Safari Baby Album

Michelle asked me to make another friend of hers an album for her upcoming baby shower. The theme this time was Safari and mom and dad already knew the baby was a boy!!
Oh what fun I had with this project :-) Loved these colors and it was cool bringing in textures for an earthy feel!
I hope you can see all of them clearly.
The mom cried at the shower when she opened the book and to me that was a success on my part!
My next assignment is another baby boy album. Just waiting on the theme and then I can start :-)
Soo happy I can share these with you again!
Have a great Labor Day weekend!!!

Back to Blogging!!!

5 months later and here I am :-) I've been a busy bee for the last few months and have lots to share since I posted last but it feels great to be  Back to blogging!!YaaaY!!!

I finally finished the baby book I started back in January and am ready to share those photos with you. I will attempt to post these from my phone now...forgive me if the picture quality is not great.
The family tree (2nd photo) is the very first page of the album.
Big Sister, Lil Brother (3rd photo) within the album for the professional pics mom had taken with sock monkey hats on for them :-)
Preggo Belly is the very last page (1st photo) to show off moms growing belly throughout her pregnancy.

Michelle looved the book soo much she asked me to make one for a friend as her shower gift. I can't tell you how thrilled I was to do it!!! :-) :-) :-)
The baby shower theme and nursery was Noah's Ark. I have to upload the photos from my other phone for those pictures.

 Happy to be back here :-)

Best deal ever...& Mary had a little lamb

and its fleece was white as flock!
Have you ever played with flock? Oh boy! If not, you have got to get some : ) I love this stuff!!!! It's easy to apply, comes in loads of colors, a little goes a looong way and it's very forgiving.

Can you see her lamb covered in fluffy, white flock? Cute, right? I just love the pearl collar on him! I tried to stay on the CAS side but my old habits kicked in and little by little,layer by layer on stuff went! Lol!
These are my favorite cards to make...springish, baby anything as well as white/antique trims and itty bitty details. Boutique style. That is my dream, ya know. To open a shop that sells custom cards and favors, thank you notes for baby announcements,showers,invites,gift bags and tags and all that goes with it . One day.

On a side note, I signed up to be a CTMH consultant again. I was once in 2008 but I had to have surgery and I could not actively create much at the time let alone have parties or host crops. This time I am hopeful things will stay stable with my health so I can keep creating and sharing my passion for all things crafty! Just so you know, NOW (March 1st - 31st) is the time to join because they have a fabulous deal$$ going on! If you sign up for the spring consultant kit you also get the Cricut Art Philosophy Collection-ALL for just $99- +shipping, of course. Holy cow,right??! I almost missed it and ordered the Philosophy kit alone for $99- You get soooo much stuff it is incredible. I took a few pics to share so you could see for yourself.

 I can't even believe how many stamp sets I got with this deal....whoa! They even sent a 12x12 album!

 Idea Books galore....want one? Jam packed with fresh new innovative ideas to create and inspire you.

 Ooooh, wait till ya see the cute box set I am going to make and share with you! Can you see the long die cut cards and envelopes? The inspiration projects in the book are sooo cute and I have my own ideas for those. You'll have to wait until I reveal them!

 Chipboard sheets, many assorted shapes cut. out. already! Seriously! Just make your cut of choice from pp on your Cricut and adhere it to the chipboard shape. Yup, it's that easy.  NICE! Does it get any easier than this?

 Free bitty stamp sets to give away for those that place orders with / through me!! More Sparkles, acrylic blocks, Liquid Glass (this is the best in my opinion) and sooo much more to beautify with!

Is this amazing or what????? This is sooo exciting to me!!! I looove my Cricut so much now I love that I can stamp and cut out designs that are meant to work together. All the necessary Cricut sizes are labeled on the stamp sheet for you. No guess work!!!
I had to share with you : ) That's how I roll! Lol.  Wish you lived close to me so we could crop and create together. That would be awesome : )

If you want to order anything just shoot me an email and I will gladly place it for you. If you want an Idea Book just let me know and I'll ship it right out to you for $3.95 + s&h. I have a paypal account and we can go through there. Just send me an email to jennpellegrino@rcn.com and let me know. If you want to browse the CTMH idea book online to see what's NEW, then place the order through me just type in my consultant name so it goes through me. Jennifer Pellegrino lives in PA. I appreciate
it ; ) In the near future I plan to set up my online site via CTMH to display exclusive artwork for your viewing pleasure : )

That's all for me, for now!!

I cannot wait to create some fun stuff and share with you : )

Have a crafty weekend ! I know I'm gonna : )

You deserve the best day ever

I love this sentiment! It feels nice to say and really mean it! It's from Hero Arts and I purchased it at my local Hobby Lobby. Love that store : )  Isn't it great when you can use a stamp on a lot of different projects? This gets ya the most bang for your buck!!! "Just Because" kinda feels the same but this one sounds more sincere and heartfelt in my opinion. It feel personal and I like that.

Thank you
Strawberries are so "sweet" and what better way to thank a friend than with a berry sweet thank you card?!

I'm all about the sewing machine stitches these days : ) I had a stamp set "You have me in Stitches" by CTMH that I sold because I figured it would force me to use the real thing....and it has : ) Yaaay me!

 It can be addicting once ya start so be careful to make sure your bobbin is loaded and ready to go!! Lol!!

Happy Thursday and I hope you have the best day ever ... because you deserve it  ; )

It's your day!

Here's a quick card I made ......just because : )

The flowers are perky and fun : ) I cut them with my Cricut.  The clouds I cut out of pp then stitched around with my sewing machine for more depth. Just a few random pearls and stickers here and there...for fun! The sentiment It's your Day is an epoxy sticker I had in my stash ...for.ev.er. Love when I finally use stuff up : )

It makes me feel happy seeing these soft colors of the puffy clouds paired with the bold orange button flowers!

I can't wait to plant some hearty marigolds with the kids...soon!

Do you prefer container gardening or straight down in the earth gardening? 

Saying goodbye to February

Ok so I am a little late in posting Valentine's Day cards but here they are anyway! I only made a couple...one for my son to give to his teacher which is this one"You rock"

 This one was for my daughter to give to her piano teacher:

Happy Birthday (below) was for Aunt Rita, who turned 87!!!! 

You'd never know it either. She's super spunky and has more energy than me! Lol!!!

 
My mom had such a major influence on my scrapbooking and card making. I knew when I made cards or mini books for her she appreciated and looved them so much. It made me feel good and also look forward to presenting her randoms projects.When I shopped for supplies I always thought to myself, oooh mom will love this paper or ooh this will look super cute in her house. Those of you that have been followers might know my mom passed away in 2009 and I'll be honest with you I have lost a lot of mojo. My passion is just not there these days. I create far less and even think less about crafting now that she is gone. Really, I do. It's sad. Her birthday was on February 21st. In preparation I went to Michael's to buy fresh supplies and thought I'd make her a beautiful card that I could frame in my craft room. If she were able to tell me herself she would say you have to make cards. You have to keep going, Jenn because this is your dream and passion. I'm struggling every day to create and get that feeling again. I thought shopping with her as my inspiration would help boost me. Would you believe after 2 hours of debating and browsing for the perfect combo of materials, my total bill came to the year she was born. I am totally serious!!!!! I almost started to cry while I was in line. Is that crazy. or. what?
We both love spring soo much. New beginnings. Birds chirping. Flowers blooming. Easter eggs.
Bunnies :  )
I saw the K&Co paper pad by Susan Winget (mostly purples) and just felt it represented her perfectly! Embellies like birds and eggs and nests and don't forget the butterflies that remind me so much of mom. I tried to make so many different cards once I got home. I was being too critical. I'm sure she would have loved any that I tossed aside. I still don't feel I got it. But here  is one I had to walk away from and call it complete.

 Can you see the bunny showing in the pic? I made that with her help many years ago! She taught me how to sew. I didn't like the lighting inside so I went outside to take another one(below)

Hope she likes it : )

The next one is also a tribute to my mom using her 2nd fav flowers. Lily of the Valley
No sentiment. have you ever been at a loss for the perfect words? I am with this one. So it will just be without one. Mom was a huge country lover. She collected pitchers and absolutely adored gingham anything! I do too :  ) Simple little country cutie here!

I'm still experimenting with my flowers but I could not put off posting again knowing tomorrow is March 1st!

I hope I didn't babble too much. Thanks for stopping by : ) Have a great week!

Play Date Cafe Color Challenge 117

Another challenge is up at the Playdate Cafe! I love these colors together so I decided to play along : ) this week.
I made a journal for my niece, Olivia. Her birthday is on Valentine's Day and I do not want to send traditional red and pink stuff! Hope she likes it!
I created a journal for her to jot down her notes, thoughts, dreams and wishes. I have another surprise for her going out in the mail tomorrow but don't want to spoil it so I will not mention what it is!!!! Just in case she sees this post : )

The inspiration photo had me at hello and this is what I came up with:

I turned a chipboard frame into a journal for her. I distressed it like the doors in the inspiration photo. I used creamy white acrylic paint to lightly cover the kraft color. I tied it together with satin cream ribbon. My absolute fav part is her initials in pearls on the tag. Totally personal now : ) I used my Cricut Heritage cart to cut out Journal and the quill as well.
(the colors here look a bit washed out but are so pretty in life-sorry about that) I added two shots of the cover so maybe you can see the true purple and blue in it. SO soft and vintage looking. Girly, girl for sure ! The shadow over the butterfly made me not choose this 1st pic originally but I think you can see the colors better?! Maybe?! It's has a little shabby chic style goin' on. I like that.

The pom pom fringe is one of my other all time favs! Oh so chic! I staggered teh pages to make dividers for her to flip through easier. Maybe she will have individual sections for dreams, inspirations, quotes, pictures or keepsakes. Who knows!

So now here is the photo we were to use as our inspiration:

Pretty right? I looove it : )

Have a great Superbowl Sunday!!! Hope your team wins!!! I'm going to order wings now from our favorite local wing place...yummm. Have you ever had old bay wings? Soo good!

Cheers!

Play Date Cafe Challenge

I love, love, love the colors of this week's challenge over at the Play Date Cafe. I decided to play because of the colors. They remind me of fall, especially Halloween(my favorite holiday : )). I couldn't go toward a darker, deeper design palette because I am in light, fresh spring mode!!! lol! I think I made the colors work though. Here's what I came up with:

The designated colors were: Pear, Plum and Moldy Cheese

This is the inspiration photo:

I absolutely love this spread too :) Makes me hungry and thirsty! Cheers!!!

I heart cookies

Yumm : ) I love chocolate chips, don't you?
The Paper Studio pp had printed 'love to bake' on it but I went with I heart cookies as my take! I used my Cricut to cut out the mitt ( From My Kitchen), then embossed it with my cuttlebug (favorite folder). I used red MS baker's twine and tied on a cookie jar charm (I've had forever) from Karen Foster. The heart brad is Basic Grey.
Now I'm off to go get some milk for my cookies :)

Monkey Business

Just for fun :  ) I have wanted to make a sock monkey something for forever so here it is!!!!

There I go again with Martha Stewart Fringe scissors! I told ya, they're addicting!

Paper Craft Planet-Altered Tin

This is my attempt at altering a tin for Paper Craft Planet 3D Challenge! I need more practice needless to say : ) It was fun and very challenging, I must admit!!! Credit is given to all those artists that pull this off and well. It surely is a skill that I do not have mastered. I struggled with the vintage/modern theme. I went with modern and I did not "feel it" as much as I think I should have. It didn't scare me away though. Try, try again I will.

Thanks for looking : )

Closed Tin front

Inside view

Just Us Girls Challenge

"Just Us Girls" Challenges are such a great way to break out of the box. It encourages me to use other zones of my brain besides the comfort zone!

I created the loopy flower with my Martha Stewart fringe scissors - you have got to get these if you don't already have them. Sooo cool and very addicting : ) I added the required colors (pink & red) with splashes of bakers twine in pink and red as my bow. The sparkle on the loopy bow was created with random brushed on glue pen strokes then sprinkled with ultra fine MS glitter. That makes me happy : )

Inspiration Photo form JUGS

This one is sure to tempt you too with Valentine's Day coming up.  Happy Sunday!!! xoxoxoxo

First Snow...finally!!!!

Brrrr.....I must admit I am not a huge fan of snow, well, cold weather really. It's just something you expect to happen in January and a lot. Well, today was the first snowfall since October. Yes, October :) How crazy is that?! Very! The kids got to finally build a snow fort and go sledding and I finally got a chance to make them Hershey's Hot cocoa. I started to wonder if I was ever going to be able to use my  fun winter paper. Now I can!  Hope you are warm inside somewhere with a cup of hot chocolate sitting next to a cozy fire or at least have a space heater nearby!

Truffles- our baby polar bear : )

Hershey- my love of chocolate inspired her name!

he's ready for lots of sledding!

she's a winter girl and loooves the cold weather : )

Home made cocoa with Hershey's ,sugar,vanilla and milk. I even made home made whipped cream to add to the sugary,warm drink : ) Mini snowflake decor from the mall and to stir in a touch of peppermint, chocolate covered candy canes...mmm...

look at that chocolatey smile : ) completely satisfied and ready for more snow!

got milk? I loove her milkstache!!

fun snow day with friends from the neighborhood :)

 Happy Saturday to you and now I am off to make a few projects : )
PS: I am ready for spring now... LOL!