Planter Boxes Updo; Cricut Stencil Vinyl Review

Y'all know I love a good updo and these certainly fit the bill. Hubby made these wooden planter boxes for me and of course I had to jazz them up! 

When adding colors to my projects, I seem to always gear towards our favorite sports teams which is great for color but I didn't want to continue the theme with team logos or obvious sports icons.

Since I planned on stenciling some sort of phrase and using the Cricut Stencil Vinyl I purchased, I went through Design Space for garden phrases and there were a lot. I saw the "Rooting for ya" phrase and it was a light bulb moment! Yes, roots = plants, but it also can be root as in "Root, root, root for the home team". Yes, perfect for the orange & black planter box. 

Check out the YouTube video to see how I was inspired for the second planter box and how I created the stencils in order to add the phrases to them. 

What's my opinion of Cricut Stencil Vinyl? PASS I'll give it another try with a different surface, but I will not use it again for a wood project. It did not stick AT ALL to it. I have plenty left on my roll so I will try on a canvas or possibly paper, we'll see. Either way, I'll let you know.

One of the main reasons for dressing up these wooden planters is because who knows if whatever I decide to plant will grow. I always say I have a brown thumb and cannot grow anything, but this year has really changed. I'm channeling my son since he always had a green thumb. It's very exciting to see flowers bloom, veggies produce and everything in between. And if for some reason they don't, I don't have to worry because these boxes add color to our backyard either way!  Win-Win

If Instagram is your thing, be sure to follow me there since I post more photos and updates.  My account name is @3sons_and_astar.

TGIF; Thankful Friday #287

TGIF and Happy Thankful Friday! I did the math and can you believe this TGIF; Thankful Friday series has been going on for FIVE and a HALF years?

Nuts...

So, what am I thankful for this week? I'm thankful for dreams. I'm talking about the night dream that you wake up remembering and it gives you all the feels. I had a great dream about my son and it was so real that it made me happy but also made me cry. 

I'm so thankful for them.

What are you thankful for this week? Leave a comment below or follow me on my IG account @3sons_and_astar. I do a Thankful Friday post there as well.

Base Pages

Have you ever created base pages? Do you know what base pages are? I created base pages before I even knew it was even a thing! I created a bunch of them when making both of my sons' wedding albums.

A base page is basically compiling the background of a layout to use at a later time - in other words creating a foundation. When I made them for the weddings, I already knew the color scheme and obviously the theme of the album so when the wedding was over and after I printed photos, the first step was already completed.

I'm creating another wedding album - this time for my nephew - and knew I needed to create base pages now to help with the completion and save time.

Check out this YouTube video explaining the Base Page Concept and super warp speed video clips of putting them together.

I love this color combination and the more I work with this paper pad, the more I love it. There are some that look a little Halloweenish, but once the photos & embellishments are added, it'll change completely. I can't wait!!

Make It From Your Heart page guide is from Close To My Heart
Paper Pad and Album are from Hobby Lobby

Card; Stick It Down Card Sketch

Ok, I have to be honest. When I first saw the September card sketch from Stick It Down, I thought, blah. But then I took a second look and all kinds of creative ideas came to me. I love how simple the sketch is and really makes way for a CAS card or one that is filled with a totally cool background.

Which way will I go?

Here's the sketch:

And here's my card with plenty of scraps to create another one (or two).

I think I did a little bit of both. Kept it CAS but also created a totally cool background! The heart shaped sentiment stamp really made a difference with this card.  

And I created an ombre look using alcohol markers on the word, love.

Check out the YouTube process video to see how this card was created.

Super simple and what a great way to use scraps!

Patterned Papers are from xxx paper pad.

Sentiment stamp is from Close To My Heart

 

Paper Bag Album Flip Through

There's not much to this post except the link to the YouTube video which will flip through the paper bag album I finally finished of DS1's wedding in 2019.

I already made their 12x12 scrapbook album shortly after the wedding but for some reason it took four years to finish my mini album. If you want to see the large album flip through, click HERE. This album has lots of flips, flaps, QR codes, etc. to add interactive elements.

I had a lot of fun creating this mini album. You can see in the video all the flips, flaps and pockets this album has since it had to contain so many photos. I didn't do a lot of journaling but I plan on typing something and tucking it into the pocket on the last pull out element.

This was certainly an adventure since the wedding was in Acapulco but overall it was a beautiful wedding and it was a lot of fun celebrating the couple. Ahhh...the memories.

Check it out!

TGIF; Thankful Friday #286

TGIF and happy thankful Friday! This week, I am so thankful for my friend Vicky. She started as a coworker but now is one of my dearest friends. You know the person who is there for you all the time. The one who treats you to a homemade lunch and sends you home with a doggie bag of homemade cookies and brownies! You don't? Well, that's my friend Vicky.

We ate, we laughed, and we definitely cried. I enjoy every encounter with her and I'm so thankful and grateful for my friend.

Gosh, I love this woman!

Santa Money Holder; Printable Cuttable Creatables

There are only 97 days until Christmas. Have you started your Christmas craftinging?  I’m sharing a Christmas project on the PCC Blog that you can definitely start now. I used the D111 Santa Face Money Holder cut file to create these super cute money holders that will be used as ornaments on our tree.

Giving the gift of cash is great for any recipient and why not give it in a super cute and festive way?!

Once you upload the image and before you cut it, be sure to attach the money slits to the beard by using the Attach feature. This is the only prep you need to do with the exception of gathering your papers.

I had fun selecting an assortment of skin tone papers and Santa hat colors to make a bunch of these money holders. Don't you LOVE them?!

Since I decided that I am going to hang these on the Christmas Tree for each of my adult kids, I punched a hole on the top, handwrote names added a bead & jingle bell to twine and tied it through the hole. I also went back and outlined the white pieces with a blue grey alcohol marker, outlined the cap with a fine point black pen and some white highlights on the cheeks!

What fun!

I created a YouTube Short when putting these together. Be sure to like and hit the subscribe button so you don't miss out on any of my videos. I post at least two a week. One will always be scrapbooking and the other will be whatever it is I'm creating in the Command Center.

Sketch n Scrap Card Sketch #250

I loved the gingham in the sketch so much I decided to use that as a jumping point when making this card. Check out the YouTube process video to see more, but I love this inside popup/accordion fun fold that really makes this card special.

Here's the sketch from Sketch n Scrap:

And here's my card:

What did I do?

The inside accordion fold is measured at 5.25x10”; scored at 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8”. Fold into an accordion and then adhered to the inside of the card.

Since the front of the card is a beach theme, I decided to go with shells in the inside and another Happy Birthday sentiment or at least a Let’s Party sentiment!

Process Video:

Products Used:

Lawn Fawn 6x6 Plaids & Stripes Paper Pad

Stamp from Stampin' Up!

All other papers are from my scrap pile

Floral Gift Card Holder; CutCardStock Project

Hello fellow paper lovers! I have made a very colorful and beautiful gift card holder to showcase the variety of colors available on the CutCardStock website. Check below for all the colors used on this beautiful card.

The cut file is from Printable Cuttable Creatables and super easy to put together. After cutting all the pieces and before adhering it all together. I always stack the layers together before adding adhesive. Believe me, this is a great tip especially when using solid cardstock since there really isn't a front/back side.

I added some accents with a white pen & clear glitter marker. It’s hard to photograph, but I swear it’s there! You’ll notice I also tied a piece of twine around it as well. All these small details really make a big impact!

The sentiment is not included in the cut file, but by adding one, the card can be used for any occasion.

CutCardStock Papers Used:

Orange Fizz, Banana Split, Yellow Jacket, Limeade, Bay Leaf, Blue Raspberry, Grapesicle, Grape Jelly, Razzleberry, Jet Stream, Carnation Pink, Cougar Smooth White

It's like putting a puzzle together and this is a great project to use scraps! This gift card is featured on the CutCardStock Blog as well as other fabulous paper projects. Go check it out!

Other Products Used:

Nuvo Liquid Glue

Clear Glitter Marker by CTMH

White Pen

Twine from my stash

TGIF; Thankful Friday #285

TGIF and Happy Thankful Friday!

This week has flown by which that information in general is enough to be thankful, but this week I'm thankful for NFL Kick Off! 

We're a sports loving family and I never get tired of football. We decided to dedicate this season to my son so all of us took a shot before kickoff of the Niner game. This means, we took a shot before 10:00 in the morning. Eeek! I guess it was 5:00 somewhere.

Go Niners!

Iron Crafter Challenge YT Hop

Join a fun group of crafty peeps each month as we take on the Iron Crafter Challenge! Each month Anna from @piececraftlove or Tara from @thepapersnob selects a challenge ingredient to use on a layout. This hop goes live on the THIRD FRIDAY of the month to show how we use the challenge ingredient(s) for the month.

The mystery challenge ingredient for September is STICKERS (NOT alphas or phrases).  I'm excited to see what the other participants create. I am so happy with how mine turned out!

Here is a playlist with ALL the videos of the participants:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCfSqErOPJopVos6U0VCtrYG3Op0e2mzk

If you want to learn about the mystery item and play along, come over to the Piece Craft Love Facebook group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/piececraftloveclubhouse

I've seen layout where there are lots of stickers placed by color on the layout and I just love them! I decided I was finally going to create a layout using that same idea. I found this sketch by Sarah Scraps and thought it would be perfect for this hop. 

I cut four 2.5x11 strips of cardstock; Cut two 4.25” squares for photo mats and then went through my stickers. I wanted school to be the focus since I plan to put my granddaughters’ school photos here so I started with those stickers.

I love how fun and bright this layout is and even though I used A LOT of stickers, I still have lots more! Who knew?

Be sure to watch my process video and hop along to all the other participants!

Here is a list of the folks playing along, please check out their Instagram or YouTube channels to subscribe and leave a comment!

YouTube:

Tara https://www.youtube.com/@thepapersnob

Mel  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPpFnqXsUhqoVpYyEyHrwcg

Kristen https://youtube.com/@scrappingonthefly1217

Christine https://youtube.com/@ScrappingHarden

Nikki https://www.youtube.com/@nikkisscrapbookingadventures

Dorlene https://youtube.com/@dorlenedurham?si=H1U13Zg6luL-er3q HEY, that's me!

Lynda https://www.youtube.com/@thescrapbookingphotographe3607

Karen https://www.youtube.com/@alittlekinder

Instagram:

Brandi Jo: https://instagram.com/scrappy.boymama

Simera https://instagram.com/scrappysimi

Tina www.instagram.com/tinamcmmvr

Leslie www.instagram.com/lcsmithsaved

DawnLyn www.instagram.com/dawnlynsdesigns

Angie instagram.com/ellerang

Sketch n Scrap Layout Sketch #281

I pretty much followed this sketch to the "T". Even down to the star embellishments. The nice thing about sketches is that you can use them as an inspiration, do what I did or anything in between. They are a great way to start a layout especially if you are experiencing creative block.

I'm using sketch #281 from Sketch n Scrap. Be sure to join their challenges either on the blog or the FaceBook page. They post two card sketches and two layout sketches per month.

Here's the sketch:

And here's what I did with it:

I ended up using this same sketch and creating a two page layout spread by flipping the star embellishments to the right side. It's so easy to create a two pager using a one page sketch when the sketch is as fabulous as this one! I got 16 photos on this two page spread!

The yellow patterned paper is cut to 8.5x10.5" and the strips were left over from a previous made layout; approximately 1x12" and 0.5x12". I scattered stars on the left side of the layout and added a water bottle cut for some fun. The stars were cut with my Cricut with the exception of the polka dot stars. I found them in my stash. The round journaling spot was sitting to the side of my desk and I just drew lines across it. As you can tell, my lines are a little bit wonky! Hahaha, but I love it!

Most photos were printed at my local Walgreens using a 4x6 collage print. When you add more than two photos to the collage, they adjust to different small sized photos. I have so many photos of this virtual marathon, I knew I wanted them small and in assorted sizes.

Products Used:

Patterned Paper from Stampin' Up!

Cardstock from CutCardStock.com

Dina Wakely Gloss Spray in White

Title, stars and other paper embellishments were cut using my Cricut

 

Anna Griffin Flower Cards II

I'm having a lot of fun with these 3D Anna Griffin flowers I was recently gifted and mixed media collage papers. Check out my first post HERE with two cards that I created earlier and here's another one that I recently created.

See how I put it together by watching the YouTube process video:

I love the funkiness of these cards. It'll be interesting to see if they sell or if people stick to a more traditional look like the iris card above. I'll keep you posted!

You can see this quick video to see how the card on the right was created.

So fun, right? By the way, I'm definitely going to create more of the black writing on white tissue paper. So simple but oh so pretty!

Mix It Up Monday YT Hop

It's time again for a Mix It Up Monday YouTube/IG Hop! We're using this sketch from Scrapbooking Top 50 Australia Blog and lots of mixed media for this hop. Be sure to follow along by looking in the information box on each YouTubers' video or check the Playlist for this Hop HERE.

Sketch:

My Layout:

My video:

Products Used:

White Gesso

Mister Huey’s Heirloom Blue

Dina Wakely White Mixed Media Spray 

Tim Holtz Small Talk Stickers

Wild Whisper Winter Sports

Elements 1 Mixed Media Stamps

Heidi Swapp Sports Rub Ons

Welcome to Mix It Up Monday – a Social Media hop where we share projects that MIX IT UP!

This hop is a collaboration between Anna from Piece Craft Love and Kimberly from  @IdRatherBeScrapbooking but anyone is welcome to play along. We post the inspiration sketch on the last Monday of the month on Facebook and then the Hop takes place on the 2nd Monday of the month!

You can sign for the next month’s hop over on the Piece Craft Love Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/piececraftloveclubhouse/

Here are the hoppers for this month's Mix It Up Monday: 

Kimberly from https://www.youtube.com/@IdRatherBeScrapbooking

Kristen from @scrappingonthefly1217  

Lynda from https://youtu.be/i0YzO8L9uq4

Christine from https://youtu.be/ea9o0yvxCLI

Tara from @thepapersnob 

Karen from @alittlekinder

Nikki from @NikkisScrapbookingAdventures

Mel from https://youtube.com/@MelWScrapping

Shannon from https://youtu.be/6t4Ex8Cw8Sc

Dorlene from https://youtube.com/@dorlenedurham

Briana from https://www.youtube.com/@lovemylifeonpaper/featured

Instagram:

Brandi Jo https://instagram.com/scrappy.boymama

Tina https://instagram.com/tinamcmmvr

Simera https://instagram.com/scrappysimi/

DawnLyn - www.instagram.com/dawnlynsdesigns

I'd Rather Be Reading; Printable Cuttable Creatables

I'm back sharing another project made using a SVG from Printable Cuttable Creatables website. The theme this month is reading or books - which is combining my two favorite hobbies. Crafting & Reading!

When I saw the T261 Rather Be Reading image, I knew I had to have it as I am someone who would almost always rather be reading!  I’m going to make stickers using the Print then Cut option in Cricut Design Space.

I uploaded the image into Cricut Design Space by clicking the New Project button on the top right and then clicking on the Upload option on the left.

Besides the cuteness, the one thing I love about the images from Printable Cuttable Creatables is that they come with and without the offset. If you look closely, you can see the difference.

I have decided to use the image with the offset so I will Ungroup the images, select the bottom image and then select the trash can icon on the top right to remove it.

I’m not worried about trashing the image here since this step only affects the current project, not the saved file in my Cricut Design Space images.

Since I am using this image to create stickers, I now need to click on the Flatten icon on the bottom right. This changes the image to a print file and the Cricut cuts it as one complete image around the edge.  This is why I like to have an offset.  If there’s an issue with an unclean cut, the cut will affect the offset versus the image itself.

 To get as many of these stickers as I can to fill my sticker sheet, I changed the image width size to 2.25.  (As long as the image is locked, once I tab over, the image height will automatically adjust.) Then duplicate the image 10 times to get a total of 11 stickers on one sheet.

Once you click on Make It, two mats will appear (see the left side of the photo below).  Click on the second mat and one by one select each image so it can be moved to the first mat.  To do this, click on the three dots and Move object.  Select the first mat and then move the image to an open area on the sheet.  Continue for all three images.

 

Once that is complete, select Continue.  You will be prompted to Send to Printer and once it prints, place the printed sticker sheet on your mat and cut. (Be sure to select the correct material type when cutting your stickers.)  Here they are, printed & cut around the images.

I plan on putting a sticker in random books at my local library. Wait, let me clarify. I plan on keeping these stickers WITH THE BACKING SHEET still on before placing them in random books at my local library.  LOL  That almost sounded a little destructive! 

Because of this, I used regular scissors to cut them apart so they are an individual sticker versus a sticker sheet.

See how easily they come off the backing sheet?

I’ll keep one for myself and the remaining 10 will be placed in the books.  I hope these stickers brighten someone’s day!