Valentine Wreath 2015

Today's post is a video project I did for SpiegelMomScraps Etsy Shop. If you like what you see on the video, you can use my coupon code: Charity10 for 10% off your supplies and make this project, or a version of it yourself. If you do use this project for inspiration I'd love for you to share it with me. I'm Scrapfaire on IG and you can use #IBScrapfaire and I'll see it easily! (that stands for inspired by scrapfaire)

These are the teaser pics I shared on IG, Facebook and Twitter:


The before:

I didn't hate this wreath, it was made as a Hanukkah decoration for the door in 2013 and I removed the Happy Hanukkah portion when the season was over, it worked.

I started seeing yarn wreaths on pinterest and have a pile of yarn I have collected (mostly from freecycle) and it needed to be used in a project. I LOVE these colors together.

After I went through my DT supplies I came out with these as possible decorations for my wreath.

This is a closeup of the focal area I LOVE how this turned out!!

And for the Process:

Videos and stuff!

I love making youtube videos, and I have some projects lined up to film that ARE NOT just haul videos (finally). It's been a bit tough lately as my phone which had become my primary camera just wasn't doing, it was actually deleting as fast as I filmed. Then it went into a coma for about 6 hours and that was the last straw. I got a new phone, but not in time to film my first Sparklers video... if you haven't caught it yet... here is what I got in my DT package! Don't forget to use the code Charity10 for your discount at SpiegalMomScraps.

I will be filming a project with these supplies this week and it will be up by Saturday... if not before. I can't wait for you to see what I have in mind!! OK I heart you all! 

I also got a fantastic project bag (a bag to keep all my knitting supplies for a special project together) and I started using it and I LOVE IT SO MUCH! It's from FRONT RANGE BAGS

January Pep Rally for Tailor Made!

Hello everyone, if you just came from Sandy at the Pink Camera, you are at the right place, and if you were just stopping by to visit me today:
Welcome to my version of the pep rally starring the January Kit from Clique Kits: Tailor Made: 

The only thing on my page that wasn't included in the kit are those chipboard Thickers from my private stash, I thought with an added freehand outlining of black pen they went perfectly with this kit, oh and a single piece of black cardstock to add a border around my layout. I love the faux stitching and watercoloryness (I'm saying this is a word) in this kit. It's really, really lovely and it brings to my attention one of the reasons I enjoy being in a kit club. These papers aren't something I would have just chosen for myself, I may have picked a couple of them, but it really stretches me out of my box to look at a group of supplies and think about how to use them together. I hadn't made a layout yet this year and there are some big memories I want to get on paper and in my scrapbook. This layout is a pic taken from a co-workers IG feed showing the surprise wedding shower they threw me at work after I eloped! I had no idea!!! And my favorite things on this layout are the doodly circle that I cut out of one of the 4x4 cards and that strip of gray and white hearts that was on the bottom of one of the 12x12 sheets of paper, I love those hearts!! This was the challenge for this month's pep rally: In the true spirit of Tailor Made, we want to see something sewn, stitched, embroidered, quilted, knitted, or crocheted on your project this month!  For extra credit, share some goals, hopes and dreams for the new year, or even your "word" of the year if you choose one.

So I kind of bombed the challenge, but I did use a paper that has those lovely faux stitched squares, and I got a special memory preserved, and that is why I scrapbook! Those Amy Tan stickers in the kit have to be one of my favorite things, so plan on seeing more of those really soon, I am trying hard not to hoard them! Don't miss out on the rest of the hop:

 (BTW there IS a GIVEAWAY!!!)

January Line-Up
Clique Kits https://cliquekits.wordpress.com/
Jody http://spiegelmomscraps.com/
Lacey http://laceybugcreations.blogspot.com/
Sarah M. http://sarahmoore4.blogspot.ca/
Bonita Rose http://www.bonitarose.com/?view=classic
Nicole M http://www.nicolemartel.blogspot.com/
Cari O. http://cariilup.blogspot.com/
Carolina S http://www.carolinaschulz.com/
Sandy http://www.thepinkcamera.com/
Charity http://www.scrapfaire.blogspot.com/
Kat http://kraftykat9.blogspot.com/
Kim http://kimsscrappyblog.blogspot.com/
Mariah http://www.fun2scrap.blogspot.com/
Alisha Www.alishabuggins.blogspot.com
Danielle http://picsandcheesecake.blogspot.nl/
Aliza http://peopleofthescrapbook.blogspot.com/

Spiegal Mom Scraps Shop DT Announcement Blog Hop

Welcome to the Spiegal Mom Scraps Shop DT Announcement Blog Hop! I can't tell you how excited I am to be a part of this awesome Design Team. You should have gotten here from the talented Louise Gannon-Forsyth, be sure and make all the stops, it's a short hop!
 If you've never been to the shop, you should run over right now to stock up on the stuff you NEED everyday, tags, doilies and SEQUINS in a rainbow of colors. That's not all she has, but you need to just run over and check it out for yourself.  You have to grab some of these doilies, because they are AMAZING... and you get enough that you can use some and have some tucked back for that "special project!" Those flat black sequins are my fav as well, they are just YUMMY!
I'm extra excited to be a part of the team, because my role in the team is VIDEOS! I have picked out some LOVELY things that have inspired me and I hope in turn that my projects inspire YOU!

Here is the hop lineup! Just in case you just stopped by to see what I've been up to, I have a LOT of THANK YOU cards to share with you next week, so if you need some card inspiration, I've got some lovely things ready for you (if you follow me on IG you have seen some sneaks of my progress on those.) I hope you have enjoyed today's inspiration, and y'all come back now, ya hear! I do take requests so if there is a video you wanna see, then you tell me and I'll see what I can do (my Alabama is trying to get out now, so I'm gonna stop rambling, I know you want to go make something after looking at all these projects!

Hop List:

Jody Spiegalhoff (SpiegalMom herself!)

Kat Benjamin

Louise Gannon-Forsyth

***Charity Donaldson*** You are here!

Happy Birthday! Using a Kit and NEW STAMPS!!... Anything goes challenge entry!

I hate when so many of my favorite companies come out with new things at the same time and I can't get them all, but sometimes I have to choose so I chose some new stamps recently. This set from Paper Smooches  looks like a FABULOUS all occasion set that is just READY to be stamped... so I got it and couldn't wait to use it. I pulled out my November and December Clique Kit and made a card:

AND I LOVE IT!! This is what comes out of wanting to make a shaker card and then not being able to find a piece of clear acrylic to make the window, you just keep going. Serously love how this turned out. That washi is fabric tape from Maya Road and the pearls were from my stash, those wooden sequins came out of another Clique Kit from 2014. I think this card is a breath of fresh air and couldn't be happier with it!

 I'm so happy with this card I'm going to enter it into this week's Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge! The Theme is  ANYTHING GOES:

Paper Smooches just had another exciting release, I still need to get more stamps from December, but those Space Dies are calling my name! 

All you need to do to play along is make a project using your favorite Paper Smooches Stamps and or Dies!

Unshared from 2014

I think this is the only layout that I have for some reason just not photographed that I made in 2014.  I went to a crop in October with all my Memphis peeps (and some MS PEEPS). It was SO MUCH FUN! I got to crop with ladies I have been sorely missing and not seen for 2 years! It was a great crop and I won a prize from the layout I'm sharing today. All the products on this layout were either from my goody bag, gotten from someone at the crop or purchased there LOL. The photo came from my awesome friend Pam who just handed it to me when I was bummed that I didn't bring a photo to work with in case of a layout contest. C'est Magnifique Kit Club sponsored the sketch layout contest. I couldn't believe I won, there were some AWESOME entries... I didn't think to photo them... but here was my layout:

I had white Thickers which I painted black and then borrowed some teal glitter glue from someone at the crop. There are actually two tags on the layout, the other is tucked behind the photo and can be retrieved by pulling on that button with the tulle in it were in our goody bags as was the paper, I bummed a sheet from someone because I needed one more... The tulle was given to me by someone at my table. The doilies, clothespin and buttons along with those big flowers and the frameswere purchased. I LOVE how this layout looks, the photo was from the GOOD OLD DAYS of cropping at Eclectica (it closed in 2012).  The crop pictured was to benefit the Ovarian Cancer Group. I love those ladies!!!

My PRIZE was this kit:

I've kind of been hoarding it for some special photos... and I think I need to break it out!! If you haven't heard of  C'est Magnifique Kit Club you should DEFINATELY check them out. They have AWESOME products and specialize in getting European papers and specialty items and REALLY have special stuff! LOVE their stuff! 

I want to make ALL the THINGS!

I really do, right now, but I've just been wandering the internet trying to find out how to do more things. Crafting is such an important outlet to me. It's an escape when things around me are out of my control, when I'm too upset to actually start doing a project, it's REAL BAD. I also craft when I'm happy, it makes me smile to make something I think is cute or beautiful, or to record special memories. I've decided I will send more cards this year, not just birthday cards, but cards in general. So people KNOW I'm thinking of them. 2015 looks to have a lot in store for me, some I'm ready for and some I'll just have to get ready for. Here is a card I've mailed out already:

I made it this summer, with the supplies in my Simon Says Stamp card kit from July. I don't currently subscribe to the kits, but it's something on my wish list. I love the stamps that come with the kits. I am loving so many stamps lately. 

I have these on order I can't wait to get them:

Being able to combine hobbies is the BEST!! And I feel like this set is going to get USED quite a bit!

The roses are designed for multi-step stamping and I can't wait to make some lovely things with it!!! I love Paper Smooches stamps already and this set looks like one of those perfect for so many occasions stamps!

AND I have decided at some point this year I want to learn to spin using a drop spindle. But that is another thing all together. I have started a pair of socks (well one sock) and I want to cast on my owl sweater that I bought the pattern for. I also have a heart sweater pattern that I want to knit but don't have yarn for yet. AND I want to start running again... how is that for wanting all of the things asap :)

Love you all, I will probably do a layout later today, I'm not home right now, but I want to do a layout with some goals on it for 2015 like I did for 2014. Here was my Goal layout for 2014 for your review:

I wanted to average 2 layouts per month, while I haven't actually made two layouts a month my average was GREAT I made a total of 47 layouts (I'm only counting 12x12 layouts, not 6x8 ones for some reason, I did count 12x12 pocket page layouts) so I totally blew that goal out of the water. I totally made more photo heavy layouts with pocket pages AND I learned to just let loose and write my stories out on my pages. I have uploaded more blog posts and have been participating in a few challenges here and there, especially on flickr. I have applied to several design teams this year, but have been limiting them to ONLY places I would be really passionate about joining, I have to LOVE the products they use because I would then be getting deadlines to create with them. I have made it a point to participate with the monthly Pep Rallys with Clique Kits because I LOVE the kits and I want to show my love and support to the company. They are FANTASTIC and I want to buy all the special kits they have been coming out with... and I have been trying to contain myself. 

As for the organization, I have a few things in place but it's been getting out of hand, I have purged several times this year and I'm about to do a big purge again because I'll be visiting family and I have some family who would love the things I'm not using... and hopefully they will use them. I have loved the support I've gotten this year online. It was FABULOUS to guest design at Clique Kits, I can't tell you how special it made me feel.

Thanks to all your support for my little blog, It means so much to me. I hope 2015 is a fantastic year for you... and I hope you get to make all the things.