Crystal Palace Shaker Layout

As I was working on this next layout  I found the Mickey confetti I had saved from our table at the Crystal Palace and wanted to incorporate it into the layout. After all, I thought why should shakers be just for cards??

The details:

The paper I used was from K and Company, and I used Storybook for the title and cut with the coordinating plain papers from the same stack as the print. The title was cut in green and shadowed with blue but I just was not happy with how plain they looked - and then it hit me! The "Crystal Palace" needed crystals! And since it had been so long since I used my I-rock I apparently forgot what a huge PITA it is, I busted it out. Eleven hours later (not really but it felt like it) I was done adding the bling and (since I am a glutton for punishment) I added it to all the photo mats too.

Here you can see the bling in the photo mat corners and in the pic you can see the confetti I used for the shaker part of my layout.

To create the shaker element I used the same welding technique I used in this post. It is basically a frame made using some rectangles from George and the silhouette cut of the Mickey shape  from Mickey Font welded together. I used a blank frame behind it so you could see the background paper. The plastic is recycled from a package of plastic easter eggs.

I used a double layer of foam tape to give it more dimension than my shaker post-it holders, and you can see from this picture how it is popped up.

So even though adding the bling was more time than I liked to spend on one project I was super pleased with the way this came out and I was able to incorporate our souvenir confetti right into the layout. I guess sometimes the extra effort (and swearing) is worth it!

Simple Swiss Family Layout

Today's layout is really simple but I am still pleased with how it turned out. I think because it is so simple you can pay more attention to the pictures. This was our trip up into the Swiss Family Treehouse at Magic Kingdom.

The details:

This is the first time I used the Blackletter font which came free with the Gypsy download - when I was looking at these pictures and thinking about this layout it was my first choice.

The letters are cut at two inches and I used paper from the DCWV Ultimate pack (which had samples from 10 of their lines - and  the plaid is also from there ) . I shadowed them with a beige paper because I was sort of going for that "carved in the tree" look. I believe the background paper may be from a package of paper I got at Big Lots. In an effort to use what I have (a shocker I know!) all the photos were matted with paper from an old DCWV mat stack - so old I don't know what it was because the cover is long gone but the paper complemented the rest of the papers perfectly!

i hope you aren't tired of the most magical place on earth because there is more Disney ahead!



Disney Safari Pages & A Mini Giveaway!

I promised I would get back to layouts and here we are! I have been diligently working on my Disney album, and what works best for me it to plan ahead. I spent about a week putting together sketches with pictures and paper so I was prepared to attend my last all day crop and be productive! And I was - eleven pages done and in the book! Only a million more to go....*SIGH* it just feels that way sometimes! These are some pages of the pictures I took on the Kilimanjaro Safari at Animal Kingdom.

The details:

For these pages, I used DCWV Safari Kids stack, which I just picked up recently and absolutely love! I used the Zoo Story Lite cartridge for the title :

I used vinyl to cut out the "Kilimanjaro" because at 1 inch I knew they were going to be a pain to cut and adhere if I used paper! Vinyl made it a cinch! The Safari is cut in the font with the Shadow at 2.5 inches. I know it may be hard to see on the picture  of the layout but in the corner I used a spare strip of paper decorated with some brads from Eyelet Outlet. They have the cutest brads and I am totally addicted!

On the second set of pages I used my Cricut for the film strips. That cut can be found on Mickey and Friends, and I used by Gypsy to hide contour of the inner cuts so that I could place my pictures there instead. Then I welded two of them together slightly overlapping and cut as one long strip. The side one is cut at 3 inches and fit five 2x2 pictures. The larger strips were cut at 5.5 inches and I moved the cut over to the side of the page to cut the strip on the leftt, then cut it as a whole for the right page. The letters are not Cricut (*gasp*) they are chipboard with a wood grain font on the front.

I do have some extra letters that I cut out - the word "safari" in the Zoo Story font (without shadow) at 3 inches - once in the cheetah print and once in the gold cardstock - and they will go to the first person to email me about them! Only seven more pages to write about!

More Teacher Gift Ideas

Hi everyone! Happy to be once again at TheBugBytes today! While Teacher Appreciation week is past, I thought I would share these altered mini chalkboards with you in case you were looking for a nice end of year treat! I made one each for her music, art, and PE teachers. I found them at ACMoore for around a dollar apiece - with some vinyl, paper, mod podge, and some magnet strips to the back and they turned into great gifts!

The details:

For all three I used my gypsy to plan out the sizes of the lettering and shapes. I set up Layer 1 with two rectangles in the same measurements as the chalkboard and used the subsequent layers to plan each board. The names are in vinyl to make sure they stick while I used paper for the shape cuts.

The music teacher's board I used Hannah Montana for both the name and the cuts.I nudged each of the letters together some more on the Gypsy so that it cut as one piece and wasn't too long. And yes, it was as big a pain in the butt to weed and put on there as it looks! But I was very happy with the results.  A closeup of the music notes:

I cut them using DCWV new Performance stack which I just love, and then applied a thin layer of modpodge to the top and the back edges that hung over the sides.

For the art teacher's board I used Hannah Montana again for the font, and while I was not crazy about that color vinyl, my daughter had veto privileges and she liked it. The brush and palette are from Locker Talk  - I am really trying to use my older cartridges and find those hidden gems! I used stickles instead of cutting the paint circles, and added some to the brush. I think it came out really nice! (and you can modpodge over stickles in case you were wondering like I was) A closeup:

Now the PE teacher chalkboard has a story connected to it - I asked about the teacher and was told that she was "really really sick - she's been out for a looooooong time - I am worried about her Mommy". Well, after a quick call to the school secretary I discovered what I had suspected - she was on maternity leave! But the secretary didn't remember the name of the substitute so a generic "sporty" theme chalkboard had to suffice!

I used Car Decals for the font, and Sports Mania for the 4 corners - another oldie with hidden gems! The cuts already had the corner shape built in so I knew that it was Cricut fate! I went into a little more detail on the different shapes. I used the Cuttlebug mesh folder on the football and basketball, and inked the baseball and soccer balls. Some closeups so you can see what I mean:

I also loved the way they turned shiny after the mod podge! I did get good feedback via thechild (although now I wonder about her school stories) so I hope they liked them. We shall be back to the layouts soon!

More Teacher Appreciation

I know that Teacher Appreciation week is officially over BUT the end of the school year is fast approaching so in case people are wondering what to make that will be useful and easy on the budget - here are the rest of the goodies I put together for my daughter's teachers. There are 6 teachers/aides in her class on a regular basis so they all deserve a treat! Each received a bookmark (the ones from this post) and then I made each a large altered wooden clothespin clip. I thought these would be great for them to use to hang up memos and reminders. I was able to use some of the older carts that I have been neglecting and they are definitely oldies but goodies - and as a bonus I have submitted it to the Circle Magazine challenge!

Here is one set:

All wrapped and ready to present:



A side view so you can see the clip from the side:

All of the clips done:

All of the bookmarks:

The details:

The wooden clothespins I found at ACMoore for I believe $1.19 each, and I hot glued a strong magnet to the back. The polka dot paper is the new Recollections paper from Michael's and comes in a variety of colors. The ribbon was Joann's brand and adhesive backed. Sorry - nothing from Hobby Lobby!

I cut a rectangle of paper to match the front of the clothespin and glued it on. Then I cut a pencil from Locker Talk - at about 6 inches - until it was approximatley the height of the pin. The apple (2.5 inches) with their names on it is from Doodlecharms and I cut it with all the layers and a white blackout piece for the back. After glueing the apple on I mod-podged the whole thing so it would last and be a little bit sturdier.

I used the extra paper to wrap the bookmark and then cut another apple (1.5 inches)  from Create A Critter, using the Gypsy to hide the contours of the face, and then stamped with a Peachy Keen Stamp. It is the Princess set and I just love them - too cute!

For the tag, more of the same paper, and I found this scalloped tag on Christmas Cheer (of all places!) and cut it rather large at 4 inches. This is because I knew my daughter would have to sign the apple and I wanted it to be large enough for her. I then cut the same Doodlecharms apple (3.5 inches) but with just the base cut - and I used chalkboard paper! How cool is that?? It cuts like a dream in the Cricut too.  Then I had my daughter sign in chalk just for more fun, and wrapped them all up with coordinating ribbon.

The teachers really loved them and my daughter is always so happy to give them a treat I think this earned a spot on my repetoire of craft gifts. I may have one more teacher gift post before the school year is done, and then back to the Disney scrapbook grind!

Some quick teacher gifts

I have been busy with a play and Teacher Appreciation Week snuck up on me without a lot of warning, but I have a few ideas to share with you if it crept up on you too! My daughter is in an inclusive kindergarten classroom so there are many teachers and aides that I like to remember in some small way so I am always on the hunt for a cost effective thank you!

I was at the local Dollar Tree and spotted these metal bookmarks in the craft section, and I was very impressed with the quality of them (almost as much as the price!).

With some scrap paper, ribbon, and a cricut cut they are instantly turned into a pretty gift!

The details:
The apple is from Create a Critter and I hid contour on the face of the top layer, and instead used a Peachy Keen face Stamp. It was cut at 1.5 inches. The plaid paper is perhaps from a DCWV fall stack (it was from my scraps drawer so not entirely sure) and the ribbon is by American Crafts.

This project reminded me of one I did in September with the same apple, and I think it would be a wonderful teacher/aide gift this week. These are Post It Holders and you can see a tutorial I did on them here (you would just skip the parts pertaining to the shaker fronts. I believe these apples were probably at least 2 inches but I really have no idea! I used black paper and white pen to simulate a chalkboard effect.

Well I hope you got an idea or two and made it worth your visit! No more plays until the next school year which means more time to craft!