Three Hounds for the Price of One & Basic Grey's Spice Market

Happy Thursday! Since I missed posting yesterday (Hump Day with the Hounds), today will be Three Hound Thursday. Enjoy.

Baxter, Bailey, & Biscuit waiting for treats.

Today I have a card to show you that I made with the leftover bits from the Basic Grey Page-of-the-Month club. The featured line is Spice Market and it's gorgeous! 

Materials Used:

Basic Grey POTM Kit March 2014 featuring Spice Market

Thyme 12 x 12

Nutmeg 12 x 12

Chipboard Stickers

Metal Shapes

Working with patterns like this is not my usual cup of tea but I enjoy trying to step out of my comfort zone and "spice" things up a bit. If you're wondering what the rest of the kit looks like, check out the POTM layouts by Jana Eubank. They are titled "Remember When" featuring my beautiful nieces.

Love the paper folding technique here! Looks just like ribbon.

Do you like busy, patterned paper or solid or perhaps a mix of both?

Thanks for stopping by and stay scrappy!

-Gina & the Hounds

Hump Day with the Hounds-Hello Spring

Happy Wednesday! Today's featured hound is Baxter Bear. Bax is lovin' the first signs of spring. Warmer weather means more time to find mystery smelly spots in the grass to roll around vigorously in.

Today I have a banner I made as a DT submission for Scrappin' in the City (www.scrappininthecity.com) using EP's Splendid Sunshine.

I am just loving those Lawn Fawn sequins!

Materials Used:

What is your favorite part about spring?

Thanks for stopping by & stay scrappy!

-Gina & the Hounds

My Mind's Eye-Be Silly

Happy Monday! Bailey would like to give you a gift. She picked it out herself. She is a very thoughtful Doxie mix, isn't she?

Today I'm sharing another Scrappin' in the City DT 12 x 12 layout using a bunch of MME stuff. I really love MME...everything from their Now & Then collection to Lost & Found to Chalk Studio. Today's layout features my two beautiful nieces, Kaelyn & Aisley doing what they do best...being silly! Please excuse the picture quality...had to put a filter on it due to poor lighting.

Materials Used: 

What is your favorite MME line?

Thanks for stopping by & stay scrappy!

-Gina & the Hounds

One Ringy Dingy, Two Ringy Dingy

Happy Friday! Congrats on surviving another week! Apologies for the infrequent posts lately. I decided to take some to create rather than worry about what on earth I was going to blog about. 

Zumba update: It still hurts. I'm 7 lbs. down though, due in large part to Weight Watchers. 60 min. of Zumba adds 6 WW points which is just enough for some chocolate. So basically I'm working out for chocolate.

Today's featured layout is inspired by My Mind's Eye Snapshot line. I created this layout as part of the DT for Scrappin' in the City (www.scrappininthecity.com). The phone images reminded me of a fond childhood activity-listening to my mom & dad's vinyl records. I was around 5 or 6 years old then. One of the LP's I listened to frequently was Lily Tomlin's "This Is A Recording" which featured one of her most beloved characters, Ernestine, the switchboard operator. I laughed every time Ernestine uttered the words, "One ringy dingy, 2 ringy dingy..."

Materials Used:

(The TC journaling card is from the Snapshots line.)

Have you scrapped a fond childhood memory recently? What was it?

Thanks for stopping by & stay scrappy!

-Gina & the Hounds

Scrappy Saturday-Sympathy Card

Happy Saturday! Last night, I participated in my first card swap, something I have wanted to do for a long time. This year is definitely the year for trying new things and doing what I love! This month's theme was sympathy. I found it to be quite challenging, especially when I was looking through my paper stash and realized that a lot of what I have is bright and cheery. I managed to pull something together but made the rookie mistake of forgetting the envelopes. (Cue horn {waah waah}). The group I was with joked that I wasn't allowed at the next swap. Doh!

I felt that the card needed to be subdued with few embellishments (Stickles just didn't feel right on a card of this sentiment). 

I was so tempted to do a sympathy card for a pet but thought that most people would find a people card more useful. I'll save that for another post...

Materials Used:

MME Chalk Studio 6x6 paper 

MME Chalk Studio 12 x 12 paper 

8.5 x 11 ivory cardstock

Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous wings stamp

Tim Holtz Distressed Ink pad in Vintage Photo

Color Box Chalk (cats eye)

Basic Grey Capture 12 x 12

Prima Flowers

Copper colored brad

Tan positionable cord

EK Success punch for the borders

The seven other ladies that participated are incredibly talented! Everything from die-cuts, embossing, and stamping was used including elements and techniques using Flower Soft, Pearl Pens, and sanding. I will definitely be trying some of these in future projects. I just love being around creative people. Thanks to Jonna for the invite!

Thanks for stopping by & as always, stay scrappy! 

-Gina & the Hounds

Thirty-One Bags For This City Chick

Happy Wednesday! So I'm sure I don't have to tell you how fun it is to shop for scrapbooking accessories. In fact, sometimes I think it's the only reason I scrapbook. At Scrappin' in the City's mountain retreat at the beginning of the month, I met a cropper who is an independent consultant for Thirty-One bags.  If you haven't yet discovered the beauty and utility of Thirty-One, I highly recommend them for your scrapbooking needs. They come in all sizes and are incredibly durable. I first discovered Thirty-One at Scrapbook Expo in Ontario, CA two years ago. I ended up buying a small bag to hold hound-related accessories and I decorated it with stencils and glitter.

This time, I ordered a large tote to hold all of my stuff or "scrap" that I can use to transport supplies to crops and retreats. I also had it personalized along with a small bag that I can use for accessories or a portable trash bin.

Besides being adorable, the embroidered chick has some significance. Back in February, I submitted some layouts and an altered project for consideration to be a member of the Scrappin' in the City design team. I am excited to announce that I was chosen along with 5 others. This is my very first design team experience and I'm super excited! The official SITC logo is the chick and the girls who work there are called city chicks. I get to be an honorary chick for the next 6 months! I will post SITC projects as I complete them and link up to the store's site and any posts I write for their blog in the near future.

Have you discovered Thirty-One bags and what do you use them for? Have you ever been on a design team and if so, who was it for? Who was your first?

Thanks for stopping by and stay scrappy!

-Gina & the Hounds

Cameo Convert!

Happy Thursday! Yesterday was a very special day. It was Baxter Bear's birthday. My Gremlin monkey boy is 6 years old (or so we think--he was an adoption like the others). The Giant is out of town so we will be celebrating with a special walk (just Bax and us) and a trip to River Dog Bakery (http://www.riverdogbakery.com) on Saturday. Happy birthday Bax!

Over the past weekend, I was busy finishing the final purges of my scraproom for Scrappin' in the City's (my fave local scrapbooking store) yard sale. It felt so good to remove items that have been taking up space that I never got around to using. The pre-sale is tonight and the sale runs from Fri.-Sat. I am really hoping my stuff sells so I can put the proceeds towards a Silhouette Cameo.

Photo: Silhouette America shop 

(http://www.silhouetteamerica.com/shop)

I was a Cricut gal before but I recently sold my Expression and all of my cartridges/accessories on EBay. After seeing what the Cameo can do, it is safe to say that I am a convert! The cuts that this machine can make are incredible! One of the girls at "The City" (the local scrapbooking store) is working on a custom job for a customer who has traveled the world. She is making title pages that show the shape each country the client has visited. The Cameo is having no problems cutting out the shapes of countries that have the most of intricate cuts (think of the Phillipines). I was so impressed!

Are you a Cricut follower or a Cameo fan? What do you use for your die-cutting needs?

Thanks for stopping by and stay scrappy!

-Gina & the Hounds

Fun with Cupcake Wrappers-Four Step Fringe

Happy Hump Day! Today is all about cupcake wrappers! I just love making things out of them. Take a look at this chipboard book I made. 

The fringe is all mini cupcake wrappers, cut in half, and scissored.  The best part? It's so easy! Handsome shall be my helper in the scraproom today.

First, I folded the mini cupcake wrapper in half.

Next, I "fringe cut" all the way around the outer edge by making cuts approx. 1/2" long.

Then, I opened the wrapper and cut in half (followed the fold line).

Lastly, I glued the half circles onto the edge of my book. You can use fringe on your page layouts and altered projects as well. Here is a card I whipped up for today's example.

Supplies Used: MME Lost & Found 8x8 paper, DCWV Vintage Collector letter stickers, MME Cut & Paste heart sticker, MME Cut & Paste washi, butterfly from DCWV's Mariposa collection.

You can step this up by adding inking around the edges before your fringe cut. Cupcake wrappers come in all colors and patterns (think of those pretty foil ones). Imagine the possibilities! More ideas using cupcake wrappers coming soon! 

Have you ever used cupcake wrappers in your layouts, projects, or cards?

Thanks for stopping by and as always, stay scrappy!

-Gina & the Hounds

Top 5 Favorite Collections...So Far

Top 5 Favorite Collections

Happy Tuesday! I'm back! Please bear with me as I continue to experiment with the blog. I am still trying to recover from a weeklong stint of Piloxing, Zumba, & Yoga workouts, the first in a few years. I know arthritis is contributing to the extra long recovery time but I also know that exercise helps with flexibility immensely. It seems like a catch-22. I better learn to embrace discomfort and pain soon! 

In hound-related news, I am happy to report that Handsome's staples were removed yesterday and everything has healed up nicely. Here's hoping he doesn't accidentally roll over on his brother again. 

Today, I am sharing with you my top 5 most favorite paper lines so far this year. They are all gorgeous and I have had the best time using them for 8 x 8, 12 x 12 layouts as well as cards. All photos below we're taken from the links provided.

1. MY Mind's Eye-Chalk Studio 2 http://mymindseye.com/chalkstudio2.asp

2. Webster's Pages-Sprinkled with Love by Alison Kreft http://websterspages.typepad.com/webstershome/2014/01/new-allison-kreft-emellishments-sprinkled-with-love.html

3. Graphic 45-Spring http://www.g45papers.com/spring-has-sprung

4. Simple Stories-24/7 http://simplestories.typepad.com/simple_stories/24seven.html

5. Pebbles-Yours Truly http://pebblesincblog.com/2013/11/yours-truly-collection.html

Which paper line are you obsessed with at the moment?

Thanks for stopping by and stay scrappy!

-Gina & the Hounds

Thrifty Thursday-Michaels & Scrap Room Organization

Happy Thursday!

Sorry for the late post but I'm trying to recover from my first Zumba class in years. My fingers are one of the few body parts that don't hurt from this week of getting back to exercise which is good because I can still blog. I wanted to share with you some finds from Michaels.  All of their baskets and some of their decor is on sale for 40-50% off, including scrapbooking storage. Instead of going the plastic storage solution route, I looked to baskets and using decor items in different ways to add to my scrapbook room, which is still a work in progress.

I was so happy to find this minty basket today at 50% off! My scrap room is mint and pink and it holds my 12 x 12 paper perfectly. If you recall, I originally had all of my paper in a plastic storage cube. This fabric lined basket is so much nicer on the paper and I am absolutely obsessed with the mint right now.

The next item I procured was this utensil basket at 40% off. It makes a great place to store color mists and the like. It's divided into three sections in the back which are just big enough for my spray adhesive.

Next up is this caddy to hold my glue gun, glue sticks, and colored pencils, also 40% off.

I found this small basket for 50% off and it works great for all of my Thickers.

Lastly, is this small bird cage I found in the $2.00-$3.00 section. I thought is was cute and it does a nice job of holding my cupcake liners. By the way, have you ever crafted with cupcake liners? You can make pretty flowers, banners, and fringe trim with them...note to self...future blog post.

Well, that's it for this week's thrifty finds. By the way, Michaels also has 40% off Heidi Swapp right now. My store looked picked through already. :( Good luck!

Thanks for stopping by and stay scrappy!

-Gina & the Hounds