Nolan the Photographer

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw tons of blurry photos of the family all taken by my 3 year old son. Taking photos is his new hobby and I couldn't pass up the chance to document this moment in time. So here I am embracing the blurry photos :)

I used Quick Quotes paper "Ode to Joy" and stamped on the photos themselves with Close to My Heart acrylic alphabet stamps (Sans Alphabet & Doodle Alphabet). To stamp on photos I like to use 'Stayz On' ink. This is quick drying and won't smudge.



NOTE: Stayz On ink will permanently stain your stamps, but it does not damage them. Be sure to clean them right away and they will continue to work just as well with regular ink for future stamping :)

Baby Shower - diaper cake & paper purses

I also added a few more homemade touches to the shower by building a diaper cake and creating paper purses as party favors to take home.

DIAPER CAKE:


RECIPE:
1 large box of Size 1 diapers (92 count or larger)
3 spools of ribbon
1 round piece of cardboard for the base (cover in aluminum foil or wrapping paper)
*Any embellishments you want. I used 1 package of brightly colored links, 4 pairs of baby socks, 2 pairs of mittens, 1 wrist rattle, 1 travel pack of shampoo/conditioner/baby powder & 1 large rattle for the topper.

Roll each diaper and tie with curling ribbon (this is the most time consuming part). Create your bottom cake layer and hold together with a wide ribbon. Create the next layer slightly smaller than the last. Continue this process until you have your desired amount of layers. Add embellishments.

It is definitely a labor of love but my best friend is worth it! =)

PAPER PURSES:
I created these as party favors for everyone to take home.


RECIPE:
Abby Collection paper from Quick Quotes
Tags, Bags, Boxes & More Cricut Cartridge - Purse #2 (size 5 1/2")
Brads: for the purse flap
Ribbon: to create the handle
Velcro: to hold the flap of the purse down
*I put 2 Ghiradelli squares of chocolate in each one (they fit perfectly)

NOTE: I've heard that this Cricut cartridge has been discontinued, but you can still find it on e-bay :)

Baby Shower - invites & layout

Yesterday I threw my best friend, Jessica, a baby shower. This is her first baby, which makes it that much more exciting. I decided to create some of the items for the shower myself including the invitations. I tried to keep them pretty simple since I needed to make about 25 of them. The baby carriage & 'oh baby' were sprayed with glimmer mist so it gave it a pretty sparkle. The carriage was also mounted with pop dots. Then I wanted to be sure she was able to keep one as a momento so I also created a double page layout that includes one of the invites. The invite is on the right-hand layout below.

INVITE:


"Baby Shower" Layout





Fold-out album

At parties you always have multiple photos, so I included a fold out album on the left-hand layout to hold more photos of the guests from the shower.

QQ May - 6x6 canvas

I wanted to create a small canvas to hang on my wall of daddy & baby. For this project I used a 6x6 thin canvas. I sprayed the canvas with Glimmer Mist and then inked the edges with QQ chalking inks.

For the 2 frames:
I found 2 plastic slides, then cut 2x2 squares of paper. I adhered the paper to the plastic slides, then turned the frames over and marked an X where the hole should be. I then cut along the X with an exacto knife and folded it around the edges. This gave me customized slides with coordinating paper.

PS - I have this hanging on my 'art wall'. I will post some pics of my scrap room later this week! :)

QQ May - "Thanks" Card

"Thanks" Card
I used more of the Cosmo Cricket Paper provided in the May Club Q kit and also added some paper flowers, buttons & raffia for the stems of my flowers.



I distressed the edges of my brown paper with my Close To My Heart distresser (love that tool)!!! Then used my fav Mocha Mama QQ ink for the edges of my cardstock.

QQ May - "So Sweetly"

Here is another design with the Club Q items from the May kit. I absolutely love the larger photo of Nolan kissing Ethan on the head. What a precious moment for me :)

"So Sweetly" Layout


I cut a few circles in half to include a spot for the date and add a cute flair under the larger photo.


For this layout I used a Fiskars border punch and pearl accents. The quote is from Quick Quotes. For a tutorial on how to make the flower you see in the corner, please see my other QQ May layout post :)

QQ May - "Best Friends"

This month QQ has partnered with Cosmo Cricket. The kit came packed full of pre-cut circles which I used to create my own layered flowers. I will include a short tutorial on how you can get this same look :)

"Best Friends" layout


Close-up view of the tags. I used some QQ vellum phrases from my stash.


Layered flowers:
Step #1 - select 2 circles of different sizes
Step #2 - spray both sides with water
Step #3 - scrunch/crinkle the circles and allow them to dry completely
Step #4 - carefully unfold, adhere together and add a brad or button to the center
Voila!!! You now have customized DIY flowers!

Blog redesign

Welcome to my newly redesigned blog!!! Yippee... it was about time!!! I did a little research on changing my blog and found shabbyblogs.com. If you are looking for a DIY project for your blog, definitely check them out. They even have 'how-to' video tutorials which make changes very simple ;) Check out my site and let me know what you think.

Things I added/changed:
* new background
* personalized header using fotoflexer
* added separate blog pages with links at the top
* added blinkies
* added buttons
* added a personalized signature under each post
* added blog dividers between each post

Things still to do:
* create cute buttons for my page links at the top (found some at shabbyblogs but not sure how to add them in the html)
* create my own favicon (I tried multiple times but must still be doing something wrong. If you have advice I'd love some help, so please leave me a comment - thanks!)

Crazy Lisa fact: I was a computer science major my freshman year in college (yikes I know). So some of the html actual makes sense to me - lol!!!