Halloween Costumes 2013

 Breaking up some crafty posts to share with you this year's Halloween Costumes...

The family didn't coordinate costumes this year. We got the kids' costumes at a steal of a deal that trying to put them all together in one theme just couldn't work. Maybe next year. The kids wore their costumes at our Ward Trunk or Treat/Chili cook off last Friday and I took pictures of them before we headed out to the party. 

Marcus will be a "clone trooper" from Star Wars this year. We got his costume last year AFTER Halloween so it was 90% off. Can't beat that! 

Maddie's costume was a score found at the thrift store. We were actually in there to look for some shelves and on our way out, I spotted the trims of this dress on a rack by the entrance door. I stopped and looked at the dress and was impressed at the quality and beauty of it. I noticed that there were no tags inside the dress, which would mean that someone took the time to sew it. And the fact that it was only $6 made this dress a no-brainer for us. I didn't know what Maddie would actually be but I  really wanted this dress for her. Luckily Marcus said that the dress reminded him of Princess Elizabeth in Pirates of Caribbean so that's who we're going to call Maddie this year. :)

I too wanted to "dress up" this year. I found this really cute idea for a Mary Poppins costume in Pinterest (gosh don't you love that site?!) and decided that I'd like to dress up as one of the most famous nannies in the universe. I didn't want to spend a ton on this costume (I'm not a believer in spending lots of money for something I will just wear once) so I rummaged through my closet first. I found my white shirt, black stockings, purse and shoes in my stash. I got the skirt and grey jacket at Goodwill (both for under $6, I might add) and then I searched high and low for a black hat. I couldn't find one so I rummaged through my closet again and found this beige number that I hoped would work. After gluing some flowers, I called it a day. The only thing missing was a black umbrella but by that time, I was exhausted at trying to make this costume work and I just didn't care much anymore. Luckily some people "got" my costume and that was good enough for me. 

Mitch is going to be a "Waldo" character this year.Not of his own choice but I guess everyone at his work is going to be so he doesn't really have much say on it. We are not going "diy" with his costume at I haven't been lucky to find red/white striped sweater and red/white beanie cap in the thrift store. 

I'll take a picture of him and post it after Halloween. 

How about you? What would you be this Halloween?

Thanks for stopping by.

Till next time,

Grace

Latest Design team Work *Die Versions and Epiphany Crafts*

Happy Monday folks. Thanks for stopping by today. 

I love it when I can incorporate design team assignments with the season or holiday that's coming up. It  makes me enjoy the "season" even more. Here are a couple of projects that I created with the Fall and Halloween theme in  mind. 

Welcome to the Family card

You can read more about this project in the Die-Version blog here. 

Princess Leia layout

This is still one of my all time favorite costume that I made my little dear daughter wear for Halloween. Our family was into the Star Wars theme that year. You can read more about this layout plus see how I created it in this post at the Epiphany Crafts. 

Thanks for your continued support and I hope you have a fantastic start to your week. 

Till next time,

Grace

Happy Birthday card *Inspired By Stamping*

It seems like birthday cards are my "thing" lately. This is my third handmade card for that theme. Oh well, at least I'm  going to be well stocked for next year. If only I remember to actually give them out to friends and family. Ha!

This one is made for the ABC challenge blog. I love their theme right now, it's X for Xtra special. This means that they are looking for cards made for special occasion and I can't think of a better occasion than birthdays. Don't you think so?

Happy Birthday card

This was was made with some Lawn Fawn papers, Simple Stories brads and Inspired by Stamping stamps. The sentiment is just so gorgeous and the flower are super versatile. Just by changing up the colors of the inks I use with them, I will be able to use them for different seasons. Definitely going to be one of my "go-to" stamps from here on out. Plus did you know that the frame stamp is FREE with your purchase at the IBS store? Check it out here. 

I feel like when you have such a lovely framed sentiment, everything else in your card should be subtle. Would you agree with me on that?

Till next time,
Grace

Glue Dots' "Favorite Things" Blog hop

Hi there friends. Today I'm participating in a very special blog hop. 

Glue Dots recently added me as part of their new resource team. This is such an honor and as part of the team, we were all asked to share one of our favorite things. 

One of the many things I love about Autumn is the chance to decorate my home with the season's accents and colors.

It doesn't take too many supplies to create something for my home. Like many of you, I don't have too much time to create just one project so my motto has always been...short, sweet but effective! :)

Below are some of the supplies I used for the project...

I later on added some white paint, buttons, twine, embossing folder and liquid pearls.

I painted the background scallop cardstock piece with white so that the paper and accents can stand out better.

I used my die cut machine to cut out my letters and leaves. And to add some texture to them, I ran them through my Cuttlebug with an embossing folder.

Using some Glue Dots mini and pop up adhesives made this project super fast to put together.

here's the list of blog hoppers...

Dawn Barrett - http://dawnmercedes.blogspot.com/2013/10/some-of-my-favorite-things.html

Donna Budzynski - http://memesartplace.blogspot.com/2013/10/glue-dots-favorite-things-blog-hop-here.html

Erin Bullock - http://deeplyrootedlife.blogspot.com/2013/10/meet-dottesses.html

Joy Dickson - http://joyslife.com/glue-dots-favorite-things-blog-hop/

Jessica Griffin - http://canyoupixelthis.com/2013/10/23/glue-dots-my-favorite-things/

Danielle Hunter - http://ecoscrapbook.blogspot.com/2013/10/glue-dots-favorite-things-blog-hop.html

Smitha Katti - http://www.smilingcolors.com/2013/10/glue-dots-our-favorite-things/

Samantha Taylor - http://taylorstamped.blogspot.com/2013/10/glue-dots-favorite-things-blog-hop-o.html

Grace Tolman - http://tolmanchronicles.blogspot.com/2013/10/glue-dots-favorite-things-blog-hop.html

Glue Dots Blog – http://www.gluedots.com/glue-dots-blog/entry/meet-the-2013-2014-resource-team

There is an awesome giveaway included with this hop. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the rest of the hop.

Till next time,
Grace

Have a lovely birthday card *Inspired by Stamping*

Hi my lovely blog friends. Today's another card share. I've been on a card frenzy lately. Since starting school, my only "crafty" break is creating cards. They are quick, sweet and I get to test out some new supplies. 

Today's share is made with the latest sketch at Cardabilities as my inspiration...

Have a Lovely Birthday card

I used some more of the Lawn Fawn "Into the Woods" paper plus leaf and sentiment stamps from Inspired by Stamping. The white flower is also from the IBS store and the brad is from a Simple Stories pack. 

I love the sketch and how it made me use my stamp more. I created the leaf design by stamping the image on the back of a scrap paper (gotta love those one sided pattern papers) and then cut out the image to create my hanging accents.

What about you, what have been your favorite crafty project to make lately?

Till next time,
Grace

Warmest Birthday Wishes card *Inspired by Stamping*

Happy Monday friends. I hope you have enjoyed "hopping along" with the Inspired by Stamping and WorldWin blog hops. Wasn't that fun?

Today I'm starting off the week with a card share. I'm entering this for the latest papertakeweekly challenge which is to use the "Halloween Hues". I love rummaging through my scrap stash to find just the right colors. Make sure you stop by their blog and play along. 

Warmest Birthday Wishes card

I used some new stamps from Inspired By Stamping for my frame and sentiment accents. I also used some white flowers from the IBS store. 

I'm so glad that I was able to use the purple glittered cardstock here. I've been hoarding that for a while. *wink*

Thanks for stopping by.

Till next time,
Grace

Inspired by Stamping and Worldwin Papers BLOG HOP

Hi there crafty friends and thank you for joining us in this Holiday blog hop. Inspired By Stamping and Worldwin Papers has teamed up to offer you over 15 inspiring Christmas projects to jump start your holiday season.  We hope that you’ll find just the right inspiration for your next Christmas themed project.

Christmas season is all about gift giving, and this hop is no exception. We have planned a very sweet giveaway for a lucky winner. To be eligible for the giveaway, please visit each blog in the list, grabbing the “letter” code as you go. Once you’ve landed on our last blog, which is the Inspired by Stamping blog, you will leave a comment with the secret phrase created by putting together all of those letters that you collected from each blog. Winners of the giveaway will be announced on October 23^rd on both the Worldwin Papers and Inspired by Stamping blogs.

The designers have worked hard to produce all of these fantastic creations, and we would like to invite you to leave some comments on their individual blogs as well.

So what are you waiting for…let the hopping begin!

*If this is your first stop on the "hop train" please hop on over to Worldwin papers blog where it all starts :)

Dear Santa Layout

For my layout, I layered some WorldWin cardstocks and even added an envelope to tuck in my son's actual letter to Santa. I then used some Inspired by Stamping stamps to add some details and designs to my page.

Supplies Used:

Cardstocks- Original Colormates®Deep Racy Raspberry,Medium Berry Red,Dark Spring Green; Kromekote®Brushed, Silver Foil Mirror Finish; Worldwin® Cardstock Packs, Kraft and Ivory

Envelope - A7 Gold, Worldwin Papers

Stamps- Holiday Sentiments, Holiday Washi Tape, Holiday Tags, Build a Snowman- Inspired by Stamping

Others: Border punch, Twine, Photo Corners, Stamp ink pads, Pen and Adhesives.

And the code from this blog is.....O

Now hop on over to Irit's blog to get the next code- http://iritshalom.blogspot.com.au/

Thanks for hopping along with us and I hope you have a fantastic day.

Till next time,
Grace

My Sweethearts layout *Paper House*

Hi there my friends. 

Don't forget tomorrow, I'm participating in a super fun and inspiring blog hop for Inspired By Stamping and WorldWin Papers. There is a prize for one lucky participant and I hope it's one of my blog reader :)

I just love it when inspiration hits at just the right moment. When I saw the beautiful products for a girl birthday theme from Paper House, the thing that stood out to me first were the layered stickers of lollipops, cupcakes and cakes. All denoting something "sweet". It immediately made me think of my kiddos who are, apart from my hubby, the 'sweet' part of my life. The result of that thought led to this page...

My Sweethearts layout

Supplies Used:

Papers-  Birthday Girl Tags (P-0671E); Birthday Banners (P-0672E)

Stickers- Sweet Birthday Girl (STDM-0181E); Birthday Girl (STCX- 0179E)

Others- Cardstock, Pen, Scallop circles, Letter stickers, 2” circle punch, pink ink pad, and adhesive

 Instructions:

1. Adhere an 8 ½ x 11” piece of white cardstock on the center of the banner paper, horizontally.

2. Adhere the four pictures with the 4x6 image on the left side.

3. Cut out the shaped block piece from the birthday tags paper. Cut in half and adhere on the top and bottom ends of the 4x6 photo.

4. Add the title stickers on the top half of the shaped block and handwrite your journaling on the bottom half.

5. Create three scallop circles from cardstock using die cut machine and circle dies.

6. Punch out 2” circles from birthday tag paper and adhere to the scallop circles. Arrange them in the center of the layout.

7. Add some dimensional stickers over the scallop circle accents.

8. Cut out the words “sweet memories” from paper, ink the edges and adhere in between the scallop circles.

9. Add the sticker “celebrate” on the bottom right corner of the page using foam adhesive.

To learn more about the products I used and everything that Paper House has to offer, please visit their website here.

Till next time,
Grace

Maddie's baptism day

Ok so like I said yesterday, last weekend was a little busy for the Tolman's as we welcomed my parents, a brother and sister into our home for a few days. They were in town to support us as we celebrated Maddie's baptism. In the LDS church, we believe that children are to be baptized at their age of accountability,which is 8. Our kiddos look forward to this special day and the opportunity they have to be part of His church here on earth and to make special promises with the Heavenly Father. 

Because we lived far away from family, most of the people who shared this day with us were our friends and neighbors. We felt so loved by them. I cannot fully describe how it means to me to know that we are surrounded by loving and supportive people. 

As I look back at the event, I wished I had pulled out my camera more and have captured the day a little bit better. But in reality, having to get my daughter in and out of her baptism jumpsuit, plus giving a talk on the Holy Ghost and hosting the luncheon afterwards, it was not something I had in the front of my mind. Here are some of the images that I did manage to photograph...

Maddie right before the baptism started. The flower that she's wearing in her hair was a gift from her Grandma Tolman. It complemented her dress and jumpsuit. :)

I feel so blessed to have a worthy priesthood holder in my home that can baptize my children. Here's dad and daughter right before the meeting started. 

One of our friends offered to photograph the whole family...

 It was a great baptism. My brother and sister gave the prayers, my mom and I gave the talks and my dad did a solo musical number. My husband did both the baptism and confirmation of Maddie.

After the baptism we invited everyone for lunch at our home. We served the Filipino chowmein called Pansit with simple sides of rolls and green salad. We also had some strawberry shortcake for dessert.

After church services the following day, we decided to take a group photo of my family...

I felt so grateful for my family for traveling to witness this special day for our Maddie. We know that if time, budget and health permitted we would have had more family members come. It's just such a great feeling to know that my family shares the same belief and love for the gospel with me.

Thanks for stopping by.

Till next time,
Grace

Halloween cards *Epiphany Crafts*

Hi there friends. I'm starting this week's blog posting a little behind but I've had some family over this past weekend (more on that in a later post) and I'm just now starting to get back to my routine. 

Before I move on to the meat of this post, I wanted to personally invite you to come stop by this blog this weekend for a special blog hop...

So for today's post I'm sharing a card trio showcasing Epiphany Crafts and Lawn Fawn team up. I love the stamps that I got from Lawn Fawn and went straight to work in creating this adorable Halloween cards...

Here's some more close ups....

I love the versatility of Epiphany Crafts products, especially the button makers. I can get personalized accents, tailored to each project. To see what supplies I used, how I created each card and more info about Epiphany Crafts, please visit my post here. 

Thanks for dropping by. 

Till next time,

Grace

Birthday Wishes Card *Inspired By Stamping*

Going with my unintentional "card share week" this week here in the blog, here's another card share made with Inspired By Stamping products....

Birthday Wishes card

I used the latest stamp set and some of the fun birthday boy digital paper for this card. I used some bright yellow and orange cardstock to add some "pop" of color on this card. 

To learn more about the products used for this card and other Inspired By Stamping products, please check the website here.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a fantastic weekend.

Till next time,
Grace

Inspired By Stamping October Catalog

Hi friends. It's that time of the month again where Inspired by Stamping releases it's online catalog. 

Each page provides details of our stamp set! Plus, inspiration from our designers! This new

catalog was designed to give you even more inspiration and interaction than ever before with Inspired by Stamping products.Cool Features:- Browse the catalog with ease on your tablet or computer.- Get the entire release in one spot! Plus, zoom in on your favorite products, projects and cards.- Watch video tutorials from our YouTube channel right inside the catalog!- SHOP ONLINE! Order products by clicking on the stamp set which takes you directly to our online store. Here’s a few peek at what is inside!

View the design team cards and projects that they used with each stamp set!
Where can you find our Online Catalog?
You can download it here, today.
All future catalogs will be available for download at our Store. Click Here!
We’d LOVE to hear what you think! After flipping through our catalog, leave a comment below or at Joanna's bloghere.
We hope you enjoy our new inspiration catalog!

Till next time,
Grace

Chalkboard birthday *Inspired By Stamping October release*

Hi there friends. I'm sharing another Inspired by Stamping release project share today. This time it's for the Chalkboard Birthday set

May All Your Wishes Come True card

We were asked to highlight the "chalkboard technique" with our cards today and I decided to see how the technique would look on other colors besides the usual "blackboard" background. I used a lime green paper die cutting it with the Fancy labels die and then using the featured stamp set as my card sentiment. I added some white ink on the edges of the piece to create a more weathered-chalkboard effect. 

I also used the Birthday girl printable papers, ribbon and flowers from Inspired By Stamping.

Make a Wish card

With this project, I did the normal "chalkboard" look using black cardstock and white embossing powder. I added some of the really cool border stamps on the top and bottom of the fancy label cut out. 

Adding ribbon and flowers finished off my card. 

and here's the rest of the hoppers today....

Joanna - http://wp.me/p3QhWl-3Lh

• Grace YOU ARE HERE

• Vicki - http://allidoisstamp.blogspot.com/2013/10/inspired-by-stamping-october-sneak_8.html

• Tina-- http://woodedviews.blogspot.com/2013/10/celebrate.html

• Rebecca http://www.paperprimrose.com/?p=6632

• Rose  http://roseshappyplace.blogspot.com/2013/10/ibs-october-release-chalkboard-birthday.html

• Leah- http://paperblossoms.blogspot.com/2013/10/chalkboard-birthday.html

• Irit-http://iritshalom.blogspot.com/2013/09/october-ibs-release-day-3-chalkboard.html-

• Shea - http://glitterandbonbons.blogspot.com/2013/10/ibs-new-release-chalkboard-birthday.html

• Colleen http://www.colleendietrichdesigns.com/2013/10/inspired-by-stamping-october-release_8.html

•  Kendra - http://luv2scrapnmakecards.blogspot.com/2013/10/ibs-chalkboard-birthday.html

Birthday Bash Information Store Information
• Free Shipping will be available on all orders over $25. This will start on the 10th and be available until Oct 15th. Please mention this is good for anyone in the world. International Free Shipping Included Coupon Code: Birthday
• All stamp sets will be offered at a 10% discount.
• Purchase $50 of product from our store and receive Vintage Happy Birthday for the entire month of October. (No code needed)
• Take 30% off all our Birthday stamp sets Code IBSBIRTHDAY (The dropdown menu “Birthday” all of these sets are 30% off) http://www.inspiredbystamping.com/collections/birthdays-1
• All Ribbon and Flowers Marked Down – 25% - 50% off no coupon needed. http://www.inspiredbystamping.com/collections/flowers
• Dies On Sale – 25% Off Sale http://www.inspiredbystamping.com/collections/die-cuts
Contests!! 
• October 6th ~ 4 sketch challenges from our past IBSI challenge.
• October 7th ~ 4 color combination challenges from our past IBSI challenge.
• October 8th ~ Chalkboard Challenge ~ Create using A ChalkboardTechnique ~ please send me a close-up of your card.
• October 9th ~ Birthday Party Card/Project Challenge ~ will end on October 17th – One week to join our challenge
Prizes 
1 Winner each day will receive the entire birthday bash release including all stamp sets, paper, printables and frames.

Till next time,
Grace

It's your Birthday *Inspired by Stamping October Release

Hi there friends. Today I'm sharing my projects for the Inspired by Stamping blog hop featuring the It's Your Birthday stamp. 

Today is also the "color" challenge day and here's my color inspiration....

Celebrate Another Year card

 I used the honeycomb design on the background using the IBS svg cut with the Silhouette Cameo. I used the stamp as my card sentiment tag and aren't those little banners adorable?

Celebrating You card

 In this card, I wanted to play around with the digital papers that IBS released this month. I printed them off to create my hybrid card. I also used a flower from the IBS store.

Now go and check out the rest of the hoppers today...

Joanna - http://wp.me/p3QhWl-3Lf

Colleen http://www.colleendietrichdesigns.com/2013/10/inspired-by-stamping-october-release_7.html

• Grace YOU ARE HERE

• Irit -http://iritshalom.blogspot.com/2013/09/october-ibs-release-day-2-its-your.html

• Kendra  http://luv2scrapnmakecards.blogspot.com/2013/10/ibs-its-your-birthday.html

• Leah -http://paperblossoms.blogspot.com/2013/10/its-your-birthday.html 

• Rebecca http://www.paperprimrose.com/?p=6593

• Shea - http://glitterandbonbons.blogspot.com/2013/10/ibs-new-release-its-your-birthday.html

• Tina-- http://woodedviews.blogspot.com/2013/09/time-for-cake.html

• Vicki http://allidoisstamp.blogspot.com/2013/10/inspired-by-stamping-october-sneak_7.html

Birthday Bash Information Store Information
• Free Shipping will be available on all orders over $25. This will start on the 10th and be available until Oct 15th. Please mention this is good for anyone in the world. International Free Shipping Included Coupon Code: Birthday
• All stamp sets will be offered at a 10% discount.
• Purchase $50 of product from our store and receive Vintage Happy Birthday for the entire month of October. (No code needed)
• Take 30% off all our Birthday stamp sets Code IBSBIRTHDAY (The dropdown menu “Birthday” all of these sets are 30% off) http://www.inspiredbystamping.com/collections/birthdays-1
• All Ribbon and Flowers Marked Down – 25% - 50% off no coupon needed. http://www.inspiredbystamping.com/collections/flowers
• Dies On Sale – 25% Off Sale http://www.inspiredbystamping.com/collections/die-cuts
Contests!! 
• October 6th ~ 4 sketch challenges from our past IBSI challenge.
• October 7th ~ 4 color combination challenges from our past IBSI challenge.
• October 8th ~ Chalkboard Challenge ~ Create using A ChalkboardTechnique ~ please send me a close-up of your card.
• October 9th ~ Birthday Party Card/Project Challenge ~ will end on October 17th – One week to join our challenge
Prizes 
1 Winner each day will receive the entire birthday bash release including all stamp sets, paper, printables and frames.

Till next time,
Grace