A Christmas Ornament

I love this time of year.  I love decorating, crafting, baking and spending time with family.  I love putting up the Christmas tree because all the ornaments remind me of friends, family and adventures we've been through. 

Here is an ornament I made using ribbon and this weeks sketch by Allison Davis.  I love that this can be made from little scraps of ribbon and felt. Be sure to check out all the other amazing projects the team came up with this week.  Truly inspiring.  Merry Christmas!

I made the cut!

I am proud to announce that I made the 2012 Sketch Support Creative Team.  This is one of my favorite entries for the call. I'm excited to be working with Allison and 12 of last years talented ladies in additon to 7 new members that I know are going to be teaching me a thing or two about scrapbooking.  You've got to visit their blogs.  They are freakin' amazing!

Great things are happening on Sketch Support this coming year. Be sure to play along with amazing sketches and challenges along the way.

Christmas is in the air!

I am so far behind on posting my layouts, so I thought that I would just post them all at once. These are my most recent Christmas and Winter layouts. Go to www.sketchsupport.com for product information and free printable copies of the sketches that were used.  Just click on my name and you will find the projects.

 

These are the projects my boys made with me one night. They had fun getting to use my stuff and make a mess.  I'm getting better at letting them use my scrapbook supplies.  It was a lot to fun creating with them.

"Fall"

Fall is my favorite season of the year. I think it is my favorite because it was the season I feel in love with my husband. I love the colors, smells, sounds and temperature.  I love football games, hayrides, nature hikes, evening walks and watching the sun set.  I like playing outside with my kids because it's not too hot and not too cold.  I enjoy taking pictures of the foliage and pumpkins.  These are photos of Hayden at a friends birthday party at Carmichael's Pumpkin Patch from a couple of years ago. 

The leaves on the layout were pieced together by following Allison's Add-On Sketch from a few weeks back. Her sketches are so fun to work with and keep me from getting bored from doing things the same way layout after layout. Check out her sketches for more inspiration.

Published!

Tonight I went shopping and to Barnes and Noble with a friend.  I finally got my hands on the December issues of Cards magazine, Cricut magazine and Scrapbook Trends magazines.  This is the first time I've been published!

Northridge Publishing was so kind to pick up 4 of my projects for their December issues.  They really are beautiful magazines packed with all kinds of Christmas projects, cards and scrapbook inspiration.  You can also find them at www.northridgepublishing.com if you are looking for a stocking stuffer for someone special.

Simple Stories Birthday Cards and a Mini Album

Here are some Simple Stories cuties that I made back in October that I forgot to post.  Looking back through all these projects, I realized that I also have the most adorable Birthday banner to show you that I haven't even taken a picture of yet!  So check back later this week to see the banner.

Here are three Birthday cards and instructions for making a toilet paper mini album.

"Eat Cake" card instructions:

1. Cut red polka dot paper to 5 1/2 x 4 1/4"
2. Cut kraft cardstock to 4 3/4 x 3 1/2"
3. Punch striped scallop border and cut to 1/2 x 4 3/4"
4.  Cut out cake card
5. Ink the edges of all paper and assemble as shown. 
6. Use 3D dots to raise the cake card.
7.  Add stickers, ribbon and add stickles.

"It's your day!" card instructions:

1. Cut red polka dot paper 1 1/4 x 4 1/4 and punch scallop border 1/2 x 4 1/4.\
2. Cut kraft paper 4 1/4 x 4/14.
3. Cut striped paper 1/4 x 4 1/4".
4. Cut pennants from left to right 5/8, 3/4 and 5/8" x 1 1/2" and knotch the ends.
5. Cut out the present and attach with 3D pop dots then add stickles.
6. Ink the edges of all your paper.
7. Add the sentiment sticker
8. Add faux stitching with a black pen as shown.

"Celebrate!" card instructions:

1. Cut red polka dot paper 4 1/4 x 5 1/2"
2. Cut kraft paper 3 3/4 x 5"
3. Cut candles 2 3/4", 3" and 3 1/4"
4. Cut striped paper 3/4 x 4 1/4
5. Draw and cut out flames from orange paper.
6. Ink the edges of all your paper and assemble as shown.
7. Tie ribbon
8. Cut out the sentiment and attach.
9. Add stickles to the flames.

 "Surprise Party" toilet paper mini album:

1. Paint 5 TP rolls yellow and let dry.
2. Fold TP rolls in half and measure.
3. Machine stitch 1/2" from end of each roll creating a pocket.
4. Punch two holes in each for metal rings.
5. Tie ribbons around rings.
6. Ink the edges of all paper.
7. Cut 10 background mats and 5 tags 1/2" shorter than TP length and 1/4" shorter TP height.
8. Round the corners of the tags.
9. Cut 10 top mats 1/4" shorter on both sides than the previous mat.
10. Cut tabs 3/4" x 1 1/2", attach to tags and add sticker words as shown.
11. Embellish with stickers and stickles.

"Celebrate" birthday journal

"Celebrate" birthday journal by Shari Thurman
Supply List - Patterned Paper: Simple Stories; Cardstock Stickers: Simple Stories; Ink: Colorbox Chalk Ink (Dark Brown); Adhesive: ATG by Scotch; Cardstock: unknown; Elastic: Joann's; Composition Notebook: Carolina pad and paper; Other: machine stitching

This Birthday Journal was a fun project to make. I am always forgetting birthdays and I'm hoping that recording them in this journal will help me remember them better.

I started by covering my journal with Kraft paper and inking the edges. Using Allison's card sketch and Simple Stories paper and cardstock stickers, I embellished the front. 

 

I then created an elastic paper bookmarker. I saw something similiar on www.skiptomylou.org via Pinterest that was made with ribbon. I immediately started thinking of how I could use scrapbook paper to create something similiar. I love paper! It's kind of like a headband for a book.

 

 

To create the bookmarker, I wrapped elastic around the inside of the cover and cut. Be sure not to pull it tight. I marked the length of the book on the middle of the strip of elastic. I cut 3 strips of paper measuring 1-1/4" x 12", moistened and crinkled them up. Let set 5 minutes and then open. Fold and stitch to the center of the elastic that you previously marked. My paper was only slightly damp when stitched it. I only used about 2 1/2 of the strips once it was all folded and stitched into ruffles. Finally, overlap the ends of the elastic about 1/2- 3/4" using a zig zag stitch. Place on your book.

 

I then added months of the year tabs. I printed them on kraft paper, folded them in half, rounded the corners and attached to the edges of the paper. I divided the number of pages in the notebook by 12 months. In my notebook, I placed a new tab every 8-9 pages. My finished tabs measured 1/2 x 1".

Echo Park's Apothecary collection

Sorry I'm so late posting these projects.  I've been super busy.  I won't bore you with all the details, but it has a lot to do with buying a house, appliances not working, raising 3 little boys and just general life stuff. I'm hoping things will slow down a bit in the coming weeks so I can get back to scrapbooking. 

Here are some Halloween projects I made a while back.  The first two projects were based on October's Add-on sketch at www.sketchsupport.com 

 "One Spooky Night" by Shari Thurman
Supplies - Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper: Echo Park; Corner Rounder: We R Memory Keepers; Punches: Fiskars (border) and Martha Stewart (bats and photo corners); Cutting system: Cricut Expression; Cartridges: Cuttin' Up(title) and Doodle Charms(pumpkins); Glitter Glue: Stickles; Adhesive: ATG by Scotch and 3D by Thermoweb; Ink: Versamark(black)

"Boo" card by Shari Thurman
Supplies - Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper: Echo Park; Cutting Machine: Cricut Expression; Ink: Versamark (black); Bakers Twine: The Twinery



 

"Happy Boo Day!" by Shari Thurman
Supplies - Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper: Echo Park; Punches: Martha Stewart (pumpkins); Adhesive: ATG by Scotch and 3D by Thermoweb; Ink: Versamark(black)

 



"I'm Batty For You" by Shari Thurman
Supplies - Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper: Echo Park; Punches: Fiskars, Martha Stewart and Stampin' UP; Brad: American Crafts; Adhesive: ATG by Scotch; Ink: Versamark(black)