Month of Love

February is viewed as the month of love all across the U.S. and other countries as well.  It is also the month where lots of red, pink and white is in order and sometimes a touch of black.

So keeping with the traditional colors I created two cards using Graphic 45 paper.  Actually, I've had this paper collection for to long and needed to do something with it.  I found my inspiration on Pinterest and now to share with you in hopes that I can pass along the inspiration to you (if you need to be inspired of course, (smiles)).

As usual with Graphic 45 paper designs, the paper itself tells the story.  All you have to do is put it together so no coloring and the only stamping required is a greeting or a sentiment which works great when you can't find the perfect image. Below are my two creations; one for the male and one for the female.

I really like how this one turned out although I wasn't able to mimic completely the one I used for inspiration.  The papers are all from the Mon Amour collection and flowers are from Petaloo.  If you haven't matched the Petaloo flowers with Graphic 45 paper you should give it a try.  All I added was some stickles to the flowers and I used a Spellbinders die for one of the mats.

I design the inside using scraps from the same paper (as I usually do) and include a space for a personal message. 

For the gentleman, I used more manly colors from the same paper collection.  Again I added flowers from Petaloo and used a Memory Box die to create a spiral doily peeking out from the corners of my focal point.  For this card I didn't need to add a greeting because I used the paper for that purpose as well (pretty cool).

The inside was hit and miss because I didn't want to cover any of the paper but of course to add a personal message space I had to cover something.

This is all I have for this post and I hope to enter a few challenges with them.

Crafty Friends - #51 Anything Goes (2/24)(M53)
Crafty Calendar - Love is in the Air (2/28) (M74)
Patch of Crafty Friends - #51 Anything Goes (2/17)(M185)
Glitter 'N' Sparkle - #226 Love is in the Air (2/18)(M12)
Cupcake Inspiration - #394 Color Inspired (2/18)(M14)
Crafting When We Can - Flowers (2/17)(M51)
Come and Get It - Love is in the Air (2/17)(M12)

As always thanks for stopping by.

Sending hugs from Texas

~Lesia

Father's Day Prep

Hello Everyone! Are you prepared for Father's Day?  Can you believe that it is only a few weeks away!  My flowers are blooming already and I only recently planted them. This is the time of year when Mother Earth comes to life and soon we will hear children playing and families find more time to spend together at games, picnics, and vacations.  Its a really fun time of the year.

To celebrate Father's Day I decided to give a gift that was both unique and practical.  I altered a box and created a matching mini album to put inside it.  I thought this would be a great gift especially if it is filled with personal photos and mementos.
All that would be left to do is to add a ticket for two to a Rangers Game (or some other sport). 

Knowing how most men don't seem to be very organized I figured that having a convenient place to store the album would be greatly appreciation as well as a nice conversation piece.

Well the only thing left to do is to share what I have created as a Father's Day Gift with you.

First up is a frontal side view of the box.  

Here is the inside view of the box.  As you can see the box holds a mini album designed to match the box.

Although there are only eight pages (4 front and back) in this album it can hold quite a bit of photos.  Each page has a pocket that will accommodate two 4x6 photos, a total of 16 photos.

Additionally each page has a booklet tucked away that can be used for journaling or more photos.  This gives you an opportunity to add an additional 16 photos (4 per booklet) if desired.

The front and back cover have pockets for storing mementos and other small tokens.  The album is 6.5 x 6.5 with a 2.5 spine so it can get quite chunky if needed.

Hope you enjoyed sharing this little gift set with me and I hope it has inspired or given you ideas for Fathers Day.  

Until next time

Be Blessed, Stay Safe and Seek Happiness wherever you go.

~Lesia~

Products: Graphic 45 Good Ole Sport Paper Collection, Stickers and Chipboard

Tim Holtz Distress Inks and Metal Embellishments

Mema's Online Store - Click Here

WARNING! THIS POST IS PHOTO HEAVY!!

Well folks I didn't have enough of people interested in the e-certificate so I guess I will save it for another day :(

What I have to share today is a Good Ol Sports waterfall folio that I created using a tutorial from Ginger of "My Sisters Scrapper".  This lady has some of the most intriguing and easy to follow tutorials.

In her tutorial she shows you how to make a smaller folio but with adjustments you can make it any size that you want.  So let me share a few photos and I will give you the link to her video at the end of this post.

I think I will just start with the front and go from there.  On the front I used one of the journaling tags that come with the paper pack to create a pocket. After popping it up I added more journaling tags in the pocket and a few metal embellishments.

Using Tim Holtz's alphabet I spelled out the word TEAM and gave it a little depth.

The spine is simple because the only thing I did was cover it with a strip of designer paper and added a chipboard piece.  Remember you can make the spine any size you want.  For my folio I used a one inch spine which worked out great for this project.

When you open the folio you have a couple of pockets on the left where you can add photos or journaling tags.  The front chipboard piece allows you to tuck a small item behind it and it will stay in place.

On the right side you have a total of 7 or 8 photo panels which will allow you to add up to 16 standard size photos.  The band is held down by a magnet. This keeps the panels flat when the folio is standing in an upright position.

Here you can see the journaling tags removed leaving the pocket ready for up to three 4 x 6 photos and up to two wallet size photos.

Everything on this side was created using chipboard pieces, designer paper and a few items I fuzzy cut from one of the sheets.

On the right side we lift the magnetic band and now our first photo is visible.

I cut the corners of my mats with a photo corner punch from Marvy.  This was one of my better purchases, because it is used quite often especially when creating mini albums, journals or anything that will be matted for photos.

The best thing about doing the mats this way is you can swap out the photos when you like and it preserves the photo longer since no adhesive is touching the actual photo.

I really didn't need to add this photo but I wanted to show how you can add a photo on the top and the back of each panel.

My two favorite models here :)

I did this on several pages so I am going to skip to a panel without the photos so you can see the notches that hold them on the panel.

As you can see on the photo below the notches are in all four corners and there are two slots per corner.  This is so that you can trim your photos if you need to (some photos are printed with a white border) or you can use the slot made for borderless photos.

This next photo is the very end of the panels and I have left it blank so I can write dates or a description of the event where the photos were taken.

Finally we get to the back of the folio which is plain and I used one of the chipboard pieces to add my name.

I hope this didn't bore you to much and I hope you will try it out for yourself.  If you'd like to create this folio for yourself watch the video below or visit YouTube and look for My Sister Scrapper channel. 

Thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment.

Hugs from Texas

~Lesia~

Flip Mini Album

Mema's Online Store - Click Here

I decided to pull out an old tutorial I had stashed away so I could make a quick Christmas Mini Album. I thought this was an easy and fun one when I first tried and I still think it is, therefore I am going to share the tutorials with you just in case you'd like to give it a go.

There's lots of space in this mini so I've taken a few photos just to give you an idea (if you haven't seen it) because it has been out for a while. 

Although it only measures 6 x 6 it has lots of space for pockets and photos. You can also easily adjust the spine if you'd want a thicker mini.

I created mine with a half inch spine because I didn't plan on having a lot of embellishments inside and I have about 15-20 photos I want to add to it.



It is perfect for holding those special event photos such as a baby shower or birthday or road trip.





The items I used were the Tim Holtz lamp post die, a memory box doily die, chipboard from the paper collection, WOC flowers, stickles, gesso, a few pearls of course Graphic 45 12 Days of Christmas paper collection.

There are lots of flips and folds so I want to share just a few with you.



When you first open the mini you have your first 3-way layout. I added a pocket for photos and on the side flaps I am showing how you could use them for journaling or another pocket.

Next I skip to the third layout (just to save time and photos).



On this page or layout I added a pocket once again for photos (and yes I do plan to add a mat the black pocket) On the double flaps I decided to keep them together with eyelet closures.

This is the last photo I have of my mini but there are two more layouts in this mini.



Here you can see how it looks with the flaps open and the two center flaps closed down. There is room on each side for more photos and journaling.

So there you have my first Christmas Mini Album this year.  I have seen it created by several different crafters with variations but the two individuals whom I have followed are Gloria and Zina.

Leave your comments below and let me know what you think.

Thanks for stopping By

Hugs and Kisses from Texas

Lesia

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Although they are very similar there are some differences. I've made them both and was pleased with the results of each. 

Below are links directly to the tutorials as well as a link to Gloria's video. There are printable instructions on Gloria's blog and the photo will take you there.



Link to Zina's Blog:
My Scrap and I




Link to Gloria's Blog: 
Scraps of Life:
(look for the printable instructions link)



Link to Gloria's YouTube Video tutorial:
Mini Flip Book By Gloria:

Christmas Cards

Mema's Online Store - Click Here

I don't really have a lot to say today so this post will be short especially for me.  First of all the weekend has been surprisingly pleasant with cooler temperatures and gentle breezes throughout the day.  Absolutely perfect for sitting outside and drinking tea or watching my Yorkie-Poo run around chasing birds.  I really do love this time of year, although its not always the best for my allergies...but today all is well and I sit here with my ice tea and my laptop enjoying the beauty God has granted us.

So now to move quickly to the card I have to share with you.  Every year I vouch to make 10-15 cards to either give to others, share at the nursing homes or to sale and this is my latest one.  

I still have more to make but this particular one is ready to be shared because it was quick and easy to make. I found my inspiration on pinterest and I think the lady's name was Cathy, a Stampin Up demonstrator.

I created this card using mostly card-stock in white, green, red and green.  I added some a bit of designer paper from an old Graphic 45 collection called "Christmas Emporium" 

I matted and layered my card-stock and added embossing to the second mat and layer set. The embossing folder was "dots" from Spellbinders (I think that was the name). 

On the next matted layer, I stamped one of the trees that is part of the "Lovely as a Tree" stamp collection from Stampin Up. I'm not sure that you can find this collection because I think it is about 4 or 5 years old.

I've had it for a very long time but I love it and every year I pull it out to make my Christmas cards. There are tons of ideas for this collection on pinterest and Youtube.

I couldn't figure out what to do on the inside so I carried over the Graphic 45 paper with all its hollies. 




Because of all the hollies on the paper I thought it needed something plain but interesting so I added a second iteration of the stamp and layered a mat as a space for a personal message to complete my card. 

I'd like to enter the following challenges:
Sweet Stampin Challenge - Antique Roadshow -use oldest stamp (10/22)
Crazy 4 Challenges - Sketch #308 (10/31)
Catch the Bug - October Bingo Challenge (ribbon, 3 layers, Pearls) (10/24)
52 Christmas Card Throwdown - Wild Woods (10/23)

Okay that's all I had to share for today, except I do need to identify my comment winner so let me do that now.

I do enjoy reading your comments and I know it takes time to read and even more time to comment so occasionly I like to say thank you.  Although I appreciate all of you, I can only give away one gift certificate.  

Selected from the comments 

on my post "Back to Copics" 

the winner of a 

Mo Manning gift voucher is: 

Dawn Lancaster!

Contact me before Sunday, October 25th at MemasCrafts2@gmail.com

Back to Copics

Mema's Online Store - Click Here

Beware! this post is long!

Before I share my newest creations I have to let you guys know that I was a WINNER at Cheery Lynn designs!  Yahooooo! and I will get to go shopping for a couple of new dies which I have already picked out.  I just had to share that bit of news because I don't win very often and when I do I get totally excited.

Secondly, I've noticed that there are those out there that will join your blog if you're giving away something and then leave if they don't win. Personally, I find this to be very rude and don't appreciate that behavior. It is so unfair to those that do follow and visit from time to time...not every week or day but from time to time. So to those that are only looking to win a prize please go elsewhere and don't stop here!

I would hope that you join not only for the prizes although I know they are important but because you like my work and find inspiration or can get ideas from my blog. I follow over 200 blogs and I definitely can't visit them all on a regular basis but I do stop by from time to time for inspiration or to just read the post.

I'm sorry if my saying this offends anyone but it is how I feel and if this does not apply to you then please ignore and know that I appreciate your time and thank you for your support however small it is.

Now to share two very different cards with you.  Both cards consist of images that I have had for some time but for some reason never got around to coloring. However, now that my tub of boxes aren't grabbing my attention I have wandered over to my bin where I keep printed digital images ready to be colored. I think there were 18 images in this bin needing some color to bring them to life.  Whew!! I do truly believe I am a mini hoarder or perhaps I just want to do more in my craft-room but time just isn't on my side. 

I need to use some of these paper pads I have all nicely stacked up before I run out of space for new stuff (haha).  Having said all that I'll get started with what I have to share with everyone.

For my first card I used paper from Authentique called "Blissful" and standard Hobby Lobby card-stock.

The image is from Mo Manning called "Gimme B".  I used a glitter gel pen to color her pom poms but didn't do very good since the pens were almost dried out.  Phooey! The greeting is a clear Fiskar stamp and the dies are from Spellbinders.

 I kept the inside clean and simple but used papers from the same collection.

Did I mention that I have a son that is a Cheerleader and Gymnastics Coach and that is why I found this image to be such a cutie. 
Copics I used to color this image:
Skin: E13, 11, 01,00 
Clothes/Poms: Y21, 19, 17, W8, Black
Hair: E59, 53, 49, 25

I'd like to enter this card in the following:

Lacy Sunshine Color Your World - Anything Goes (10/15)
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Challenge #19 Anything Goes (10/15)

Yep I have another card to share with you.

I realize we haven't gotten past Halloween or Thanksgiving but this image just needed my attention and it makes for a great Winter or Christmas card.


It's another Mo Manning image but for the life of me I can't remember her name. I think it is "Urchin With Bird" but not sure.

I used Graphic45 Christmas paper collection from last year for this little cutie. I added some snowflakes that were punched and embossed using Tim Holtz's embossing glitter. Behind is tucked a bit of cheesecloth and a corner die from Marianne Designs and a paper doily cut with a Cherry Lynn die.

A few Recollection flowers, pearl stick pins and ribbon from Bo Bunny helped me complete this card.

On the inside I used a journaling tag and cut out a few border strips from the paper for the left side of the card and added space for a personal note on the right side.

The image was colored using copics:
Skin: E15, 13, 11, 00
Clothes (reds) R89, 39, 37, 35 and (browns) E99, 97, 55, 53

I'd like to enter this card in the following:

Glitter and Sparkle - Challenge #157 Anything Goes (10/09)
Crafty Hazel - Challenge #249 All Wrapped Up (10/08)
Crafting With Dragonflies - Challenge #44 Anything Goes (10/09)
Fab N Funky - #275 Anything Christmas
Crafty Hazelnut's - Christmas Challenge October (10/30)

I know this was a really long post and I thank you for hanging out until the end...so much so that I am going to select a winner from the comments on this post to receive a gift certificate from Mo Manning Digital Pencil.

Hugs from Texas

Thanks for stopping by

Lesia

March Challenge and Announcement

To Jump Straight to Mema's Crafts Online Store

!!CLICK HERE!! 
Just Wanna Enter The Challenge

Click the Appropriate Challenge Link Below

March Challenge or Bonus Challenge

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Hello my crafty friends and followers. 

Beginning March 2015,
challenges at Mema's Crafts
will be offered on the
first Monday of every month.
  

This means more time for you to create your project and join in the fun.
The challenges will always be Anything Goes (create what you want) with a theme.  

Some challenges won't have a theme at all which will make it even easier for you to stop by and play with us. So remember to stop by for a visit
and join the challenges.
 
Now for this month's challenge which is
 "Anything Goes"
I'd like to share what I created using a KennyK image.

Click to Buy

The image I  used is called Present Surprise and you can see it here. Before I printed the image I merged it with the words Happy Birthday using my PC.  Then I printed it using onto 85# Solar White Neenah paper and colored it with my copics. 

The designer paper is the "Mother Goose" collection from Graphic 45.  It was such a fun paper pack with lots of color I thought it would make a great birthday card for a little boy.  Not shown here (because I forgot to hot glue it down) is a red bow tied just below the image in the center.  It does add a little character to the card.

On the inside of the card I followed with the designer paper and used the same border punch to break up the colors.  

The card-stock is either Paper Studio or Recollections...I can't really tell since there isn't a barcode or anything on the back. 

This was a very easy card to make and it will be fitted inside a black envelope that sports a gold border to match the card.

The Copics I used were:

R39, 37, 35 (top and shoes)

C8, C7, C5,C3 (the gray)

B97, 95, 93,91 (Blues)

YG63 and 61

YR17, 19

E23, 29, 55

Hope my card has inspired you
to come and play with us
and don't forget that once
you play with us in our monthly challenge
be sure and vote in our bonus challenge
for a chance at more prizes.

Hugs From Texas~Lesia~

Your comments are always appreciated

Couture Style

Hi everyone, hope the goblins didn't eat anyone out of house and home (smiles).

I have gotten into altering things.  This includes boxes of all shapes, sizes and purpose.  Everywhere I look I can find things that need to be altered or given a face-lift as I like to call it.

I have acquired quite a collection and I continue to put things to the side for a rainy day.  Well it finally did rain a bit this week so I decided to work on one of my projects which happen to be another cigar box.

This one was unique in that it was already black.  I got from our local smoke shop for $3.  Perfect condition without the wood or cigar smell you sometimes find with these boxes.  What a treasure find this was for me and I think after its face-lift is complete it will be the perfect treasure or trinket box for someone else.

This is how a black cigar box starts out once the cigars are removed and placed in a humidor. 

Here is how it appears after getting a face-lift courtesy

of Graphic 45 Couture Collection and a whole lot of 

love and attention.

Both sides are wrapped with velvet ribbon and centered with a metal medallion for no other reason than it was cute.

A front shot of the inside that was once a tannish brown almost raw wood.

Lastly I thought I would give a quick view of the before and after together.

This is a unique one item only that is up for sale should you desire to have it as your own.

If you would like to purchase it click the Buy Now button below to be taken to Paypal where you can make your purchase.

This item has sold!

Halloween Is In The Air

My fellow crafters...I have a question for you. Does it bother anyone to have individuals join your blog or follow your blog just to enter a challenge and then once the challenge is over they remove their follower status?

I try to follow everyone that is either following me or has participated in any of my challenges, therefore I am aware of the difficulty in viewing all the blogs that one might follow but to actually remove your name immediately following the end of a challenge...hmmm...it kinda makes me wonder. It has happened twice to me and I am hoping that it is common and not intended to be a direct insult or anything. So I thought I would ask you guys for your thoughts and insight.

At any rate I hope that I haven't said or posted anything distasteful and if I have please note that it was not intentional.

Okay, so do I have something to share? Well yes I do.  I finished the month of October for my Easel Calendar that I have been working on this year.  Only two more months to go!

I'd like to enter this layout in the following challenges:

We Do Doobadoo Challenge 17 - Halloween

Order of the Opus Gluei Challenge 194 - Ghostly Goin On

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes

I also altered a Graphic 45 Matchbox with mini album inspired by Maria of "Paperiah".  Click here to view the original creation as well as more of her beautiful creations.  She also offer classes for her projects.  I just took one look and went for it.  This is the month of Goblins and such and I found the Happy Haunting paper collection perfect for this time of year. About 6 photos coming up, so be patient.

I stuck in a few photos just to see how this could truly be a mini album should I decide to give it as a gift to someone that is a Halloween fanatic (my opinion).

Catch The Bug Challenge - October Bingo (orange + witch)
Glitter and Sparkle - challenge 107 Use Some Orange
Anything But A Card - Challenge 40 Autumn Magic (colors of Autumn with the magic of Halloween)

That's all for today and thank you for stopping by if only for a minute or two.  We always enjoy the company.

Stay healthy, Be Safe and Create Beauty Where ever you are.

Hugs

Lesia

Boxed Mini Album

Hello everyone. While the challenges are up and running I decided to try my hand at yet another interesting tutorial rightly titled the "Boxed Mini Album."  It is quite interesting how it seems to be an exploding Mini Album but that is not its name.

This is the front of the box. As you can see I used very little embellishments because I thought the Designer Paper was gorgeous and didn't need much of anything else. I love the Corset and I added the flowers and the cog wheels.






When you lift the lid of the box off it falls to the back and the sides fall down just like the exploding card.  Here in the middle you see a non-removable mini album.  This one has 6 pages but using the tutorial you can go up to 14 pages, I think.

Now on to sharing a few of the pages with you.  All the pages have the flip out tab shown on the left side of the page. This can be used as a journaling note or turned into a pocket for a tag.  The pages are all sized to accommodate a 4x6 photo.  And the album itself can hold up to 54 photos easily.

Here is an example of another page. I added the 3D balloon on the left flap but the paper is just to pretty for much else. This page alone can accommodate 6 photos and 2 spots for notes.









Continue to open the page completely by removing the two inserts and you'll see that there is room for 4 photos on each insert.  Now that's a lot of photos.

Here is another page with just a little twist. Not only does it have the flap on the left it also has a lift up flap on the right side. I added the corset using a die from Cherry Lynn Designs.

Now let me share the same page with both flaps lifted to show a pocket that has space for two tickets for journaling or adding a cute quote or maybe a hand-written note of some kind.

We're almost done so stay with me. On this page I create a half pocket to hold a insert for a standard photo and a place for journaling (we all know that journaling is not a word, right?).

Here I opened the flap and pulled out the insert.  The light pole was another Cheery Lynn die.









I didn't show you all the pages or the inserts but I think you got the idea of what the mini is all about.  IF you want to see more just go to YouTube and search for "Boxed Mini Album" and you'll see some really gorgeous ones.

Below is a YouTube video link to "Christi" the original designer "Paper Hoarder Disorder" showcasing her Steampunk Spells Boxed Mini.

DP: Bo Bunny "Somewhere In Time"
Chipboard: Medium Weight "Marco Paper"
Black Soot Distress Inks
Cheery Lynn Designs Dies
Bo Bunny Embellishments

Purchase the Tutorial here: Paper Hoarder Disorder

Thanks for stopping by and visiting with us.  I hope you've enjoyed your stay and will come again real soon.

Don't forget to join in our challenges by clicking on the tabs above and tell me what you think. I love reading your comments.

Hugs

Lesia