WooHoo ... Disney again! :)

For years, we've gone to Walt Disney World every other year, but the last time we went for a big trip was in 2006. It was an amazing trip, but instead of going back to the parks in 2008, we went on our first Disney Cruise and took our second in 2009. This year, though, we decided to go back to the World.... I've missed it!!!! :)

In 2008 and 2009, I created 'memory/autograph' books for Jaydin to use on the ship. She had so many comments about it and we enjoyed it so much that I created another one this year. Jaydin wanted me to change the style just a bit this year, so the spirals were moved to the top.





The Jaydin, WDW, and 2010 were cut using the Cricut and SCAL. The fantastic metal accents - Mickey and the castle - were in a couple of scrapping kits I found at Hobby Lobby. The colored accents on them are brads, and they hold the metal shapes in place. The characters dancing at the bottom of the page are part of the background paper. The 2010 is on pop dots, but I had to cut them very small to make them fit.


Because we often have to search for the Sharpie to use for autographs, I decided to secure the pen to the book. I used that fabulous Mickey ribbon, and I sewed it on the book spirals and on the pen. I can slide the pen off (with difficulty) in case it runs out of ink, but it won't slide off by accident, I don't believe. I used a little clear glue to make sure the ribbon doesn't unravel on both ends.




The inside of the front cover looks like this. The inside pages are decorated with stickers and chipboard Disney shapes. That saved me a lot of time. If I want to add stamps and such, I can do that when we get home.

I have particular pages dedicated to particular characters that we will see. We will have them sign one page and will put the picture of them with my daughter on the opposite page. :)








TO keep track of where certain characters' pages are in the book, I placed tabs on the ends of the pages. This will allow us to quickly access certain sections so that we can find the characters' pages more efficiently. You can see the Mickey and Friends tab in the picture above.




All of the tabs are shown here.
















We can't wait for our Disney trip and to be able to use our book. Once again, I know that Jaydin will enjoy using her book and will have a great memory book when we get home. :)



Have a great Thursday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow (I will hear that in person very soon!!!).


~*Shell*~

On the Wall .... Fantabulous Cricut Challenge

The challenge over at the Fantabulous Cricut site is to create something to hang on the wall. My recent project to redecorate my daughter's bathroom fits this challenge perfectly! :) I painted the bathroom, too


For my princess, Jaydin. I used the little diamonds cut out of the crown to be the jewels dancing lying around the area. I used the cut out letters in another area of the bathroom ....














The letters! :) Here, I used the letters, as well as some stars, butterflies, and flowers to decorate the north wall.















The 'castle' wall.

















This scene is above the mirror in the bathroom. I LOVE how this turned out. The doodle swirls were just big enough to accent the unicorns. The scene plays all the way across that wall. Perfect fit.












Materials - Oracle 631 vinyl (gold, purple, pink, black), Cricut, SCAL


Jaydin is thrilled with her 'new' bathroom, and I'm thrilled to have it done. You should try it! You can totally transform and personalize a room without a lot of cost or work. :)


Have an awesome Monday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!




~*Shell*~

Compute This ....

Whew. What a week. I'm sorry!!! I've not been great about updating this week. I've, honestly, not had much crafting time this week, either - and I hate that! Hopefully, next week will be a TOTALLY different story. :) I have much to accomplish next week.

Today, there was a challenge on SCS that was centered around our computer. I have no computer images or sentiments, but thought that, perhaps, I could USE my computer to create my project. Yeah .... 'cuz I never do that?! :) That's ok. This challenge just acknowledges what we all know is true .... I canNOT craft without my computer. :) I'm good with that, though. The computer adds a fantastic element to my crafting that I do not wish to replace. :)

This is my Jabez Prayer plaque. It was created on a paper-mache' plaque purchased at Michael's (I think) a LONG time ago.


I used 3 layers of my Shapelies to add the dimension to the shaped layers. Each one has been brushed, from the edge inward, with gold ink.


Small gold dots added a very classic element to the sides.












The flowers were made with twine, glue dots, and brads. They were very simple, but added a rustic feel to the plaque. I really like the way they turned out and the feel they gave the project. The brads do not go into any of the paper layers, but are, instead, wrapped around the twine in the center to pull it all together - after the twine was initially held with a glue dot.













The complete plaque. It hangs from the cord shown coming from the eyelets at the top. The prayer is placed on a gray layer, which was brushed with silver and black along the edges. The white layer was brushed with brown on the edges. Twine is added to the background to add interest and dimension.



Without my computer, I could not have created the shapes for this plaque.





Stamps - The Jabez Prayer (Clear Dollar Stamps)
Paper - Ripe Olive (Clear Dollar Stamps), Worn Parchment (Clear Dollar Stamps), gray, white
Ink - black, brown, white pigment, gold, silver
Accessories - Cricut, computer, SCAL, Shapelies, plaque, twine, brads, gold dots, pop dots




Sure hope I can get my rear in gear for next week!! I'm looking forward to it ... how about you?!


Have a beautiful night and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow.





~*Shell*~

Fun Technique Time

Today, I went on SCS looking for a fun challenge to tackle. I found one!! Splitcoast has challenges for every day of the week, and one of the ones for Mondays (yes, I'm well aware that it's Tuesday) is the Clean and Simple challenge (today is CAS87). That's one of my favorites. It's all about a clean and simple design, and this one was using the Faux Letterpress technique.

I chose, today, to use the Wedding Bells set. It's a set of 3, but I used only the main image on this one. I thought it would be perfect to use with the swirls folder for the faux letterpress tech.


I inked up the Cuttlebug folder and embossed the white sheet. I cut it down so that it would layer on the gray card-base background. The bells are colored with Copics and layered with the scalloped circles using pop dots on both layers.

The ribbon was used in lieu of other embellishments to keep the card simple. That ribbon is amazing, isn't it?? :) I love it. The sparkles are fantastic!!


Stamps - Wedding Bells by Clear Dollar Stamps
Paper - pink, gray, white
Ink - pink, memento black, Copics (C1, C3, C5, R81, R83)
Accessories - swirls folder, cuttlebug, pop dots, ribbon
Technique - Faux Letterpress





What challenges are you trying this week? I'm hoping to find a few more for some fun.

Hope you have a fantastic Tuesday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!! :)


~*Shell*~

Clearly Inspired Challenge #18 .... A Color Challenge!

The Clearly Inspired Challenge for today is a color challenge. It's been a while since we've had a color challenge on this one.

So, get out your Clear Dollar Stamps, and take on the challenge.

Color Challenge for October ... CIC #18

Shades of orange and black - with the option of shades of purple

Neutrals - white or cream

I absolutely love the Monster Mash set!! Is this little guy not adorable? This challenge inspired me to grab this set and stamp!












Coloring with Copics has become one of my favorite things to do. There are so many things you can do with them and so many textures you can emulate with the markers. I love the way this monster turned out - all furry looking. :) That blender pen is a blast.











Stamps - Monster Mash by Clear Dollar Stamps
Paper - Night Eclipse, Tangelo Smoothie, Grape Jelly, white (all by Clear Dollar Stamps)
Ink - Memento Black, Copics (BV11, BV13, C3, YR61)
Accessories - Cuttlebug and folder, crystal brads, ribbon, pop dots



There are some changes to the way this challenge will be done each month. The new requirements are as follows ....

• These challenges will occur the 1st Friday of the Month
• You have until the following 1st Friday of the next month to link your project using Mr. Linky (below)
• Challenges will vary each and every time
• Your work is important so there will be 3 Inspirational Cards/Projects chosen to be featured here.
• New requirement is to use CD stamps in your project. If you don't have any, we are offering a FREE DIGITAL DOWNLOAD.
• We will have a different FREEBIE each and every month.
• FIVE random winners will be chosen to win a $10.00 gift certificate good towards any Clear Dollar Stamp(s).
• If you upload to Splitcoast Stampers or another online gallery please use CIC18 as one of your keywords
• Multiple Entries are welcome.

Join us for the fun each month. Get CLEARLY inspired. :)



Have a fabulous Friday and a great, big, beautiful tomorrow!!




~*Shell*~