Hop, Hop, Hop Along the ScrapbookSteals April Blog Hop

Welcome to the ScrapbookSteals blog hop!  If you are coming here from Michelle’s blog, you found the right place!  If you are just starting, be sure to check out the official starting blog post here.  One lucky person leaving a comment on one of the 8 blog posts for this hop will receive a $20 gift certificate to ScrapbookSteals!!!!

First let me share a little about the pad I got to work with.  I got the My Mind’s Eye Miss Caroline HowdyDoody 6x6 pad.  Honestly, on a computer, this didn't look like a line I would love.  I am not a huge flower person, and (gasp) the distressed wood is something I haven’t found a love for (yet – there is still time for me).  But I really do love most of the b sides of this line.  The greens, reds, and yellows are fun to work with.  They are the right medium between bright and muted.  And the flowers are definitely growing on me.  I did WAY more fussy cutting of flowers than I ever thought I would.  There are also a bunch of fun “striped” papers in this line that I truly do adore.   So, definitely give this line a chance!  6x6 pads are a great way to try out lines without investing a ton of money too!

When I saw the blog hop list, I got a little worried.  I felt like the weak link in the blog hop for sure!  And I know the other ladies are better scrapbookers than me, so I needed to do something unique – not just a scrapbook page or a couple of cards.  So, my wheels got turning.  First I thought about doing a wall decoration with a quote on it.  But, I didn’t know how I would work the product into that.  Then I thought about teaching my daughter.  My oldest will be starting kindergarten soon, and I know that the calendar concepts are something we need to work on.  So, I got the idea of making a sign of some sort where we could change the months, days of the week, and digits out.  I had an idea of what it would look like, but then I thought about the actual creation of it.  I didn’t want to be cutting wood, so my first idea went out the window.  Then I thought about the Boulder Innovations magnet boards I stole many moons ago.  I still had two left that I hadn’t touched.  I opened up my Silhouette software and got to figuring out a way to make that work.  I decided how big the letters and numbers needed to be so that they fit well on the magnet part of the board.  Then I got to cutting, gluing, and mod-podge-ing  my hands – I mean pieces.  Before too long, I had all of the pieces together.  Then I got to decorating the base.  I decided to go with the distressed look of the papers and just tare strips of paper.  I mod podges those to the base, and covered them with another layer just to get them good an adhered.  After that was all dry, I stuck the metal plate on.  Then it was on to decorating the bottom of the plate.  I decided to fussy cut some of the flowers out to use as a border.  Since cutting enough to cover the full 7 inches of metal seemed daunting, I decided to put some green paper in the middle, with a grass sort of look.  That saved my hands for sure!

 

 

 

And since I had a ton of paper left, I made a couple of cards using the wonderful sketches from Monday Card Madness.  I always get great card ideas from the Monday posts on the ScrapbookSteals blog.

MCM #78

MCM #67

MCM #74

MCM #68

MCM #79

Since I still had a TON of paper left, I thought I needed to create something more.  I saw a corner bookmark on a blog recently, so I decided to use the wonderful world of Google (and YouTube) to figure out how to make them.  Once I got started, I had a hard time stopping!  Here are five that I made using the MME Miss Caroline Howdy Doody papers.

 

 

 

 

 

Even after all of that, I still had a bunch pieces left, so I decided to do a layout.  I used one of Kristy Lee’s awesome sketches (what would I do without the scrapbooking ideas I get from the ScrapbookSteal’s blog?).  

When I got all of that done, I thought I was finished.  But, then I saw the sneak peaks of the other projects for this hop.  So, I decided to put together one last item.  I made a mini album in the shape of tags.  The tags are two inches wide (so pretty small), and the book includes the eight Fruits of the Spirit.  Hopefully when I need to refocus after my kids have frustrated me, this little album will help me.  Each page is designed after another wonderful MCM sketch too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

And even with all of these projects, I still have 10 of the 24 sheets left untouched!

Now, before you move on to Kerys’ blog, I have a giveaway of my own to announce!  I have some “extra” goodies that I would love to go to a good home.  Some I bought from ScrapbookSteals and just ended up with too many pieces.  Some I got in swap boxes or as giveaway prizes that I just don’t seem to use.  So, I thought they should go to a good home.  To enter, follow my blog and comment about any of my projects seen in this post.  On random blog follower that comments on this post will win these goodies!

Here is the blog hop order in case you get lost along the way:

ScrapbookSteals: http://scrapbooksteals.stealnetwork.com/wp.

Misty Buck: http://www.mistylynnwhat.blogspot.com/

Michelle Philippi: http://michellephilippi.com/

Stephanie U: http://sucw.blogspot.com/  <--- You're HERE!

Kerys Sharrock:http://scrappinnhappy.blogspot.com/

Jennifer McDermott: http://wonkywares.blogspot.com/

Emily Lanham: http://createserendipity.blogspot.com/

Brenda Smith: http://theimperfectscrapper.blogspot.com/