Getting tricky with toothpicks

Toothpicks...yes toothpicks. I have PLENTY so I was excited when Christine from Practical Scrappers announced that wooden toothpicks would be this month's frugal find. I had never thought of using them on a card or layout but I was up for the challenge.I decided to use toothpicks to construct a nice, victorian style umbrella using a doily die cut.

To make the umbrella, I folded the doily several times until it resembled an umbrella. After placing

the toothpicks where the poles would be, I cut out the back and glued it down onto my layout.

These cute papers are from my kit this month at Memorable Seasons. It's all the Fancy Pants Summer Soul collection. Talk about cute papers!!

I had fun fussy cutting come of the large flowers from the printed paper and adding my own flowers which I cut from my Sizzix.

Check out the Practical Scrappers blog for more fun ways to use toothpicks. Maybe you have some great ideas to share, too?

My Little Shoebox's Lovely Day

Hello!  On this fine day  I am going to share with you a few projects I made using the adorable Lovely Day collection. First off, I have a layout to share of my youngest son. You can tell by the look on his face that he's trouble with a capital T. ;)

The cloud paper worked great for my photos of my son near the lake,

Supplies used: Lovely Day Seeds Of Happiness, Let the Sunshine, Easy Breezy, Chocolate and Chiffon, Raspberry and Aqua, New Story, Cardstock Sticker sheet, Glitter Alphabet Stickers (Lake), Mini Alphabet stickers (Fog).

Below is the card I created using a few stickers from the Lovely Day sticker sheet as the main focus.

Supplies Used: Lovely Day Cardstock Sticker sheet, Easy Breezy, Let the Sunshine, Sweet Memory.

And finally I found a simple paper ma she box at my local thrift store.


I covered it with Lovely Day papers and roll-up flowers. Inside I cut scraps into strips and crumpled them up a bit. This would be a nice treat holder for someone special.



Supplies Used: Lovely Day Seeds Of Happiness, Let the Sunshine, New Story, 3D Roll-Up Flower Sheet.

That's all for today. Have a Lovely Day!! ;)

Helmar and Faber Castell team up

The Helmar DT and I will be showing you fun projects made with Helmar and Faber Castell on the Helmar BLOG all week long. Please check it out!  Faber Castell is our preferred partner this week and we are so thrilled to be using their fine art supplies.

Blue Irises are my favorite flower! They are also my favorite flower to draw and paint.

For the flower itself I used Faber Castell's Pastel Pencils. To make a nice soft background behind the flower I used Faber Castell's watercolor pencils.
The 'Thank You' sentiment was super easy to stamp. Faber Castell has a newer product called a PITT artist pen brush. Its basically a large brush pen that you color in your stamp with. There's no ink pad needed. This to me is genius!

To make sure that my hand didn't smear my art as I was working on it, I sprayed the flower periodically with Helmar's Fixative spray. That really did the trick.

Here's a little bit of a close up:

That's all from me for today. Enjoy your day!

Summer Soul with Memorable Seasons

Hi there! Is it hot everywhere or just where I am in Virginia! Its been 100 degrees for over a week straight now. I feel like I'm melting in this summer heat!
I have a small reveal for you using a kit from Memorable Seasons. I got to play with Fancy Pants Summer Soul collection (speaking of the summer).  I love the prints and the colors in this collection - so cute and summery!

I have a few to show you now and more to show you later.

And a card...


Check back another day for more layouts for Memorable Seasons.

Have a great day today!

Happy 4th of July!

Good morning and Happy Independence Day for those of us in the USA!!

I hope you all have great plans for today. My brother and his family are coming over today. We're going to celebrate the wonderful country we live in with a BBQ and fireworks. Should be fun!

Today I'm going to share a 4th of July decoration that I made using a few wooden tube shapes, the inside of a toilet paper roll and good ol' Helmar glue.



Since it's sometimes tricky to keep bent or folded paper together I glued the patterned papers onto my shapes using Helmar 450 Quick Dry glue.
I wrapped the tubes with a large ribbon and embellished with red, white and blue.



By the way, Helmar has a new website for us in the United States. You can get all of your favorite Helmar products HERE.

Enjoy your day today and make some memories!

Microbeaded Chipboard

Today on Practical Scrappers we are showcasing 10 ways to use or alter chipboard. Chipboard...we all have it on our stashes. Its waiting for you to bring it to life.
On this card, I painted the chipboard letters black and then covered them with black microbeads. It's a fun way to jazz things up and bring on a lot of texture.



I first brushed on a good coat of Helmar glue and then dunked them into a container of beads. Its a fun look, right?

Check out the Practical Scrappers blog to see 9 other ways to use chipboard from the DT.

Have a great day!

I {heart} America

In a few days we will be celebrating Independence Day here in the great USA! Its one of my favorite holidays -friends, family, warm weather, BBQs and fireworks! Love it!
I made a simple layout for the holiday.


I pulled out this older patriotic collection from my days as a DT member for Best Creation. The large star was taken out from a Best Creation chipboard album. I painted it yellow and then added a little sparkle with glitter glue.

Everything on this page was glued down with Helmar.



For more patriotic layouts and cards check out today's post on Practical Scrappers.