A couple of birthday cards

If you haven't seen the new Fiskars scallop border punch, check it out! I have to have it, so I already preordered it, and I am hoping to have it by the end of the week.


After seeing this, I remembered that I had a few border punches tucked away and long forgotten, so I dug them out and played a little this week. I made a couple of birthday cards using up some BasicGrey Blush scraps, and I used one of the punches on the second card.

Check out this cool Etsy store!

My friend Tam is the queen of doodling. I love her beautiful creations, and I wish I had half of the doodling skills that she has. She has some gorgeous hand doodled items now for sale in her Etsy store - WhatchaMaDoodles. In her store, you will find one of a kind cards, tags, journals, notebooks, and mini albums - all hand doodled by her! Be sure to check it out!

How to create scallop edges with the Coluzzle

I have had quite a few people ask me how I create the scallop edges on many of my pages, and I posted a little how to at CSS and thought I would post it here too. You will need the Coluzzle swivel craft knife and the nested circle template for this technique. I always turn my paper over so I can make pencil marks and not have to worry about erasing.

First, mark the center of your paper, and line up the center of the half circle of your template. For this example, I am using the smallest circle.

Make your first cut (half circle). Then remove the template. Line up a ruler with both ends of the half circle and draw a line across the paper.

Make cuts of half circles along the line, overlapping the ends of the half circles.

When you get to the corner, cut the half circle as you have been doing. Then rotate the template 1/4 turn and cut again. You will have 3/4 of a circle cut around the corner.

Mark a line down the side of the paper and start cutting circles down the line. Continue all the way around, making it whatever size you need.


This example shows uniform size scallops, but the cool thing with this template is you can use varying sizes to get a different look.

A little tiny sneak peek at my March CSS kit reveal

Here is a simple little technique to dress up your brads a little to match whatever paper you are working with. These were large silver round brads that I dipped in acrylic paint. The trick to getting an even distribution of paint is in how you lift the brad from the paint. First, squeeze a small amount of paint onto a scrap piece of paper or plastic tray. Dip your brad straight down into the paint. If you lift the brad straight up to remove it from the paint, you will get a bubble on top. To get a smooth finish, with the brad still dipped in the paint, turn the brad on its side, and then carefully lift it straight up. Then let the brad rest on its side to dry. Here is an example on a layout that I did with the March CSS kit. Check back on the first of March for the full reveal!

The sale continues at CSS

The pre CHA sale at Creative Scrap Shack has been extended through the weekend! Enter PRECHASALE at checkout to get 40% off everything in the store with the exception of preorders, monthly kits/kit add ons, and gift certificates.

There are tons of new winter CHA items available for preorder at the store too at 20-25% off if you preorder! Payment is required at time of checkout. You can see what is coming up in the preorder category here, and you can see what is now available to preorder here. Take advantage of these awesome deals while you can!

Huge sale at Creative Scrap Shack!

There is an awesome sale going on at Creative Scrap Shack now through February 8. Everything in the store is 40% off with the exception of preorders, monthly kits, kit add ons, and gift cards. That's right - 40% off everything! Use the coupon code PRECHASALE when checking out to get the discount! Run, don't walk to this sale!

More SEI Jolie Chocolat

I told you that I was in love with these papers! I had to create another layout using them. I hesitated to use both pictures on the layout because I hated to cover up the gorgeous paper. Does anyone else ever do that? Sometimes paper is just so pretty I hate to cut it or cover it up! Anyway all paper and ribbon for this layout are from SEI Jolie Chocolat. The large white flower is Heidi Swapp. The title is Thickers. All of that came from the CSS February kit designed by Cheri Fletcher. I added the Prima Say It In Crystals swirls and the BasicGrey rub ons. Here is "Sitting Pretty".

I am a CSS Island Girl!

That's right! I made the Design Team at Creative Scrap Shack! I am so excited to be a part of this team, and I cannot wait to start creating with the beautiful kits designed by Cheri Fletcher, CSS Senior DT Member/Kit Designer. I would also like to congratulate Laura, Jen and Jennifer who also made the DT! I am looking forward to working with all of you! Thank you Chris, Tam and Cheri for having faith in me, and thanks to Carman for having such an awesome site. All of the amazingly talented members at CSS make it such a special place, and the gallery is packed with gorgeous creations. I am truly honored to be on this team!

Some scrappy goodness

I snuck in a little scrappy time for myself yesterday, and I came up with a new layout to share. Oh my goodness, the picture does not do these gorgeous papers justice! I used the new SEI Jolie Chocolat papers that came in a beautiful kit designed by Cheri Fletcher at Creative Scrap Shack. This collection of papers is almost too pretty to cut, but I just had to do it. Some are glittered. Some are shimmery, and some are foil paper. The kit also included the new Bo Bunny Smitten line which has a gorgeous shimmer to it as well. Here is my "Silly Face" layout using this kit.

Stay tuned as I have some more projects coming up using these papers!

March Projects at Lavender Sentiments

I know it is just the beginning of February, but March brings the first day of Spring, and I can't wait! I am ready for warm weather, beautiful flowers and green grass and leaves. For March classes at Lavender Sentiments, I designed a couple of layouts with a Springtime feel to them, using some Bo Bunny papers. The first one is titled "A is for Adorable". This class will be on Saturday, March 8 at 3:00 pm. Cost of the class is $12.

The second layout is titled "Together". This class will be on Wednesday, March 19 at 6:00 pm. Cost of the class is $12.

It's the first of the month!

I always get excited about the first of the month because there is so much going on at Creative Scrap Shack. The design team reveals their kit creations for the month. They always have amazing and inspiring projects! There is also a new sketch contest using products from this month's sponsor, 3 Bugs in a Rug. There are new challenges, new sketches, and Tam is doing a nine week mini album class on emotions.

It is also an exciting time at CSS right now because they will be adding three new members to their design team. The call ended last night, and we are all just waiting to see who the lucky three will be! February's guest designer should be announced very soon as well. Hop on over to CSS and check out all of the fun, and make sure you check out the store too! Carman has all of the latest and hottest products in scrapping. Hope to see you there!