Zoom-a-zoom!

Well, someone contacted me about doing an album for them, and now I am going to share it with YOU!! This is a little gift album that is going to be a "Gramma's Brag Book". It is race car themed. And...it is very fun. I used the Zutter Bind-it-All to put the book together after the pages were done. I haven't used my Zutter in a while...so I needed a little refresher course!

The race car and other paper pieces were hand cut. The patterned paper is all from Making Memories "Giggle Kids" line. The airplanes, frog and words are rub-ons from Colorbok's "Leaps and Bounds" line.

The patchwork paper is from Basic Grey's Lime Rickey line and the Polka dotted stars are diecut with a Sizzix Star die using Creative Cafe's blue felt sheet. I did use some acrylic pages in here...but I "recycled and re-used" them. The are actually cut from some old Acrylic Cropper Hopper envelopes (made to hold 12x12 paper) that were made out of this frosted acrylic. The envelopes were all ripped, but they were sure fun to cut apart and re-use them in this album.

Today is another hot one here in Idaho...and I have had a busy day doing this and that. I made zuccini bread for the first time today. I have a vintage Kitchen Aid mixer (that has been passed down to me from my Mom) and have the grater/slicer attachment. I put them to work today and grated one huge zuccini. I must say that after the bread was done, it tasted mighty fine with a glass of cold milk and topped with some butter. I will post some pictures of my KA mixer (since it is running fine and it is over 40 years old). At that time I will tell you the little story of how I acquired it, and why I know that there is a repairman here in town that does work on vintage KA mixers!! However, I will save that for another day.

Hope you have a great day. Stay cool where you are at!!!

Been away so long...

Well, a lot of stuff has happened since I have blogged the last time. As for my absence, I apologize!! Here is a highlight of the last several weeks:

1. My husband's family had a "reunion" camping trip. (With four brothers and a sister and their families and his parents.) I had to stay home and work. However, DH did bring a lovely gift home for me. Besides the dirty laundry. He was ill when he returned home. How is that a gift for me? Well...this virus kept on giving. And giving. And giving. All night long. Lovely.

2. My kids started brick and mortar school. A week-and-a-half ago. This is how my fourth grader and my second grader looked in the morning of the first day of school.


And here is how my second grader looked on the afternoon of that first day of school. (Pictured with adoring Daddy, of course.) Please notice the pale, sickly skin tone. The school nurse called us not long after lunch saying he was in her office. Throwing up. The stomach virus just keeps on giving.Well, he was plenty sick. Until bedtime. Then he slept like a rock. I, being the very dutiful mommy, slept beside him on the sofa bed in the living room. Or at least I tried to sleep. Until I got the stomach virus that kept on giving. And giving, and giving. Every hour it gave. And the next morning???? Well, I felt like I had been pulled through a knothole backwards. And pushed back through. (Do ya' get the idea???)

So three out of the four of us got this lovely virus. Now, hopefully, DD has avoided it and we will not see it again. Ever.

3. I have worked a lot of hours. Great for the paycheck, but I haven't been home much to "monitor" the things that need to be done. I have laundry piles the size of Mt. Whitney.

4. I made an appearance on the local noon-day show to help promote a non-profit here in the area where we live.

5. I have been working on scrapbook projects too. I even have new photos taken and edited. However, you will have to return another day to see them. That is for another post. I wouldn't want to send you into shock over my prepared-ness.

6. For all you golf lovers out there...I met Johnny Miller (PGA golfer and golf telecaster) at a fundraising event for the same non-profit I was on t.v. for. My kids thought that was just pretty cool...especially since they got to meet him too!

The kiddos love school and after fighting a mental and spiritual battle last spring while we were agonizing over the decision to put the kids in brick-and-mortar school....this seems to have been a great choice. I am picking up some day shifts at work which allows me to be home more evenings and still get work hours in. I am still looking at a full-time job somewhere, but those are hard to find right now. We simply keep trusting in God that He has it all planned out and is making the way for us. And I am enjoying the freedom I have while the kiddos are in school. After schooling at home for four years, it is rather an odd adjustment!

Have a great weekend! For those of you whose kiddos haven't started school yet...enjoy the last weekends before school starts!

Welcome to the August Creative Cuts Blog hop!!

Welcome to the Creative Cuts and More Acetate in August Blog Hop! If you have just arrived from Diecut Diva's blog, you are in the right place! If you have just arrived on my blog and want to be part of the blog hop, please go back to Diecut Diva's blog and begin there!

BONUS: There is a coupon code listed over there for 15% off merchandise at Creative Cuts and More for anyone who visits the Diecut Diva blog. (Coupon is good through Fri., August 14.) And don't forget to also check there to see how to win some fabulous blog candy! Wowza! A new kit they are offering called "Sealife". It's an 8x8 album kit full of really fun stuff!!

I did a fun little acrylic tag album Tag # 05 for my project. (You can order this from Creative Cuts and More, and if you don't see them on her website, be sure to contact Terry to get it!) I know that some of the photos really don't show the acrylic very well, so please excuse my camera work. However, I assure you that it is a fabulous acrylic album!! I wanted to use some photos of my daughter. I chose fun summer paper from last year's exclusive Archiver's line by We Are Memory Keepers. The photo above is one of the front of the album. The large ring at the top has different ribbons tied on it. I also used flower punches to punch out the daisy shapes. The label, which I cut in half, I got from CC&M and used Doodlebug letter rub-ons on it. The word "Cute" is actually on the second page. The letters are from Doodlebug also.

On the left hand page, I designed this to cover up the adhesive that showed through from adhering the label to the front page. On the right , I used two different flower punches for the flowers.
On the left page the glittery letters are from Doodlebug. On the right page, although it isn't acrylic, it is a library pocket with a photo inserted. I used a the pocket and cut it to the shape of the tag album. The label on the front is the other half of the label from the front page of the album and the letter rub-ons are from Doodlebug. The flower sticker is from Adorn-it, and the little hinge on the corner of the photo is actually a photo corner/tab from CC&M that is folded in half.

The left page is the back of that library pocket, with a small pocket and tag adhered to it. The flower is punched with a Fiskars punch. (This pocket is one of a set of three. If you like it, contact Terry and ask her about it. Pssstttt....it is Accucut A1003.) The flower on the right page is blinged up with jewels from Doodlebug.

The left page of this layout is another library pocket and tag adhered to the acrylic page. I inserted an acrylic tag into the pocket and used Fancy Pants rub-ons to decorate it and the front of the pocket too. I placed the glittery letters "Fun" behind the tag on the back panel of the library pocket. The letters "girl" on the right page are from Making Memories and they are soft felt. The round yellow circle is decorated using Fancy Pants rub-ons.
The left page is decked out in a girly fashion using Bo-Bunny chipboard swirls and flowers stickers from Adorn-it. The buckle on the right page is from CC&M and is covered in Diamond Glaze, even though in this photo it's not very shiny.

Here is the back cover and the letters are Doodlebug rub-ons and the buckle is from CC&M. These buckles were a blast to work with. I know that you will be seeing them again on other projects!

Well, I hope you enjoyed my little album! For more great projects and ideas, not-to-mention blog hopping fun, head on over to Kim's Blog and see what fun projects she has posted!

Blog Hop Alert!

There will be another blog hop for Creative Cuts and More on Monday, August 10!!! It will begin at the Diecut Diva blog, so start there for the full blog hop. However, make sure you check back here for details and I will, of course, be posting at least one new project! Can't wait to see you here!

Check it out!

Hop on over the Creative Cafe's blog and check out their new products they are unveiling at CHA. Great stuff! Make sure and leave a comment and tell them Angie from Gemstone Creations sent you!

Blog Hop still going on!

The CC&M blog hop will still be going on until tonight, July 16 at 11:59 p.m. Be sure to start at the Diecut Diva blog.

I did promise to post a few more pictures of the birthday album and here they are!

This is the cover. I used two different patterned papers from the Two Scoops line. Then I traced around a chipboard number "9" and painted it in with Hottie Pink Shimmerz.

In this photo, the pink rectangle is the backside of the library pocket. I stamped the background with a flourish stamp from Autumn Leaves, then stamped the brackets (Quickutz stamps) and then traced around the chipboard "9", again painting it with Hottie Pink Shimmerz. On the right page, the hinge on the top right of the page is a diecut from CC&M.


On this last layout, I used an antique label from CC&M to stamp Happy Birthday in. The dark blue strip along the bottom was stamped with a lino stamp from Prickley Pear and distressed with Tim Holtz Distressing ink. The letters are diecuts (Upper Case Block) from CC&M.

I want to wish all the blog hoppers a "Good Luck" in winning that fun blog candy that is being offered. Can you believe the card kits? If you want to check them out, they can be found here.

Thanks for popping by and come back to visit, as I always have projects to work on and photos to post! Have a great week!

Welcome to the Creative Cuts and More Blog hop!

Welcome to the CC&M blog hop! If you haven't arrived from the Chrissy's blog, you'll want to hop back there and check out the important information that is there!

I am excited to be able to post my project. I have been working on this little (6x6 chipboard album) for a while. It is a birthday album (yep...it fits right into the birthday theme of this blog hop...imagine that!) and is all done out of the Basic Grey paper from the Two Scoops line. I integrated the number nine into the album because that is how old my daughter turned this year! The Happy Birthday letters are die cuts from the Upper Block font. If you are interested in any of the fonts here, contact Terry at CC&M for details! Also, the ice cream cone is cut from metallic (rose) paper and shaded with a Rouge Cat Eye ink pad. The cherry on top of the ice cream cone? Doodlebug adhesive jewels. Yum!
This layout has several fun things I want to point out. First, the scroll/flourish rub-ons are from Basic Grey also. The tag is a library pocket and tag combo. I like to add those in my mini albums, and for those of you who have visited my blog before...you probably already know that! I used a Fiskars Border punch to create the lace looking edge on the pocket. Also, the brown nameplate is a diecut too.
Here I used a scalloped frame in metallic paper and used my circle punch to cut the circle to go inside of it. I used a cupcake stamp and a Happy Birthday stamp to embellish this page. The hinge on the top left of the album page can be found here. On the bottom right, I traced a number nine and painted it in with Wintergreen Shimmerz. I must say that every nine-year-old needs more shimmer!
The Happy Birthday is cut from the Recess font, and the pink cupcake is a die cut too.

I adhered the Library pocket to this page and blingedthe cupcake up with a bit of glitter! (After all, we are talking about an album for a nine-year-old!!)I also added a Basic Grey rub-on and some American Crafts ribbon to decorate it up! The letters that spell nine are cut from the Girly Girl font.
The swirl on the bottom left is one I fussy cut from some Two Scoops paper and the scalloped frame was cut from Pearlescent Florette paper. The ice cream cone was cut from brown and pink velvet paper. The Rouge cat eye ink added depth to the ice cream cone top.

And here, I used the Happy Birthday cut from Girly Girl and then added some Diamond Glaze to add some gloss to the letters. The flourishes down the center of the page is an Autumn Leaves stamp that I used with pink ink. It sure looks a lot like the pink flourishes of the Two Scoops paper! I couldn't have asked for a better match!

Please come back later in the week to see a few more photos of this album. I took a picture of all pages and would love to share a few more with you. But before you go, I have some exciting news! CC&M is releasing two new card kits! Each kit has enough product to make 12 cards! wowza! One kit is a Birthday Boy kit and the other is a Birthday Girl kit. Each kit is only $26.99, but it has $30 worth the product in it. Also, CC&M is offering an add-on kit that includes some Doodlebug Birthday stamps. For some extra savings, (a special offer for our blog hoppers) save 15% by using the coupon code: birthdaydt0915 at the CC&M store.

Now it's time to head on over to Carla's blog and see what birthday surprises she has there! Be sure to come back later in the week though and see those last photos of my birthday album! Thanks for stopping, I mean hopping by!