WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

The circles just exploded all over this page!  In my last post I mentioned a Fiskateer's challenge to create a layout using CHA in the title.  Lucky for me, I have a cutie pie nephew named Chase.

I created the title tiles in MS PowerPoint by drawing an auto shape box.  I added the woven mat background, changed the black line to 6 point weight and added the letter--88 point Algerian font.  The patterened paper is all DCWV La Creme stack and the brads are Spare Parts from The Paper Studio.

All my circle cutting tools participated on this layout.  For the large, torn circle, I pulled a big salad bowl out of the kitchen and traced around it.  Then I wet my tracing line and carefully tore around it.  For the largest of the smaller circles, I used the Making Memories circle cutting tool and mat.  I punched the remaining circles using the Fiskars Round n Round XL and L punches, The Paper Studio 1 inch circle punch and a half inch circle punch from Marvy Uchida.

I may not be finished!  I'm kicking around the idea of adding a small journaling block in the lower left corner. 

Thanks for visiting!  Please leave a comment and let me know your opinion about the journaling block.  I appreciate each and every comment received.  Have a terrific day!

WHAT A WEEKEND! PLUS A LAYOUT

The challenges were flowing fast and furious during this weekend's online crops at the Fiskateers and Dare 2 Dream!  And guess what Chickie's?  The Fiskateers crop continues until Wednesday, January 27! Can we do it?  Yes, we can!  Well, maybe.  I have to find my craft table first!  Cleaning chores are my first priority when I finish this post.  Then I'm going to put together a layout for a Fiskateers challenge--create a layout with the consecutive letters, CHA, in the title.  Maybe I will share that one tomorrow!

Today's layout is from one of Saturday's Fiskateer Challenges, Embellish your Embellishments.  The required item was embellished chipboard.  I chose to embellish my  naked chipboard title (Best Occasions), Full Moon, by painting it with Perfect Pearls (Ranger).  I thought I had an oops moment because I forgot to paint or paper the chipboard first--but, the Pearls covered just fine without taking the extra step.

All papers are from DCWV except for the silver portions of the triple mat which is Wausau Papers.  I used the Fiskars  Pearls of Wisdom corner squeeze punch on the mat.  The silver ribbon is from ki Memories and I picked up the gem clip stars at Office Depot.  A bit of adhesive and some dark blue embroidery floss and I was done.

The photo was taken in December, 2008 while vacationing in Aruba.  There is a companion to this page but it is nothing special--just more moon photos and very basic journaling.

Thanks for dropping in.  What did you do crafty this weekend?  I love hearing from you so leave a comment and let me know!

HOMEMADE FAMILIES, WEEK 2!

Remember the new weekly challenge I'm doing at Debby's Dare?  Well, week three's question is up so I'd better jump in and share week two!  The week two question was "What's for dinner?"  This is what I came up with

My husband never asks "Whats for dinner?" but rather "Whatcha got cooking?"  Sometimes, it's this soup.  This is an old Weight Watchers recipe that I've changed up a bit over the years.  I usually make a big pot every month or two during the winter.  It freezes well and is a snap to defrost/reheat in the microwave.

I created the title circle and journaling block in MS PowerPoint and added a red dotted background to both using the same program.  I punched the recipe border with the Fiskars' Lattice & Lace border corner punch.

The flowers were made using punched shapes from the Fiskars XL Seal of Approval squeeze punch, Fiskars L Round 'n Round  squeeze punch and EK Success flower punch.  The "wordy" patterned paper is just a photocopy of a cookbook page.   I also used a big Bazzill black flower.  The smaller brads are from K & Co and the large polka dot brad is from Bazzill.

Thanks for dropping in and taking a look.  I'm working on week three of the challenge now!  Hope you're cooking up something crafty!

RIBBONS, RIBBONS & MORE RIBBONS!

Craft supplies organization seems to be THE hot topic every new year.  I am always looking for a better way to store my tools and sort my pretties.  I want them out of the way until I need them but I don't want to forget what I have.  If you've ever made an unintended duplicate purchase, you know exactly what I mean!   

Ribbon storage has been a problem ever since I started using it to adorn my projects.  First I had it stacked on a shelf and that worked great for the wide ribbon that I use for floral bows and such.  When I started purchasing thinner ribbon for paper crafting, I threw that in a plastic bin.  Look at the mess I created!  Boxed ribbon, carded ribbon, loose ribbon and spooled ribbon--just thrown in the bin or stacked on the shelf. 

I had to do something because I couldn't find the ribbon that I wanted and was spending way too much time digging and putting back.  Plus, I was running out of room and I love ribbon!   So this is my solution, at least until I come up with something better.  I've been using this system for a few days and it works for me, right now.

Six stacking Sterilite shoe drawers came to the rescue.  The ribbon is sort of organized by color--one for black, white & nuetral ribbons, one for red to yellow ribbons, one for blues and greens, one for holiday and special occasions/sentiments, and one for lace and the miscellaneous stuff that didn't quite fit in the other categories.  The sixth drawer was empty so it provided a home for my paints.  I left most of the ribbon on the cards and spools that they came on.  I picked up a couple of packages of old timey clothes pins to wrap the loose ribbon around and will wrap the carded and spooled ribbon when it becomes necessary.  The cardboard spools waste space so I'm balancing a wrap time vs space issue.  Most of the 3 inch wide ribbon is now in the original, before, plastic bin in the closet with all my other floral supplies.

Once the ribbon was organized, I needed to do a layout with ribbon!  So here's one that I did for my Fiskateer's Liftateer circle of friends.  The title is "busted!"  and the journaling reads "C. found the best hiding place ever.  Well it was the best until he was . . ."

Products used include:  Plain Kraft and yellow cardstock, DCWV orange textured cardstock, Imagine That patterned paper, Heidi Grace chipboard hearts, Cloud 9 Raindot alphas, ColorBox yellow and orange pigment ink, Sakura Gelly Roll white journaling pen, Offray ribbon and JoAnn's rik rak, Zots glue dots and Tombo adhesive tape runner.

Tools used include the XL Round and Round squeeze punch, Hearts and Threading Waters border punches, paper crimper, #5 microtip scissors, 12 inch desktop trimmer--all Fiskars. Plus a little sandpaper to rough up the edges of the large circle so the white journaling ink wouldn't look so stark.

Do you use ribbon?  How do you store it?  Until next time, have a wonderful crafty week!

 

SOMETHING NEW IN THE NEW YEAR

The holidays are over and I'm slowly getting things back to normal.  I was a crafty tornado between my last post and December 23rd!  I worked on layouts and finished some Christmas presents and then made some last minute type presents, too!  As soon as I locate the photos on my hard drive, I will share.

I'm participating in a new weekly scrapping challenge this year on the Debby's Dare blog.  It's Homemade Families and it's theme is something near and dear to my heart--the moments where our friends and families gather together to break bread.  Each week Debby poses a question for us to scrap and we are to scrap two pagers with that question in mind.  I'm doing 8 x 8 pages and here is my answer to last week's question, "What was your first recipe book?"

The journaling reads: 
The Joy of Cooking was as much a part of my mother's kitchen as the sink or the stove.  She had the 1940's edition with the blue cover and it was held together with tape of various colors and types and rubber bands.
My parents gave me my own Joy about 30 years ago and was I ever thrilled!  Mine is a 1970's bridal edition, even though it was to be 10 years plus before I was a bride.  She just thought it was pretty.  My book has changed kitchens nine different times, survived a grease fire and seems to bear my husband's title change with dignity.
The title change has nothing to do with the book and everthing to do with the cook!  Gary was in big trouble then but we both got over it and think it's funny now.  I believe it appeared when I tried substituting jalapeno peppers (with the seeds) for mild green chili's!  Gary has always eaten everything I've prepared but I was afraid he would hurt himself with that one!
I've got a little secret.  I've never used a single recipe in the Joy--at least not line by line.  I use it all the time but more as a kitchen and entertainment handbook.  It's a great read!

The apron border and the embellishments are MS Office clip art.  The frills and pockets were colored with a Marvy Memory Series pen in English Red.  I added thin black ribbon "ties" (from Hobby Lobby) to the embellishments and accented the pockets and frills with gold Stickles.  The journaling block was cut with my Fiskars scallop decorative scissors and the title stickers are Colorbok.

I'm having a wonderful time working on the questions.  I've already completed week 2 and will share those pages shortly.  If you would like to play along, check out Debby's Dare--link in my blog list at the right. 

Have a wonderful, scrappy day!

LONG TIME, NO SEE--A 10 x 13 LAYOUT

Hi, I've so missed being here but I haven't had much crafty time!  We've had some immediate family illness and some extended family illness in the last month.  I took a road trip to Chattanooga to visit my aunt--she had a little accident that turned into a rather big deal.  It is an ongoing "deal" and there have been a few set backs but she is recovering.  Not a bad thing since she will be 91 years old in less than 3 months!  She is the sweetest aunt I could ever ask for and I love her.  A BIG get well soon, Aunt Ruth!  Best wishes on walking on your own!

My Aunt Margaret, here in town, celebrated her 90th birthday on Thanksgiving Day!   Seventy family and friends celebrated by suprising her with a party on the Sunday before.  All 6 of the "first" nieces and my sister in law got together 3 months or so ago to start the planning process.  Don't worry about the women doing it all--we had lots of help!  We had grand nieces and nephews creating a banner and a slide show of photos thru the years!  We had help from the hubby's with set up, cooking, photography and all the stuff that gets forgotten at home during a big party!  Thanks to my Gary for his patience while I made party sandwiches and cut tons of apple and pear slices! 

I made this framed layout for the gift table and also as a gift for my aunt.  Sorry I couldn't get a shot without the overhead lighting!

I used an old 10 x 13 frame that I picked up on sale at WalMart.  I think it was $1 but no more than $2.  The background patterned paper is from Heidi Grace (a pack of 20 or so sheets for $1 from Big Lots) and the photo mat is a white shimmery card stock from Wausau Papers.  I also used mini white flowers from Heidi Grace, Prima pink flowers and gemstone flourishes, Floradoodles blue flowers, Offray ribbon and Recollections self adhesive pearls and brads.  I dotted the dots on the polka dotted blue/white Floradoodle flowers with Stickles!  I love Stickles!  The larger white flowers are from a JoAnn's bush that I cut to pieces using my Fiskars Stem Cutter--it is such a cool tool!

The photo was taken at my Aunt's retirement party from the "telephone company"--think it was South Central Bell or maybe Bell South by that time.  We lost my Uncle Earl about 7 years ago, he was a Fire Chief and we all miss him.  Happy Birthday, Aunt Margaret! 

FYI, I don't want to let "life" keep me away from the blog in the future!  I usually have something creative going on whether paper, fabric, food, garden, goofy, etc. regardless of what life hands me!  I do like to share and will do so with your indulgence!

BOO! HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Don't be afraid of ghouls and goblins; The Dynamic Duo is on the job! 

This is another layout from the Fiskateers Scrap Lift A Thon.  It was a very fun and frugal layout, too, because the supply list was short!  Here's what I used:  4 Recollections eyelets, Lion Brand Fancy Fur, cardstock (black and rust) from the Paper Studio, Tombow tape runner and a few All Night Media pop dots. 

Everything else is from MS PowerPoint.  Yes, that includes the patterned paper blocks, the bat emblem in the corner, the journaling block and the title oval.  Searching MS PowerPoint for the backgrounds and clip art proved to be efficient as well.  I don't have any Halloween themed paper in my stash and worked on this layout fairly late at night.  It took me about 15 mintues to find and print all the images on one sheet of white card stock.  I used my Fiskars 12 inch desktop trimmer to cut out the blocks and my #5 microtip scissors to hand cut the oval shapes.  I used a Making Memories eyelet setter.

I encourage you to investigate everything the internet and your existing programs have to offer--might come in handy late one night!

If your heading out to do the Monster Mash this evening or have alternative plans: have fun, stay safe and take care.  And thanks for visiting the blog!

BUMMER!

Welcome back to Traveling Down a Crafty Road!  I have a scrapbook page of my adorable, littlest nephew to share today.  This layout was originally a part of the Scrap lift a thon on the Fiskateers site.  Our nephew, Colton, is the star and he's 5 years old.  He's also not a happy camper!  The journaling is straight from Facebook and reads--"Lesa:  What's up with Colton?  He looks so sad!  Terri:  He wanted them to throw more candy! . . .Colton, Lincoln Highway Days Parade, Nevada, IA  8/29/09".  He is soooooo cute!

Supplies include patterned paper from The Paper Studio by Hobby Lobby, black ink Zig writer, DMC embroidery floss, Making Memories and Colorbok chipboard letters, sandpaper, Fiskars 12" desktop trimmer, Fiskars fingertip craft knife.  Photograph of Colton courtesy of Leanne Farrington.

A little tip for you:  I hand embroidered/sewed the running stitch border.  To make the stitches even, I placed a ruler along the edge of the paper and pierced holes with my needle at even intervals before sewing with floss.

Thanks a bunch for visiting.  I love your comments and read them all.  Please stop by again--LTL

SO YOU WANNA SCRAPBOOK?

Recently, I've had several conversations with folks interested in scrapbooking but they've never done it.  They want to know the how and why I got into it and what they need to get started.

About six or seven years ago, I attended a home party type crop to benefit a charity.  I created one 12 x 12 page with a 5 x 7 photo, 2 balloon stickers and a metallic gold pen that night.  I was hooked!  I went to Michael's armed with coupons and credit card the very next weekend.  I picked up some mini albums, two cardstock value packs, a package of pens in fall colors and some Thanksgiving stickers.  I was going to knock out a few Christmas gifts!  I got started on them but all of it ended up in a box where it sat until 2007.  I got the box back out and completed those books for Christmas 2007 and have been scrapping ever since.  Scrapping makes me happy!

I started with scissors, pencil, ruler and the few items previously mentioned.  I then added more consumables and a trimmer.  Then I added some decorative scissors and punches and more consumables and a better trimmer and I really could go on and on.  BUT, I'm pretty sure I could go back to the scissors and ruler and make a decent layout.

This is one of my earliest 12 x 12 layouts.  (Not THE earliest because I don't know what happened to the one with the balloons!)  The title and the sand dollar (MS Office clip art) were printed on vellum.  I used a small set of nesting bowls to draw a circle around the sand dollar and the gray card stock mat and cut them out by hand.  I used a pair of deckle edged scissors to cut the title.  The photo, from our 2007 vacation on the lovely island of St Kitts, is triple matted and the journaling was done with a white Sakura gel pen.

How did you get started down your scrappy road and what was in your little kit bag?  I would love to know so please add to the comments.  Thanks so much!  Have a wonderfully creative day!

MEET THE COFFEE CATS!

Starbucks, Kona and Java came to live with us about 11 years ago.  They got their names when Kona found a coffee bean under the kitchen sideboard and started batting it around.  The vet's office called them the coffee cats on their first visit and they've been the coffee cats ever since.

I put together the layout of my fur babies for a weekly scrap lift challenge that I've been participating in with the Fiskateers.  Cat photography credit goes to our fabulous cat sitter and professional pet photographer, Sylvia Brown.  She is wonderful and life without Sylvia would be difficult for our little family.

I wanted to use coffee themed embellishments but I didn't have any!  What's a scrappy crafter to do?  Make them yourself!  The coffee bean border came first.  This is what I used:

No, this is not a medical tool, ha ha!  This is a stamping tool.  I cut a piece of fun foam into an oval.  I then bent the oval in two and cut a shallow slit down the middle, taking care not to cut it into two, separate pieces.  In order to work with such a small stamp, I stuck it on a craft stick with a mini glue dot.  I practiced a bit on scrap paper.  By varying the amount of ink and pressure, I made the solid and split side coffee bean images with the same foam stamp.  I used Anna Griffin chocolate pigment ink.

The little hearts on the right side are paper scraps stuck to some Dollar Store stickers.  I cut them out and adhered them sticker image down.

The cups are homemade paper piecings.  I found some images that I liked on the Web and copied them to MS Power Point.  Then I resized them, printed them and created the different pieces.  I would share the templates but I sort of destroyed them in the process of creating!  The rising steam tendrils were created with Autumn Leaves Flourishes stamps and white Stampendous pigment ink.  Please note that I printed the photos on matte photo paper to make sure that my pigment ink would work.

Other than scraps of cardstock and bits of patterned paper, I used one sheet of DCWV textured cardstock for the background, Making Memories Alpha Stickers (CATS), Heidi Grace Satin Letter Stickers from the Harvest Row line (Java), Cloud 9 Rub On Alphas, Outdoor line, (Kona), a black Zig writer and a Marvy Uchida gold opaque pen for Java's cup doodle.  This was a frugal layout!

Today is World Card Making Day and I have a scrap table with a few new cards in process.  Hope you are making cards today, too!  Scrapbook Royalty is accepting cards for their Cards for Troops campaign until November 1.  If you would like to help, details are on their site (link is on this blog to your right).

Thanks for looking--and meeting my kitties!  Have a wonderful weekend!

LET'S ROCK!

My youngest niece, Jessica, has a new PINK electric guitar! As soon as I saw this picture, I knew I had to scrap it. She’s so cute with her new “axe”! Looking forward to the concert the next time we see her.

A few days after I got her photo, the Fiskateers were having an online crop. It was also National Talk like a Pirate Day and one of the challenges involved creating a layout of someone or thing that you treasure and using a skull and crossbones on the layout. Perfect! Here’s what I did.

Now you know I revisit and tweak layouts on occasion. The ROCK portion of the title has been tweaked on this one. I originally used one inch alpha stickers in the blackadder font. They were okay but I felt they just weren’t heavy enough. I carefully removed the stickers and stamped ROCK with Making Memories foam stamps and Liquitex black acrylic paint. The letters are intentionally out of line. I wanted them to look like they were rocking out! Other products used to create the layout include DCWV textured cardstock (background), Inks by Steph Fletcher Cove stickers (photo corner, stars, skull and crossbones), Me and My Big Ideas adhesive rhinestones (princess and flowers), Bazzill (black) and Heidi Grace (pink) flowers, Making Memories medium star brad, Colorbok journaling block, Michael’s and Hobby Lobby brands ribbon.  Photography by Christina DePalma.

Thank you for taking the journey with me. Rock on!

SO HAPPY IN LOVE, A Not So Christmas-sy Layout

Our oldest nephew is getting married next year!  I know its been said many times before, but it really does seem like yesterday when the call came that he was ON THE WAY and his momma and daddy were headed to the hospital.  Now he's all grown up and engaged to a lovely young woman.  They are very happy and we are very happy for them!  Take a look at the double layout I made from a few of their photos.

Their photos don't shout Christmas.  The wreath in the large photo is the only indication of the season.  The papers are from DCWV's Christmas Stack but only one is specifically Christmas themed.  It's used on the flowers and is printed with Christmas related words.  I thought that one litle bit of definite holiday themed paper balanced with the photographs and didn't detract from the layout's theme of love and happiness.

I punched the top and bottom of the red dotted paper with the Fiskars Threading Water border punch and threaded natural colored twine through the holes.  This was a little tricky because the twine was stiff and I had to be careful not to break through the holes.  A little slack will keep the paper from curling, too.  For the title, I printed the SO and IN from MS Word.  HAPPY is cut from the DCWV Christmas word paper and LOVE is spelled with Heidi Grace alpha stickers from the It's My Party line.

There are a number of sites on the Web that provide step by step instructions for the construction of torn paper flowers.  I find it easiest to pencil circles in on the back of my paper, wet the pencil lines and then tear the circles.  I also find it helpful to label the back of each set with a number; i.e., for the four layer flowers I had a set of four circles labeled 1, a set of four circles labeled 2, etc.  It makes assembly much faster when you don't have to search for the appropriate sized circle.

The pine like sprigs were a bit serendipitous.  Since my paper had a herringbone pattern, I cut strips and clipped little "needles" along the pattern.  I also drew a brown line down the center and inked the outside edges.

Be happy, my readers!  Make me happy and leave a comment, LOL!  I appreciate all your comments.  Thanks so much.

HEIRLOOM SCRAPBOOK PAGE Part 2

Finally!  The second page of my double layout is here.  It's been ready but I had hoped to get a better photograph for you.  Our weather has just not cooperated.  If the rain keeps up much longer, I'm getting the snorkel gear out!

This is the right hand companion to the page posted on 9/19/09.  It is the reworked version.  In the original (and you have to be a Fiskateer to catch the before shot, Ha, Ha!), I used the invitation along with a copy of the actual newspaper announcement.  I didn't like the way they were displayed so I played around with those elements.  The gray patterned paper mat and the three bejewed inchies are additions.  I also took a few sentences from the newspaper announcement and typed them in MS PowerPoint--"The bride wore a dress of Copenhagen blue crepe, with sweetheart neckline and draped skirt.  Her hat was of matching blue crepe."  Don't worry, I'll add the copy of the entire announcement elsewhere in the album.  I didn't change the patterend paper border (the "rest" of the Fiskars quilted corners border corner punch from the left side) or the ribbon with the inchie and oval photo. One more thing to note--I used white paper for the newspaper lines for the sake of album continuity.  All the journaling blocks in the album are printed on white paper. 

Here's what they look like side by side.  Trust me; I do believe the right hand page is a bit more elegant in the reworked version.

Thank you for swimming by!  Now where did I put that snorkel?

ANOTHER HEIRLOOM SCRAPBOOK PAGE Part 1

Would you like to see another layout from what will be my mom and dad's wedding album?  A little background--I posted a double page version of this one in my Fiskateer gallery last night for a border challenge.  I wasn't happy with the right hand side of the page and am reworking it.  NOW, I like what I'm doing with the right hand page and will share that side with you in my next post.

Do you ever go back and rework a page that you're not happy with?  Wish I got each one right the first go round, but I don't!  Those not quite right pages nag at my serenity.  I go to bed at night thinking I can do better.  Sometimes I have a Eureka! moment before sleep claims me.  Sometimes I even remember that moment when I wake up!

Here's the left hand page.  Please know that my borders are straight, my photograply is crooked.  The photo is a solo shot of my mother.



I used the Fiskars border corner punch, Quilted Corners, around the mottled gray patterned paper (The Paper Studio) and carefully cut the outside edge off (more on that in the next post).  The photo is matted on the same gray cardstock but I left about two inches on the left side.  Punched that side with Fiskars Diamond border punch.  On another piece of gray cardstock, I used the Fiskars Leave it to Weaver border punch and threaded pink organza ribbon through the punches.  Then I poofed the ribbon.  Not sure who made this ribbon--it's labeled Decorative Ribbon, made in Taiwan.  I'm sure it was a bargain!  The ribbon bedecked piece is adhered to the mat with medium sized glue dots.  To complete, I made 5 inchies with cardstock and square rhinestones to place along the far left side.

Thanks for visiting!  I would love to know the if, when, how, and why's of reworking your own pages--leave me a comment.  Come back around for part 2, round 2, page 2, whatever you want to call it!

READY FOR AUTUMN

I'm not ready for summer to be over but I love the colors of fall.  I like the change of the seasons, especially summer to fall.  There's just something about wearing sweaters and closed toe shoes again that makes me happy!  I'm looking forward to cooler, crisper weather, raking leaves and making soups and chili.

I created this layout using the Fiskarscrafts.com September '09 sketch.  The photos were taken during one of my "tagalong with working husband" visits to New York City.  It was a lovely, late October day, a perfect day to be outside enjoying the scenery.  I had decided to explore Greenwich Village and found myself in Washington Square Park.  This squirrel was not afraid of me or anybody else.  Must have been a native Manhattanite!

All pattered paper is from Cloud 9 Outdoors Collection.  The NUTS title is Heidi Grace Harvest Row adhesive alphas.  The rhinestone leaves (on vellum paisley shapes) are from the dollar bin at JoAnn's.  I used Fiskars Leave it to Weaver, Threading Waters, and Diamond border punches, Comma, Comma Chameleon squeeze punch and scallop paper edgers.  The journaling block and Got part of the title were created in MS PowerPoint with the stationary fill background and Bradley Hand font.

Thank you so much for checking in.  Enjoy the last little bit of summer!

THE CELEBRATION CONTINUES WITH A LAYOUT!

Welcome and welcome back to Traveling Down A Crafty Road! Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes and comments. The RAK winner will be chosen on 9/13/2009 so keep them coming.

I made the following layout to honor my parents and there’s no better time than my extended Birthday Celebration to share it with you. They have passed on but left us with wonderful, loving memories and many boxes of photographs and keepsakes. While attempting to sort through the myriad “stuff”, I came across their Bride/Guest Book and all six of their wedding photographs. Buried treasure!


The background patterned paper is from The Paper Studio. The gold charms are Favorite Findings from Blumenthal Lansing Co. Fiskars lace border punch was used on one side of the cardstock mats. I used two different ribbons and added some floral embellishments I put together. Here’s a close up of the flowers


The flowers were very easy to make. I used an EK Success flower punch and outlined the petals and center with Stickles. A self adhesive rhinestone went in the center and some fun fiber was adhered to the back in pinwheel fashion.

Thank you for visiting. Have a wonderful Labor Day! Until next time, happy crafting!

CROP CRAZY

Wow, what a Fiska-fabulous weekend! The Fiskateers hosted an online crop and the challenges were flying at fever pitch. The message board was hopping, the gallery was popping and the chat room was, well, chatty. The crop started mid morning on Friday and the majority of the challenges were due by Saturday, 10 pm CST. I spent most of my free time on Sunday commenting on my fellow Fiskateer’s lovely projects. Here's one of mine.

We were challenged to create a scrapbook layout, card or other project using a “sacred” paper or embellishment. You know, that paper that you fell in love with at the store, just had to have and then were too taken with it to use? That’s my background paper! I just love the soft, warm tones and the subtle paisley and floral pattern. It’s Terra Cotta Paisley from the Sonnets Studios line from Creative Imaginations, LLC. The bird is from Prima and the brads are Spare Parts. Photos are from a trip I took to New York City in 2007.

Cropping and sharing the creativity with my Fiskateer friends is always special. Click the Fiskateer blinkie on the right for more details about this super group.

Thank you for visiting Traveling Down A Crafty Road! Please sign my Guest Book at the bottom of the page. Comments are always read and welcome

AN OASIS OF BLOOMS!

My husband often travels for work. When I have the opportunity, I go with him. While he’s working, I’m off gallivanting--enjoying the sights and getting the lay of the land. I shop, too! I search for arts & craft stores before I even leave home. I don’t think that’s unusual, do you?

This double layout is from a trip to Washington, DC. I stumbled upon this lovely garden while walking The Mall from The Smithsonian Castle to The Air and Space Museum. When I saw the pocket garden with its cute little birdhouses, I knew I had to stop and see what else it had to offer. I didn’t know if I would ever have a chance to visit again, so I thought "Why not now?"

I used Paper Reflections patterned paper. The paisley embellishment squares were punched with the Fiskars Comma Comma Chameleon squeeze punch and edged with Stickles. The circular spirals are Colorbok Sticky Stitches. The folded ribbon (unknown source) is just stapled onto a square of the patterned paper.

Note to self for lone sightseeing jaunts: Improve the long arm, self portrait photo technique or just start asking all those other charming tourists you end up chatting with to take your picture.

Thank you for visiting Traveling Down A Crafty Road! Please sign my Guest Book at the bottom of the page. Comments are always read and welcome.