Shop Update Preview

Happy Friday! I am lining up a huge shop update for May 1st and today you get a sneak peek. Three new lines will be available including:

These lines all include a Sampler, Butterfly Doilies, Sweet Spots, Felt Roses and Leaves and the new Button Sweet Spots. Also coming on May 1st...

* several new Ruffle Blossom designs
* those solid colored Ruffle Blossoms I've been promising :)
* new Fabric and Felt Flower designs
* assorted yo-yo flower sets

I will also be offering a special, so stay tuned to this blog, Facebook and Twitter for that coupon code. Enjoy your weekend! Tessa

Framed!

The current challenge at Scrapbook Circle is to use a frame on a layout. The April kit, Daydreamer, has a sheet of Amy Tangerine paper called "Paige's Portraits" that I just love! I scraplifted a fellow designer (Jennie) who used the paper for journaling and put together an A to Z layout all about me:

I filled a few frames with more Amy Tangerine paper, but the rest is just writing :). The alphas are also from the Daydreamer kit. I'm loving those Color Magic products by Heidi Swapp - so much fun!

I'm going to add a second page, one with just a photo or two and lots of white space to balance out this busy page. I've got it all planned out - I just need a current photo of myself :).

If you'd like to play along with the challenge, you can find the details here. You still have a week and a shop credit is up for grabs. You don't have to be a subscriber to play, so hop to it!

Tomorrow I will have a preview of the next big Precocious Paper update that is happening May 1st. You'll want to be the first to get in on the new goodies and a special deal :). Thanks for stopping by today! Tessa

Bloom Where You are Planted

I played with my Epiphany Crafts flower button tool for the first time recently and this is what I made:

This project, with details on materials and a little tutorial, is up on the Epiphany Crafts blog today. As I wrote there, the phrase "bloom where you are planted" has been a repeated mantra in my life lately. I honestly can't complain about my circumstances, but I am trying harder lately to change my attitude about some of them and to make the best of every situation. I need to trust that the not-so-fun challenges are opportunities to grow. I thought some wall art would be a great reminder (and a lots-of-fun thing to do!).

The red polka dot flower is going to be in the shop soon with a new batch of ruffle blossoms (the last two batches have quickly sold out - I think I need to spend more time in effort in stocking these pretties!). The aqua roses are part of this set, available now.

I woke up to see that I was featured on the Paper Crafts Connection blog today! My "thanks" card was included in the March/April digital issue and Susan included it in her post. You can see the post, along with other colorful cards, here.

I'm off to answer convos, get reserved listings up, and to package and ship a whole bunch of flowers. I'm still playing catch up after being down last week with my back injury, but after today at least orders will all be on track :). Thanks for stopping by today! Tessa

Smash Sunday

It's still Sunday for a little bit, so I'm good, right? I missed my Smash Sunday post last week and I just couldn't do that again. This is a page that I made a couple of weeks ago:

It all started with some oranges that I cut out from a magazine. Then I found this photo of my mother-in-law's orange tree, and then the word "grow" took over from there.

I stuck with an orange and green color palette, as well as natural wood. Not only are the alphas wood, but the postage stamp frames are made from wood veneer.

I used lots of SRM Stickers and dug into my die-cut stash for accents.

I think I might add some mist and a little bit of tape to the other side, but I will leave it pretty much as it is.

I had some Smash pages featured on the Smash Stories blog last week (here). I love visiting that blog for ideas :). Next Sunday I plan to share my progress on my Week in the Life Smash Book. My concept is travel and I am using the international Smash folio. Everything is based on the metaphor that my family's daily life is a journey. It's all about maps, airmail stripes and woodgrain. I can't wait to put it all together! Thanks for stopping by today! Tessa

Diana's Blog Hop!

My dear friend, Diana Fisher, is celebrating her 3 year blog anniversary with a fabulous blog hop! If you've been hopping along, enjoying the amazing line-up of talented ladies, welcome to my stop :). If you're here by chance and are interested in scrappy inspiration and prizes, you can start the hop here.

Diana created this special sketch just for the hop:

And this is what I did with it:

I used two of the photo spaces for photos, and one for memorabilia. I love how Diana's sketches can guide you every step of the way and are so easily tweakable to fit your needs :). That takes talent!

I found this quotation recently and just knew that it would be the perfect journaling for these photos of my boys from our annual visit to the Sacramento train museum.

Besides inspiration, I mentioned prizes, didn't I? If you'd like to stake a claim to some fabulous free goodies, you can do so by playing along with the sketch! Just create your layout, link your entry back at Diana's blog, and you could win a $30.00 shop credit to Scrapbook Circle! And as you well know by now, there are several other prizes to be won along this hop, including one right here:

Diana has long been a fan and supporter of my etsy shop, Precocious Paper. In her honor, I created this little collection that I am calling the Diana Sampler, and it could be yours just for following my blog and leaving a comment on this post. You can also use this code for 15% off of your Precocious Paper order during the hop: DIANA15.

The hop ends April 30th, so get to hopping and scrapping! Your next stop is Ashley Horton :). Have a great day! 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

My New Necklace, Miss Art's

Hello! It's been awhile. I've been going through blogging withdrawals :). Spring Break and other challenges have left me with little time to sit down and write, but I am making the time this morning!

Today on the Epiphany Crafts blog I am sharing my project as part of our partnership with Die Cuts With a View. I used their papers with Epiphany Crafts tools and accessories, as well as Blue Moon Beads (a DCWV brand) to create this necklace:

For close-ups and a video tutorial that I made for creating your own, see the post here.

Also, I am really excited about my new class at Miss Art's, which is starting this week! Here's all the fun details about Pinspired Possibilities:

We all love things that inspire us. And why not? Every crafter has moments where a little boost of creativity is welcomed, and needed. All around the World Wide Web there are things to see. Photos, pictures, and even advertising can inspire that next great layout. But how do you turn that lovely image into your new favorite layout? In Pinspired Possibilities, Miss Art’s teacher Tessa Buys walks you through the world of online inspiration, showing you how to take the images you love and turn them into your next project idea. From colors, to sketches, to themed ideas, come follow Tessa as she guides you on this inspired journey beginning on April 20, 2012.

Thanks for stopping by today! I promise to do some serious catching up in the next few days. Have a good one! Tessa

Smash Sunday

Happy Easter! We have had a very full weekend - family, fun, and lots of quality time :). It has been great and the fun just keeps going! I didn't want to skip a Smash Sunday post, though, so here is a page I am working on:

I just need to add a journaling card to the library pocket and this side will be complete. I'm not sure what the left side will be yet.

The black and white photo is of my great-grandparents on their honeymoon. I decided to add it to my red, Everyday-themed book because we were recently talking as a family about the loved ones that aren't with us anymore and it made me think of them. I remember going for a walk once with my great-grandpa, and I remember my great-grandmother's smile. They passed away several years ago, but I know one day that I will see them again.

I used a lot of rose stickers because my great-grandmother's name is Rose. I tried to keep the rest of the details either love- or vintage-themed.

I was once asked how I knew that I would see my deceased relatives again one day. My response was this: I have faith in my Savior, Jesus Christ, and because of his atoning sacrifice and resurrection, I will one day live with Him and my family again. On this Easter Sunday, I have a heart filled with gratitude and love for my Savior. This message has touched my heart so very deeply and I invite you to watch, if you'd like.

Thank you for stopping by today and Happy Easter!

Vintage Giveaway Winner

Thank you so much for your sweet comments on all of my vintage projects for Amanda Jones' Vintage Series. It was so much fun to be a part of! Random.org helped me choose a winner of this giveaway...

...and that lucky person is: WENDIPOOH13!

Congratulations! Please send me an email at precociouspaper (at) yahoo (dot) com and I'll get your goodies off to you :).

Be sure to check out today's Designer Friday post here. Suzy and Cassie from the design team have been playing with the Ruffle Blossoms :). Have a great day! Tessa

Designer Friday - Ruffle Blossoms

Happy Friday! In celebration of the new Ruffle Blossoms listed in the shop this week, I thought I'd share with you what the design team is doing with them. First up, Cassie played with the Vintage Pink and Cream Ruffle Blossoms to create this adorable wall hanging:

So sweet! The ruffle blossoms are designed with centers that are perfect for adding your own special touch - a brad, a button, a cameo, a rhinestone, etc. I love that Cassie added a die-cut heart to her flower center.

Suzy is one of the first to get to play with the Ruffle Blossoms in a solid color. Over the weekend, 30+ colors will be added to the shop! Here is how Suzy put one of the pink shades to use:

Suzy + Precocious Paper + Authentique = amazing! Such a pretty layout!

What a gorgeous button center, too! You can find the Ruffle Blossoms in the shop here. The solids will be listed over the weekend, but several patterns are available now. I already sold out of a few designs, and some quantities are very limited - act fast! 

Thank you for the inspiration, Cassie and Suzy! Enjoy your weekend :). Tessa

Highlighter Hues

I just set a new challenge at the Scrapbook Circle blog, and it's all about NEON! From what I hear, most people either love or hate this trend. As a Lisa Frank fan from back in the day, I have a sentimental fondness for the day-glo colors. You probably won't catch me wearing much neon now, but you can bet you'll see it pop up in a scrapbook page or two like this one:

To read more about my layout, see close-ups, and to get challenge details, visit this post. And if you haven't seen the latest Scrapbook Circle kit, you must! It's filled with new Heidi Swapp and Amy Tangerine and I'm in love :).

Have a bright day, everyone! Tessa

Sweet Bunny Ears

Hello! With Easter just around the corner, Epiphany Crafts is posting oodles of gorgeous Easter and Spring accessory ideas on their blog this week, and my project is up today :).

This is Emmy, my little niece. Using a headband that I found in the dollar spot at Target, I made her the ultimate Easter accessory - Bunny Ears! I made a flower hair clip and simply clipped it to one ear. After Easter she can wear the clip by itself. Can you tell she wasn't too happy during this photo shoot? The poor thing was getting over a fever :(.

I used the button tool for the first time to create this custom flower center. I am IN LOVE! The options are endless! This button is backed with a bit of patterned paper from Echo Park.

To see more Epiphany Crafts Easter and Spring ideas, visit this post. And if you like the ruffle blossom that I used for the clip, you can purchase your own in my Etsy shop! I've added this light green design, as well as a several others:

The last sets of ruffle blossoms sold out quickly, so you might want to pick these up soon if you are interested. Have a fabulous day! 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!