Get to know...Patti Milazzo

Hey there Bo Bunny Fans!  It's me, Patti and today it's my turn to be in the spotlight.  Let me tell you a bit about me and my family and then I'll show you some new projects that I've made.

I'm married to a truly wonderful man named Joe.  Later this month, we'll celebrate our 17th anniversary.  He has the patience of a saint and sweetly tolerates my crazy obsession with paper and glue.  We met at college our senior year and it's been very much my "happily ever after" story since then.  Here's Joe with Alex this summer at a nearby amusement park.  This was just a few minutes before Alex got completely drenched on the log flume bridge.  


















We currently live in southeastern Pennsylvania and as you can see we have two sweet yet zany children, Sheridan (15) and Alexander (10) who we love dearly and keep us on our toes.  They keep busy with the usual sports and school activities as well as being in band.  Strangely enough, they are both musically talented.  I say strange because neither Joe nor I can read music and we can barely carry a tune...lol!  But Alex has excelled with the trumpet in just a few short months and Sheridan plays flute and piccolo for band as well as learning to play a handful of other instruments.  Her brother is quickly following in her footsteps.
 
Here they are together when we visited a orchard near us.  We picked a TON of cherries this season and made a very scrumptious cherry filling that I used for a super simple tart recipe.  I gave them the task of pitting the cherries...I'm pretty sure they snuck eating more than just a few!

Next, meet Lucky.....he's the 4 legged family member who has us wrapped around his little paw.  We adopted him last fall from a local rescue and he is a bit goofy but the sweetest dog ever.  He sticks to me like glue and is my constant companion while Joe is at work and the kids are at school.  He's typically under my scrap table, safe from most scrappy things except for the occasional wayward sticker that I'll find stuck to his tale later in the day.

As for me...you might not guess it but I tend to be pretty shy (camera shy too!) and reserved.  I'm very much an introvert and a homebody.  I ♥ being home!  Outside of being with my family and crafting, my favorite thing to do is read.  I love books...all kinds but you'll often find me with a Lynn Kurland book, basically a PG romance novel involving medieval history with a bit of time travel thrown in for fun.  What can I say...I'm partial to a lighthearted story with a happy ending.  :)  Aside from the above, I also like to take photos, cook and try out new recipes, watch movies, play Wii with my kids (happy to report my virtual golf game is improving), vacationing with my family and I have a horrible weakness for chocolate and coffee.  This summer, I expanded our container garden and we're having great success with a few vegetables and some herbs.  The kids love it!










We always have tomatoes for salad, I fried up some zucchini sticks last week, lots of Basil for fresh pesto and we have more Jalapeno peppers than we know what to do with.  Any pepper recipe suggestions?  :)  Now that we've had some success, I'm looking forward to starting a vegetable garden in the yard next year...wish us luck!

My scrapping adventures started back in 1996 following shortly after the birth of my daughter.  I found a CK Magazine at my local craft store and I was hooked.  I already loved taking photos and doing my own version of journaling in my photo albums but once I realized what more I could do I became obsessed with pattern paper and cardstock.  I'm not certain that I have a distinct style but most of my projects tend to have a few things in common...lots of detail, layers, usually pretty linear, my own handmade embellishments and my stuff tends to be a bit on the fussy side.

I started designing for manufacturers in 2004 and had the opportunity to join the Bo Bunny Design Team in 2009.  It has been a fabulous experience and I can't say enough wonderful things about the Bo Bunny company and the incredible designers I've been able to work with.  I'm looking forward to another fantastic year with the team! 

Just a few days ago, my box of Bo Bunny arrived with the latest releases just in time for me to dive in and create 6 new cards to share with you today....  If you love soft hues of blue and green and lots of flourishes, you are sure to love the Welcome Home collection.  I made a card with lots of detail, layers and flowers...and went a little crazy with my glitter too!
"Welcome"

 

















Bo Bunny Supply List:
Pattern Paper: Stripe, Dreams, Key, Flourish, Front Door, Portrait, Welcome Home, Family and Dot/Welcome Home
Stickers: Welcome Home Combo Stickers
Noteworthy: Welcome Home Die Cuts
Brads: Welcome Home
Jewels: Welcome Home
Chipboard: Welcome Home 12"

My daughter is thinking about hosting an end of summer ice cream social and we thought these candy filled jars would make a cute and tasty addition to our party planning.  We filled them up with candy coated sixlets from the party store.  This one will be a gift for one of her friends.
"Sweet Thing Card & Candy Topping Jar"

Bo Bunny Supply List:
Pattern Paper: Cut Outs, Delish, Sweet Tooth, Temptations, Recipes and Just a Pinch/Sweet Tooth
Stickers:  Sweet Tooth 12" Combo Stickers; Sweet Tooth Cherry on Top Stickers; Welcome Home 12" Combo Stickers
Rub-Ons: Sweet Tooth
Chipboard: Sweet Tooth 12" Chipboard
Trinkets: Sweet Tooth

I chose the Garden Girl Card Kit for this next card.  I used the design suggested in the kit but changed a few things up to give it my own personal style.













But even with the changes, it took me just 10 minutes to put it all together.  That's record time for me!  I loved that I didn't have to start from scratch and so much is already done for you.  If you haven't already gotten your hands on one of these card kits, I highly recommend them.
"You Make Me Happy"

Bo Bunny Supply List:
Pattern Paper:Poppy, Garden Girl and Stripe/Garden Girl
Cardstock:   type and color
Stickers:  Garden Girl 12" Combo Stickers
Jewels: Garden Girl
Card Kit: Garden Girl

It's pretty difficult choosing a favorite collection but Et Cetera is definitely up at the top of my list!  It has a great vintage look with beautifully muted pops of color.
"Thanks"





















I used the Et Cetera Stamp set for the background of my card.

Bo Bunny Supply List:
Pattern Paper: Mail Room, Extra, Index, Geography and Odds & Ends/Et Cetera
Stickers:  Et Cetera 12" Combo Stickers; Et Cetera Just Be You Stickers
Stamps: Et Cetera
Brads: Et Cetera
Jewels: Et Cetera
Chipboard: Et Cetera 12" Chipboard

I've gotten a head start on a couple of Christmas cards with the Father Christmas and Blitzen collections...
"Joys of the Season"

Bo Bunny Supply List:
Pattern Paper: Poinsettia, Jingle Bells, Holly, Celebrate, Father Christmas, Dot, Berries, Merry & Bright, Stripe and Sleigh/Father Christmas
Stickers:  Father Christmas 12" Combo Stickers; Father Christmas Comfort & Joy Stickers
Chipboard: Father Christmas 12" Chipboard


"JOY"















I punched a bunch of circles, distressed them a bit and then adhered them across the card.  I secured them with stitching and added a few more embellishments to complete the look.

Bo Bunny Supply List:
Pattern Paper: Snow Globe, Gifts, Turtle Doves, Blitzen, Sentiment, Stockings, Stripe and Reindeer/Blitzen
Stickers:  Blitzen Dimensional Stickers; Blitzen 12" Combo Stickers
Buttons: Blitzen
Brads: Blitzen
Jewels: Blitzen

I'm going to follow the leader and also share some previous projects that I've made.  These are some that I've made for fun or for other assignments...
"Autumn Pins"















Bo Bunny supplies: Learning Curve and Olivia collections

"Paper Pumpkins"

Bo Bunny supplies: Olivia and Double Dot Cardstock

"Winter Birdhouse Home Decor"

Bo Bunny supplies: Noel collection

"Trick GRRR Treat" Card

Bo Bunny supplies: Whoo-ligans collection

And this "King of HEARTS" layout of my son.


















Bo Bunny supplies: Persuasion and Love Bandit

And finally, some favorite projects that I made for previous challenges here on the Bo Bunny Blog...
"Noel" Angel

Bo Bunny supplies: St. Nick

"Paper Quilted Ornament"

Bo Bunny supplies: 'Tis the Season

"Spiderman" layout

Bo Bunny supplies: Whoo-ligans

And this "Snowflakes" layout of my daughter.


















Bo Bunny supplies: Winter Joy

Now.....is anyone out there interested in winning some Bo Bunny goodness??  If you'd like to have a chance at winning a prize at the end of this month, be sure to leave me a comment below.  Bo Bunny will hold a drawing for each Designer Spotlight giveaway posted this month.

Also, if you'd like another chance to win a prize pack from me on my blog and take a peek at another card that I've made using Bo Bunny's Forever Fall collection, then stop by my blog too!  You can see the details there.  :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I hope I've inspired you just a bit!

♥Patti