FREE SHIPPING!!!

Ok, you know I love a good deal, so I HAVE to post about this week's FREE shipping! Every order! That's like a 10% discount!!! It's a great time to check out the clearance rack, the weekly deals, (under the specials tab on top) or take a big chunk out of your wishlist! Or all of the above! The Weekly Deals will change tomorrow, so you can use the free shipping now and later! Use hostess code: TTJUCDY9 and I'll send you a special thank you gift for your order!

Here is a throwback to a couple cards I made for Halloween (my son's FAVORITE holiday!) with some of that fun stuff that's now on clearance!

 Here's the inspiration photo for that last card. I apologize for not knowing the source.

Paper Pumpkin Printable - March 2015

Seriously though, I love Paper Pumpkin. Have you tried it yet? Check it out HERE if you haven't already! I loved this month's kit. I love the classic black and white and the stamp set has so many great sentiment stamps! Plus, the epoxy stickers are adorable and in one of my favorite colors! If you missed it, you can buy a refill for a limited time! (And this one will sell out fast!) CLICK HERE FOR THE REFILL.

Another love of mine is a clean, organized space. I have to admit that half my time spent in my craft room (lovingly referred to by my family as my office) is spent organizing. I'll have to do an office tour sometime. (The problem with that is that it's inevitable that in the middle of cleaning, creativity will strike, leaving my desk a beautiful mess.)

So what does my love for Paper Pumpkin and my love for organizing have in common and why is it important to you? Well, I'll tell you. I have a hard time loving my Paper Pumpkin stamps when they're piled in a cute jar or a decorative box. I prefer them stacked up neatly in a row by all my other well-loved stamp sets. Which means... they need a case! (Are you getting excited yet?) So without further ado...(insert drumroll here)... I present...an insert for your very own Paper Pumpkin clear case insert!!!

Free for you to print and share. All I ask is that you give proper credit and direct others to find it here. Thank you. Now go! Print and organize! Oh and just so you know, the correct printed size is 5 1/2 inches across the colored banner on top. You may have to print a couple testers to get it just right. Or if you don't have OCD, forget about it. ;) Please leave a comment and let me know how you like it, I'd appreciate it!

Paper Pumpkin Love

Seriously, what's not to love about Paper Pumpkin? For $19.95 (shipping included) it comes right to your door every month with everything you need for a creative fix! (Well occasionally you might need scissors.) You can make the kit as is, like I did with the January kit "Filled With Love".

Or you can change it up a little. Or a LOT. Like I did with the February Kit "Layers of Gratitude".

Completely unrecognizable. I wasn't loving the orange felt letters, but I was loving the little box to put the card in! I just thought it was calling out for a little notecard love. And who doesn't love a gold embossed monogrammed notecard set? That's what I'M sayin. So I began by cutting each accordian card into 4 separate cards. Stamped with versamark, embossed with gold, voilà. 

Then came the tricky part. I needed 4 matching envelopes. Love the Gold Soirée DSP! Again, GOLD. Completely Obsessed.

Of course I pulled out my awesome envelope punch board! (If you don't have one, GET ONE!) Of course the measurements I needed are very exact and the closest thing was either too small for the card or too big for the envelope. So, I googled and Pinterest searched and came up with nothing. And then.... I made my own. So here's my template for your Paper Pumpkin pleasure. You're welcome.

 

The Birthday is in the BAG!!!

Ok there are some things you see and know immediately that you were meant to be together. The mini treat bag thinlit was one of those love at first sight kind of relationships for me! There are so many pieces that make it so versatile and a very reasonable purchase! And the Birthday Bash DSP?? *GASP* It has little flecks of gold in the confetti and the balloons! Seriously, who's not loving the gold trend right now? LOVE IT!!!

So I saw this beautiful (and SUPER quick & easy!) card and gift bag "envelope" if you will at Leadership and knew it was the one. It's a fun card inside a mini treat bag, and it would be a great gift card holder! It was a hit at our February card class and I didn't even mind (very much) cutting my entire package of DSP in half for it. I still need to finish these babies up and put them in my card stash. This one has been waiting awhile but was sent off to my niece for her birthday today! The only thing better than making fun cards is actually sending them off to people I love!

Interior Design Moment

2015 is unfolding before our eyes. If you know me at all, you KNOW I'll be planning some decorating mayhem. I'm not sure what exactly that will look like this year, but I do know it will involve a few things: PURPLE and PAINT, and hopefully something spa-like in my Master Suite.

Right now my home is hovering in the boring zone. I've got to add some COLOR here! (In other words, personality.) I've decided on turquoise as an accent color, but those front rooms need some bold paint...and when I say bold I do NOT mean bright. I do, however, mean purple. Pretty sure this is going to be one of those "ask for forgiveness rather than permission" kind of things.

The overall house will keep the same feel of course. My frenchie neutrals are just so me. I just need to make it MORE me by adding some pizzazz. Sass. Whatever you want to call it.

My silver nightstand will look fabulous with this color.

Add a bright citron for spring & turquoise for summer

switch that to a nice sunset orange for Fall
...ooh my old orange curtains would have been perfect!
Dang it.

and back to a nice neutral (but shiny!) gold for winter.

Am I crazy? Who cares, I'm in love! 

and I'm pretty sure I need this rug.

2015 Theme: Less is More

Every year I choose a theme to live by. 2014 was Small & Simple, 2013 was Enjoy the Journey, you get the idea. Here is my FIRST page of the year, introducing my theme, and documenting our relaxing week.

I used the Project Life app for the collage of the pictures in the top left corner, but added the text and completed the rest of the page using MDS. I love the app for getting the "bones" done quick, but for adding text and extras, or tweaking a layout (like adding "Sophie's goals") My Digital Studio is a MUST HAVE!

Happy New Year

As the New Year approaches, I've been busy wrapping things up for 2014 (literally!) and making plans for 2015! I love the New Year and the new beginnings that it brings! One of my resolutions for the year is to consistently document our family adventures! The kids are growing way too fast to remember all the adorable things they do. For example, Sophie likes to say, "Looks like..." As in, "Looks like you want a bite." or even more adorable, "Looks like me want a bite." Seriously, she could not get any cuter! And I'm gonna have it written down to prove it!

As far as goals go, if they aren't written down and you don't have it scheduled on the calendar, it's NOT going to happen! So, every Sunday morning before church (we attend the 1:00 next year), I'm going to document our week. (I much prefer the word "document" to "scrapbook". Details, details.) Then, I'll post the finished product here on the blog on Monday! Lucky you. ;) I'm also starting up an MDS club to teach you how to use the software, so if you are interested in getting monthly tips, tricks, tutorials and projects, contact me!

So, without further ado, here are our Christmas 2014 pages! The "Before" is using JUST the Project Life App, and the "After" is jazzing it up a little using Stampin' Up!'s My Digital Studio (MDS). Just by adding a few finishing touches.

BEFORE

BEFORE

AFTER 

This page was a little tricky, so I didn't add much. That white card in the middle immediately draws your attention, but I did want to add more of a title without adding any more "busy-ness". I also wanted to balance out that dark red with a fun Christmas tree border, which is from the Frosty Days II designer series paper.

The next page was lightened up quite a bit with the blue background paper. (Also Frosty Days II) The gorgeous photos speak for themselves, but it also needed a beautiful title. I love being able to add text anywhere on the page, in any font I want! I also added just a few photo highlighting circles to show that they were INDEED swimming outside on December 23rd!!!

AFTER

BEFORE

BEFORE

AFTER

 I love, love, LOVE the woodcut snowflakes on this page!!! I love how it ties in with the wood nativity set. (The first in my collection!) Their lightness enhances and softens the page, and guides your eye around the entire page.

The following might be my favorite of the four! I added stitching to separate the "before & after" photos of the Christmas room. The Before & After text was also added. (LOVE how MDS enhances the awesomeness of the Project Life App!) I love the background paper border, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the "visions of sugarplums" quote I added to their sleeping picture. Those little stars are just a stamp and add the finishing touch to this adorable picture! I'm thinking I need to frame that little corner of adorableness.I repeated the stitching as well as the stars at the bottom to add a little balance to the page.

AFTER

What do you think? Which page is your favorite? Is MDS something you want to learn how to use a little better? It's super user-friendly and really enhances the Project Life App! You can download a Free Trial below, or purchase the program in either digital format or as a disc.