It's a Giveaway! An October Afternoon Giveaway!

I told you it would be worth your time to come back today! However, the giveaway isn't here, it's at write.click.scrapbook. Here's a look at the project I created to go along with the give.away.day., using October Afternoon's Make It Merry line:

So...be sure to click on over to write.click.scrapbook. sometime between now and Sunday and leave a comment on the post there to be entered to win a Make It Merry collection:

My Mind's Eye Guest Designer (and last week's October Afternoon Farm Girl Blog Hop Winner)

My Mind's Eye Guest Designer

Yup, that's me! :) I was thrilled to be asked to play with the Lost & Found 3 Oliver collection for Hanukkah. This line combines gorgeous and elegant blue, yellow, cream, and gray patterned papers and embellishments with touches of gold glitter.

First, I created a set of eight tags:

 

Using my Silhouette, I cut eight 3" wide tags from cream cardstock. I then ran several of the patterned papers from the 6" X 6" paper pad through my Silhouette, cutting out the number words and small banner elements. I added in stickers, dimensional stickers, buttons, and chipboard to further embellish the tag set. While I plan to use this to create a mini album once Hanukkah is over, these tags would also work as gift tags, a Hanukkah calendar, or could be used across a 2-page layout along with photos and journaling.

I had some small banner die cuts left over after I created the tags, so I used them on this layout. One of my favorite things about the Lost & Found 3 Oliver line are the embosed patterned papers. The blue quatrefoil and yellow hexagon 12" X 12" papers are embossed, perfect for adding a bit of texture and elegance to any project. Strips of these papers against the yellow damask pattern make me happy! It also makes me happy that I was able to have the curve of the "w" in my title lead right into the curve of my son's shoulder in the photo collage - love it when little details like that come together!

Be sure to check out the My Mind's Eye blog today for more information. Word on the street is that there's another special Hanukkah guest designer tomorrow, so be sure to check back for her work as well!

October Afternoon Farm Girl Blog Hop Winner

I know you're all also waiting on pins and needles for the announcement of the October Afternoon Farm Girl Blog Hop winner. So, without further ado,

Ruth said...
I definitely MUST get this line....we have a dairy farm and it would be perfect!

December 10, 2012 4:29 AM

Yes, Ruth, that means that you are the winner of the Farm Girl Tin Pins! Please email me your address at vmasket at comcast.net to claim your prize. 

Please Come Back Tomorrow!

"Why?" you ask. Well, because I will be linking you to a fabulous giveaway at write.click.scrapbook. Intrigued? Be sure to check back tomorrow!

Happy Hanukkah!

This week is all about non-traditional holiday layouts on the Pebbles blog. Just because Pebbles doesn't have a holiday line doesn't mean you can't use bits and pieces of other lines to great effect on a holiday layout. I combined polka-dot patterned papers from the Family Ties and Seen & Noted lines on this Hanukkah layout:

I die cut the line of numbers and the banner elements, adhered a sticker to the bottom of a photo printed as a Polaroid, added two blocks of patterned paper (one with the corner rounded and a semi-circle punched out of it), a sticker on a pop dot, and a journaling strip and I was done. Super easy!

Stay tuned in to the Pebbles blog for more holiday projects all this week and next week!

Be sure to check back here tomorrow for both the winner of the October Afternoon Farm Girl Blog Hop and for more Hanukkah projects I did as a guest designer for... (well, you'll just have to check back tomorrow to find out! :)). I might also be persuaded to reveal my super-secret foolproof latke recipe.

 

October Afternoon Farm Girl Blog Hop

Welcome to my stop on the October Afternoon Farm Girl Blog Hop! Today, we're focusing on this fun new line and offering chances to win prizes along the way. 

Farm Girl has something for everyone. There are basic stripes, checks, and polka dots. There are vintage patterns. There are farm-themed designs. There are bright colors. There are muted colors. You can use this line for projects having to do with farming, cooking, canning, gardening, eating, or for all sorts of everyday projects.

Here's a look at the collection:

I used this line with a photo I dug up from 2004:

Here are the products I used:

So, do you want a chance to win those tin pins? I thought so! :) Leave a comment below to be entered into the drawing. The winner will be announced next Wednesday, December 12th.


For reference, here is the order of the blog hop:

October Afternoon Blog 

Mou Saha's Blog

Marcy Penner's Blog

Vivian Masket's Blog (you are here)

Jill Sprott's Blog

Nicole Harper's Blog

Becky Novacek's Blog

Amy Heller's Blog

Michelle Wooderson's Blog

What are you waiting for? Hop away to Jill Sprott's blog!

Just Discovered Olioboard...

...and now my inner interior designer is coming out. Oh dear! 

We are lucky enough to have a basement playroom space for the kids. For the last seven years it's contained all sorts of little kid things - a play kitchen, an easel, a Pottery Barn Kids art table sized for little ones, buckets full of trains and Little People sets, etc. The kids have outgrown most of it and are in desperate need of a space to create and display their art, do homework, play board games, and build Legos. Enter my master plan. We are getting rid of most everything currently in the playroom (some of it we're selling, some we're giving to friends, and some we're donating) and are moving full steam ahead with a (relatively) cheap redo that centers around two oversize desks and a 4 X 4 Expedit bookshelf from IKEA. I went looking tonight for a design board to pull it all together and found Olioboard and created this:

I am not yet great at arranging stuff on a board, but it was cool to pull together everything that looked good together in my head and see that it does, in fact, look fabulous together!  

Notice that this looks a bit like my scrapbook style? Neutrals (white, stainless steel) with pops of color and a touch of whimsy. We currently have white walls and an off-white carpet. We're leaving that as is for now, but my dream is to rip out the carpet and put in laminate flooring (not planning to splurge on real hardwood for a basement).

 Some details not visible in the picture:

• The desk pictured above is not exactly what we are getting, as we are getting two of the drawer units for each kid to anchor the desks (instead of legs on one or both sides) and are getting a long (6') desktop for each. That way they will each have plenty of space for a computer or iPad, homework papers, art supplies, Lego-building space, etc. Sadie will also have a home for her vintage typewriter, which is a behemoth that currently eats up about a 1/3 of the craft table we have now.

• I got four of the metal locker baskets to go in the Expedit to help corral non-book items. I think I will pick a row, maybe the second row from the top or the bottom, and line the baskets up there.

• Eli is getting the orange desk supply cups and the red chair, and Sadie is getting the aqua desk supply cups and the pink chair. 

• We already bought three of the Trofast shelf units with green buckets for Lego storage and are planning to add two more. 

• The vintage game pieces (which I bought on Etsy for a grand total of $16.00, including shipping) are going to get collaged/glued into shadowbox frames for some cheap art. I figure that will be a fun project to do with the kids.

• I am currently negotiating with Seth - I want to move our old white double-glass-door TV cabinet into the playroom for board game storage and put it against the wall under where the vintage game art pieces will go. Most board games won't fit in the Expedit shelves and it will make sense to have a home for those in the playroom. If not, I'll get something similar, although maybe just a low bookshelf rather than something with doors.

• We also have IKEA metal art cables with clips that we bought last year and never hung up. We'll run one or two rows of cable above each of the desks so that the kids can clip up their artwork and homework. 

• I found some cool Lego art on Etsy, but then realized that instead of hanging art above the Trofast units the kids can just display built sets on top of those as dust collectors (did I say that? I meant as art). 

• I might also get each of the kids a set of stackable metal mesh desk trays so that work in progress can stay organized and visible.

• We're going to get all of this in place and live with it for a bit before making one last decision. I wanted to add a round table in a corner so that the kids could have a communal space for game-playing, art projects, etc. for when friends come over. I think I may be overestimating the amount of space we have (must leave enough open for a dance floor! :)) so I'm going to be cautious about this and wait and see.

I will be sure to take some before and after photos. I'm hoping to have the new space put together within 2-3 weeks.

Write.Click.Scrapbook. + Photos That Matter/Fave Photos

Today marks the launch of the December (um...how is it already December?) gallery at write.click.scrapbook. This month's theme is Photos That Matter/Fave Photos. My layout this month features a photo that I cherish:

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics + Patterned Paper: Crate Paper + Wood Embellishments: Crate Paper + Ribbon: May Arts + Die Cutting Machine: Silhouette + Fonts: Pacifico, AL Uncle Charles

Be sure to check out the rest of the gallery at write.click.scrapbook. Then get out there and make a layout with a photos that matter/fave photos!

Write.Click.Scrapbook.Sneak!

It's the 20th, which means it's write.click.scrapbook. sneak day! The gallery will be up on December 1. Here's a peek at my layout:

Any idea what the gallery theme might be? If you want to see more sneaks, check out the write.click.scrapbook. Facebook page. Be sure to check back at write.click.scrapbook. on December 1st to see if you were right!