Merry Christmas

Lucas is loving his new toys! We're enjoying our day at home and the fact that we don't have to go anywhere (except maybe outside to do some sledding)!

SUPPLIES: Adobe Photoshop CS4 |  patterned paper: Echo Park Paper Co. Hybrids Everybody Loves Christmas @ JessicaSprague.com | fonts: Screengem and Scriptina | kraft banner & photography: Valerie O'Neall (me) 

Sugar Cookies

I spent the majority of my morning decorating these:

They're not my best work, but they will have to do. I thought I would try Martha's recipe this year. She hadn't failed me yet. Now wishing I would have stuck with my original recipe. I like it a lot better. My frosting wasn't as shiny as usual either.

My husband tonight asked me at dinner why the snowman had a broom. I said I don't know, I thought Frosty had a broom—my dad always made his snowmen hold a broom. I handed him the cookie cutter and asked him what he thought it was supposed to be. He thought it was supposed to be a scarf. It totally could have been a scarf and I felt extremely dumb for a second for making Frosty hold a broom—"like a witch" as Matt said. Then I started singing the song in my head and redeemed myself when I told him it was in the song. "Down to the village, with a broomstick in his hand…"
I win!!  …Although, next time I may draw scarves instead.

page #2

Three days until Christmas!? Really?! I only have two pages done.

software: Adobe Photoshop CS4 | font: Kingthings Typewriter | stitching (recolored): Katie Pertiet Messy Stitches @ Designer Digitals | all digital elements are by Katie Pertiet @ Designer Digitals: wooden mitten, snowflake, frame, snowman, label | patterned paper: Echo Park Paper Co. Hybrids Everybody Loves Christmas @ JessicaSprague.com

time for some Christmas music

My sister-in-law, man can she sing! This is a clip from the Christmas concert at the church she attends.

She lives in Nashville and you can check her web site for shows if you're in the area.

December Album

I had fully planned on doing a December Daily album again this year. I set all my supplies aside in a separate box, and then the first week of December rolled around—and I had not touched any of it, but I had been taking photos. I think I've finally settled on doing an 8x8 digital album this year. Some days we are just plain boring and not even an ounce festive around here—and on those days, I don't know what to make a page about. Therefore, I'm not going to stress about it or force some Christmas spirit. I'm going to try and make a page a day from now on, but some of that will be documenting days I've missed. Here's my first completed page about our first big snow and how Lucas was not thrilled—mainly about having to wear his boots.

software: Adobe Photoshop CS4 | font: Kingthings Typewriter | tape: Pugly Pixel | paper: Katie Pertiet Good Day Paper @ Designer Digitals | stitching (recolored) Katie Pertiet Messy Stitches @ Designer Digitals | tag: Ali Edwards Winter Celebrations Element Kit for Shutterfly | photo frame: Rhonna Farrer Mini Birthday Frames @ House of 3 | snowflakes: Heidi Larsen Glittery Flakes @ Little Dreamer Designs

Keeping it Simple

Yay for new photos! I'm done going through all of Lucas photos, and received the first batch from Color Inc. about a week ago. It felt so good to scrap for fun again, but I find it's always a little difficult to find my "groove" again after a break. So here's to an easy, simple, clean, effortless looking layout to start things off.

cardstock: Bazzill Basics | patterned paper and alpha stamp: Studio Calico | ink: Stampin' Up | chipboard accent: American Crafts Thickers | pen: Copic multiliner | border punches: EK success (bracket) and Stampin' Up (scallop) | other: thread, sewing machine

Check back later today for my first December Daily post (I know.... crazy late, huh? I have some explaining to do).

Black Friday

Please consider buying handmade this holiday season. To help you out—I'm offering a special 30% discount on everything in my Etsy store.
Coupon code is "black30"
This offer is good through Tuesday (Nov. 30).

Happy Thanksgiving!

Blog Hoppin'

I'm so glad you stopped by today, and hope you enjoy my items. There are 3 papers and 2 journaling spots for you.

I also have a couple digital items for sale in my Etsy store—the full kits are on sale for $2.00 (what a steal!) until Sunday, November 14th.  …And as far as my non-digital items go, there are quite a few items that ship free in honor of the upcoming holidays, so please consider hopping on over to see what else my store has to offer as well.

UPDATED: The blog hop is now over. You can find the mini kit in my Etsy store for only $1.00

Check this out

Check out these previews!! I bet you can't wait to get your hands on all this digital goodness. The blog hop is Thursday.

Announcing...

A blog hop! Look for a free mini kit from me right here on my blog between those dates!

Happy Halloween!

Isn't he the sweetest ear of corn you've ever seen?!

We had fun tonight--just made a few stops to the homes of family and friends. Happy Halloween!

It's done!!

The Trick or Treat kit is new in my Etsy shop today. Now I have a new design project that I must finish this week, so it will probably be a little quiet around here (as usual).

share the love

It's *share the love* week over at The Anderson Crew's blog.

They are in the process of adopting a little girl from Ethiopia, and are having a fundraiser. Donations can be exchanged for entries into a fabulous giveaway of five different bundles full of handmade goodness.

I don't know this family and just happened upon their blog via Smile and Wave. …But I do know they love God, and that's what matters. I've already subscribed to their blog, and look forward to hearing more of their adoption story.

Photoshop Tip: Fixing Red Eyes

I learned this tip for fixing red eyes during my summer internship in prepress during my college years. This technique works great for me, and I haven't ever had to search for another way.

1. Zoom in on the eye area of your photo.
2. Using the sponge tool, adjust your brush size to the approximate size of the pupils you are trying to fix. (Just a standard, hard round brush is all you need.)
3. Set your flow to about 50% (this may be the default, I'm not sure).
4. Click several times on each pupil until the redness disappears.
5. TA-DAH! No more red eyes!!

How easy is that?! Hope it works as well for you as it does for me.

so inspiring

LOVE the guest designer over at Studio Calico this month—Kinsey Wilson. I'm so inspired and can't believe she does most of that stitching by hand! She has two fabulous blogs which I suggest you follow for some amazing inspiration. And she is so generous in sharing some of her handstitching techniques.
http://kinseygirl.typepad.com
http://www.kinseygirl.typepad.com/handstitch

from this post

from this post

from this post

Almost Finished

I've been working on digital kit for Halloween. I put the patterned papers in my Etsy shop today. Consider this the sneak peek for the full kit.

World Card Making Day

We celebrated World Card Making Day today at The Keepsake Element. This is the card I created for everyone to make. It's super simple, and perfect for any teenager. Patterned paper and stamp is by Imaginesce, white paper is Bazzill, and teal is Coredinations. Letters were cut with a Cricut using the Mickey Font cartridge. I used the Basic Grey Precision File Set to distress the edges of the letters, and of course one of my most favorite tools—Tim Holtz's Tiny Attacher.

If this doesn't make you smile...

something was REALLY funny from Valerie on Vimeo.

His giggle is so contagious! I spent at least the first minute before I started filming laughing along with him.

My Next Class

We all know at the store how so many of you love to stamp and make cards using Copic markers. Have you ever gotten the chance to play with the Copic Airbrush System? During class, you'll get to make two different layouts both featuring a different line by My Mind's Eye (Blackbird and Lost and Found). You'll get to create your own patterned paper, stamp on canvas, and color fabric Thickers—all with Copic markers. Even though we're creating scrapbook pages, the techniques taught can also be applied to cardmaking or any papercrafting.


Location: The Keepsake Element
Date: October 12
Time: 6:00

Call or stop in the store today to sign up.


Recommended Supplies: Copic markers (C6, C10, BG18, BG32, and BG72), scissors, paper trimmer, Glossy Accents, tape runner

Optional supplies: Mini Mister filled with Copic blending solution

look what came in the mail today!

I ordered this from Olive Manna's lovely shop on Etsy. I first heard about Olive Manna on Elsie's blog. I have been wanting colored baker's twine for a loooong time, but didn't want to commit to purchasing whole spools. Now I have a little bit of each color. I can't wait to play! …Now if I just had all my photos edited and printed =p

And if you were wondering—that photo in the background is from when Matt and I worked at camp. It was me vs. him and the kids brought money in for a good cause. I lost that year and got covered in "worms 'n dirt" (you know… the Oreo and chocolate pudding dessert kind). Fun times!!

latest layout

Can you believe it!? A blog post two days in a row!
I'm so behind in my personal photo editing and printing, and I'm trying to get caught up. I currently have 2,759 photos of Lucas that were taken over the past 15 months—and that's even after some purging. Still have a lot of purging I'd like to do. Despite an unusually busy weekend, I did find some time to complete a page.

Woodgrain Coredinations Cardstock and Studio Calico patterned paper from Studio Calico's Joyland kit | green cardstock: DCWV | notebook journal tabs: Heidi Swapp | patterned paper (white/lt. blue circles): Crate Paper | border punch: Stampin' Up | starburst circle punch & lt. blue pen: Creative Memories | alpha stamps: Studio Calico Carter Set | fonts: Learning Curve Pro and Kingthings Typewriter | stamp ink: Stampin' Up | other: canvas, sanding block, thread

Yay! First full kit is for sale

My first full kit is for sale in my Etsy shop. It's perfect for scrapbooking outdoorsy summer photos. I hope you like it! I also added a basic brush set too.

My first mini kit!

At the beginning of the summer I took Jessica Sprague's Art of Digital Design Class. All my class materials have been submitted, and I passed the test. I wanted to offer you my mini kit for free. Soon I'll have the full-size kit available in my Etsy store. I've been wanting to do digital scrabook design for awhile and this was the perfect jumping off point for me. Look for more kits and products for digital scrapbooking in the coming months.

Download Mini Kit

If you downloaded the kit, please leave me a comment and let me know. I'd love to get an idea of how many people have stopped by.

What's more fun than new toys?

Lucas's bff recently turned one and had us over to celebrate last weekend. Can you believe these two are only two months apart in age? Lucas is huge!!

What's more fun than brand new toys?? ....Apparently the cooler full of ice!

Brook Canvas Wall Hanging

UPDATED: NEW DATE!!
August 26th at 6:30 The Keepsake Element
cost: $25

Learn a fun and unique way to display a photo on your wall. We're going to take basic blank canvas and turn it into a page you can display in your home. No advanced sewing skills are required. Anyone can do this! We'll be using papers and accents from Crate Paper's fabulous Brook line. Can be adapted to fit in a scrapbook as well.

Please bring a favorite 5x7 photo to class along with a sewing needle, white craft glue (such as Aleene's), scissors, and tape runner. And if you have these items, please bring them as well (not required): circle tool or punch for 2.5" circles, paper piercer, pinking shears or fabric scissors, metal ruler with quilting rotary cutter and mat, Ranger glossy accents, and scalloped circle punch.

Call or stop in the store to sign-up.

stargazer lilies

The entire kitchen smells like these right now and it is wonderful! I find myself spending more time in the kitchen just so I can smell them—browsing the newest issue of Martha Stewart Living and enjoying our new tabletop as well. Stargazer lilies are my all time, number one, favorite flower. …and I even grew these myself!

P.S. Information on my next class at The Keepsake Element is coming soon.

Stocked Up

I found some Crate Paper on clearance, and I stocked up. I love, love, LOVE Crate Paper! Their patterned paper has great designs, great colors, and is the perfect weight and texture. You should check it out if you're not familiar with it. The Keepsake Element has ordered a portion of the Brook collection for my next class, so be looking for that soon. In the meantime, I did some playing around with my new paper and created two new layouts with some old photos I found recently while cleaning. I love these layouts and photos and couldn't be happier with how they turned out. They're 8.5" x 11" format which I haven't done for awhile.

Patterned paper: Crate Paper and Basic Grey | chipboard: Lisa Bearnson (numbers) & Basic Grey (V) | punch: Martha Stewart (butterfly), Stampin' Up (scallop circle)l | paint: Plaid | font: CK Ali's Writing cut with Silhouette | other: crochet trim, sewing machine, and thread

patterned paper: Crate Paper | rub on: Studio Calico | stamps: Michael's (floral), Stampin' Up (camera) | tag: Basic Grey | chipboard accents: American Crafts covered with gold leaf | font: Quicksand cut with Sihouette | cotton thread colored with Copic marker | Tim Holtz tiny attacher

enjoying today

Lucas took a nice long nap and then Daddy took him to run some guy errands, so I've been enjoying some creative time and finished a page. I completed this page fast too! I think it's a new record.

cardstock: Paper Studio | scissors & fabric letters: American Crafts | pen: Zig millenium (black), Creative Memories (green) | flowers: Making Memories | paint: Plaid | torn paper: Becky Higgins 365 kit | rhinestones: My Mind's Eye | mist: Tattered Angels | other: thread, sewing machine

and THANK YOU to all the service members who are and have served this great nation!

latest digital pages

supplies: Katie Pertiet (designerdigitals.com): floral edgers sampler (brush), color inspiration 5/9/10 (slightly recolored), color challenge 0/13/09 (tag), color challenge 9/6/09 (white paper), stitched up frames no. 2, messy stiches-blue | Mindy Terasawa(designerdigitals.com): color challenge 5/31/09 (turquoise) | Leora Sanford(littledreamerdesigns.com): flowers on a string | fonts: oblik bold, kingthings typewriter, and gyparody

supplies:Katie Pertiet(designerdigitals.com): Good Day paper, Packaging Inspiration Sticker (cloud image), Loosely Labeled Dates, Stitched Up frames no. 2 | Mindy Terasawa(designerdigitals.com): Color Challenge 05.31.09 (yellow), Everyday Inspiration 02.01.09 (turquoise--recolored), Everyday Inspiration 04.12.09 (grey), |Chat Freebie 11.13.08 (diamonds--recolored) | fonts: CK Ali's Hand, Sketchetica, Kingthings Typewriter

my first gocco attempt

I successfully burned a gocco screen on the first try! I think my background in printing, specifically screen printing, seriously boosted my confidence in this task. Now when it comes to choice of ink, I failed miserably. I've been reading a lot of forums about gocco related "stuff" and someone said they successfully used versatex screen printing ink instead of gocco ink. I thought I'd give that a try since I could order it through Dick Blick and it would be here the next day. It was just way too thin. I cleaned up the screen and tried some plain old oil paint next, but I wasn't happy with the color.

Eventually after all the messing around with ink and colors the screen got clogged and I couldn't push any ink through so I gave up. I wasn't about to burn another screen and I need to get these invites in the mail, so I don't have time to find and wait for gocco ink to arrive.

I redesigned the text and printed it out on an inkjet transparency and attached it to the photo instead.

the Gocco

Now that is an entirely different story. I've had a Gocco B6 (that I purchased off Ebay months ago) sitting in its box under the upstairs guest bed for entirely way too long. No immediately out of the box for that tool. I've had the hardest time deciding what I want to print with it. Well, I'm finally going to dive in tomorrow. I need to finish Lucas' birthday party invites. Wish me luck! I'm off to Youtube to see if I can find a good tutorial for burning screens.

It's here,

it's out of the box, and it's up and running!!! I even finished a page with it already!


Items from Studio Calico kit, Joyland:
Bazzill kraft cardstock | patterened paper: Crate Paper (turquoise), Sassafras (banner), 7 gypsies (newsprint) | chipboard: Maya Road

other items not from kit:
ticket stub: Quickutz | brads & rub ons: Basic Grey | "3" chipboard: Lisa Bearnson | Tim Holtz tiny attacher | pen: Creative Memories | mist: Tattered Angels | fonts: Oblik Bold & Louisianne Black | other: jute & paint

Upcoming Class

I've posted this before, but there's some updated info I've added. Last time I checked, there were still a few spots left, so call today to reserve your spot!

I'll be teaching my first class at The Keepsake Element. We'll be making this mini album that can be made for either a father or mother.

You can view the album on Flickr as well.

The class is April 30th at 6:30.

Please bring these supplies with you: a white craft glue such as Sobo or Aleene’s, foam brush, 1 in. paintbrush, sewing needle, Xacto type craft knife, ruler, cutting mat, scissors, tape runner or your preferred adhesive

and if you have these supplies, you can bring them too (optional): your favorite shape punches and border punches, circle cutter, glossy accents, crop-a-dile, Tim Holtz tiny attacher, small paper trimmer, gel medium

Another page

made using the April kit from Studio Calico.



products used: items from Studio Calico's Joyland kit which includes: patterned paper: 7 gypsies, Sassafras, & Crate Paper | rhinestones: My Mind's Eye | cardstock: Bazzill (blue) | chipboard alpha: Cosmo Cricket
other items not from kit include: punch: EK Success | cardstock: DCWV (brown) | brads: Basic Grey | Tim Holtz tiny attacher | other: thread, paint,
pinwheel template from this post at Style Me Pretty.

I posted this layout in the Studio Calico gallery last night and I'm thrilled with the positive comments that just keep rolling in.

...and I caved and finally purchased a Silhouette! The anticipation and waiting on shipping is just killing me. I need to clear off some desk space for it right now so I can hook it up as soon as it arrives. I used to create all my page titles in Illustrator, print them off on cardstock, and then cut them out with an x-acto knife. Talk about time consuming! I've been wanting a cutting machine like this for sooooooooo long!