Core'dinations Design Team Call

Ask me what my favorite cardstock is...Go ahead, ask!  Well, that's easy!  I really LOVE Core'dinations Cardstock!  I love that it comes in a TON of colors!  I love that it textured!  But most of all, I LOVE THE COLOR CORE!  I can tear this paper and see a coordinating color inside.  I can also emboss and sand it too (or just sand, for a distressed look).  And I can't forget my most favorite thing to do with Core'dinations papers is to cut them in my Silhouette Cameo digital die cut machine.  All of their beautiful papers cut like butter in the Silhouette!

All these reasons came to mind when I saw that Core'dinations is having a Design Team Call!  I was recently chosen to be a part of the Craft Warehouse Design Team and I think that being a part of the Core'dinations team would be the perfect match for me.  I use Core'dinations papers on almost all my scrapbook layouts and papercrafting projects.  I can't imagine a project that wouldn't look a little nicer with some textured cardstock that has a fun colored core!

So, here I go...Core'dinations asked to see three projects featuring their amazing papers.  These projects are  some that I think show you lots of options for using Core'dinations papers and ones I think you'll enjoy seeing.  As always, I use a lot of color in my projects, along with some fun cuts from my Silhouette.  I hope you like them!

For this layout, the kids jumping in the pool reminded me of a clothesline.

I found the Loads of Fun die cut shape from Samantha Walker and altered it to fit my vision.

I added the flower & number 12 to the shirts and then I wanted to find a fun girls' swimsuit for

my clothesline, I found the Bikini by Sarah Bailey.  It was perfect with the addition of tiny holes for polka dots.  I love the way the Silhouette Cameo cuts such intricate shapes into the

Core'dinations papers!  Next, I used some tiny sanding tools to add a little texture to

my die cuts.  Distressing my little clothes lets you see the coordinating color inside the textured

cardstock and gives this layout that extra 'something'! 

Here are some close ups of this fun summer layout:

Next, I want to share a card I made this week with my favorite collection from Core'dinations,

the Vintage Collection.  I LOVE the Vintage Collection because you can see both colors of the paper in the texture without tearing or embossing it!  The Vintage papers give every layout an added color and texture without me doing a thing! My most favorite of all the hundreds of Core'dinations papers is Kisses from the Vintage Collection.  Kisses is the most perfect red for all my projects and, of course, its texture and colors give my projects and added depth I can't get with any other cardstock.

But back to my project!

I found this rainbow quote and the design of this card just popped right into my mind.

I used my Silhouette Software to design my own rainbow.

(I can explain how I did this, just let me know if you're interested in a post on it in the comments!)

I cut the entire rainbow out of each of the six yummy sheets of Core'dinations Vintage Collection papers.

Then I chose one of each color (in different sizes) and laid them together on my embossing folder.

This one is from Lifestyle Crafts.

After embossing the pieces, I used a sander to sand over the textured sections.  In this photo, the red and purple pieces have been completely sanded, while the blue piece has only been sanded on the right half.

You can see how much the design 'jumps' out of the Core'dinations papers when they are sanded

to reveal the inside core color of the paper.

I found this banner in my Silhouette library.  I used a Silhouette Sketch Pen and my own handwriting font to print the quote onto my banner.  Then, I cut the center of the banner.  The paper for the center of the banner is from the Core'dinations Whitewash Collection, and is called Washboard.

I cut the ends of the banner from metallic gold paper to symbolize the gold at the end of the rainbow.

I was very happy with the way the Silhouette Sketch Pens worked perfectly with the textured

Core'dinations paper!

For my last project, I want to share a double page spread layout I created to showcase

my daughter's birthday photos.

On this layout, I tore and sanded to reveal the coordinating bright colors inside the cardstock.

I love the way this paper adds just a little extra flair to my page!

 Here are some close ups of the Core'dinations papers at work!

I hope you enjoyed my projects featuring Core'dinations papers!

I also want to let you know that I'm in the middle of redesigning by blog and moving it over to juliechats.com

All of this should be finished by next week!

Stop over and LIKE my Facebook page for last minute details in case this site is down and 

the new on isn't quite ready yet!

Quick Mother's Day Gift with Free Printables

I don't know about you, but I always feel like I'm doing everything at the last minute! Too much to do, too little time...yada yada yada! Well, I sure don't have time to stop & complain!  I just need to find ways to get more done in less time!  Last night & today's issue was how to make my mom a Mother's Day card, wrap her gift, get the kids to make her something special AND get it all in the mail today!  I'm like so many of you, I LOVE making personalized gifts and using my imagination to create something special for my loved ones.  But that whole issue of too little time enters the picture way too often!  I did make it to Costco to pick up my mom's gift, something she loved but didn't buy herself on her recent visit.  No, I'm not saying what it is on the off chance she's reading this! So, I had the gift, which was good.  But still, how do I squeeze in a post office visit into my Wednesday...it just wasn't in the cards!  Then it came to me, at Christmas I was too late to do this (Yep, this lateness seems to be a theme for me recently!).  The Post Office has a print online option for postage and thankfully, I had remembered to pick up some of those flat rate priority mail boxes on my last trip to the physical Post Office.  So, a quick trip to the garage solved part of that problem.  The medium box was the perfect size.  Then I went online and printed out my prepaid label on usps.com.

Even though I was running short on time, I did find a quick minute to check Facebook.  Yes, I'm sort of a procrastinator....  But this time, my Facebook visit actually saved me some time!  Yes, I'll be telling my husband about this when he's back from his business trip because he swears Facebook is the biggest time sucker ever invented.  But, I digress!  There at the top of my news feed was a post from Kim over at Today's Creative Blog, she had a new free Mother's Day printable designed by Michelle from Elegance and Enchantment.  And Michelle also had coordinating pieces for free on her blog!  Lifesavers those two!  I grabbed some white cardstock and quickly set about printing one page of each Mother's Day printable.

I only had time to get everything printed before I had to get kids to bed and work on one of my other business projects.  I do a few freelance contract type jobs that I squeeze in between being a mom.  So I got back to my Mother's Day project this morning before Jake's swimming lesson.  I looked through my cardstock stash and found a nice dark green that complemented the printables and made a card out of it.  I cut out the printable tags and note card and used them to decorate my card, with the addition of some coordinating printed papers and wood veneer pieces, sequins and twine as embellishment.

After Jake woke up, I had him fill out a cute Grandma printable that's free over on 30 Handmade Days.  He had a great time answering the questions about Grandma and drawing a picture of them together.  He didn't have as much fun doing the writing and having to ask me how to spell words, but I really wanted it to be his handwriting she was reading with his comments.  I rolled his photo and a letter that prints with it in some baker's twine for Grandma to open when she gets our package.  My daughter, Delaney, had made Grandma a special card with a drawing on the front and a poem inside.  My mom always loves seeing what her little artists come up with.

Next, I wanted to wrap my present so it looks special inside the box when Mom opens it.  I used kraft paper I picked up at The Container Store a couple weeks ago and taped it with pink washi tape.  Then I combined pink & yellow baker's twine with a medium garden twine for the ribbon.  (I use garden twine in different sizes in tons of my projects.  It's one of my very favorite go-to "ribbons".)  I added a couple of the cute Mother's Day tags from Elegance and Enchantment to the twine and taped one to the package with a bright floral washi.

With time running out before swimming lessons (the mailman comes while we are at the pool), I grabbed some white tissue paper and ran everything downstairs and started filling my box.  I put the gift in first and then layered our other items between tissue.  I added a couple of the printable tags, tied with baker's twine in between the layers and put my card on top.  After it was perfect, I taped the box closed and added some of the printable circles to the outside of the box, so mom knows it's special the moment she picks it up at the Post Office.

I shot some photos of everything and put the box out on my front step just before we had to leave for swimming.  When we got home, it was gone!  Off to Mom's house just in time for Mother's Day!

I hope you stop over and check out the printables on Kim's, Michelle's & Mique's blog (there are tons, not just these!).  Pin them to a special Printables board on Pinterest and next time, you're in a time crunch, you'll know just where to find what you need for that someone special.  If you'd like to see some of the variety of printables that are out there, stop over on my Printables Pinterest board.  I've got lots for you to check out.  I also categorize my finds on the internet a bit differently than most people.  I like to use monthly Pinterest boards to help me go back and find what I need in a particular month.  My May Pinterest board has pins for Mother's Day, Cinco de Mayo, Teacher Appreciation...really anything I think I might need in May.  I have boards for each month of they year, stop over and check them out when you get a chance.

Hope you enjoyed my take on these beautiful free printables!  Happy Mother's Day!

Silhouette Class...Lesson 1

OK, I was more than EXCITED to have WON a Silhouette Cameo from Kim over at Today's Creative, back in January!  If you've got one on your Wish List, you'll want to move it to the top, as quickly as you can!  And remember to check over on Kim's blog, she just gave another one away last week and who knows when there might be another giveaway!  (Follow my JulieChats Facebook page & I'll be sure to let you know when I see another giveaway!)

Since receiving the machine, I've created some small projects...pieces for kits I'm designing for a workshop series at the store, some cute Project Life cards (no, I'm not doing PL, but these cards are TOO cute to pass up) and I even created some theme party items for my daughter's 11 birthday Rock Climbing Party.  I promise to share all the details of the Rock Climbing Party in a separate post, very soon!  There are just too many photos and details to create a post right now.

After some experimentation with my brand new Silhouette Cameo, I read a Facebook post from the Queen of Online Digital Scrapbook Classes...Jessica Sprague where she announced that Kerri Bradford would be teaching a Silhouette class.  The class is called Silhouette: Getting to Know You and you can find it HERE.  I signed up for the class and started Lesson 1 today.  Right now, the class is on sale for $19 and it's a bargain!  You have access to it FOREVER and it comes with tons of great Silhouette patterns too!

Now, being a person who gave her best effort with the Pazzle machine (The store where I work owns one and I had it at home for year and wished I could throw it out the window at least a couple times a week!)  So I did have a rudimentary knowledge of the type of program that comes with the Silhouette.  So I moved very quickly through the first few parts of Lesson 1.  But WOW, there were so many tips and new things to learn about organizing my files, the Silhouette store (I didn't know there were files on sale each week!  HELLO!) and I learned some great things about the program that I didn't know before that will make using it SO easy!

Well, at the end of Lesson 1, we cut out a circular flower card and the sentiment Thanks.  Given my current love of mist (I used Luminarte Radiant Rain mists in Ginger Flower and Blue Flame), I couldn't resist misting the petals (they were meant as negative space to be tossed out) and sticking them back over the die cut card.  I also inked the edges of the card with some fun Eggplant chalk ink from Inkadinkado.  I cut my card from some white card stock with small white flecks in it...not sure where it came from...and my Thanks. out of some amazing shimmering purple cardstock from Peterson Arne...don't have any details on it either....

I think the card turned out pretty cute and I can't wait to get to Lesson 2 of the class!  I'll try to share my creation after I complete that step too!

If you own a Silhouette, you should definitely give this class a try!

Here are some step by step photos of my little card...

Such a fun little card!  It would also be cute for Christmas, as a card or gift tag!

 This photo shows the box after the petals were removed!  Remember to always mist in a box,

and for an even shimmer of color, spray at the BACK of the box

and let the mist "rain" down on your die cuts.

I LOVE the finished product!  A few of these tied with a ribbon would make great teacher gifts!

Layout of the Week - Valentine Card #2

Well, it's finally Friday!  It's sure been a busy week around my house...Jake's birthday last Sunday and our niece visiting for the weekend...Delaney out of school on Monday and lunch with my parents...Lot's of homework, housework, preparing for my Valentine card class on Sunday...And then last night two burglaries in our neighborhood.  I'm housesitting for my neighbors, who are on vacation this week, and someone broke down their door, but didn't end up stealing anything.  At least the alarm was set and seems to have stopped the guy at the door.  But just knowing that someone was next door to my house, breaking down the door is unnerving!  The police officer who responded last night and the detective I spoke with today said that both houses were dark with outside lights on.  So now I'll be sure to leave lights on inside my house whenever we are gone at night.  Sure hope they catch the guy soon.  I was asked recently if I thought of my neighborhood as safe and I said yes.  It sure seems safe to live in a nice neighborhood with nice houses and nice yards, close to a nice school.  But I guess I would have to answer differently the next time I'm asked....

OK, I'm going to force myself to think about something more fun right now!  I'm getting ready to teach my Valentine card class on Sunday at the Hillsboro Library.  If you're in the area, it's free and we'll take the first 15 people who come to make 3 cards, a gift tag and a gift box.

I hope you are all getting into the Valentine spirit, making Valentine's, helping your kids with theirs, or maybe picking out fun decorations for their Valentine boxes.  At Delaney's school, the kids make their boxes at home and bring them on Valentine's Day.  I'll have to share a photo of hers with you, once she's done with it!  If you're looking for Valentine ideas, there are some very cute ones that you can download, just check down the right column of my blog in the "Get Your Creative On" section for some of the latest Valentine blog posts.

I'm in the middle of a lot of great projects right now!  I can't wait to share them with all of you!  I should have some fun Layout of the Week features over the next few weeks.  I'll share some fun details with you, so you have something to look forward to...I'm making Delaney a Bo Bunny Chipboard album full of memories from her last birthday party...I'm creating 2 travel layouts with Reminisce's new Passport collection...I'm putting together a layout about me, yes ME, we really do need to have a photo or two of ourselves in our albums every so often...and for one last Valentine's Day surprise, I'm excited about a layout featuring photos of my two sweeties and Bo Bunny's Love Bandit Collection, one of the sweetest Valentine collections out there!

So if you're a scrapbooker or papercrafter, or if you know someone who is one, please sign up to follow my blog or subscribe to my feed to get my latest posts in your inbox!  I'm on a quest to get to 200 followers, and I'd appreciate any help you can give me!

In a trend I've seen on tons of other scrapbooking blogs, I've chosen 2 words to be my Theme for 2010.  I'll share them with you in my next post!  But part of choosing these 2 specific words, is that I have to put myself out there and ask for what I want.  One of my goals for 2010 is to become part of a design team and another is to find scrapbook related sponsors for my blog!  If you have any ideas to help me reach my goals, please leave me a comment!  And thanks for helping me attain my goals in 2010!

Card Supplies

Patterned Papers - 3 Bugs in a Rug, Smitten Collection

Cardstock - World Win, Bazzill

Sticker - 3 Bugs in a Rug, Smitten Collection

Cardstock Strip - Bazzill, Just the Edge

PS-If you're looking for a fun party tonight where you can hang out in your pj's & meet some other fun bloggers, join me at my friend Ann's Virtual Girls Night Out!  Ann is certainly the Hostess with the Mostest...and she needs a little company while she's home tending to a sick little one tonight!  As usual, she's sharing a yummy drink, some party music and a little game...just for fun and perfect for the chilly middle of our Oregon winters.

My Mighty 3

3 places I'd rather be right now:

1-Mexico....can't wait, I'm lucky enough to be spending a few days down there with some friends celebrating our 40 birthdays!!!!!! YEAH!  More on this later!

2-Sunriver, Oregon....the thought of a little snow and a toasty drink in the lodge...ahhhhhhh

3-Kauai....the Grand Hyatt, a lounge chair & the red dirt margarita, I'm drooling!

3 things I'll never drink again:

1-Boones Farm Wine....freshman year in college, YIKES!

2-Cream Soda

3-OK, this isn't a drink exactly, but never and I mean NEVER EVER consider trying a Cuban cigar when you've had too much rum or any other liquor for that matter...worst Jamaican memory!

3 people I'd like to have dinner with, not necessarily all at once:

1-Patrick Dempsey...you know why...

2-George Clooney...duh!

3-Rachel Ray...she'd be fun at a party and she could cook for me!

(I wasn't sure if the people had to be living or not, if they don't have to be, I'd put my Grandma Muriel at the top of the list.  I'd love to get a chance to ask her all about her life and being a mom!)

OK, now head on over to Ann's, join the party and let me know your Mighty 3!

Layout of the Week - Valentine Card

For my Layout of the Week this week, I'm sharing a card I created for a class I'm teaching soon.  We'll be making 4 cards and a gift box for the class, so I'll have more fun Valentine things to share soon!  I wanted to keep this card simple and quick.  And as you can tell from some of my past Layout of the Week projects, I love using paper strips as a quick way to get a layout started.  I found the idea for this card in an old issue of Card Trends magazine.  The original card had a Spring theme and felt flowers backing the buttons.  I thought it would be fun to add the die cut heart to the design, afterall it is a Valentine...can there ever be too many hearts on Valentine's Day?  I love the idea of using the corner rounder on just the top of the card!  Can't wait to use this idea in a scrapbook layout!

If you've been thinking about making your own Valentine's this year, it's time to drag out those supplies and get started!  Valentine's are the perfect way to use up those scraps you've been saving.  Just dig through your piles...yes, I know you keep your scraps in piles...doesn't everyone?  Find all those fun Valentine colors, add in whatever you can find in there that sparkles, grab some odds & ends of ribbons & buttons and you're ready to go.  Quick cards just take a little measuring & cutting of your scraps!  Add a ribbon & a button or two and you're done!  If you're feeling especially creative, add a rub on quote or saying to one of the paper strips or even to your ribbon.  The special Valentines in your life will love your handmade cards and you'll even save a little money using up those scraps, so buy yourself a truffle the next time you're near a Moonstruck store!  OK, maybe that's my plan, but it will work for you too!

Have a great weekend!

Supplies

Cardstock:  American Crafts, WorldWin

Patterned Paper:  Bloom & Sweetheart from the Smitten Collection by 3 Bugs in a Rug

Twill Ribbon:  Creative Cafe

Buttons:  Creative Cafe, Boxer

Floss:  DMC

Die Cut:  Quickutz

Corner Rounder:  EK Success