Sending Big Hugs {Technique Tuesday and winners!!!}

Thanks to some technical difficulties, I've been away from my blog this week. First, the letter T stopped working on my keyboard. And then within a day or so, the whole keyboard went KAPUT. Technology - can't live with it, can't live without it, right!?

At any rate, after a slight delay, I have the winners for the Purex coupons from last week. Congratulations to Zehra, and Pat K. I've gotten in touch with Zehra, but Pat K, if you are reading this, email me at TomatoL at aol dot com, with your mailing address!!!!! If I don't hear from Pat this week, I'll draw a new winner!!

Can't leave you without a card today, so here's an oldie but a goodie that I made a year or two ago. I used WRMK Washi Adhesive Sheets to create the patterns. It's such fun to play with. You can die-cut it, stamp on it, tear it - lot's of possibilities. The stamps are from Technique Tuesday.  I had fun putting together these words to create a long sentiment.

Okay friends, that's all I've got for today. But I'll be back tomorrow. . . .there's lots of crafty fun stuff coming up!

Go-to Gal Designer Challenge {Technique Tuesday}

It's time for a Go-to Gals' Designer Challenge! This is the monthly challenge that us Go-to Gals choose a crafty company to show off and share about! Today we are thrilled to share Technique Tuesday with you! 

The thing I love most about Technique Tuesday stamps is the way they all work together. It is so much fun to combine words and phrases to make creative sentiments, sometimes even from different stamp sets. It stretches the usage of your stamp collection in a big way.  On this card, I used words all from one set, called Say It-Hugs, but for added interest, I used a few different colors to highlight different parts. The patterned strips and the patterned heart were created with my oh-so-favorite washi adhesive sheets from We R Memory Keepers! To create that heart, I just stamped right onto the washi sheet, using StazOn ink, and cut it out (before I peeled it off the sticker backing.) 

Hop around to the Go-to Gals and see what they've whipped up using Technique Tuesday and then be sure to see Heather over on the Paper Crafts &Scrapbooking blog. She's showcasing my favorite technique. . .paper-piecing! 

As an added bonus, one sweet commenter on my blog will receive a fun little Technique Tuesday surprise prize! (Surprise prize - I love that, don't you!?) I'll choose a winner on Saturday morning, March 1st. 

• Betsy Veldman

• Heather Campbell

• Kim Kesti

• Kimberly Crawford

• Teri Anderson

Thanks so much for coming by today!!! xoxo

Smile! {We R Memory Keepers and Avery Elle}

Happy weekend my friends! Are you getting crafty? I have a crafty to-do list a mile long, but most of it is fun, so I'll plug on through!

Today I'd like to share a pretty quick card with you today. I created it for the last Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking call, but it wasn't quite right for the issue - that means I can share it with YOU! I loved using tons of We R Memory Keepers washi tape on this one. I alternated strips of pink and yellow and adhered them at an angle for a little extra interest.

Here's a quick tip - if you'd like to attach twine or ribbon at an angle, use a hole punch. Punch a HALF circle right on both edges of your cardstock, and it will give a nice little spot for your fibers to stay put. Then tie it as desired. If you look closely at this card you'll see the little half-circles.

I used one of my very favorite colors of cardstock on this card. I'm sort of obsessed with it right now - can you believe it? It isn't aqua!? (Although it looks AWESOME with aqua!) It's from WorldWin and it's called Cyclamen Cascata. The color is so bold and fabulous.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend (especially if you have a long weekend! Hooray for Presidents Day!) Thanks so much for stopping by! xoxo

PS OMG, I just saw that We R Memory Keepers has metallic washi tape now! eek! stop by and check it out - plus all the gorgeous other colors it comes in! I'm lacking the aqua washi in my collection. That should go on my list too! ;)

Go-to Gal Designer Challenge {We R Memory Keepers}

There's so much to be excited about today! It's the day before Thanksgiving! It's the last Wednesday of the month! It's Go-to Gal Designer Challenge Day! Wooohooooo!

Let's get right to it, shall we?!

The Paper Crafts Go-to Gals have ourselves a little crafty fun together on the last Wednesday of each month. This month we're using goodies from We R Memory Keepers! This gave me an awesome excuse to play with one of my very favorite supplies. . . .washi adhesive sheets. Washi Adhesive Sheets come in 12x12 sheets, or in a 6x6 pad. (I'm using the 6x6 on today's project.)

Today's card is FULL of washi. I trimmed a large block and adhered it right to my card base. I created a tag for the center of my card, and I affixed a piece of "regular old washi tape" (also from WRMK) as well as a narrow strip of washi adhesive sheet. Washi tape in any width? Yes please!

In addition to cutting or tearing these adhesive sheets, you can also die cut them. I used a "hello" die from Technique Tuesday, and then along the top of my tag, I used a tag-shaped die from Avery Elle. I wrapped it over the top of my cardstock to create a fun little detail, and then I finished it off with a cute little bow, using my most favorite burlap string from May Arts.

Last April,  I had the extreme pleasure of touring We R Memory Keepers, along with the Go-to Gals, and editors/staff at Paper Crafts magazine. It was so much fun to catch a behind-the-scenes glimpse, plus they even served us way-too-delicious cookies, and let us play with their crafty toys!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Be sure to visit the other Go-to Gals and see what crafty delights they dished up using We R Memory Keepers products! 

• Betsy Veldman

• Heather Campbell

• Kim Kesti

• Teri Anderson

November's new stamps - tv2stamp {The Stamps of Life}

It's another new month, and another cute new stamp set from The Stamps of Life! 

I'm pleased to introduce you to tv2stamp. 

I had fun pairing these stamps with some other TSOL sets, like phone4you. the sentiments work really well together!!!

I might have done some diecutting on these cards. . . so you might want to stay tuned for dies to come!!!

On this next card, I diecut the bursts from We R Memory Keepers adhesive wash sheets. I've mentioned these, a time or two. .  .they are SO fun, and as you can see, they diecut beautifully! 

Thanks so much for coming by, today! Be sure to stop by the TSOL gallery for lots more samples, and lots of great stamp sets for sale in the TSOL shop! 

xoxo

I Think You Are. . . . {CTMH}

Hello, hello! I hope you had a fabulous weekend! Today I'd like to share a card I whipped up using journaling cards, and a sticker from the Close To My Heart My Crush "Besties" assortment. CTMH's My Crush Books are version of a "smash book", but the bits and pieces created for the books can be terrific for cards too! On this card, I added some twine, a paperclip, plus some washi tape along the bottom to finish off the look. (The yellow is from We R Memory Keepers, and the gray is from CTMH.)
The background journaling card, (kraft with the stripes along the top) actually had text on it, which was better suited for a scrapbook, so I simply covered it up. Make products do what you want them to do! It's okay to cover something up with a sticker, or layer something over it!! It can create all sorts of new possibilities for your products. . .make them work for you, the way you want them to! Thanks so much for stopping by today. . .can you believe TOMORROW is OCTOBER!!!!??? I LOVE LOVE LOVE October. Seriously - LOVE. Autumn, and the anticipation of all the good fall food, and activities is my FAVORITE!!!! Plus, tomorrow I have a GREAT new release to share with you from The Stamps of Life! So stop back here tomorrow! :)xoxo

Fabulous Friend {We R Memory Keepers and Technique Tuesday}

Have I told you lately how fun the We R Memory Keepers washi adhesive sheets are?

{I sorta love them.}

They come in 12x12 sheets, plus a 6x6 pad. (I used the 6x6 pad for this card)

You can trim (or tear) them any size you'd like, and it's a lot of fun to play with! I've even covered entire cards with a panel of it. 

On this card I adhered strips of the washi, purposely overlapping.  I love the little overlapping layers! I stamped the sentiment (from Technique Tuesday) using chalk inks from Tsukeniko . 

It's just a quick, unplanned card that evolved as I created. 

Perfect for today, because I just had a quick moment to pop in and say HELLO!

I hope your weekend is filled with fabulous things!

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

Hopping with Tombow! {Mini Color Book}

Hello! I'm so excited for today. . . .I'm blog hopping with the designers from Tombow! 

Tombow makes all kinds of great adhesives and supplies for papercrafters.  Today I am sharing a project that was inspired by one of Tombow's products - their Fastener Tabs.  

Tombow Fastener Tabs  are like velcro, but they're paper thin, and perfect for papercrafting! I used the tabs to create an interactive book for THIS cute little guy. . . .

You may have seen this project last week on the Paper Crafts Connection. (If you missed it, you can click over and check out more pictures there!) Today I'm going to share a few tips and tricks about creating your own board book. 

Here's the premise of the book - each page focuses on a color.  Each image on the page is attached with Fastener Tabs.  That way, I can pull all the images from the book, and my son can match them on the pages where they belong. I had a great time going through my stash of stamps to find images to match each color.  I stamped and colored each one, trimmed it, and adhered the Fastener Tabs.  In the next two images you can see both sides of the red pepper. If you look carefully, you'll see one side of the tab attached to the book, and in the second picture, you can see the coordinating tab on the pepper.

Let me talk for a minute about the actual BOOK.  I created this book with 6x6 sheets of chipboard.  You can trim pieces from a box or packaging - or you can buy a premade chipboard book.  I covered the 6x6 sheets with patterned paper, on the front and back of each. After covering each piece with patterned paper, I adhered them together using We R Memory Keepers Washi Adhesive Sheets.  (Think washi tape, on a sheet.) This stuff is great - you can cut it to whatever size you want (in this case, I trimmed 2x6 inch strips) I adhered each chipboard piece to the next, and then used one strip to cover the outside covers of the book.

{Note: Words or images that you want stamped directly onto pages should be done BEFORE attaching the book together - otherwise you might have a not-quite-flat surface to stamp on.}

A few other tips and tricks that I learned along the way:

*Use extra heavy cardstock or adhere two sheets of cardstock together, for extra strength and sturdiness of your images.  You could also laminate them before adhering the tabs, to make them more durable for little hands.

*Even if you don't have children at home, think about gifts for family members, or even a friend who might be a teacher or childcare worker. 

*Choosing images that have coordinating dies, will make less cutting work for you!

*Other board book possibilities: a number or alphabet book, or an interactive album with family pictures. The possibilities are endless!

If you're just joining in the Tombow blog hop, here's the lineup! 

Tombow Blog:
http://blog.tombowusa.com/

Debbie:
http://debbiedee.blogspot.com/

Melissa:

http://www.inkclinations.blogspot.com/

Jennie:

http://earthyscrap.blogspot.com/

Marie:

http://mariebrowning.wordpress.com/

Laura: (you are HERE!)
http://lauralooloo.blogspot.com/     

Tombow Blog:
http://blog.tombowusa.com/

The more blogs you comment on, the better your chance of winning a FABULOUS Tombow prize pack, including the Fastener Tabs that I used on today's project, plus Tombow Foam Tabs and Power Tabs. The winner will be announced Friday the 23rd at 3:30 EST.

Thanks so VERY much for stopping by today! If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments, or email me any time! Hugs!

xoxo

Supplies: stamps and dies from Lawn Fawn (including Quinn's alphabet stamps), Paper Smooches, and The Stamps of Life (including the crayons and their coordinating dies) washi adhesive sheets - We R Memory Keepers, patterned paper - Pebbles Inc

Blog hopping with Clearsnap

It's a blog-hopping kind of a day today! (Actually my whole week is blog-hopping, but more on that later!) Today the designers from The Stamps of Life and Clearsnap are hosting a blog hop to share some great inspiration with you! 

I have a little card featuring TSOL's fabulous phone4you stamp set.  I love this stamp set. I ADORE this stamp set.  The sentiments are terrific, and I love the fonts they are in!  And this telephone is oh-so-cute!!!!!!

I stamped the telephone on We R Memory Keepers Washi Adhesive Sheets, using Clearsnap's Wicked Black Archival ink. I trimmed the phone, and adhered it to cardstock. I used Stephanie Barnard's Colorbox Guava ink to stamp the sentiment onto a sticker from SRM Stickers, and adhered that to my card.  (The curly border at the bottom is also from SRM Stickers.) 

If you're just starting here, head over to the Clearsnap blog, and visit all the great blogs on today's hop.  Leave comments for a chance to win Stephanie Barnard’s line of ColorBox inkpads, Stephanie Barnard Sprays, and Stephanie’s new SCREENS!

Clearsnap Blog: http://blog.clearsnap.com/

Jeanne Streiff http://inkypaws.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/

Tami Sanders http://tamisanders.com/

Lorie Souther http://www.thinkinspot.com/

Suzanne Austin http://whatsinalousyananut.blogspot.com/

Kim Howard http://basementstamper.blogspot.com/

Judy Rozema http://jarfullofjoy.blogspot.com/

Becki Adams http://beckiadams.com/

Beverly Sizemore http://bevscreativepath.blogspot.com/

Emily Niehaus http://emmielouwho.blogspot.com/

Jennifer Priest http://hydrangeahippo.com/blog

Laura Williams http://www.lauralooloo.blogspot.com/ <
Steph Ackerman http://stephaniescraps.blogspot.com/

Anna Wight http://sweetmissdaisy.typepad.com/

Kelli Hull http://stampingwithadream.blogspot.com/

Adrienne Ford http://bry-and-i.blogspot.com/

Tiffany Johnson http://iheartartblog.com/

Lydia Fiedler http://www.understandblue.blogspot.com/

Meihsia Liu http://meihsia.blogspot.com/

Debbie Cole http://debbiecole.com/blog/

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

And join me tomorrow. . . for I'll be participating in ANOTHER fun blog hop, all week long! :)

xoxo

{my utah adventures} part 2

Utah is like the mecca of scrapbooking and paper crafting companies.  Seriously, I would like to spend two weeks there, and just go from manufacturer to manufacturer, and visit them all.  It was a definite highlight of the trip, to visit three amazing companies.  Our first visit was at We R Memory Keepers.  We toured their facility, and had a little lesson on some of their latest tools and products.  Then we got to eat delicious cookies, and do a make-n-take.  They even sent us home with goodies!!!  (Have you seen their new 6x6 washi adhesive sheets? Quite cool!)  WRMK has a new logo, which I am loving.  (The group shot shows the old logo, and the tag and box show the new circular shaped logo.)

Our second visit was to Stampin' Up.  Holy guacamole. . .talk about an amazing building, and amamazing setting.  

{the view from the front of Stampin' Up!}

I LOVE this wall decor.  This is a stamped image that was enlarged, and cut out of fabric, attached to canvases. Can you IMAGINE how much work that was!?

I had to take this pic for my mom. . .she's a Close To My Heart consultant, so she's pretty much competition with SU.  ;) giggle giggle!

At Stampin' Up, we toured their GIGANTIC warehouse and facilities, and got to play with some BRAND NEW product that hasn't yet been released!

Our last visit, on our last morning in Utah, was to American Crafts. WOW. 

I had NO idea that American Crafts produced some of the products they do! We got to see how they make pens and markers. . . I LOVE learning how things are made, and this was totally fascinating to me. 

 {Boxes and boxes of beautiful pens!}

{Learning about how pens are made}

And while we were in town, we also got a tour of THE Paper Crafts offices. (Also the home of Creating Keepsakes, plus the events team that puts on scrappy, crafty fun all over the country!)

{This is the cute eat-play-work room.}

 I probably have a few more pictures, . . .but I'll share it another day.  Thanks again to all the GTG's and editors who shared pictures with me! We all had our phones Instagramming away the whole week!

xoxo