Triple the FUN- A Card, A Layout, A Giveaway!

I am lucky enough to know some amazing creative women and men in real life and online. One of the women I met last year through Mary Kay recently became a consultant for Silhouette. SOOO excited for her. Her designs are super cute. I don't own a Silhouette just yet but now after getting to play with some of the fun things it can do it's definitely on my short list for Christmas. After speaking with Emilee she was so nice and offered to send me some samples to play with. So excited to get these goodies in the mail. 

Before I share my creations I wanted to let Emilee tell you a little about herself and what drew her to the Silhouette.  

I fell in love with the Silhouette Cameo last Thanksgiving when my mother was online Christmas shopping for my sister. We had both spoken about how much we would like a Cricut for our fun arts and crafts projects and her scrapbooking hobby. After stumbling across a couple blogs that featured the Silhouette Cameo as a customizable die-cutting machine, we knew this was probably the device for which we had been looking. It had software that not only worked on a Mac computer, but we could pick and choose which designs to purchase (versus spending $40 on a single cartridge for only one needed design). We LOVED the idea of having an iTunes-like store to purchase any and all designs needed for our projects!

My favorite feature of the Silhouette Cameo is the sketch tool. I love to draw and doodle, and it's so fun to watch the machine recreate all of my designs quickly and easily. It is an easy way to make all of my projects have the look and feel of being hand-crafted, yet all the work was done for me! I think the beauty of a hand-crafted design is in the details and the Silhouette Cameo does this perfectly.

I am also a neat freak... some call it OCD... I call it being an organizational diva! Either way, I have enjoyed finding new ways to use my Silhouette Cameo to organize my office and my craft room. I think one of my favorite designs I created for the Silhouette Online Store thus far is my "pocket folder" ( http://www.silhouetteonlinestore.com/v2/viewShape.aspx?id=33215 ). Using one 12 x 12 inch piece of paper, you can create a double pocket folder (with a business card slot!!) to fit a half letter size piece of paper. Think of all of the fun organizing you can do with your pretty patterned paper!!

I have loved using my Silhouette Cameo as much as I have LOVED designing for it and the crafters who use them. I have a passion for making things look beautiful, so thank you to all of you have purchased my designs or just took the time to share your inspiration with me. You are helping me make my dreams come true!

Anyone who is interested in checking out more items Emilee has designed you can check them out HERE

Here are some things I created this past weekend with this wonderful designs. They were so much fun to play with. Check out the end of this post to see how you can WIN them!!

I have to admit I had never seen any pieces made from the Silhouette before. I loved this craft card piece. There were doodled dots on it that I poked through to give it more dimension

   Then I used my Pan Pastels to share in different areas of the card followed by the edges. Love how it turned out and was perfect for a card front!

I just love how it turned out!! So quick and easy.

Hard to believe but it's been nearly 4 months since I have sat down and created a full layout. I'm not sure what's been into me. However when I saw these adorable pocket folders I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them. I wanted to show how versatile they really are. I had some thoughts of turning them into a mini journal- because how cute would that be? But then decided on using one on a layout. I couldn't be happier with how perfect the size was for this idea.  I did a layout about my oldest pup Kujo- She's 13 now and doesn't do too much but for 12 years has been a huge part of our family. I wanted to showcase memories from each person in the family without overpowering the layout. 

This is the original newspaper ad I responded to to adopt her. 

Here's the super fun part- the folder. I adhered the pictures and some strips of paper to the front. Then adhered the back of the folder to my layout. 

On the inside I inked up all of the edges and added some fun papers as well as journaling pieces for each family to write their favorite memories. These folders work just stinking wonderfully. I love how I can add more pictures or as much journaling as I like while conserving space on the layout. 

Thanks for looking at my creations and a HUGE thank you to Emilee for donating them to me. She was also generous enough to donate TONS of extras for me to giveaway on the BLOG. 

It's super easy to win. Even easier to up your odds of winning 1 of 2 packages!

1.   Simply head over to Emilee's Facebook page Emilime Designs and "Like" her page. Then leave a comment on her wall letting her know Craft Donkey sent you and which of the items below or items in her shop you'd just love to work with. HERE is the link to her Facebook page. Visit her shop HERE

2. Follow # 1 then for a 2nd entry into the drawing share this blog post on your own blog or on your Facebook page, then leave me a link in the comments section below. If your not on Facebook/or have a blog or already a follower, just let me know in a comment below and you'll be entered! 

Deadline for this grand giveaway is Wednesday, October 17th, 2012! 

Hmmm that's not all folks!! Since it's the month of one of the funnest Holidays of all time. I'll also be throwing in a surprise grab bag of items worth $20!!

One Very Messy Layout

I love tags. Of all sorts, kraft tags, shipping tags, tags of all colors and sizes. I just really adore them. I decided to play with some tags on a layout. I will say it's rare that I sit down and just make a tag. I'm not even sure why just never been a real tag maker.  

I began by laying all of the tags out and then applying some blue Pan Pastels to it. It really helped bring out the textures of the tags. I left a gap there in the center knowing there would be a picture centered there.

I used some gelattos on this as well just making streaks with them and then sprayed them with some water and dried them out. I then mixed up some paint with some Golden Light Molding Paste. I spread it here and there on the layout for no rhyme or reason. Just added some texture to it.

I then placed some 7-gypsies tissue tape around the layout. I also altered a chipboard clock and placed some hands on it.

Wet embossed a fun dress form and did some stamps and playing with paint and mist. Some bling and a tag and i have a very delightfully messy layout!

Layouts! LOTS OF THEM

Wine Layout

It's no secret for anyone that knows me that I adore a nice bottle of wine. However, I also have another weakness. Cheapo, fun labeled, fun named, bottles of wine. I'm not sure why but I'm drawn o a fun named bottle of wine. I know it's not goign to be the best on the shelf however I can't seem to help myself! This layout is a tribute to addiction. It showcases some of the fun wines I've picked up and then like any good crafter peeled the labels off. Not using them on this layout as well.... I'm sure there will be another page to use them on. Notice the one in the middle.. hee hee couldn't pass up a DONKEY wine. This was just a little 20 min layout, so nothing fancy. But I like that too sometimes.

I am posting some what in the tutorial style to show how I got where I did. As I know you all appreciate that.  Oh and i can't wait to share Thursday Tutorial with you all. It's pretty damn awesome if I do say so myself.



Some graph type paper from October Afternoon, then I added some pieces of masking tape and watered down gesso, to give it a white wash.



The layout in the works, planning and moving things around.

Some of the fun Hambly transparencies and then some fun paper rubbles. I debated on inking these up a a bit but decided on keep them clean. Imagine that!

Small tag I covered in masking tape and then white washed with gesso, love the texture it gives!

I gave the Tim Holtz flowers a squirt each of color and then propped up the layout, to allow for some fun not over the top dripage! Love dripage!

Added an oversized Daisy  D's rub-on I have had forever! I mean years! Love it though, love their rub-ons so frickin much because of all you can do with them.

Some more Hambly transparencies here. Just some white banners I cut out and added some Pink Paislee string to.



The finished product. Nice for a 20 min layout. Not my normal all inked up and distressed look and it was sorta refreshing.

I had some helpers in the craft room as I always do. My baby girl Knolla, she's about a year old and she follows me and watches me where ever I go. And of course my daughter was also in creating. This time learning to play with glitter and the crop a dile.



This is Knolla, Knolla HAtes and I mean hates to have her picture taken. This is always the face you get when you point a camera at her or she has to take a bath.

Desi (desiree) over the moon that I let her play/use the crop a dile and some glitters. She loves crafting!

Showing me a heart she was cutting out and giving the "i think I'm 16 when I'm only 6" smooch face.



Desi getting ready for bed but asked that I take a picture to show people how well she put on her lipstick before bed.. lmao She's got a little posing going on here too. New Helmar spokesperson.. hmmm maybe!



This & That

Sharing first a 15 minute layout. My point in showing you these is to show you a simple yet fun streamlined page. Nothing fancy yet still wonderful! Little clusters of embellishments and a bit of crackle and some simple stitching! Done!

Also, thought I would share a storage technique with everyone. I've shared this a few times with other crafty friends. I know many who love to store their thin dies in binders, but are often stuck with the hard fact of paying for expensive sleeves for the dies. I've created an easy solution for this. Created from simple 12x12 clear layout sleeves. All you need is a sewing machine. You can then make any size pockets you need. Here I've made long pockets to hold the long thin alpha or border dies. Just a simple stitch is all you need! You can even make pockets on top of one another with the simple cut across with a pair of scissors.

When in a crafting slump..

Have you ever had a feeling like you wanted to be being creative.... yet you had no motivation to actually do it. Or maybe you felt guilty. I'm often overwhelmed with the fact that I know I should be doing something else.. like laundry or cleaning or something of higher priority. So, then I sit guilty I don't want to do those "important" things and shouldn't be scraping. Then what happens is.... I do absolutely nothing at all trying to convience myself I am fine to scrap.

Does this happen to you? What do you do?

Lately I've been going on ahead and scrapping. Knowing that all the other things can wait an hour or two or even until the following morning. Crafting is my release. So, I have been tryin to make more of an effort to make sure I do it. I still feel a bit of guilt. But, I've learned instead of making a page I may do some work on a project or work on some little things. Like maybe create a new type of flowers or a new distress technique. Just something. Anything. I have found that keeping a folder on my computer of things I find that inspire me. They could be layouts I loved the colors of, or see somethign ont hem I want to try myself, or a project that inspired me or a tutorial. Then onthose nights when I want to do something but not really sure I have one of two options... just start playing with things until I make somethign I like or.. look through that folder. I find that to work super well to spark my creativity. What do you like to do when you need motivation?

I find I am not scrapbooking as many layouts, but when I do scrap the layouts cause I am really "feeling" it i love them so much more than making them because I feel like I should be doing and want to be doing something crafty but not sure what.

I mostly scrapbook in the evenings. I find it relaxing and well I have no other time. I scrap after the kids have gone to bed and a silence and peace falls over the house. When do you scrap? Why does that time work for you?

How do you balance the things that need to be done and the things you want to do?

Recent Creations

Here are some layouts and some cute little lace flowers.

Above are some flowers I made with some great lace. They are no sew flowers. That i created for a class I host once a month. Simple gathering and glueing onto a piece of paper then using some mists on them for a great variety of colors.

This pendant banner was super cute and already on the banner. i simple took a craft knife and cut around them and inked them a bit. Then added some string along the top to make it "appear" to be a handmade banner.