the school of YouTube

i enjoy learning new techniques, trying out new products, and learning how to use products i already have in ways i wouldn't have come up with myself.
but it's easy to break the bank attempting to take every class i come across online or at my LSS. yes, it's a problem. my solution?
i realized that YouTube is a great resource for for keeping up to date on great tips, tricks and techniques.
jennifer mcguire's thinking inking class taught me so much about distress inks, paint dabbers, and the value of a ranger craft mat. :)
i also subscribe to hero arts YouTube channel. they feed my obssession to learn more and more about my favorite hobby!

do you have a crafty YouTube channel? if so leave a link in the comment below. i'd love to check it out.

caardvarks: myStampBOX challenge

this is my entry for caardvarks color challenge!

i know i've only done two challenges so far, but this was the most fun i've had doing a challenge. requirements: use the colors black, white & hot pink. since my favorite color is pink this was a challenge that got my creative wheels turning the moment i read about it.


as i always do, when starting a card, i sat down and looked through my supplies hoping something would jump out and inspire me, as was the case with the cute little penguins (perfect since they're, of course, black & white), and that's pretty much how the card came about.
thanks for looking! and if you want to participate in the challenge you can HERE.

cosmo cricket

isn't it funny how once something pops up on your mental radar you suddenly see it everywhere? such is the case with cosmo cricket. a few weeks ago i hadn't ever heard of the line, and now i seem to notice their unique and quirky style everywhere.


i'll definitely be picking up some items from this line on my next shoping trip. i love the vintage-y feel (how cute is that little toaster!) and the colors they use, which is a little surprising for me since i usually gravitate toward bold bright colors. this is their early bird collection, which is my current fav. their latest release is the boyfriend collection which is pretty cute too.

got a new favorite line you just found? leave a comment and let me know about it!

celebrate (butterflies) card

i don't usually buy kits, but i couldn't resist the specialty papers in making memories girl just chillin collection.
the tag i used on the card is from the same collection but i actually purchased it separately from the paper kit. i was at target buying a pilates mat and couldn't stop myself from going into the scrapbooking section. i grabbed it so quickly i didn't even realized i'd purchased tags to match the kit i had. lucky break :)
i really loved the butterfly punch out shapes on the striped paper, i used pop dots to give it the dimensional effect over the polka dot paper.
i used stampendous perfectly clear stamps, the everything happy set to put the word celebrate on the tag.

thanks for looking, please leave any questions in the comments.

sweet(heart) card

i got these cute cupcake stickers from Michael's arts & crafts store, they were having their dollar days sale and i picked up these cute 3 dimensional stickers for only $1. a pretty sweet deal :)

thanks for looking, if you have any questions please leave them in the comments.

hero arts challenge: sketches2

i did it! my first card challenge. it was so hard and i thought about giving up a couple of times. i doubted myself but i decided i was going to finish the card i started. now that i'm done i'm pretty proud of it. so, here it is. . .
(by the way i did end up using sketch #4 :)




bazzil cardstock in black, basic grey lime rickey collection print papers, glitz gal back ground stamps (dots), martha stewart white ribbon, recollections rhinestones, hero arts anytime messages stamps, cricut george and basic shapes flower, die cuts with a view rub on stitching.

scrap rooms

if you've been reading this blog at all you know that i love shopping for scrapbook supplies as much as i love scrapbooking. the more you shop the more stuff you have, the more stuff you need to organize and store somewhere.
i subscribe to kristina werner's youtube channel, and one of her latest posts is on her "messy scrap room". i have always loved looking at other scrapers' rooms. to see how they organize things, and to check out their hoard of supplies. and kristina has a room full of amazing supplies.i wonder if she appreciates that great stash. i'm trying hard not to be jealous-can you tell :)
besides being jealous was inpired, because i figure at the rate i'm going eventually i'll get there, one blissful shopping trip at a time.
my scrap room, is technically not a room. it's more of a desk. which is a step up from working off of tv trays or the kitchen table like when i first started. it's hard to believe that once upon a time all of my cardstock and print paper both fit into one organizer, and all my other supplies in a small plastic tub. i still don't consider myself an advanced scrapper, but i'm enjoying the growth process and learning more and more about my favorite hobby every day.

want to see more scraprooms? click HERE

shawnte's Aug. must haves

ok, so first i have to point out that i thought it was pretty funny that toya and i both only got 1 item each from our july must have list and both items were fiskars punches! she got the square punch and i got the scalloped sentiment boarder punch!
alright, now on to this months' picks.
first up is colorbox chalk ink in white. out of all of the inks i have can you believe i don't have any white ink. time to remedy that. and i LOVE chalk ink, so colorbox is usually my first stop when looking for ink. what else do i want?
tim holtz unmounted stamp binder. a cute storage option for my growing stamp collection and speaking of stamps, next up is a cute wood mounted background stamp. hero arts floating leaf pattern design. and last but not least on my august list is american crafts zing! clear embossing powder.

Toya's Must Haves for August

Last month I shared with you my July wish list. I am proud to say that I purchased one item from my list: "The Fiskars Square Punch", and I must say I love it. I also picked up two border punches by Martha Stewart.

I am going to share something very important about myself: I LOVE TO SHOP! It is like therapy, and finding a sale or clearance item gets my adrenaline going. I just feel as though you can NEVER EVER EVER have too many scrap booking supplies!

Since I have been on vacation I find myself browsing the web late at night and finding new and old stamps. Plus lots of other products I've never seen before. Many times after watching a MACM or Finally Friday video, I'm introduced to a stamp or new technique and I just have to have the products they use. Then I become obsessed with trying to find a good deal on it, so I search various web sites like Two Peas, Ebay, or Frugalities to see who has the best deal. It may appear crazy or abnormal but I love it. So this month I decided to share with you some things I found that are now on my August wish list.

a couple of firsts

first #1
this week i'm going to participate in my first card making challenge. it's a hero arts card making challenge and i'm really excited about it. there are 4 sketch options and i think i'm going to go with the the 4th one, but who knows i may change my mind. or i might do a couple and let you know which one i like best.
its so easy to be inspired by the beautiful cards shari made.
so here's hoping my skills are up to the challenge.

first #2
for all of you, who like me, are addicted to the thinking inking class. i know you're as sad as i am that this is the last week.

this was actually the first class i've ever "attended" online. i wish i'd been able to buy all the supplies and properly follow along. the great thing is that since it's online i'll always have the video's to reference, and when i get the products i can go back to the video. i've learned SO much from this class, and this is my official thank you to Jennifer McGuire and everyone at Two Peas, Ranger, & Hero Arts for an AMAZING CLASS! (especially since it was free, and for all of the skills that were taught they certainly could have charged).

the ebay battle is over and . . .

I WON!!!!!

that's right, i won the coluzzle circle template. thank you ebay. it was a close call, had my competitor bid just one more time i would have given up, becuase even i have my limits.

and because i had a little extra money to do some shopping i decided to pick up a few more things and stumbled across possibly the BEST DEAL i've ever found on Ebay. seriously.

I purchased some hero arts clear stamps for $5. Seriously $5! I bought 2 sets and with combined shipping (which was only $3) i made out like a bandit. since in any store those stampes would have been $15.

here's a link to the ebay seller

i purchased hero arts: birds, trees & messages. and happiness messages stamp sets. can't wait to get them, and make some cute cards with all my great new sentiments.

bad news equals big spending

recently I was watching a MACM video and heard kristina warner say that provo craft is discontinuing the coluzzle. shock. outrage. disbelief ensued. i've wanted a coluzzle since the first time i saw it in action. but i'm a shop-a-holic, i want pretty much EVERYTHING i see, so i have to pace myself. i'd actually tried to purchase it the conventional way, and was unable to find the circle template (the one i really want) at my LSS or online.

so i turned to my ever helpful. . . wait for it. . . ebay!

and now i'm bidding higher than i usually like to and fighting harder than i thought i'd have to, to win this thing. there are 6 hours left, and mark my words, i will win this darn coluzzle if i have to empty my bank account to do it. ok, maybe i'm just kidding-i'm not empting my bank account-but seriously i want it now and i'm going to get it.
stay tuned, i'll let you know how this ends.

cute rejects

sometimes making a card for a friend is the hardest thing for me to do. i made four cards and ended up selecting the cute green and white one with the turtle on it from my last post. so i thought i'd share the reject cards.
my friend is having twins so i'm going to have to find someone else having twins if i want to use these :)

by the way this month's a year in cards class at two peas is all about baby cards. my fave is the one with the little owl and mushrooms :)