My Top 15 projects of 2015!

Hi there!  For the past several years, I have done a post on the last day of the year to revisit some of my most favorite projects of the year.  Today is the day!  It was pretty hard to narrow my list, but I have selected my Top 15 of 2015!  Here they are starting at the beginning of 2015 and ending with my most recent favorite!  I have included links to the original posts if you'd like to swing and see how I created a particular card.  Let's get started, shall we?

 

First up...

 

Eye Think You're Neat - Lawn Fawn Stamps

 

Have a Sweet Birthday - Lawn Fawn Stamps

 

Meow Woof - Avery Elle Stamps

You are Appreciated - Paper Smooches Stamps

You Color My World - Lawn Fawn Stamps

Consider Yourself Hugged - Wplus9 Stamps

You Color My World - Lawn Fawn Stamps

Personalized Halloween Tags - Lawn Fawn

Artsy Hello - WPlus9 Stamps

Merry and Bright - Lawn Fawn Stamps

Watercolor Sympathy - Paper Smooches Stamps

Rainbows and Sunshine - WPlus9 Stamps

 

Bright Snowman Tags - Lawn Fawn Stamps

 

Jolly Holiday Wishes - Reverse Confetti

 

 

 Thank you Fairy Much - Avery Elle Stamps

  

Thanks for taking a walk down memory lane with me!  Incase you didn't notice, I completely fell in love with watercolor this year, and I still can't get enough!!

That's all for now!  Stop back by tomorrow for my first post of 2016!!

Wishing you all a happy, healthy New Year!

My favorite products of 2015!

Hi there!  With the new year on the horizon, I thought it would be fun to share some of my most favorite new products of 2015!  These are items that were introduced this year, that have become fast favorites of mine, and they are things I think every card maker should own (haha! *wink)

Here are just some of my favorites of the year (but I have SO many more):

Stamp sets:

Avery Elle Pixie Dust

Lawn Fawn Sweet Smiles

Lawn Fawn Color My World

Lawn Fawn - Booyah

Lawn Fawn Baaah Humbug

Paper Smooches Best Buds

Paper Smooches Boom Bots

Papertrey Ink Brushed Off

Papertrey Ink Star Scribbles

Reverse Confetti Too Cute To Spook

WPlus9 Doodle Buds

Dies:

Avery Elle Wonky Stitches

Lawn Fawn Puffy Clouds Borders

Lawn Fawn Snowy Backdrops

Paper Smooches Butterfly Duet Dies

WPlus9 Sunshine Layers

Just add color:

Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers - If you like to watercolor, you will not regret adding these amazing markers to your crafty stash.  These water based markers with a real brush tip are available in 80 gorgeous colors and can be purchased in sets or individually.  I started with the 12 pack and quickly added more to my collection. 

Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Ranger added 12 new colors to the lineup this year, and I purchased nearly all of them (but the others are on my wishlist).  I will say that the newest additions are among my favorites in the distress ink color range.  I love them all, but I can't live without Cracked Pistachio, Abandoned Coral, Twisted Citron, Blueprint Sketch and Wilted Violet.

Lawn Fawn Dye Inks - all of the colors that I have tried are fantastic, but my new favorite is from the most recent release, called Plastic Flamingo!  The color is perfect and the name couldn't get any better!

Do you have any of these products and love them as much as I do? :)

There were so many amazing additions to the papercrafting world this year... I can't wait to see what is coming in 2016! :)



Moments Inked 2016 Planner Review

Hello there!  Today I have a super exciting post to share with you!  I can't wait to share my thoughts on the new 2016 Moments Inked Planner available now at Papertrey Ink!  The customers asked, and Papertrey listened!  Some of the most requested changes are happening in the 2016 planner, AND you can still use all of the existing Moments Inked stamps and dies!

Due to popular demand, the 2016 planner is now available in spiral bound and binder versions!  The amazing format of the pages is the same for both the spiral bound and binder versions, and now you have a choice of five new covers for the spiral bound version or four gorgeous new leather binder colors!

Here is a look at the new laminated covers for the spiral planner.  They are sold separately, but very reasonably priced, making it possible to get all of them and switch them out when you are feeling the need for a change.  It was a tough choice for me, but I think the new Create a Beautiful Life cover is my favorite (for now LOL!)  In case you are wondering, all of the covers introduced in 2015 also work too!

Probably the most noticeable different between the 2015 and 2016 planners is the size.  While the length and width of the planner is the same as last year, you can see what a big difference in thinkness there is.  The 2016 planner does not contain the daily pages that were included in the 2015 planner, making the new version much thinner and much easier to handle on the go!

Another one of my favorite changes is the metal coil that holds together this year's spiral bound planner.  It seems much sturdier than the plastic coil that was previously used, and I also feel like adding new pages is much easier with the new metal coil.  Since the planner is much thinner, the coil is much smaller, but there is still plenty of room to add lots of pages and really customize your planner to fit your needs!

 Papertrey's beautiful colors are a huge part of what attracted me to the company in the first place!  Just like last year, each month of the year has it's own color scheme.  I like to decorate my pages to coordinate with the month's color scheme, and this year, a color guide is included in the front of the planner making it easy for all of your custom pages to match perfectly!  If you are a card maker like me, I think these combos are a great jumping off point for creating a card, and I have personally challenged myself to make a card each month of the year using the planner color scheme for that month!  Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

And let's not forget the gorgeous leather binders that are new additions to the Moments Inked line up!  They are available in four beautiful, classic colors: Ebony, Natural Tan, Stone Gray and White.  It was SO hard to choose a color, but I opted for white to let all of the beautiful colors within the pages to really pop!  I couldn't be happier with my choice.  The beautiful stitching and gold metal accents really add a ton of class to these binders. Timeless, and classic, they are sure to be in style for years to come!

One of my favorite details about the binders is the beautiful embossed emblem on the bottom right corner.  The embossing stands out well, but doesn't distract.  Such an amazing little detail!  Other fun things to point out about the binder:  Inside there are 2 pockets, one on the inside of the front cover, and one on the inside of the back cover, a spot for keeping a refillable note pad inside the back cover, and even a pen loop!  They've thought of everything!

And now for the insides!!  Many of the great things that you know and love about the 2015 planner remain the same in the 2016 version, but the biggest difference, apart from the removal of the daily pages is the weekly spread format.  Here you can see the 2016 pages on the left compared to the 2015 pages on the right.  As you can see, instead of having  each day divided up into morning, afternoon and evening, each day now has it's own full length, lined column, which is perfect for list making and note taking!    There is still a blank column on the left of each weekly spread and lines under each column to keep little notes, your dinner menu, water intake, daily exercise... whatever your little heart desires!!

In addition to the 2016 planners that are available in the store now, PTI has also introduced new 3"x3" and 3"x6" white post-it notes!  You may have noticed them in a few of my pictures above, and I also share a little project using them yesterday in the Moments Inked Newsletter.  You can check out that post here if you are interested!

Did you have a Moments Inked Planner?  We'd love for you to share what you are doing with it!  Tag us on instagram with the hashtag #momentsinked :)

That's all for me today!  Thanks so much for stopping by! :)

Moments Inked: Preparing for 2016! {Papertrey Ink}

Hello there!  I can't believe a new year is upon us!  Today, I am sharing how I plan to use my 2016 Papertrey Ink Moments Inked Planner to keep track of  my goals for this coming year!

I knew I wanted one specific area of my planner to keep all of my goals in one place.  I decided to create a page for my biggest goals, and then separate pages for specific areas of my life.  I used the Moments Inked: Basic Pages dies to create a booklet within my planner.  I just LOVE the Brushed Off stamp set and I know I will be incorporating it into my planner a ton!  Stamped in bright ink colors, it goes perfectly with the Moments Inked design.

For my first page, I diecut the second largest page from the Moments Inked: Basic Pages dies from white cardstock.  I stamped the brushstrokes from the Brushed Off stamp set in Pure Poppy, Raspberry Fizz, Summer Sunrise, Harvest Gold, Limeade Ice and Hawaiian Shores across the top edge of the page. Then I stamped my title using the Outline Alphabet and the Fresh Alphabet in the top center of the page.  Using the Moments Inked: Listed stamp set, I stamped two columns of lines in black ink and added a check box on each line.

I diecut 8 more pages from white cardstock, and then diecut tabs using the Moments Inked: Divided dies.  I cut them from white cardstock also and stamped them with one of the images from Brushed Off to keep with my theme.  Then, using the Moments Inked: Divided stamp set, I stamped different section titles in black ink.  I added them behind my 2016 Goals page.

Here you can see what each page looks like.  I stamped the largest image from Brushed off along the edge of the page, added my tabbed divider in the desired location, and then, using the new 3x3 white post-it notes, and the Moments Inked: Posted stamp set, I created removable lists for each page in a coordinating color.  I prefer to write smaller lists and cross things off and then create another list, rather than made long, overwhelming lists, so the size of these post its are pefect! I can go about things six tasks at a time, with the feeling that I can completely tackle them all!

As I created the dividers, I did each page in a different color.  Seeing them all together like this just makes me so very happy! :)

In the event that I HAVE to made a list longer than six items, I wanted to have a few bigger lists ready to go.  Using the new 3x6 white post it notes, and the Moments Inked: Listed Stamp set, it was so easy to create something quickly that coordinates with my pages, and it quite pleasing to the eye too!

Here is a close up  of my tabs.  I just love the option to create custom inserts for my planner.  Having beautiful pages to look at makes life's long list of responsibilities a little easier to swallow!

That's all for me today! Be sure to check back here tomorrow at 9am when I will share my thoughts and review on the brand spankin' NEW 2016 Moments Ink Planner!  You won't want to miss it!

We love seeing what you are doing with your planner, too!  Take a picture and post it on instagram with the tag #momentsinked.  I can't wait to see what you are up to!

Thanks so much for stopping by! See you tomorrow!! :)