Animoto rocks my photo world!!

I recently discovered an awesome online application that let’s you create mini videos from your photos…and it’s free for 30 second clips!! Animoto totally rocks and I absolutely love it. It’s so easy to use and does all the work for you. You upload pictures from your computer or import from an online source such as Flickr. Once you upload your photos {which is surprisingly fast}, you choose music, either from their library or upload from your computer, select the length of your video and Animoto does the rest for you. They add in motion graphics, effects, and transitions based on the music you choose and the photos you uploaded. How do they do that?? Animoto has a Cinematic Artificial Intelligence software that thinks like an actual director and editor…it’s very cool.

I think this is a really fun way to display photos and I especially like this as a way to highlight your craft projects. Check out the video I made, it’s a 30 second highlight of some of my projects from this year. No more boring slideshows…Animoto videos are totally the way to go, it rocks!!

ps - If you decide to sign-up for a free account please add me as your referrer. They have a great referral program. During the sign-up process, click the {enter a code} and type Cathy@MamaSheg.com. Thanks XOOXO

Michaels coupons

Here’s a couple coupons for Michaels, both are good until May 10th.

20% off your entire purchase

40% off one regular priced item

Happy Shopping!! XOOXO

Show & Tell - Matryoshka embellishment

I made this little cutie matryoshka {Russian nesting doll} embellishment today. I’m going to use it for a mini album I’m working on.

I stamped my image on the inside of a security envelope. These are just regular envelopes you get at the office supply store or Costco. The envelope has a great pattern on the inside so I just flattened out the envelope and stamped my image. I cut out the center part of the image and put a scrap piece of patterned paper behind it. Next I stamped the same image onto white cardstock and cut out the face and flowers for the center. I used colored pencils to add a little color to the face. Then I cut out the hair from brown cardstock. For detail I used a white gel pen to dot around the center of the body and outlined the necktie. Stickles were then added to the flowers in the center and also on the necktie. The flowers in the center are raised with a foam pop-up.

Products used

• Babushka stamp {SOML}
• Ink {Versa Color 158 Lapislazuli}
• Stickles
• Patterned paper {My Minds Eye}
• White gel pen {Sakura Gelly Roll Med}

Friday Freebie - Fabulous flowers

I love a good crafty how-to. Creating Keepsakes just sent out this link {PDF download} via their newsletter, it’s an awesome little how-to by C.D. Muckosky called Beautiful Blooms. There are 10 unique ways to create fabulous flowers for your pages and projects.

You’ll also want to pick up these gorgeous floral edgers designed by Katie Pertiet too. You can download them as brushes or use the image files.

Need a little more inspiration for creating fabulous flowers?? Check out this video tutorial from Okakuku. She shows how to make a really cute flower with ribbon strips and a button.

Show & Tell - Keiki haku lei picture frame

Last weekend I made this frame for Nika’s Great Grandma…bad me for not having one for Nika’s other Grandma. Here’s the one I just completed for her. Grandma recently came back from Hawaii and brought home this adorable little haku lei {flower head wreath}. I thought this would be a great picture for her gift.

The frame was purchased at Costco and is a 5×7 size, the photo is a 4×6 giving me the wiggle room to be creative. I used patterned paper for the mat and embellished with flowers and gemstones. I love how the flowers came out. I cut the flowers out from patterned paper, layered them with foam dots and topped off with gemstones.

Products used

• Pattered paper {My Minds Eye}
• Flowers {Me & My Big Ideas}
• Gemstones

Check out what I found…

We get way too many catalogs in the mail. Most go straight to the recycling bin. Nika decided she wanted to look at a catalog so I pulled some out for her to play with. When I saw this one from Design Within Reach and flipped through it look what I found…lots of fabulous papers!! Really they are just pages from the catalog but I thought they looked cool and figure I could use them to make something crafty. Here’s a sampling of the ones I ripped out.

Gorgeous butterfly freebie & give-a-way!!

I recently discovered the blog of Brenda Pinnick, she’s a very talented artist and designer. She has a gorgeous butterfly freebie on her blog. You print it out, cut out the pieces and layer with foam dots. It’s really cute! This is the one I did for Nika’s room using the freebie download.

Brenda is also having a fabulous give-a-way in celebration of her 100th post. For one lucky winner she will do a custom painting!! Her artwork is amazing and she’s also throwing in a really cool book. Stop by her blog and leave a comment, let her know MamaSheg sent you. XOOXO

6 weird things about me

My crafty friend Michelle {who makes the cutest little faeries} has tagged me. I think it’s always fun when people do these. How else would you ever know these facts about me, LOL!!

The rules are:

1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six weird things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag six others. And let them know they’ve been tagged!

Here are 6 weird {things/habits/quirks} about me…

1. I’ve been filing taxes since the age of 15!!
2. I have a pet turtle named Tippi Turtle {shown in photo} that I’ve had since I was 12 years old…I’m in my mid 30s. We’ve been together a long time!!
3. My all-time favorite comfort food is macaroni and cheese.
4. I wrote my 1st computer program in 1984 and have 2 Bachelor degrees.
5. I’m an excellent frog catcher and love hanging around ponds.
6. I’m left handed.

Here’s some fun people you should check out. I’m tagging….Duct tape Don, Jackie, Tara, Diana, and Lim. All are very talented crafters stop by their blogs and say “hi”.

Show & Tell - My birthday girl picture frame

I really wanted to make something scrappy and needed a quick project for today. I had an extra photo printed from Nika’s birthday and thought I would use it to make this little gift for her Great Grandma.

I have a nice stash of picture frames as I love to give photos as gifts. The frame I used was purchased at Costco. Scraps from my stash worked perfect for this size frame too. This was a fun way to spruce up the small sized photo and personalize it for a gift. I’m keeping the glass out of the frame so it will be lighter and easier for Great Grandma to hold.

Products used

• Polka dot patterned paper {Paper Pizazz}
• Pink stripped paper {free download from Canon’s Creative Park}
• Pink tied ribbon {came from a Janie & Jack children’s clothing tag and I added the pink gemstone}
• White hearts ribbon {Really Reasonable Ribbon}

Friday Freebie - Glitz Designs

I have recently discovered the cute products of Glitz Designs. They have some really fabulous printable cards you can download free from their site. From their main website page, click on the {bright ideas} link and it will take you directly to their download page. Lots of cute cards, perfect for when you need something quick!

Here’s a sampling of the goodies available for download.

Get the Friday Freebie

Show & Tell - Altered bird house

I purchased a little wood bird house from Joann’s for $1. I thought it would be cute for Nika’s room. I decorated it to match the altered letter I made.

I started out by sanding the edges and any rough spots. I painted the birdhouse using the same lavender paint that was used to paint my daughters bedroom. Next I traced the roof onto the back of my patterned paper and cut out. I ran the paper through my Xyron machine for adhesive and then filed the edges with the Basic Grey Precision Filing Set. The white mesh is self adhesive and went on great. I tied raffia ribbon around the white mesh for interest. I used wet glue to apply the gemstones and a tape runner for the ribbon on the roof. For the buttons on the back of the house I used glue dots.

Products used

• Wood bird house {purchased at Joann’s}
• Patterned paper {DCWV}
• Buttons {these are extra buttons from my daughter’s clothes}
• White mesh {FibaTape}
• Gemstones
• Ribbon {Really Reasonable Ribbon}
• Cardstock {DCWV}
• Paint {Yolo}
• Adhesive {Xyron, Scrapbook Adhesives, Ultimate Glue, Glue Dots}

Lookin for some RAK goodies??

Check out Misty’s blog, Li’l Buck’s Creations. She has some awesome {blog booty} she’s giving away!

Wendy’s blog, An Inkling of Love has 2 fabulous give aways!

Be sure to stop by Lim’s blog too, The Voices in My Head. Lim will be picking 3 winners for some really great goodies!

The coolest box ever!

My friend Don makes the coolest boxes I’ve ever seen, they’re called explosion boxes. They look complicated, but are surprisingly easy to make. What a cool and impressive gift to give someone. This box has 12 flaps for photos and journaling when it opens up {or explodes} and there is still room to put a nice little gift inside too.

Don is teaching this popular class at Ben Franklin Crafts in Redmond, Washington on June 2nd. Don is a very talented paper crafting artist. If you get a chance to take a class with him I highly recommend it. You’re sure to have fun!

Here’s some really great explosion box examples I found online.

Collette in the 2Peas gallery has the most wonderful box, check it out here. She has several photos of the box so you can see all the details.

Jessica Acs has a pretty box with pockets and tags inside.

Check out this Flickr stream for more cute examples of exploding boxes.

MaddyH in the 2Peas gallery has a fairy tree house exploding box that will {wow} you!!

Up to trying this on your own?? Over at Scrapbooker Online they have a great how-to with lots of photos. There is also another excellent tutorial at The Fine Art of Rambling blog. I also recently discovered Anso’s blog, Glitter Adventure. She has several really cool free online classes including the popular exploding box.

Clever ribbon storage idea

I came across this video from SpazzGirl on ways to organize your ribbon. She shows a really clever way to hang your ribbon from a jump ring using safety pins. I hadn’t heard of this idea before and love it!! Check out the video.

Shout-out to SheetLoad

Have you checked out the free SheetLoad of Cards eZine? April’s issue is now available for download. The April issue features products from Stampin Up! If you have not heard of SheetLoad of Cards, every month they publish a PDF newsletter for card makers. They feature a great sketch and show you how to create a bunch fabulous cards with just a few sheets of paper. The best part is they show you how to properly cut your paper to get the most cards out of your sheets, love that! Check it out, great samples and directions for making a batch of cards all while being efficient with your paper!

Want to win some cool Stampin Up goodies? SheetLoad of Cards is having a giveaway when you sign-up to get their updates through FeedBlitz.

Download the SheetLoad of Cards - April Issue