Nat'l Strawberry Day Watercolor Card

Happy National Strawberry Day. I swear there's a national holiday for just about anything but hey, it gives me excused to make theme specific cards!

I created this card by adding red watercolor paint on a thick piece of white cardstock. Then, I created my own patterned paper by stamping two different strawberry stamps and some paint splatter around it.

Once that was dried, I heat embossed a sentiment on patterned vellum and adhered this panel to the patterned paper using four white brads.

Hello! This card has so much going on. Watercoloring, embossing, stamping, vellum and brads.

Check out the process video on my YouTube channel and follow the Instagram Hop starting on my IG account, @3sons_and_astar

TGIF; Thankful Friday #402

TGIF and Happy Thankful Friday! I'm back in Arizona this week which makes me thankful for not only the great sunny weather but also sister time. 

Now that we're spread all over the U.S., I know I need to take advantage of this time when it comes. Even when the crazy is present (it's mostly me), it's still good to be with them.

What about you? What are you thankful for this week?

Designer Deep Dive Challenge Layout & YT Hop

Join a fun group of creators each month as we take on the Designer Deep Dive Hop! Each month Tara from @thepapersnob will select a designer or manufacturer to use on a layout. There will be some alternatives for some of the designers just in case you don’t have this designer or manufacturer in your stash.   You are not required to use 100% of this designer!  

This hop goes live on the FOURTH SATURDAY of the month. We will have a hop on YouTube and Instagram to show how we each used the designer for the month. 

The designer/manufacturer of the month is: Creative Memories, Stampin’ Up, or Close To My Heart. If you don’t have any of those, use an old kit club that you have hanging around. 

This is my first time participating in this hop but since I was at a scrapbooking retreat, I felt I had plenty of opportunity to complete it!

Here's my layout:

Close Up:

And the deets:

The collection I used was called Free To Be Me. It was an anniversary collection from CTMH years ago. I actually have two sets of this collection because I loved it so much. It also means that I still have a lot of it left over. That's ok. I feel like these colors and the patterns can go with pretty much everything.

Be sure to Hop along to the different videos, leave some comments and hopefully be inspired by the designers. The YouTube playlist link is below:

playlist

And my video:

Nat'l Margarita Day; Stick it Down Sketch

I love the sketch by Stick It Down for February and loved how it worked turned on its side for this two photo layout.

As you can probably guess, I was determined to use all these festive stickers from this collection sheet that I've had for many years. I bought it on clearance for $.79. How could I resist?

Here's the sketch:

And my layout:

The top two images are a photo printed at 2x2 square and a margarita sticker from a completely different sticker set.

Stick It Down posts three sketches each month. A card sketch, two page and a single page sketch.

You can follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Making a Junk Journal with Aiyana

Have you ever wanted to make a junk journal? Well, I just made one with my niece and remembered to film it. There are some portions that didn't get filmed, but I still think this is a good one to follow along with if you're interested in making your own.

She piled 10 pieces of paper on top of each other and then folded them to create our signatures.  At that point, I used a sewing machine to keep them attached. Basically sewed right down the fold.

Luckily we found some upholstery thread to use to bind them into the cover. The cover was a box that held a frame. It was the perfect size thickness. 

I used a piece of scrap cardboard to create a template to drill the holes. You can see this on the video.

You can always ask questions too!

Check out the journal that Aiyana and I created with limited supplies. (I was at my sisters' and used items from her sewing room!)

TGIF; Thankful Friday #401

 

Hi there and happy Friday. It's another week to be thankful. I was reminded that I skipped a week and guess what, I almost forgot another one.

This week I'm thankful for being home and enjoying our new furniture. We bought a new couch, love seat and recliner. But the thing I'm mostly thankful for is that our whole family fills them up. We've been watching the Olympics and it's been nice rooting for the young athletes as they compete for medals.

What about you? What are you thankful for this week? Leave me a comment!

Docraft Cut and Emboss Hop; Jenlee Schoolcraft

I'm participating in a YouTube hop featuring Docrafts Cut and Embossed folders from Jenlee Schoolcraft website. Be sure to follow the hop, comment and complete the form (link below) for a chance to win $50 gift certificate to the Jenlee Schoolcraft website! 

Here's my card:

What I did: it took me a little bit to figure out the Sizzix sandwich but it was definitely worth it! This image is gorgeous! I decided to keep it plain and really add the colors to the air balloon. 

And of course the wow factor of the shaker!

My video:

YouTube Hop Playlist:

After watching and commenting on the four videos, complete and submit this form:  https://forms.gle/DJjihhsvd5v42GMu5

The form must be completed and submitted by February 26, 2026 and winner will be announced on the 27th.

If you're interested in high quality new and used products at low prices, check out the Jenleeschoolcraft website and use my name, Dorlene, for 10% off!

https://www.jenleeschoolcraft.com

Patterned Paper: Clouds of Hope from Seguras Crafts