Threw Together an Envelope Mini Album

Did you watch the Royal Wedding?! I definitely set my alarm to 4am and watched every second of it. Everything was beautiful, and I'm excited to watch this happy couple grow together!

Anyways....

Yesterday I made an envelope mini album for the first time. The pages are made with envelopes, so you can decorate the front of each page and also tuck a page inside each envelope pocket! I had a lot of fun with it, I know I'll be making more of these in the very near future!

I made this one for my husband, with a collection of pictures of our "fur babies" who both have birthdays coming up soon! Our darling puppy will be turning 5, and three days later our squeaky guinea pig will be 1!

Album cover. I used cut cereal boxes to make it sturdy

Finished album with no photos

See how all the pages are really just envelopes?! Love it

I ended up cutting off the envelope flaps

The first page. All the blue pages are tucked inside the pockets

Peanut and Meeko! My fur babies!

I hope you like it! I'll also be visiting home (Phoenix) for all of next week to see how my mommy's doing, so there may not be many crafty updates. Have a lovely week and a very happy Mother's Day!


<3 RWK

Travel the World Wednesday: Tucson, AZ

Before the internet came along (so when I was like, in 5th grade) I really wanted to be a travel agent.  I love the idea of planning vacations, knowing about all the best hidden spots, great hotels, and beautiful places.  I still get lost for a day planning a dream vacation, filling all the information and prices out on a Word document, to places I know I can't visit (at least not now or anytime soon!).  So for my love of daydreaming of magnificent travels around the world, I bring you the first installment of Travel the World Wednesday!

Today we will be traveling to my favorite city in the United States, Tucson, Arizona (pronounced two-sahn) Put your negative opinions toward Arizona aside (we've all got em) and enjoy this gorgeous desert city.
Pack your bags, we're off to TUCSON

My pup enjoying the city view from Mount Lemmon

I may be biased because I lived here for 4 years (go Wildcats!) but it definitely had to prove itself to me. I hated this city with all my might for the first 1.5 years and then it just hit me. This city is absolutely beautiful and no other city can compare. A large city that still has a small town feel with countless local restaurants, events, outdoor activities, and sunshine all year round!  My favorite Tucson day was in mid-April when we drove 30 minutes up Mount Lemmon to play in the woods and the snow, then drove back and lounged in our bikinis by the pool to get our tan on.  Can any other place in the United States give this to you?! Probably not.

Highlights:

Our gorgeous hike through the Santa Catalinas

The Mountain Ranges: This city is tucked away between several of the largest mountain ranges in the western US. Santa Catalina Mountains, Rincon Mountains, Tucson Mountains, Santa Rita Mountains etc etc. There is also the breath taking Sabino Canyon which flows water most of the year, has bus rides down into the canyon, amazing wildflowers and countless hiking trails.

Carving and statues inside San Xavier

Photo courtesy of sanxaviermission.org

Mission San Xavier del Bac: this is one of the oldest and most impressive missions in the United States (it was even featured in one of my art history books!). The white exterior glows in the desert sun, and the frescoes and artwork that fill the interior are visually stunning. There is also usually members of the Tohono O'odham tribe selling delicious fry-bread outside, to die for!

La Encantada shopping. Photo courtesy arizonafoothillsmagazine.com

The Foothills:  all of my dream homes in Tucson are nestled away in the northern part of Tucson, or just 'the foothills'.  Here you will find a top of the line upscale shopping district called La Encantada, a variety of fantastic restaurants, art galleries, and a sunset view that will blow you away.

Our Valentine's stay at Hilton El Conquistador

The Resorts:  no other city has the class of sprawling resort hotels like Tucson. Even Oprah swears by some of these places, and I often see national giveaways for weekend stays at some of my favorite places. Most are located in the foothills. My favorites from experience? 1) Loews Ventana Canyon Resort (there was even a real waterfall behind the place... in the desert!)  2) Hilton El Conquistador 3) Westward Look  4) Westin La Paloma  5) Arizona Inn, which is actually hidden in the middle of the city

All Souls Procession. Photo by Tom Willett allsoulsprocession.org

Famous Events:  Every year Tucson is the host of some nationally recognized events. The most famous is the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show.  People literally travel from all over the world for this two week event that spans the entire city, this is also my favorite event!  Other happenings include the All Souls Procession (day of the dead), Tucson Rodeo Days (I know, very stereotypical), and the Fourth Avenue Street Fair.

And of course, I can't finish this post without letting you all know how amazing the University of Arizona is! Bear Down ARIZONA!

Proud Arizona Alum!

Thanks for traveling with me! PLEASE comment with any places you are in love with and would like to see on a future Travel the World Wednesday!


<3 RWK

How-To Tuesday: Make a Flower Pop Up Card

Happy Tuesday! My favorite day of the week!! Today I'm posting a how-to for flower note cards that were inspired by a Martha Stewart project (ain't she the best?) and the final product looks like this...

Let's do it!

Step 1: Cut out some flower shapes in various shapes and sizes, so you can pick the one that fits best with your card. I cut mine from the Cricut machine. Martha Stewart has a printable flower template here

Step 1: Cut some flowers!

Step 2:  pick two pieces of colored or patterned paper.  Use spray adhesive to adhere the two papers back to back. (this was the hardest step for me, very sticky! hah)

Step 2 adhere papers!

Step 3: Cut the paper to your ideal card size. I made my card 2.75" x 2.75" so I cut 2.75" x 5.5". Then score in the middle and fold for your card

Step 3: cut those cards!

Step 4:  Unfold the card and place your flower halfway at the fold. Trace with pencil along the top half on the flower...

Step 4: Trace it up!

Step 5:  Grab your trusty exacto knife or paper cutter and cut along your trace (remember, only the top half!). If this is your first time using this tool (it was for me!) take your time and don't rush. There may be casualties otherwise.

Step 5: cut along your trace

Step 5: cut along your trace, fold back when finished

Step 6:  Final Step! Decorate the front of your card and decorate the flower if you'd like. I stamped "Enjoy" in pink and black, and used some Stickles to outline the top of the flower petals.

You're finished!! These cards were pretty simple to make once I tackled the spray adhesive.  They will make great note cards or gift tags!

Exciting note: This set of 3 note cards is available in my Etsy shop right here!

Have fun with this! As usual, please send me a picture if you decide to make your own! I love to see your ideas! Happy Tuesday :)


<3 RWK

My Interpretation on Project Life

I'm sure many of you scrappers have heard about Project Life, which became popular through Becky Higgins kits.  My goal for my own is to be able to share with my mom what I have been doing over the year.

Since my mom's stroke last October, I have not been able to talk to her on the level that I ever used to. Calls home were often made 3 times a day, about anything and everything, and always going way over my minutes on my verizon bill.  Now, calls home are on average once every two days, usually for a total of 5 minutes.  I miss telling my mom about the stupid things I'm up to, even if it's just an "I'm so bored, entertain me" type of call.  It hit me that I could start a Project Life scrapbook to let my mom know what I did every day for the year.

Project Life: document your daily life for 365 days, make a scrapbook page a day, using a photo and a lot of journaling.

In order to make this totally manageable and not seem so overwhelming, I bought my own little kit for my own project. This is not a scrapbook to focus on creating, decorating, embellishing. Just to document and journal.

This is all you need.

I bought an 8x8 scrapbook (on sale), a few packs of extra page inserts (you know you'll go through them!), some cute journaling stickers from Ditto, and a gorgeous mat stack from DCWV. This allows you to be much more creative and personal on your pages than the set up of the Becky Higgins kits.

As you can see the pages are very simple, with the decorating only being from the paper I use with the mat stacks. Just journal the day away! Each day only takes me about 3 minutes to put together. This way I will not 'dread' doing a page every day for 365 days.

Journal it up!

My project life is for my mom.  This would be a great project for any new mommies and daddies who want a simple way to document all the great milestones in your baby's life. Make this your own and do it however you want. No rules!

Do you think you'll start your own? What methods are you using to make it more manageable?

<3 RWK

How-To Tuesday: Make an Easel Card

You know I just {very} recently became obsessed with easel cards (take a look at the first one I made here). So this is my second ever Easel Card and also the feature for my How-To Tuesday!
Wanna make a card like this? Follow me ....

Easel cards are actually way easier than they look, and it's a great way to show off your handmade cards that you worked so hard on! Let's get started...

Step 1

Step 1:  cut two pieces of card stock. One that measures     4 1/4" x 8 1/2" and one that measures 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" (square).

Step 2

Step 2:  score the 4 1/4" x 8 1/2" (longer piece) of card stock at the 4 1/4" mark and score again at the 6 3/8" mark

Step 3

Step 3:  fold at the scored lines to look like the photo. Fold the card in half, then fold in half again the opposite direction. To make this less confusing, just make it look like the picture :)

WARNING!  Extra Credit Step Ahead!...

extra credit

extra credit

Extra Step: Please know that if you want the square piece (the front of your card) to be embossed, now is the time to do it!

Step 4

Step 4:  place double sided tape (or whatever adhesive you enjoy most) to the skinny flap that faces up (the 4 1/4" x 2 1/8" section).  Again, to lower confusion, make it look like the picture! :)

Step 5

Step 5:  adhere your square piece to the skinny flap with tape on it so it looks like the picture shown.
Or
Want it more complicated? Adhere the top of the square piece to the top of the 4 1/4" x 2 1/8" flap.

Now you have created the Easel!

Step 6:  let the fun begin! Decorate the front of your card anyway you want! {yay!}

Step 7:  decorate the inside of your card!




IMPORTANT: Your message on the bottom should be adhered with foam stickies or anything else that will make it pop up. This will allow the easel to prop against this section when you are finished.

     Step 8:  Enjoy your masterpiece finished product!

I made this card for my husband as a 'thanks for always being there for me' card. Since it's an easel card, he now has it nicely displayed on his desk at work! {awww} Please share the lovely easel cards you make! I would love to see them!  Don't hesitate to ask any questions if you get lost along the way!

 Have fun :)  And don't forget to take a peek at my birthday easel card right here!

<3 RWK

Blog FACE LIFT! plus my First Easel Card

It's been a while since I posted, I do apologize! I have been working hard to revamp my blog exactly how I wanted, and then I wanted my etsy shop to match. Since I have no experience with photoshop, this took a while! But I am very happy with it so far. Any constructive criticism is 100% welcome :)

So now here is my first ever Easel Card. I have seen so many posts about these cards so I made one for a birthday coming up. I really like them, I think I'm hooked!

Materials:

- buttons by cosmo cricket

- cupcake stamp by We R Memory Keepers

- starburst border stamp by inkadinkado

- border punch by ek success

- all paper by DCWV (of course!)

So on Tuesday I will post a how-to for an easel card, so come back to check it out! I am going to start a 'How-To Tuesday' post once a week. Here was a past How-To Tuesday for a great Easter and spring wreath for only $15, be sure to check that out!

<3 RWK

Handmade Scrappy Calendar How-To

I finally finished a calendar for 2011!! (Only about 4 months late, no biggie) I usually make a photo calendar on Shutterfly but due to extreme family events the last thing I wanted to do was sort through photos! I wanted this calendar to purposefully look super cheery and scrapbook-like and hand made.

Here are pictures of each month, and the materials will be listed at the end... enjoy!

April rainy days

April paper is DCWV Super Stack 7. Cricut cartidge is Wild Card. 

May sunny days on a bicycle built for two :)

May paper is DCWV Mango stack. Cricut cart is Sweethearts 

June for picnics in the park

June paper is DCWV Sweet stack. Cricut cart is Everyday Paper Dolls 

July is always red, white, and blue....

July paper from Me and My Big Ideas. Cricut cart is Sweethearts 

And July 4 is our wedding anniversary... Do you like the shoes?!

 Stickles on the shoes! My husband: "I wish I had shoes like that!"

August means it's back to school

August paper from DCWV Latte stack. Cricut cart Everyday Paper Dolls 

September begins harvest season! I love squirrels

September paper from DCWV Glitter stack (my new fave!) Cricut cart Everyday Paper Dolls and Just Because 

October is for... well I think it's self explanatory

October paper from DCWV Animal Crackers stack. Cricut cart is Wild Card 

I wanted the flower to be tattered and added this adorable spider brad

November! This paper is very busy but I had to use it for this month

November paper from DCWV Amber Autumn stack. Cricut cart is Everyday Paper Dolls 

December is when the real winter begins brrr

 December paper is from an unknown source via scrap collection. Cricut cart is Joys of the Season

Hanging on my wall with book clasps and ribbon

Materials:

ALL papers are DCWV (except July was 'Me and My Big Ideas'). 

The paper flowers are from the dollar bin or by Recollections 

All glitter is Stickles! (Can you tell I had just got them...obsessed)

Page borders from K & Company

Cricut Cartridges used are Everyday Paper Dolls, Sweethearts, Wild Card, Just Because, Joys of the Season, and Create a Critter.

To print out the calendar dates search for templates on google, they are all over! I stumbled across this one from The Art of Scrapbooking blog Calendar 2011 Template. Click there to download it and manipulate as you need to on adobe or word. I deleted all pages with blank lines for notes and birthdays and only printed the calendar.

All you need to do is print out the dates, cut them to size and decorate as you wish!

Sizes I used:

Calendar pages cut to 5" x 5.5"

Colored pages cut to 4.5" x 5.25"

Full white card stock is 6" x 11"

Have fun making a calendar of your own! Hope you like it... Which month is your favorite? I think my fave is July :)

<3 RWK