It's a Crate Kind of Day!

Mondays are definitely my least favorite day of the week. And the Monday after Thanksgiving is especially hard, given that I've had a wonderful five day mini-vacation. But, I get to share something fun today, so that makes this Monday a little better than usual.

Remember I mentioned that I'd been working on something that I couldn't share yet? Well, today is the day I get to share. I'm the Guest Designer on the Crate Paper Blog! I was so excited when Christine emailed me and invited me to do it. As you know I love all things Crate, so getting to play with all of their goodies was such a treat.

I made several projects, but I thought I'd share this one first, since it is my favorite. I decided to combine two current trends, hexagons and chevrons. And I came up with this:



First, I used my new favorite punch and punched several zig zag strips from Random papers.



Next, I adhered them in a row and made a border about 3 inches wide.



Using a hexagon pattern, I cut out three hexagons from the zig zag border. I decided to mount them on black cardstock to make the colors pop. Then I stitched the edges for added texture.



Since I wanted the hexagons to be the focus of the page, I placed them right in the center. I added some chipboard pieces and placed my photo in a round chipboard frame.





It was definitely a fun page to make. And that fact that it's of my friend Heather and me on a recent camping trip (such a fun time), makes it all the more special.

So, I'd love for you to pop over to the Crate Blog and see the rest of my creations!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my US friends and family! I love this day. I'm so blessed and thankful for the many things in my life that make it so rich and full. Spending the day today with my family, eating wonderful foods and laughing and memory making is truly what this holiday is all about. I recently saw this quote on Pinterest and thought it was perfect for today: "Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of Thanksgiving." (WT Purkiser)

I've been having so much fun participating in My Scrapbook Nook's Card Sharks contest. Here are the cards I made for this week's challenges.

This first one uses Webster's Western Romance and Wonderfall papers. I thought it was perfect for today. The challenge was to incorporate nature and woodgrain. I used some Crate Random paper (aqua) that has a woodgrain pattern on it and the bouquet is the nature part.



I wanted some die cut leaves, so I broke out my Cricut and cut them. It's been ages since I used it and I'm so glad I did! I'll be using it more often for sure. I added a berry bouquet, a flower whimsy and a Papertrey stamp.



The next challenge was to use a Bingo card or grid pattern. I decided to make a grid of my own.



I used Crate Peppermint on here. I punched the snowflakes and added lots of little bits and baubles of chipboard.



Finally, my third card is for the 'Royalty Challenge'. We had to use a crown in our design.



I used My My Mind's Eye papers, Tattered Angels chipboard, Prima flower and Melissa Frances brooch gem. I love the colors in this line!



So that's it for today. Off to watch the parade and prep my appetizers for dinner. :)
Thanks so much for stopping by! I'm truly thankful for your visits and comments. Have a blessed Thanksgiving!!

Black Friday at Webster's Pages

I'm so excited! A few weeks back, Brandin asked me to create a layout and card using a kit she is selling on Black Friday. The kit is amazing. It's called 'It's a Sweet Season'. The kits will be going on sale at midnight on Thursday night. There are a very limited number and I'm sure they will be going fast! When you order the kit, not only will you get $65 worth of gorgeous goodies, but you will get directions to mke my layout and card.

Here's the layout:




And here's my card:




Sweet Season is one of my favorite Webster's lines of all time. And the embellishments that are included in the kit are so gorgeous. Here's a photo of everything you'll get:



After making my projects I still have a TON of leftovers.

There is a gorgeous second kit with directions for a beautiful mini-album by Laura McCullogh. You can see it at the Webster's Blog along with all of the information about ordering, etc.

You definitely won't want to miss out on this deal. Happy Shopping!

Webster's Christmas

How did it get to be Sunday so quickly??? Another week just FLEW by. Again, I apologize for not having anything to post lately. I've actually just finished working on something fun that I'll be able to share with you next Friday. So excited...

Anyway, I do have a couple of Christmas cards for you today. One simple and one detailed. This first one uses Webster's Winter Fairy Tale line. I just love the soft colors.



To create the flower, I used some Webster's trim. I added some adhesive to the edge of the trim.



Then, I gathered it up and added a sparkler to the center. I topped it with a punched snowflake.



My next card is a simpler one. I just adore the doors from the Botanical Christmas line. I cut one out and added it to an embossed panel.

Then, I used the Dazzle Me gems to decorate the wreath on the door and topped this with a punched snowflake, as well.




That's it for today. Be sure to stop by later in the week. I have a couple of fun announcements!~Anabelle♥

I'm Still Here....

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted! As I mentioned in my last post, Ryan had been really sick. Well, after two visits, one sinus infection and an antibiotic, we ended up back at the doctor's on Friday. Turns out the little guy had pneumonia! Once we got the right antibiotic, he was a new man. He headed back to school today.
Ryan wasn't the only sick one in the house. Our computer had a virus! So it was in the shop for several days. It's all healthy now and I'm ready to post again.

As I mentioned before, My Scrapbook Nook is having a contest. I participated in three challenges this week. These cards are the cards I made for it.

First is this one that I made using lots of Webster's goodies. I used the Sweet Season line that was from last year. I've always loved this line!




This next card uses the November Nook kit. It's filled with Echo Park's new line.
The doily is Maya Road.




This next card uses lots of October Afternoon. We had to create a card with the number 1 in it somewhere.




So, that's it for today. Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!

Another Envelope Card

Happy Tuesday! Things have been a bit crazy around here. Ryan came home with a fever last Wednesday evening. Well, he was out of school Thursday and Friday, sick all weekend and out again yesterday. He's been spiking a fever of 102/103 and has been coughing a lot. We were at the doctor over the weekend and they said it was a virus, but we went back again yesterday and she thinks it's turned into a sinus infection. Ugh. We're on antibiotics, so I'm hoping this will knock it out of him. (Please say a little prayer that it does...) I'd say 'Poor Little Guy', but he's actually been quite content. He loves the fact that he's been able to stay home and play for all of this time. Any reason to miss school works for him!

Anyway, onto scrappy stuff. I recreated the card in the post below. I decided to use Webster's Pages Botanical Christmas for this one. I really love the concept of the fancy envelope and card.

Here is the envelope:



And here's it is along with the little card that fits inside:




There's a tutorial for this card on the Webster's Pages Blog today, along with two more Christmas cards that I made. Stop over!

I also wanted to share this page with you. I was inspired by Webster's Guest Designer Stephanie Garbett.



I took this picture of my beach bag this summer as I was lounging on the beach in Sea Isle, NJ. I actually was all alone! Fran had taken Ryan to the arcade and I got to dig my toes in the sand and read People magazine. It was a little slice of heaven. So I decided to do a page about it.





I did a lot of handcutting and layering. And I mixed things up a bit by using the Trensetter, Let's Celebrate and Country Estate lines.

So, that's it for now. Thanks for stopping by today. Have great day! ~Anabelle

More My Mind's Eye

I have another project using MME Lost and Found 2~Sunshine. Over at My Scrapbook Nook they are having a contest, so I created this card for it. We had to create a card and envelope, making the envelope the star. I used my Coluzle envelope template to make it and added lots of goodies. The flowers are Prima and all of the paper is MME.

Here's the set:


I used PTI's Fillable Frames 4 for the sentiment. The card is for my sweet friend, Amanda for her birthday.

Here's a close up of the envelope.




I loved working on this challenge and I think I'm going to create a couple of more card sets based on this one!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend. ~Anabelle

A Blog Hop and A Card

Happy Day After Halloween! Hope you had as much fun as we did. We always have the neighbors over for pizza and then we all walk around with the kids. It's so exciting to see their eyes light up at all of the decor and at the costumed kids they see walking down the street. Halloween is a big deal in our neck of the woods.

I have a card to share with you today. This one uses some awesome American Crafts goodies from the Peachy Keen Fellow line. I made it for Emma's last week. Aren't those flowers fun?




I love Thickers and these might be my new favorite!

I also wanted to share about My Scrapbook Nook's blog hop. There are lots of great prizes and tons of inspiration! Check out the thread HERE to find out how you can play along. You may have to sign up on the message board, but it's totally worth it!

That's it for today. More soon! Thanks for stopping by!