Reality Crafting

finally, a craft moment

2011-04-02T21:45:00.006-05:00

I am not a scrapbooker anymore really. I've quit, and go to it when there is demand but not for fun. kinda sad but maybe i'll get back to it someday. i did spend time with my fun girls today and we made cupcakes. these are really fun for kids and they ate as much of the supplies as they decorated. so i thought i'd blog them and at least visit my place on the web again.

all you need are some cupcakes (duh), buttercream icing, and candy of your choice. We found Easter basket grass at Target for the long spiky stamens. i love that little touch. the girls said it was the best day ever. so there ya go - highly recommended!

Halloween Tricks

2010-11-01T17:21:00.005-05:00

It was an interesting costume year. One I won't remember as my favorite. We went through several ideas before settling on Claire's bedbug outfit (because she likes wearing her pajamas), Jillian looks like Harry Potter but she IS Hermione, just didn't want to wear a wig... and DeAnne is a vampire. notice the teeny tiny teeth there on her chin? I actually had her face painted white and pretty scary. And she hated it. Cried until it was smearing off. We washed it off and did the version you see here. So, not a fabulous year for creativity or pictures. But, hey, the candy is just as good, so really, whatever!

a maze ing!

2010-10-16T21:46:00.002-05:00

Here is Creative Scrappers sketch 125 - sweet and simple. this was during our fall field trip to the pumpkin patch.

some color challenges

2010-10-10T11:01:00.003-05:00

I love the jump start i get when i use a challenge for a layout. these two pages were the result of doing the Scrap Attack Color My World challenges for the last two months. Jump over there and take a look. You'll find lots of inspiration and ideas to get you scrapping.

This first challenge was to use teal, purple, and green. Perfect for BoBunny's Peacock Lane line. I have some of their Noteworthy journaling papers, and thought i'd use them in some way.

The second challenge was to use some fall colors - orange, maroon, and brown. I've been hanging on to these Prima glittery leaves for at least a year, and finally got to add them to a page. This is right out of my stash, the papers are also older My Little Yellow Bicycle and Prima.

Fall Festival

2010-10-03T21:43:00.006-05:00

Here we are just after we arrived, before everyone found friends to run off with. I know its no fun to stop and take a picture... I'm such a mean mom. lol.

DeAnne and friend on top of the hay bales. They had so much fun climbing up, then walking along the top of the bales to the end, where they could slide down.

In the corn maze. Claire spent "at least an hour" in here running around being lost with a friend.

We all arrived safe and sound through the maze. it was getting dark and i really didn't want to be in the middle of the corn field after the sun went down.

September at the park

2010-09-19T17:45:00.003-05:00

We took the day and went to the park, mom had fun shooting, the girls had fun exploring. We spotted three different forms of wildlife (other than dogs) - squirrels, chipmunks, and we caught a crayfish.

Crate Paper Contest at SAS

2010-09-16T15:42:00.002-05:00

Grab a box, a "crate" or even a drawer full of paper because we're kicking September off with a contest! We’d love to see what you are creating with using Crate Paper products so we hope you can join us for a little contest. For all the details you can follow THIS LINK!

August Scrap Attack kit!

2010-08-19T20:13:00.005-05:00

For August I got to work with a lot of really bright cheerful colors in Echo Park's Walk in the Park papers. There were so many choices, the hardest part of playing with these papers was deciding which side of the paper to use! If you see something you like, you can check for products just by clicking on this link and then clicking on the image you are looking for. Thanks for stopping by!

Catching up

2010-08-07T19:51:00.003-05:00

Here are some random pages i've done over the last couple weeks, and i haven't taken time to upload until now.

This first page is a color challenge, using several brands of product - 3 Bugs in a Rug paper, some AdornIt strips, Little Yellow Bicycle journaling box, and thickers on the banner.

This is for another color challenge - green yellow and orange. love that combination. i backed the flowers with foam tape to pop them up in the center slightly, which makes the leaves curl down more.

Did this one for a sketch challenge at Sketch Inspiration. Love the fun bright colors in the Lilly Bee line. I twisted paper to make the flowers, as well as punched some. I've got some tulle on there too. love that look.

Here's one I did for our journaling challenge - just seeing this corn makes me hungry again. What's your favorite food, have you scrapped it? This is Indie Girl from Sassafrass Lass. i really love this line. love the colors and of course the borders.

And here is one for the book, Jillian at the fair this year with her first ever cookies. Sorry the picture is dark. The supplies are from BoBunny.

Well thats getting me caught up. I'll have some more real soon since we're going to be celebrating ScrapAttack's 5th birthday this week. THAT will be a fun crop! come join us!

Scrap Attack Blog Hop!!!

2010-07-18T05:30:00.008-05:00

Hi! and thanks for stopping in for the Scrap Attack Scrapbooking blog hop! If my blog is the first place you have visited…welcome! To make sure you don’t miss out on any of the blogs in the {SAS}sy Blog Hop I suggest you start at the beginning by visiting at Scrap Attack Scrapbooking at http://www.scrapattackscrapbooking.blogspot.com/ and then work your way around the rest of the blogs.

There are 11 blogs to hop, and if you leave lots of comments, you get lots of entries to win great prizes from Scrap Attack!!! Also, be sure to go to the SAS blog, and check out the word scramble contest! So lets get going!

It's TULLE TIME!
The first kit I received as a DT member at Scrap Attack contained something I fell in love with immediately. Bazzill Tulle! It's delicate, comes in many colors, and can add a soft colorful touch to embellishments. I've used it several times since then, and I'm still finding new ways to play with it. Here are a couple tips to encourage you to try tulle on your projects:

Add dimension to a butterfly -

Roll it into a flower (like you've seen with fabric)-
I just used glue dots to fasten it down, since it's sheer it sticks together really well.

Pleat it and staple or wrap with wire to make a ruffled circle -

Here's a little inspiration to get you going, with some of the techniques I listed above. You can find this product and the products seen in these examples at the SAS Online store

Scrap Attack Scrapbooking will be giving away prizes. They'll be drawn from all comments left on all participating blogs so make sure and comment so you are eligible to win! As a {BONUS} there is a hidden word on each blog that can be pieced together to make a familiar {SAS}sy phrase. If you can unscramble the words to make this phrase you could win a $50 gift certificate to the Scrap Attack Scrapbooking store. For more details on the prizes, please see the Scrap Attack Scrapbooking blog.
Here is your word: IN

Your next hop will be to Nadine's blog! Thanks for playing!

Sketchy day today

2010-07-12T22:24:00.003-05:00

SAS is sponsoring Sketchy Thursdays this month. What a great sketch site! And what a fun sketch. Take a look at the sketch below, there is an awesome kit from Scrap Attack waiting for someone who completes it!

Here's all the info for entering
Here's the sketch

And here is my interpretation. I just got some of this BoBunny line and had great fun with the whole sketch! thanks Sketchy Thursdays!

{SAS}sy On the Coast

2010-07-12T11:50:00.006-05:00

Hi everyone! Today i'm going to post the layouts I did for July's Scrap Attack Scrapbooking store. I received SEI's On the Coast line, and wow what a perfect line of paper for summer! It has sparkle, foil, and embossed papers that really give your pages that ooomph we all love.

So here are the pages I created. thanks for looking! be sure to stop in at the Scrap Attack Blog this week, we're doing a blog hop and there are some great prizes - like a $50 gift card! wow!

Nerves and some great pajamas

2010-07-07T23:10:00.005-05:00

We are participating in 4-H sewing this year. Claire made pajama pants with a faced waistband. They came out so cute and she wanted to wear them right away. i had to tell her that they will be on a hanger until sometime after the fair. not long now.

Jillian made pajama pants too. they came out so cute. green polka dot with white buttons. When she did her walk for the judges she said her legs were shaking. poor sweety. she did forget to make her turn when she started but i don't think that was a big deal. the judges were so nice and encouraging. I was sooo proud of both these girls.

Judging took about an hour until we got through the line. We find out what they got on Friday night of the fair, when they will model their outfits for an audience, and the winners will be announced. So exciting!

Big Announcement at Scrap Attack!

2010-06-30T08:03:00.002-05:00

Lauri, the owner of Scrap Attack just made a huge announcement about SAS and Paper Trunk. Here are her own words: I am thrilled to announce that we are partnering with Paper Trunk to be their USA Exclusive Online Store! So if you need Paper Trunk products, we’ll be carrying them ALL! I know, exciting, huh?

All of the lines are in the Scrap Attack Online Store HERE. Come check them out and get some of that wonderful paper!

Get Ready!!!

2010-06-27T14:44:00.006-05:00

We're getting ready for a blog hop!

It's gonna be fun, so mark the date -
July 12
at Scrap Attack Scrapbooking!!!

Gettin SASsy!

2010-06-21T21:05:00.006-05:00

It's time to share some of the layouts I got to do for Scrap Attack Scrapbooking! If you don't get their emails, you should really consider checking out the kits that Lauri puts together. They offer a great range of possibilities in paper and she adds really fun extras. I am loving each and every kit that shows up on my doorstep!

This month I was stretched a bit when i found i was going to be working with Crate Paper's Paper Doll line. We don't do dolls in our family, but that was not a problem. This line has enough variety to do lots of pages with never a doll to show for it. And of course I had to do one page with dolls because the paper is so doggone cute.

if you like something you see here and want to know more, the supplies used for each of these layouts is available HERE!

thanks for looking!

Girly girl flowers and lace

2010-06-20T17:58:00.003-05:00

PageMaps had the perfect sketch for this Easter photo i've been hanging onto. I went with lots of flowers and some of my favorite papers. I gathered up some Bazzill tulle for the flower next to the title. I used some rolled paper to make the little roses along the side of the photo, and i added a Prima cherry blossom branch along the scalloped border. I also used some of the edged Strano ribbon i love. there are so many of my favorite things on here. thanks for looking!

A little shabby

2010-06-12T09:52:00.002-05:00

I attempted a shabby look on this page - used a PowerBlaster Sunkissed action on the photos, and kept the papers limited to a lighter, sort of washed out look. Distressed the edges heavily, and here's what i got.

Thanks for looking!

Christmas in June For Our Troops

2010-06-11T20:06:00.005-05:00

It's not too early to start thinking about getting those Christmas cards out. Especially if you're going to be sending them halfway around the world. And if you want to support our troops or know someone who is in the service, you might want to be a part of this really great challenge at Scrap Attack Scrapbooking.

The entire month of June we're challenging you to make some Christmas cards. These cards will be sent over to soldiers who will then be able to use the cards to send to their friends and family.

Here is my challenge to you - make a card using only scraps for an ornament. Then come post it in the gallery at SAS.

Thanks, and let me know if you are going to participate!

End of school thank you

2010-05-30T16:06:00.004-05:00

Another school year completed. It went really fast this year and I don't see it slowing down any more. I have much admiration for our teachers, they have so little time, and yet they get the kids to learn so much. we had wonderful teachers this year. I thought i'd post the card (inspired by Lisa Johnson's pocket card)that we gave to each teacher, with a nice gift card envelope tucked in behind.

Thanks for looking and hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day!

Fabulous blue and green

2010-05-21T15:34:00.003-05:00

Happy Friday! Thought I'd post a couple more layouts using the kit from Scrap Attack! I love blue and green together, so when i saw these papers i knew they were going together somehow. Then saw the cork buttons from Pink Paislee and it all came together. The green polka dot is October Afternoon. You can see the list of supplies here.

And I was able to get some clouds out of scraps, so here is the second page i did using the same color combo.

Thanks for looking!

Using some Pink Paislee today

2010-05-20T06:43:00.004-05:00

Happy Thursday!

I'm posting some of my design team work from Scrap Attack Scrapbooking today. I was given a kit with lots of Pink Paislee Bayberry Cottage goodies. I'll be posting a couple pages every few days so be sure to come back and take a look! All the supplies are listed in the SAS store gallery.

This came together pretty quickly. The Prima flower spray made it easy to frame the picture and then i just added some layering. I have always loved tulle - this is from Bazzill and it made gorgeous ruffled flowers. Come back tomorrow for another way to use it.

The next page uses some October Afternoon polka dot Fly A Kite in the background,it was fun to add a little doodling around the edge of the hand cut scallops.

2010-05-16T07:47:00.004-05:00

time for some fun! learn about your personal scrapbooking style and do some fun challenges. come sign up at
{SAS}sy Scrapbook University

Are you a shabby chic scrapper? Maybe clean lines, classic, eclectic, or some combination? Either way, you'll enjoy playing along. Hope you come join us!

NSD crop pages

2010-05-08T17:48:00.009-05:00

Last weekend was National Scrapbooking Day, and i participated in a crop at Scrap Attack. They have great challenges going on all the time, if you're looking for inspiration, please check it out! Next week we're starting a new SSU - an online scrapbooking class for designing pages! Hope you can stop by!

The layout below was a color challenge, olive green and light blue, and also using the word "Enough". i tore some circle flowers and punched a border.

This layout was done using a list of ingredients - i had buttons, cardstock, chipboard, stacked title, and hand journaling.

i inked the chipboard flower with a cats eye, then embossed with yellow embossing powder.

This was a challenge to use a punch, hearts, yellow, and cardstock. See the hearts?

And finally here's one i think turned out very fun. DeAnne buried herself in the nwe sand in the sandbox. In this challenge i needed to use at least four different manufacturers.

thanks for looking!!!

Great News!!!!

2010-05-07T15:14:00.002-05:00

i got some great news this week! I was asked to join the design team at Scrap Attack Scrapbooking! They have some fabulous kits - Please hop over and check them out!

And now for something completely different...

2010-05-03T19:27:00.002-05:00

any Monty Python fans out there?

well this is not craft related in any way. just thought i'd put it out there because if you are in Indy, buy a coupon and come get some good food!!! Bogotown started up in Indy this spring.

and now, back to our regularly scheduled program
The Larch...
kidding, layouts coming soon

What are you doing Friday?

2010-04-27T19:25:00.004-05:00

I'll be scrapping something! Take a look at the National Scrapbooking Day crop going on over at Scrap Attack Scrapbooking!!! What great sponsors they've got too!

Come check it out!!!

A Fun Baby Gift

2010-04-27T16:16:00.005-05:00

Tomorrow night I'm going to a little get together and we're celebrating one of our group who is expecting a little baby boy! So I wanted to do something cute and fun and (to maintain my image) a little crafty. So take a look at the cute diaper cake I put together! How fun is that!

There are a lot of these online, just search for diaper cakes. I found it quite easy. And because i have three girls, i even had way more than enough little hairbands to go around all the diapers. :-)

Little girls love fairies

2010-04-26T17:26:00.008-05:00

I just finished up an after school class I was giving for some Kindergarten and First grade girls. Last week we decorated a gift bag with flowers and butterflies. This week, we made the frames you see below.

It was really fun. I got the fairy image from a free clip art site, and then took pictures of each of the girls. I drew out grassy hills and clouds for them to tear. Then we added flowers and butterflies and lots of gems.

We also made some cute tissue paper flowers. I don't have a pic of these, but basically you cut several layers of circles of colored tissue paper. put a brad in the middle, then crinkle. a lot. they loved doing those too. some pipe cleaner stems and we were good to go!

Gettin Girly

2010-04-23T14:14:00.006-05:00

Can i just say... sometimes having girls is a lot of fun. I love making flowery pages and using lace and polka dots and girly colors. (Sometimes having girls is not fun, but thats for another time).

Below I used some new Prima Shabby Chic paper, and to accent the page i made some paper flowers.

To make these flowers, I tore some pages out of an old book my mom graciously kept for me for many years. It's nice and yellowed at this point, and I (most ungraciously) now rip the pages out of it to make scrapbook stuff. I think thats green though, so I am cool for today.

I drew a four-leaf clover shape for this flower, doubled up the pages and cut them out
then sprayed liberally with Glimmer Mist
I dried with my heat gun, then wadded each flower into a ball.
Unroll them, and layer as you like
then roll up the edges or scrunch them together towards the middle.

Below is a new technique i haven't tried before. I just picked up some velvet leaves. They come in a pack of um, a lot. Not sure how many. I thought I'd try dyeing them with my re-inkers since those are pretty easy to work with.

drop a little bit of ink onto a large plastic scrap or paper plate
I used a water brush to pick up the color, squeezed out quite a bit of water to get the brush pretty wet, then brushed it on the leaf
I was surprised at how the ink faded out from the orginal color, i think you'd have to use a lot of ink to get a more intense color
let dry (heat gun again)
attach with glue dots

Finally here is a third type of flower. I saw this done in one of the scrap mags, don't remember which one. but its really easy. actually easier if you work with large size flowers. as you do smaller flowers the paper doesn't want to stay together.

cut a long strip of paper - i think this one was probably 4x9
pleat-fold the paper
bring the ends around and fasten together with one end becoming the center (i just stapled them because as the blog name implies, I am all about just getting the thing done...)
I had to cut a smaller circle and glue the middle down on the back, because the center wanted to keep popping up.
embellish center

Let me see if you go and make any of these. Share your links!

Somew new layouts

2010-04-10T09:44:00.004-05:00

I've got a couple new pages to post after a lovely spring break.
The most recent is this spring layout, inspired by a challenge at Let's Scrap!. I used GCD's Homespun Chic line designed by Melody Ross, i love the bright colors and the embossed designs.

I wanted to add a little dimension but didn't really want to cover up the pretty paper, so using my craft knife, I cut around the flowers, slid the border underneath, then popped them up with some foam dots.

Next is a series of photos i've been wanting to scrap for a while. I love how many photos i got on two pages. However, this took a bit of photoshopping to get all these shots to the right size. Probably i could have just cut down 4x6 photos but i like to do it digitally before i print.

This is from a Let's Scrap sketch again. Thanks for the inspiration!!!

Easter Dresses

2010-04-07T16:07:00.003-05:00

I know it won't last much longer, where i can talk the girls into wearing pretty dresses in coordinating colors. It's still a goal. we took these on Easter weekend, they don't know it, but i still want to get a real photo shoot in and do some close-ups. maybe the next sunny weekend. wink ;-_

Welcome Spring

2010-03-31T21:56:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone!
I hope you have a blessed Easter. We celebrate Christ risen at our house, but the bunny does also come.

It's been forever since i posted. So I have plenty to talk about - I've been busy making pages to submit to the next book from Memory Makers Magazine. Got a nice email today that they would like to publish something I made! I don't know what it is yet, but I'm pretty excited that something got picked up!

I've also been working on the projects for my Paper Crafting class at school coming up in April. I'll be working with 6 kindergarten and first grade girls. I think we'll have a great time. Can't wait to show you all what we're making. I need to get pictures taken.

So I haven't been able to show pictures of very many things that I've done lately. Here is one that I can show you, i love the colors. I'm so ready for spring and warm weather!
This page uses new papers from My Minds Eye, with some hand stitching and striped ribbon thrown in.

Enjoy your holiday and spring break!

Frosted Beauty

2010-02-13T12:57:00.004-06:00

What a beautiful couple of mornings we've had.
I took some shots of the frost, then PSE'd them and added some Frosted Window frames by Julie Makotinsky at LittleDreamerDesigns.com
TFL!

Tomorrow is Holiday Day!

2010-01-11T08:47:00.004-06:00

I was reminded today that my 6 year old has designated her own holiday, since Christmas is over. So tomorrow is Holiday Day, wherein we recognize all the holidays.

I asked her how we would celebrate Holiday Day. And it sounds like a lot of fun - we will give presents to people (and maybe the sisters will give some gifts to her), we'll hide some eggs for Easter, and give more presents for White Elephant Day, and give hearts for Valentines Day, and give candy for Halloween. Thanksgiving and New Years we'll just skip, since she can't remember what we do on those days. :-)

I can't wait to see what she does. I'm going to try to pick up some heart candy today to help with the festivities, since i foresee having some problems with the Halloween part. I think I might have some plastic eggs tucked away. I'm kind of excited to do this! Anyone want to join us?

2010-01-09T22:40:00.004-06:00

Having a good winter?
In my opinion, the only good thing about snowy cold weather is that i don't mind a bit going to the basement and scrapbooking all day long. Here are a couple i've been able to do this Friday and Saturday - I've been playing along at a crop at Scrap Attack Scrapbooking. Thanks for the inspiration!

The paper here is from Chatterbox and Sassafrass Lass (i still love those little birds). I grabbed some extra cork I had on my desk for the date there at the side, and used some velvet ribbon out of the stash from Stampin Up for the border. the yellow trim is MakingMemories, i think. The Kraft journaling box is from Maya Road. I splurged and got a couple felt stems from Prima, then added the layered flowers.

And since the youngest child just turned 6 in December, I am really excited to be scrapping her birthday so soon after the fact! Usually I'm about a year behind.

These are Prima stitched mulberry papers - i didn't sew on them, they did. very cool effect though. I did use a border punch from Martha Stewart to do the frame around the main photo on page 1. I also slightly dyed the Prima mulberry flowers, using re-inkers from Stampin UP.

Welcome to Chocolate, Can I Chocolate your chocolate?

2010-01-03T21:18:00.006-06:00

I need a moment... sniff sniff...
I love Christmas holiday so much, and i don't want to go back to real life. ever.
and i want some more chocolate too.
um yeh, my hands are shaking, i'm a junkie.

but between my bouts of chocolate binging and coffee guzzling this vacation, i have done some scrapbooking too. wow, it really was a perfect holiday.

here are a couple of the pages I have made recently.

I received some gorgeous Webster's Pages from their 12 Days of Christmas crop, and i've been loving it. here is one page...

look - i sewed! and distressed too. i love how this came out. that side little curved die-cut shaped edge, i traced from another piece of paper, wrinkled and worked it to death, then did the pleating and inking.

Here is another one, using more Webster's Pages

and finally, one more from this fall, my youngest's field trip to the pumpkin farm. it was chilly but they thought it was great fun.

i hate that the green lace washed out so bad in the photo. its a nice soft green in real life. i used some Prima gem centers over Fancy Pants crocheted flowers, on top of Am Crafts felt flowers. Paper is from Little Yellow Bicycle.

well, real life starts in about 9 hours. i'm going to bed and hope i can sleep, my internal clock is way off. how was your holiday?

2009-12-27T16:59:00.002-06:00

Here are a few fun pages I just did - my favorite is the one of dd dressed up like someone else. lol.

Here are the girls at the store during closed hours. i think the sterile gloves are a nice touch, they're such a big help for their dad. lol.

My grandmother - she brings us her bingo winnings whenever we have a family dinner together. It's really a big deal for her, and we think its a hoot. We get stuff like dishwashing liquid, tissues, soap, sometimes ceramic figurines too!

the fall festival for our school was held at a local pumpkin farm this year. that was very fun and a nice break from the usual PTO games and activities in the gym. I had to try out my new green Glimmer mist by spraying it over some silk leaves. fun!

Christmas Gifts

2009-12-22T18:14:00.003-06:00

Remember back before Thanksgiving and I aluded to some classes held at my house, where we made some Christmas gifts? Can you believe I finally am going to post some pictures! ah! I'm getting caught up.

This mug is bagged and ready for giving, but you can see the general idea. I used StazOn to stamp the image, then painted with ceramic paint. You want to be sure and use clear over the stazon because it will eventually wash off. Porcelain 150 by Pebeo is a good product to use for ceramic.

And here is a Santa Cookie Kit, when i gave them they also had some homemade cookies and almond bark inside. I covered the rolling pin with some patterned paper and then shellacked to seal it. Stamped the side of the tin with White StazOn. They came out pretty cute after I got the hang of stamping the white on the curved edge. The stamps were from a really cute mini set from American Crafts.

Thanks for taking a look! I'll try to come back with something more. I still have coasters to show you. So easy, and the kids were driving me crazy wanting to do them all the time.

2009-12-15T19:12:00.002-06:00

Wow. I hope you all are doing a better job of enjoying the hoiday than I am. We have been party central here for the last two weeks and I just haven't had time to talk to you all.

Did I mention we had a couple parties? DeAnne turned 6. We did a Hello Kitty party. I'll have to edit photos before posting them here. It was very cute and really fun. Such nice little girls.

And Steve turned 50. And we got him good! We did a surprise "The Life of Steve" movie party. Including popcorn machine, red carpet, spot light (that said Happy 50th) and Oscar awards for movie trivia buffs.

I didn't have my camera at the party so I will get some pictures from my friends' cameras soon. But for your viewing pleasure - here are the photos that were displayed all over the house, with stories provided by Steve's family and college friends. My favorite classic comment, from 9 yr old Paige... "Why isn't Mr. Price wearing his wig in this picture?" check out the slide show below and you'll laugh along with the rest of us.

I'm slow but steady

2009-11-19T22:13:00.005-06:00

So I'm a year behind in both scrapbooking and movie watching.
We just rented Twilight and watched it for the first time tonight. And I admit that I did not have high expectations for it. I rented it because my 10 year old wants to watch it. But i underestimated - I thought they did a really great job with the writing. I love the humor they put into the movie. thumbs up. (not for dd though - i think she would not sleep for a month) but i liked it. i see why all the girls are in love with Edward. My niece can play the whole theme song on the piano. throb.

And I'm a year late on scrapbooking Christmas too.
I am doing some of the challenges at Websters Pages 12 Days of Christmas crop, and i just scrapped the page below. I love the shot, its from last year of course. Did you see Dad has bows in his hair? It was a rare moment of him really getting to enjoy the little ones.

I picked up the snowflake garland at the little antique mall where we sell scrapbook pages and altered things. they just spoke to me and i'm so glad i listened. you may see them on every post for a month.

framed vintage goodness

2009-11-17T14:36:00.004-06:00

I just made this over the last two days - the photo acutally took wayyy longer than the actual glass frame. This is a very close reproduction of the inspiration piece done by Iris Babao at Websters Pages. I had limited supplies, and i loved the Christms look, so i just went with her instructions and enjoyed the process. thanks for taking a look!

Being Intentional about Christmas

2009-11-16T13:24:00.002-06:00

I just finished up the craft classes I was leading at my house. And what a great feeling to have several hand-made gifts finished, on the shelf, ready to be given at my whim.

Are you intentional about how you do Christmas? Each year I have such grand ideas of how we will celebrate, and each year, the busy-ness of the season somehow gets the better of me. By the time school is out for the holiday, I am ready to crash.

So I just signed up for Jessica Sprague's Holidays In Hand class, and the first thing she wants us to do is identify our values and goals for Christmas. Oh, like I don't have enough stress making a simple shopping list! Seriously though, I do have values I would like to emphasize over Christmas with the kids, and so taking some time to jot down those values has got to do some good.

Her thought starters include
•peace
•family
•tradition
•togetherness
•friends
•warmth
•welcome
•magic
•glow
•spirit
•rest
•laughter
•friendship
•food
•sweets

and many more... I'm going to think about these and be back. Join me - what are the things you want to be doing more of this Christmas. Or less of...

Fun Ones

2009-11-14T13:32:00.003-06:00

Here are a couple more pages I've done lately. The first I did because i have been hanging on to this picture since summer and i really wanted to get it scrapped and move on. I thought the new Basic Grey Nook and Pantry papers were perfect for a kitchen themed page.

This second page was done using up my Scenic Route papers. I've got some old lines still laying around and thought they were perfect for the photos of #3 up in the apple tree. She used to say this poem from preschool and its one i didn't want to forget.

way up high in the apple tree, three little apples smiled at me
I shook that tree as hard as I could
down came the apples... mmm they were good

thanks for stopping in. :-)

My Blessings

2009-11-13T18:28:00.003-06:00

These days we are trying to focus more on what we need and less on what we want. And if you have a goofy sense of humor, its far easier to get along with less "stuff".
Here are my girls, on our fall photo shoot... we had some pretty funny moments. The oldest of course, quickly loosing her patience with the younger more goofy girls.

Tile Coasters

2009-11-10T14:14:00.004-06:00

As I promised, I'll be posting some of the fun projects we've been making here at my craft classes. Most of these are easy and if you've got the supplies you really can't go wrong.

Here are the marble tile coasters we did a couple weeks ago. We used Ranger alcohol inks and just played around, making cool abstract designs. I am hoping to actually stamp some of these puppies and color them in, but these are great fun too.

(click on the image for a closer view)

Give them a try! Just remember you should either heat-set them or probably you could spray seal them, for longer wear.

Old Town tour

2009-11-08T21:18:00.003-06:00

I just got back from a trip to Chicago with some of my BFF's - we did a Food Planet Tour, and had such a great time trecking through The Gold Coast, Old Town and a little view of Lincoln Park.

Here are some fun shots i've thrown together tonight, reminiscing...

This is Old Town Oil. I tried some Blood Orange oil combined with Lemon vinegar, some Jalapeno White Pepper vinegar and others, but I ended up bringing home Tangerine balsamic vinegar. Its like a flavor bomb goes off in your mouth. yum. can't wait to make some salad now, add some pomegranite and walnuts... hungry? come on over!

The Spice House - wow i wish i could have bottled the smell in here. Just full of aroma, and taster bottles, sprinkle some in your hand and sample. just wonderful.

One of the fun things I picked up here was some Saigon Cassia Cinnamon. You know those red cinnamon candies that make your tongue tingle? now i've got it in a shaker. I am such a happy girl. :-)

I have some class projects to show off - i hope to post some photos of our beautiful creations in the next day or so. Can't wait to show you!

Fall Bliss

2009-11-06T20:51:00.005-06:00

You might recall I had been playing around with some editing techniques.
Here's the end result. this was done for a color challenge. I always love 7Gypsies papers - and I had fun adding some random things that looked fallish to me.

I used 7Gypsies Market paper, a 7G's tag, Scenic Route Laurel letters, a quote from October Afternoon Weather Vane stickers, some metal leaves I've had forever, and some prima flowers, with leaves cut from my stash.
thanks for looking!

Scary but not Halloween

2009-10-28T13:31:00.003-05:00

Do you remember how much fun flashlights were as a kid? Here's a page I did for a challenge to use halloween papers on a non-halloween topic. I decided it would be perfect for the camping pictures I had of the girls, when they were scaring each other with flashlights and telling scary stories. Good times. :-)

I used Little Yellow Bicycle paper from last year's line on this. Still had some left over, so why not! The pull-out pictures show them in non-scary poses, and tells the story on the back.

Thanks for looking, and have a great Halloween!

Stepping Into Fall

2009-10-26T14:20:00.005-05:00

While I might have been home for almost two weeks between sick kids and sick me, I was at least somewhat productive. I had crochet therapy - I saw a crocheted scarf at Claire's (the store) and thought i liked it but wanted it in different colors. I love how this came out! I wore it today even though it was warm out. It makes me feel comfy.

Here's one you can buy, it's made by Mudd. It's at Kohls. I think i like mine just as well. thanks for looking!

Gold

2009-10-26T07:17:00.003-05:00

Here's a page using the most current PageMap blog sketch. Just looking at these apples reminds me how good they were.

I used Cosmo Cricket paper for this with Fancy Pants kraft paper. The branches are from My Cute Stamps, the chip title is Basic Grey, and the trim was a swap. oh I'm wishing for some of those fresh apples.

thanks for looking!

Jars, Bags, and Tags!

2009-10-25T19:23:00.003-05:00

Just did another class tonight, and we made some really pretty jars and bags. We were talking about things to fill the jars with. Really they're kind of big for candy, but would be fun for trail mix or carmel corn. But certainly something you don't have to bake! I'm going to run and buy some smaller jars and try to duplicate the style of these.

This first bag uses the new Christmas line from Graphic45. I love the vintage look they come out with every year. They're one of my favorites. Thats some K&Co paper on the bag too. They have a lovely paper pack out for Christmas.

This next pair use the Fancy Pants line of paper. We used the printed tag paper as well, which made this one really quick and easy.

And our third bag uses the Making Memories Mistletoe paper. I love every single design in that line. But my favorite is the cardinal paper (it reverses to the polka dot, love it). And, don't you love how the Jenni Bowlin bingo tag goes with it so well? On the jar we used a tag cut from the Christmas Cheer Cricut cartridge.

Next week we are making coasters. I've got a really a couple really cute designs planned. Can't wait to show them off!

Fall Photo Fun

2009-10-22T14:39:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was gorgeous, so after school i ran the girls over to the park and we did a photo shoot. Each fall we do this, because i love the colors of fall. And each year we get some good shots i just love. This year, i decided I wanted to do some Photoshopping on my favorite shots. I am into adding textures, and its amazing how much depth you can digitally add to a photo.
Here is the original,

Here is the edited version, I used the blending mode to add a colored texture, and then framed it with a black grunge frame.

And another shot... I love the golden color here -

but look what happens when you give it a little bump with a brown paper bag texture -

I learned all this from Jessica Sprague's free class this summer. If you've got Photoshop and haven't learned how to use blending modes, put it on your list of things to do. So much fun!!!

It's Beginning to Look a Little Like Christmas

2009-10-18T19:27:00.006-05:00

frost on the ground, snow up North... time to start thinking about Christmas.
I know, its not even Halloween. We still have Thanksgiving. But thats the point. I'm gonna get really busy soon. So why not get some things done now and not kill myself in December! I mean, we have two birthdays in December, before Jesus' big party.

I am offering classes on Sundays right now. Today was card making day, and here are some of the samples from the cards we made!

First is a tri-fold HO Ho HO card. When it is opened, the inner flap (which also says HO) stays closed and the tag part pulls out. It could hold a gift card or personal greeting.

Next is a snowflake embossed card. These are really pretty and easy to make, if you've got a Cuttlebug embossing folder, of course. We highlighted the snowflakes with a little Colorbox chalk ink.

I don't know which is my favorite, but i love this next card. I found some pretty scalloped and glittered card bases. We added pretty tree paper and a tag. This came out so pretty in real life. Wish the photo could pick up the softness of the ink and the sparkle of the glitter a little better. The tag is actually a bit more purple too.

And finally, here is a tall card, and we made it a pop-up! How fun to open this very pretty card (paper is Bo-Bunny) and have a 3-D Christmas tree greet you! Love it!

Hope you're enjoying this gorgeous fall, cold weather and all. Email me if you live in the area and would like to inquire about other classes.

Life's Little Treasure Boxes

2009-09-27T16:58:00.003-05:00

I was in a Bible study once where we talked about God leaving us little treasure boxes along the way in our lives. And so often we don't appreciate them.

But here is a page about my good friend Jane, who I know is a treasure box in my life. We've grown quite a history since we first met, and I wanted to do a page about her last visit, when we went to get pedicures.

She's battling cancer right now and we're not close enough for me to visit or take care of her. So if you say a little prayer for her I'd appreciate it.

This is a page using Webster's Pages, Making Memories flowers, buttons, and jouranlign card, AC thickers, BoBunny brown flower and some ribbon. I love cutting up Websters pages. they can be great for telling stories. i like the little fence and gate at the bottom, that i used as a frame for our picture.

Scissors!

2009-08-28T21:25:00.004-05:00

I went looking for a little inspiration yesterday and found a fun one over at the Webster's Pages InspireMe blog. Iris Uy is well known for her whimsy and her cut work. She challenged you to cut out a photo and have it interact with the paper. Definitely one i'll do ... once. I tried it and it was fun. Not my everyday thing but very fun!

Have you cut out a photo lately?

Some of the things i did that i like about this page -
I cut a felt flower into a butterfly shape by trimming off one of the petals.
then it looked kind of plain so I added some distress stickles to it. much better.
I made my own grass and shadowed it with a marker. Simple but fun!
I added lace trim to the cut paper border strip. nice dimension.
and some more paper cutting. it kind of fit the mood.

thanks for looking!

Hey look! I found my camera!

2009-08-03T18:23:00.003-05:00

Oh if only that were the reason I have nothing to post. I do have stuff to post, i have not taken any pictures though.

I did take this one below - because i am proud that i think i've fully rediscovered my roots. I've now sewed, gardened, and even canned (as in preserved) green beans. And all for the darling children so they will have roots too. Even though they hate the roots, and complain the whole time I'm making them grow them. ha. I am also planning to refinish a bed. That should be the whole meal deal, because i can't think of anything else mom used to do while raising 4 kids and taking care of the inside and the outside of the house while also feeding dad and visiting 4 grandmothers. Seriously - how did they get that all done?

Here are my beans. I think they will be good.

Photo editing class

2009-07-07T14:09:00.004-05:00

Hi again, remember me?

I'm taking a digital editing class from JessicaSprague.com right now, so thought i'd share my fun stuff. I know she is going to give me some great information in this class. Today's lesson was on brushes, so i enhanced a frame with some berry leaves. I took this photo when the girls and I went berry picking with mom. We went to grandma's old pasture-turned-woods. there were lots of berries. YUM!

This picture was from our first day's class. I have to thank my neighbor for sharing the photo. She took it of my dd while they were playing at the park. What a great shot, eh? The frame from the class was perfect for this.

Coming Soon...

2009-06-06T21:42:00.001-05:00

to a scrapbook table near... me!
We had so much fun at the zoo this last week and we gathered some pretty awesome photos. I can't wait to get some scrapping done! I'll be able to post soon.

Get inspired

2009-05-19T09:39:00.003-05:00

Have you been scrapping lately?

I finally did - last weeekend. One of the things I did was look at a non-scrapbooking picture and try to do a page using it as inspiration. Here's the picture:

And here are the two pages I did, using different elements of the picture as inspiration.

The first, i drew inspiration for the buttons and the underlying design of the page - kind of like the lines in the picture a little?

this second page is inspired by all the white space in the photo and the clean lines.

let me know if you do something with the inspiration too!

Where have i been?

2009-04-24T22:36:00.005-05:00

i got a part time job in the evenings.
and isn't it ironic that now i have a little cash to spend, but even if i buy something i'll have no time to use it.

well, thats not entirely true. I have a couple pages to be posted soon, and my motivation is coming back - it was just waiting on spring i guess.

We got my garden beds ready for planting today, and Claire and i went ahead and put in the cabbage she was given at school, and we planted some carrots and beets and snap peas. Lots more peas than the other stuff. its so much fun waiting on those little sprouts to pop up and start growing. can't wait! pictures soon.

in the mean time here is a little gift bag I made for an online crop. how can you not be happy when you see green polka dot ribbon!

One Two Buckle My Shoe

2009-04-24T14:52:00.002-05:00

A little challenge in honor of my 5 year old, who loves rhyming poems right now.
Choose a number from 1-5 and then go below and find out what color your number is assigned to.

then create something using that color and link me up. Just a simple thing to do this weekend because I need some motivation and thought maybe my friends do to. :-)

Here's Princess Deter - this was a layout done some time ago at Creatively Yours. I still love it. This was done with My Little Shoebox papers. very fun colors.

Your color choices are...

1.... Blue

2....Green

3.....Yellow

4.....Orange

5....Red or Turquoise, your choice

OK, get going!!!

Easter prep

2009-04-07T09:43:00.003-05:00

several days ago (sigh) we had beautiful weather and i talked the girls into putting on their Easter dresses and doing some photos for me. It was the wrong time of day, but it was the only time we had, so i grabbed the camera and took some shots.

And so the last couple days i've been photo shopping them because they needed some adjustments due to the bright sun. Here's one that i think came out really pretty. I used Dave Jasik's Midnight Sepia action on it, then framed it with a Katie Pertiet floral frame.

The scrapping will have to come later. I'll keep you posted.

While we wait, here's a page I just had posted at Creatively Yours -

thanks for looking!

I love them, i love them not... And a RAK

2009-03-13T11:28:00.005-05:00

eyelets are a little like that. they can make a very cute effect, but i gave them up in favor of my kids sleeping. Tbe pounding was killing me. But then came the cropodile. and really - why am i not using eyelets again? because there is no noise. and the things you can do with eyelets are so fun!

this month, Use Your Stash is challenging you to use some of those little guys again. And here's a little inspiration for you...

I will RAK someone some fun embellies shown here in my samples if you do a project, send it in to UseYour Stash, and link me up here. How fun is that!!!

2nd Is The Best

2009-03-09T11:45:00.004-05:00

I don't think i ever posted this one, and looking at it now, i really still like it a lot.
It was up for a sketch over at Creatively Yours.
This is Steve and I when we had stolen a little time away while our oldest was just about 6 months old. Boy time has flown by.

The title is my way of talking about us both getting a second chance at marraige. We both came from divorces, after young love didn't last. The second time around has been wayyyy better. Even though our circumstances aren't what we had hoped at the time. lol.

This page is made with Kaiser Crafts paper. I love these pages with the lines through them. It makes writing on the page so fun and easy.

As always, thanks for looking, leave me a comment if you want.

Creatively Yours challenge

2009-03-09T07:21:00.002-05:00

Check out this fun sketch! Creatively Yours is hosting a sketch challenge, 2 winners to be posted on the web site. I love Noella's sketches, give it a shot! There are a couple great examples on the blog too.

Easter blessing

2009-03-06T11:15:00.003-06:00

I recently made this gift bag for a special lady in the community. She watches over kids that are living in temporary shelter situations. What a heart she must have.

I find it so much more fun to create a gift when I know for whom I'm creating. Do you find that also?

Tres Monet

2009-02-24T10:51:00.003-06:00

At Scrapperie, all during Fantastic February, there are challenges, games and lots of other things going on. One of the challenges was to create 3 cards using a Monet impressionist piece of art as inspiration. And the first thing that came to my mind was to get out my Prima clear paintables that have been waiting patiently. And I got to play yesterday. These were painted with Ranger Alcohol inks. I probably trashed one of my paint brushes, but thats all good.

Let me know what you think!

Book Print love and a Bird or two

2009-02-19T10:34:00.004-06:00

I recently decided I could rip up a book and get over it.

I love reading and my mom lovingly kept several of the books I owned and read from childhood. And I was keeping them for my own children.

But... one kid with Dyslexia and one Wii later, I've found that maybe my kids won't be me. Maybe they won't miss the bus stop coming home because they are reading. Maybe they will love other things just as much and I need to embrace their loves, and get over mine.

shew.

All that to say... I ripped up one of my childhood books because I wanted old yellowed book print, and I didn't want to go to Goodwill at the moment. (And the library gets really ticked if they discover you are the one that keeps ripping pages out of their old books.) lol. And please let's just ignore the fact that YES - enough years have passed since my childhood... that the pages are faded and starting to yellow. sigh.

I have been adding page print here and there to several things lately - most recently a page that will go up at Creatively Yours soon, but here are a couple I can post now - i've been loving making felt birds, and also i did some buttons using my book. and i posted them earlier but here's a picture of them again.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a super day!

Use Your Stash Item of the day...

2009-02-16T14:49:00.002-06:00

Check out the fun cards each member has created using ribbon, over at Use Your Stash! I played around a bit and also came up with this card - I just punched holes in a circle and used a basic backstitch with a large needle. pretty easy!

Quickie V-Day Recap

2009-02-15T09:46:00.002-06:00

Just a quick post, I made the girls some valentines for yesterday and I wanted to show them, i thought they came out relly cute. I used Fancy Pants paper, and lots of Stickels.

thanks for looking!

Something Old Something New...

2009-02-13T13:17:00.003-06:00

I'm doing Jan's Anniversary challenge at ScrapbookerOnline, and since her anniversary is this weekend, she challenges us to scrap something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

So I started out well - Something old = Helen Keller, Jillian did a presentation on her at school.
And something new would be the Prima gems on the flower centers.
Something borrowed = take your pick, the Creatively Yours sketch by Noella, or the feathers. ;-)
Something blue... well, that was where I kind of dropped off, but there is blue on the page so that will have to do.

And then I tried it again because i was in the mood to scrap and i have struggled with this paper, i love it but couldn't figure out what to do with it. So what do you think? i think it came out pretty cute.

And then, to really stretch, i did a card based on the sketch too. how fun is that?

Here's the link for the sketch I based everything on.

Have a great weekend! Hope you are scrapping!

2009-02-11T12:56:00.002-06:00

Happy almost Valentines Day!
I used a 40% coupon at M's to buy their Friendly Forest stamps, and the frog really needed to be on a valentine. He's cute, isn't he? He's embossed because right now I have to emboss everything or it doesn't look finished to me. And I have also justified keeping that KI epoxy valentine square for 3 years because i really like it on this card. ha. At least I finally used it!
Behind that is a K&Co tag, and some GCD patterned paper.

Anyway, my scrap desk is a mess and I can't do anything creative now until i clean it.
So, sadly... i haven't been doing anything.
I'm not sure how long this can go on. I miss making stuff. How long have you let the mess pile up on your scrap surface before you had to break down and clean it?

And seriously, don't tell me thats all part of the creative process. Because I choose to say I don't think so. And if I could force one of my children to clean up my stuff I would do it. And only feel a little sorry. because its their memories dang it.

(yes that was sarcasm, i'm really not as mean as all that.) lol.
but if the Valentine fairy would come and clean up for me, that would be a perfect day...

Lollipop, Lollipop, Oh Lolly Lolly Pop

2009-02-09T17:04:00.008-06:00

I am posting this for Kelly Goree's blog, she's looking for Valentine ideas - and these are easy peasy V-day gifts. Especially if you have the Basic Grey Notch cutter or Stampin Up's notch punch.

Cut a strip of paper 5" x 2.5"
On one end, cut/punch a notch
Fold over the top to match up with the notch
Decorate the front flap
Insert lollipop with stick throuh the notch and fasten the front in the notch...

Give to your favorite Sweetheart!

Hang on to your Hats! Maybe button them down... heh heh

2009-02-09T14:10:00.008-06:00

So I got inspired to make some fun button flowers. And sometimes I get a little Obsessive Compulsive about things like this... I think that's why I like scrapbooking, I can hide my OCD tendencies by calling them my stash...

Anyway, look at the buttons I made! It was very fun and since it was a sewing weekend, I also made some felt birds. But I think I'll save those for another day, since this is already a lot of pictures to ask you to look at. :-)

Cute Luv Bugs

2009-02-06T17:35:00.003-06:00

Have you seen the cute chipboard books from Colorbok at your local Michaels stores?
I couldn't resist, and made these fun mini albums. I placed them at Our Creative Outlet in the Logan Village Mall.

What a fun shape! I have some houses that have yet to be worked on. Maybe something I can do for March!

Use Your Ribbon!

2009-02-05T11:39:00.003-06:00

This months challenge at Use Your Stash is to use some of the ribbon that is filling up your drawers and clogging your creativity! Get it out and use it girlfriend! Go check out the blog for some inspiration and then send in your entry to win a prize!

But before you go,
Here's another page I put together with some ribbon. I started with a Pencil Lines sketch, then started layering away with the ribbon and cut designs.

Valentine Inspiration

2009-02-03T13:02:00.005-06:00

You can download a cute little valentine here but seeing those cute ones made me want to play with some digital brushes I just bought by Erica Hite, here, so I made my own!

I wish I could let you have them too, but i didn't buy the commercial license and I don't want to break any rules. So give them a try yourself! The file comes with .pngs also, so all you need to do is open them in your photo editor and play!

I love making cards!

2009-02-02T15:26:00.004-06:00

Again, that is...

Before Christmas I was having so much fun making cards, then i hit the wall and couldn't even face them. But my card hero Jan just challenged us to make some at ScrapbookerOnline, and it was my buddy Carolyn's birthday, and my Bible study buddy just had a baby boy... so I had inspiration and motivation all at the same time. The planets aligned, and I did make some cards. ha.

Seriously I made a couple I love and actually submitted. So here are the "real" ones that I mean to even put a stamp on and mail!

So without further ado...

Happy Birthday Carolyn!

Happy Birthday Daryl!

Happy Birthday Kris!

And congratulations Sonia!

Stay tuned for more... Use Your Stash has a challenge coming up in 3 days (the 5th of each month) and I did a couple fun ones for that too!

Love Is In the Air...

2009-02-01T14:43:00.002-06:00

at Scrapperie all month long! Come check out the fun challenges, games and I think I saw something about classes! That should be interesting!

This Day

2009-02-01T10:15:00.002-06:00

Sketch #2 is posted at Creatively Yours!
I love the way this came out with all the warm colors. Especially during this very cold winter month. Thanks for Looking!

supplies:
Websters Paes
Chatterbox Artsylicious letters (my fav)
MM clear tags from Noteworthy line
misc buttons and ribbon

I'm Up and running

2009-01-29T08:07:00.003-06:00

at Creatively Yours!

Here's sketch #1 for 2009

and here's the layout I turned in for it. I love the vintage feel of Graphic45 papers. And DeAnne is such a poser for me. Here she is hugging her build-a-bear cat. I worked with the pic in Photoshop, made it 50% transparent and sepia, then used it as a journaling block. The journaling block at the bottom I got from one of the Trimmings kits at Scrapperie.

Thanks, and Have a great day!

A couple monthly challenges

2009-01-26T07:12:00.004-06:00

Here are two pages I just posted over at Scrapbooker Online.

We're going to be running fun challenges each weekend and then have some ongoing challenges to try for the month. Check it out - we also are doing a Page Of the Week - POW. It could be you!

The page above was Rachels Color Challenge. I love blue and green, and adding grey was a great twist.

This was Rachels Shopping challenge - pick some items off the shopping list and make a page. Update the list with items you have in your stash for someone else to use. Very fun idea!

And I have to admit, I didn't think I would ever use this polka-dot Petaloo flower. I used the others in a project long ago, and this one jumps out at me every time I open my yellow/orange drawer. So now its got a home and i'm happy with it.

Have you used something old from your stash lately? Now is the time, CHA has some really awesome things coming!

Puppy Love valentine

2009-01-19T11:21:00.003-06:00

I did this for a fun challenge at Scrapbooker Online. I'm starting to see lots of valentines and hearts around, so it felt right to do a page on Jillian's love of puppies. She has been asking for a puppy for her birthday (not gonna happen) and I just had this printed out, she was so happy when she had this done.

supplies:
Websters Pages
Prima flowers and gems
Jenni Bowlin bingo card
7 Gypsies gaffer tape
Lil Davis chipboard strip
American Crafts Thickers letters
Creative Cafe felt flower

Pretty in Red

2009-01-16T16:15:00.009-06:00

this page I love, and i hate that it doesn't look so great online.

Can you tell the background is grey on this page?
I have issues with photographing pages during the winter, so sometimes there is shadowing I just cant get rid of, like here, where one side of the page is a different color from the other.

Anyway! I just did a page with lots of brads for Use Your Stash. Its a picture I've always loved of DeAnne, and it was laying out for some reason... (DeAnne is into anything except her toys these days) And I used sketch #45 from Creatively Yours to put this together.

supplies are definitely from stash:
Making Memories 5th Avenue black papaer and journaling note
Creative Imaginations Narratives red paper and brads
and then, more red brads and a couple Petaloo red flowers

and then here is a card with some scraps... and brads of course

And here's a little tidbit for today

Creative Cafe is giving away $150 worth of goodies! check out there blog!

little sisters

2009-01-16T11:36:00.005-06:00

When I showed this page to the girls they thought it was pretty hilarious. even DeAnne, who we do consider renting out sometimes, just to give us all a break. lol.

so here is the latest sketch from Noella at Creatively Yours -

and here is my page based on it - what do you think?!

There is quite a mix of supplies in this one -
I've got Prima Cavalier background paper,
Rusty Pickle green grid from their School Daze line,
Sassafras Lass blue flowered scallop and c/b mushroom,
MME "You Said What" journaling card

Notice Anything over there to the top right?

2009-01-16T10:49:00.004-06:00

So January is turning out to be a wonderful month! I am really excited to start working with Corey and Kimmie and the other girls at this great blog! I love the challenge of using things you already have.

the point being, that you probably loved it when you bought it, and why is it still sitting in your stash! In fact, sometimes I love it so much I just never find anything good enough to use it on. Anyone relate to that? So now I am going to be using some of that much loved stuff that is sitting there waiting on me. Very Fun!!!

So go take a look at the blog! And Use Your Stash!
If you decide to do the current challenge, comment me here. I may just RAK you a little something for playing along!

Simple Pleasures mini

2009-01-15T13:30:00.005-06:00

Here are a couple more projects from the Apple Orchard kit. I think thats it for this kit. I'm down to scraps now. AND!!! I'm moving on to a couple new endeavors! I'll spill the beans as soon as I'm allowed to. :-)

Tagged :-)

2009-01-14T20:53:00.003-06:00

Carolyn Lontin says my blog is Fabulous and I think her blog is Fabulous, and you should go check it out! You should also check out the other girls on her list because they are also very fabulous.

So, my assignment is to list 5 addictions, and then list 5 friends whose blogs I love.
addictions are pretty easy...
1. Internet
2. coffee
3. chocolate
4. scrapbooking (without 1 & 2, I have no motivation for this one)
5. reading

And now, my Fabby Awards go to :
1. Shannon - she just started blogging and i hope this will let her know how cool and awesome I think she is, and that I'm so glad she's joined the dark side.
2. Corey
3. Patrizzia
4. Celeste
5. Debbie

Stay tuned this week, i have 2 more projects to post using up most of my Scrapperie kit. boo hoo, i'm gonna miss that DT spot. Did you see Sandi is taking apps for GDT spots though?!

More Apple Orchard

2009-01-11T13:09:00.000-06:00

I'm finishing up my work as a DT member for Scrapperie this month, and using the Apple Orchard kit. It has some very fun things, including October Afternoon papers and rubs. The rubs are great, don't crack, come off easily, and they're brown, which I love.

Here are a couple more pages of our family camping this summer.

January card sketch

2009-01-09T13:07:00.000-06:00

Time to get rolling agan. I've been away from my scrapdesk - well, you saw the piles... who can get motivated to scrap after dealing with that for 3 days...

Anyway, nothing better to get you going again like a contest and a sketch. Here's my take on CardVaarks latest!

This is made with supplies from Scrapperie's Apple Orchard kit. Its got some fun October Afternoon Weathervane, Basic Grey Recess and lots of fun embellies.

A Year in Review

2009-01-03T21:29:00.000-06:00

Its a bit overwhelming.
I confess I don't like putting pages into books.
And now I have decided I need to do it.
So here are the piles.

I've filled the rest of Claires album, need another.
I've filled the rest of Jillian's album, need... yep.

I have more of DeAnne than the other two. So...

And then there are the many pages that document the rest of our year.

Its really fun going through the pages. Not so much the stuffing into plastic, trimming of edges, finding of lost letters. And the thing i hate the most - changing out those horrible posts. Why does Costco not sell ring binder albums.

Well, the girls will have a blast going through all their pages now. We'll probably have the albums out for a couple months enjoying seeing all of them in a final form.

So Yay for me - first New Years Resolution started!!!

Tree Trimmers

2008-12-30T17:58:00.000-06:00

This is a month late for the Scenic Route challenge but here is a holiday layout using mostly their products. One of my ScrapbookerOnline buddies Adora was a winner in their challenge. Her work rocks by the way. Her gallery is here.

Some more sketch fun over at Creatively Yours

2008-12-27T18:15:00.000-06:00

I've been getting to scrap quite a bit during these long rainy days of Christmas, so here's one I did to start catching up on my Birthday Celebration album.

It was taken from sketch #44 at Creatively Yours and converted into an 8.5 x 11 page, which is the size of my birthday album. I like doing birthday pages in a different size, it makes me think differently and i have more fun doing pages that kind of feel repetitive.

Here's sketch #44 -

One More Day!

2008-12-23T09:55:00.001-06:00

One more day... that was cry heard throughout the house this morning...
and I'm really still not ready.
I can't believe how the days have slipped away. I don't deal well with really cold temps - and I admit I whine and whimper trying to get Steve to do all my little last minute errands.
While I stay inside and play with my paper!

So here is a last minute card (as seen at Scrapperie) to get us all in the mood for a festive and lovely Christmas. When we celebrate the Christ. Have you read the nativity story yet?

Yum!

2008-12-22T09:22:00.001-06:00

I'm a guest designer at Creativly Yours sketch blog this month - and so I've been enjoying many of the sketches that are published on the site. Go check it out! This is sketch #43 - very fun!

Here's one of my youngest enjoying the gingerbread house she made at preschool. And she really did eat it down to the graham crackers as soon as I let her at it!

supplies:

Basic Grey background paper

Making Memories snowflake paper

Fancy Pants (old) chipboard flourish - crackled and embossed with silver

Elle's Designs snowflake journaling square and round tag

Paper Shaper snowflake border punch

Hero Arts Holiday Tags clear stamp

Camping Out at School

2008-12-22T08:44:00.001-06:00

Earlier in the year, my middle daughter's second grade class decided they would do something different and fun, and they had a camp-out in the multi-purpose room. Any kid with a tent was supposed to bring it in and share with other kids, and they brought sleeping bags and read Henry and Mudge Camp Out. How cool is that for a kid?

So i just scrapped it, and will be sending it in for Becky Fleck's PageMaps contest going on right now!

Do you like Cosmo Cricket?

2008-12-21T08:32:00.000-06:00

Leah Killian is giving away a big bunch of goodies if you leave a comment!
That would be a nice little present, wouldn't it?

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...

2008-12-17T12:48:00.000-06:00

Don't you love a good sale and saving money on things other people are paying retail for?
I do.
And here's my tip for the day - head over to Scrapbooker Online and buy whatever you want at 50% off. Wow. Thats the best sale I've been to since Thanksgiving!

Inspired by a tree

2008-12-16T20:44:00.000-06:00

Aren't these trees the cutest things?!

And totally easy to make.

Steps to make these -

1. Cut 4 half circles in progressively smaller sizes. I think the bottom layer might be about 5 inches in diameter.

2. Glue the edges. Don't tape - they'll just pull apart eventually.

3. Stickle. I used deco edges scissors on 1 tree and like that, but stickles does the trick all by itself.

4. Layer. I added a little cotton inside the tips of the layers to get a little height and keep the trees from completely collapsing on top of each other.

And when I had so much fun doing the trees, I thought a card would be totally cute too!

I just folded the edges in and glued to the card instead of together.

I'm not sure it would mail well, but surely I can hand deliver this to someone.

Finally, we have the group of fun things i've got sitting on my computer desk waiting to be given.

School parties are on Friday, and my primary task is to keep the candy in the jar. ha.