Scrapbooking - A Flock on the Wild Side Zoo Scrapbook Layout

Back in June of 2012, we headed to the Cape May County Zoo to spend the afternoon with our family. We had a great time and love visiting the Cape May Zoo in New Jersey a few times every year.

I decided to create a coordinating 2-page scrapbook spread featuring some of the photos I took that day of the various animals at the Zoo.
"A Flock on the Wild Side" - Page 1

This page features 3 photos of various birds we saw at the zoo that day, hence the title "A Flock on the Wild Side" which is a play on words aka (A Walk on the Wild Side). If you click on the photos in this post, you can enlarge them to see details.

The photos were matted onto dark red and lime green cardstock. The background is a sheet of brown cardstock with tiny lime green polka dots. I cut my own top and bottom border strips from lime green scrapbooking paper. The title at the top is red stickers and the A Day At The Zoo wording was made using my Cricut (from lime green and brown cardstock). The bottom border strip on this page has duck stickers and a FREE AS A BIRD 3-Dimensional cut-out which I attached to the page using foam dots.
"More Wild Fun" - Page 2

This page is similar looking to page one but minus the bottom border strip. This page features 2 large photos which were matted onto lime green cardstock and then I inked around the edges using brown ink. The title is MORE WILD FUN which I used the same red letter stickers from page one. The rest of the page is accented with various Zoo theme'd 3-Dimensional accents, animal stickers, etc. which I put onto the page using foam dots to add dimension.

Overall, I am really pleased with how this 2-page spread turned out as I normally don't put lime green and chocolate brown together. With that said, those 2 colors really go along nicely with zoo theme'd photos. The pages are not exact but coordinate nicely together. Since I used a lot of pre-made stickers and embellishments, the pages came together pretty quickly.

Different Elements of Greeting Cards Design

Different Elements of Greeting Cards Design
By Harsin Carter

Greeting Cards are pieces of folded paper having images or text on the front (cover) and a message inside. Though these cards are available with different variations and designs, but they usually follow similar layout plan. They have 3 parts or elements - a front side, a back side and inside. For designing these cards, one has to take care of each of these elements.

1. Front Side - When designing front side of the card, one can use an image or text or a mixture of images and text. The card maker software library has a plethora of images to be selected for designing greetings. One can select suitable images to set the desired tone of the card, like serious, funny, playful or romantic, depending upon the occasion. The front side has to be designed with due care, since it is the first to grab the attention of the viewer.

2. Inside - The inside of the card can be kept blank for one's own message or can be designed with images or a simple message (like Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary) can be given. There can also be some poem, some quotation or any punch line for a joke included inside the card.

Extra Inside Panels - Some cards have many panels, instead of having only one fold. They may have gate folds or accordion folds, in order to include a large amount of photos and text.

Extra Inside Pages - Some cards can look like small booklets in order to tell a story or an extensive message.

3. Back Side - When the cards are bought from the market, their back side contains the name of the manufacturer of the card, copyright notice, and logo and contact details. However, when one designs a card for his or her own use with a greeting card software, the back side can be left blank or can be decorated according to one's own wish.

Optional Elements of Greeting Cards

Embellishments - The cards made by hand or with the help of software can be embellished with charms, ribbons, glitter and other items to make them more beautiful and personalized.

Sound - These days, some greetings also incorporate sound.

Tabs or Pop-ups - The greetings may also have tabs or pop-ups which the receiver pulls to read the message. These are generally included in kids' cards or romantic cards.

All these elements of the card can be designed easily with the help of greeting card maker.

Harsin Carter loves to write about greeting cards and their importance on various occasions. He emphasizes on using perfect greeting card maker for creating photo greeting cards.

Curbside Chaos Yard Makeover + Fall Gardening and Planting

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bulbs. Dig, Drop, Done. All opinions are 100% mine.

For the past 5 months hubby and I have been spending every weekend over at our new home working on various remodeling and landscaping projects. We purchased this 60+ year old home because it has charm, but it definitely needs a lot of work!

The past few months we have been doing a lot of reading and research on landscaping ideas, vegetable gardening and flower gardening. Wow, so many great ideas out there for beginners like us! A great site to learn more about lanscaping and flower gardening is Curbside Chaos.

Just recently Curbside Chaos held a Yard Makeover and one lucky winner won a yard makeover plus a visit from Taniya Nayak and wow...what a fabulous backyard makeover! I love that the home owner chose some lillies and gladiolas for her backyard which are always pretty. You need to check out the video at http://youtu.be/MqeAi_su2ok. If I would ever win a $5,000 yard makeover, I would get a white trellis, white gazebo and plant some slowers around them, I think it would look pretty.

For every Twitter share (just a quick and easy Tweet) ~ Dig, Drop, Done with the hashtag #CurbsideChaos the company will donate $1.00 to Rebuilding Together, the nations leading non-profit that works to preserve affordable home ownership and to revitalize older communities.

I wanted to get busy with our Fall flower bulb planting so I decided to use their Garden Guru Tools (bottom left side of the page) which is broken down by country and then your state/planting zone.

I live on the East Coast and used the tool as I want to plant some flower bulbs now that will bloom in the spring. I learned that Daffodils are a great bulb to plant now for May blooming. They also give you some tips and planting instructions too!

I need to get my bulbs into the ground before we have our first frost up here in the North East part of the country.
I would love for you to go over and use the tool too and tell me what kind of bulbs you would like to plant this fall for blooming in Spring?

Oh, I have a tip for you today, bulbs are not just for gardening! Many bulbs can be planted in a large container and placed indoors! Bulbs are very versatile and you can't plant them all around your home. There are flowers that do well in full sun, part sun and some that even do well in the shade. That is very cool to know since we have big areas of all three around our house!

Every spring we give potted bulbs to both of our mothers for the Easter holiday and another set for Mother's Day in May. Our moms look forward to getting their potted bulbs every year!

I would love to invite you to  visit www.digdropdone.com to learn more and check out the ladies! I really enjoy Evelyn because right now we have a pesky groundhog problem in our backyard and I need to plant some things to keep those groundhogs away. Evelyn is a wife and mother of 3 and lives in the country just like me. Which of the 3 ladies do you identify with? She recommends planting daffodils and calla lillies to keep pesky critters away. That is good to know!

Thanks for reading my post today and I hope you check out Curbside Chaos and Dig Drop Done. They are really cool sites!

Kmart's Big Layaway Giveaway and Crafty Holiday Gifts!

This is a partnered post written by me on behalf of Kmart. All opinions are 100% mine.

Can you believe that in a few short days that summer will be over? Wow, this summer season flew by! Now it's time to get ready for fall and the upcoming holiday season. I am already thinking about all of the crafty holiday gifts I will need this year for all of the ladies in my local craft group. Every year we exchange gifts with one another and I want to get my gifts selected and done early this year.

Today I wanted to tell you about Kmart's Big Layaway Giveaway which is going on now through November 17th, 2012 and no purchase is necessary. At every Kmart store and for every week during the promotion period, Kmart is giving away a layaway! How cool is that? Pretty cool if you ask me!
I love Kmarts free layaway program because unlike the other stores, there are no hidden fees and charges to put your holiday shopping gifts on layaway. You make a small down payment and then weekly payments on your layaway purchases until you have it all paid off. It's a great way to get the holiday gifts you want and need, and to spread those payments out over time. I love it because I can avoid using my credit card and I can get all of my holiday shopping done before the crowds hit the stores.

I was over on Kmarts web site and I found some beautiful crafty gifts for some of the folks on my holiday shopping list. My 27 year old daughter is just venturing into the world of crafting and sewing and I found this beautiful Brother 25 stitch motorized sewing machine for less than $100.00 over at Kmart.
I think it would make the perfect first sewing machine for her and it's in my price range! Jen would love this machine and hopefully she will make some pretty dresses for herself and my little grand daughter once she receives it.
I need two crafty gifts for two of the girls in my local craft group and one of them is really big into scrapbooking. I found this all-in-one 8" by 8" scrapbooking kit over at Kmart for less than $20.00. It includes the scrapbooking album, papers and stickers.

I think it would be perfect for Jade and all of the scrapbooking that she does and trust me, she does a lot of it!. She has an entire bedroom set up as her scrapbooking room and wow...does she have a lot of papers, tools and stickers in there!

Another gal in my craft group is really big into cardmaking and scrapbooking and I found this box of gel ink pens over at Kmart for less than $17.00. I love all of the pretty colored ink pens that come in this set and I think it would be a fabulous gift for Mandy. She loves pens and uses them all of the time in her various paper crafting projects.
Like I said, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Kmart's layaway program and every time I go into Kmart I find something else that I want and need. I love their selection of products, their quality and of course, those affordable prices that get me all of the time!

I would love to know how many of you will be using Kmarts layaway this year to help you with your holiday shopping? Have you ever used their layaway before and if so, what do you like about it? If you are using their layaway this year, what kind of things will you be putting on layaway?


One final reminder, head on over to Kmart's web site today and take a look at their big layaway giveaway information! You should enter...you never know, you could end up as a big winner! Good Luck and Happy Holiday Shopping!

DIY Tips Pantry Staples Make All-Natural Beauty Simple and Affordable

DIY Tips for the Kitchen Beautician
Pantry Staples Make All-Natural Beauty Simple and Affordable

WAUKEGAN, ILL. (Sept. 18, 2012) – Brisk fall weather is upon us, with that comes dry skin from the cooler air and winds. Seasonal skin problems can be solved this year with all-natural treatments and products that are free of harsh chemicals – a healthier option for the body and the environment. Money can be saved on expensive natural products too by using kitchen pantry staples to create DIY spa treatments for glowing skin at home.

Nielsen-Massey Vanillas, the makers of fine vanillas and flavors, has pure flavor products made from high quality natural oils and several all-natural vanilla products. Just a drop of Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract can be added to any DIY spa recipe for improved skin tone, calming aromatherapy, and healthy antioxidants.

Try these spa ideas from Nielsen-Massey for fresh fall skin with common kitchen ingredients:

• Use leftover green tea bags and place on eyes to remove dark circles and puffiness.
• Lemon oil is known to have a calming effect on the body. Mix Pure Lemon Extract with water for a beneficial skin treatment for dry skin.
• Hydrate skin with a honey facemask – spread raw honey on face, leave for 20 minutes, rise off for smooth skin
• Coconut oil moisturizes skin and is known to help heal small bumps and bruises.
• Combine a splash of Rose Water with water and put into a spritzer bottle – keep it in the car or purse for a fresh scent (or leave it in the refrigerator for a cooling morning mist).

“I use vanilla sugar in my homemade body scrub. The scent is relaxing and it’s an affordable way to treat myself to a little pampering,” explains Beth Nielsen, chief culinary officer of Nielsen-Massey.

For smooth skin, try Nielsen’s DIY Vanilla Body Scrub recipe below.

Vanilla Body Scrub

1 cup Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Sugar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 or 2 drops of an essential oil such as lavender, eucalyptus, etc.
Decorative, waterproof container

1. Mix ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Spoon into a decorative, waterproof container
3. Wrap in decorative paper.

Instructions for use: Apply a small amount to damp skin while in shower or bath. Gently scrub skin with a soft washcloth. Rinse thoroughly.


About Nielsen-Massey Vanillas
Throughout its more than 100 year history, Nielsen-Massey Vanillas has earned its reputation as a manufacturer of the finest extracts in the world. The full line of Nielsen-Massey’s Pure Vanilla products include: Vanilla Beans and Extracts from Madagascar, Tahiti and Mexico; sugar and alcohol-free Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Powder; Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste; Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Sugar and Certified Organic Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract and Beans.

Nielsen-Massey Vanillas also has a line of Pure Flavors: Pure Chocolate Extract, Pure Almond Extract, Pure Orange Extract, Pure Lemon Extract, Pure Coffee Extract, Pure Peppermint Extract, Orange Blossom Water and Rose Water. All Nielsen-Massey products are Allergen-Free and certified kosher and Gluten-Free. The company is headquartered in Waukegan, Illinois, with production facilities in Waukegan and Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.

Using Archival Mist in Your Paper Crafting Projects

Are you looking for a way to add non acid-free paper items to your scrapbooks, greeting cards, invitations and altered paper art projects? If so, Archival Mist is your answer and is the perfect solution when you want to add the following objects into your scrapbooking and crafting projects:

* ticket stubs
* travel maps
* brochures & pamphlets
* newspaper clippings & articles
* school artwork and report cards from the kids
* sport programs & play programs
* copies of birth certificates or wedding licenses
* paper documents, receipts, etc.

Tip: Never use your original important documents, always make a photocopy of them first!

You can use Archival Mist in any setting, you do not need special ventilation, gloves or face masks. It is a non-toxic and safe alkaline buffer that will help to protect your non acid-free mementos from damage that occurs to paper naturally over the years. Archival Mist is specifically made for paper items, so don't mist it on metal findings, leather, fibers, lace, fabrics, etc.

To use it: Lay down a scrap piece of paper onto your work surface, do not use newspaper as the inks from the newspaper can bleed onto your paper items! Lay the item you want to mist on top of the scrap paper and hold the Archival Mist bottle a few inches away. Lightly mist the front side and let it air dry. Flip the item over and lightly mist the back side and let it air dry.

Once it is fully dry, you can use your new preserved paper piece in your scrapbooks, in cards or any other type of crafting project that you may be working on!

Scrapbooking | Road Trip Vacation Scrapbook Layout Idea

A couple of months ago my hubby and I took a road trip up to Altoona Pennsylvania to celebrate our 26th wedding anniversary in some peace & quiet (aka a nice quiet resort). We decided to take a nice road trip through the Allegheny Mountains here in Pennsylvania and saw miles upon miles of gorgeous mountains while on our drive.

Note: You can click on the photo in this post to enlarge it to see the details closer.

Today's layout is simple and clean looking which is great for beginners. It was done in the 12x12 format and features 3 photos that measure 3 1/2" by 5 1/2" each. My background is a dark sponge type print of scrapbooking paper that measures 12" by 12" in size. I then ran a felt butter fly border across the bottom that was laser cut in lime green.

I matted all 3 photos onto lime green cardstock and then onto dark green cardstock and placed them onto my layout. I didn't want to crop them down too small as I wanted to show the mountain scenery that we saw on our 4 hour drive. The photo on the left shows one of the 3 mountain tunnels that we had to drive through and I particularly didn't care for those at all!

My title block simply says "Pennsylvania" in red letters which is a sticker that I matted onto lime green cardstock and then matted it onto dark green cardstock. Underneath that is my secondary title block which says "Allegheny Mountains" which I matted the same way as the first title block. In the bottom left corner is my handmade journaling block and I accented that with some tiny daisy stickers to remind me that we took our trip in the spring. I then accented the two photos on the right with self-adhesive metal framed words. One says "Journey" and one says "Travel". The entire layout only took me about 35 to 40 minutes to make.

NMEDA Helps Disabled People Find Mobility Equipped Vehicles

This is a partnered post written by me on behalf of NMEDA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you all heard about NMEDA before? I have heard of them before and my cousin who is disabled has used their services before to help find an accredited QAP dealer when he was looking for a wheelchair accessible vehicle. Well today, I am going to give you some information about NMEDA.

NMEDA stands for National Mobility Equipment Dealer Association and NMEDA first got it's start in the great state of Florida. In 1989, NMEDA opened up their membership and now you can find over 600 NMEDA accredited dealers in the USA and in Canada.

NMEDA is a non-profit association of mobility equipment dealers, manufacturers, driver rehabilitation specialists and other specialists/professionals who are dedicated and comitted to helping disabled people find vehicles that they can drive or be transported in. NMEDA is a nationally recognized and respected association.

The organization promotes and supports individual members who are engaged in the modification of transportation vehicles that are geared towards people who have disabilities. All members are required to adhere to the strict standards and guidelines of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and every year, these guidelines and standards are updated. This means that you will always find the most current safety standards!

The QAP (Quality Assurance Program) is a nationally recognized accreditation program for the mobility equipment industry. This wonderful program was developed to help promote quality, safety and reliabilty within the mobility equipment industry and is the ONLY program of it's type in this industry. A QAP designation enhances vehicle modification & mobility equipment installation in the highest standards that are currently available. This quality really counts and something important to look for when considering a mobility vehicle.

You can visit a NMEDA QAP (Quality Assurance Program) Dealer for mobility solutions and you can use the dealer locator which is directly on the NMEDA web site to find a dealer near you. You can grab additional information about NMEDA and the QAP program directly from their web site.

We all have a need to get from point A to point B and disabled people are no different. Just like us, they want to travel and see the world and NMEDA can help them find a dealer who specializes in mobility vehicles and mobility equipment.

If you know someone who is disable, please let them know about the great folks over at NMEDA. Thanks for reading my post today!

Scrapbooking - Beach Walk Scrapbook Layout Idea

Back in early June, hubby and I took a vacation down to the Jersey Shore. One lazy afternoon we headed to the beach for a 2 hour beach walk and on that walk, we collected sea shells! (sand dollars and conch shells). I wanted to remember that beach walk so I created a 12x12 scrapbooking page to document it.

I used 2 sheets of 12x12 scrapbooking paper to make up my background and then used orange colored paper border strips to accent it. I had 4 photos that I used which I cropped and then matted onto orange colored cardstock, leaving an 1/8" edge. You can click on photo above to enlarge it to see details and photo placements better.

I used a pre-made tag holder and journaling tag which I accented with a 3-D embellishment and orange fibers (bottom right corner). The official title of this page is "Beach Waves" and I used chipboard letters for the title. I then basically used a little of this and a little of that to accent different areas on the layout along with some orange colored beach word stickers.

The entire layout took me about 40 minutes to put together and I was trying to use up some items from my vacation scrap box of supplies and did pretty good at using up a bunch of things. I really like the layout because I was able to squeeze 4 photos onto it. Enjoy!

How To Set Up A Booth At A Craft Fair

How To Set Up A Booth At A Craft Fair
By Jesse T Anastasio

The first thing you need to do in order to set up a booth at a craft fair is to make a plan. That means putting together an idea of what your craft show booth is going to look like in advance. Planning your craft show booth involves a couple of things: first, you want to talk to the craft show organizer to see how much space you have, and if there are any restrictions to what you can have in or around your booth. Also, ask if you have a reliable power supply to run your booth. This is important. The next thing you want to do is to get a floor plan of where your booth is located so you can figure out the best set up to keep people moving in and through your craft show display.

When you go to set up you craft show booth, there are a couple of things you must keep in mind, and the first is to reduce clutter. Keep your crafts well-organized into specific areas. If you are someone who knits and you have sweaters for kids and adults, you don't want them together because people will be frustrated with having to sort through the kids sweaters to find the one adult one in the pile.

Spend time perfecting your merchandising skills. If you have a special stained glass window hanging, it would be time well spent to purchase or build a window that you can display in your booth with one of your window hangings in it. When people see the item in action, they can picture it in their own homes, or they can picture using it. If they can do this, then they are more likely to buy it.

Keep items no lower than waist level. No one really wants to bend over after they have been on their feet all day at a craft fair. Keep items within a person's reach and they will be more likely to pick it up and examine it closely, which will lead to more purchases. Leave some floor space for extra stock (in boxes) that you can fill your tables or racks with.

Price everything you have. Make it easy for people to buy your crafts. If you don't have a price, they may think twice about taking the time to ask, and they may just go elsewhere to purchase something at the craft show.

Eliminate log jams. There is nothing worse than having people frustrated by the lack of good flow in a craft show booth. Try and create a natural flow for people to look at your craft fair items. If you create too many spaces where people are bottle-necked or they have trouble maneuvering to see different crafts, you are limiting your sales. Keep your aisles wide and keep everything streamlined. The frustrated customer does not spend their money in a craft show booth that frustrates them.

Remember, you are running a business. Think of that store that you despise going into versus the one where everything flows so nicely, the displays are appealing and all of the price tags are on the items for sale. Make your craft show booth resemble the store you like, and you'll find that people will spend more money on your crafts!

Visit http://www.funandfreecrafts.com for more great, free craft ideas from fellow crafter and writer Jesse Anastasio.