Flamingo Scraps presents Christmas in July

We know it's the middle of Summer, and hot, and the last thing on our minds is Christmas, right?  Well, maybe now is the perfect time to start thinking about Christmas.  Make use of these lazy summer days to craft some hand-made, lovely Christmas gifts for friends and family!  To help you out, Flamingo Scraps has a July chock full of ideas for GREAT hand-made gift items.  Every Tuesday and Thursday in July, our blog will feature a craft project that you can duplicate for a Christmas gift or decoration.  If you miss it on our blog, check out our Facebook page as we will publish it there too.

Now, what is Christmas without presents?  Never fear, Flamingo Scraps has those for you too!  

We are running a HUGE clearance sale all throughout the month of July!  Value and savings abound during July at Flamingo Scraps.  We offer a FREE Gift with every $20 purchase AND maximum $5 shipping throughout July!.  Of course our Free Shipping over $70 still applies*. Additionally, stay connected (blog and Facebook) for opportunities to win a few prizes from Flamingo Scraps in July.  Also, don't you want to stay up to date on CHA Summer 2010 Sneak Peeks?  Flamingo Scraps has those for you too - we will keep you up to date on all the new, scrappy goodnes coming your way for Fall and Winter 2010.

Would you like to give something back?  Flamingo Scraps would love to have some feedback from you, our dear customers, on what you would like to see us carry.  Just leave a comment on the blog or Facebook and let us know what you have to have from the new lines debuting at CHA.

*Free and discounted shipping offers apply to customers in the continental USA only

Quick Summer Cards

Now that summer is finally here (yay!), I wanted to make a couple of quick cards using some of my pink paislee scraps to celebrate. 

Up first, a card to say..... hello!

From Flamingo Scraps: Pink Paislee 365 Degrees collection patterned papers, Black Diamond and Stardust Stickles, Prima e-line bling

Other supplies: Fiskars threading water punch, Martha Stewart butterflies punch, American Crafts alpha stamps

Next, a card to say.... celebrate!

From Flamingo Scraps: Pink Paislee 365 degrees collection patterned papers, Stardust Stickles, Ranger Fired Brick Distress Ink

Other supplies: thread + sewing machine, Creative Cafe sentiment stamp, Imaginesce octopus stamp, Fiskars water wave edge punch, colored pencils, white cardstock

And finally, a card to say.... I love you!

From Flamingo Scraps: Pink Paislee 365 degrees collection patterned papers, Xmas Red Stickles

Other supplies: thread + sewing machine, 3Bugs in a Rug sentiment stamp, white cardstock

Just a few quick cards to add to the stash for later and a great way to use up scraps!  What's your favorite way to use up scraps?  We'd love to see!
 

Friends Mini Album using a Moxxie Die Cut Paper Pack!

Flamingo Scraps has these FABULOUS packs of Moxxie 6x6 Die Cut Paper Packs in a variety of palettes -- 12 double sided sheets per pack -- simply made for a snazzy 6x6 mini album.  And inexpensive too at $3.49 a package!

I chose to work with the Jewel pack as, coincidentally, it follows closely the Pantone Fall Color Palette!

My base was a black mini album with binder ring pulled from the depths of my stash (along with some other goodies)!

This album is going to be donated to a charity crop, so I thought FRIENDS was a perfect title!  The gorgeous flower and butterfly on the cover are Prima Andorra -- both in one package, what a bargain!!  A few swipes of Tim Holtz Distress Ink altered these beauties to just the right colors.  I used Distress Inks, Glimmer Mist, Distress Stickles, and Distress Paints on most every page and embellishment to blend and alter to the desired shades.

  

Here is the album fanned out to show both sides of the pages!  Embellishments include Prima flowers, lace, felt devines, and bling, and misc. ribbons including strips of burlap!  

This page shows the use of distress mediums to highlight, blend, and alter embellishments to compliment the colors in the paper pack. Note the Prima felt devine in the pic on the left was trimmed to fit and altered from its original white with distress ink!

 This page makes use of a nearly forgotten vintage embellishment from my stash with a Prima flower vine, spilling out the top, in shades of grey/silver/ pewter -- showing up more and more as THE new neutral! 

The photo on the left details the embellishment of the binder ring with ribbons, tulle, burlap, and some fabulous metal accents --  a vintage key, and washers from the hardware store -- in the same neutral metallic range.

Give these fab Moxxie papers a try and don't be hesitant to use those distress inks, stickles, paints, and Maya Mist and Glimmer Mist to alter embellies to coordinate with your choices! 

Scraptathlon Week # 7

Life got busy for Susan this week, so it's just me again!  This week's challenge was based on a song from the Princess Bride, using the inspiration "As You Wish" from the movie.  As our hostess explained there was a line from the movie:

That day, she was amazed to discover that when he was saying "As you wish", what he meant was, "I love you."  This week, I want to know how YOU and those you love say I Love You. -- Do you say it "Olive Juice?", Do you not say the words ever? Do you say it through baking? Letters? Artwork on the fridge? Show us all the love this week.

So I made this:

From Flamingo Scraps: Pink Paislee Bayberry Cottage black & white patterned paper, Websters Aqua Bloomers, Maya Road chipboard (heart), Prima White Mini Flourish Say it in Pearls, Prima e-line bling (to dot my i's)white trim and black mini pom pom trim

Other supplies: thread + sewing machine, Basic Grey sugared patterned paper (reds), Basic Grey Urban Prairie paper (black scraps to cut title), white bazzill swiss dot cardstock, white cardstock, threading water punch, gray sharpie pen

I've been having fun mixing and matching all my Pink Paislee paper scraps and looking for ways to use the leftover pieces of Websters Bloomers -- I really hate to waste anything!
I hope you are out enjoying the summer weekend!

Boy or Girl?

A quick layout about my sister's current pregnancy -- my 2nd nephew/niece to spoil!  Actually, this is the first page for his/her's scrapbook!

From Flamingo Scraps:  Webster's Lullabye Lane (yellow patterned paper), Webster's Garden Gala (brown patterned paper), Webster's green bloomers and brown lace, Prima e-line pearls

Other supplies: white sprinkles thickers, white cardstock, brown sharpie, font is Pea Leslie's Happy Font

I can't wait to start scrapping another baby album... guess I better hurry up and finish my nephew's first!  Have a great weekend!

It's a Hoot!

Owls seem to be very popular right now in the crafting world!  And Hoo doesn't love owls?  They are very cool birds with an air of mystery about them.  They are rumoured to be wise and are usually depicted as such in children's literature.  The Owl is the symbol of the Greek Goddess Athena. Why shouldn't we want to use their images in crafting?

I just love this project from the Maya Road blog!

It uses this Mega Bottle
Cap------->

<-----And 

this is the

finished 

product!

This Bottle Cap Owl would be a fun summer craft to do with your children or grandchildren.

Or how about a Coaster album in the shape of an Owl?

That you can

use to make

something like

this------>

 

<------- Or this?

Look at this cute little Smarty Owl Singleton stamp!

Perfect for journaling some wise words!

Don't miss out on this hot trend!  The Mega Bottle Caps, Owl Coaster Album and Smarty Owl Singleton Stamp are all available in the Maya Road section of Flamingo Scraps. 

Happy Scraps to you!

Play -- Sketch Challenge with a Twist

Another layout for my cropulation album, but this time for a different challenge on scrapbook.com!  Use this sketch:

And the Twist -- summer fun!

My Layout -- Twisted and with the Twist!

The patterned papers are from Webster's Pages Life's Portrait collection and the journaling spot from Webster's Pages Seaside Retreat collection.   White E-line flowers were layered and centered with tiny seashells from my stash!  The photos are from 2009 and 2010 Cropulations -- we shot the same photos on the beach in California and on the beach in Florida!!!!

Check out all of the Webster's Pages collections at Flamingo Scraps -- you are sure to find one to suit your next layout and don't forget the Primas!

Scrappy Pennsylvania?!

I've slowly been recovering from my long vacation and cleaning off the scrappy desk.... in the meanwhile trying to process what I want to do creatively with over 1,200+ photos!!  eek!!  While the bulk of my travel talk will be on my own blog (the crafty aftermath will be here!)... I did want to share some scrappy surprises I found in Pennsylvania! :)

Up first, the second day my brother, sister-in-law and I were in Hershey and taking a class at the Hershey Story:

At the Hershey Story Museum.

Where the instructor noticed me taking photos of every little detail like this:

And she interrupted the presentation to ask me if I scrapbooked!  HA!!  :)  But of course I do!! And she promptly gave me instructions on how to find my way to the nearby scrappy store!!  What a nice store and if you ever find yourself in the area, stop in for a great selection of local items like this:

Fast forward to my last day in Pennsylvania, when we went to some antique stores and look what I discovered:

How cool are these?!  Vintage scrappy books!!  And of course, I had to open them up and see what they had inside:

The first book had lots of comics and articles clipped from the newspaper.

This one had mostly cards with handwritten notes who they were from, little pictures cut from packaging and postcards.

And check out this altered item:

It's a card, that they cropped down and attached to a pillow to make a door hanger!!

Love it!! 

And last, but certainly not least, what scrappy journey would be complete without finding an amazing vintage camera?!

A Polaroid Automatic 100 Land Camera, produced from 1963-1966. 

Clearly, I screwed up by not grabbing that one up for $12 working or not -- would make for a great decor item on the scrappy bookshelf.  Maybe I can talk my brother into going back for it.... :)

So that's the scrappy lovin' that Pennsylvania gave me while I visited.  Definitely some fun and unexpected surprises.  Hope you enjoyed the little virtual scrappy tour of Pennsylvania!!

Late Happy Fathers' Day!!! -- Daddy & Me

A Belated Happy Fathers' Day to all those awesome men out there who make a difference in a child's life!!!

This week I did one layout for two different challenges -- both had twist alternatives.  Being a twisted kind of woman (in a good way, I think!), I did both!

The Sketch

The Twist!

  Use all scraps and leftovers except the background paper and pics. Use at least 10 scraps and leftovers and get extra points!!!

The Layout

The background is actually a leftover piece of Bazzill cardstock from my heritage album papers.  The patterned paper strips are scraps of Prima, Pink Paislee, and Webster's Pages, the swirl and arrow are leftover Prima Say It in Studs, the turquoise bracket and pink heart are both colored with Maya Mist and inked with Maya Road inkpads. Along with the patterned hearts and arrows, they are from a Flamingo Scraps Chipboard Grab Bag.  All of the papers and printed chipboard are distressed with Tim Holtz Distress Ink.  The title letters and numbers are leftovers from two packages of Thickers -- two of the d's are actually p's.

For the Heritage Challenge, the stipulation  was to use a picture at least 25 years old (no problem there!), and the twist was to do a "Father" layout.  We were not a picture taking family, so this 1958 photo of my dear late Daddy and me is very precious to me -- he is teaching me to build a drip sandcastle!

Prima, Webster's Pages, and Pink Paislee papers, Prima Say It In Studs, Maya Mist, Maya Road Inkpads, Tim Holtz Distress Ink, and Chipboard Grab Bag are all from Flamingo Scraps!

Try out this fantastic sketch from jamariel and use some of your scraps and leftovers!!

Prima Marketing's Mid-Season Release

In keeping with their wildly popular Say It In Pearls & Crystals line, Prima Marketing has released some mid-season Bling for us paper crafters!  In twelve luscious colors, Say It In Pearls with Flowers is now available at Flaming Scraps!

Lovely, delicate swirls with three hand made roses, these embellishments are the perfect addition to your next craft project.  They are approximately 7" x 3" and self-adhesive.  Use the whole swirl or cut it apart for smaller spaces!

Look at this soft pink!
The
hand made
rose just
shimmers!

Notice the 

two-toned 

effect on this

swirl.

These new pearls are sure to add elegance and sophistication to your next project!  Available now at Flamingo Scraps.  Be sure to visit the Prima blog for ideas and inspiration.

Scraptathlon Week # 6

It's just me this week! Susan took her week off from the challenge. Our song this week was "Livin' the Life" by Martin Sexton and the challenge was this:

This is one of my current brain virus songs. I'm not sure why, but I do love the message. So this week is a theme challenge.

"Are you living the life that you always dreamed of?

Giving your time to the ones who make you smile?

Making your world worthwhile?

Are you living the life?

A layout dedicated to you (or some other subject). Make it a question that you answer, a statement or an INTERJECTION.

Digi supplies:  paislee press + Audacious Designs photogenic kit (all papers, embellies and wooden alpha), fonts are smiley monster ("what will you be?") and Pea MissStalker (journaling)

I LOVED the July guest design team challenge sketch from Sketchy Thursdays!  And I really wanted to do this layout using the gorgeous Webster's Garden Gala, specifically this piece of paper I've been hoarding....

Available at Flamingo Scraps, of course!

But.... time constraints left me with no printed picture to work with or the ability to print one before the deadline, so digi was my last option!  On a digi note, I LOVE the collaboration kit I used -- it's definitely on of my go-to favorites for digi stuff.  I hope you don't mind the break in the paper scrappiness too much!

Have a fabulous weekend!!

Christmas '09 -- Two-Page Sketch Challenge

It has been sooooo long since I have done a two-pager, so when I saw this challenge on sb.com with this fabulous multi-photo sketch by Becky Fleck -- I knew it was perfect for all these great pics of my family from this past Christmas!

The Sketch -- from Becky Fleck's Page Maps -- May 2010

My brother Bill and wife Holly hosted us all for a casual Christmas Day lunch and I took advantage of the situation and played camera nazi, making everyone pose in numerous combinations. My nieces and nephews were a hoot, hamming it up for the camera!

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO SEE MORE DETAIL!!

I have been saving this gorgeous Mistletoe & Co. paper from Pink Paislee for just the right projects to highlight my Christmas photos -- just love the rather non-traditional color scheme -- it is so versatile!  The Fancy Pants Powder Blue Trims  and the blue mini pom pom trim from Flamingo Scraps Cheep Trims collection were the perfect accents and I went to town with my new fave products from Ranger/Tim Holtz  -- distress inks, glossy accents, and UTEE.  Pink Paislee, Fancy Pants, and Ranger/Tim Holtz products are also available at FLAMINGO SCRAPS!

Dunked in melted UTEE!

Distressed with Tim Holtz Inks!

















Accented with Glossy Accents!








Can't wait to show this to the family Fourth of July Weekend -- and oh yeah -- take more pics!!!  Stay tuned for a Maya Road Christmas Tree Album I'm making for my Mom using the leftover paper from this LO!!

Thanks to the two-page sketch challenge for the inspiration to tackle multiple photos and a two page LO!