Our Story

Hi Friends,

One more layout from Teresa Collins sweet Summer Stories paper collection.  Teresa's signature style is clean and simple, which I love, but I thought I'd grunge it up a bit by distressing  this one.  I started with a background cut from the Paper Lace Cricut Cartridge, turned over the center circle and popped it up to layer my photo mats.  

I did make things easy on myself by using several ready made Prima flowers and leaves thought out my three flower clusters.  The big pink and black script flowers were handmade from Tim Holtz's Tattered Floral die. I love his die and the flowers it creates! 

To finish things of I inked the edges and sewed around the layout.  I also distressed the 'Story' chipboard pieces.  As we take one last look at the whole page you can see that I added more chipboard in the lower left corner and added a little 'photo' ticket next to the photo mat.

I enjoyed working with all the different colors in the 'Story' banner, but I have to admit that I'm not too sure about distressing papers that are styled for the clean and simple look.  Like all things artsy, I'm sure it will probably grow on me though!  

Well that's it for me today.  I hope you enjoyed this share and that you'll consider joining the site to see what comes next.   Have a happy day dear friends!  Big Hugs ~ Dawna

A Day to Remember

 Morning Friends,

Just dropping by to share a layout I created using Teresa Collins very pretty Summer Stories Collection.  I used a few of my favorite techniques on this simple layout.  I say simple because so many layouts are being done with so much mixed media these days, that sometimes I think we are losing sight of the main reason we do them!  That of course would be to showcase our beautiful pictures.  While I haven't added mine yet, it is sure to be front and center on this layout. 

A Day to Remember

Here's is a close-up of the large rosette which I cut from the CTMH Artiste Cartridge then layered it with a large scalloped circle and a few chipboard sentiments to use as my title.  The bird and flower frame is from Dusty Attic.  I gessoed the chipboard frame, and used water color pencils to add a touch of color to the bird and leaves.  I didn't care for how the original flowers turned out, too coral or orange, rather than pink, so I just covered them with the organza black and white flowers.  And you can see the doilies in the this picture a little bit better too.

 

You can see that I also gessoed a doily stencil from Prima in the background which softened the look of the printed papers.   And last you can see some random zigzag sewing around the frame and edges. 

At the bottom there is another smaller rosette with a large rose chipboard to balance out the page.  I used Prima's sparkle paste on the rose chipboard to make it very sparkly!  Note to self:  A little goes a LONG way! 

As we take one last look at the whole page you can see that I've created two peek-a-boo lace and pearl openings.  

 

Overall I like the effect of the pink and white on black, to me its has a very striking effect.  I hope you enjoyed this layout. 

Until next time, thank you for dropping by.   I hope you have a wonderful  day my scrappy friends!  Hugs to All ~ Dawna

BELIEVE Holiday Blocks

 Morning Friends,

Can you "BELIEVE" it, the holidays are upon us!   Where did the year go?   This morning I'm kicking off the holiday season by sharing my last friendship swap gift for my dear friend Debbie.  She loved getting them and is threatening to keep them up all year round!  Hey, Christmas in July is allowed!   Right?  lol 

Here's a few more close up pics I hope you enjoy:

Tim Holtz Tattered Poinsettia

This display is about 30" Wide

Close of Holly Berry Block

Add a little lighted greenery to complete this centerpiece and BELIEVE! 

Well friends that's it for me this morning. For a list of supplies, please visit my gallery, Dawna's Place at Scrapbook.com.  

Undecorated painted blocks are available in stock at my Etsy for $3.00 each or decorated blocks can be special ordered for $6.50 each.   Undecorated blocks ship immediately, decorated blocks can be customized for Christmas, Hanukkah or any other special occasion and require 7-10 days to ship.   

Thank you for dropping by and enjoy a beautiful Sunday!   ~  Dawna

First Love - Daily Stories Collection by Teresa Collins

Morning Friends,

Today I'm sharing two sweetheart layouts of my grandson, Cade and his first girlfriend, Destiny.   They just started high school together this year and he is so smitten with her its adorable to see them together.  She is so sweet and beautiful and they are always posting how much they care about one another.  lets take a close peak at this ...young love:

Kissey, kissey!  Puts a smile on my face and makes me swoon just thinking about them! 

I kept it pretty simple here, treated the backgrounds with gesso and a one has a brick background and the other has a chicken wire background.  Did random areas then smeared them off to the side with my palette knife and let them dry.  Then I used a little bit of Prima Bloom Spray in light teal and stormy sky and did a few random spritzes here and there.   I sewed the edges randomly straight and zigzag, then distressed them.  Then I cut a few circles, one in teal the other in white.  I used the Martha Stewart corner punch of the Scalloped Teardrop to punch out the aqua circle.  Then for the white one, I embossed the circle, then hit the highlights with Wink of Luna pen in Silver. 

I hand made the flowers using flower shoppe for the Cricut.  But my favorite element on these pages are the wonderful open fret work leaf dies from Prima.  Gosh they are so pretty and delicate.  They shape very easily and add simple elegance to any layout.  Here's a close up with a few flowers, a few sequins and bingo cards.  You can see some of the brick work in the back ground and see these lovely leaves:

I love the way these two layouts compliment one another but do wish I had lighted both pictures up to the same tone before I glued them down!  Ugh...oh well scrap and learn!  lol  Destiny described their relationship on another picture she posted of these words written on a chalk board hanging next to a phone.  And, I have to agree, these definitely describe their young love!

Nothing creates a focal point like placing a circle around it.  Doing this makes them the center of attention of thee layouts.

Makes me feel young at heart again.  Well friends that's it from me this morning.  I hope you enjoyed these simple yet playful and fun layouts!

If you're new to the site, please feel free to 'follow' the blog or sign up for emails to see what's next.  If you have a minute to leave me a comment, I genuinely appreciate knowing you were by for a visit.  Thank you for dropping by and wishing you all a perfectly wonderful day! ~ Dawna

"Vintage Dress Form Mirror for Goodie Bag Swap

Hi Friends,

This is the next post I'm making to share all the pretties I created and collected for a Goodie Bag Swap that Martica is hosting at scrapbook.com.   Please refer to the "Life Doesn't Have to Be Perfect to Be Wonderful" Tag Post for complete swap details.  

This is a 10 item secret sister swap, which is not only a large swap, but lots of fun since I already know my secret sister! This mirror is for category #7 the vintage altered item.

My secret sister loves shabby chic, vintage and in particular dress forms.  So I thought she might enjoy a mirror that she can display wherever her heart desires.  The vintage shabby chic frame holder is part of this gift, so she has the option of setting it on a table top or she can hang it. 

Here's a  few close up pictures I hope you enjoy:

Upper Corner Flower Cluster

The flowers are handmade using pearlized hot pink cardstock and Donna Salazar's Tattered Flower and Leaf Dies.  The hip rose buds are from Wild Orchards and the ornate corner chipboard is from Dusty Attic.  I Gessoed the chipboard so its a simple white matte finish.  The pearl brads are from Michael's. The background paper is from Teresa Collins "Sweet Afternoon" designer paper collection.  

Vintage Pearl Chandelier Close Up

This vintage chipboard chandelier is also from Dusty Attic.  I used Gesso as a base-coat, then finished it off with Liquid Pearls in White and Ruby Red.  I added a matching satin bow and hung a few small strings of iridescent pearls.  

Vintage Dress Form

This beautiful vintage dress form comes from Blue Fern Studio's and really dresses up this simple mirror.  I used the same media process for this as I did for the chandelier with the only difference being that I backed it using a basic pink cardstock so it wouldn't get lost in the patterned paper. 

Lower Corner Flower Cluster

This flower cluster is the same as the one described above.   I used green patterned paper from Graphic 45's Country French paper collection to create all the leaves and love the embossed effect (even though it doesn't show in these pictures). 

Well friends that's it for this post.  Thank you so much for dropping by and may I hope you're enjoying a perfectly wonderful day!   Big Hugs ~ Dawna

"Life Doesn't Have to be Perfect ... To Be Wonderful" Tag

Morning Friends,

Today I'm sharing some creations I made for my secret sister in Goodie Bag Swap being hosted by Martica at scrapbook.com.   We were challenged to create the following items for this swap and I highlighted the items that are pictured in this post:

Here are the categories and I've highlighted what I did for each category: 

1. Funny (could be a funny card, mask etc.)/   Bookmark
2. Shabby chic (could be a card, album, box etc.)/ 2" Beautiful Embroidered Lace
3. Something to be used for crafting (anything scrapbook related, etc.)/ "Handmade with Love" and Vintage Cream Ribbon
4. Something to wear (could be a piece of jewelry, scarf etc.)/  Long Vintage Birdcage Necklace
5. Inspirational (could be a book, home decor, tag, bookmark etc.)/ Tag
6. Unique (well its up to you)/ Silver Swirl Goodie Bag
7. Something Vintage (anything altered)/ See "Vintage Dress Form Mirror" Post
8. Something to be displayed (like a frame, canvas, hanger, bottle any size)/ See "FRIENDS" Altered Blocks Post
9. Misc. item your choice/ See "Traveler Mini Album" Post
10. Miniature/ Tibetan Silver Scissors  

With a list of 10 items, this is one of the biggest challenges I've participated in, but I know my secret sister so that made it especially fun and easy for me to play along. 

Let's start things off with my "Inspirational" item which I decided to do as a tag.  I created this using Teresa Collins new Nine & Company paper collection.  I love the inspirational sentiment which reads:  "Life Doesn't Have to be Perfect to be Wonderful."  Oh so true!!!    

I love how charming this tag came out and I'm sure my secret sister will like it too.  Here's a few close ups that I hope you enjoy:

Top Flower Cluster Close Up

Sentiment Close Up

Bottom Flower Cluster Close Up

I just love Prima's new fretwork leaf dies, they are so pretty!  And they are easy to shape too.  For the flower clusters, I  used Prima's "Something Blue" wedding flower collection.   I love this color combination, it's so fresh and summery.  You can also see the little curlies made from Prima's wired thread shown here in "Dusty."  

To finish the tag off, I added a little rose ribbon and used my new favorite Martha Stewart punch set called "scalloped teardrop" to edge the sentiment mat and tag.   Isn't this punch set pretty too?  

I put an aqua pearl in the center of the five butterflies that are scattered around and used some stickles to give them some sparkle.  I also sparkled up the edges of the pretty fretwork leaves too.  Then I added an aqua satin bow and ribbon hanger.  

Lastly, I included a clip just in case my secret sister wanted to clip it up somewhere.  And, although there isn't a picture of the back side, I created a gift tag pocket just in case she decided to gift it to someone or tuck a note in it.  

Here's a picture of the other little goodies I included for my secret sister:  

Well friends, that's it for this post.  There are three more posts for items 7, 8 and 9 to go with this challenge so stay tuned for more goodness!  Thank you so much for dropping by and I hope you have a perfectly wonderful day!   Big Hugs ~ Dawna

If I Coiuld Freeze The Picture and Make it Last Forever

Morning Friends,

Nothing says winter like snowflakes and icicles!  But here in beautiful Southern California we don't get too much of either,  so a little "make believe" was in order to pull off this winter wonderland.

Missy Loves Bird Watching

To start things off, let me introduce you to my lovely fur baby "Missy."  She is a large Maincoon and just turned 12 years old over Christmas.  She's a momma's girl, but likes to socialize so she'll come out to say hello when company comes by.   Her favorite past time is bird watching.  In the mornings she sits with me at  the desk while I catch up on blogs, make comments and enjoy my coffee.  She's been a godsend this past year as I've finely made the transition to a happy empty nester. After all who could be lonesome with this loveable face following you around every day? 

To create this layout I used: 

~Teresa Collins "Dec. 25th" Cricut Cartridge for the snowflakes, swirls and birds.  
~ Krylon's "Silver Marker" to color the tree and ice cycle ledge.
~"Diamond Dust" to create the snowy ice cycles.
~Teressa Collins "Summer Stories" Paper Collection for the sentiment card, matting and back ground paper. 
~Tim Holtz's "Branch Tree" die.
~ Spellbinders "Icicles" die.
~ Martha Stewart's Punch Around the Page "Snowflake Set."

I Wish I Could Freeze the Picture and Make it Last Forever

Here are a few more snowflake close ups:

Right Corner with Prima Diamond Flower Centers

Left Corner with Prima Diamond Flower Centers

Well friends wherever you're visiting me from today, please stay warm and cozy!   Thanks for dropping by and may I wish you a happy day dear friends!   Hugs to All ~ Dawna

 

Charming Family Stories

Morning Friends,

Today I'm sharing a lovely vintage layout made from Teresa Collins Vintage Finds paper collection.  These adorable identical twins are my uncles beautiful girls, Merle and Pearl.  I love this old photo of them snuggled up together in this oversized vintage chair wearing their beautiful hand sewn Christening gowns.  Sewing has been a tradition that has been handed down from generation to generation in my family.

I hand made the rolled flowers by inking them up first with some musical stamps to grunge them up a bit.  Then I sparkled them up with some stickles.  I added several sewing embellishments including these authentic Tibetan silver scissors and vintage thread spool tops.

I used the cricut to make the pretty doily from the Paper Lace cartridge and hand sewed a straight line around the edges.  I love the vintage feel of this layout and plan to put it into my Family Heritage Album.

Thanks so much for dropping by and may I wish you a happy day!  ~ Dawna

"Do Not Let Anyone Ever Dull Your Sparkle" Persoanl Journal Tutorial

Hi Friends,

Today I'm sharing a tutorial on how to create this adorable  personal journal using Teresa Collin's beautiful "Stationary Noted" collection.  It's no secret that I adore Teresa's clean, fresh designs and this collection is one of her first offerings with the adorable file folders and envelopes.

Cricut Rosette, Medallion & Sewn Edge

I just had to have these striking colors, cute stationary items and inspiring sentiments.  There are so many wonderful sentiments to choose from but my favorite was "Do not let anyone ever dull your sparkle" and "Don't be afraid to dream big."   I reserved both of these for the front cover.  You're welcome to follow along or pick something that speaks to you and customize your cover anyway your heart desires. 

Cricut Doily, Noted Button & Sentiment

This journal is 6" x 9" making it perfect for a an everyday diary, journal or scrapbook.  At 70 pages its also thick so I've included a ribbon closure which is sewn into the front and back covers.  There's plenty of room throughout the journal for photos and lots of nooks and cranny's to tuck away whatever memorabilia you want to save.

Take a look at these simple directions, collect your supplies and join me in creating your own personal journal.   Ready to get started?  Here's what I used for my design:

Supply List

2 ea 12 x 12 Stationary Noted Paper Collections
1 ea 6 x 6 Stationary Noted Paper Pad
2 ea Stationary Noted Sticker Sheets (these already come inside the 12 x 12 collection packs, so there is no extra cost for these)
1 ea Stationary Noted Chipboard Button Collection
1 ea Stationary Noted Decorative Brad Collection
1 ea Stationary Noted File Folders Collection
1 ea Stationary Noted Envelopes Collection
1 ea Teresa Collins Vintage Finds Collection Medallion
2 Sheets of Matching Gray Paper (reserve one sheet for your Cricut rosette and doily)
1 Sheet of Matching Red Cardstock
1 Sheet of  White Cardstock
1 Sheet of Black Cardstock
Close to My Heart "Artiste" Circuit Cartridge
Circuit Machine & Cutting Mat
Sewing Machine
Black Spool & Bobbin Thread
2 ea 10" long 3/8" Black Double Sided Satin Ribbon (For Journal Closure)
2 ea 7" long 3/8" Black Double Sided Satin Ribbon (For Tri-Fold File Folder Closure)
Silver Stickles
Glue
Pop Dots
Corner Rounder
Paper Scoring Board and Scoring Tool
1 ea 7" piece of 1 1/2" White Cinch Binding Wire
Cinch Binding Machine
12 x 12 Paper Trimmer
Scissors 

Directions

Inside Front Cover,  Pages 1 & 2

Step 1 - Creating Journal Cards & Mats:  From one of the 12 x 12 collection kits, pull both pages of  3 x 3 and 3 x 4 journal cards and trim the sentiments them down to size.  Set these aside to decorate with later.


Step 2 - Creating Pages & Pockets:   Take the remaining 20 sheets of 12 x 12 paper and cut off a 3" strip from each of them.   This includes the remainder of both collections plus the black, red, white and gray sheets of cardstock.  Next score all of your 12" x 9" sheets in the middle at 6" creating a folded 6" X 9" page.   Once cut and scored, a 12" x 9" sheet creates four journal pages, two outside and two inside.  Next take your corner rounder and shape all four corners of each sheet.  Now take the 3" x 12" strips and score them in the middle at 6" and round only the two bottom corners on each piece.   You'll use these 3" strips at 6" or 12" lengths for pockets as pictured throughout the journal. 

Pocket Corner Rounding Tip:  Be careful to hold your graphic paper in the correct direction when rounding the bottom of your 3" pocket strips.  Otherwise you may wind up with your typewriter paper upside down at assembly!  Oops!  

Inside Back Cover with Sewn Edges

Step 3 - Create Your Covers:   Make the front and back covers by folding those in half and putting one of the tie ribbons in the middle where you want your tie to close the book.  Do not glue or tape your tie in place as this will cause trouble for your sewing machine.   Sew around the open edges of both your front and back covers.  I ran a few squiggly lines around the edges capturing the tie edge and sewing it into the cover securely.

Special Cover Note:  The front and back covers are the only pages in the book that you fold in half and double up into a single page.  You do this to give the outside of the journal some heft so it can take a bit of everyday wear and tear.  All your other pages are single sheets. 

Step 4 -  Creating a Rosette & Doily:   Using your Cricut and Close to My Heart "Artiste" cartridge, cut two each of the rosette halves shown on page 50, marked as item 23 in the item picture and shown under the CARD feature.   I applied my gray 12 x 12 cardstock to the cutting mat and cut my rosettes to 3 1/2."   Using the same cartridge and mat, next I cut a 2" single doily, listed on page 58 under the 3D OBJECT feature.   Assemble the rosette and outline both items with silver Stickles.   If you do not have a Cricut machine or the "Artiste" cartridge, feel free to improvise your own decorative element to use instead. 

Page 1 & 2 with Page Pockets, File Folder & Envelope

Step 5 - Create Page Pockets:   I alternated page pockets on the outside and inside throughout the journal.  You'll  notice that I cut a few of my page pockets down to 6 " to mix up the design a bit from page to page.   When securing your page pockets use your favorite paper to paper glue otherwise the first time you insert something hefty into a pocket it will fall apart if you only use your tape runner.   Remember to leave the top of your page pocket open, gluing only the sides and bottom.   Since you will bind your pages at their center fold, there's no need to glue down your pockets in the middle. 

Step 6 -  Stage Your Pages for Binding:   After assembling your pages and pockets, then organize your pages in the order you want them to appear.  Once that's done, insert your "loose" file folders where you want them to appear.   I glued down the thick tri-fold folder to one of my pages leaving me three "loose" file folders to tuck into my journal.

Step 7 - Binding Your Journal:   I used the Cinch Binding Machine with 7" of 1 1/2" white binding wire to create this journal.   Follow the directions to punch, stack and cinch your pages together.   Remember to stack your back cover last, over the front cover, so when you are done binding you can turn the back page to the rear and hide the seam of your binding wire.

Alternate Binding Method:   If you don't have a Cinch Binding Machine, you can easily improvise a binding using a standard hole punch and 3 ea. 2" binding rings.   Make a 6" x 9" cardstock hole punch template to use as a guide.   To make sure your holes are evenly spaced fold your 9" cardstock in half, then in half again and one more time.  This will give you 7 evenly spaced crease lines.  Mark and punch your top, bottom and center crease lines.   Using your template punch all of your pages and secure them together with your 2" binding rings. 

Step 8 - Decorating Your Journal:   With your journal all put together, now its time for the really fun part!   Feel free to follow my simple design ideas or better yet take this opportunity to use your mini envelopes, stickers, journaling cards, photo mats, brads, and 3D chipboard to finish decorating your journal just the way you want it.

Special Note on 6 x 6 Paper Pad:   I used 12 pages or half of a 6 x 6 paper pad to help decorate this journal.  I used some pages whole to make photo fold outs (see pages 52 & 58) and/or cut a few pages down to make photo mats and journaling flaps throughout this book (see pages 4, 14, 26, 30, 31, 50, 54, 55, 56 and 59).  

Here's what my finished journal looks like:

Front Cover

Page 1 with Pocket, Journal Flap & File Folder

Page 2 with Pocket, Envelope & Journal Card

Page 3 & 4 with Journal Flap

Pages 5 & 6 with Pockets & Journal Cards

Pages 7 & 8 with Pocket & Photo Mats

Pages 9 & 10 with Pockets & Sentiment Card

Page 11 & 12 with Pocket & Journal Card

Page 13 & 14 with Pocket, Journal Card & Photo Mat

Page 15 & 16 with Pockets

Page 17 with Loose File Folder

Page 18 with Photo Mats & Journal Cards

Page 19 & 20 with Pockets & Journal Cards

Page 21 & 22 with Photo Mats

Page 23 & 24 with Pocket, Photo Mat & Journal Card

Page 25 & 26 with Pocket & Journal Card & Flap 

Page 27 & 28 with Pockets

Page 29 & 30 with Pocket, Photo Mat, Journal Flap & Sentiment Card

Page 31 & 32 with Pockets & Photo Flap

Page 33 & 34 with Pocket & Sentiment Cards

Page 35 & 36 with Photo Mats

Page 37 & 38 with Tri-Fold Folder, Pocket & Sentiment Cards

Page 39 & 40 Plain & Simple

Page 41 & 42 Pocket, Envelope & Journal Cards

Page 43 & 44 Pockets & Journal Card

Page 45 & 46 Pockets & Loose Envelope

Page 47 & 48 Plain & Simple

Page 49 & 50 with Pocket & Journal Flap

Page 51 & 52 with Journal & Photo Fold Outs & Sentiment Card

Page 53 & 54 with Loose File Folder & Photo Flap

Page 55 & 56 with Photo Mats & Journal Flaps

Page 57 & 58 with Pockets & Photo & Journal Fold Outs

Page 59 & 60 with Pocket, Photo Mat & Sentiment Card

Page 61 & 62 with Journal Card & Photo Mats

Page 63 & 64 with Pockets, Photo Mat & Journal Card

Page 65 & 66 with Photo Mats & Journal Card

Page 67 & 68 with Pocket & Journal Card

Well friends that's all for me today.  I hope you found these directions easy to follow and useful in creating your own personal journal.  I always appreciate hearing from visitors, so please feel free to leave me a comment.  Until next time, make it a happy and creative day!  ~ Dawna