Friday, September 4, 2026

TGIF; Thankful Friday #429

The weather has really cooled down this week which feels like fall is coming early. That's great but it's not what I'm thankful for this week.

This week I'm thankful for channeling my grandma Weatherby. I baked her bread recipe and made a pot of beans with a ham bone. Both were so good!



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

Thursday, September 3, 2026

Jump 4 Joy Junk Journal Spread


What a fun junk journal spread that didn't start that way. A little background on this piece...in July, I led a painting event with our local CSEA Chapter that was for both adults and kids. Of course, my DIL and two older granddaughters attended. After that, my 6-year-old granddaughter was so excited about watching me lead the class that she wanted to paint another frog when we were home.


I've been recycling our brown paper grocery bags and packing materials as paint canvases when we paint at home so that's where they started. Once my pink frog was complete, I thought what am I going to do with this now?



Easy answer...my junk journal! So this video shows how I added it to the journal and how I added more marks and a title to it. I talk about how to paint the frog so watch to the end for that quick tutorial. I love how it covers two pages that have to be opened to reveal the entire frog. It just JUMPS out at you!


I hope you enjoy it! As always, thanks for watching. 


Oh, and a question??? What do you do with your clogged ink sprays? I'm thinking I can soak the nozzle in hot water. What do you think? Have you tried this before?

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

LTCCB; First Birthday Baseball Card


It's time again for another six week challenge at Love To Craft Challenge Blog (LTCCB). This is a great challenge for all things crafty! You can link your project for the challenge by going to the LTCCB website.

My project for the current challenge is this super cute first birthday baseball card. I found this project on Cricut Design Space and followed the design exactly except I added an inside layer.



If you want to make one too, here's my DS link.

Don't forget to link your crafty project, any crafty project, to the LTCCB website before the end of the six weeks. We'd love to see your project!


Monday, August 31, 2026

Strut Year V Title Page; SID Challenge


There are no pictures on this layout. Whoa. Have you ever created a layout without a picture? Since this is a title page for year five of my family's annual virtual marathon, I've actually made a few.


I used a sketch from Stick It Down for it. I loved the hexagons and thought it would be great to add more interest to it. Stick It Down drops three sketches a month - one page, two page layout sketches and a card sketch. You can find them on Facebook HERE.


Watch the video for the process.


I used a variety of pink, black and white papers and my Cricut for the hexagons. I also used my Cricut to make my own embellishment stickers. I'll be posting a video soon showing how I did this.




Friday, August 28, 2026

TGIF; Thankful Friday #428

 

Happy Thankful Friday! We had a little different week this week. DS3 and DIL took a quick trip out of state and we had the girls for a couple of night/days. And that is what I'm thankful for this week. 

It was a lot, I'm not going to lie, but I'm thankful that we are able to do this for them. The fact that we are not only close in distance but in relationship too. Not many people have this type of relationship with their grown children and we are so blessed that we do.

What are you thankful for this week? Let me know in the comments!

Thursday, August 27, 2026

Stamping in Scrapbooking? Yes, Please


I'm so glad I kept this Covid scrapbook collection from CTMH because the backsides are fabulous. I love themed collections because this is usually the case when papers are double sided.

I wasn't looking for a specific color scheme since the book jackets are all sorts of colors so this colorful collection also worked for that reason!

I also had a blast stamping all the embellishments for this layout for my daughter and my Summer Reading Marathon photos & memories.


Close up of the main embellishment cluster:


Check out the process video I just posted on YouTube. 


Sketch is from Scrapbooking the Day Away which is an all things scrapbooking website. There's two types of memberships. One is free and the other is paid. Go check it out if you're looking for a scrapbooking community, challenges, inspiration, tutorials, tips and tricks!

Tuesday, August 25, 2026

Travel Treasures Haul; Junk Journal Goodies


I just got back from a trip to Portland and gathered so many goodies for my junk journal. 


My latest YouTube video goes through my haul and a little bit of Portland trip details. Sure, I'm rambling but that’s what I do! Hahaha 😆 


Be sure to watch because there are lots of goodies and I have some tips when gathering your trip junk journal treasures!







Friday, August 21, 2026

School Layout; Echo Park Stickers


This is page two of a back-to-school double spread that I made earlier. It is very similar which is perfect for a coordinated look.

When Echo Park had a warehouse sale, I really stocked up on their sticker sheets. I figured I have plenty of paper in my stash that would coordinate without buying complete kits/collections. Guess what?  I do!!


I love how this layout and the coordinating one turned out. You can watch the process video for the left side HERE .

Now check out the process YouTube video for the layout above (and the left side of this two page spread)!





TGIF; Thankful Friday #427

Happy TGIF and Happy Thankful Friday! This week I'm thankful for time spent with my family. I know, I know...isn't that all the time? Yes and no.  Earlier this week, my son who lives in So. California was here with his girlfriend. 

They just returned from a trip and shared lots of photos and some exciting news. We had four days and three nights of full family fun which included one new restaurant, two birthdays, and three unicorn drinks.




It was a great long weekend and great family time!

What are you thankful for this week? Please share in the comments!

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Paper Dolls with Julie Nutting; JS


I used to love playing with paper dolls when I was a little girl and I'm not sure if I ever outgrew it. These Julie Nutting stamps are so fun to play with and this time I decided to use them for paper dolls.

After stamping the doll and a couple of outfits, I decided to use clear packing tape to "laminate" each of them. I did this by placing each figure on the sticky side of the tape and then sandwiched it with another piece of tape. 


I burnished and trimmed each piece before adding a piece of magnet to it.


Be sure to watch the YouTube process video. 


And if you're looking for budget friendly craft supplies (aren't we all??), check out the Jenlee Schoolcraft website. You'll find new and gently used items. Use my first name, Dorlene for 10% off your order. 

Monday, August 17, 2026

50th Anniversary Flip Card

One of the nicest things about Cricut Design Space is that there are so many great projects that are on there. I searched for a 50th anniversary card and found one I wanted to make.  The card was created by Theresa Donnelly originally but I made some changes.



Perfect. I cut all the elements and then couldn't for the life of me figure out how to fold it. It took quite some time to figure it out but eventually I did.


This is why I decided to film it. If you decide to make one, see below for the DS file and watch the YouTube process video to help you!




Friday, August 14, 2026

TGIF; Thankful Friday #426

Friday! Nice to see you again! This week has been very lowkey since everyone is back to school/work. Hubby and I haven’t been doing much but watching new series and movies. I've been spending a lot of time in the Command Center as well. And house cleaning.

This week I'm thankful for all that. Just a really peaceful week. 

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

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Rainbow Crush YT Hop; Coral


It's time for another Rainbow Crush YouTube Hop hosted by Tara of The Paper Snob. For August, the color is...coral!

Here's my layout 


And my video:

All the details:
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#scrapbooking #scrapbooklayouts #rainbowcrushhop #scrapbookprocessvideo

Welcome to Rainbow Crush – a Social Media hop where we share projects that feature a color of the rainbow each month! This hop is hosted by Tara on her Facebook Group.  This hop takes place on the  2nd Wednesday of the month!  The color for August is to use coral on your layout or card.  You are only required to use 75%.  

You can sign for the next month’s hop over on the The Paper Snob Community Facebook group: 

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

INSTAGRAM:

Tina:  https://www.instagram.com/tinamcmmvr/

Laurie:  https://www.instagram.com/scrapbookingbits/

Sheri: https://www.instagram.com/sheriluvs2scrap22/ 

Kathy:  https://www.instagram.com/kacarr61 

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

Simera:  https://www.instagram.com/scrappysimi/

Tammy:  https://www.instagram.com/handcrafterhaven/

Here is the YOUTUBE PLAYLIST for this hop! All the videos in one place!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVzGN8g-gUUc


Friday, August 7, 2026

TGIF; Thankful Friday #425

Happy Thankful Friday! This week I'm thankful for Back to School activities. Yup, it's that time and this year even Jhené starts school.

The two younger ones and I participated in Chalk the Walk at both of their schools. Along with other parents, students and members of our fire and sheriff offices, we drew happy pictures and positive sayings at the school openings and sidewalks. It was over 100 degrees but it was fun.

Grades this year:  11th, 1st, and preschool 



Thursday, August 6, 2026

Going Old School; Cutting Out Photos


Remember that pretty much all we did was cut around the people in photos? Me too! And I haven't done that in years! Well there's a first for everything.

I love, love, love how this layout turned out. It's like what's old is new, but edgier!


What do you think?


Deadpool embellishment is print then cut from the Cricut.
Papers and acrylic pieces are from Close To My Heart

Tuesday, August 4, 2026

My Sweet Prima Products; JS


I received the most beautiful items in my Design Team shipment from Jenlee Schoolcraft for the month of August. I received the following items:

My Sweet Paper Pad and Prima Flowers by Prima Marketing along with a beautiful roll of ribbon from American Crafts called Ruban Premium.

As soon as I saw the paper, I knew I need to create a card that focused on the patterned paper. I found one.

It's called a divided card and this is how you make it for a standard A2 card:

The card base is 4.25x11 scored at 5.5

You'll cut two 4x5.25 pieces of patterned papers or cardstock and then cut one of them as below:


The second one without any cutting/scoring will be adhered to the card base first and then place the top and bottom cuts to the card.

This was an easy card to make as long as you cut correctly. I took an easy way out with the embellishments by sticking to the paper to create a tag.

Jenlee Schoolcraft is a budget friendly craft supply company that has both new and gently used items for sale in their webstore. The variety of items vary but you can certainly fill a shopping cart and not spend a fortune. And to help with that, use code, Dorlene for an additional 10% off your entire order!

Friday, July 31, 2026

TGIF; Thankful Friday #424

TGIF and Happy Thankful Friday! This week I'm thankful for Mother/Daughter trips. We're actually on one right now!

Whoever said these trips were good for your soul, we're 100% right!

If you're interested in seeing photos, check out my IG account @3sons_and_astar

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Splatter D Canvas


Last month I took my niece and nephew to a splatter room and we made really cool canvases with our initial.

We'll, I decided to dress mine up a little. Honestly, I'm not sure if it was an improvement but it was fun doing some doodles and I enjoyed the process. 

I filmed a little different video today. Just a peek into my set up prior to actually filming. I hope you enjoy it and remember...if you don't like it, change it!

Because this is how it ended up!