The new Shimmerz vintage colors are here!

Today is the big release of the new Shimmerz vintage colors!! Take a look at all the beautiful new shades of Spritz and paint:
You can see (and buy!) all of these colors on the Shimmerz website.

Here is a card I made using several of the new colors:

I used Shimmerz to add some color and sparkle to the flowers. As usual, I started with plain white Prima flowers (lucky for me I've been hoarding these so I have quite a stash). For the green flower, I used the new Mossy Stone Shimmerz and then I sprayed on a little Olive Branch Spritz for some contrast. I used Wed Wagon and Antique Lace Shimmerz on the other flowers. The paper is from the Graphic 45 Renaissance Faire line. . . a perfect match for these beautiful new Shimmerz colors, don’t ya think?

Be sure and check out the Shimmerz blog this week where you can see all of the fabulous new projects made by the Design Team and the NEW Education Team!

Graphic 45

Now that school is back in session, I'm finally settling back into my regular mom-school-work-scrap routine. It's been a little rough-going this time around because we had a major school disappointment, so I'm shuttling my girls back and forth to different schools. But I know things always work out in the end.

Here's a Graphic 45 layout I made using papers from the new Renaissance Faire line. This is a picture of my mom as a little girl. Wasn't she a little cutie-patootie?!?



Have a great day!!

Check out the new and improved Shimmerz website!

Shimmerz has a new and improved website!! Here is the link: Shimmerz. You can order all of your favorite colors of Shimmerz, Blingz and Spritz directly from the site!

I tried something different with Spritz: I used removable Scotch tape as a mask.



I simply added strips of scotch tape to white cardstock in a criss-cross pattern. I made sure the tape strips were nice and secure, then I sprayed four different colors of Spritz over the tape. I used Plum Pudding, Sapphire, Sea Foam and Olive Branch. I pulled off the tape, then I hand-stitched around the edge to give it some definition. I was left with this beautiful white criss-cross pattern surrounded by a sea of rainbow Spritz!

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

A Million Memories September Kit projects

Here are a few of my projects using the fabulous A Million Memories September kit. I know I say this every time, but this kit was so much fun to work with!

In honor of my girls starting school today, I did a layout using pictures from the first day of school last year:

I added some real school supplies, including a ruler, paper clips and a No. 2 pencil.

Here is a family layout:

The journaling says: Sometimes I complain about our small, old house. I often wish we could move to a bigger and newer house in a more family-friendly neighborhood. But I am grateful to be with my wonderful family and to have a roof over our heads. I know without a doubt that home is wherever we are. The photo was taken by Melissa Walker-Scott.

This next project is a little wall hanging I made to hold my house and car keys. Now I'll always be able to find them . . . assuming I remember to hang them up in the first place!

I bought a plain wood plaque from Michael's, painted it, then attached the hook. Actually, my husband attached the hook for me because that's a "manly" kind of job (well, not really, but I like to involve him in my crafty projects whenever I can). These cute little Maya Road chipboard houses were included in the AMM kit, and I added the little felt sun and bling.

Thank you so much for your sweet comments on my blog! They brighten my day!

New Shimmerz Vintage colors

Guess what? Shimmerz is coming out with MORE colors of paints and Spritz. I can't share the specifics just yet (the official release will be on September 21st), but I can tell you that they are vintage colors! Here's a little sneak peak:



Be sure and check out the Shimmerz blog and see all the amazing work created by the DT!!

Webster's Pages Guest Designer!!

I'm thrilled to share the news that I am the Guest Designer for Webster's Pages for the month of September!! I won their "Show us your Backsides" contest a few months ago, and as part of that I get to be their guest designer this month.

Webster's Pages is just my style! I love the soft colors and the vintage feel of the papers and embellishments. And the papers are so fun to work with because there are many little elements to cut out and use on your pages. I had the pleasure of working with the GORGEOUS new "Postcards from Paris" and "Nature's Storybook" lines. Here are the projects I've completed so far (and there will be more to come):



For this next layout I cut the tree and the little creatures (the birds, the little butterfly and the rabbit) from one of the Nature's Storybook papers. I used Shimmerz paints to color the leaves and tree branches, and I used Shimmerz Spritz to dye the Prima flowers.







More from the Postcards from Paris line:






I had a ball making these projects. Thank you, Webster's Pages, for having me as your guest designer!

The AMM September kit is up!

The A Million Memories September kit is up for sale! It's called "Office Space" and it's full of lots of goodies, including Sassafras Lass, Cosmo Cricket, Lily Bee, Maya Road chipboard and a Melissa Frances bingo book:

You can purchase this fabulous kit here in the AMM store. I just got my kit in the mail so I'm busy putting together some fun, fun stuff!

Also, Lucy Edson is teaching a FREE online class at A Million Memories from September 8-10. You'll learn how to make a beautiful vintage looking frame.

Here is the class info: Lucy's Shabby Chic Frame Class

Shimmerz and Triple the Sketch

Shimmerz has paired up with Triple the Sketch this week. Both design teams used Shimmerz on this week's sketch to create some fantastic pages and cards.

Here is my take on the sketch. I started with white cardstock and used Sea Foam Spritz with a Heidi Swapp butterfly mask to create the background. I used Lilac Shimmerz to color the lace below the picture.



These papers are from Graphic 45's Baby 2 Bride line. This is still one of my all time favorite paper lines! And of course I had to add some Prima goodies (no page is complete without them).

The sketch will posted on Triple the Sketch all week. Play along with the sketch for a chance to win some yummy goodies from Shimmerz!!

Happy Wednesday!

Have you checked out the Graphic 45 blog lately? Every Wednesday there's a new sketch posted along with a Design Team member's take on the sketch. This weeks' sketch was created by the very talented Patti Hutchinson and the accompanying layout was done by yours truly:





There are some fun things going on at A Million Memories right now. We have so many new members so the boards and gallery are hopping! Also, DT member Rachel Hall is hosting a fun challenge called "Pocket Full of Posies" which entails using a pocket on your page. You can find the details here.

Want to win the sold out AMM August kit?? AMM has a "Get Your Blinkie On" contest going on now through August 31st. All you have to do is add the AMM blinkie to your blog and in your signature on any message boards where you participate (where permitted). You can find the complete contest details here: AMM blinkie contest.

More Graphic 45

Happy Monday!! Here's my share for the day . . . a Graphic 45 layout I created for CHA. My girls had a fun little dress up session in some lovely vintage-looking clothes, and of course I grabbed my camera. I played around with my photo editing software to give the picture an aged look to go along with these vintage papers.



I added the little velvet hat for fun:

Lily Bee and Shimmerz Spritz

Here's one more layout I made with Lily Bee's beautiful French Couture paper. Thank you again, Lily Bee!



I initially made a little boo boo on this page. I first used Shimmerz Spritz with a Heidi Swapp butterfly mask on the paper, but the Spritz got under the mask because it was kind of warped from the last time I used it. Here's a bit of advice: when you use a mask, make sure it doesn't get stuck to your clothing and then sent through the washer and dryer (trust me on this one!). Since my wonky little Spritzed butterfly didn't look much like a butterfly, I decided to spray more Spritz on the paper. I sprayed Sea Foam and Olive Branch Spritz all over the corners of the page, and I was pleased with the way the Spritz provided a nice little colorful contrast behind the photos, embellishments, and journaling. So sometimes scrapbooking boo-boos can be a good thing!

It's Lily Bee Time!

I'd like to say a big, big thank you to Lily Bee for generously sponsoring the A Million Memories DT. I got to play with papers from the beautiful French Couture line. I fell in love with this line the first time I saw it! Here are the layouts I created (I didn't dare waste a scrap of that gorgeous paper):








Thank you, Lily Bee!!!

Fancy Pants!!

I want to say a HUGE thank you to Fancy Pants for sponsoring the A Million Memories Design Team!! I got to play with the fabulous Fancy Pants Summer Soiree collection. Here is what I created:

For the next layout I used some Fancy Pants chipboard from my stash (I removed the chipboard shapes and used the negative space of the chipboard sheet). I used a sponge to dab on acrylic paint, and just before it was dry I sponged on Shimmerz paint. I used Tickle-Me-Turquoise and Jilted Jade from the new Shimmerz summer release. And at the bottom of this layout is the white Prima flower I dyed with Shimmerz Spritz and paint (see my last blog entry).





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I used Shimmerz Tickle-Me-Turqoise paint on the paper "splash" on the above layout.

This next layout is a scraplift of a page by the very talented Steph Caskey-Devlin. Every month the DT at A Million Memories chooses a member's layout to lift, and last month we chose one's of Steph's fabulous pages. You can see Steph's original layout and all the DT lifts on the AMM blog.



And last but not least:


I also want to let you know that there's a fun contest going on at A Million Memories called "Win it before you can buy it." You can win some great new products from Basic Grey, Pink Paislee and SEI, so go check it out!

Have a great week!!

Shimmerz and white Prima flowers

Just a little share for the day . . .

One of my favorite ways to use Shimmerz Spritz is to spray it on white Prima flowers. This allows me to dye the flowers any color I want. When I saw Prima's newest releases -- beautiful white flowers with lots of petals and dimension -- I snapped up several packages (I bought mine at A Million Memories). Here are the white Prima flowers 'before' and 'after':



I first sprayed the flower with Sea Foam Spritz. Then I dipped the edges of the petals in the excess spray (I always place my flower on wax paper or a plastic bag so that the excess Spritz doesn't get absorbed). Finally, I painted the edges of the petals with Tickle-Me-Turquoise Shimmerz paint for a little extra sparkle and contrast. What I love about Spritz and Shimmerz paints is that the colors are so vibrant, yet they are not too overpowering. It's just the perfect amount of color and shimmer!

Another Graphic 45 layout and a challenge

Lately my layouts don't feel complete unless I have some kind of stitching on them -- either hand or sewing machine stitching. I was so excited when I saw Graphic 45's new Domestic Goddess line, which incorporates lovely vintage sewing elements. I created a layout with the fabulous papers from this line and I incorporated lots stitching (both hand and machine).







I added a plethora of vintage sewing goodies that I found at estate sales -- needles, buttons, a snap package, lace, and measuring tape. I made the flower out of a vintage sewing pattern and fabric.

And speaking of sewing, I'm hosting this month's challenge on the Graphic 45 ning site. The challenge is called "A Stitch in Time." All you need to do is create a layout with Graphic 45 papers and use stitching/sewing on your page, then upload your page to the challenge thread on the Graphic 45 ning site before August 31st. You can also find the info on the Graphic 45 blog. The winner will receive a Graphic 45 paper pack! Everyone is welcome to participate, so come on over and play!!