(diva)logues

"Just dance... gonna be okay..."

Happy "4th of July" weekend.  July 1st already.  So much going on in my world right now.  Some good... mostly good... some not so great.  My mind is elsewhere.  Big time.  I am lacking in motivation & creativity right now, too.  And with CHA coming up & a deadline looming... this is not a good combination.  I keep staring at product & thinking...  I got nothin'.  No photos.  No creativity.  Nothin'.  Calgon... take me away. 

So...in attempt to get my mind off reality, I thought I'd try to get the creative juices flowing again by doing something just for grins.  And just so you can get a small glimpse of how I roll sometimes (or... who am I kidding... it's ALWAYS how I roll), I thought I'd show you how many times I made changes to this page before I settled on the end result.  I'm still not completely thrilled with the result, but I have to say it's better than it was.  I spent HOURS on this page.  HOURS.  And Bryn was at her friend's house for 2 of those hours, so I wasn't ignoring anyone.  Not then anyway... ;-)

 

 The final result...  

 

I used Elmers Craft Bond Tacky Glue & Glue Spots for my buttons & orange twine...

 

My SRM "Summer" sticker sentiments were added at the last minute, too.  Somehow their stickers seem to finish off all my projects these days. 

No big plans for us this weekend.  I'm entertaining some friends from grade school tonight & their daughters, but the rest of the weekend is still tentatively planned.  But that's just fine with me.  I don't wish to be traveling this weekend... I'm happy to be at home! 

Have a safe & happy weekend everyone! 

ELMERS + X-ACTO blog hop

 Welcome to the ELMERS + X-ACTO BLOG HOP!  

 
I have a confession to make.  When it comes to adhesives, I am totally "old school."  Glue sticks are the first thing I grab for scrapbooking & card-making.  So, let's just say I got a LOT of use out of the Elmers Glue Stick!  It's not the first time I've used their glue sticks, nor will it be the last!  I also loved the Tape Runner & Adhesive Spots for my projects as well!  You can find all of the Elmers adhesives right here!

So let's get started!  First up is my scrapbook page, completed with lots of Elmers adhesive, of course! 

 

I love using Glue Spots for smaller embellishments (like bling or buttons) that might need a stronger adhesive...

 

For this next card, I used my Zig-Zag edge scissors to create my "grass" & then snipped the ends to further create some texture.  Speaking of being "old school"... long before I had border punches, I used many decorative-edged scissors for my pages.  It was fun to create with a pair again and I like the border it created, especially considering I don't have a border punch to create that same zig-zag effect!

 

 

Next I decided to use the Mini Bi-Fold Foam Board to make a card for friends that are moving to another state.  It's a 12x18 rectangle shape in the package, but I decided to cut some angles at the top to make it into the shape of a house.  

 

To do this I used my X-ACTO Gripster knife... (which might I add is VERY sharp.  I managed to easily cut through 2 layers of foam board AND cut myself AND cut my ruler in half because I was using it as a guide.  Seriously.  I am dangerous with sharp objects as you already know if you read this blog.)
 
 

All my cutting took place on my 12x12 Self-Healing Mat...

 
The shape turned out great & I just created my house from there, using random stash & LOTS of Elmers adhesives... glues sticks & glue spots worked GREAT for this project!

  

 

And finally... I love using paint markers to personalize packaging.  In this case I used them for the treat bags for Bryn's birthday party.  The medium tipped Elmers Painters worked really well!  I used the pink paint marker to add each name to the bags...  

 

 

I made my own "banner"-like labels for the front of the bags with white cardstock by snipping the ends to look like a ribbon.  After punching 2 holes in the top, I added my black & white ribbon to finish it off...

So that's it for my projects... now for the GOOD STUFF!  There are FOUR prizes up for grabs, everyone!  There are 2 GRAND PRIZES, open to US residents, valued at approximately $140/each:

 

And 2 more prizes, open to residents world-wide, with an approximate retail value at $50/each:

 

and...

 

To qualify for a chance to win... leave a comment on EACH designer's blog!  You will have an additional chance to win if you also:  

• Write on Elmer’s and/or X-Acto’s Facebook pages that you were sent by the blog hop... and any additional thoughts about how fabulous everything was. ;-)
• If you are a Twitter user, you can do the same thing by using the hash tags #CraftandTell as well as #CraftandTellBlogHop and naming @Elmers in your tweet.
  

Here's a list of all the designers so you can leave a quick comment on each blog:

Amy Heller start here for all the details! 

Suzanne Sergi

Sarah Martina Parker

Roree Rumph

Jenni Hufford

Gina Hanson

Danielle Flanders

Davinie Fiero

Deana Boston... you are here!

Amy Parker

You have until tomorrow night (Sunday) at 11:30pm, PDT, to leave your comments. 

Thank you SO MUCH for "hopping" by and have a GREAT weekend!

Bryn's 10th birthday via Instagram...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bryn's day started yesterday with birthday gifts the minute we were all out of bed... several outfits from Justice, a couple American Girl doll things (the swing for her Bitty Baby & the potty seat set for her Bitty Twins) and the Wii game Wipeout.  Everything was from her wish list.  I missed getting a few photos from the rest of our day... lunch with friends after Zumba, a short visit from Aunt Marci, and some shopping at Target before dinner with a gift card burning a hole in Bryn's pocket.  She also had a last-minute change of heart on where she wanted to eat dinner.  Since we weren't sure if they would sing "Happy Birthday" to her at her first choice, she decided to go to Chevy's where she KNEW they would sing... and give her a sombrero, too!  Then a large banana snow cone for dessert & some Wii Wipeout before bed. 

It was a full day fit for a 10-year old... who is now almost as tall as me & wearing only one shoe size smaller than me.  If only I could slow down the hands of time.  Sometimes I think I'm just not ready for all this.  I wish she could just be my little girl forever...     

 
  

PS... Come back tomorrow after 6:00am EDT for the ELMERS + X-ACTO BLOG HOP!  Check out Amy Heller's post today to see our entire team of designers AND to see all the details about this weekend's fun, including the fact that there will be 4 PRIZES awarded this weekend to 4 lucky people!  2 of the prizes are worth $140/retail!  How cool is that?!    

"... thank you disillusionment... thank you frailty... thank you consequence... "

Bryn had her first of 2 birthday parties on Sunday.  This party was with her friends.  We still have the family BBQ coming up, for which I've made almost zero plans.  Help.  One thing we have tackled before the next party though, is the thank you notes.  Bryn had 3 of them written before I even woke up this morning.  Love her determination! 

 

One of my favorite ways to send a thank you note is with a photo attached from the party.  This one is very simple... black cardstock, with a piece of white paper on top, the photo (which was edited in Picnik where I added "thank you" in the color pink onto the photo) and some pink ribbon at the top.  The color scheme for the thank you notes matched the color scheme of the cupcakes and treat bags...

 

The party took place at SkyZone where there was a whole lot of jumping going on... thus the sweaty face!  

My homemade cupcakes were topped with some edible Duff cupcake "tattoos" I found at Michaels.  What is it about animal print that I love so much? 

 Mine don't look quite as "perfect" as the example.  The instructions say to place the tattoos on a fondant icing OR buttercream icing.  Since Bryn is allergic to both, we went with what she COULD eat!  I had a room full of impressed 10-year olds though, so that's all that matters! 

The treat bags were black, white & pink too.  I'll show you how I made those this weekend during the ELMERS & X-ACTO BLOG HOP!  And speaking of the blog hop, have you seen who has been announced so far?

• Amy Heller
• Amy Parker
• Deana Boston
• Davinie Fiero
• Danielle Flanders
• Gina Hanson
• Jenni Hufford 

The last 3 designers will be announced in the next 3 days and then on Saturday morning the HOP begins!  Hope you'll be there, too! 

ELMERS + X-ACTO blog hop event... coming soon!

 

Have you heard the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT?  

ELMERS & X-ACTO have asked the ALWAYS-inspiring, Amy Heller, to host a "Craft & Tell Party" for them!  So she decided to host a HUGE BLOG HOP next weekend (June 11 & 12) with BIG PRIZES and asked 9 of what she has said are "some of the most well-rounded paper crafters in America"  to participate in the blog hop with her!  Ummm... can I just say I was smiling from ear to ear when she emailed me?  I'm in some amazing company here!  In fact, I even responded... "Of ALL the people in the scrapbooking world and I'm one of the 9 you chose?!!"  I won't spoil the secret of the entire list, but I can promise that it's one inspiring group!  The list, so far, includes:

• Amy Heller
• Amy Parker
• Deana Boston... that's me!   

Stay tuned to Amy's Facebook page to see who the other 7 amazingly-talented & inspiring crafters are!  She's been making a new introduction every day!  

And here's some sneak peeks at what you'll see from me next weekend... 

  
 
 And I believe I mentioned there will be BIG PRIZES...

 

(click on images to make them larger)

I know you'll want to get in on the action here, so make sure you "Like" ELMERS & X-ACTO on Facebook and follow them on Twitter:

Facebook
Elmer's : http://www.facebook.com/Elmers
X-Acto : http://www.facebook.com/XACTO

Twitter
Elmer's : http://twitter.com/#!/elmers

And if you're not already a Facebook friend of Amy's... well.... why not?!!  You can do so HERE and follow along with next weekend's FUN, as well as her daily dose of inspiration on her blog!   

Ok, so mark your calendars for next weekend's BLOG HOP... June 11-12!  There will be LOADS of inspiration from 10 talented designers and BIG PRIZES awarded.  Stay tuned to Amy Heller's blog for all the details!  

I hope you can join us!