Projects...

I just couldn't hardly wait to share these pages. This kit was so much fun to work with!

Blinkie link!!

For all of my super cool folks out there who are sharing Freehand's blinkie on their blogs...here is the link to the updated ad for July!
http://freehandscraps.com/images/fs-ad-120x120-july09.gif

This kit is called "Navigate" and is one of my favorites! It all coordinates together without being too "matchy matchy" if you know what I mean. I made 4 layouts and have another 2 in the works! This kit is packed! I can't wait for the BIG reveal tomorrow!! And just LOOK what I got in the mail!! My print from Dee at Red Letter Art! I love it, and it is really nice quality. Now I just need to find the perfect place to hang it!
I'll be posting my gallery and getting the newsletter ready tomorrow to announce our new Design Team members!! I can't wait...this is the best, busiest time of the month around here!

Gallery peeks...

I just wanted to share a little sneak peek. A tiny little peek from my gallery.

Hope you had a fabulous weekend!

So hard!!

I have been pouring over the DT submissions...and ladies and gents...you are NOT making this an easy job! There is so much talent out there. I have been blown away by all of you! I am having the toughest time narrowing it down. I am going to announce the winners in our next newsletter at the beginning of the month! So stay tuned...it's going to be SO hard!


I have to share another little peek of what's to come in July!
Have a super Friday!

Winner!

Time to announce the winner of Red Letter Words giveaway!! Thanks so much for all of your entries...and the randomly generated winner is:


FirstLady Jen said...
Those are wonderful! I must say, my favorite is "I prayed for this child and the Lord granted what I asked of him". We struggled with fertility when trying to have our second child, and finally after two years of testing and trying, we were blessed with our precious Madeline. Wonderful, wonderful works in her shop.


So email me your address to heidi@freehandscraps.com and we'll get your print to you in the mail!


And don't forget that tomorrow is the LAST day to enter our Design Team call! I can't wait to welcome some new talent to Freehand Scraps! Oh, and I did promise another sneak peek right? Here ya go! Lovin' this kit SO much!
Have a great night!

Feeling Crafty!

I have been scrapping up a storm in the studio...enjoying the AC...it's been really hot here the last few days and it's supposed to continue for the rest of the week. Today we went out on the slip-n-slide and the kids tried it out for the first time. Totally fun! It brought back so many childhood memories...and I don't think I'll ever be too old to hurl myself down that little piece of plastic. It made me feel young again. So I wanted to share a couple of projects that I put together. In one of my last posts (Project Wall-E) I reminded you to save the scraps of the book to add to scrapbook pages...this is what I put together with one of the scraps. Tanner went absolutely nuts about it!
It says "to know Wall-E is to love Wall-E." I used a little red button for the ball on the end of Wall-E's paddle ball game. Tanner squealed...I guess buttons are exciting.

I have had this glitter lace die cut paper by KI Memories sitting around and thought it would work well for some of the Easter photos I had laying on my desk.

This bird was raw chipboard (Scenic Route) and I painted him cream and then stamped over it with my wood grain stamp. I LIKE the way it turned out! I decided he needed a nest and so I used the green dots paper from our April kit "Serendipity" to make him one.

I added a few sparkly buttons to the flower centers to add depth.

I have no idea where I got this #72...but I LIKE It...and am glad I keep little trinkets like this around to add to pages. FUN!

Tomorrow I will be back to announce the winner of our giveaway (check yesterday's post) and also to share a few more sneak peeks of July's kit. Hope you have a great night!

Giveaway!!

As I mentioned last week we have a giveaway today...and it's a good one!!
Dee from Red Letter Words is giving away this print (only the giveaway has blue birds instead of yellow) from her darling Etsy shop.

Here are a few others that I thought were awesome! This is such a great idea and I love that she is decorating with text (and LOOK at those cute over-sized dice!)
I especially love the textured look her prints have! And the scriptures...oh, don't get me started! I love them all!

Dee designed the first prints she made to decorate her own home with, and her business grew from there. (And you can see why!) She was recently featured in her local newspaper as well which you can read more about HERE. She has 4 kids ages 3-11 and still finds the time to come up with these super cute wall hangings.

So now you are all wanting to know "HOW DO I GET MY HANDS ON ONE OF THESE????" Well, first you need to leave a comment here telling me what your favorite print is in her shop so that I can pick a lucky winner! (The link is at the top of this post.) And then if you aren't our lucky winner, she is having a great sale where some of her art is 25% off, so treat yourself to something fun...you deserve it! Thank you Dee for inspiring me, and for your fun giveaway! I plan on posting the winner on Wednesday!

Dad's Day

Well most of you already know a little about my dad...if you are a blog reader. He is my hero! He is the best dad ever...and my whole life I have felt like his princess. He taught me how to "dream" and is quite an adventurous soul. I love him like crazy!


This is an excerpt from a book called "Captivating" by John and Stasi Eldredge that I got as a gift (thanks again Traci) that pretty much sums up what I had in a father.

"She knew that her father cherished her. She was his princess. He was her knight in shining armor. He wanted to spend time with her. She knew her mother loved her and wanted her. Hers was a world where her father protected her, and her mother nurtured her, and she was enjoyed. This is the soil a girl's soul was meant to grow in; this was the garden her young heart was meant to flourish within. Every little girl should be so loved, so welcomed---seen, known, treasured. From this place she can become a strong and beautiful and confident woman."

So thank you to my Dad (and of course my mom who equally showed me love) and Happy Happy Father's Day!
I made him this silly card because of all of the bear hunts and "I'm-gonna-get-you-games" he played with not only me, but now my kids also. Thank you not just for loving me...but for showing me how to love others! Love you...your littlest girl.

I have the best job!

Seriously! I have a heart full of gratitude today! I love this crafty job that lets me do what I love for a living...well sort of a living! Ha! I not only love the fact that I have the challenge of putting together fun papers and embellishments each month, but also that I have met some of the coolest people because of Freehand Scraps! I really do strive each month to put together a kit that puts a smile on your face! I love it when customers take the time to tell me how much they loved this or that (or all of it!) It makes my day! So I am taking a minute to give shout outs to some of my girls!

Traci - (you know who you are) you are a kindred spirit and have encouraged my heart in so many ways! Thank you for your friendship!

Jen and Jamie (my long lost {we are related somehow?} cousins) it's amazing to me how Freehand Scraps put us in touch again and that in itself is awesome! Thank you!

My Design Team...Celeste, Katie, Mandy, Jaime...some of you I know in-real-life and some of you I have never met...but feel like I know well. Thank you for all that you do each month for Freehand Scraps! You're always making me "look good!"

To each and every ONE of you who entered the DT contest!! I have had a huge response...which is going to make it nearly impossible to narrow it down! But just the fact that you shared a little piece of yourself with me...even if it was just a layout...thank you! We have a lot in common you see...we all love this crazy hobby!

And also to Dee, another customer who has an AWESOME Etsy store called Red Letter Words. AND who wants to do a giveaway on the blog. Be sure to check out her store and check back here next week for the details of how to enter! (Hint: it might have to do with telling me what your favorite print is in her store.) Want to see which one I am getting?? It was just calling my name!!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Kids art...

I don't know about you, but I have artwork EVERYWHERE around my house! (My kids were artists for Halloween. So that pretty much tells you of their obsession.) I am always trying to go through the stash and purge the things that aren't "keepers." It's kind of like when you hang onto every piece of baby clothing and gear...even when you're not sure if there are any more babies in your future?? You get to a point (or I have at least) where you decide to pare down what you've kept. Here are a few things I keep in mind when I'm sorting through school work, art work etc. Is this something that shows growth? Is this something that would put a smile on their face when they are 21? And ladies if you are the type that has LOTS of storage space and want to keep every single paper that ever comes home in their backpacks...that is OKAY too! I also like to look for things that show a certain "stage" of development that they have gone through. If your child has gone through a phase where they love a particular character and have drawn that a million times (like my son) then not only is it their art...but it also gives a glimpse into their character and personality. Those are just a few of the things that I like to keep. The first words they write are definitely "keepers." But the rows of letter "g" that come home in their backpacks are not as vital for me to keep. I whipped out this layout yesterday (30 minutes or less!) with some little pictures that I had sitting on my desk that Tanner had drawn for me. They were small enough that they could be put directly onto my layout. If your child has something larger...you can always take a photo of it, or scan it directly into your printer and go from there. This might be the first layout I have ever made of his artwork...and it definitely won't be the last.
I kept the design very simple and the embellishing very light, so that his artwork would be the focal point of the layout. Quick, easy, and someday when he is 21 this WILL put a smile on his face!
Hope you have a great day!

Sneaks...

I am getting together a newsletter today, and wanted to quickly share those sneak peeks I promised! Everyone will be getting an entire package of Sassafras Lass chipboard shapes and some very cute Hambly rub-ons!
Each kit also includes a vintage map, 3 dimensional butterflies, a vintage badge, and so much more!
I am loving this kit! Make sure to check your inbox for our newsletter later today. And don't forget that the deadline for our DT contest is June 25th!! Have a super Wednesday!

Project WALL-E

Tanner is in love with Wall-e. He is totally into robots right now. I had bought him this Wall-e book for Christmas because I loved the illustrations in it. Before I wrapped it up, I had the idea that I could frame a few of the drawings for his room and he would love that! So back into the box it went to be saved for wall art. (We did read through it a few times being very careful with the pages!) I bought 3 frames at a garage sale for 25 cents each and they were mis-matched painted. I gave them 3 coats of manila Making Memories paint.
I took my Tim Holtz sander and ran it around the edges to rub it off a little. I like the "worn" look.

I pulled out a few pages from the book and the more I looked at the arrangement the more I like the cover!

I used my craft knife and a straight edge to cut the cover down to size.

After I sliced through the bulk of it I used my good craft scissors to even up the edges.

Then I cut the other 2 pages to size.
Make sure and save the extras so that you can use them on a scrapbook layout! I love this little Wall-e playing with the paddle ball game...I was thinking of putting a red button on the end of the string for the ball.

To make a sturdy backing I used a heavy piece of chipboard cut to size. Even a cereal box works well for this.

Then cut a few more!

I decided to stamp the outside edge of each frame with this cute little circle stamp by Autumn Leaves. (Make sure to use a permanent ink like Staz On.)

A look up-close.
I think it gives it a little more "flair" lol!

The finished project! (Since this book has been sitting around since Christmas...that should give you an idea of how behind I am on my little projects!) It feels good to get it done!

Hanging on the wall in his room!

I'm working on getting together a newsletter today, so be looking for that in your inbox tomorrow! And YES...there will be more sneak peeks!

SOLD OUT!

Woohoo! Our June kit "Mayberry" is sold out! Congratulations to all of you who got your hands on one! I was going to share a few pages that I made this weekend, but I didn't have much time to create, because I got there late. My dog had to have surgery Friday and I wanted to make sure he was okay, before I just took off. He decided to just sleep off the anesthesia so I did go for a while. It was a good socialization time for sure! LOL.

We spent the afternoon on the river Saturday...and then went bowling! We had a ball.
Hope you all had a great weekend! I'll be back tomorrow with some more sneak peeks of our July kit!

I just had to share...

I couldn't help myself...I mean I really should wait to show sneak peeks...but it's just TOO cute not to share. Once again, my mom has done it again with 2 brand-new designed felt shapes for our upcoming July kit! An octopus and a little fish. Aren't they the cutest?
This one is embellished with a little aqua brad for an eye. (They will come plain for you to do your own thing with them.)

This one has a little button eye. You could also use googly eyes, sequins, sea shells, really any small trinket would be cute! Get creative! Oh, and you'll notice the "snorkel" line by Cosmo Cricket paper shown here with the felt shapes...yep...you guessed it! It's in the kit!

Get your summertime pictures ready...July is on it's way! I am headed to a crop tonight...I'll be back tomorrow to share a few layouts! Have a great Friday!