Muse My World

Starting Project Life in 2014

Being around the paper crafting industry, I've heard about Project Life for a while now.  But, I always just moved passed it because, well, I'm not a scrapbooker.  I am primarily a card maker.  And while I LOVE scrapbooks (and the people who make them) I am just not super talented in that area, nor had really had an interest to try it.  It's too big of a canvas, for me, too much detail, too much time. 

Well, all that changed at the end of summer.  I had joined the Studio Calico community and began chatting up the message boards and browsing the gallery.  I saw Project Life (PL) spreads everywhere.  I started looking at them.  Enjoying them.  And thinking... I can do this!!  So, I made the decision that I was going to do a 12 x 12 Project Life album in 2014. 

I started by purchasing my album and some page projectors, Design A, the most basic and typcial design.  I started to make a plan as to how I was going to go about organizing things and working on this project.  What I decided on was a weekly format.  This means, that every week I am going to do a page about what happened during that week. 

So, here we are.... the first week is next week.  I joined the Studio Calico Project Life monthly subscription kit (it's filled with everything you need to do your pages every month) and I ordered a few of this years kits during the black friday sale.  I'm ready to go.  I'm excited!!

So, I already did my first page... the Title Page... the first page of my album... setting the tone.  Here you go:

Do you do Project Life?  Are you starting new this year?  Over the next two weeks or so I will be sharing my process and how everything is going.  I'll go over what products I'm using and how I'm organizing it all.  Plus, I'll be sharing all my pages over the course of the year.  

*I get points from Studio Calico if you use my link and sign up for a kit.  I'm not sponsored by them, and all opinions are my own, I just really love them.

You Are Perfect Single Layer Card

I really loved the stamp set in this month's Cuppa Kit from Studio Calico.  It was designed by Lindsay Letters and has hexagons and an amazing font.  I just couldn't resist making a single layer card using only stamps and ink.  I really think it turned out perfect (pun intended)!  How do you like it?  Do you ever make single layer cards? 

If you have never made a single layer card, I here by challenge you to do so.  Pick out a stamp set that has both graphics and sentiments and sit down and make one.  Leave me a comment with your card so I can check out what you did.  Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Cheer Sunday Sketch Card

Ok, here is another card I made for the Studio Calico Sunday Sketch Challenge.  This time I really wanted to use the big red ribbon from my Cuppa Kit (which happens to be from May Arts).  The best type of card I could come up with to use it on was a Christmas card (yeah for another Christmas card). Anywho, the kit also came with a Prima Chalk Edger so I decided to use this on my blue card base to give the illusion of frost or cold.  What do you think?  Did it work?

I stamped the sentiment (from Stampin' Up!) in gold and then layered it with a gold glittered cardstock.  I like the way it turned out.  Simple and pretty I think!  Thanks for stopping by!

Advent Calendar DIY Part II and Activity Ideas

Welcome to Part II of the Advent Calendar DIY.  If you missed the Advent Calendar DIY Part I you can check it out.  Today we are going to focus on the finished product and what activities and ideas you can put inside your calendar.  I wanted to do a mix of both activities and actually items, so I started by making a list of what I wanted to include (you can see the list below).  Some activities needed to be done on certain days (like visiting Santa) so I mapped those days out first, then filled in the rest of the days with a mixture of items and activities.

Here are some Ideas for activities to include:
-Make Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows
-Take a drive to look at the lights
-Make cookies
-Read Twas the Night Before Christmas
-Watch Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer
-Sing Christmas Songs
-Visit Santa
-Write a letter to Santa and mail it
-Make a Christmas ornament
-Make a gingerbread house
-Attend a Christmas Parade
-Go Ice Skating
-Make a Snow Globe
-Decorate gingerbread men
-Make handmade cards to send to family out of town
-Make a wreath
-Have a park day
-Have cinnamon rolls/donuts for breakfast
-Go to Columbia and watch the Candy Canes get made (then buy candy!)
-Go Sledding
-Plant a tree

Here are some ideas for treats to include:
-Candy Canes
-Hot Chocolate Packages (with marshmallows)
-Chocolate Santas
-Bag of Popcorn (for movie night)
-Hotwheels cars
-A special ornament for the tree
-A Christmas CD
-A favorite Christmas DVD/Blu-ray
-Measuring Spoons (for cookie-making day)
-A book (Christmas or not)

There are many more items and activities you could include in your advent calendar.  How about a picture a day?  Or maybe making a homemade gift each day during advent?  I hope you have fun making your calendar and remember to enjoy the time spent with your family!!

Thank You Sunday Sketch

Every Sunday at Studio Calico they give a sketch challenge on their blog.  I adore sketch challenges, as you all know I'm sure.  So, I try to participate every week.  This past week, I wanted to make a card using only items from my Cuppa Kit and using the sketch... ooohhh, a double challenge!!  Here is what I came up with:

Well, I freakin' love it!  I double stamped the sentiment to give it a 3-D look.  This is easily done by stamping your sentiment in a lighter color first.  Then, stamp again right on top with a darker color, off-setting the stamp just slightly.  I also love, love, love these stars I got in my kit!! WOOT!!  And then, I added a punch of color with the gold bow.  (and then, and then, and then!!)  Thanks for stopping by.

Greeting of the Season Non-Traditional Colors

I am in a Christmas funk this year. I just can't seem to get my Christmas mojo flowing when it comes to crafting.  I am having a heck of time making cards and tags.  So, I went blog hoping to see if I could spark some inspiration.  I ended up on Dawn McVey's blog and saw her congrats card.  I instantly loved the color scheme and layout.  So, I cased her card and ended up with this one:

It is a non-traditional color scheme, but I really like how it turned out.  I also used some items from my Cuppa Kit from Studio Calico.  Don't know what that is?  Studio Calico has monthly kits that you can sign up for; Scrapbooking, Card, or Project Life.  I have been getting the card kit for a couple of months now and I absolutely, positively, head-over-heels love it!!  If you want to check it and decide to sign up, use my referral link please.  I get points, yo!!  Anyways, I am also going to be getting the Project Life kit starting in January (I think!).  More on that to come!!  Thanks for looking, stopping by, and have a great day!

Advent Calendar DIY Part I

I love doing advent calendars for my kids.  It is such a fun thing to do each day leading up to Christmas.  It really helps us to connect everyday during such a busy time of year.  You can do an advent of how ever many days you want.  I typically do 1 through 24.  But, you could start on the 10th, or even the 15th and have a smaller countdown.  Here is a DIY of how I'm doing my calendar this year. 

 1. Gather up your supplies: muslin bags, fabric paint, number stencils, foam brush available at any craft store, piece of cardboard to put inside the bags. 2. Slide your piece of cardboard into your bag so when you apply the paint it doesn't leak through.  Line up your stencil on your bag.  3. Using your foam brush, stipple and dab the paint onto the stencil.  Try not to get too much paint on your brush and it will bleed through the stencil and distort your numbers.  4. Let dry for 1 hour.  

That's it.... This is how I made my bags for our calendar this year.  I made bags 1-24.  I don't make a bag for the 25th because, well, that is Christmas day.  Have fun with your calendars and I will be back with part two of this DIY.