~Celebrating Love Day~

Before I get to my projects, I want to thank you all for the wonderful comments about my wedding post! It has been so great to hear all the advice and support you've so kindly shared. I adore hearing all of your suggestions and comments...I really do. :)

I will be posting another entry soon, so, in the meantime,

I am back with some love-day projects!

This time, I wanted to create a card and a box that was truly shabby chic. I had purchased these lovely prints from an uber-talented card maker and digi-extraordinaire Beatriz Jennings. If you have not seen her work, you simply must check it out! Her creations are so very beautiful and inspirational. 

And her Etsy shop is full of yummy goodies!

I've used two of her designs on these projects. The Bella Rose collage sheet, and the Always Flashcards collage sheet. They are so easy to use! Once you purchase them from her Etsy shop, you simply open the file and print it on cardstock. What could be easier than that?

Of course, no shabby project would be complete without some of my favourite Maya Road treasures. Here, I've used a chipboard kettle (covered with paper), lovely crocheted trim, and a vintage heart pin. (p.s. Aside from the paper & vintage items I've used, you can find ALL of the items at Scrapbook Studio)

Here you can see that I've mixed in some vintage lace, a paper doily and a shabby rose...Items I've had in my stash for a while now. That is what I love so much about shabby design. It is so easy to incorporate all the little 'misfits' you might have...They only add to the charm of your creations :)

I also wanted to showcase my new favorite die by Sizzix. It is a die of four hearts, and the shape is somewhat elongated, not like your typical heart dies. I love it so much! The sizes of the hearts are perfect for card making :)

I've also created a little tea box to go along with this card. I actually re-purposed an old Tetley tea box, by covering it with some of the pretty papers from B's Shop. 

I embellished the box with more doilies, trim and the same lovely Maya Road pin...

I used my brand new Tim Holtz embossing folder to create the little embossed heart, and then I added some white liquid pearls to the outline.

Now to find some treats to fill this little box with...Maybe a trip to the candy store is in order?

I hope you are all having a lovely day!

*Ivana*

~A Helping Hand & A New Blogging Adventure~

I suppose it is time that I reveal my big news to you! 

It is no surprise that my fiance and I have had a fun time planning our upcoming wedding for the past year.
I mean, when you are getting married here...

How could you not be excited?

That is not to say that the planning has come without its challenges. 

When you are thousands of miles away from your wedding destination, you are bound to be bombarded with many bumps along the way.

Destined for sleepless nights in an attempt to make our dream wedding come to reality, it wasn't until a little while ago that we decided, despite our best efforts, that we could not to do this one alone. It was plain to see...We had bitten off more than we could chew.

And so it all began...

A search. 

A seemingly endless search.

For the right person...

Someone to be our eyes and ears and a helping hand in this monstrous planning process.

At first, the task seemed impossible. So many wonderful testimonials to go through. So many beautiful websites and pictures to view. SO many emails and endless questions back and forth....

And when it came time to make the decision, we felt beyond thrilled. 

We knew that we had found that special person.

Talented. Professional. Kind. Smart. Personable. Creative. Organized. Experienced.

Well, you get the drift....The list really does go on :)

In short, we found ALL the things we were looking for.

 So let us introduce you to a person whom we will be forever thankful to for the help we have had thus far and the ongoing help for the next 7 months to come...As we lead up to our wedding day :)

The wonderful, Nina Bos from Dubrovnik Riviera Weddings! 

a.k.a. Our Wedding Planner!

From time to time, I will be posting on my blog AND on the Dubrovnik Riviera Weddings blog about the wedding process and my experience as a 'Dubrovnik Bride'.

So strap in, and join me on this fun, creative, exciting journey, as I document my wedding planning process (with a creative edge, of course!). 

I will be posting bits and pieces on my blog with links to the DRW blog every time I post something new! 

I hope that in the process, I will also get some feedback from YOU! 

I know many of you have already been here - You have planned your wedding, and I know you have invaluable advice to share...So I would LOVE to hear any input, tips or warnings you might have for me :)

Here's to a spectacular 2012, our dream-come-true Wedding Planner, and to my new blogging adventure!

Many hugs,

*Ivana* 

p.s. If you want to read more, head over to the DRW blog and check out my FIRST post!

~A Few Oldies~

Hi Everyone! Have I told you how awesome you all are?

Thank you so much for the sweet words on my last post. 

I am so lucky to have you all.

Of course, I now must ensure that I stay true to my promise and ease up a bit on the breaks. 

So I figured I'd post something quickly, before I get too comfortable...

Tonight, I want to show you a few very simple cards I created a while back using my lovely TCM stamps. 

Somehow I forgot/misplaced the pictures and finally had some time today to photograph them again...

Here they are!

I wanted the cards to be simple & cute. I usually use layers upon layers of papers, but for these cards I held back.

It was soooo difficult. But I think I did ok?

I used a lot of Prima paper on these cards from this lovely paper pack. It's FULL of yummy pastel ledger papers...Just my sort of thing :)

 Of course, I also used a few Prima blooms, mostly from this set.

On this particular card, I used one of my all time fave stamp sets from TCM, Lovely Birds. It is soooo darn cute!

Here, I've used TCM's As We Gather Together stamp set. This set is full of fall sentiments & images. Love it to bits! Other items on card: black Prima flower, and the same paper as used in the other cards. 

Lastly, I used the Beggin Some Rays stamp set...Which is packed with cute little sun images and lovely sayings.

I forgot to mention that I used quite a bit of die-cutting for these cards. 

The doilies I used are from My Favorite Things. The Scalloped Circles and Tags are from Spellbinders.

I have a very busy night of wedding stuff to do tonight (hint: read my p.s. note below), so I am signing out! Hope you have a lovely evening!

*Ivana*

p.s. I'll be posting some exciting news in the next couple of days! Stay tuned for my announcement!!!

~TCM Open Design Team Call & Grab Bag Sale!!!~

This is your chance! Come join one of the most incredible design teams in the world of paper crafting!

Here are all the details on how you can apply :) The information is from the TCM blog.

Do you love to stamp?  

Even better, do you love to stamp with TCM images?

Do you enjoy inspiring others?

Then it may be YOU we are looking for!

Here are the specifics:

Design Team Term:  

6 months

March-Sept, 2012

Open Internationally

Requirements: 

*1 project post for each new release set

(average of 4 new releases per month)

during our previews and New Release Blog Hop

 and at least one other time in the month

prior to the next release

(which can include our sketch challenge)

*Promote The Craft’s Meow on your blog, online galleries

such as Flickr, Splitcoaststampers, Two Peas in a Bucket, etc

and social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter & Google+

It is NOT a requirement to be a part of these sites, but we do

encourage you to be a part of SCS & Two Peas

*An active blog and good photography skills.

All TCM projects will be required to be uploaded

to the TCM Gallery

The Craft’s Meow will provide: 

* Approx. $60-$80 in stamps and product specific

to The Craft’s Meow for each release during your term

(six releases scheduled)

* Compensation for any PRINT publication projects

which feature stamps & product specific to The Craft’s Meow
(compensation will be in the form of free stamp sets)

*  Product discounts on orders from The Craft’s Meow

*We will feature your work and a link to your blog

each time you participate with a required post or

TCM blog hop event

To apply, please provide the following:

* Your name

*Your blog name and link

* Photos of three (3 only please) projects 

that showcase you as a designer

We only need three to get a feel for your style!

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS, NOT LINKS TO PHOTOS

PLEASE SIZE THEM APPROPRIATELY FOR EMAIL VIEWING

We do ask that you limit additional 'links' to additional information.

With the number of blogs we will have to visit, we will not have

time to visit resume links, credit links, etc,

so please include the specific information in your submission.

Of course, we would love for you to use stamps from

The Craft’s Meow

but it is not required to apply

* A list of your current/past DT experience

(no experience required)

* A list of creative credits such as publications,

blog/guest features, etc, if any

Send the above information to:

tcm.dt.call@gmail.com

Design Team Call ends

11:59 PST, Saturday February 11, 2012

We look forward to hearing from you! 

p.s. YOU DON"T WANT TO MISS THE AWESOME GRAB BAG SALE ON NOW AT TCM!!!! CHECK OUT ALL THE DETAILS HERE.

~At Last~

I am back :)
I didn't imagine it would take this long. Really. It just sort of...happened. 

Not that anything crazy has been going on in my life. I suppose with the holidays, the transition into the New Year (and a new mind frame) and the wedding....Blogging sort of took a back seat.

I know! It's terrible! I didn't mean to leave you all hanging dry! For a little while, I wasn't sure if any of my followers would remain after this looooooong break... Nor if anyone would still want to visit my blog....

I really have to thank you all for your patience and continued support while I've taken this break in posting.
It was much-needed and I am so happy to be back!  

I want to share several cards with you today...Although inspired by Valentine's, these cards are anything but! They can be used for so many more occasions.

I was merely inspired by the lovely colors of this wonderful day :)

I've used some papers I've been wanting to dig into for a while...Like the beautiful Authentique paper and this gorgeous MME paper.

What really helped me pull these cards together...A beautiful quote card from Authentique. I used several of the quotes in the cards...

This particular card I left blank. It's so nice to have a few blank cards that work for various occasions.

I also incorporated this beautiful paper by Echo Park, as well as this one with all the teensy little hearts (love!)

And lastly, I used a lovely heart stamp by WRMK to create these two cards.

Here are a couple of group shots...I think the cards look even cuter all together like this, than on their own.

Well, that is all for today, but do I promise to be less tardy with my posting in the future. 

Thank you all so much for visiting. 

I wish you a beautiful day :)

*Ivana*