Goodbye and Hello

I love the saying, "When one door closes, another opens." Well, that couldn't be any truer for me right now. After three wonderful years, I've made the tough decision not to reapply to Crate Paper's design team. I have loved working with Christine and the rest of the girls, but I felt that now was the time to move on. Here is the last project that I created for the blog. (Note, I didn't say my last CP project. I'll be making them for many years to come!)

I started this project off by painting an old thrift store frame white. Then, I pulled out some of my favorite Crate goodies and got to work. I did cut the deer from cardstock, painted it with Mod Podge and added the glitter.

I love the gold frame and wanted it to serve as the backdrop for the frame. I love the little buttons that came in the Open Book embellishment jar and added them to the top of the frame. 

I also knew I wanted to add one of the Open Book glittered bows, but the pink wasn't the right color for this project. So, I added the Mod Podge and glitter to this piece, too. Now it works perfectly!

Well, that's the closing door part of this post. Now, for the opening door part....

I was invited to be a part of Webster's Pages Planner Design team. I am over the moon excited! As you might know, I worked with WP for about 5 years, before leaving a couple of years ago. They have always been 'family' to me. The addition of the planner line to their products is just pure genius. I have been addicted to decorating my planners for over a year and being on this team will be such a fun way to share my addiction!

Thanks for stopping by today. Please visit again on January 1. I am going to be a part of the third Seasons Givings Blog Hop and have a huge giveaway. 

Have a great day!

Catching Up

I haven't posted cards in a while, so I thought I'd go ahead and share a couple that I've made recently.
This one used a lot of the new Maggie Holmes line from Crate paper.

 I added lots of layers, used some foam adhesive and twine and some cute resin hearts.

I cut the sentiment with a Little B die cut set that has become a new favorite. I got it here at Emma's Paperie.

This card uses some fun elements from Teresa Collins and My Mind's Eye. 

I love the bike!

Be sure to stop back on January 1. I am taking part of the big Season's of Giving Blog Hop and will have a fun giveaway that day. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Gossamer Blue Part 2

Usually, I save a project or two for the monthly Gossamer Blue blog hop. But, we are skipping it this month due to the fact that everyone is pretty busy. Additionally, many of us are working on our December Daily albums and will be sharing those pages. I'll be uploading my completed pages soon. Getting good photos when I work all day and am home only when it's dark, has been a challenge!

Here is the second spread I made using the December kits. I used lots of kraft on here. The Amy Tangerine tags are so cute. I added some die cuts because I loved them.

On this page, I used a clear photo frame on the bottom. I love the transparent polka dots surrounding the tag and photo.

I'm really enjoying using black and white photos on my PL. It makes the colors in the project really pop.

That's it for today. I will be back soon with completed December Memories pages. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Gossamer Blue December Projects

Just popping on to share one of my latest Gossamer Blue projects. The kits went live this week and are just wonderful. They have lots of Teresa Collins and Amy Tangerine product in them - perfect for Thanksgiving or for any other occasion.

On this spread, I decided to pull several of the aqua/mint cards. I also used the printables on here. This page was made solely with the Life's Pages Main kit.

I love the printables this month. I added them to both of the cards on here.

I used several of the Amy Tangerine puffy stickers on this page. And I tried something new. I broke out my Cuttlebug and embossed the bottom right card. Love the pola dot effect it gave it.

That's all for now. I'll be back soon with more GB projects. Thanks!

Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking Magazine Special Thanks! Blog Hop

Welcome to the Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking Magazine Special Thanks! Blog Hop. If you are hopping along, you probably arrived from Sarah Jay's blog.

It's a sad time in the scrapbooking and paper crafting industry.  Saying goodbye to Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking Magazine is yet another sign that things as we have known them are no more. I have to admit that when Paper Crafts and Creating Keepsakes merged and became digital, that was the beginning of the end for me. I have never liked digital publications. But, I've loved following the blogs, the editors Facebook feeds and news about the magazine.

As I prepared this post, I took a long walk down memory lane. My paper crafting days go back to 2004. Shortly after I started posting my work online, I was asked to join the Paper Salon design team. Most of the girls on the team were experienced at submitting and knew how the publishing game went. I knew I wanted in!

I started submitting, and it took a while, but I started having projects picked up with smaller publications. Sometime in 2005, I received my first email from Paper Crafts requesting a card for their Stamp It Cards issue. Here is that lovely creation. It's the hand doodled one on the right. (Can you say blech??? So glad my style has changed!))

About 6 months later, I received an email from Cath Edvalson asking me if I'd be interested in completing an assignment for the January 2007 issue. I almost fell out of my chair. I'd never had anything picked up for one of the regular issues, let alone had an assignment. I was so excited. I completed this journal (using Paper Salon products) and was thrilled when the issue came out. 

After that, I began working closely with Cath and the other editors. I have such fond memories of collaborating with Jennafer Martin, Meghan Hoeppner, Jennifer Schaerer, Brandy Jesperson and Susan Opel, among others. 

I went on to be published regularly until 2012 or so when life got in the way and I stopped submitting. During that time, I had projects on 3 covers. It was such an exciting time and receiving acceptance emails NEVER got old. My heart always skipped a beat when I received them. 

As I reflect on the memories that I have of Paper Crafts (the publications, the assignments, working on special issues - remember Paper Craft Gourmet?, CHA, etc.), I'm so sad that it's all over. But, the memories will always remain. I can only imagine how sad it is for the editors! So, I created this little tag as a reminder for them.

That Webster's Pages sticker says it all. I wish them nothing but the best and hope that their future efforts bring them happiness and satisfaction.They are a wonderful group of women and I have no doubt that they will be a big success no matter where they end up.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  If you are following along the blog hop, your next stop will be Michelle Boyer. 

Gossamer blue December Memories Blog Hop

Hi! And welcome to the Gossamer Blue December Memories Blog Hop. You are certainly in for a treat, as the design team has been working really hard to create with the gorgeous December Memories kit.

I have gotten started with my cover and base pages. I'm still not sure how I will organize it. I might do random memories throughout the month or do a photo a day prompt. I think I will see what kinds of things we end up doing. 

Here is the cover of my album. I decided to keep it simple with the bold stripes. I added the silver bookplate from my stash.

Here is my intro page. I love doilies, sequins, glitter, vellum and lots of light and airiness in my album. There's a little bit of all of that on this page. :) It's hard to see the different layers that are peeking through when you photograph it. But, I left lots of spaces to do that.

I decided to cut some stars, stitch them and layer them right onto my page. I love the texture and dimension this brings.

Here you can see the sequin pocket filled with glitter. The velum star is peeking through from the other side!

I love the colors in the kit this year. I also love being able to make the colors pop by adding lots of white.

On this spread, I used a 6 by 8 page protector and adhered one of the large

glassine bags on the outside. I folded it in half and created a little pocket for a journaling card. I'll be putting a photo on the inside flap.

On this little pocket, I adhered a die cut to the outside and added sequins, glitter, vellum and wood inside of it.

I found  large doily in my stash and decided to add it here. One of the wood veneers and the puffy sticker look great on it.

Are you seeing a pattern here? More sequins and glitter!

Here's another spread. Do you see the bottom of the Christmas tree peeking through on the bottom right?

Well, here it is. I cut half a tree and stitched it inside the large page protector. More glitter, more sequins and I even added some to the outside of the protector.

I just love the script on this card. Just added a couple of enamel dots for a punch of color.

I love the little velum square and gave it it's own space on this page.

The acrylic word and snowflake worked great behind it.

On this page, I added one of the smaller glassine bags in the pocket. Then I tucked a tag from my stash into it. I like how it sticks out and layers onto the card above it.

Finally, another star.  I love how it looks next to the 'believe' card. 

I will probably add more pages and more details to these ones. But, I'm really happy with the start I've made. I'm determined to finish my album this year!

Now, for more inspiration, you can hop to the rest of the team. I can't wait to see what they've created. Your next stop is Beshka's blog.

Let me know if you'll be using the GB December Memories kit and leave a link if you'll be blogging. I can't wait to see what everyone does with it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Anabelle O'Malley (you are here)

Beshka Kueser
Brenda Weaver
Cindy Liebel
Diane Payne
Erin Taylor
Ewa Kujawska
Eyoung Lee
Heather Leopard
Jessica Lohof
Jill Cornell
Jill Keller
Jina Jean
Kasia Przbyt
Katie Ehmann
Keisha Campbell
Laura Rahel Crosby
Magda Mizera
Maria Lacuesta
Melanie Blackburn
Naomi Atkins
Michelle Wooderson
Pam Garrison
Rebecca Luminarias
Tara Anderson
Vanessa Perry
Yana Smakula

Happy Thanksgiving

Just popping on to wish everyone a blessed and beautiful Thanksgiving. We live in such a crazy, hate filled world. The news is awful to watch each day. So, I try to keep focused on the good in life. I am so lucky to have a wonderful family, caring friends, a job I love and a hobby that I'm absolutely obsessed with . There is gratitude to be found every day.

Thought I'd share these cards I recently made for Emma's. I love the combination of the Petaloo flowers, Prima gems and Kaisercraft tags. And of course, I have to have some doilies!

So, if you are celebrating today, I hope you are surrounded with love and gratitude. And great food!

Thank you for stopping by. I am truly grateful for my readers, too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

December Memories Kit is in the House!

I'm so excited! My Gossamer Blue December Memories kit arrived this week. I wanted to pop on and share it with you. I have a wooden caddy that I use to organize my goodies every year. I pulled it out so that I could start getting ready! Here is it sitting on top of the box that my kit came in.

I opened my kit to find it beautifully packed! Here is the album. Love the colors!

As always, I want to share my top 5 favorite items from the kit. The cards are all lovely, but these are my faves! How fun is that top left one designed by Ashley Goldberg?

And can you say EYE CANDY? The striped and plaid enamel dots really do look good enough to eat.

Gossamer Blue has been adding some adorable acrylic shapes to the kits lately. I adore the ones that came in the December Memories one. Those snowflakes and trees are just too cute!

Another one of my favorites are these puffy stickers. I want them in triplicate! Especially love the deer head and the lights.

My December Memories album would not be  complete without sequins. And these are gorgeous.

I gathered all of the materials and placed them into my little caddy. I love how it all looks together.

In the front I placed the smaller embellishments - wood pieces, sequins, doilies, enamel dots, acrylics, etc.

In the back are the cards, die cuts, 6 by 8 papers, 6 by 6 paper pad, stamps and glassine bags.

 Now my kit is ready to go. I placed it in its own special spot and plan to start working on it this weekend. Can't wait!

Lori really did outdo herself this year. You can find the kit in the Gossamer Blue store. Be sure to check out the DT blogs as we are all sharing our creations with it. There will be a blog hop soon so we can showcase the base pages we've made. 

Thanks for stopping by!