Busy today...

...with fun stuff.

I was lucky enough to get my daily exercise for today by walking around the San Diego Zoo, with my sister in-law and her three kidos...we laughed, and ate popcorn, and saw lots of beautiful animals....here are a few pics:





Now, I am preparing for the Pink Pineapple Garage Sale. It is on Saturday, April 4th, from 8am-2pm...and there will be lots of yummy goodies:

I LOVE Sassafras!

OMG...I am Sassafras' random blinkie winner for this week!!!! So exciting, right??? Well, it gets even better...they showed some of my work on their blog, AND advertised for my flower pots class!!! Their product is so fun, and one of my all time favs...so this is truly an honor...THANK YOU SASSAFRAS!!! Yea! What a great day...I am beaming :)Carrie

My Spring Flower Pots Class...

....Here are a few pictures:









Spring Flower Pots
***choose your own paper***

By Carrie Elias
at Pink Pineapple Scrapbooks
(760) 598-2222
Saturday, April 25th
10:00am
$19.00

This delightful project is 3 flower pots to use for flowers, herbs in the kitchen, supplies on your desk, to fill with goodies and give as a gift, or whatever your creative mind wants. Match these pots to wherever you will place them, by choosing your own paper (3 whole sheets) and coordinating ribbon…you also have the option to use the same as the samples on display. As a bonus you will receive a template to create more at home, and have left over paper to make a matching card, or more pots! Little Maya Road birdies add the perfect touch to this adorable spring project!

Please bring with you: Modge Podge, Scissors, All Purpose Craft Glue (I used “The Ultimate Glue”), Pencil, Pen, Pop-up Dots (I used black), Paper trimmer, and Cropadile.

The samples are on display at Pink Pineapple Scrapbooks, if you would like to see them in person. Love to see you there!

;)Carrie

***kits will be available, if you cannot make this class date...when you sign up please specify if would like to choose your own paper, or use the same as my sample***

Three Things...

...are on my mind this sunny 4th day of Spring!!!

1.) I am loving the way that the tiny petals of this pinky African violet shimmer...they are so precious...the whole bloom is only about the size of a penny...



2.) These Sassafras Lass papers are so yummy, and I am still smiling from taking Ally's class, where we put together these layouts...they are so beautiful, I almost don't want to add photos...





3.) This CD is spot on for my mood today...the organic sounds of these David Bowie songs, in Portuguese, have just the right amount of pep & fluidity...

The Glorious Pink Challenge for March...

...is create a layout with three different paper lines, and is MUST have the color "green"...my favorite color...Here is what I came up with:







The three paper lines I used are - Sassafras Lass, Pink Paislee, and American Crafts. I added green with the hand stitched hearts...I thought it was appropriate, since I used a photo of me crossing the Ha'penny Bridge in Ireland...not to mention it was loads of fun! Thanks for the challenge, Gloria & Pink Pineapple Scrapbooks!

To see other entries, just click here. Have fun creating!

I LOVE Music!

Ryan's band, Human Fragments, had a show on Thursday...and they were awesome! I think it is their best show so far. They played at a punk bar called the Radio Room. I took Ryan's cousin Heather, and my friend, also named Heather. It is a very small venue, so Heather & I stood in the very front of the stage, with loads of people behind us, and rocked out...me with my Rockstar & her with her Long Island Iced Tea! Here is a photo of the band...Ryan is the blurry image behind the drums...being the dork I am, I forgot to take one of Heather & I together:



Later that evening, after some good conversation and a late night California Burrito, I took this silly photo of myself (I almost never use the flash), to show you all my newly dyed hair...kinda a blood red color, or something...needless to say I am currently fond of it...Hope you likey!

One of my favorite photos right now...

...is this awe inspiring picture I took a few summers ago, while visiting Washington State. I was on a hike with my family, and took so many amazing nature photos....It is so beautiful where I lived during the summer....right on the Peninsula, in a little town called Sequim.

I used the recycled paper from Jillibean Soup, in shittake, and paprika, and cut out the little birdie and individual trees from non-recycled shittake paper. The alphas are also Jillibean Soup. The large painted tree is from Scrap FX...I painted it copper. The green glitter paper is from Creative Imaginations, and the dark brown specialty paper is Chatterbox. I sewed frames around the photos and title, and that's it...pretty simple, right? Have fun!

Right now there is a trip in the works to visit Sequim again....I can't wait!!!

My friend, Gloria...

...she is such a comfort to be around...so sweet, talented, and beautiful...and she has an awesome family!

Gloria and I decided one day, last summer, to visit the Del Mar Fair, and buy the pass that lets you go on as many rides as you can stand!!! We had so much fun, and got a little sick in the process! This layout has a photo I look of her, while we were on the Ferris Wheel.....good times:)

For this layout, I used a cool technique I learned from taking a class from my scrapbook idol, Celine Navarro. I covered a piece of cardstock with masking tape, painted it yellow, and wiped it with baby wipes to get the exact shade I wanted. For a personal touch, I drew a frame on the backside of the cardstock, and cut our the shape with scissors. I love all the texture!!! On a side note: Gloria is my beer buddy...we will be having a pint (or two) tomorrow! But, for today, HAPPY ST. PATTY'S DAY to all!

A Challange Layout...

....from my friend, Jane. She printed out a camera and the word "focus" on a 12x12 white cardstock piece of paper, and we (some friends & I) each had to scrap around it. Here is what I came up with:






A cool trick I learned from this layout was, I colored the camera with blue colored pencil, and brushed diamond glaze over the top to give the black a rich color and texture...turned out pretty cool :)

Here is a picture of Jane, showing my friends and I some of her paintings from a recent retreat...she was in heaven, and her paintings are beautiful!!!



If you go to her blog, she has lots of amazing creations to inspire you...I totally recommend it...Thanks for all the inspiration, Jane! Happy Monday!

Creating for my friends...

....is so great!!! A group of my friends decided to swap photos, and each of us would make a layout for the other. It was totally different than I expected. Creating a layout for a friend, someone I care about, with one of her photos, gave me a way of being creative that I had never experienced before...I wanted it to look beautiful, like me, like her....and somehow the combination felt like pure creative freedom...if felt easy, like riding a bike...and FUN!!!

Here is the layout I made for my friend Melanie:







The products I used: Pink Paislee "fascinating" paper line, Doodlebug red polka-dot velvet paper, some alphas, tickets, brads, various flowers (felt, paper, and Hambly cut from a dye machine), cream textured ribbon, bakers twine in teal, and a black circle border.

If you haven't tried this before (or lately)...do it:) You will find yourself somewhere wondrous...

Birthday Flower Pots...

...for Melanie and Michele:






HAPPY BIRTHDAY you lovely ladies!!!! Thanks for being such a creative inspiration in my life...you are beautiful!!!

I painted these mini flower pots off white, added "darling deer" Sassafras Lass paper, and measuring tape ribbon. This was a little challenging since I had to create a template for the paper to fit correctly. I will be teaching an altered version of this class at the Pink Pineapple on April 25th at 10am...will have an update with pics early next week.

Have a great weekend!

Happines is a way of travel...

....I like to remember these thoughts, so here is a layout with a pic of my little sis, Lilli:









Putting this layout together is really simple, there are only a few different products I used. Pink Paislee paper Enchanting line in "sweet", Sassafras Lass papers Vintage Yummy line in "remember me" & "darling dear", also the Enchanting line of press-ons, brads, & chipboard elements....and then everything is layered together.....I also stitched around the edge of one of the papers with cream twine, and used German glass glitter in silver around the chipboard frames that I received from my friend, Jane....the roses are in the hut at the Pink Pineapple, there's some dark brown Bazzill.....and that's it! Hope you find your inspiration today :)

Last Weekend at the Zoo...

....the San Diego Zoo, to be exact...Ryan & I walked around for a couple hours...it was a beautiful day!!! Perfect strolling weather :) Here are a couple of my favorite pics:

A skeleton of an Indian Crocodile (Gharial) & the real thing:


A gorgeous Peacock that was gracious enough to pose for me:


The path leading to Tiger River:


...and Tiger cubs!!! (there was a little girl w/ pink pants standing next to me, and so there is a pink reflection on the cub's face)...aren't they darling, though!


...Oh, and one of my favorite animals right now, the Striped Hyena...I read a children's book about one a couple years ago, and have seen them differently, ever since. This one looked like it was having so much fun! It was playing with a large antler that was bobbing up and down in a little pool of water...those stripes as so striking!


And last, but not least, a blurry photo of Ryan & I around sunset...we really did have a relaxing day...it was nice :)


On a final note, I want to wish Isabella a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I hope your day is as beautiful as you are!!!

Paper Scraps...Paper Flowers!!!

....are my newest addiction!!! I purchased a template from the Paper Source, and used it to make flowers out of my scrapbooking paper scraps....it is a little tedious, but the result is more than worth it!!! I made a bouquet of 5 different flowers that are currently in a vase at the Pink Pineapple, and am excited to made my own bouquet....I have an empty vase sitting atop my scrapbooking table waiting to be filled :)



The flower above, has American Crafts, and Doodlebug paper for the petals, and Hambly for the leaves...I am feeling the beginning of Spring fever! Anyone else bit?