Paper Transformer

Searching Saturday on Sunday: Links for Printables

Yesterday I shared one of my hybrid cards with you and promised to share some links. This, by no means, is a complete list. If you know of any other sites, leave me a comment or send me an email. I will add it to the list giving you credit for letting me know :o)

Most, if not all, of these site offer freebies too. So if you want to see if you like making some cards or scrapbook page this way, you can try several companies out.

Mail Order PLUS instant downloads:

Charmed Cards & Crafts

Clip Crop Crafts

Papertole ~~~ Has much more than papertole items

Top Topper Shop

Instant Downloads:

The Cutting Cafe

Scrapbooking Mad

SAM Cards

Printable Haven

My Grafico

Lisa's Paper Craft Disigns

Lily Pickle

Computer Scrapbook

Crafty Designs

Cards 2 Craft

Card Making World (printable craftshop)

Busy Bee Clipart ~~~still fairly new, so in the proccess of add more items

Backing Papers Direct

Aimee Asher Inc.

Paper Shapez

Crafts U Print~~~has some great paper craft tutorials

D.A.I.S.I.E Company

Free Sites:

All Free Printables

Free Craft Downloads

Jersgirls

Have fun checking out the sites! Hugs, Sandy O

 

Happy E-Mails

The other day I received an email from Digital Stamp Oasis informing me that I was chosen to be part of their new design team. I was and still am very excited. The term is from Feb. 1st until Apr. 1st.

This is actually the stamp company that I purchased my very first digital stamp from. You can see the card I made with this image on my blog post here.

They carry the cutest squirrel images as well as some rabbit, bird and butterfly images in the "cute" style. They also have a couple of new sketch images.

Since I needed to make a birthday card for my nephew who turns 17 this week, I decided to use the  "At Sea" image:

If you click on the photos, you will see the details of the image much better. She even has some men working on deck, LOL

I also made this for the Stampin' B's challenge this week to make something Nautical.

Now that is a sample of a sketch image. How about a sample of a "cute" image? 

Meet "Susie watering flowers". Isn't she adorable? Seeing how happy she is watering her flowers, I decided use her image for the cover of a chipboard scrapbook. In it I will add photos of flowers as they appear in my gardens this spring.

 I also think she is a great image to use for a little girls first scrapbook cover or a name plaque for a little girls bedroom door.

Hmmm...my mind is reeling with ideas for this adorable image of Susie as well as the other fantastic images I get to play with these next 2 months.

When you get a moment, check out the Digital Stamp Oasis Store and see all the current adorable images. I have a link directly to the store in my right side bar. HINT: I have noticed that the available images change. That means that some images may only be offered for a short time. I am not sure what exactly that means other than if you like an image...don't wait!!!

Have a wonderful Sunday and I will see you again on Monday!

Hugs, Sandy O

Explosion Box and Contests Last Day

CONTEST: WOW, last night before going to bed, I checked my stats.  Now...I have had some weird things happen with numbers, but this just floored me.  At 11:25 PM EST there were EXACTLY 16,000 views. Not one more, not one less. Isn't that weird, LOL.  I certainly did not expect it to end that way. I figured that sometime during the day, the stats would change from 15,xxx to 16, xxx. I would then post that the contest would end that night so that day would be the last chance to get in on it. 

Since it ended so strangely, today will be the last day to get in on the drawing. I will have the winner drawn by Random.org tonight at 11:00 PM EST, and post the winner immediately after.

EXPLOSION BOX: One of my SIL's likes to scrap book, but is not really big on embellishing her pages.  She likes it to be done and over with, very impatient she is, LOL. I decided that for her birthday, I would make her an explosion box. Now she can just add photos and journaling, have dressed up pages and a cute small scrap book in which she can put loads of pictures in.

    

 

This is the Parisian Breeze cover weight specialty paper which is new to Stampin' Up this catalog. I love the color combination, print, texture and weight of this paper. There simply is nothing I don't like about it. I decided to use the cover weight for this box to make it sturdier in order to with stand being around her grand children, LOL

There are so many pages on the inside I am just going to add thumb nails here.  To see any of the photos full size just click on it. 

Before I load all the photos, I would like to explain one thing. Apparently there are at least 2 ways to make these. I followed the directions for one way, which I will show you here:

With this pattern, you leave the outer corner squares intact only scoring them diagonally so that they will fold in. This is good if you would like extra space to add smaller photos, journaling or some extra embellishments.

The other way is to cut off the 4 outer squares, here they are the scored dotted ones.

For this box, especially using the heavier paper, I should have used the second pattern. Like this, the box does not explode open when the cover is taken off. Nor is it easy to close due to the weight of the paper.

Due to time constraints (we were late for her party, LOL....but not to worry, they expect it from me {{{sigh}}}I am, not matter how hard I try...consistently late, but will leave that for another post.) So will be cutting them off the next time we get together, which happens to be this weekend.

Ooooooo Kayyyyyy...Teehehehe.....onto the fun stuff! One word of caution...again due to the time constraints, I only took really quick photos, so I apologize ahead of time for the poor quality of some of them.

The 4 inner most pages (as seen above)

     

The 4 back side of the above pages:

   

This shows the middle layer, inside pages. The following are close-ups:

   

 

 

The following are the opposite sides of the above 4 pages:

 

Last, there are 4 pages on the back of the "box" paper (where the squares I will be cutting off are, but the embellished pages are not visible) Here they are:

 

I will be adding these to my scrap book album, but not today, LOL. I will let you know when they are posted with the recipes.  until then...if you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to shoot me over an email! I WILL get back to you.

Well...tomorrow is the big day! See you then....Hugs, Sandy O

Christmas 2009 is coming fast!!

HA HA HA...It sounds so far away right now doesn't it! I know that in January 2008 it was months away, teehehe. THEN..there is was!! Just kind of snuck up on me Just... Like... That! And....I was not ready for it.  I had 6 cards designed with all the paper cut out, sitting in 6 manila envelopes ready to be put together.  Sounds like it should have been no problem.

Than IT happened....Yup!!! The ice storm of the century, LOL, not one had been like it in all of 2000!!! TEEHEHE...We have lived in this house for 18 years...WOW...18 years!!! I just surprised myself, hahaha....and only once did we loose power for more than a couple of hours.  We were out of the house for 5 days, about a decade ago.  December 2008 we were out of the house for 7 days...and just about everyone else I knew was out too.  Were do you go with 3 dogs, especially when practically half the state was in the same situation. 

The Lord was good and kept my daughter and SIL in the light.  Neighborhoods around them were in the dark, but it seemed to have missed them.  PHEW...we did not have to live in the jeep for a week with the 3 dogs.  Her land lord was so very kind to let us stay there, even though he has a strict NO PETS rule! I mean strict...not even a Guinea pig or bird.  A gold fish is OK, but that is it. 

Aaaaaanyway...I was only able to get so much done in preparation for Christmas that week.  Which happened to be the 2nd week of December! When the holidays had past, I still had 3 of my manila envelopes full of cut card stock ready to be made. 

This year I WILL be prepared! For the Christmas card challenge group I joined, I chose to do at least 5 cards a month (Paul has a biiiiiig family!) This month I pulled out one of these envelopes and made 8.  The recipe can be found in the card gallery and as always, you can click on the picture for a better view of the details and bling.

I love this image.  Whenever I see a cardinal in my yard I feel like the Lord is blessing me.  Though there are plenty here in NH, my yard does not seem to be a favorite hang out for them.  We do have a family of them that comes in the warmer weather. The babies are sooooo bright and pretty.  Watching the "parents" train them is so much fun.  But the peeks at them are few.

January is over, and we are one month closer to Christmas already.  SEE....went by fast didn't it! For the month of February, I am going to challenge myself to make one scrap book layout a week. When I first started doing scrap books, I went right to the biggie...12 x 12". When I do something I tend to go all out! {{{sigh}}} when will I learn, teehehe

I have to admit that I have a hard time doing them. Sometimes a 2 page 12 x 12" layout seems over whelming. Sometimes there still isn't enough room for all the embellishments I want to add. Moderation is the key in everything! At 45 you would think I would have that down by now.  NOPE!!! Not me, LOL.

I would love you to join me in this months challenge>>>to make one scrap book layout a week<<< Any size!

I am so glad you stop by and visit me here...but I am getting lonely doing all the talking, LOL.  I love the comments that are left. I love them so much, I WANT more, LOL!!!! So leave me comments, lets get to know each other :o)

Hmmm....one blog I visit has a question of the day.  I love visiting that blog and leaving my answer as well as reading all the other ones.  Hmmmm....I don't want to COPY the idea...well, actually I would love to...but it seems so..you know...unoriginal, LOL.  I'll be putting my thinking cap on and seeing what I can come up with that is ORIGINAL. If you have any ideas, leave it in a comment, teeheheh

See you on Monday :o) Till then...HUGS, Sandy O

Memory Monday: Peter's Smile

My middle child, Peter, is so serious.  When he smiles his whole face lights up and my heart just melts.  I am also a middle child, so I know what it is like to get lost between the oldest doing new things and the youngest needing so much attention. Try as I might, there is no cure for the middle child syndrome, it is just how it is. 

When I started to take scrap booking seriously, I went through all our photos. I carefully chose the ones I wanted to make pages for and set them aside.  They were still waiting until 3 weeks ago when I decided Mondays would be my scrapbook day.

Today, wanting to make a page about Peter, I decided to make it on his smile. The photos I chose were actually set aside with other photos matching the time taken.  I picked pictures that showed his wonderful smile from each section and made my "Peter's Smile" pages.

   

I used a lot of hoarded items, too, for S.I.G.H! I had been hoarding the SU hodgepodge hardware for quite some time.  It is now retired and I have only used a few of the frames.  Now that these colors retired, I want to get the new ones. I did purchase the silver when it was in the spring mini and I absolutely LOVE it. I have been using it and want to buy more. 

The new vanilla hodgepodge hardware in the current catalog had been unavailable due to issues with the supplier (quality issues, SU is very particular about making sure their customers only get the best!). We have been told, though, that it will soon be available. Demonstrators can already order the bulk frames to make samples to show you, the customers. That means I am anxiously waiting to use up the hoarded sets so I can order the new ones.

I did well, I actually used up all of 1 style of photo hinges (I think that is what they are called, LOL) and some of the other style.  That means I am one step closer to being able to place a guilt free order for the new ones...YEAH!!!!

If it were not for the S.I.G.H., I probably wouldn't have even looked at these today.  I was also able to use some of the mini library clips I have hoarded.  They were in the holiday mini last year. We never know what items from a mini, if anything, will make it into the new catalog. I was not going to allow myself to run out of these any time soon, so I bought 3 more packages of them.  Since then I have not used them! WHAT????!!!! I KNOW...I KNOW....I had so many, but since they were not in the catalog, I knew if I used them I would have that many LESS! A hoarders constant mind set, right???

Well, I guess they are not longer a "true hoarded item" since they are now in the new catalog. In reality, I could simply purchase more if I run out.  But to change my mind set about them was not easy. I figure Peter was worth the struggle I would go through to actually use them, Teehehehe.

Here are some close ups of the pages.  I am making them small here, but you can click on them to see the full size pictures if you would like.  

I did not notice this, but the quote here has a plane like the one on the jump suit he is wearing for the picture next to it.  What a fun surprise when I noticed it.

I also used some retired SU designer paper I had not even opened yet! I have refused to buy more (well...I did buy one package on the demo pre-order) until I use up some of what I have.  So, here is 2 down, only 100 to go {{{wink}}}

The baby photos were taken when we lived in Lawrence, MA where we rented a first floor apartment from one of Paul's DS and her husband. The Easter photo was taken in Lawrence also, but we moved across the street to a 3rd floor apartment. Sound crazy, huh...especially with 3 small ones, but the price was right because Paul's parents owned that house!  That allowed us to save a bit and purchase the house we currently live in here in Hudson, NH. 

We love NH!!! In the photo with Peter and I, we took a family vacation to the white mountains, and got a rare photo of only the 2 of us!

On the next page is Peter's pre-school picture where he wore his well loved pilot overalls.  As it turned out, he did not join the air force (he is color challenged, which is not quite color blind, so would not have qualified anyway). He really wanted to be a Marine since he saw his first GI Joe! I don't think he could hardly talk yet! Now...he is a Marine.  The other thing he wanted to be since very small is a firefighter.  He has accomplished that, too, as he is now an on call firefighter right here in Hudson! One day there will be an opening and he can apply to be full time! He is also an EMT, which does not surprise me since he always liked to help those in need.

So, here are my memories for today and an introduction to Peter.  In true middle child form he is the last of the 3 I have made pages for since I began my memory Mondays! {{{SIGH}}} Sorry Peter!

Thank you for sharing them with me.

REMINDER: The "Never Before Seen" promotion will be ending soon~~ next Tuesday, September 30th, to be exact. You still have time to take advantage of the additional 15% off these 10 stamp sets. To see a couple in action, I have used:

1) Snow Swirled on the snowflake and tree cards HERE

2) Pocket Silhouettes on the card HERE and the monochrome frame HERE

I will post some projects using "Heard From The Heart" this week, too.

You can always purchase 1 or more today by clicking on the Buy Now button on top of the right side bar.

Have a terrific memory filled day :o) HUGS, Sandy O

Searchin' Saturday: Looking for time?

TIME??? Where does it go? I have woefully lost all kinds of time this week.  I have searched high and low for the lost minutes and hours, but they just are no where to be found.

I did, however, accomplish 3 things:

1. I found out how to get the smileys to work again

2. I was able to create and send out my newsletter

3. Create a new banner and "shop now" button for my blog as well as implementing some other minor changes. Surviving on coffee and a really bad diet as I tried to figure out the Photo Shop Elements software.

I, for the most part, only have a very basic knowledge of all things computer. Generally it takes me forever to do anything with it. I figure, though, that eventually I will get the hang of things before upgrades hit . For that short amount of time I will be a computer whiz

So, there you have it....my Searchin' Saturday simply vanished. How appropriate, hmmm?

Well.....I did dig up an old, very old scrapbook page to share with you today. It is the very first one I ever made.  All I had was some card stock and stickers, that's it!

These pictures were taken 2 days before our oldest was born.  Back then....we did not know if we were going to have a boy or girl, we just had to wait and see.  At this point the baby was already 12 days past due and we were MORE than ready.  I was sooooo tired, little did I know....one can actually be even more tired and still be alive!

Now....I did not read blogs, websites or anything about scrap booking.  I had heard about it and seen some pages "somewhere", so I knew they had 2 things: Pictures and some "decorations" (that is what I called them before I heard the official name, "embellishments")

I also did not know that you should not cut those instant photos you got from the old Polaroid cameras.  Oppppsssss! When Paul told me it was like...
Luckily the photos did not get completely ruined. To keep then that way, I simply don't remove this page from the scrap book! I could get a copy of the page, but it just would not be the same. Now I have a "NOTE TO SELF: Use duplicates when scrap booking"!

Well, I am off to            continue my search for my missing time!

If you are not signed up to receive my newsletter, it is not to late to sign up for this month! I will send it out to you after you sign up.  I don't think you will be disappointed!

Hugs, Sandy O 

Memory Monday: Was it really that long ago???

I have been seeing some fantastic layouts and reading the bitter sweet "first day of school" story's the past week or so, which brought back so many memories.  I did not discover paper crafting or scrap booking until my youngest graduated high school. That has left me with years of pictures to go though and make layouts for.  This week, of course, I decided to do my oldest, Alicia, on her first day of kindergarten.

Here she is.....ready and excited to venture out into the world on her own! The world just doesn't know what it is in for, LOL. 

I just loved that little suit of hers.  It looks like she did, too.  She is not camera shy at all, so I got lots of pictures.

The journalizing is on small cards inside the pockets.  I made the pockets with the Big Shot and the Scallop Envelope Bigz Die, which is a Stampin' Up exclusive die. It is the perfect size for a 3 1/2 x 2 1/2" card.

l Here you can see the card peeking outside the pocket, as well as some other details.

l

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The closure is made out of the Stampin' Up Taffeta Ribbon. I attached some magnetic snaps to each end and wrapped it round the back securing it with my ATG double sided tape. I matted everything with a "close-to-cocoa" layer because I really wanted to use these fabric stickers ("school days" on this page), but the color was not matching the layout.  The CTC paper kind of brought it all together.

I wish I got a picture of the front of the lunch box. I have no idea what picture is on it.  I will have to ask Alicia if she remembers.

See the little smiley brad to the left of the School Days. He is saying "Yippe!", LOL. I bought these brads years ago and have yet to use them.  They came in sets of 15 different smilies with matching phrases.  I don't remember the name of the company that made them. If you know, please leave a comment letting me know, thanks :o)

Here is the second page of the layout.  I don't know why this page came out blurry.  I did not change any setting on my camera and I took the photo right after the other page. It is in the very same spot with the same lighting, too! Hmmm...photography is so confusing, LOL. The kids are not washed out in the real life pictures like they seem to be in this picture, either.  I guess that is something else to research.

Anyway, you can still get the idea of it.  The heart arrows point to the journaling for that picture. For example, the one in the lower left of this page points to the pocket on the first page where I wrote about what Peter and Patrick are doing here. (I think you can actually read some of it in the other photo).

The quote in the upper right corner is another one of the fabric quotes I talked about previously.

Now...I have no idea why Peter is eating the phone cord, nor what Patrick is covering his mouth with, in the far right picture.  Sure is funny!!! And Alicia posing for her photo.  Seems that she associates being grown up with having her hand on her hip! I must have done that a lot back then! What awesome memories!

Did you notice the date!!! YIKES...Was it really THAT long ago??? Looking at the photos brings me back to that apartment, 3rd floor!!! I almost can smell the way the hallway used to smell. Not a bad smell, just an older building on the 3rd floor smell, LOL.  I am waiting for Patrick to come running around the corner with Peter close behind saying, "Patrick just....."!!! Seems Patrick was always just......, LOL. 

I am so glad that they are still close, emotionally, if not geographically.  Life has taken over their time, and they are not able to see one another as often.  Sniff, sniff....

Just the other night, Patrick stopped by the house to pick up Alicia's Scrabble game that was left here when she and my SIL moved into their first apartment. He was on his way over their place and they were going to play Scrabble! How fun...I wanted to invite myself, but it was "their" time.

Well.....I am off to get the tissue box.  Thanks for sharing my memory with me.  Leave me a link to your pages so I can share them with you, too!

Hugs, Sandy O