Happy Birthday :)

Just a quick share today: a "Happy Birthday" card I made recently with some Pebbles scraps:

I used their "Let Freedom Ring" line and combined it with some dark blue cardstock, a doilie, a candle, a handmade flag, a piece of ribbon and a white pen. To finish it all off I used my sewing machine (of course).

Thanks for stopping by!
Hugs,
Monique

Some Jillibean Projects :)

A little while ago Jillibean Soup had a DT call and because I love their products I decided to apply. I haven't heard anything yet, so I guess that means "no", but that doesn't make me like their products less :):):).

Here are the 2 cards and the gift box I created for their call. The layouts have already been shown on my blog.

First up is the Gift Box: 

Then a "clean and simple" birthday card:

And last but least a "For You" card: 

I just love the mix of bright colors and kraft. They go together so well.

Can't wait to see who did make the team!

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

What a (Cherry) Delight!

This month I got to work with the new "Cherry Delight" collection from My Little Shoebox. As red is my favorite color (which is obvious if you look at my house & clothes) I happily started on my projects knowing that whatever project I would create, it would fit perfectly in my home!

(Btw, these projects were shown on My Little Shoebox' blog on September 3rd, so it's possible you already saw them.)

Here's what I made: first a photo frame I found in a little shop here in the city centre:

 

Really love how this turned out!

Supplies: Cherry Delight: Charming (50001), Happy Times (50004), 3D Roll-Up Flower and Accents (50005), Cardstock Sticker (50006), Mini Alphabet Stickers (50151 – Kiss).

And I also made a layout (of course):

A page about my adorable little niece. The photo was taken a few years ago and I just love how she looks: so happy!

Supplies: MLS Cherry Delight: Charming (50001), Serenade (50002), Bliss (50003), Happy Times (50004), 3D Roll-Up Flower and Accents (50005), Cardstock Sticker (50006), Muse Cardstock Alphabet Sticker (50101 Firecracker). Other supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill Basic.

Thanks for visiting my blog! Hope you have a wonderful (scrappy) weekend!!
Hugs,
Monique

Playing with JBS Mercantile!

I had so much fun playing with my JBS Mercantile goodies (see my last post) and because they were still laying on my desk I just jumped in and started another!

This time it's an Easter layout. Easter??? Yes, Easter! While browsing through my drawer with printed photos I found this one and because of the happy faces it made me smile .... and so I decided to use it for my next page!

and a few close-ups:

The white paper with the words "Haas" are from Mats. It's from his pile of school work from last April. Here he learns how to write "little (Easter) bunny". Fun huh? 

and of course I machine stitched most of my papers and embellishments onto the background. 

I love Jenni Bowlin's kits and if you want to have a look at what this month's kit contains, have a look here!

Thanks for visiting and wishing you a wonderful weekend!
Hugs,
Monique

{ At the Beach }

Last August we had our half annual appointment at the dentist and although the kids never have anything to worry about, it is not something they look forward to. So .... I always try to do something fun afterwards. And because our dentist is situated close to the beach, that's where we went!

The day was very beautiful: not too warm and not too cold. They kids could play in the sand and in the water and I could enjoy a coffee and read my book on my Kindle. I LOVE days like that!
We ended the day with fish and chips and that made it even more perfect :). By that time we had totally forgotten we had even been to the dentist!

Of course that day has to go into my scrapbook! And here's the page I made using one of my favorite scrapbooking kits from Jenni Bowlin:

and - of course - a few close-ups:

What I love about Jenny Bowlin's products are all the matching items: the journaling cards, the chipboard elements, the tags and the STAMPS (Love those!)!!!! The background is cardstock from Core'dinations which I sanded (also from the kit). The sun is not from the kit, this is from American Crafts and came with the September kit from Scraptastic. And of course I had to machine stitch on my page. It's just not finished without.

Btw, the frame around the photo was created using Instagram on my iPhone. Love the endless possibilities from Instagram

Thanks for stopping by my blog today and if you leave a comment I'll make sure to visit yours too!

Hugs,
Monique

Le Bouchon

I promised you more layouts about our summer holidays, but I bet you didn't expect one about all the traffic jams we encountered :).

Last week Lori (Doodlebug) asked the design team to do a travel layout, but as Doodlebug has no specific travel collection I had to come up with a creative solution. Here's what I did .... I opened Google Maps and typed in the route from our home to our address in France. I then printed the map and used it on my layout. All the other products on my layout are from Doodlebug's "Boys Only" collection.

and some close-ups:

And in case you were wondering .... le bouchon means traffic jam :).

If you want to see the travel layout Jessy created, have a look at Doodlebug's blog!

Thanks for paying me a visit and hope to see you back sometime soon!
Hugs,
Monique

{ Favorite Place }

When we were in Denmark (two years ago - time flies!) we stayed in a wonderful holiday park which was situated at a beautiful lake. Leading right into this lake there was a wooden pier and we all thought that this was the very best place to sit and relax and enjoy the beautiful weather and view.

When I received My Scrapbook Nook's very last kit (they are closing down per October 1 :( ) filled with Echo Park "For the Record II" I knew straight away which photos to use .... the Denmark photos!

So here it is:

For the title I used my Epiphany Crafts Shape Studio Tool Round 14. Still love it!

I made this page for the sketch challenge over at Another Freaking Scrappy Challenge! This month the designers did an awesome job - yet again! So please hop over and have a look! And while you're at it, why not join us in this fun challenge??? There's a wonderful prize up for grabs!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by my blog today! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Hugs,
Monique

{{ Unity / My Little Shoebox Hip Hop! }}

Hello and thanks for hopping with us today!

We are so pleased to share our new Co-Branded stamps with Unity Stamp Co.

Make sure you leave a comment on each blog to win one of the fabulous prizes from Unity Stamp Co and My Little Shoebox. Comments will close Sunday, September 16, at midnight Pacific time.

Winners will be chosen at random from the participating blogs.

Here's my project, which I created with the adorable { Owl love You Always} stamp I got. 

Supplies: My Little Shoebox "Vintage Shop" Papers, Accents and Cardstock Stickers and Twine from The Twinery and of course the adorable Itty Bitty Stamp { Owl Love You Always } by Unity and My Little Shoebox!

To see this and all the other new My Little Shoebox' / Unity stamps visit the shop on the Unity website!

 Now it's time for me to send you on over to Jolande van Oosterhout's blog.

In case you get lost on the way, just return to My Little Shoebox's blog where you'll find the complete blog hop order!

Thank you so much for visiting my blog and have fun hopping!!

Hugs,
Monique

And this is "US"!

Last year when we were cruising the Mediterranean we asked one of the other numerous tourists to take our picture... I love photos of the 5 of us, but I have so very few of them. So when I've got one, I HAVE TO scrap it!!

Here it is, using Bella Blvd's "Family Dynamix".

Love all the chipboard accents that come with this line! They look great stacked on top of each other :).

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog today!
Hope to see you again soon!!
Hugs,
Monique

Another "Happy Mail" Card.

If you've read my last blogpost you now know all about Doodlebug's and Stacey Julian's "Happy Mail" programme. If not and you want to know what I'm talking about just scroll down a bit.

Here's another "Happy Mail" card I made last week. This one is for you, Vick, my best friend on the web!!

Thanks everyone for visiting my blog and for taking the time to leave me such sweet comments! I appreciate it a LOT!!!

Hugs,
Monique

Doodlebug { Happy Mail }

What is Happy Mail?
Happy Mail is a concept Stacy Julian presented to Cynthea Sandoval (Doodlebug) last year at a trade show.

What is the Happy Mail Campaign?
The following statement was posted on the Big Picture blog last Monday, "Starting Sept. 1 2012, I Stacy Julian, declare that I will make and send 365 handmade cards with handwritten notes. Now I do not want to do this alone and I know with your enthusiastic support, we can do this. Join me in a pay-it-forward Happy Mail movement where people rediscover the joy of sending and receiving handwritten communication (with a stamp)."

Why participate?
The online world is an exciting place to work and hang out—with new advances in digital media and communication exploding at every turn. Many of these digital tools have established themselves permanently in our daily lives and routine—think email and Facebook. But the sheer volume of digital communication can be utterly overwhelming, driving attention deficit, dehumanization and diminishing returns on our efforts. It’s crazy to her, that these super-convenient tools, celebrated for their ability to connect people, can actually have the opposite effect. This is why Stacy Julian's big idea is very old-fashioned and requires only a pen and a piece of paper.

So, Doodlebug is excited to share their support of the program and have challenged their own design team to pay it forward and send out a card and handwritten message to a friend.

And now on to my contribution to this happy concept: to start with, I created these two cards for both my husband and my sister:

And this is why: "Three years ago my mum died and then last June my stepfather also passed away. Right now I'm having a very difficult time dealing with everyting that comes with this: emptying the house and all the memories this brings. I'm so lucky I have my husband and sister right next to me to help me cope and making sure I don't have to go through this time alone. My husband is my tower of strenght and my sister, well, she's just always there. If it weren't for them I don't think I would have been able to cope. So these two cards are for them! Love them both!"

Please visit Doodlebug's blog for more inspiration and giveaways concerning this Happy Mail concept!!
If you want to know who will receive my next Happy Mail, please come back soon and I'll tell you!!

Hugs,
Monique

Cherry Delight projects ...

are now up on My Little Shoebox' blog!!

Here are two sneaks, first of the layout of my adorable little niece:

And second of my Home Decor Project: 

I can't show you my project until after the 15th of this months, but I would love for you to have a look at them on My Little Shoebox' blog (and maybe leave a comment as well?) and tell me what you think?

Thank you so much!!
Hugs,
Monique

{My English Teacher}

This page is made for the new challenge over at Another Freaking Scrappy Challenge. The challenge is:

"September is back to school in North America – scrap about a teacher or someone who inspired you, believed in you, helped you in some way.  If you have a photo of them, use it.  If not place a photo of you or something else that is representative of how they inspired you."

I chose to scrap about my English teacher from way back in college. She encouraged and inspired me to (learn to) love the English language, the country, the people ... She could be so enthusiastic, especially about the English language and the English books. She brought us, her students, brand new books from her own collection and encouraged us to read them and sometimes she even gave them to us.

I clearly remember the very first "normal" English book I got from her: "The Thorn Birds" from Colleen McCullough. 14 Years old, I remember thinking that it had way too many pages and that there was no way I would be able to read that. But I was wrong. Once I started I couldn't stop and that was the beginning......

My love for English books only grew and as soon as I wasn't obliged to read Dutch books anymore I stopped reading those altogether. My bookcase is now filled with hundreds of English books and I also have a Kindle filled with English written books. There're almost no Dutch books in our house anymore ... gave those all away to a library. Hundreds of them!

It's a shame I don't have a photo of that English teacher that I can use on my page. Instead I made a few photos of my bookcase:

I used the HeyDay collection from Studio Callico for this page. 

If you want to see what the other designer made hop over to the blog of AFSC! If you decide to play with us this month you can win a word album by SEI!

This is it for today! Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog!
Hugs,
Monique