February: Creating My Own Kit

I'm back with another kit creation for February. I've had so much fun with my December and January kits, so I knew I would have to create a Valentine's Day-themed kit for February. And I was super proud of myself this time for getting everything from my stash -- I didn't buy a single item to add to this kit!

I originally had way too much stuff in the kit, honestly. In January's kit, I had a TON of stuff. While creating projects last month, I found that having too much in the kit was actually a hindrance because there was too much to sort through. So this month, I pared it down a bit so that I had just the parts and pieces I wanted to be sure to play with. And, let's be honest, I can always grab whatever extra pieces I want to use whenever I want to. :)

So, for February, here's what's in my kit:

• 21 sheets of 12x12 patterned paper from Elle's Studio, Studio Calico, Fancy Pants Designs, Amy Tangerine, The Paper Company Studio, Alison Kreft, 4heures37, and Recollections
• Solid 12x12 cardstock in grey, black, pink, and red
• October Afternoon Mini Market alphas in Mint & Creme and Cream & Red
• Elle's Studio Happy Moments stamp
• Maya Road Doillies Stamp Sheet
• American Crafts Dress Up tags
• Maya Road fabric tape in Stripes - Fire Red
• Freckled Fawn Heart Rhinestones
• Freckled Fawn patch star pack
• Webster's Pages Recorded paperclips by Alison Kreft
• Pink felt button embellishments from Stampin' and Scrappin'
• Elle's Studio You and Me Circle Tags
• Elle's Studio You and Me Mixed Journaling Tags
• Basic Grey bingo card
• My Mind's Eye Dreamy 2 pink frame
• Basic Grey True Love wax seals
• American Crafts red flower
• Jolee's By You red heart boxers 
• Freckled Fawn embroidered badges
• Metal pink frame
• Various pink ribbons
• Miscellaneous embellishments: journaling cards and frames, pins, tags, dies, flair, wood veneer arrows and hearts, buttons, brads, bows

Even after paring down, that's still a big kit! I'm excited to get creating with it. I'll be back soon with new projects for February. Until then...

Stay crafty!
Lissa :)

January Kit Wrap-Up

I'm all finished up with my January kit -- and I'm pretty happy with how much of it I was able to use this month. This kit was so huge that I definitely wasn't able to kill it off -- but I sure made a big dent. Here's what I created...

1. Ski layout for Sketch 'N Scrap's January 1 sketch:

2. Snow Babies layout for Practical Scrappers January sketch:

3. Winter 1988 layout for the Practical Scrappers January blog hop:

4. Bundled Up With Love layout for Miss Kate Cuttables:

5. Winter Wishes layout with book page snowflakes for Practical Scrappers:

6. Winter Sparrows card set:

7. Vintage winter layout with a sketch from Scrapping with Christine:

8. Sledding Fun layout for Miss Kate Cuttables:

That's quite a few projects! I loved having this kit on hand to make so many projects and make a big dent in my scrapbooking stash.

I'll be back soon with my February kit...until then...

Stay crafty!
Lissa :)

Sledding Fun with Miss Kate Cuttables

I'm back today on the Miss Kate Cuttables blog with my second project for January -- a fun winter layout. Here's a little sneak peek...

To create the layout, I used my January kit plus these super fun cut files from Miss Kate:

Sledding Fun

Snow Memories

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

Stay crafty!
Lissa :)

Vintage Winter Layout

Hello all! Today I'm sharing a vintage winter layout -- and by vintage, I mean my own baby photos. I'm almost 40, so that counts as vintage, right? :)

I used my January kit and lots of border punches to create this layout...

To start, I used this amazing sketch from Christine. I just loved all those strips, and I knew it would be so fun to create using lots of scallop border punches.

I modified the sketch a bit to do even more layers of border strips, and I love how it turned out.

The rest of the embellishments are bits and pieces from my stash, including this card of pins from a Polka Dot Whimsy kit from years ago. I added the button and other pieces to create a little vintage-looking cluster.

Seriously in love with all those strips layered together...

I love this sketch -- thank you Christine for such a fun sketch!

Christine has lots of other fun sketches for you to play with as well. Head over to her blog to download them today.

Until next time -- stay crafty!
Lissa :)

Cute Winter Sparrow Cards

I have two quick, cute cards to share today using my January kit and the Winter Sparrows stamp and die sets from Lawn Fawn.

To create the cards, I first used my Kiwi Lane card templates to frame out my page:

• Strip Set 1 inch
• Thoughtful 2B, 3B

I trimmed out all of my paper strips, inked them up, and layered them on my card base. Then it was just a matter of putting the cute embellishments in place. I placed the stamped/die cut birds on a punched scallop circle that I embossed, added the stamped sentiment, and glitzed it up a bit with tiny pearls.

I created one thank you card...

...and one "Season's Tweetings" card, which was the sentiment that comes with the Winter Sparrow stamps.

So super cute and so easy! If you haven't tried those Lawn Fawn stamps and dies yet, you seriously should. They are just too much fun.

Thanks for stopping by today! Until next time...

Stay crafty!
Lissa :)

Tip Time Tuesday for Kiwi Lane Designs With a Giveaway!

1/28/14 Update: Congratulations to Steph -- you're the winner of the Kiwi Lane template set giveaway! Email me MightyCrafty.meATgmail.com to claim your prize! :)

I'm so excited to be up on the Kiwi Lane Designs blog today with a new feature for Tip Time Tuesday. I have a super fun and easy border idea that will take you back to your childhood days. And to celebrate, I'm giving away an awesome set of Kiwi Lane accessory templates -- read on to find out how to win!

For January's projects, the Kiwi Lane design team got to work with some beautiful collections from Adornit. They have so many lovely designs -- I created my project with the Home Tweet Home collection, which had beautiful colors of blues and pinks that I just loved. Be sure to visit Adornit's Facebook page for more awesome scrapbooking ideas.

The featured Kiwi Lane designer templates for January are the Tiny Nature, Winter, and the new (awesome!) Chevron borders. I love how these sets go together -- I used the Tiny Nature and Chevrons for this month's project. You'll have to head on over to the Kiwi Lane blog to see the full project...

But before you go, you must enter to win your very own set of Kiwi Lane Tiny Nature 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 Jan. 25. Be sure to enter before midnight MST on Jan. 24. (I can only ship to United States -- thank you for your understanding.)

Good luck and stay crafty!
Lissa :)

Kiwi Lane DT Doodles Sketch #2 for 2014

It's time for another awesome layout sketch from Kiwi Lane Designs! I have missed doing these over the holidays, and I'm so glad it's time to get back to creating with these sketches. Kiwi Lane will offer two sketches per month for 2014 -- and if you create and link up your layout, you'll be entered to win a $25 Kiwi Lane gift certificate...

Here's this week's sketch:

And here's what I did with it...

Isn't it super fun? You know I love bright colors -- and the Surprise collection by Bo Bunny certainly fits the bill. I received this huge collection of papers and embellishments last month as a prize from Fotobella for their monthly sketch drawing -- thank you Fotobella! I loved creating with this kit, and the Kiwi Lane DT Doodles sketch was perfect for a fun birthday layout. I used these Kiwi Lane Designer Templates:

• Cascade Trails 1A and 1B
• Chevrons 2A
• Wildflower 2T, 5T
• Celebrate 1, 2, 4

I absolutely love it! Now, head on over to Kiwi Lane Designs to link up your layout based on the sketch -- and you'll be entered to win a $25 gift certificate for the Kiwi Lane shop!

Until next time,
Stay crafty!
Lissa :)

Frugal Finds for Practical Scrappers

I have a fun project to share today as part of the Frugal Finds feature at Practical Scrappers. This month's theme was book pages, and the designers have lots of great ideas about how to use book pages on your crafty projects.

For my project, I decided to keep using up my January kit and create some handmade paper snowflakes, just like the ones we used to make when we were kids.

Aren't they pretty? I love the texture these book page elements bring to my page. And, really, they're super simple to make:

1. To start, punch a circle from your book page. (I used a 2 1/2" circle punch.) 
2. Fold the circle in half, and then in half again, and then one more time (or more if you can manage it).
3. Use your sharpest scissors to cut little notches out of the edges of the folded circle.

4. Unfold, and voila, a lovely snowflake. Pretty soon, you'll have a little pile of them...

5. Then, just use your mists and glitter glue to give them sparkle and shine...

To add them to my page, I lined them up and sewed them down, cutting a few in half to let them float right off the page.

The papers and stickers on this layout are all from the Winter Wishes collection by Echo Park, except for the white woodgrain background which is from TPC Studios. I used my Kiwi Lane Designer Templates to create the vertical layered border (Chestnut Drive 1A and 2B). I also added a strip of icy blue polka dot washi tape as another border layer.

I love how this layout turned out. Those book page snowflakes are one of my most favorite things I've made so far this year (okay, it's on January, but still!). And these photos are precious to me -- we still have that sled and my boys are 10 years old! This was one of the first times they were out in the snow.

I hope I've inspired you to try using a frugal find on your crafty projects -- book pages can be made into almost anything, and they add such great texture to your projects. Be sure to head over to Practical Scrappers to see lots of other ways to use book pages...

Until next time,
Stay crafty!
Lissa :)

Sketch 'N Scrap Sketch #49 Layout

Today, I'm so excited to share my design team layout for Sketch #49 at Sketch 'N Scrap. Each month, they offer two layout sketches and two card sketches. And if you link up your creation, you'll be entered to win a great prize package. How fun is that?

I love the sketches from Sketch 'N Scrap, and this one is no exception.

And here's what I did with it...

I used the A Perfect Summer collection by Echo Park along with embellishments from Little Yellow Bicycle to create this layout. I love the bright, fun colors.

Be sure to play along with the sketch challenge this month (and every month!). If you link up your layout at Sketch 'N Scrap, you'll be entered to win a great prize giveaway!

Stay crafty,
Lissa :)

Bundled Up With Love for Miss Kate Cuttables

I'm super excited to say that my first very first feature for Miss Kate Cuttables is up on her new blog today! Here's a little sneak peek... 

It's a very fun winter layout using my January kit plus these awesome cut file sets from Miss Kate:

Assorted Snowflake Set

Bundled Up With Love

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

Stay crafty!
Lissa :)