Ippity Boppity Boo...

Couldn't help it. It was just too tempting not to say...

Welcome to this week's Ippity Blog Hop. After you're done, go HERE to the front of the line and check out all the other participants and leave a comment trail for a chance to win some Ippity rubber. And remember, you can only purchase these stamps from Ippity gals. So, click on the sidebar of the Ippity blog to find one near you!

A cousin of mine just moved from one apartment to another in NYC and I wanted to make her a card that commemorated that. I used Gurnsey Gingham to make the apartment buildings, Love in Return for the banner and Simply Home for the sentiment. The My Mind's Eye car paper was perfect for this tri-shutter card. I just had to include close-ups here of the cars in each panel. See, I wanted to show that she and her hubby packed boxes into their car, tied the trunk shut and then unpacked in front of another building.

Hope this made you smile on this dreary day. Outside my window, the fog and bare trees make me feel like I'm in Forks, Washington. Move over Bella, I'm watching for signs of Edward Cullen....

*smile*

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

A New Twine Storage Method...

I'm gonna be on my first design team! I haven't been able to indulge in my daily card fix because I've been busy making scrapbook layouts and how-to projects. The site goes live on Tuesday, so on that day I'll give you a direct link to it and I'll keep you posted on when my layouts will appear.

I'm hoping to work on a card for tomorrow's Ippity blog hop. (Hop is right. I'm gonna have to hop quick like a bunny to get it done because I can't miss Oscar night. Love, love, love watching the Oscars.)

I have a quick tip to leave you with. I've found it frustrating to work with baker's twine. I bought sample packs from The Twinery and they are delicious, don't get me wrong (just check out the names of those luscious colors). No, the frustration has come with trying to deal with the tangled mess it always becomes. I was inspired by a ribbon storing method used by my friend, Ciara, and went out and bought these old fashioned clothes pegs. It takes a little patience to transfer the twine to the pegs but I love how easy they'll be to work with now. If you want to see how Ciara uses these pegs for her ribbons and how decoratively she stores them, check out her site by clicking HERE.

Thanks for visiting.... come back tomorrow!
*smile*

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Rain, rain go away.... it's blog hop day!

It's time yet again for a Unity Friends with Flair Blog Hop. So grab a cuppa something warm and ride the blog train. Unity has a new sale going on. A free Itty Bitty with your purchase. Check out the specifics that were posted on the Unity blog yesterday and then start blog hopping on today's post.

I made this birthday card for our friend, Billy. (See his name on the banner?) He's turning double nickels and I wanted him to feel like a kid again. Coincidentally, my card features an Itty Bitty called "It's a Good Day" (which you can buy HERE). I colored directly on the trike stamp with red and black markers and got this cool vintage effect. I used the twine twice to "tie" in nicely with the red on the bike. The banner is from the May '10 KOTM called "...a little happy." (How could I not enable you? Lots of cool images on this set. Check it out HERE.) I came up with the sentiment and computer generated it, then I left one panel open for a handwritten note. I'm giving you a couple of different shots of the card because it's a tri-shutter. It folds flat for mailing! So cool. Want the template? HERE you go. All deets can be found in my SCS Gallery.

 

 
Thanks for visiting! It's pouring here. I hope you're staying warm and safe and dry today.
*smile*

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

A Fairy Happy Bday and WOYWW90

When I stumbled upon these new stamps from Stamping Bella, I knew I had to have them because this card design came to mind. I wanted to get the "Bugs Bunny" effect. Remember how he could stand behind a tree and when you were supposed to be able to see his whole body behind it, you'd only see part of it? I wanted to have the fairies magically appearing from behind the rose stems but you wouldn't be able to see part of them.... They wound up so cute looking after they were colored that I didn't want to hide too much of them, but I think I got what I wanted. Popping their heads up with foam dots also helped.  (The cute dp is in a set called Sweet Stitches by Stampin' Up.)

Tip of the day: My friend, Lydia, is selling a Cuttlebug with lots of dies for a very reasonable price. Check out the Feb 18th post on her blog, if you're interested. Also, on her Feb 16th post, she shares how she made her old 12x12 paper stash into a cool 6x6 pad.

WOYWW - What's On Your Workspace Wednesday? My current storage system for my humble Copic collection. It's supposed to be a portable system but it's a little too floppy for everyday use. I'll get to the right system one day.

Head over to Julia's blog if you want to take a tour of some crafty work desks of the world and thanks for dropping by!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

A Tri-Shutter Card

I needed to make a sympathy card for a friend and I wanted it to be special, so I used a tri-shutter card tutorial from SCS. Combining it with a Stampin Up set called "Thoughts and Prayers" and a pretty collage paper by K&Co resulted in a heartfelt card that can stand on its own. I decorated two panels with stamped images and left a third empty for a handwritten note.

Thanks for looking....

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Another Shadow Card...

Have you ever seen Vince Vaughn's breakout movie of the mid-90's called "Swingers"? I'd never seen it and it was on my list so I finally broke down and got it from Netflix. Well, can I say it made me a Vince Vaughn fan? He was hilarious in it. And his character used a phrase in it constantly that I understand spread like wildfire that year: "You're money, baby." It was directed to his down-in-the-dumps friend that needed to know his self-worth.

Fast forward 25 years. A friend of ours is turning 55 and may not be so happy about it, so I made this shadow box card for him. Inside, we're gonna say: "You're money, baby." *smile*

Supplies
Paper: DP: (Paper House)
Stamp: Heart (Here and Now - Ippity), Gurnsey Gingham (Ippity)
Ink: Pink marker (Le Plume- Marvy)

Have a nice day!

P.S. Tip of the day: There's an unbelievable giveaway that ends tonight at midnight EST. Check out Savannah's blog for the details.....

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Shadow Box card for DH

I'm indebted to Emma. Her blog always has a fun card technique to try so here is the latest for me (she's sprinted ahead, I'm gonna have to run to catch her!) It's a shadow box folding technique. Here are your links: the Technique Lovers Challenge #312 over at  SCS and the wonderful Karen with her video of how to make this card. (You should bookmark her because she's got lots of videos just like this!)

I took her advice and tried it once with scrap paper then I just jumped right in and took a chance that the birthday card I needed for dh would come out right (since we're leaving today for a family event in FL this weekend and I'm not packed yet-- ack!) I'm happy with the result and I think he'll like how different it is.

So, thanks for stopping by. I put the supply details in my SCS Gallery, if you're interested.

Have a wonderful day!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Let's Eat Cake and WOYWW89

I really didn't have time. I needed to get a quick card done for a friend (whose nickname is Stars, hence the word on the banner). But after I put the banners on the cloud paper and stamped the sentiment on the flags, it seemed too plain so I added the twine and the bird and the butterfly and the squirrel (love that squirrel) and made it into an easel card with a second sentiment: "Let's Eat Cake".... on a Nesty label. So I took more time than I wanted to but I like it and I know Stars will like it, too. (I just have to give you a good laugh at this point.... the cloud paper said "Copyright 1997" on it! I guess I bought it over 10 years ago when I started this obsessive hobby.... Lol)

(By the way, this cool banner is a My Favorite Things die that comes in a set with the cute alphabet stamps... how cool is that? If you click on the company name above, it will take you right to the product page. And you can find "Let's Eat Cake" here. Heck... I'll give you the Lawn Fawn link for the critters, too.)

The inside needed that cloud paper again...

Now for the WOYWW desk which basically is what it looked while making this card. (Although it does have some stray papers from a project that was pushed aside while I worked on this "quick" card.)

The top left corner of the picture shows a cool label maker I picked up awhile back that has interchangeable font wheels, one of which is a cursive font.... love it. I also just noticed that my little calendar cube has the same date as last week's WOYWW. I guess I don't use it to tell me the date!
Thanks for dropping by and Happy WOYWW...
*smile*

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Ippity Hoppin' on this Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Ippity chicks and fans (like me) have created Ippity goodness just for you today.... you heard me, right? Just for YOU to come see and enjoy and be inspired by.... *smile*

Of course, I want you to linger here, but be sure you catch it all by starting your tour at the Ippity blog. Leave a love-ly comment wherever you go because you could be the random commenter selected to win some Ippity rubber. How cool is that for a Valentine's treat?

I love stretching out of the box (pun intended) so this week I used a tutorial to make this birthday card for a dear friend. The best part is that, while it can stand on its own, it folds flat for mailing... cool, huh? Check the sidebar on my friend Emma's blog and click on "box arm card" for step-by-step directions. Isn't she just so nice to provide them? I'm sure she'd appreciate a little love note if you visit...

The first photo doesn't show how the pieces are connected so I'm also including a bird's eye view (pun intended, again)....

 

Supplies:

Ippity stamps: bird (Sing a New Song), frame (Love in Return), sentiments/stamp/letter (how YOU doin')

Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Copic markers

Paper: DP (Forest Friends by Colorbok), Kraft/Very Vanilla (SU)

Thanks for visiting.... here are some hugs.....   ((((hugs))))

And I hope you get some chocolate today... *smile*

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Friends with Flair Blog Hop

Unity's got it going on... check out the site for lots of cool sale info and the new Kit of the Month....

The challenge over at All Things Unity is to create something with your favorite Unity/Ippity stamp. Well, if you've visited here on a FWF Friday, you may have seen Sparky quite often so I guess he qualifies as my favorite stamp. If he's just too adorable to resist, you can find him here.

This week, Sparky wants to jump up on that cozy quilted bed in the worst way (and because he's a cat, he'll find a way!) The embossed quilted card is here thanks to the latest tutorial over at SCS. Seems appropriate with the frigid temps that most of North America seems to be suffering with. All I want to do is stay under a cozy quilt... *smile*

Hope you're staying warm. I hear spring is about 37 days away..... *smile*

You can join the Unity blog hop here. Enjoy and watch for that blinkie!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

The Gift

I was trying to think of the perfect little gift for my sister to go along with her card (Tuesday's post below) and then I remembered that she liked the stacking gift boxes that I made for my dad's holiday gift card (so much so that she asked him if she could have the boxes and he said no! lol)

So I'm going to send her a cute keychain, but the real gift is the stacking set I made just for her with some patterned paper that I got at a dollar store. The pack was a set of six sheets, not bad. (Frugal tip #54: Run, don't walk, to your favorite dollar store... they often have scrapbooking goodies hidden among the stationery.)


I'm submitting this to the latest Lawnscaping challenge to use Lawn Fawn stamps and the theme of love on a project. Hope you like them, but, shhhhhh! Don't tell my sister because I'm mailing the gift today.... *smile*

If you'd like the instructions for the origami box, you will find a version here at Splitcoaststampers. I made my boxes from memory before tracking down the template so I started with a 12x12 sheet for the top of the largest box and then took 1/4" off both sides of each successive square for the rest. This makes the fit a little snug so I'd suggest going with the tutorial's 1/2" increment version instead.

Hope you try this! It's both relaxing and fun....

I'll be back tomorrow with Unity's Friends with Flair blog hop. See ya then....

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

WOYWW88

What's on Your Workspace Weds... if you'd like to join in or even just tour desks of the world, head over to Julia's place. Lots of inspiration to be found...

I immediately thought about Bleubeard and Elizabeth when I heard that Wichita was due for another foot of snow yesterday. I'm hoping she has a fallout shelter full of canned goods. In my little pocket of NJ, we've been spared the worst of all this weather but it just started snowing again as I write so maybe I just jinxed myself. I don't have a dog or cat to include in my blog post but I am sort of getting friendly with the squirrel that lives on the other side of the wall despite all the contraptions my pest company has come up with to trap him. Maybe I'll work out some kind of tapping code to communicate with him...

My space after I finished the card on yesterday's blog post....

1. Lots of things upside down, I see... hmmm...

2. Until I break down and buy a Bow Easy, the forks are tools I use for making bows (via a tutorial on Paper Craft Planet).

3. The container on the top left section of the desk holds my various bling. It will be a sad day when I run out of my favorite tiny crystal rhinestones (front and center). I found them on sale once and picked up as many as my greedy little hands could carry to the register.... does that count as my frugal tip for the day? Lol.

4. The tea cup holds a trickle of Mandarin Orange herbal tea... so good with honey.

5. I've come to the conclusion that in the same way that Elizabeth Taylor said if she was caught on a deserted island the one thing she'd want with her is her mascara...... I'd want my Fiskars trimmer. (That doesn't make sense, but it's my fantasy and once I've turned all those tree barks into paper, I'd need a trimmer to craft with, wouldn't I? Wouldn't I?) I mention this because since my trimmer is my favorite crafting tool, I took Understand Blue's lead and joined Fiskar's Fiskateers. You can, too.

6. Peeking out on the right side of the desk are some My Favorite Things clear stamps. I'm going thru a "line images" phase. I like coloring in. I must be channeling my inner child...

7. Unlike a previous WOYWW, when my desk calendar was 1 year behind (I explained that), my little perennial calendar cube at the top center spot on my desk is only two days behind. I'm getting better....

Hope you had fun... I promise to comment on your blog if you comment on mine..... *smile*

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Valentine for my Sis

(The final pages of the sketchbook can be found in the post below.)

My sweet sister surprised me yesterday with a package in the mail. It had lots of little Valentine goodies including some delicious chocolates. I had to make a card for her (which will accompany gifts, as well) that will convey to her that although I do love those treats, I love her more! *smile*

This week's sketch challenge at My Favorite Things inspired my design.

(I'm also submitting it to Simply Stamping Crafts' LOVE card challenge.)

Thanks for visiting (my SCS Gallery has all the deets.)

I wish you love and chocolate...

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

The Grand Finale for the Sketchbook Project

Here's the last page of the sketchbook project. It is followed by the credits page and then the inside back cover which sports an adorable cat named Maddie that sprang from the artistic hand of Lydia at Understand Blue. (You can find Maddie in Lydia's shop here.) Don't you just love the attitude?

Thanks for following along....

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

Superbowl & Sketchbook pages 39 & 40

We've been getting together with 3 other families for Superbowl parties since all our youngest children were in elementary school. I figure that's been about 8 years or so. The first time, I made the 10x10 chart that we used to see who'd win prizes based on the score at the end of the first quarter, halftime, 3rd quarter and final. Of course, I pulled out all the stops. I used all my scrapbooking stash and everyone loved it.

So that became my job: bring the chart each year. And I take a picture of it each year but it never gets on a layout or explained somewhere for the future. So, this year's version is here for good measure. Usually, everyone puts their initials in several boxes then we randomly select the numbers that go in the boxes alongside and above the grid. Last year, bored with the same ol' process, I printed out pics of everyone, circle punched them and ran them through my Xyron so that people could stick their picture in the boxes they chose. This year, I decided not to re-invent the wheel so I'm using the same chart with the pictures already on them and just added new titles. We'll choose the numbers randomly again and it's still fair because no one knows what combinations they are getting. Saved me a little work. Oh, and, of course, I worked on it in the eleventh hour. It was finished just an hour or so before we had to leave for the party. Lol.

Sorry about the present tense confusion. I'm writing this before we go to the party. By the time you read this, there will be a new Superbowl champion and I'll have plenty of time to think of how to change this up next time.... *smile*

Here are the next two pages of the sketchbook. Just one more day til the finale. Thanks for dropping by!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

A simple card & Sketchbook pages 37 & 38

This card has been patiently waiting for it's 15 minutes of blog fame, so here it is. A simple card using a vintage office set that I found at Pottery Barn (I think it's a Cavillini set). I love making this type of background for a card because it's a great way to highlight a scrap piece of collaged patterned paper. (It was actually based on a sketch from a recent Take Ten magazine.)

Here are the next two pages of the sketchbook. *smile*

Don't miss the last 3 pages of the book coming up in the next two days...
Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy (aka Scarpcollectr)

Sketchbook pages 35 & 36

Here's the next installment... enjoy!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

FWF and Sketchbook pages 33 & 34

Another Unity Friends with Flair blog hop is upon us. Start here for a joy ride through some fun blogs featuring Unity stamps. Watch for the blinkie and leave a comment there for a chance to win a prize pack.

I found a stamp set that I'd forgotten about and just in time, too! The sweet image (that you can find here) and the cute house (which you can find here) inspired me to make valentine cards for my two boys. They both have girlfriends but I just want them to know that they are still my little lambs! *smile*

The first one is an envelope card that I turned into an easel card as well. I just like how they stand up so nicely. I included a picture of how the card inside the envelope can be pulled out since the image is only attached to the card. Cool, huh?

Supplies:
Unity stamps: Lambs and sentiment (Love Ewe), house (Pixie Lane)
Paper: DP (Daydreams by K and Co), Wild Wasabi and Chocolate Chip (SU), White (My Favorite Things)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Copic markers
Other: Cloud die (My Favorite Things), grass border punch (Martha Stewart), foam squares (Ranger), Gluedots

This second card was the result of me playing around with the negative spaces left by a die with a trio of hearts. Loved the heart paper but I wanted a little masculinity in there so I added the deep blue paper. I resisted the urge to make this an easel card just because I had a kraft card sitting around ready to go. Lazy me, lol.

Supplies:
Unity stamps: Lambs and sentiment (Love Ewe), alpha and heart stamp (unknown)
Paper: DP: Hearts (Daydreams by K and Co), blue dots (MAMBI), kraft (SU), white (MFT)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Copic markers
Other: Label punch (Martha Stewart), Cappucino bakers twine (The Twinery), Heart Trio die (MFT), foam squares (Ranger), Gluedots

Now, on to the next 2 pages of the sketchbook project. (Eight more to go...)

Thanks for stopping by! Here's hoping this next storm headed for us Northeasterners tomorrow won't be too much of a mess.... Enjoy your weekend.... More pages tomorrow....

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)

An Award and Sketchbook pages 31 & 32

I'm happy to report that I've been given the Cherry on Top Award by my friend, Emily, a fellow blogger who will soon be one of your favorites to visit, I assure you!

To accept this award I need to do a few things:

1. Thank the person who gave it. Thank you, Emily! This vote of confidence from you means a lot to me!
2. Copy the award and put it on your blog. Done!
3. List three things which you love about yourself. I live life as if I'm still 18...full of fun and laughter and wonder, I'm an affectionate mom to two beautiful boys and I'm happily married to a man I still consider my boyfriend.
4. Post a picture that you love.

This is my fun-loving mother taken a few years ago. Any wonder where I get my attitude toward life?

     

     5. Tag five people you'd like to give this award to.

• Savannah - savannahland2
• Nina - ninabdesigns
• Jane - plain jane
• Wendy - paper, ink and smiles
• Mariana - marianagrigsby

Enjoy these wonderful, gorgeous, inspiring blogs!

Now that we have that out of the way, here you go. The next two pages in the sketchbook project. Only 5 more days til the finish line. *smile*

Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy (aka Scrapcollectr)