For the LOVE of Twine, New Layouts and a Giveaway! (Whew!)

     Hello!  Welcome to those of you who may be stopping by from the Scrapbook Steals blog today!  Thanks for taking a moment to check out my blog.  I hope that you become a follower and share some of your thoughts and ideas with me!
     (For those of you who just happen to be stopping by, just to fill you in...It is no secret that I love my bakers twine, particularly from The Twinery.  I have been lucky enough to get my hands on some of it already and have used it numerous times on my layouts.  Today, I have the chance to share some of my creations on the Scrapbook Steals Deal of the Day Site along with a storage idea.  Check out my blog contribution over there today and also enter to win some of this amazing stuff for yourself.  You will thank me later! : )
     Twine has quickly become one of my favorite embellishments to use on my craft projects.  It really adds that little finishing touch that is sometimes needed.  With so many different colors in my collection, I found that I needed a way to keep them from getting tangled.  After a several tries at various storage, I found that clip-style clothespins work really well for me (zipper close baggies however, not so much)!   I just thread the end of it through the metal clip and start winding the other end up. The last bit of twine at the end of the neatly clips into the "clippy" end for easy access.  I also write the color on the end so that I know what to re-order when I run out (and because the names of the colors are so fun).  

     I have created a few projects using twine (which you may have seen already on scrapbook steals) and I thought I'd share them here on my blog as well.  There are many possibilities of what to create using Twine.  My favorite way to use it is for banners on my pages.  It adds the color that I want but doesn't add too much bulk.  On the first layout, I also used the twine to do some stitching across the green border.  (Additionally, this photo was taken by my 6-year-old!)

 Here is another with a little twine banner in the corner...

And one more with twine wrapped around the bottom...

     It is also fun to use the Twine as the main feature of the project as I did in this card.  I do believe that this is one of my favorite cards that I've made!

     I thought it would be fun to share a few more general projects with you today as well.  I have been able to get some great scrapping time in recently.  I wish I could say that it happens while the kids are at school but I'd be lying.  I have a difficult time scrapping when my house is messy.  Therefore, my days are still spend cleaning and my evenings give me a chance to get crafty!  I need to figure out a way to make those daytime hours more creatively productive!  

     My first layout is one that I got inspired by from something I saw on Pinterest.  I love Pinterest because it gives me the chance to quickly peruse layouts that I find inspiring and then go and create.  A wonderful, inspiring place.  If you are new to Pinterest (essentially an online bulletin board), and need an invitation, let me know!  Here is the layout...

I used some Basic Grey for the above layout of my son reading to my niece.  I added a few clouds just on a whim and I think that is the part that I like the most!  I am still looking for a cloud punch but for now, cutting them out by hand is working pretty well!  

For this layout, I used a Mid-Week Mojo sketch from Kristy Lee at Scrapbook Steals as a springboard for my layout.  I had just bought the Portrait collection from Crate Paper and I thought that this picture would look really good with it.  I have been into cameos lately so that is really what sold me ; )  (On a side note, my Hobby Lobby recently started selling Crate Paper, Echo Park and October Afternoon!  Guess who will be visiting more often?!)  

My last layout was created using a sketch from Sweet Peach Crop Shop.  I had this adorable picture of my twin nieces and it was too cute to not scrap!  I used a lot of Sassafras Lass on the bottom and crepe paper for the little ruffle border.  I could seriously scrap those babies every day.  I love being an auntie!

     One last thing, why not do a little giveaway of my own today?  Become a follower and leave a comment telling me something that inspired you somewhere online today and I will send you out a little something (A surprise perhaps? Maybe some twine, maybe some stamps, etc.)!  You have until Sunday, September 11th at 8pm CST to leave a comment and I will choose a random winner at that time and post the winner here.  I am so glad you joined me today : )

     I hope that you were inspired in some way!  I'd love to have you stop back sometime.  Thank you for stopping in!  

Scrap Happy~

Melissa