I made the little ATC (artist trading card 2.5″ x 3.5″) using a watercolor background that I made with various blues and aquas from the 60 piece set of Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers, fussy cutting out a bunch of tiny mermaids from the paper collection, and a bit of polka dot vellum that I die cut into waves with the smallest of the MFT Die-Namics Stitched Scallop Edges dies. The title is text from one of the patterned papers too.

The flip book includes a watery gel-filled shaker (tutorial HERE) as well as a spinner card with a magnet closure that I created using the mirrored stamping technique and one of the fish from the “Cute Fish” cling stamps from an old Inkadinkado stamp set that I had picked up at Tuesday Morning about 6 months ago.

I used the following Copic colors to color up all four fish from the stamp set:
Clown fish (on front): C1, 6, 10 and 0; YR00, 12, 04 and 07
Blow fish (on front): Y00, Y11, YR31, YR21, E93, E95, E97
Rainbow colored fish (on tuck spot for tags): Y08, Y13, YG07, G19, B000, B01, B05, B18
Angel flame colored fish (mirrored for spinner): Y15, R32, R35, R37, B01, B24, B29

There are so many details to this flip book that I’d be writing a 3 page post to cover it all so instead, please enjoy the following video share:

This flip book is being entered into the following challenges:
MFT 10th Birthday Bonus Challenge – 10 ephemera pieces used in this flip book
Simon Says Stamp Monday Red White and/or Blue Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Photo Inspiration Challenge
Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Anything Goes Challenge
Through the Craft Room Door Anything Goes Challenge
Penny Black and More Anything Goes With a Stamp Challenge
Craft Galore Encore Create Your Own Sunshine Smiles with Anything Goes Challenge
613 Avenue Create Anything Goes with an Optional Rose Twist Challenge
Craft Your Passion Anything Goes Challenge

Plus I got a chance to finally break out my 60 Count Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers (which I have embarrassingly had for months without even cracking open the box). I could have colored these up with Copics, but I decided I wanted a softer water colored look to go with the sweet theme.  I stamped out the cute bear with the macaroon from the Bear Tea Party kit, a cuddly teddy bear with a stack of presents from Fizzy Moon, and a sweet little mouse with a giant cupcake from SP & Company (sorry, this company is no longer in business) with black Versafine Ink onto 140 lb Strathmore water color paper.  Oh that’s the other thing, the super textured paper makes stamping a little tricky, but with my new MISTI tool (yes, I finally bit the bullet and joined the crowds getting this), I was able to stamp and re-stamp the image without fear of messing up the image. As I’m not the best stamper, this new tool is a total game changer for me!

To color up the critters, I used the following colors: 094 Gray Brown, 096 Mid Gray, 065 Mid Brown, 066 Dark Oatmeal, 064 Oatmeal, 072, 091 Light Gray, Beige, 026 Light Pink and 028 Pale Pink for blush. For the pastel colors of the macaroon, cupcake and presents, I used the following colors: 026 Light Pink, 021 Light Carmine, 083 Lilac, 047 May Green, 091 Light Gray, 052 Bright Yellow, 036 Light Blue, and 063 Ochre.  Lastly for the darker shakes of the noses of the critters, mouse’s clothes, cherry, and macaroon filling, I used 031 Cobalt Blue, 022 Carmine Red, 095 Dark Gray, and 010 Black.  It was so fast to just color around the edges and where I thought the shadowed areas would be and blend out with a water-filled Pental water brush.  I loved how easy it was to blend! I won’t be getting rid of my Copic markers (still my favorites), but to create a softer, more painterly look, these Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers are pretty awesome.

Then it was a mater of creating a four panel flip book structure. I picked out scraps from my scrap box as well as eight 6 x 6 papers from the American Crafts Spring collection, the Authentique Sweetness collection, and the Dear Lizzy Neapolitan collection. I glued them front to back to create a double sided, thicker base, and then connected them all together with a 1/8″ space between each panel (for a gusset to give a little space for thicker embellishments) with various gold washi tapes from my stash. I also tacked on a strawberry envelope that I had saved from a happy mail note from a friend to create an extra flip pocket.

Then for the fun part, all the embellishing and creation of flips was made super fun and easy with the super sweet embellishments from the Bear Tea Party kit. I used the teapot and tea cups, just inking the edges with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Worn Lipstick and adding pink Stickles for extra sparkle and dimension. I inked up one of the wood veneer cupcakes with pink ink for the frosting, again topping with pink Stickles, and painting the cupcake base with my new favorite paint marker by Marvy Uchida in gold (I picked up mine at Walmart for ~$3). I also used a couple of the dimensional butterflies, a cupcake flair-topped rosette, a flair-topped paper clip (I dismantled a second one to make it double sided), a couple of decorated applique bows, the sweet raspberry lace, the pale pink fuzzy rickrack trim, some of the natural crocheted trim, and even the lace tie that came from the packaging to create the closure. With everything coordinating together so well from the kit, it was really easy and fun to go to town embellishing.  I supplemented the kit with a few little handmade book paper flowers, a Poppy Stamps Teapot Stack die cut, and some sweet sentiments from old Project Life cards to make this flip book, but otherwise, with some patterned papers and washi, this kit had everything I needed for this project–plus I had lots of yummies left over for more projects (to come)!

The following is a video share of this flip book:

This flip book is being entered into the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday Flowers Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Flowers Challenge
Card Mania Flowers Challenge
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Anything Goes Challenge
Our Crafty Corner Anything Goes Challenge
Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge
Crafting a Beautiful Mess Anything Goes Challenge
Through The Craft Room Door Anything Goes Challenge
Penny Black and More Anything Goes Challenge
Not Just Cards Anything Goes Challenge
613 Avenue Create Anything Goes Challenge

To make this 6″ x 8″ envelope flip book structure, I used a We R Memory Keepers envelope punch board tool and four sheets of 12″ x 12″ double sided paper (cut down to 11″ x 11″, with scraps used later) from the Heidi Grace Daydream collection. The bright Easter-like pastel colors made for a sweet backdrop for the decorations and pictures of her granddaughter and cat that I pulled from Linda’s YT channel and blog.

What really drew me to wanting to try making this flip book was the closure that I saw made by a wonderfully talented YTer (YT: Sabrina Ann). It entails making a kind of tab with an eyelet around which a long bakers twine can be wrapped around the book and then around the tab. I got to use a sweet flower eyelet and also tied some antique brass leaf charms along the bakers twine to add some extra interest. To decorate the outside envelope section I also hot glued on some vintage blue and yellow trim I had been hoarding in my stash for years! LOL

I used paper heart doilies, pearl butterfly stickers, a lacy heart sticker, pink Stickles, gold glitter washi, sunglasses washi (to go with Linda’s granddaughter’s sunglasses), and clouds and heart washi with various cut apart pages from the American Crafts Dear Lizzy Neopolitan paper stack. I also tucked four altered paper clips that I had decorated with owl images that I Copic colored from the Lawn Fawn “Mom + Me” stamp set (Copic colors used: Dad: E11, 21, 23, 25, 29 with hint of B91 in face; Mom: E21, 11, 97, 99 with hint of B91 in face; Kids: B91, 93, 95, 97 with hint of E21 in faces and bellies). I had so much fun decorating up these pages.

The page I feel most proud of was the page on which I pieced together a background/pocket made entirely of little scraps (I can’t tell you how great it felt to use up so many bits and bobs!). I loved the Primitive style patchwork look of this background. Plus I kept the top of this background overlay open in order to create a slim pocket into which I could slide a couple of playing cards with washi samples on it as a little gift for Linda.

The following is a share of this flip book:

This flip book is being entered into the following challenges:
MarkerPOP Easter Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Make Your Own Background Challenge
Card Mania Polka Dots or Stripes Challenge
Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge
613 Avenue Create Anything Goes with an Optional Twist of All That Glitters Challenge
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Anything Goes Challenge
Whimsy Stamps Anything Goes Challenge
Crafty Girls Creations Anything Goes Challenge
Craft Your Passion Anything Goes Challenge
Paper Sweeties March Inspiration Challenge – Owl Paper Clips tucked in throughout flip book

I love the limitless possibilities and the spirit of fun and adventure that hot air balloons symbolize, and, of course, I love my dogs, so why not combine them together? 😀  I hope you like “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!”  (inspired by the Dr. Seuss book of the same title)

I drew and colored this digi for my niece, who is graduating from high school in a couple of weeks. I wrote her a note on the back congratulating her, and this will go into a copy of the Dr. Seuss book I bought for her along with a gift check.  🙂  I thought the image nicely represented the encouraging sentiment: “The sky’s the limit!”

I used the following Copics to color up this digi:
Hot air balloon: C1, 3, 5, and 7
Blue accents: B00, 01 and 02
Poodle (Biscuit): E51, 21, and 33
Havanese (Bandito): W1, E33 and E23
Golden yellow basket and base of hot air balloon: YR20 and 31
Sandbags: W1 and 3

The following is a short video share:

This colored drawing is being entered into the following challenges:
The Pink Elephant Graduation Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday Yellow Challenge

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful crafty day! WOOF

The top photo is of my hubby opening up a present (his face is covered to protect his anonymity), with Biscuit overseeing progress. I thought this was so sweet because in our family we normally don’t give gifts to adults, but my niece (who is a sophomore in college) insisted on getting gifts for me and my hubby.  She is really growing up into a fantastic young lady.  I thought this picture was especially funny because my hubby was opening a package of chocolate covered biscotti, and Biscuit was so very interested.

The bottom photo is of my dad (his face is not covered because he loves publicity! LOL) tasting some home made beef jerky that my hubby made for him. My dad is not very fond of dogs, but as you can see Bandito is undaunted and is sidling up to him as best he can. 🙂

The following video is a share of this page and includes a tutorial for how to stretch your dies–I lengthened a tag die to make it fit my journaling needs:

Diemond Dies is having a sale through Dec 31, 2014 and you can layer on my coupon code: thankskristina for an extra 10% off plus free worldwide shipping!

This Dec Daily page is being entered into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge and The Pink Elephant Inspiration Challenge

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you are enjoying the holiday season. WOOF

DIEMOND DIES SALE: Diemond Dies is having a sale through Dec 31, 2014! The Holly Leaves Die set is 25% off and the Nesting Tag Die Set is 10% off.  PLUS, if you use the coupon code “thankskristina” you’ll get an additional 10% off of sale prices and FREE worldwide shipping on orders of $35 or more.  Happy Holidays!

Day 23 was two pages. The first is just a card that I made using my free digi, Happy HOWLidays.  This was the card that I made a lot of to finally get some cards out so I thought I should document that in my December Daily.  I hadn’t really thought of it before, but the inside of the card makes a perfect journaling spot. The next page was a fun one.  I used some left over wrapping paper.  This kraft paw print paper made me gasp with delight when I first saw it wrapped around a gift sent to me a month or so ago so I salvaged as much as I could and had been hoarding it for a special project.  I used the Tim Holtz Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die called “In the Bag” to create a little faux shopping bag, adding a twine handle and a hand made double twine bow.  This was a great way to represent all the Christmas shopping I’ve been doing as well as the doggy bag that I got at a holiday dinner I attended at Maggiano’s (part of the menu has a two-fer; order one dish for dinner and they make a second one for you to take and eat at home the next day for free!).  The little decorative tag I made using a dimensional sticker and one of the smaller tag dies from the Diemond Dies Nesting Tag Die Set. I used one of the larger tag dies to create a journaling tag that slides in and out of the doggy bag.  As I’ve said before, I think this tag nesting die set is one of the most useful dies I own–it has been indispensable for my December Daily album.

Day 24 was a simple one. I simply used another one of the tag dies, some left over glitter paper and bit of gross grain ribbon, and the last scrap I had of one of my favorite papers from the Graphic 45 “Bohemian Bazaar” collection.  The tag is finished off with the Lawn Fawn scripty joy die.  I die cut it out twice and offset the words to create a kind of shadow effect that helps the word pop off the busy background.  A little journaling on the back of this tag was all the page required.

The following is a video share of these pages:

The Day 24 page is being entered into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge

Thanks for stopping by! If you celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas! May your 2015 bring you happiness, good health, and wonderful crafty adventures! WOOF

For Day 18, I had fun using some stickers that were gifted to me from crafty friends, Jenn (YT: ScrapbenaCreations) and Jill (YT: luvmy2pugs1).  It amazed me that everything seemed to coordinate together even though I had prepped this page weeks ago.

For Day 19, I included a colored print out of the free digi I made that day, “Gift From Down Under“ and some pics I snapped of Biscuit and Bandito after the hair cuts I gave them that day.  They weren’t thrilled with me that day, but I loved how sweet they looked.

Day 20 was made just using some foam glitter snowflake stickers from the Dollar Tree for the page base and some paper from the Crate Paper “Snowy Day” collection.  I made a little journaling card using a scrap piece of white card stock that I put through a Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder and a poodle stamp from the Penny Black Penny Black “Mimi in Paris” stamp set, my current absolute favorite stamps!  I colored it up to look like my Biscuit with the following Copic markers, using a dotting coloring technique to give the impression of curly fur: E50, 51, and 53.

Day 21 was super simple, which was a great way to reflect a quiet Sunday (plus, as my December Daily is getting pretty fat, it was helpful to create a flatter page-LOL). I just used a tag from the Diemond Dies Nesting Tag die set and a little silver paw shaped brad to create a swivel topper that hides that day’s journaling. The tag is decorated using 5 stacked punch outs from a Martha Stewart Crafts Himalayan Snowflake Large Punch.  I glued them together to create a more substantial looking embellishment and then coated the top one with some glitter glue.  I love how this simple tag came out and plan to make more for gift tags. 

Diemond Dies is having a sale through December 31, 2014, so go check them out if you have a little extra shopping money left over or if you have someone just “dying” to get you something for the holidays. 🙂  Don’t forget to use the coupon code: thankskristina for an EXTRA 10% off your purchase, and if your order is $35 or more, you also get free worldwide shipping!

The following is a video share of these December Daily pages:

Page 20 is being entered into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Winter Inspiration Challenge (that dog licking the snow is so adorable)

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day! WOOF

Then to be able to document this in my December Daily was crazy fun! LOL Seriously, I had a blast!  I made a little stencil using a Fiskars paw print punch. Then I mixed some brown acrylic paint with some latex caulk to use with the stencil to make it appear as though there were doughy paw prints up the page. I snapped a picture of the doggy cookie cutters and taped them in using some silver and gold glitter washi tape. I hand wrote in some thoughts I had about making these faux gingerbread dog cookies, and finished off the page using the border punch from the Martha Stewart Crafts Punch Around The Page Aspen Set to decorate the hole reinforcement strips.

For the next page, I created my own background patterned paper by printing out a close up of the finished cookies (life size).  Then I decided I wanted to add a traditional shaker (not a sewn acetate one like I’ve made recently). I printed out the cookies photo again, a bit smaller so it would fit better in the Polaroid frame from the Sizzix Jillibean Soup “I Heart This” Die Set, and used some scrap acetate (from some left over embellishment packaging), some thin strips of foam adhesive, and some pale pink and teal sequins to create a shaker.  HINT: To avoid having the sequins accidentally stick to the sides of the shaker, brush on a thin coating of baby powder or baking soda along the edges before taking the backing off the foam adhesive and adding the back panel of the shaker.

I taped on some sheer teal ribbon to the sides of the page and tied a bow on the front. With the tails of the bow, I created a kind of net/pocket by taping those to the back of the page too. It’s a loose structure, but it works just fine to hold the shaker card in place.

The following is a video share of these pages:

Doggy Treat Recipe:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2 jars of organic baby food (a meaty flavor like beef with vegetables was a hit)
1 cup of wheat germ
Mix ingredients in a bowl and lay out on a lined cookie sheet in 1-2″ flattened balls OR use cookie cutters and use a small silicone spatula to lay in the wet dough into fun shapes like these dogs
Bake for 30 mins. Let cool. Treat your dogs to healthy doggy treats!

The caulked doggy paw print page is being entered into the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes Challenge

The finished doggy cookies page with the shaker is being entered into the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Winter Inspiration Challenge (oh that doggy licking his chops is just adorable!)
Challenge Up Your Life Christmas Without Christmas Stamps Challenge #4

Day 11 was about the banner I created for Diemond Dies, which is having a wonderful Christmas giveaway on the Diemond Dies Facebook page. I also had made a funny masculine birthday card for a friend’s husband.

Day 12 was about the free digi I created, “Sweet Shar Pei”, and the card I made using the C.C. Designs “Snarky Christmas” stamp set and the Build A Snowman die set by Diemond Dies.  The little pup is looking a bit sheepish I think, surrounded by the remnants of a snowman, and the speech bubble says “Dear Santa, define naughty…”  I also journaled about picking the giveaway winner of my Christmas Blog Candy Giveaway.  Lastly I slid in a sewed a mini acetate shaker for a little added fun.

Days 13 and 14 were quiet weekend days. We ran errands, made doggy meat loaf for the coming week, and shared quality family time together. Family pics were snapped to help document the cozy good time.

Day 15 was a rough one. We had a very stressful day fighting some terrible injustices related to my parents’ business. I thought adding the Christmas light patterned paper from the “Snowy Day” Crate Paper collection and some stamped and die cut Christmas lights from The Stamps of Life “Lights4Christmas” collection would be a great way to create a journaling tag holder while symbolizing the light at the end of the tunnel we hope to see. 🙂  I used black and white bakers twine and glued it down in a random swirly pattern to look like the cord of the Christmas lights.

Day 16–today, was a quiet one. After a night fighting insomnia after the stressful day yesterday (more on that in the video below), I was a bit of a zombie. I didn’t get much crafting done, other than just working on my December Daily. Hubby had to travel for work, so it was just me and the fur babies hanging out at home. It was a good catch up day with just a little journaling to represent the day. The free printable that I had with the lyrics from “Silent Night” seemed a good fit for the day.

The following is a video share of all the the last of these pages:

The December Daily Day 12 page is being entered into the Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday Anything Holiday Challenge and
the Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes Monday Challenge

Thanks for stopping by! Please subscribe if you wish and have a great day! WOOF

While this is a very simplified version of a December Daily, I have taken this opportunity to really play and try some new things. This is really my first official mini album. This is the first time I used my Silhouette Cameo (to make all the numbers). Plus, this is the first time I have used sewing in my paper crafting (I LOVE it)!  I’ll definitely be doing this more, and maybe even find a permanent place to keep my sewing machine out for easier access in the new year.

I have shared the first eight days in the video below:

Thanks for stopping by. Please subscribe, and have a great day! WOOF