Now That Was Easy...

Remember that simple project that I was having such a hard time with a few days ago...here it is! And as you can tell, it's not that complicated! I finished it up last night in about 20 minutes and had a good laugh about how difficult crafting can be on one day and so easy the next. The problem I was having with this project was figuring out what image to use inside the chipboard frame. I knew I wanted this adorable frog from a Papertreyink set but wasn't haven't much success using the other elements from this set, mostly because the available stamping space was so small. Last night the light bulb went on! Use another PTI set, Life, which we received for free at the Stamp NE event and is fast becoming one of my favorite sets. This project, once one figures out what they want to stamp in that framed space, is super easy to create and would be such a nice treat for a parent or grandparent. The overall size is 4" x 8", folded in half each side is a 4" x 4" square. I used a picture of our boys, one that adorned this year's Christmas card, and used PhotoShop to make the photo black and white. The cardstock, ribbon, and button colors pop so well against the black and white. The chipboard frame is covered in cardstock from Stampin' Up! and has been stamped in white ink with a SU! polka dot background stamp. The frog was embossed with green embossing powder so he's nice and shiny in real life. I used sentiments from both of the PTI sets; on the front, pictured first, I used the "My Son" sentiment twice...seeing as we have two sons, and on the inside "Life (I added three dots)..." is inside the frame and "is so much better with you in it" is stamped right on top of the photo. I did edge the frame in white ink but someone needs to tell me how to get it to stay white! My white always seems to either rub off or sink into the cardstock...Maybe I don't use enough to begin with...Humm...

We're hoping for a warmer day here in New England...it was so cold yesterday for mid-April and the natives are restless! We need some warm weather so these boys can get outside and get rid of some of that energy! :-) Enjoy your day!