Brenna’s Fancy Birthday Tea Party

A series of books that Brenna loves are the Fancy Nancy stories by Jane O’Conner. Nancy loves fancy things, and tea parties are very fancy. Brenna had wanted a tea party for her next birthday since last summer, and on June 2 we finally hosted a very fancy party for her (we had many delays due to Spring break, Easter, dance competitions, end of school concerts and plays, etc., etc.).

credits: everything at scrapbookgraphics: Daydreamer by Flergs, Flitting Fall Faeries Tea Party Elements, BuziBugs' Happy Birthday and Blooming Sweethearts by Lorie Davison
paper credits: scallop edger punch by Fiskars, rhinestones by Darice
fonts: CK Curly Cursive, DB Fancy Flourishes, CK Mou Saha

The party was a cross between a Pinkalicious and Fancy Nancy party- so lots of pink, flowers, ribbons, and a touch of Paris thrown in since everyone knows that things are fancier when you say them in French (according to Fancy Nancy anyway ;) )    

The menu consisted of:
*Strawberry cupcakes with fondant flowers
*Pink raspberry lemonade with real raspberries
*Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
*Yogurt and Berry Parfaits
*Strawberry Swirls
*Nancy’s Nibblers (raisin bread with strawberry cream cheese and raspberries on top, cut into triangles)
*Tea party chocolates, made sparkly with pink lustre dust (I had the chocolate molds from Beth and Carissa’s birthday tea party in 2006)
*Party mints

It was a beautiful sunny day, so the girls got to eat and play outside in the backyard.

I remembered I had a castle play tent stored in the garage that I set up in the backyard for the party. They all loved playing in it, even the big girls ;) I actually got it many years ago for the twins and for various reasons never gave it to them. It was perfect for the party.

For crafts, we made some fancy flip-flops by tying Organdy ribbon strips on the sandal straps and made tissue-paper flowers with tissue-paper squares and pipe cleaners. The girls lasted longer at the crafts than I expected. Beth, Carissa, and a mom or two helped me fluff out the guests flip-flops a bit with more ribbon while the girls played in the backyard before they left.

At the end of the day, I moved the castle tent up to Brenna and Sarah’s bedroom for a sleepover inside the house. It was a good day, I think.

And a big thank you to my good helpers, Beth and Carissa. They helped with making various food items, cutting craft parts, and generally keeping the girls entertained and things running smoothly during the party. It was much easier to accomplish everything with them around!

credits: at scrapbookgraphics: Daydreamer by Flergs, Flitting Fall Faeries Tea Party Elements, BuziBugs' Happy Birthday and Blooming Sweethearts, and Blooming Sweethearts Addon by Lorie Davison; Template 155 by Yin Designs
fonts: CK Invitation and CK Chocolate Sundae by Lorie Davison

Last Week’s Layouts

credits: The Whisper About Fall and Playing with Overlays 7 by Natali at scrapbookgraphics; fonts: University Roman LET

I did this next one for the Studio Lorie playday on the SBG blog last Monday. Lorie’s kits always remind me of storybooks come to life, so that is what I scrapped- Brenna surrounded by books that are literally coming to life all around her. Yes, it took me a full day to get this one done, but some times you just can’t deny the pictures in your head ;)

 
credits: Everything by Lorie Davison at scrapbookgraphics.com: Bouncing Brownies and Bunnies, Faerily Moonlit, Ticket to Dragon's End, Hoppin' Frog Jamboree, A Pioneer Story, Rough To the Touch, Buzibugs' Happy Birthday, Flying Dreams Storybook, Bunnies, Bees and the Birds Big Balloon
fonts: TXT Annesia

and now that it is October, Halloween Kits are starting to make their appearance in the stores. Saxon came out with this awesome collab at scrapbook-elements this week called Googly Moogly. I had a bit of fun doing some hybrid crafting with it- a spooky coffin box I designed around the coffin lid element, and a couple of fun spiral popup cards.

   

Kristen is getting married

My good friend Kristen finally met the right guy and is getting married in October. We celebrated the upcoming wedding with her at a bridal shower this last weekend. Her friend Sarah threw the party, and Sarah’s husband made all of the food for it. Oh my, it was all delicious- three different kinds of quiche, strawberry spinach salad, potatoes, stuffed peppers,  chicken salad croissants, chocolate cupcakes and then a chocolate fountain. yummy! There was a champagne punch too that I was told was wonderful, but I didn’t try that. I’ll just take the bride’s and several guests word for it. Beth and Carissa attended the shower with me too- their first bridal shower experience. They had a dance lesson that afternoon that had been previously scheduled and in order to do both they had to come with me. They’ve known Kristen since they were little tykes, so it was fun to bring them along.

credits: Impressions of Change, Impressions of Heritage (alpha by Flergs), Lace No 4 by Manuella Zimmerman; Template 86 by Yin Designs (modified);
fonts: CK Tea Party, Papyrus

and here is what I got Kristen: a couple of lacy things from Victoria’s Secret along with a little extra on a gift card so she could actually go get something from there she really wants as I had no idea of proper size and what-not ;) and since we’ve been scrapping buddies for a long time, I had to get her some digi-scrapping goodies too.  I made a coordinating card, CD envelope, layout with a photo of the happy couple. I printed the previews for the kits I bought for her and tucked them inside the envelope with the CD so that she could see what the kits looked like.

credits: All You Need is Love and Playing with Overlays 2 by Natali Designs, Urban Grunge Solo Template by Hillary Heidleberg (layout), CD-DVD Envelope Digicraft Template by Melinda Staley at scrapdish.com; paper flower by Prima and pearl
font: Edwardian Script

here are a little closer looks at the different pieces in the photo above. The scrapbook page, which I made into a quick page for her as well so that she could use it for another photo if she wanted. I only had the one photo of her and Kevin together from Thanksgiving, so that is what I used in it.

the front and inside of the card:

and the CD envelope, which I added a little paper flower with a pearl center to:  

Congratulations, Kristen!

Hybrid Mini Book for Brenna

This marks the last project I will be doing for Prima. They are cutting back, and their hybrid division is one of the places that isn’t making them as much money. I think there is a market for hybrid, but maybe the scrapbooking world as a whole just needs more time to absorb the digital aspect. I do believe it will only become more prevalent as time goes on and digital everything takes over. I know I fought going digital for a couple of years before I finally gave in and embraced it as the way I was going to do things most of the time. Being able to go back to my paper goods through hybrid is just wonderful and a way to get back to the tactile side of scrapbooking.

I made Brenna a little book to help her remember some of the things she learned during her kindergarten year. She struggled a bit with several things during the year, but she worked hard and in the end she found success.

digital credits: IOD Flirty album and chipmates set
font: Nueva Std

traditional credits:
by Prima Marketing: Flirty Little Secret Collection papers: Splendid (812751), Frock (812713), and Meander (812720), Diecut Chipboard (#400026), Chipmates Inkjet diecut sticker sheets, Chipmates Clear Epoxy Stickers (#400002), Got Flowers? (711252), Belle Fleur (520991), Artful Leaves (523862), Build-a-Bauble (400101), Center Kisses (520700), Elysee ribbons (519520), Felt Alphabet (811952), Whispered Words (812027)
other: glitter glue by Roseart

This project was posted on the Prima blog here.

Prima Canvases

One of my May projects is on the Prima blog now. Art canvases were a project I had wanted to do for a long time.

digital credits: Melody papers by Valerie Foster

traditional credits:
by Prima Marketing: Essentials 3 Rue 88 flowers (517267), Mulberry flowers (711856), Artful Leaves (523862), The Bigger Bag (516703), The Bitty Bag (506988), Silk Road Can (515867), Voila Die Cut Art Strips (881641), Butterfly A (528355), Butterfly B (528362), Build-a-Bauble (400033), Say It in Crystals (711436), Say It in Crystals Swirls (517328), Whispered Words (812027 and 812027)
other: 8x8 canvases by Masters Touch Fine Art Studio, Avery Ink Jet T-Shirt Transfer sheets

Oval Gift Box – Prima Style

One of the projects I did for Prima in April. It was featured on the Prima blog on May 13th, along with some other gorgeous hybrid creations by Amy Martin and Julie Ann Shahin.

digital credits:
Rue 88 coordinates by IOD
Silhouette Gem Strips Hearts by IOD

traditional credits: Rue 88 "Fueilles" paper (602062), Elysee Ribbon (519513), Essentials 3 Rue 88 flowers (517267), Mulberry flowers (711474), Sprites 2 black (517229), Build-A-Bauble hearts (400323) ovals (400262) and circles (400316)
other: Kleenex box, Scotch foam mounting tape, glue dots

Portrait cards

I wanted a pretty way to send some relatives their copies of our annual Easter portraits. The photos are held on the mats with a corner slot punch (remember those?! I had to think for a minute or two of where to look for it LOL) so that they can be removed from the card easily once the cards are received.

digital credits: Loft 18 Silhouettes by Vera Lim at PrimaHybrid, Signs of Spring Chipmates by Valerie Foster at PrimaHybrid.com
font: CK Heritage
traditional credits:
by Prima Marketing, Inc.: Signs of Spring papers (881344, 881283, 881269), Diecut Chipboard (#400026), Chipmates Inkjet diecut sticker sheets, Chipmates Clear Epoxy Stickers (#400002), Bitty Bag Flowers (506988), Bigger Bag Flowers (516703), Mulberry Flowers (#711856), Build-A-Bauble (400101), Breathe Deco Brads (711634),
other: white cardstock, glitter glue by Sulyn, Corner Slot Punch by Family Treasures

A few tips and tricks on how I made these can be seen on the Prima blog in last Wednesday's post.

Manteca- Prima hybrid LO

I got a new box of goodies from Prima a couple of weeks ago and played with some of the new stuff on this layout for their April Build-A-Page Template. I spent lots and lots of time carefully cutting out all of the swirls with scissors and a craft knife. I highly recommend the Fiskars fingertip craft knife, it really did make all of this go faster than it would have otherwise. These are a couple of pictures from one of the dances that a group of older girls at the dance center do entitled 'Manteca' which is a modern lyrical jazz style dance. The expressions on their faces in these poses just crack me up. When I showed their teacher and a few of them the pictures on Tuesday they all thought they were great fun.

I printed the Melody flourishes directly onto the Life Patterns paper, and then cut them out with scissors and an Xacto knife before attaching the crystal swirls.

digital credits: Melody Flourishes by Valerie Foster at Primahybrid.com

traditional credits:
by Prima Marketing, Inc.: Papers: 'Flamboyant' (812775) and 'Ringlets' (812768) from Flirty Little Secret collection, 'Trinkets' (602000) from Coquette Collection; 'Life Patterns' (910044), and glitter specialty paper (910105) from Life In Colors Collection; Silk Road Can (515867), Essentials 3 Rue 88 (517267), Belle Fleur (520991), Festive White flowers (527556), Say It in Crystals Swirls (517335 and 517311), Alphablends (840686), Center Kisses Round 6mm (520700), Build-A-Bauble (400378)

Flower ATC Trio

One of the projects I did for Prima at the end of February was an ATC trio with a flower theme. I was in an ATC mood I guess after I made the tea one for Anna. These are featured on the Prima blog today for the Hybrid Wednesday post.

Digital Credits: by Prima Marketing, Inc.: ATC backs from Ooh-La-La and Thankful For Color Hybrid Kits, digital files; Sprites 2- Yellow Silhouettes by Valerie Fowler
fonts on card #1 Flowers Dance: Rockford
fonts on card #2 Flowers Intoxicate Me: 2Peas Gimme Coffee, Bradley Hand ITC
fonts on card #3 Earth Laughs: Stampede, Vintage Typewriter

Traditional Credits: Sprites 2 Yellow (517250), Forever Flowers #1 (505745), 6mm Center Kisses (520700), Say It in Crystals (522056), Say It In Crystals Swirls (517328), Whispered Words Flocked Alphabets (812010 and 812027); copper glitter glue by Roseart, inks by Tsukineko, Inc. and Stampendous!

Digital Credits: at PrimaHybrid.com: Beautiful Day Papers by Vera Lim, Melody Flourishes by Valerie Foster, Silhouette Alpha Flourishing by IOD

traditional credits: by Prima Marketing, Inc.: Elysee ribbons (519506 and 519520), Festive White flowers (527556), Prima Fancies (518837), 4 Seasons Velvet Leaves (527044), Center Kisses Floral 16mm (520656), Journaling Stamps (812591), Say It in Crystals Swirls (517335), Felt Alphabet (811853), Whispered Words (812119), Die Cut Chipboard (400026), Clear Epoxies (400002), Times Chipboard Alphabet Ivory (517892)
other credits: Ranger Distress Ink in Weathered Wood, Zig Writer in Denim

Prima Coupon project

I grabbed the beginnings of this project back at the start of the month, intending to print and use the coupons as they were. But, like so many things I'd like to do there just wasn't enough time and it didn't get done before Valentine's day. Never mind that though, with the wonders of digiscrapping I just made an alteration to the cover coupon and voila! it's not just a V-day project anymore. My tips for altering the printable are posted over at the Prima blog for this project too.

I made two different envelopes from the Melody digital papers to hold the coupons. Here's a pic of the backsides of them.

digital credits: by Valerie Fowler at Primahybrid.com: Valentine Coupons, Melody Papers, and Fancies 1 Silhouettes

traditional credits: by Prima Marketing, Inc.: Elysee Ribbons (#519513), Prima Fancies (#518813), Got Flowers Spring 2 (#506476), Got Flowers (#711252), Got Flowers Leaves (#506438), Clear Stamps (#830687), Build-A-Bauble (#400262), 6mm Center Kisses (#520700), Whispered Words (#812027), Postage Stamp Alphabets (#811709); Memories Chalks-a-Lots! stamp pad