Saturday Diva Snaps!!!

The talent we have is just awesome!  Here are a couple of links posted this past week.  Thanks Girls!!!

Cheryl @ Cards By CG linked a couple of cute cardscapes!!!

Janice @ My Stories told through pictures  (Who by the way is this week's challenge winner! WTG) Darling layout!!!

Celeste @ Touched by a Butterfly gave us this too cute pop up card!

Nancy @ The NickleNook did this cute flipflop for our Summer Blog Hop!

WTG Girls, you all get Diva Snaps for the week, plus a chance for our "Diva Snaps Shout Out- Link Up Prize".  Need to come up with a shorted title, lol!

Friday Tutorial: Free Resources!

Hello Divas! Hope you've had a fun week following along on our little blog here. :) My latest obsession, (thanks to Luisa!) is pinterest. It's basically a virtual bulletin board where you "pin" pictures of things that inspire you, make you happy, or projects that you want to do/remember. You create your own boards, and then follow other people's boards. I'm addicted! One of the greatest things about pinterest is the ability to share sources of inspiration and resources for your own projects. So instead of a tutorial, I thought I would share some free stuff! These are web sites that I have found on my own and through pinterest and gained all kinds of free images, clip art, fonts, storage tags and labels, gift tags, decor, and cards. Disclaimer: from what I have found, these sites are royalty free and for personal use only. Enjoy!
Free Fonts: Kevin & Amanda (with step by step instructions of how to install on your computer)
Clip Art:
Crafty Secrets
The Graphics Fairy
Just Something I Made
Catch My Party
How Does She...
Everything Etsy (101 pretty printables - pretty much covers everything!)

Do you have any resources you'd like to share????

~ Happy Crafting!
Stephanie

Mini Album Challenge

Hello Divas!  Hope you are getting some relief from the heat..or will be soon!  We had rain today (Tuesday) as I write this and it has brought the temperature down nicely.
    I want you to know I have had a dilemma over how to do this monthly post.  Quite honestly, I don't want to do a mini album to show you EVERY month.  Call me lazy, I don't care!  And I knew no one would be up to doing a challenge like that each month...just too much work.  But that is what I liked about the forum,  the challenges and interactions together. 

       So I am going to create a section of  album each month and challenge you to play along!  How does that sound?   That's what we do in our other challenges, only on a larger scale.  So come on, sign up and let's do a mini album!

Mini Album Challenge #1

(I tried to find a better name..but fail)

So here is the challenge. It will be a "recipe" challenge.  For the first month, we are going to decorate the front and back covers of your album. The back cover can just coordinate with the front.  On the front you need to use:

1). Use ink or paint

2).  Title    

3). Ribbon or lace

4). LARGE embellishment

That's it...the whole challenge for this month.  You have until the 7th of September at Midnight CST, to complete it and post a link with Mr. Linky here.

   Let me show you my example.  I chose for my album, a kit from my stash from Making Memories. There were a couple of transparencies in there that I won't use..but the rest fits what I want to do.

The front and back is padded with Kraftpaper with an opening in the front for the inside page photo to show through.  I have just recently fallen in love with Distress Stains, and took a giant leap and stained the front with Broken China.  I spread it around, spritzed it with water and wiped off some in several areas. I edged it next  with  Wild Honey distress stain and topped that with StazOn Ink in the Timber Brown.  I was careful not to cover the Wild Honey, so it has some depth to it.

I had some printable fabric called ExtravOrganza that I had bought, hoping to sell in my store. My customers couldn't see themselves using it, so I kept the sample pack for myself.  I used it for the first time Sunday!!  I printed a title up on it.....really more of a phrase.  I gave it a light coat of Antique Linen Distress Stain to tone down the white a bit.  After fraying the edges, I glued it down with ZipDry spread out with a make-up sponge!  It doesn't show and I know it will stay!  The last photo (^) shows how I "stuck" down the cute transparency that I put in the lower right corner.  It is Sookwang tape and it goes on clear and really is strong.

    

  In the upper left I had another transparency that was too timid, so I covered it with a "corsage" made of tulle, ribbon, string of beads and a lovely Prima Flower.  I love the feathers in these flowers alot. It is not as blue as it shows in this photo..a little dustier.     My back I stained the same as the front...but added a Tim Holtz stamp that I embossed in copper.

And here is my finished project...

I hope you have enjoyed this project.  But more importantly, I hope you will join me in making your own album.  You don't have to copy what I did, I want it to be your style, your imagination coming out! 

Please leave a comment and let me know you are going to join me in this wonderful challenge. 

Oh, is there a little blog camdy for playing along?  How about a small package of my handmade embellishments?  Ok, it will be a random drawing on Sept 7.  What are doing sitting there...get busy!

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Banners & Pennants & Bunting, oh my!

More than a passing trend, banners in their various shapes and forms have taken the paper crafting industry by storm. From use in layouts, cards, tags, ATCs, altered art, and homemade celebrations, banners have become a standard embellishment in many a scapper's repertoire! One of the best reasons to love pennants is your ability to make banners different each time. You could really string any shape or object together to form a banner, but standard shapes include triangles, (most popular!) the lemon wedge (half circle!), and swallow tail banners. When it comes to stringing them together, there are so many options - twine, buttons, rhinestones, stitching, or simply placing the pieces side by

(Layout from "A Cherry on Top" Blog. Daily Junque Collection by Pink Paislee.)

Think outside the box when it comes to creating your banners! Use it as a title & place letters inside each shape, string your photos together and turn them into a banner, use memorabilia, tickets, or other ephemera for a vacation layout, and one more great use for your banner - journaling!

"Decorating for You' by Ali Edwards


Danielle Flanders for Pink Paislee:

Lastly, if you're unsure of making your own banners, there are a wide variety of products available from stamps, stickers, templates, and traditional paper pennants.

So if you haven't used a banner yet, I highly encourage you to incorporate one in your next project to add a quick punch of color, playful patterns, & a bit of whimsy. :)

~ Happy Crafting!

Cookbooking: Fancy Holders

Of course my tip is cookin' and cookbookin' related this week... making pocket holders to contain your recipe cards!

I made a pocket card to hold my recipe cards with Jillibean Soup papers. I used an EK success scallop punch for the border. Since I didn't have room to adhere my sides down, I wrapped matching Offray ribbon all the way around the card, brought it up through 2 holes in the front, and tied it down. Since the ribbon lets it expand, there is room for 10 cards. Voila!

This makes a nice gift for a friend--they can toss it in their pocketbook along with coupons, and take it to the grocery when they are shopping for the weekly menus!

I put a ribbon pull-tab on my sample recipe card, makes it easy to pull in and out of the holder. You can see I kept it quite flat so that it would not take up space when empty--waiting for all those yummy family recipes to be placed inside.

Happy scrapping!

Custom Head Board

Hi there Divas....Welcome to another episode of Home Decor and Gift Ideas here at the Mansion.  So lovely to have you visiting again!

In search of new ideas for our home, we had been wanting to create a custom head board at a very low cost and simple fabric, to get an elegant outcome. We finally got our bedroom changed around and completed a custom headboard.  Lance is so super good at being handy in all aspects of things around the house.  I feel so fortunate to have him in my life.  He used up some old ply board we had left over from our Bathroom Remodeling last summer.  He cut 2-6 1/2" by 6 foot slats for the bottom and scalloped the edge of another 18" wide by 6 foot slat for the top. We made a trip to Jo Ann Fabrics to pick up some fabric and were able to finish the headboard in one day.  The fabric we found was a Chenille upholstery that was on clearance...WOO HOOO . . .  I love a bargain.  

Ply Board ~ range $8-15 (unsure of actual cost because it was left over from a remodel, but total used was less than 1 sheet 4'X8'of plywood)

Fabric ~ A little over $7.00 for 7 yds. of clearance Chenille

Total Cost ~ approximately $22.00 (not bad considering actual cost of a custom headboard could be anywhere from $100 and up)

We really love how it turned out.  It allowed us to place our bed in a corner of the room, finally bring out our new duvet cover and pillows, and put the television on a wall that didn't blur the screen with incoming sunlight.  Now all that is left is to paint the walls and move the red/orange painting to another room....another day for that project though!!! 

So sorry I didn't take before and after pics this time.  I have been really busy preparing my dd Sweet 16 party that all I could focus on was getting the head board finished and up so I could get back to the goodies for her party.  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask and I will try to give you answers quickly.

Thanks again for joining the Divas Mansion today....happy crafting!!!!

More "Dog Days of Summer"

Did you enjoy the hop?  I hopped almost every one's at 4 this morning! Then I did it again, now that I am awake at 10:00 am! Sleep is for the weak, and I feel very weak now! 

I thought I would take a little more of your time and showcase some more summer layouts for you.  We can never have too many.

 It can't be summer without baseball! My favorite sport to watch. You don't have to pay too much attention to the game, cause it moves slow. If you have the right friends with you, (and a bus to drive you home!) it can be the highlight of your summer. Now, I must say that while these are pictures of US Cellular Field, the White Sox are not our favorite team. 

Boston Red Sox are. 

 But, baseball is baseball, no matter who is playing!

And I had to throw my twin grandsons in!  This was made with Snorkel paper from Cosmo Cricket.  Love their stuff.

  Love how cute the boys are in their Ducky robes!

 And could it be a Dog Days celebration without a dog layout?  This is our boy Buddy, that we rescued. He is my constant companion and loves to pose for pictures.  Laying in the shade in the backyard is his favorite summertime activity! 

Don't forget the prizes that we are giving away!  Leave a comment in the "official" blog post below to get put in the running.

I hope you get a chance to lay in the shade today...and stay cool! 

 A nap on the porch?  A ice cold  glass of lemonade?  Thank you, don't mind if I do!