How to Make Quick and Easy Male Cards - Part Two

Part Two

Read Part One here.

Continuing on from my post last week...this week I have more quick and easy Male cards to share.

Today I will be sharing four cards and basic instructions to make each card...

Card #1 - Wow!

1. Attach one of the "Wow" 4x6 cards to a folded white base card.  
2. Cut out the "Wow" sentiment from the identical 4x6 card (there is two of each design in the pack) and adhere it over the top of the first card with mounting tape.
3. Add some arrow stamping in the corners.
4. Add a sentiment with mounting tape.
5. Add googly eyes to the letter "O".

Card #2 - Say Cheese

1. Attach one of the "Say Cheese" 4x6 cards to a folded white base card.  
2. Cut out the "Say Cheese" sentiment and the camera from the identical 4x6 card (there is two of each design in the pack) and adhere it over the top of the first card with mounting tape.
3. Add some silver sequins.

Card #3 - Bicycle

1. Attach one of the "Bicycle" 4x6 cards to a folded white base card.  
2. Cut out the bicycle from the identical 4x6 card (there is two of each design in the pack) and adhere it over the top of the first card with mounting tape.
3. Add some arrow stamping in the corners.
4. Add a sentiment with mounting tape.
5. Add some triangle studs to the corner.
6. Put Kindy Glitz on the bicycle.

Card #4 - Skateboard

1. Attach one of the stiped 4x6 cards to a folded white base card.  
2. Cut out the skateboard from the 12x12 sheet and the "Let's Roll" banners and adhere with mounting tape.
3. Staple on a sentiment.

There we have four super quick and super easy Male cards.

Stay tuned for more quick and easy male cards next week!

Thanks for stopping by,

Alicia xxx

Heidi Swapp and The Greeting Farm Candy - Enter Now!

I haven't given away a candy for ages!!! And I do like to say "Thank you" to the beautiful people who read my blog.  So I have put together a little "Thank you Candy" that you might win!  (This post will stay at the top of my blog so please scroll down for my latest blog post.)

What is the Candy?

Six stamps from The Greeting Farm:

1. "Princess Anya"
2. "Syren"
3. "Surfer Ian"
4. "Skater Ian"
5. "Blush Babette"
6. "Tuesday"

And one Heidi Swapp Memory File.

How to enter?

5 Easy Steps:

1. Follow my blog - For one chance to win
2. Follow me on Pinterest - For one chance to win
3. Subscribe to my You Tube channel - For one chance to win
4. Spread the word by posting a link to the candy on your own blog/facebook/instagram/twitter - For one chance to win.
5. Leave me a comment on this Blog Post with the number of your chances. 

For Example:
If you follow me on all three accounts and have spread the word write your name and the number four. Eg: Jane - 4
If you follow me on all three just write your name and the number three.   Eg: Jane - 3
If you follow two just write your name and the number two.  Eg: Jane - 2
If you follow one just write your name and the number one.  Eg: Jane - 1

When will it be drawn?

It is an October Candy so I will draw it at the end of October. You have a month to enter!
I hope you win ; )

Alicia xx

Edited to add: I have used Random.org to draw the winner of my candy... and it is Carol! Congratulations Carol! : ) I will be in touch to send out your candy!

More Quick and Easy Male Cards

These cards were super easy to put together.  I followed the same sketch for each one and made some male cards in bulk.  Great to build up the male cards in my stash.  The cards were made with everything Close to My Heart: papers, stamps, inks and triangle studs.

I ended up adding number "30" stickers (just below the sentiment) to this card above...so it said "Hello 30" and gave it to my brother for his 30th Birthday.

I mixed and matched lots of different paper scraps for these cards.

Nothing fancy about this lot....quick and easy to put together.

These male cards were featured over at the beautiful Chris' blog.

With another set of cards I have made that I am sharing next week.

Have a beautiful day.

Alicia xxx

The Monday Message

"Surround yourself with what you love."

Love and happiness, its so important.
By surrounding yourself with things you love, you bring happiness into your life.
Feeling happy and loved, they've got to be two of the best feelings we can experience.
I am focusing on this quote this week.

Heres to love and happiness for all of us.

Alicia xx

P.S What do you love to surround yourself with?

How to Make Quick and Easy Male Cards - Part One

Your brother/husband/son/male cousin/ male friend is having a birthday and you need a card in a hurry.  You look through your card box and find plenty of girly cards, some baby cards, maybe a sympathy card or a wedding card...but there are no male birthday cards.  Why do you have such a shortage on male cards?  Does this happen to you?  This is often me.  I look at my birthdays for the month and rustle through my card box pulling out cards that might match the recipients on my list.  I usually conclude I need more male cards for my stash!

Sometimes it is hard to get inspired to make male cards... you might prefer to use pretty papers, lace, ribbons, flowers etc etc.  Well in this post I share four quick and easy designs you can make.  These cards will build up your male card stash in no time at all and you might even fall in love with the bright bold colours and graphics.  I have!

The good news is that Picture My Life Cards don't just have to be used for Pocket Scrapbooking.

They are also perfect for making quick and easy cards.  For the next few weeks I will be making male cards using the Later Sk8r Picture My Life Scrapbooking Program.

Watch the video below to see the product:

In this first card "Never Give Up on your Dreams" I followed these simple steps:

1. Attach one of the "Never Give Up on your Dreams" 4x6 cards to a folded white base card.  
2. Cut out the "on your Dreams" banner from the identical 4x6 card (there is two of each design in the pack) and adhere it over the top of the first card with mounting tape.
3. Add some little white stars randomly over the card.

Super quick and easy!

Card #1 - Never Give Up on your Dreams

In this second card "Football Boots" I followed these simple steps:

1. Attach one of the "Football Boots" cards to a folded white base card.  
2. Cut out each boot from the identical 4x6 card (there is two of each design in the pack) and adhere it over the top of the first card with mounting tape.  Add a star to the star on the boot.
3. Stamp a sentiment I chose "Have a Happy Day" onto card and staple on.  Stamp arrows in the bottom corner.

Card #2 - Football Boots

In this third card "Play Ball" I followed these simple steps:

1. Attach one of the "Baseball" cards to a folded white base card.  
2. Cut out the bat, ball and red tag from the identical 4x6 card (there is two of each design in the pack) and adhere it over the top of the first card with mounting tape.  
3. Stamp a sentiment I chose "Have a Happy Day" onto card and attach.  Stamp arrows in two corners.

Card #3 - Play Ball

In this fourth card "You are my Fave" I followed these simple steps:

1. Attach one of the "You are my Fave" cards to a folded white base card.  
2. Cut out a star and bunting flag from another card and adhere it over the top of the first card with mounting tape.  
3. Stamp some arrows and a circle.  Stamp Thank You sentiment. Outline star, bunting and some letters in black pen.  Add the triangle studs.

Card #4 - You Are My Fave

The result = Four super quick and easy male cards for your stash.

Stay tuned for more Male cards next week...
Happy crafting,
Alicia

50th Birthday Card using Close to My Heart ~ Confetti Wishes

I'm sharing a 50th Birthday Card I made today.

This was very simple and quick to make.

This was for a friend from a whole group of people so it was made A4 size to hold lots of messages and signatures.  The friend's present was a ticket to do sky-diving!

I went along to see the jump in action!

The balloons are a sticker that I layered onto some card and popped up with mounting tape.

The gold touches keep it on trend.

This card was featured on Chris' blog here.

I have another pretty 50th Birthday card I made here.  

It is pink, black and white with a Paris theme. 

Hope you have a beautiful day!

Alicia xx

Blogging Friends ~ Getting to know Carol Dee

One of the best parts about Blogging is meeting new friends all over the world.

I thought it would be nice to create a bit of a community on here so everyone can get to know each other a bit! I would like to start a new feature about my blogging friends... and I would love you to take part! Please send me an email if you would like to be featured on my blog...it might even get you some new followers.  If we all follow each other on blogs and social media that would be great!

Let's start things off with Carol...

Carol is a very longtime blogging friend of mine.  I found the first post she comment on and it was back in July 2009.  I think she has commented on every single post I have made on my blog since! What an incredible effort!!!  Carol is such a beautiful person, I am so lucky to know her...one day she is going to come and visit me in Australia!!!  Here is what she has to say...


*HELLO* my name is Carol D. Roe.

I live in the U.S.A. in small town America, Long Grove, IA.

I am married to my DH 37 1/2 years. We have 2 sons (34 and 31 come Nov.) and 2 grandsons (7 and 4 come Dec.)

I sporadically keep up with my blog *Just Me*  http://justme-cdr.blogspot.com/ You can visit me there. When I get around to posting it is usually card related, something funny or Family. Here is a link to a recent post http://justme-cdr.blogspot.com/2014/09/long-time-no-see.html that has some of each.  

I really do not Face book much, I do NOT tweet or text. I still use an old fashioned flip style cell phone and have a land line. But I can lose hours on Pinterest. LOL.

I LOVE dragonflies and that is what 1st brought me to Alicia's blog !!!  

I have worked for the North Scott Community School district for 25 years. 25 in food service and the last 20 driving and a.m. and p.m. bus route and serving elementary school lunches. I am looking forward to retiring in 4 years. That will give me time to create with all those supplies I have been hording.  

I love card making and my family and friends are disappointed if they get a store bought card from me! I pick up most of my papercrafting supplies, stamps, digital images and embellishments on-line or locally at S.U. , CTMH, JoAnne's, Michael's, Tuesday Mornings and Scrapbooking Studio. Some of my favorite papers are from October Afternoon, BooBunny, Doodlebug and Paperloft.

My craft room is a spare bedroom that was taken over by my horde! It is oh-so messy! I would love to show it to you all clean. (Like that ever happens!) I have included a photo of a recent *Craftermath*!  I also enjoy gardening, photography, quilting, sewing, beading and basketry!

Alicia asked me to pass on some words of Wisdom! 

Something I have painted on my kitchen wall is "The Greatest Joy in life is seeing those you love Happy." NOTHING makes me happier than seeing my sons or grandsons happy.  I also try very hard to Let Go.... of hurts, stress, etc... and Just Be...Happy, Content and Loved.

Thanks Alicia for asking me to be a part of your Amazing blog. I love you.

Oh - And YES - *Someday* I really want to visit Australia and meet Alicia in person. Wouldn't that be FUN ?!?!

Personally Carol, I love your Craftermath! I am a messy crafter too! If I could close the door and tuck my craft room away it would surely look like this every day!!! But regular visitors to our house inspire me to clean it up!!  Thank you also for your wonderful words of wisdom! They are so true and meaningful.

So...if you would like to make a beautiful new blogging friend, you need to head on over to Carol's Blog here and introduce yourself.  Thanks Carol for being the first Blogging Friend! You have done a beautiful job.

And if you would like to be featured in my Blogging Friends posts please email me and I can send you out a few questions to answer!!  Who is going to be next???

Alicia xx

The Monday Message

I just LOVE this quote! Its so inspiring!! It makes me believe you really can make anything happen!!

We have a dream of one day owning our own house...not overly original I know, but pretty necessary.  Sometimes I jump onto realestate.com and dream....

Here is my latest find: Click Here

Now this is a pricey one...but we are allowed to dream!

I have chosen one photo from here.  But you will have to head over to see the rest...well worth the look.  The house is in the city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.  This is what they call a "Queenslander" home.  This style was popular in the 1920's - 1930's, they were made primarily out of timber with veranda spaces and off the ground to promote ventilation in the hot climate.

Even if I am only window shopping here, there is so much inspiration for painting, decorating and furnishing.

What are you currently dreaming about?

Alicia xx

Smash Book Recipe

It has been a long, long time since my last Smash Book Recipe Post...but I am getting back into them again!  If you could see my Recipe Book you would understand my motivation...papers scrunched and crumpled, dog-eared, loose sheafs of paper threatening to fall out at any moment.  Nicky loves flicking through the book and takes great pleasure in spreading the papers all over the floor in a crazy frenzy! So I figured a little organisation of my favourite recipes could only help me!!

This is one of my favourite recipes ever.  It is great to take if you get invited to somebody's house for morning or afternoon tea. They really are delicious little muffins.  I often double this recipe as they get eaten fast.

I used Crate Paper Notes and Things to "smash" this recipe.  It was done quickly and easily...not a lot of thinking, just whatever felt right at the time.  Thats the best part of Smash Booking  There are no rules, its fast and fun!  An easy way to quickly get some scrapping done.  Let me know if you make the recipe and enjoy it!

Have you every done any "Smash Booking"?

I have more recipes from a long time ago here.

Happy Smashing and cooking!

Alicia xx

Picture My Life ~ Baby Cakes ~ Completed Album

Today I am sharing the video of my completed album I have made using Picture My Life Baby Cakes Scrapbooking Program from Close to My Heart.  This Album shows my scrapbook of the first 12 months of my life.  You might like to watch the video below:

I am keen to Scrapbook the second 12 months too, but I am thinking I will use a different Picture My Life Program.  I am thinking of using the Chantilly Scrapbooking Program, which is the photo shown below:

It is very pretty and girly...and I am hoping the creamy yellow in these cards  will still match the orange "70's tone" in my photos.  But I think it will be nice to have a change in cards to signify the next 12 months of my life in the album.  What do you think?

Before I get to that planned project, I am changing things up a little and  working with this kit: the Picture My Life Later Sk8r Program.  Its very boyish...it would be perfect to scrap boys photos from ages 5-18.  I am however, not going to use the kit to scrapbook.  For the next few weeks I will be using the kit to make boy or male cards.  So this will be something a little different on my Friday blog post for the next few weeks.  These kits are great for making cards...I cant wait to share some with you next week!  Again if you click the picture below it will take you directly to Jessica's shop.

Here is a little sneak preview of one of the cards I will be sharing:

So stay tuned for "boy stuff" next week!

Thanks for stopping by,

Alicia xx

Project Life App Layouts and how to Catch up!

 Sharing a couple of Layouts this week using the Project Life App.  It is super fast and super easy!  It is such a great way to add multiple photos from one day or event to a page.  It is also a great way to catch up on scrapbooking!

 I am totally using the app to suit me.  Because I am importing these layouts into the Collect App I have room to write in that app as well.  This means I don't have to journal too much on the layout itself if I don't have too much to say...I am not a massive writer...I am more of a picture girl.

Loving how I can do it on my phone at any time.  Still working out how I am going to use the app for my next year's album and what size I will print them out.  At this stage I am thinking 6x6 and fitting four layouts to a page.

There is a new class at Big Picture Classes called Catch Up With Project Life.  I have signed up because I have some gaps in my albums I really want to focus on and complete.  Here are the details:

Get over the guilt of feeling perpetually behind! Catch Up with Project Life will reconnect you to feelings of accomplishment and gratitude—both for the hobby you love and your life in general. Instructors Annette, Megan, and Trish are here to help you tackle common trouble areas, so you can make real progress with your Project Life albums.

Catch Up with Project Life: Progress, Process, and Productivity for Pocket-Page Scrapbookers
Taught by Annette Haring, Megan Anderson, Trisha Harrison
Class price: $30

You could sign up too! Have you got some holes in your albums that need to be finished? Lets do it together!!  Click on the link in my sidebar or picture below to go straight to their site.





I'm off to get crafty!  Lots coming up on my blog soon...

• Craft room photos
• A new type of post featuring my blogger friends...starting soon! Leave me a comment if you would like to be featured on my blog!!
• More Smash Book Recipes!!!

Have a great Thursday,

Alicia xx

Butterfly Cards

I have some fresh, aqua, butterfly cards to share today.  These cards are very much my style at the moment.  They are in my favourite colour, they have butterflies, lots of white space, a bit of bling and cute sentiments in lovely font.  These cards make me happy : )

Making them was lots of fun too.  They just came together so easily.  I used all Close to My Heart Products: The cards and envelopes, "Your Own Kind of Wonderful" stamp set, Lagoon Ink, Seaside Design Paper, Teal Shimmer Trim, Aqua Dots and Bitty Sparkles.

I am so addicted to card-making! I feel a bit flat if I don't get to do just a little card-making each day. Are you like that? What is your time out to yourself, or special treat?  These cards were featured on Chris' blog here.

I am getting serious about the weaning process...more serious than ever before anyway! I cant promise any results, but I am feeling the time is coming.  Any tips from you Mums that had or have babies that LOVE Mummy drinks would be greatly appreciated.

Alicia xx

The Monday Message

Hello, and Happy Monday!

I have had this pinned on my Babies and Children pinterest board for ages and I just love this quote.  The pin is from this site here.

I am all about living in the moment...as you know... and I try to appreciate every moment with Nicholas that I have.  We waited such a long time to have him, so I consciously try to savour it all.  His little arms and legs, his cute little face, his cuddles, his talking, how he says "I like (insert something here) Mummy" it tells me so much about his little personality! The other day it was "I like new things!" I had to laugh...it was so sweet and innocent...he is experiencing so many new things about life and it is a wonder and privilege to watch and observe. But so easy to brush over and not think about and be grateful for.

We have had a few issues with Nicky's teeth.  It turns out he has a calcium deficiency, so that means his teeth haven't formed properly at the back and he has quite a few cavities.  He also has had trouble doing a poo regularly for quite some time now.  After a few dentist appointments and some naturopath appointments we are seeing some improvement which is a big relief.  As a reward for doing a poo, lately we have been visiting the toy shop (lollies and chocolate isn't allowed due to the teeth, although they would be much cheaper).  Here is Nicky at Target with his latest selection, a fireman sam hat and extinguisher.  As you can imagine we are getting quite a collection of toys. (Santa will only be bringing one toy at Christmas as I dont think there will be any left in the shop lol!) But who doesnt love a little toy shopping here and there...

How is your week shaping up? Mine is looking pretty busy...I am looking forward to it.

Thanks for stopping by,

Alicia xx