PaperFections

Planner Dashboard

Happy Friday, Friends! Summer is finally winding down here in south Texas and we've been a lot cooler (in the 70's, LOL!). So the cooler weather inspired a fun Fall project: A monthly divider dashboard for my planner! I hope you'll join me for all the details on how to create your own custom planner or scrapbook page with the Fuse tool over on Ellen Hutson's the CLASSroom blog today! Read more →

August 2016 Calendar

Yes, folks -- August arrives on Monday, can you believe it? The summer is almost over and school will be starting soon, so that makes it time for another monthly calendar from me! (Click on any photo for a larger view. All bold products are linked below in the supply section). This month's calendar uses a brand new Fall Pink Ink stamp, Apple Stand #2275H. You can see all the newest Fall/Holiday stamps from Pink Ink HERE. The calendar grid is one I made on my computer. I sized it approximately 4.50" wide x 3" tall, to fit inside the largest stitched scalloped Frame in Frame 2 dies from Taylored Expressions. The calendars are shown at left (click on the photo for a larger view), with outlines of where the die will cut. I have made the calendar available as a free download for you (without the die outlines, so you can just trim and use however you'd like), which includes August through December ... Enjoy! You can download the calendars HERE: Download 2016_calendarsAug-Q4_SharonHarnist For future quick finding, the download will also be included on my Download page HERE. Now for that cool background ... Here's how it was created:... Read more →

July 2016 Calendar

We are well into the summer and nearing the end of the month, so you know what that means … another calendar page from me, and this one was tons of fun to create! You can find the full details about this calendar page today over on the Taylored Expressions blog ... I hope you'll join me there! Marching On Pockets & Pages - July Script Embossing Folder - Fireworks Premium Cardstock - Sugar Cube Premium Cardstock - Blue Corn Premium Cardstock - Cherry Pop Premium Cardstock - Metallic Neutrals Memento Luxe Wedding Dress Full Pad Copic Markers 2016 6x6 Calendar Download InLinkz.com Read more →

June 2016 Calendar

Hello and Happy Memorial Day! May is winding down and June is right around the corner, so today I am sharing my cute little beach babe chick June calendar! I hope you will join me today over on the Taylored Expressions blog for all the details. Calendar Critters Calendar Critters Dies 2016 6x6 Calendar Download Little Bits - Sandcastle Little Bits - Beach Umbrella Little Bits - Let's Talk Bubble 1 Pockets & Pages - June Script Build a Scene - Rolling Waves Build a Scene - Rolling Hills Memento Tuxedo Black Full Pad Copic Markers Premium Cardstock - Sprinkles Premium Cardstock - Salt Water Taffy Premium Cardstock - Toffee Premium Cardstock - Sugar Cube 1/8" Foam Tape Frame Your Imagination Vertical Stand 6x6 Page Protectors InLinkz.com Read more →

May 2016 Calendar

One of my favorite things to do is color die cuts and I thought Taylored Expressions beautiful In The Garden would make a wonderful topper for my May calendar! Please join me today over on the Taylored Expressions blog for the full details! Read more →

April 2016 Calendar

Hello friends -- I hope your March has been fabulous so far! Today I am getting ready for Spring weather and have my April calendar to share. Have Spring rains already hit your part of the country? This sweet Taylored Expressions Calendar Critters piggy is ready for her rainy weather! You can find all the details on how this calendar was created today over on the Taylored Expressions blog ... I hope you'll join me there! Read more →

March 2016 Calendar

I’m ready for March wind (and sun!), flowers and warmer weather … how about you? Hopefully this flowery little lamb March calendar will help! You can find out how it all came together over on the Taylored Expressions blog today ... I hope you'll join me there! Read more →

February 2016 Calendar

I hope you all enjoyed my January calendar … I am loving making them again, so I hope you don’t mind another? :) Keep in mind – if calendars are just not your thing, you can also use the same elements and general layout to create a Valentine’s Day or February birthday card. Or use the layout for a scrapbook page, substituting the calendar for your photo(s)! You can find all the details about this calendar today over on the Taylored Expressions blog. I hope the end to your January is going well! Read more →

Hello January!

A new year always reminds us of closing old and opening new chapters in our lives. I had gotten away from making my monthly calendars this past year (which had been my tradition since 2007!), but with Taylored Expressions’ introduction of these sweet new Calendar Critters last month, I thought it was time for some more calendars! Here’s January: You can find all the details about this calendar over on the Taylored Expressions blog today . . . I hope you'll join me there! Wishing you all a very Happy New Year! Read more →

MFT November Release Countdown-Day 5

Welcome back to the My Favorite Things November Release Countdown -- The new products will be available in just five days on Tuesday night, November 11th! Be sure to head over to the MFT Blog to see today’s full product reveals AND enter for your chance to win a $75 gift voucher on each of the 7 countdown day blog posts there! My card uses these products being featured/revealed today (all linked at the end of this post): Comfy Sweater Die-namics, Cozy Greetings stamp set, Sweater Stitch Background and the Jumbo Dot Cover-up. First up is this golden Christmas card: I ADORE polka dots, so I was extremely excited for this particular background this month! I die cut it from Whip Cream cardstock, then layered it over a metallic gold card base. The beautiful Cozy Greetings sentiment was gold heat embossed onto a Whip Cream Stitched Rounded Rectangle STAX die cut. To accent the sentiment, I placed a metallic gold cardstock die cut fishtail flag (from Blueprints 20) behind it, and a popped up star accent (also from BP20). Inside, I stamped another Cozy Greeting in gold pigment ink onto a Stitched Rounded Rectangle STAX cut from Whip Cream cardstock,... Read more →

MFT August Creative Challenge: Watercolor + Tutorial

Hello and welcome to the August My Favorite Things Design Team Creative Challenge! Watercolor is a medium that’s been around forever but is experiencing a resurgence in popularity in the crafting, card-making, and scrapbooking world. This month, the MFT Design Team will show you ways to achieve the look with stamps, stencils, and inks! (Products used for each project are linked below each project. Click on any photo for a larger view). My first project is a card which uses a stencil to create a watercolor background: I didn't have the Chevron Stencil, so I die cut some blank stencil material (plastic) with my Chevron Cover-Up Die-namics and taped it to a piece of watercolor paper with washi tape. Next, I placed drops of MFT's Premium Dye Ink Refills (Berylicious and Blu Raspberry) into the lids of their coordinating ink pads and used a water brush to pick up and/or water down the ink as needed. TIP: Using the lids as a palette allows any unused ink to remain in the lid and be used at a later time and/or a lot of unused refill can just drain back onto the ink pad: (Above): I alternated painting the rows of... Read more →

Stenciled Copic Watercolor

I played around with a FUN new technique today . . . stenciled Copic "watercolor" for my August calendar! You can find all the details over in Ellen Hutson's the CLASSroom. Happy weekend! Read more →

MFT July Release Countdown-Day 5

Happy Independence Day to all my US friends! Welcome to the third day of My Favorite Things July Release Countdown week – just 4 days left until the new products are available on July 8! Be sure to head over to the MFT Blog to see today’s full product reveals AND enter for your chance to win a $75 gift voucher on each of the 7 countdown day blog posts! Honoring the USA's "birthday" of independence today, I used something I'm REALLY excited about -- MFT's new Tag Builder Blueprints 1 -- to create my July calendar 6-inch page! You should have heard the squeal of delight when I learned about these new Blueprints, especially since I adore tags! I combined it with two of this month's new background stamps, Diagonal Stripes and Confetti ... and sneaked in a little preview of tomorrow's featured sweet new Pure Innocence Happy Banner stamp set and coordinating Die-namics: The sweet Happy Banner PI girl was stamped on her coordinating Die-namics, cut from X-Press It Blending Card and colored with Copic markers (colors listed below in supplies): The fabulous new Tag Builder Blueprints 1 tag was cut from Nightshift Blue cardstock, stamped with the... Read more →

MFT Guest Copic Coloring Tutorial

Hello, friends! I wanted to let you know you can find my June calendar over on the My Favorite Things blog today, along with a Copic coloring tutorial for sweet Miss Sassitude here ... I hope you'll join me! I'll be back tomorrow with our June MFT teaser countdown sneak peeks, so I hope you'll meet me be back here then! Read more →

April '14 Calendar

Hello, As promised, I'm back again today with another project using the new Shabby Spring StampTV Kit -- my April calendar: I absolutely can NOT believe we are almost done with a fourth of the year already! Is it flying by as fast for you? But I am excited to start seeing pretty Spring green grass and flowers and that's what helped inspire this calendar. In my effort to actually use up some of those scraps I have left over from other projects (and just can't throw away!), the piece of kraft background "paper" I created with a stencil, stencil embossing paste, and airbrushed with a sunny Copic marker was the jumping off point for this project. I love it paired with my favorite Turquoise Sea Gina K Designs Color Companions cardstock color. A piece of pretty Sweet Corn cardstock helps to accent the yellow flower centers in my kraft paper. To create the scalloped border on the bottom of the Sweet Corn background piece, I stamped the small lined leaf from the kit with Sweet Corn ink. I printed the calendar onto Layering Weight White Color Companions cardstock, to fit on the free Tiara Frame Silhouette die cut. The... Read more →