Creations by AR October New Release Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the October New Release blog hop for Creations by AR! Today we are sharing two fabulous new cutting files from Adela - the Card Armoire and the Fragrance Bottle Set. I just love both of these new files and I'm sure you will too.

As usual, we will have winners! Two random winners will be chosen from comments left on the designers' blogs and the AR Facebook page. Winner #1 will receive the Card Armoire, and winner #2 will receive the Fragrance Bottle Set.


Comments accepted until Friday, Oct 17, 12:00 noon Eastern
One random winner will be announced Oct 18 here:
AR FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Creations-by-AR/154314751303824
AR Website:  http://creationsbyar.com
 


So, let's check out these new files! I'll start with the Card Armoire, a neat little place to store your favorite notecards or present a set of cards to someone as a gift. It was super easy, using Make the Cut with my Silhouette Cameo. There are other versions too, including PDF files for those of you cutting by hand!

I made mine to match my craft area, but I can see SO many possibilities for this! I used Graphic 45 papers and stickers, Bazzill Cardstock, Tim Holtz gears, and brads & eyelets from my stash.

Here's a better angle of the "sign" I made for the top of my armoire. I cut a strip of cardstock 3" long and scored it at .5", 1.5", and 2.5", and used the short sides as the base.

The top lifts up on a hinge, releasing the doors of the armoire.

There's plenty of room inside for notecards - the exact number will depend on how lumpy-bumpy you like to make yours!

Now for the Fragrance Bottle Set, or should I say Potion Bottles...

I was in a Halloween mood, and those bottles were telling me they wanted to be potion bottles so I went for it! For these two items, I used Close To My Heart products, including Scaredy Cat papers and the Magic Potions stamp set.

The cologne bottle was perfect for some Pickled Toad...

and the perfume bottle was just right for some Bat Wing Brewing Powder.

Inside each bottle is a little container with room for some sweet treats or party favors.

Plus there's an optional insert, making it easy to give a gift card to a special someone if your occasion calls for it. In fact, I can't wait to make a few of these for Christmas - I know some girls who would love some gift cards to the beauty shop!

Remember, be sure to visit all of the designers and leave a comment on their blogs for your chance to win:

• Adela
• Lyn
• Julia
• Sue
• Lisa E.
• Monica
• Doris
• Penny
• Lori (YOU ARE HERE!!)

Grateful For...

Do you have a special tradition for Thanksgiving at your house? We do, and most people find it rather "interesting" to say the least. If you saw my Instagram yesterday, here's the promised Fall layout I let you peek at yesterday...

Yes, our Thanksgiving tradition is making a Fruiturkey. Long ago, I saw this idea in a Family Fun magazine and thought it would be a great way to keep my littles busy while waiting for dinner at Grandma & Grandpa's house. It also provided a healthier appetizer than stealing cheese slices off the platter.

It was so popular, and the kids loved it so much, that it became a required thing for us to bring (and fruit is not cheap in November, my friends). My son even tried to talk me into making one for Easter one year but I managed to put my foot down... So, it's become a tradition to not only make the Fruiturkey, but to take pictures of it and its creators every year.

I love the Pathfinding papers and Chipboard Complements for this layout. I added a custom title by using the fonts from both the Artiste and Artbooking Cricut cartridges, and added lots of paper flowers and brads from my huge stash. I also snuck in a Fiskars corner punch on the large panel.

To balance out the large chipboard circle element, I stamped a couple of large circles with the Season of Thanks stamp set. I made it multi color by inking the entire image in Glacier, the blotting on Lagoon, Autumn Terracotta, and Chocolate inks in spots of the stamp.

As you can see here, I also tossed in a few pieces from the Pathfinding Assortment, including some cork and wood pieces. I love mixing up the texture with little pieces like this.

I want to say a quick word about color and pattern choices while we're here. Sometimes all of the patterns in a pack are so awesome it's hard to choose what to use, and I know it can be difficult to know which color(s) to focus on.

This paper pack was the obvious choice due to theme, and here's how I chose which papers to use: I started with a sketch (as usual), this one from Scrapbook Generation. They do a nice job of suggesting where to put pattern and solid, although I freely admit that I don't always follow the suggestions.

This sketch suggested a large pattern for the long strips at the back, and since I love that "beauty pattern" it was an obvious choice. Small patterns were suggested for the other areas, and a stripe for the long skinny strips. For the large center panel, I chose the repeating leaf image, because the minimal shape also reminded me of feathers. I replaced the suggested patterned circle elements from the sketch with flowers because I thought they fit the season better. Finally, I chose the Olive cardstock bases and the chevron zip strips because the color matched the camo shirt my son was wearing, so it helps draw attention to him. And the Lagoon is used in the title for a surprise pop of color.

I hope you enjoyed today's fun layout. I know I can't wait for this year's Fruiturkey! (Apparently neither can my son, as he has been making suggestions for this year's model for about 3 weeks now.)  
I'd love to hear about your favorite Thanksgiving tradition, so leave me a comment. I'll choose a random commenter next Friday (10/17) and send them a little something from my prize stash!

National Scrapbook Day is This Saturday!

In case you don't know, not only is May considered National Scrapbook Month, but the first Saturday in May is officially National Scrapbook Day.  I hope you have something fun planned for the day; I know I do!

Get your crop on!

Whether you have plans or not, I would love if you join me in my first ever ONLINE crop!  I'm making it super easy, so you can participate even if you won't be home that day.  I'm hosting this event as a Facebook group, so you just need to go request to join the group here.  Challenges will be posted on Friday to give you time to pack in case you are headed out to a traditional crop on Saturday (yes, I sure am).  Then you will just add your photos to the appropriate challenge album by the deadline in order to qualify for prizes.  Excited yet?  I know I can't wait! I hope to see you there, and I hope you will invite your friends.  The more members we have, the more prizes I will give away!

While we're celebrating scrapbooking all month long, I thought I would throw out an extra surprise.  Hopefully, you all know that I am an independent consultant with Close To My Heart.  So, for this month, I have set up a Mystery Hostess online gathering.  Everyone who places an order through May 28, either using this link or going to my website and clicking to "JOIN" the Mystery Hostess Gathering, will be eligible to win ALL of the Hostess Rewards for those orders!  Again, please share with your friends because I would LOVE for someone to get a whole bunch of free stuff!

 

 

 

Just some of the awesome stuff you could get with Hostess Rewards!

While we're here, let me remind you about the National Scrapbook Month promotion from CTMH.  Order $35 in product from the Spring/Summer idea book, and you can purchase the Dotty For You paper pack for only $5.

Also, the new Stamp of the Month for May begins tomorrow.  (Be sure to stop back here for some great artwork during our Stamp of the Month blog hop!)  With any $50 purchase, the stamp set is yours for $5.

How cute are those sunflowers?

Well, that's enough shameless promotion for today!  Don't forget about our fun online crop, and be sure to spread the word!!

Blog Candy Week Winners!

Today I have the winners from Blog Candy Week!  Since I have multiple prizes, they will be awarded in the order chosen by random.org.  All winners need to contact me within 24 hours or winners will bump up the list and I will choose an alternate.

Please email me with your top 3 prize choices, or if you're not interested in the Cricut prizes just let me know that.  Prize choices include a Green Scrap'n Tote, a Pink Scrap'n Tote; a Tags, Bags, Boxes, & More cartridge (used but NOT linked to a Gypsy), and "other".

1. Isabel Z.- I do not have an email for you, so please contact me ASAP
2. Manhattan Mandie
3. pt8597
4. Sheri
5. Laura aka scrapaddict
6. CRAZY4CHRIST

Altered Umbrella Stand and BIG News

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. Ever since the problems with Blogger I just haven't had time to get posts written. But to make up for it, next week is going to be full of prizes! Be sure to check back starting on Sunday for a week-long blog candy extravaganza. There will be BIG prizes!

Now, for today's project: an altered umbrella stand! Michael's had this awesome sale last week and I picked up a metal container I've been eying for a LONG time. With three kids, our entry always seems to be a mess, and kid umbrellas are one of the problems. Of course our living/dining room is right at the front of the house, with a fancy paint job & all, so I needed the container to match the color scheme, while still being a little playful. Hello, vinyl! This is what I came up with:

 

I used my Make The Cut software for this, and my SVGs are from Lettering Delights.  The umbrella is from the Weather Girl set, and the border is from Basic Borders.  As luck would have it, Lettering Delights is having a home decor contest right now too, so I made sure to upload this to the gallery there!  They always have some kind of free files available, including printables, so anyone can enter.  Even if you don't use MTC or SCAL, the printables and fonts are super easy to use to create awesome projects!  Make sure you head over to LD, and you can get lots of free items just for creating an account.

Don't forget to come back starting Sunday to find out the cool prizes you could win next week!

NSD Crop Update - prizes!

Are you getting anxious yet for National Scrapbook Day on May 1st? I am getting so excited for our 12-hour crop here in my neck of the woods! I took a little road trip today and picked up a bunch of prizes/raffle items from Plano Molding's Creative Options line. And I'll be placing the order soon for the goody bag items from Close To My Heart!

I'm still working on some other little surprises for our crop, and it looks to be a great day to have some fun, hang out with friends, get some great product, and benefit a deserving charity. Remember, all proceeds after expenses are going to Operation Smile!

Our location, SE of Joliet, IL, is conveniently located between I-80, I-55, and I-57, making it easy to get to from any direction! For more details and registration information, visit my crop website. If you have any questions, feel free to call or email me - my info is on the crop website!

Happiness is...

an organized pantry!


Some of you know that my resolution for this year is to continue decluttering our home & ORGANIZE! In fact,if I chose a word for this year, organize would be the one. Since I can't work on the room I really want to work on, I started in the pantry.

We are somewhat blessed with a large pantry in our house. I say somewhat because I really wish it wasn't in a shared space with the laundry/mudroom. Plus, I don't care for wire shelving, but this is what the builder installed. I'm too cheap to spend money on new, so I'm working with what I have. I did not buy anything new for this project, but I did buy a few things last year and even before, some of which I'm just finally using! Here's what I have done:

• I had a sheet of plexiglass cut to size for one shelf. I put things like extra spices on this shelf. I can't stand to have things tipping over or falling through.
• I have some thinner plastic sheets that are made for this purpose across 2 shelf sections. This is where my can racks reside so the legs don't fall through the wires.
• I purchased 3 can racks last year from LTD Commodities for about $4 each. They are a little flimsy, but once I figured out how to use the extra supports that came with them, they work pretty well. I use these for items we use frequently, but don't really buy a bunch of at one time. Each section has only one type of thing in it; I even had room to separate my light red and dark red kidney beans!
• I've picked up a couple of wire baskets at a garage sale. I use these on the bottom shelf for snacks & things so the kids can help themselves and I don't have stuff dumped all over the floor.
• Hubby got a great deal on canned veggies around Thanksgiving (like 50 cents a can for name brand - I HATE generic vegetables!), so he bought an entire case of each and brought them home in the boxes - what a smart man! Nothing tips over and they slid right in on the bottom shelf.
• I separated everything by type to make it easier to find. All baking items are on one shelf, pasta & rice on another, etc. Extra cereal & stuff I don't want the kids in go on the top shelf on one side, along with the ice cream maker, coffee maker, & other stuff I rarely use on the other side.

I hope this provides you with a little inspiration! Now I just can't wait for the DVD cabinet to arrive. Then I clear them out of the craft room, remove the shelving they're on to the basement, and take a trip to Ikea for my new workstations. Then, several days of reorg later, I'll be all ready for crops again!

If you've read this far, leave a comment letting me know your resolution/goal this year. A random person will win a prize! I'm not sure what it will be yet; let's see if I have something that will work with goal of the winner! I'll choose a winner on Tuesday, January 12th.