weekly freebie - flower slide

I don't know what it is about slides but I really like them. I think it's because it's a combination of tag and embellishment and it can be used on different projects (cards, gift wrapping, scrapbooking). Yes, I definitely like versatility.

I made the flower stand out a bit simply by using some foam dots underneath it. The rest of it should be self explanatory with the file.

The good news for you is that this project is this week's freebie! Download it here. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend everyone!

 

mother's day pop-up card

I have a little treat for you today! 

You can download a free printable and see the tutorial for this mother's day pop-up card on the FedEx Out of Office blog. Enjoy!

simple monday: use what you have

Happy Earth Day everyone!

I'm the first to admit that my love for paper can be a bit over the top at times but that doesn't mean I splurge a whole lot. I tend to be on the conservative side and really try to use what I have. The fun and awesome thing about paper is that scraps are still very, very useful.



Today's card is made completely from scraps—and let me tell you that after making the boxes and cards below (for the first communion celebration of a friend's daughter) I have plenty of white and pink paper scraps to go on forever! I cut the tree with my cutting machine but all the leaves are cut by hand and glued to the tree one at a time.

The tree is attached to the card using foam dots to give it more dimension and contrast since it's white-on-white.

Color is awesome but isn't white just so beautiful?






PS - I've been absent because I'm crazy busy with work for Surtex and other side projects. I'd rather stay away from the blog when things get like this. You wouldn't want to hear about the same thing over and over again, right? Hopefully things will get a little more normal once I get back (it's only 4 weeks away - yikes!). In the meantime I work on!

Have a great week! 

book review: paper blooms

I got the biggest treat in the mail when I received Paper Blooms: 25 Extraordinary Flowers to Make for Weddings, Celebrations & More by Jeffery Rudell. It's a gorgeous book with great projects, clear instructions and fantastic photography.

First off let me say that I've always admired and been in awe of Jeffery's work. The elegant solutions and attention to detail that are in all of his projects are nothing short of perfect. I couldn't expect anything less from his book, and I wasn't disappointed.

 

Every project in this book is not only beautiful but easy for anyone to make. The materials  are very basic but the results are stunning. For anyone wanting to learn how to make flowers, this book is a definite must.

 

One of the most frequent phrase searches that lead people to my blog is "how to make a paper flower". I can honestly say that if you buy this book you won't need to make that search again!

 

If you'd like to see other amazing examples of Jefferey's work you can visit his web site here.You won't regret taking the time to visit!

just for fun: paper pendant

A simple idea that came to mind after a quick glance at a photo on Pinterest. I don't even know who/what it was aside from a multi-tiered necklace of sorts. I caught a glimpse of it just as I was shutting down my browser—and boom! my mind immediately tried to figure out how to make something inspired by it, using paper and I had to make it right away—just because. It looks absolutely nothing like the photo I saw but I'm sure I would've never done it had I not seen that photo. The brain is such a tricky thing, isn't it?

Lesson of the day:
When you have an idea, just go for it! There doesn't need to be a real reason for it
or...
You just never know what you'll be inspired by. Just be open to the possibilities.

featured in made in paper magazine

I just received my copy of the new Made In Paper magazine—a sister magazine Mollie Makes and The Simple Things (both gorgeous UK publications)—and I couldn't be more thrilled. It's such an honor to be included in this first issue which is so full of fantastic projects and inspirational images.



My interview is one of several that include other artists that I admire greatly. I'm so humbled to be in such great company (no spoilers so you can see them for yourselves!).

The templates for several projects are included in the back in the issue including the templates for the pink flower I created for this issue (shown below).



The magazine will be available in the US at Jo-Ann's and Barnes & Noble and at some point in digital format in the Apple Newsstand.

Since I'm someone that notices these things, I also have to mention that I love that it's larger than standard magazine format (so great!) and it's printed on beautiful paper (feels like it's between a magazine and a book).



Look at just a few of the beautiful paper ideas that are shared in the magazine (top and bottom photos). Every single page of this issue has something fun to be inspired by. 

Thank you so much to the editors of Made in Paper for including me!

Follow Made in Paper at:
- Facebook
- Twitter

simple monday: thank you!

The daily freebies are done but they were a lot of fun to work on!
46 days
48 freebies
That's what I accomplished since my Feb 14th post.

In all honesty there were some days where my brain was so fried from other work that I had no clue what I'd be posting the following day. Some weeks I had several files ready ahead of time. Other days I was barely squeaking out something in the nick of time. I just didn't want to miss a single day—and I didn't. Some images where easy to illustrate and some others took a lot of tweaking or research (like the hi bubbles!). You'd be surprised to know that sometimes the simplest ones are the ones I'm most picky about—a curve may not be just right, etc.

As many of you Siilhouette users know, I posted most of the files in the Silhouette store. I told you we'd all benefit! By making myself accountable to you I was also creating some work to post there and earn something from it—we all won!

Here they are (photo below)! If you missed any they're in the Single Images section of my shop as well. I think my favorites are the ones that I did during this past week (still uploading them to the shop). My weekly freebies will continue to be posted on Fridays.

Thank you so much for those of you that participated and shared such kind comments on Facebook or sent me emails. I read and enjoyed them all.

I hope you get around to actually using these files. Don't collect them like we collect Pinterest photos and do nothing with them (guilty!). Use them! Have fun—just like I did by finally making something myself.

I cut out the last file—the tulips. I discovered that the negative (the paper left on the cutitng mat) would work too, so I made a tag which I'm thinking of using as a bookmark.

Happy Monday!