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)

For all of the moms...

Happy Mother's Day! 

Every morning when I wake up and get dressed, I am reminded of how lucky I am to be Daisy's mom. You see, I have a shelf in my closest dedicated to past Mother's Day gifts. I keep everything gathered together at eye-level, so I am guaranteed to start my day off with a smile. How can one NOT smile, with treasures such as these:

Plus these:

The notes and drawings in the back are my favorites. I need to get some better shots of them (especially the interiors)! As for that item up front:

Hmmmm...I can honestly say I'm not sure what that particular gift is supposed to be? Maybe I should ask Daisy to shed some light on it, if she can even remember? I believe that project was one of her earlier ones. ;) 

Who can forget the lime-green fishscale bracelet? With glitter!! And sparkles!! (She likes to shop for my gifts at the dollar store):

The girl is truly thoughtful, because she knows I love to fish and she knows I love lime green. :) Why did I never think to combine the two? The clay head with the feathers for hair (behind the bracelet) was also one of her earlier gifts. That was back in her pre-school days. I believe he has shed a few feathers through the years, poor guy. Not even a real head and he is still going bald!! *sigh*

One of my all-time favorites...Dory!! You know her as the fish from "Finding Nemo". We used to watch that movie together all the time - it was one of Daisy's top 5 movies in her younger days. OF COURSE she thought of me when she saw Dory in the dollar store that year. Now here Dory sits on my shelf, giving me a great big reason to smile every single morning:

I can't leave out the notes! Every day feels like Mother's Day to me, with Daisy's habit of leaving hidden notes for me to find (in the oddest of places). This can be found in my bathroom cabinet. It's yet another reason to smile, before I even make it to my toothbrush in the morning:

Who can resist such gems as...

I love you because...

    - "you make lots of chicken!"

    - "you always keep my company"

and 

    - "you are phiscik!!!" (13 yr old spellling for "psychic")

To top it off, the other note is a thank you note. For taking care of her. When she was home sick (throwing up). What child writes thank you notes to a mom who is just doing her job? I tell ya - I am truly the luckiest mom on earth!!

Many blessings to all moms on this special day. To my own mom...I love you very much. Thank you for being a great example. I can only hope to measure up some day! 

A Love Note. Maybe?

I remember when Daisy used to leave sweet notes for me all over the house. It always made me smile to stumble across one of them unexpectedly. 

I'm not sure if this one is so sweet? I found it when I opened the fridge this weekend:

Apparently she spent quite some time making a cake for one of her best buddies. I'm not sure what she thought I was planning to do with the cake?

Silly kid. I guess she and her pal have an inside joke about martians. And no, I didn't help with the cake at all, other than purchasing the supplies. She just asked for sprinkles and food coloring, then came up with this all on her own:

She's creative, right? But I imagine they had some pretty green teeth after one bite of that martian. ;)

Changes

So many changes going on in the past few days, huh? I'm glad the world is a safer place, at least for a little while (until the next "Osama" comes along). If there's one thing I've learned in my old age (*wink*), it's that we could all do a little better if we'd just be more forgiving of others and their differences. This song pretty much says it for me:

(link HERE if that video doesn't show up)

That should not be taken as a sign that I'm over my crush on Gary Allan, just because I posted some other guy's video, btw. ;)

What's going on in the craft world lately? I've actually been working. A lot. So - just because you don't see me on my blog doesn't mean I'm not around. It just means you'll probably see way too much of me in about 6 months when the winter issues of Scrapbooks etc. hit the stands. Remember that and try to go easy on me then. 

Oh, and I've discovered Pinterest!! I've been busy wasting my "free" time looking at all kinds of fun eye candy. Anyone else addicted to that site? 

Hope you all had a great Easter. Here is a shot of Daisy all decked out next to her Easter basket:

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.

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

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.