erin terrell clarkson [etc]

Craft It Forward Blog Hop

Hopefully you're stopping by today because you heard about the Craft It Forward Blog Hop on Scrapbooks etc. Welcome, and thanks for visiting! I hope you'll be inspired to make your own card based off one of the original designs shown on the Craft It Forward site. Remember, if you create a card and donate it to charity, then upload the photo to our Craft It Forward gallery...both you and your charity each become eligible to win $500!! (That means $500 in cash to you and $500 in donations to the charity of your choice. How awesome is that?!)

I designed a card inspired by this original one (which I loved!) from Lisa Storms. Her project is the June project of the month on the Craft It Forward website:

What a great card design, right? I was immediately drawn to it, so I pulled out similar supplies and got to work. I didn't have any supplies like the fun star paper for the background, so I punched small stars from blue cardstock to create a similar look:

I adhered the stars with tiny pop dots for added dimension. I added a red cardstock border along the bottom of the card, then folded a yellow ribbon the same way Lisa did on her card. As a final touch, I added rub-ons to white cardstock to complete the "thank you" sentiment.

I like the way it turned out, and it was pretty easy to make (since I already had the basic idea from Lisa). I didn't measure the stars, believe it or not - I just eyeballed where to place them and down they went.

If you'd like to celebrate our nation’s independence by crafting thank you cards for the troops who protect our rights and freedom, then today is a great time to start! Make as many cards as possible (after you've been inspired by our blog hop, of course!), then join an Adopt-A-Soldier program to send care packages to the many men and women serving overseas. If you'd like an address for a soldier you can send packages to, just email me and I'll get one for you. Otherwise, you can google "Adopt-A-Soldier" and find plenty of participating programs. 

Ideas of items to include in a care package:

    - toothpaste, soap, sunscreen 

    - nuts, trail mix, beef jerky, protein bars

    - candy, gum, mints

    - baby wipes, chapstick, razors

    - energy drinks or lemonade/gatorade packets   

When shipping a box overseas, I recommend getting a large sized flat rate priority box from the US Post Office. The dimensions are: 12" x 12" x 5 1/2" and whatever you can fit inside will ship for one low price (only $12.95) to any APO/FPO address. 

You can also mail blank cards to soldiers so they can fill them out and send them home to their family members! This is a fantastic idea for the many, many talented cardmakers who are likely joining us on the blog hop today. :) Check out the non-profit sites Cards for Soldiers or Operation Write Home to learn more about this idea.

Don't forget to visit your local veterans hospital to make a difference closer to home. 

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you'll be back to visit again soon. Be sure to stop by Lisa Truesdell's blog next to see the creative ideas she has to share.

 

Scrapbooks etc. Page Share: June 2011 (Cute As A Button)

I created a quick and easy baby album for the June issue of Scrapbooks etc. by keeping my supplies to a minimum. I selected coordinating rub-ons and stickers from K&Co. for the embelllishments, then used a chipboard album, cardstock, and a few basic punches. That's all I needed to create the entire album. (Aside from a paper trimmer, photos, and adhesive - the very basics!) 

Here's a shot of the cover:

 

I used a fun font (Fabianestem Normal) to create the title. I printed it on white cardstock, then trimmed it to fit the front of the album. I added a border of cardstock, then placed chipboard stars covered with cardstock on the lower right corner of the cover.

I like using chipboard mini albums because they are pretty sturdy. Chipboard elements as embellishments are very inexpensive and add lots of texture. After you've adhered paper to a chipboard album, lightly sand the outer edges to help the paper form to the chipboard shape.

My only goal for this album was for it to be colorful and fun...and have lots of cute photos of my adorable nephew filling the pages. Easy enough!

As mentioned above, I stuck to the basics when I was decorating the album. I used 2 sheets of rub-ons, 2 sets of stickers, the chipboard stars, and basic punched shapes such as the large circles seen in the photo above. 

If you like the album and want to see it in its entirety, you can do so HERE on the Scrapbooks etc. website.

Also, if you haven't signed up for Groupon yet, please use THIS LINK (I'll get credit, which I need so I can buy more goodies through Groupon. ThankYouVeryMuch!!!!!). The best current local deals right now seem to be:

Old Navy Deal of the Day

Half off on Marble Slab Ice Cream

$49 for a 6 Month Unlimited Pass (Texas Shine Car Wash)

Shopping Links!!

I haven't done a shopping link in a while, so I think it's about time! 

Anthropologie inspired this sudden desire to shop, so it's only fair that I begin with a few items from them.

This top is so different and so...NOT ME. lol. I love it, though. It would look great on someone with a tan. (Which, sadly, is the last word you would use to describe the current state of my skin.)

Here's an Anthropologie necklace I love. The mixed metals mean I could wear it with practically anything:

This dress from CrewCuts (JCrew Kids) is so cute for little girls:

Two Peas currently has free shipping on orders of $30 or more, so it seems like a good time to stock up on some new goodies. 

BasicGrey Fashionista 12x12 Sweet Threads paper at Two Peas can be purchased HERE (You all know how I love polka dots):

Ali Edwards Favorite Memories Stamps at Two Peas can be purchased HERE (I'm such a sucker for her handwriting):

American Crafts Wine Fantastic Enchanted Dear Lizzy Foam Thicker Stickers (how's that for a long title?) at Two Peas can be purchased HERE.

Those stickers, by the way, are my favorite new stickers ON THE PLANET!! I bought them in every single color available. I love the size and the clean font. They are perfect for pages with long titles. Here's a sneak peek of a page I just used them on:

Finally, if you're looking for cute Mother's Day cards...

Check out my favorite card site (Tiny Prints). From April 6th to April 12th, all Mother’s Day Greeting Cards will be $.99 cents and you can also sign up for a Free Greeting Card Membership, giving you three FREE cards to use right away, as well as discounts on future cards.

Crafting for a Cause (with Scrapbooks etc) & a chance to win $$$$

For those of you who aren't familiar with it yet, I wanted to mention a cool little thing called Craft It Forward. It's a special program Scrapbooks etc. magazine launched to encourage scrapbookers, cardmakers, and papercrafters to craft for a cause and make a project to give to a charity or someone in need.

For inspiration, each month Scrapbooks etc. offers a special project and dowloadable instruction sheet at THIS LINK and asks designers to upload their creations onto the Scrapbooks etc. web site for a chance to win $500 each for themselves and their charity of choice! 

For the month of April, the project is a gorgeous Easter basket, designed by one of the most talented designers I know...Hilary Kanwischer (Seriously, go check out her blog for more Easter basket samples and tons of great designs. She is awesome!!). Here is her basket:

You can download the .pdf on the Craft it Forward website, then get busy creating your own beautiful Easter baskets to donate to charity.

Here’s some info on the giveaway:

Scrapbooks etc. is giving away $500 for you and a $500 donation to your favorite charity every month! Enter in three easy steps:
1. Create: Make any project you would like or download one of our free ideas (new ideas monthly)!
2. Share: Give it to someone (anyone) in need, then upload a photo and description of your project and who you gave it to on our website.
3. Win. By uploading, you’re automatically entered for the chance to WIN $500 for you AND $500 to the charity of your choice!

Let me know if you have questions and I hope you'll consider entering! Please share your links with me if you do. 

While I'm discussing crafting for a good cause, I have another link I'd like to share. Please check out the website Friends Of Tamara and read all about Tamara and the amazing story of her life over the past few years. Tamara teaches at the elementary school Daisy attended and two of Daisy's former teachers are helping put together a dinner and silent auction to benefit Tamara's family (you can read all about her wish for her family on the Friends of Tamara website). If you are able to donate, please do so HERE and I will be eternally grateful - as will her 5 children, I'm sure. If you live in San Antonio and are able to attend the silent auction, purchase your tickets HERE and I will look forward to seeing you that evening! Here is a photo of Tamara with her beautiful family (photo snagged from the Friends of Tamara website.):

OK, that's my long and rambling post for the day. Maybe I should post more often so my posts will be shorter? ;)

 

SCRAPBOOKS ETC. PAGE SHARE: APRIL 2011 (BRENDEN'S 1ST EASTER)

Here is a page share from the April 2011 issue of Scrapbooks etc. This page was so fun to create - mainly because the subject matter is so cute! My nephew makes the funniest little faces. This was his first Easter, and he was pretty captivated by everything that was going on.

As seen in Scrapbooks etc. April 2011 issue (page 24). SOURCES Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper. Patterned paper: Chatterbox (orange dot). Font: Pea Hart off the Internet. Stickers: American Crafts. Rub-ons: Autumn Leaves ("spring 2010"), Making Memories ("springtime is happiness"), Doodlebug Design (all others). Software: Adobe Photoshop CS5.

I used small letters in the same color as the background so the long title wouldn't overwhelm the rest of the page. I added multi-color rub-on letters to spell out the word "colorful", so that portion of the title would stand out. 

A chick die-cut fills empty space within one photo, and also adds a touch of Easter to the page. Small colorful brads mimic the look of confetti on my nephew's bottom. (Here in Texas, we have an Easter tradition of breaking cascarones over someone's head to add to the festivities, but Brenden enjoyed sitting in the colorful mess the confetti made.)

I printed the photos in a variety of sizes and colors to keep your eye moving throughout the page. First you are drawn to the oversized photo of Brenden playing with the egg, but the smaller sized photos and the addition of B&W shots add interest and draw your attention to the second half of the page. I ended the layout with another large photo to make a statement. When I have photos I love as much as the ones on this page, I tend to go pretty simple with my overall page design and let the photos be the focal point. 

Have fun if you're planning to take Easter photos this weekend! I hope you capture some great ones. Remember to take photos throughout the day and try to capture all of the excitement (and tiredness afterwards) of the many events. Be sure to take photos from different angles and get in close for fun detail shots, as well as capturing the wide shots that show the entire event as it unfolds around you.

Travel Bucket List: The Amalfi Coast

You've heard of the movie The Bucket List, right? I thought I'd start my bucket list of places I'd like to travel. It's no secret that I consider any new location to be an exciting adventure. Near or far, as long as I am visiting someplace I've never seen before, then I'm pretty much guaranteed to be happy.

First up on my list of places I want to visit: The Amalfi Coast

Who could resist a place as beautiful as this:

Photo copyright Thomas Linkel, Iaif/Redux on NationalGeographic.com 

 

UNESECO World Heritage lists Costiera Amalfitana as a place to visit for it's great physical beauty, natural diversity, and because it is an oustanding example of the Mediterranean landscape. See the comments, gallery, and other interesting info HERE. 

I would be in photo heaven if I could wake up to sights like this (below) each day. I would wander around and explore with my camera in hand to capture every little detail.

Photo copyright (I found it on this website, but the author doesn't say if he took the shot or not)

 

Can you imagine what a dream job it would be to work as a travel photographer? I think I will make it my goal to do so and one day take photos like this to share with the world:

Photo copyright CubaGallery (on Flickr). Click the name to see CubaGallery's photos. Amazing!!!

 

One final picture:

Photo copyright MorBCN on Flickr.

 

What about your bucket list? Where would you go if you could travel anywhere? I have a huge list! It doesn't help that I search sites like Flickr and am tempted by all of the beautiful photos people post. I also subscribe to a few travel magazines and each time they hit my mailbox, I start dreaming of all the places I'd like to visit...

 

PS: Sign up for Groupon if you haven't already! Follow this link when you sign up and I'll get credit for it -which would be great, because then I can buy more fun stuff on Groupon. :o)

Birthday Card Share

A dear friend of mine is having a birthday today, and I wanted to wish her a very happy one! What better way to do that than with BasicGrey's Hopscotch line? 

Here is a side view. I bent the stickers slightly in the middle, to lift the butterfly wings off the background:

I always try to add something cute to the card interior:

Finally, I used my leftover scraps to create a gift card insert (since I already had the papers out on my desk):

Happy Birthday, Danni. I hope it's a happy and healthy year for ya! Lots of love, ~e

Create Your Own Custom iPhone Ringtone

I haven't done a tech-related post lately, so here's a fun one...

Want to make your own iPhone ringtones? Of course you do! Otherwise you'll end up using the cheesy options Apple gives you. (And really, who wants a quacking duck as their ringtone? NOT ME!) 

Here's a step-by-step tutorial. First, always make sure you're using the most updated version of iTunes. Just makes sense to keep things updated, right? I'm using 10.2 (or something like that) for this tutorial. The next thing to remember is that the iPhone currently only allows for a 30 second ringtone, so, you'll need to find a song that has a 30 second section or chorus you like. 

• Right-click on the song you want to make into a ringtone and select "get info". [For my sample, I'm going to go with Joe Nichols' "Gimmie That Girl".]    

           

• Select the "options" tab and go to "start time" and "stop time". Check both boxes. Put the time you want your ringer to start and to stop. (Remember, the ringtone has to be less than 30 seconds). Click "OK". [For my sample, I'll have it start at 35 seconds and end at 59 seconds.]

          

• Right-click on your newly "clipped" version of the song and select "Create AAC Version". (This will only work for songs that aren't Digital Rights Management [DRM] protected songs. If your selected song is DRM protected, you'll have to use Garage Band to create an iPhone ringtone. HERE is a tutorial for doing it that way.)

          

• After creating the AAC version, go to your iTunes "Music" folder and locate the song. You should have two versions of the song now - the full version and the "clipped" version you've just created. 

           

• Select the "clipped" version and drag it to your desktop.

           

• Go back to your iTunes Music folder, locate the "clipped" version of your song, and delete it.

          

• Return to the song on your desktop, and change the extension from .m4a to .m4r (select ".m4r" when the pop-up window asks which extension you prefer to use). [You can see the file in the lower right-hand corner on my desktop here]:

          

• Go back to your iTunes Music folder and find the original version of your song. Right click on it again, select "get info", go to the "options" tab, and be sure to uncheck the two boxes next to stop and start time (so the full-length of the song will play again). 

          

• Double-click on the song on your desktop and iTunes will automatically load it into your ringtones folder. From there, all you have to do is connect your iPhone to your computer/iTunes and update your ringtones. [Sorry if you're offended by any of my ringtones listed in the photo below, but I'm not going to delete them for the sake of this tutorial because they are ringtones I actually use. ;o)]   

           

If you have any questions, ask away in the comments! 

Scrapbooks etc Page Share: February 2011 (It's Official...)

Sharing another layout from the February issue of Scrapbooks etc. This one is in the Made In Minutes category, so it's a great one to copy for those of you who prefer your pages to be quick and easy. 

This is a page about my parents 45th wedding anniversary. I just love the photos! They're so cute together. My parents have been through plenty of rough patches - just like any other couple - but it's so sweet for me to see them kissing and holding hands after so many years together. They make me believe in true love!

How adorable are they?

As seen in Scrapbooks etc. February 2011 issue (page 116). SOURCES Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper. Patterned paper: BasicGrey (pink), Little Yellow Bicycle (green). Font: Gill Sans off the Internet. Stickers: American Crafts (letters, "45"), BasicGrey ("it can't get better than this...", pink circle), Fancy Pants Designs (blue stars). Die Cut: BasicGrey. Punch: Fiskars. Software: Adobe Photoshop CS5.

I'm only showing a peek of this page so you will go out and buy the magazine. I can't show all of my pages here!! Truthfully, I lost the shot of the full layout or I'd probably show it, too. ;o) But still...go buy the magazine. 

Scrapbooks etc. Page Share: February 2011 (I Left My Heart In SC)

I wanted to share a layout I created for the February issue of Scrapbooks etc. I can't list the page number and sources, because I haven't received my copy yet - but I will try to remember to add that information once my copy arrives. Since some of you may be scrapping Valentines pages right about now, it seems like a good time to share:

Here is a detail shot:

I designed my title in Adobe Photoshop and added a dingbat font in the shape of a heart. I printed the photo, then used a needle to poke holes along the inner edges of the heart. I stitched pink floss through the holes to fill the heart - I like the way it adds a bit of texture to the page.

The photo of me with my parents is from this summer (2010), when Daisy and I visited South Carolina for our summer vacation. We ended up spending the majority of our visit in the hospital, because my dad had to have heart surgery. As soon as his doctor released him from the hospital, he insisted we drive down to Hilton Head and spend the last few days of our vacation together at the beach. That's just the way my dad is...always worrying about everyone else and making sure the people around him are happy. My parents are both so amazing. I truly have the best family a girl could ever hope for!!

We had a great time, and I just enjoyed every second I was able to spend with them. We even celebrated my parents 45th wedding anniversary while we were there that weekend! We had the "best steak on the planet" (according to Daisy) and the 'most expensive steak on the planet' (judging by the price on the receipt). It was all worth it, because Daisy still talks about that steak - and I still have fond memories of watching my parents walk hand-in-hand down the pier outside of that restuarant. I love visiting my parents, and I do leave a little piece of my heart behind each time I return to Texas. I hope they know how much I miss them. (I love you Mom and Dad!)