Kits Craze!!

I have been dreaming up a plan for my Etsy shop.  I absolutely love scrapbook kits!  I love making them, I love purchasing them, I love watching videos on them...I love everything about them.  There's just something so thrilling about designing a kit out of gorgeous paper and knowing someone will create something adorable out of it.....

I have had this plan in the works for quite a while now.  I have been purchasing elements for my kits slowly and have ended up with huge amounts of merchandise.  What I do is this:  I take a paper pad/collection and I build around it.  So, normally a paper pad comes with 2 of each design, so I can make 2 kits out each pad of 12x12 paper.  I have made some absolutely gorgeous kits, just jam packed with beautiful items.  Paper, buttons, charms, stickers, flowers, lace, ribbon, Tim Holtz metal embellies, brads, envelopes, pockets, album bases, and much, much more!!  I think I made over 80 kits and let me tell you...it took me over a month to complete!  It was a hard, but wonderfully enjoyable job.  Now, I just need to finish listing them in my Etsy shop.  I have a few in there and a few videos up on YouTube, but I can't wait until they are all listed and ready to sell, sell, sell!!  Here's a couple pictures of how my kitchen looked for that long month.  My husband was very understanding as you can imagine. :)

12 Days of Christmas Cards...Graphic 45!

Flashback to August 2014....

I made these cards with my mother-in-law.  She loves sending out handmade cards to friends and family.  We made these using the 12 Days of Christmas collection by Graphic 45.  We absolutely love working with Graphic 45 papers and chipboard embellishments.  These were so fun and came out so pretty!  Here's a link to my YouTube video if you want to see a closer look!

This is my favorite one!

Quick and Easy Brag Books!

Flashback to July 2014....

I have been all about simplicity in my crafting lately.  I'm drawn to the simple, clean lines and easy to do crafts these days.  I still like the vintage and shabby chic style, but I have been loving the quick and easy stuff, that's for sure.  I came across this awesome tutorial on YouTube and decided to make some myself!  The little brag books below were made using old file folders.  I cut them down to size and followed the tutorial.  The paper I used to cover them is the Botanical collection by Prima.  I was also able to use some lace trim, buttons, flowers and some stickers on the covers.  I love how they turned out. :)  Here's a link to my YouTube video to get a closer look!

To the ends of the earth for Vintage Buttons!

My sweet friend and co-worker, Amanda is my official thrift store treasure hunter!  She always finds me the best vintage buttons for me and on this particular day...she hit the vintage button jackpot!!  Do you have something that just makes you so happy...even though it's simple, practically useless and a bit quirky?  Well, I do and it's vintage buttons!!  My sister and I once woke up at 5am to be at a yard sale by 5:30 that mentioned "vintage buttons" in their ad.  Now, that's dedication.  

I love to incorporate them in my scrapbook kits, my albums, cards, and of course in RAK's to my friends.  I am getting ready to group them in packs of 20 and list them in my Etsy store, too!  I just love buttons and am so thankful that I have other's looking out for them for me, too.  Happy Crafting everyone!

My Beautiful Craft Room Curtains!

I have been obsessed, lately, with the color combo of red and teal!!  It just makes me imagine retro kitchens from back in the 50's and 60's.  It makes me think of my Grandma Tootsie...and I have no idea why!  Haha... It just makes me smile and I can't get enough of red and teal!!  It's the vintage teal color that appliances and kitchen tables were back in the old days.  It's the way red looks so unique when paired with that particular teal color and cream.  It's absolutely beautiful.  I decided, I wanted my craft room to have those colors, so my sweet momma made me the most beautiful craft room curtains ever!  She did patchwork and made cute ties with buttons.  I absolutely love them and they bring so much artsiness to my craft room!!

Ginger's Transactions Journal....

Flashback to Mother's Day 2014....

My sister, Ginger has always been a go-getter.  She finds the best deals at stores, comes up with the best gift ideas and always seems to know how wheel and deal when it comes to bargains and shopping.  Lately, she has been obsessed with a local Facebook group in our town called Sierra Vista Sells.  She sells, she buys....she is a Sierra Vista Sells pro.  I tease her all the time asking "hey ging, did you put in a full shift at work today with a full day of 'transactions?"  haha...Her days are often filled with pick-ups, meet-ups or drop offs.  It's anything from kids' toys to a coupon crazy lady's stash of shampoo and deodorant.  Ginger sells a lot, too!  She sells her handmade goodies like Crayola Baskets, gift bouquets, hair bows, cookies and tons of used items from her home.   She does great!  So, for Mother's day, I decided to make her a "transactions" journal, so she can keep track of all her day's transactions!   It was so fun to make.  I used a journal from the $1.50 spot at Michael's.  I covered it and decorated with paper and embellishments from the Basic Grey Fact and Fiction collection.  I stamped throughout the pages with Michael's $1.50 stamps and added lots of fun interest on the inside.  She loved it!  Here's a link to my YouTube video to see the full flip through!