Creating Your Own Sketchbook...

Hello breezy Monday! I woke up to some pretty chilly air this morning, but not quite ready to crank the heat on just yet. Fall has to be the best season for me...changes in temp, the leaves changing colors, and getting cozy by the fire...how could you NOT love it?!

Today I'm sharing a sketchbook that I created for my dear friend Donnak. Her birthday was not too long ago and her gift had to be handmade! Between the both of us, we could open up a paper crafting shop, so because she has every supply out there, I thought creating a sketchbook would be perfect! The paper I selected is from The Blossom Song Pack. Lots of pretty papers in this pack and subtle glitter galore.

I bought a 1 inch clear binder and cut my papers to size, then slipped them inside the clear pockets. Since this binder will probably be displayed on a bookshelf, it needed to have have a spine title as well. Letters were stamped with a PTI alpha set and then I used my circle punches to punch out and matte.On this inside flap, I printed off a Verve gift certificate and did a little simple stamping down the side.Inside the contents are put in page protectors and I printed off a few years of sketch designs from Verve and Taylored Expressions. These are free printables and I was sure to add some extra page protectors so Donna can always add more at a later date. Happy Crafting!

Dawn ;)

It's Cleaning Day!!!!!!!!

Whew! This has been long overdue and I've finally gotten around to taking pictures of items I'd like to clear out of my studio. All purchases are on a 'first come, first serve' basis. Most items can be shipped, those that cannot will be noted. Preferred payment is Paypal, but this papercrafting fanatic will accept cash for local pick-ups as well ;) All prices are labeled and do not include shipping rates(unless noted)...those items to be shipped will be done so by priority boxes/envelopes only...I will be sure to let you know how many stamp sets can fit into either an envelope or box at the time of purchase. All stamps are used(unless noted) and may contain staining. The staining in no way compromises the image when stamping. If you have any inquiries, please email me: madscrapper24@yahoo.com

Since this is a 'first come, first serve' basis, please email me first with the item title(s) in the subject line of your email...'Cuttlebug Folders' etc. And we will make payment/pick-up arrangements.

1. SU! Think Big-$5.00 SOLD

2. SU! Floral Set--$6.00
3. SU! Terrific Tulips-$8.00 SOLD4. SU! Fun Fillers-$3.005. SU! Wild Rose-$10.006. SU! All in the Family-$12.007. Crafty Secrets--Kewpie Dolls-$6.008. Crafty Secrets-Chef/Dinner Set $6.00 SOLD9. Crafty Secrets Angels-$5.0010. Karen Lockhart Cupcake Stand-$4.0011. Inkadinkadoo Chandeliers-$5.0012. My Favorite Things Easter Set-$5.0013. Papertrey Ink Iconic Images-$15.00(20.00 shipped) Brand New with Box!14. Lot of Prima Flowers(jars are filled to the brim!)-$45.00 with Jars-60.00 SOLD15. Papertrey Ink-Favor-it 2 die-$12.00(includes shipping!) SOLD16. SU! Bravo Burgundy Ink Pad-Brand new-$4.00 SOLD17. Full Jar of Robins Nest embellies--Silverbelles--$4.00 SOLD18. Soldering Kit--Complete and with plenty of extras! $45.00($55.00 with shipping)19. Lot of Punches-Su! and EK success--willing to separate if need be--$8.00 each20. Scor-pal--Still in great condition, I would reccomend purchasing a new bone file as mine as been well used, but still works! ONLY $8.00(local pick up only!) SOLD21. Cuttlebug Lot--Still in great working condition with lots of extras here! Only selling because I recently purchased a Bigshot. SOLD22. Lot of 3 Cuttlebug Folders-$6.00 SOLD This is what I've got for now, but I'm sure as I purge more of my room, I will add them here! Don't hesitate to email if you have any questions!

Thanks,

Dawn ;)

Baby Shower Gifts...

Even though the ol' blog was empty in posts, I certainly stayed busy behind the scenes the past few months. Today's post is another special request for baby shower gifts. Since the shower was being held at The Wilmington Tea Room, I knew I had the perfect teapot set for the occasion. I hadn't realized until now, that these colors actually match my banner as well! The colors are pulled from the shower invitations and I used several different stamp sets to create my own patterned paper. First off, we started with a notebook for the mom-2-be. The notebook is for the shower gift thank-yous and maybe later she can use the extra pages to write down all the 'firsts' of baby's year before she transfers them into a baby book. Prima flowers, grosgrain chocolate ribbon, and button accent. Love the teapot notebooks! Without any intention here, I used this tag die which also looks a lot like a tea bag! Added a few 'note tabs' on the inside. A couple of notebooks for the Men who attended. I'm was really pleased with how well the cattails came out. I did not have a 'pond' themed set, so I had to make my own cattails from the SU! small slot punch. I then went back and sponged a cocoa brown ink for my first layer, then back with a darker brown for the outer shading. The pond looks more realistic with crystal effects! Love that stuff!

Custom Frame...

Getting to play 'outside the box' today! I really enjoy getting to work on altered projects from time to time and this Alexa frame was a custom order gift I recently finished. Although it doesn't show the shimmer here, Alexa is covered in a shimmery dew drop ink, which gives a nice subtle glitter effect. The matte behind the shimmer purple is SU! Pear Pizzaz, along with the pear strip with polka dots. The bottom half repeats the same scalloped border with a strip of white grosgrain ribbon and accented with clear rhinestones.The argyle patterned paper is just a sheet of 12x12 patterned paper and has accented glitter diamonds. Once I had the frame completed, I went back and sponged the shimmer ink along the outer edges as well as the inside edge of the picture window.Happy Crafting!
Dawn ;)

SU! Fall Swap...

Short and sweet post today as I'm finishing up a few custom orders this morning. I recently had another SU! swap and this time the rules called for Fall colors. There aren't many SU! sets still left in my stash(once I switched over to clear), but I've kept a few old ones and now I'm finding some new ones that I really like(Wicked Cool) too! I've held on to this baroque set and decided it would work perfect with my Fall colors. The layout is a simple one-layer design and then I just added some polka dotted ribbon from May Arts.
Happy crafting!
Dawn ;)

Batty Eyes...

Another trio of Halloween cards. I used a mix of PTI and SU! sets here to create my 'spooky' look. To create my bat squares I used the PTI-Take Three die and it cuts out 3 rounded squares at one time. Then for the yellow matte underneath, I used my CM square punch. The moon is created with my spotted dot set and the bats are from Wicked Cool again. I added some googlie eyes to 'spooky' and adhered it to a strip of black grosgrain ribbon. Super simple, but fun layout. I'm getting ready to load these up into my Etsy shop...if interested, they will be available in sets of three, one design from each of the three that were featured this week. I'm also working on getting some more candy packaging, tags, etc. in the shop, so stay tuned!

Happy Crafting!
Dawn ;)

Pumpkin Legs...

How's that for a post title?! I love it! I pulled out my stash of Halloween papers and there was a full 12x12 sheet of cut outs and this is what came to mind...'why not put a pumpkin on legs' I thought! The only stamping I did on this card was the sentiment(Wicked Cool--SU!). I decided to add the orange rhinestones for eyes...makes me feel like this kooky pumpkin is watching me on my crafting table...LOL! Happy Crafting!
Dawn ;)

Spooky Surprise...

I realize it has been well over a month since my last post! With all good intentions, sometimes LIFE gets in the way. I've had a very good excuse as to not posting and that is having the wonderful joys of morning sickness! I've been terribly sick with baby #3 and if my instincts are correct, this HAS TO BE THE BOY! I don't remember feeling this ill with either of my girls. My other 2 pregnancies, although a little queasy, were nothing like this one. I'm hoping it passes soon as I've got a few projects I'd like to get going! Needless to say, the whole family is quite thrilled and my 5 year old has given me all sorts of name options, although they are all girl names! Maybe she knows something we don't? We are expecting Baby Chau's debut in April 2012.

Anyhoo, I did force myself to sit down and create some fun Halloween cards. This week on the blog I will be sharing several trio's of cards. Today's creations are done with the Wicked Cool set by SU! I must admit that I've had Really Rust CS in my paper collection and have never, I mean NEVER used it! I cracked open my SU! catty and realized they had used it along with Rich Razzleberry and Pear Pizzaz...I think I can learn to like it now! The Lattice Die(SU!) design is also a new one for me. I cut out the lattice design in Pear Pizzaz and added the Rich Razzleberry CS underneath. Every witch needs a shiny vinyl hat! The hat is popped up with foam tape and a thin layer of crystal effects was poured over the top.