Summer Memories

Hello Friends!

How are you doing? My life has been a bit hectic with orientations, meetings, appointments, mini vacations, and regular life.  So I apologize for lagging in the craft posts.  I've done a little crafting here and there, but nothing seems worthy of posting. 

So instead of a craft post, I have decided to share some pictures of a recent family trip.  I know, I know...you'd rather see some crafty stuff.  I don't blame you.  But I'm hoping these pictures won't disappoint you, even though I am NOT a professional photographer.

Well, our destination was Hearst Castle in San Simeon, Ca., but we made some time to play on the beach first.  Here is a gorgeous sunset view.  There's something about the ocean that I find soooo calming.  

I took about 200 pictures of the castle, but they don't do it justice.  The castle was built by William Randolf Hearst, and it is beyond amazing.  There are so many details in every area.  For example, the brick steps have tile designs embedded, the lamp post have engraved figures, the ceilings are decorative and on and on.

This is the beginning of our tour.  (There were SO many stairs/steps.  Great exercise, though.)

This is one side of the Grand Room, which has giant tapestries all around.  Not very good lighting, though. 

Gigantic dining hall.

Dining Hall ceiling.

Aside from the castle, there are also 3 cottages.  One cottage faces the mountains, one the ocean, and the other faces the sun.

Cottage ceiling.

There were gardens all over the grounds.

There are 2 pools on the castle grounds.  One outdoor and one indoor.  This is the indoor Roman pool.  The section at the top right is the diving area.

Ocean view from the castle.  Spectacular, right?  I could sit here all day. :)

So have you visited Hearst Castle?  What do you think of it?  If you haven't, hopefully you can add it to your bucket list (if it's your type of thing). :)

Well, dear friends, I bid you good day and I hope to be back soon with a craft post.  Thank you kindly for stopping by. :D

Happy Travels,
Angie

Journaling Along

Howdy Folks!

Are you surviving this heat?  I'm avoiding it as much as I can. :)

Well, I am stopping by to share my current project for Scrapping 4 Fun Cchallenges.  This challenge is an "Anything Goes," so I decided to create a little gift set for back-to-school season.

I wanted to create something that could be useful for others, so I made little journals and coordinating bookmarkers.  Let's get started. :D

I used washi tape on the spine to hide the stitching.

 

I added glitter around the butterfly, but it's hard to tell.

I left the front of the bookmarkers as is, since the paper is beautiful on its own, and added charms to the ribbon.

On the back side I added inspirational quotes.

 



 

(Supplies: pattern paper- Prima, My Mind's Eye, and Bobunny; washi tape, butterfly paper punch- Martha Stewart; ribbon; gel pen; machine stitching; charms- Charmalong)

Well, what will you create for this challenge?  Go have some crafty fun and the link up your project here.

Thank you so much for stopping by.  I ALWAYS appreciate your visit. :D

Happy Crafting,
Angie

Prom Memories

Howdy Y'all!

How are you?  Are you staying cool?  Are you getting lots of crafting done?...  
My crafting time has been sporadic due to headaches, mini road trips, and now Jury Duty.  So I apologize for the long pauses between my posts.  Hopefully, I'll get back to a crafting routine soon. :D

Well, on to the crafting!  I am sharing a layout that I scrap-lifted from the super talented Mendi Yoshikawa.  I love her clean, colorful style.

Let's begin with some details:

 I used a silver gel pen to create faux stitching.

These are old high school prom pictures, so no matter where I placed the layout to photograph, I kept getting a glare.  My apologies. 

(Supplies: cardstock; pattern paper- Teresa Collins & scraps; round and star paper punches; gel pen; letter stickers)

Ok, did you catch my embarrassing mistake?  I didn't even notice until I was editing the pictures that the red strips aren't straight!!  Horrors!  I considered cancelling this post, but since I have to be at Jury Duty bright and early, I knew that I wouldn't have time in the morning to fix it and type the post.  {Use a ruler, Angie!!!  I'm scolding myself, just so you know.  ;)}

Well, dear friends, thank you so very, very much for your visit.  Hope to see you soon.

Happy Crafting,
Angie
 

Denim Decor

Hello Everyone!

How is your week going so far?  I hope you are enjoying your summer.  I'm enjoying mine by staying away from the heat. :D

Well, I am stopping by to share my recent creation.  Since summer is a great season for outdoor (and indoor) parties/get-togethers, I decided to create a little piece of party décor- a "denim" banner. 

I added faux stitching around the letters and edges.

I love creating banners.  They are festive and usually, simple to create.  I wanted this banner to be not only decorative, but functional, too.  (I apologize for the grainy picture.  The light was beginning to fade.)

And here is the functional part: I added storage compartments on the ends for light-weight party necessities (napkins, utensils, straws, etc.)

And in keeping with the denim theme, I sewed some placemats.  I traced the negative section of my die-cut banner flowers onto the placemats.  Then I used fabric paint over the tracing. 

(Supplies: cardstock; die-cut flowers & letters- Cameo; sequins; hole punch; white pen; twine- We R Memory Keepers; fabric- Joann's; fabric paint- Tulip; sewing machine)

 

I would like to link this project to the following, please:

*Decorate to Celebrate- (outdoor party or birthday)

*Craftin Desert Divas- (summer)

 

I only made 2 placemats for our tiny table, but I think I'm off to make some more. :)  Thank you so much for stopping by.  I greatly appreciate your visit. :D

 

Happy Crafting,

Angie 



Seaside Adventures

Howdy Friends!!

How are you?  I feel like I have been absent for years.  In reality, the heat has been horrible.  Therefore horrible heat= horrible headaches, which= little craft time.  Well, enough about me!  Let's get to the crafty stuff. :)

I am stopping by to share my project for the current challenge at Scrapping 4 Fun Challenges.  The new challenge is "Anything Goes." 
Warning: this post is picture heavy.

Since we have an upcoming trip planned, I decided to make a mini album (6*6).  Now all I have to do after the trip is print my pictures and stick them in.  Can you guess where we're going?  ;) 

I used pattern paper by Graphic 45 and a few of my scraps for the album. 

This is the inside of the cover with a flap and the 1st page.  The "Beach Rules" card is part of a sheet with various cards that I cut and included throughout the album.

Here is the open flap.  I added a tag with a quote by Mark Twain. 

I added little banners/flaps throughout for extra journaling space.

I sewed a pocket page for the cards and any mementos we collect (tickets, pamphlets, etc.)  

I altered a plastic page protector for more memento storage.

Here is the front cover again.

And this is the back cover.  I added a journaling card so I can write a summary of our trip.

(Supplies: chipboard; pattern paper- Graphic 45; scraps; ribbon- Celebrate; tag; page protector; decorative card- Crafty Secrets) 

I would love to link this project to the following, please:
*Paper Issues - sweet days of summer
*Pumpkin Spice Blog.- red, white, and blue

If you've gotten this far, thank you for sticking around. :D  Well, what do you plan on making for this "Anything Goes" challenge?  Stop by Scrapping 4 Fun Challenges Blog and check out my teammates awesome creations and then link up yours.  And as always, I greatly appreciate your visit.  :D

Happy Crafting,
Angie

P.S. Here is the quote on my tag:
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did.  So throw off your bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore.  Dream.  Discover.  -Mark Twain

Fabulous Fashionista

Hello Friends!

Happy Independence Day, America!  Got any exciting plans for the weekend?

Well, I haven't had much crafty time lately, but I wanted to participate in Unity's Friends with Flair challenge.  So I whipped up a little card. :D

I used a gel pen and traced around the edges of the leaves and flowers.  It adds a touch of glam.

I stamped the dress form onto the base paper and the pattern paper and then fussy cut it.  It is hard to see, but I added a necklace by placing gel dots around the neckline and drew the "string."

(Supplies: pattern paper- My Mind's Eye; cardstock; pearl- Doodle Bug; sequins; gel pen; stamps- Unity Stamp Co.; black ink- Memento; gray ink- Tsukineko)

Well, dear friends, I bid you a safe and wonderful weekend.  Thank you kindly for stopping by. :D

Happy Crafting,
Angie

Cheering for the Cheerleaders

Howdy Folks!

Happy 1st of July!  Are you ready for Independence Day?...  Me?  Yep!  ;)
By the way,  I was revamping/ updating my blog this weekend and it went through a few changes, so if you were a bit confused, I apologize. 

Well, today I have a layout that was pretty simple to create.  Since I've been having issues with my Cameo, I decided to draw and cut by hand.  Let me tell you, I have a hard time drawing a straight line, so I knew it wasn't going to be easy-breezy.  I had to keep it simple. :)

 

One of my sisters was a cheerleader in Junior High and I finally got around to scrapping her pictures.  I attended their Championship competition and I was blown away by these Junior High cheerleaders.  They were AH-MA-ZING. 
Since my sister was one of the skinny, tiny ones, she was being repeatedly tossed into the air and performing splits, twists, and turns.  Pretty impressive!

(Supplies: cardstock; twine- We R Memory Keepers; sequins; scrap paper; machine stitching)

Well, dear friends, have a fabulous day and thank you so very much for visiting. :D

Happy Crafting,
Angie