Laurie Hansen Design

Non-Traditional Love Card 7 of 7

2012-02-12T13:11:00.000-07:00

Another simple love card. Really really really liking the way the fabric ribbon looks and feels on my projects. I have tons of it though, maybe I should do a giveaway...

LH

Non-Traditional Love Card 6 of 7

2012-02-11T13:02:00.000-07:00

I love the way this card is about love but also feels masculine. The patterned paper is from DCWV, ribbon is from Walmart, and the image is from Stampin Up!. One of the things that I do like about Stampin Up! is that they often have stamps that fit perfectly into the punches they carry.

LH

Eek!

2012-02-10T13:28:00.001-07:00

Ok I know its a Halloween card and we are going into spring. But here is the thing it was part of a stamp set that I was using. And if I am going to keep myself dedicated to my unofficial goal of using all my stamps at least once this year that means I have to use all the stamps in a set. Not just the ones that are in season.

LH

Non-Traditional Love Card 5 of 7

2012-02-09T13:53:00.002-07:00

Another spring green love card. Image is from Stampin Up! Papers are from DCWV. Cardstock base is a recycled card.

LH

Non-Traditional Love Card 4 of 7

2012-02-08T13:49:00.000-07:00

This card was inspired by a tag book from Hot of the Press. I think it would have looked better if I had dry embossed with my Sizzix the cream colored cardstock first before I turned it into a hanging area for my little heart tags.

LH

Smile

2012-02-07T13:10:00.000-07:00

I recently did a Girls Night In where I showed off the versatility of Hero Arts products. This card features all Hero Arts items with the exception of the background paper. The background patterned paper is actually a piece of wall paper. Often when I am shopping at the Idaho Youth Ranch Bargin Outlet I find pieces of wallpaper. I love the shimmer and color combination on this piece.

LH

Non-Traditional Love Card 3 of 7

2012-02-06T16:23:00.003-07:00

I try to use up scrap paper whenever I can. While the color scheme on this card is monochromatic I love the spring green coloring cause it fits right in with how the seasons are changing here in Idaho. We are going to get an early spring this year.

LH

Non-Traditional Love Card 2 of 7

2012-02-05T16:12:00.002-07:00

I really love the simplicity of this card and the way the fabric ribbon sets off the stamped image. Image is from SU!, patterned paper from K&Company, ink from Tim Holtz and the fabric ribbon is from an Idaho Youth Ranch Bargin Outlet find.

LH

One Little Word Week 5 Image

2012-02-04T16:11:00.003-07:00

Ok so I cheated. Last week got away from me and the weekend was spent having some quality time with my family. So while this post is dated for the right day it did not actually get posted till late Monday night. To make up for the bad posting schedule I made three cards inspired by my One Little Word image. Enjoy!

LH

One Little Word Challenge - Week 5

2012-02-03T13:00:00.002-07:00

Source: stylebeat.blogspot.com via Laurie on Pinterest

Here is this weeks inspiration photo.

And here is what I did for it:

...

Confused yet? So in all the hustle and bustle of things that have been happening in my life lately I did not realise that we were out of batteries. So guess what I don't have to power my camera? So showing all of you my project will have to wait till tomorrow because I have to go to the store tonight to get batteries. *sigh*

LH

Non-Traditional Love Card 1 of 7

2012-02-02T22:45:00.003-07:00

It is that time of year again and of course I have been working on Valentine cards. I have been doing alot of experimenting with non-tradtional colors lately while making my cards. This card features an image from Stampin Up inked with Distress Ink from Tim Holtz, red velvet ribbon from Walmart, and patterned paper from DCWV.

LH

The Corruption of Our Young

2012-02-01T22:09:00.002-07:00

My son Anthony. Being corrupted into liking arts and crafts at such a young age. Already handling an ATG gun with ease.

LH

Merci Merci Merci!

2012-01-31T13:50:00.003-07:00

I have been doing really well with my unstated goal of using all my stamps at least once this year. However there are some that I sit there and I look at the set and I find myself wondering how in the heck I am going to use some of them. I started off by pulling one SU! set and then using all the stamps in that set. This card was made during one of those what the heck am I going to do with these instances.

LH

Cherished Love

2012-01-30T13:35:00.000-07:00

I have been experimenting with non-traditional colors lately. Here is a Valentines card that I did using a stamp from Stampin Up!, ribbon from Walmart (btw this was velvet Christmas ribbon that I managed to score on a great clearence deal!) and paper from DCWV. The image was stamped using Tim Holtz distress ink. Been using the heck out those inks lately which is making me want to get more of them. No one here was carrying the winter limited edition inks so sadly I need to find someone online that is carrying them still.

LH

Girls Night In Fun

2012-01-29T13:01:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from one of our recent Girls Night In. Absent and greatly missed that night were Sara, Teresa, and Carrie.

LH

Ryan's Mini Album

2012-01-28T13:30:00.000-07:00

This is the last of the mini albums that I will be posting for awhile. This mini album I made for Ryan for Christmas. Can you tell what his favorite team is?

LH

Jerry's Mini Album

2012-01-27T13:19:00.004-07:00

This is the second to last mini album that I did for Christmas. I love the image, its from Studio G. I enjoy larger stamp images that can be colored.

LH

One Little Word Challenge - Week 4

2012-01-27T13:00:00.003-07:00

Here is this weeks One Little Word Challenge inspiration picture! This week I took my inspiration from this image of a gypsy.

Source: ninatoujourstoi.blogspot.com via Laurie on Pinterest

And here is where my inspiration took me:

This card is a bit more vintage than the photo but I love the way it turned out.

Now to last weeks winner: once again I only had one participant so she won by default. I hope to get more participants soon. If you have not participated could you leave me a comment as to what is holding you back from doing so? I love to know what my readers think.

LH

Matthew's Mini Album

2012-01-26T13:15:00.001-07:00

I this is the first of the last three mini albums that I will be posting. At least of the ones I made for Christmas. :)

This mini album I made for Matthew for Christmas. Matthew shares my love of Asian design so I made his album in a combination of red and black. The inside paper is from K&Company, outside paper Basic Grey. Background image is from Inkadinkado (I think). Samuria image is an unknown. I bought it a few years back used from a second hand store in Newport, Oregon. I used distress stain and SU! markers to give the images some color.

LH

Dale's Mini Album - Again...

2012-01-25T13:23:00.002-07:00

So if you have followed my blog long you would have noticed that back in July I made a post about a tiny mini album that I made for my step-dad Dale for Christmas. I even did my first ever (terrible) YouTube video on the album.

So you ask why am I posting another one? Well the first one was unfortunately destroyed at the hands of, I mean the paws of, my kittens. Thankfully it was the only gift that ended up destroyed by the cats but it was one of them that I put alot of time into. So I made this album instead to give to Dale.

I tried to give it the same look and feel as the first one but I am not sure I captured it well.

LH

Lonnie's ? Mini Album

2012-01-24T13:26:00.002-07:00

Are you all bored of seeing what I made/gave everyone for Christmas yet? Good cause I can honestly tell you there are only a few more of this type of post. As the days move time on away from Christmas my memory starts getting fuzzy about what I gave whom.

LH

Doug's Mini Album

2012-01-23T13:28:00.003-07:00

I thought the chipboard that says Celebrate from Studio G was perfect for this mini album that I made for Doug. Doug is my sister Jill's husband and him and my sister were recently blessed with a new little one, baby Bryn. The inside paper is K&Company, outside paper is Basic Grey. Image is from Studio G and was colored with my SU! markers.

LH

Taylor's Mini Album

2012-01-22T13:21:00.003-07:00

This is the mini album that I made Taylor for Christmas. This one kinda has a running joke. Taylor is my youngest sister's husband and Jaimie wanted to get him an Ipod touch for Christmas. So as part of my mother and I running around doing Black Friday shopping we went with Jaimie to Target to get an Ipod for Taylor. Apparently I was talking about us going and getting it too much because Taylor figured out what he was getting for Christmas and was kinda annoyed at me for awhile. So I figured I would poke fun at him a bit by using this image.

The image is from Studio G and was colored with my SU! markers. The inside paper is from K&Company, outside paper is from Basic Grey and the cardstock is from Sierra Pacific.

LH

One Little Word Challenge Week 2 Prize

2012-01-21T21:47:00.001-07:00

Here is a video showing what the winner from last weeks challenge is getting:

LH

Aliens Among Us Mini Album

2012-01-21T13:49:00.003-07:00

Another guys mini album that I did for Christmas. The inside paper is K&Company, outside paper Basic Grey. The image is from Studio G and colored with my Stampin Up markers.

LH

Mary Jane's Earrings

2012-01-20T13:06:00.004-07:00

These little earrings were made for Mary Jane my daughter Sage's grandmother. Mary Jane and I share something in common we both LOVE the color purple! I have made earrings for her in the past and she always compliments me on them so I figured earrings for Christmas would be perfect. I had Sage pick the beads.

LH

One Little Word Challenge - Week 3

2012-01-20T13:00:00.004-07:00

Due to how my week has gone I struggled with this weeks photo inspiration. Here is the photo I used to draw my inspiration from:

Source: amandasanft.tumblr.com via Laurie on Pinterest

One of the ideas behind the word Bohemian is the ability to be able to go one's own way, to do something different. With that in mind I decided I wanted to experiment a little bit with techniques and tools this week. Here is the finished result:

To be honest I am not sure I like this card. Its got color and spirit but I really don't feel like its "me". The block print was done using Basic Grey papers that were then cut and assembled using Mod Pog, which is not something I have used before. The sentiment is simply an older Stampin Up! sticker. The background and cardbase is from Michaels. The elephant is from K&Company as is the top pink flourish. The other accents are actually rub-ons. I rarely use rub-ons because they drive me batty.

As to the winner of last weeks challenge I only had one participant via my facebook page so I will be contacting her directly. I hope to see more of you participate in this weeks challenge. The lamps from the top photo offer alot of colors to choose from and I would love to see someone make something that incorporates the brass look.

LH

Jacqueline's Mini Album

2012-01-19T13:47:00.003-07:00

So all of you may remember that a several weeks back over Thanksgiving I did a giveaway sponsored by the lovely author Jacqueline Carey. In order to thank her for the honor of being allowed to play hostess to the giveaway I decided to make her a little something for Christmas. Of course as time got away from me and funds got tight I have not had the chance to ship this little lovely to Carey.

This mini album was made using DCWV Christmas paper as well as paper from Basic Grey. The chipboard is from Studio G and the peacock feather is one of many that I have thanks to the peacocks that my sister-in-law's in-laws keep on their ranch/farm.

LH

My Secret Santa Gift

2012-01-18T13:17:00.000-07:00

WARNING! Picture heavy post!

For our Girls Night In group this year we decided to do a Secret Santa swap. The pictures below is what my secret santa gave me this year.

LH

Gifts to Myself

2012-01-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

I follow a blog called The Scrappy Jedi. Recently on her blog she posted that some Ross stores had Basic Grey card and scrapbook layout kits. So I checked out one of our local Ross stores and sure enough they had some kits. So I picked up two different kits for myself for Christmas.

LH

From Sara for Christmas

2012-01-16T13:46:00.003-07:00

One of my good friends, Sara, got me a wonderful Christmas gift this year. I have no idea where she found this but this cute little Christmas ornament is definately one of my all time favorites! She knows I go all starry eyed when I see Asian inspired items. This ornament is so cute that I am not even going to pack it away with the Christmas stuff but instead find a way to display it in my office so I can see it year round.

LH

Anary's Mini Album

2012-01-15T13:39:00.001-07:00

This is the mini album that I made for Anary for Christmas. The dress form was cut out using a Tim Holtz Sizzix die and then covered in Dew Drop pigment ink called Platinum Planet. Then I accented parts of the dress form with glossy accents. I finished it off with a heart bling from a set given to me by my daughter Sage. The inside paper (not shown) is K&Company, outside paper is Basic Grey, card stock Sierra Pacific.

LH

Gloria's Mini Album

2012-01-14T13:04:00.002-07:00

This is the mini album that I made for Gloria (I think) for Christmas. The inside paper is from K&Company, cardstock from Sierra Pacific, outside paper is from Basic Grey. The flowers are made from scrap paper, most of it DCWV, retired Darice jewel brads, and cut out with the Tim Holtz Tattered Flower die by Sizzix.

LH

Anne's Mini Album

2012-01-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

For those of you that read fantasy take a minute or two the next time you are in a book store and pick up any of the books written by Anne Bishop. They are wonderful books and the author is very sweet and kind to her readers and fans. Recently for the holiday season Bishop gave away copies of her books! I was fortunate enough to score two of her books. So in return I made her this mini album that I still need to ship to her. I love the color combination on this so much I was tempted to keep it.

LH

One Little Word Challenge - Week 2

2012-01-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

Source: 4.bp.blogspot.com via Laurie on Pinterest

Sadly no entered last weeks challenge so no one gets the mystery prize pack. Maybe you all will play along this week?

The photo above is my bohemian inspiration for this week. I struggled a little with this one because there were alot of orange colors in the photo and a bit of a mish mash of styles. Here is what I came up with:

What do you think?

LH

Mikala's Mini Album

2012-01-12T13:10:00.004-07:00

This is the mini album I made for Mikala for Christmas. The bling butterflies on the front cover are from the Michaels one dollar bin.

LH

Sky's (?) Mini Album

2012-01-11T13:15:00.001-07:00

I handmade almost everyone's gifts this last year for Christmas. So after doing so many mini albums I kinda lost track of who's album was who's when I took the pictures. So I think this is Sky's mini album but I can't remember. Most of what I used on this album are from the same companies as the others with two exceptions. The first is the blue flowers which are from Michaels. They are actually from one of those table scatter packs. The centers on the flowers is metallic black gel pen.

LH

Jaimie's Mini Album

2012-01-10T13:38:00.001-07:00

This is the mini album I made for my sister Jaimie for Christmas. Outside paper is Basic Grey, inside paper is K&Company. Cardstock is Sierra Pacific. "Enjoy" is a chipboard piece from Studio G.

LH

Rein's Mini Album

2012-01-09T13:29:00.000-07:00

This is the mini album I made for Rein for Christmas. The inside paper is from K&Company, cardstock is from Sierra Pacific, outside paper is from Basic Grey. The image of the race car is from a wall paper boarder strip that I fussy cut out.

LH

Mini Album - ?

2012-01-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

I know its terrible but I can't for the life of me remember who I made this for! The inside paper is K&Company, the outside paper is Basic Grey. The cardstock is Sierra Pacific and the felt flowers are American Crafts. The bling is from the Dollar Store. The paper flowers are from Michaels and friends gifts. The chipboard "special" is from Studio G.

LH

Wayne's Mini Album

2012-01-07T13:07:00.000-07:00

This is the mini album I made for my brother Wayne for Christmas. The inside paper is K&Company. The outside paper is Basic Grey and the cardstock is Sierra Pacific. The image of the race car was cut out from a wall paper boarder strip.

LH

PDCC #113

2012-01-06T13:10:00.003-07:00

So now that I have the time I thought I would start entering some of these challenges that I love following. This week I am entering a challenge done by The Playdate Cafe. The challenge was to use the colors Juniper, Mint and Vanilla. I did three different cards for this challenge. The last one I love the best. The first two I am not sure I like that I put the ribbon over the image.

LH

One Little Word Challenge - Week 1

2012-01-06T13:00:00.005-07:00

My One Little Word for the year of 2012 is:

Source: youand-yourheart.tumblr.com via Laurie on Pinterest

All sorts of things come to my mind when I hear this word. Images of Indian god statues, prayer beads, paisley, lace, odd colors, incense and many other things.

This is the item I made for this week:

So here is how the challenge works:

You have from now till the next Thursday at 1pm to reply to this post with a link back to your inspired creation. Inspiration must be taken from the whatever Pinterest photo I have posted for the week. One entry will be selected at random using random.org for a mystery prize pack.

LH

Etsy Store! Almost...

2012-01-05T18:57:00.003-07:00

Ok, so if you have been following along you all know that I have big big news for today.

I have opened an Etsy Store!

Almost...

The store is open and in place but I currently do not have any product for sale despite having product made. Why? Because I suck at photos and what I have currently would make angels weep.

I will even show you why I say this:

See? It is a terrible picture of a really nice card. So stay tuned! More than likely it will be the weekend before product is placed in the store but I promise it will be worth the wait!

LH

Pete's Mini Album

2012-01-05T13:34:00.001-07:00

This is the mini album that I made for Pete for Christmas. Inside paper is K&Company. Outside paper is Basic Grey. Cardstock is from Sierra Pacific. Tag that says "play" is an unknown, I found it with some other scrapbooking supplies at the Idaho Youth Ranch Bargin Outlet Center, same with the playing cards. The chipboard that says "creative" is from Studio G which is manufactured by Hampton Art. I like the look of the playing cards and I think I will pick up more in the future for other projects.

LH

Lydia's Mini Album

2012-01-04T13:18:00.000-07:00

This is the mini album I made for Lydia for Christmas. The inside paper is from K&Company. The outside paper is from Basic Grey and the cardstock is from Sierra Pacific. The stickers are from a kids papercrafting kit that my daughter Sage got a few years back.

LH

Trina's Mini Album

2012-01-03T13:06:00.003-07:00

This is the mini album that I made for Trina for Christmas. The inside paper is K&Company and the base cardstock is Sierra Pacific. The outside paper is Basic Grey and the front image is a recipe card from a set of them I purchased from Michaels.

LH

Donna's Mini Album

2012-01-02T13:55:00.001-07:00

I love the way this album turned out! The inside paper is from K & Company. The outside paper is from Basic Grey. The cardstock is from Sierra Pacific. The thread is DMC floss and the cut outs are from a Tim Holtz Sizzix die. The cut outs were sprayed with Art C (I think) glimmer mist in gold.

LH

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T13:49:00.001-07:00

Welcome to 2012 Everyone!

It is a brand new year and in many ways a brand new start for my family, my business and myself. I have tons of goals but I have found that if I write them down then I end up brow beating myself later for not completing them.

I just take on too much at one time or forget that life happens. So I am working on just living in the now, day to day. So today I have two things to share with all of you, one is another project that made as a Christmas present and the other is a challenge.

1) The project that I did as a Christmas gift:

This is the mini album I did for Christina for Christmas. The little blocks of the front were done with those kids melty beads. The raised embossed flower on the spine is from Stampin Up!. The inside paper is from K & Company and the outside patterned paper is from Basic Grey. Cardstock is from Sierra Pacific or DCWV, I can't remember.

2) The Challenge:

I highly encourage all of you to go look at my tabbed pages at the top of my blog. There you will find a page called One Little Word. Read it and then check back here on Fridays to play along.

LH

Christmas Card 8 of 8

2011-12-31T13:32:00.002-07:00

Christmas Card 7 of 8

2011-12-30T13:10:00.000-07:00

Christmas Card 6 of 8

2011-12-29T13:36:00.000-07:00

Christmas Card 5 of 8

2011-12-28T13:31:00.001-07:00

Christmas Card 4 of 8

2011-12-27T13:16:00.001-07:00

The Basic Grey papers I used from the Nordic Holiday collection. The paper and the cordinating stamps are all available from Hero Arts. Those of you that keep up with the news on Hero Arts should go take a look at the digital images of the newest catalog. There are some super cute stamps coming out in 2012 from Hero Arts and some new fun items like Sizzix dies.

LH

Christmas Card 3 of 8

2011-12-26T13:26:00.002-07:00

The sentiment on these cards was punched out using a McGill Craftivity large punch called Tall Ticket. I love this punch despite the fact that its impossible to store and its one of those "lay on the table and then push really hard to get the punch to operate" punches. I got it on clearance from Craft Warehouse years ago and I am glad I am putting it to go use.

LH

Christmas Card 2 of 8

2011-12-25T13:09:00.001-07:00

The SU! Santa I colored using my Stampin Up! markers. While I am slowly growing my collection of Copic markers I still find myself using my SU! markers more than any other coloring medium I own.

LH

Christmas Card 1 of 8

2011-12-24T13:05:00.002-07:00

Another upcycled card, one in a set of eight. The orginal was this 80's style invitation card. All the paper is Basic Grey, except for the white cardstock which is from Walmart. The sentiment and Santa image are from an older SU! set called Star Santa.

LH

Random Card

2011-12-23T13:14:00.001-07:00

How many of you have seen a pack or two of those older ugly looking thank you or invitation cards at a second hand store? I buy those cards if the price is right. My reason is that I love to recycle or repurpose those cards. Too many times I have seen second hand stores just toss them because they don't sell. What I do with them is I upcyle/repurpose the cards into something that is a whole lot prettier and nicer looking. So below is a card that I upcycled. Originally it was a hideous birthday party invitation. I covered it with DCWV paper and a flower made with my Tim Holtz Tattered Flower die. The sentiment is from Stampin Up! and was punched out with an SU! punch. I used a paint dabber around the edges.

LH

Teresa's Mini Album

2011-12-22T13:39:00.001-07:00

This is the mini album that I did for my friend Teresa for Christmas. The inside paper is from K & Company. The outside paper is from Basic Grey. The flowers were made using the Sizzix Tim Holtz Tattered Flowers die and a jeweled brad from Recollections.

LH

Merry Yule!

2011-12-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

Image credit: http://belladonnasgifts.com/media-gallery/detail/16/152

Have a merry and happy Yule!

LH

GNI - Card Tutorial

2011-12-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

Often for Girls Night In we do themes. During a recent themed night we ladies did a card tutorial led by Dawn. She put everything together in kits to give to each of us. The fabric flower on the front is one of her creations to help embellish the card.

LH

Just a Card

2011-12-19T12:25:00.000-07:00

To kill time on Thanksgiving Day while waiting for the turkey to be done and the shopping madness to commence I decided to make some simple cards. However I only ended up getting one made because of child interuptions and family dynamics. Paper is Basic Grey, sentiment is SU!.

LH

Logan's Mini Album

2011-12-18T12:01:00.002-07:00

This is the mini album that I made for Logan for Christmas.

Cardstock: Sierra Pacific
Outside Paper: Basic Grey
Inside Paper: K & Company
Image: ???
Colored With: Stampin Up! markers

LH

Dennis's Mini Album

2011-12-17T13:59:00.000-07:00

This is the mini album that I made for Dennis for Christmas. The outside cover is from Basic Grey. The cardstock base is from Sierra Pacific. I am not sure who the stamped image is from but it was stamped using Hero Arts Memories dye ink in black on linen ivory cardstock. The inside patterned paper is from K & Company.

LH

Blessings of Family

2011-12-17T12:48:00.006-07:00

I have been very blessed to have such an amazing extended family. My in-laws, Sabine and Tim,came over this afternoon with a little graduation surprise for me. What I wanted to show you all though was the cute little flip tag that Sabine put the gift in. She even brought me German chocolate!

I love seeing the creativity of my family members!

LH

Graduation Day!

2011-12-16T13:52:00.002-07:00

Today at 10am I finally graduated from Boise State University with my Bachelors in Communication and my Dispute Resolution Certificate. The question I get asked alot these days is what am I planning to do now that I am done with school. My answer seems to shock alot of people. Before I had to give up my design/art business I was making ok money at it. The job just wasn't enough steady income to make ends meet with where I was during that time in my life.

With the way my life is now I can commit again to my design/art business and not worry if I will make enough in the month to pay all my bills because I am no longer the primary bread winner. So all of you be prepared for some big news after the new year!

Jason's Mini Album

2011-12-15T13:49:00.000-07:00

This is the mini album I made Jason for Christmas. Jason loves Sponge Bob and it has become the running joke in the family to get him Sponge Bob related items for Jason. The cardstock is from Sierra Pacific, which can be found at Craft Warehouse. The outside patterned paper for the cover is from Basic Grey. The image of Sponge Bob was cut from some wall paper boarder that I got off of Craigslist. The inside patterned paper is from K & Company.

LH

Jill's Mini Album

2011-12-14T13:41:00.002-07:00

This is the mini album that I did for my sister Jill for Chrismas. The cardstock base is from Sierra Pacific. The outer patterned paper for the cover is from Basic Grey. The flower on the front was done out of Basic Grey papers with my Tattered Floral die from Tim Holtz. The florishes are from an older Sizzix die and were also done out of Basic Grey paper. The brad is from a discontinued line of jeweled brads. The inner paper is from K & Company.

LH

Callie's Mini Album

2011-12-13T13:30:00.004-07:00

Warning this post is image heavy:

This is the mini album I made for Callie for Christmas. The cardstock base is from Sierra Pacific and the patterned paper is from Basic Grey. The tag pulls are dyed raffia and the flowers were made using SU! and EK Success punches.

LH

Callie's Trinket Box

2011-12-12T13:26:00.000-07:00

I am handmaking all my Christmas gifts this year for everyone. I made a mini album for Callie but it was small, not alot of photo mats, so I made her a small trinket box to go with the album.

I found the box at the Idaho Youth Ranch Bargin Outlet Center. I painted it using Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber in Espresso. Then I added some touches of color using paper from Basic Grey. I was told Callie likes earthtones so hopefully she will like her gifts.

LH

Tanner's Mini Album

2011-12-11T13:04:00.002-07:00

I wanted to do a YouTube video of this mini album before I wrapped it for Christmas but unfortunately hubby and the kids had other ideas. Every time I got the camera out to video tape someone wanted my attention for some reason or another.

Anyways this is the mini album that I made for Tanner for Christmas. I was told she likes bright colors. The card stock base is from Sierra Pacific and SU!. All the patterned paper is from Basic Grey. The fabric flowers were made using the Sizzix Tim Holtz Tattered Flower. The fabric was scrap pieces. The tag pulls are dyed raffia.

LH

Paper Crafters Corner

2011-12-10T18:25:00.002-07:00

Paper Crafters Corner

Have you heard of them?

No?

Then for heavens sake go over to their website and sign up to get their updates!

This is one of the two sites I use to get all my papercrafting industry news!

LH

Fred's Mini Album Video

2011-12-09T13:28:00.001-07:00

Here is a short video I did on Fred's mini album that I made him for Christmas. Please forgive me I don't really remember what brand the stamps were that I used for most of it because they weren't in my stash. Apparently I don't own a single fishing stamp. Weird.

LH

Black Friday Video

2011-12-08T13:22:00.002-07:00

It has become a tradition for my mom and I to go Black Friday shopping. This year I was mostly tagging along with my mother because I was broke. Sweetheart that she is, my mom gave me some money to spend on some items.

We actually started our Black Friday shopping Thursday evening. We went to Michael's first. There was only one thing I wanted at Michael's and that was a DCWV premium paper pack. Michael's had them on sale for 50% off and then they had 30% off your entire purchase coupons. I figured most of the paper packs would be cleaned out by the time my mother and I got there since we didn't get to the store till right before they closed for the night.

Once we got there we noticed there was hardly anyone in the store shopping and the paper isle did not even look like it had been touched. In fact none of the paper pads were sold out which shocked me a bit. So I nabbed the one I wanted. My mom picked up a few items and then we went back to the her house.

From there we went to Target at midnight because my sister wanted to get something that was on special. After Target we went to Best Buy, where my sister ditched us and went home. Once we finally got out of Best Buy it was 3:00am. So mom and I went to Walmart to see if any of the cheap dvd's were left. I managed to find all but one on my list. We left Walmart a little after 4:00am and headed towards the mall where our Joann's is located. Normally we have to wait outside till 5:00am before we can go into the mall and then sit in a line for another hour outside of the Joann's.

However this year Bath and Body Works opened at 4:00am and mom and I didn't know. So when we got there instead of being first in line at Joann's like we normally are we were about 20th in line. This worried me because we were after flannel. Thankfully I got to the flannel first despite being 20th in line. The reason: Mom got the cart I ran and grabbed flannel. So while we were waiting at the cutting counter I went and grabbed all the other items I wanted.

Shockingly we managed to get in and out of Joann's by 7:15am, an hour and fifteen minutes after Joann's opened on Black Friday. This is a record for us because usually we are in there till well past noon.

Here is a video of what I got:

LH

Opa's Mini Album

2011-12-07T13:21:00.000-07:00

This little mini photo album I put together for my mother-in-laws dad who lives in Germany. I hope he likes it!

LH

Simple Card 10 of 10

2011-12-06T12:11:00.001-07:00

Background patterned paper is from My Minds Eye. The paper strip is from Basic Grey. Sentiment is stamped directly onto the background paper and it was done in Early Espresso from SU!.

LH

Simple Card 9 of 10

2011-12-05T12:06:00.001-07:00

I love the way this cupcake patterned paper looks! I guess I should have bought more of it. However it was on clearence from Archiver's ages ago so there is no chance of getting more of it now. That the thing with some papers, once they are gone it is really hard to find them later on. Which is why I dont hesitate sometimes to get some papers.

LH

Simple Card 8 of 10

2011-12-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

Another scrap paper card using the make your own brad technique for the flower.

LH

Simple Card 7 of 10

2011-12-03T13:05:00.000-07:00

This card also utilizes scrap paper. The background patterned paper is left over from an ugly paper challenge that I gave the girls during a Girls Night In event. The other patterned paper piece is one that I got at random from some stuff that was picked up from Craigslist.

LH

Simple Card 6 of 10

2011-12-02T13:51:00.002-07:00

Simple Card 5 of 10

2011-12-01T13:45:00.002-07:00

This card utilizes a piece of scrap paper from DCWV and another from Basic Grey. The flower was made by punching two flower shapes with an EK Success punch from My Minds Eye paper and then putting them together with a hand made brad. The brad was done by using a 24 gauge wire piece and a plastic bead. Maybe someday I will be able to do a decent tutorial on how to make your own brads using this method. The sentiment is from SU!

LH

Simple Card 4 of 10

2011-11-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

This card looks fancier than it really is. I had this piece of left over premium paper from a birthday card I did awhile back. One corner had this neat flourish design. So I figured I would let the paper make the statement on this card.

Simple Card 3 of 10

2011-11-29T14:56:00.003-07:00

On this card is another SU! sentiment, punch, ink combintion. The patterned paper is from DCWV. The red strip is more of that metallic dark red cardstock from Sierra Pacific that can be found at Craft Warehouse. For the card base I used another piece of cardstock from Sierra Pacific.

LH

Saints Astray Winner!

2011-11-29T13:43:00.002-07:00

Each person who entered the contest was assigned a number. There were 33 entries. Using random.org I generated the number 24! Lucky 24 is... (drum roll please)

Tonya Richards!

Tonya sent me a hand drawn picture for her entry. I love the look of freehand drawing!

Thank you again to all of you that participated and read my blog. I hope to see more of you in the future in the comments section and via facebook as well. Don't forget to check out the few videos I have up on YouTube and my Pinterest account as well.

And of course a HUGE thank you to Jacqueline Carey for chosing my blog to hostess this giveaway!

LH

Simple Card 2 of 10

2011-11-28T13:51:00.000-07:00

On this card the bottom paper is from Miss Elizabeths. This is one of those few papers that if you are lucky enough you can find sometimes at the Dollar store. I love the color patterns in this one.

LH

Simple Card 1 of 10

2011-11-27T12:14:00.002-07:00

Here is another simple card that I made using scraps. The black and white paper is from DCWV and the other patterned paper is left over from some wedding reception invitations that I did a few years back for a bride. The red band is from some metallic red cardstock from Sierra that I bought at Craft Warehouse. The sentiment once again is from SU!

LH

Update and Use Those Scraps!

2011-11-26T11:31:00.001-07:00

Update:There is still plenty of time to get in for a chance to win a signed copy of Jacqueline Carey's book Saints Astray! I currently only have seven entries!

I try to use my scraps from my scrap box whenever I can. They make for quick cards and I feel like I am not wasting paper. The sentiment is from Stampin Up! and so is the ink and the punch that I used to cut out the sentiment.

LH

Sara's Recipe Album Outside

2011-11-25T13:38:00.000-07:00

Warning: this posting will be image heavy.

FYI: There is still time to get in on my contest giveaway that I posted yesterday! Oh did I mention that the book is also signed!

So here are the images from the outside of Sara's recipe album. I covered the binder in fabric. The owl images are from Tattered Angels. The branch was cut from some Joann's bark ribbon. The sentiment is Making Memories. Various bling is from the Dollar Store.

Thanks & Giving

2011-11-24T13:37:00.003-07:00

There are many reasons that I have to be thankful during this holiday season. The biggest thing I am thankful for is my husband and my children. Last year at this time marked the starting of a very dark period in my life and the only reason I am here today to enjoy my husband and children is because of three people:

1. Bill Baker
2. Byron Dixon
3. Jacqueline Carey

The guys know what they did to help and I hope they know how thankful I am for their help. But the one that I never really had the chance to thank for her help - help that was given unknowingly - was Jacqueline Carey.

So why Jacqueline Carey?

Carey is an author, a fantasy author, one that I would catagorize as dark fantasy because of the themes that she often writes about in her books. Her stories from the Kushiel series helped me hold on and continue to seek outside help during that dark time in my life. Her books are the reason that I am sitting here today writing this blog.

Recently Carey released a new book called Saints Astray (click me!). While this new book is part of a new series and not part of the Kushiel series, it is nice to see new work by such a fabulous author. This book is the sequel to Santa Olivia. I could sit here and give you an review of Carey's books but to be honest I am not much of a wordsmith.

One of the many things that I love about Carey is not just her books but how personable she is in real life. She cares about her readers. I had the chance a few years ago to meet her in person. She was gracious and kind.

And as the kind and wonderful person that Carey is she recently decided to do a wonderful thing for blog writers. She has decided to do giveaways of her newest book via various blogger sites. I was honored to have my site chosen as one of the blogs that she will be giving a book away on.

So here is how you can get in to win a copy of Saints Astray:

1. Email me at lhansendesign@msn.com
2. Now here is the twist: In that email you need to include your name, first and last, and a picture of something creative that you have done. Since my blog is a designer/artist blog I wanted to include some kind of creativity to this contest. The image does not have to fancy, heck it can even be taken from your phone. Also the something creative does not have to be anything specific. So it could be just about anything so long as it was made by you.

One winner will be chosen at random using random.org on Monday November 28th and announced in my blog on Tuesday November 29th.

Good Luck!

LH

Sara's Recipe Album Inside

2011-11-23T11:12:00.000-07:00

Remember a few weeks ago I posted an ugly red binder and claimed that it was going to be Sara's Recipe Album. Well here is the modified inside of the binder. Papers are from Basic Grey. Recipe cards are from Michael's.

LH

Sara's Recipe Page

2011-11-22T10:20:00.000-07:00

This is a the recipe album page that I made for Sara's recipe album. The image is from a table placemat that I fussy cut apart to get the jar. A little bit of lacy that I got from the Youth Ranch Bargin Outlet Center. The placemat also came from there. I love being able to reuse and repurpose items!

LH

And The Winner Is...

2011-11-21T10:18:00.000-07:00

No one!

I posted a little giveaway contest several days back.

http://lauriehansendesign.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-about-some-contests-and-giveaways.html

As of today no one has even tried to win. I was told by another reader that the question was too hard to guess. So I left some clues on my facebook page. I will leave the contest open till tomorrow at noon.

LH

Back in a Few

2011-11-15T06:00:00.002-07:00

Hi Everyone!

Due to circumstances beyond my control there will not be any posts from me till Monday of next week. However Monday will be the kick off to some awesome giveways and a countdown to Thanksgiving and Black Friday. There is still time to get in on the giveaway I announced a few days ago as well.

LH

Natalie's Pocket Book - Back Cover

2011-11-13T11:24:00.000-07:00

Cardstock for this project is from Sierra Pacific which can be found at Craft Warehouse. Patterned paper is from K & Company. Ribbon is from Joann's.

LH

Natalie's Pocket Book - Inside

2011-11-12T12:03:00.001-07:00

Natalie's Pocket Book - Outside

2011-11-11T11:42:00.001-07:00

I am slowly getting everyone's Christmas presents done. Almost everyone is getting something hand made this year. This pocket album inspired by some pictures from Paper Cottage is for Natalie. I was told that she liked the color yellow so I hope this is what she would want. Since she is only six I wanted something colorful, bright and cheerful that she could use for keeping mementos and pictures in.

Halloween Kiddos

2011-11-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

I try to be one of those blogger/retailers that doesn't share too much about their personal life on their blog. However I wanted to show you all my kids in their costumes from Halloween because they are one of the reasons I am pursuing my dreams.

First up is my oldest Sage, she was at her Dad's this year for Halloween but her step-mom Karen, was nice enough to send me pictures of Sage in her outfit. This year Sage decided to go as a Native American. Karen bought the wig and the shoes but the dress is one I made last year for Sage during her Native American studies. I didn't have a pattern for the dress so I had to make my own pattern first. The dress is made from micro-seude that is backed with satin. If any of you have ever worked with satin you know how much of a pain in the butt it is to sew. And it frays terribly. At least you cant see the fraying in the picture.

This is Anthony my only boy and middle child. Due to the amount of homework I have been doing we did the last minute run to Savers the morning of Halloween day to get costumes for the kids. Anthony wanted to be an M&M for Halloween this year.

Aurora is my youngest, she didn't want a costume this year. Instead she wanted this shiny mask. So I put her in a dress made of velvet that she already had and this mask. We called her a Diva.

I love my kids and they have put up with so much lately due to all the stress I have been under for school. However in few more weeks they will have me all to themselves for the most part because I will be done with school!

LH

How About Some Contests and Giveaways???

2011-11-09T11:02:00.001-07:00

Ok dear readers,you all are a dedicated bunch. And I love that. So I want to reward you all and at the same time do a little site promoting as I try to ratchet up to going full scale into designing and crafting again after graduation. Yep thats right I am FINALLY graduating college on December 16th.

So here is the first contest:

I network primarily on a few sites.

Post in the comments on this post the four sites that I am primarily on for a chance to win a goody pack! One winner will be selected at random using random.org. But wait there is more! If you get one of your friends to also post a comment you will get a small pack of embellishments if they mention your name in the post!

Teresa's Recipe Album - My Recipe Page

2011-11-08T11:00:00.004-07:00

This is the recipe page that I made for Teresa's Recipe Album. The large image on the page is actually a piece of a table placemat that I fussy cut out and adhered to a piece of cardstock. The lacy part is from a piece of lace that I got from the Idaho Youth Ranch Bargin Outlet Center that I trimmed and adhered so that it would form a pocket for the recipe card without taking away from the larger image. Recipe card was done with some SU! stamps and a 3x5 notecard.

LH

Teresa's Recipe Album - Inside

2011-11-05T10:41:00.005-06:00

Here are the pictures of the inside of the recipe album that we did for Teresa. Plenty of room for her to add more pages.

LH