Getting started...

Hugs!!!

2012-02-14T16:24:00.002-06:00

I ran out to Archiver's to get see the newest releases from CHA-W and I was greeted by all this fun-ness by Little Yellow Bicycle!! I love the colors combos!! But I have to admit, my favorite part was finding this little paper flower kit! So fun!!!

I was cruising through their website for some inspiration and found a sketch challenge! :)

More food for my sketch addiction.
This was so fun to put together and since I only bought a few pieces, I know what I'm doing this weekend....sshhh...back to the store for more! TOO CUTE!!!

I "heart" Pool Time

2012-02-14T11:17:00.002-06:00

I had sooo much fun making this page!! I pulled out the Mango Frost stack by Die Cuts With a View and worked on this month's template challenge! Bits and pieces and lots of fussing cutting and I love how it turned out. :)

The background was a simple choice....it was the challenge from ScrapFit #61...a blank canvas aka white! This stack has so much color in it, I almost had to go white!

I am so enjoying my day off! I'm off now to do some retail therapy....at the scrapbook store of course!!

SSShhh.....

2012-02-14T08:39:00.002-06:00

I took today off so I could volunteer at the my daughter's school party for Valentine's Day. And I thought I would take some extra time to play with Scrap Whispers challenges for this month.

Challenge #118 was this cool color scheme. This worked great for this picture of my daughter at the gardens at Navy Pier.

All of the papers are from Echo Park. The cluster is a mix of a few doilies and some flower punches and buttons.
My second page is for challenge #119, which was to scrap lift Nilsa's awesome layout.
I tried to stick to the whole color scheme and the layout itself...and of course, the title...lol.

This was such a fun layout, and the colors were so different I couldn't stray too far.
These papers are from an older line from Bella Blvd. The photo mat is a painted piece of chipboard from a mini album.

Have a great Valentine's Day!!!

The Falls

2012-02-12T16:44:00.001-06:00

I had a wonderful day out with my oldest daughter today. We shopped until we dropped...literally. By the time we got home, her headache and congestion had settled in full force and she is pretty miserable right now. But...we managed to get to the store so she could buy her "dream dress" for her Aunt's upcoming wedding. :)

I was able to sneak into Archiver's and buy some goodies too! :)

Here is my attempt at this month's sketch from Artful Delight.

I inked up a few doilies and use a circle cutter on different patterned papers from American Crafts and Basic Grey.

This was a lot of fun to make. And I have ink everywhere on my desk now...and fingers....and my jeans...

I'm off to work on another page....hoping to get something done before the Grammy's tonight. I can't wait to see Adele!!!!

Young and Wild

2012-02-11T15:10:00.002-06:00

YES!! A very productive day so far!

Unfortunately, we lost the basketball game, but the girls did an amazing job and we are so proud of them.

I pulled out so fun Bo Bunny papers to use for this sketch from Sketches: Creatively Yours.

I cut down a sheet of text paper and matted it on Coredinations card stock. I sanded down the edges a little bit. The pieces of ribbon were from the stash. I also had this pretty awesome piece of fuzzy ribbon with the cheetah print. The flowers were punched and layered and then put together with animal print brads.

My next page came together fairly quickly. I used sketch #193 from Creative Scrappers.

The doily was inked in pewter and then misted with Sparkle. I handmade the flowers...this was my favorite part! I punched out a few different sizes and then distressed them like crazy. After they were layered, I splattered some Stickles all over them and added a gem to the centers. Some miscellaneous bling and pretty trims rounded out the rest of the page.
YAY! I got a few pages done, a few loads of laundry and it's still early in the day!! Hopefully, I can knock out a few more.

:))

Hello again!

2012-02-11T08:39:00.011-06:00

It seems like it has been forever since I have been able to work on any projects. My hubby has finally been working full-time and even tons of overtime. Which is a good thing and a bad thing. While the money is good, not having him around to help with the kids has been pretty hard. This is one tired Momma!

I've been trying to sneak in a little bit of scrapping here and there. Of course, waking up before dawn has given me a little free and quiet time.

Here are a few pages I made using lots of fun sketches.

Once Upon a Sketch always has gorgeous sketches. I've been trying to play along more often, but...

I had one photo in mind when I started, then I realized the challenge was about a man in your life that you love. I have so many photos of my little guy, I grabbed this photo right away. All of these papers are from Echo Park. The flowers are all handmade using different punches and then I added buttons.

Next up is a fun sketch from Sketch Inspiration.

I used up some bits and pieces from the Snuggle Bug collection from Little Yellow Bicycle. I fussy cut the bugs from the patterned papers and then put them on pop dots.

This was just a fun page I wanted to put together. All of these papers are from an Artful Delight kit. I added some fun corrugated pieces from Jillibean and threaded some floss through them.

A sketch from My Mind's Eye came together using much older papers.

Some are from The Signature Life collection. So glad to finally get these out of the stash and onto a page. The other papers are from the Stella Rose collection. And the fun chipboard pieces are from Fine and Dandy.

This was just fun to work with. Another My Mind's Eye sketch from Jana Eubank. I just wanted to play with it. Some of the papers are from the Artful Delight kit, some are older MME papers and the rest is all from MME kraft collections.

After my daughter's basketball game, I will be able to spend the rest of the day working on pages! I am so excited and pumped up!!

Have a great Saturday!!!!

My Creative Sketches

2012-01-28T06:13:00.004-06:00

Off to enjoy a fun week in Wisconsin! Here is a pretty page I put together.

I used this sketch from My Creative Sketches. I just recently started following this site. I love all the DT projects! So creative!

I used a wrapping technique I have seen a few times to outline my patterned circle. It was a little bit difficult, but I love the end result.

The chipboard pieces are from K&Company. The flowers are all a mixture of things in the stash. So glad I am still able to use these fun goodies! I knew they would come in handy one day. :)

Even the strips of patterned paper came from the scrap box.

Have a great weekend!

Kraft Funday.... Best Day Ever

2012-01-22T20:39:00.002-06:00

I'm loving all the My Mind's Eye Funday goodies! There were a bunch of things in the Artful Delight kit. I snuck out of the house a few days ago and added a few more pieces.

Here is my take on sketch #63 from Sketchabilities. I used a mask and tried a light misting on the background paper.

Then I added quite a few chipboard elements. My favorite part is the circle banner. So much fun!
My trashy TV is coming on soon, so I calling it a night for scrapping fun.

Have a great night!!

Lucky Us

2012-01-22T09:16:00.005-06:00

Or should I say "Lucky Me". I have two of the biggest hams ever! These two just love having their picture taken. I can take them anywhere and they have started finding just the right spots to take photos. We can go for a walk and all I hear is "MOM!! Take my picture!!". Yep...lucky me!

Here is sketch #191 from Creative Scrappers. I used a green marker to draw some outlines on the card stock. All of the stickers are from the stash...from a much older collection from Reminisce.

My color inspiration came from the scrap lift challenge at Scrap Whispers. Rosey had this great page up and ready to be lifted. I love all the green! My family is Irish, so I have LOTS of St. Patrick's Day photos. Green was the perfect thing to lift. :)

I'm waiting for the sun to come out so I can so take more snow pictures....and my little snow buddy melted last week, so we need to revive him.

Have a great Sunday!!!

So Unique

2012-01-21T14:57:00.003-06:00

Since a lot of people are thinking "new" lately, I thought I would try something new and work with some Authentique papers.

This is yet another collection that I have been hoarding. All of the papers are almost to pretty to cut!

Here is the January sketch from Authentique. (love the little smilie faces)

And here is what I came up with.

The papers that I used are from the "Uncommon" collection.

"Gifted"

"Unique"

and a journal spot/title card.

I love that these papers are double sided. I did a little bit of fussy cutting on one side for the flowers. The ribbon and the trims are from my personal stash.

I also have some bits and pieces from the "Blissful" collection. I may have to play with those too.....

Sea Life

2012-01-21T13:43:00.003-06:00

I was finally inspired to use my new stash of Salt Air by Cosmo Cricket! I love this whole line and for some reason I just couldn't find just the right time to use it all.

Then came along this fun sketch #66 by Sketches in Thyme. :)

I actually put the whole page together with a few pieces from Salt Air...then I started looking for the right pictures to use. Backwards, I know, but I knew I had a bunch of pictures from our trip to the aquarium.
I added some little "bubbles" of Stickles to the corners of the pages just for fun. :)

I think I just might throw the kids in the snow in a bit...just for fun. :)

Sweet Heartstrings

2012-01-21T12:39:00.002-06:00

I pulled out my Artful Delight kit to play along with the sketch from Jillibean Soup. I love all the hearts on the papers and thought these fun pictures of my family "showing some love" would work well.

I used my cutting tool to cut out some flower shapes from one sheet. Then I fussy cut some of the hearts out of another sheet. The flower shapes were then scored so they weren't so boring and "flat".
I threaded a piece of pink thru the hearts to string them together...hence the title. :)

I'm loving this kit and actually went out to by a few more sheets to go with it. Let's see what I can do with this kit....

Snowed in and Scrapping!

2012-01-21T07:30:00.004-06:00

Good Morning! Well, we got hit with about 8-10 inches snow here....finally. I knew it was coming, I just wish it didn't happen during a Friday commute home from work. It took me a mere 2 and a half hours to get home last night. :(

Oh well....the temps are slowly rising so at least we will get a chance to go out and play in it this weekend. That's the only exciting part!

I worked on this sketch from My Mind's Eye during the week. At least it kept my mind off of the impending storm.

I am so in love with so much of the Lost and Found collection. I just bought a whole bunch and I'm so excited to play with my new stash! I used quite a few different patterns.

After I cut the circles, I used my new Tim Holtz distressing tool on the edges.

For the patterned strip, I fussy cut a piece and scored it a bit for dimension.

And of course, this handsome little guy is my soon to be 5 year old. Sigh....time flies....

Time to dig out the cars and get some stuff done around here...mainly sorting through more pictures to scrap today. :)

Enjoy your Saturday!

Paper Lovin' Gals #15

2012-01-19T05:53:00.004-06:00

This week's photo inspiration from Paper Lovin' Gals just screams Spring! Me too!

It is currently 12 degrees outside....I soooo needed this to warm me up!

Here is my layout using some fun photos from a Butterfly Festival. I love all the bright yellows in the inspiration photo. Luckily, I had lots of yellow in the stash.

I used a new sketch from Lasting Memories for my layout inspiration. :)
How are you going to use the photo? The colors, the flowers, just a Spring project? Let's see what you can create!

Need some inspiration? Stop by and see what the other Paper Lovin' Gals have come up with!

I'm starting to warm up already... :)

Life is a Beautiful Ride

2012-01-15T20:45:00.003-06:00

Last one for today....

Back to Summertime fun! I can't make up my mind which season I wanted to work today. I love working on Winter pictures, but I would much rather it be Summer.

This is the newest sketch from Sketch Inspiration. I have tons of photos from amusement parks. This multi photo sketch is great!

I pulled out more Echo Park papers. Or at least tried to. I had these fun chipboard pieces from the Sunny Days collection. I could have sworn I had the paper collection! But nope....I got it confused with Summertime. Guess I'm stopping at the scrapbook store tomorrow....
And now it's time to clean off the desk and head to bed.....nite nite!!!

I "heart" Winter

2012-01-15T19:12:00.002-06:00

I snuck outside for a bit and took tons of new snow pictures. Then I snuck back inside to work on some pictures from last year. :)

Here is my take on Sketches in Thyme #65. I flipped my picture to fit the sketch. :)

I used some scraps from 2 different Echo Park collections. I handcut some snowflakes and added pop dots to them.
Off to upload some pics to get printed!!!

Birthday Wishes

2012-01-15T18:22:00.002-06:00

While looking for "new" things to play with this year, I followed a friend to Twisted Sketches.

I flipped their sketch to go with my pictures.

The "new" is the whole paper kit! I was lucky enough to find this at a local shop. So much fun! I used a border punch on some of the patterned papers. And the cupcakes were handout from more papers.

I still have lots of the kit left!

My day is winding down....I'm hoping to get at least one more page done..wish me luck!

Dreams....

2012-01-15T16:51:00.003-06:00

Whenever I think about Dreams, my mind always goes right to my most favorite place in the world, Disney World.

Here we are outside of Cinderella's Castle. This was at the tail end of one of our many trips to Disney. We always take the trip at a different time of the year, so we can experience all of the different holiday atmospheres.

Scrapping Everyday Miracles challenged up to use the title "Dreams" on our project.

Once Upon a Sketch offered this beautiful sketch...along with the challenge to journal about a New Year's memory. This is, and always will be my favorite New Year's memory. Being in the most wonderful place in the world with my family. :)

Clownin' Around

2012-01-15T11:28:00.002-06:00

These fun circles on this sketch made me pull out some circus pictures. This sketch is from Frosted Designs.

I had some fun with my circle cutter and a circle punch...and a few pop dots. All of these papers from the Summertime collection from Echo Park. Love the bright colors! Perfect for these bright and fun pictures!

I sure wish it was Summertime! But at least its 30 degrees out, so we can enjoy the snow. :)

Finally Scrapping again!

2012-01-15T08:34:00.002-06:00

I finally found a day where I could sit down and scrap again! Things have been so crazy busy, but I am so happy! We finally made a decision on window treatments, bought some much needed "toys" for spring landscaping projects, put away everything Christmas and picked out a new front door. Lots of work coming up and I am so excited!

Hubby is going to a friend's house to watch football so I am going to take advantage of every quiet moment!

I did this page using the sketch from Let's Capture These Sketches #115. I also used my new set of Nordic Holiday papers from Basic Grey. I used some snowflakes stickers and then added more snowflakes using my punch and some pop dots. :)

And we have to sneak outside for a bit to play in the snow! YAY!!!!!

Creatively Yours

2012-01-08T08:39:00.003-06:00

Although I do have a small shopping list for scrapping supplies, one of my New Year's resolutions was to stop hoarding things and start using them.

This pretty die cut sheet is from Martha Stewart. Our Michael's store had them all on clearance, so of course, I had to buy a bunch. That was months ago....and this is the first one I am using.

I did a little bit of fussy cutting to bring out some of the flowers from behind. Then I added a few paper flower also from the older stash. AND...I even added some brads. I need to use them more often. Now that I have the brad maker, I can't let these collect dust. :)

This was made using a sketch from Creatively Yours. Another new site I found with beautiful layouts from the design team.

Still not doing housework....

Good Sunday Morning!

2012-01-08T07:54:00.004-06:00

I was able to avoid all housework yesterday! Which doesn't work out for me today....oh well.

I'm meeting a friend for lunch who is selling me her Cricut machine for a great deal! I'm so excited to finally own one! Now I have to start buying cartridges!

I love this color combo from Scrap Whispers!

I have had these flower stickers in the stash forever! I'm so glad I was able to find them...you know how things disappear when you really need them....

Manor House Creations is having a sketch competition this month. I'm new to this site and they had a gorgeous sketch to kick it off. I can't wait to see what's next!

So I have a few hours until lunch and meeting my new Cricut. Everyone is still sleeping. I think I'm going to keep playing...lol....ssshhhh.....

No Housework!!! I"m on Strike!!

2012-01-07T12:26:00.002-06:00

Everyone else in the house decided not to do anything today...so I'm going on strike also!

YAY!!!

Since I had the Artful Delight kit all over the place, I put together more pieces to create this page for the Sketchy Thursdays sketch.

I put some of the butterflies on pop dots and the flowers are also from the kit. I placed a few of the butterfly stickers on the page to use as a mask, and then sprayed it a bit with the Mister Huey mist. Then I peeled the stickers off. :) I used the Mister Huey mask to create a soft pattern on the background paper. :)

I love playing with mists and since this is the new challenge at Scrapbookers Anonymous, I thought I would enter. This is a new site for me and I'm always up for a new challenge. :)

Should I make a picket sign now??

January Artful Delight fun!

2012-01-07T11:08:00.003-06:00

I'm still avoiding housework....ssshhh....sneaking in here....

I pulled out the January kit from Artful Delight and decided to try it out on their January sketch.

I'm loving all the kraft papers, even though I still feel a little lost on how to use it all. I decided to mix it up with the Studio Calico papers and was happy with the results. I love these fun clouds too!

I used some golden yellow inks on the chipboard alphas, and then added just a touch of black to the edges.

I love that when I went outside to take the picture, the sun was so bright, it made the title that much more perfect!

How much longer can I put off housework....we shall see....

Happy Saturday!!

2012-01-07T09:09:00.004-06:00

I have soooo much housework today....and NO desire to even get started. I thought I would start the day off on a good note and work on some layouts. :)

Here is my take Sketchabilities #62. I handout the scalloped circle. My newest obsession is liquid pearls. I've been using them all the time instead of swirly bling. Not that I won't use bling anymore, I just need to go shopping. :)

I made this layout using sketch #114 from Let's Capture These Memories. These papers are from a Colorbok paper pad from Walmart. Sooo pretty!! Again, I used some fun liquid glitter to make my swirls. I also fussy cut some of the roses from a few other sheets of the paper.

This is so time consuming, but I absolutely love how they look. :)
Now I need to decide what to make for breakfast...while I work on another page. :)

Happy Saturday!!!

Paper Lovin' Gals #13- Looks like Christmas

2012-01-07T08:10:00.005-06:00

I dropped the ball on this one. I thought I had a scheduled to post and I never finished it up!

Here is the inspirational photo for challenge #13 at Paper Lovin' Gals. This bird is just too adorable. And he really looks like he is enjoying all that snow. We, unfortunately (?) haven't had much to speak of...yet.

They say it's coming and it's going to be just as bad as last year....we shall see....

I loved that little birdie so much, I chose a layout where I could add him. These are some fun elements from K&Company. This paper is just gorgeous! And I was able to use up quite a few pieces of ribbon from the stash.

Come and see what the Paper Lovin' Gals design team created with this little bird! So many fun ideas!!

My Scraps and More Blog Challenge

2012-01-02T12:12:00.002-06:00

YAY! I found all the elements needed for a recipe challenge for the My Scraps and More Blog Hop!

I tore into a new Jillibean Soup kit that I just bought last week.

The recipe included:

Chipboard - I used chipboard photo corners and a chipboard tag, colored with markers

Twine - for the tag and the buttons

Buttons - to hold the twine together...lol

Journal card - I had wrote the info on the card...I hate my handwriting!

2 fonts - I used the 2 different letters stickers that came with the kit

And the sketch is from Liz Chidester at The Scrappiest.

Happy last day off

2012-01-02T07:55:00.002-06:00

I hate that I can't sleep late on my days off. But as long as everyone else does, I can have some peace and quiet so I can scrap. :)

I did this page using My Sketch World's January sketch. The color scheme came from the challenge at The Paper Variety...black, white and a kiss of color.

I used these fun fibers to match the fuzzy monkey. :)

I made this page using the same color challenge, but since I can only submit one, I like the purple layout better.

This sketch is from Show Us Your Stuff.
Scrap Friendzy is having a sketchathon this month. I'm new to this site, so I thought I could try to play along. Here is my take on the first sketch of the month.

I also used my newest toy, the I-top tool from Imaginisce. I used lots of pretty paper from Prima. The flowers are from the stash and I punched out the pink flowers with a new flower punch that was in my stocking. I entering this for the challenge at Frosted Designs, which was to use something new. :)
And we finally have snow!!! I just might go outside and play!!!

Dear Santa by Reminisce...

2012-01-01T14:19:00.002-06:00

The papers from this Reminisce collection are so stinking adorable!!...and just about impossible to find. I was able to find 2 sheets!

This sheet was so pretty and I had a great picture to work with. The other side was a collage of Santa images. Again, so adorable! I cut an image from the 2nd sheet of snowmen images to use as an element.

I used solid cardstock and a border punch for all of the mats.

The flowers are from the stash and the title square came from the Reminisce collection called Candy Cane Christmas.

I need to play with these snowmen images.....they are just the cutest!!

I hope you are enjoying your Sunday!!

We are Young...

2012-01-01T12:45:00.002-06:00

Here is my second page using my Artful Delight kit.

I put all the kraft aside and decided to use up some of the Studio Calico goodies.

I fussy cut the patterned paper and used it as an overlay on the solid cardstock.

I cut out a few more flowers and put them on pop dots.

This is for sketch #189 from Creative Scrappers. Instead of using strips, I used some of the pretty pink twine that came in the kit.

The title came from the challenge at ScrapFit #60. It's a new music challenge and the song to inspire us was Love is a Battlefield by Pat Benatar.

Happy Scrapping!!!

First layout of 2012!!

2012-01-01T10:48:00.002-06:00

Went to bed HOURS after my normal bedtime and still woke up too early. :(

This is going to be another long day. But at least I have nothing planned, so I can scrap all day.

I broke out my new kit from Artful Delight! There is so much kraft in here, I was a little (a lot ) overwhelmed. I haven't had much experience with kraft, so I wasn't really sure where to start.

I settled on sketch #188 from Creative Scrappers and found this cute pic of me and my oldest daughter.

The paper is from the Funday Collection by My Mind's Eye. I used the Mister Huey mist on the background paper a little bit. The blue strips and the butterflies are from Studio Calico. I used different inks on the butterflies. After I put them on the page, I wasn't happy, so I popped them off and added some pop dots. Now it looks like they are flying! lol

I also added some twine to some of the strips. I was going to be creative and trying a stitching technique, but it wasn't cooperating with me too well. The fun stitched circles are very cool!

And I used a little bit of ink on the Thickers letters.

I really like this kit and I'm glad I built up my kraft stash. Now I'm off to find more inspiration so I can do it justice!!!

Have a great day and Happy New year!!!!

A Fun Fall page...

2011-12-31T16:02:00.002-06:00

I needed a break from all the Winter pictures, so pulled out these fun photos of my cousin's family. This was also a Christmas card with smaller photos along with a larger family photo.

I used this card for this week's sketch at Sketchy Thursdays.

The larger yellow leaves are actually doilies. I used some scraps of kraft paper for the photo mats and I tore the edges instead of cutting them.

I am getting ready to cook the lobster ravioli for New Year's dinner....YUM!!!!!

Jellies!!

2011-12-31T13:19:00.002-06:00

During the summer we took a family trip downtown to the Shedd Aquarium to see the Jellyfish exhibit. It was soo much fun!!! They are such fascinating little creatures.

These two pictures were perfect for this color scheme from Scrap Whispers #113.

And this is using Sketch Along Tuesdays #31 from Frosted Designs.
Lots of pretty trims that were laying around not doing anything added some fun elements. And since I bought lots of fun new colors of Stickles, I added quite a bit of sparkle.

More Echo Park Winter Fun!!

2011-12-31T11:51:00.003-06:00

Since I had my Echo Park collections scattered all over, I thought I would do another fun winter page.

I used sketch #64 from Sketches in Thyme, which was this fun 2-pager.

I broke out a few punches and made a couple of fun borders and punches lots of snowflakes. At first I thought I was adding too many...but then I remembered that page was all about a blizzard! So there had to be many many snowflakes!!

Time for New Year's Eve lunch!! Then I'll be back to scrapping!!

Echo Park Christmas!

2011-12-31T09:59:00.002-06:00

I love that Echo Park's Merry Christmas and Season's Greetings collections work so well together!

A little mix and match and a fun Santa photo and I have my first layout of my Scrappy New Year's eve party. :)

This sketch is from Once Upon a Sketch. I did my journaling on a sheet of vellum and adhered it to a pretty inked doily.

I used quite a few stickers from both collections and some pop dots to make a few different clusters for challenge #112 from Scrap Whispers.

I am so happy that all my housework is done, so I can spend the whole day in my jammies!!

Have a great day!!!

Paper Lovin' Gals #12- Happy New Year!!!

2011-12-29T05:57:00.003-06:00

I cannot believe this year is coming to a close already. I flew by so fast, it's almost depressing!

But I am looking forward to a new year of fun!!

Here is inspirational photo challenge #12 from Paper Lovin' Gals. Aren't these rosettes so pretty!!??

I just love my new score board, so I waste no time in pulling out some scraps and making more rosettes. I punched some circles from metallic paper and added some bling-y snowflakes.

Come see what the Paper Lovin' Gals design team has created!! Bet they can get your mojo started for the new year!!

Day after Christmas lull...

2011-12-28T19:26:00.002-06:00

I thought I would avoid the after Christmas rush to the mall for the big sales. I decided to have a jammie day and do some organizing, scrapping and online ordering. :)

I just ordered the January kit from Artful Delight. So excited! Lots of kraft goodies! I'll be stalking the mailman all week...lol.

Here is my page for sketch #62 at Sketches in Thyme. I love these older pictures of my oldest daughter. I had so many of them, I thought putting a few on the same page would be cool. Then she can see how she has grown over the years. And Santa was always the same old guy!

I thought I would give a sketch from Basic Grey a try. I used some bits and pieces from the Marjolaine collection. These colors are so pretty!!

My title is also going to be my "Word of the Year" for ScrapFit #57.

I have so many issues that I have been dealing with, with my family, I vow to make 2012 a much better year.

More Echo Park

2011-12-26T16:04:00.002-06:00

Oh well....the daylight is diminishing quickly....last picture for today.

More Echo Park Winter and Wintertime papers!! Love these two collections! And they work so well together. And they are perfect for the Blue, Red, and White challenge for Show Us Your Stuff. :)

This page was made with the sketch inspiration from Scrap Whispers #111.

I"m really missing snow this year. Usually by now we have a few inches. We have NOTHING! So unusual for Chicago....keeping my fingers crossed for just ONE day of good, fun snow pictures......

Seasonal Greetings with Echo Park

2011-12-26T09:39:00.002-06:00

Isn't it great when you get so many awesome photo cards to play with!

I have so many goodies from Echo Park collections and the color combo challenge from Scrap Whispers was just calling for these papers. I also added some silver mist to the background paper.

ScrapFit challenge #58 was to use mini pictures. I happen to have a whole wall filled with beautiful family photo cards!

I used these week's sketch from Stuck on U Sketches.

Off to oogle more fun pictures and cards!

Merry Christmas pages!

2011-12-26T08:35:00.004-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I had an amazing weekend my family and took tons of pictures!

I also was lucky enough to receive some awesome gift cards for more scrappy stuff. And I had some really cool tools under the tree. :)

I went to bed early last night due to exhaustion and relief that the holiday went off without a hitch. So of course, I was up early playing with my pictures. :)

Sketch #61 from Sketchabilities was full of circles. Since I always recycle Christmas cards that I have received, I scanned the wall o' cards and found this fun one with these whimsical stockings. Perfect for just a few more Grinch pictures.

Here is a Christmas photo card from last year of my nieces. These papers from K&Company are so gorgeous! And I have a new obsession....liquid pearls!! OMG! These are so fun and they dry beautifully!! The sketches from Let's Capture These Sketches are so gorgeous and classy, the papers are perfect! Here is sketch #113.
And a card from my best friend from this year. Her kids are so cute together. I found a piece of dark blue corrugated paper that I swiped with some white ink. The chipboard snowflake pieces are from Bo Bunny. Sketch #6o from Sketchabilities was just the right one for these size photos. This is my favorite page of the day, so I'm submitting this to Scrap Whispers for the Anything Goes challenge #110. :)
I am so happy to have a wonderful family that understand my scrapping obsession. I am also glad that they stayed up late and are sleeping in so I get some quiet time to scrap. :)

I hope you have a wonderful day!!

Merry Christmas Eve!!

2011-12-24T09:29:00.002-06:00

Lots to do today, so I wanted to post this before I get started!!

I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!! I hope Santa is good to everyone, because everyone has been good....right??!!! Of course we have!!!

Amazingly, we have had no snow for this Christmas. It's a little bit disappointing, but I know it's coming. It is Chicago after all. It just might get here in April.

This is for sketch #63 for Sketches in Thyme. I hand cut the snowflake from an older template and used some inks. The background paper was misted with some darker purple Glimmer Mist. My favorite part is the pink snowflakes cut from the trim. :)

And here is my page for Sketchy Thursdays. Fun sketch, lots of fun photos and a cute tree! I used a border punch to make "garland" on my tree. And a fun wooden star accent on top. I am in love with these papers from We R Memory Keepers.
That's it for today!

Have a wonderful holiday and a very Merry Christmas!!!

Paper Lovin' Gals #11 - Merry Christmas!!!

2011-12-24T09:15:00.002-06:00

I'm a little late...again. This has been a crazy week getting ready for Christmas! If you haven't been running around taking care of last minute details...God Bless You! lol

I even had to run out at 7am this morning because I forgot a few ingredients for the dip!

I managed to squeeze out a page for challenge #11 from Paper Lovin' Gals. I don't know where they find these inspirational photos, but this is just gorgeous!!!

I found these pretty papers from a Recollections paper pad. I love the gold snowflakes! I added some really shiny paper to my paper strips.

I chose to use sketch #251 from Sketch Inspiration. The sketch showed some really neat stitching around the circle. I usually don't sew on my pages, but I was watching a Christmas movie and decided I could kick back and stitch while watching tv. I guess that's why I had to run around this morning! I thought I had everything under control! lol

My only uncertainty was adding the ribbon. It's a little too white for me, but the gold Christmas trees were really cool.

Stop by the Paper Lovin' Gals blog and see the rest of the projects by the design team! And don't forget to have a Merry Christmas!!! And don't forget the chips for the dip....

Imaginisce color challenge

2011-12-18T14:56:00.003-06:00

Is it becoming obvious that I do not want to do any housework today?

This is the color challenge for December from Imaginisce. It was really nice to break away from red and green for a while. :)

I started out with sketch #187 from Creative Scrappers.

The background paper is solid dark blue and I spritzed it with some silver Shimmer Mist.

The striped paper is from the Imaginisce Twitterpated collection.

The clouds were cut from patterned paper from the same collection and I used a darker blue ink on the edges.

The red paper is from the Apple Cider collection, and I used kraft paper for the photo mats.

The title is a die cut from the Santa's Little Helper collection.

The little letters are from My Little Shoebox.

I also added some pop dots to the big title and the little snowflakes for a little bit of dimension.

I guess I can't put off the housework any longer....have a great day!!!!

2 layouts...and no laundry done yet...

2011-12-18T12:48:00.003-06:00

I saw this challenge from Scrapping Everyday Miracles, which was to scrap something you are thankful for. My treasured item is this awesome picture of the last time my siblings and I were all together with our kids.

This picture actually kind of makes me sad, seeing as that it was taken so long ago and we haven't been together since. :(

But it was nice to finally make a page for it. Now I'm happy that I had it at all. I so need to make more effort to take more like this.

I used sketch #186 from Creative Scrappers. I love the different strips of papers. I used some Maya Road chipboard butterflies that I inked and make little markings on them.
So is it a bad thing that I didn't do any laundry yet?? Nope! Because I got another fun page done! :)

Avoiding Housework....

2011-12-18T10:42:00.002-06:00

I so don't want to do much today but play in my scrap corner. Sigh....

These pictures of my kids with the Grinch always crack me up. He sure was a lot of fun and more than happy to sit through lots of pictures. See,...he's not so bad after all. :)

I pulled out the mulberry paper and tore the edges. Then I tried to ink it in green and it wasn't showing up too well. Then I used a green marker and didn't like the way it looked. So I gave up and from a distance, I sprayed some Glimmer Mist on it. I was finally happy with the end result.

The wooden accent pieces are from Michael's.

I used this cool sketch from Stuck?! Sketches. Once I saw that distressed center piece, I knew I had to do a fuzzy Grinch page. :)
I think I might pull out more pictures to work on .....but the laundry is calling me...more like screaming, but I just turn the music up louder. :)

Lasting Memories #69 - Holiday Cheer and A Giveaway !

2011-12-18T06:45:00.005-06:00

Good Morning!!! Is everyone finished with their Christmas shopping yet? I still have just a few small things to pick up today. And the rest of the day will be baking, baking and maybe even a little baking.

I hope you will have some time to play along with Lasting Memories this week! Because, there is another fun giveaway!

This week's challenge is all about Holiday Cheer. We would like to see what inspires you from the adorable photo above. Is it the colors, the decorations, just the spirit of the season?

And as an added inspiration, feel free to use this fun sketch!

I used lots of pieces from the We R Memory Keepers Christmas collection. My new score board sure came in handy for that bottom strip! And this was such a great sketch to work with.

So have you seen anything that has inspired you to join us this week? The Design Team has many incredible creations to help you! Be sure to stop by and share some Holiday Cheer with them also!

And if you still don't have enough incentive, how about a giveaway??

I will be giving away this collection of Winter goodies by Heidi Grace. This includes patterned papers, rub ons, satin ribbons, and lots of chipboard accent pieces!

Be sure to stop by Lasting Memories to share some love for our Design Team. Then link up your layout for chance to win!

Have a great day!!

Paper Lovin' Gals #10 - Sweets and Treats

2011-12-15T06:02:00.003-06:00

Aren't these the yummiest treats ever??!! I cannot wait till the Christmas cookies are baking and I get to munch all day!

Photo Inspiration #10 from Paper Lovin' Gals looked so good! I love that little penguin!

I love this color scheme too. It seems like aqua and deep red are becoming more popular and I can see why.

Here is my take on the photo. I stuck with the color scheme and added some fun penguins and snowmen. I even brought out the score board and made a base for the penguin and snowman with some scraps of paper to match the cupcake holders.

I love that I kept all the photo cards from last year and can put them to use instead of them sitting in a box forever. These are photos from 4 different happy families! I can't wait till they see how I preserved their cards!

Stop by and see what other yummy surprises the Paper Lovin' Gal's Design Team came up with!

I'm sure you will find lots more inspiration!

Have a great day!!

Best way to distract from a cold...

2011-12-14T11:39:00.003-06:00

Work on some Christmas pages!!

I used a Christmas photo card from last year for the sketch at Sketchy Thursdays.

Lots of buttons and a silver doily for Frosted Designs sketch a long Tuesdays.
I used a border punch on some strips to put together my Christmas tree. I used eyelets for the ornaments. I used sketch #113 from Let's Capture These Sketches.
And some fun photos from the Tow Trucks for Tots parade. Love this annual parade!! This is sketch #250 from Sketch Inspiration. :)
These were all made using the 12 Days of Christmas challenges at My Scraps and More. I finally finished all the chalenges!! Now I can take more cold meds and take a nap.

Enjoy your day!!

A layout just for fun!

2011-12-11T13:27:00.002-06:00

If you know me, you know how addicted to sketches I am. So this was way out of the box for me.

The outer piece is from a Colorbok Chipboard set that I painted a light pink. The bottom of the page was covered in some white mulberry paper and them some white glitter was added to the whole strip.

I was lucky enough to win a Sew Easy tool from We R Memory Keepers, so I thought I would take a little more time to play with it. This design reminded me so much of snowflakes, I decided to sew a few onto my page. I still need a little more practice with the tool, but it still turned out pretty good for a first -timer. :)

Pink Paislee offered some free downloads this week, so I took advantage of a few of them. I had them printed out and fussy cut them all. It took a little longer than the sewing did...lol. But they were really cute and I wanted to work them into a page somehow. This title was mounted on mulberry paper and then I sprinkled some white glitter on it.
More Pink Paislee pieces! Aren't these snow-people adorable?!! I used a few pop dots on them too.
So there! It is possible for me to create a page without the guidance of a sketch! LOL!

Have a great Sunday!!

Lasting Memories #68 - Winter and Snowflakes

2011-12-11T09:12:00.002-06:00

I think the only real thing I like about the snow is all the fun pictures I get of the kids playing outside. lol.

They have a blast and I remember when I did too....before I had to shovel, snowblow, drive in it, .....ick.

But it is really pretty after the fresh snowfall. I usually run right out to the nature center and take lots of pictures of the snow covered evergreens. Hopefully, ( and I say this while rolling my eyes), I will be able to get more nice pictures and not have the big hassle. Last year we had a huge blizzard and I was snowed in for two days.

So this week, Lasting Memories wants to see your snowflakes and Winter Wonderland projects. You really have to see the Design Team projects! When I think snow, I think lots of white. These girls used so many different colors and ideas! I feel like a whole new world of ideas has opened up for me! Gotta think outside the box....

Even though I had plenty of snow pics of my kids, I wanted to work on sketch #110 from Let's Capture These Sketches. It was really hard to find smaller pictures, but luckily, I saved all my photo cards from the family from last Christmas. These are my cousins kids on vacation at the beach. What a fun and "warming" Christmas card! For the background I used older Heidi Grace flocked snowflake paper. I added a few foam snowflakes and some bling to the centers. The larger snowflakes were made with my border punch and rolled up with foam flakes in the center. The tag is a chipboard piece from Heidi Grace and I saved the bottom part of the card with the kids names and date on it.

Be sure to stop by Lasting Memories and show us what colors and designs you come up with for snowflakes

Oh wait...one more thing...we have a giveaway!! Michele is sponsoring us this week!!!! Two 6 x 6 "Mini Decks" of Fun Wintery and Christmasy (Is that a word? YES!!) patterened paper from Cosmo Cricket and My Minds Eye.

So be sure to stop by and see our Design Team projects and don't forget to play along!

Super Saturday! More pages!

2011-12-10T09:01:00.003-06:00

I was lucky again and had lots of time to play. I am so happy to be working on Christmas pages! It really gets me in the spirit!

I had to post these now, because today is decorating day. Our tree has been up for 2 weeks with no decorations. So today we are doing the inside of the house and tomorrow will be the outside. Thankfully, it will be close to 20 degrees warmer too!

I"m still working with this fun collection from We R Memory Keepers. I did some fussy cutting on some patterned scraps and cut out some holly leaves. Then I creased them so they popped off the page. This sketch is #112 from Let's Capture These Sketches. :)

Show Us Your Stuff was another fun sketch! I used up some Echo Park papers from the Merry Christmas collection. The reindeer stickers are from Jolee's. And I made a cute little shaker box with a little bit of reindeer food. The poem is something we use every year when we put this together. The kids have a blast spreading this out every Christmas Eve and my yard sparkles for days!
I love this fun collection from Jillibean! The added pinks and the little penguins are so cute! I used sketch #3 from My Creative Sketches. I am sllooowwwly getting into hand stitching on my pages. It's getting easier. And I used the same embroidery floss to add little bows to the little gift packages also. :)
I played along with challenge #8 from My Scraps and More which was to use 8 snowflakes. I used just a few more than that...lol. This is my adorable little snowman from last year. I sure hope we get to make a bigger one this year! These are all glitter foam snowflakes from Michael's. This bigger one is a wooden accent piece. And I love the felt trim! So pretty and later on I am going to experiment with inking or misting it. :)

Creative Scrappers #185 was such a pretty sketch with the flowers, but I wanted to stick with a winter theme. :)
And finally, a sketch from Stuck?! Sketches. I played with my border punch and lots of misting and inking. And i used a new gold ink pad on the Thickers letters. :)
Off to decorate the Christmas tree! Have a great weekend!!!

FA-lalalala...Lots of layouts!

2011-12-09T08:56:00.005-06:00

Yay for more time off! I am so glad to be able to stay home, not drive in the snow and get some pages done!

My Scraps and More is having a 12 days of Christmas challenge. Everyday a new challenge is posted counting down the 12 days of Christmas. We are up to day 9 and it's getting harder and harder!

I found this awesome stack of paper and embellishments from We R Memory Keepers! I am having so much fun with it!

Challenge #6: Use 6 different patterned papers. The photo was triple matted and the title box was double matted. The background paper makes 6! I had this fun garland from a gift from last year and knew I kept it for a reason. :)

I used the December sketch from Artful Delight.

Challenge #3: Use 3 different ribbons or trims. I used 2 different ribbons and this fun dingle ball trim. For some extra touches, I added some random eyelets and snaps to the trims. This was from Frosted Designs Sketch Along Tuesdays #29.
Challenge #4: Use 4 different colors. I went with this fun set from My Mind's Eye. Pink, Blue, Green and Red! THey are so fun and bright together. This is also the December sketch from My Scraps and More.
Challenge #5: Use 5 circles to represent 5 golden rings. I cut out a few circles from a sheet of patterned paper. Some of them are popped up with foam dots. This is the newest sketch from Stuck On U Sketches.

I'm hoping to get a few more pages done today! Have a great Friday!!

Paper Lovin' Gals - Home for the Holidays

2011-12-08T07:30:00.002-06:00

Wow...was it ever nice to have an hour or two to myself finally! It's always so tough dealing with the holidays as it is, and then when everyone gets sick, it just makes it even harder to deal with. My little guy is still a little icky, my hubby has a terrible cold, my oldest had the stomach flu....so far, knock on wood (knocks on own head), I've been hanging in there. Unfortunately, that means the burden of everything has fallen on my shoulders. It's not too bad, I like being in charge and taking care of everyone, but once in a while,...I just want a time out!

So that's what happened Tuesday night. I was finally able to get a page done! WOOHOO!!

Challenge #9 from Paper Lovin' Gals was a GORGEOUS photo inspiration of a wintery barn. LOVE IT!! I was so determined to get this one done.

I chose a beautiful sketch from Stuck on U Sketches to work on a Wintery/ Christmas page.

I had to handcut the shaped piece and then I used some silver ink on the edges. The background paper was sprinkled with a little bit of Sparkle mist and then the edges were inked in gold. I added more border punches to my Christmas list this year. I have 3 and this is my favorite. After I punched the border, I scored it and folded it in a bit to give the photo mat dimension. This was also inked in silver. Silver and gold...silver and gold...sorry...lol.

Aren't these poinsetta stickers pretty?? And the pine cones?? Guess what?? I found those in the Christmas decoration section at Walmart! Each set was only $1.50! Wait till you see the borders I bought! Beautiful!

The Happy H0lidays sentiment was from Echo Park. I added a few pop dots to the center circle.

Be sure to stop by The Paper Lovin' Gals to see the beautiful projects from our Design Team! You will surely be inspired!

Last one for the month....

2011-11-30T20:06:00.002-06:00

I wish I could get a better picture of this one! Shorter days and lack of daylight are the worst part of Winter.

Here is my take on Sketch #61 from Sketches in Thyme. I added a little bit of jute here and there. The border at the bottom is this really cool bandana ribbon, a strip of denim paper and a bunch of gold brads. The paper in the center is kraft paper that I distressed and inked. And then I added some random cowboy stickers. I didn't realize I had started a "collection" of them...lol.

Time to gear up for December....lots of shopping and decorating to do!

Gotta love Fridays!

2011-11-30T05:57:00.002-06:00

Gotta love when you can post things on your lunch break! I figured I would have to take my pages to work and snap pictures during break in order to get good ones.
It is soo depressing leaving the house in the morning when it's dark and getting home when it's dark. This is the worst part about Winter.

Well, here is my attempt at a pretty sketch from Burlaps and Buttercups. I used My Mind's Eye Lost and Found 2 collection. We had to use two different border punches also. I only have 3! But I have been scouting them out and adding different styles to my Christmas Wish List. :)
I also added a few brads from the same collection. The letters are Thickers inked with pewter. I would really love to go back and see these Falls during the Fall. I heard the colors are AMAZING!

My second page is for sketch #183 from Creative Scrappers. I had to flip it to work with my pictures. My little guy was so happy in these pictures! I cannot believe after once around the track, he insisted on riding with his hands in the air! I'm such a sissy when it comes to coasters...lol. He must have inherited that from the other side of the family. LOL!

Lunch over!! Back to the grind...have a great day!!

New layout and new carpet!

2011-11-29T11:20:00.002-06:00

You have no idea how excited I am! The carpet installers are just about finished and I finished another layout!! WOHOO!!

Here is my take on sketch #184 from Creative Scrappers. I used the November 25th challenge from My Scraps and More to scrap my daughter's school picture. The big title was a chipboard piece from Crate Paper. And the fun stars are from Michael's.

I also went waaay out of my comfort zone and used my newest tool...The Sew Easy stitching tool from We R Memory Keepers. It's "sew" much easier than I thought it would be! I used the nifty little tool to pre-punch the holes on the circle and then I hand stitched it. It actually took me less than 10 minutes to do the whole thing....and that included breaking out the circle cutter!

So now I feel comfortable enough to use this for the stitching challenge from ScrapFit. :)

I need a little more practice before I try the other stitching styles that came in the package. But it's a start! No more faux stitching for me! :)

I'm Late!! I'm Late!! For a very important date!! And a giveaway!

2011-11-29T10:13:00.003-06:00

Sorry folks! Life got in the way and wasn't able to get this done before the deadline.

This week's challenge from Lasting Memories is called "Color Me Happy".

AND....as a bonus, this sketch was offered up too!

AND...as an ADDED bonus...Marie has offered up a prize!!!

Marie is sponsoring is with a grab bag of scenic route embellishments!!!

How can you win? Play along this week, that's it!!

This is sure to make everyone happy!!

Be sure to link up your layouts before next Sat at 9pm EST!!! Have fun and good luck!!

Check out the Design Team work here.

And don't forget Marie's awesome prize here.

Where did the time go???

2011-11-29T07:45:00.003-06:00

It feels like I lost a whole week! What happened?? I cannot believe Thanksgiving has come and gone already.

Between working on the house, family issues and crazy work schedules, I feel like I'm in a time warp.

Today I took a vacation day because the carpet installers are FINALLY coming to work on the stairs! It's been 3 long years and we are finally in a position where we can do this the right way. We had some work to do on the wall, replace some trim and work on the damaged floor underneath the old carpet. I feel like my house has been in shambles forever!

Anyway...I had finished up these pages a few days ago and just never had a chance to post them. I miss my scrap corner!!

These are a few more inspiration challenges from My Scraps and More. I thought I was almost caught up...and then chaos ensued.

Hopefully, once the carpet is done I will have some extra time to work on projects.

Sketch challenge #14 from My Scraps and More went with challenge #14 - use 5 different manufacturers. I went with Lasting Impressions - Joann's custom kit - Recollections - Me and My Big Ideas - Colorbok.

Love these fun banners from Sassafrass Lass! So fun! I added some fibers to "tie" it all together. The sketch is from My Sketch World. And the My Scraps and More challenge was to use your favorite shape and the title "Good Times".
And Scrap Whispers challenge #107 was a sketch that I used with the quote challenge from My Scraps and More. Are these owls adorable or what? They are from a chipboard set from My Mind's Eye.
The guys haven't called yet and I'm starting to lose patience...I know the minute I pull stuff out to work on, they will show up. GRRR!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2011-11-24T09:36:00.002-06:00

I would like to say how Thankful I am for so many wonderful online friends! I am Thankful that I can share in this wonderful hobby, creating memories for our families. I am Thankful that we can all share our thoughts, creativity and inspiration. I am blessed to have you all in my life!

Happy Thanksgiving and love to you all!!

I am so happy and Thankful that I am going to be spending the day with my family!!!

I cannot wait!!! The clock just isn't moving fast enough for me.

But before I go, I wanted to share my latest pages.

I am Thankful that I have had the time to enjoy the challenges at My Scraps and More. This has been one heck of a month! Everyday, I am forced to really think about what I am thankful for and then save that memory.

The November 9th challenge was to scrap about yourself. As hard as I try to be in pictures, it just doesn't happen that often. I dug through the archives for this one. It worked perfectly for the Technically Inclined challenge from ScrapFit. I should take a picture of myself with my Iphone...since it's always attached to my hand! The sketch is #247 from Sketch Inspiration. :)

November 22nd was to use 3 different colored flowers. I love this collection from Crate Paper. The bright colors against the gray was gorgeous! Burlaps and Buttercups challenged us to use gray and yellow. PERFECT collection to use!

This sketch is #109 from Let's Capture These Sketches. :)

And now that I have to get moving and work on the appetizers, I have one more to post. I used the November sketch from Imaginisce and their Happy Harvest collection. Adorable little critters! This works for the November 21st challenge from My Scraps and More....Family Time. These are my kids and my nieces on a family trip to the Arboretum. :)
Anyone up for some crab dip? And I'm trying a new Buffalo Chicken dip also. Guess I better break out the recipe and get moving!

Have a wonderful and Thankful day!!!

Happy Sunday!!

2011-11-20T08:21:00.004-06:00

I'm off today to start my Christmas Shopping! That sounds so crazy! I swear last month we were just at the beach...and now I see Christmas lights already.

I wanted to post these pages before I left. Daylight for me is so scarce. I know it seems like I did all these pages really quick, but I work on a little bit every night. I can only take pictures once a week. So my weekend posts are always photo heavy. But then again, once the mojo kicks in, everything falls into place and they do come together pretty quickly.

This one is from Jillibean Soup. I absolutely ADORE the Apple Cheddar line! I first had my hands on in from an Artful Delight kit and i used every. last. scrap. So I had run out and buy more of course! And Jillibean offered a sketch too! :)

I also started playing at Burlaps and Buttercups too! I found this site through Sketchy Thursdays.

My second favorite line this season is from We R Memory Keepers. I submitted this page and won! It was featured on their Facebook page! (toot toot) :)

I used a sketch from Show Us Your Stuff.

I've been having fun with my new score board, but not so much with the hot glue gun.
Sketches in Thyme #60 called for me to break out the snaps/eyelets. I haven't used these in a long time. I forgot how much fun (and work) they can be.
Okay....got my lists....got my coffee...wish me luck...I hope the crowds aren't too crazy yet!

Lasting Memories #65 and a GIVEAWAY!!

2011-11-20T08:02:00.002-06:00

This week at Lasting Memories we were offered 3 different inspirational photos to work from. These pictures are all gorgeous!! Check them out here!

I saw this photo and couldn't believe my luck. I just bought a ton of goodies from the My Mind's Eye line called Lost and Found 2. The colors were perfect! So glad I bought all the fun matching brads too. :)

I used the quote from the challenge from Show Us Your Stuff. It was printed on vellum and inked in pewter.

The sketch is from Sketchabilities #59. I love using up all these smaller photos from the kids photo packages. I have lots and it's hard to get rid of them, but even harder to just hold on to them. Sketches like this are great!

Did I mention a giveaway this week at Lasting Memories??

Amy is sponsoring us with a giveaway this week!! Check this out!!

A distressing tool
A tape runner with two refills
A snowflake mini pocket punch
A Christmas Additions Kit

That's about a $40 value!!! How can you win? It's easy and you can have up to 2 chances to win ..

Join our current challenge (one per person please)
For a second entry, refer a friend and have them play along to! This gives you and your friend an entry!

Nice and easy, right?? Also, be sure to check out Caryn's blog this week!! You won't want to miss it as she has something going on ALL week!!!

Stop by and see the rest of the beautiful work by our Design Team!! Have a great day!!!

Lots more pages!

2011-11-19T09:01:00.005-06:00

Gotta do this one quickly! We are off to the zoo to decorate our Community Christmas Tree! YAY! And it looks like the rain is going to hold off just long enough...i hope!!!

LOTS of sketchy fun this week!! I am so grateful to have so many fun sites that inspire me to scrap my pictures!!

Sketches in Thyme #59: Lots of bits and pieces from the older stash. :) I even broke out some rubons!

My Scraps and More #13: I LOVE these fun baseball borders!!! I cut one down to make a banner at the top of the page. And I bought TONS of this White Sox paper too. I anticipate going to lots more games!
Sketch Inspiration #246: hee hee....I'll take any kind of photo op! My kids are such willing "victims".

Sketchy Thursdays: My favorite! I misted the background paper and added some rubon text. The "border" underneath the picture is actually 1/2 inch squares from the original photos that were trimmed off. No waste....
I used these photos for Frosted Designs sketch #28 and The Paper Variety challenge which was to use the word "thanks" and "thankful". So many different textures...burlap, mesh, leaves, chipboard, ...sigh....I love my stash. It seems to have everything. :)
Oh boy! Am I running late!! Have a great day!!!

PLG #6 - and a prize!

2011-11-18T05:47:00.002-06:00

Wow...I can't believe that Thanksgiving is next week! Where did the time go? I swear Summer just ended last week and here it is, time to start Christmas shopping!

But before you head to all those big sales, don't forget to stop and have a little fun yourself.

Here is the inspiration photo for challenge #6 from Paper Lovin' Gals.

I really wish I could get a better picture of this layout. The sunlight has been scarce when I'm home. By the time I get home, it's already dark. I tried to adjust it, but....oh well....you get the gist of it. :)

I used Coredinations papers and hand cut all the leaves. Then they were embossed and sanded. The whole photo mat and frame are Coredinations papers also. I broke out the eyelet stash and threaded some twine through some of them.

I hope you find time to be inspired by this week's photo. Check out the Paper Lovin' Gals DT projects also! And don't forget....this week there is a prize! We hope you will play along!

Autumn Splendor

2011-11-15T15:06:00.002-06:00

I had another day off this week, so I figured I would do a little more organizing. While I had everything all over the place, I found these really pretty brown and orange flowers. I think I bought them on clearance last season. I was totally inspired to work on some Autumn pages.

I used sketch #108 from Let's Capture These Sketches. I also ran across a full sheet of cork so I used a few strips to double mat my photo.

And second page is for sketch #182 from Creative Scrappers. I used another doily, a few more strips of cork and more jute.

Gotta love days with no work and cleaning the stash and finding new goodies!~ :)

Sunday fun!

2011-11-13T12:10:00.002-06:00

Sunday funday! Well...almost.

Dinner is in the crock pot, laundry is almost done, and I have my shopping list made for the scrapbook store. :)

Here are a few pages I was working on last night and this morning.

Frosted Designs Sketch Along Tuesdays #27.

Creative Scrappers sketch #181. I didn't realize how many pictures I have of reptiles! Holy snake skin! I have at least a dozen or two more!
And Sketchabilities sketch #58. I really wish this peacock would have spread his feathers for me. I love how this turned out. Bling, inked doilies, flowers, rhinestone swirls....

Have a great Sunday! I'm off to replenish the stash!

Lasting Memories #64 - Hidden journaling

2011-11-13T08:19:00.002-06:00

Gooood Sunday Morning!!

Anyone ready for another fun challenge from Lasting Memories?? I hope so!

This week we challenge you to use some hidden journaling on your project. There are some pretty creative ideas from the Design Team on our blog....just saying...you might want to check it out....here....Lasting Memories. :)

Last week I had purged my stash and got rid of a bunch of older stuff. I hate doing that because I always feel that I bought it for a reason and I should use it....

But waaay back then, it was always about buying the latest and greatest...whether you used it or not. If it was pretty or cool, you had to have it!

Well, those days are gone. I ran out of room and had to let go of some oldies but goodies.'

For my hidden journaling, I simply put a cute sentiment on a chipboard tag. This tag slips in behind the photo. I attached some fun lace and fibers and a few flowers to dress it up.

These papers are from about 6 years ago from Heidi Grace. Maybe even longer...who knows anymore. I always loved these colors!

I saw the color challenge from Scrap Whispers and knew right where to go. Sometimes, cleaning out the stash is a good thing....at least I got organized...lol

And this gorgeous sketch is from Stuck On U Sketches. Nanne is so good at coming up with beautiful sketches!

I handcut a scalloped circle and inked it to death. All of the flowers are from the stash (which just couldn't be purged!) And the chipboard swirls are from the same Heidi Grace set.
I gotta love that I held on to this older collection AND used it! Finally!

Stop by Lasting Memories to see more inspiration!

Have a great day!!!

SCORE!!

2011-11-12T10:53:00.002-06:00

I came across a really good deal at Michael's yesterday, so I finally broke down and bought the Martha Stewart score board!! WOOHO!O!!!

I started out simply with these fun rosettes. I layered a few of them and added some chipboard pieces and brads all from My Mind's Eye.

And the sketch is this month's challenge from My Mind's Eye too!

I had lots of older MME goodies that I finally used up and the newer stuff is from the Lost and Found 2 collection.

The journal spot already had some glitter around the edges, so I added Stickles to the edges of my die cut piece and the photo mat. And a few touches on the rosettes livened them up a bit. :)

Time to step away from the scrapping and get some housework done.

We are off to the circus tonight!!!

Any suggestions for some really cute circus scrapping goodies??

I anticipate taking only a few zillion pictures. :)

Happy Friday!!

2011-11-11T14:55:00.005-06:00

I am still loving random days off! I have so much vacation time left and I am going to enjoy every minute of it all.

I went shopping and stocked up on cardstock and adhesives, so I should be all set for the yucky winter days to come.

Oh, and I have TONS of pictures that came yesterday and I'm waiting on another batch. :)

So my first of MANY layouts I hope to finish this weekend...is sketch #245 from Sketch Inspiration. This is a really fun site and the sketches are always fun to play along with. The really need a boost to the site, so make sure you check them out!

I used a fun kit from Echo Park called Walk in the Park. :)

Let's Capture These Sketches #106 was also a fun sketch. I LOVE my new border punch. I'm still getting used to it, so please excuse the "mistakes".

Then we have sketch #107 from Let's Capture These Sketches. Lots of distressing on these scraps. The brads are from My Mind's Eye. Everything else is from the box of Fall goodies. I just love when I can grab anything and it works with the page. It really helps with the "leftovers" from all the different kits.

I'm also entering this page for the FAMILY challenge at The Paper Variety. :)

Does anything here look familiar? Yep...these are still more bits and pieces from an Artful Delight kit! I pulled these out to work on the November sketch from the same site. Some of the elements are from DCWV and the buttons are from my button hoard. I love adding jute to all my Fall layouts. I need to get more burlap....

Now I think I'm going to finally eat lunch and see what else I can work on tonight. :)

Enjoy your Friday!!!

PLG #5 - "LOVE" Inspiration

2011-11-10T12:59:00.002-06:00

It's time to reveal Challenge #5 from Paper Lovin' Gals. This LOVE banner is so adorable! I only wish I had a white picket fence.

Oh wait! I do! I had this fun little piece in my stash that was from a kit I bought a long time ago. This was so fun to finally use.

I figured I might as well get started on Winter pictures. It's getting colder and harder to ignore the fact that Winter is here. I thought if I started remembering the fun we had last year, I won't be so against it coming....

HOLY COW!! The doorbell just rang!! It was a delivery of more pictures!!! YAY!!!! Happy weekend to me!!!!

Anyway....lol....

So I strung up some fun dark green fuzzy fibers and added some pretty poinsettia stickers. I love how this turned out. I guess snow isn't so bad after all....

Gotta go check out the new pictures!!

And hey! Don't forget to visit Paper Lovin' Gals to see what the rest of the Design Team created! You won't want to miss out on some great talent!

What a long day...

2011-11-06T19:13:00.002-06:00

So much for that extra hour today! I managed to accomplish.....pretty much nothing! And I love it! What a relaxing day!

I did manage to finish up a few layouts.

Here is my take on a fun sketch from Creative Scrappers #180. My color inspiration came from Scrap Whispers....to use blue, purple and white. :)

And here is my take on a sketch from My Creative Sketches. This is my first time playing and it looks like it could be a fun place to hang out.

This is also for the Humorous challenge from The Paper Variety. The picture is of my daughter and her best friend playing goofy dress up. Love the hair! LOL!

Have a great evening! It's time to relax a little more with some yummy hot chocolate...mmmm...

LMCB #63 - Earth tones and Sepia photos

2011-11-06T11:15:00.002-06:00

I so wish I had more sepia toned pictures to work with this fun challenge from Lasting Memories!! I'm going to visit Mom tomorrow and raid her stash of older family pictures.

The challenge was to use Earth tones and sepia toned photos.

This is a repost of a page I did for a co-worker. She has an abundance of family photos that she has been working with. I was lucky enough to have this one to work on. I used the newest Colorbok collection called Rosewood. Every paper in this whole pack goes fantastically with everything.

Be sure to stop by and see what the rest of the Lasting Memories Design Team has created. You will be amazed at the variety of interpretations and ideas!

Playing Catch up.....

2011-11-06T10:29:00.003-06:00

This flu thing has been hitting me off and on all week. Luckily, the kids haven't had it at all...just me...yay. :(I feel like I am so far behind in everything, so today will be catching up like mad. This is Challenge #4 from Paper Lovin' Gals. I just LOVED the accordian decorations. I sooo wanted to make some really pretty flowers for my page. But I was stuck on the color scheme too. So, I came up with these papers from Colorbok and made my own accordian photo mat. :)I took a few tries to get the photo mat just the right size and shape. I also handcut some flowers from another sheet of the Colorbok papers and put them on pop dots for dimension. The letter stickers are from the very old stash. Check out what the Paper Lovin' Gals Design Team did with this challenge! The different styles are so amazing! It just proves that with one photo, you can get so many different inspirations. I also used this beautiful Family photo of my best friend for the "family" challenge from Frosted Designs. :)I sure hope my feeling good stays with me today! I have so much more to do!Have a great day!!

News to share!!!

2011-11-03T19:55:00.003-05:00

Hi all!

This has been one CRAZY week for me!! With Halloween parties, a 24 hour bug, and a few trips to the clinic, I haven't had much time to scrap.

But...I still have some GREAT news to share!!

I've been chosen to be on the Design Team at Paper Lovin' Gals!! WOHOOO!!! I am so excited!!! These girls are so much fun and we are just getting started!!

Check out the newest photo inspiration challenge and meet the rest of this fabulous team!!

I hope you will join us! Lots of inspiration and great designs and ideas to share!

http://paperlovingals.blogspot.com/

Have a great evening! I am!!! :)

What I Cherish Most...

2011-11-01T06:02:00.002-05:00

This week at Lasting Memories, the challenge was to scrap about something or someone that you cherish. We had recently taken photos of the kids, so I had a great photo to work with.

I have no idea where that patterned paper came from, but the colors were great! A little ink on a doily and layering of some flowers and my kids look fantastic!

Check out the rest of the Design Team work at Lasting Memories! They are fabulous! And there is also a great sketch to work with too!

Happy Halloween!!!

2011-10-31T16:09:00.004-05:00

I'm just getting over some kind of 24 hour bug. It really stole most of my weekend. Luckily, I had a half day of work today, so I was able to sneak in a quick Halloween layout.

My inspiration came from:
a fun sketch from Scrap Whispers

an inspirational photo from Paper Lovin' Gals

and a challenge from The Paper Variety, which was to create something cute or spooky.

Now I'm running out the door to go Trick or Treating! Have a great and safe holiday!!

What a beautiful day!!!

2011-10-23T08:24:00.003-05:00

Well, it really wasn't planned that way, but yesterday was my day to tackle the mountain of laundry that I have been putting off. So of course, in between loads, I had to do "something". So why not get some pages done! :)

Here is my page for Stuck on U Sketches. I had lots of random textured papers and these fun chipboard stickers from Imaginisce.

Let's Capture our Memories offered this fun sketch that was great for my little cowboy. I used some corrugated bits to make the flowers. They were then inked and embellished with some jute, a punched circle and some fun silver cowboy buttons. I love the bandana ribbon too! That was a gift from a friend. :)
Sketches in Thyme challenged us with a multi photo sketch. I cut down some 4 x 6 photos to fit the sketch. These beautiful flowers are only some of the pictures I took at the gardens at Cantigny Park. And of course, the gorgeous Echo Park Victoria Garden papers were a great help!
Sassy Lil' Sketches challenged us with a multi patterned paper sketch. This one was a tough one. I guess that's why it was put off for so long. I used lots of random textured papers from the stash. I didn't like that it was so plain and boring. That's when I decided to bend the corners and tack them down with some snaps. Now I was happy! My color inspiration came from Frosted Designs color combo challenge. :)
And finally, here is my submission for the monthly sketch challenge at Imaginisce. I didn't realize how much of their product I had until I went searching for the perfect papers. Then the hard part was deciding which line to use. After cutting a few circles (the wrong size), I finally got just the right ones. I cut out a few of the strawberries and put them on pop dots. I also used my hexagon punch to add a little bit to the design. It matched the honeycomb patterns on the papers, that I will be using in the near future. :)
Have a great Sunday! We are off to enjoy this gorgeous day! :)

Bling it on!!!

2011-10-23T07:48:00.003-05:00

It's time for another fun challenge at Lasting Memories! This week is one I'm sure not many can resist. It's all about the BLING! And who doesn't love bling!?

I had these great pictures of my daughter at her 21st birthday party, where she was wearing her blinged out birthday tiara. So that was a great starting point...and the fact that she loves anything pink...which is a far cry from her "goth" stage where all she would wear was black. :(

I found these great papers in my stash from DCWV. They are mega old, but so much fun, I couldn't part with them. Once I saw all the pink and glitter, I was sold. Then I figured, why not work with this month's sketch challenge from DCWV....it was a no-brainer! :)

I added some extra swirl bling and a few rhinestones here and there. It's hard to tell, but even the letters have glitter on them...lol. I was covered with glitter last night, and most likely will be for quite a while, considering it's all over my desk and workspace.

Be sure to stop by and see what the other girls on the Lasting Memories DT created! I"m not the only one that will be sparkling all week! :)

Big Enough??

2011-10-21T19:45:00.002-05:00

Soo many challenges....soo little time!

Looks like this weekend is going to be the last of the good ones. We are off to a few local haunted houses and search for our Big Pumpkin.

I wanted to start off the weekend with a finished page. :)

For starters, I went with a fun recipe challenge from The Paper Variety: 1 pumpkin ( my picture), 2 words and 3 buttons (who can stop at 3??)

My color inspiration was from Paper Lovin' Gals. Great Fall color combination! I wish I had this year's pictures already printed. I know I have tons that would have worked with this combo.

I worked with Sketch #242 from Sketch Inspiration. And I'm also entering this in the Open Sketch challenge at Sketches in Thyme. :)

Off to get some sleep....busy day with lots of walking tomorrow.... :)

Paper Loving Gals #1 !!!

2011-10-20T06:09:00.003-05:00

Oh My ...how the time does fly!! I totally ran out of time to post this!
Here is my take on the photo inspiration challenge from Paper Loving Gals.
This is a new challenge blog and here is challenge #1!!! YAY!!

I'm still having lighting issues with taking good pictures. Maybe I can sneak in a get a better one this weekend...hopefully the rain will hold off long enough.

I used a sketch from Sketchabilities this time. :)

I dusted off the Coluzzle system to cut out all my flowers. Then I used needle nose pliers to crimp each petal and then added tons of Stickles. This certainly brightened up an otherwise boring day at work. :)

It's ME!!

2011-10-19T20:39:00.003-05:00

What is that?? Is that a picture of ME??!!! How did that happen???!!

This month at Crop Suey, the challenge is all about YOU! Or ME! Or something like that...lol

After I searched for quite a long time, I found these fun pictures from one of many Girl's Nights Out. :)

It reminded me that it's time to do that again! Maybe I'll end up in more pictures....hmmm....

LOL!! (Lots Of Layouts!)

2011-10-15T08:36:00.005-05:00

Wow! I had a FUN, BUSY week! I was able to spend a lot of time thinking and planning out some pages, and then was totally inspired to get to work!

This month sure brought a lot of wonderful sketches! As I'm sure you can see, I am addicted to sketches and love the challenges that they bring. And since I love going out and taking TONS of pictures everywhere, there is definitely never a shortage of things to work with. :)

The weather is changing quickly, and I am losing daylight even quicker. Taking good pictures is becoming my biggest challenge. So now I have to save my posts until the weekend. :(

I hope you have the patience to sit through a post filled with lots of sketches and my interpretations....

I love Echo Park! And the Be Mine collection worked wonderfully with my daughter's school Spring picture.

This sketch is the October challenge from My Sketch World.

Group 1 sketch from Show Us Your Stuff. I inked up the whole background with 3 different inks. All of the other bits and pieces are from the Fall stash.

This one was probably the most difficult sketch. I just couldn't figure what to do with all those little circles. But then I remembered....I have BUTTONS!!!

This sketch can be found at Stuck?! Sketches.

A fun pumpkin page using the sketch from Scrap Whispers.

Let's Capture These Sketches has some gorgeous sketches! Here is the first one I finished. I can't wait to work on the next one! I used some velvet trim for the challenge at Frosted Designs this week. The flowers are all from Michael's. And I found the metal circle frames and the key in the "junk" drawer.

...and finally! Sketch Inspiration #241! I was able to play with a doily! I love inking and spraying doilies! And I added a few Stickles too. The flowers are all miscellaneous that I layered and stickled. The most trouble I had with this page were the rubons for the giant brads. I had such a hard time with these!

Well, that 's all I have for today! lol!

We are off to yet another pumpkin farm today! I can't wait to get all of these pictures printed!

Have a great weekend!!

My day off....

2011-10-12T17:33:00.003-05:00

I so love taking random days off! I actually took today off to sneak off to yet another pumpkin farm. Shhh....

I just love this time of the year. I just wish it were easier to find pumpkin patch goodies for scrapping. I have tons of Fall and Halloween, but just the pumpkin patch is really hard to find. :(

Any hints or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Here is my first page of the day. I have to take the pictures ASAP because the light is disappearing quickly. I'm not liking these shorter days....and the worst is yet to come.

This is sketch #102 from Let's Capture These Sketches. I pulled out some fun purple mulberry paper for this one. This picture is kinda old. I had a hard time figuring out how to scrap those bright orange and purple flowers! My favorite part is the title. It's a title die cut from Imaginisce Happy Harvest...I just added some purple ink to the edges and it was perfect!

And here is my take on sketch #101 from Let's Capture These Sketches. I love these bits and pieces from K&Company. These colors are so pretty! And they kept me from using a lot of white with the communion picture. The photo mat is a square doily that was inked in 3 different colors.

And finally....here is my submission for the October sketch challenge from Artful Delight. I had to dig out another sheet of "wood" paper and a few stickers, but the rest is more scraps from their September kit.

Now I have to go nurse the finger that got smashed in between my chair and the desk. It's really hard to type when I cannot use my right pinky. :(

More pumpkins...

2011-10-12T08:35:00.003-05:00

Here are a few pages I finished over the last few days. I had to wait until I had good sunlight to take pictures. I'm not happy that the times are changing. When I leave in the morning, it's dark and when I get home, it's even darker. :(

Not looking forward to Winter...especially with what they are predicting for us. I guess I should just make sure I have plenty of adhesive. They are saying we might have another blizzard and get snowed in again. Oh well, at least I know I will get plenty more snow pictures....lol

Here is my take on Sassy Lil' Sketches Send off #5.

And a fun sketch from Sketches in Thyme. This is challenge #57. I love pumpkin pictures!

And Sassy Lil' Sketches Send off #3. I'm going to miss this site! :(

Sketches in Thyme Design Team call

2011-10-12T08:18:00.003-05:00

Well, here is my shot at a spot on the new Design Team at Sketches in Thyme. :)

They always have the best sketches!

To be considered for the team, we have to create a layout based on the following sketch.

I used lots of raffia and burlap. I made my own rosettes and added some raffia along with buttons...of course.

As I was making the rosettes, I kept repeating to my hubby that I REALLY want the Martha Stewart scoring board! This would make things soooo much easier! I sure hope he remembers...of course, I left lots of post-its all around his desk...just a subtle hint. :)

Wish me luck! :)

Manic Monday...

2011-10-10T18:22:00.002-05:00

I don't like Mondays!! It just means that the weekend is over and I'm finding it harder and harder to fit in time to scrap. :(

I squeezed in some time last night, but without proper daylight to take pictures, it's getting more and more difficult to get good lighting.

Here is my page for Frosted Designs Sketch Along Tuesdays. It's pretty simple and I used up a lot of Stickles on the quote and the doily. :)

I chose the gold to represent the pot 'o gold at the end of the rainbow. :)

And this fun page is for the sketch challenge from My Scraps and More. They are having a fun Scrap It and Win It challenge and the sketches are so much fun!

Happy Monday! Enjoy the week!! :)

The Great Pumpkin!!

2011-10-09T08:58:00.003-05:00

Just when I thought I was out the door, I decided to finish this one up from last night. I won't mention that the kids are running late, so I had more time to play.. :)

I have lots of pumpkin patch pictures from last year and I am well on my way to take even more. They are so much fun and the kids have a blast every time!

I am using this layout for the challenge from Sassy Lil' Sketches...........with the color challenge from Scrap Whispers......
....and also the circle challenge from ScrapFit. :)

Who knew pumpkins would come in so handy??

Lasting Memories #59 - Tag Your It!!

2011-10-09T08:14:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone is having beautiful weather too! These last few days have been amazing! It's been in the 80's and the sun has been shining constantly...absolutely wonderful!

Not to mention the gorgeous Fall pictures I have been getting...along with zillions from the pumpkin patch!

It's time to reveal challenge #59 at Lasting Memories. This week the challenge it to add a tag to you project. I haven't used tags in a long time and I have tons of them laying around. I went with this simple tag...just a little ink and a sticker. For the top I added some random trim and fibers. Oh yeah...and of course, some bling. :)

To get you started, you can also use this fun sketch. I am addicted to sketches, so this was a great starting point for me. :)

Don't forget to stop by Lasting Memories and see what the rest of the Design Team created!!

Have a wonderful weekend!!!!

What a great day!!

2011-10-08T16:48:00.003-05:00

WHAT A GORGEOUS DAY!!! It's a wonderful 80 degrees outside, the sun is shining, the Fall colors are everywhere and I don't have to work today!! YAY!!!

We went to the Children's Farm and played in the pumpkin patch and then went walking around looking at Fall colors. I took sooooo many pictures!!! YAY!!

I started my morning with some laundry, dusting and scrapping.

Here is my take on this week's challenge from Sketchy Thursdays. I am so in the mood for Fall and Halloween!

And I did a fun Fall page for Sketch Inspiration #240. Loving the older stash!!

I sure hope my Sunday is just as good! We are off to yet another pumpkin patch!!! YAY!!!

A Halloween Countdown Calendar :)

2011-10-05T20:00:00.002-05:00

I've been wanting to do this for soooo long!

I finally got my hands on a Karen Foster Countdown Calendar!

All of the papers are scraps from the Halloween bin. The foam ghosts and other shapes are foamies from the kids stash. ....shhh....

Each little drawer will be filled with treats and coins for a daily surprise!

I can't wait for them to get started on this tomorrow morning! I managed to finish just in time!

The title was put together with some chipboard letters that were Stickled.

I guess I should get started on a Christmas Countdown now....hopefully I will finish with a little more time to spare. :)

Sneaking in a quick post

2011-10-05T18:15:00.002-05:00

Here is my take on this week's sketch from Sketchy Thursdays! So glad I was able to finally finish it!

I used the color combo from The Studio Challenges. :)

Gotta run!!! have a great rest of the week!!

Random layouts...

2011-10-02T17:07:00.002-05:00

It was WAAYYYY too nice to stay inside today! I was planning on opening up the windows a bit and just sit here and scrap all day.

Not a chance!

I packed up the kids and we went to a pumpkin farm, a nature center, had lunch, and drove around looking at Fall colors. :)

This first page was finished earlier in the week. It was a sketch challenge from Shimelle, but I missed the deadline. :(

And these two pages were made for the September grid challenge at Scrap our Stash. :)

For the first page I used a Time Savers pre-made grid. I have these papers in so many different styles and colors...I really need to use them more!

And this paper came from the Linen Stack from Die Cuts with a View. I cut out some of the hexagons and put them on pop dots. :)
Happy Fall Day! I'm off to upload the pics on Facebook. :)

Lasting Memories #58 - Recipe Challenge

2011-10-02T08:25:00.002-05:00

What a beautiful morning!!!

I am charging up the camera as we "speak" and I am so ready to drive around town taking lots of pictures of the changing colors! Today is supposed to be 65 and sunny all day and I am so excited!!

Today I am posting about the newest challenge from Lasting Memories. It's a fun and challenging recipe! This one took me a while to figure out....lol.

The recipe is:

1 photo

2 embellishments

3 colors

After flipping through all my colorful pictures and patterned papers, I found this gem. 3 colors jumped out of the photo at me. I used the game tickets and some buttons as my 2 embellishments. And the simple black, white and blue colors were perfect for the recipe. :)

And I love that used up more of my sticker alphas...I so need to purge that drawer...lol

Make sure you stop by Lasting Memories and see what the rest of the design team came up with! The different takes on the challenge are sure to inspire you!

Have a great Fall day!!! :)

Last one for today...

2011-09-28T18:32:00.002-05:00

Lousy weather and this awful cold and beating me...I'm losing the battle....

Here is Week 4 sketch from Sassy Lil' sketches.

Most of this was from scraps from...you guessed it...the September Artful Delight kit. :)

The sunflowers and buttons are from the stash.

Oh Lord....I need to go to bed....enjoy your evening.....

Going on a hayride!

2011-09-28T15:43:00.002-05:00

...and now it is raining...again....yuck....

It certainly isn't helping my sinuses and my cold at all. :(

This week The Paper Variety posted a sketch challenge! How fun!

Since I still have more from my Artful Delight kit, I found lots of pictures to work with, and lots of scraps to use up.

The leaves, crow and pumpkins are all from last year's stash.

I added the leaves to play along with the Wonder"fall" challenge at My Scraps and More. :)

Time for more meds...and a nap....

Lots of Pumpkins!

2011-09-28T14:13:00.002-05:00

Yay for days off! I think I caught a cold and have been pretty miserable. I managed to get some much needed shopping done and relaxed for a bit. Now I can't believe the day is almost gone and I only managed to get one page done. :(

This is my take on sketch #239 from Sketch Inspiration and a fun Fall color combo from Color Combos Galore.

And I was able to use lots of bits and pieces from the September kit from Artful Delight. :)

Here's hoping I can get a few more done before the day is out....

Creative Scrappers #175

2011-09-26T18:55:00.003-05:00

Time to crack open the huge box of Halloween goodies and start getting some pictures done!

Here is my take on Creative Scrappers #175. I love these pics of my daughter! I can't wait to see what she is going to dress up as this year. :)

Sassy and whimsical Sunday

2011-09-25T16:07:00.004-05:00

I decided today I wanted to be lazy. The weather is kinda yucky, the laundry still needs to get done, the kids are whiny and miserable....so I just decided to take a break and do nothing but scrap today.

I've been trying to decide what to do with all these wonderful sketches from Sassy Lil' Sketches. Today was the day I was determined to work on as many as I could. But I wanted to go back to my whimsical style. Quick, simple and easy.

The first one I used fun chipboard pieces from My Mind's Eye - Fine and Dandy collection. I pulled out the box of patterned scraps and decided to make a dent in that too.

Next were some fun pictures from our horseback riding trip. I can't wait until our Fall ride! I absolutely loved the horses and the ride was so relaxing. The Fall colors would be perfect to see on our ride. :)

All of these pieces are from a kit from The Paper Studio.

And my 3rd page is filled with more fun chipboard from Bo Bunny's Blast Off collection. The whole page looked too simple for me at first. So I took it outside and "blasted" it with Glimmer Mist. Now it sparkles all over and really looks cool! :)

So now I think my next shopping trip will consist of more chipboard elements. I really took a chunk out of the stash today, but I am happy with my pages.

Sometimes simple is the best way to go for me. :)

Lots to Celebrate!!

2011-09-25T10:33:00.002-05:00

What a great weekend! The weather held out for us yesterday, so we were able to make our annual trip to the Fall Festival at our local farm. What a great start to the Fall season!

It's Day 3 of Leeanne's Birthday Bash celebration at Artful Delight. The 3rd challenge was to use Kraft, Pink and White. These are such pretty colors together, but since I still had the September kit on my desk, it meant I had to clean up before I could start another project.

It's also a big celebration at Let's Capture These Sketches. They are proud to be celebrating their 100th sketch challenge!!

So here's what I did....

I used kraft paper for the photo mat. With the leftovers from that sheet, I used a border punch to make a few layered strips down the sides. Then I dusted off my Coluzzle set and cut some flowers. With some pink ink on the edges, pretty flowers, and white brads, I was pretty happy with my own embellishments. :)

I had a template for swirls and used more of the kraft paper. I colored them in with a darker brown marker and cut them out by hand. To pretty them up a bit, I threw in a little bit of pearly bling.

The small corrugated frames are from a prize pack I recently won from Let's Capture These Sketches. I used tiny leftover pieces from pictures I had to trim down.

And the title came from Thickers...which was from the September kit from Artful Delight...so I guess I didn't clean it ALL up...lol

Off to do the Birthday Bash Blog Hop!! Have a great Sunday!!!

Lasting Memories #57 - Frames and Flowers

2011-09-25T08:05:00.005-05:00

Happy Sunday! It's time for Challenge #57 from Lasting Memories! This week we were prompted to use Frames and Flowers on our projects. I just took these pictures at Cantigny Park last week and was so excited to see them in my mailbox the other day. :)

Don't forget to stop by and see what the rest of the Design Team created!

The gingham frames are from Wild Asparagus. I had to cut them down a bit to fit the pictures. I found these gorgeous butterflies during my last trip to Hobby Lobby. Everything else came from the September kit from Artful Delight. I have used this kit to death and there are still bits and pieces all over my desk. :)

I'm not giving up until it's all gone....time to take more pictures!

This great sketch is from Frosted Designs Sketch Along Tuesdays #24.

All Grown Up

2011-09-24T10:07:00.002-05:00

Well, it's starting to cloud up a bit now. I'm hoping everyone gets moving quickly so we can still spend a little time at the Fall Fest!

Here is my take on sketch #174 from Creative Scrappers. I'm still using up lots of goodies from the September Artful Delight kit. :)

As long as it's alllllll over my desk, might as well put it all to good use.

Keep your fingers crossed that we will still have some fun today!