WINNERS!

The "Acessorize" Prize goes to:

Lynell of Kreations for Kids!

The "Embellish" Prize goes to: 

Joann Temple!

Congratulations, ladies!  Please email me at precociouspaper (at) yahoo (dot) com with your contact information.

Thank you to all who played along. I hope to see you around often!  It won't be too long until the next giveaway :).  Tessa

So Much to Say...

Suddenly I have Dave Matthews Band in my head :).  I can't believe it's already Wednesday!  I have so much I'd like to share with you today that I don't really know where to start.  So, I'll start with...

#1 - I won the June challenge at SRM Stickers with this card!  It was one of those projects where inspiration kind of hits you like a brick wall, and I loved the result.  In August I will be a guest designer for SRM Stickers, which also means I get to work with new product debuting at CHA :).  I'm so excited!

#2 - Today's extra at The Studio is our last World Cup Challenge.  The challenge this time is to use the logo as inpsiration.  Because I enjoyed the 4th of July so much, I had to scrap an Independence Day photo.  Can you see my camera in his sunglasses? 

I basically interpreted the logo as a sketch, but you are also encouraged to be inspired by the color scheme.  I hope you can join us!

#3 - Today is the last day to enter my giveaway.  I will be announcing the winners sometime tomorrow :).

#4 - If you read my blog, you know I subscribe to the Scrapbook Circle monthly kits.  Well, guess what?!  I applied for their design team and made it!  Whoo hoo!  I am so very excited!  I cannot wait to get started!

I feel blessed :).  When you're just trying to be the best mom you can be, fighting the battles of daily life, and working through tough trials, it is wonderful to get good news.  I'm grateful for my blessings and that I get to do this scrapbooking thing.  Have a fantastic day! Tessa

Bloom and Grow

We have a new prompt up at The Studio!  The challenge: Let's get in the mood for summer! Scrap a layout using orange and yellow as your main colour scheme!

Using a fantastic two-page sketch from Sketchy Thursdays, I scrapbooked photos of the beautiful rose bush we have on the side of the house.  I pulled the dark green from the photos to help ground the bright, sunny colors and used my Martha Stewart butterfly punch for the first time. 

Like Amanda says at The Studio blog, these aren't necessarily colors I often pair together, but I LOVE how vibrant this layout is.

Cosmo Cricket is sponsoring in July and August!  They are such a generous, funny, and down-to-earth company - I love them. 

If you have a chance, please visit the blog and see the other DT member's takes on the challenge, and don't forget that there are just two days left for The Studio Design Team call.  Come play! We'd love to have you!  Tessa

Happy Independence Day!

The 4th of July is my FAVORITE holiday!  I love this time of year - the picnics, the parades, the fireworks.... I love it all!  So to all my US friends, have a safe and wonderful holiday weekend.  And if you're in another part of the world, enjoy your weekend too!

Source: epicfireworks.com

Don't forget about my big giveaway, happening here on the blog.  You have through July 7th to enter.

Oh, and I should mention here that several people have already taken advantage of my weekend sale at Precocious Paper.  Purchase three sets of flowers and get one free!  You can stay up to date on sale announcements on Facebook :).

Happy 4th of July!  Tessa

Carnival = Family Time

I had a lot of photos that I wanted to scrap from our recent trip to the carnival.  When Becky Fleck asked me to create a layout based on a PageMaps sketch for the July newsletter and her website that included several photos, I knew exactly which pictures to use!

I loved the tiny little thumbnail photos.  I opted for black and white pictures there so that they didn't compete too much for attention.  I used my favorite shot from the day for the main photo, and the only photo I have of all three of my big boys for the supporting picture.  I just had to use Hello Sunshine papers by Lily Bee for this one - they were the perfect colors for that wheel!

Did you notice the format?  8.5 x 11, double pager.  That's two things I don't do often.  I loved it!  I think I might do this size more often :).  With all the different size page protectors out there from different scrapbooking companies, I can definitely see various sized pages in an album soon.

Thank you to Becky for the opportunity to contribute!  And thank you for stopping by!  Tessa

Patriotic Pinwheel Garland

When I saw the new Summer Stack from DCWV, I had to have it!  The patterns are beautiful, and I especially loved the red, white, and blue papers.  I wanted to make something to decorate for Independence Day, so inspired by the pinwheel and the banner trends, I created a patriotic pinwheel garland.

I cut the pinwheels out of 6 designs from the stack, and secured each one in the center with a brad.  I punched holes in opposite corners of each pinwheel, tied ribbons between, and viola!  Thirty minutes later I had a garland to grace my front window.  Said window does not let in proper photography light, so I brought the garland out front to take pictures. 

The papers were just perfect!  Since they are double-sided, I was able to make two pinwheels from each pattern and fold them opposite ways for two distinct pinwheels.  I have a total of twelve on my garland, each one unique from the others.

Grandma Carrie sent us some patriotic pencils, so later today we are going to make more pinwheels and secure them to the pencil erasers with sewing pins.  They'll really twirl and the boys can't wait.

If you ever want a garland like this one in a different theme or color scheme, let me know.  I'd be happy to make a custom one for you and add it to my shop.  Don't forget about my giveaway and check out today's earlier post with the new Scrap That Poetry prompt.  Have a great day!  Tessa

Face

We have a new prompt for you at Scrap That Poetry!  The poem is "First Love" by John Clare.  I thought of several different directions I could take on this one, but as I was browsing through photos I found this picture of Carson.  Instantly, the line "I never saw so sweet a face" stood out to me and became my subtitle and title.

Carson has a talent for making faces, and this is my favorite one.  I've used my June Scrapbook Circle kit and some embellies from my stash.  I love those velvet flowers.  I bought them here on Etsy before Maya Road began manufacturing them. 

Not only did I choose the red-white-blue color scheme because it matches my photo and is one of my favorite combos, but also because I was inspired by the second World Cup Challenge at The Studio - scrap using your country's flag's colors.  I know we're out of the tournament now, but go USA!

Don't forget about my giveaway!  I'm excited to be meeting new people and to be hearing from people who stop by often but don't always leave comments.  I'll be back later today with a fun Fourth of July decoration to share :).  Happy Thursday! Tessa