“Tray” Elegance

This summer I have definitely stepped out of my scrap & stamp comfort zone into uncharted territories trying new projects and techniques that I have never tried before and even coming up with a few new ones of my own...which I will share in some upcoming posts.

If you are looking for a gift idea for the holidays, now is a great time to get started on some projects. This is a b&w wooden tray that I made for my mother-in-law for Mother’s Day. I primed, painted and sanded it. Then I embossed stamps from Inque Boutique’s Arabesque stamp set, designed by my friend Susan Stringfellow. The corner elements and medallion where just perfect for this project. I handcut the elements out and arranged them on the tray and used Modge Podge to adhere them. I used a couple coats of varnish on top to seal it.  I tied some ribbons to the handles for a finishing touch. For additional photos, you can check out my Inque gallery. If I can do this, so can you!

I’m Wild About Paper Bag Albums

If you haven't ever made a paper bag album before, then you are not alone. This was the first one I ever did, and boy are they fun! This is a mega make-n-take that was done with my Stampin’ Up stamper's club group. It was a fun way to say goodbye to a retiring wheel, In Color and the Bali designer papers and some other favorite ink pads. I used Stampin’ Up’s One of a Kind and Wild About You sets as well as some assorted punches. By using the stamp omission technique, you can make this album totally customizable to whatever you are Wild About. Whether it is a person, event or your favorite foods, this cute and colorful mini album has 10 inside pages, some flaps and pockets for you to store memorabilia, pictures, journaling and more. You can view a slideshow of this album below. To view at a larger size, click on the slideshow to go directly to Picasa. Or visit my Stampin’ Up gallery or website for pictures and information about the supplies used.

Totally Tubular Day!

Living in Florida has its many perks...like visits from family and friends throughout the summer, along with fun days at the beach. 

Yesterday, the Jones family came to visit and we went to Indialantic beach. Although we only had a few hours of fun in the sun, the girls had a blast horsing around on these inner tubes in the ocean.The grown ups did, too, but we made sure no one took pictures of that! Since it was low tide, the waves were crashing close to the shoreline and were pretty brutal. The cousins drank mouthfuls of sea water, got pummeled by the waves, yet we all had a totally tubular day!