Layers of Love Challenge

So I have been thinking about Heidi Swapp's idea of inviting a word into your life for the year and this year I want to invite the word "Love" into my life.  And I want to use the 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 definition, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 

Working in a school, it is so important to love the children!  And in my own family, and community!  I wanted a reminder every day, so, I love the Cut it Up challenge:  Layers of Love and I am posting my new planner dashboard I made with my laminator and Anna Griffin die cuts made with my Cricut.  I am enchanted by this swirly "love."

On the back I put a die cut that came from Anna's Griffin planner embellishment kit.  I matted the love die cut on gold card stock and placed it on the Anna Griffin patterned paper.  Did you notice that I printed the Remember tab on the back of the patterned paper?!  I love this technique for a clear card, or scrapbook page too!
  
The green rose is also Anna Griffin, but I have had it in the stash so long I am not sure what embellishment pack it is from.  The small hearts are Close to my Heart and I hand wrote the "is" with some sharpies inside the laminate cover before I ran it through the machine to assure it never rubs off.  

Something New with My Anna Griffin Planner

I recently stumbled across a blog with ideas from customizing your planner and loved a fold out pocket page that it had so much I wanted to make my own.  You can see the inspiration page below. 

The inspiration pocket page had holes punched in the left side and was clipped so that it could be put into the binder rings.  I wanted my page and Anna Griffin paper to last and chose not to put those holes in mine.

I started with Anna' Gracious Giftables Cricut Cartridge and sized up the pockets to be 8 1/2" tall and 5 1/2" wide.  One side needed no editing when I scaled it up and the other needed a rectangle welded to get the finished size.  I also cut a rectangle to attach my pieces.  To get the size page I wanted I had to cut this with a 24" mat and cut one piece at a time so that the second page was not cut short.  I actually delete one side and cut the other.  The file will still want a 24 inch mat but cuts a 12 x 12 page.

Fantabulous Cricut Challenge blog is having a Something New Challenge #317, and this is the first time I have had a chance to use Anna's Gracious Giftables.  I love that I have another use for this cartridge than gift giving!  And this idea would be fabulous for a mini album too.  If you would like the file for your AG planner here it is.  

Since I cut a one sided pattern paper, I created a pocket liner paper using some printed paper in Design Studio and some Anna Griffin flowers.  I just flattened the flowers on the paper and printed them on some Avery large labels.  It made great stickers that were flatter than printing on paper.

On top of the pocket pages, I cut pockets with Anna Griffin Holiday pocket dies.  I have discovered the joy of die cutting lately.  I love the dimension of embossed dies!

Supplies

Anna Griffin Gracious Giftables Cricut Cartridge

Anna Giffin Black and White Card stock

Anna Griffin Pocket Dies

Cricut Design Space

Avery Large Mailing labels

Printer

Gold Washi Tape

Anna Griffin Card Kit  (flowers, flourishes and butterfly)

2018 Calendar Planner with Anna Griffin

I am one of those crafters who makes things for others and often gives away my favorite projects.  So, I am really enjoying customizing my Anna Griffin Planner with all of the Anna Griffin tools, embellishments, papers and more!  

On my project bucket list has been a Quotes to Live by album, so I am using my planner to get it done.  This is one of my favorite Dr. Seuss quotes in an Internet meme and I had a brand new Anna Griffin fan die (currently unavailable).  Under the tips of the die cut I used Anna Griffin rosettes cut in half.  Anna said that 2018 is all about layers, so I am layering this page up and loving the results.    
I am entering this in the Cut it Up Challenge #138 Calendars.  The flowers are die cuts from Anna Griffin card kits and I added a teeny, tiny button to attach the fan tassel.  

For many years, I purchased only Cricut cartridges and not dies, but I am so enjoying the embossed dies and how easy they are to use with my Cuttlebug!  There is nothing like the texture you get from an actual die.

Supplies
Anna Griffin Planner
Anna Griffin Fan Dies
Anna Griffin Perfect Rosettes
Gold card stock
Anna Griffin flower die cuts
button

#embellishgratitude Day 5: Thankful for my sisters

I have been fortunate enough to have six sisters.  Over the years, friends have come and gone.  They may have made new friends I didn't think I should hang out with, moved away or just drifted apart.  But I will always have my sisters.  They are my forever friends.

Everything on this is Anna Griffin!  The flowers are from the Anna Griffin Window Ledge card kit.  The gold embellishment is Anna Griffin Cut and Emboss Fretwork die.  The sentiment and border strip are from a card kit.  The circle from Anna Griffin Nifty Nested Layers. and the blue cardstock if from one of Anna's 12 x 12 paper packs.  All of it is on an Anna Griffin planner page.

#embellishgratitude Day 4: I am and Optimist

Today I am grateful that I am an optimist!  I have always seen the glass as half full!  The quote on this page says, "What we see depends on what we look for..."

I love that I can use some of my Anna Griffin Card Kit goodies in my planner pages!  I keep giving away my prettiest cards, and having a planner allows me to make something just for me.

#embellishgratitude Day 3: My Husband

It's Day 3 of the 30 Day Gratitude Challenge and today I am sharing that I am so thankful for my husband!  We will celebrate 25 years of marriage this coming March.  

I used Anna Griffin planner page for November and added a sentiment from an Anna Card Kit.  Some stickers and journaling and I'm done.  

#embellishgratitude Day 2: Thankful for Family

Today I am thankful for family!  My quote says, "Family, the secret to having it all is knowing you already do!"  The black die, and yellow framed image are Anna Griffin and this is a cover page for my October month in my Anna Griffin planner.  I made the frame with my Cricut, Cricut pens and Anna's Lace Cards and Embellishments.

You can join the 30 Day Gratitude Challenge here. 

30 Day Gratitude Challenge Day 1: Thankful for my In Laws

In the past few years I have noticed that many people post what they're thankful for every day in November.  Since I am not on Facebook every day, I have forgotten to start on the first of November and post something every day.  This year I joined the 30 Day Gratitude Challenge Group on Facebook to hold myself accountable and share some of the many things I am thankful for.  

On my first day of the challenge, I wanted to share that I am so thankful for my In Laws:  Pat Camalliere and Christ Camalliere!  They are beyond generous to us and this past weekend really helped me out!  I was the volunteer coordinator for our town's local Music Booster Pumpkinfest Craft & Treasures market.  I have to recruit student and adult volunteers to work over 4 days.  The final day of the event also happens to be the same day as our local Pumpkinfest parade, reported to be the 3rd largest parade in the state of Illinois.  Since so many band students march in the parade, and all the locals entertain on this day, it is difficult to fill most of the volunteer shifts.  I knew this was an issue and asked my in laws to work a shift for me on Sunday.  They drove an hour there and back and worked for 2 hours at admissions.  Thanks so much Pat and Chris!

My photos for this post are for a pocket page I made for my Anna Griffin planner using my Cricut.  This page is perfect for any planner with an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" page and is a bit longer so that it can be seen.  I left off the holes, so that others can customize it to their own planners binding.  You can find the file here.  I added a bit of sticky velcro to close this pocket page.  This pocket organizer was used to keep my volunteer project organized and contained donation checks, so I wanted to make sure it closed!

And be sure to check out my Mother In Laws blog, where she posts regularly about her mystery books and other interesting topics!  She has published two books, Mystery at Sag Bridge and Mystery at Black Partridge Woods and is currently writing her third.  

Thank You Anna Griffin!

I recently won a prize package from Anna Griffin's blog.  So, I wanted to make a special thank you card to send to Anna.  Above is my card.  I used the clear cover from my Anna Griffin Planner and several sentiments from Anna Griffin Card kits to make a sentiment that says, "Thank You Anna Griffin For everything Beautiful in the Making that you do."  

Because even Anna Griffin's packaging is beautiful, I chose to emboss the clear planner cover sheet with an Anna Griffin Embossing plate called Oval Scroll Frame (which I don't think is available anymore).  After I embossed the clear plastic, I sanded it a bit to make it pop.  Since the clear cover had some pre-punched holes to fit in the planner, I used the flowers and scrolls to cover the holes.  The Blue card is from an Anna Griffin Vintage French Cards Kit.  I cut an oval out of the blue card front and strategically placed some card kit borders over the portion that said planner and dates.  The flowers and cream and gold swirls are also from assorted Anna Griffin Card kits.  I love that all her items coordinate!

Every beautiful card front, deserves a beautiful card inside, right?!  So i used some more Anna Griffin card kit embellishments to finish the inside too.  I am not sure if the paper on the right is AG as it was in my scrap stash.

Thank you Anna Griffin!  Be sure to check out Anna's blog as she always have generous give aways!  I love it so well, I subscribe by email and get an email notice whenever she posts!

Happy National Scrap Booking Day!

Happy National Scrap booking Day!  I have been enjoying my Anna Griffin planner for making my quotes to live by album.  This one says, "A skirt should be tight enough to show you're a woman, but loose enough to show you're a lady."  The green flower is Anna Griffin, the pink corduroy button is Stampin' Up, the pink flower is Mon Ami Gabby, the scissor and tape measure are Lori Whitlock For the Record2, and the pink patterned tag is Crate Paper.  The Burda Style card is some ephemera a got from a craft event at the Burda sewing pattern booth several years ago.
I am entering this is Queen and Co's National Scrap booking day Challenge # 2 Flowers on their Facebook Page.

Anna Griffin Planner Christmas List and Challenge

I am continuing to challenge you to get your Un Finished Objects done, by posting a weekly challenge inspired by wedding anniversary gifts.  This week I post my 49th challenge, and there is no traditional anniversary gift to inspire this challenge.  So, this week anything goes.  Just share any UFO you are working on write a blog post,  then post a link to your blog post below, or photo online via Facebook and you get two entries this week.

This week I am starting my Christmas shopping and of course I wanted to begin by making a list.  I love a planner for keeping all my to do's in one place.  I have an Anna Griffin Planner, and wanted a Christmas list for it.  Since AG doesn't have this page in her planner embellishment kit, I made my own with some AG supplies.  I started by cutting up some older planner pages so that the lines and check boxes all matched.  Since AG's pages only have lines have way down the page, I added another half page at the bottom.  There was some space in the middle that had no lines, so I added some AG patterned paper and some items from Anna Griffin's Planner Embellishment kit.  

One page of my Christmas list says "believe",  the 2nd says "family" and the 3rd says "friends."   I hope Anna Griffin adds more embellishment packages for her planner!  I love the planner paper crafting and want some more AG options!

UFO Challenge #48 Anything Goes

I am continuing to challenge you to get your Un Finished Objects done, by posting a weekly challenge inspired by wedding anniversary gifts.  This week I post my 48th challenge, and there is no traditional anniversary gift to inspire this challenge.  So, this week anything goes.  Just share any UFO you are working on write a blog post,  then post a link to your blog post below, or photo online via Facebook and you get two entries this week.
My project today is another page in my Anna Griffin planner.  The quote says, "Each day I am thankful for nights that turned into mornings and friends that turned into family, and dreams that turned into reality, likes that turned into love."  The purple flowers are a Heartfelt Creation stamp, the black paper is DCWV and all the rest is Anna Griffin planner and planner embellishments.  

UFO Challenge #47: A Book

I am continuing to challenge you to get your Un Finished Objects done, by posting a weekly challenge inspired by wedding anniversary gifts.  This week I post my 47th challenge, and the 47th wedding anniversary present is a book.  So, this week use a book or book theme in your UFO project and get an extra entry!  Don't have a book UFO?  You can still get an entry for working on any of your UFOs!  Just pull out a UFO you are working on write a blog post, on your UFO, then post a link to your blog post below, or photo online. 

I am using an online challenge to inspire me to work on two of my UFO's in one projects in the book theme.  I love the Scrap Your Stash blog and wanted to try their November Sketch +3 Challenge see the photo of the sketch above.  So for their challenge I used Glitter in column one in my small buttons in the banner in the upper left hand corner.  I used the # in the second column from Anna Griffin's planner embellishment kits near the oval title.  For the third column I used printed index cards from Anna Griffin's Vintage French Card kit.  

I continue to work on my Quotes to Live by Scrapbook.  This week I am making a cover for the book.  I used an old Franklin Quest ring binder that I used to use for storing my planner pages.  Now I am using it to store my planner pages for my Anna Griffin planner.  And later it will be my cover for my Quotes to Live by album.  
Supplies
Anna Griffin Paper (floral print)
Anna Griffin 12 Month Planner Insert
Anna Griffin Planner Embellisment Kit (#, arrows, banner)
Anna Griffin Vintage French Card Kit (Red and brown printed cards)
Anna Griffin Card Kit (Title oval and butterfly)
Cricut Audrey Cartridge (red damask printe tag)
7 gypsies Life is Good Paper (red newsprint paper)
We R Memory Keepers Storyteller For the Record Paper (lined background paper)
Clock die cut
Buttons
Franklin Quest binder

UFO Challenge #45 Sapphire Blue

I am continuing to challenge you to get your Un Finished Objects done, by posting a weekly challenge inspired by wedding anniversary gifts.  This week I post my 45th challenge, and the 45th wedding anniversary present is traditionally sapphires.  So, this week use sapphire blue in your UFO project and get an extra entry!  Don't have a blue UFO?  You can still get an entry for working on any of your UFOs!  Just pull out a UFO you are working on write a blog post, on your blue UFO, then post a link to your blog post below, or photo online. 

For my project today, I am back to working on my Anna Griffin Planner.  I just ordered and received the refill pages for the next 18 months and I love this planner!  The entire planner has beautiful AG graphics and the cover is embossed faux pink leather.  She now has an even better ring available than when I ordered mine and a teal cover.  I love the pocket pages and the accessory kit that you can order to go with it too!  But I do have one complaint and it is a big one for me.  This planner starts the week on the monthly pages on Mondays (see photo above this paragraph for the original monthly page).  What!?  The week starts on Sundays!  All the other calendars, I refer to to get my deadlines and important dates start on Sundays.  We planner people, keep a planner so we don't miss a thing and having the wrong start to the week can lead to errors and missed dates or deadlines.  I have started to make my own planner stickers for the monthly pages to move the Sunday to the far left where it belongs.  I hope Anna Griffin fixes this for the next refill!

 
At the top of the post you can see my additions to Anna's planner to put my Sunday on the left and the added notes on the right.  I used Cricut DS to make the stickers.  The grid on the left is made with CTMH Artbooking.  I had to weld two shapes.  The note paper on the right is from a black and white pattern also in DS.  I used the Splice tool to cut a portion of the paper that had the most lines and a bit of the swirl in it and then distressed it with a bit of ink to match Anna's graphics  I love this DS paper pattern for journaling in my scrapbooks too!  .  I am going to enter this in Bittenbythebug2's flourish challenge.  I love using the paper patterns in the DS software almost as much as I like using the cut files!  

UFO Challenge #38 Anything Goes

The finish you Un Finished Object Challenge continues and this week is my 38th challenge.  There is no 38th wedding anniversary gift tradition to inspire the challenge, so it's another Anything Goes Challenge.  Use this week to pull out any project you started for the Fall or Winter last year or in years past and get it done!  Just pull out a UFO you need to work on and post a link to your blog post below, or photo online.  You can even join us on Facebook with your project.  Work on any un finished object this week for two entries.  The prize for the UFO Challenge for the months of September and October is a Jamberry Application Kit and several wraps.  These were donated by Jamie Pengiel Furst.  Thanks so much Jamie!

For my photo above I scrapped another page in my Anna Griffin planner that will go into my quotes to live my album someday.  I love the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and wanted to go over these with my boys at the start of the school year.  We talked about putting first things first this week and I asked them to tell me what are their first three things.

Supplies
Anna Griffin Fun & Fabulous Instant Scrapbook Kit (paper behind Habits)
Anna Griffin Planner
K and Company Paper 

August with Anna Day 4

As part of my August with Anna posts, I want to let you know that I love Anna Griffin enough to make her part of every day by using an  AG planner and products in my planner.  Above you can see a page I added to my Anna Planner to encourage me to exercise!  It says "6 more reasons to exercise:

• it increases energy
• it has mind-body benefits
• it can curb cravings
• it improves memory
• it may keep depression away
• it reduces the risk of cancer

All patterned paper is Anna Griffin, and  Alphabet stickers are Stickopotomus.  Planner binder is Anna Griffin.

50th Birthday with Anna Griffin

As usual, when I need a special card, I pull out my Anna Griffin supplies and Cricut Cartridges!  This time I needed to make a 50th birthday card for my sister.  I made the 50 label using the Anna's Lace Card and Embellishment Cartridge.  I changed the colors to shades of white and yellow so they would coordinate with Anna Griffin's Vintage French Card Layers. After changing colors I flattened the image and printed and cut it with my printer and Cricut Explore.   Below is a close up, and I am loving it!

I just cannot get over the value of Anna Griffin Card kits!  If you get the pop up card kit, today it's a $1.84 a card before shipping!  I shop on HSN craft days and get discounted prices and free shipping!  If you sign up for their emails, you will get coupons for non-craft days and you won't have to wait.  I have so many left over goodies and they all coordinate with other Anna products!

Supplies
Anna Griffin Vintage French Card Layers and Envelopes
Anna Griffin Sweet Salutations Pop Up Card Kit (flowers, band & Time to Celebrate,)
Anna Griffin Planner Embellishments (banner behind Time to Celebrate)
Anna's Lace Card and Embellishments Cartridge (Yellow and white label)
Monogram Motifs Cricut Cartridge
White Card Stock
Cricut Explore
Printer
Ribbon

Happy National Coloring Book Day!

Happy National Coloring Book day!  Have you jumped on the coloring book bandwagon?  While I love creating and all things paper, I just have not tried this, so today's the day.  I struggle with the amount of time I would spend coloring and would want to save every piece and some how show case them.  But there are a few things I want to try this technique on:   scrapbook pages and cards!

So, today I am sharing a page I scrapped for my Anna Griffin Planner/Quotes to Live By Album.  I am scrapping my planner monthly cover pages to use them later in a Quotes to Live By Album.  Here is the quote on this page, "  The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn.  Sir John Lubbock."  I hope as a parent, I can foster this desire to learn their entire lives!

Wondering how I chose my colors?  Well, I let Anna Griffin's planner inspire me!  I worked to have two shades of pink in one petal, I worked to have the contrast of the green and pink or red, and I added some yellow to pull in the yellow and white paper.  And don't forget to use white as a color!  To go with the learning quote I added a caterpillar and a butterfly sticker.

And for those of you following my August with Anna posts, Anna Griffin has a coloring book too!  You can find it here.  

Supplies
Anna Griffin Planner
Anna Griffin Patterned paper
Mindful Mandala 6" x 6" Sheet (Craft Smith)
Reminisce Butterfly Stickers
Copic Markers
Zig Markers
Quote may be from JoAnns

August with Anna Celebration Day 1

I am a serious Anna Griffin fan, and hope to one day attend her Create event.  It was not in the budget this year, so I decided to create my own Anna event and spend August with Anna on my blog.  So, this August, I hope to share a little crafty item every day with some Anna Griffin product. I thought I might start my August with Anna event with a celebration idea.  Use these wine glass doilies at your next event, or bring them as a gift for the hostess of your next visit in the pretty gift box!  I cut a set of eight to fit in the gift box to take with a bottle of wine to a friends house.

For the doily, I used a Anna's Elegant Embellishments cart.  I used one of the mat layers because the top layer would have been too delicate for this size.  Finished doily is 2 3/4' big.  I welded a triangle from another Cricut cartridge so the guests can write their name on their own wine glass doily.  I added a circle in the middle to allow for the wine glass stem and hand cut a line from center to the edge in the triangle, so the doily can be inserted over the glass stem.  And if you're like me, you have cut a 12 x 12 sheet down to make A2 cards and you saved the scraps.  Pull them out for this project, they're perfect!

For the hostess gift set, I cut a box from Tags, Bags, Boxes and More and cut a circle to show case Anna's Doilies.  I backed the window with a piece of Art Glitter Transparency Sheets.  I embellished the box with some CTMH ribbon and Anna Griffin flower dies left over from her very generous card kits!  The paper in this set is made by The Robin's Nest and is one of my all time favorite papers!

Supplies
White Card Stock
Anna Griffin Elegant Embellishments Cricut Cartridge
Teresa Collin's Triangle Banner Cartridge (triangle wedge welded with AG doily)
Tags, Bags, Boxes and More
Anna Griffin Die Cuts (from Card kit)
The Robin's Nest Fleur Blue Paper
CTMH Ribbon
Pop Dots
Want2Scrap Bling
Art Glitter Transparency Sheet

Have You Found Scrap Our Stash Challenge Blog?

I am missing my favorite challenge blog and have been on the hunt for a new favorite.  I found a new challenge blog I love called Scrap Our Stash Challenge Blog.  First of all who doesn't need to scrap their stash?!  And the designers are so talented.  Add to that, I am currently working on my Quotes to live by scrapbook and their July Challenge inspired me to get a page done!

I have had a Dr. Seuss quote from this book on my list of quotes to scrap, so when I saw this month's challenge I had to give it a try.  I want my boys to know they can go far, and it's up to them!   Here is the Dr. Seuss quote I scrapped, "You have brains in your head.  You have feet in your shoes.  You can steer yourself any direction you choose.  You're on your own.  And YOU are the one who'll decide where you go..." Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go!  I used Microsoft word and inserted a text box for typing the quote.  The colors are inspired by Dr. Seuss.  Thanks SOSCB for helping me get another page done!

Supplies
Anna Griffin Planner
Anna Griffin Pop Up Card kit (rosette paper & Flower die)
Tim Holtz Rosette Die
Burlap doily
Buttons
Pink card stock
Purple card stock
Orange Card stock
Buttons