2016 New Year Freebie Stickers for Happy Planner

Well I couldn't decide!  I was making a new cover and stickers for my MAMBI Happy Planner and I just couldn't decide.  Bright with watercolor fun or gardens of pink and cream flowers?  So of course I did both.

Here are the stickers I made, and wanted to share.  Please feel free to copy and print for your personal use.  (Just  click on the photo, and save to your favorite file or print to use now.)

So I think you can see, I was completely in two very different moods when I created these stickers.

Which brings me to my true dilemma.  I am trying to set my goals for 2016 and just can't seem to focus in on just one, two or even three.  It seems I have a certifiable case of crafting attention deficit disorder.  But isn't that the real beauty of crafting?   Creating something that expresses how you feel, at that moment.   

Well, anywho, back to my Happy Planner. Along with the stickers, I made two different covers. 

For the watercolor one, I downloaded some graphic artwork from Dress your Tech which I found on Pinterest.  Wowzer they have great looking graphics. Intended for use on phones, tablets and computers, but hey why now use as craft designer paper too!  


For the beautiful shabby chic pink one, I scanned a sheet of pinkpaislee paper I had stashed away years ago, then "transformed" the size in Photoshop elements 14.  Then I "erased" the wording they had in the white frame and replaced with the year.

I made several "insert" sheets to coordinate with the watercolor cover, as well as two other sticker sheets, using great artwork I downloaded from Pinterest.  Here's a peek at the two other sheets. Head over to my Pinterest boards, Planners and Journaling Printables and Printables and Digital Fun, to see pins from the original pinners.


I will be posting a video later, showing my planner, these stickers and extra insert pages I made to coordinate with the watercolor cover as soon as I can.  But for now, I am just having fun playing with all these pretty things!

Happiest of New Years to you!
Have fun creating,
Molly

New Christmas Tags for 2015

Well was that fun or what?  I just spent the morning creating nine new tags to celebrate this Christmas season.  

I am on a mission to use up as much of my bits and pieces of scrips  and scraps that I have been hoarding for the last several years and thought making tags would let me use some of the itty bitty pieces I couldn't use on layout.  


I started with a base of the Julie Nutting for Prima paper tags.  They have a wonderul vintage feel to them and I love the size.  I sprayed each one with different combinations of my Lindys Stamp Gang sprays in tones of creme brulee, golds and other metallics.

While I was in a bling it up type frame of mind, I tore into my flower stash, found several I thought might work for the holidays, and sprayed some of them and added glitter and gilding to the rest.  

Then it was just a matter of gluing on all the little treasure pieces I had laid out in front of me.  And while it should have been oh so easy, I found I spent hours laying each one out and agonizing over the placement of each piece. 

Even deciding on the ribbons to use was such fun.  And made me feel so justified in having spent a small fortune over time building up this hoard of scrappy happy supplies.


The happiness of making these little charmers was even made all the merrier when I realized I had actually made a small dent in the holiday stash and might now have a little room to put away some of the new things I got delivered today.  

Sigh.....  Oh well, back to stash busting for me!  

I am wishing each of you a very Merry Christmas and happiest of New Years.  Now I am off to make some 12 x 12 layouts.  

Here's the video of these cuties:

Hugs, 
Molly

Make It Merry Mini Album and Die Storage idea from Tim H

Just wanted to share this oh so merry little Christmas mini album I just finished. It features the October Afternoon collection, Make it Merry.  I love the sweet retro look of the collection and the cheery feel of it.  

The album is constructed using medium weight chipboard as the base for each page.  I cut the rop papers for each page  7.5" tall by 6" wide.   Then I cut the papers to cover the pages just about a half to 3/4 of an inch bigger to give me room to "wrap" the papers around the edges. 


Once I had wrapped those around, I cut the papers to cover the back of each page just  1/4" smaller in each direction to glue on the back.  Be sure to check out my video for closeups of each page.  

Plus, I share in this video how I am storing my dies now,  ( I have a picture below of how it came out in my craft room so far).

Borrowed the idea after watching a Tim Holtz video where he mentioned this idea. Couldn't wait to give it a try, and I love it. 

Once I was inspired by all the dies I had forgotten I owned, I played a little bit with cutting the edges of my pockets and a few decorative pieces to add to this little mini.  Some of the newest dies I have are the Heartfelt Creations Ornaet Borders and Regal Borders and Pockets sets.  So pretty!  Just love the intricate styles and versatility of them!

Well, I hope this inspires you to take a new look at all of your olders supplies and have fun crafting!  

Hugs,
Molly

Easy Christmas Shaker Ornament Tutorial Share

Wanted to share this oh so easy Christmas Shaker Ornament tutorial I found. The link to xannero1's wonderful tutorial is on my video where I showed the ornaments I made from the inspiration. 

Couldn't resist taking advantage of the great weekend sales and am just loving using some of the super buys I found.  Two of my favorite new items are the Sizzix Precision Base plate.  Was amazed at the detail cuts I got from even tiny, intricate dies!  

And the great buy on Stick it adhesive sheets I found on Blitsy!  (They had the best After Thanksgiving sale ever! While these might not still be available, it's always fun to check them out for great savings on crafting favorites!)  



Plus, I have a link to the Cricut Explore Cutting files I made...just remember you may have to pay a small fee if you don't have the monthly Cricut subscription or own the images I used to make these. 

I cut two pf each layer, to make matching fronts and backs. I used clear acrylic sheet to cut ovals to cover windows. Then I traced outline onto craft foam to cutout a spacer layer, cutting ithe a little smaller so it wouldn't  peek out of the sides.  Wished I had used a few more sequins, but will on next ones.  Can'the wait to make more.

Gold Ornament Cricut Cutting File ( this really is the one I used for the gold ornament, even though I picked silver colors for pic...sorry)



















Silver Ornament Cricut Cutting File (and this really is the file I used for the silver ornament, even though I picked yellow colors for this pic...jeesh...)


Well I hope you have fun crafting and again, Merry Christmas and happiest of holidays to you and yours!
Molly

Great Blog for Stamping and Card Making to Share

   I hope I am not telling you something you already know, but THE best blog and videos for cardmaking and stamping tutorials, in my opinion is Jennifer McGuires.  She is so thoughtful, thorough and fun in her presentations.  And the styles and techniques she uses are just awesome.  

Jennifer has created a new website,and it has many great new features.  I love tagging my favorite videos and can go back to them for quick referrals anytime.  Plus, she has playlists on her channel that cover a wide range of subjects, that make you feel like an expert in no time.

And right now, she is starting a "My Favorite Things" series of videos where she share her most loved tools, supplies and techniqes.  Don't miss it.  She even shares a discount code for many of the items she features.  

So if you are looking to really improve your stamping, foiling, die cutting, cardmaking skills, head over to  Jennifer's Blog.   It has quickly become one of my 
"Favorite Things" of 2015.  Just wanted to share!

Have fun crafting,
Molly D