February Challenge

OK...obviously when I said 'as the week goes on' in my last post, I didn't expect the ENTIRE week to fly by without posting a single CHA recap post. Oh my. Naughty blogger. Sooo...I will get some of my favorite photos from CHA posted throughout the weekend.

In the meantime...new challenges were posted on the Citrus Tree Studio message board yesterday. For my challenge I want people to 'think outside the box' and create a layout (or card or home decor project or...) that is NOT square. Here's the layout I was inspired to create...

(Isn't that girl adorable? She is one of my sweet nieces.)

In the CTS February 'Woven Hearts' kit, there was this fabulous die cut paper from Pink Paislee's Sweetness collection. I wove the two sheets together to create the pretty ruffly edge on my project. The piece of 'Sweet' paper makes a little pocket to tuck a love note into.

To get all the details on this month's challenges from the Design Team and the super cute My Little Yellow Bicycle mini album (from their new Twig collection!) you could score, go check out the Citrus Tree Studio message board here.
Happy crafting friends!
xoBC

CHA Winter 2011

As some of you know, I went on a fun adventure last week! I packed my bags and headed south with a couple of my favorite crafty gals to Los Angeles for the Craft and Hobby Association Winter 2011 Trade Show. It was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Totally amazing. A truly inspiring AND overwelming experience...I loved every minute of it! We took TONS of photos, stood in line for a few Make & Takes and drooled over all the fabulous new product releases and projects that were on display. There were even a few sightings of celebrities from the paper crafting world!

I am not kidding when I said we took TONS of photos...there was just so much creativity to capture! I'm still organizing and editing my photos. I've been trying to figure out the best way to share all my favorites from the show and have decided to share a few favorites each day for the next several days. So stay tuned! In the meantime, my sweet friend Mandy over at Little Birdie Secrets and I combined our photos and she has done a lovely job of summarizing the adventure on her blog. She's so organized that she even created a slideshow that includes 300 of the photos. So hop on over to Little Birdie Secrets for some CHA eye candy! Can't wait to share more with you here as the week goes on.

xoBC

Citrus Tree Studio February Kit

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend.
Saturday was reveal day over at Citrus Tree Studio...and not one, but two fantastic kits were released. I worked with the 'Woven Hearts' kit this month - chock full of pretty papers & embellishments from the Pink Paislee 'Sweetness' Collection, plus a bit of Teresa Collins, American Crafts, My Minds Eye, and Maya Road goodness. This is a really beautiful and versatile kit...

The kit includes this cool polka dot transparency from Teresa Collins & the super cute Maya Road Doilie Transparencies. Love them! I also got to play with the Add-On Kit for this month, which includes some really cool, pretty blue Martha Stewart Micro Beads. I used the Martha Stewart Glitter Glue on some Pink Paislee chipboard letters I had & covered them with the micro beads for some fun texture on this 'Snow Bunnies' layout.

I created a little envelope for the front of this next card...and a gift card fits perfectly inside! This would make a perfect Valentine, thank you or just because card for someone special...

Also included in the 'Woven Hearts' kit is this sweet little 'Faux Bois Heart' mini-album from Pink Paislee.

I kept this mini simple...covering each page with patterned papers from the kit & adding a little stitching here and there. Then I embellished one of each facing page with an 'I Love You' sentiment. I'll be adding a photo to the opposite page & then journaling about each of the many reasons I love my sweet Valentine. Hopefully I'll have it finished & ready to wrap up on February 14th!

There is lots of new inspiration in the CTS gallery using these new kits...pop on over here & check it out!
And thanks so much for popping in here for a visit too!
xoBC

Calendar Project

Hi friends!
One of Citrus Tree Studio's featured products right now is this great Wood Perpetual Calendar.

This month I played with the February 'Woven Hearts' kit and now my perpetual calendar looks like this...

The February kit contains beautiful papers from Pink Paislee's Sweetness Collection...so I used those, along with some Making Memories paint (in Rose Petal & Spotlight), matte Mod Podge, JustWrite Journaling Tags from American Crafts and some of my favorite seam binding ribbons! I painted the wood & then painted over it with a water wash...to tone down the paint. I cut pieces of paper to fit the box & adhered those with Mod Podge. After it was dry, I sanded the edges to give it a little softer finish. A really easy & fun project...and wouldn't this make a great gift?! Although...it does look pretty cute on my desk right now! :)

You can find the unfinished Perpetual Calendars on the CTS website.

Happy Crafting!

xoBC