Best Day Ever - A Flair for Buttons and Freckled Fawn

Hello! Guess what today is?! Our annual post-Christmas sister shopping trip! I'm super excited to get out of the house and to hang out with adults for most of the day. I love my kiddos, and we really are enjoying the break from school, but still.... ;). Anyway, I thought it would be fun to post this layout today, seeing how it's all about my sisters:

This is a photo from our San Diego vacation this past summer. I was tired of holiday crafting and CHA project-making when I came upon this color challenge at Freckled Fawn:

I cleared my scrap table and put this layout together right then and there. I pulled product from Studio Calico and Scrapbook Circle kits, as well as from my Freckled Fawn washi stash and A Flair For Buttons collection.

I love that flair - capture is the perfect word for this moment, this page.

You can read more about the flair in my post at the A Flair for Buttons blog. And you can play along for a few more days at Freckled Fawn here. Have a great weekend, everyone!

PS - Be sure to enter to win the Club SEI January Paper Crafting Kit by commenting on yesterday's post. :)

SEI & a Giveaway

Hello! I hope you are enjoying the holidays :). I sure am! Today I have two SEI projects to share with you - one to contain your holiday photos and one to get you organized for the new year. Oh, and an awesome SEI giveaway, too! First, a Christmas mini album:

I pulled the white and gold papers and accents from the Holiday Traditions collection to create this little book of 2011 memories. The pages are simply patterned paper glued back-to-back. The papers in this line feature gloss and glitter - so pretty for holiday projects!

I used my sewing machine to create the ruffle from the crepe paper trim in the collection. So pretty!

I wanted rings to hold my book together, but I was having a hard time finding gold book rings. So, I went to the jewelry aisle at the craft store and found gold rings there. I love that they are petite in comparison to book rings, which makes them a perfect size for this little book.

You can find more photos of this album here. I also had the pleasure of working with the Club SEI January paper crafting kit. Oh my goodness, this kit is filled with all sorts of great ideas for organizing. I chose to work with this plaid portfolio:

A few months ago I clicked through a recipe I had pinned on Pinterest only to find that the link was no longer good. I couldn't find the recipe again! I vowed at that moment to print right away the recipes that I would like to try. However, that led to random pieces of paper stuck to my fridge, poking out of cookbooks, and jumbled on my microwave. This portfolio has been a lifesaver!

The inside of the portfolio is filled with page protectors, which I divided up by adding the kraft inserts from the kit. To make the kraft inserts turn like pages better, I scored them where they would rest against the spine of the portfolio. Each section is for a different kind of recipe: main dishes, side dishes, and desserts. I'll add more sections later if I feel the need to.

To fancy up the inserts, I used patterned paper from the kit. I loved the pink patterned paper most and fussy-cut birds to add as accents. The doilies and alpha stickers came from my own stash, as well as the washi tape. I used my Silhouette Cameo to make the section titles.

Now, I print the recipe and clip it to or tuck it in to the divider. Once tested and family-approved, I will move it to a page protector. So far, this system is working wonderfully, and the portfolio looks so cute with all my cook books in the kitchen.

How would you like to win one yourself? I have one of these paper crafting kits to giveaway! There's much more inside - see?

To enter to win, simply leave a comment here by January 3rd. I'll announce a randomly selected winner on January 4th. Say hi, let me know what you think of my new mini album or portfolio, or share how you might be getting more organized for the new year.

Thanks for stopping by today and good luck! Tessa

Two Turtle Doves - DCWV

Hello! We are celebrating 12 Days of Christmas at DCWV right now. I was assigned the second day of Christmas, so I put together a pair of wreaths complete with two sweet little birds.

I embellished the grapevine wreaths with picks (cut apart and woven into the grapevine branches), silk flowers, and handmade paper flowers cut from DCWV's Traditional Holiday stack.

I die-cut the birds from the same stack using my Silhouette Cameo. They may not be doves, but they were the right shape and size for these wreaths :).

If you'd like to follow our 12 Days of Christmas feature, be sure to stop by the blog daily. The design team has come up with some pretty creative takes on this classic Christmas carol. I hope all is well! Thanks for stopping by :). Tessa

DCWV Hampton Arts Blog Hop

Hello! I am hopping with DCWV and Hampton Art today :). If you just happened upon the hop and would like to start from the beginning, please make your way here. If you've been hopping all along, you should have just come from the lovely Linda's blog. If you've managed to lose track, I have the hop listed below. At any rate, welcome! And on to the fun stuff - DCWV's Heirloom Christmas stack and Hampton Art stamps!

I have a group of three friends who are getting special gifts from me this Christmas, so I thought I would coordinate their gift wrap. The Heirloom Christmas stack and these Hampton Art Christmas stamps were a perfect match for some vintage-y tags:

The holly on this tag (and the slate-colored tag) is actually vintage. I love incorporating vintage finds in my papercrafting.

When I think of vintage, I tend to think of doilies (they are so trendy right now - how could you not?). So, each of my tags features a bit of doily that I used as a base for my stamping.

Jingle bells and twine make the tags even merrier. As well as a few splashes of red, white and black mist. I can't help myself :).

You have many more projects to see today, so I'll let you get on your way. Before you go, if you like what you see here, I encourage you to follow my blog. I post often and would love to see you back. Also, be sure to leave comments as you go - those comments could earn you prizes like this:

Comment by midnight, December 16th to enter. And be sure to hop with us again tomorrow as more designers take on the Heirloom Christmas stack and Hampton Art stamps with a modern twist. Have a fantastic day! Tessa

NEXT STOP: Beverly

Hop Beginning ( http://dcwvinc.blogspot.com/ )

Vivian Keh ( http://contadinak.wordpress.com/ )

Jan Garber ( http://scrapnsurprise.blogspot.com/ )

Dana Warren ( http://www.kraftpaperstamps.blogspot.com/ )

Hilde Stolk ( http://hildejanbroers.blogspot.nl/ )

Gini Williams Cagle ( http://www.ginicagle.blogspot.com/ )

Rita Barakat ( http://letsembellish.blogspot.com/ )

Linda Abadie ( http://lindaabadie.com/ )

Tessa Buys ( http://precociouspaper.blogspot.com/ )

Beverly Sizemore ( http://bevscreativepath.blogspot.com/ )

Karla  Der ( http://madebykarla10.blogspot.com/ )

Gloria Stengel ( http://www.gloriascraps.blogspot.com/ )

Amanda Philips ( http://oldenough2beakid.blogspot.com/ )

End of Day 1 ( http://blog.hamptonart.com/ )

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!

Velvet Bow Bracelet - SEI

As part of the 12 Days of Christmas Gift Ideas at SEI, I created an easy, but oh-so-cute bracelet:

You can find the entire tutorial at the SEI blog, but long story short, I basically turned a long oval of SEI's gorgeous velvet paper into a bow and added snaps:

This red color is perfect for the holidays, but SEI offers velvet paper in almost two dozen beautiful colors. There's a color that each of your girlfriends will love, I'm sure! For the tutorial and step-by-step photos, click here. Be sure to check out all the other fabulous gift ideas from the DT, too.

Have a wonderful Friday and great weekend! Tessa

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

Full Hands - The Studio

Hello friends! Right now is the calm before the storm - a storm of school, scouts, and Christmas choir busyness. I am determined to enjoy the crazy schedule that December brings, so I've decided to be happy, extra patient, and to relish this time with my boys. While I'm waiting for them to get dressed for school, let me make sure you know about the current challenge at The Studio:

Inspired by winter layers, the challenge is to create a page with layers. I layered five different patterned papers under my photo, but my favorite layer of all is the layer of patterned paper under the Cameo-cut title.

I absolutely LOVE this saying. It is absolutely, 100% true. My full hands are just a reflection of my very full heart. I love being a mom :). I used a woodgrain red behind the whole page, but slipped the heart pattern behind certain letters. I like the subtle effect that creates.

I also stamped - yes, can you believe it? - on this layout! Well, I stamped on scrap paper and then cut it out and adhered it, but those arrows were so worth it. And don't you love that flair? It was perfect for my instagram photo. You can find it at A Flair for Buttons.

If you'd like to play along at The Studio, you can find the details here. I hope your day is happy :). Thanks for stopping by! Tessa

Cousins in Pajamas - SEI

Hello! How is December treating you? So far, so good here :). On Thursday, the SEI blog featured a recent holiday layout of mine:

It just so happened that all of the cousins on my side ended up at Grandma and Grandpa's Christmas morning wearing zip-up, fleece pajamas. They all looked so cute together that we had to attempt a few photos.

The Berry Melody line from SEI is so cute, perfect for whimsical holiday photos. I used the metallic silver ribbon to create bows, making the photos look like little presents.

The foil and glitter accents in this line are beautiful and a great touch of holiday sparkle.

I'll be sharing more SEI holiday goodness throughout the month, including my most favorite holiday project of the year :). I can't wait to show you! In the meantime, be sure to stop by the SEI blog for our 12 Days of Christmas Gift Ideas, and be on the lookout for the many giveaways this fabulous company does.

Thanks for stopping by today! Tessa