Chicagoland Scrapbooker Magazine

Have you heard about the NEW Chicagoland Scrapbooker Magazine??? If not, it's a new FREE magazine that is NOW available in your local scrapbook store around the Chicago area!



Wait... did I just say FREE????? Yep, that's right! We all know that Scrapbooking isn't a cheap hobby so when some one says FREE we listen! Anyway, its a great magazine with tips, tricks and inspiration, so head on over to you local scrapbook store and ask for your copy today!

Recycle/Reuse Blog Hop

Hello everyone and welcome to the Recycle/Reuse Blog Hop! This hop is all about pulling out that garbage or the old stuff that has been sitting around forever and creating a wonderful project.

If you were just dropping by to see my latest project and want to check out the rest of the awesome projects in this hop, head on over to Shannon's blog to start from the beginning!

So my project for today started out as:
A box from my daughters Moon Dough Pizza Set. It was made of a nice heavy cardboard so I knew it would be perfect for the notepad I wanted to make. I gathered a few supplies and created:


Just click the photo to make it a bit bigger and check out the details. I used all supplies that I've had in my stash for at least a year also! I'm a bit of a "collector" so I have a tendency to want to hang on to stuff... forever! So one of the vows I've made to myself is to use up some of my stuff. So I used some Basic Grey paper from the Oh Baby! line to cover my notepad. To line the inside of my notepad I actually created my own patterned paper with some stamps from Close To My Heart. This set is no longer available but they do have a TON of stamps and my awesome friend Lori is a consultant so check out her site and do a little shopping!


Here's a look at the inside of my note pad. You can see the paper I created by just random stamping "Make New Friends" and the trefoil all over some blank cardstock. The lined paper is some left over notebook paper that has been sitting in a box in the basement for who knows how long, LOL! I just trimmed it to the size I wanted with my paper trimmer. I used my Bind It All for the first time ever after bringing it home from CHA-Summer over a year ago! I'm thrilled with how this camhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gife out, and now I want to create more for the other leaders in my town.

Now, on to the fun stuff... PRIZES!!! We have Scrapbook Stamp society sponsoring us today!


They are giving away 3 free digi stamps. Shannon will also be giving away a set of flowers of her choosing from her Etsy store that you can visit HERE. Please stop by and say hi on each blog to be entered to win.

After you leave a quick comment, hop on over to the last stop in the hop: Judy at Scrapping Judy!

Here is the lineup in case you get lost along the way.

Shannon - http://shannonleffew.blogspot.com/
Ashley - http://thebloghopprincess.blogspot.com
Maria - http://JoyfulStamper.blogspot.com
Robin - http://scrapandchat.blogspot.com/
Amanda - http://a-prata-design.blogspot.com/
Pat - http://patacakespages.blogspot.com
Miranda - http://www.nanasscrapspot.com/
Pam L - http://mzlavr2.blogspot.com/
Mandie - http://mandiesscrappin.blogspot.com/ (you are here!)
Judy D - http://scrappingjudy.blogspot.com/ <--- head here next!

My Crafty Daughters - Part 2

So I just realized that I need a separate post to enter Evie's card into the contest here it is:

My Crafty Daughters

So I was checking the Cutters Creek Design Team blog and noticed a post about a kid's contest. I read the info to my wonderful 6 year old, Penny and she said that she NEEDED to enter the contest.



The above layout was entirely designed by Penny. The only help I gave her was cutting the letters for her title with my Cricut, showing her how to use the Xyron 150 Sticker Maker and measuring with my trimmer... oh, and spelling stuff out! I'm so proud of her 1st Scrapbook Layout and we are starting an album for just her stuff! I'm looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next... I'm such a proud mama right now!



And of course, not to be out done by her big sister, Evie who is 3, decided to create this card! Penny helped her with the tape runner and Evie did all of the work on this one herself! So I am very proud to say I have two VERY crafty girls!

Baby Shower Invitations

Hello out there! I know my posts haven't been as frequent as I would like but I've been very busy in my craft room! Hopefully when my oldest starts school all day I can find more time to blog.

Anyway, I wanted to share this invitation I created for my Sister-In-Law's baby shower. She picked out some adorable dragonfly bedding for the baby and we decided to use a dragonfly theme for the shower.



I knew I would be making 75 invitations so I didn't want to go overboard but, I'm REALLY happy with how they turned out! I'm hoping to branch out and start making some custom order invitations someday soon, but we will see what the future holds!

never TOO MUCH HAPPY Card

Good Morning, everyone! A couple of weeks ago I was SO happy to find out that I WON a FABULOUS prize from the Simple Stories/Unity Stamp Company Blog Week! I received 5 GORGEOUS stamp sets from Unity Stamp Company!!! So of course, I had to get crafty with them right away! The first thing I made was this card:


I was inspired by the sketch at the Deconstructed Sketch Blog for this weeks challenge so I decided to play along! I used the Happy Pinwheels set and the set and stamped my images in Cocoa Close to My Heart Ink. I used some FABULOUS patterned papers from the Echo Park Paper This & That Graceful paper collection to paper piece into my stamped image. To do this, you simply stamp your image onto patterned paper and then cut out the pieces you want to use. The background paper I used is from Studio Calico and I like the Notebook Paper look it has. I'm so pleased with how this card turned out! Thanks for reading!

Ribbon-A-Holic!

Hello, everyone! I've got a bit of a long post for you today. As many of you know, I have been fortunate to be a Cameo Ribbonista Designer for the May Arts Design Team for the past year. Well, I'm auditioning to join the team once again so I have a post today about my ribbon addiction!

First I'd like to show you a little book I created for myself to keep track of my ribbons. Here's a look at the book when it's closed...


I used some beautiful October Afternoon papers to decorate my cover and then added some of the new May Art's Red Baker's Twine wrapped around the cover. Next I added some of the Zebra Grosgrain ribbon to the ring that holds the book together. I didn't want it all to be white so I used a little Glimmer Mist to spray a few pieces red and green to co-ordinate with my cover.


Now I have a beautiful, neat and organized system to keep track of all of my different ribbons so I know which ones to re-order!

The next project that I'd like to share with you is my beautiful mermaid card!


I used a rubber stamp from The Greeting Farm for the mermaid image on my card. I pulled some Heidi Grace paper from my massive paper stash and got to work! I colored the mermaid's hair and body with my Copic Markers. Then I used my patterned papers and stamped the parts of the mermaid I wanted to cut out and paper piece into my stamped image. Then I glued them to the corresponding place on my colored image. Then I cut her out and used some fairly thin foam adhesive to adhere her to my card.


You may have noticed the waves along the bottom of the card... I started with some plain White 1/2" May Arts Ric Rac and used my Copics and some Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, Glaze and Glam to color my ribbon and then adhered it to the lower part of my card to look like waves.

Finally I'd like to tell you about how much I like to add ribbon to layouts.


I like to find ways to add texture to my layouts and I feel that ribbon adds a wonderful texture to almost any project! For this layout, I used White Satin Pleat Ribbon and then adhered Pink Baker's Twine to the center of it.


Then to add a little more texture to my sticker, I used a 1/2" Glue Dot and created a spiral on it. I then stuck this to the center of my flower and now I have a completely custom look!


For my Zoo Layout, I wanted more of an earthy texture so I grabbed some Burlap Cording to add to the bottom of my layout. I cut small, triangular slits on each side of my layout to disguise the ribbon's bulk.


I needed a custom flower to add to my layout so I pulled out my Copic Markers and some White Frayed Flowers Ribbon and altered one of the rosettes to co-ordinate with my layout. It takes only a minute to color and you have yet another custom embellishment to add to your layout!


My last layout shows the simplest way to add ribbon to a layout. In the sketch I was using they showed patterned paper strips running vertically down the layout. I decided to grab my 1/2" Ric Rac again and add that to my layout instead!

Well, there's my Ribbon-A-Holic post for today! Wish me luck!