Base & Bling Bird & Believe Necklace

For my mom's "half-birthday" I made her a "bird and believe" themed necklace using the Close To My Heart Base & Bling chain and square pendant (page 80 of the Spring/Summer Idea Book).

In addition to the rhinestone gem, I added the Believe and the little wren birdhouse charm (both from from Hobby Lobby). Mom loves to feed and watch the birds and hear them sing in their yard. Her favorite is the little brown wren who sings so pretty. She loves blue too -- the bird under the square glass cover is from the Skylark CTMH paper packet.

Using the Skylark paper, I covered a dollar-store jewelry box to coordinate with the necklace. I paper pieced the dragonfly and "wings" to add to the top of the box.

The finished necklace! With many thanks to my DH for attaching the charms with his micro-pliers!

Tip: If you paper-piece something into your square or circle pendant under the window, use the Base & Bling Adhesive dots (cut to fit). Don't use Liquid Glass on the paper--it will ruin it. Liquid Glass works well if you use the Base & Bling Style Sheet stickers since they're sturdier material. On this necklace, I used small glue dots in each corner, which happen to show more in the photos than they do in real life.

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Easter Journaling with PML Cards

 When I began to design this two-page layout of our granddaughters,

I wanted to hide my journaling

so that someday each of them could read my thoughts

about this very special Easter Day in 2011

when they were 3 1/2 and 1 1/2 years old.

I decided to use two cards from the Picture My Life Chantilly Scrapbook Program

to serve as the hidden journaling cards behind their photos.

A loop of shimmer tape provides a pull for each card.

I'll write on the pullout cards in my printing for Ella and Beatrice.

I think it's special to showcase our handwriting, don't you?

Here's a closer view:

I used CTMH products (except for the background papers, from my stash.
I chose them because the floral and chevron colors coordinated so well
with the Easter photos):

Dimensional elements banner shapes

Irresistables Letters inked in Pear Ink

Pink Sequins

Chantilly paper packet pink paper

CTMH ribbon

Other:  PaperStudio background papers

Thanks for stopping by my blog! Happy Spring!

A Lollydoodle Birthday Layout

One of CTMH's new Spring/Summer paper packets is "Lollydoodle"

and it's full of pretty pink, teal, pear green, and gray designs.

Because birthday girl B had yellow in her dress,

I added the sunshine yellow-inked die cut arrows

to help coordinate papers with her fourth birthday photos.

Other CTMH items I used include:
Base pages--White Cardstock

Lollydoodle Complements (NEW!)

Irresistable Alphabet (not inked)

Sequins (NEW!)

Shimmer Tape (NEW!)

Grey Colored Pencil for journaling

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if you took time to leave a short comment,

double thanks!

Sunshine in My Life--Skylark Layout

"You are the sunshine in my life!"

I cherish the time we get to spend with these two little munchkins!
They are definitely bright spots in our lives. 
We thank God for each one of these precious girls and all the joy they bring to us!

Last September, E (6 years old) had lost another bottom tooth, and her top permanent teeth were starting to come in, making her smile so different from her "baby teeth face"!  

B (almost 4 years old) just happened to look up with her blue eyes as we ate in a family restaurant,
and I caught her great natural grin.

It's unusual for me to create a one-page layout (rather than a two-page layout). 

Here I wanted to focus on the two closeup photos of the girls.

My page base is the Kraft paper from CTMH.
Layered on that,I used the new CTMH paper packet called "Skylark"
along with the Skylark Complements (sturdy die cut quotes and tags and embellishments),
and the new washi tape in teal houndstooth.

I used a colored pencil to add teal color to the sentiment embellishment.

The patterned paper had just the right amount of color and design,

making this a fun and easy page to create.

The teal Shimmer Trim adds a little eye-candy to the page.

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A Lollydoodle Assortment

The Lollydoodle Paper Packet, new in the CTMH Spring-Summer Idea Book,

include such fun and cheery colors and patterns!

My first and third cards include CTMH stamps; 

for the second and fourth cards,

I used Verve stamps.

The Lagoon Zippered Lace trim is a new product for Spring--

LOVE the look on card 1!

And one cannot ever get enough Shimmer Trim,

Houndstooth Washi Tape, or pretty Sequins,

also new Spring items!

These colors make me HaPpY!

I LOVE YOU Card

This was a fun card to create

using the Claire paper packet

and the February Stamp of the Month!

A little touch of burlap and a button from grandma's button jar

were the finishing touches!

Are those foxes the cutest?

A Valentine Valance Decor

Instead of hanging a seasonal banner across the front of our fireplace,

I decided to create a "valance decor" for Valentine's Day this year.

I started with the pennant bases cut from black cardstock,

and then used Paper Studio patterned papers in spring floral designs

for some of the pennant shapes and for all the punched circles behind the letters.

Patterned papers were layered on top of lacey doilies.

I used the Artbooking Cricut Cartridge to cut the I LOVE YOU letters,

then embellished each with Opaque Pearls.

We'll most likely leave this hanging until Spring, and then

I look forward to hanging lighter weight and lighter colored draperies too.

It's been a long winter -- Spring can't come soon enough!

Love in My Creations Kraft Containers

Special people will get some Hershey Nuggets

in a Valentine-themed My Creations Kraft Container for Valentine's Day!

These are fun to create and give as sweet surprises!