Window to a Journey

Summer journeys are great to document on scrapbook pages. Often, a single image becomes a window back to the trip. Last week, I shared this layout on the SEI blog.

Using a mix of SEI collections, I created a "window" to my road trip to Hana in Hawaii. Each time I look at this page, I remember the smell in the air, the bright sun heating my skin, and the sounds of the road. See how I created the layout on the SEI blog.

Materials Used: SEI Field Notes, Cheery Brights, Promise Me, Mayberry, Tumble Dye

Thanks for stopping by!

- KRAFTY pearl

She's All Mine!

After wavering for months on whether or not I should get the beautiful Singer 160 limited edition sewing machine, thanks to my husband, I didn't have to make a decision. She's all mine!

I have sewn some cards and stitched up a dress so far. I can't wait to sew more with her. Such a smooth piece of computerized machinery. Here's a new card I made with the sewing machine. I loved it so much, I put up the design in my Etsy shop.

Materials used: cardstock, tissue paper, Singer 160 Limited Edition sewing machine

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Sailing Aruba

Hope you had a very happy July 4th, U.S. readers!

Summer means sorbet colors, sailing, nautical stripes, and vacations! Looking back at one of my favorite photos from summers of the past, I found this one of my pal and I on a sailboat.

I didn't get a good photo of the entire sailboat, so I created my own sailboat embellishment that also serves as an anchor (no pun intended) for the layout. Check out the details over on the SEI blog!

Materials Used: SEI Promise Me collection; Other: scissors, Bic Mark-it markers, mini heart punch, wooden skewer

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Look Ma, I'm on the TV!

A bit late with this, but back in April, Martha Stewart had an all-Etsy show where the entire audience body was made up of Etsy sellers and segments featured Etsy seller how-to's and an Etsy employee fashion show.

I happened to appear on the show and officially crossed two things off my bucket list:

• Be on TV
• Meet Martha

I was over on the SEI blog yesterday sharing a layout that documented my experience using the lovely SEI Mayberry collection.

Materials Used: SEI Mayberry Collection

Thank you, Etsy!

Thanks for stopping by!

- KRAFTY pearl

Summer Lovin' = Sharing a Shake

I was over at the SEI blog last week sharing this summer-ready layout.

Materials Used: SEI Mayberry collection and club kit; Other: Janome Sew Mini sewing machine

I absolutely love the SEI Mayberry collection and club kit. The colors and design has just the right touch of nostalgia. The patterns are perfect to scrap that summer roadtrip or even your favorite diner/local burger joint, like I did with this layout.

It's all so simple too! With just a bit of cutting work, I had a bunch of diner-perfect signs that I then stitched onto a guest check/travel log/postcard pattern paper. Clean, simple, but still a bit of dimension and just the right amount of kitsch.

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

A Fond Farewell Blog Hop

As you've heard by now, Hambly Screen Prints is closing. Like many Hambly fans out there, I am so sad because I'll really miss all the truly unique overlays, one of my absolute favorite scrapbooking products. Allison's designs are wonderful and I can't wait to see what she does next. To bid the company a fond farewell, the design team is sharing some of our favorite Hambly projects.

My favorite Hambly project is this layout. Its title, "New Beginning" says it all and the Hambly Banners overlay is perfect for the layout theme I had in mind. See all of my Hambly projects here.

If you've arrived from the blog of Mou Saha, then you're hopping right along. Your next stop is Jaz Lee Soo Hui. If you've missed any of the other design team's favorite projects, follow this list:

Allison Kreft Abad
Felicitas Klink
Iris Babao Uy
Janna Werner
Jennifer Rzasa
Karine Cazenave
Kirsty Neale
Leah Farquharson
Leeann Pearce
Marie Ramirez
Maisa Mendonça
Mou Saha
Pearl Lui (me)
Jaz Lee Soo Hui

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Simple Spring Shopping Mini Jotters

I've been out and about running errands or doing lots of shopping. (This always happens when the weather changes.) I made mini jotters to keep my hurried life in check. And their covers are perfectly bright and sunny just like the season thanks to the lovely cardstock from the SEI Vanilla Sunshine collection sprinkled in with some SEI Cheery Brights.

Check out the SEI blog for more inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

A Heart Air Balloon Themed Baby Shower

Hi there! Today, I thought it'd be nice to share friend's baby shower, I recently co-hosted with several other lovely ladies. The baby's gender is unknown and the mommy-to-be loves to travel, so we decided to go with a hot air balloon travel theme. We were inspired by these pins on Pinterest. We had so much fun making all the decor!

Here's what we made:

A backdrop: A banner with a bunch of heart-air balloons and clouds as the guest of honor's backdrop. The large hearts and clouds were hand-drawn, traced into a template, and cut with scissors.

Materials used: American Crafts pattern cardstocks, Close To My Heart solid cardstocks, Close To My Heart alphabet stamp set, Sizzix pennant dies, EK Success heart punch, twine

A centerpiece: A hot-air balloon nest with an egg as a guestbook table centerpiece.

Materials used: Party streamers in various colors, two 8" Styrofoam halves, American Crafts pattern cardstocks, Close To My Heart solid cardstocks, skewers, nest, ball jar hollow cap, wooden egg, Kaisercraft paints, hot glue gun

A guestbook center: A guest sign-in scrapbook decorated by each of the guests.

Materials used: Same as above. Plus, I went into my oldie but goodie stash of KI Memories quote die cut sheets.

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Just Like Mom: Vibrant, Elegant & Natural

Happy Monday! Hop on over to the SEI blog to check out this awesome card for mom! It's vibrant, elegant, and natural just like mom.

Materials Used: SEI Field Notes and Cheery Brights collection; kraft cardstock, tissue paper, Janome Sew Mini sewing machine

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Happy National Scrapbook Day!

First of all, I can't believe we're in the first week of May already. I've had a busy April and so much to post about it this month.

Secondly, happy national scrapbook day! To celebrate, I thought I'd share something that often inspires me, a beautiful vibrant door. I'm a bit late but you can check out the post here on the SEI blog.

Materials Used: SEI Vanilla Sunshine, Promise Me, and Holiday Cheer collections; Other: Janome Sew Mini sewing machine, doily

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl