Guest May Flaum + Camp Scrap Giveaway

I’m always looking for ways to create on the fly and challenge myself to keep things interesting. Hi there, my name is May Flaum and I’m excited to be here as a guest on the Doodlebug blog today! As the mom of two girls and lover of bright crisp colors I’ve been a Doodlebug fan for many years and I always look forward to seeing what they’ll come up with next. The Stars & Stripes collection caught my attention right away, and I’ve been crafting up a storm with it! Today I have a new project to share with you here – made especially for this blog.

My inspiration for this page was to use bits and pieces that I have left, as it seems I’ve crafted my way through most of my stash! No 12x12 sheets of patterned paper left? No problem!

I cut up my chunks of leftover paper bits and made it work! You can see above how I cut apart and placed pieces, as well as adding in stickers, and even stitching some of the fantastic twine along the top edge. I love that all I needed to add in was a sheet of white cardstock and the Stars & Stripes collection did the rest!

I mostly scrapbook with 4x6 photos, and this has me absolutely loving the Simply Put Album Inserts that doodlebug has! In fact I’m having such fun with these journaling papers that I’m almost all out! They work so well in my designs, and I love that they are double sided so you can have options depending on what your project needs.

Whether you challenge yourself to use up leftovers on your desk as I have here today or simply take an hour (or even a half hour) to craft something soon I hope you enjoy some very happy crafting!

If you’d like to see more of my craft projects I welcome you to visit me at my blog (www.mayflaum.com), and I also have a new workshop starting with Big Picture Classes June 6th called Camp Scrap. It’s all new material, more than 15 videos and 54 new and exclusive projects too.  I play with all kinds of scrapbooking and paper crafts – it’s going to be four weeks of creative play and the best part is that the materials will remain up and available, so you can access at your own pace. What could be better? I’ve got a spot to give away to one of you lovely readers!

Enter to Win
Would you like to win free registration to join May's Camp Scrap class? Then it's simple, you can enter by doing one (or all) of the following. You will have until May 31st to enter. Winner will be announced on June 3rd.
 1. Connect with May by following her on either Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube or Twitter. Then leave a comment telling us which one you are following her on.
2. Follow Doodlebug Design on Pinterest. Leave a comment you did or are already.
3. Leave a comment on the Doodlebug Facebook page telling us why you love Doodlebug.

Good Luck!

Life is Good with the Stars & Stripes Collection

We loved how the Stars & Stripes Collection could be used for those Patriotic celebrations or simple to pull some fun memories together. Check out the darling layout by Monique. She lives in the Netherlands so 4th of July is not something she would celebrate. But we couldn't resist sharing Kathy's darling patriotic cards as well.

Life is Good Layout 
by Monique Liedtke

Stars & Stripes Cards
by Kathy Martin

Graduation Gift Ideas + Cards

Every gift is not complete with the perfect card. Here's a couple of ideas for all those Graduation Open House Parties and Ceremonies using the new Doodlebug Cap & Gown Collection. And we went searching for the perfect ideas for gifts for your grads and here's some links we'd like to share:

Answer.com's Graduation Gift Ideas and Tips

Real Simple's 29 Unique Graduation Gifts

Gifts.com The Very Best Graduation Gifts

Congratulations Card
by Kathy Martin

Graduation Day
by Shellye McDaniel

Featuring Doodlebug's New Cardstock

We are thrilled to feature the new Doodlebug Cardstock. They come in a great variety of colors that are designed to match the Doodlebug line perfectly. Retailers can purchase individual colors, but as a design team we really loved these assortment packs. They come housed in their very own organizers and make storage simple! Check out the entire cardstock line on our website.

So to celebrate check out what Amanda created with the cardstock being the star of her card creations!

Sewing Up Amazing with Amy

Amy has been working hard again on creating amazing projects with the Doodlebug Ladybug Garden fabrics. She even sprinkled in a darling card using the coordinating paper for her mom for Mother's day.

Mini Zippered Coin Purse Tutorial

There is almost nothing that isn't cuter in miniature- houses, dogs, food- and purses.

This little coin purse is diminutive in size, but large on function.  Perfect for summer outings- put in a couple dollars and your I.D. and you're prepared for any last minute snow cone adventures or lemonade stand encounters.  The bright colors will help you find it even in the most cavernous beach bag.

Measuring a mere 3" high and 5" wide this coin purse might seem too small to do much, but adding a 1" gusset allows for a surprising amount of space inside.  And this little guy is lined with laminated cotton- perfect for keeping out sand and easy clean up if it gets dirty from all those coins.

Are you sold yet?  Feeling like you NEED one?  I'm here to help.  This is a quick sew and uses very little fabric.  If you don't have laminated cotton, don't fret, this can be made using any scraps you have on hand.

(Note: The supply photo below shows yellow chevron and the finished project shows red.)

Be sure to visit Amy's Blog post for the specific material list and step-by-step instructions on how to create this adorable coin purse. 

Mini Zippered Coin Purse Tutorial

Now if that wasn't enough...Amy created this darling fabric banner using the same Ladybug Garden fabrics. I think this would be the perfect finishing for a summer party, little girl's room or inspirational craft room!

Flower Tutorial:
Amy wanted to show everyone how she created the yummy little scrunched flowers on the banner picture above. So she created an entire tutorial to explain the steps. Be sure to visit her blog to learn how to make this flower. 

Throw a Doodlebug Baby Shower

by Tifffany Hood

My little sister was expecting her first girl, so we threw her a baby shower complete with cute Doodlebug decor.

The banner was simple- just some 6" x 9" pieces of patterned paper, some die cut circles, rosettes, and die cut letters.  The best way I've found for making banners is using hot glue for all the layers.

You can make a simple invitation using only some die cut circles, an embossing folder, and Doodlebug's stickers.  Super quick and cute.  I made a similar one for a boy that you can find in the Create Baby Idea Book 2012 by Northridge Publishing.

The diaper cake was made by rolling diapers individually and placing a rubber band around them and then placing them in cake pans.  When the cake pan is full, you put a large rubber band around the entire "tier" and then decorate and stack.

  

We decorated the food with little paper flags to give it a cute touch.

Everything was made using the Sugar & Spice Collection.

Why Do you Love Being a Mom?

We know Mother's Day was a couple of days ago, but we have some amazing Mom Spotlights we wanted to share. We asked a couple of our Design Team gals to share why they love being a mom. And we want hope to inspire you to scrapbook "why YOU love being a mom."

You & Me Layout
by Stephanie Buice 

Being a mom is by far the greatest gift God has blessed me with, the most important by far. I know it’s not always glamorous like dirty diapers and a messy house, but none of these could top the immeasurable amount of joy being a mom has brought me. I love how Mama was his first word and that only I have the super power to heal his booboos with a single kiss. I love that being a mom makes me part of the greatest miracle and the feeling that there is still good in the world when I rock him to sleep at night. I’ve had his first dance and have been his first kiss (sorry ladies), I love how I feel when he just wants to sit in my lap and cuddle. I love being a mom because my child is the best part of me, I feel so lucky that God trusted me enough to do this. I know many things will fade away as he grows, I’ll lose my superpowers and one day he’ll ask me not to kiss his cheek in front of his friends. But for now he’s my little boy and I get to be one of the biggest parts of his world. Even if I’m next to Daddy and Pocoyo I’m still there. Being a mom is great but being his mom makes me pretty awesome, and I love that. 

Tutti Fruitie Mommy's Cutie
by Jodi Wilton 

I am so very lucky to be a mom to three amazing kids! I knew I always wanted a family, and I couldn’t wait to be a mom! I love being a mom for so many reasons. It is probably the hardest job in the world, but it is the most rewarding! I love watching my kids grow (and trust me they grow too fast!); I love watching them accomplish something for the first time; I love how excited and happy they get over the little things, that as adults we seem to forget; I love teaching them, and I love how they teach me to be a better person; I love how they make me laugh; and most importantly I love the feeling of cuddling them every night – there are no words to explain the unconditional love of being a mom.