Friday, May 30, 2014

Front Door Friday - Pink and Mustard Grapevine Wreath



Hello! Happy Friday! This week I have a mini wreath for you, and my first Front Door Friday grapevine wreath:


The wreath base is only about 5 inches. That makes this wreath a great option for a small window opening, a shelf, or wall decor.


The peachy-pink flowers are by Prima. I love the fairy-like feeling they give the wreath. The mustard wool rose is from my shop. I can't get enough of the mustard roses!


Because the grapevine is so tangled, I decided to leave the ends of my garland thread long so that they could tangle, too.

Thanks for visiting! I hope your weekend is a great one! Tessa

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Hello, Oreo! - Scrapbook Circle

I've been having so much fun with my May kit from Scrapbook Circle. Today I'm up on the Scrapbook Circle blog with my latest layout, Hello, Oreo:



These photos are from the day Jaxon and I made Oreo brownies for his birthday party. Our favorite phrase that afternoon was, "Hello, Oreo!" So the hello patterned paper by Pink Paislee in the kit was a perfect match.



I'm sharing my layout as inspiration for our latest challenge, From the Heart. The challenge is simply to use hearts on your layout. I think I got enough hearts in there ;).



The gray cardstock background is a Silhouette Cameo cut file. I cut the image, then isolated one of the hearts and used the offset feature to create a heart that was just a tad bigger. I cut several of those bigger hearts from the patterned paper and then tucked them behind the open spaces in my cardstock cut out. I used both the A and B sides of the patterned paper. Easy-peasy! Then I used the leftover negative cardstock hearts by popping them up with dimensional adhesive on the existing cardstock hearts. After experimenting with this background cut file, I think I'll play with more in the future.



If you'd like to play along, visit the original post here. You don't have to be a subscriber to join in. Thanks for stopping by today! Tessa

Sunday, May 25, 2014

SMASH Sunday - Cheap Thrills + a Sale



Hello and happy Sunday! Today I am sharing from my blue retro portfolio. Last time I shared from this book, I wasn't sure which direction it was going in. Now, I know. This is going to be my hubby & me selfie book. I think this will be a great way to collect all of our date nights and us moments in one place. So, for the second set of pages in this book, here we go:



We took this photo at the Train concert that we went to last summer. I already scrapbooked a layout about it here, but I had an extra print of our selfie and this purple-pink page was perfect for it. I used lots of Heidi Swapp goodies from my Scrapbook Circle May kits - acetate tickets, acetate butterflies, glitter heart polaroid frame, acetate hearts.


One of my favorite details is the glassine envelope filled with sequins. I wanted some sparkle, but I wanted it to be muted like the bokeh paper on the right. Plus, it's fun to tip the book and watch the sequins move around.



I picked up some Project Life mini kits and this "admit one" card is my first Project Life addition to my SMASH books. I love the variety of cards and I'm sure I'll use them often.



Mini staples are my favorite way to attach acetate pieces. Just be sure you don't staple through too many pages of your SMASH book ;).


Oh yes, I mentioned a sale in my post title! Before the baby arrived, I turned my scrapbook room into a nursery. One wall is an Expedit unit from Ikea and that now houses almost all of my supplies (I kept the closet for my scrappy stuff, too). Now that I've had some time to experiment with how I store my supplies in the Expedit, I've decided to only have on hand what will fit, and that will help me keep my stash down to what I am likely to actually use ;).

So, I pulled a lot of great stuff from my shelves and have listed it in my Etsy shop, Precocious Paper. Almost everything is brand new, still in its package. You'll find alphabets, stickers, stamps, embellishments, tags, journaling cards, etc. Leftovers from Studio Calico and Scrapbook Circle kits. Extras from manufacturer exchange projects. I also put together some great SMASH kits, filled with die-cuts, pocket cards, journaling spots and more from a huge variety of manufacturers and lines, all ready for your smashing pleasure.

You can find all of these goodies in the "destash" section of my shop here. Every fifth item from the "destash" section is free (refund via PayPal within 24 hours). AND, just for you lovely readers, use code SMASHSUNDAY to receive an additional 10% off of the already discounted prices (and everything else in the shop, too).

Happy shopping, and thanks for stopping by for another SMASH Sunday! Tessa

Friday, May 23, 2014

Front Door Friday - The Boy is Coming Home!

Hello! Today's Front Door Friday is a bit of a departure from my previous Front Door Friday posts. You see, today my oldest returns home from his first trip without family. He and the other 5th graders from his school went away to a science camp and I've been missing him terribly since we dropped him off Monday morning. He comes home this afternoon, but I won't be here to welcome him :(. I have to be at work. I tried to figure out a way to get out of it, but I just couldn't make it happen. So, since I can't welcome him home with open arms, I decided to welcome him home with decorations! When my hubby brings him home and pulls up in the driveway, this is what he will see:



"Welcome home Colten!" on the garage. Balloons.



More balloons. And a message from mom on the door.




It's a little bit silly, but I know he's gonna grin. Colten's love languages are words and time. He will read my words and he will notice how much time I spent putting up the decorations. When I get home I'll give him a huge hug that will probably be a little awkward (because he's 11 and physical touch is SO not his love language). And then I'll fill his bucket with more words (listening to everything that happened and asking questions) and more time (staying up as late as we want because of the holiday weekend).

So, today's Front Door Friday isn't a pretty wreath, but I hope you're inspired to celebrate one of your kiddos in a simple, special way. And don't worry, I have a gorgeous mini wreath ready to share with you next week! Thanks for stopping by today! Tessa

Thursday, May 22, 2014

My Heart - Love My Tapes

As soon as I found out that I was having a girl, I did a little girly scrapbook shopping. One of my purchases was pieces from Prima's Anna Marie collection. The pretty floral and little girl dress patterns were so fun to buy because, as a mom to only boys before that, I hardly ever indulged in "pretty" papers. This page is the first layout of Addie that I've made with my girly Anna Marie supplies:



I loved the paper so much that I used a large piece of it as "white space". The flowers and buttons are also Prima. Heart is an altered cut file from Two Peas in a Bucket. The lace tape that you see is from Love My Tapes.



I really love the way it connected the white top portion to the patterned paper portion. It's a technique I'm sure to use again. The black and white postage tape is also from Love My Tapes. I love a good black and white, graphic pattern!


If you'd like to see more and read more about my layout, please visit the Love My Tapes blog today. Thanks for stopping by! Tessa

Monday, May 19, 2014

Cherish - SRM Challenges and DCWV

The "birthdays" challenge is going strong at SRM Challenges. There is a reminder post up with new inspiration from the design team, including this layout I made about Adlyn's birth day:



I raided my SRM stickers stash for the calendar sticker and glassine bags...



...and the "today" and "happy day" stickers.



The background paper is from the Vintage Lane stack by DCWV. I love the border of flowers in different mixed media type textures. The actual paper is embossed on the edges, giving it a cool shine in person. The background piece of my photo mat is also Vintage Lane. I love the mix of patterns in this stack - fabulous!



And the lace tape - it's from Love My Tapes (gorgeous! my new fave!). If you'd like to play along with the challenge, you can find the reminder post here and the original challenge post here. Thanks for visiting and have a great day! Tessa

Sunday, May 18, 2014

SMASH Sunday - Love My Tapes

Hello! Today's pages come from my couture portfolio:




I was drawn to the green background pages because I just received a few fabulous green tapes in my design team box from Love My Tapes (polka dots and damask). The two shades of green match the watercolor greens on the opposite page perfectly.



I also used my Love My Tapes tapes to create flag paperclips. For an easy tutorial, see the Love My Tapes blog today.


I kept these pages fairly simple because I didn't want to cover up much of the background. Matting my photo with a tag was simple and cute.



On this side you see a magazine cut-out (hello) and some fun Basic Grey alphas. I love the Maggie Holmes photo frames and this one was a perfect fit.



Be sure to stop by the Love My Tapes blog for my post. Their new website will be up and running soon! Thanks for stopping by today. Tessa

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Paper Flower Monograms - Mother's Day Gifts

Hello! Today I am sharing the mother's day gifts that I made my mom and mother-in-law.


I was inspired by a friend who made a shadow box with a floral ring for her mother, and I based my design on this print, found in this Etsy shop:


I started with 11x14 canvases, and after applying gesso, I painted them glossy black. For the flowers, I used my Silhouette Cameo and 3d flower cut files. I specifically used this one, this one, and this one. I sized the flowers so that each canvas had two large ones, three medium flowers, and several smaller flowers.


After cutting the flowers, I painted each side of each layer with Color Shine. I didn't mist the Color Shine, I used a brush. This part took awhile, and used quite a bit of mist, but I loved the result. I let the layers partially dry, then curled the petals with my fingers. I let them fully dry before gluing the layers together.



I chose not to use the flower centers in the cut files because I had centers and stamen of my own. Several months ago my father-in-law gave me a huge box of vintage flower-making supplies that I had yet to touch. When I combed through the box with this project in mind, I found so much great stuff! The black stamen, the white and black centers, the brown paper-wrapped wire and the velvet leaves are all from this box. They were delicate because they were so old, but they were wonderful to work with!



To finish the canvases I cut each mom's initial with my Silhouette and adhered it to the center. I love how they turned out so much that I am definitely going to make one for Adlyn's nursery. I think red, aqua and yellow will be really pretty!

Thanks for stopping by today! Tessa

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Mother's Day - Cards - DCWV

Hello! Between private lessons, regular classes, auditions for my two dance companies and Mother's Day, my weekend was very full. I didn't have much time to get online or even get my SMASH Sunday post up! So sorry if you were looking forward to that ;). But, I was able to enjoy time with the people who made me a mom, who I call mom, and who I admire as moms. Here's a recap of my Mother's Day:

It was like herding cats and pulling teeth, but I managed to get a photo with each of my kiddos. Four. That was a "first" this Mother's Day. Another "first" - being mom to someone who will one day herself be a mom. Super special.



My gift from the hubby. It's a leather cuff from The Turquoise Tomato, stamped with my One Little Word for the year. I love it!



Later we had lunch at my uncle and aunt's house. Here is Addie with her grandma (my mom - they got the mint memo) and her great-grandma (my mom's mom):






I spent so much time working on the gifts I made for my mom and mother-in-law (coming to the blog tomorrow!) that I didn't have much time to make cards. However, DCWV's super cute line "Vintage Collector" came to the rescue with ready-made cards and cute die-cuts:



I simply adhered a typewriter die-cut to the card, then adhered a heart to the typewriter with foam adhesive. Easy-peasy and super cute!



How was your Mother's Day? I hope it was fabulous! Thanks for stopping by! Tessa

Friday, May 9, 2014

Front Door Friday - Butterfly Wreath


Hello and happy Friday! Next week is supposed to be a string of 90-degree days, so my latest wreath is all about warm, summery colors:


When I first sat down to design this wreath, I chose my yarn colors: mustard, strawberry, burnt orange and raspberry. I thought it would be fun to kind of "ombre" the colors from dark to light. While my skeins of yarn and wreath base were sitting on the table, I unpacked some scrapbooking supplies I had just bought at JoAnn's. I set a package of chipboard butterflies near my wreath materials and it suddenly hit me - I want butterflies on this wreath! The chipboard ones I had just bought wouldn't work, so on my next trip to Michaels I picked up some feather butterflies that matched.


To make the wreath, I started by wrapping the yarn. When I was done wrapping the blocks of color, I took strands of the yarn and overlapped them onto the next color, trying to create a "fade" kind of effect. I like the way it looks and I'll keep playing to see if I can make it even more realistic.


The felt roses are all from my Etsy shop.



I've got several other butterfly wreaths pinned to my Wreaths Pinterest board. I don't think this is the last time I'll give butterflies a go. I'm already thinking of other color combinations, or even just an orange monarch butterfly wreath....

Thanks for stopping by today! Tessa

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Teacher Appreciation Week Round-up

It's Teacher Appreciation Week and our family has been having fun participating in our PTO's celebration! Our parent-teacher organization put out a flyer with suggestions of small gifts that we could bring to our teachers each day. Now, I'll be the first to admit that we went above and beyond what our PTO intended, but that's just kind of how I feel about our teachers this year. Plus, I did absolutely nothing last year because morning sickness was just kicking in, so I felt like I needed to make up for that. ;) So here is a round-up of our gifts for the week:

Monday: Bring your teacher an apple.



For the book apple, I got started with this tutorial. Once I had the apple made, I poured some red mist (you could use watercolors) into a bowl. I dipped the edges into the bowl and used a brush to get the very top. Colten really liked how the watercolor soaked into the pages and made them kind of ripply. I liked it, too.



For the brooch, I cut an apple shape from cream felt, used it as a template to cut a larger apple from red felt, and stitched the two pieces together (sandwiching the green felt leaf between the layers). I used Blue Moon Beads as apple seeds, as well as a few more stitches. I glued in the stem (something Carson found in the yard) and added a pin to the back.


Tuesday: Bring your teacher a flower from your garden.


Ummm, I don't garden, and unless a dandelion would do, I had to go another route. Keeping in mind that Colten's male teacher may not love roses, we opted for cacti. I got a cute, hot pink one for Mrs. V, though. To make the pots, I started with regular terra cotta pots. Using Faber-Castell's chalkboard paint, I gave each pot a couple of coats. Once dry, I used a chalk marker to write each teacher's name. Once that was dry, I gave the pots a chalk treatment - draw with regular chalk all over, then rub the chalk dust in. I used a paper towel to distress the names (just rubbed hard).


Wednesday: Bring your teacher a treat.


I found these small craft storage boxes and filled them with truffles. You could also fill compartments with school supplies, but since it was treat day, we stuck with chocolate. To decorate the tops, I used Studio Calico and DCWV patterned papers, some washi tape, and chalkboard labels by Fancy Pants. My chalk marker flaked right off of the labels, so I had to use my Silhouette Cameo to cut the words. I again used regular chalk to chalk up the labels, and embellished with wood veneer. I only put glue in the corners to attach to the boxes so that the teachers could remove it and use the boxes for something else later.


Thursday: Bring a school supply.


These were so fun and easy! I purchased white board markers and made magnets and bookmarks from A Flair for Buttons flair. To gift them in a fun way, I made dynamite containers. The containers are actually Pringles chips cans! These are the small cans, usually $1.00 at the Target checkout stand. I wrapped a piece of DCWV glitter paper around each canister, then hand-cut the exploding labels. "Blast!" is written in Basic Grey alphas, and I had each boy write out the rest. The fire is red and yellow tissue paper wrapped around the school supplies.


Friday: Write a note for your teacher's door.

I'm off the hook for Friday. This is something entirely up to the boys and done at school. However, Open House is next week and I've got one more gift for each teacher in the works. I'll share later :).

If you'd like to see more photos and close-ups of these projects, you can find them in my gallery here. Thanks for stopping by today! Tessa