Sketchy Tuesday...wait, what?

Yes, it's only Tuesday, but Diana and Heidi have a surprise today! Sketchy Thursdays will now be offering "Second Chance Challenges" - randomly scheduled surprise challenges with prizes up for grabs! Today's challenge is both a sketch and a prompt, with an amazing prize package from Scrapbook Kit Club, a new monthly sponsor for Sketchy Thursdays.


Here's the prize (note the Precocious Paper Halloween flower!):



Here's the sketch:



Here's the prompt:

Make a layout inspired by Halloween or fall candy. You can wax poetic about your fave candy, rant about why candy corn is evil (I personally love it but I know some people don't), use the actual wrapper on your layout, use the wrapper or candy color, shape, or font as inspiration, WHATEVA!!! Just make it F-U-N!!!

Here's my take:



I can't wait to see what you come up with! Have fun, Tessa

Phew!

I feel like I've been running a marathon lately, and the finish line seems to be getting farther and farther away. I'm not complaining; in fact, I am very grateful to be so busy. I've been blessed with several wonderful projects, many lovely customers, and the precious everyday moments of family life. I just don't think I can keep up this pace and need a few days to recharge my creative batteries. So, I've decided to close the shop until Thursday, giving me a chance to breathe, catch up, and hopefully get to work on some new things I'd like to add to my virtual shelves. I think with a few days to reorganize and plan ahead, I will be able to keep up with my so-very-blessed life with a renewed energy. Although the shop will be closed, I will still be posting here and my other usual online places. "See" you soon!

Smelling the roses, Tessa

Colors All Around

That's the theme of a new display in my son's Kindergarten classroom. He was asked to bring something to add to the display, and he wanted to bring a rainbow. We didn't have a rainbow on hand, so we decided to paint one. He wanted to add buttons and butterflies, so our painting soon turned into a collage. He picked the colors, chose the buttons, attached the buttons (thank goodness for glue dots), and added the butterflies. I did the painting and the stamping. While we were working on it, we were talking about all of the things in the world that came in different colors. He said, "People come in different colors." Kids are so smart. So that is where our caption came from - "People are like colors. Together we make a rainbow." I hope his teacher likes it.

Hope you're having a great Saturday! Tessa

Treasury Nod

I've been blessed to be included in another Etsy treasury - "Crazy for Fall". I love the emphasis on the red wine color, and my little dyed cardboard flowers are in gorgeous company! Please take a look! And thanks to MyMoms for the opportunity to be featured.

Happy Fall! Tessa

Trying out a new challenge...

I love to scrapbook by color. 75% of my scrap stash is organized by color (the rest by manufacturer or product type). So, I was looking around for a color challenge blog to follow and through some of my new scrappy friends' blogs, I found SPCC. Here is my first attempt at one of their color challenges.

For better/closer looks, see my flickr photostream. Thanks for looking! Tessa

It's Thursday!

Goodness, already?! Where has this week gone? Thursday is a busy day over at Sketchy Thursdays. Congratulations to Euphoria, winner of the prize pack from Evalicious! And to all the Faves, wonderful work! The new sketch is up, and as Diana tells, it is a DT favorite. I loved the simplicity of the sketch, and I just knew it was the perfect one for a photo I treasure. Here's the sketch and my take:



And who is sponsoring the sketch this week? A Scrappy Design! Having worked first hand with her stuff as a A Scrappy Design DT member, I can tell you that you really want to win! Head on over to Sketchy Thursdays to see what the other DT's came up with, as well as the Faves from last week's sketch.

Happy Thursday! Tessa

Delicious Evalicious!

If you haven't seen Evalicious' Etsy shop yet, you need to take a look. But first, head over to Sketchy Thursdays to read a little bit about her and to upload your entry for this week. Eve has sponsored this week's sketch, and I can guarantee you that if you win, you will not be disappointed! I can't wait to sit down tonight and go through everyone's Sketchy Thursdays entries.

I've got to pack a bunch of orders and head off to the post office, so enjoy your day! Tessa

A little birdie told me...

...that Sketchy Thursdays is giving away some more Unity Stamps goodness today - including some really wonderful, folk art inspired designs. The clock with the birdie is my favorite! Head on over to enter to win.


And speaking of birdies, I found a beautiful shop on Etsy that specializes in birdhouses - baconsquarefarm. The birdhouses are so very pretty, and baconsquarefarm is raising money for cancer research in honor of a fellow Etsian. If you have a moment, please check out the shop.


Have a wonderful Tuesday! Tessa

Stamps and a Second Chance

If you missed the giveaway at Sketchy Thursdays yesterday (amazing - two packs of paper by Cosmo Cricket, Jolly by Golly and Mr. Campy!), you get a second chance! Head over and comment on yesterday's post to still be in the running! Then, while you're at it, enter to win this adorable set of stamps from Unity Stamps:

Well, off to photograph some design team stuff, make a million flowers, and package up orders. Anyone who placed a big order or a custom order in the past week - it's shipping in the next couple of days. My felt supplier was super slow to ship, and I'm outta felt :(. I'll work like a mad woman to get your flowers made as soon as the felt shows up.

Happy Monday all, Tessa

It would be a very Jolly Christmas indeed...

...if I had this paper in my stash! Oh my goodness, I am so jealous of whoever wins this one! The "Jolly by Golly" set of papers by Cosmo Cricket is up for grabs over at Sketchy Thursdays today, as well as "Mr. Campy", a collection of fantastic outdoorsy papers. Don't doddle, or even walk - RUN over to Sketchy Thursdays to enter to win!

Enjoy your Sunday, Tessa

Treasury Nod

Christmas in September? Sure, why not?! This beautiful Etsy treasury includes children's clothing, ornaments, tags, and my newest Precocious Paper offering - ribbons on clothespins! Cheerful, bright, and oh-so-Christmas-y. Maybe I should start working on my list :). Dear Santa...

Thanks for the treasury nod, lorielynn! And if you haven't seen my ribbons on clothespins yet, please take a look. I have tulle, paper ribbons, flower trims, grosgrain ribbons, and sheer polka dot ribbons all in fun color combinations. Let me know what you think!

***Update: They sold! lorielynn replaced my sold ribbons with a gorgeous "Joy" suncatcher sign. So please take a look at the treasury and then head over to my shop for the ribbons!***

Tessa

Ooops.

I try to be an organized person. I bought a calendar that I keep on my desk that I use to write down scrapbooking challenges, due dates, design team assignments, etc. I wanted to participate in the challenge at Page Maps, so I searched for the due date, saw September 18th, and wrote it down. After school yesterday, while the boys played outside, I made my layout. I went to the site to load it up and saw that the winner had been announced. What?! I read on. The challenge was indeed due the 13th, and the winner was to be announced the 18th. Ooops. But I am really happy with my layout and how it turned out. I just recently had lunch with this friend after several years of not seeing each other. We used to get in all kinds of trouble together! She's an amazing person and I am so proud of who she is and where she is in life. And yes, that is a lace flower from Precocious Paper peeking out from behind the gorgeous Primas!

Thanks for looking! Tessa

Stars and Stripes, anyone?

Unity Stamps is sponsoring Sketchy Thursdays again today, with a brand spankin' new, just realeased, star-spangled stamp - "Declare Freedom". If you know me, you know the 4th of July is my favorite holiday, so I'm sure I could put this beauty to good use. Want to add it to your collection? Head on over and comment to win! And don't forget to play along with this week's sketch!

Have a great Saturday! I'm off to clean up my scrap room. Wish me luck - I hope it only takes a couple of hours!

Tessa

Stamps and Slobber

As I am typing, my little one, almost 5 months old, is managing to wiggle/scoot/roll awfully close to a project I'm working on here on the living room floor. Look at that drool! We just got our first two teeth and the fountain of drool is non-stop! The days of spreading out my stash are over - I've got to baby-proof the supplies once again! And if I had the Unity stamps that Sketchy Thursdays is giving away today in my collection, I would definitely want to protect them from my slobbery Jaxon.

Head on over and enter to win! It's super easy - and there's more than one way to get entries. And don't forget to play along with this week's sketch. I am really looking forward to seeing everyone's takes.

Happy Friday!!! Enjoy your weekend! Tessa

Don't you love Thursdays?

Thursdays are wonderful - you're past humpday, and the weekend is tomorrow! Plus, it means a winner and faves are announced and a new sketch is posted over at Sketchy Thursdays (congrats Jingle)!

This sketch was perfect for me this week. I had just developed some funny pictures of my little one, but I was struggling with them. Why? They aren't very good. Only one of them is fairly clear, and the other three are kind of blurry. Jaxon just wouldn't hold still and I hate to use the flash. So when I saw the sketch, I knew I could showcase my good photo in the larger space, and still use my blurry (and oh-so-cute) shots as the smaller photos.

Also, if you saw the state of my scraproom right now, you would probably have nightmares! It's a disaster. So, as I sat down (in my dining room - there was no room in the scraproom) to make this layout, I challenged myself not to get anything out but paper, my trimmer, and adhesive. The only thing I braved my scraproom for was the thickers for my title. So, here's the sketch, and here's my take:

What's up for grabs for this week's challenge? A prize package from Evalicious on Etsy - gorgeous shop, check it out! I hope you play along. I'd love to see what you come up with!

And what's up for grabs today at Sketchy Thursdays? Unity stamps! Two really cool sets. Head on over to enter.

Happy Thursday! Tessa

My Sketchy Thursdays Layout

When it comes to scrapping my boys, I am really hooked on orange right now - orange with green, orange with blue.... I don't know about you, but I tend to go through my own personal trends in my layouts. It's fun to look back and say, "That was my blue period." Anyway, here's my son Colten playing at the park. I would be a bazillionaire if I could bottle all that energy and get it on the market!

You can see this layout and other recent projects in my flickr photostream. Thanks for looking! I can't wait to see what everyone else has come up with!

Tessa

Guess who the Sketchy Thursdays sponsor is today?

Me! I'm so happy to be sharing a whole bunch of Precocious Paper goodies with not one, but two lucky winners! You can win by playing along with this week's sketch (due today - hurry!), or you can comment on today's blog post. Or both! Good luck!

Happy Scrapping! Tessa

What do Flamingos have to do with Scrapbooking?

Everything! Sketchy Thursdays is introducing me to a scrapbook supply company that I didn't know before, and I've decided I need to get to know them pretty well! Flamingo Scraps is the sponsor of today's giveaway. Maya Road, Prima, Upsy Daisy.... Just when I think my stash is set for awhile, more tempting goodies come my way! Of course, these goodies could be coming YOUR way - if you get over to Sketchy Thursdays and enter to win!

Good luck! Tessa

Home Sweet Home

That's the title of a super cute set of Doodle Cutz from A Scrappy Design. I had the privilege of working with these fun accents and used one of the adorable little lamps to make this card....





These colors - yellow, blue, and black - are the Color Inspiration Challenge colors this week! Play along and you could win your own set of Home Sweet Home Doodle Cutz!


Have fun! Tessa

Cosmo Cricket up for Grabs!

Oh my goodness, the fun has really begun over at Sketchy Thursdays! Diana and Heidi are giving away TWO lines from Cosmo Cricket - The Boyfriend and Earth Love. It's so simple to enter, and if you have boys to scrap like I do, you need these lines! Here's the post, and here are the prizes - see you over at Sketchy Thursdays!

Happy Monday, Tessa

Phew! I don't have to keep this secret any longer!

It's official - not only is the shiny new Sketchy Thursdays site up and running, but the Design Team has been announced. And guess what?! I have the wonderful opporutnity of being one of the DT members! I am thrilled to be a part of it all and am grateful to Diana and Heidi for the chance to share my love of scrapbooking with their talented scrappy community. I'm excited to get to know the other DT members, too! So come play along with us. There are so many exciting things happening - you don't want to miss out!

Happy Sunday, Tessa

Precocious Pick

I realized a few days ago that it has been quite awhile since I posted about an Etsy find. So, before I get dinner going tonight, here is my most recent Precocious Pick:



This gorgeous necklace is on its way to me as we type/read. I am so excited! Not only is it in one of my favorite color combinations, but it also has that pretty vintage-inspired feel to it. I can't wait to dress up a white t-shirt and jeans, or a blouse for church. TheSilverDog is a wonderful Etsy shop with a great selection of eye-candy/jewelry. I received a thank you note soon after my purchase and it shipped the next day. If the necklace is as wonderful in person as the customer service has been (which I'm sure it will be), I will definitely be a repeat customer (plus I have other items hearted in my favorites!).


I hope you take a look at her shop and are enjoying your weekend! Tessa

Can you smell the new paint?

Diana of "Design By Diana" and "Sketchy Thursdays" fame has a new home to play! I just found her wonderful blog a month or so ago, and I am pleased as punch to see it growing and blossoming into a new site, Sketchy Thursdays!



Diana has a new partner in crime, too - Heidi! I've loved pouring over Heidi's blog. She's a busy girl in the scrapping community and just full of life and enthusiasm, I can tell.

I hear there are amazing prizes this week for followers and blog-readers, so head over and join in the fun! There is wonderful talent over there, and not to mention - super sweet people, so if you need a challenge blog to inspire you and jumpstart your scrappy creativity, this is it!

Enjoy your Saturday! And don't forget to check out my new embellies, freshly stocked in the shop.

Tessa

They're Here!

My new line of embellies is here! Fabric covered chipboard! My debut style is a set of postage stamp frames and tags. Coming soon, more fabrics and new shapes! I had a lot of fun working with these. Here's what I came up with:

Brownie Batter Blizzard Layout - I used a large rectangle as a journaling block and simply added journaling strips. I cut apart one of the postage stamp frames and made it a border on my photo.

I Miss You Card - I used the large postage stamp frame to hold my journaling strips.

Hi Card - I used the small postage stamp frame to hold my title.

Tag - Using my cropadile, I punched a hole and tied some ribbon. Now I just need a gift to add it to!

"T" Magnet - I embellished a small rectangle with pom pom trim, a flower, and a chipboard "T". Then I simply added a magnet to the back. It looks great on my fridge!

I Love My Boys Mini Album - I used a large rectangle as a cover, embellished it, and punched a hole (using my cropadile again). I trimmed photos to the same size as the cover, glued them back to back, and added them as pages. Perfect for my purse!

I can't wait to see what you come up with! And April of Scrapper Forever! - you are my winner of a free set and pair of flowers! Email me with your choices and I'll get them off to you -precociouspaper(@)yahoo(dot)com.

Happy Scrapping! Tessa

New Line of Embellies - Tomorrow!

I really wanted to give you a sneak peek today of my new line of embellies, but Baby is teething (we just got our first tooth and are working on number two) and he needs his mama. But stay tuned! I will be listing my new embellies tomorrow and posting sample projects I've made. I'm only starting with a few designs, but the possibilities are truly endless! And the best part? Not only are they cute and versatile, but also economical - only $2.00 per set!

See you tomorrow! Tessa

My Sketchy Thursdays Layout

Here is my Sketchy Thursdays layout for this week. I got it done early this time, and almost forgot to post it here. You can always find my recent layouts in my flickr photostream.



Thank you for looking!

Calling all Friends, Fans and Followers!

Want to win a set of my soon to be released embellies? Tell your friends about Precocious Paper and ask them to follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or here on the blog. Leave a comment on this post about your scrappy gossip to win!

And to SWEETEN the deal.... I'll even let the winner choose a pair of fabric and felt flowers!

So go on, get chatty about Precocious Paper! I appreciate your efforts and support!

Tessa

I'll let you in on a little secret...

I've got something up my sleeve. But, shhh! It's a secret - at least until Friday. Yep, I've been busy in my scrapbooking room cooking up a new line of embellishments. Ideas have been floating around in my head for awhile, but now they've solidified into some super cute embellies. What are they? Stay tuned! They'll hit my virtual shelves Friday (and I'm thinking of a sneak peek here on Thursday night).

Would you like to win a free set? I would love to see more followers here on the blog, Twitter, or Facebook. Tell your friends about Precocious Paper, then comment here the name of your friend and where they are following. I'll pick a winner Friday.

Here's to a great week! Tessa

How about My Mind's Eye?

Okay, there is serious blog candy going on everywhere this weekend! Here's some more gorgeous paper for you, this time from My Mind's Eye. "Ooh La La" is a fitting title for the two sets being given away at Artsy Fartsy Scraproom. Join in the fun! You could win some fantastic paper!

Goodnight! Tessa

Are you a Basic Grey Fan?

I am! And CraftCritique is having a contest right now to win three amazing collections of BG papers - Eerie, Eskimo Kisses, and Indian Summer. All are absolutely beautiful! If you would like a chance to win, find the contest here.

Good luck! I hope you are enjoying your weekend! Tessa

Happy Holidays!

Okay, the holidays aren't upon us yet, but they have arrived in the shop! I will likely be listing new flowers as the weeks come and go, but I think I've got a good start. Enjoy!

Autumn Flower Embellishments

Halloween Flower Embellishments

Christmas Flower Embellishments

Have a great weekend! Tessa

Front Page Feature!

Precocious Paper is featured on the front page of myHandmadeRegistry today! My felt button blossoms in aqua, red, and white, are part of a beautiful mosaic of handmade items collected by Liz Davis of fraybabybibsandmore. Thank you to myHandmadeRegistry and to Liz! If you haven't seen this site before, please take a look!

Happy Thursday! Tessa

My Sketchy Thursdays Layout

I've never been a big sketch-follower. I would try to sketch a layout before creating it, but I would usually end up with a completely different layout than the sketch called for. I would look at other people's sketches and just think, I don't have the perfect photos for that. But now I am realizing that I really do like sketches - a lot! I've discovered that I like the challenge of copying a sketch and making it my own. I now see that a sketch isn't limiting my creativity - it's inspiring it! So, with that said, here is my layout for this week's Sketchy Thursday. It's the first layout I have done of my new little one, Jaxon.



Thanks for looking! Tessa

Color Inspiration Challenge & Birthday Celebration Winner

Hello! I cannot believe how busy I've been! Unfortunately, school starting, family visiting, and a major migraine headache squeezed out any scrapbooking time I had planned for the last week or so. But, late last night, I couldn't ignore the scrapping itch and made a page. I based the page on the color inspiration challenge over at A Scrappy Design - red, black, and white. And, as I was working on it, I realized it satisfied the weekly challenge over at Crop Addict - journaling strips. Double whammy! So here you go....




And now for the winner of my Birthday Celebration.... A $10.00 gift certificate to Precocious Paper goes to:

* * * IndieGal * * *

Congratulations! Happy Tuesday everyone! Tessa