Let's Catch Up!

Hey everyone! Long time, no see. I know. 

Lots and lots going on in my world...always. That never changes. I've lately withdrawn from social media for various reasons and also from blogging. As many of you know, I also have a homesteading blog where I share a lot of our real life home practices which includes a from-scratch lifestyle, raising a variety of animals for different purposes, and striving to maintain simplicity- all the while raising 3 young kids and being a "stay at home mom" who works multiple part-time jobs both inside and outside of the home. So I've realized the need to disconnect a bit more from my online life and focus more of my available energy toward the everyday demands of my actual life. Get what I mean?

So in an effort to maintain that balance, blogging has become rather secondary. I didn't mean to take this big of a break and I apologize. And I wanted to take the opportunity today to catch up on some Prima projects that I've done in the past couple months. I hope you enjoy :)

"Hello" Tag

This tag was created using my favorite of the new releases from Prima, the "Butterfly" Collection designed by Jodie Lee. To say I love this range would be an understatement.The patterns, images, and color palette are a dream come true. I'm really into purple at the moment, so this one is right up my alley.

I've paired the papers with flowers new and old, as well as some gorgeous embellishments. The frame seen here is from the new "Timeless Memories" trinkets packs.

"Fall in Love" Card

Another new release from Prima is Frank Garcia's "The Archivist" collection. In Frank's true style, you will find lots of neutral colors and awesome patterns. This is one of those collections that you just have to have as it is so versatile. 

I've used one of the new Prima Mixed Media stamps here to create the messy butterfly background. And the brown egg carton flowers are amazing- they are super thick and durable which makes them perfect for mixed media!

"Love is Beauty" Tag

The "Bella Rouge" collection is bold and gorgeous. I've paired the papers here with new flowers and new Finnabair Art Ingredients. Microbeads, glass beads, and new Color Bloom sprays add to the textured mixed media background here.

"Happy Moment" Tag

 Another project featuring the "Butterfly" collection. A bit of fussy cutting here brought this tag to life :).

Bedtime Story Mini Album

If you've got little kids, you've got to have the "Bedtime Story" collection! The vintage children's book theme offers diversity and so much interest to an album like this one. 

Lots of new flowers, brads, wood icons, crystals, and other embellishments helped me out along the way.

There you have it, folks! I hope I didn't overwhelm you too much- I know there's a lot of images in this post today. :)

And as the week enters the weekend, I hope life is treating you well. We've had some unusually nice weather around here- a week ago it was -20 F and now we're in the 40's. Although we have several feet of snow yet and March typically shows us our biggest snow storms, it's a welcome break from our always-too-long winter. I'm starting my seeds inside this weekend and have been anxiously planning for our biggest garden yet with so many dreams and plans to be fulfilled.

I wish you all the best. And I hope to see you soon!

xErin

Some Prima Projects!

Good morning :)

Today I'd like to catch up on a couple of Prima projects!

First up, is a thankful-themed card:

"Thankful for You"

I wanted to create a fun card that would be perfect for your best girlfriend! I have used the beautiful "Princes" collection which I adore for its muted, neutral, soft shabby chic color palette. 

I used one of the new Julie Nutting "Mini Dolls" which are absolutely adorable! 

Also put to use some favorite Prima dies and plenty of new release flowers too.

Prima Products Used:

911041 Julie Nutting Wood Etched Mini-Dolls, 951153  Princess- Collection Kit, 572785  Metal Die- Doily 1, 572822  Metal Die- Flowers, 572846 Metal Die- Flowers 2, 577599 Manhattan Flowers, 577438 London Rose-Crown, 578602 Maduro Flowers, 576097 Say It In Crystals, 578633 Volado Flowers, 578510 Iced Coffee Flower

Next, we have a fall-themed Pin Spin project, where we find an inspiration photo on Pinterest and create a project inspired by that photo!

"Pals"

 I love this photo of my younger two children, who are just 13 months apart. I remember how scared I was to have kids so close together, and many people told me that when they got just a little bit older, they would be like twins. And they are! It truly feels as if there is no age gap at all :)

I was inspired by this beautiful fall photo:

 

Prima Products Used:

846855 Epiphany- Clear as Day

846633 Free Spirit- Hippie

847012 Cigar Box Secrets- A4 Paper Pad

892494 Stamp-n-Add: Angel Wings

573911 Color Bloom- Sultry Shimmer Gilded

569662 Allstar Tickets and Tags Set

578572 Cigar Box Secrets- Havana Nights

578596 Cigar Box Secrets- Humidor

578640 Cigar Box Secrets- Culebra

578633 Cigar Box Secrets- Volado

577544 Melbourne- Reef

577742 Rodanthe- Sandbank

577940 Serasota- Dreamy

Thank-you so much for stopping by and viewing my Prima projects today! I hope your week is off to a pleasant start :) Best wishes,

The Many Shades of Ombre Dreams

Good morning!

I'm here today to share with you three different projects I created this month using the gorgeous Ombre Dreams collection from Blue Fern Studios! I just can't get over how beautiful these papers are, and what a delight to put them to work! There's such a beautiful array of colors available in this range that I decided to spotlight a different palette in each of my projects...

"My Boy"

I LOVE the watercolor-y washed out seashore shades in the "Ginger's Dream" paper, which I chose to use as my background for this photo of my middle child at the beach. And layered in pieces behind my photo are some more blues from the "Susan's Dream" paper.

I chose to feature the Roman Clock Set- Small on my layout as well. This set can be split up into three different clocks (along with hands); I chose the largest of the clocks, cut it in half, dabbed it with white chalk ink, and used them to really set the design of my page.

Blue Fern Studios Products Used:
Ombre Dreams: Ginger's Dream

Ombre Dreams: Susan's Dream

Roman Clock Set- Small

Other Products Used:
Prima Marketing: Flowers, Ribbon, Resin Bird & Clock, Bling, "Memorandum" ATC Card
Webster's Pages: Paper Straws

"Thoughts" Card

Next up, I went with two more fabulous papers that are predominantly purple, while offering hints of many other colors including green, blue, pink, turquoise, and more: Joyce's Dream and Dream Cards. It was very difficult not to use some mixed media on the background of this card, but I really wanted to show off the lovely delicate patterns :)

The butterfly piece you see here is from the "Tattered Butterfly" set, which features 4 butterflies in various sizes. I just love the intricate detail in this butterfly design. I decided to go with a random smattering of embossing enamel which was set with a heat gun. Embossing enamel offers a great mix of color and texture which catch the light beautifully! For even more sparkle, I added a pretty crystal to the center.

Since I had my Roman Clock pieces out, I went with one of the smaller pieces in the set here. First I painted it with a lilac shade of acrylic paint and, while still wet, dusted it with a sparkly white embossing powder to give it a pretty frosted look. 

Blue Fern Studios Products Used:

Ombre Dreams: Joyce's Dream

Ombre Dreams: Dream Cards

Roman Clock Set- Small

Tattered Butterflies

Other Products Used:
Prima Marketing: Flowers, Doily Die, Metal Clock Embellishment

"Discover" Card

Finally, we have some orange/peach/pinks to feature! The Shannon's Dream paper is full of tropical citrus colors and dreamy floral patterns. 

The Wild Flourish Bundle chipboard piece was just what I needed to set the foundation for my cluster on this card. It was covered with a pale yellow chalk ink, embossed with clear embossing powder, and accented with some bling.

Blue Fern Studios Products Used:

Ombre Dreams: Shannon's Dream

Wild Flourish Bundle

Other Products Used:
Prima Marketing: Flowers, Metal Embellishment
Webster's Pages: Sticker Sentiment, Resin Leaves

Thank-you for checking out my post today!

We're nearing the end of the month- don't forget about our June Sketch Challenge~ if you loved some of the pieces in my post today, you have the chance to win a couple of them in this month's prize pack! Don't miss out :)

A Card and a Tag for Webster's Pages!

So it was brought to my attention by two separate individuals yesterday that my blog has been very quiet. And it definitely has...for a while now. And when I think back to the way I used to blog and the open honesty I had with you all, I'm feeling like I really need to get back to that.

The truth is, life is more than just busy. As a SAHM, there aren't a lot of opportunities to make money, unless those opportunities allow you to work when your husband is home (meaning evenings and weekends). I take on cleaning jobs here and there to help support my family, and starting in the spring (and especially the summer), those hours really pick up. Which is where I've been for a while now...just about every spare moment outside of my SAHM life, I'm working. On top of that, I manage our hobby farm which consists of nearly 100 animals who house 4 different coops. Meaning lots of maintenance in every aspect. I also run an Etsy shop online which takes a good portion of my time. And of course this time of year, it's gardening galore. We built a massive garden this year which took time in itself, not to mention creating all of the beds by hand, making/mixing all of my own dirt by hand, etc etc etc...basically, there are days where I feel so far in over my head I swear I might drown.

But every night, I remind myself of what must ALWAYS come first: my kids. I'm a mom FIRST. All these things come secondary to that...and my brushed aside hobby and love of scrapbooking sadly has come last. Mainly due to needing to better organize everything and balance it all.

So I'm going to try and balance better. I have projects that I've created "just for fun", believe it or not, that I just haven't taken the time to get on my blog. So...I've created a schedule for my blog to follow so that my posts are more consistent. For myself, if for nothing else. 

And as you all probably know, CHA is around the corner...meaning lots of behind-the-scenes stuff going on that I can't yet share with you. But today I have a card and a tag that I created for Webster's Pages just for fun. :)

"Make Each Day Count" Tag

Here I dug into my "oldies but goodies" stash and had a blast creating with Modern Romance. I love the gorgeous color palette in this collection; all of the romantic imagery, flowers, patterns...simply divine. This tag was a little bit on the larger side, nearly 8" tall which is about 2" bigger than what I typically do, but I loved the ruffled trim at the bottom and wanted to make room for it. I had actually made my standard size tag of 3.5" x 6" and just cut a larger tag that could fit on the backside to peek out beneath the ruffles. So this tag has 4 layers rather than 3, which I really liked.

I've used one of the Blue Fern Studios "Lace Rounds" chipboard pieces for the base of my centerpiece, before adhering the key charm from Webster's Pages on top. I used a Prima White Chalk Edger pad over the top to soften the bronze color a bit, and then added a Growing Up Girl Word Sticker for my sentiment.

"Spread Your Wings" Card

This card features a fabulous patterned paper called "Accessorize" from the Webster's Pages "Growing Up Girl" collection. I loved all of the pretty necklaces and charms dangling on this paper and really wanted to include that on my project. I again used some chipboards from Blue Fern Studios: "Framed Trinkets" and "Spring Frame". After adding some embellishing by way of Prima flowers, Sugardots, and an old favorite charm, I added another perfect sentiment which is always found by way of Webster's Pages stickers, this one from the Growing Up Girl Sentiment Sticker sheet. I used 1/4" foam adhesive to give it some nice elevation over my chipboard pieces.

I hope you enjoyed some sweet projects today :) 

Thanks as always for visiting,

Blue Fern Studios: A Card & a Sketch Challenge!

Good morning! I hope your week has gone well (it has certainly gone fast!)!

Today I would like to share with you a "just for fun" card that I created using the new "Ombre Dreams" collection from Blue Fern Studios, as well as their June Sketch Challenge!

"Welcome Each New Day"

I've used the lovely "Charlottes' Dream" paper from the collection as the layers on my card. I love the mix of blues and purples in this one, the stenciled effect with areas of white. So beautiful. 

I've used one of the new Prima dies to create the doily seen here. Instead of punching out all of the little pieces, I've only opened up the edges while leaving the area in the middle intact to create a nice little bed for my microbeads, seed beads, and stars. 

The antique tub embellishment was a new release for Prima back at Winter CHA. Prima flowers and leaves, all new releases, and some Webster's Pages trim were the finishing touches :)

And if you haven't yet seen, Blue Fern Studios has another inspiring sketch for you to work with this month!

Flip it, rotate it, mirror it, or keep it as is- in a layout, card, journal cover, altered project- however you would like to interpret the sketch and get it onto paper!

There's yet another amazing chipboard prize package to be won, all new releases!

So won't you play along with us?? We'd love to see you there!

Have a wonderful day :)

Webster's Pages: Growing Up Girl!

I thought it would be fun to do a mid-day post featuring one of my favorite Webster's Pages collections:

"Growing Up Girl"

And I'm on a bit of a card/tag making streak, if you hadn't noticed ;). Just loving the smaller projects at the moment...AND I ran out of photo black ink for my printer...but that's beside the point! Ha!

I've got a card and two tags for you:

"A Perfect Moment"

The beautiful floral design in the "Embrace Life" paper was just what I needed for this card. Brandin is a genius at designing her gorgeous collections, and she never fails to give us flowers! Love that :)

Webster's Pages Products Used:

Growing Up Girl Paper Collection

Growing Up Girl Sentiment Stickers

I've also featured a couple of chipboard pieces from Blue Fern Studios:

Lace Rounds

Mixed Chains

Other:

Flowers, Clock: Prima Marketing

Vintage lace and seam binding

Next, I have a set of tags that I created earlier this month for Webster's Pages, using once again the beautiful Growing Up Girl Collection...

"Today Was So Exciting" Tag

"Stay True" Tag

These tags are great for attaching to gifts for all occasions! Sweet, simple reminders. I follow a pretty basic plan when I set out on my tags (I have a couple of different tutorials under the Tutorials heading of my blog); the most fun part is picking out the patterns and colors that I want to combine, as well as the fun, pretty details to go with them! Here I've used Webster's Pages trims and embellishments to accent these tags, as well as some pretties from Prima such as the flowers and bling. 

Webster's Pages Products Used:

Growing Up Girl Collection

Camera & Heart Charm Embellishments

Thanks for stopping by on this fine afternoon!

See you again soon :)

"Remember This Moment": May MMM Kit

It's my turn today to share with you my first project using the {SOLD OUT} May Magnifique Mixed Media (say that 3 times fast!) Kit from C'est Magnifique! 

The gorgeous pastels and fresh spring colors arrive just in time! 

"Remember This Moment" Card

Could pink and yellow together be any more pretty?? 

The die cuts and wood embellishments in this kit offers endless layering possibilities. 

For the base of this card, I used a palette knife and scraped on some of the 13 Arts "Matte Lemon" acrylic paint randomly over the background. 

 Then I unscrewed the sprayer from the bottle of the 13 Arts "Pastel Yellow" mist and flicked mist splats using the straw of the sprayer.

For the textured detail here, I used the Tim Holtz mask with some modeling paste, covered with the Stampendous Shabby Pink Embossing Enamel, and set with a heat tool.

Our May MMM Kit {Sold Out}

I hope you've enjoyed this first look at this amazing kit!

Thanks for stopping by!

NEW from Prima!

Prima has begun sharing their mid-release collections, including the new Julie Nutting wooden dolls and new doll stamps! 

Today I have a card to show you using one of those new wooden dolls:

"Hello, Dear Friend" Card

These dolls are super easy to color in! I simply took a paintbrush and water and some Ingvild Bolme Fluid Chalk Edger pads and colored away. If you're not so much the paper piecer/fussy cutter as is more required of the doll stamps, these wooden dolls are definitely for you. They take beautifully to color!

I've used plenty of "Princess" Collection goodies throughout this card, including the pretty bling seen here on the purse, my background paper, and this tag which I've used as the title for my card.

I've also used some of the new Prima trims, Leeza Gibbons Instascrap transparencies and frame, and Princess Collection flowers and leaves. 

Prima Products Used:

910624 Julie Nutting Wooden Dolls
813468 Something Blue Collection "Announcement"
951023 Princess Collection "Princess Collage"
573263 Princess Collection Tag Me
573195 Princess Collection SIIC
971229 Instascrap Transparencies
971274 Instascrap Frames
573607 Trim
573386 Trim
574451 Princess- Glass Slippers
574390 Princess- Rags to Riches
891213 Chalk Edger Old Rose
892364 Resist Chalk Edger Shabby Tote
891053 Chalk Edger Raspberry Pie

I hope you've enjoyed having a look at one of Prima's newest releases! Make sure you keep up with the blog- they have new things coming at you all throughout the next couple of weeks :)

Have a wonderful day :)