Scrappin' the Details

Fancy Pants Friday {Scrapbook Pages}

Happy New Year's Eve!

I  hope you are enjoying the day, and are ready for ringing in the New Year! I am looking forward to a bright 2011!!!

Today, I have two scrapbook pages to share with you. Both of them use the fabulous Fancy Pants!
For my first scrapbook page, I was able to use the Hot Chocolate Collection. I do love this color palette! They are soft, and warm. Perfect for your winter snapshots, or for boys too!

 "Walking in a winter wonderland"

This page took a life its own, once I started creating. I was having a difficult time, deciding on placement of papers.  I saw this strip of the cards, and I chose this as my starting point. I added bits here, and there on the page. I think  I was creating mini stories within a story. Does this make sense? Anyway, I do love the end result.
I did change the snapshot of Gabi to black and white. It really pops against these papers. 

A couple of details:

This snowman is so cute! I simply added a tiny punched heart, and a few brads to embellish.

I was inspired to create some felt roses from the floral patterned paper in this collection. Of  course, added a few snowflakes. and dusted with glitter.

 My next page uses Lilac House. For some reason I was drawn to this muted, soft floral paper collection! So perfect for girly pages, or even for a personal journal. (Think I will add this to my list of projects.)

"One Wish" 

I knew the snapshot I wanted to document. This is Gabi on the day she received her new love, Sammie. I think it was the gold of her shirt, and the gold tones in Sammie's hair, that inspired this page. The preprinted saying on the 3x3 card (wish), expressed this page perfectly!! Gabi has longed for a dog for a very long time. All she wanted this Christmas was this sweet little guy!!! It made me happy to see her shine.

a couple of details:

 Here I layered three flowers of the same size on top of one another. I created a couple of borders by using a lace border punch.

I layered a few different elements to hold my title. One the small bracket die, I applied two different rubons on top of one another. (underneath the word one) On the wish 3x3 card, I applied another rubon to create a border along the bottom. I also inked, and applied glimmer mist to a large size doily. It was the perfect element to complete my page.
Thank you so much for visiting today! May you ring in the New Year with those you love!!!!!!

 p.s. I will be back on Monday with more pages of my December Daily.

Christmas December Daily 2010 {Days 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 & 10}

I finally have a few pages of my Christmas December Daily to share with you. (This album was inspired by the talented Ali Edwards.) A couple of things, this post is very photo heavy. It has been raining all day, so the snapshots are not as crisp as I had hoped.  Please click on any of the images to view them larger.
The Cover of my December Daily: 

 

This album was a class I recently taught at Timeless Treasures. This class was all about laying the foundation, and adding a few details. I was very happy that this year, my album was completed before the start of the season. However, I was not able to add my snapshots until after Christmas. I am okay with that, and as I am adhering our stories, it makes me so happy to see the transformation of the album.

I am going to share two sets of photos. One set will be the foundation, and the second set will be with my snapshots. I did have to do a little bit of moving things around.  Some days we had two events happening on the same day. There were also a couple of days, I failed to take a snapshot. It is taking shape, and I have more than enough to document our Christmas.

I did have too put limitations on myself, because I wanted to use a lot of my snapshots. However, with all the dimension in my book, it is not possible.  So I picked my favorites, and some that sparked a memory. One thing I did notice is that I did not take any photos of myself or Steve. I think there are only a couple. This simply made me aware that it is all about my children! LOL  December, for us is a very busy month. We have class parties, class concerts, Cheer parties, Macie's Birthday, decorating the tree, etc. So next year, photographing Steve, and I is a priority.(:
Now, since the foundation was planned, I was able to go back, and add a little bit more detail to my pages. I am a huge fan of stamping! You will see this technique over, and over in my album. Stamping, and inking is an easy way to add detail, and simply character  to your projects. 

Inside Cover:
before:

after:

I added a bit more detail to my inside cover, and  the tag is different in the second snapshot. Due to popularity of the class, product was sold out. I had to substitute a few things. I gave my original to one of the lovely ladies in the class. 
 

I chose to begin my album with Christmas poem, and a snapshot of my children. I love this snapshot because it reminds me of the "new" red shirts they receive for the season, and of course, the must have item when decorating the tree.....Santa Hats.
foundation of day one & two:

Day One:


detail of day one:


This stayed the same, but I simply added a few elements. I do keep all of my Christmas Embellishments together. It makes it so easy to simply look into one drawer, and see new items I had forgotten.
before:

Day two & day three:



detail of vellum Christmas Carol image:

This vellum page is an addition to my album. Once I begin creating, I love adding more detail when I can. I ended up moving the 6x6 felt to another section of the album.
Day four:
 
The snapshot of Charlie Brown was added, because he was the ending to my children's Christmas Concerts.
Foundation day seven & eight:


Beginning of day five:

detail of day five:


This page protector was originally in the back of the album. We had two events on the same day, so I moved it here. I will probably add another one to the back, too.
more day five:

Here I added the 6x6 felt to this section.
more day five, and beginning of day six:

Day six, & seven:

I added the manilla card. I did not have a snapshot for this day. However, I knew the following had to be added! Roman was being a little naughty, so I wanted to capture his sweet face!

foundation of day eight:


Day 8:

Beginning of day nine:

I ended up moving the acrylic insert with the Christmas tree to here. 

The white lace cardstock is an addition to the book. I love, love this snapshot of Miss Macie. It is out of focus, but I love it anyway. I did add a blur action to the outside edges.
foundation day nine:


day 10:



Thank you for taking a peek at my album. I know this was a very long post! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask me. I love reading your comments, and I do appreciate your visit to my blog.

I hope to be back by the end of the week with the rest of my album. I do have a few assignments that need my attention, and I am also not feeling well. So I hope to be better soon!!

Just one more thank you for all the lovely comments on my Christmas Tags!!! Wow, I cannot believe how many commented!!! You are all too sweet!

Have a great evening,


 

Pink Paislee Featured Artist {2011}

I wanted to share some exciting news with you! I have been a big fan of Pink Paislee, and their amazing product! I could not believe it when I read the email yesterday!!! Yes, I am a tad bit surprised, and so very happy to be one of their featured artists!  Thank you Pink Paislee!!! {Click here} to see the full announcement, and to see their stellar design team for the New Year!!!

Also, a very big thank you for all the wonderful comments from the My Mind's Eye Blog Hop!!! I cannot believe how many of you were kind of enough to leave comments! The Hop is still in full swing, so there is still time to win!!! 
I will be back tomorrow with my December Daily album. I am enjoying the lazy days with my family! My husband is home today, so I want to spend as much time as possible before he has to go back to work!

Have a wonderful day!!!

 

Have Yourself a Very Merry Christmas

 

Merry Christmas to you, and your family!!!  May this Christmas you be surrounded by those you love, and those who love you!!

Have a very Merry Day!
The Sergi Family

Christmas Traditions {Pebbles}

Merry Christmas Eve!!!
I cannot believe Christmas is tomorrow! I love this magical time! I love that I am able to reconnect with my family, revisit old family traditions, make new ones, and celebrate the Birth of Jesus. Today, is a busy one for us, as we frost more sugar cookies, baking another batch of Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes, (last time the family ate them, before I could frost them!), and still have a few things to wrap! I also need to prepare our Christmas Eve appetizers!! It is a long list, but things I enjoy doing for my family! 
So here is a quick Scrapbook Page to share with you today:

With the spirit of Christmas, comes Family Traditions! I am all about old traditions, but sometimes the best traditions are new ones! I created the following page for the Pebbles Blog using not so traditional Snow Papers! The collection I used was the Cats & Dogs! Yes, this collection works with any theme, not just pets!
Snow Fall

I love this snapshot of Gabriela, and Roman! This was the first time they saw snow, or ice snow, as they  called it! With a few borrowed snow items, the children had such a fabulous time! I love that I was able to capture their faces, that shows me, how much fun they truly had that day! So this was our first time to play in the snow, and this will definitely be added to our Christmas Vacation outings! To see the list of supplies I used, and to read more about my project, {click here}.

Speaking of traditions, here are just a few snapshots of ours:
I love to collect Snowman. Here are two new ones I purchased this year. The white flower is an addition by Miss Macie!


A new candy cane holder for the season:

Our Christmas Tree is finished with the last addition of simple Candy Canes. As a child we were able to take a candy cane off the tree each day! My children also are able to continue this sweet tradition!

bird ornament:

Now, this  bird ornament is so special to me! When you plug it in, you hear a small bird chirping. I remember this ornament, as a child. Every Christmas, this was my favorite decoration to have in our home. I am not certain what happened to the one, we had growing up! I was so excited to see this on Ebay three years ago. I will not tell you how much I paid for it,(lol) because the memories to me are priceless(:
Nativity Scene:

With the children old enough, they are now able to unwrap each precious figurine. They take turns setting up one of my favorite scenes.

After seeing this note, I added my believe stamp to our Cookie Tray for Santa:

I have no words for this sweet note! It just brings me joy!

Finally, we will now wait for the arrival of St. Nick: 


Here is what our Cookie Tray for Santa will look like tonight.

May you have a joyous day with your family, and loved ones!!! May your day be Merry & Bright!



P.S. The My Mind's Eye Blog Hop is still in full swing. {Click here} to read the details, and leave a comment for a chance to win fabulous product!
I also want to thank you for all your sweet comments yesterday!  Thanks for taking time to visit my blog! Your comments made my day!!! hugs

My Mind's Eye Very Merry Blog Hop {12 Designers of Christmas}

Good Morning, and welcome to My Mind's Eye Very Merry Blog Hop! This blog hop is all about fabulous Holiday projects, and tons of inspiration along the way! My Mind's Eye is giving away, not one, but three of their collections!!! You have the opportunity to win Holly Jolly, i Believe, and Union Square!!! To enter the contest, all you need to do is visit the following blogs in the correct order. However, there is more. Along the way, you will be searching for 12 key words that will reveal a secret phrase! When you have spelled out the phrase, simply email the fabulous Amber at [email protected]

Here is the Blog List order:

  MME blog to Tamara Jensen (www.tamarajensen.typepad.com)

·        Tamara to Suzanne Sergi (www.scrappinthedetails.typepad.com)

·        Suzanne to Amber Packer (www.amberpacker.com)

·        Amber to Tiffany Smith (www.tifsmith.com)

·        Tiffani to Karen Grunberg (www.karenika.com)

·        Karen to Trisha Ladouceur (www.trishaladouceur.typepad.com)

·        Trisha to Vicki Boutin (www.vickiboutin.typepad.com)

·        Vicki to Jana Eubank (www.janaeubank.com)

·        Jana to Sonia Thomason (www.soniathomason.typepad.com)

·        Sonia to Anam Stubbington (www.anamstubbington.typepad.com)

·        Anam to Gretchen McElveen (www.gretchenmac.blogspot.com)

·        Gretchen to Bethany Kartchner (www.bethanykartchnerdesigns.blogspot.com)

·        Bethany back to MME (leave a comment letting us know you are finished)

We will all be sharing our favorite My Mind's Eye project from the past year, or a Christmas project. I chose to share my Merry Christmas Tray of Tags, using the beautiful i Believe collection!

 I know I have written how much I love creating tags on a tiny canvas!  I chose to keep the color scheme the same throughout, so I used the coordinating embellishments. Of course, it is in the details, so I added jingle bells, tiny holiday sprigs, and tiny doilies!  Now, my plan was to keep these tags on my tray, as I begin wrapping packages! However, my sister had other plans for them! They were packed securely, and sent on their merry way to Hutto, Texas!  She did email me, to let me know how much she loved them! This simply made my day! I love sharing my craft,and making homemade items that others can enjoy, makes me happy too!

Details of the tags:
bird tag

I used a tiny white paper sack to tuck my tag inside. I added an extra detail, by using an embossing folder. The stamped sentiment was stamped with the i Believe stamp set. The bird is sweetly sitting on top of the fun holiday sprig!
pinecone tag
 
Now, this tag came together by accident! I did not like the finished tag, so I kept rolling it! it started to resemble the paper cones I created at Thanksgiving time. I instantly fell in love!!! The die I used is from Tim Holtz, and can be found {here}. It is perfect to hang from a package, or simply to tuck a sweet treat inside.
snowflake tag


Now, this season I was all about Snowflakes! I kept using this Sizzix die over, and over! 
merry christmas tag

Dusted the preprinted title with tinsel glitter, and tucked a sweet Martha Stewart doily with a few holiday sprigs. (Wouldn't that sweet tiny red bird be the perfect finishing detail on YOUR holiday project????)

candy cane tag:

I just love this one! Simple, but oh so very merry, in traditional colors!
large two tags in one

Tag envelope

in the above tag, I simply created an envelope from the large tag shown in the snapshot above! Perfect for a gift card!
traditional holly tag

I hope you have enjoyed this tray of Very Merry Tags! 

You have until Wednesday to hop, and visit all the blogs! A winner will be announced next Thursday!

There are two ways to win:
1. Email Amber with all twelve words in the secret phrase
2. We will randomly draw one of our designer's blogs, and choose a winner from the blog comments. So, the more comments you leave, the greater your chances are to winning!!!
Woohooo!!!! Sounds like fun to me,and I cannot wait to take a peek at what the others created!!!!

Now, hop on over to the fabulous, and talented Amber Packer!!!!

Have a Very, Very Merry Thursday!!!
Hugs,



 

25 cents Gumballs {A Merry Sweet Treat}

Gumballs!!! We all scream for gumballs! Well, my children do anyway! LOL About a month ago, I created the following scrapbook page with the cheery Love Birds Collection from Fancy Pants. 

25 cents Gumballs


(Now, I do plan on rephotographing this page! My embellishment must have fallen as I was photographing, so hopefully you get the idea.)

 details:

 The font used for the numbers is by Quickutz, and it is called No. 73 Number Set. Of course, I love to add texture simply by using an embossing folder.


How fun are those buttons??? I love the bold, and happy colors! The scallop heart punch is by EK Success, and you can find it {here}.

Now, the above snapshot of Macie was taken with my IPhone.(On that note, I have lost my phone! It has been so difficult without it! Here is to hoping Santa will have it in his heart, to put a new one under the tree. LOL) Anyway, it is not a great technical snapshot, but I love it just the same! I knew I wanted to document this moment in Austin, Texas, but simply was waiting for the right paper. Love Birds was the perfect match! 

Now, the snapshot again inspired my next project!  After looking at the rows of gumballs, I knew they would be the perfect sweet treat to give to Teachers, or as a Hostess gift at Christmas time!

I found plastic round ornaments at Michael's. I think I paid about 50 cents for them on Black Friday. I knew they would be perfect to slip in gumballs, m & m's, skittles, or any small sweet treat! Of course, I had my little helpers to help me with the assembly line!


Choosing the colors was easy! I simply used the colors from my scrapbook page! They are the perfect combination for the not so traditional Christmas, and can you say, perfect for Valentine's too?? (I am on the search for the perfect Valentine's Container.)
I love this snapshot of Macie's tiny hand. I took her to the American Girl Store this past weekend as a surprise. As we were eating lunch, my friend told me my mascara was running. She asked if I had been crying. Yes, I had been crying. To look across the table at my little girl, slowly starting to grow before my eyes, makes me so sad. I am so thankful she loves, loves dolls, and I want to remember her tiny hands forever.
Gumball Ornament

Here you can see the ornament filled with yummy treats! I added some coordinating tulle, and red ribbon.I am all about the tiny details, so how about a candy cane, finished with a silver jingle bell??? A child can never have too many sweet treats! 

Now, I found these fun jars to fill them with gumball goodness!!!! 

I thought these were perfect! I love that they have the blackboard label, so it can be changed according to theme, or season!
I also found the perfect size scoop, for scooping the giant gumball!

Now, I found another way to dress up these cute Starbucks cups, by simply embellishing with a Gumball ornament.

Attach a fun gift card, and you have the perfect sweet gift!!!

Now, here is hoping the rain will stop, so we can pass out the remaining gumball ornaments to friends.

Finally, Jeannette like this idea so much, she decided to add her own twist to Gumballs! {Click here} to see her fabulous ideas! (If you love Copics, you may want to hang out for awhile!)

Thank you for visiting my blog during this busy, but merry time!!! I am sorry to say that I will be posting my December Daily next week. There is so much to share, but not enough hours in the day! Tomorrow, come back  because it is all about a My Mind's Eye Blog Hop!! You will have the opportunity to win some gorgeous product! Friday, it is all about Traditions with Pebbles!!!!

See you back in a couple of hours for the blog hop! I am on my way to Toys R Us, and hoping I can make Macie's wish come true! Wish me luck!

Hugs,





 

St. Nick Altered Christmas Frames {Scrapbook Trends Magazine}

I wanted to share my St. Nick Frames. I created these last year, and I was blessed to have them published in the Holidays Magazine by Scrapbook Trends. I love creating Home decor projects. Maybe it is because of the homemade touches, that make the decor that more special. Seeing the little details, scattered throughout the home, brings me joy. I love papercrafting, especially around this magical season.

 

With the magazine now out in publication, I wanted to post these frames back onto my blog. The paper collection I used was by Making Memories.
St. Nick Altered Christmas Frames  

a few details:

Frame St.:

 Frame Letter "N":

Frame Letter "I":

Frame Letter "C"

 Frame Letter "K":

Thank you for visiting my blog, and have a Merry Wednesday!!!

 

Easy Sticky Buns {Barefoot Contessa}

It has been raining nonstop here in Southern California! I think this is the third day of rain! I have been kept busy though, baking sweet treats, and trying to finish my Christmas Shopping! Yes, I still have a few packages to purchase, and shop for our Christmas Eve Appetizers/Christmas Dinner. We have yet to visit Santa, but I think we will plan on this outing on Wednesday. Yesterday, was a Surprise trip to American Girl, and today I took the kids ice skating. It has been wonderful to simply concentrate my time with them. I do have a couple of Scrapbook assignments, that need to be completed sometime this week, too. 

Today, I thought I would share one of my favorite recipes from Barefoot Contessa. They are so easy to make, and so delicious! These would be fantastic for Christmas Breakfast, or simply any day of the week. If I can bake them, anyone can! They are so soft, and full of  flaky puff pastry goodness!
Here is the recipe for Easy Sticky Buns:

Ingredients:

• 12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped in very large pieces
• 1 package (17.3-ounces/ 2-sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted

For the filling:

• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 3 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 cup raisins (optional)
  
  Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper (to catch any butter that may ooze over!).

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 12 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.

Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of the raisins. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down. Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2-inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.

Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Be careful – they’re hot! Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon) and cool completely.

My family loves these sweet rolls of cinnamon, and they only took about 40 minutes to bake, start to finish. I did omit the raisins, and only drizzled chopped pecans on a few of them.

This recipe is in Barefoot Contessa's Back to the Basics Cookbook. A favorite of mine! This is a book I will be buying for my Mother for Christmas. She loves to cook, and loves, loves cookbooks!



Have a wonderful evening! Tomorrow, I will be back revisiting my St.Nick Frames that I created last year!

 

Merry Christmas Tags & More {Echo Park}

I cannot believe Christmas is arriving in a week!! I have packages to wrap, sweet treats to package, and we still need to visit Santa! However, I am not feeling overwhelmed, because today my children begin their Christmas vacation!!! Can you hear that?? Just me singing, and happy to know that we will be able to slow down, and enjoy the vacation as a family! 

One of my favorite items to create are tags! I love Christmas tags, and the special touch they give to a homemade treat, or a store bought package. I created the five tags above as a hostess gift. My friend, Jennifer, hosted a wonderful Christmas get together at her home! I decided to make these for her,and I hope that it helps add some festive touches to her packaging.

I created all the tags with theEverybody Loves Christmas from Echo Park. I love the bright colors, and whimsical designs. A little non traditional for me, but just as pretty!!!!

A few details:

I used a simple white doily as the base for this tag! Super easy, and so pretty! 

On this tag, I did a little bit of Stampin' Mixing. I used a stamp from Inkadinkado, and the Girls Paperie, to create the label.

Perhaps, my favorite tag:
 

I used the Snow Friends Stamp by Inkadinkado. I fell in love with this stamp. I stamped the image onto white cardstock, and used a die, to cut the image onto a smaller note tag. I wish I had the right Copic Colors to color the image, but I decided to simply dust the entire image with Diamond Dust. A word of caution, do not put your hand directly into the jar! LOL It really does have fine particles of glass! The finished result was the sweet image in a cloud of sparkly snow!

We were also supposed to bring a gift to exchange, along with our favorite bottle of wine.

I tucked a gift certificate to my new favorite store Pier 1, inside the glittery box. The box was purchased at Michael's. I embellished the front with a glittery snowflake, and beautiful pleated flower. I finished the side with another tag for addressing.
 

I could not resist topping the wine bottle, with this whimsical decoration! I found them at Pottery Barn, and could not resist purchasing a few! It does add a festive touch!

We had a wonderful time, and I am glad I took time out of a busy schedule to reconnect with friends. Friends are such an important part of my life! I am so grateful to have a few that I can truly count on!

I am off to make homemade pizzas, and it is Family game night! I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and are able to sit and relax, too.

For those awaiting snapshots of my December Daily album, I hope to have them up next week.  

Have a Happy Friday evening!
Hugs,