Kinda Loving It.......

I have to say that I am really liking this Project Life style of scrapbooking. I got 7 pages done in about an hour on Saturday. This amount of pages would have taken me days in the past! Which is why I never get anything done. I don't have a lot of time these days to devote to scrapping.
I will still do some traditional pages for important and special events, or things that mean a lot to me. I'm not saying that family vacations don't mean a lot, they do, but we pretty much do the same stuff every year. And, I kinda like the focus on the photos aspect of this style of scrapping as well.
Anyway, I got all caught up on the 2012 hunting trip yesterday. Now I can try to get caught up on previous years. Maybe I can get my hunting book all caught up before we go again this year lol.

 

Most of what I used here is the  Echo Park collection called Photo Freedom Volume II. But some of it came from the 24/7 kit from Simple Stories. And a couple of random patterned papers from my stash that I really don't know where they came from

Manly Monday Cowboy Card

Today's Manly Monday card was actually made by me a few years ago. I really loved this stamp set, and I think it makes great cards for men and for boys. It is retired now, but I still have mine. It is one of those I think I will keep forever.
I had made this card to give to my father-in-law for his birthday once, but I ended up using a different one. I just found it again in my card stash, so maybe he'll end up getting it after all :)

 I always like to decorate the inside of my cards a little bit too. 

Hope you liked it! And, if you made it to the end of this post, please leave a comment!

Stamps: Wanted and Boho Friend (Wheel)--Stampin Up!
Paper: Rust, Kraft, Chocolate Brown, and White Cardstock From My Stash (not sure of manufacturer)
Ink: Chocolate Chip-Stampin Up!
Accessories: Imaginisce I-Rock Tool and Hot Rocks Jewels (Look Like Copper Brads)

Some Graduation Cards

Yup, it's that time of year again! Graduation usually happens in May (at least 'round these parts), so I thought my next card swap was a great opportunity to try out this card top I've been wanting to make with my Silhouette Cameo machine.
I imported the star punch from the Stampin Up My Digital Studio software into my Silhouette software. Then I traced it and made into a cuttable Studio file. Then I just made a rectangle shape in the dimensions I needed for my card top and added some stars to it. Pretty easy, and I love the result!
Too bad I don't really know anyone who is graduating this year. But, I didn't put a year on them on purpose so that I could save one for later, and the ladies in my swap group can save them as well.
I asked the ladies what colors they would need for graduations coming up so that I could make less boring cards lol. Black and silver turned out great, but I really like the colored ones a lot.
And, as always, this idea is not my own lol. I got the idea from a card I found on Pinterest here. I just used a different method to make them :)

The yellow looking paper on this one is actually a soft shimmery gold.

 This one is my favorite. Probably because it is my favorite color, my high school colors, and my son's high school colors (not the same school).

 The black and silver just in case I missed anyone's color request.

 I like this one too, but it is the colors of a rival to my high school, so it isn't my favorite lol.

 And, finally, this last one is my hubby's high school colors.

If you have managed to make it to the end of this post, I would sure appreciate a comment :)

Stamps: Blue Ribbon-Stampin Up!
Paper: Cardstock is all from my stash (in other words, I really have no idea who the manufacturer is.)
Ink: Basic Black-Stampin Up!
Accessories: Silhouette Cameo machine, Star Punch SVG files from Stampin Up! My Digital Studio software, 1-1/4" Circle Punch-Stampin Up!, Designer Label Punch-Stampin Up! (retired), Large Oval Punch-Stampin Up!

Manly Monday

I didn't really have time to make a new manly card this weekend with the holiday and all. We went to Fountain Green and spent Saturday with my family for Easter. It was beautiful weather, and we had such an amazing time. I really love our blended family :)
Then yesterday we spent time with our neighbors out in the beautiful sunshine and had a fun little barbecue salmon dinner. Surprisingly, even though I hate fish, it was very good.
But, I do have a manly card to share that I made a long time ago. I copied this card from someone on Splitcoast Stampers. I usually save that information to give credit, but I seem to have lost it. So, I apologize, but I am not trying to take credit. This is 100% not my idea (most things aren't lol).

I used an old retired stamp from Stampin UP called Noble Deer. I love this stamp set. This is one that I will never ever give up. It is so versatile and can be used for so many things. And I have a lot of sportsmen in my life, so it has paid for itself already!
This card was super easy and quick. I made like 10 of these for a Father's Day card swap in about 20 minutes time. Don't you love when things work out like that?
Anyway, here are some pics from our Easter holiday. I hope yours was full of fun, family, and love just like mine!

My sister Lacy and her family

 My sister Kim and brother Andy. Kim loves this picture, ha ha!

 My siblings and me (I am in yellow)

 My two brother-in-laws, Dustin in black and Jason in green, and two of my step sisters (Leena and Kaitlyn. Leena (in blue) is engaged to Dustin, but Kaity and Jason are just playing partners. Jason is Kim's hubby.)

 Dad and brother-in-law

 Mmmmm........olives :)

 Watching horseshoes (me and my sis with her daughter and my son)

 Sister Kim with our niece, Jordyn

 Nephew-Ryan, brother-Andy, and niece-Jordyn

My Son, Garrett

 My hubby, Shane, and our nephew, Ryan

 

My pops and his wife, Diane

Trying Out This Project Life Thing...

So, once upon a time (when I was a buyer at Robert's Crafts--that'd be nearly 4 years ago), I was introduced to this thing called Project Life. It is a scrapbooking system developed by Becky Higgins that utilizes pocket pages (pretty much like photo album pages) and printed card inserts to go along with them. You just slide in the cards and your photos, maybe embellish (or maybe not), slap on a bit of journaling, and your done. It can be a simple and fast way to keep your everyday memories but still feel like you are making pretty pages at the same time.

Now, the reason I said 'can be' is because I seem to make everything more complicated than it really is lol. Someday I may get the hang of the fast and easy part. But these pages took me forever! I am really happy with them though. I really love this style and will continue to use it. It takes the 'where to place my picures' dilemma out of things. That is a huge hurdle for me.

 The date on this one is wrong! Lol. I just realized that.

A lot of people do Project Life on a daily or weekly basis. And there are even kits and groups you can join to help with that. I don't think I could ever keep up with it that much. Although, I may try to do monthly pages. Maybe. But I really like the simplicity and style of it and will use it to fill in with some of my more traditional pages done for special occasions and events.

This seems to work especially well for me on things like camping pages. I don't feel the need to do traditional pages for camping anymore, because we go on the same trip to the same place every year. I still want to document things. But I don't think I need a beautiful, award winning layout to do that lol. These pocket style layouts are pretty, simple, and (can be) quick.

Most of what I used here is the 24/7 kit from Simple Stories. But some of it came from an Echo Park collection called Photo Freedom Volume II.

Vinyl Butterfly Car Window Sticker

I have been wanting to try cutting a vinyl window decal with my Cameo machine for a while. I was just intimidated by it. I have had a Cricut machine before too, and I never cut vinyl with it either lol.

Well, the store bought butterfly I have had in the back window of my car forever finally died lol. I think I scraped most of it off with my snow scraper in winter.  So, no time like the present....

So silly! Nothing to be intimidated by at all. It was super easy! I just looked up some tutorials on YouTube, got the general idea, and went for it. I did mess up a couple of cuts, but eventually I got it.

I think this is a little huge, but I still like it. I'll keep it for a bit and see if it doesn't grow on me. If not, I'll have to make a smaller one.

Whatdya think? I had taken a few pics of my vinyl cuts and the process of putting it on my window, but I accidentally deleted them from my phone---ooops! I actually had to download this pic from a Facebook post I made about it :)

Manly Monday

I thought I might start a new thing on my blog to get some inspiration going for masculine cards. I know I have a hard time making cards for boys or men, and I have heard the same from many of my friends. We'll call it 'Manly Monday', unless I can come up with some better super brilliant name at a later time :)
Today I am sharing a really fun masculine card using the Stampin Up! Thinlets flip card dies. I am loving these things. They are so fun to open! My husband is really tired of watching it LOL. Every time I make one, I make him look at it flip back and forth. I'm sure he is not as entertained as I am ;)  And, if you own a Silhouette or other cut machine that can cut SVG files, there are loads of cut files for these things on the internet. I bought a couple of them from Lori Whitlock, and there are a bunch in the Silhouette store too. Super fun!
Anyway, here is my card. I hope it helps inspire you to create a manly man card today!

Stamps: Ciao Baby (Happy Day)-Stampin Up!, Lovely as a Tree-Stampin Up!, Retired Sentiment Stamp Set (don't know the name)-Stampin Up!
Paper: Sweater Weather Designer Series Paper-Stampin Up!, Brown and White Cardstock From My Stash (not sure of manufacturer)
Ink: Chocolate Chip-Stampin Up!
Accessories: Thinlets Card Dies and 2-1/2" Circle Punch-Stampin Up!

Pleasant Valley Sunday

Happy Sunday y'all! How do you like my post title? Ha ha. I named this post after a song by The Monkees. I live in Utah County, UT. Everyone around her jokes and calls it 'Happy Valley' due to the high concentration of Mormon values and families in the area.  I won't give you a  history lesson on the reasons for that, because I am not Mormon, but I do like living here in Happy Valley.

I don't know about you, but I am usually lazy on Sundays ha ha. It is, after all, the day made for rest.  I think some people in this world would do well to understand that even God set one day aside for rest. Not that being busy isn't good, but taking some time to relax, reflect, and be thankful is always a good idea too

Anyhow, I thought maybe a nice sunshine card would be just the thing for today, since it is SUNday. And the weather continues to be gorgeous here in my neck of the woods.

I actually made this one a couple of weeks ago. But I really love it. This is my first sunburst card, and it really wasn't as hard as I had imagined. I think this could become addicting! It is easy and quick and packs a punch of fun pattern and color.

Well, hope you all have a good Sunday and get some good relaxation in for the coming week. I know I will ;)

Stamps: See Ya Later Alligator by Stampin Up!
Paper: Park Bench Collection 6X6 pad by Fancy Pants, Pool Party Cardstock from Stampin Up!, and black and white cardstock from my stash (in other words, I don't know the manufacturer lol).
Ink: Staz On Jet Black by Tsukineko
Accessories: Banner and Cupcake Punches from Stampin Up!

Spring Has Sprung!

So, this week I finally think that Spring has sprung and is here to stay! Now that I have put that down in hard copy, it is going to snow lol. Happens every time!

With all this warm weather and pretty scenery blooming everywhere, I've gotten the urge to create some fun Spring inspired home decor. My sister, Kim, and I took a burlap wreath making class with Stephanie Mason at the April James Interiors store on Main Street in Spanish Fork this last Thursday. We had loads of fun, and these wreaths are not difficult to make at all!

Here is the one I made. I am admitting right now that I copied the patterned burlap in turquoise chevron and white polka dot from another girl at the class. I loved hers so much that I had to do it that way lol. Hope she doesn't mind!  I super love the pops of orange in the flowers that I found at Hobby Lobby too.

 And, just for fun, here is a pic of my cat in the top of our trees. I have never been a cat person, but this one has got a personality lol.

 

Ok. That's all for today. But I'm hoping I can keep up with my creative mojo and have more to post soon.. TTYL!