DESIGN TEAM CALL!

How would you like a package of Precocious Paper goodies to arrive in your mailbox once a month - for free?  All I ask is that you create one project each month that would be shared here on the blog and in my shop.  Sound interesting?  Then you might be a good fit for the debut Precocious Paper Design Team!

The call begins now and will go through September 15th.  Applicants will be notified of the results by the 18th and the new team will be announced here on the 19th.  For all the details, including how to apply, please see THIS.  And feel free to email me with any questions you may have :).

Good luck! Tessa

Hello from California!

Hello all!  We made it safe and sound, and although we are still looking for a house, we are so happy to be here :).  All of my scrapbook supplies are in a storage unit, so although I am itching to scrapbook, I can't.  Why do I want to play with paper and glue so badly?  Because The Studio just had an amazing Summer Cyber Crop yesterday! 

I have a class called "Fantabulous Fabric" to play along with, and there are many more wonderful and creative classes and challenges to participate in.  The crop will take entries for prizes through September 4th, so you have plenty of time to join in.  The direct link to my class is here, and these are the layouts that are featured.  By playing along with my class, you can win a Precocious Paper gift certificate :).

Also, today is a new Sunday challenge at The Studio, and it's an ugly one!  Amanda has challenged us to use two ugly papers to create a layout.  Here's my take:

And I just realized that I didn't post last week's The Studio challenge - to use 5 patterned papers on one layout.  Here's my take, using Cosmo Cricket Delovely and some trims from Diana's etsy shop:

Although I intended to, I missed posting about the most recent challenge at Scrap That Poetry.  I made a mini album to commemorate coming "home" to California, and I plan to fill the book with photos of moving in to the new place and getting together with all of our family and friends here.

Have a great Sunday! Tessa

Busy at The Studio

First, some happy-yet-bittersweet news:  We are moving back to California!  We've loved living here in Wyoming, but we are too far from both sides of our families.  So, when my husband was offered his old job back at a much higher pay rate, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to be with our families once again.  In between getting ready to start school, my Etsy shop, my position at church, and my design team assignments, I am packing a house.  So, if you don't see me around the blog much in the coming few weeks, just know I'm happily busy and I will be back soon!

Now for some scrappy chit-chat!  There is a new Sunday Challenge up at The Studio: Alter or create from scratch a pretty storage item for your craft space.

We were sponsored by Cosmo Cricket and I used this Blackboard Box with the Delovely collection to create a little storage space for my favorite sketches.  I had too many print outs and pieces of paper with drawn sketches on them littering my scrapbook room, so this was the perfect solution for me.  Now I just print the sketch onto the card (or draw it), note the source, and pop it into my little box.

Also at The Studio, I have a Wednesday Extra tutorial for you.  After getting requests from several people to teach them how I made this yarn wreath...

...I created a tutorial featuring this yarn wreath:

You can find the tutorial here.  And one more bit of The Studio news for you - the big Summer Cyber Crop is coming up on August 21st.  Here is a little sneak peek of my class:

Have a great day! Tessa

Happy Birthday, Honey!

To celebrate your birthday, Josh, the boys and I interviewed each other about what we love most about you and decided to write this blog post :).

Jaxon: Since he can't speak yet, we're going to say he loves snuggling to sleep with Daddy at night, wrestling, and hiding his pacifier from you.

Carson: "He's good at getting money. I love that he fixes cars. I love him so much."

Colten: "I love that he plays computer games with me and sometimes helps me.  He makes good paper airplanes and paper boats."

Me: "I love that he is a regular, down-to-earth, loving, goofy, guy.  I love that he works hard for our family, teaches his children the gospel, honors the priesthood, and loves us more than anything else in the world."

Happy birthday, honey! WE LOVE YOU!

Happy August!

Today I have two challenges to share with you.  First, The Studio has a new Sunday challenge up: Masking! Find something creative from around your home to use as a mask for misting, inking or painting on your layout. 

I have a self-adhesive set of circle masks by Heidi Swapp that I love, but for this challenge I looked for a homemade circle substitute.  What did I find?  A CD!  Just cover the hole with a bit of tape and you're set to go.  The CD weighs enough that the spray won't blow it off the page, and it's easy to clean.

Also, Scrap That Poetry has a new challenge poem up today (and a scavenger hunt!).  I LOVE Edgar Allen Poe - he speaks to my dark side :).  So when I saw that "Annabelle Lee" was the poem for today, I was excited.  However, I need all the sunshine and happiness I can get right now, so I decided to focus on the line "And we loved with a love that was more than love" for a happy take on Poe. 

My dear friend, Anna, has just opened an adorable little store!  She has created unique, beautiful kits full of bits and pieces of scrappy goodness.  Please visit her - she's doing a giveaway :).

My 3000 sales special continues through August 2nd!  All completed purchases will be entered into a drawing to win a $30.00 Precocious Paper gift certificate!  I'm working hard on getting my new designs ready for listing, but if I don't get them up before August 2nd, no worries - I've got another promotion up my sleeve.

Have a wonderful day! Tessa

Blog Love :)

I love the online scrapbooking community!  I've made so many wonderful friends, including the fabulous Nikki!  She passed this sweet blog award on to me this week :). 

Nikki listed 5 things she loves right now on her blog, and I'd like to do the same:

1) Did I tell you?  I'm wearing contacts again!  I love the freedom of wearing contacts and being able to choose whether or not I wear my glasses.  I got new glasses, too :).

2) I'm loving the summer sun, and since I can wear contacts now, my new sunglasses!  No more squinting :).

3) I'm loving my husband.  His birthday is Monday and our anniversary is just two weeks later.  This time of year always makes me reflect on "us", and I'm just feeling especially lovey-dovey this time around :).

4) I'm loving my boys.  Even though they are literally driving me crazy (has school started yet?), they make me laugh daily.

5) I opened with this, but I love my scrappy online friends!  I feel blessed to have so many friends from around the globe, and that we share something that we are so passionate about - scrapbooking!

I would like to pass this award on to:

Amanda
Heather
Audrey
Anna
Julie

Have a great weekend, all!  I'll be busy creating oodles of new designs for the shop.  Tessa

Scrapbook Circle August Kit

Happy Thursday, all!  Thank you, everyone, for all your sweet comments and congratulations on my Etsy shop's 3000th sale.  I really appreciate you for spreading the word, visiting my blog and facebook page, and being such sweet customers :).  I'm feeling pretty blessed these days.

I'm counting those blessings, but also feeling a bit stressed.  So, I've decided that I will not be able to play along with all my favorite challenge blogs for a bit.  I'm not very creative with a long list staring me in the face, so I thought it would be best if I focused my energies on design team assignments for now.  Speaking of which, have you seen the gallery at Scrapbook Circle for the August kit?  I am so lucky to be on such an amazing DT - these girls are talented and inspirational!

The kit just bursts sunshine from every seam!  I created four layouts and even made myself a piece of jewelry :).  The layout I'd like to share with you today is "And Off He Goes".

Although the kit comes with adorable buttons, I snagged a few more from my stash.  I painted the alphas in the kit green to match my layout and added October Afternoon mini alphas to my title.  The Pink Paislee tape in the kit made me think of masking tape, so I layered both to make a frame around my photo.  Yep, that's Jaxon, on the run.  He doesn't really walk anywhere nowadays, just runs with this sumo wrestler kind of stance. 

If you haven't yet, take a look at the idea gallery for the kit.  And if you can get your hands on one before it sells out, I would jump at the chance!  Scrapping your summer couldn't be easier with such a great collection of goodies.

Have a great day! Tessa