Tuesday, July 8, 2014

July Joyful Stars Blog Hop

Welcome to the Joyful Stars blog hop this sunny and hot month of July!  This month we have 18 people in the hop so grab a cold glass of iced tea and relax with us for a while.  

If you came here from Lori's blog you are on the right path.  If you want a complete list of bloggers visit Joyce's blog.

Boy do I have a lot to share with you today!  First,  I had the most amazing time in June with all my CTMH BFFs in Pennsylvania at our Hideaway House Retreat.  I got so many pages done I even surprised myself!  Of course we girls had some extra fun times too!  Nine girls in one house for three days with nothing to do but scrap; this was the best CTMH retreat ever!  During the retreat, I spent the whole time scrapping my Disney World vacation from a few weeks earlier.

My family and I love Disney.  It is such a happy, carefree place.  Every time we go we are pleasantly surprised with the new rides, places and sights to see. We all love the Magic Kingdom best so naturally most of my layouts are from there. But this year we also spent a day in Epcot as well which I am still scrapping.   Here are a few of my favorite layouts from the Magic Kingdom...

I have to give a shout out to my downline Laura for helping me learn and use the Cameo to cut out the bears and title on this layout.  I am a big fan of Merida and my most recent Facebook profile picture is definitely evidence of that!
My son loves Winnie the Pooh so taking him to the Crystal Palace for breakfast with the Hundred Acre Wood gang was a no-brainer!  I have to admit, I had fun too! 

My son also loves Buzz Lightyear as you can see from his Mickey Ears.  On this layout, I used one of our flip flaps to add an interactive element to my page (and hide my journaling too).  Did you know in the new CTMH Annual Inspirations Idea Book we will be unveiling a new size flip flap package? Yep! I am so excited! :)


The second selection of crafting I wanted to share with you today is from my Intermediate Level Copic class.  I had the opportunity to take this class with Cindy Lawrence.  She is so sweet and a very patient teacher, plus she colors the most beautiful images and makes the cutest cards ever! In this class I made a handful of new pieces to showcase shadowing and shading techniques and I earned  my Intermediate Level Copic Certification.  Here are two of my finished pieces:

Lilacs: our final exam.  Note the shadowing on the flowers and leaves and the highlights on the leaves from the sun. 

Beary Sweet Sleepover.  Note the light face of little girl bear because of the flashlight and also boy bear's shadow because he is more in the dark. 

My diploma!!!



The third thing I have to share with you today is a painting I did last week at the Art Plus Studio in New Haven.  Poppies are one of my favorite flowers and also very significant to me because of my late Grandpa Bernie.   I painted these poppies in remembrance of him and am so proud to have done a pretty decent job (I think!) on my first "real" painting.  I love you and miss you so much Poppy!

Me and my friend and Stella & Dot uplink, Gina, had a blast at Art Plus Studio painting poppies.
Poppies for Poppy.  My painting took about 2 hours to complete.  My next painting class is on the 19th.  I can't wait!


Lastly, I want to wish myself a Happy Anniversary! This month marks the 5th year I have been a consultant for CTMH.  I am blessed to be a part of this family and for how it has changed my life.  This is the charm CTMH sent to me to mark this happy milestone.  Love it!


Love my heart key charm. Adding it to my silver Stella & Dot chain and wearing it to all my scrapbooking crops.


This past month not only reinforced my love for paper crafting, coloring, painting and creating art but also expanded my desire to create even more memories to preserve forever in art!  I will be traveling to the Statue of Liberty this weekend and am already planning how to document this trip.  I hope you will check back next month to see!


To continue with the Blog hope please click here to visit my BFF Crystal's blog.  I know you will love what she has to show you!

Happy Crafting! :)

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Joyful Stars Blog Hop- June- Disney World Vacation

Welcome to the Joyful Stars blog hop for June!  If you have come here from Meg's blog you are hopping on the right track!

Between grading exams, calculating final grades for the semester, writing a lab book for my Biology course, taking a trip to Disney World, doing a Stella & Dot show and getting ready to spend four days scrapbooking with my CTMH BFFs in Pennsylvania, I have not had any time for paper crafting this past month.   I do however, have some awesome Disney pics to show you and I thought I would show you some of the layouts I have been admiring on Pinterest that I plan to use for Disney inspiration.  Here is a link to my Pinterest site if you want to see my whole Disney :) pinboard or any of my other boards.

My mom, sister,  son and I were so excited and lucky to spend a week chill-axin in the hot Florida sun!  We went to the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Epcot.   My son (and I think everyone in my family) like the Magic Kingdom the best.

Princess Merida and my Prince Joshua

Me, Josh, Mom and Lisa

Lisa, Mom, Josh and me at the Animal Kingdom

 So these are a couple layouts that I found on Pinterest and plan to scrap-lift :)


I love the uniform and structured look of this Project Life style layout.  Plus the creator used lots of pictures on one page without making the page look too crowded.  This layout was found on sweetshoppecommunity.com
I like the squares and the pattern paper mixed with the architecture photos from Epcot.  This layout reminds me that every page in my scrapbook does not have to have a person's picture in it.  This layout is from mousescrappers.com
This layout was also found on mouse scrappers.com  I was so excited to see the Electrical Parade at the Magic Kingdom and I have many of the same photos that are in this layout.  Plus I loved the way the creator used the sparkle letters and glitter paper to further accentuate the beautiful twinkling colored lights.

Well, I hope you have been inspired to create something fabulous for yourself based on many the ideas you find on Pinterest.  When you know you are dealing with a very popular theme it can be hard to decide what to do and where to begin, but by doing a little Pinterest research, you can get lots of great ideas in a very short amount of time and even organize them nicely all in one place!  Now that is a time saver for sure!

Check back next month to see my completed Disney layouts and my Disney scrapbook album for 2014!

Now hop on over to Joyce's blog  and see what she has created for you.  Thanks for stopping by and come by again soon!

Happy Crafting! :)

  

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Joyful Stars Blog Hop - May - Paper Flowers Shadow Box Frame

Welcome to the Joyful Stars Blog Hop for May!  The full list of participants in this hop is located on Joyce's blog.  If you are following the blog hop in order you are coming here from Janice's blog and you are on the right track!

This month is special to me.  It is my birthday on May 9th and also on Sunday is Mother's Day.  My mom and I are very close and I wanted to make her something she could display of the two of us.  I chose to make a 12x12 shadow box frame.  I used the exclusive CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge to cut the paper flowers.  I love making these flowers. I also love how easy they are to roll (especially with the quilling tool) and how intricate they look. Many people are intimidated by the complex appearance but really they are EASY! You need to try it!




I taught this shadow box frame as a class at Scrap-a-Way Retreats last weekend.  Everyone was impressed with how simple the flowers were and how pretty they are.  I hope Mo


I hope Mom likes it! Now I have to find the perfect picture to place inside.  Happy Mother's Day!!!



Now hop on over to Joyce's blog and see what creative project she has for you.





Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Joyful Stars Blog Hop - Skylark Mini Album using Artbooking Cricut Cartridge


Even though I have the flu right now, I wanted to still participate with the talented ladies in the Joyful Stars blog hop. This is a monthly hop started by my uplink Joyce Houck from Pennsylvania.  I first met Joyce at the Rubber Stamp and Scrapbook Expo in Hartford, CT in 2008.  I was introduced to Close To My Heart and my life has literally been changed.  Not only did I find the best scrapbooking products out there, but more importantly, I met many amazingly talented women that I am so happy and proud to call my friends.  

Close To My Heart changed the way I created and ultimately helped me to preserve my memories in a more beautiful, creative way with the best quality materials out there.  


There are 12 of us participating in the hop this month and the theme is Spring.  If you get lost or dizzy doing the "bunny hop" the full list of participants is located on Joyce's blog.  If you are following the blog in order you are coming here from Krista's blog and you are on the right track!  
One of my favorite new paper packets is Skylark. I love the earthy colors and patterned B&T papers.  As soon as I saw the beautiful bluebird and cage I knew I wanted to make a mini album.  This album is similar to the one taught at the Close To My Heart Convention last year.  I used the exclusive CTMH Artbooking Cricut cartridge to cut the pages and inserts.

I love mini albums. These smaller projects, with a specific theme or focus, can be finished in a short amount of time are so impressive.  Plus they are the perfect size to show off to your family and friends and even to use as a centerpiece on the holiday table.  I plan on putting my Easter pictures in my album and showing it off all spring! 












I am also teaching this album as a class and selling it as a kit at my next Scrap-a-Way event in Warwick, Rhode Island May 2nd-4th.  If you would like to preorder your kit please send me an email at stephanielovesscrapbooking@gmail.com. Pre-ordered kits include precut pages, papers and the embellishments shown.


To continue with the Joyful Stars blog hop you will be heading on over to Joyce's blog.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will leave a comment for me below and visit again soon!

Happy Crafting! :)


Saturday, March 15, 2014

March Stamp of the Month - Happy Place

The March Stamp of the Month - Happy Place is one of the cutest stamp sets!  I just love the little matryoshka dolls.  I love how happy and colorful they are and especially how they nest into one another just like a family.  As soon as I saw this stamp set I knew I had to use it for a layout with my mom and sister.  They are my best friends and I love them very much! :)

I stamped the saying "Like Mother Like Daughter" on the blue border strip and random stamped the dolls on the white daisy cardstock to create my own B&T paper.  After stamping the dolls separately I cut them out and colored them in with our beautiful alcohol markers and added some liquid glass to the hearts and flowers on their dress to make them shine.  I also stamped the heart stamp in black ink on black cardstock for a tone on tone effect.  Of course no layout IMO is complete without a little bling so had to add the sparkle black flourishes and gems.  This stamplace an order or you can order on my website too at www.stephaniebrown.ctmh.com

 


Of course no layout IMO is complete without a little bling so I had to add the sparkle black flourishes, different colored gems, and acrylic and fabric flowers from the Ivy Lane Assortment. 


The Happy Place stamp set is only $5 with a qualifying purchase of $50 from the current CTMH idea book.  Contact me at stephanielovesscrapbooking@gmail.com to place your order or you can order on my website at www.stephaniebrown.ctmh.com

My next crop will be with Scrap-a-way Retreats in Hyannis Massachusetts at the end of this month.  Hope to see you there! :)



Saturday, March 1, 2014

Wonderful World Layout - Balloon Ride Paper Packet

I am loving the colors and patterns in the new Balloon Ride paper packet. I used the pigment inks on the wooden shapes to give them color and life. I inked a fabric badge button to add to the center of the largest flower and used my CTMH alcohol markers to color and shade the flower on the stamped "You Make Life Wonderful" image.  I am teaching this layout at the Scrap-a-way in Mystic this month.  You can also order a kit as well. Contact me at stephanielovesscrapbooking@gmail.com for more info. 





Friday, February 21, 2014

Upcoming Events

Events for 2014:

CTMH - January 17-19 Scrap-a-way in Mystic, CT @ The Hilton

CTMH - January 25  Donna's Crop in Stratford, CT @ Sterling House

CTMH - January 31-February 2 Scrap-a-way in Warwick, RI @ The Radisson

CTMH - February 15 Donna's Crop in Stratford, CT @ Sterling House

CTMH - February 21-23 Scrap-a-way in Warwick, RI @ The Sheraton

CTMH - March 1 Fundraising Crop in Stratford, CT @ United Methodist Church

CTMH - March 14-16 Scrap-a-way in Mystic, CT @ The Hilton

CTMH - March 22 Donna's Crop in Stratford, CT @ Sterling House

CTMH - March 28-30 Scrap-a-way in Hyannis, MA @ Double Tree Hilton

CTMH -  April 2 Ladies' Night in West Haven, CT @ Lorenzo's

CTMH - April 11-13 Picture Perfect Weekend

CTMH - April 26 Donna's Crop in Stratford, CT @ Sterling House

CTMH - May 2-4 Scrap-a-way in Warwick, RI @ The Sheraton

CTMH - May 17 Donna's Crop in Stratford, CT @ Sterling House

CJS - Convention June 12-15 PA

CTMH - August 8-10 Scrap-a-way in Rocky Hill, Sheraton

CTMH - August 16 Donna's Crop in Stratford, CT @ Sterling House

CTMH - September 13 Donna's Crop in Stratford, CT @ Sterling House

CTMH - October 17-19 Picture Perfect Weekend

CTMH - October 25   Donna's Crop in Stratford, CT @ Sterling House

CTMH - November 7-9  Scrap-a-way in Mystic, CT @ The Hilton

CTMH - November 15 Donna's Crop in Stratford, CT @ Sterling House

CTMH - December 6 Donna's Crop in Stratford, CT @ Sterling House


Saturday, February 1, 2014

CASINO layout class Artiste Cartridge


Created specifically for those attending Scrap-a-Way Retreats crop in Warwick, RI this weekend.  Since the crop has a casino theme this layout would be perfect to scrap pics from the fun (and hopefully lucky) weekend! :)  I used the CTMH Artiste Cricut cartridge to cut the card shapes and even some glitter paper to give the poker chips and black shapes some sparkle. 


Thursday, January 16, 2014

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Upcoming Events 2014

Happy New Year!!! 


I am SO excited to announce my events for 2014: 


CTMH - January 17-19 Scrap-a-way in Mystic, CT @ The Hilton

CTMH - January 25  Donna's Crop in Stratford, CT @ Sterling House

CTMH - January 31-February 2 Scrap-a-way in Warwick, RI @ The Radisson

CTMH - February 15 Donna's Crop in Stratford, CT @ Sterling House

CTMH - February 21-23 Scrap-a-way in Warwick, RI @ The Sheraton

CTMH - March 1 Fundraising Crop in Stratford, CT @ United Methodist Church

CTMH - March 14-16 Scrap-a-way in Mystic, CT @ The Hilton

CTMH - March 22 Donna's Crop in Stratford, CT @ Sterling House

CTMH -  April 2 Ladies' Night in West Haven, CT @ Lorenzo's

CTMH - April 11-13 Picture Perfect Weekend

CTMH - April 26 Donna's Crop in Stratford, CT @ Sterling House

CTMH - May 2-4 Scrap-a-way in Warwick, RI @ The Sheraton

CTMH - May 17 Donna's Crop in Stratford, CT @ Sterling House

CJS - Convention June 12-15 PA

CTMH - August 8-10 Scrap-a-way in Rocky Hill, Sheraton

CTMH - August 16 Donna's Crop in Stratford, CT @ Sterling House

CTMH - September 13 Donna's Crop in Stratford, CT @ Sterling House

CTMH - October 17-19 Picture Perfect Weekend

CTMH - October 25   Donna's Crop in Stratford, CT @ Sterling House

CTMH - November 7-9  Scrap-a-way in Mystic, CT @ The Hilton

CTMH - November 15 Donna's Crop in Stratford, CT @ Sterling House

CTMH - December 6 Donna's Crop in Stratford, CT @ Sterling House



For more information or to register for any of the fun and fabulous Scrap-a-Way Deluxe Weekend All-Inclusive Crops please visit http://www.scrap-a-way.com/default.html  or https://www.facebook.com/Scrapaway.NewEngland





For more information or to register for any of Donna's crops you can email dkelly@sterlinghousecc.org 



Check back soon for more updates, class projects and photos!!!