October Calendar Topper

The Holidays are coming...and this month is one of my favorites!  I love everything that comes with Halloween and after 8 kids, we're getting pretty good at it!  Now I have a whole bunch of grandkids to enjoy as they decorate their homes and porches with pumpkins and witches and ghosts and webs...and as they decide what they want to be for Halloween.  So, of course, for my October Calendar topper, I picked Halloween as my theme!

This Calendar was so fun to design!  I used some Halloween paper that I had left over from last year - My Mind's Eye - and it worked great!  I used the following designer template sets in my design:

Spook Alley, Strips, Halloween, Adventure, Tags, Tiny Tags, Tiny Holiday, Tiny Nature and Photos.

I had a lot of fun with the pumpkins from the Halloween and Tiny Holiday Accessory sets.  I used a crimper to add some texture to the larger pumpkin and then layered them together, adding leaves and a star to go with the star theme in the paper.  

Next I used two tags that reminded me of tombstones, one from the Tags set and one from the Tiny Tags set.  It's a simple embellishment, but really added a fun touch to this design!  

I pulled the same paper down to the Month space and added some punch-out stars from the paper line and Thickers letters for OCTOBER...in a really cute green color, which pops!

It all came together beautifully and the family photo from one Halloween was the perfect finishing touch!  I hope you'll take the time to create your own Halloween Calendar!  

Designed by Debbie Budge

September Calendar

As soon as I saw these pictures of my granddaughter, Riley, heading off to school for another year, I knew they would be perfect for my September Calendar topper!  

I used the Simple Stories Harvest Lane line of paper...so cute...along with some Core-dinations cardstock that I have on hand.  I wanted to capture the fun feels and colors of Fall...leaves and ripening apples...as well as the excitement of the first day of school.  

Here is a list of the designer templates I used to create my Calendar:  Chestnut Drive 2a/2b and 3b, Strips, Halloween 3, Tiny Holiday 2T and 4T, Tiny Nature 1T, 3T and 4T, Tags 5, Tiny Sweetheart 1T and Photos.

I made the apples out of the pumpkin templates in Halloween and Tiny Holiday.  The center of the larger apple is the smaller pumpkin from Tiny Holiday with the stem trimmed off.  I hand-cut little 'seeds' for the center of the apple.  

I pulled the same colors and patterns down to the header and added some glittered letters to spell SEPTEMBER.  The arrow is from Tiny Nature and the leaves are from Tiny Nature and Tiny Holiday.

I always pull some of the colors and patterns down to the bottom of my calendar using different STRIPS.  It gives the whole design a completed look.

And here's the end result!  I love it and have it hanging right by my scrapbooking table.  I hope you are working on your own calendar...it would make a wonderful gift for a loved on at Christmas!

Designed by Debbie Budge

Weekend Whimsy

Mouse Trap Magnets

Using Wooden Mouse Traps from the store. Cover with any scraps of paper you have lying around (adhesive: mod podge) embellish a little at the top, and you have an adorable magnet to use on your fridge to clip all those important things to. Super easy, and inexpensive! Try it this weekend. 

 Note: Our store close to me only had the mouse traps with the cheese thing in the middle. lol...anyhow...just take some twizzers and they will come out.  Then just cover with paper..etc! 

Giveaway! 

How would you like to win 2 pre-made Mouse Trap Magnets of your own? 2 lucky winners will have a chance to win 2 each. How to Enter? Nothing Fancy! Just comment here on the blog or on FACEBOOK giving us suggestions on how we can motivate/inspire you. That can include...what DT set you would like to see more samples with, or if you have any video suggestions...questions...etc. Don't be shy! We want to make sure weather you are a beginner scrapbooker, intermediate or seasoned we are keeping you in mind! 

Winner will be announced on Monday Sept 17th! 

Thanks Everyone! Have a fun Weekend! 

August Calendar

As soon as I saw this photo of some of my grandkids and my youngest son, Matthew, all piled into a little backyard pool, I knew I wanted it on my August Calendar topper! This perfectly illustrates the hot August summer days and the fun ways kids find to keep cool!

I used our hand-picked ON THE SUNNY SIDE paper kit that is in our KLD SHOP to create the calendar and the following designer templates: Sunnybrook Lane, Chestnut Drive, 12" Strips, Photos, Photo Mats, Adventure, Paradise, Tiny Accents, and Tiny Wildflower.

I love layering the Tiny sets with the larger Accessory sets. I used the water splat from the Paradise set and topped it with a sunburst from Tiny Accents and a felt flower I had in my stash. A button was the perfect center!

Here's a close-up of the month page on the calendar. I brought the same patterns and colors down from above and recreated the same embellishment to tie it all together. I found some cute chipboard letters in my scrap drawer and inked right over them with an ink pad...so quick and easy!

This is not a good picture at all...too many shadows in this room. But I wanted to show you how cute it is when hanging above some of my templates where I scrapbook. I hope you have been working on your calendar each month! It makes such a wonderful gift or a great place to hold your own special memories!

Debbie Budge

Weekend Whimsy

Frames are Fun!!

Frames are a fun and easy way to make your favorite photo special. And with our Kiwi Lane designer templates...your frames will be so quick and easy to make....and completely adorable when you are done! 

I love this picture of my grandson, Eli, and wanted to create a really cute frame for it.  Here's how I did it:

 I used a wooden unfinished frame that I bought at Craft Warehouse along with Echo Park's This & That paper line. I liked the frame because it had a spot for a 4x6 photo and lots of room left for designing! 

I painted the edges of the frame with a neutral tan paint and then used Mod Podge to adhere the background paper to the frame...sanding off the edges for a finished look.

Then I began adding my layers: Chestnut Drive, Strips, Happy Trails, Spook Alley, Adventure, Accents, Celebrate, and Playtime. 

I inked all of the edges with Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo) and added some brads and buttons to embellish it. 

I bought the title plaque already done and just inked the edges and wrapped some twine around it then adhered it to the frame. And it was done!

It was a quick and fun project - - absolutely perfect for a weekend whimsy! Designed by Debbie Budge

Glory Paper kit Back in Stock!

Snapfish is having a sale! Enjoy 99 4x6 pictures for just 1 cent each. Use coupon FIREWORKS as many times as you'd like to save at snapfish.com. Offer ends July 11 TODAY!

Talking about Fireworks. We have one Firecracker KIT left, which is looking for a home. Click like to ENTER to WIN on facebook! Winner will be announced friday July 13. 

Also we have some of the "Glory" paper kits back in the shop for those that were not able to get one.  LOVE THIS PAPER LINE! Head over to kiwilane.com before they are sold out again. 

American Flag Blocks

I love working with wood for my projects. I grew up with my dad  always building and cutting things out of wood. I would have to say a big part of why I am so creative and get so much from being creative is because I grew up around it.  My dad is amazing with wood, and my mom is amazing at sewing! I just wish that while I was young I would have taken more advantage of learning their talents as well.

 Even though I remember my mom trying to teach me to sew and as a young kid all I wanted to do was go play! Little did I know that I would want that knowledge now. Now when I try to sew I have to use my  “phone a friend”…aka my mom! To walk me through it. They don’t make those dress patterns steps easy to read…if you know what I mean. =)

I must say cutting wood, sanding and painting is something I watched my dad do often and I put it to good use with this project. 

We used 2x4 pieces of wood and 4" post. Cut down to the following

2 x 9" paint white and red

2 x 5" paint white and red

4x4 Painted blue

And then ofcourse added a little pattern paper with some modge podge! Makes everything just a little better! =) You can watch this video here for more details and other fun 4th of July crafts. 

Weekend Whimys: Shadowbox Frame

 We found these cute frames at the Mega Meet Scrapbook show in May. A company called Darcie’s makes them. It is made from multi-layered chipboard frames with an acrylic top. You can find them at www.darcie.com for $5-$10 Each.

First I  “Framed” the entire project using my DT’s to see what I wanted it tolook like and so I could see what space I was going to have to add my quote. Once it was framed I created a quote on my computer  and ran it through my printer.

Of course stamps would be a great way to add a quote but I didn’t have a stamp with the quotes that I wanted...soI did it the hard way!

Once I had the quote printed I Mod Podged the back and front layers to the frame and used my Basic Grey file set to sand the edges to get a clean look.

I then traced, cut, inked, and adhered all the layers that I had designed to get the look that I was wanting for my frame.

Once done with that, I stacked the separate pieces to create the shadowbox and added the clips to keep it together. I then added magnet strips to the back so I could use it as a magnet for my home.

I had so much fun making this and love the way it turned out!

We LOVE it so much that we thought we would do a Giveaway with one!

If you want a chance to win a shadowbox Frame of you own, here is how you can enter our latest giveaway! ...Visit our website at www.kiwilane.com and click on the feedback button on the left side of the page. Leave feedback, a question, or an Idea for us, to be entered to win a frame of your own! A winner will be selected at random Tuesday morning. Good Luck!
 

The frames above were created by Shiloh Jorgensen, using Darcie's Acrylic Shadowbox Frames & My Mind's Eye paper. Designer Templates used for frame 1: Mini Madison, Mini Scallops, Accents, & Tiny Accents. Frame 2: Adorn card border set, Tiny Florals, & Celebrate Designer Templates.

Create Your Own Wall Art

Designed by Susan Budge using Nature, Tiny Nature, Tiny Wacky, Tiny Wildflower

Step 1: I picked up this old frame for about $2.00 and gave it new life by giving it a fresh new color. 

Step 2: Layout your squares for your background 

Step 3: Design your art by using the DT sets just like you would do for a scrapbook layout. 

Step 4: Trace and cut your designs out onto fabric of your desire. I used a fabric pen, which you can get at a craft store. Just make sure to wipe it clean right after if you dont want marks on your DT sets. 

Step 5: Sew each design onto the background square that you designed it on. I used a zic zack stick along the edges of my designs. Repeat for each design that you cut out. 

Step 6: Sew the background squares together using a straight stick. Keeping face sides together and sewing up the edges until it becomes one complete piece. 

Step 7: Cut a piece of cardboard to fit within your frame. Wrap your fabric around the cardboard and attach it in the back. Then place in your frame. 

Step 8: Hang it up and enjoy your one of a kind wall art! 

Weekend Whimsy - SPRING Wall Hanging

I found some 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inch wood tiles on sale at Craft Warehouse and immediately knew I wanted to make a SPRING wall hanging with them! So, I first painted the front edges white and then inked then up a bit and then I started scrapbooking each tile using some My Mind's Eye Miss Caroline paper. After I finished all the tiles, I taped them together on the back with some really strong packing tape, which worked great! This is now hanging in my front entry and brings a lovely SPRING touch to my home!

On the "S" tile, I used Sentiments, Tiny Floral and Tiny Accents along with a painted chipboard letter, my little Martha Stewart flower punch and a decorative brad from my stash. I spritzed Glimmer Mist on the flowers to give them some shine.

On the "P" tile I used Sentiments and Thoughtful for the borders and Tiny Wacky, Tiny Wildflower and Tiny Nature for the flower and leaves.

On the "r" tile, I used Thoughtful and Sentiments for the borders and Tiny Nature, Tiny Shapes and Tiny Accents for the flower.

On the "I" tile, I used Sentiments and Thoughtful for the borders and Tiny Wildflower, Tiny Wacky and Tiny Accents for the flower.

On the "N" tile, I used Thoughtful for the borders and Tiny Wildflower, Tiny Floral, Tiny Shapes and Tiny Accents for the flower.

On the "g" tile, I used Thoughtful and Sentiments for the borders and Tiny Nature, Tiny Sweetheart and Tiny Accents for the flower.

Designed by Debbie Budge

Weekend Whimsy - Easter Baskets

Use your Designer Templates to dress-up your Easter baskets!

On the wire basket I used Tiny Nature, Tiny Shapes, & Tiny Accents to create the embellishments.

The small basket was created from a wood container that I dressed-up with Sentiments, Tiny Accents, Tiny Floral, & I used Happy Trails to make the handle. Have fun and happy Easter!

Weekend Whimsy Wreath

Burlap Wreath Directions:Wrap the wreath with burlap, hot glue as you go.
Once the wreath covered,use your designer Templates to create the flowers. Once that is done hot glue them and any other embellishments you would like to add to the wreath.


If you want to add a letter like I did, simply mod podge paper to the top
and use an emery board to sand the edges.

Basic Flower: Begin by tracing the template that you would like to use. Once
you have cut the shape out, cut the entire shape into a swirl like you see
above.



Pinch and fold the flower from the inside/middle of shape, hot gluing as you go to create the flower you would like.

Bracket Flower: Tiny Sweetheart Bracket - Once you have traced and cut the piece, fold and hot glue until you have created the above petal. Make 3 and then hot glue together. Add a center to finish the look.
Give your leaves some dimension by slitting the stem and folding it over.
To create a more ruffled flower, cut a circle out using the Rings Acc. Set. Then Starting in the middle, fold and hot glue as you go along. Make sure to start this one at the outside edge of the center of the shape you have cut.

Weekend Whimsy...Frame

I have made a frame for every holiday so far and had to make one for Valentines.....so here it is!

All you need is a your KLD Templates, a frame, paper, modge podge, and some embellishments if you wish.

You can make your own frame using wood and some molding or you can just go and buy a plain one at one of your local craft stores.

Then just use Modge Podge and Paper to cover the frame. Dress it up using your paper along with KLD Template and you have an adorable frame. Oh and easy on the budget.
If you have any questions please feel free to ask!

Weekend Whimsy...Whoo Loves YOU?

I have a little thing for owls, and looove how this little "girl" turned out. Perfect for a unique Valentine decor, but really you could make this for any time of the year. Just use your favorite colors and display it in your home or give as a gift. I am sure you have the perfect paper for this project already!

KLD Templates Used: Sweetheart (head and peak) Tiny Shapes (eyes and arms) Mini Scallops (belly layers) Tiny Accents (flower)

Supplies:

4x6 pieces of wood (painted or un-painted)

4 push pins (Feet)

paper (used Love Me by MME)

Buttons/Ribbion

Felt

Again...HAPPY SCRAFTING! (it stuck with me what can I say? =) -Susan