Hard day's night...

...and I've been workin' like a dog... course I don't really mind it when it is making lovelies!  I've been busy in the studio the past couple three weeks using up some scraps & making cards to help me with my resolution of "no more piles 2013".  Anyone else have one of those?  I've not been very successful to date, but maybe it is not so much about the end result as it is just about being intentional about not letting it sit there all year.  Ya know?  Anyway, when I am done, it should be around 80 cards.  And yes, some of them have been cut out & folded for over 1 year.  Sad.  It's a crime against patterned paper.  But I'm excited to see it get done.  Whatever I have left, if they are good sized scraps, will be going to my boy's elementary school.  It is usually what I do with it.  I also share with my SIL too.  Spread the love, I say!

I've been sick for a few days, so my momentum has been slow, at best.  Which has caused another pile to be formed.  Sigh... Memorabilia.  I have most of 2012 printed out (of my pictures) and those need to be sorted and then filed in my LOM binders.  That is always fun & it is a good stroll down memory lane.

Earlier this year, I packaged up about 30 page kits - pictures, papers & a sketch or magazine article I wanted to use.  That is now a "get creative & do it" pile, but it used up a "one of these days I'm going to use it" pile.  So that is good, right?

So I'm hoping the end results of these piles (cause I didn't even mention the pile of "oh yea, I want to make that/design something like that" pile) should mean lots of yummy goodness for you all too, right?

Go check out your own piles & share with me what you've got!

LO Share - Baby Mine

This is another split-page I did for my younger son’s birth.  I loved how I could slip in the bits & pieces of the events; the card from his bassinet, the heart monitor, etc.  They were very fun to do & very fast.
Here I have used some chipboard from Lil Davis, Chip toppers from Bazzill Basics, a sticker from 7Gypsies, rub-ons from Scrapworks, buttons, some Daisy D’s rub-on runner tape, and a sharpie.  Paper is all Basic Grey.
Thanks in advance for looking!

Lastest Custom order - TagZ Brackets Months

Isn’t that a beautiful color?  Can’t wait to see how she uses them!

2 New Big sets on the Shop

I have gotten 2 new large sets done & out on the shop for you to check out… They are just full of yummy goodness!

O Tannenbaum CollectionZ

Space Case CollectionZ

New CollectionZ available in the shop

So many updates for the shop.  Let me tell you, these things just keep getting cuter & cuter!  Go check them out, they are super-reasonable prices too!  Many of the IconZ now (especially in the Halloween CollectionZ) and the DotZ, are on high-gloss self-adhesive paper.  It makes the colors so much more rich, and the product just that much easier to use!  If you have any snapshots of your projects using BZ Designs/BenzillaScrapping products, be sure to email them in to me so we can show them off!  Thanks so much!

Cake and Ice Cream, in the Birthday section

Candy this Way, in the Halloween Section

Cast a Spell, in the Halloween Section

Eat, Drink & Be Scary in the Halloween Section

Wicked, in the Halloween Section

One Fall Day, in the Fall Section

DotZ, in the Christmas section

LO Share: I'm a Boy

Wow, I had no idea how blurry this is, but hopefully you will get the idea.  I used a 2-up page from We R Memory Keepers, so each square is a 6x6.  Great if you have a bunch of 6x6 scrap pads, but I just cut my 12” down.  I like how there are pockets to fit all of my memorabilia in these things.  So I have the balloon that came in the bouquet that was sent us, as well as the little stocking hat he wore.  The top picture is him just as he is born, so I used a BZ Designs FrameZ to highlight where he is.  The lower square has 4 pictures of him altogether, and is a really fabulous way to get more on there.  I used a square punch to get them cut out.  Of course this design is easily adaptable to a standard 12” as well.  They were super-quick and easy & fun.  I ended up doing several of them as Christmas presents to Zak that year.  He was complaining that his book didn’t have very many pages in it & he was right.  So I’ve been trying to fix that ever since!  Paper is Basic Grey.
Enjoy!

Thank You Card Share

These cards are a super sweet, super easy, super pretty way to say Thanks to one of the lovely people in your life.  They are 4x4” cardstock squares, I used a 3” circle punch, and then just whatever sized MME paper scrap for the scallop border punch at the bottom.  A Bazzill Basics Chip Topper, Prima Flower & a gem completes it out. Used up a bit of my cardstock and patterned paper scraps too.  Delightful!

See the full gallery on Posterous

New Year - already?!

Can you believe it is already 2013?  Seems like just yesterday we were heralding in 2000!  I’ve ever continuing on making new product, and have a lot of it printed out & ready to be put up at the store, but have been taking a bit of a break to work on some mixed media.  Well, and I was working on Christmas gifts too.  Those I will also get around to sharing.  I’m really excited about the canvas I’m working on right now, and have considered selling copies, if anyone is interested.  Here’s another sneak-peak of what I’ve been up to….

Now, isn’t that absolutely adorable?!?!  Thanks so much & hope to see you around soon!

BFF Mini Album Share

It is always such a special treat to get to do girly girl stuff, especially when it includes pink!  A friend of mine requested 2 BFF books for her daughter & daughter’s BFF. It was just a ton of fun!

Flowers, ribbon, Chip Chatter letters & MME papers.  I made my own chipboard album pages, 8x8.  As you can see there was also a fair amount of sanding going on.  This not only looks really great, but when trying to get glue all the way to the edge, sometimes you get boogers.  And the sanding takes care of that.

Paint chip with a clear sticker sentiment (I think actually from a baby pack of Phrase Café), paper clip & heart button.  Stamping with paint on the other side, I love this big swirly stamp, I wish I could remember the company name! It’s actually stamped onto a sheet of acrylic, which you can sort of tell…

This view you can tell a bit better as the stamping is now on the other side.  Did a spray mist of paint on the purple side.

A similar page, but with a embellished flower accent.

I covered this flower with tape, and then folded & trimmed it to fit.  This was their nicknames for each other, and she wanted that in there.

She also wanted to capture some of their interests, like cats, and just being together.  The chip heart I painted & loved how it hung from the punched scallop edge.  More flowers, love ‘em!

American Idol lovin’…

Girl Scouts together… Stampin’ Up (I think) make these super cool girl scout stamps

School Memories

Big stencil numbers (love those!) and I nice sentiment with (more) flowers & sparkly jewels

Home is... Card Share

This was made to go with the coffee pot gift, as a housewarming.  I put it in an old CD envelope & the design showed through the window very nicely.  The stickers were just some leftover brush strokes that I am still very fond of.  I used my EK success circle scissors to cut the circle and used something square as the template for the house & roof (square cut on the diagonal).  Paper is Chatterbox, I believe.  A little inking and a cute punched heart round it all out.
Thanks so much for looking!

Birthday Card Share

This one is also sized to fit in an old CD envelope.  It is simple, but I like it.  Birthday stamp & candle are from Stampin’ UP!, paper is Chatterbox & cardstock is Bazzill Basics.
As always thanks so much for looking!

News from the Studio

I have been busy trying to find a new rhythm that allows me to not only design new product (I’ve been super successful there & have learned so many new ways to do things in Photoshop that are more efficient and just well, cooler!) but also to do some personal scrapping.  I started looking back over my page count for 2012 and I was shocked that I had only done a couple of pages.  So I’ve been determined to try and remedy that.  And new product always seems to help with that!  I have had several custom orders for product, to be used in weddings and other non-scrapping venues, and it has been a lot of fun.  If you have something you need, just email me.  Etsy has also redone a lot of how the shop works, and I’m totally digging that.  That I can now offer choices for styles and colors instead of having to have separate listings, or hope that everyone remembers to put it in the comments section.  Just makes the whole process quicker & more reliable.  So a big shout-out to the designers over there.  Have a great week everyone… and here’s a little sneak peak….

Gift wrap idea

A friend of mine needed a new coffee maker, so I guess you can guess what is inside….  At work, we receive a lot of paper packing material, it is usually as wide, if not wider than standard wrapping paper.  And it’s perforated so that’s cool too.  I really like the blank canvas that it is and have done this sort of thing many times.  I feel better because I am repurposing “trash”, I get to sketch, and I get to make it more personal to the person who receives it.  And it is sort of retro cool too!  And let’s not forget all the money you save by not buying expensive (or as much) wrapping paper!  With the holidays coming up, before you toss out that packaging, stop to think for just a  moment how you can transform it into something beautiful…

Mini Album - Ladies' Retreat

This was the first year that the 4 of us went on the Women’s Retreat through our Church.  It was such a great, powerful experience to spend the weekend with women of faith and see how we are all fragile, yet so very strong.  For Becky,  I just wanted something so very pretty & girly because I thought it just really reflected her personality – bubbly and happy.  Even in the midst of hardship, she was always so full of joy.

See the full gallery on Posterous

LO Share - Best Buddies

In honor of 009’s recent birthday…

Just a little something to show his relationship with his big brother.  Sometimes rocky, sometimes loving, always amazing!
This was an older eBay kit that never sold, so I decided to use it myself!

Baby Mini Album Share

This is just a little book I whipped up from some scraps and other odds & ends laying around for a friend of mine when he had his first baby.
I really just enjoy dumping my bin out & digging through stuff to find what I want to put in each book instead of always using stuff that is meant to go together.  Hope you enjoy!

See the full gallery on Posterous

Mini Book - Baby

This is just a quick little album I whipped up for a colleague of mine awhile back.  Lots of fun little stuff & used up goodies from my stash – everything from Making Memories, Bazzill Basics, DCWV, Prima & so many things in between.  Thanks for looking & enjoy!

See the full gallery on Posterous