Twine Crazy!

Left ring: Twinery twine   Right ring: SU, Boxer, Pink Paislee-House of Three twine

I must admit, the twine craze has hit me, and, over the past few months, I've gone a little "twine crazy"!  I love the look on my cards and layouts, and twine is SO versatile, you can use it almost anywhere!  Through the March Shop Hop, Expos, and just browsing, I have come up with quite an assortment of twine.  I also recently ordered the "sampler" from The Twinery (www.thetwinery.com), and split it with a friend. 
My biggest concern with the twine, was how to organize and store it, so that it could be used efficiently.  I got out my embroidery floss, and found some of my flat bobbins and started winding!  I quickly ran out, and had to run to my local JoAnn's Fabric, where I discovered they had a package of 28 bobbins with a 2 1/2" metal ring.  PERFECT!  I could hang the assortment from on of the old shower hooks I have on my metal shelving!  I bought a package for just under $2, and finished my organization!  Now my twine is all accessible and visible so that I can coordinate with any project!  Anyone need some twine?  Lol!  ~Hoppy Crafting!

Prep

Today my husband is having surgery, and I remember how incredibly BORED and UNDER PREPARED I was the last time he had a surgery......Sooooo, I spent a few hours preparing some scrapbook/card projects to work on during the wait.  Hopefully you all saw the Advent Calendar from The Scrap Yard Chicks that I posted a few days ago.  I also bought another kit from them, in preparation of the upcoming surgery. 
I did all the cutting and laid all the pieces out that go with each page. (Using separate plastic bags for each set of pages with their embellishments.)  I made a list of tools and inks I would need, and it is all neatly packed in my rolling tote, hospital bound.  (Hope I didn't forget anything!)  I also ended up prepping 16 cards. Yes, 16!  I made sure all the pieces were cut for each card, then slipped them inside of the card base, and into each envelope.  Voila!  Instant project in a package!  I even remembered to add an extra roll of ATG adhesive....I think I may need it! 
Here's to hoping all that prep didn't go to waste (and, of course, that the surgery goes well!)!  I guess we'll see if I actually have the time to work on things....I know my mother-in-law will be there too.  I warned her I was bringing projects.  ~Hoppy Crafting

Birdie "Hi"

Here's another card, using the Basic Grey "Sweet Threads" collection.  This one uses two layers of coordinating paper, rounded on the edges, along with a diamond cardstock accent.  I love the chipboard bird!  ~Hoppy Crafting!

Tree Thank You

I am really loving the Basic Grey "Sweet Threads" collection!  The paper is so versatile, and a wonderful "blank" canvas to create on.  Here's a tree thank you card created with cardstock elements and rub-ons.  Hope you like it!  ~Hoppy Crafting!

Christmas in July

A few weeks ago, at the Scrapbook Expo, I visited The Scrap Yard Chicks (www.scrapyardchicks.com), and found a Christmas Advent Calendar Kit.  I'm normally not much of a kit person, but over the past couple of years, I have bought several kits from these gals.  They are awesome!  They usually come with all of the pieces needed to create your project (minus glue, ink, other basic tools, etc.), and very detailed instructions with color photos.  During the previous years' expo, they were selling an advent calendar, and I kicked myself for not getting to their booth sooner (because I was sold out!), so the Chicks were one of the first booths I visited to get the best selection. 

Well, I finally got some time (and motivation) to start working on the calendar.  The calendar was actually very easy, just time consuming with all of the little pieces (which I enjoy).  I started by sorting all the pieces into each quadrant of the cookie sheet for each day, just to make sure I had everything, then started with the ones I thought looked the easiest. :o)  Yes, there are fabulous instructions, but I totally winged it with most of them and just glanced at what they should look like. 
Now, I'm done with all 25 days of Christmas.  All the glittering is finished.  The dimensional glaze for the snow globe is dry.  All magnets are on.  I just need to finish adhering the title, and I'm home free.  Pretty cool, eh?   ~Hoppy Crafting! 

A little Bird Told Me...

This card is from the  We R  Memory Keepers Retro Glam line.  I used a rub-on that says: "A little bird told me it's someone's...", then finished "birthday" off with chipboard letters.  I added a chipboard bird, some bling, and pink borders, and this card is finished!  ~Hoppy Crafting!

Great Friends

This is a We R Memory Keepers card, made from the Retro Glam line. I love the mixture of chipboard and cardstock flower elements to give dimension.   I also love the sentiment, which is a rub-on: "Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget."  ~Hoppy Crafting!

Birthday Girl!

At the end of June, we were invited to a dog birthday party, YES, a DOG BIRTHDAY PARTY!  Our friends' dog, Faith, was turning 9.  So, we attended Faith's birthday, with our dogs in tow, and had a great time!  I finally just printed the photos and scrapped the event.  I used so me Denami Designs paper, a bubble border punch, and the new Stampin' Up Pennant punch.  The ink is SU Melon Mambo, and the twine is from Soiree. ~Hoppy Crafting!

Prima Flowers

When I say "Prima", do you imagine gorgeous dimensional flowers, leaves, branches, etc.?  That's what I usually think of!  This year at the Scrapbook Expo, there were some different Prima flowers to choose from.  Yes, you could still get their other vast, gorgeous selection, but these new ones are still dimensional, but made with plastic/acrylic.  I just HAD to get a *few* of them! ~Hoppy Crafting!

Some Pig!

The minute I saw the new Stampin' Up Catalog, I knew I just HAD to get the new stamp set "Button Buddies"!  There are cute images that coordinate with different sizes and shapes of buttons.  There's a snail, pumpkin, snowman, baby rattle, flower, cherries, a vase with flowers, and, the MOST ADORABLE little piggie, ever! 
To make this card, I used a pink card base (folding on the left), and layered a wide brown strip of paper with pink and white twine wrapped on it to make a bow.  I used two different sizes of Spellbinders to create the scalloped circles.  The larger is cut on Kraft, and the smaller cut on white cardstock.  I stamped the pig in Melon Mambo, and also faux-stitched both circles with a coordinating marker.  I finished off the pig with blue eyes, and a button snout, and popped the pig circle off of the kraft one with dimensionals.  ~Hoppy Crafting!