CutieFruity

Loop See Doo

2012-01-20T23:32:00.001-08:00

In the Stuff to Scrap store this month is Loop See Doo, a kit made by request to mimic the popular dolls with the button eyes, their cute little pets and magical world. It’s going for $4.99 at the moment, and you can pick it up right HERE.

I could work all day with these bright, fun colors. I loved putting this kit together, and I hope you’ll like working with it, too. My CT came up with some awesome layouts that I want to show you.

Ann

Kelly

Denise

Bren

Kimberly

Here is a freebie template in PSD and PNG files. I’D love to see what you do with it! Upload your layouts for Loop See Doo and it’s template to the CutieFruity Gallery at STS, or on the CutieFruity FB page. ~DOWNLOAD PU only template~

Thanks for stopping by!

Winter Formal: STS road trip!

2012-01-01T01:30:00.000-08:00

It’s new month, and a new year! I hope you all enjoyed your holiday season. I took a much needed break from scrapping and designing and turned my attention to sewing gifts for my cuties. They love their pajamas and blankets. I still have a bunch left to do that I have promised them.

Before I went offline, I made this alpha for you for the road trip. I hope you enjoy it!

Here is the map for the rest of your trip. Links will be up for two weeks. Enjoy!

CutieFruity <---- YOU ARE HERE

The Digi Scrapping Mama

Oh Boy!

2011-12-02T11:33:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago I released Girly Girl, and I felt bad that there wasn’t a boy kit that went with it. That situation needed fixed, so I have new in the store: Oh Boy! It’s made of four shades of blue, gray, and brown (the same gray and brown as Girly Girl, so they match). Oh Boy! has 20 papers, 36 elements, and an upper case alpha and has been quality checked.

Check out what the awesome CutieFruity creative team did with Oh Boy!

Ann

Kelly

Bren

Kimberly

Denise

Check out their blogs for freebies!

Countdown to Christmas

2011-12-01T14:53:00.001-08:00

I feel like I am inundating you with blog posts today, but that tends to happen around the first of the month. Sorry! I have one or two after this, but then you will be free of me for at least a few days.

I wanted to tell you about the Stuff to Scrap Countdown to Christmas. The designers have all signed up to bring you something great each day. I’ve seen the previews, and let me tell you, you will NOT want to miss it. Head over to stufftoscrap.blogspot.com and grab the first freebie then subscribe to the feed so you don't miss a day. The links will only be up for a minimum of 24 hours! You might even learn a thing or two about our designers along the way.

December Build-a-kits

2011-12-01T11:12:00.001-08:00

Can you believe it is December already? Stuff to Scrap's designers have teamed up again for another fabulous build a kit. This month's theme was Christmas shopping! Here is what I came up with: two sets of alphas in a pack.

The great thing about Build-A-Kits is that they all coordinate, and the more you buy, the more you save. Here are some of the contributions from the other STS designers, and the coupon code for 50% off if you buy 3 or more pieces. A great deal!

December Stuff to Scrap Road Trip

2011-12-01T01:00:00.000-08:00

For this months road trip, we are heading out to the country, over the river, and through the woods for Christmas. I’ve had my eye on this palette for a while and I was excited that it was chosen for the road trip this month.

download HERE

the others:

JMC Designs

Sweet Maple

Scrappin Serenity

Growing Pains Scrapped

****CutieFruity **** You are HERE

Queen Wild Scraps

Monkey's Musings

The Digi Scrapping Mama

Spectacular Spectacles

2011-11-27T21:48:00.000-08:00

I haven’t done any creative team work in a while, but since I have a daughter with Amblyopia that wears glasses, I jumped at the chance to work with Spectacular Spectacles from Mommy Made This. I love that there is a bespectacled little girl in this kit that looks JUST like my Katie. Katie likes it, too.

From this layout I made a set of quickpage freebies for you in two sizes. click on image to download. ***link has ben fixed***

Black Friday-Cyber Monday Sales at STS

2011-11-25T11:22:00.001-08:00

It's time for the full revel of all the sales going on this weekend & I think you'll be very excited!

Since there are so many different sales going on, here's each of the fliers linked to the designers' stores. Read each flier carefully as the really, really good sales have time limits on them! I'm loving that I can get some shopping done without having to go outside in the cold!

Happy Shopping!

CutieFruity is 50% off all weekend!

Template Class at STS

2011-11-23T22:59:00.001-08:00

STS is having a Countdown to Christmas class starting Dec.1. This class will help you scrapbook daily using templates as you countdown to Christmas. Check out the flier for more info. Flier is linked.

Girly Girl

2011-11-23T13:43:00.001-08:00

I’m pleased to present the newest kit to be stocked in the CutieFruity store at Stuff to Scrap, Girly Girl. I had a request to create a girly kit in pinks and browns, and this is what I came up with. I added a lot of glitz to make it even more fun to look at.

It has 20 papers, 36 elements, and a lower alpha and is normally selling for $4.99, BUT through Cyber Monday, the ENTIRE STORE is on sale for 50% off, that make Girly Girl and all the other CutieFruity creations $2.50. (Fresh Baked is part of the November BAK and does not qualify without a coupon). You can also participate in the featured designer challenge and get a set of six quickpages for free at the end of the week.

Here is what my lovely creative team did with Girly Girl. Some of them have freebies on their blogs, so be sure to bounce over and get them! Sorry the quality isn’t showing on this. I keep fiddling with it, and I just can’t get it right

Coming Soon!

2011-11-19T21:34:00.001-08:00

Featured Designer

2011-11-18T14:28:00.001-08:00

I’m the Featured Designer at Stuff to Scrap next week and I’m so excited about all the things that are happening in conjunction with that.

First, join Meagan of Meagan’s Creations and I for a chat on Sunday, November 20 at 6pm Mountain time. There will be CutieFruity trivia and prizes given away. I think it will be fun, I hope you “see” you there.

Second, CutieFruity at STS will be 50% off through Cyber Monday.

Third, I’m hosting a challenge in the STS forum. All you have to do is create a layout made exclusively with kits that are currently available from CutieFruity. If you accomplish this task, you will earn a set of six quickpages made with the first six kits I put in the STS store when I became a designer. I’ve made them in 8.5x11 AND 12x12, so you can have your pick.

STS DSD blog hop

2011-11-04T02:46:00.000-07:00

The designers at Stuff to Scrap have collaborated to make a mega kit called Spiced Autumn, which you can gather this weekend by participating in the Digital Scrapbooking Day events and challenges all weekend long at STS. As part of the festivities this weekend, we’ve also made bits and pieces from Spiced Autumn to give away as freebies on this blog train.

I put together a set of quickpages for you in 12x12 and 8.5x11.

*link disabled*

Here are the other designers participating in the blog train!
Scraps by Andrea
SAHM Scrapper
Scraps N Pieces
CutieFruity
Digital Scrap Fun
Digi-designs by Nicole
Scrappin Serenity
Growing Pains Scrapped
Designs by Snowlady
This Little Missy
HD Creations
Queen Bee Scraps
The Scrappy Kat
Seal Scraps
Gettin Scrappy with Britt
MDK Scraps
3 Li'l Monsters Designs
Adriana's Cafe
B2N2 Scraps
JMC Designs
Shel Belle Scraps
Queen Wild Scraps
Meagan's Creations
Knittinjen

Digital Scrapbooking Day!!!

2011-11-04T00:41:00.000-07:00

It’s a great time of the year! Digital Scrapbooking day is Saturday, November 5th, and all the digi-scrap world is celebrating all weekend long. Stuff to Scrap is having a storewide 40% off sale and tons of great activities from Friday to Sunday. You an get the scoop on many of the events being hosted at STS in the DSD forum thread here.

two speed scrapsComplete 5 special DSD challenges and events and get all the pieces to the STS DSD collab “Spiced Autumn” There will be a blog train, too, so stay tuned for that!!! I will have some goodies for you.

Handmade Halloween costume contest

2011-11-03T14:46:00.001-07:00

Did you make you or your child’s costume by hand? CutieFruity is hosting it’s second Handmade Halloween costume contest on the Facebook page! There is still time to enter. Please email pictures of your handmade costume to cutiefruity at rocketmail dot com by Friday evening! The prize is $20 in CutieFruity product in the ArtFire store, a custom order, or at Stuff to Scrap.

November Build-a-kit: Fresh Baked

2011-11-03T14:41:00.001-07:00

Every month, Stuff to Scrap chooses a pallete and theme for us designers to make bits and pieces of one huge coordinating kit. Customers can choose which pieces they like and only purchase what they want. It’s called a build-a-kit, and this is my first time participating. I was really inspired by this month’s colors and theme: cooking and baking. I went wild and made full size kit and then broke it up into parts for the month of November. If you decide to buy 3 or more of the November kits by any participating designer, you can use the code NOVBAK_BUY3_SAVEHALF at checkout to get them at 50% off! The code is good for the whole month of November so click on the preview to head over to the store & start shopping!

Here are the layouts by the amazing CutieFruity Creative Team

Bren

Denise

Kelly

Kimberly

Ann Paula

Paula

Everyday Elegance: An STS Road Trip

2011-10-31T15:37:00.000-07:00

Welcome to this pit stop on the Stuff to Scrap road trip! This month’s palette is a beautiful one and there are lots of great goodies to be picked up all along November’s route that coordinate well with each other. I put together a mini-kit with 5 papers and 10 elements. I hope you enjoy it! I’d love to see what you come up with with this kit. Post your completed work in the CutieFruity gallery at STS!

----link disabled----

Now head to all the other stops on the Road Trip. Here they are!

Scraps by Andrea

Dandelion Dust Designs

Junfunkie Designs

----------> CutieFruity <--------YOU ARE HERE

The Digi Scrapping Mama

Ladybug Pics n Scraps

Lindsey's Digital Scrapbook

September Sophistication

2011-10-24T12:04:00.001-07:00

September and October have already passed, but I wanted to show you my newest release, September Sophistication, exclusively at Stuff to Scrap. It was fun to work with these vibrant, daring colors. They worked perfectly for scrapping some of the pictures of my trip last year to New Orleans. You can get this new kit HERE. The download includes 16 papers, 30 elements, 5 glitter sheets, and a full alpha with uppers, lowers, and symbols all for $4.99.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve also been working with a new creative team! I am really excited to be working with these ladies. They have put together some amazing work so far. All of their blog links are on the right sidebar, so please hop over to see them. Some of them have freebies to go along with this kit, so it would be worth your time to pay a visit.

Bren

Kelly

Ann

Kimberly

Denise

My Layouts

Mystery sale

2011-10-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

Don't miss the Mystery Madness Sale this Saturday at Stuff To Scrap! Throughout the day, savings will mysteriously appear and disappear. What are you waiting for?!? Go browse the store now and get your cart filled up with all your favorites. On Saturday, keep your eye on the store and watch the savings appear. Once the savings seem irresistible, hurry and checkout before the savings mysteriously disappear again.

Scrap prices: Why they are going up

2011-10-10T16:55:00.001-07:00

If you take a trip over to CutieFruity at Stuff to Scrap, you might notice there are some price increases, and I want to explain what is going on.

I feel bad about raising prices. Other stores are selling their kits at an average of $4.99, and STS was selling most kits for $3.99. As designers, we decided we could better compete in the scrap marketplace by changing our prices to reflect our high quality standards. The best that I could do was to combine all the “extras” in the kits I have already put in the store with their “mother” kits. For instance, Vintage Romance was a full size kit selling for $3.99, and there was also a coordinating worn paper pack selling for $1.99. I’ve combined them into one kit, and changed the price to $4.99. I did the same for Peach Orchard with the 3 full sets of alphas, and for Natalie and her glitter sheets. From now on I will keep including “extras” in the kits: glitter sheets, cardstocks, worn papers, or alphas, or all of the above! You will find that this is actually a great value because all CutieFruity kits will be jammed full of goodies.

My hope is that you will find that this is still a great buy and not feel burdened about having to add that second item to your cart. You’ll get the whole huge kit as part of one set of downloads. I really appreciate your business, and seeing what you create with CutieFruity products.

October goodies at Stuff to Scrap

2011-10-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

A new month means a new collab kit from the STS designers, and a new build-a-kit theme. This is what we have this month.

Swing by Stuff to Scrap to check it out!

In need of some great new additions to your commercial use stash? How about picking up this month's October 2011 CU Grab Bag. It's full of great CU items complied by our Stuff to Scrap designers to boost your Halloween and Fall CU collections.

On to the Stuff to Scrap News. Did you know that they are having a digital scrapbook retreat? Well, they are! There will be lots of great classes, freebies, tips and tricks and more! Sounds like it will be awesome and I know there are a lot of people planning on going, carpooling, rooming together, etc.

STS is starting some e-classes specifically designed to challenge you and to improve your digi scrapping skills. Each class has a different theme and will have it's own private gallery to post your layouts to share with others from your class. Check them out:

STS is also having a CT Call! I was on this team for a half a year and it was one of my favorites. More work than a regular CT, but nice because you have more freedom of which kits to work with. You should apply!

October Road Trip: Mystery Machine

2011-09-30T22:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks for coming to visit! I’m cramming into the mystery machine this month for Stuff To Scrap’s Road Trip with two-page templates in both 12 inch and 8.5x11. I love the colors that were chosen! There are a lot of templates this month.

DOWNLOAD

These are the freebies the ladies on the road trip have come up with for you. Drive to all the pit stops to get each piece.

Here your Road map for October:

Scraps by Andrea

Queen Bee Scraps

Amy's Designs

Growing Pains Scrapped

Ladybug Photography & Scrappbooking

You've Got Your Hands Full

Jensen Motley Crew Designs

CutieFruity ***YOU ARE HERE***

Leaving a Legacy

Digital Scrap Fun

$2 Tuesday 9/27

2011-09-27T01:45:00.000-07:00

Vintage Romance and the coordinating worn paper pack will be in the $2 bin tomorrow, as well as some of my favorite kits from some other Stuff to Scrap designers. Click the previews to be taken to the store.

CRASH!

2011-09-17T20:41:00.000-07:00

I'm in the middle of restoring my hard drive after a crash, so all scrapping work has been put on hold. I feel like my whole life has been put on hold! I have internet now, but that's about it. No bookmarks, no pictures, no kit files. Thank goodness for Carbonite! I'm sure it will all be figured out soon. I'll see you later!

Joining Google Plus also made it so I could delete ALL THE PICTURES that I had on my ALL my blogs. That made me more upset than the computer crash! So if you now see black boxes full of exclamation points, that is Picasa Web hating me. Off to the family blog to see what I can restore there. All piddly posts here have been deleted.

September Collaborations At STS

2011-09-06T12:51:00.001-07:00

The September Build A Kits have been released with the a great theme of carnivals with a fun, colorful palette. For those of you with kids who love the carnival, check out all the different offerings for sale; as usual, buy 3 or more kits & use the code SEPTBAK_BUY3_SAVEHALF to get 50% off your purchase of Build A Kits.

The September Stuff to Scrap Mega Collaboration, School Time, has been released and has 119 papers, 154 elements, & 2 full alphas! This is one kit that you can use year after year for those first-day-of-school pictures.

If you make a purchase of $10 or more in a single transaction during September, you will get the School Time Brag Book Page Set for free!

I lost my mojo – have you seen it?

2011-07-30T19:35:00.001-07:00

When my husband got back from deployment, I had tons of mojo! Maybe a little too much, because this happened.

A little reunion bean. How lovely. We were open, but not planning on more children for another little while, but that’s okay. It was actually perfect timing because all summer long, I have been laying on the couch, curled up in the fetal position thinking about what won’t make me more nauseous than I already constantly was, and taking intermittent naps throughout the day hoping that my children would not severely injure themselves while I did so (good news, we all made it out of the first trimester alive). I sloughed off my homeschooling, blogging, designing, and housekeeping duties. Oh, did you think I was just gone on vacation for the summer? Don’t I wish.

But never fear. The first trimester as of today is now OVER (and the choirs of angles sing) and I can already feel my energy returning and nausea waning. We are even starting The Totally Awesome Totally Fun Homeschool back up again on Monday. But my design mojo…it’s still missing. I open photoshop and just stare at it. Think of it as a scrap designers version of writers block. I keep flipping over to Pinterest and hoping that I will have some aha! moment, but I just keep seeing pictures of every kind of brownie imaginable and I get distracted. Oh, maybe I could make a brownie kit...no, stop it, Paula.

Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble about the really really uneventful start to my pregnancy. I can’t promise that I won’t fall off the face of the earth again (I can promise that for February) but I am feeling better, and that’s all, folks.

Scraps By Andrea: Featured Designer

2011-05-31T23:09:00.000-07:00

Have you seen some of the new challenges in the STS Forum? They just created a few new ones a couple months ago. One of them is the Featured Designer Challenge. Each month, one STS designer will put their store on sale - 50% off. You need to create a layout using one of their kits in the store. Easy-peesy. For June the Featured Designer is none other than Andrea herself (Scraps by Andrea). Head on over to her store now...grab something wonderful (all her stuff is wonderful) and scrap away. Post it back in the FDC Forum Thread to get points. For every 500 points, you get a $5 coupon to the store. This challenge is worth a whole 15 points.

The kit used to make this flier is called Just Because and Andrea gave it away as a freebie this month in two parts. If you didn’t catch them on Mother’s day and for the STS birthday, you can grab the kit in her store for $2.99. AND, that would count as the featured designer challenge! Isn’t it so cute? I can’t wait to work with it.

Natalie by CutieFruity

2011-05-18T10:11:00.001-07:00

This is Natalie. She is my niece.

This little miracle was born 7 weeks early at 3lbs 13oz, and only had to stay in the NICU for 2 weeks. She is now 4 months old and weighs over 8lbs, finally the size of a newborn. We all oooh and aaah over tiny baby clothes, but Natalie’s are really REALLY tiny. She’s just barely grown out of preemie size.

This is Natalie, my newest kit.

Inspired by all those tiny clothes, in the brightest girly colors that are so popular right now, Natalie has 16 papers and 30 elements in flourishes, flowers, frames, and flair, and more. You can pick it up in the CutieFruity store at STS. It has been quality checked to meet Stuff to Scrap’s high standards.

To go with this kit, I made a little add-on freebie with three papers and four elements. You can get it here.

I’d love to see what you have done with this kit. Now that I’m a designer at Stuff to Scrap, you can upload layouts completed with CutieFruity products in the STS gallery. Here are some of the layouts I did with Natalie.

Sunny Daffodils blog train

2011-05-01T01:58:00.000-07:00

Choo-choo! Welcome to CutieFruity station! Thanks for stopping by. It’s MAY! Can you believe it? The daffodils have bloomed, as have the tulips, crocuses, “popcorn trees”, and lilacs (my favorites). Spring is my very favorite season of all! Even better, is that I just got a permanent spot designing at Stuff to Scrap! You can get to my new shop here. I’m over the moon excited. Here is your download for today! Enjoy!

Here is where you can find the other parts of the blog train!
Sprouting Seeds Studio
Scraps by Andrea
Growing Pains Scrapped
Note-able Scraps
Just For Fun Designs
Flower Pot Designs
scraphannah
Sweet Maple
A Fish Design
Long's Life & Loki
Farrah Smith Designs
JMC Designs
AmyDane Designs
Christins Creations
CutieFruity <<<YOU ARE HERE
The Scrappy Kat
Saphira's Scrapdesign
The Queen of All Wild Things Scraps
Scrappin Serenity
Designs by Snowlady
Memories by Digital Design
Queen Bee Scraps
Let Me Scrapbook!
Lindsey's Digital Scrapbook
Brenian Designs
Always Be Neighbors Designs
Sweet Creations
Seal Scraps
Flower Scraps
Scraps N Pieces
Scrappin Ninnie
Purple Bokeh

It’s My Birthday

2011-04-27T11:27:00.001-07:00

Okay, so it’s not MY birthday (July 25th, in case you want to mark your calendar…I’ll wait…) But it was my daughter Katie’s birthday this month, and she turned five. It’s My Birthday by HD Creations was the kit I used to scrap the pictures from K’s princess party.

Katie wanted a princess themed party.

-As guests arrived we made crowns for each princess. Bottom left of the layout.
-We then played Kiss the Frog Prince, a version of pin the tail on the donkey, but with kissies instead of tails. Bottom right of the layout.
- The girls enjoyed Princess and the Pea a lot more than I thought they would. (Top left) They each sat on pillows. One girl would leave the room while another hid a tennis ball under one of the pillows. The girl who was out of the room would then try to guess which princess had the pea.
-Princess Memory: I have a personal pet peeve with Disney princesses. Most are flighty and man-dependent, not to mention dress immodestly. Not really the role-models I want for my girls. So I made a memory game (in photoshop, of course) with pictures of REAL princesses in their fanciest clothing (wow, real princesses are much more modest than Jasmine and Ariel). Then the girls had to find the matches. I used princesses like Crown Princess Mary Elizabeth of Denmark, Letizia, Princess of Asturias (Spain), Crown Princess Masako of Japan, and Princess Maxima of the Netherlands, to name a few. I hunted down photos of them on google images (same with my little frog prince)
-Then, of course, we busted out the cake, candles, and pink sherbet ice cream whilst singing the birthday song.

New to the store

2011-04-19T16:13:00.001-07:00

Peach Orchard and Let Your Light Shine, designed during the Designer Darling contest in March, are new and improved, quality checked, and in the CutieFruity store at STS! You might have grabbed these kits last month, but now Peach Orchard is twice as big, and both kits are of a higher quality than before.

Let Your Light Shine has 16 papers and 27 elements and a full alpha including numbers, letters, and symbols, in pngs and contact sheets.

Peach Orchard, that was originally a mini-kit has grown to 14 papers and 28 elements. I LOVE the soft colors in this kit.

There is also a set of three full alphas to go with Peach orchard that you can pick up separately.

Here is a layout by Noelle!

Here is Kendra’s

layout by Tammy:

Double Duty Day

2011-04-16T17:34:00.001-07:00

I have a double post for you. I have been scrapping like mad, and designing like crazy lately. I need to catch up and share with you all that I have been doing!

First up is AmyDane Designs Something Beautiful kit. It has a few butterflies in honor of a very special someone. To find out more about it, you’ll have to get the kit at Stuff to Scrap. The story is touching. I used this kit at a Speed Scrap, and since it was slow, I did TWO layouts during the scrap, and got them both in on time! It was fun!

One is of my daughter getting an IV, and the other is from my bathroom makeover a while back. And just for added measure, I scrapped a picture of my kids and their great grandparents with this kit. The font on this page is called eight-fifteen. For the split photo, I used 4 rectangle shapes with drop shadows, Made my photo big enough to cover it all, copied my photo to make 4 copies, and then clipped them to the shapes.

Next up is a kit just in time for Easter from Scraps By Andrea called A Bunny’s Tale. There are some really awesome patterned papers in here, PLUS a separate cardstock and polka dot paper pack are available!

The second layout I did for the Scraplift Challenge in the STS forums this month. Such a great layout to glean from. Any time I get in a scrapping funk, I head straight to the forum to see if there is a challenge that peaks my interest. You get points for doing challenges at STS, and once you get so many, you earn a gift certificate to the store to buy anything your heart desires!

I made a little alpha to go with Andrea’s kit. It has just upper case, with separate letters and a contact sheet. Click the pic to download. Enjoy!

Desert Deployment

2011-04-05T16:03:00.001-07:00

Right after the Designer Darling Contest, Stuff to Scrap asked if I would be interested in a Guest position during the month of April. uh, YES! I didn’t really want to win the contest, per se, but I wanted an opportunity to see if being a designer was really something that I could do. To see if it was a good fit for me, for my family, and for STS. So really, I won, and working with the other designers and moderators at STS has been awesome.

The first kit I knew I wanted to work on was one to honor my husband’s service overseas the last year. He’s been back now for almost a month and it’s been wonderful. Desert Deployment has 14 papers and 37 elements and is S4H/S4O friendly. I’m going to use it to scrap the hundreds of pictures that my husband took in Afghanistan. These are definitely memories that need to be recorded well for posterity. I love looking at pictures of my grandfathers from WWII, and I know someday my grandkids will love looking at the record of this war (back when Grandpa was young and hot).

The kit has word arts with the mission names from the Iraq and Afghan wars, overseas service ribbon, Afghanistan service ribbon, Maps of Iraq and Afghanistan, razor wire, bullets and bullet holes (erase the layer behind it for an awesome effect), two patterns of camouflage, and several pieces of military gear.

To get a better look at this kit, I’m offering a freebie quickpage in 8.5x11 and 12x12! Download it from mediafire by clicking on the preview. Enjoy!

Touch Of Red

2011-04-04T19:26:00.001-07:00

Touch of Red is the newest kit out from Gettin’ Scrappy with Britt over at Stuff to Scrap. Lots of Red, mixed with Gray and a little bit of pink. It’s a great kit for Valentine’s day pictures, but it would also work for lots of other things, like a girls night out, or the remodel of your dining room. Oh, that’s just me? I’ve seen a few layouts done with this kit, and they look especially awesome with black and white photos (which I probably should have used for the project runway layout…oh well).

Denim and Dirt BAK

2011-03-31T10:07:00.001-07:00

The deal with the Build-A-Kits at Stuff to Scrap is this: Every month, all the designers are given a color palette and theme to work with, and they all come up with something. Sometimes designers make a full kit, sometimes just some papers or a mini. You can pick and choose which parts you’d like, and they all coordinate. Scraps By Andrea gave me her portion of the BAK to work with, and I loved it. It was so easy to work with. Andrea is really good at making sure you have everything you need for a great layout (or several great layouts). This month she made a full-size kit which included a lot of little clusters. There is also a separate worn paper pack.

Sweet Pea by Just For You Digi-Scraps

2011-03-30T19:38:00.001-07:00

This weekend I got to work with the new kit Sweet Pea by Just For You Digi-Scraps. Two shades of purple, two shades green, and a little bit of white come together in this soft kit. The kit includes 15 papers and 55 embellishments. There is also a huge QP pack available.

Lucky You!

2011-03-26T11:43:00.001-07:00

Now that St. Patrick’s Day is over, and your kid’s teacher has emailed you the pictures from the party and your friends have finished tagging the pictures of green beer on facebook, it’s time to scrap.

Scraps By Andrea made a beautiful kit with chartreuses, browns, golds, and oranges. There are a lot of great holiday elements in the kit, but also a bunch of other stuff that makes it versatile for all kinds of layouts. I made one of my kids getting a book and video from dad, who was deployed at the time.

I made a little frame freebie to go with it, you can download it by clicking on the preview! Isn’t the little leprechaun so cute?

Stitched With Love

2011-03-19T18:38:00.001-07:00

Stitched With Love is a kit made by This Little Missy that I picked out to scrap pictures of the eye-spy quilt I made with my daughter. I thought the sewing theme would work wonderfully.

Our project started from an I-spy (I like the pun version eye-spy) swap like one on Obsessively Stitching. She has swaps that run a few times a year. We sent in something like 200 4x4 I-Spy squares in 10 different fabrics, and got back 200 different ones so that we could have all types of different prints. This one became our picnic blanket. It still needs the edges bound. You can find more about this project by clicking the label link for eye-spy in the side bar. My daughter and I really did Stitch With Love. It was a very fun project.

This page was made at today’s Speed Scrap at Stuff to Scrap. I had my doubts, but I was pleased with the result!

Stuff to Scrap is having a huge sale right now, so if you have had your eye on some kits, now is the time to grab them!

March of the Animals

2011-03-19T10:44:00.001-07:00

Scraps By Andrea took the color palette for the March blog train and ran with it. This month is the anniversary of the first zoo opening in the U.S. This kit is on sale right now for $2.50! Perfect for scrapping all the photos from the zoo.

I didn’t have any zoo pictures, but here is what I did with it:

I made a little cluster frame freebie for you! I hope you can get creative and use it.

Download the freebie from CutieFruity and Scraps By Andrea here: http://www.mediafire.com/?k8ba9jm7suummze

Sorry for the Silence

2011-03-18T21:02:00.001-07:00

Homecoming in Progress. It’s been great.

April is my month!

2011-03-04T10:13:00.001-08:00

I am so excited that even though I didn’t “win” the design contest, Stuff to Scrap is still interested in having me on as a guest designer for the month of April. This is perfect for me, as I wasn’t really interested in winning, but I wanted to see what it would be like to be a designer. I’m so excited for the opportunity to see if I am a good fit for the store, and if designing is a good fit for my family and our schedule.

Because I am under contract with STS, I will be pulling all the freebie links this weekend. I need some things to load into the store come April. I have a lot of designing to do this month, and combine that with my husband returning from a year in Afghanistan next week, this is going to be a BIG month around here. Wish me luck!

Meadowlark and Inner Beauty

2011-03-01T18:08:00.001-08:00

I had the pleasure of using a kit from IvoryKeys Digital Dreams this weekend called Meadowlark. It’s a beautiful and elegant kit, as are most of the kits in her store. Kind of soft, but masculine at the same time.

While you are admiring Meadowlark, I want to turn your attention to Inner Beauty. It’s on sale right now for 25% off. It was really a toss up for me between these two kits. It’s a hard choice! They are both beautiful. Thanks for sharing these kits with me, IvoryKeys!

Let Your Light Shine – free full size kit

2011-02-28T14:10:00.001-08:00

For the final round of the Designer Darling contest at Stuff to Scrap, I created a full size kit with a lighthouse theme. I saw a poster with a lighthouse, and these beautiful blues, yellow lights, and red stripes on the lighthouse. The poster had the scripture “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, which art in Heaven.” I felt like this was what I needed to work on.

I hope this is a “good work”. There are 15 papers, 27 elements, and a full alpha. You can get “Let Your Light Shine” as well as the other 9 finals kits from the other contestants for free in the Designer Darling forum at Stuff to Scrap, here. You have to be registered. I would also appreciate while you are there, if you’d hop on over to the voting thread and click the button next to CutieFruity.

In addition to this whole kit being free, I made the layout above into an 8.5x11 quickpage. You can download that here. Happy Scrapping!

Kinder Story

2011-02-27T16:44:00.001-08:00

Mommy Me Time Scrapper and the Scrappy Kat collaborated a kit called Kinder Story that I used to scrap some pictures of things my daughter was learning in preschool.

Last year she was learning to write. She started writing her name everywhere. There was graffiti all over the house, and she kept blaming the writing on the walls and furniture on her sister. Lately all the graffiti says “I LOVE MOM” How can I be mad about that? And how can she still blame it on the littles? I don’t even know.

Kinder Story has a whopping 31 papers and 95 elements, and you can pick it up here for $3.99, and there are also quickpages for $2.99.

Our Love Story and a freebie

2011-02-12T23:36:00.001-08:00

Since it’s Valentine’s day tomorrow, and it was my husband’s thirtieth birthday yesterday, I want to tell you a story… (and if you don’t want to hear it, skip ahead to the end. I just feel like jabbering tonight).

Once upon a time,

there was a poor locksmith who sometimes bartered his services to others who could not afford to pay monetarily. On one occasion, a horseman locked his keys in his carriage and the poor locksmith opened the door on condition of a trade of riding lessons for his sons. Not wanting to miss seeing the horses prance and gallop, the locksmith’s freckled young daughter went along with her brothers to the pasture and was introduced to the not so handsome, awkward son of the horseman. Over the summer, the lad and the girl teased each other incessantly. He shot BBs at her that whizzed past her head. She poured ice water down his shirt. He locked her in the horse trailer. She called him names and hid his prized possessions.

Many years passed and the boy and girl continued to tease and taunt like a brother and his slightly older sister while sharing family gatherings during holidays. The locksmith and horseman became the best of friends. The two children grew. The girl developed into a woman, and went to serve in the King’s Army. The boy, younger than the girl, also grew. He grew muscles, and chest hair and a much more handsome face. Both kissed lots of frogs, trying to find their eternal love, the perfect person with whom to sing their love’s duet.

For many years, the boy and girl were passing ships. They lived their own adventures. But one fateful day, the stars aligned, and they were reunited. The girl, searching for her prince, at first didn’t notice the now peculiar boy, but the parents of the two had plans to get them to notice each other. The young man should be a gentleman and escort the lady to a far away land. How could she possibly travel alone over all those miles? This would not do! They must go to together!

He played with her young cousins. She thought that was cute. He took her to play in the lake. She liked his adventurous spirit. Her hair had a way of shining in the sunset. He thought that was romantic. She slathered aloe on his sunburned back and since then, he craved her touch, so he got her to cut his hair as well.

The horseman and his wife saw that these two would make a good match, so they continued to invite the girl to their home and push the two together. A marriage was arranged. The Bride was beautiful, as was her Prince Charming, and they rode off into the sunset in his trusty steed.

Far into the future they would be torn apart by the ravages of war, as the young man served dutifully as a Dirt Sailor in the King’s Royal Navy. But one day, he will return, and they will live

Happily Ever After.

Just a few more weeks and my Prince will be home. I can hardly wait. Until then, he’ll sit on my desktop. This one I made with Scraps By Andrea’s Our Love Story kit. And now that I type that story above, I think it needs scrapped.

↓↓ Spitting image of his dad ↓↓

I put together this cluster frame for you. Happy Valentine’s day! I hope you have your Happily Ever After. What’s YOUR Love Story?

Download HERE

Charity Collab: BRADY

2011-02-06T00:10:00.000-08:00

I just purchased this amazing kit, and I wanted to tell you about it. I was moved almost to tears by Brady’s story. Paying for this great kit was just one way I could contribute to helping Brady get a family.

The STS Designers came together to create this charity collab to help bring home a little boy named Brady. Shelby, of Jenasis Design, is friends with the family that is trying to adopt this precious little boy. Below the previews of the kit, you will find information that Shelby has posted about Brady and the family who is trying to share their home with him. Click HERE to help.

This kit is not just any ordinary kit; it is for an amazing cause and an amazing little guy that needs a family, a home, and someone to love and care for him. The Hartman family, are in the process of adopting the sweet boy below. They feel called to rescue this little boy "Brady" from a mental institution in Eastern Europe. Because he has Downs Syndrome, Brady was abandoned at birth, just like the majority of children with any sort of disabilities in Eastern Europe and other parts of the world. lt is standard procedure when these children turn between 4-6 years old (depending on region) that they are transferred from Orphanages to full blown Mental Institutions. This transfer is very traumatic, and many times these children suffer and sometimes die due to the conditions. Brady has already been transferred and The Hartmans are trying to get to him as quickly as possible. So I told this sweet family that I would ask the girls at "Stuff to Scrap" to Help!! The cost of this adoption is well between $20,000- $30,000 and so we just want to be able to contribute a little toward that huge amount. The amazing designers at "Stuff to Scrap" have put together an awesome collaboration that can be used to donate to this great cause. All proceeds from the sale of *Brady* goes directly to the Hartman's adoption fund.

Please consider helping in this amazing endeavor to BRING BRADY HOME!!
(Picture linked to their blog)
If you want you can read more at the Hartmans sponsor page www.reecesrainbow.org/sponsorhartman

also....

http://covenantbuilders.blogspot.com/2010/10/brady-and-heath.html
This blog has a post about Brady. She met Brady while adopting their son Aaron. It brought me to tears!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.anextraleaf.blogspot.com/

This is a blog of another family we know that just adopted two children from Eastern Europe (They are so cute and its just amazing to see how much they are thriving with a little love) =D

Peach Orchard Add-on freebie

2011-02-05T00:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I revealed “Peach Orchard”, a mini-kit designed for the Stuff to Scrap Designer Darling contest. Here is the mini, in case you forgot.

To go with it, I have an add-on. It’s not much. If you like it, though, feel free to use it! You can download the add-on at MediaFire: http://www.mediafire.com/?pjse40x1hzf3q2x

You can download the full mini Peach Orchard in the forum HERE. While you are there, if the poll is open for week/round 3, take the time and vote for Peach Orchard. pretty please?

Peach Orchard Mini-kit freebie

2011-02-04T15:00:00.000-08:00

It’s week three for the Designer Darling contest at Stuff to Scrap. It’s starting to suck the life out of me a little. This week we were supposed to be inspired by this picture and a story that Deanna of Flower Scraps told us.

“Last summer my kids and I went to a peach farm where we had a blast picking and eating peaches. The kids loved it - They ate 2 peaches each! We filled 3 buckets of peaches! We took them home and canned most of them. We made yummy peach cobblers and ate our fill of fresh peaches. Even now, every time I open a jar of our home canned peaches, my mouth waters and I remember that fun day.”

She also included a picture of her son, eating a huge peach, with juice running down his arm. I loved it. He was wearing an orange shirt with navy blue stripes. I was really inspired by that little boy. I came up with a palette for a boys kit with orange, green, brown, navy, and yellow, a construction theme.

I tried to work with it. I couldn’t get it to go together. For two days I muddled over a different palette, chosen from the picture above. Soft. Pinky peach. Baby blue. Silver. In my stupor on the boys kit, I shuffled over to the other colors to see how it would work. I started with a tree that my cousin suggested should be in the kit.

I couldn’t stop designing. Idea after idea came to me. I had to write the ideas down so they didn’t leave me before I was done designing the previous piece. It came together so easily, I wondered why I ever wanted to try the other palette. So now I have for you…Peach Orchard. Are you ready for Spring? I know I am.

To download the “Peach Orchard” mini-kit freebie, visit the STS forum. There are many other mini-kits from the other designer darlings as well.

http://stufftoscrap.com/forums/showthread.php?4123-Designer-Darling-Round-3-Challenge-and-Preview-Thread

Add-On available tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Abby by Scraps N’ Pieces

2011-02-02T12:07:00.001-08:00

Scraps N’ Pieces came out with this kit called Abby a few months ago. I saw some of the layouts that her CT had done with the kit, and I loved it. I was so excited to get my hands on it. One thing I love about Abby is that I was able to scrap some boy layouts with it, without having it be too girly. It’s a really big kit and everything in there is fantastic. Abby has a full alpha, 20 papers, 72 elements, and a cardstock pack is also available. That is a LOT! and for only $3.99. Look at this thing!

Say hello to little Shawn over a year ago! And that picture of summer. Oh, Summer. I can’t wait to see you again. Bring vitamin D and outdoor activities with you, too, eh? I’m a little flabby and pale.

Darling Valentine mini-kit freebie!

2011-01-31T23:27:00.001-08:00

For week two of the Designer Darling contest at Stuff to Scrap, we were given two colors to base a mini-kit off of. I think the colors were great! The original colors are the green and purple on the right, and I added the rest.

So with this palette, I created (from scratch! phew!) this:

Which you can download Darling Valentine and other kits from the DD contestants from the Stuff to Scrap forum HERE.

I made more parts to the kit than I needed, so I have the rest for you today as an add-on. I hope you will download both, and if you make a page with it, post it on the CutieFruity Facebook page. We would all love to see it and be inspired by what you did. Download the add-on here: http://www.mediafire.com/?majkqk20fga4rj9

Happy Scrapping!

Apple Festival by the Scrappy Kat

2011-01-23T16:39:00.000-08:00

The Scrappy Kat came out with this kit some time ago, and after baking some over Thanksgiving, thought it would be a good one to scrap about all the good food we ate. I’m now sorry I didn’t take pictures when we went to glean apples with Grandma and Grandpa at the orchard. I think this kit could also work for Christmas layouts. Apple Festival has 14 papers, 57 elements, and an alpha. Click images to enlarge.

Darling Butterflies paper pack add-on freebie

2011-01-22T13:06:00.001-08:00

I always get my best ideas as I am trying to fall asleep at night. This sometimes keeps me up until the wee hours, but I can usually get some sleep if I write down what is on my mind. What was on my mind last night was cardstock. I don’t want to scrap with Darling Butterflies unless I have some cardstock. And chances are, if I want some cardstock, you do, too. So….here you go!

Click HERE to download the paper pack add-on for Darling Butterflies.

Also, I wanted to show you what my oldest made with the kit this morning with minimal help. She is the one who said the color palette was Heavenly.

“I was travelling with my dad and we found a swing. He swang me up in the sky.”

Darling Butterflies

2011-01-21T19:48:00.001-08:00

I entered the Designer Darling contest at Stuff to Scrap and this week is round one. We were challenged to create a mini-kit using this palette: When I asked my daughter what she thought of when she saw these colors, she said they made her think of Heavenly Father because “Those are the colors that they wear in Heaven.” Just about the sweetest thing ever. I think she is too old for it to be considered “Out of the mouth of babes”, though. I figured I’d stick to butterflies, which is what I was inspired to do when I first saw the colors.

So, here is the mini kit! It has 7 papers and 14 elements. I think this is my best kit yet! I’m pretty proud of it, so I hope you enjoy it, too. If you make a layout from this kit in the next few days, email it to me at CutieFruity@rocketmail.com and I’ll post it here on the blog!

To download this kit, CLICK HERE!

Sweet Pea

2011-01-20T07:33:00.000-08:00

Scraps By Andrea! She has another great kit in her store. It’s super versatile and has a great palette. Loaded with 24 adorable papers and 55 flowers and other elements, it’s great to nab for spring and baby layouts.

I made you this grungy word art to go with it. The background is transparent, don’t let the preview fool you. You can get it for free by clicking the preview. Be sure to head over to Scraps By Andrea to pick up the rest of Sweet Pea.

Stampedin’

2011-01-10T23:40:00.001-08:00

Rainamoon Scraps has designed this really cool red, white, and blue cowboyish themed kit that I knew what to do with right away. It’s called Stampedin’. It has 17 papers, 46 elements, and a full alpha.

So cute, right?! it’s so going to come in handy when my kids get back on a horse. But here, my friends, is what I LOVE about digital scrapbooking. First, I made this layout for my daughter Katie, using a template I acquired from Gettin’ Scrappy with Brit at Stuff to Scrap during a challenge a few months ago. I usually have to shift my templates around a little because I’m a rectangle scrapper. It always goes smoothly.

Then, I used the same layout for Sarah’s scrapbook, with her own picture and text. Then… I swapped out the pictures and text and a flower, for things more suited for Shawn. You might remember these costumes from this post. I’m still so in love with how cute my son looked that day. Then comes a single page layout for our entire trip to the amusement park! Amazing. It took me a long time to get this template right. I love to scraplift and I saw a similar layout in an old magazine, done with paper, and I had to recreate it. The 8.5x11 version has 16 pics, but the 12x12 has 20. I hope you enjoy the template! I’m so pleased to be able to share it with you.

Get the 8.5x11 PSD file HERE

Get the 12x12 PSD file HERE

Happy Scrapping! I can’t wait to see what you made. Please email me any links to the things that you make using my freebies, or post them to the CutieFruity FB page. I’d LOVE to see them!

Drip Drip Drop

2011-01-08T15:47:00.001-08:00

In my neck of the woods, we usually don’t have snow in the winter, but we have tons of rain. This summer we went to vacation down in the south, to Mississippi and Louisiana. We could be guaranteed that there would be a huge thunderstorm every afternoon. This kit was perfect for some scrapping of that vacation. I love all the gray and teal in this kit. Here is one layout from that fated day we got rained out of our visit to the Zoo.

And a glimpse of our morning tradition of cuddling in mom’s bed.

You can pick up Drip Drip Drop at Seal Scraps at Stuff to Scrap.

Kirsten’s Babies

2011-01-07T14:22:00.001-08:00

KnittinJen is still working her way through the CT, making kits to honor each of the CT’s children. Today she honors Kirsten, who loves her baby dollies, with this kit titled Kirsten’s Babies. You can pick up the kit at Enchanted Studio Scraps HERE and later at Stuff to Scrap.

I made two layouts with this kit using the recipe and scraplift challenges in the Stuff to Scrap forums. The first has me and the boy during a day at the park. He loves to ride in the sling, he still does. He gets so excited when I pull it out. This sling is a mei tai that I made and is being worn in the side carry.

The next is of my family at the amusement park a few summers ago. Big daddy crammed in a bumper boat with two tiny girls. I used a template that I made based on table of contents pages from 2006-07 Creating Keepsakes magazines. So, if you recognize it, that is where it came from :)

I’d love to give this template to you today! I have it in a 12x12

http://www.mediafire.com/?w9lx63236c2mow1

or in my favorite 8.5x11

http://www.mediafire.com/?chbb1b5vc6264ot

Enjoy!!!

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T16:33:00.001-08:00

One of my GIL’s (grandmother-in-law) New Year tradition is to fill out a new calendar with the birthdays and anniversaries of each of her 33 grandkids and 50+ great grandkids. EVERY YEAR she does it. Wouldn’t that get old after a while? With this occasional calendar, you can fill it out once, and be done. Year after year, it will work. You could laminate it, you could bind it, you could put it in a notebook with all your birthday cards.
All the pages are made using kits from Scraps By Andrea that she made in 2010. If you like them, I hope you will browse through her store and pick up a few. She’s having a sale right now! 60% off the entire store!

Click image to download

***It has been brought to my attention (thanks Jody!) that December has 31 days! Whoops! Here is a replacement December page. ****

Warm Winter Wishes

2010-12-20T18:10:00.001-08:00

This year we here in Eastern Washington have had a ton of snow. Last year was practically bare. My husband has been in Afghanistan all season long and he is very homesick for snow. I send my sweetheart Warm Winter Wishes.

Scraps by Andrea has a great kit that I have been using to scrap the pictures of our recent storms to show my sweetie 5000 miles away. It has 18 papers and 39 elements. It’s a joy to work with and I think the pages done with this kit can easily turn out great.

The members of Scraps by Andrea’s Creative team all did 5x7 brag book pages with this kit. Bounce around to the blogs of the CT (you can find links on the sidebar of the SBA CT blog here). For my two brag book pages, click on the image above. Thanks for stopping by! I wish that even though it is cold outside, your home and heart will be warm!

Very Merry

2010-12-16T07:44:00.000-08:00

Scraps by Andrea is keeping the holiday themed kits coming. Today she is releasing Very Merry. Bright and fun, with 21 papers, 68 elements, and a lower case alpha, it has class and whimsy all wrapped up in one kit.

I made two layouts with it. One, to chronicle our pink Christmas tree. No men here to veto it this year, so the girls and I went all out, except for our yearly ornament that explains why Dad is not going to be with us this season. We sure miss him!

Thanks for stopping by to visit! I have created a set of eight 4x6 brag book pages with this kit that I hope you will enjoy. I made one specifically for Christmas cards, so if you work with them as soon as you get it, head down to the photo center and have enough printed for your family and friends, you can probably still send them out and have them there by the big day. Click on the image to download and please leave me a little note. I read all of them and enjoy every one.

Days of Knights

2010-11-28T17:38:00.000-08:00

Just popping in during vacation to tell you about the Days of Knights kit by Digital Scrap Fun. My nephews are slightly obsessed with knights, swords, all that jazz, so I picked up this kit to scrap some pictures I thought I had of them. Hmmm…turns out I don’t? Oh well. I was still able to scrap some of my own kids. I love how I was able to remove the door in the castle and stick my girls’ picture in there. Guess when I made this layout….YES! at a speed scrap!

I was even able to use it for a baby layout. I love a good challenge.

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas!

2010-11-23T17:28:00.000-08:00

I know we have yet to get to the big Thursday and even more, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but Scraps by Andrea and Christin’s Creations are ready to give you your Christmas gift early. I got mine, and I love it. The colors are a little off traditional and great for the whole winter season and beyond. Holly Jolly Christmas is a mega kit containing: 58 papers, including a cardstock pack and 112 elements! Plus a full alpha!

If you are interested in having a ton of fun at family gatherings, maybe you would be interested in marrying into the family? My husband’s younger brother (above) is hilarious and single! He is great with kids (as you can see above) and a really hard worker. Prerequisites for a blind date include the desire to live on a farm, and have me as your sister-in-law. I promise, he is a lot cuter than this picture does him justice. Come on single girls, he is sick of sitting at the kids table.

Sorry, Trent, I had to. I love you bunches, Bud.

This second layout is from the last speed scrap I was at. 7 instructions, one hour, and you get a whole layout and a prize! I know I already plugged the speed scraps this week, but seriously, I can’t say enough good things about them. In this LO is my son’s little friend Selina. Isn't she cute?

Hop over to Andrea and Christin’s blogs to get the links for this awesome kit!

Digi-Designs by Nicole Sweet Ambience kit

2010-11-22T17:09:00.001-08:00

Lucky, lucky me. I got to play with this super-fab kit by Digi-Designs by Nicole at Stuff to Scrap. I was really drawn to the elements in this and thought they would be great for clustering. I was right! I know, you are jealous. Don’t be. You can get this kit in the store for $3.99, a set of 10 QPs for $2.99, and a set of worn papers for $1.99. Put it on your Christmas list, because it will last all year long.

Here is what I did with it. The first one is from a speed scrap. If you aren’t attending these speed scraps in the STS chat room, you are seriously missing out. You always get a participation prize after you upload your layouts to the STS gallery. It’s a ton of fun, challenging, and makes you a better scrapper. I have hardly ever been disappointed with the layouts I do during speed scraps. With so much practice, I can do a layout in record time. This second layout took me a year and a half of calming down to finally do. I was disappointed my “BIG” birthday was overlooked and I was bitter about it for a long time. Obviously, haha. All I have to say is that my 40th birthday better freaking ROCK.

Day in the Park

2010-11-12T13:26:00.001-08:00

For the Stuff to Scrap color challenge this month I used turquoise, brown, and some greens to create my third mini kit: Day in the Park. Thanks to the facebook fans (Sarah Cazier!) for naming the kit.

This kit has 14 elements and 6 papers. I would love to see what you do with the kit. Share links to your projects or just a thanks in the comments. You could also email them to me at cutiefruity@rocketmail.com or post them on the FB page. Download “Day in the Park” HERE.

the winner!

2010-11-12T11:37:00.001-08:00

The results are in for the FB Costume contest: Congrats to Lauren and her sweet little garden gnome. Isn’t she cute?! Lauren won $20 in CutieFruity credit, which I am sure will come in handy for the holidays. Great job on this costume, Lauren!

handmade Costume Contest

2010-11-03T23:07:00.000-07:00

If you didn't know that CutieFruity is having a costume contest on the facebook page, you obviously haven't "liked" it yet. There is a little box over on the right there that your face will magically appear in when you click the "like" button. Doooo iiiiiiit. you know you want to.

The rules: Costumes must be homemade. They have to be from this year. Adults or children can qualify.
The Judging: The winner will be chosen by the fans on the FB page. Whichever picture has the most likes is the winner. I do realize this is totally unscientific and will just be a popularity contest in the end, but I hope that the fans will vote according to who really did make the best costume [much akin to last year when I lost a contest because I voted for my friend who's Colonel Sanders and Chick costumes were markedly cuter than my SeaBee].
The Prize: an unprecedented $20 credit for any CutieFruity, in the store or not. If you can dream it, I just might be able to do it--but only $20 worth. This includes scrap for hire.
To Enter: Send your picture and name to cutiefruity@rocketmail.com by Thursday night midnight. In all reality, you could probably send it in any time before the judging is over next Wednesday, but the judging starts Friday at...oh let's say noon. Maybe sooner or later in the day, depending on how rowdy my children are. You just never know. Kids are unpredictable like that.

I hope you send in some awesome pictures because the ones I have already are pretty fetchin' cool. Good Luck!

Safe and Sound

2010-11-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

November is Child Safety Awareness Month, so the members voted to use a fun and bright color palette for this month’s blog train. The kit you will (or already have, CutieFruity is one of the last stops on the route) gather from blog to blog is called “Safe and Sound”. Here is the portion you can download from me today: 5 papers and 4 measly elements (those are the hard ones). I hope you enjoy it! I know it will look great with the other freebies I’ve seen on the train. Click image to download, and then chug along to the other blogs on the train.

Stuff to Scrap Blog

Scrapalicious Cereal

Amy Owens Photography and Design

Memories by Digital Design

Saphira's Scrapdesign

Jensen Motley Crew Designs

YOU ARE HERE>>> CutieFruity

Tricia's Treasures

Hallowed End (and an announcement!)

2010-10-26T17:47:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago I blogged here about the mega kit this month as a collab kit from the Stuff to Scrap designers. Soon after I did that, the store contacted me to let me know that I have been chosen to work on the store’s creative team. CT for the STORE! How cool is that?! I feel honored and overwhelmed. When do I not feel overwhelmed? I’ll get to work with a different designer every month and get to know more of the wonderful gals at STS. And they truly are wonderful.
So, as part of the CT, I got to work with the Hallowed End kit. Here’s a refresher, if you don’t remember that post.
The kit is gigantic and well worth the only $6.99 that they are asking for it. And if you are more into square quick pages, there are a buttload* of them for $3.99. Lo and behold: my projects. I scrapped the pictures from 2009’s Halloween long ago, and I had nothing that looked good with this kit. I asked the fans over on the CutieFruity Facebook page (go ahead, I’ll wait while you go “like” it) to send me some of their photos. I already showed you the Caziers and the Myers’. Above are the Laytons, and below are the Cunha twins. The fans really came through for me with these pages. I really appreciate all of you letting me borrow your pictures!
This one here is a mailing label. I am loving the bone frame and that skull. Totally badass. I mailed this one off to my friend in a gift exchange. the box was large, so the label was almost the size of a half sheet of paper. I printed it out on a huge label and just stuck it right on.
I hope you all have your costumes ready! My kids are dressing as a lion, witch, and a wardrobe. Pictures soon!

*Yes, buttload is totally a word. I am sure I didn't make it up, but...yeah. I'm going with it.

This Little Piggy

2010-10-23T15:22:00.001-07:00

This little piggy went to market.

This little piggy stayed home.

This little piggy got scrapbooked.

And this little piggy did not.

And this little piggy… okay enough!

KnittinJen has done a collab kit with Scraps of Ellay and came up with “This Little Piggy”. This preview is just Jen’s part of the kit. Ellay has a lot of great things in her part of the kit, too.

Of COURSE, I have a freebie for you: Quickpages in 8.5 and 12x12. Image is linked

Katie’s Dance Mini and a tiny tute

2010-10-20T20:46:00.001-07:00

KnittinJen is working her way through the CT kids, using them as inspiration for mini-kits. We’ve seen the mini for Luke and Chawndelle, and today comes Katie. My daughter! Katie is my middle. She loves purple. She likes to dance. She is a good singer. She doesn’t like housework (who does?!). She is a little sassy four-year-old, usually with smudged cheeks, tangled hair, and glasses, and I love her soooo much! The little blond ballerina with the glasses is her absolute favorite thing in this kit. Gee…I wonder why?

here’s how I made the photo fade on this page in PSE:

1. layer two copies of the photo on one layer of paper.

2. click the elliptical marquee tool and set the feather up to 200

3. Create a shape just cutting off the corners and edges of the bottom photo. I had to start way off the edge of the LO.

4. do the same with the top photo, but do it just around the face. In my layers palette I now have a paper, with an oval picture of her whole body on top, and then on the very top layer all I can see is the close up of her face. I hope that helps!

Sunrise, Sunset

2010-10-18T23:58:00.001-07:00

As I was driving tonight out in the country where all my relatives live, I had to pull over and grab quick picture of the sunset. I could not only see the usual silhouette of Rattlesnake Ridge and the Horse Heaven Hills, but I could also see off in the distance the silhouette of Mt. Adams. I don’t think I have ever noticed that before while the sun was setting. Albeit brief, it was soothing to take a moment, enjoy the blessing of living on this beautiful earth, and then thinking about all it has to offer my beautiful children who were waiting inside the car. These sunsets may just keep me living in this town for longer than I ever planned on.

KnittinJen has a new kit out called Sunrise Sunset.

My Aunt got mad at me for making a whole layout based on pictures I took while driving :P No one was remotely close to harm while I was snapping photos in the middle of a snow storm in Idaho in May. Just sayin. Point taken, Aunt Karolyn.

You can pick up this kit today from Stuff to Scrap, but you can also get these quickpages while you are at it. Enjoy! Image is linked.

Halloween is getting closer

2010-10-15T21:30:00.001-07:00

These kits from Meagan’s Creations and Scraps By Andrea really put me in a trick-or-treat mood. The first thing I want to tell you about today is this Halloween word art pack from Meagan’s Creations. I used the lil’ spook art in this layout of my cousin. I also used the Nothin’ But Treats kit form Scraps By Andrea to make that layout. I’m in love with the candy corn paper, and the candy corn alpha is super amazing, too. I was sad I haven’t had a chance to use it, yet. This layout features the Myers family. They are such cute kids!

I have a little freebie to go along with this kit: the little cat vignette above! You can download the PNG from 4shared HERE. It shouldn’t take that long of a wait since it’s a small file.

I really appreciate everyone’s comments this week. I have given out a freebie every day this week and I have enjoyed reading all the love.

My first mini kit freebie

2010-10-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

I decided to try my hand at designing for the October color challenge at Stuff to Scrap. They gave me a color palette and I tried to run with it. I think I might have fallen flat on my face. Oh well. I don’t think this designing thing is for me. I’ll leave it to the professionals. I did like enough that I would make a mini again for other challenges, but it takes a lot of brain power!

I hope you enjoy it! There are 5 papers and 9 elements: two 4x6 frames, 2 strings, 2 leaves, a flower, a tree, and a leaf scatter You can get other minis in the STS forum under challenges>color challenge. Click image to download.

Jungle Juice

2010-10-12T12:33:00.000-07:00

Did you go to the zoo this summer? You did? That’s perfect, because I have something to tell you about that will be super to scrap your zoo trip: Jungle Juice by KnittinJen in a collab with Jensen Motley Crew Designs. It’s got 5 papers, 34 unique elements, and a full alpha. In addition, you receive the pack of 12 cardstock papers FREE when you purchase the kit!

Click the image above for the quickpages from mediafire (pop-ups) in 12” and 8.5x11.
Click the links below for download from 4-shared (long wait time)
8.5x11: http://www.4shared.com/photo/_do7Fi-b/CF_KJ_Jungle8x11QP.html
12x12: http://www.4shared.com/photo/y-dw25Kx/CF_KJJungle12_qp.html

Happy Scrapping!

Chandell’s Ellies

2010-10-12T09:54:00.000-07:00

Noelle’s daughter Chawndell loves elephants. She collects them. She has a whole bed full of stuffed elephants. KnittinJen made this kit just for her.

There is the kit, and also, as usual from KJ, a set of cardstocks free with purchase.

I’ve got a quickpage freebie for you made from the surfing layout above. Click on the image above to download from mediashare and leave me some love!

Boys will be Boys and It’s a Girl Thing

2010-10-11T09:47:00.001-07:00

Meagan’s Creations got really carried away, but who am I to complain. The boy and girl kits she came up with are fantastic! The colors are bright and fun and the elements are easy to create with. You can even get BOTH kits in a pack for $5! Only have boys? No worries, she has separated the packs and you can pick them up separately as well.

While you are at her store, you should check out some other cool things she has, like this word art pack made for kids.

The page above is made with KnittinJen’s Chawndelle’s Ellies kit, which I will tell you about later this week.

Do you like the glasses page above? It’s made with the “It’s a Girl Thing” kit and Template pack 4 from Meagan’s Creations. It’s also your freebie today! Click on the image to download.

A twofer - 2 plugs, 1 post.

2010-10-02T23:55:00.000-07:00

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The designers at STS have created a huge, spooky, fun, adorable, giant-mega-collab kit for you this month - the theme, of COURSE, is Halloween! Pick it up, and scrap those fun costume moments!

Here's the full kit

Here are the embellishments

The papers

And if you have the great pix, but not so much time - pick up these excellent quick pages!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for subscribing. I wanted you to know that as a creative team member for Stuff to Scrap designers, I am obligated to advertise intermittently for the store and its designers in exchange for use of the digital scrapping products that allow me to give you freebies. I LOVE making freebies for you, and I love working with these great ladies, so I hope that you will look through their stores. They are the whole reason you even GET free stuff from me. There is no way I could keep up with a few freebies a week if not for these talented gals. So thanks so much, KnittinJen, Scraps By Andrea, and Meagan's Creations. You are awesome!

Happy Birthday, Andrea!

2010-10-02T00:16:00.000-07:00

Andrea of Scraps by Andrea is having a birthday today! It is the 3rd anniversary of her 29th birthday (you do the math). She is premiering a new kit today and having a great sale: 32% off her store this week! Check it out!

So what should you get from Scraps By Andrea? Hmmm….maybe the new kit, Birthday Girl?

Cute, right?

Sad to say, I don’t have a freebie for you today. But….

ANDREA DOES!!!

So go check out Andrea’s blog right now and wish her a very happy birthday!

ps. the above layout was made with an upcoming template pack from Meagan’s Creations. I’ll tell you about it later.

Farewell My Summer Love

2010-09-30T22:33:00.001-07:00

It was really cold here last week. I dug sweaters and warm slippers out of the dark corners of my closet. I had a cup of hot cocoa. I added an extra blanket on the bed. Summer is OVER! Buuuuttttt……you aren’t done scrapping the pictures from your summer flings yet, are you? No one is. Getting to those green and bright photos will cheer you right up come the dead of winter. So, just in time for all that, KnittinJen and MommyMeTime Scrapper have teamed up to bring you a mega kit full of all that great summer stuff. The preview only gives you a sampling of what is in the kit. Seriously, it’s huge. I love the little birds!

For your freebie, (I LOVE GIVING AWAY FREEBIES!) I whipped up this little cluster frame (image linked). I hope you enjoy it! Happy Summer scrapping!

Feelin’ Shabby

2010-09-30T11:13:00.001-07:00

I am in love. Scraps by Andrea has come out with a new kit: Feelin’ Shabby. And I. LOVE. IT. Love it. Did I mention I love it? Cuz I do. I love it.

Phew.

To share my love, I have a set of quickpages for you to download and enjoy. You know I can’t leave out my rectangle scrappers! I will never forget about you! Muah! click image to download

Missing my Hubby

2010-09-20T05:20:00.000-07:00

It’s been 179 days since my husband has been home. I got to see him with the kids over the July 4th weekend and before that, alone, over Memorial day. Both weekends were spent in New Orleans, closer to where he was training. It was amazing to be together. I miss him terribly. I don’t know how much longer he will be gone, but definitely next year. Meagan’s Creations has a Love Word Art pack out that I think is totally gorgeous. Great masks and swirly titles and such. So beautiful.

For this layout, in addition to Meagan’s Word Art, I used a kit from Manda’s Scrappin’ Creations that was given as part of the September 2010 Color Challenge at the Stuff to Scrap forums. I love the forums there. Great challenges, great ideas, and great freebies. I only needed to participate in one speed scrap long ago to know it was a rad place to be. What post of mine would be complete without a freebie? I love to give you freebies. It makes me happy to read your kind words in the comments and to see the numbers stack up on 4shared after a few days of them being posted. I especially love you other 8.5x11 ladies. We got to stick together! I do these for you! So without further ravings on my part, here are your quickpages. 8.5x11, and 12x12, because I love you square scrappers, too.

Shabby Fall

2010-09-18T17:10:00.001-07:00

Scrap happens to Me has a new kit called Shabby Fall. Color Palette? turquoise, orange, brown. Elements? 50. papers? 14 plus a kit of 6 more torn papers available.

How to make a ruffled shower curtain

2010-09-18T13:05:00.001-07:00

You will need:
1) a white Shower Curtain Liner (or another color if you are wanting something other than white. Look at the thrift store!
2) disappearing ink marker
3) 3-4 yards (if you have a serger) or 5-6 (if you only have a sewing machine) of muslin or whatever color of material you are wanting to use. Wouldn’t this look great with fading shades of a given hue? red and pinks? blues and greens?
4) a flat space to lay it all out on
5) a long ruler or tape measure
6) 8 yards of grosgrain ribbon

Instructions:
1) mark lines every three inches onto the liner with the disappearing ink pen
2) tear your muslin into 3 1/4 inch strips (serger method) or 4 inch strips (sewing machine method). Each row of ruffles is 2 strips wide.
3) sew 2 strips end to end to make one ruffle.
4) make a rolled hem on each side of the fabric strip. On one side, gather it. The serger is a really easy way to gather and hem at the same time. You could use a ruffle foot on your sewing machine, or just use the ease method while pinning the ruffle to the curtain.
5) Pin the ruffles to the curtain along the lines you drew. Work up from the bottom. On mine, I didn’t have enough fabric to cover the entire thing with ruffles, and I like how it turned out. I placed the majority (I did 7) of the ruffles at the bottom. I skipped one row, and placed three ruffles. I skipped two rows and placed two ruffles. I skipped three rows and placed one ruffle. Overlap the ruffles so that you can’t see the top of the ruffle underneath it. You will probably only have enough pins to do a few rows at a time. It’s not a bad idea to only do a few rows, even if you do have more pins, so you don’t poke the crud out of yourself.
6) Sew a straight stitch over the ruffle tops.

7) cover the tops of the top ruffles with ribbon to hide imperfections. I used 3/4” grosgrain, but satin would be very chic, I think.
8) Hang up your curtain with liner behind it (the curtain you just made is simply decorative) and ignore your husband’s snide comments about how girly you just made the bathroom look. Happy sewing!

Well isn’t that Zootastic?

2010-09-16T09:27:00.000-07:00

It’s that time again when I get to plug another product for Scraps By Andrea. I really like her kits. She makes sure everything is in there that should be, and then some. Such a great gal to “work” for. If you ever want to invest in a good kit, Scraps By Andrea is a good place to get a kit, for sure. Last week Zootastic debuted and it has been a pleasure to play with. I made both my layouts during speed scraps. The speed scraps are some of the most fun hours for me. I work better under pressure. I also have a freebie for you from this kit, of course! Giving away freebies is one of my favorite parts of what I do as a CT member for the lovely gals at Stuff to Scrap. Today it is a 8.5x11 and a 12’ QP made from the first fair layout above. You can get it by clicking on the preview below.

Word Art from Meagan’s Creations in the store

2010-09-15T14:20:00.001-07:00

Meagan’s Creations has a new word art made with scriptures from the Bible and Book of Mormon. My personal favorite is “be though humble”. As usual it is a beautiful word art pack! To play with this set, I found a picture I loved of my joy boy. I cropped it in really close, and added a vignette I gave away last year. You can get that here. I changed the black word art to white using the brightness/contrast control in PSE. I turned the brightness all the way up and viola! It was white. Super simple and classy page (okay, maybe not so classy with a toddler, but a wedding pic maybe?)

Luke’s Shop

2010-09-07T15:06:00.001-07:00

KnittinJen is creating new mini kits inspired all the CT member’s children. I think it is a great idea! She has a few kits already in the store that were created prior to me joining the team. This kit is inspired by Luke, a little boy who loves to be rough and tumble, and play with his motorcycles and cars!

To go with this kit, I created a 5x7 quickpage, thinking it would also be easy to turn it into a birthday party or pinewood derby invitation! You could have a party, use this as an invite, and then use the same QP to put pictures of all the guests with the birthday boy, and hand them out as favors. How cool would that be?

Click HERE to download the QP, the password is “car”

Butter Toffee and a freebie

2010-09-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

Scraps By Andrea has a great mini-kit out this week called Butter Toffee. Lots of golds and browns. It’s really pretty and the whole time I was using it, I was thinking how great it would be for a 50th anniversary album. To go with it, me and the other members of the creative team, are giving away 5x7 brag book quick pages. Collect them all, add your photos, and put them in an album. It will look like you slaved all day. Your grandma/mom/husband/friends will be very impressed.

Click here to download. The password is “golden”.

Use it or Lose it

2010-09-04T10:04:00.001-07:00

I have never participated in the Use it or Lose it Challenge at Stuff to Scrap before, but it is fun! The premise is that you get a new mini-kit and you have to use every single piece in your layout. Jenasis Designs is hosting this month and as the most amazing kit to work with called partly cloudy. It has a totally in style color palette with the turquoise, yellow, and gray. The lines are pretty modern, too. This layout also features word art from Meagan’s Creations. It is called Baby’s First and it is full of cute word arts for baby’s first steps, first foods, first bath, and the like.

SheMarket Day One

2010-08-25T01:19:00.001-07:00

SO MUCH FUN at SheMarket yesterday. There were a TON of people there. It was scheduled from 3-8, and will be again today, and as soon at 3pm hit, BAM! Ladies and their young ladies flooded in.

Lopsided Rosie had a fun time getting dressed up and taken out. I think she is tired of being banished to the laundry room. Don’t tell the cops, but she wasn’t buckled in. I know. There could have been stuffing guts and duct tape skin all over the side of the freeway, had we been in a crash. Not even poor little Lisa, the dolly strapped to her back with a mei tai (made with beautiful Amy Butler fabrics) would have been safe.

The Shade sale was amazing. There were boxes and boxes of clothes. I couldn’t believe how much stuff there was. Check out this preview for a general idea.

As a vendor I got first dibs, but being new to Shade, I had no clue what I wanted. I bought some capris on a whim and they fit so well. Too bad Shade is closing up shop for a while! You can still get some killer deals online right now, if there is not a sale like this near you.

I hope to see you at SheMarket today. Lots of fun stuff to see and shop for from Me, Shade, and the other vendors. I would tell you who all was there, but I didn’t get around to meet them all. Today, I’m going to say hello to my former geometry teacher who was selling some jewelry, and get the guts to talk to “the cool kids” (Why am I so intimidated about coming out from behind my computer monitor?)

The moral of this story is: SheMarket was fun. and rad. and…you should totally go. Today. At 3pm-8pm, 2908 rd 61 in Pasco. Step away from Mockingjay for an hour or so and come. You won’t regret it.

Summer Yum by KnittinJen

2010-08-23T14:23:00.000-07:00

By now it has been announced by KnittinJen who her new CT members are. I was SO excited to wake up in the morning to her email congratulating me. Jen is such a sweetheart and I’m so excited to be working with her and her products.

She put me to work right away and sent me Summer Yum, a megakit. It’s in the store now for $4.99.

Click the picture above to download this 8.5x11 Quick Page. If you want to convert it to 12x12, I think adding a border to one side of the layout would look great! maybe a scalloped edge? Don’t forget to leave some love on the blog or on 4shared. I really appreciate all your comments.

Scrap Happens To Me – Fresh N’ Funky

2010-08-21T16:48:00.000-07:00

I was a little bored and behind on my scrap layouts. There was a CT call. or two. or three. I entered them all, thinking surely, not every one of the designers I was hoping to work with would like my work and accept me, but I was absolutely wrong. I was accepted by Scrap Happens to Me before the day was even out! I am now well on my way to getting these layouts from 2009 and 2010 under my belt fo shizzle. No longer a bored behind. Having deadlines really motivates me. I work well under pressure.

Scrap Happens to Me has a new kit in the STS store called “Fresh n’ Funky”. It is pretty fresh. It’s got turquoise and gray, both really hip colors right now, and is really light and fun. There are lots of girly elements, but enough other things that you can scrap a man’s layout easily. In fact, that is just what I did!

Here’s my husband just one year ago fishing while we were camping. Every now and then he will get lucky and catch something. As I recall, he stuffed bacon into the middle of this trout, wrapped it in foil, and threw it on some coals for a while. It was pretty good, and I’m not a fish fan! If you want to save yourself some work, a 12x12 version of this and other quickpages made from Fresh n’ Funky will be available at Scrap Happens to Me.

In My Backyard

2010-08-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

Scraps by Andrea has another bright fun kit in the store today to scrap all the great photos you took this summer of the kids playing in the yard. It went perfectly with all my son’s favorite toys.

To inaugurate this awesome kit, I have for your scrapping pleasure a 12x12 quick page. Hopefully it will inspire you to head over to Scraps by Andrea and pick up the full kit. It is jam packed full of great elements and papers. Click on the photo below to download the freebie and don’t forget to leave some love. I only get paid in thank yous.

SheMarket and Shade Closeout : Tri-Cities!

2010-08-18T18:20:00.001-07:00

If you are in the Tri-Cities area you DO NOT want to miss this event!!! I am so excited to be participating! I know you are looking for another GNO before the kids go back to school, so there is going to be a Shade sale and bazaar…however this time its BIGGER…MUCH BIGGER than the last. In fact Shade is going to be sending a 24-ft U-haul packed to the brim with clothes. These are all NEW seconds and irregular Shade clothing items that our hostess Jen can sell to us all at a super cheap price!! Some are discontinued colors and styles including camis, tanks, layer tees, long-sleeved shirts, skirts and Maternity. Prices will be $3-$15.

Important: This could be the LAST shade sale we will be having here because sadly I read that Shade will not be offering a new fall line, and they will be selling off their entire inventory, closing their stores and going for a dark period. This sounds to me like Shade is closing down for a while so this is it, the inventory that we are getting is about the last that the company will have and there will be no more. So you might want to stock up!

She-Market {featuring Shade clothing}

Credit Cards + cash accepted

When:

August 24-25 from 3pm -8pm

Where: 2908 Road 61 Pasco, WA

What: Thousands of NEW Shade clothing, sizes are girly: 4-6, 7-9 .Womens: xs, sm, med, lg, xlg, and xxlg. There is Maternity clothes also! Items include skirts, specialty tops and regular Shade shirts.

Vendors coming:

Scentsy
Jewelry
Baked Goods
Pampered Chef
In Bloom Birth Support
The Breadman’s Wife
Mary Kay
Tupperware
Fistful of Coupons
CUTIEFRUITY!!!
+ more. If you are interested in being a vendor email Jen (vwbabe3148@hotmail.com)

***This is not a Shade sponsored event.

I can see clearly now

2010-08-14T08:47:00.001-07:00

The rain is gone…not that is was ever here to begin with. It’s been dry dry dry here in Eastern Washington, as usual for summer.

Back to business. Scraps by Andrea just put a new element pack in the store. And it's only 2 bucks! My favorite are the clear brackets. She even has a little freebie for you on her blog. Got check it out and don't forget to head on over to the store to pick up I Can See Clearly.

Happily Ever After freebie

2010-07-26T21:02:00.001-07:00

Scraps by Andrea has a HUGE new kit with lots of flowers out today called Happily Ever After. Do you have a prince or princess at home? This kit has some pretty rad clip art: castles, fairies, a crown, and like I said, tons of flowers. Be sure to pick up the glitters, too. A layout with this kit really isn’t complete without a little bling. Royalty HAS to have a little glitter.

I have a freebie for you to go with this vibrant kit! It’s the majority of the layout above. A page of my chunky little bebe.

You can download this cluster frame by clicking on the pic above.

ALSO: I am still using 4shared to make my freebies available. I would love some input on other sites I could use for file sharing, or pointers on how to make my stuff directly downloadable. I know I am tired of 4shared and I am sure that the scrappers in blogland are, too. I love your comments! Thanks for stopping by.

Pioneer Day Costumes

2010-07-24T11:38:00.000-07:00

As a former theater costumer, I always try to replicate things to the best of my ability and historical accuracy. I’m a nerd like that. This site was really helpful in designing the costumes. I was bummed when my oldest wanted her outfit a certain way, even though I didn’t think it would be as nice. Whatever. The customer (not costumer) is always right, I guess. Her bonnet turned out great and her shoes were good for the period.

The boy’s vest is made of wool and is one of the most nicely put together things I have made in a long time. I knew that there was no such things as plastic buttons, and I had some that look like wood, so used those. I flipped his collar in because a flat collar was the style of the day. His hat I rushed and made in 45 minutes and it was all wonky, but he rocked it. Couldn’t have asked for anything better.

The middle got to wear this pinafore I made of an old tablecloth. I am in love with it. Kids used to wear pinafores all the time for play and meals to protect their beautiful clothes. They didn’t have entire closets full of $3 t-shirts and $5 dresses from wal-mart. I made everything my kids are wearing with the exception of their shoes. I love that! All the materials are upcycled, too. Can you tell my kids are wearing tablecloths and curtains?

The church had a dinner to celebrate and the kids were invited to dress up and have the costumes judged. Sarah was given an award for strongest pioneer girl (totally generic), but the other two children (that didn’t argue with me about my sewing) won “Best Pioneer” girl and boy. I know every kid gets an award, but I felt pretty special that my kids were the “best”. Again, I’m a nerd like that.

Knight in Shining Armor tutorial

2010-07-16T11:37:00.001-07:00

Once Upon a Time there was a fair maiden who was sick of sitting in the castle all day waiting for Prince Charming to come and…do what she could do for herself. So, armed with a ~~BBQ spatula~~ sword, she crafted her own armor and went off in search of dragons and adventure. Today, class, we will learn how to make a quick and easy suit of armor for your Knights and even Damsels. You will need:

1/3 yard of sequin fabric
fabric for the crown appliqué – scraps will suffice
Gems to glue on each tip of the crown
hot glue gun and sewing machine with thread

Find your scrap and a stencil for a crown. You can cut one out freehand, but I used one I had in my PSE7 software. Cut out your crown.

Cut off the salvage edge of the fabric to use for the belt. You can also use a different belt, if you choose. You should have a long piece of sequin fabric 44x12 and two salvage strips 12x2 or so.

Sew the two pieces of belt together.

Cut out the hole for the head. DO NOT make it too big. If you do, stretch a piece of knit fabric around the hole and sew it in. This screw up actually looks more professional, a happy accident, but we aren’t going to bother with it for this tutorial.

Sew the belt down to the back of the armor. You might also want to make two belt loops for the front so that the front of the penny (that is essentially what this is, right?) won’t flop out. Ooohhh…IDEA! You could sew four ribbons, one on each side of the waist and tie them together. I get good ideas when I write.

Here is the tricky part: Appliqué the crown onto the armor. You could use some fusible webbing to stick it on, but be careful not to iron your sequins. I just used pins.

Next, hot glue on the gems.

Grab your sword, go slay some dragons and rescue a handsome Prince from a tall tower.

Almost there

2010-06-18T22:55:00.001-07:00

It seems like every January and June I have to take a step back, take a break, re-evaluate the reasons why I opened CutieFruity, and what I can do to continue to make it enjoyable. I am blessed to have this hobby/job that I totally love and be able to have it take as little or as much of me as I let it. I think the last month of vacationing has boosted my spirits again and I am ready to open back up in the next week or so and stop neglecting my sweet blog readers. I have new goals, new inspirations, and a refreshed attitude toward the business aspect of CutieFruity. I will pare down some things and spend more energy on others. It makes me happy that I can do that. As I get older, I've realized I have a tendency to put too many irons in the fire. I can do a few things great, or do everything crappy and it's hard to find the balance.

See this? My only entry for “This Scrappers Got Talent” at Stuff to Scrap. I had too many irons in the fire and had to pull this one out. I do like how it turned out, though!

The Eye Spy quilt is almost done!

2010-05-25T23:51:00.000-07:00

Last week my daughter and I finished up the eye spy quilt (except the binding) with no time to spare before her end-of-the-year school picnic. This quilt was made with the intention of using it on such occasions. While the kids were outside doing this: (thanks, sis, I really appreciate that!)

I was inside making a quilt top out of all the squares I put together a while back.

First, I taped the backing onto the floor since I have no quilt stands. I used this duct tape only because it was cheapy and I knew it wouldn’t leave glue on my floor or fabric. Painters tape would probably work best. I love using sheets as backing. They are always the perfect size, plus it is a lazy girl’s binding. The edges are already hemmed, to you can just fold them over to the front and sew them down. Thrifted materials? Even better! I used a polyester felted blanket as the batting for this quilt. It’s not so puffy, but just as warm. It has a little stiffness to it which is perfect for our intended use. The sheet and blanket cost me less than $3.

After laying out my now sewn together quilt top, taping it down, and pinning it all over, I pegged down my wild girl long enough for a quick knot tying lesson. She was hooked. She even shooed her friends away when they came to play! We did the whole thing together. I loved every minute.

I just kept it all on the floor and did my best to get my needle in there. With minutes to spare before we were supposed to leave for the picnic, I quickly serged around all the sides. I promise, SOME DAY I will get this thing off the UFO list. Someday.

Sorry for the silence

2010-05-20T00:28:00.001-07:00

I’ve been reading this:

It’s summer. Well, almost. I have a hard time concentrating when the weather is nice. Don’t expect to hear from me for a while. I’m going to spend some time with my man before he ships out. I’ll show you what I am up to when it gets exciting. Right now it’s just a whole lot of cleaning, entertaining children, running errands, and all that stuff that I know you already get enough of in your own life. Until next time, may the creative force be with you! (wow, that was lame. I clearly need to go to bed.)