I've had to put some projects on hold this week since Sunday is Lily's birthday and this mom has been working hard getting all of the decorations ready for her backyard party with our family. Even though we aren't throwing a big party I wanted to make sure that it's a memorable birthday for her and us.
When my Mom and Dad were here we went to Disneyland for her first trip and while we were there we just happened to catch the Princess Story Time with Ariel. Lily loved seeing Ariel and has been talking about the princess for the past few weeks. She had only recently begun showing interest in the Disney princesses and Ariel was her Princess of choice. So I guess it seemed the natural theme for her 3rd birthday be Princess Ariel.
Right away I had some ideas and I started getting them together this week. We went to Michaels yesterday and I got a great deal on a 3 tier cupcake/cake display and we picked up a few supplies but I found that I had a lot of things in my stash at home.
I started my vision with these wood starfish I got for 25 cents for 2 of them, some paint and Martha Stewart micro beads.

First I painted them

Then I covered them in Tombow Mono liquid adhesive and coated them with the clear micro beads and let them dry.

While I was waiting for those to dry I started working on the cupcake toppers. I used my Cricut Expression and the Sweet Treats cart to cut these flowers and 3's out.

Next I made some tissue paper pom poms from the instructions at Martha Stewart.com here

Then I was ready to decorate the cupcake display. With my paper supplies, some purple tulle and my micro bead starfish and some ribbon and some clear Ariel stickers I mounted on acetate from Grafix. Here's the finished project ready for cupcakes!

Here's a close up of the top.

I must admit this project turned out much better than I had imagined and I wanted to cry when my daughter woke up from her nap and exclaimed "Mommy, pretty Ariel. It's so cute!"
I almost have everything ready for her party and just have a few last minute things to pick up before Sunday.

Now onto an Imaginisce note...
We've been featuring some great designs over at the Imaginisce blog with the newest collection

If you've been stopping by and leaving comments then you'll see Imaginisce is awarding some great prize packs of the new collection. Be sure and visit today's post to get your chance to win!!!

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Altering with Apple Cider

Hello friends! This week's release of Imaginisce's Apple Cider has me painting and using my favorite Martha Stewart product (besides the punches) Micro beads!!!

Here's a look at a quick altered birdhouse I created with the new line



I got the birdhouse at Joann's, painted the fence and roof with brown paint and used Cinnimon sticks patterned paper from the Apple Cider line as well as chipboard stickers and the little bird is from the coordinating denim stickers.

Here's a closer look at the little friends

And of course the clear micro beads I used to cover the roof of my house. Yep I see that paper did not adhere all the way...darn it! I'll fix that later {wink}

This project was quick and easy to create and makes a great fall home accent. I hope you'll give this project a try and pls come back and leave a link for me to check it out. I love to blog hop!

Now would you like to win some of this yummy collection? Make sure you stop by the Imaginisce blog each day this week here!
And our very own Design team Coordinator Lori rocked out some fab cards with the Cricut Home Decor and More cart. Head over here cause the word is she has a giveaway!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Introducing Apple Cider!!

Hello friends! I've been really busy with some projects I've been working on but I wanted to share some images of Imaginisce's newest release

I love this fall themed collection! The colors are great for fall photos, trips to the apple farm and other Fall family activities. Here's a few images I'd like to share with you...

Apple Crisp patterned paper (looks good enough to eat!)

Fall in Love- Double sided patterned paper (love the polka dots!)

Snag Em Apple Stamp

Snag Em Pumpkin Stamp

Denim Stickers (how cute are these!)

Like what you see so far?? Well guess what...you can win some of this collection by stopping by the Imaginisce blog and leaving comments on each post then just go back the next day to see if you've won. BUT...even better than that check out this post and find out how you can win a Cricut Expression from Imaginisce...yep you heard me correctly!! What are you waiting for...GO!!!

My finshed apron and a winner

Hello friends! I hope you are enjoying your weekend so far. I have an Open House at Joann's today and I am hoping to sign up some students for my Scrapbook Design & You class. I was really excited to see a full page ad for classes in the recent issue of Scrapbooks Etc. I can't begin to tell you how much you will learn taking this class. You can go to the SDU website and search for a class near you.
I finally found time to work on the apron I showed you last week. Here's the before
pic.

I washed mine to make the fabric softer but it did wrinkle a bit. I tried to steam it and most of the wrinkles came out but not all. I'm not wearing it to a wedding or anything so I figured I'm good.

Here's the after with 2 colors of Glimmer Mist, some Webster's trim and Sparklers and of course Prima felt vines and flowers. It was easy to spray the mist and I used the techniques that Donna explains in her video here.

Here's a closer look

After I photographed it, I thought it still looked unfinished and in Donna's tutorial she uses a canvas word, laugh. I didn't have any so I used American CraftsThickers to spell out my quote. I glued the words dream and do on with fabric glue. I also covered the letters in glossy accents to seal the glitter and prevent tearing when I wear my apron.

Here's a closer look. My writing is a bit crooked but it makes my finished apron definitely look "artsy". I used a Sharpe marker to go over the penciled quote I wrote. This apron took me about an hour to make. Not bad and super fun. I hope you'll try one and come back and leave me a link to see it!

Now for the winner of the Birthday Bash prize....

Kelly Massman said...

Love your LO! I'm a new follower to you! Yay! And I follow I on FB!
Thanks for a chance to win!

Congratulations Kelly!! Email me your address at shemainesmith@yahoo.com and I'll send your prize out Monday!!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Wrapping up the Birthday Bash

Hello friends! Every good party has to come to an end...it's been so much fun working with the new Birthday Bash line from Imaginisce this week! I'd like to send you home with a Kraft treat box filled with goodies! This one was created with a 3 since my little girl will be turning 3 on the 18th of this month!

I used Love My Tapes adhesive to secure the paper to the pre-made Kraft box. It's super strong and holds well.

I used glossy accents to make the Party in this chipboard sticker pop. I think they look like mini M&M's

And you all know how much I love micro beads. This shade of orange from the Martha Stewart assortment went perfectly with this collection. I use Tombow Mono liquid adhesive to keep them on my chipboard and it dries quickly!!! Thanks again to Tombow for sending the team some of their fabulous products.
Now make sure you've left a comment each day at the Imaginisce blog and on this post. Why? Because you have a chance to win a prize pack of this fun collection. Then you can scrap your own Birthday Bash!

Thanks for stopping by!!

The party continues...

Hello friends! I'm continuing my Imaginisce Birthday Bash party with some cards I created with this fun line. I love the color palette of this line because it works for boy or girl and any age! The orange, green and turquoise are my faves.

Supplies: Patterned paper: It's a party from the Birthday Bash collection (Imaginisce) Make a Wish springing stickers (Imaginisce) Tools: Tim Holtz bingo card embossing folder Cardstock: kraft by (Papertrey Ink) Stickles, gold

Supplies: Cardstock: kraft (Papertrey Ink) Bazzill basics tourquoise; Patterned Paper: Birthday banners from Birthday Bash (Imaginisce); Peice of Cake springing stickers from the Birthday Bash collection (Imaginisce); Fiber: Birthday streamers ribbon from the Birthday Bash collection (Imaginisce; Provo craft embossing folder, happy birthday; misc bling

I don't usually put anything on the inside of my card but the Imaginisce packaging is so cool with the same designs as the collection that I cut a circle and layered it with our snag em stamp

See the fuzzy yellow dots on the stamped image? That is a really fun product I discovered at CKC in Riverside a few weekends ago called Sparkly Fluff. You can find it at Our Craft Lounge. com First I have to tell you the guy that was selling it was very convincing and passionate about his product. He quickly had my attention and was showing my mom and I many cards create with his product.
It's easy to use, you just need a glue pen and I used Tombow's Mono glue pen to color in the dots and then I just sprinkled some lemon drop yellow over the glue and then tapped off the excess onto a piece of paper and put it back in the jar. I really like the fuzzy shiny look.

Well that's it for today but remember to check this post for details about a giveaway I have this week!! Don't forget to stop by the Imaginisce blog too! There will be a prize winner everyday this week!
Thanks for stopping by

Let's get this party started!

This week we're celebrating Imaginisce's newest line Birthday Bash. Be sure and stop by the Imaginisce blog this week for loads of inspiration from the Design Team and your chance to win some of this new collection. What would a party be without some prizes right!
This newest collection features 6 different patterned papers, paper ribbon banners, stickers, rub-ons, coordinating ribbon and much more! To see the entire collection hop over to Imaginisce here. Here's a layout I created with our newest collection and the Celebrations cart and my Cricut.

I cut the balloons with my Cricut and then used Tombow Mono Liquid Adhesive to cover them so I could sprinkle Martha Stewart clear micro beads over the die cut. If you don't have microbeads get some...they are so fun and Tombo's liquid adhesive is hands down the best to use with these microbeads. Thanks again to Tombow for providing our Design Team with some samples of their fabulous products.
Here's a closer look at the micro beads. I used Pop Dots from All Night Media to adhere them to my page. You can pick up the large bottle at Michaels for 9.99 and don't forget to use one of their 40% off coupons and then you'll get em for a deal!

And a look at the celebrate phrase I cut out and layered for my title. I added some bling with our new i-rock tool to add dimension.

Now remember when I mentioned prizes above? Well guess what...I have one for you too! I have a Birthday Bash Paper pack {12 sheets}, Snag em stamp, Springing Stickers {birthday cake} and a package of Sticker Glass up for grabs.

How do you win? OK here's the deets:

1. Sign up to follow my blog {so you'll get info on future giveaways}
2. Head over to our Facebook page and become a fan here.
3. Come back and leave me a comment that you did both :)

You just have to do these two things and leave a comment to get your chance to win. Saturday I'll post the winner. That's it :)

My creative process

My creative process is a little warped in my opinion. I'm not known for being an organized kind of girl so this makes sense to no one but me. It's a fact that I do my best work amidst utter chaos. Oh I do clean it all up eventually but then another project calls and we're back here all over again. Don't worry I'll be showing the results of this chaos next week {wink}

For now my space is pretty much decorated and I am feeling at home in our dining room designing my projects. I can feel this summer is going to be full of projects and trying new things. In the week my Mom was here we didn't get to craft together once but then again my studio is not big enough for two. We did get to visit Remember When in Valencia. We scored some beautiful things I can't get here in LA from Websters and Prima. Here's a peek at my next project

Mom bought me this Prima Donna Downey canvas apron and I am excited to make it my own to wear when I teach my classes. I'm thinking turquoise Glimmer Mist...Prima vines and flowers and of course Say it in Crystals. I have a feeling this project will be loads of fun!
Thanks for stopping by today, I'm curious...what's your creative process? I'd love to hear it so leave me a comment!

Imaginisce July Sketch Challenge

Happy 1st of July! Do you have plans to go away for the 4th of July weekend? With my hubby being out of town we plan on a nice quite family BBQ with our daughter and then maybe fireworks at the beach.
This month our very own Tammy Wark has created a card sketch for our monthly challenge at the Imaginisce blog.

I used our newest release, Birthday Bash for my take on the sketch.


Supplies: Hip Hip Hooray patterned paper, Confetti patterned Paper, Celebrate sticker glass, Piece of Cake Springing Stickers, Misc ribbon, Core'dinations Cardstock, gold Stickles.

Some of the team has created a layout based on the card sketch so don't be afraid to try it yourself. If you are game for playing you could win some free Imaginisce goodies. Check the blog for all the deets here.
Be sure and visit the rest of the Design Team Girls blogs to see their takes on the sketches and leave them a little blog love.

Tammy Wark

Kim Holmes
Cindy Stevens
Heather Carpenter
Melinda Spinks
Renata Moni Bidin
Sarah de Guzman

Tracy Gardiner

Cari Locken

Erin Bassett

Aphra Bolyer
Liz Qualman
Samantha Hauzer

We're having a party!

Imaginisce is kicking off it's Birthday Bash line release party starting Monday at the Imaginisce blog. Be sure and stop by all week to see what we have in store for you. You could win some fab new Imaginisce products and rumor has it that we're giving away a few of the new i-rock tools.

Bling it ON!!!


Here's a sneak peek at one of my projects I'll be featuring next week with our new Birthday Bash line. Hmm that looks like a little Celebrations from Cricut too! Can't wait to share the whole thing!

If you want to get an early start on winning this fab collection, hop on over to the Imaginisce blog where Pinky is Guest Bloggin today. Word is she's got a prize to give away...

A sad farewell

It's with a heavy heart that I wrote this post today as it's our last Tuesday Challenge post for Jacksonbelle Embellishments. I have loved being a part of the Jacksonbelle team and having the opportunity to get to know Lindsey Botkin has been a real treat. She is so kind, encouraging and generous. I can only imagine how hard today is for her too. Closing the door on one dream can only open another one. I am sure Lindsey will find her next path and we'll all be wishing her the best in her future endeavors.
I'm sorry to not have a new card to post today but my poor little girl and I have been seriously ill with food poisoning since Sunday and I haven't been able to get out of bed until this morning. So I am going to showcase a few of my favorite Jacksonbelle challenge cards

The Jacksonbelle Embellishments store will remain open until the last day of June and everything is 75% off

It has been a pleasure designing with Jacksonbelle products and with the amazing Designers on the Jacksonbelle Design Team. I will really miss these Tuesdays...pls stop by and wish the girls well. We all could use a little blog love today.

Dawn Lusk

Julie Lacey

Heather Pulvirenti

Windy Robinson

Stephanie Severin

Amy Tsuruta

Pam Varnell

Lynda Benden

Tobi Crawford

Jill Dunn

Lindsey Botkin

Heather Lee-Reppen