Wednesday 30 March 2011

My Core'dinations Creative Frenzy!

Core'dinations is having a Design Team Call and because I LOVE their products I decided to give it a go!

Here are three new projects I created with their cardstock this week. I decided on three totally different projects: a layout, a card and a "sleeve" for a "vase" (bottle).
First the layout: "Silly Kids"


Materials: Cardstock: Core'dinations (Core Impressions Cosmo Cricket Classics Collection), patterned paper: Cosmo Cricket (Jack's World), corrugated letters: Making Memories, doilie: Maya Road,  corrugated flower, bird & white/black flower: Lily Bee, other flowers & white/black leaves: Prima Marketing, buttons: Creative CafĂ©, Fabric star: Canvas Design, ink: Color Box cat's eye.

Techniques: I sanded the cardstock to achieve the beautiful white accents, I spray inked the fabric star, inked a lot of edges of the embellishments and of course I machine stitched the four edges of the layout.



Secondly an Easter card:

Materials: Cardstock: Core'dinations (Core Impressions Cosmo Cricket Classics Collection & Color Core), patterned paper: Scenic Route & Cosmo Cricket, flowers & leaves: Prima Marketing, crystals: ZVA, twine: Divine Twine, letter stickers: Bella Blvd & Cosmo Cricket.

Techniques: I distressed the edges of the background cardstock (light green) and traced it twice with a black pen, I handcut the rabbit and sanded it, I punched the border in the middle.

And then the third project, a sleeve for a flower vase/bottle:

Materials: Cardstock: Core'dinations (Core Impressions Cosmo Cricket Classics Collection & Color Core), patterned paper: Best Creation (Bunny Love), epoxy shape: Epiphany Crafts, pins, yellow ink: Color Box cat's eye.

Techniques: The "vase" is an empty flowers bottle from Prima Marketing which I found just perfect for these Daffodils to put on my Easter breakfast table!


Here's what I did:
  • For the sleeve: I cut a strip of Core'dinations cardstock from the Cosmo Cricket collection and sanded it.
  • For the front: I used another strip of cardstock (Color Core) and folded it into a flower. Then I punched a circle from the Core'dinations Cosmo Cricket collection and another circle from the Best Creation collection.Then I used a round Best Creation sticker and to finish it off I placed an epoxy circle with a Best Creation chicken on top.


    These were my three new projects I created especially for the call, but I want to show you one more new layout I created this week where I used Core'dinations: "What's that in your nose"

    Materials: Cardstock: Core'dinations (Core Impressions Cosmo Cricket Classics Collection & Color Core), patterned paper: Nikki Sivils (We are Family), die cuts: Nikki Sivils, brad: Nikki Sivils, letter stickers: Nikki Sivils, bird die: Marianne Design, ABC border punch: Martha Stewart, twine: Divine twine.
    Techniques: I sanded the dark brown Core'dinations cardstock and used it for both the strip at the bottom of the page as well as for the bird in the tree. I distressed the edges of the "orange" Color Core cardstock and used it as a photo mat for the top photo and last but not least I created a border with the red strip of Color Core cardstock with a Martha Stewart border punch.

    I just LOVE the versatility of this cardstock!!!




    This is it! Hope you  like my projects and now keeping my fingers crossed for the call!!
    Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you back soon!
    Hugs,

    Tuesday 29 March 2011

    Crop Addict Blog Hop Prizes!

    Thanks again to everyone who participated in Crop Addict's Blog Hop & Social Media party March 4th - 6th!

    This morning we sent out the $5 participation gift certificates to all those who had created store logins. If you did not create a store login we sent you an email with a link to create your login - shop login creation. For those of you who we did not have emails, we left a comment on your blog. Feel free to contact us with any questions.

    Monday 28 March 2011

    100 Followers - NOOK KIT GIVE-AWAY!!

    If you visit my blog regurlarly you'll have noticed that I passed the 100 followers a little while ago!! Wohoo!! Thank you all! It really means a lot that you care enough to visit my little space on the www once in a while! That calls for a celebration!!

    For almost 3 years now I'm receiving the NOOK kit from My Scrapbook Nook and I always LOVE every single one of them!! but as I'm 4 design team who all send me these wonderful goodies to scrap with, I don't seem the time to use them all up.... soooooooo here's what I do:

    I'm going to give away the January 2011 Nook kit!!


    Kit includes:
    Fancy Pants Hot Chocolate Paper
    Making Memories Velvet Trim
    American Crafts Nutmeg Thickers in Pearly White
    Maya Road Pom Pom Trim
    Queen & Co Swirl and Snowflake Bling
    Queen & Co Glitter Brads
    Fancy Pants Border and Element Stickers
    Fancy Pants Hot Chocolate Alphabet
    2 die cut papers
     
    Here's what you have to do to win this kit:
    1. For 1 entry: become a follower of my blog (if you aren't one already) and leave me comment;
    2. For another entry: tell about this give-away either on your own blog or on FB and when you've done that come back and leave me another comment!
    That's it!!
     
    This give-away is open until April 17, 2011. I will draw a winner on April 18, 2011. 
     
    Open to everyone and anywhere!!
     
    Good luck to you and thank you all again for being there!! 
     
    Hugs,
     

    Saturday 26 March 2011

    Crop Addict April 2011 Monthly Scrapbooking Kit

    It's that time again!! Here's next month's kit from Crop Addict:


    and the April Kit Option:


    And a list of what's in it:

    April 2011 Monthly Scrapbooking Kit:

    Carolee’s Creations Adornit Bee Happy Collection (Double Sided):
    Bee Happy A
    Flower Rush
    Buzz
    Bee Happy Defined
    Happy Stripe
    Bee Happy B
    Jillibean Soup Old World Cabbage Stew Collection (Double Sided):
    Diced Tomatoes
    Caraway Seeds
    Head of Cabbage

    Dream Street Fun & Games Collection (Double Sided):
    Dress Up
    Hopscotch
    Jacks

    Bazzill Cardstock: 24 Karat Bling, Powder Blue, Brown, Cornmeal Dotted Swiss, Brilliant White, Grass Green

    Embellishments:
    Alphabet Die Cuts
    KI Memories Glitter Lace Cardstock
    Webster’s Pages Journaling Cards (4, varies)
    Prima Canvas Tabs (2, varies)
    Jenni Bowlin Bingo Cards (2, varies)
    Chipboard Flowers
    Heidi Swapp Flower Center
    Prima Flower
    Foil Chipboard Rounder (varies)
    File Folders (2 large, 2 small)
    Jillibean Journaling Sprouts (2, varies)
    7 Gypsies Brads (6-7, varies)
    Flat Paper Clips (4)
    Hampton Arts Studio G Clear Stamp
    Fancy Pants Alphabet Stickers
    Hampton Arts Ink Pad
    Maya Road Strawberry Coast Mini Album Keychain Set

    Kit Option:
    Carolee’s Creations Adornit Bee Happy Clear Stickers
    Alphabet Stickers
    Carolee’s Creations Adornit Bee Happy Cardstock Sticker
    Fancy Pants Big Board Chipboard

    Tuesday 22 March 2011

    A double page!

    A few weeks I decided to try the sketch from CK, but as I haven't heard from them I guess it hasn't been chosen and thus I can show it to you!

    This was the sketch:


    And this is what I made. A page about my dd and our dog. Jippie (the dog) attacked my dd's cats!! = her new slippers!! It was so funny to look at that I just had to grab my camera and take some pics. :-)




    Used Kraft paper with lots of Sassafras (Bungle Jungle), a Maya Road envelop and of course my Epiphany Crafts shapes.


    Thanks for stopping by my blog today and hope to see you back soon!
    Hugs,
    Monique

    Saturday 19 March 2011

    ScrapStreet.com Magazine!

    Did you see ScrapStreet.com Magazine's March issue? I'm on page 50 in the "Totally Technique" chapter which is about all different kinds of titles, written by Romy Veul!!! Thanks Romy for choosing my layout!
    If you haven't seen this issue, you should! There's so much to see this month, so much inspiration to be found!!!


    Thanks for stopping by!
    Hugs,

    Wednesday 16 March 2011

    Pals

    Today the new Dutch Dares sketch was revealed and here's my take on it:


    My two sons in their sleeping bags watching "Avatar" together on a chilly Saturday afternoon.

    Background paper is Basic Grey, rest of the patterned paper is from Best Creation, chipboard is from Fancy Pants, and the epoxy shapes and button from Epiphany Crafts.

    And last but not least, the sketch this layout is based upon:


    If you want to see what the other dt girls created hop over to the Dutch Dares blog. And remember if you participate in the DD challenges you have a chance to win a fabulous RAK from Marsha!!

    Thanks for stopping by!
    Hugs,

    Saturday 12 March 2011

    Yay!! Going home two days early!!!

    After Patrick had taken the "tread mill test" last Wednesday the doctor told us: "you can go home this weekend"!!!! Meaning leaving SF on Saturday and arriving in Adam on Sunday!!!!

    I'm soooo happy!!! Can't wait to see these three:


    These last two days have been busy: we've been shopping a lot, had lunch with Patrick's colleagues from work (who are all VERY nice), went back and forth to the hospital to collect even more paperwork and made a lot of phone calls.... and today we started PACKING!!!

    (Can't wait to start scrapping again! Really missed that too.)

    Hugs,
    Monique

    Thursday 10 March 2011

    Update!

    Ha allemaal! Allereerst ontzettend bedankt voor al jullie lieve berichtjes en emailtjes. Het betekent heel veel te weten dat iedereen zo mee leeft. Inmiddels is het alweer anderhalve week geleden dat Patrick een hartaanval had en ben ik verbaasd hoe goed het gaat. Hij is nog wel snel moe, maar dat is niet meer dan normaal denk ik. Hij heeft vandaag de laatste test gehad in het ziekenhuis en die ging zo goed dat we a.s. maandag alweer naar huis mogen vliegen. Gelukkig maar want ik geloof niet dat ik nog 1 dag langer zonder de kinderen kan!!

    Hi everyone!! Just wanted to give you a quick update on how things are going with my hubby after his heart attack last week. To be honest, I can't believe how quickly he recovers ... if you think about what he went through and where he's now, it's amazing! According to the doctor my dh has had a "serious heart attack" Sunday a week ago and now, a week and a half later, we are touring the sites of California!! Okay, so I'm the driver and he sits next to me, but all the same. 
    Today he has had his last test at the hospital and got the okay to fly home next Monday! Yay!! Can't wait to see the kids again!!!! I just miss them terribly!! 

    In the meantime we try to relax and do some fun things together. We hired a car and traveled to Half Moon Bay and San Francisco, where we watched the sea lions and bought some souvenirs for the kids. 

    In de tussentijd proberen we ons te vermaken.... we hebben een auto gehuurd en ik fungeer als chauffeur. We zijn gisteren bijv. naar Half Moon Bay geweest:



    Daarna dwars door San Francisco gereden (berg op, berg af):



    en daarna wezen lunchen op Pier 39, precies boven de zeehonden:



    Lang wandelen kan Pat nog niet dus we doen alles op zijn elfendertigst.
    Natuurlijk ook nog souveniers gekocht voor thuis:


    en verder zitten we veel voor de hotelkamer in de tuin te lezen (met een Vanilla Latte van Starbucks natuurlijk):

    en maken we gekke foto's, gewoon omdat het nog kan:


    Zo, dit was het zo'n beetje..... jullie zijn weer een beetje bijgepraat! Wat mij betreft mag alles snel weer terug naar het oude.... (Pat kijkend naar voetbal op tv en ik achter mijn scraptafel op 1 meter afstand (zodat ik hem in de gaten kan houden) scrappend met m'n nieuwe spullen die ik net bij Michael's heb gekocht).

    Bedankt voor jullie bezoek en zodra ik thuis ben kom ik snel weer langs op jullie blog!!

    And of course we're at the hotel a lot too. Which isn't a bad thing as we have a wonderful spot to sit outside and read. And as Starbucks is right across the street from the hotel I can have a Vanilla Latte every day!!

    This is it for now. As soon as I'm home and everything is back to "normal" I'll stop by your blogs again!! Thanks for visiting mine and reading my ramblings. :-) 

    Hugs,
    Monique

    Sunday 6 March 2011

    Crop Addict 5th Anniversary - DAY 3!!!!!

    And here's Crop Addict's 3rd day of the celebration!!!


    So...are you having fun yet? If you need the details of the big PARTEEEE! Check it out here on my blog! Lots of prizes and giveaways being handed out this weekend!

    For today I made a ..... Welcome Home card!!! Surprise right?? I just love My Little Shoebox and these papers are perfect for the card I had in mind:

    And the sides:
    I hope Patrick will like this card when he comes home (as it's not really a card for a man... more a card for ??? ME!! LOL). These MLS papers are perfect for cutting out fun details and thus creating your own scene.

    Thanks for stopping by today again and hope you liked the projects I made with the Crop Addict March kit sofar! And remember to visit the Crop Addict forum for more inspiration!!!

    Hugs,

    Saturday 5 March 2011

    Crop Addict 5th Anniversary - DAY 2!!!!

    You know what I love most about the March 2011 Kit from Crop Addict??? First of all the colors!!! All those bright and happy colors; lots of reds and orange! and secondly the patterns: birds, butterflies and hearts!!!! I just love patterned paper with these themes!!!

    Today I thought I would share with you how I created my layout "Books make me happy", made with the Crop Addict March 2011 Monthly Scrapbooking Kit:


    Start with the red My Little Shoebox paper for your background.

    Cut strips of paper in various lengths and sizes from other MLS papers and choose one of the tags from the kit to use on your page:


    Adhere these strips of paper and your tag (with ribbon) to your background and cut off any excess paper:


    Use your sewing machine to add some whimsical stitched lines to the strips:


    Create a photo mat for your photos. Add a faux stitched line along the edge:


    Add another mat behind the first and adhere your photos:


    Last but not least: punch a few flowers from one of your Dream Street papers and add these to your layout:


    And that's it!! You're done!! Easy Peasy!!


    Hope you enjoyed it! If you're looking for even more inspiration, have a look at the Crop Addict forum. Do you know there's a subject called "totally technique"? You can read here about soooo many different techniques!!

    See you again tomorrow??? And don't forget to leave a comment to win!!!

    Hugs,