Christmas cards

I spent much of my day today signing cards, addressing envelopes, adhering stamps and address labels, and licking glue (yuk.)  Most of them will be in the mail tomorrow.  It is always nice to check Christmas cards off of my to-do list!

I made quite a few handmade cards this year, which I normally don't do.  I made about 25 or so.  I saw a similar card on pinterest and thought that it would be a fun project for me to work on over Thanksgiving weekend when we were relaxing at our condo in Vermont.  They took a bit longer than I thought they would, but they are pretty adorable and used up lots of patterned paper scraps (Christmas and non-Christmas!)

Today I (we, actually) also got our annual Ledvina family recipe ready to send.  Several years ago, my husband's aunts decided that we needed to start a family cookbook.  We (grandma, each set of aunts and uncles, and each cousin) were each given a binder the first year, with the instructions that everyone was to send a favorite recipe of the year to each other family member to include in their binder.  I think this began in 2002, so we now have ten years of favorite family recipes.  This year, Craig and I included this recipe for "Best-Ever Barbecued Ribs."  We've made it several times this past summer and it was a hit every time.

Does your family have any fun family traditions involving food?

I'll be heading to Wisconsin this Thursday to spend Christmas with my family, so have a wonderful holiday season everyone!

November 2012 Studio Calico - Sock Hop (with LOTS of stuff from other kits thrown in!)

I really felt the need for the subtitle "with lots of stuff from other kits thrown in!" for this month's post about what I did with this month's Studio Calico kit before the next kit was delivered to my door.  This month, most of my layouts started with the Sock Hop kit, but then veered quite a bit away from the kit from there.

For example, for this layout, I wanted to use the pretty pink patterned paper to create a layout with this picture from when I was a baby.

There just wasn't enough in the kit to work with that was pink, so I went back to February's kit and used some of the leftovers from that kit.

I totally scraplifted this next layout from here.  I almost never scraplift, but Rebnmnmy's layout was perfect for these waterfall pictures that I wanted to scrap about.  

I started with the July Studio Calico kit and then just added some embellishments from Sock Hop.

This layout is the only one this month that mostly used the kit.

I can't believe that I actually used that feather vellum paper!  I'm not a big fan of the feather craze at all, but I think it really worked on this page!

This layout was totally inspired by the brad from October Afternoon of the guy with the mustache.  I remembered that I had these photos of Craig taking some pictures of himself while we were standing in line at Cal Pep in Barcelona.  He hadn't shaved in a few days and when he finally did, he left a little mustache.  The photos are blurry, but so fun

I knew I wanted to use greens, aquas, orange and black on the layout (if you could see more of our clothes in the picture, those are the colors.)  I looked through some old kits and Joyland from March of 2010 had some perfect colors.  I also ended up using letter stickers from my first kit ever (January 2010), and some patterned paper from February 2010.

I love using up old supplies.  Maybe one of these days I will actually kill a kit?

Have a great week everyone!

Doors

I seem to take a lot of photos of my husband in front of cool looking doors when we are traveling.  I don't know  when I started, but when I look back through vacation photos, there are always photos of him in front of doors.

 Craig in front of an old barn door at his grandparent's farm when we were on vacation in Wisconsin.

Craig in front of a door in Florence, Italy.  He doesn't always cooperate when I'm taking photos.

In front of a door in Barcelona, Spain (yes, that's a cigar in his mouth - yuck!)

I decided to create a layout with this door vacation photo after looking through my November Studio Calico kit and seeing the woodgrain paper.  There were enough dark colors in the kit to make a masculine layout.  I added the sticker letters from a different kit because they were the perfect color.

The stars were cut out with my Silhouette Cameo with a design from the "Cut it Out" class from Studio Calico.  I used a few wood veneer stars now that I safely have a package on its way to me from Two Peas.  I didn't know how much I would love them!

Have a good week everyone!

Happy Birthday (to me!)

I have a birthday coming up this Saturday, so I thought I'd share a few birthday cards that I have made recently.

I found this adorable piece of paper at my LSS from the KaiserCraft collection, "Save the Date."

I've made three cards with it so far and have a few scraps left to make a few more.  I cut a couple of balloons out on this one and adhered them with foam dots.  The "HAPPY" stamp is from a Studio Calico kit (April 2012) and I use it all the time for cards.

The next two cards used a sketch by Paper Crafts Magazine.

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

October 2012 Studio Calico - Roller Rink

My November 2012 Studio Calico kit arrived on my front porch Thursday night, so it is time for another blog post featuring all of the projects that I completed with the previous month's kit.

In October I got the main kit and two add-ons (kind of by mistake - I had a code for $25 that expired at the end of the month and forgot to use it when I purchased the first add-on - opps!!)  I have never bought two add-ons before and won't anytime soon - it is WAY too much for me!  I got a total of four layouts and two cards created with the kit.

This layout is my favorite of the month.

I call my little kitty by many names - and usually not by his real name!  I just thought this was a fun way to use the MME "Hello My Name Is" tag.  I cut the tag in half and used the bottom half at the top of the page under the banner.

This page I created with a photo I took of Craig's grandma Mayme on her 92nd birthday this summer.  

I thought the combination of colors and patterns had a very "antiquey" feel to them - a perfect look to scrapbook a layout about her age!

This layout I scrapbooked after Hurricane Sandy.  

My sister has pointed out that I printed "Irene" instead of Sandy - I'll have to fix that at some point!  We were lucky and didn't even lose power or anything.  We did have lots and lots of twigs and branches that we had to pick up this weekend though.

This layout is about my Grandma and Grandpa Booth's kitchen.

I usually ask for my mom's help when journaling about something from a long time ago, but this time I didn't.  I wanted to write down what I remembered without having my memories confirmed or denied.  

My last project was a card for my dad for Veteran's Day.  I was going to make a few 4th of July cards to use up some of the red/blue lined washi in the kit and I realized that the same card could be used for Veteran's Day.

This isn't the card that I sent to my dad - his was on kraft cardstock.  After I sent it, I wanted to see if it would look better on white and I think it does.

Have a great week everyone and enjoy your Veteran's Day holiday!

Crate Paper "On Trend" Collection

Way back in August, I won the Crate Color Challenge (yay!)  You can see my layout here.  As the winner of the challenge, I got to choose a Crate collection as my prize.  Since I pretty much had almost every other collection, I chose one that was just being released "On Trend."   I had to wait for a while to get my prize as it was still being manufactured at the time that I chose it.

The package finally came last week and I couldn't wait to open it - it was much heavier than I expected!  Crate was so generous!  Not only did I get the collection pack, but they also sent a sheet of chipboard stickers, 3 packs of Thickers, a sheet of mini alphas, tape stickers, vellum garlands, brads and buttons, and a 6" X 6" paper pad.  WOO HOO!!  What a haul!

I wanted to create something with all my goodies and knew that this picture of me that my husband took last weekend would be perfect.  I had gone to my salon to have an "up-do" for a wedding that we went to.  I loved the way my hair turned out and the picture turned out really good, too!

I'm taking the "Cut It Out" class from Studio Calico this month and I used the POW glitter paper and the vellum from the class.  The tissue paper came in a package that I ordered from Etsy and I used it as part of the matting to add some texture.

Have a great week everyone!

Grandma Mayme @ ninety-two

My husband and I drove home this afternoon after spending a weekend in Sturbridge, MA for Craig's cousin's wedding.  We were lucky that it was only an hour drive for us.  The rest of the family flew in from all over - California,  Texas, New Hampshire, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Switzerland.  We had a great time relaxing and spending time with our family.  

At the heart of the Ledvina family is Mayme - Craig's grandma.  She turned ninety-two this August and is looking as good as ever.  We are so lucky that she is able to fly across the country and attend special events with her family still.

Here is a photo of my husband, Mayme and I from the reception this weekend.

She's the shortest thing ever - so cute!

We were able to be with her on her 92nd birthday this August.  We had a cookout at Craig's parents cottage in Wisconsin.  I created this layout of a picture that I took of her that day.

The layout was created with the October 2012 Studio Calico kit, Roller Rink.  The kit included gold washi, which I didn't initially think I would use.  On this layout, I ended up using it as a border for the photo, the border for the layout, and then I punched flowers out of it and surrounded the photo with them.  I love when I end up using something I normally wouldn't because it came with a Studio Calico kit.

Stay safe for those of you that are in Hurricane Sandy's path!

October Crate Color Challenge

I've been playing along with the monthly Crate Color Challenges from the Crate Paper blog for the last several months.  I'm finding that it is a great way to use up my enormous supply of Crate products.  It is also a fun challenge - the color combinations are a lot of fun, but not always very easy.

This month's challenge can be found here.  The colors are Dove Grey, Peacock Blue, and Gingerbread Brown.

The colors made me think about last weekend when we spent the weekend in Vermont.  We drove to Brandon and the whole town was decorated with "Leaf People."  It was a very fun, festive look.  I had taken several pictures of them and printed out a few for my layout.

I used paper from four different Crate collections - Pretty Party, Paper Heart, Farmhouse and Portrait.  The only non-Crate items are the white cardstock and the letters "VT" were both AC supplies.  I used my Silhouette Cameo for the title and for the leaves.

The winner will be posted on the Crate blog tomorrow.  Wish me luck!

Have a great week everyone!

September 2012 Studio Calico - Central High

Today I'm sharing all of the layouts that I created with the September Studio Calico kit from the time the kit arrived at my door until the time the October kit arrived.  I only got the main kit this month, Central High.

The first layout I created, "the green muenster" was created for the "Pop off the Page" class Challenge #2.  "The Green Muenster" is the name of a grilled cheese sandwich from a food truck near my work.   It is made with muenster cheese, avocado, and bacon.  I don't know what they do to it, but it is the most fantastic sandwich ever!  I'm obsessed!  (Clearly, since I am scrapbooking it!)

The second layout that I created with the kit was based on a sketch for the Create Magazine for their Sketches Idea Book call.  Here is the sketch:

Here is my layout.  I haven't created a 8.5" X 11" layout in ages - it was kind of fun!  

I also created a card with this kit for the Cards Magazine call for St. Patrick's Day cards.  Not something I would normally do, but the green papers in the kits and the gold sequins gave me an idea.  I kind of hate those sequins, so I'm happy I used them up!

That's all I have for this month!  I wasn't feeling this kit as much as I normally do, and I'm ok with that. October's kit is very promising though!  I've already created a layout I love with it and have ideas for more floating around!

Have a great week everyone!

Halloween Card Inspiration

Halloween is my least favorite holiday.  I remember not even liking it as a kid.  I don't even pass out candy - I turn my porch light off and hide upstairs - I'm THAT neighbor.

That being said, I LOVE Halloween themed scrapbook supplies!  I love looking at it, but don't really ever buy any - well, because I have no Halloween pictures to scrapbook.  I do make a few Halloween cards though, just for fun.  (I don't send them out though - they just sit in my drawer!)  I thought I'd share them today if you are looking for Halloween card ideas.

Boo!

This card has really great textures.  The bat is adhered with foam dots, lifting him off of the page.  The word Boo! is cut out from orange-core Coordinations paper with a bit of the black sanded off to show the orange center.  The tree is inked with black and then painted with Tim Holtz crackle paint (I still love that stuff!)

I made this card last week while staring at my January 2012 Studio Calico kit.  The orange stripe patterned paper, the black cardstock and the black washi tape were all from the kit.  I added the stars, the happy stamp and the orange dot paper from other kits.  The pumpkin and the word Halloween were cut with the Silhouette Cameo.

This card I made for a Cards Magazine style challenge.  The challenge was to use pea-green, purple, black and spiderwebs (or was it spiders?) on a card.  The card didn't get picked up for publication, but I love it!  I used POW glitter paper for the pleated circle behind the spider.

Have you made any Halloween cards this year?

Have a great week everyone!

Instagram Newbie

I finally got an IPhone a few weeks ago and the first thing I did was download Instagram.  I had a feeling that it would change the way I scrapbook, and judging by the last three layouts I created, it sure has!  All three of the layouts were created with Instagram photos.  Two of the layout have pictures of events that I normally wouldn't have pictures of because I wouldn't have a camera with me.  

This is the first Instagram photo I took.  I was in my scrap room when I downloaded Instagram and as soon as it was ready I took a photo of the first thing that caught my eye - it was a scrapbook page I had just finished.  The color palette is from the September Crate Color Challenge.

The next layout has pictures of the food truck that I often go to on Fridays and the grilled cheese from that food truck that I am in love with.  Mmmmmm!!!!  

I used the September Studio Calico kit, Central High, for this layout. 

The last layout I created was pictures from last weekend, the last weekend of the summer.  My hubby and I went to Harold Parker National Forrest for some mountain biking.  I never would have had a camera in the woods with us, so I am so happy I can now take pictures like this with my phone!  

How about you?  Has Instagram changed your scrappy world?

Have a great week everyone!

August 2012 Studio Calico - Summer of 69

It is time again for my monthly re-cap of what I created with my Studio Calico kit in the month before my new kit arrived on my front porch.  

My first layout is a layout celebrating my first scrappy paycheck!  I got my first paycheck from Creating Keepsakes a bit ago and I thought it would be fun to create a layout with it!  (Account information blurred out.)

My next three layouts are all layouts that I created for the Pop Off the Page class over at Studio Calico. The first, "Olivia" was created for weekly challenge #1 - to layer in a confined space.  It was fun to limit the area I was working in!

The next layout is the layout that I created with strips of paper as the background.  I distressed the edges of the papers a bit and stitched them down.   I thought the colors were perfect for the topic of the page!

My last layout from the kit for August was created for the September Crate Color Challenge.  (Actually most of the product on the page wasn't from the SC kit, but three of the items were, so in my mind it counts.)  The color combination for the month is:

Here is the layout I created:

I just got an Iphone two weeks ago and downloaded Instagram as fast as I could.  This is the first photo I took with Instagram.  It is a photo of my layout from above!  

How much did you get done with the August kit?

Have a good week everyone!

  

Pop off the Page Challenge #1

Studio Calico now offers a different class available for purchase each month.  The class for September was "Pop off the Page" by Jen Jockish, with a number of other contributors.  I have been a fan of Jen's for many years and just love her style, so I thought this would be a fun class to take.  The class came with PDFs of the lessons,  a kit that included fun stuff like lace, tags, sequins, and badges, wood veneer stars, and exclusive use of a Pop off the Page message board.  The kit that came with the class was so fun that I started to use it even before the class started on Sept. 1st!

There is going to be a challenge every week, and this week's challenge was to "layer in a confined space."  I decided to combine the challenge with the first lesson, the kit, and the August 2012 Studio Calico kit to see what I could come up with.

I would have to say that the layout is definitely not my usual style (if I have one), but I absolutely love it!  The photo is of my niece, Olivia, that I took just a few weeks ago during my vacation in Wisconsin to visit my family.  Such a gorgeous photo of her!

I'm looking forward to more Pop Off the Page challenges this month!

Have a great week everyone!

July 2012 Studio Calico - Elmwood Park

Today I'm sharing all of the layouts that I created with the July 2012 Studio Calico kit, Elmwood Park, from the time the kit came until I received the August kit.  This post is a little late this month due to a vacation last week and really bad internet connection in the woods of Wisconsin!

I absolutely loved Elmwood Park and created seven layouts with it!  In addition to the main kit, I also got the add-on Monkey Bars.

My first layout, "I Took Shorthand," is the second in my random fact series.  The October Afternoon paper from the 9 to 5 collection couldn't have been more perfect for the layout, especially since I didn't really have a photo to go along with the topic.

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut the circle/bubble cluster out on the layout "The Look of Terror."  It was time consuming to back it with different patterned papers, but I love the way it turned out.

"Laurie's Pond" has some fun misting and I used the Silhouette to cut out some cattails to embellish the page.  The photos are some really old ones of my parents.

I did some fun layering on my layout "Kitty Love."  I loved the Basicgrey paper with the big letters on it and cut them out for my title.

This next layout "The Ledvina Farm" is pretty much a scraplift of "Kitty Love."  I received the cow stamp from a RAK from a SC gal and put it to good use right away!

I used the stamp set in add-on #4 to create a word border on my layout "Topsfield Fair."

My last layout "Quebec City" was spotted by the team at Scrapbooking Mag and will be published in an upcoming issue of their new Ipad only magazine.

I've been on vacation since the 17th and haven't had a chance to do anything with the August kit!  I'm hoping to play with it tonight!

Have a great week everyone!