Super Supervisor

My husband has a Mother-in-law and he wouldn’t take anything in the world for her. They kid one another. He is always up for her projects. She likes to bring him little treats or take him to lunch when he has been working for her. Mother is always upbeat and is very active. (I’m glad he helps her garden. She can work me into the ground along with her plants!)

There is one thing about it; if he is doing a project for her, you better believe she is going to be there to supervise. She loves to tell him what to do just after he has started doing the task exactly like she says. When he gets home from their house, I always ask if he had his ‘supervisor’ with him.

It took him a couple of days to get their driveway pressure washed last spring and it looked great – just like his supervisor said it would.

Project Notes:

• This is a real switch for me to only sort of match the photos with my papers. I was mostly matching my Mother’s leopard print shirt. She loves animal prints. I think it works because this is really about Mother’s personality not the actual chore.

• The title is cut out twice on the Cricut. I stamped some of the gold dsp with black circles in SU! classic black ink then cut out the letters. I enlarged the letters just slightly and cut them again in black cardstock.

• I downloaded Futura Rounded from dafont.com for cutting the letters with SCAL software. A really heavy font was needed since I was stamping.

Have you ever scrapped about your or your spouses relationship with in-laws? This reminds me of more relationships I keep meaning to capture. Ah well, another day…


Ingredients: Ink: Basic Black from SU!
DSP and glittery die cuts: Lemon Grass from Crate Paper
Ledger DSP:  Notebook from Stampin' Up!
Cardstock: Bazzell
Fonts: Just Act Casual (journaling), Futura Rounded for letters from dafont.com

TIPsy Tuesday - Recoloring Brads

To create some graduation cards for my Operation Write Home cards, I thought it would be cute to make my own little graduation cap.  The center really needed a black brad and I didn't have one.  When you live over 15 miles from the nearest craft store, you learn to make do if you want to get done.  So I recolored a pastel colored brad.  Here's how:

1. Thorougly ink a smooth brad in pigment ink of the desired color. (Stampin' Up!'s Craft ink is a pigment ink.)  I used black Colorbox pigment ink for my example. 
   
   
   
2. Dip the inked brad in clear embossing powder and heat.  Be sure to hold the brad with tweezors to protect your fingers.
3. Repeat this process if necessary to get a full coating. 

That's it!  A very simple way to give your brads a dye job.  I did find that Colorbox pigment ink did a better job than Stampin' Up!  I'd love to hear your experiences with inks.

Project Notes:

• This is one of the few pattern papers I had with black in it and forunately it is two sided.  I used a strip of the stripe for the center and turned the paper over for the aqua color.  I didn't have any cardstock that matched this paper.
• The morterboard is simply a 2" square of black cardstock with a hole punched in the center for the brad.  I attached it with dimensionals.
• The tassels is made from DMC embroidery floss and adhered to the card with a glue dot.

Thanks for stopping by for Tipsy Tuesday!

Ingredients:  Designer Paper from Two Bugs in a Rug

Stamps:  Congrats from SU!

Ink:  Black pigment ink from colorbox, Basic Black for greeting from SU!

Pieced Dahlia

I'm trying to get an Operation Write Home box out of here today.  I wanted to include just a few more Mother's Day cards so I did these really fast last night.

One project note:  The flower is a series of graduated scalloped circles from the Accent Essentials cartridge on the Cricut.  I just alternated the colors and how they were turned to create the flowers. 

Thanks for visiting.  Tomorrow's TIPsy Tuesday is on recoloring brads.

Ingredients:  Stamps:  All Holidays from SU!
Ink:  Chesnut Roan from Colorbox
DSP:  Basic Grey's Nook and Pantry 6x6 paper pad.

The reasons Why

One of the reasons I love this hobby of papercrafting is no one knows what you really intended to do.  This layout is a great example.  I started out with this cool circle paper from American Crafts.  I loved the colors and they fit my photos.  I knew I wanted to create a shopping bag and have my photos spilling out of it on tags.  Yet the paper was just too busy as a background so I started cutting and cutting... and cutting.  The short version is I was left with too short an amount of the paper to even get a border going all the way across the page!  That's when I improvised the idea of splitting the border with the circle element.   It's still a busy page, but no one really saw it the way it was before as I was assembling it.  If I hadn't told you, you would never know the border being in two pieces was really a way to fix a big mistake.  This just proves...

There really are no mistakes in papercrafting - just opportunities to be even more creative.  And thus this page kicks off a series of posts - about one a week - on all the joys of papercrafting.  You know them; I know them, but sometimes it is nice to see them in print.  So when someone (like your Mother or your husband) wonders why you can spend an hour in the scrapbooking section of Hobby Lobby or can't wait for the next card making video or just hole up in your craft room, you'll have a few ready answers. 

Notes for this Project 365 Layout:

• As I've already confessed, I had to stretch the designer paper to get this border by cutting it and adding the circle element.  The center is a chipboard circle I painted with various shades of yellow and orange until I got something that worked.  I used Creative Memories circle cutters to cut the edges of the DSP around the circle element.
• American Crafts DSP has a solid back that coordinates and it was a great blessing to this layout for the background and some of the elements.
• The tags were cut with the Cricut and Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge.  I printed the photos on matte paper and then pasted them on the tags.
• The Kraft bag is cut with decorative scissors along the top edge and then just scored and folded.  It has 1/4" deep sides.  The handle is cut from a real shopping bag.
• The 'tissue' is scrap cardstock.  I soaked each piece in water briefly, crumpled them up wet in my hands and then laid flat to dry.  None of these papers had an ink run but I've had that happen before so be careful of handling wet paper or you can end up with a lot of dye on your hands.
• Another fix for this page was the yellow strip at the top.  I got the whole thing a little too high on the page so I just cut off some of the bottom and added a contrasting strip to the top.

In taking these photos for a week of Project 365, I was amazed that even when we shop in stores we often start on-line such as the Liberty of London bowls I bought at Target.  Target is a bit of drive for me so I wanted to know they had them before I bothered.  The Internet has changed many, many things but definitely the way we make purchases - and very much for the better.

Ingredients:  Designer Paper:  Everyday collection by American Crafts

Cardstock: Kraft and Choc Chip by SU!

Pens:  Signo White gel pen and journaling marker from SU!

Seashells and Friendship

Here is another card trying out the peg stamps.  I also made this for this March's A Year in Cards free class at Two Peas in a Bucket.  Visit their website and click on Education for more info.  This video based class  always gives me lots of ideas.  This month is focused on background stamps, particularly masking off part of the stamp.

Project Notes:

• I used the same method with these peg stamps as in my earlier wreath card.  I stamped an image, rotated the stamp and stamped again before reinking.  Some of the colors are embossed.
• To create the background, I tore a piece of scrap paper roughly the size of my greeting and adhered it with removable adhesive (I use Fiskars) to the card where the greeting should go.  Then I stamped over the entire card with my favorite new stamp - Sanded from SU!
• After removing the scrap paper, I then stamped and embossed my greeting.  I just love this large greeting from SU!  It is also a favorite.

Happy Friday!

Ingredients:  Starfish and Shells by Rubber Stamp Tapestry; greeting from All Holidays by SU!
Cardstock: Brocade Blue, Whisper white
Ink:  Kiwi Kiss, Tempting Turquoise, taken with teal, Brocade Blue

SC273 Color Challenge

For two Splitcoaststampers' challenges this week, this card features Pretty in Pink, Dusty Durango (some Really Rust) and Creamy Caramel as well as the sketch from the SC273 challenge.  It also goes in my Operation Write Home box.

Project Notes: 

• 
  
  The flower contains all the required colors with SU! watercolor markers and a blender pen.
• 
  
  The dessert option was leaves so I used the Leaf Print unmounted wheel again.  Think I'm getting addicted to this one.  I stamped Dusty Durango ink on the same cardstock, but only one row.  Yesterday's card, I stamped this image all over and it was a bit busy.
• 
  
  After I got nearly done, I realized I'd left out a layer so I put in the ribbon in place of paper next to the flower.  These sheer ribbons from the floral department are great subtle additions.

Thanks for visiting!

Ingredients:  Stamps:  by Stampendous; Leaf print wheel and All Holidays (greeting) by Stampin' Up!

Cardstock in colors of challenge listed above - all by SU!

Ink:  Black Stazon and Basic Black, Watercolor markers

Ribbon:  Craft Store

Thread:  DMC

Peg Stamps

My friend Betsy from our monthly stamp classes asked for my take on her new peg stamps.  The drawing on the packaging showed a wreath.  I used the Cricut to cut some scallop circles and stamped the images repeatedly around the edge. 

This is my first try on peg stamps.  So far, they aren't my favorites.  The designs are very small and you have to ink, stamp, ink, stamp a lot to get a design.  I think I prefer a little larger images.

Project Notes: 

• The Accent Essentials cartridge for the Cricut has this scallop circle.  The stamped one is cut 3" and the larger one 3 1/4".  I used dimensionals to adhere the smaller one to the larger one.
• The ribbon is threaded through holes made with the double horizontal punch from Stampin' Up!  If I were doing it again, I'd punch the holes first evenly spaced.  THEN I would stamp the flowers.  I kept thinking I was punching over some of my best flowers.
• I did the stamping as the packaging suggested and stamped a leaf or flower, then rotated the peg stamp slightly and stamped again without reinking.
• First I stamped the leaves in classic ink. Then I went over them with the flowers in craft ink and embossed to get more dimension.
• The background for this card is stamped with one of my unmounted wheels.

All in all, I felt the results were pretty but tedious.  I have another one of these coming up later using a seashell version of the pegs.  What do you think of peg stamps?  Are there tricks that make them easier or styles of peg stamps you prefer?

Thanks to Betsy for loaning me this set.  It is always fun to experiement.  Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Waving Wildflowers from Rubber Stamp Tapestry; greeting from Kind and Caring Thoughts and background of Leaf Prints from SU!
Cardstock:  Lavendar Moon by PTI; Old Olive by SU!
Ink:  Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Regal Rose by SU!

TIPsy Tuesday - Squint!

Yes, that's right,  Squint!  Quilters do it.  Window Treatment professionals do it - or at least this one does.  Why?  When you are working on a card or particularly a scrapbook layout, sometimes it is hard to figure out what else you need to complete the look.  Is your page balanced?  Will more embellishments be too much?  Should you move a photo to the other side of the page?  We all run into these quandries when we are papercrafting. 

The solution:
Stand up, step back, and squint.  The page will blur a little allowing the main colors to stand out.  It is much easier to see what you have too much of and what is missing.

Quilters do this and there is even a special tool you can use - a reducing glass.  It is the opposite of a magnifying glass in that it makes objects appear farther away so you can see an entire wall quilt in one view.  I have one and have used it on quilts and even on large window valances when I just can't stand back far enough in my workroom to see how it will look in the client's room. 

Here is a view of the double page spread above part of the way along.  I knew I needed some designer paper in the lower left but wasn't sure what color.  I stepped back, squinted and could see how it was all coming together. Then it was obvious I needed some more of the turquoise color.  I also needed another heavy element to balance the chipboard on the right hand page.

The finished ower left corner

balanced with the right side of the page.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Sanded by SU! for background
Ink:  So saffron, Dusty Durango, soft Suede for distressing
DSP and brad:  The Daily Grind by Fancy Pants
Ribbon:  Stampin' Up!
Chipboard:  Stampin' Up! and Oriental Trading
Font:  Pea Jack and Jane from kevinandamanda.com

More Finally Friday cards

Deja vu?  Almost.  More Mother's Day cards and more based on a Kristina Werner Finally Friday video.  These are based on this week's video available at Two Peas in a Bucket or at Kristina's blog (link on the right side of the screen).  The challenge was to use her card as a starting point.  When I started pulling out supplies, I planned to stay pretty close to her original card.  Yet, the second card is barely the same as the model card at all. 

 

These use some of my favorite papers from October Afternoon.  They have new collections soon to be shipping that I'm so excited about.  Their small paper pads are 8x8 inches a great size for scrapbooking and card making.  I swear I check Two Peas every day to see if these are available yet :-)

Project Notes:

• The string on the first card is some thick DMC thread bought on a sale bin at Hobby Lobby.  Don't overlook the sale bins in the fabric and regular craft sections for goodies you can use in your papercrafts.  This stuff had probably been marked down because it was a varigated color.  Yet when you use it on a card, you can't tell it is multiple shades of beige.
• The second card uses a chipboard flower I painted.  I didn't have the right color paint so I painted it in a light blue and then sponged Aqua Mist ink from PTI over the top to get close to the color of the DSP's flowers.
• I tried Kristina's idea of writing my message around my flower.  As usual, I hated my handwriting so I just moved the flower up to cover my writing and stamped an image instead.  Sometimes I can write something passable but mostly I'd rather just stamp or print my greetings.   I was pleased with my freehand cut stem and leaves; didn't even fire up the Cricut.

These Mother's Day cards will be going in my Operation Write Home box.  The deadline for Mother's Day is April 1 to give time for the troops to receive the cards, make the selections and send them home to their Mother's in May.  For more info on sending your cards --> http://www.operationwritehome.org/   Think about how happy all these Mothers will be to receive a card from their son or daughter overseas.  Happy day!

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Polka dot basics from PTI; Holiday Seasons (greeting) from Inkadinkado
Ink:  Choc Chip from SU!; Vintage Cream from PTI
Cardstock:  Spring Moss from PTI
DSP:  Farm Fresh from October Afternoon and a little bit of Old Olive from SU!
Buttons:  Stampin' Up!

Happy Spring!

Happy Spring!

This design is cased from Kristina Werner's Finally Friday last week which you can see on her blog or at http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/  I loved how the layout used a large piece of designer paper - large for a card anyway.  Plus, you can use a fairly busy DSP; those are sometimes difficult to figure out what to do with.  I think this is a very versatile layout.

Project Notes:

• I used Creative Memories cutting system.  One one of the cards, I cut the small circle first and then the large circle without moving the cutter.  I just turned the small circle over and used the backside for the card.
• The large piece of DSP is popped out and it takes a LOT of dimensionals to do it that way.

It is supposed to be a gorgeous weekend here in N.C.  Happy Spring to you (or Autumn as the case may be) and enjoy your weekend wherever you are.


Ingredients:  Stamps:  Deco Flowers by Paper Studio; One of a Kind by Stampin' Up!; greeting from Holiday Seasons by Inkadinkado
DSP, Old Olive and Very Vanilla Taffeta ribbons also by SU!
Ink:  Baja Breeze, Old Olive by SU!; Prussian Blue fluid chalk ink by Colorbox

A very Cricut-ty Layout

The Cricut and SCAL software did the heavy lifting on this layout about a 'date' day we had last spring.  We were looking for something different.  We both love books so I did a search for library book sales in our state and found one in Mocksville - about one hours drive.  This happened to work out perfectly for take-out from Lenny's favorite roasted chicken place in Statesville.  They mostly do catering and only offer take-out on Wednesdays and Fridays.  We are seldom in their area, particularly on the right day and time. 

We bought lots of cheap movies (we have yet to watch), books on tape (for him), and cookbooks for me.  It was a beautiful day and a great cheap date.

Project Notes:

• I used SCAL software to create the latice border by just typing a bunch of X's (XXXXXXX pushed together makes a lattice look).  Well, it took a little more time than that to get it right but now I have that frame saved.  It is cut from Papertrey Ink cardstock which is very thick.  I should have used a 6 cutting depth.  The 5 setting I normally use for SU! cardstock cut this paper but I had to press out the little pieces and trim off some frayed edges.
• The branch is a tree image turned on it's side with a few little branches erased out before cutting.  It was pretty fast.  The petals are torn off a silk hydrangea purchased from the floral department at Hobby Lobby.
• The open book was made using a Wingding character and my SCAL software also. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Ingredients:  DSP:  Sweet Pea by SU!
Cardstock:  Spring Moss by PTI; Kraft by SU!
Gold brads and Kiwi Kiss ribbon:  SU!

CC262 Color Challenge

Have you ever made a card with a paticular stamp in mind and then end up not using that stamp at all?  I wanted to use my new SAB set, Vintage Labels, which has all these great designs coordinating with punches.  The Old Olive scalloped design in the center here is from that set.  It works beautifully with the Medallion background stamp.  But what I was really going for was to use the oval one with a mesage in it.  When I got that far on the card, there just wasn't room. 

Splitcoaststampers color challenge this week is to use Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive and Orchid Opulence with a dessert option to use swirls.  I subbed some Lavendar Moon from Papertrey Ink for the Orchid since I had that in ribbon.  My dessert was going to be the swirly oval stamp but my card got too full to have dessert! 

Oh well, check out the other challenge cards at Splitcoaststampers -->  CC262 Cards

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Medallion, Vintage Labels by SU!  Deco Flowers for center by Paper Studio

Ink:  Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive by SU!; Pink by Colorbox for center

Ribbon and Cardstock:  Lavendar Moon by Papertrey Ink

DSP:  Old Olive by SU!

TIPsy Tuesday - Wheels to Unmounted Rubber Stamps

Are you a wheel person?  Me, not so much.  Actually, I love many of the designs for the Stampin' Up! Wheels; I just find I don't use wheels much when I buy them.  Part of the problem is the rolling action is hard on my hand and arm.  It is the same motion as a rotary cutter and that bothers me, too.  But whatever the reason, some people love wheels and others don't.

If you don't care for using a wheel or you just want more versatility and easier storage, you can take the rubber stamp part off the wheel and turn it into a regular stamp - a cling stamp you use on an acrylic block, just like the new SU! Unmounted stamps. 

You will need some EZ Mount foam.  It comes in 8 1/2" x 11" sheets.  I purchased mine via E-bay.  The vendor I used does not have any listed for sale right now.  Do a search on "EZ Mount Stamping" and you should find several vendors selling by the piece or in packs of 5 pieces or so.  You want the regular EZ Mount foam not the thin.

Here is how I unmounted my wheels:

1. Find the seam in the red rubber on the wheel.  Cut the rubber apart at that seam.
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Gently peel the rubber off the wheel.  I've done three of these so far and the rubber has come off very easily.

3. Peel off any glue from the red rubber.  (Wash and dry if necessary though I've not had to do that.)
   
   
   
   
   
4. Peel back the printed layer of the EZ Mount foam revealing a very sticky side.  Tip: Use a clothespin to hold the paper back on your EZ Mount sheet so you have access to the sticky part.
   
   
    
5. Place the rubber part of your wheel image onto the sticky part.
6. Trim around the red rubber with an old, but sharp pair of scissors.  Take care not to "cut in" - that is letting the scissors cut away the foam underneath the rubber.  Cut as even as you can.
   
7. Turn the stamp over and peel off the white layer on the other side to reveal a 'cling' side that will cling to acrylic blocks.

The instructions for EZ Mount caution against storing these on acetate sheets.  The acetate apparently doesn't agree with the cling part.

Now you can use your wheel just like a stamp!  Using a gridded block, I've found it very easy to stamp one row after another and create background images.  Also, you can use markers to color in just part of an image like any other stamp.  This is how the little trees were done in the card above - using the Funky Forest Wheel (I, mean, stamp.)  I did have to color the trunks with markers after stamping since this image is so small.

I'm so pleased with this process, there are now several wheels on my SU! wish list including the Love one in the mini catalog that goes through next month.  I wanted it for the greetings and it will be easier to color in greetings with markers and stamp them once it is unmounted from the wheel.

Ingredients all by Stampin' Up!:  Stamps:  Trendy Trees, Funky Forest wheel

Ink:  More Mustard, Sage Shadow, Summer Sun, Really Rust

Cardstock:  Old Olive, Whisper White

DSP:   From '08 Holiday Mini

Wheel to Background Stamp

Unmounting stamps has become a hot topic especially since Stampin' Up! is now selling unmounted red rubber stamps.  I've been unmounting my wheels using EZ Mount cling foam.  Stop by tomorrow for the step-by-step on how to turn wheels into regular stamps.

This wheel makes a great backgound stamp when clinging to a grided block.  Just stamp row after row; then distress the edges for a pretty do-it-yourself designer paper.

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Petal Prints and Leaf Prints wheel by Stampin' Up!

Ink:  Prussian Blue by Colorbox, Close to Cocoa by SU!; Mellow Moss by SU!

Cardstock:  Mellow Moss

DSP:  Basic Grey Periphery

Vellum versus Tracing Paper

A friend wanted to know if tracing paper worked the same as vellum.  I'd never tried it so she gave me a couple of sheets to experiment with.  They appear to be the same.  For stamping, tracing paper seems to have the same characteristics as vellum.  When stamping on both, you need to set your work aside and let it dry for quite a while.  I have not tried embossing on the the tracing paper.  Vellum tends to curl.  This card uses fluid chalk in for the blue flower and SU! Classic ink for the stem. The chalk ink actually took the longest to dry.   Vellum or in this case tracing paper always produces a classy effect.

Project Notes:

• Since you can see through the vellum, why not add some pattern underneath.  I used designer paper with a swirly design in one corner.
• The torn edges are sponged in distress ink to make them show up a little more.
• Again, caution about drying time.  I originally stamped "with sympathy" directly on the vellum and it look so nice.  Then, impatient me couldn't resist finishing the card only to smear the greeting.  Arr!  Oh well, there's always a fix in papercrafting. 

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Petals and Kindred Spirits (for greeting) by SU!
Ink:  Prussian Blue fluid chalk ink by Colorbox; Close to Cocoa by SU!
Cardstock:  Mellow Moss
DSP and ribbon:  Periphery collection by Basic Grey

Playing Dress Up

"Miss Lisa, when do we get to play dress up?"  Nai Nai knew the plan, she just didn't know the day.  Grampa would take Dillon fishing and she, Jaime and I would play dress up.  It started with a mani/pedi and then she had a blast wrapping my scarfs all around her and draping herself in every necklace I could find.  She loved the hats, too.  I have quite a collection from the '80's - Princess Diana days when hats were 'in' again.  My Mother always taught me to save my accessories.  They don't take up much room and everything comes back in style.  It's been true about a lot of things but I'm still waiting on the day I can wear those hats again. :-)

Project Notes:

• I really raided my stash on this one.  The designer paper from DCWV really did the work on this layout.  I cut out several of the flowers from an extra piece and popped one and added others.
• This wide white ribbon is like those accessories Mother told me about.  I kept wanting to throw it out but figured sooner or late it would work somewhere.  It covers the bottom of the blue and white paper without being too busy.
• The blue and white cardstocks were cut on the Cricut in large sheets and then trimmed down.
• There were lots of other photos, but I really wanted to hightlight this one of Nai Nai looking in the mirror.  The other photos and journaling are in a mini-album.  It also gave me a chance to experiment in cutting thin chipboard on my Cricut.  I'll put this in a pocket page with some other photos from their visit.

Ingredients:  DSP:  DCWV
Cardstock:  Bashful Blue from SU!
Chipboard letters:  American Crafts (I think - anyway, I bought them at Michaels)
Rhinestone embellishment and letters:  Kaiser
Journaling marker and Pewter grommets:  Stampin' Up!

Trendy Trees Birthday

Do you like the Sweet Pea tree pattern paper with the Trendy Trees stamps?  I'm not sure about this card.  It may just be too many trees or too busy.  Actually, I'm loving the "B" sides of these Sweet Pea designer papers the best - lots of little patterns in popular SU! colors.  This pack is from the winter mini catalog from Stampin' Up! available through April.

Project Notes:

• I used the Stamp-a-mah-jig to line up the trees and trunks.  I always shy away from this tool but it is really easy and goes fairly fast.  Since it is essential for this set, I went ahead and stamped a template in Staz-on ink on acetate then it will be even faster next time it is used.
• To save ribbon, the ends are trimmed with pinking shears rather than being wrapped around the card.
• We-R-Memory Keepers Corner Chomper does a great job rounding edges on the white paper and through all the layers on the bottom of the card - just one punch on each corner.

Ingredients:  All Stampin' Up! Trendy Trees and All Holidays
Ink:  Bermuda Bay, So Saffron, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Signo White Gel Pen
cardstock:  Whisper white, Old Olive
DSP:  Sweet Pea
Ribbon:  Bermuda Bay Polka Dot

TIPsy Tuesday - Mitered Corners

This card fits today's Splitcoaststampers color challenge to use Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue and Melon Mambo.  Since I didn't get the card made ahead I had planned for TIPsy Tuesday, I just combined the challenge and the mitered corner frame.

Yesterday's blog post with the Fishing layout also uses mitered corners with the stripe paper cut a different direction for an interesting effect.  

Here is my method of mitering paper corners.  It uses overlaping paper rather than trying to cut all the corners at angles and butting the edges together.  This way is easier and more forgiving if your cuts aren't perfectly straight.

1. 
   
   Cut paper in strips the width you want your frame. In my case, I cut stripes out of designer paper to get the desired colors eliminating the So Saffron that was also in this DSP.
2. Glue down the long sides.  Lay the smaller lengths on top.

3.  Mark the intersection point with a pencil mark on the short pieces.

4.  Remove the paper and draw a line connecting the corner of the paper with the pencil mark.

5.  Cut along that line leaving a hair more paper on the outside of the pencil line.  You can always cut off extra as needed.

Extra tip:  I chose to cut the diagonal lines on the shorter pieces because if I messed up, I wasted less paper. 

So frame a photo, frame a card, it's easy and an impressive to use those checks and stripes!

Note:  The idea for flower stems laying over the polka dot came from Julie Ebersole's blog at  Paper Trufflez

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Petal Pizzazz, Kind and Caring Thoughts (greeting) by SU!; Polka Dot Basics by PTI

Ink:  Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Sahara Sand and Melon Mambo

DSP:  Delicate Dots (SAB '09)

Cardstock:  Whisper White, Sahara Sand

Button:  Fabric Store

Hooked on Fishing

Dillon is the one hooked on fishing.  He had been fishing before but the day these photos were taken was when he caught his first fish and the fishing bug really caught him, too.  Unfortunately, the fish were a bit small to cook - or no one wanted to clean them.  Anyway he had lots of fun and I did too in creating this layout.

Journaling: 
Grampa Fincher promised Dillon a fishing trip if he got straight A’s in school. Dillon held up his end of the bargain, so they headed off to the pond at Riverbend Park on Sunday morning. After a few tries, they found the right fishing spot and… Dillon. Began. To. Catch. Fish! He got really excited on the first ones. After awhile he got so confident he rejected Grampa Fincher’s advice on where and how to fish. A small turtle found the fish and began to help itself. Eventually they headed back in true Fincher tradition hiking up a steep hill all the way. Still Dillon is…

Project Notes:

• Lenny helped me with this layout by dictating the journaling to me.  He also created the fish hook from a piece of silver wire and even tied my knot.  (He frowned heavily at the knot I tied and redid it in an official fishing knot. Maybe I should get him to start tieing the bow knots on my cards :-)

• The letters for "on" are really a "b" and an upside down "u."  A pair of scissors works wonders to turn letter stickers into what you really need them to be.
• One of those cute little fish brads from Fancy Pants holds the line in place.  The hemp twine runs between the teeth of the brad before it goes through the back of the paper.
• I kept rotating the striped paper border strips to get the mitered corners to match up.  I had to fudge a little as the paper wasn't just perfect.  Just depends on the paper as to whether this will work out.  You don't need to miter every piece - just one piece per corner.

Thanks for your visit.  Be sure to stop by tomorrow for TIPsy Tuesday on Mitering Corners. 

Ingredients:  Designer Paper:  Jersey Shore by SU!; Paper Studio for journaling block
Brads and journaling tag: Daily Grind by Fancy Pants
Chipboard letters:  Basic Grey
Ink:  Brilliant Blue, Only Orange by SU!
Stickers:  American Crafts and Doodlebug
Font:  Problem Secretary Normal from dafont.com