrons and of course FREEBIES!  I just linked a ton of freebies that I have collected at CUC!  Check out the link!

Here are a few teasers!

So check it out!  Right now!  Sorry couldn't resist!  Become a member and also check out other collections!  Next time?  Thought bubbles!!

CUC and some AMAZING sketches from Liz Chedester!

If you haven't had a chance to check out this month's challenges at CUC, then you are truly missing out!  Liz Chedester shared a month's work of sketches with us (one for each Blue Plate Special Day) and we have created some amazing inspiration for you!  You must check these out!  Here is a link to the first week of sketches on the CUC Blog.  I created the first layout for this month so here is a tidbit of what you will find:
The first sketch from Liz:

And here is the layout that I created of my daughter and friends performing at the spaghetti dinner challenging followers to use a watercolor marker and spritzer technique:

I hope we can fill your inspiration board this week!  Come join us for family and fun too and even get some scrappin done!  Don't forget to stop by our amazing gallery for some inspiration and leave a little love too!

Show and Tell Saturday - CUC Turns Four

Hello everyone!  I wanted to share with you an AWESOME SITE!  I know that I have posted about this site before but this month is particularly special.  Cookin' Up Creations is turning FOUR!!!

All month long we are planning and sharing amazing challenges, games, inspiration, way cool prizes, and much more - friendship!  I have been a member of this site for a few years now and love the relationships formed here.  Come join us for sketch challenges, birthday celebration challenges, unique gift ideas, birthday games like Pin the Tail on the Donkey, and more.  We would love to have you!  Don't forget to browse the gallery!

Show and Tell Saturday (kinda) - My favorite Cut Files

Okay, so I know that it is Sunday - sorry graduation parties are keeping me busy - but I wanted to share a few of my favorite Silohuette Files.  I received a Silohuette for Christmas and have been hoarding files ever since.  I'm kind of a hoarder - Ahem . . . here they are!

1.  I love this cut file from Ashley at the Paper Bakery.  This file would be awesome between picts of my two kids!!! 

2.  I love these gears for boy themed layouts from KLDezign:

3.  Perfect for Project Life or any layout - Also from KLDezign:

4.  I love this star and circle border from Chic Tags:

5.  Also from Chic Tags:

6.  And even though you have to pay for these from Two Peas:

Just thought that I'd share!  ;)  Enjoy!

Summer Scrappy Goals - Show and Tell Saturday

One of the things that I love about teaching is the summer.  No, I don't get the summer off with classes, planning, redoing curriculum, learning new techniques, etc, but I do get some time to work on projects that I can't get done in the regular school year.  Most of the time my evenings are spent cooking, cleaning, grading papers, making seating arrangements, or falling asleep on the couch!  So I thought that I would share a few scrappy/altered ideas that I want to do this summer!

1.  I love anything that displays photos so when I saw this wreath from Try It Do It, I knew I must try it.  I have tons of old photos that have been passed along to me and my plan is to make copies and display.  My family would love to see my Great Grandmother, her great grandparents, etc!

2.  I want to make this perpetual journal from Meredith Winston for next year - and maybe even do one to finish this year.  I then can record awesome memories all year long - and as my kids have my sense of humor, it is always interesting to hear the stuff that comes out of their mouth!

3.  I must decorate my hallway going up the stairs like they did here.  I painted last year and hope to decorate this year.  I love the extra embellishments here and would love to add some vinyl quotes as well!

4.  And who could resist this display by weddingbycolor.com?  These would be so cute on the mantel up the stairs!

5.  And finally, I am absolutely in LOVE <3 a="" album="" camera="" from="" href="http://bobunny.blogspot.com" mini="" shaped="" target="_blank" this="" with="">Bo Bunny

 

So those are my summer goals for this year.  I would add more but this is also my home improvement time and I have tons to do!  Hope you can take some inspiration from this post and use it in your home!  I will post my progress as the summer begins - OFFICIALLY JUNE 10th at 2:30 pm but who's counting????  :)

Re-using Sketches????

There are so many amazing sketches out there to inspire and challenge us on a daily basis but I began thinking . . . (yep dangerous) . . . and sometimes I come across a sketch that I want to use more than once.  My worry is that my pages may start to look the same so I try to mix it up a bit and use older picts on one and newer on the re-used sketch layout so they won't be so close together in my albums.

That definitely works but this time around I wanted to use the same sketch in the same album (livin' on the edge!)  So I thought that I might try to angle the sketch so it won't be so obvious!

I re-used this sketch from Sketches with a Twist - and changed up the angle and embellishments.

 Here is the first layout:

and the second angled layout!

So that's it!  Re-using favorite sketches with a slight twist!  Try it out!