Manly Magnets - GCD Studios

These are not a new or original idea, but I think my application may be unique :). You see, my husband is an auto tech. His work station (bay), is covered in oil and grease and ick. He would love to have a nice photo of his family nearby, but there's no way a frame or printed photograph would survive long. So, I thought magnets on his toolbox would do the trick:

I made them by punching papers from my favorite current GCD Studios line - Splendor - and then punching smaller circles from photos. I glued the photos to the papers, then glued the circles to the glass pebbles. Diamond Glaze is my favorite adhesive for this kind of thing.

Once those were dry, I glued neo-magnets to the back (E6000 is the best glue for this). Now my hubby can enjoy photos of his family by glancing at his toolbox.

The strong magnets aren't easily budged, and they can even hold his important papers. The glass is easily cleaned if it gets dirty. My hubby really liked the idea (although he wasn't supposed to see them until Christmas - oops!) and can't wait to take them to work.

You can find my original post for this project on the GCD Studios blog here. Thanks for stopping by today!

Editor's Pick in The Paper Cut - GCD Studios

Hello, all! I'm taking a break from Christmas crafting to share a project with you that I created for New Year's. My party hat is the Editor's Pick in this month's issue of The Paper Cut :).

If you haven't seen this magazine yet, it's full of some really great holiday ideas. You can check it out here.

Open publication - Free publishing - More art

I'll be back later this month with a tutorial on how to make it. It's really easy, and fun, and darling! Have a great day, everyone :). Tessa

Gratitude Advent Calendar - GCD Studios

Hello to November! I love this month. It's always one of my favorites, year after year. This time around, we are approaching November and my Attitude of Gratitude project a little differently in our home. To involve my entire family on a daily basis, I made this advent calendar for GCD Studios. You may have seen it in the latest issue of The Paper Cut:

I simply decorated thirty little coin envelopes with the Splendor line and hung them by jute twine from a frame. Each day after school my boys will open an envelope to find a thought on thankfulness and an accompanying activity. Today's thought: "I am grateful for rainy days. Snuggle up with your family and read a good book." I've got pillows and blankets piled up on my bed. As soon as homework is done, it's snuggle time.

I am writing each day's gratitude and activity as we go. That way I can write something specific for the day and include an activity I know will fit into our schedule. Simple. Meaningful. Done :).

I really love the idea of recognizing blessings, expressing gratitude for them, and enjoying those blessings. I hope that at the end of the month my boys and I are more in tune with how much good stuff is in our lives. I think that will set us on the perfect path for December.

Attitude of Gratitude: Day 1 - I am grateful for friends - the women I know well, and the women I am just getting to know. I am grateful for their positive influences. I am grateful for their encouragement. I am grateful for opportunities I have to serve them. I am grateful for opportunities I have to work with them, to learn from them and to grow because of them.

What are you grateful for today? How will you act upon that? Have a good one! Tessa

Grateful - GCD Studios

Featured on the GCD Studios blog last Friday...

Let's talk turkey. With all the die-cut machines available to us, it's easy to find a turkey for die-cutting. But what if you don't have a fancy machine, or there just isn't a turkey out there to suit your fancy? I've got an easy alternative for you - one full of texture and interest:

It's all in the feathers! I found several different kinds of feathers at my local craft store that matched the color palette of my layout - including pink! The rest of the feathers are hand-cut from patterned paper - no machine or punch or die needed. Even the turkey's body is hand-drawn.

Here's how to make your own glamorous turkey:

1. Cut several feather shapes from patterned paper.

2. Feather style #1 (brown): simply score the center of the feather and lightly crease.

3. Feather style #2 (pink): score the center of the feather and crease. On an angle, cut from the outside edge of the feather toward the crease. Do not cut all the way to the crease. Do this on both sides of the feather.

4. Collect real feathers in a variety of shapes, styles and colors.

5. Draw a turkey's body. It should resemble a bowling pin, but be shorter and pudgier. Cut it out and use it as a template to cut the shape from patterned paper.

6. Punch a circle of cardstock smaller than the turkey's body. Using hot glue, glue the feathers to the top 2/3 of the circle.

7. Using dimensional adhesive like pop dots, glue the turkey's body to the feathered circle.

8. If you'd like, add eyes, a beak and a snood.

Before you go make your own fabulously feathered turkey, let me leave you with this thought (which inspired this layout):

Speaking of being thankful, my annual Attitude of Gratitude blog event will begin Thursday, November 1st. I'll be sharing the details in the next couple of days :). Thanks for stopping by today! Tessa

Weave and Win

Hello! I woke up to a gorgeous Monday - cool temperatures, bright sunlight, and no smoke in the air (thank you wind!). Weather like this is the perfect push to tackle my to-do list. I am working hard on assignments and orders today, but I wanted to share with you two layouts that I created for GCD Studios this month. If you read the GCD Studios magazine The Paper Cut, you probably already saw them. But, just in case you didn't, take a peek here and then read the mag for the how-to.

I contributed two articles to the weaving feature. First, I used bright colors to weave an entire background for my layout.

For weaving tips, see the mag :).

I was challenged to use weaving to alter something. Still in the mood to make a layout, I decided to alter my photo.

This was a tricky task, but I loved the result. You can read more about my process in the mag :).

Thanks for stopping by today! If you have another minute, be sure to comment to win my Golden Birthday Bash prize :). I hope to get a photo of it all up soon, but I promise - there's some yummy things in this prize package! Have a great day :). Tessa

Bored? Try a Board Game!

Here's one of my latest GCD Studios projects - a homemade board game :).

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My boys love board games, but they tend to get tired of them quickly. I decided to make a board game of my own, one where they could be in control of how the game was played, and one that they would be entertained by for quite some time.

Introducing, "I Dare You". I created a simple board layout by adhering 12x12 cardstock to a chipboard base. Next, I created spaces by adding patterned paper triangles. The patterns you see here all come from the Oh Happy Day line. Next, I made cardstock cards for three categories: Eat It, Do It, Make It. I had my boys write dares on the cards. For example, in the "Do It" category, one wrote: "Drop an ice cube down your shirt and keep it there for 20 seconds." In the "Make It" category, one wrote: "Make a spaceship out of Legos in 45 seconds." I'll spare you examples from the "Eat It" category - they got a little gross :).

To play, the boys take turns rolling a die and traveling around the board. If they land on a yellow triangle, they play a yellow card, and the same for orange and green. If they complete the dare, they stay on that triangle. If they don't complete the dare, they move back the number of triangles they had advanced. The first one back home wins.

Every time the boys play, they like to mix in new cards and new crazy dares. I like to throw in some dares, too, like, "Make your bed in under a minute." Ha, I know, not crazy, but a mom has to get creative sometimes, right?

If you are looking for an afternoon of fun, give a homemade board game a try. And don't forget to pull out those GCD Studios papers to make it happen.

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I hope you're having a great day :). Thanks for stopping by! Tessa

Triangles

Hello! Wow, it has only been a week since I posted last, but it seems like forever! The past several days have been so full that they could have been spread out over a month and it still would have been a quick pace. Cub camp, dance studio's big annual showcase, Father's Day, getting my baby sister engaged.... Yes! You read that right ;). My sisters and I choreographed a lip dub proposal and it went off without a hitch. As soon as we have all the video edited, I will share - promise! If we're Facebook friends, you can see the rough edits on my page.

As for scrapbooking, I have a layout up on the GCD Studios blog for Triangles Week. I had a lot of fun with this one. Easy-peasy, colorful, and all about the photo.

Carson took this photo on my phone. He's a little photog with an iPhone in hand :). You can see my post at GCD Studios here.

Well, the pace has slowed a bit, but I've got a to-do list I'm anxious to tackle. I'm more determined to check off that list quickly each day so that I can play with my boys as much as I can now that school's out.  Ready, set, go! Have a good one! Tessa

Father and Son

I'm up on the GCD Studios blog with a new layout today. When I think of generations past, I remember family names that have been used again and again, tying people together over decades and even hundreds of years. My name, for example, comes from my great-great-grandmother. I love that I can say that. When my husband and I were giving names to our children, we knew we wanted to carry on that same tradition.

Colten gets a kick out of having the same middle name as his daddy - Daniel. Connecting generations is an important aspect of this hobby to me, so I knew at some point I would document their shared name. When the assignment came up at GCD Studios, I snapped it up.

The blues and greens from the Splendor line were the perfect backdrop for these instagram photos that I captured recently. A pop of red in washi tape and Glimmer Glaze make for a striking contrast and tie the photos into the rest of the design.

This page is one of my current favorites and one I'm sure I'll love forever. Gosh, I love these boys :). Thanks so much for stopping by today. I'll be back tomorrow with another layout I'm particularly fond of, featuring another family member I absolutely adore :). Have a great day! Tessa

The Paper Cut - June Issue

The June issue of GCD Studios' magazine, The Paper Cut, is now live! If you need Father's Day inspiration, this is a must-see:

Heidi Sonboul's coupon wallet (and clever tutorial for creating one) is fabulous and something I just may be scraplifting for my hubby :). The rest of the team did fabulous work, too, and there's a reader's gallery filled with great projects as well. You can find the magazine here. Be sure to let us know what you think on the GCD Studios blog, too. I promise, you really do want to stop by. Especially if you like the Bonjour collection. And free stuff ;).

I am bound and determined to stay on schedule with all of my appointments, assignments, and projects this week, which means I've gotta go :). I have monkey ears to sew (dance class costume), teacher gifts to finish, and orders to get off to sweet customers today. I hope your week is off to a great start! Tessa

Mmmmm... Strawberries!

I LOVE strawberries and am coming home with a basket every time I go to the grocery store. I snapped a few photos of my strawberries a little while ago and decided to scrap them with help from the Country Charm line by GCD Studios:

You can find a tutorial for the watercolor technique that I used to create my title at the GCD Studios' blog here. I love my Twinkling H20's :).

The Country Charm line is perfect for summery, fresh layouts. I love the combo of pinks and reds, turquoises and greens. It's a really fun collection :).

Thank you for stopping by today! I appreciate it :). Have a good one! Tessa

Teachers and Moms

Like many of you, I got crafty for my sons' teachers and for special moms in my life this past week. I copied myself and remade my Teacher Tubes from last year for Teacher Appreciation gifts:

This time around, I went with a slightly vintage flair. I added the ruler washi tape to the SRM Stickers tubes and used a striped ribbon instead of a gingham one.

I used those cute little chalkboards again, as well as my white SRM thanks stickers. The apple embellishments were still easy to find this year, too (Jolee's brand at Michaels).

Carson has had a long-term substitute for the past few months because his teacher had a baby. We've loved having Mrs. Addison here and are sad that today is her last day with the kids. Carson really, really liked her :(. I always make paper bag albums for the boys' teachers at the end of the school year, but since this was Mrs. Addison's last day, we were sure to bring hers in today:

Sorry for the fuzzy photo! I finished it last night as the sun was going down and didn't have time to retake photos this morning.

I used the Off to School line by Fancy Pants (my most favorite school line EVER!), SRM Stickers, and lots of flowers and Sweet Spots from my shop. Oh! And those Studio Calico wooden people - love those!

You can find many more photos in my flickr photostream. Now on to the moms!

I have a tutorial for this bracelet up on the GCD Studios blog. I made this for my sister for Mother's Day (sorry to ruin the surprise, Nae!) out of paper that I turned into beads. It was super easy and fast, so if you need a last-minute gift, give this one a try :).

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you enjoy your weekend. Tessa

This and That Thursday

Hello! I have a list going of things to mention here today, so let's get to it, shall we?

1. All of the new lines and Ruffle Blossoms are up in my shop! Use coupon code MAYFLOWERS through Sunday to receive 15% off. Happy shopping!

2. The randomly selected winner of the Diana Sampler from Diana's Blog Hop is MEGAN SMITH! Please email me at precociouspaper (at) yahoo (dot) com with your mailing address and I'll get that off to you asap :).

3. GCD Studios has a new issue of The Paper Cut available! It's even bigger and better than last month's incredible issue. One of my Country Charm layouts is featured and a detailed tutorial for my hand-drawn title will be posted soon.

4. There's a new challenge at Scrapbook Circle today! Using the gorgeous May kit, The Story, and the Life Documented add-on, I did a little SMASHing in my red book:

The challenge is to create a layout about Mothers. I SMASHed a few of my favorite motherhood quotations. You can see more and get all the details for playing along here.

Phew! I think that's it for now :). I have more physical therapy to do for my back before I can spend much more time at the computer, so I might be a quiet for a bit longer as I recover from my injury. Thank you for all of your concern :). I'm doing well and strengthening some whimpy muscles is already making a world of difference. Have a wonderful day, everyone! Tessa

GCD Studios and a Special Blog Hop

Happy Wednesday! I am anxiously awaiting a call from my husband, who is setting up an emergency chiropractor appointment for me. I wrenched my back again, the same place I've been dealing with for several months now. I guess when your almost 3 year old is 30-something pounds, it's time to stop picking him up so much :). Anyway, I'm sucking it up to sit at the computer and blog a bit.

I had a layout go up on the GCD Studios blog last week. This one is all about Spring, using the new Splendor collection. I took this instagram photo while on a walk with my boys. The petals in the photo reminded me of the pattern in some of the Splendor papers.

I wanted a very delicate-feeling page, so I stuck with lots of white space and some tone-on-tone embellishing. It's one of my favorite pages this year, I think.

My favorite pages always used to be Sketchy Thursdays pages. Diana and Heidi's sketches were always the best source of inspiration. But don't get all misty-eyed as you remember those good ol' days. Diana is celebrating her blog anniversary this weekend with a blog hop and one of her famous sketches!

I was honored that she would ask me to join in on the line-up. The girls are all so excited and I just can't wait to share. There will be prizes along the way, as well as a prize from Precocious Paper here at my stop. I hope to see you then!

Well, I'm going to go lay down for a few minutes before I tackle some Etsy shipping. I hope your day is pain-free and a good one! Thanks for stopping by :). Tessa

A Paper Cut You Want

I am very excited to share something new from GCD Studios - The Paper Cut! It's a beautiful magazine produced by GCD Studios and filled with inspiration from the design team. You'll find sketches, color palettes, tutorials and dozens of ideas for using GCD Studio's newest collections. The layout is gorgeous, professional, and worthy of real-life glossy pages. I've gone through it twice myself and still want to take another look!

You can sign up to receive the magazine at this link. Be sure to check out my tutorial for using a banner punch to create a multi-petaled flower like this:

See, not all paper cuts are bad :). Have a good one! Tessa

Smash Sunday

Hello! This week I'm sharing a very dimensional page :). I usually keep my Smash pages fairly flat, but my collection of Scrabble tiles gave me an idea that I couldn't refuse to bring to life on a Smash book page:

Yes, my name is Tessa and I am a craft addict :). I balanced out the bulk of the Scrabble tiles with a few fabric yo-yos.

The round epoxy stickers and the lady with the scissors are by GCD Studios. I used fabric as my background piece, as well as a banner cut from my favorite Dear Lizzy paper EVER.

The date tags are by Elle's Studio. The "hello" stickers are both SRM Stickers. A bit of navy and pink washi tape and some splashes of mist made it complete :).

I'm not sure what I will do with the other side, but I did add some washi tape to ensure that the future page coordinated. I'm thinking of adding journaling strips with "gems" my kids say from day to day. Like yesterday, when I asked my almost three year old if he could spell he said, "e-i-e-i-o."

Thank you to all of my new blog friends for spending some time here! I'm glad to see that you are following along and I really appreciate your visits and comments. Have a great start to your week! Tessa

P.S. - Don't forget to enter to win my vintage goodies giveaway here!