Scrapbooking | Jersey Shore Boardwalk Scrapbook Layout

Today I am sharing a quick and easy layout with all of you that I made a couple of weeks ago. The photos are from a trip last fall that we took down to the Jersey Shore. The layout is done in the 12x12 format and takes less than 40 minutes to assemble and less than a $1.50 to make.

I decided to do the red, white and blue color scheme since the theme down at the shore that weeked was U.S.A. My background is a solid piece of red textured 12x12 cardstock. I then took a sheet of 8" by 11" solid navy blue cardstock and glued it to the left side of my layout to serve as my photo mat. I cropped down 3 photos of my family goofing off up on the boardwalk at night and placed them onto the page. (photos are from an arcade). I took 3 arcade ticket stubs and slid them under each photo on the right and left them sticking out slightly to add accent.

I had some silver metallic ribbon that was an 1/8" wide and cut two strands that measured 1/8" by 11" in length and ran them down the long edges of the navy blue cardstock using a glue pen. All four corners of each photo and the four corners of the page were accented with navy blue photo corners. I had 3 fabric sticker embellishments that I used to the right of each photo.

I used my Cricut to cut out my Boardwalk letters on the #2 size setting. I used the shadow effect for the navy blue letters and the regular setting for the silver letters. I then ran them thru my Xyron and layered them together to spell out the title of my page which is simply "Boardwalk". I did a little journaling in my own handwriting along the bottom edge of the layout.

Scrapbooking | Fun at the Petting Zoo Scrapbook Layout Idea

A few weeks ago I challenged myself to come up with a simple and easy zoo theme'd scrapbook layout that only used 2 different colors and today I am sharing that scrapbooking layout with all of you. This layout was done in the 12x12 format size.

My background is a solid color sheet of beige textured cardstock. I decided to make my own top and bottom borders. I used self-adhesive ribbon that was in a striped pattern (beige and brown) and ran one strip across the top of the page. I had a border sticker that said "Someone TOLD me it's all happening at the Zoo" and placed that onto brown cardstock and trimmed it down so only an 1/8" of an edge remained around it. I then placed it onto the bottom of my layout and used the same self adhesive ribbon that I used on the top to frame out the bottom border. I then added a 3-D embellishment of a monkey onto the bottom border to add some texture and depth.

I used 2 photos in my layout (the one on the right is one photo that was cut into two portions). I matted both photos onto beige and brown cardstock and placed them onto the page with glue dots. I used my Cricut to cut out my title of the page "The Petting Zoo". I used the size 1 setting for "The Petting" and used the size 2 setting for the word "Zoo". I used my Xyron sticker maker to layer my beige layers on top of my brown letters and then placed them onto the page.
I used the insides of the letter "O" to form the big O in my paw prints and I then used the #1 size setting on the Cricut to cut out 6 zeros. I used the insides of the zeros for the actual "paws". I used glue dots to put them onto my layout to form the 2 paw prints you see in the bottom left corner.

I used a fine tip brown marker to do my journaling around each photo (around all 4 sides). I think this layout came out great and it was very inexpensive (less than $1.50) since I primarily used cardstock and my cricut to make all of my photo frames, lettering and embellishments.

Like Pfister on Facebook and They Will Donate $1.00 to Rebuilding Together

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

I love it when companies and businesses get involved with a good cause and today I am here to tell you about Pfister and their wonderful initiative to raise awareness and money for Rebuilding Together.

For every "like" that Pfister gets on Facebook they will donate $1.00 in materials for use in Rebuilding Together's reconstruction projects. Please head on over to the Pfister Facebook page and "like" they today so that you can help out with this important and worthy cause. They will be donating materials up to $20,000 which is a fantastic thing that they are doing.

For nearly 100 years, Pfister has been a leader in the plumbing field, offering a variety of innovative, first to market plumbing fixtures and many additional products. Pfister is a brand name company that you can trust with quality well-made products.

Rebuilding Together is a national nonprofit organization that provides critical home repairs, modifications, and home improvements for American's across the nation who are in the low-income bracket. They really help these low-income home owners with important things that they need to have done but yet, can't afford to get them done. What a wonderful organization!

Equally important is that Rebuilding Together offers these services to the low-income home owners for FREE and at no-cost to the home owner. Rebuilding Together got started over 30 years ago in Midland, Texas as a grass roots effort and has since spread across our wonderful nation. As of this date, they have helped over 100,000 home owners across America.

With the help of 3.4 million volunteers, Rebuilding Together has delivered over $1.3 billion dollars to the market value since it got it's start 30 years ago. Wow, that is super impressive!

I would love for you to visit the Friends of Pfister campaign site so that you can learn more about Pfister and the Rebuilding Together initiative. We can all do our part in helping them by heading over to Facebook and liking Pfister today!

Decorating our home for St. Patrick's Day

Guest post written by Madison Burnett

My husband and I are both of Irish descent, so St. Patrick's Day is arguably a bigger deal for us than it is for other people. We don't just throw a party at our home for our friends to celebrate. We also decorate around our house for it. But up until now it's been just the inside. I wanted to put up a little bit of something outside to show off our Irish pride to people driving by our house.

I thought that the best bet for this would be to look online and see if there's an easy little DIY yard or door decoration that I could make in a short amount of time. I was looking through some St. Patty's wreaths when I saw a site about debt consolidation and spent some time looking through it. I told my husband about it and we decided to use it to help take care of some of our debt.

I found a tutorial on how to do this adorable St. Patrick's Day wreath and it was pretty easy and simple to do. Also, it will help people track down which house will be hosting the St. Patrick's Day party!

Scrapbooking | The Jersey Shore Beach Scrapbook Layout Idea

I finally had some time to do some scrapbooking last week and today I am going to feature one of the layouts I made in the 12x12 format size. The 3 photos featured in the layout are from a mini-vacation we took down to the Jersey Shore back in October 2010. We spent 3 days and 2 nights at the Montego Bay Resort and had a great time since it was also an extended-family vacation too. It was great to have my mother, cousins, daughter & granddaughter there too!

My background is something I pieced together. I started out with a solid sheet of light blue cardstock and then ripped a sheet of "sand" colored cardstock to be my bottom border. I then ripped some medium blue vellum and lined the edge of my "sand" colored cardstock with that and glued the pieced (sand & water) to the bottom of my blue background page. I had a scrap of scrapbooking paper that had beach & vacation words printed on it and I tore the corner off of that and glued it onto the background paper in the top left corner. I chalked my torn edges but you can certainly leave them plain.

I had 3 photos that I wanted to use so I cropped them and matted them onto tan and blue cardstock and trimmed around the edges leaving an 1/8" border around each mat. I glued them onto the layout as shown in the photo.My title block is a 3-dimensional title block from Jolees that says THE SHORE and that is placed at the bottom of the layout. I then took a sticker that says VACATION and placed it onto light sand, medium tan and medium blue cardstock to frame it up. I used foam adhesive dots to place it onto the page above the photo on the right. I decided to not use a journaling block so I did a little journaling under each photo in my own handwriting.

The layout cost me about $5.00 with most of that being in the Jolees title block and the rest was mostly in cardstock. The layout took me about 45 minutes to create. Enjoy!

History of the Modern Treasure Hunter Infographic

The popular hit TV show called Antiques Roadshow has taken America by storm and many Americans are searching for hidden treasures in their own homes so they can sell them to make money. Other Americans are looking to buy your hidden treasures for a good price to add to their own collections or to just add items to their own home or business.

Today I would like to share with all of you this very cool infographic called "History of the Modern Treasure Hunter" which I found to be very interesting! Furthermore, once you find hidden treasures in your own home you can sell them on HipSwap.com.

Please take a few minutes today to take a look at the infographic below and then head on over to HipSwap and check it out!

Presented By HipSwap

This Easter Decorate Your Home with some Beautiful Fresh Tulips!

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

Today I would like to tell you all a little bit about iBulb from Anthos, Holland's Royal Trade Association for nursery stock and flower bulbs. This is a new foundation that was just set up in January 2012 to focus on the financing and implementation of three activities that are important for the Dutch flower bulb sector. These three activities include promotion, technical research and market access. You can learn more about iBulb and their great association by visiting their web site for additional information.

I have always loved tulips because there is so much I can do with them around my house and with Easter just around the corner, I am excited about having some fresh beautiful tulips in my home once again. For example, did you know you can place some colorful jelly beans in a glass vase and then put your beautiful tulips inside the vase? How pretty would that be sitting on your Easter dinner table or on a hall table in your foyer this spring? cute, cute, cute!

I also love their idea on how to take an empty and clean coffee can and decorate it up with some wiggle eyes, felt nose, mouth and ears to make it look like the Easter bunny! Just place your beautiful tulips inside the decorated coffee can and you have a beautiful centerpiece for your dinner table.

One year I took a pretty Easter print gift bag that I purchased at the local dollar discount store and placed a glass vase inside it so that you couldn't see the vase inside the gift bag. I then placed my bouquet of fresh tulips inside it and had just the tops of them sticking out the top of the bag. It looked so pretty and you can do the same thing or purchase one of those Chinese-style takeout food boxes and place your tulips inside it.

There is so much you can do with a fresh bouquet of tulips to spruce up your home this spring season so I hope these ideas have inspired you to get busy doing some new spring decorating this year. If you have any tulip decorating ideas that you would like to share, please leave your ideas here on my blog in the comment form below.

The Wax For Your Candle Making Hobby

The Wax For Your Candle Making Hobby
By Carmen Lake

Many candle makers nowadays look for a more variety and are willing to experiment on how to make better and quality candles. The starting point for the candle makers is always deciding on what kind of wax they are going to use for the candles they want to make. This is to say that wax is one of the most important ingredients in the candle making process.

Petroleum is the main ingredient of the most commonly used wax, which is the paraffin wax and it is available anywhere, anytime in any stores. But if you are concerned with the environment, there are natural waxes and those are made from plants and vegetables such as palm, soy and bayberry.

Soy based wax is the most popular among the other natural waxes. To make this wax, hydrogenated soybeans are being processed. Soybeans are abundant in the United States for the most part in Iowa, Indiana and Illinois. Another natural wax is made from palm and they are abundant in Malaysia and Indonesia. But most of their rainforests are clearing out and because of that the natural habitats of most animals are now mostly gone. Because of this incidence, the World Wide Fund produced the organization called the RSPO. Their main concern is about the cultivation and sustaining the palm trees and most countries agreed and are involved with this organization. So, it is much better to use natural based wax for your candles.

Another natural type of wax is beeswax; it is mainly made from animals. Waxes that come from natural resources are becoming more popular nowadays such as beeswax because most people today are becoming more concerned with the environment. Candles that are made from beeswax can come in colors white or yellow and they are much more expensive because of the fragrant it will have and it also cannot be melted easily.

One alternative material in candles is gel. Although its texture is similar to rubber it is not really a wax. You can have them in three different densities which are really dependent on the type of candle that you want to have. The density is also affected by the amount of fragrance you put in it.

You will have no problems in making good and different variety of candles because you have many options to choose from in terms of the types of wax. Candle making could be an accomplishment for some people because of the beauty that they make out of these waxes.

If you are interested in candle making wax check out: candle making.

Scott's® Snap® Spreader System for your Lawn

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

Last fall and winter has been extremely hard on both of our front and back yards thanks to the massive amount of rain and storms that we received. Now that spring is just around the corner we want to repair our yards and get them looking beautiful again.

Scotts® Snap® Spreader System is something we are considering purchasing because I have a total of 5 brown and bald patches throughout my front and back yards that need to be fixed up with some new beautiful green grass. Did you know that your grass is a breathing live plant and it needs to be fed and nourished properly so that it can grow beautifully? I knew that but I have never taken the time to do it so this year I want to get busy nourishing my lawn with the proper "food" that it needs to look beautiful once again.

The Scotts Snap Spreader System is really easy to use, you simply snap, lock and go! I love that because I don't have time to mess around reading lengthy instructions or installing complicated things. It is a no mess, no guess and easy to use system that everyone can use! The Snap Pac connects quickly and easy to the Snap Spreader so there is no cutting, no opening and no pouring from heavy bags that can hurt your back. Great for those of us with mobility issues too! It has a unique EdgeGuard feature where it keeps in on your lawn and not on the areas you don't want it to be. When you are all done feeding your lawn the bag will self-seal once removed making it super easy to store until the next time you need it.

Right now if you like Snap perks on Facebook you can get in on their new "perks" program which started on March 7th, 2012 and earn some special perks from Scotts and the Snap Spreader System. Plus, they will be hosting some giveaways over on their Facebook page and you might just end up winning a prize or two!

I am really looking forward to working on our front and back yards now that the nasty winter weather is over and the nicer spring temperatures have finally arrived. I got big plans for our yards this year and it's time I properly take care of them so that they can look beautiful once again.

Candy Bar Baby Shower Party Favors

I just had to show you all this picture of some candy bar baby shower favors that were made for my nieces baby shower a few weeks ago. Aren't they cute? Her mother purchased them from a crafty seller online and had the wrappers custom printed. The front of the candy bars has my nieces name (first, middle & last name). By the time you all see this post she will have been borned!

I love how my sister-in-law then hand wrote thank you messages (thank you for attending the shower) onto pink paper, rolled them up like a scroll and used glue dots to stick the paper scrolls to the corner of each candy bar wrapper.

I think they are too cute and so much cuter than those plain candy bars you see at showers these days! Congrats on the new baby girl Ashley!

Great Coupons from Dollar General and Their Bracket of the Brands

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

I know that everyone is looking to save in any way they can, which is why I am a bit off of topic here on my crafting blog. I really want to share with you about this easy way to grab coupons from some of your favorite manufacturers and score some savings. Heck any way I can save of my groceries I figure is additional money I can spend on scrapping supplies! LOL Well Let me tell you about the Dollar General coupons and the cute program they set up.

Dollar General's Bracket of the Brands is a game that they have going on their Facebook page. It is easy to play by just Liking their page first. Then you choose the product that you want to play for. Like when I played I had a choice of Ritz or Planters. So I chose the Ritz. I answered 3 questions... poorly I might add LOL... and then the coupon popped up for me to print. Super simple and a bit of fun too! Each week the value of the coupons increase and you can play again. Here is the screenshot of the download coupon page that will pop up for you.

It is a fun way to grab some coupons for Dollar General and the brands you want to buy. The game end on March 25th so make sure you come by and like their Facebook page and grab your coupons! The savings will add up and that means more craft supplies for us! YAY

Decoupage Ceramic Tile Beverage Coasters

A few weeks ago I saw a company post on their Facebook Wall & Blog about some really cool beverage coasters they made from ceramic kitchen/bath tiles and when I saw them...I knew I just had to make them! This is a really easy craft project and a great one if you home school and need a project to do.

Decoupage Ceramic Tile Beverage Coasters

I went out to Home Depot and purchase 4" by 4" tiles for around .79 cents a piece. Mine are a solid white color. I then went to my local craft store and purchase some pretty 8" by 11" pieces of scrapbooking paper, a few foam brushes and a bottle of glossy decoupage medium. I couldn't find any cork backing so I ordered 4 sheets of cork backing that measures an 1/8" thick by 12" square from an online source. I used that for the backing on each of my coasters. Other than that you will need some hot glue, hot glue gun, paper towels and some newspapers.

I laid newspapers down on my work surface. I cut from my scrapbooking paper squares that measure 4" by 4" in size. I dipped my foam brush into the glossy decoupage medium and brushed a layer of the medium across the entire front of each tile. I then carefully placed a square of scrapbooking paper onto each tile. Make sure you smooth it out as you go along so that there are no air bubbles. I set them aside and left them dry overnight.

The following morning I used a new foam brush and brushed a thin layer of the decoupage medium across the tops of each coaster (you are sealing the paper underneath with a top layer of the decoupage medium). You want to brush the medium in all one direction so that the finish dries nicely. I set them aside and left them dry for 4 hours. I then repeated it again with a second layer of the decoupage medium. I left them dry overnight.

From my thin sheets of cork I cut squares that measure slightly less than 4" by 4" in size. I cut then slightly less than the size of the ceramic tile coaster as I didn't want any of the backing peeking out from under the coaster. I used my hot glue gun to apply hot glue to the bottom of my coaster and then placed the square of cork backing on top. You need to press down pretty hard so you get it to stick really good. Let them dry for a few hours and then they are ready to use.

This is an inexpensive and easy craft project idea that you can do year round. Use some Christmas theme'd paper to make holiday coasters and give them as gifts. You can also cut up some maps and decoupage those to your tiles to make travel theme'd coasters. If you have some scraps of gift wrap or tissue paper...you can use those too! If you don't want the finish to be glossy you can use matte finish decoupage medium instead.

(Optional) If you want a really good seal on the top of your coasters you can spray them with an Acrylic Sealer. However...I found that I didn't need that and the decoupage was enough.

Scrapbooking | Family Time at the Beach Scrapbook Layout Idea

Last weekend I had some time to sit down and do some scrapbooking...my hubby decided to challenge me and told me that I could ONLY use supplies from my scrap box (left-over supplies) as he was tired of me spending a lot of money on supplies but yet my scrap box keeps getting bigger. LOL geeesh...men just don't understand this hobby!

Anyway....I was up for the challenge. I did use one full sheet of 12x12 scrapbooking paper for my background design. I had 2 photos which I cropped down slightly and then matted them onto medium brown cardstock and onto a light blue print scrapbooking paper. I left an 1/8" edge with the brown mat and left a 3/16" edge with the printed paper mat. I decided to make my own journaling block out of scraps of paper and used light tan, medium brown and blue print paper. (the print paper matches the one I used as photo mats). Once I had it assembled I used my 1/8" hole punch and punched 2 holes at the top and then used some fiber to make a bow. I did my journaling in my own handwriting.

I had some left-over beach theme'd stickers from other projects and accented my layout with those (4 of them to be exact). I then used scraps of yellow cardstock and blue cardstock to cut out my letters to spell BEACH TIME using my Cricuit on the #1 size setting. I layered the blue letters on top of the yellow letters and glued them onto my page as the title.

I really need to get into that scrap box more often and start using up all of those scraps instead of just accumulating more. I think I will try his challenge again next weekend. Overall, the layout came out decently and only took me 30 minutes to make. It's a great frugal layout for those who like to scrapbook on the cheap!

Scrapbooking | Special Guests at 50th Birthday Party Scrapbook Layout

A few weeks ago I posted the matching page to this scrapbook page so today I thought I would post this one. The photos were taken at my husband's 50th Birthday Party back in October 2011 and are of our 26 yr old daughter and our 2 1/2 yr old granddaughter at his special party. He kept referring to them as the "Special Guests" so I wanted to use that as my page title.

I used a piece of striped 12x12 scrapbooking paper for my background and from black cardstock I cut two strips each measuring 3/4" by 12" in size. I glued them to the top & bottom of the page. I then used burgundy stickers and spelled out "Special Guests" across the top and "Jenelle + Gia" across the bottom. I had 3 photos which I cropped down and matted onto black cardstock and left a 3/16" border around the frames except for the photo on the right which has a 1" border across the bottom. I took a scrap of pale yellow cardstock and cropped it down to fit underneath and did some journaling on it.

I purchased a pack of 3-dimensional Birthday embellishments (birthday hat, birthday cake and a party sign) and placed them onto the layout as shown in the photo above. Even though the photos were of girls I needed the colors & design to be "manly" looking so that it would coordinate with the other page which you can see ---> Hubby's 50th Birthday Party.

Overall, it came out nicely and was super quick & easy to make...not to mention...affordable!