More Family-Theme Layouts

As I've said before, I'm normally a very theme-type scrapbooker. But I fell in love with the Acorn Avenue collection from Crate Paper and knew it would be perfect for those non-theme family layouts that showcase relationships.

First up, I created this layout of various family photos from my brother's wedding rehearsal dinner a few months ago. It was so great to have everyone together for this happy event.

Everything is from the Acorn Avenue collection, except for the few embellishments and random flowers from my stash. And I (of course) used my Kiwi Lane designer templates. They really are the best way to combine pattern papers on your layout with minimal guesswork. Love that!

Next, from the same collection, I created this layout...

I love that I was able to get a completely different color scheme from the same set of papers and embellishments. 

And lastly, I created this layout of my sister and I. It's probably my favorite out of the bunch...

Her face! She is such a goof. A beautiful, awesome goof.

I did add in more embellishments from my stash for this layout too. I love finding those bits and pieces that coordinate with a collection kit and using them up. 

I have to admit, I'm starting to love this non-theme scrapbooking. :) I just might have to explore this a bit more.

Have you created any non-theme layouts lately? I would love to see them...

Stay crafty!
Lissa :)

Cowgirl Layout for Miss Kate Cuttables

Hello everyone! I'm up on the Miss Kate Cuttables blog today with a fun, girly layout using lots of cut files from Miss Kate...

I just love how it turned out...

Head on over to the Miss Kate Cuttables blog to check it out and let me know what you think!

Stay crafty!
Lissa :)

Hutch Makeover

It's been a long time since I've posted a furniture makeover -- but I finally have one to share! It's a very simple project, but it took me almost a decade to complete it. :)

We inherited this hutch (it has a top too) from my mother-in-law when my husband's dear grandmother passed away. While we lived in Kansas City, we didn't have the room to use it in our home, so we kept it in our basement in storage. Once we moved into a larger space, I always had visions of transforming the bottom half into a TV stand/storage cabinet. After a few stops and starts over the last few years, I finally got it finished.

Isn't it lovely? And it was so easy to do. I took the doors off the front and filled in the holes with wood putty -- then sanded those down smooth. I took the hardware off the drawers and cleaned them and spray-painted them in my favorite color -- Oil-Rubbed Bronze!

Then it was time to paint. Again, it couldn't be easier. I was so afraid of this project initially because I thought I would have to strip and sand the finish off the hutch. Instead -- chalk paint to the rescue! It is the best, best paint to use for furniture makeovers. I just cleaned the hutch with a damp cloth, let it dry and started painting. No priming or anything -- just painting with the chalk paint. It covers everything.

I used Annie Sloan's chalk paint in Graphite. I LOVE this color. It's a dark, cool grey with a touch of blue. That first coat is a tough one -- it kind of looks terrible at first, to be honest. Very streaky and kind of makes you panic.

 

(I had painted that first drawer white a long time ago to see how it would look -- after three coats of chalk paint, you can't tell the difference between any of the drawers. It covers awesome!)

After three coats of chalk paint, I rubbed the entire piece and the drawer fronts with furniture wax to seal it. The wax gives the chalk paint a beautiful soft finish that I just love. 24 hours later, and I had a beautiful TV cabinet, ready to go in our family room.

 Before waxing, I used a bit of sandpaper to distress the edges a bit. I love how it turned out.

I also love that I was able to reuse the original hardware. A few coats of the oil-rubbed bronze spray paint and they looked brand new and lovely.

We love how it turned out! I can't wait to get started on my next furniture makeover...

Until next time,
Stay crafty!
Lissa :)

It's Tip Time Tuesday Plus a Giveaway...

Updated 3/22/14: Congratulations to marylouh -- you are the winner of the Kiwi Lane templates! Email me at MightyCraftyDOTMeATgmailDOTcom to claim your prize! :)

 I'm back on the Kiwi Lane Designs blog today with a new feature for Tip Time Tuesday. I have created a fun birthday pocket page layout with my Kiwi Lane Tiny Sweetheart, Tiny Accents and Tiny Sweetheart template sets this month. And to celebrate, I'm giving away an awesome set of Kiwi Lane accessory templates -- read on to find out how to win!

For March, the Kiwi Lane design team got to work with We R Memory Keepers -- one of my most favorite scrapbook companies! They have awesome paper collections, and I especially love their 4x6 and 3x4 card collections. Be sure to visit We R Memory Keepers on Facebook for more ideas.

The featured Kiwi Lane designer templates for March are the Tiny Sweetheart, Tiny Accents and Tiny Floral accessory sets. I love these sets! Tiny Accents are one of my most-used sets for sure. You can use any of these sets for pretty much any type of theme or project you're creating. So head on over to the Kiwi Lane blog to see my project...

But before you go, be sure to enter to win your very own set of Kiwi Lane Tiny Accents Accessory templates. To enter, just do one of these:

• Subscribe to my blog (in the left nav) and leave a comment on this post telling me you're all signed up.
• Like my Facebook page and leave me a quick post there telling me you did it.

I'll announce the random winner on March 22. Be sure to enter before midnight MST on March 21. (I can only ship to United States -- thank you for your understanding.)

Good luck and stay crafty!
Lissa :)

Kiwi Lane DT Doodles #6

It's time for another awesome sketch from Kiwi Lane -- my favorite days of the month! And when you link up your creation based on the sketch, you'll be entered to win a Kiwi Lane gift card.

This sketch is awesome, just like always -- and there's lots of room for lots of photos on this double-page layout:

And here's what I created with the sketch:

 

I have been dying to use the School Spirit collection from Crate Paper (it's been in my stash forever!), so I pulled it out to showcase lots of photos from my boys' year in 2nd grade. I like to have a single layout in our family album for each school year since each of my boys' has their own school album. So the single layout in our family album just shows off a few random moments from that year. In addition to the papers and embellishments from Crate Paper, I used these Kiwi Lane templates:

• Aspen Court 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B
• Strips 3", 1", 1/2"
• Accents 6
• Tiny Accents 6T
• Tiny Floral 1T, 2T
• Sweetheart 1
• Tiny Sweetheart 1T

I then finished the page off with cork Thickers and a journaling spot that I edged with a notebook border punch.

I love how this sketch layout turned out -- thank you Kiwi Lane! Be sure to head over to Kiwi Lane today and link up your layout creation so you'll be entered to win that awesome gift card!

Until next time -- stay crafty!
Lissa :)

Sketch N Scrap Sketch #53 Challenge

Hello everyone! I'm so excited to be here today to share my layout for Sketch N Scrap's Sketch Challenge #53. Each month, they offer three layout sketches and two card sketches to challenge your creativity. And if you link up your creation at their site, you'll be entered to win an awesome prize package -- a different prize each month. How fun is that?

I love working with the sketches from Sketch N Scrap -- they always inspire me to try new things. Here's Sketch #53:

And here's what I created based on the sketch:

I love creating fun boy layouts, and this one turned out so great (if I do say so myself). I used a die cut background paper from Best Creations. The rest of the papers and embellishments all come from the Boys Only collection by Doodlebug Designs. I just love this collection of blues and oranges and super cute boy elements.

Be sure to play along with the sketch challenge this month (and every month!) at Sketch N Scrap. Don't forget -- if you link up your creation at Sketch N Scrap, you'll be entered to win a great prize giveaway.

Until next time,
Stay crafty!
Lissa :)

Rainbow Loom Layout for Practical Scrappers

I'm super excited about today's project -- it's a fun outlet for my latest "other" obsession -- Rainbow Loom bracelets! I bought my boys each a Rainbow Loom for Christmas and lots of band colors and an organizer case. They did have fun with it for a bit -- but I must admit, it was me who was the most excited to play with it. LOL.

So this month's Frugal Finds feature for Practical Scrappers is Rainbow Loom bands. I love the monthly Frugal Finds challenge, because you get to create something awesome with items you probably have around the house. Luckily, I have a ton of Rainbow Loom bands...

For my project, I created a super, super long Rainbow Loom bracelet in colors to coordinate with the Our Lil Monster collection from Bo Bunny. Then I used the bracelet to create a fun page border for my layout:

Isn't it bright and colorful and awesome? I used the original weaving pattern and just used jump rings to attach each bracelet to each other until I got a long enough bracelet (I created six bracelets total). Then I just stapled the bracelet right to my page using my Tiny Attacher.

Okay, I love this technique -- and I love this new collection from Bo Bunny! What a fun combination. I hope you are inspired to try using Rainbow Loom bands on your next project. Head on over to Practical Scrappers to see what the other designers came up with for their Frugal Finds projects.

Stay crafty!
Lissa :)

Fun Friendship Card

Today, I'm so excited to be on the Miss Kate Cuttables blog with my first project for March -- a super cute friendship card. Here's a sneak peek...

I just love it. I used up a few scrap papers and this adorable cut file from Miss Kate:

I'd be honored if you would head on over to the Miss Kate Cuttables blog to check out my card. Let me know what you think!

Stay crafty!
Lissa :)

Sketch N Scrap Inspired By Challenge #3

It's a fun day at Sketch N Scrap today -- the new Inspired By Challenge #3 sketch is posted. And I'm honored to say that this month's Inspired By sketch is based on one of my layouts. How exciting is that??

Here's the sketch:

And here's the layout I originally created last summer that the sketch is based on:

I'm so excited to see what the Sketch N Scrap design team will create based on the sketch. Head on over to Sketch N Scrap to see all the design team layouts -- and to submit your own! When you submit your own creation. you'll be entered to win a great monthly prize.

Until next time,
Stay crafty!
Lissa :)

Family Layouts

Today, I'm sharing two layouts I created recently that showcase family. I love creating these types of layouts not only because they feature my favorite people, but because you can get creative with the design since you're not focusing on a "theme." I tend to do lots of theme- and event-type layouts, so this is a nice change for me.

First up, I created this layout of two of my brothers (I have four brothers and two sisters!).

The awesome star background is similar to this one, and it's another cut file I created for my Silhouette as part of a Kerri Bradford class. (Love her classes!) I also cut the star circles, gears, and Brothers title with my Silhouette. The paper and embellishments are all just random pieces from my stash.

I love it!

Next up, this bright layout featuring a photo collage I printed from Lightroom. I left white spaces for a few of the photo spots so I could add embellishments in place of the photos.

Again, I used my Silhouette to cut out the paper pieces - the flowers, houses, swirls, and title. I also used my Kiwi Lane border templates to create the layered background. The papers are mostly SEI - I've had these in my paper stash forever and I'd been looking for an excuse to use them. Love these colors.

Have you created any family-themed layouts lately? I would love to see them...please share them here!

Stay crafty!
Lissa :)