Heck with California Girls — check out these Island Girls!

My sister’s summer visits are always fun-filled, especially when we get time to spend at the beach or in the pool. This photo was from a couple years ago during a visit to Ron Jons Resort in Cape Canaveral. The girls had their hair braided. Just loved this photo of Kai and Lauren stopping for a quick pic taken between hopping into the pool and floating on the lazy river!

I loved the dimension the flocking and chipboard added to this layout. I will share with you some cool things to try with your Glue Arts Ribbon Adhesive and Wall Art Decor Adhesive.

This is a close up view showing how I directly applied Ribbon Adhesive to the layout with glitter on top to create this shimmery line. These Me and My Big Ideas Sassy Icons chipboard elements were pre-glittered, but if you have some basic chipboard and want to glitz it up, try covering it with cardstock or painting it and using rub-ons, then apply Glue Arts’ Wall Art Decor Adhesive on top and sprinkle with glitter to add shimmer to your project!

Wall Art Decor Adhesive is also great for applying to the back of papers and cardstock before cutting on your Cricuit, Silhouette or other diecutting machine. It makes applying titles and delicate cuts so much easier (as you see in this detail shot above).

This flocked design accent was created using a new product I found called Design Adhesives by Clear Snap. The designs are sold in packs of 4. I found it at Michaels Craft Store. I used Summer Lovin’ Flock by Stampendous. How it works is you apply the design to your project, then remove the protective sheet to expose the adhesive design. Add glitter, flocking or even sand to create a great design accent. Keep in mind that the background color you are applying it to can alter the color of your flock, glitter, etc. I liked the stark contrast of using this summery palette of colors against the rich chocolate brown cardstock. I printed all the journaling out on my color printer onto some colored cardstock. I cut into strips using my Fiskars trimmer and used my Glue Glider™ Pro with high tac adhesive to apply to the scrapbook layout.

Give these tips and products a try on your next creation!

Beachy Grad Wishes

I know this post comes a bit late, but with my schedule lately, I haven't had much time to take photos of all my projects, format and upload. I am working on catching you up on some of my recent creations! Just wanted to share this graduation card/giftcard idea that I made for a friend who graduated recently. The concept can be used for any card & gift giving occasion.

outside view

full inside view (with gift card holder on left)

close up of gift card holder- showing gift card inside

You can size the gift card wrapper to whatever size you want to accommodate the store’s holder or you can take the gift card off the original holder and use temporary adhesive to attach it. Design note: I used up some left over scraps of patterned paper with some of my circle punches. The shells are from a retired SU set, which it still is one of my favorites. Today's challenge: Try making a card or scrapbook page using up a bunch of your old scraps!

Hazeldiddlies in Heaven Layout

Some of you may recall my post in tribute to my Aunt Floss who passed away on Father’s Day. Before going up to the funeral, I shared my blog post with my family. They loved it so much that I thought I needed to put it into a scrapbook page. I really didn’t have any large photos of my Aunt so you will have to excuse this cropped version being a bit soft focus. I used Crushed Berry, Prailine and Belgian Cardstocks from Basic Grey’s Bittersweet collection along with a a border, some hearts and a stamp image from the Bittersweet Element Stickers that coordinate with the collection. The paper used to print out the journaling is from Karen Foster Design. The flowers are from Prima.

The family had this on display at the viewing and it touched many who read it. There were over 200 of her dancing friends that grew to love her amazing spirit as much as her family. I left the layout behind, but it is forever imprinted in my heart and mind.

Today, Kylie and I saw two monarch butterflies happily dancing together on our way to the mall to run an errand. The significance? When my uncle passed away, my aunt and I would share stories about our “butterfly visits” that we would get from him. So we all have been waiting on the sign of 2 butterflies together to have that reminder that those two souls are now eternally together. So I have my smile on today having gotten my message from above. That is why I thought it very appropriate to post my layout today.

Total Fluidity

Recently I put fear aside, grabbed my trusty drawing pens and without any plans or pencil lines, I just started drawing stylized drawings and let the lines flow where they wanted to. I was pretty happy with the results, sort of a stylized tattoo feel to them. Next, I scanned them into my computer, live traced and did some clean up on them. Here are the finished results; two new sets for mygrafico, one a b&w brush set and the other a multi color version. They are both part of my Fluidity Line. See what you think! Click on the graphic to view in my shop.

Here are some examples created using the Fludity Brushes in Photoshop. It is fun to use color, texture or even patterned papers with these brushes! You can also add shadows, embossing and other cool effects. You can create your own page elements, layouts, background papers and more.

8 x 8 Digital Paper

Blog icon design image (can be reduced as an avatar)

create your own art for home decor, cardmaking or scrapbooking...

Colorize elements and use on layouts or use as decorative overlays ghosted onto photos.

These hopefully give you some ideas of what can be done with digital design sets. Can't wait to see what you can create with my sets! Be sure to post in the mygrafico ning community gallery or on my group page.

Next, I will be doing something with the sea shells I did in a totally different sketchy style! You will have to check back to see what I do with those!

Fourth of July Sale!

Mygrafico is celebrating the 4th of July with a 1-day 30% sale! Perfect time to buy my three new sets... Peace Hope Love Collection, Peace Rocks and Framing Shapz 1.

Two of the sets have a fourth of July theme, one with a rocker twist to it, but both promoting PEACE! It is my way of honoring those in the military fighting to protect the US and working hard towards establishing world peace.

If you love frames and wanna be able to add some cool frames to your photos, layouts and cards, check out my Framing Shapz 1 set. Brand New and it contains svg files so you can also use these shapes for cutting on a diecutting machine like Cricket or Silhouette. (The cricket requires SoCal software to cut svg files.) They are scaleable and editable, too! So you can colorize in the eps files Illustrator or use the brush files in Photoshop to change the colors.

Scale them BIG for use as backgrounds on scrapbook page layouts and have fun layering them with stamping or photos! So many possibilities!

Be sure to check out the sale today!

Rise & Shine Journal

Shortly before my aunt passed away, I made her a special journal to record any last thoughts she might want to share with her family. I called this project the Rise & Shine Journal. It features cardstock and elements from Cosmo Cricket to transform an ordinary composition notebook into a special gift. It is featured on Glue Arts website as one of my design team projects. I fell in love with the wonderful colors in this collection. They were so bright and cheery! Check out some photos of the inside and outside covers...

Hazeldiddlies in Heaven

Today didn’t work out to be a very Happy Father’s Day. We got news mid day that my mom’s only sister, my Aunt Flossie, passed away losing her battle with ovarian cancer. It is bittersweet since none of us wanted her to suffer any more and knew that she was anxious to meet God, but the thought of family gatherings without this kind-hearted and loving, woman who loved to dance, had a contagious sparkle about her that everyone loved is just beyond comprehension right now. She was by modern-day standards a foodie. She loved and appreciated great food. No matter what the event or place she went, she would always entertain us with great tales of how good the food looked or tasted. I will never be able to eat an ice cream cone without thinking of her. In fact, we stopped by Moos, our favorite beachside ice cream stop, on the way home from church tonight. Ashley and I toasted our ice creams in her honor. There are so many little things about her that I will miss. like trying to keep up with her doing water aerobics or a line dance for that matter! She and I share so many things in common. Whether it was the thrill of a great bargain, a love of sharp clothers, the contagious urge to dance to a great beat, the gift of gab, speaking up for things we feel strongly about, the thrill of traveling or just always wanting to be on the go, I defintely see a lot of her in me.

Growing up, we lived down the street from my aunt, uncle and cousins. We took family vacations with them every year and still continue to do family reunions whenever possible. Our families were and will always be lovingly intertwined. She was as much a second mom to me as she was an aunt so even though my mind knows I should be rejoicing that she is at peace, my heart is still grieving her loss.

When we were little, we had this little tradition that if something really wonderful happened, she would call us over for a rambuncious round of twirling in an energetic dance she called a “hazeldiddly”. I have no doubt in my mind, Aunt Floss, that you were warmly welcomed by God, your mom, dad and husband, Rob and that everyone was dancing hazzlediddlies in heaven welcoming in a soul as wonderful as you! >

Puttin' On the Glitz - published article in S&SA mag.

If you haven't seen the July issue of Scrap & Stamp Arts magazine, yet, then now is the time to pick up a copy. It contains my article, Puttin’ on the Glitz in which I share techniques on how to make your designs sparkle & shine.

Some of the fun supplies used in the samples include glitter, flocking, clear craft laquer, ribbon adhesive, Wall Art adhesive, embossing powders and more! If you can't find a copy of it at your local craft or grocery store, click here to order a copy online. And I also just received the exciting news that I will also be featured in the upcoming January 2011 All Star issue.

Below is a sneak peek at the the Fourth of July theme card I created as one of the project samples in the July 2010 S&SA article. The full card front is featured in the article, as shown above.

Time to get Tropical

Both of my girls have summer birthdays so we are always planning pool party celebrations. Here is a quick and easy digital invitation I made for Ashley to email her friends. I used my new digi clip art set called Sew Pastel Flowers.

A Butterfly Gathering

I am not quite sure what it is about butterflies that make us smile and lift our spirits. After my uncle passed away in 2000 he has decided to let his presence be felt through random (or as I believe, not so random) butterfly visits. The first occurred during our first beach visit to Wildwood, NJ where our family vacationed every summer with my aunt, uncle and our cousins. We all still were feeling the sadness and loss of this vibrant personality and kidder. We were talking in our group of women as our kids and husbands relaxed or played with the kids on the beach. We all said how "muzzy" (his knickname) was definitely missed. As his daughter-in-law was video taping the kids, they laughed at how this butterfly mistook my brightly flowered bathing suit for the real deal and landed on my butt. Was this a coincidence or just like him to show up on que? Well, my uncle in the day was quite the practical joker and this butterfly shared the same spirit landing from butt to butt. We laughed and joked that Muzzy was with us afterall...just like him to not want to miss out on the trip. Even stranger, and if you have ever been to the Jersey Shore you can appreciate this. The butterfly left our chat fest and went up to our umbrella, circled around then flew off. Mind you, there were probably over 200 umbrellas to choose from and ours was navy, white and quite sun bleached...definitely not the brightest of the bunch!

Over the months and years I would get visits from Monarch butterflies in my garden. I would silently talk to my uncle and tell him how much he was missed. Sometimes he would visit my front garden or fly by me on my walks and bring along a buddy, which I believe was my grandpop Joe, who died just two months before my uncle. He even showed his approval for the home we picked here in Florida by mysteriously appearing inside the covered lanai as Dan, the girls and I contemplated our choices. It just happened to also be near his birthday.

The most remarkable encounter was one year on Father's Day. A monarch was trapped inside our screened enclosure and was sitting awkwardly on the tile surround of our pool. I got a stick and tried to transfer it outside the enclosure. My daughter Ashley was helping me with the door. She watched in disbelief as the buttterfly flew like a parrot and landed on my shoulder, where it sat for a long time as I walked into the back yard. We took pictures of it and it lingered for the longest time. I went to move it and it sat gently on my hand until I placed it on top of a plant in our garden. You see, my uncle was even more special in my life, he was also my godfather so it made total sense that this Father’s Day would be one of our last encounters.

As my aunt, his widow, battles the horrible side effect of chemo and a seemingly losing battle with cancer, I wonder if there will be a new butterfly gathering and if it will be their special way of letting me know, “hey, you are not forgotten either!”

The horizontal folded card sample above was created with my Hip and Happy set using Glue Arts adhesives. I printed out the graphics, hand colored and layered the flowers and brads to create this hybrid sample. It is a get well card that I will be sending to my aunt today to let her know how much she is loved. She knows the specialness of butterflies as I have shared the stories of Uncle Muz’ “visits” with her. Soon it may be her time to join the butterfly dance.

My kind of Tweeting!

Ahhh, the craze of social media and networking! It is a love/hate relationship for me. You won't find this girl tweeting, so the closest thing to it is my Take Flight set, my most current collection at Mygrafico. This one has some fun graphic elements and verses that are perfect for Father's Day card or scrapbook page! Safe travels over the Memorial Day Weekend and have fun celebrating sensibly!

Things Aren’t Always Black & White

...Or Are They?

Just as in life, there are always some grey areas, and this card uses a clean and classic design playing on high contrast b&w colors with a grey pinstripe patterned paper from Doodlebug Designs as a neutral background. The punch and verse are both from Stampin Up!®.

The graphic is a digi stamp design from my Hip & Happy set, available for purchase on www.mygrafico.com.

Also using digi art from the Hip & Happy set, this next birthday card introduces aqua as an accent color to make the designs pop. I used the swirled element in this set colorized in white to create the black & white border strip. That is the exciting thing about working with the editable eps files in Illustrator...you can colorize them to what you want them to be or simply print in b&w or shades of grey added, as shown here for equally fun results.

A close up view of the border and digi art.

Border and Celebrate You verse from Stampin’ Up!®