I saw this Basic Grey ‘Hipster’ collection at winter CHA.. it seems like it was ages ago now. I guess that’s what happens when you’re excited about new collections.. you seem to have to wait fo-evah for them to come out after CHA (when usually it’s just a few weeks). I wish I could just snag everything at CHA and walk out the door, lol. Anyhow, it finally came out and you can bet your finest paper cutting scissors I snagged it practically as they were loading it on Two Peas… this is mine, baby!

Then when it arrived I thought to myself, “What the heck and I gonna do with this besides a pile of cards?…. OMG, you need a pedicure!..” (true story) I wanted to do a layout, but here comes my ‘issue’ with needing the photos to ‘go’ with the papers and embellishments. So, my wheels started turning and I remembered some ‘Hipster’ glasses I bought for another project (which you’ll see soon enough).. I set up a quick photo shoot of my son on my front porch. Does he look quite ridiculous in those big ol glasses?.. lol.. Nah. My little cutie. He had fun with it and in about 2 minutes I got some CUTE pics. Thanks, Austin! It’s always nice when the kiddos wanna take pics for me… most of them were something like this though…

What IS that?.. Like.. are you OK, dude?.. lol So, I told him to be ‘cool’ and act like Batman (he gets more serious when he is in ‘Batman’ mode) So.. I got these shots and created this totally radical layout!

The paint.. ahhh.. the PAINT! I love the look. I’m gonna rub white paint all over my projects now, lol OK.. maybe not, but doesn’t it look good with the feel of this layout?

Finally used my little label tool thingy. Be a cool kid and get one, too.. SMASH Label Maker Only $10.00! That’s nothin’.. pretty much my daily coffee budget, lol.

That metal ‘cool’ clip.. oh how I LOVE them! They are also from the Basic Grey ‘Hipster’ collection. And if you’re currently drooling over the camera and film strip washi tape, mop up your mess and then head to Michaels! I got those babies on sale! They come together in a two pack.

Let me continue to show you every square inch of my layout.. one last pic.

As usual.. tell me what you think! If you use paint on your layouts, I’d love to see! Link me up to your blog in the comments! I wasn’t really sure WHAT I was doing. I just grabbed a makeup sponge and started smearing paint all over.. kinda how I put my makeup on, lol.

Alrighty.. time to head on outta here with your radical self. Thanks for stopping by! I have a busy week, but I do have a blog post for you tomorrow too.. TWO 3D projects made with Carta Bella ‘Beach Boardwalk’.

See ya!

I think this is one of my favorite cards I’ve made! It all came together so well with the cute Cool Summer collection. I added a cluster of brads and buttons, which I LOVE. I love ‘clumping things’.. Unless it’s milk.. yuck. No clumpy milk please. *barf* Brings me back to the baby/toddler days when I use to find hidden bottles or sippy cups with milk in them that were a week or two old.. Forget washing them.. I would toss them out. Lazy? Maaaaybe.. Totally creeped out by clumpy sour milk that looks like it’s moving towards me when I look at it. Absolutely.

Not quite sure why I am going on and on about nasty milk from talking about brads and buttons.. So. Yeah.. Moving on.

For more details on how I created this card, you can check out the Carta Bella blog post.

Totally makes me want a frozen lemonade.. spiked, of course.. with some BBQ.. and a pool. Summer, are you here yet?! Although, with summer brings wasps around here. Every year we have a problem with them. They like to make their nests on our back porch, egh! Then yesterday my little monsters came running in the house screaming that there was a wasp nest in their play house.. Happy Mother’s Day to me, lol. We’ve got to figure out how to get rid of these things. They literally harass us. Gah! Just talking about it gets me all itchy.. and I am pur-ty sure I hear buzzing behind me *looks over shoulder*..  I am quite traumatized because some attacked me one summer. I was stung (bit?) on my head numerous times. I freaked out and it caused one to get tangled in my hair.. nightmares are made of this, seriously. I called my husband crying to come home from work and help me. Maybe a bit dramatic, but I was convinced I was going to die, lol

So… enough milk and wasp chit-chat. I’d love to hear what you think! Have something you’ve created with the ‘Cool Summer’ collection? We’d love to see it! Simply upload it to the Carta Bella Facebook page HERE to share it with the rest of our online community.

Thanks for stopping by!

I’ve been busy with life so I haven’t been crafting much at all. But I am back at it now and will have a couple blog posts this week.. starting with this one!

I used the Echo Park Happy Go Lucky Photo Freedom kit for these two pages. I kept this clean and simple and just focused on the pictures. I mean, the whole concept with this style of ‘scrapbooking’ is to be quick and easy, right?… So here’s some quick and easy for ya!

We had a nice little day taking some photos of her in the dress I made.. and as you see, I had to make her American Girl doll one as well.

The butterfly wings pop up for some dimension. Really cute cuts.. I found them in the Silhouette store.

Here’s page #2. My favorite part is how I split the balloons sticker betwen two pockets.

And yes.. I will admit she looks kinda scary in the bottom right photo, lol.. But that was her.. gummy wide grin, lol. Grimlin style.

This page has hidden journaliing. I was done with the page and was like, “Crap! I didn’t add any journaling..” lol. So ‘hidden’ worked well for this.

Isn’ this PF theme beautiful though? I LOVE it. I think it’s my favorite PF theme so far.

And while you’re here I thought I’d share what’s coming to me VERY soon.. which means you’ll soon be able to get the, too.. Look at this yumminess.

There’s HAPPY CAMPER. I have project ideas spewing outta my brain with this one.. CAN’T WAIT!

There’s also the FANTASTIC HERE & NOW. OMG, peeps.. this is GORGEOUS!!! Can not WAIT to work with this. I am gonna use the crazy outta this!

The colors.. I mean REALLY.

Anyhow, I am looking forward to my DT box (when aren’t I?) and creating some projects to inspire you all (hopefully?..). Which of these two if YOUR favorite?

Alrighty, friends.. off ya go. See you again soon.. Sorry to be MIA for a bit. I have a few more goodies to share so check back!

OH!.. hold up!.. Who uses BLOG LOVIN’ to follow your favorite blogs? Please follow ME!  Follow my blog with Bloglovin

OK.. I will allow you to depart from my blog now *smiles*

Anyhow, the Echo Park team has been working on projects with the new ‘A Perfect Summer’ collection designed by Lori Whitlock.. and it is FAB! Totally gets me in the summertime mood… and craving a margarita. Mmm. I just finished up this totally awesome boat gift box.. This is made with the latest SVG Cuts kit! You can get this set FREE with the code FREEGIFT with your purchase of $9.98 or more! CHECK IT OUT and make your own boat!

So, slap on some sunscreen and a life vest (you’ll need it if I’m captain! lol) and come along on a little boat ride… it’s a row boat..  no fancy speed boats over here, lol.

I want at least 20 of those beach ball brads. SO CUTE!

Anchors are everywhere right now.. and as most things I talk about.. I’m loving them! I need one for my bathroom!…. and for that body I have in the closet.

What….?

I meant like.. a faux anchor tattoo or something…

This project will sit happily in my craft room to be admired by all who enter it… *back pats*.

OK, I have a child to go pick up from the bus stop.. but before I go, another back pat for me because I’m featured at Two Peas today! I am always shocked and surprised when this happens. I see my projects up there and I’m all like, “Who dis crazy cat that copied me.. oh, hell naw!”.. then I realize it’s MINE!

LOL….

Pretty cool, pretty.darn.cool. I also just saw it in their newsletter… coolness to the max, baby!

Go on.. get in line for autographs. Bring your own Sharpie.

OK, see ya’s later!

You’re here!!!! *throws confetti* Now the paaar-tay can start!

Welcome to the Hampton Art and Echo Park BLOG HOP! You’re half way through now.. just a few more to go! Here’s the blog hop line up if you need it:

• Echo Park Paper
• Hampton Art
• Laurel Seabrook
• Linda Auclair
• TamaraTripodi <—- You are here
• Susan Stringfellow
• Wendy SueAnderson
• JenniferGallacher
• Kandis Smith

I hope you’ve enjoyed everything you’ve seen so far. How fun right? Amazing paper and terrific stamps to coordinate? Purty snazzy! PLUS there’s a giveaway!.. Extra snazzy!

Here’s a peek at the brand new EP stamps. Such fun designs!

Let me guess, you want them all? I knew you would!

I created a card using Everyday Eclectic mixed with the oh, SNAP stamp set from Hampton Art. I used the doily and the star to create a background then I washed it out a bit with white ink. I embellished with some stickers, washi tape (from Michaels), and flair from my shop, Paper Play Studio (ENTER HOPSHIPFREE for FREE SHIPPING through Sunday the 28th!)

I just love that camera sticker!

GIVEAWAY: For a chance to win either a stamp prize from Hampton  Art or one of three collection kits from Echo Park Paper, please  continue on the blog hop leaving a comment on each blog. Winners will be selected and announced both on the Echo Park Paper and Hampton Art  blogs on Monday, April 29th. All comments are due by Sunday, April 28th  at midnight EDT to qualify.

I hope you liked the card I shared today! Time to keep on hopping! Next up is the wonderful Susan!

And if you’d like to follow me, like my page on FACEBOOK and check me out on INSTAGRAM!

See ya!

Anyhow… nails over videos lately, sorry peeps.

So, since I didn’t do a video this week, I at least made something to share! I ordered a bunch of Dear, Lizzy 5th & Frolic on sale at Two Peas. Um, yeah.. not sure what is going on in my head because I should have had this right when it came out.. it’s gorgeous! I saw it in person at CHA, but your mind gets so packed with all the new and exciting things you see there that it’s easy to forget it all, lol. Really.. I walk out of CHA and think ‘What was that again?‘… lol. So when it got delivered and I opened my box, it was like something brand new and exciting.. and on sale *high five*.

I found some cute photos of my younger daughter that worked well with the colors of the paper. I like to match my kids clothes to the papers.. yes.. it’s weird. I actually made this dress and we were out trying to snap photos of it so I could load it into my Etsy shop. She found this ‘pokey thing’ and was wanting to bring them all home. The second photo she looks like she’s almost scared of it.. well, there was a bug on it, ooops! lol. I told her ‘and this is why we are not bringing them home!’ she agreed. (And dang it.. I should have journaled this little story.. maybe I will add it in or write it on the back) Anyhow, in her ‘scared’ picture I loved the way she is holding it out and looking at it all displeased-like, so I used it!

I just love the soft colors here. I kinda felt ‘meh’ about it yesterday when I finished it, but today I like it…. knowing me I will be ‘meh’ about it tomorrow.. Ah, the ever changing mind of a woman.

I am always so scared to sew through chipboard.. like it’s gonna snap my needle and it will fling into my eye or something. When in reality.. chipboard is pretty easy to sew through.. just gotta take it a little slow.

Looking at my daughter in the dress I made totally makes me want to sew again… Hmmm.. Maybe I will find the time to sew soon. I think I said this recently, too.. lol. It’s been so long, I don’t even know if I remember how to sew. Maybe it’s like ‘riding a bike’ and you don’t forget.. but I am sure I am a bit rusty.

OK, that’s it for today! I am so happy I finally got into this whole layout thing. I am slowly putting albums together and it makes me all warm and fuzzy.  I have tons of gorgeous photos of my kiddos to scrapbook and I have been printing them just waiting for the right papers to come along.

Before ya go, I gotta know.. Do you try to match what people are wearing to papers you use? I can’t be the only crazy one out there. I see the crazy in your eye.. it’s OK.. tell me you coordinate papers with your photos, too!

See ya!

To personalize this album a bit I created a vinyl decal. I used a free font called ‘Lobster 1.4′. It’s one of my favorite fonts right now. I cut this decal with orange Silhouette vinyl. The vinyl went on to my Storybook album perfectly!

When you open the album you’ll see a small 4×4″ screen shot of my Instagram account. I will probably switch this out every few months and just layer them over one another to document changes in followers, my profile photos, etc.

Behind the profile screenshot I added a divider pocket that I cut with my Silhouette Cameo. Looks awesome in those cute Dooodlebug ‘Take Note’ papers, doesn’t it? The pocket holds a printed Simply Put journaling card. I added a die cut tab to it with a button.

Pull it out and here’s what you see:

(Yes, my kids love instagram, too!) Do you like look of the PRINTED journaling card? I will have a short tutorial at the end of this post to show you how I did it!

When you turn the pocket divider, you’ll come to the first page. This one has 4 pockets that are 4×4″. This is my FAVORITE layout to use. I kept this page simple with a Simply Put card and some photos with a few stickers and a penguin Doodle-Pop. I whipped this up in no time! I love that the pocket pages and Simply Put cards make it SO easy to document everyday life.

The next page is a full 8×8 sleeve. I die cut a big Instagram camera and made it ‘interactive’ by adding a Doodlebug chunky brad to the lens to turn out of the way to expose a super cute picture of my son. Fun, right?

Another turn of the page and there’s a simple divider with the title of my album, ‘insta-life’. Just a touch of Doodlebug washi tape and a homemade flair badge to match.

Now for the last page (for now). I did a little die cutting here and used a Simply Put card. For the bottom 4×6 pocket I added a Doodlebug mini note card to create a simple interactive piece. I adhered the back of the card to my paper, trimmed a small photo to fit, then added some Doodlebug twine to close it. Untie it to see the cute photo! You can do this and add some journaling inside the card. I kept it simple with a sticker.

Here’s a list of the Silhouette cutting files I used:

• 4 Chevron Borders
• 5 Tabs
• Page Dividers
• Insta-Camera

Now for a quick tutorial to print on your own Simply Put cards!

• STEP 1: Create a blank page in your editing program sized roughly to the area you will want to print on. This will vary depending on the size of your cards used, graphics on the card, etc. Once you have your text perfect, print it out onto a plain white paper.
• STEP 2: Use a bit of double sided adhesive to layer your journaling card over the printed text.
• STEP 3: Showing the journaling card layered over text. *TIP: Holding the paper and journaling card over a light box or window will help in lining it up or you can just eye it.
• STEP 4: PRINT! Be sure to insert your paper into your printer the correct way so it feeds properly. I may, or may not have, printed on a card upside down the first time..

That’s it! VERY easy! I personally do not care for my writing so I will print on my journaling cards anytime I can… and being I don’t have a typewriter yet, this is the best way to do it. Plus you can change up your fonts and text colors which is really fun.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this ‘insta-life’ post and leave here with several ideas on incorporating your Doodlebug Design products into your own albums!I’d LOVE to hear what you think, if you have any tips to ‘pocket style’ layouts, etc.

See ya!

Have you noticed that the Doodlebug team has been sharing their projects this week featuring Kiwi Lane templates? The Doodlebug blog has been packed full of inspiration!

I kept it simple this week and created a little baby girl gift box topper using Doodlebug’s ‘Sugar & Spice’ collection. The gift box topper can double as a decoration, tag or a card!

I took one of the flower templates and made it into a little sun! I kept it off to the side to leave a bit of room to write a ‘To and From’ or a little note on the pink stripe paper.

I made the grass curve up a little for some dimension.. and how cute is that giraffe?

I ‘unstuck’ the clothing stickers by adding powder to the back, and then hung them onto twine. I thought this was really cute!

That’s it! I am keeping this short and sweet today! (Can’t get much ‘sweeter’ than Doodlebug, right?!)

Have a great weekend!

I have some paper crafty goodness to share with you today.. of course. Because that’s what I normally share.

I am LOVING this project I designed for Carta Bella. The So Noted collection has got to be my favorite Carta Bella collection so far! I LOVE the vintage design and soft colors. So beautiful!

I found this wooden ‘book’ at Hobby Lobby a few months ago and it’s been hanging out waiting for the perfect papers to alter it with. When My Carta Bella DT box came I opened it up.. fondled the So Noted collection.. glanced at my wooden book… then I looked up to the heavens and said aloud, “It is time…” (in an overly dramatic voice, of course)

(I swear on my glitter stash that really happened!)

So, here’s the finished book box thingy.. a book with a drawer?.. I dunno, but it’s cute… and I swear on my Thickers stash you’ll love it. (And don’t pretend you don’t love it just to try and get ‘mah Thickers.)

My daughter looks so serious in that picture, but I love it because it is SO ‘her’.

Pull the drawer out and it perfectly fits the 4×6 journaling cards (made into a mini album)

As you can see, these patterns are stunning! I was pretty excited to find a perfectly matched seam binding to use, too! A light aqua blue. (Can’t remember where I got this one from)

You can check out THIS post on the Carta Bella blog to get the FULL supply list and design details.

I’d love to hear what you think! Do YOU prefer ‘altering’ over die cutting things like this? If you are big on die cutting you can find a 3D book cutting file from the Attic Treasures SVG Cuts Kit. Check it out and whip up your own book! If you want to alter the wood box, again, this is from Hobby Lobby (I’ve seen some at other craft stores)

OK, friends.. off ya go! Hope the rest of your week is fabulous! My next week and a half requires two dentists appointments.. GAH. Just when I was about to get Invisalign on April 12th, they find a small infection on a root canal I had done TWO years ago.. REALLY!!! I’ve been walking around with an infection for two years. How am I even alive still? Now they have to fix it up in two parts and my Invisalign impressions appointment has to be pushed back. I literally cried. I can’t win! I find out today if my insurance will even cover a re-treatment on that tooth since it’s been so long.. if not, I am out $900. Just shoot me now.. seriously. Pull all my darn teeth and slap some dentures in my face.

Done… Just D.O.N.E.

Wow.. venting much? LOL.. Ok, lovelies.. See ya! *waves*

YAY!!! FINALLY! I feel like I have been keeping in this deep dark secret from your guys for weeks now.. oh. wait. I have! No more secrets, peeps.. I was invited to join the new and exciting Little Yellow Bicycle design team! I am so excited about working with LYB and look forward to sharing my creations with you all!

If you don’t know me, you can read my ABOUT ME section. I haven’t been around the paper crafting world too long.. but I LOVE it! Who knew paper could make someone so happy?.. Well, unless it’s money. We all now that makes people happy.. And crinkled up candy bar wrappers. Why crinkled up? Because that means you’ve already torn into it to eat the yummy chocolate, of course. Also, if you’re new here please like my FACEBOOK PAGE! I share often over there and you might miss out on something awesome. You don’t want to miss out, do ya?..

Here’s the rest of the amazing team. The talent on this team is just crazy.. CRAZY. Be sure to go through the entire blog hop to meet everyone and see their ‘welcome’ cards. There’s also a giveaway for the entire collection of Just Because or either of the Fern and Forest for a few people who make it through the entire hop! Exciting!

Do you see my glowing red hair and pasty whiteness in there? Purty exciting!

Ya know what else is exciting? The NEW BLOG!! Yes, LYB blog got a little face life and you can check it out RIGHT HERE.

So, all the new and returning DT members made a card with a ‘welcome’ theme. I used the new Fern & Forest boy collection for my card. This collection is too.darn.cute. I also used a touch of The Naturals tags, stick pins, and orange cord.

The fox.

Really…

No, really!

i.die.

SO CUTE!

These wood stick pins are the best! I love the look of them. I was never one to use stick pins in projects.. that is.. until LYB came into my life.

Alrighty.. keep on going! Remember, there is a GIVEAWAY happening! *happy dance*

Here’s the blog hop order to follow:

• Mitchell Kraft – http://mitchellkraft.com/
  Eva Pizarro – http://evascrap.blogspot.com/
  Melinda Spinks – http://thescrapfarm.blogspot.com/
  Mou Saha – http://collagecollagecollage.blogspot.com/
  Tamara Tripodi – http://happylifecraftywife.com/ <—- You are here checking out my cute Fern & Forest card!
  Shellye McDaniel – http://www.shellyemcdaniel.com/
  Audrey Pettit – http://audreypettit.wordpress.com/
  Suzanne Sergi – http://scrappinthedetails.typepad.com/scrappin_the_details/
  Jen Chesnick – http://www.mrschez.typepad.com/
  Heather Leopard – http://thespottedleopard.blogspot.com/
  Robbie Herring – http://robbiesphotoblog.blogspot.com/
  Vicki Boutin – http://vickiboutin.typepad.com/
  Liz Qualman – http://lizqualman.blogspot.com/

A big THANK YOU to LYB for the invite to the DT! I am looking forward to rockin’ the LYB this year!

*waves* see ya!