THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR BLOGGING

Building a "Library" of Book Boxes with Lori Whitlock

2012-01-31T03:00:00.019-06:00

I'm going to tell you a little secret. When I am not scrapbooking, I am reading. All.The.Time. I read in the morning, on the days when I take the commuter bus to work. I read at lunchtime. I read in the evening, to relax before bedtime. You get the picture, right? So, when I saw that Lori Whitlock designed boxes that look like books, I was hooked! I mean, making something that looks like my favorite non-scrapbooking activity is pretty much a no-brainer for me.

And let me tell you, these BOOK BOXES designed by Lori Whitlock pretty much have everything going for them. First, they are super cute. Second, they can be used for more than one thing, which is always a plus. Third, they are wonderfully easy and fast to make. For someone who failed making construction paper houses in grade school, even I can make these!!! I spent more time picking out papers and decorating my book boxes than actually assembling them! Of course, Lori Whitlock thinks of everything, and she has a VIDEO TUTORIAL for putting together the box, just in case you want to make sure you are making it correctly.

My original intent was to make one box to show you, but I had so many ideas popping into my head (and did I mention they were so easy to make???), that before I knew it, I had made three!

My first book box holds a notepad and a pen and is sitting out right next to my house phone. Now (hopefully) when someone calls and I need to take a message, I won't be frantically searching for a piece of paper (or a pen that works)!

The bird on a branch is from Lori's SPRING COLLECTION; and the label and the font used for the alphas on my book box are cutting files created by Lori at the SILHOUETTE STORE.

My second book box is a gift for my older daughter and her fiance because they are in luurrrvvveee and they enjoy writing little love notes to each other. This box is completely filled with (lots and lots of) heart-shaped pieces of paper so they can easily pull one out and jot down a few sweet words to each other whenever the mood strikes.

I used the Block Love for the letters on the cover of my book box and the Nested Hearts for the blank notes inside the box, both from Lori's VALENTINE'S COLLECTION.

I especially love my third box, which is used to hold a collection of old family photographs that my mother recently gave to me. I used mod-podge on my papers to make my book box sturdier, and I sewed decorative trim in between the inner and outer layers of my book cover. I also made this book box about an inch larger than the other two boxes so it could hold a few larger photos in my newly acquired collection.

I used Lori's banner set found with her decorative items HERE and these wonderful layered hearts, from her Valentine's Collection.

If you are thinking you are ready to start your own library of Book Boxes, you are in luck because...drum roll please...Lori is having a sale! Woot-Woot!

But wait, that's not all! To give you extra inspiration, we are also having a whirlwind, fun, crazy BLOG HOP to kick off Lori's sale and to help you come up with some fabulous Valentine's ideas!

But wait! There's more! In addition to the blog hop and the sale...

...that's right, Lori will be giving away a free shape each day! Now THAT is love...true love...

Be sure to check back on the 2nd. I can't WAIT to show you what I've made. You're going to like it, I just know you are!

Clusters and Layers, Oh My!

2012-01-18T06:00:00.001-06:00

I don't know about you, but I LOVE creating clusters of paper loveliness on my layouts and projects. Pre-made flowers from the scrapbook store are always lovely, but I MUCH prefer making my clusters of paper flowers with my Silhouette Cameo and Lori Whitlock's wonderful designs found in the Silhouette STORE. For a little added layering, I used one of Lori's Flourishes and simply cut it into several pieces to place around my cluster. I added some MME brads and embellishments from the Lost and Found Collection and a Jenni Bowlin butterfly (that was sitting forgotten in a drawer)to complete my cluster.

A Close-Up (or two):

A little sewing, inking and a sweet title (also by Lori Whitlock in the Silhouette store), and my layout was complete!

Want more inspiration for creating the perfect cluster? Well, you are in luck! Check out all the wonderful ideas that the Practical Scrappers ladies have come up with HERE!

And for more Lori Whitlock designs, be sure to check out her online blog and STORE!

Challenge Yourself!

2012-01-15T15:51:00.000-06:00

Are you sitting around trying to get a little scrappy inspiration this Sunday afternoon? I was in the same boat until I found this GREAT challenge going on over at the LET'S CAPTURE OUR MEMORIES forum. It's the 8 Week Challenge, which is exactly what it sounds like. A new challenge is posted each week. You can complete the challenges in any order, at your own pace, as long as all are completed at the end of the 8th week. What's the prize? A $50 gift card to the LCOM store!!! I created this layout for Week 1, and I am getting ready to work on a Monochromatic Challenge for Week 2. Week 3's challenge has just been posted, so there is lots of time left to play!!!

Want some more challenges? Check out BIRDS OF A FEATHER , which has 4-5 new challenges posted each month. They run from the first of the month to the end of the month, so there is plenty of time left to play along with the wonderful Scrap Chicks!

Still need a little inspiration? Well, then, head on over to PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS , which has ideas for every type of layout imaginable over at Idea Central. And while you are over there, take the time to vote for the FANTASTIC layouts that have been submitted for the Layout Contest.

And now, a few words about my layout before I sign off and get started on my next project. The LCOM Week 1 Challenge was to use more than 3 pictures, use a square shape, and have "2011" in the title. I knew immediately that I wanted to do a grid layout, but I had just recently completed a LAYOUT with my favorite pictures taken during 2011 so I had to think of something different. I decided to go with completely random favorites (a book, a movie, a website, a drink, and a take-out food) and chose a (long) title to reflect my idea.

This bottom cluster of...randomness...started as just an envelope and journaling tag behind my picture. But I kept adding little bits and pieces until I ended up with this:

Signing off and heading back to my scrap table!

Journaling with Practical Scrappers

2012-01-11T06:00:00.001-06:00

I am a HUGE fan of journaling - in fact, it was one of the big reasons I began scrapbooking. So when the ladies over at PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS said they were going to do a blog post dedicated to journaling, I jumped at the chance to join in!

Since it's January, I thought I would blog about my one big New Year's Resolution - to run. I loved running in the past, and I WILL love running again. Even if it kills me - hahahahahaha!

I started out by using a sketch I found over at SKETCHY THURSDAYS. Then I grabbed some fantastic Theresa Collins papers that my BESTIE and I picked out this past weekend at our favorite LSS. And then, I just...ran with the challenge! Sorry, I couldn't resist!!!

No journaling tags for me this time. I just wrote what I am feeling directly on my background paper...

One more shot showing the layers that I love so much.

That's all for me right now. But if you are looking for more journaling inspiration, be sure to check out all the cool ideas at PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS that the other wonderful DT members have come up with!

Gotta run!

Video Tutorial - How to Make a File Folder Accordian Album

2012-01-10T05:46:00.000-06:00

Good morning! I am getting ready to run out the door - got a crazy day ahead, but I wanted to show you my video tutorial on how to make a file folder accordian album, which I used to hold my Project Family tags. If the video seems a little disjointed, well...it is. I took a page out of my hubby's book and said, "I don't need no stinking instructions!" prior to making this accordian folder, and I just kind of made it up as I went along. The project turned out well, and the video seems to make sense. My husband even nodded along and said he understood it - but that may have simply meant that he didn't want to film and edit anymore!

For the fun Project Family journaling tags (and to read more about my Project Family), check out my previous entry!

Happy Crafting!

Project Family

2012-01-08T10:20:00.000-06:00

So, a few weeks ago, I was chatting with my BIRDS OF A FEATHER sisters, and we were discussing whether we would be doing any daily or monthly projects for the 2012 year. It was a pre-coffee conversation for me, and I incorrectly called one of those projects - Project Family. After confessing to the other ladies that I had misnamed another popular monthly project and there was no such thing as Project Family - I said to myself, "Well why not? There SHOULD be a Project Family!" And I set about to create my own Project Family....er, project.

I knew it had to have these requirements: Simple, fast (so that we will actually commit to keeping up with it), inexpensive (because I already spend enough money on my scrapbooking supplies), and something that every member of my family can do. This is what I came up with:

First, I took this old wine bottle box that I purchased for 50 cents at a garage sale.

I have nothing against lighthouses (or wine bottle boxes for that matter), but it didn't match my decor. So...I used my January BOAF KIT , full of AUTHENTIQUE papers and other goodies, and turned it into this...

A Few Close-Ups:

Inside the box is a simple file folder accordian album that I created, which is designed to hold my Project Family Journaling Tags (and enough room left over inside the box to hold any extra little mementos I pick up in 2012).

The front of the accordian album looks like this:

It opens up to reveal six panels on each side (for a total of twelve) with pockets to hold my Project Family Tags.

The tags have simple questions which can quickly be answered by each family member at the end of every month. I left the front of my pockets blank as I plan to put my favorite picture taken each month on the front. At the end of the year, we will have the highs and lows of the past twelve months to review - little things that we most likely would have forgotten had we not taken just a few minutes to write them down (on my handy-dandy tags).

Want to download the tag so you can create your own Project Family? Just click on this Picture and save!

Want to learn how to make my file folder accordian album to hold my Project Family journaling tags? Be sure to check back Tuesday for another video tutorial!

Peace Out!

A Practical Scrappers Contest!

2012-01-05T21:46:00.001-06:00

First some good news! 2012 Has really started off with a bang for me! I am excited to have been named to the Design Team for PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS as I am always ~~stalking~~ perusing their site when I need ideas and inspiration (which is pretty much all the time)!

And, to help get your New Year started on a good note, Practical Scrappers is kickstarting 2012 with a layout contest! If you are thinking to yourself that your Christmas tree still needs to be taken down, snow needs to be shoveled (for those of you who live FAR north of Texas), the kids are sick and you just don't have TIME to create a layout - well, no worries! To get entered, you don't have to create something new! All you have to do is this: email a picture of your favorite layout that you have created in the last two months to practicalscrapperslayouts@gmail.com by midnight CST on Friday, January 13th. You must include your name, blog address (if applicable), and state or country of residence.

Best of all, Practical Scrappers is offering over $100 worth of prizes from sponsors such as Momenta, Creative Charms, The Paper Bakery, The Robin's Nest, Scrappin' Sports, and Boys Rule Kit Club (and quite possibly more)!

For details on how this contest will work, go HERE!

Ready - Set - Go!

These Moments Are Special

2012-01-02T11:13:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, I was listening to my son talking to my youngest daughter, who is six years younger. He was playing a video game, and he was explaining everthing he was doing and how the game worked to her. She was asking questions and generally basking in the attention he was paying to her. It didn't matter that he was having a technical discussion of a game that she would never be interested in playing on her own - she was just thrilled that her big brother, who she absolutely adores, was paying attention to her. So, of course, I had to create this layout (using fabulous Authentique papers, which have quickly become a favorite to me, and a sketch found on the Authentique BLOG)so that I will remember my little girl's hero worship of her big brother!

I loved everything about these papers! I even loved the Tolstoy quote included at the bottom of the paper (yes, the part that you throw away) - so I cut it out and used it, too! See?

This bracket and frame were originally hot pink. A little black Zig marker and they are now exactly the right color for my layout!

I am so happy to be ringing in the new year with several project ideas that I can't wait to share with you, so be sure to stay tuned...

Authentique Supplies Used
Authentique Blissful Collection (Happiness, Euphoria, Prosperity)
Authentique Foundations Bi-Fold Solid Paper
Authentique Icons
Authentique Petite Type Square Alphas

Looking Back and Planning Ahead

2011-12-31T15:39:00.000-06:00

I loved this December 29th Challenge posted by Lisa over at BIRDS OF A FEATHER! She asked us to create a layout about something we may have missed that we didn't realize until the end of 2011, and that is exactly what I have done.

Laundry is actually code for all the things I think I HAVE to do to be my crazy idea of the person I should be. This layout is a reminder to myself of all the things I let myself miss this past year - the things I really should have concentrated on instead of trying to live up to the ideal of the perfect me in my head. I have missed taking my family on walks that I said we would go on, sitting down to watch a movie with my kids, playing board games, trips to local attractions - all because my floors needing vacuuming or laundry needed to be done or___________ (insert project or task here). I don't want to have memories of a clean house when I am old. I want memories of more family times.

You know I can't create a layout without a cluster of randomness:

And I love using different letters in my title!

My second layout is one looking forward to the future. I made a Bucket List for my December 30th Challenge using THIS SKETCH from Sue Sykes over at Let's Capture These Sketches!

For those of you who are curious, here is my list:

Hope you are enjoying your last day of the year! Happy New Year!!!

Remembering 2011 - A Countdown to 2012 Challenge

2011-12-29T18:58:00.000-06:00

Have you been playing along with the Birds of a Feather Countdown to 2012 Challenge? I have, and it has certainly been a lot of fun! I created this layout for a challenge in which we were to look back on an event (or events) that occurred this past year. My papers are Prima and were purchased a few months ago from my favorite online scrapbooking Canadian Store, LET'S CAPTURE OUR MEMORIES.

I created a simple grid pattern using pictures from some of my favorite events this past year. And, of course, I had to make sure I layered my papers and embellies because a layout just isn't complete without a little layered loveliness! (Yes, using a little alliteration here, folks)

A couple metal accents from my favorite scrapbooking guy, Tim Holtz, and I was done!

There's still time to play along - the challenge runs through January 1st, and a prize is given away every single day! Sounds like the perfect way to ring in the new year to me!

Countdown to 2012 with Birds of a Feather!

2011-12-27T09:33:00.000-06:00

As you may know, I live in the Houston area. It almost never snows here. And on the rare occasions we do get snow, it is NEVER more than a couple of inches that is usually melted by the next day. So...winter wonderland vistas and children all bundled up with nothing but red noses and rosy cheeks peeking out are out for my January layouts.

This month's Birds of a Feather KIT makes me hate my snow-less January (which is right around the corner)a little less. The mixture of papers is vibrant enough to warm me up when it's cold and rainy outside and diverse enough so that I can create layouts of just about any person and any occasion! And the collection of chipboard pieces, ribbon, three different alphas and Smooch paint means I don't have to get up from my worktable to dig through the massive chaos of supplies left over from the madness that was Christmas!!!

I love the dimension (and cuteness) these chipboard pieces give my layout!

Here's my second layout using the January kit.

The chipboard clouds, flowers and butterflies (as well as the papers) made me think of growing things, and that made me think of my niece who, I swear, was just a baby the other day! I loved cutting out the measuring tape paper and sewing randomly across it (because, let's face it, I will find just about any excuse to sew on my paper!).

And I am all kinds of crazy in love over the frame included in this month's kit! I painted mine white, added patterned paper, and used it for my title - but I need about 4 or 5 more frames so I can use them for all the OTHER ideas I have!!!

And speaking of ideas reminds me of this BRILLIANT idea that Amy had over at BOAF! We are having a COUNTDOWN TO 2012 over at the HenHouse! What is that, you ask? Well, now that the ~~craziness~~ Hustle and Bustle of Christmas has died down, we actually have a little breathing room to get back to scrapbooking. So, our Countdown to 2012 has a new challenge posted each day and FABULOUS PRIZES TO BE GIVEN AWAY!!! Play every day or just drop in when you have time - we would love to see you!

P.S. Are you on Facebook? So is Birds of a Feather! Check it out - HERE!

Catching Up on Christmas with BOAF

2011-12-17T21:59:00.000-06:00

The December Birds of a Feather KIT is packed with so many Christmas goodies that I was finally inspired to finish scrapping my Christmas pictures from 2010 - and just in time, too, with Christmas 2011 only one week away! In addition to my layout of my two oldest daughters posing together, I also had fun playing with all white embellies on this layout of my youngest daughter, who was obviously excited when I took her picture on Christmas Eve! Can't you tell? I think she is wearing one of the hugest grins I have ever seen!

I used Creative Scrappers Sketch 186 found HERE. At first I was going to use letters and embellishments that were several different colors. But the more I played with the (mostly) white clusters, the more I liked the look.

If the embellie didn't start out white (like my letters and cardboard flower) - no problem! A little paint, and I had exactly what I wanted!

Happy Crafty Christmas!

How to Make an Explosion Box - Video Tutorial

2011-12-13T06:18:00.000-06:00

This is my first explosion box (using my BOAF December KIT), and it was such an incredibly fun project!!! There may have been a hiccup or two along the way, but everything was easily fixable and the result, I think, was fantastic!

First, here are a few pictures of the box. This is a gift for a friend so none of the tags have pictures or journaling on them.

And, without further ado, here is my video...or should I say videos. Yes, plural. There are two of them because I had to cut it up in two parts to upload to YouTube. Why? Well, YouTube has a ten minute limit per video and...apparently, I talked a lot (even after editing). And I said, "as you can see," waaaayyy to much. In fact, if you want to play a game, you can count how many times I said, "as you can see" and leave me a comment letting me know! But would you also let me know what you think about the project? And maybe whether you have any Christmas projects that you have had fun making?

Here is Part One:

And here is Part Two:

Lori Whitlock Christmas Party Winners and a Sneek Peek

2011-12-11T11:02:00.000-06:00

First, I wanted to thank every single one of you who left such wonderful comments on my Christmas Party blog post. You are all the best, and I am extremely appreciative!

By randon selection, the winner of Lori Whitlock's $25 gift certificate is Chrissie, who commented: This is such a great stocking stuffer idea - I love it!!! Thank you so much for such great inspriration!

And, the winner of Kerri Bradford's $25 gift certificate is Trisha, who commented: Your designs for these CD cases are so great. Love all your cutting.

Chrissie and Trisha, please send me an email at krissy.clark@comcast.net, with YOUR email address so I can get those gift certificates to YOU!

In other news, I have been working on an explosion box and my second ever video tutorial. Be sure to check back on Tuesday when I post my video! Untill Tuesday, here is a sneak peek of my box, made using the Birds of a Feather December KIT.

To see my blog posting on Birds of a Feather's site, click HERE.

Last Minute Gifts - CDs with Flair

2011-12-09T03:00:00.001-06:00

If you are like me, you have relatives and friends who live in a different state (or maybe a different country). And when Christmas comes around, you want to send them something a little more meaningful than a card, but you don't want to go bankrupt paying for postage (not to mention standing in mile-long lines at the post office! Well, look no further! I have come up with a FANTASTIC solution! It's cute, it's easy, it's thoughtful, and best of all - it's a quick little project that you can get done in no time at all! What is it?

Well, I took boring cd cases and, using Lori Whitlock's CUTTING FILES
and Kerri Bradford's CUTTING FILES (and using Echo Park's Season's Greetings papers - designed by Lori Whitlock), I turned them into this:

My first cd contains some of my favorite Christmas carols that I am sending to an old friend who has been feeling a little blue.

Kerri Bradford's notebook paper diecut from her BECAUSE OF YOU Collectionwas just the thing I needed for my playlist.

And, of course, you can't have a Christmas carol cd without this adorable "fa la la" diecut from Kerri's THIS + THAT CHRISTMAS Collection!

My mother-in-law, who we only get to see a few times a year, has everything except...high-speed internet. She lives waaaay out in the country with a slooowwww dial-up connection. As a result, we don't often email pictures to her. So, a cd full of pictures is a gift I know she will enjoy.

I added pop-dots under the middle of the tag from Kerri's LABEL IT Collection to provide a little dimension. My little 11 year old "helper" insisted that the Merry & Bright letters from Kerri's THIS + THAT CHRISTMAS Collection needed to be outlined in white. Don't you think she did a great job?!?

Kerri's pocket from her BECAUSE OF YOU Collection and Lori's tag and snowflake diecuts from her CHRISTMAS SET 2 Collection look like they were meant to go together, don't they?

I plan to host a cookie exchange next weekend, and as a hostess gift, I am going to give out these embellished cd cases. The cds will contain the recipes of all the cookies that are being exchanged. Pretty neat, huh? And did I mention quick? And easy?

AND NOW ARE YOU READY FOR A GIVE-AWAY???

Every follower who leaves a comment between now and Saturday, December 10th, at 6:oo p.m., on my blog and any one of the following blogs (It is the season to spread love and cheer, after all) will be eligible for not one, but two drawings (chosen by random.org)! This first drawing will be for a $25 gift certificate to Lori Whitlock's STORE; and the second drawing will be for a $25 gift certificate to Kerri Bradford's STORE. So what are you waiting for??? Leave some love, see some more fantastic last-minute gift ideas, and maybe win a great prize!

SHARI CARROLL
JOY DICKSON
CORRI GARZA
NATALIE GRAHAM
CAROLYN KING
LAURA VEGAS

Happy Christmas Crafting!

2011-12-08T11:40:00.000-06:00

If you are like me your outside Christmas lights are still not completely up, your child just came home with a note saying she has to bring in 50 homemade cupcakes tomorrow, your cats have knocked half the ornaments off your tree, and your Christmas list is a mile long and seems to be growing every day!

Well, take a DEEP BREATHE and maybe pour yourself a glass of eggnog (spiking it is optional) because the design teams for LORI WHITLOCK and KERRI BRADFORD have put their heads together and have been coming up with some fabulous QUICK, easy-to-make and super CUTE last minute gift ideas.

Be sure to check out Lori's BLOG and Kerri's BLOG for those wonderful ideas and for a chance to win some $50 gift certificates to people that post their favorite last minute gift ideas. Those winners will be announced TOMORROW so take a few minutes to share your last-minute ideas.

I will be back tomorrow and will show you my own last minute Christmas gift idea - can't wait for you to see it. And, if you stop by tomorrow and leave me a comment, you will be entered into a random drawing to win a $25 gift certificate for Lori's store and ALSO a chance to win a $25 gift certificate from Kerri's store. That's right - you have two chances to win!!!

Birds of a Feather - Fall is Over, Winter is Here

2011-12-02T03:00:00.001-06:00

I took very few pictures over Thanksgiving - probably because I was too busy cooking, eating or sleeping off a 1000+ calorie meal! Then I repeated the last two steps several more times over the course of the weekend. I did manage to snap this picture, though, of my oldest daughter and her guy, and I found a great Creative Scrappers SKETCH #184 which worked perfectly with the last bits of paper from my Birds of a Feather November Kit. After I finished this layout, I relegated my remaining scraps to their respective folders and officially declared my November Kit finished! I then immediately ripped open my December Kit and spent a significant amount of time oohing and aahing over everything!

I KNEW there was a reason I had not yet used my pictures from last year in layouts - it's because I was waiting for the right kit. Seriously. No, really. Really. Well, believe me, I found exactly the inspiration I needed with the December Kit! It's got banner pieces and parts (and you KNOW how much I love banners), journaling words, and bling and bling and more bling. And let's be honest here - I DO like my bling!

Here is my first layout:

A close-up of a little cluster of layered loveliness:

And my second layout:

Look at these fun journaling words!

And my filter flowers with blingy, sparkly accents all around...

I think I am next going to make some kind of mini with my December kit. I'm trying to find one I want to do using some repurposed item - such as a cd case or a paper bag album. Any ideas? What would YOU like to see???
I'll include a video tutorial if you help me come up with an idea.

I Made an Altered Book (yes, I did)

2011-11-25T12:24:00.000-06:00

Ta Da!!!!! Here it is, my very first altered book! I have been wanting to make one of these for awhile and finally took the plunge and got started a couple of weeks ago. The hardest part of this was actully finding a book I didn't like enough so that I wouldn't have minor heart failure when I began mutilating it! But, I did locate one that I never finished reading (which almost never happens) because it was THAT boring! So I figured it and I would be a lot happier if it were altered in such a way that I would actually get some enjoyment out of it - and use it as something other than a dust catcher.

The second hardest part was figuring out just HOW to cut out all those pages. Every tutorial I could find only had small niches being cut out or had all the pages taken out and a foam block inserted with the book pages glued around the edges - both great ideas but not what I was looking for.

First, I ended up glueing all my pages together. I did this by getting really thick binder clips and clipping the pages together tightly. I then brushed liberal amounts of an acrylic gel medium along the edges of the papers, which pretty effectively sealed them all together.

Once the pages were dry and firmly stuck together, I drew an outline of opening I wanted cut. Here is where I did cheat: I took the book out to my husband who was already working on a project in the garage. He did the next step, but they were easy, and you can do this part, too! With the back and front cover of the book bent away from the glued pages and clipped together. He drilled a starter hole in two opposite corners of the glued pages. He then used a SABER SAW to cut along the outline that I had drawn. A saber saw is a power tool, but you could also use a COPING SAW or KEYHOLE SAW, which are both manual saws. Believe me, the pages are just too thick to use an exacto knife so a saw of some type is the way to go! Once the middle was cut out, I did use my exacto knife to trim out little rough edges left behind and glued the inside portion of the cut pages the same way, by brushing a gel medium along the pages.

After everything was dried, I decorated the inside of my box simply by cutting out papers to fit and inking everything to "antique" it.

Once the inside was decorated, I started working on the outside. I added a border strip along the spine to imitate a book title:

I wanted texture and dimension on the top, so I brougt out my charms and big handmde fabric flowers.

I used glossy accents to hold all my metal items down.

I crackle painted and inked my chipboard letters:

And, of course, all my papers were from my BIRDS OF A FEATHER November Kit, which is one of my favorite, to date!!!

Now that my altered book is finished, I plan to display it on (where else?) one of my bookshelves. I think I will make a very small mini-album to fit inside it.

Are there any altered projects you would like to try or, even better, have tried? If so, feel free to leave me a comment with the link as I would LOVE to check them out and get more ideas for my own future projects!

A Lori Whitlock Inspired Layout

2011-11-23T06:25:00.001-06:00

First, I want to thank each and every one of you who stopped by to visit or leave a wonderful comment during the Lori Whitlock Christmas Blog Hop this past weekend. The Blog Hop was a huge success, and I can't express to you how much your comments meant to me! (I know, me, at a loss for words - must be the lack of coffee this morning!) Congratulations to Sue D, the winner of the $25 gift certificate to Lori's STORE! Now, on to the regularly scheduled programming...

I know you have seen quite a few projects using Lori's cutting files that are certainly crafty, but not exactly considered "traditional" scrapbooking. For instance, you can use her files to make GIFT BAGS, CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS and more! But I wanted to show that her files can definitely be used (and used a lot) for my very favorite thing - creating a scrapbook layout! I very seldom buy flowers or other packs of embellishments anymore, unless I find something (usually not in the scrapbooking section) that is out-of-the-ordinary. Why? Because I can use my Silhouette (and Lori's files) to make everything else: in exactly the color I want, in exactly the size I want, and exactly the number I want.

For this project, I used Lori's flowers and banner found in the Silhouette STORE as well as the following found in Lori's online STORE: FALL LEAF LACE, FALL LEAF FLOURISH, FALL SET, 12x12 BACKGROUND PACK 2, and THANKSGIVING TITLES. Papers were from my Birds of a Feather November Kit found HERE.

I simply added ink and a little crackle paint to give my paper shapes a little dimension so the end results ended up looking like this:

Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving - full of food, family and friends, and maybe a little crafty fun added in! I will be back Friday with an altered book to share with you! See you then!

Lori Whitlock Christmas Blog Hop

2011-11-18T00:59:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday morning everyone! Lori and the rest of the team (including me) have a fantastic couple of days planned for you! Why? Because we have decided to kick off the holidays by having our very first Design Team Blog Hop. I am so glad you are joining in the celebration with us!

Now, if you are just joining in and want to hop along with us, you need to start at Lori's BLOG.

If you were just at Joy's WEBSITE before you came here, you are at the right place!

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and you know what that means, right? Well, yes, it does mean we have to get out our fat jeans with the elastic waist bands but, more importantly, it means that we need to get started on all those cute Christmas projects and gifts we said we were finally going to make this year. To help get you in the holiday mood, the rest of the Design Team and I have been busy working on some fun Christmas projects . And...

To help get you even MORE in the holiday mood... EVERYTHING IN LORI'S ONLINE SHOP IS 25% OFF THIS WEEKEND (now through Sunday)!

That's right, there is nothing like a good sale to help put you in the spirit of Christmas, right?!

But wait! That's not all!

Better than a ginsu knife, better than a light that turns on and off when you clap, Lori is giving away a $25 gift card to her online shop to one lucky winner. AND ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO BE ELIGIBLE TO WIN THE PRIZE IS SIMPLY TO LEAVE A COMMENT AT EACH STOP ALONG THE BLOG HOP. Lori will choose the winner from everyone who leaves a comment at all seven stops along the way and then post the winner on her blog on Sunday. It doesn't get much easier than that.

And as an extra special thank-you for stopping by to say hi, Lori has designed a gift tag set that will definitely come in handy over the holidays.

She's going to be selling the entire set soon. But - right now you can pick one up FOR FREE at each stop along the way. So, be sure to visit each blog and grab the free SVG/DXF tag. You can download my tag HERE!

Now, want to see what I've made using Lori's wonderful cutting files that I got from her online store (as well as from the Silhouette Store)?

You know I have been on a mini-album kick lately. I think it's because I just recently started making them, and I feel like I have a lot of lost time to make up for!!! No, seriously, they fascinate me - plain and simple. And cutting files (like Lori's) are PERFECT for decorating and embellishing them. In fact, I even used one of Lori's mini-album cutting files to make the actual album. See?

Those adorable stockings are from her Christmas Set 2, and she has lots of wonderful Christmas PHRASES as well.
On the inside of my cover, I simply made a small tag holder and then layered a small card on top. Both are great for squeezing in extra journaling or one more picture.

I used the tree from Christmas Set 2 on this page:

...and the snowflake from the same set that I cut in two and placed behind two corners of my photo:

Here, the flower and the frame are two of Lori's files sold at the Silhouette store. (Check out the journaling pocket and card behind the photo)

Using another snowflake, this time as a larger background shape:

And look at these cute little library pocket card holders.

Sure you can use them to hold things like gift cards. But I prefer to use mine in my album to hold extra tags with photos and journaling.

Last two pages. Don't you just love that banner? Lori designed it, of course.

And that's it! I hope you have enjoyed looking at my mini-album as much as I have enjoyed making it.

Now, just one more stop at Tamara's BLOG and then it will be time for YOU to start your own crafty project! Have a great weekend!!!

File Folder Mini-Album Tutorial and Blog-Hop News

2011-11-15T19:48:00.000-06:00

So, this is my very first ever video tutorial that I did for BIRDS OF A FEATHER. I am sure my videos will get a little more polished, but I am pretty darned happy with this as a first effort! I would love to know what you think! (P.S. - stay tuned all the way through for a sneak peek at my favorite assistant who makes a brief appearance)

And....for my other fun news...I have a special treat for you this weekend! (insert drum roll here)

That's right, this weekend Lori Whitlock and her design team (that includes me!!!) is having our very first design team blog hop! Come join us for some inspiration and a chance to win a $25 gift card to purchase items from loriwhitlock.com. The hop starts at Lori's BLOG, so be sure to head there first. It’s gonna be FUN!

BOAF File Folder Mini Album with Pockets

2011-11-13T08:01:00.000-06:00

Christmas is right around the corner and I am busily crafting gifts for family members and friends here at Casa de Chaas! I recently learned how to make a file folder mini-album (because you know I am ALL about the mini-albums these days! File folder mini albums are GREAT because 1) they have all these neat little pockets which allow you to easily include extra photos or journaling tags, and 2) they are small enough so they can be easily mailed out in a small manila envelope, which means no crazy, crowded trips to the post office are needed to box them up and send them out!

I used my wonderfully coordinated November kit from Birds of a Feather, of course. All the gorgeous papers and embellies from Simple Stories Generations and Bo Bunny's Timeless that are included in this month's kit are perfect for my mini-album featuring some of my favorite family pictures taken this past year. My mini-album is going to be a gift to my mom, who doesn't live close by, so she can have a record of what her family has been doing throughout the year. It also helps that it's small enough so she can easily carry it around and pretty enough that she will want to show it off to all her friends! (I'm a good daughter that way!)

This mini-album has so many little pockets. Here are the tags containing extra photos from the cover of the album:

If you open the mini to to the left, you get this:

The pocket on the far left contains another picture:

And the front of the album flips down to reveal two more pages:

With a pocket for even more pictures, of course:

Front...

and back...

If you open my file folder album to the right, you get this:

The page on the far right is the back of the album, but of course, you could add another picture or journaling if you wanted. I plan to write a message to my Mama on that page.

See the middle section? Yes, it flips down for more pockets and more pages for pictures!

Want to know how I made this? I will have a video tuturial (my first ever) posted on the Birds of a Feather BLOG
on Tuesday, November 15th, so be sure to check in so you can get started on your own file folder mini-album. After all, Christmas is only 42 days away!!!

Getting Ready for Christmas with Lori Whitlock

2011-11-10T05:00:00.001-06:00

Those of you who know me know that I often use my Silhouette to cut out different shapes for use on my scrapbook layouts. But, lately, I have realized there are so many other fun crafty projects I can do with my Silhouette! I have been ~~stalking~~ following Lori Whitlock's BLOG for awhile now, and she has so many fantastic project ideas and PERFECT cutting files, that I now have a list of project ideas to keep me happily crafting for...let's just say a l-o-n-g time!

I like to call Halloween the "kick-off" to the holiday season. I have already started purchasing Christmas presents. And so that my very ~~nosy~~ ~~sneaky~~ curious children don't "accidentally" find any of the presents I have hidden, I have already begun wrapping them. Thanks to Lori and my fellow Design Team members, I had an epiphany: I can be crafty and use all my favorite cutting files and scrapbook supplies even when wrapping presents!!! (cue the choir of angels singing "Hallelujah") So...

I really like the cute snowman and snowflake in Lori's CHRISTMAS SET 2, so I decided to use those to make gift tags. I took the tags from Lori's CHRISTMAS COOKIE SET and simply enlarged them so that my snowman shapes would fit on them. I used Echo Park's new Winter Park Collection, which was designed by - you guessed it, none other than uber-talented Lori. I couldn't decide which papers I wanted to use the most, so I decided to make several different types of tags so I wouldn't have to choose. First I made this tag:

I covered this little guy in Glossy Accents, added tiny pom poms cut from ribbon in place of buttons, dressed up his scarf with glitter, and included some little hearts that were included in the cutting files. Here's a close-up of the hearts:

I am all about creating dimension so I decided to use part of a spring from an old ink pen and glued it into submission behind my top heart. Now, it "boings" and bounces a little bit whenever I move the tag. I love it!

My second tag looks like this:

I had so much fun making this tag. I covered the snowman in crackle paint, and I painted the kraft paper tag a shimmery shilver color. I placed a snowflake behind my snowman and covered everything in small "pearls." As you can see, I also cut out a larger snowflake and used it to decorate my simple, kraft-wrapped gift.

I decided to do something a little different with my third tag.

First, I sewed buttons on my snowman shape. Next, I sewed it onto a second snowman shape about 3/4 of the way around, leaving a small opening. Then I filled the pocket with batting and finished sewing it together. I wanted to give it a fabric homemade-doll effect. I could have just as easily made this snowman with actual fabric and interfacing, but I was having so much fun playing with my Echo Park papers that I didn't think to use real fabric until AFTER the fact. That's okay, though, because I have more presents to wrap and more gift tags to make...

Last, but not least, I love to make flowers using Lori's cutting files. So I thought, why not make one to be placed on a present in place of a bow. I LOVED the result!

I simply replicated my shape a couple of times and then changed the sizes so I could layer them all together. I added a brad to hold everything together and coated each piece in Stickles to give it a little bling!

That's all for now, but if the wheels are spinning in your head and you are starting to think just how much you can put your Silhouette or Cricut to work for you this holiday season, be sure to check out these wonderful PROJECTS recently made by Carolyn King and Corri Garza for even more inspiration!

Using My Silhouette to Make a Mini-Album

2011-11-06T19:41:00.000-06:00

I am such a fan of mini-albums, and I also love using my Silhouette - so it's only natural that I would find a way to combine the two. And it just so happens that my crafty idol, Lori Whitlock,has created the perfect cutting files (and papers as it turns out)for me to do just that - create a mini-album by using my Silhouette.

Lori has created several mini-album templates, including this bracket album shape. All I had to do was choose my papers; my Silhouette did the rest! (I did add an extra piece of cardstock under my paptterned paper for additional thickness and stability.)

I used a few of my favorite photos from a trip to Ireland last year.

I love using my Silhouette to cut out various shapes for a couple of reasons. First, I choose whatever paper I want so I have exactly the color or pattern I want to use. Second, the shapes and images lay relatively flat, so they provide layering and dimension without too much bulk. Isn't that black doily great? Lori Whitlock designed it, of course!

I love using simple accents like this border and the bicycle cut from my papers.

I thought Lori's Joy Banner was perfect for this picture.

More journaling than I have room for on my page? No worries, I just add a small journaling insert:

A couple more pages:

I LOVE that Fall Leaf Flourish, don't you?

For more ideas using Lori's cutting files, check out her fantastic BLOG!

Until next time, happy crafting!

Lori Whitlock Design Team

2011-10-27T14:18:00.002-05:00

I have been sitting on this news for the past few days, about to go nuts I have wanted to spill the beans so badly!!! If any of you have pet dogs that suddenly started howling and acting strangely this time a couple of days ago, I can safely say it is because they were reacting to the ear-splitting shriek I let out when I got the news that I am on Lori's Design Team!

Now, between you and me, I am pretty sure they meant to send an email to a Kristy Clark McGee or maybe a Prissy Lark Mackey, and they entered my name by mistake. But I made sure I said yes really quickly before they could realize their error - LOL!!!

For those of you who are wondering who Lori Whitlock is, well...she designs a lot of the cutting files that are sold by Silhouette - my can't live without it scrapbooking machine. She is also a featured designer for Echo Park! That's right, she designed among other things the "For the Record" Collection that I used up and went out and bought again and used up and went out and bought again and used up and...you get the picture. For more info about Lori and to check out all the wonderful goodies she creates, simply click HERE. Here are just two wonderful examples of the got-to-have-them-they-are-so-darned-cute things Lori designs and sells on her website:

And, if you want to check out the blogs and maybe say "hello" to the other fabulous ladies on Lori's Design Team, simply follow these links:

Tamara Tripodi
http://happylifecraftywife.com/

Natalie Graham
http://mygrahamcrackers.blogspot.com

Corrie Garza
http://www.buglvr.blogspot.com

Carolyn King
http://myblogbycammie.blogspot.com

Joy Dickson
http://joyslife.com/

Happy Happy! Joy Joy! Happy Happy! Joy Joy! Happy Happy! Joy Joy!
*yes, I am still doing the happy dance*

Remembering When with Birds of a Feather Kit Club

2011-10-25T18:40:00.000-05:00

Sunday was my turn to BLOG over at Birds of a Feather. And let me tell you it wasn't hard! I love all different types of paper - I really, really do - and I have thoroughly enjoyed playing with every BOAF kit I have received. But I have a special warm fuzzy place in my heart for vintage-y papers and ephemera. Whenever I look at vintage-type items I am always reminded of sitting on one of my great-aunts' front porches as a child listening to them and my grandmama reminisce about family members and times gone by. SO - when I got the BOAF November Kit and saw all the wonderful goodies from Simple Stories Generations and Bo Bunny Timepieces collections I danced, I giggled, I touched every single item at least two or three times, I rubbed my hands in glee, I called my BESTIE up and bragged a little - I did just about everything but lick the paper - and I ALMOST did that! I was a little worried about getting a paper cut on my tongue, though, so reason ended up prevailing.

For my first layout, I used a pic of the Hubster and me taken just a few short weeks ago on our fourth anniversary. It was taken at a Chili's Restaurant. By my 11 year old daughter. After spending three hours chaperoning a bejillion sixth-graders during a fall choir concert. Not exactly the most romantic scenario for an anniversary, was it? But, you know, all night long I had such a wonderfully complete sense of contentment. We were together, and we were happy, and that's all that mattered! So...back to the scrapbook kit, when I saw the "Happily Ever After" image on one of the papers, it was pretty much a no-brainer what my layout was going to be about!

My second layout was this one:

It's a simple layout really. The picture, which was taken about four years ago, was edited and given to me by my oldest daughter (in the pic with my youngest daughter). I loved the gold tones in the sepia-tinted photo. Maybe it was because I was working on this layout late, late at night, but it reminded me of flashbacks that you see in the movies - where everything is replayed in a hazy, warm kind of glow. I decided to play on that warmth with my papers and a gold-toned paint that I sprayed onto a Pink Paislee template (included in the kit). Add some clock cogs (to represent the wheels of time) and flowers and ribbon (because they were just plain pretty) and voila! Layout complete!

I have so many ideas floating around in my head for this month's kit, and I cannot wait to share them with you! So stay tuned!

Playing with Creative Scrappers

2011-10-19T11:08:00.000-05:00

I have really been enjoying playing with Creative Scrappers Sketches lately (try saying Creative Scrappers Sketches five times fast - I dare ya!), including the newest one SKETCH 177, which I used to make this layout. Sometimes I find sketches that I THINK are going to work well but, for whatever reason, I can't make them come to life on paper. You know what I'm talking about, right? The sketch looks like it should work but just doesn't? I have found,though, that I normally have better luck with Creative Scrappers, so that site has now been saved as a favorite on my trusty laptop.

In case you are curious, most of my papers and sweet little embellies on this layout are from the Pink Paislee Nantucket Collection, which I am IN LOVE with! I added it onto background paper from MME's Stella and Rose Collection, but the papers all seemed to get along well with each other so I went with it. I pop-dotted a few of the paper embellies, and I used rock candy crackle paint and outlined everything in marker to add extra dimension. I turned one of the squares from the sketch into a journaling pocket; and, of course, I had to add a cluster of bits of randomness in the upper corner because I am ALL about that lately thanks in large part to my BESTIE'S influence!

Speaking of my Bestie, Alissa - she has just posted an INCREDIBLE File Folder Mini-Album Tutorial, which can be found HERE! I was privileged to be able to preview it, and it is a fantastic, concise video that will have you making a perfect file folder album in no time - think DIY Christmas presents!!!

In other news, I have found that just about everything worth knowing can be found either on Pinterest or YouTube. I have been wanting to learn to create sketches for scrapbooking for awhile and think I have found the perfect tutorial to learn how. Wish me luck and stay tuned...

Happy Scrump Day!

Getting Ready for Halloween (and a non-related rant)

2011-10-18T10:31:00.000-05:00

This morning the weather here in Tejas is a breezy, beautiful 63 degrees with a high expected of 75. Brrrr!!!!! Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating as to the "coldness" of our cold front (that's right, the weather man is calling this a cold front for us), but it sure does feel incredibly wonderful and fall-like for the first time this year!

My thoughts are currently focused on Halloween which, to me, is the kick-off to the holiday season! The Hubs and I are both big kids-at-heart and love to dress up and put out Halloween decorations and tell ghost stories.

Apparently, my Goblin-and-Ghoul-Loving Gene was passed down to my second daughter (in the layout above), which should come as no surprise since she was born less than 5 hours before Halloween! I am not ashamed to admit that I am always stalking her Facebook page for photos, and when I found ones of her fiance and her playing with the masks in the store, I immediately saved them to my computer just in case she were to wise up and take them down. I'm pretty sneaky like that!

I used my Fancy Pants Oct 31st collection that I am working with this month for Let's Capture Our Memories and a sketch I found on Pinterest - which is quickly becoming my go-to site for anything and everything.

I am a HUGE fan of Fancy Pants Designs, and their Halloween collection certainly does not disappoint! The papers are beautifully detailed and range from vintage to little kid cute, allowing the creative freedom to scrap just about any Halloween-themed thing you can imagine. And the rub-ons and stickers included in the collection really let me layer my layout to my heart's desire! See?

Of course, I also had to make a couple of Halloween cards. I am on a handrwritten correspondence kick these days (an art that seems to be quickly dying out), and what better way to send a handwritten note or letter than inside a pretty handmade card, right? Right!

And that wraps it up for my Halloween projects for the moment. Now, on to my rant...

I NEVER thought I would hear myself saying, "In my day we just didn't do things like that..." but here I am getting ready to do exactly that! I guess that phrase comes along with crow's feet and hairs that keep wanting to turn gray...sigh.

Yesterday, I was at the grocery store picking up a couple of items for dinner. As I went through the check-out lane, the cashier made absolutely no eye-contact with me and said not one word during our entire transaction. Nothing. Nada. Now, I know she wasn't mute and was capable of speaking English based on a question that she answered for the customer ahead of me. But when it was my turn in line, there was no friendly smile, no "how are you," not even a "did you find everything." There was NOTHING. And this was not an isolated incident. I am encountering this same lack of...anything...from the store employee at more and more stores.

Now I worked in a grocery store throughout high school so that I could earn enough money to buy a car (and clothes, and make-up, and cassette tapes). I actually had to ring up grocery items and memorize the correct department keys, not run bar codes across a scanner. And, I certainly had to speak with and be friendly towards every customer whom I checked out; I would have been fired if I had not.

Don't get me wrong, I certainly don't expect to engage in a long conversation with the cashier. But is it too much to expect a "hello" and a friendly smile? Is courtesy no longer part of the job description?! Should I say something, or should I let it go and simply mourn the passing of time and standards? What would YOU do?

Birds of a Feather Birthday Blog Hop Winner (and other stuff)

2011-10-11T17:11:00.001-05:00

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! A few days ago you all left wonderful comments on my blog announcing the BOAF Birthday Blog Hop and Crop, and today (because I am a day off due to yesterday's holiday)using the totally scientific method of asking my 11 year old daughter to pick a random number, I am thrilled to announce that Karen in Houston (who left the 10th comment)is the winner of my blog give-away. What is the prize? That's right, it's the November Birds of a Feather Kit set for release on October 20th! Karen in Houston, please email your address to me at krissy.clark@comcast.net so I can make arrangements for your BOAF scrapbooking kit to be sent to you! You are going to LOVE all the wonderful goodies that come with the kit, I just know you are!

Now, for those of you have been playing along with the BOAF Birthday Crop and Blog Hop, this is NOT the Grand Prize being awarded by Birds of a Feather - just want to clarify. This is simply the Krissy Clark McKee Blog Prize. So don't fret!

Although I have had a busy weekend getting my son ready for a homecoming dance and going to see hubby run around on stage in tights (for a play), I ~~squoze~~ squeezed in time to participate in a couple of the BOAF Birthday Crop Challenges. Here's what I made so far:

and this (which is a lift inspired by M. Bauer - found her layout on Pinterest, of course!):

There are 10 challenges total on the Birthday Crop Forum, so I am hoping to get one or two more completed prior to the deadline. If you want to play along, you have until tomorrow, October 12th, at midnight. So come on! What are you waiting for?!?

Birds of a Feather Birthday Blog Hop!

2011-10-07T08:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Friday morning everyone! I am so excited because Birds of a Feather is turning one and is celebrating this wonderful exciting event with a BIRTHDAY CROP and a BLOG HOP!

The gals at BOAF have put together some great birthday challenges and games, including this blog hop! Each stop on the hop reveals one word to a fun quote picked out by our chickie Lisa. The object of the Birthday Blog Hop is to collect all the words to the quote, in the correct order, and report back to the Birds of a Feather BLOG to be entered into the drawing for the BIG PRIZE.

As an added incentive, if you decide to follow my blog and leave me a comment no later than Sunday, October 9th at 6 p.m. to let me know you've stopped here on your hop, I will randomly draw a winner on Monday, October 10th. What will the winner get you ask? How about the Birds of a Feather November Kit set to be released on October 20th?!!?

I love all the Birds of a Feather Kits, but so far, I think my favorite has to be September's Kit because it contained papers from Echo Park's Victoria Garden's Collection, which I am nuts over, and TONS of pretty embellies and bits of ribbon - all wonderfully coordinated with the papers of course! They were perfect for these pictures of my little niece dressed as a garden fairy.

Now, if you are just reading about this and want to join in the Blog Hop fun, you need to start HERE.

If you are already hopping along and just came from Heather's BLOG, you are at the right place! Yeah!!!! So, without further ado, your word from my blog is...

The next stop in the Birds of a Feather Happy Birthday Blog Hop is Linda. Her blog can be found right HERE.

One last thing! Don't forget the Birthday Crop! The prizes are going to be super fantastic, including (drum roll, please) a $50 prize package of Bella Blvd products! To participate, all you need to do is register in the forum (totally free) and start playing! Hope to see you there!

Mini-Album Improvisation

2011-10-03T13:11:00.000-05:00

I got a pack of cool 7 Gypsies Cards as part of my loot for my September Let's Capture Our Memories Marketing Team projects; however, when I opened them up and looked at them, I realized I had absolutely no idea what to do with them! I normally don't use large cards on my layouts. Plus, they had such pretty images on the front and the back, I really couldn't choose which side I wanted to use even if I COULD figure out how to incorporate them.

So, I thought and I thought. Then I thought a little more. Then I set the cards to the side (where they became promplty hidden under other papers and supplies), goofed around entirely too much on Pinterest,worked on other projects, and promptly forgot about these cards until the week my last project for the month was due. THEN I frantically dug them out and had to start thinking again...

My cards all had a vintage traveling theme, which got me to thinking about some of the seriously fun adventures, both at home and abroad, that I've experienced over the past few years. And THAT got me thinking about some of the cool art journals and travel journals that I have seen on Pinterest. And THAAAATTTT got me thinking that maybe I should use my 7 Gypsies cards to make my own little travel journal-esque mini-album. And that's exactly what I did.

I simply purchased some binder rings (also, coincidentally, made by 7 Gypsies) and hole punched my cards so I could attach them to the rings. I really wanted my impromptu mini-album to look as if it had been created over time so I wasn't concerned with the fact that the cards were different sizes and didn't line up perfectly. This is what I came up with...

I created pockets on most of my pages by sewing around the sides and bottoms of the pictures or cards and tucking a journaling tag inside.

I didn't have quite enough cards to fit the pictures that I wanted to use so I added some flash cards that I had sitting around (unloved) from my Pink Paislee Daily Junque collection. I used distress ink, Rock Candy Crackle Paint and Crackle Accents on almost everything to add to the vintage feel.

Here's what the back of the flash card looks like...

Another page with a pocket for journaling...

I love mini-albums because I find myself using little bits and pieces from all sorts of things - brads, bling, punches, pennants - it's all fair game!

I think this is my favorite page. It has absolutely no value other than to look pretty, which is absolutely fine by me!!!

And the back. I think the picture pretty much says it all...

Another Pink Paislee Flash Card. The stars were made by placing tiny apothecary labels (also by 7 Gypsies)on paper and then using a star punch.

This picture DID require journaling...it was all very innocent...really...

More journaling. Check out the pennants on the side of the page. I glued two fronts together for each one since both sides would be seen.

And the picture that goes with the journaling on the flip side...

I wanted to include a little section for my adventures closer to home, and I thought this card was perfect.

My last page. I am pretty sure that being lazy in my pool qualifies as a backyard adventure! That's right, there's another journaling tag behind the picture because that's the way I roll!!! Ha!

For a product list and my discussion about which LCOM products I used, click HERE!

And if you want to tell me what non-traditional items you have used to create your mini-albums, I would love to hear about it. I am really liking doing something that isn't quite the norm! And I'm always on the lookout for new ideas! Pinterest can't have them ALL (even if it does seem like it)!!!

A Reveal and a Possible Theft

2011-09-29T10:42:00.000-05:00

I love to take photos and scrapbook about the big events in life such as holidays, birthdays, weddings, etc. But, what I most enjoy doing is capturing everyday moments - because I believe those little moments are the ones that really define who we are and our relationships with each other. And when I am old and senile, it is much more important to me that I remember not what Christmas gift was given to whom but what event occurred that touched my heart. And those events are almost always associated with the smallest things - the things that really aren't so small after all!

I used my Birds of a Feather October Kit to create the layout of my youngest daughter, who was singing and be-bopping around the kitchen while helping me to put the groceries away. Of course, after I made a mad dash for the camera, she decided to become slightly self-conscious and STOPPED what she was doing. But when I look at this layout and these pictures, I am immediately transported back to that exact moment in time and the feeling that all was right with my world.

I love the rich fall colors included in this month's kit and the abundance of coordinated embellies Amy always includes. And the chipboard images (from the Crate Paper Farmhouse Collection) are PERFECT for layouts about those everyday moments that I prefer to record. See?

Speaking of everyday moments, I was compelled to do a layout about this little restaurant I had breakfast at every stinking day during my recent California trip.

I figured if the 800 - 2000 calorie breakfasts (yes, they had the nerve to print the calorie count in the menus...as if that would stop me from eating them)were good enough to make me go off my somewhat sensible diet and risk food coma before 10 a.m., then it was scrapworthy. So I did.

I used Sketch 173 from Creative Scrappers.

I dipped my empty bottle of Glossy Accents into a tiny puddle of Acrylic Paint to make the distressed circles on my layout. Yes, that Glossy Accents is even handy when it is completely empty! I have been seeing this technique used on layouts for quite awhile but just got up the nerve to try it. I like the way it turned out, so it is definitely a keeper for me.

Something that didn't turn so well, however, was my flower I tried to make with the wonderful zipper that was included in the kit. I watched a great tutorial a couple of times and it LOOKED easy enough. Sadly, though, what I ended up with was a sticky, warped piece of zipper that refused to stay together and that could not be called a flower by ANY stretch of the imagination. Even my cats didn't want to play with it, and they love ALL THINGS scrapbooky. Luckily, I had two halves of the zipper so I decided to take the safe route and use the other half as a border.

Now, ummmm....if you don't hear from me in the next few days you may need to come bail me out of jail. Please? Pretty Please??? But I figure if I do go to jail, at least I may make new law by establishing the Pinterest Defense. You see, one of the things I found on that holiest-of-holies SITE was a couple of links to make a pallet table, which I thought would look PERFECT on my back porch. See?

Totally cute, right? Well, the other day as I was driving through a neighorhood adjacent to mine that has lots of new houses under construction, what did I see but a HUGE stack of empty pallets just sitting in the front yard of one of the unfinished homes. It was like manna, or in this case pallets, from Heaven!!! So, being a good law-abiding citizen, I waited until dark and then completely innocently drove over there while coincidentally clothed completely in black and loaded three of them into the back of my SUV. And to make sure I wouldn't ~~go to jail alone~~ strain my back, I had the Hubster help me. No seriously, I am ALMOST certain the pallets were left stacked out front for trash pick-up...at least that is what I will tell myself every time I set a cold beverage down on my pallet table while relaxing in my back yard planning my next ~~crime~~ project.

Hope you have a crime-free Pinteresting day!

A Pinterest Do or Don't? You Answer...

2011-09-26T14:22:00.001-05:00

After drinking a pot of coffee, I have decided that it really is Monday and I am not just having a bad dream. I had plans, big plans, of getting at least two or three layouts done this weekend. Guess how many I finished?! Can you guess? Drum roll, please....I finished zippity-doo-dah! That's right, I got done a big old goose egg's worth - nada - zilch - nothing - not one thing! And I am pouting a little about it, believe me.

In all fairness, I am working on a mini-album that is due for a reveal on Friday, and I have a few more projects that are - well - at least in the planning stage. Which is better than nothing, I suppose, right? Right?! (please feel free to lie to me here and tell me I'm right)

Okay, enough of my whining and on to the reason for this post. This weekend, I was on PINTEREST, which is pretty much the coolest idea of a site in the world. The ONLY thing that would make it cooler would be if I had thought of it and created it! Seriously. So, like I said, there I was on Pinterest, and I did a search for sketches because I was trying my darnedest to find some inspiration. There were a lot of great sketches posted, or "pinned" to use the correct Pinterest-ese. But, I recognized several sketches that I know were from sites which request that their work not be reposted without express permission (and other legal don't-even-think-about-doing-it jargon) by the sketch creator.

Now, for those of you who are not familiar with Pinterest, you can click on the link to the picture, and you are taken to the website on which it's located; however, you don't really have to do that to see the picture or "pin" of the sketch and, more often than not, no credit is listed in the pin description as to where the sketch originated. Of course, again, you CAN click on the link which will direct you to the original website.

So here's my question - quite simply, is that cool or not? Is it a bad thing or something no one will ever care about? What do you think? I would really like to know.

Fabulous Finds Friday

2011-09-23T09:22:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday everybody! Whew! We've made it through another week and have just a few more hours (here in Texas) until the weekend officially commences! I don't know about you, but my plans this weekend are pretty simple: to do a little bit of cleaning, a little bit of cooking and a whole lotta scrapping.

My first layout stars my brand new nephew that my wonderful brother and his wife recently gifted me with - well, not really GIFTED since they won't actually give me the baby (although I've asked, trust me)! This picture was taken by my brother just a few minutes after birth and sent to me. Needless to say, after seeing it,I quickly hopped on a plane and headed out to Cali-for-NI-a so that I could hold and coo over him (my nephew, not my brother)!

I used Creative Scrappers SKETCH 172 (that's right; I'm only two behind) and some delicious Pink Paislee papers that my BESTIE helped me find during a little shopping frenzy that she and I engaged in last month.

Annnnddddd....today it's my turn to reveal what I've been making using my wonderful scrappy products from the Let's Capture Our Memories STORE. Here is the layout, using Kaisercraft papers from the Class of '87 Collection (and once again starring my brand new nephew along with his super-sweet big sis)

Close-ups you say? You want to see close-ups? Well, okay, here you go:

(yes, I made those accordian flowers all by myself)

(got that particular banner idea from Pinterest)

(loving those little resin flowers)

For a list of products used and more details, head on over to the LCOM BLOG.

And now, to celebrate the beginning of Fall (and in a desperate attempt to justify all the hours I have been spending on Pinterest lately), I have included a few links to sites I found with some pretty nifty fall-related crafts and ideas that I think you will like, too!

You can learn how to make a pretty fall pillow HERE
You can get the recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip brownies HERE
You can make an orange cinnamon clove simmer to get your house smelling yummy HERE
You can learn how to carve a pumpkin using Cookie Cutters HERE
You can make layouts like these by Kathy Skou, including her SUH-WEET Halloween layout found HERE

Do you have any favorite Pinterest (or other links you would like to share featuring a fall craft or layout that is a favorite for you? Well then hook a sister up and leave a comment with the link!!!

That's it for me. Hope your Friday is Fabulous and Full of Fun Plans for the Weekend!

Mid-Week Mojo

2011-09-22T09:54:00.000-05:00

Okay, I am combining another two posts from yesterday and today because I am still playing catch-up from last week's last-minute vacay to California and then getting back home with my little souvenir of the WORST. SINUS. INFECTION. EVER. that laid me out flat until a couple of days ago. My house is still one giant sputum infestation and I sound like I've been smoking a couple of packs of unfiltered cigarettes a day for the past twenty years, but I feel human again. And by human, I mean I can scrapbook again. Because - let's face it - scrapbooking is the very raison d'etre of human existance, right? Right??? So, ummm...yeah.

Anywho, I figure the middle of the week is generally one big blur to everyone anyway, so who am I to shake things up and define each day. So - consider this my mid-week blur.

Yesterday was the Wednesday reveal over at Let's Scrap and we got to play with a card design again. I think those very nice Let's Scrap ladies are trying to give me subtle reminders that I really need to get cranking on my Christmas cards so I don't end up stressed out in a very UN-Christmaslike Spirit when I am making 50+ cards on December 23rd and wondering if I can take out a second mortgage on my home to pay for enough express postage to get them to friends and family in time. And so, being the responsible adult that I am, I made a card that is not Christmasy in the slightest. But at least I did use their design as instructed, so I am going to say that's a step in the right direction - ha! Here is the design:

And here is the link to their wonderful SITE so you can check out what our other fabulous DT ladies created as well as join in on other great challenges and the chance to win some pretty cool prizes for your stash!

Over at Birds of a Feather, it was my turn to blog with my first two reveals using the October Kit. Let me tell you, that kit was packed full of so many favorites for me, including Crate Paper's Farmhouse Collection papers and chipboard stickers, Jillibean Soup corrugated alphas (in luscious, yes I said luscious, bright red), Kaisercraft mini-folders, ribbon, and Maya Road wooden buttons. As soon as I opened up the kit, The Archies started singing in my head:

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, I got love in my tummy
And I feel like a-lovin' you
Love, you're such a sweet thing
Good enough to eat thing
And that's just a-what I'm gonna do Ooh

Thankfully, I didn't actually eat my kit; but I'm pretty sure I did drool over it and laugh a little maniacally a couple of times as I was making my layouts. And here they are, drool stains and all:

First, I made this one of my older daughter, going with a kind of back-to-school theme since Fall IS about back-to-school (even in grad school.

I absolutely L.O.V.E.D. those corrugated alphas that I could sew through.

and all the cute chipboard stickers (cause I'm all about the 3D)

Next up was this layout, still using up pics from my trip to visit my brother and his family last Thanksgiving. I guess that's what happens when you come back with a couple hundred photos from a one week visit.

Oh, yeah, I had to had to HAD TO use those red alphas again!

I added a little Smooch Spritz to my wooden buttons and then wiped the buttons off before the Spritz completely dried to give them an older, worn look. And, of course, I misted and distressed and tore things to my sinus-infected little heart's content.

So there you have it. Stay tuned Friday when I return with more of my LCOM goodies and a few other fabulous finds that I just happened to stumble upon while lurking around the world wide web.

I'm Feeling a Little Sassy Today...

2011-09-20T13:27:00.000-05:00

...and it's just in time for the Sassy Lil Sketches Week 3 reveal! I fell in love with this sketch when I saw it and had to work on it immediately:

Everything about this sketch is perfect - the clouds, the banner, the strips of paper below the pictures. And if you think my layout turned out pretty nicely, you should check out the layouts by the rest of the DT ladies HERE.

For those of you who may have been wondering where I have been hiding, the answer is - California! Hubby had a business trip in the L.A. area which just so happened to coincide with the birth of my brand new nephew so I tagged along. While he was in ~~godawful~~ ~~boring~~ ~~geeky~~ meetings all day, I spent my mornings leisurely enjoying coffee and breakfast here...

...a place that's like IHOP only better because, well, their food tastes fantastic! In fact, the only thing I didn't like about Coco's was the listing at the end of each menu item advising me exactly how many calories I was going to be stuffing into my body!

After I waddled out of Coco's each morning, I headed over to my brother and sister-in-law's home where I got to visit with my sweet niece and my BRAND NEW nephew (and my brother and sister-in-law, too). Isn't my newest family member adorable?

Can you see the sly gleam in my eyes that says, "I wonder if they will notice if I quietly put him in my purse and take him back on the plane with me?"

I kept trying to convince my sis-in-law to let me take my new sweet nephew back to Texas with me and simply "borrow him" for a year or two, but I guess she was feeling a little entitled due to all the heartburn and stretchmarks and silly stuff like that she had to put up with. She completely ignored my logic that if I kept him she wouldn't have to worry about getting up several times through the night or messy diapers or any of that - some people just can't be reasoned with, I guess. *smile*

She did promise to send me lots of pictures so I guess I will have to console myself with that (and lots of fun baby boy layouts).

So, tell me, what exciting things have been going on in your part of the world? Any scrappy news or links or blogs I should be catching up on?

It's Friday, Friday!

2011-09-09T11:48:00.000-05:00

It's Friday, and I have been so busy scrapping this week that I haven't had time to blog! So, let's do a little recap of this past week, shall we?

Wednesday was reveal day over at Let's Scrap. Here is the sketch:

And here is what I came up with:

Do you ever have one of those pages that just won't come together no matter what you do? This was one of THOSE pages for me! It inspired me quite a bit - to cuss like a sailor (under my breath) that is. I didn't like any of my ideas, not even one, and kept putting this project to the side so that my thoughts could "simmer" a little bit. I was sure my brain would keep working on this and come up with a brilliant idea even when I was working on something else, but instead I think it was off drinking margaritas on a tropical island because I got NADA from the inspiration department (except a few new phrases that I am pretty sure are anatomically impossible). So, finally, desperation kicked in and I finished my layout with maybe 30 minutes to spare before the deadline! Do I like it? Yes. Is it my best work? No. But it's done and the (mental) constipation is gone, so I feel much better, thank you!

Next, I headed over to Paper Secrets, a site I discovered back in May that has great challenges posted each month. Somehow, it gotted dropped from my favorites bar so I have missed it since the first part of July it looks like. September includes a sketch challenge, and the sketch, which is by Page Maps, takes a more minimalist approach, something I have been loving more and more lately.

Yep, I am going to make you go to the challenge to see the sketch, but here is my take:

I felt completely and totally vindicated for not cleaning all the little bits of paper and odds and ends of my scrap table when I made this layout, because almost every single thing on it came from that pile. Okay, the twine, the button, the mist and the background paper weren't laying around on my table, but everything else was. I just randomly slapped stuff down on my layout and it was done almost before I started it - a first for me! And I LOVE the result - love it!

Last, but not least, is this fun layout I created for Let's Capture Our Memories. Normally, I can take or leave KaiserCraft's papers. But when I saw the Class of '87 Collection, I HAD TO HAVE IT! Maybe because I remember being in school in the 80's or maybe it was all the bright, totally fun graphics on the pages. Either way, I couldn't resist them and made this layout with pics taken of my youngest daughter right after her re-enactment of the no-lockers-tragedy.

You can see that she is cracking up so obviously the lack of lockers has not permanently scarred her! For close-ups, head on over to the LCOM BLOG, and if you remember the 80's and want your own set of school-themed papers from that collection head on over to the LCOM STORE!

Whew! And, that wraps up the week in review! Hope you have a great weekend!

Challenge Yourself!

2011-09-05T12:02:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I enjoyed stretching my creative skills at two of my favorite websites. First, I created my Sunshine layout over at Let's Scrap . Challenge 111 is a Recipe Challenge in which I had to use an 8x10 photo, a sketch from Let's Scrap, ribbon or twine and at least five pieces of paper cut into one or more shapes. I have been wanting to use a large photo on a layout for quite awhile, so I was very excited to play along! And, I was actually quite challenged to balance the large photo with papers and embellishments - much more so than I thought I would be!

This is my second layout, which I created for the color challenge going on this month at Birds of a Feather.

Now I used papers from my September Kit, but you really don't have to. This month's color challenge only requires you to use the colors orange, blue, yellow and white in whatever way you want!

I'm a big believer in scrapbooking the everyday moments - and that includes the good moments as well as the bad. My youngest daughter was heartbroken to find out they wouldn't be using the lockers at her junior high this year so when we were walking by them during her orientation a couple of days later, I KNEW I had to take a picture of her standing in front of the source of her misery!

So, what are you doing to challenge yourself this month? Any recommendations on places to play and scrapbooking to do this month?

More September Birds of a Feather Layouts

2011-09-04T11:24:00.000-05:00

My September Birds of a Feather Kit was packed full of scrap-happy loveliness, including papers from Echo Park's Victoria Gardens collection which I love, love, love! All the brightly colored papers in the collection make my heart happy, especially after I am able to add a little distressing (my favorite thing to do).

This month's kit also contained a mini-mister. At first, I wasn't quite sure what to do with it. I mean, I already have my regular bottles of Glimmer Mist, and it isn't as if they are so large and bulky that I need to use a smaller bottle. However, when I decided I wanted something white to spray on my background paper and realized I had no white glimmer mist, the answer became readily apparent! I filled the mini-mister up about halfway with white acrylic paint and filled the other half with regular tap water. And voila! I had a little water gun which sprayed white paint all over my background paper - it was EXACTLY what I needed!

I used SKETCH 54 found over at Sketchabilities to create my layout. In looking at my recent work, I realized that I haven't used circles in quite awhile so this sketch, which is full of circles, was perfect for me!

And, of course, I love the contrast provided by pairing distressed papers with lovely little items such as feathered flowers, jeweled stick pins and a little bling.

My second layout for my BOAF reveal is called Not Gonna Smile. I think the title is pretty obvious once you see the pictures:

These photos of my niece were all outtakes that weren't initially going to be used. But when I looked at them, I couldn't help but laughing. She can be such a stubborn little thing (a trait that runs quite strongly in my family), and she didn't care how perfect the lighting was or how pretty the scenery was - she was NOT in the mood to pose for pictures!

I really liked the kraft envelopes with journaling tags that were part of this month's kit, especially after I decided to use them to mat each of the smaller photographs. And with three journaling tags, I had even more room to tell my story!

Speaking of telling my story, Birds of a Feather has the September Challenges posted. Challenges this month include a journaling challenge so you can tell your story, too. They also include a photography challenge, a use your stash challenge, a sketch challenge and a color challenge - pretty much something for everyone. So what are you waiting for??? Go sign up and start challenging YOURSELF!

Let's Scrap August 31st Sketch

2011-09-02T09:31:00.000-05:00

I am a couple of days behind on my sketch reveal for this week's wonderful sketch over at Let's Scrap, but to make up for it I have a story behind the layout to share with you. First, though, here's the sketch:

The papers used for my "Formal Dinner" layout come from one of the very first paper packs I ever purchased when I began scrapbooking back in 2009. BUT - I didn't get those nifty papers for myself - oh no. Don't ask me why, but I had this crazy (although perfectly logical-sounding in my head at the time) idea that my 100% red-blooded Texas husband would want to create a scrapbook, too, for all the exciting pictures I was sure he was going to want to take and souvenirs he was going to collect while working in Africa. Ummmm,yeah...no, that was never going to happen. And so, those papers got shoved into an organizer and completely forgotten about until I was trying to find some appropriately-themed travel papers for this layout. I pulled the pack back out, over two years later, with the tape still sealed around the edges!

As for the pictures in the layout - they are of my oldest daughter and her boyfriend taken last fall on a family cruise. It was formal dinner night, and I wanted to get nice pictures of everyone around the table since we were all dressed up. K and J had different ideas, however, and their mugging for the camera progressed from silly to sillier to silliest in each successive picture - thinking, I suppose, that they were somehow preventing me from getting good pictures. Well, look who made the layout using those pictures anyway. And guess who will be getting the last laugh when I post my layout on Facebook??? (insert evil laugh here)

So.....back to Let's Scrap. It's a new month and a new challenge. This month, Julie Bonner has provided a fantastic sketch for the September contest, and there is not one, but two, prizes to be given away! The first person will receive the Teresa Collins Haunted Hallows Collection, and the second winner will receive the Teresa Collins Christmas Home Collection. For more details, simply click HERE.

Displaying My Love for Tim Holtz

2011-08-30T11:38:00.002-05:00

This Configurations Tray ended my month-long love affair with Tim Holtz over at Let's Capture Our Memories. I have been wanting to do a printer's type tray for quite awhile and decided to take the plunge when I saw this one at the LCOM STORE. I'm not going to lie - it was pretty labor intensive, but I think the end result was well worth the time put into it!

Creating a project using the Configurations Tray was a no-brainer for me. The boxes can be moved around and arranged in any formation, and they are perfect for inking, painting or covering in paper as I did. And, of course, I was able to ink, tear, crackle paint, and otherwise distress to my heart's content - and let me tell you, I had a VERY CONTENT heart by the end of this project!

Want to see some close-ups? Here you go:

I think the two things I enjoyed the most about working on my tray were that 1)the depth of the boxes allowed me to create little individual 3-D tableaus inside each space, something that's not really possible with a traditional layout; and 2) I had a field day pulling out all my old stickers, charms, ribbons, buttons and, of course, all my Tim Holtz goodies. I was able to use so many cute, eclectic things from my scrappy stash of goodies that I had to have over the past two years but had never found a use for - and I felt totally rightous about those past random purchases!!! In fact, I felt so vindicated that in a post-project shopping ~~orgy~~...~~spree~~...~~fit of madness~~...um...trip...to Hobby Lobby I didn't even think twice about buying 8 drawer knobs from the clearance section. Do I have a clue what I will do with them? Nope. But I am positive that the right project will come along. And when it does, my drawer knobs and I will be ready!

Do You Like a Good Challenge?

2011-08-25T09:44:00.000-05:00

Do you like a good challenge? I know I do! Challenges are one of the best ways to push yourself to grow creatively. AND they further benefit you by helping to keep your layouts from all looking the same. You know what I'm talking about, right? It's that moment when you look at your last 5 or 6 layouts and realize you have 3 flowers, two pictures, 1 journaling tag and a cluster of brads on every single one of them!!!

My layout is a lift of Amaryllis' ENJOY LIFE, found over at BIRDS OF A FEATHER. Amaryllis used this Page Maps sketch for her layout (at least I think it's this one):

Now, as it turns out, I had previously completed a layout using the SAME sketch a couple of months earlier; however, Amaryllis had a completely different take on it. So, when I lifted her layout, I got a completely different look the second time. See? Here's my original layout done a few months ago:

So, what's my point to this little ramble? CHALLENGE YOURSELF!!!! And what better way to do that than to participate in, you got it, challenges (duh)! And who is having some fun CHALLENGES? BIRDS OF A FEATHER is, that's who. Every month, five new challenges are posted. You don't have to do them all. You don't even have to use the monthly KIT, although they are so well put together you are going to wish you did! The only thing you have to do is to HAVE FUN!

I hope to see you there!

Everyday Tim Holtz, Marketing Team News, and Sketches!

2011-08-24T15:07:00.001-05:00

I don't know about you, but when I think about Tim Holtz I don't normally think...everyday all-occasion cards. And I CERTAINLY don't think "quick design project" that is easy to put together! But...that is exactly what I was able to do last night using my yummy papers and supplies from the Let's Capture Our Memories STORE. I think the main thing that made creating these cards so quick and easy was that I used Timmy-Poo's Crowded Attic paper collection which, much like its namesake, is packed with old, vintage images that are perfect for cardmaking, especially when combined with some of his ribbon or those had-to-have-them-could-not-put-them-down miniature hangers.

Speaking of Let's Capture Our Memories, did you know they are looking for a new MARKETING TEAM? I can tell you from personal experience, this is a fabulous group of ladies to work with! And to get free supplies every month to create your projects - well, it just doesn't get much better than that! Entries are due no later than September 15th, and the term runs from November 2011 to March 2012.

For those of you who are having a hard time finding inspiration or simply finding the time to scrap due to school that has just begun or getting ready to begin, here are a couple of great sketches from my favorite sketch sites:

From SASSY LIL SKETCHES, here is the August Week 3 sketch:

And here is my take on it:

You know the Design Team has come up with lots of great ideas, so if you still need a little inspiration, click HERE.

And, last but not least, from LET'S SCRAP, here is this week's new sketch, hot off the virtual press:

Want to see what the Let's Scrap Girls and I made? Well, you're going to have to click HERE!

Until next time - be creative!

One Kit, Two Looks

2011-08-20T12:39:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday everyone! I know many of you are probably wondering what's been going on with my posts - or rather my lack of posts. Well, it's been that hectic end-of-summer break/back to school time, and it seems I have been running around with at least 94 new errands to do on any given day - seriously! But I have DT reveals stacking up that I am DYING to share with you!

I just got the September BIRDS OF A FEATHER kit in, and it is gorgeous! Or as my grandmama would say, GAWJUS (normally with the word "honey" immediately following, as in, "now that is just gawjus honey."). And, yep, that's exactly what the September kit is - GAWJUS! It's full of Echo Park Victoria Gardens papers and flowers and ribbon and stickers and rub-ons and mini-frames and chipboard - oh have I got plans for it all, let me tell you! So, without further ado, here are the first two layouts I did:

I have been waiting for just the right papers to come along that I could use for this darling pic of my little niece Audrey who is dressed up as a fairy. When I saw the Victoria Gardens collection peeking out at me from my delivery box, I knew it was time! I fussy cut several of the roses from the papers and used ones from the sticker sheet that was included in my kit. A fairy layout HAS to sparkle (I'm sure it's the law), so of course I had to add stickles to my flowers.

I used Sketch 169 from CREATIVE SCRAPPERS, but I went off on my little flower tangent, so I don't think you can much tell anymore - LOL!

My second layout using my September BOAF kit is this:

I used this sketch from SASSY LIL SKETCHES:

As you can see, I stayed very true to the sketch. I loved the clean-lines look of this and (I think) the results were quite striking when using the EP Victoria Gardens papers. What do you think?

We are celebrating my son's birthday this weekend and finishing up with back-to-school stuff, but that lovely kit keeps calling my name so I am sure I will find a way to sneak in a little more scrapping time! Hope you are able to enjoy some happy craft time, too!

Let's Scrap! (and a chance to win a prize)

2011-08-11T10:27:00.000-05:00

Want to scrap but feel like you're in a rut and need a little creative inspiration? Then check out these two sketches from Let's Scrap - they certainly inspired me! Here is the first sketch - it's an oldie but a goodie:

I very seldom use two page sketches, primarily because I use a 3-ring binder for my layouts so they never "connect" in the middle. But what I like about this sketch is that the only connecter between the two pages is really just the trim so my layout will end up looking like two coordinated pages in my scrapbook. I can definitely live with that!

I have been loving the look of black cardstock as a background paper - it makes my patterned papers, whether primary or pastel colors, POP! For my layout, I mostly used Echo Park's For the Record line because it's cute without being girly or childish.

I reduced the number of photos on my second page, but you can see the possibilities for using lots more pics if you want. And, of course, there are so many ways you can play with embellies on this page!

I added a little hidden journaling, and I was good to go!

This is my second layout, a DT project for Let's Scrap:

It was created using this week's 8-10-11 sketch:

Obviously, I only used the left side of the sketch, but that's what is so cool about Let's Scrap sketches. They give you two pages, but if you want to play along in their challenges, you have the option of using one or both pages - your choice!

Want to play with the 8.10.11 sketch? If you do so by August 16th and post it on the Let's Scrap SITE
, you will be entered in a drawing to win this:

Scrapbooking AND loot? It doesn't get much better than that!

Refrigerator Worthy

2011-08-04T13:02:00.000-05:00

Remember when you were a little child and if you made a really pretty picture, your mom would stick it to the front of the refrigerator? No? Don't worry, my mom didn't do those things either! But I like this layout, created with my Birds of a Feather August Kit SO MUCH that I feel like a little kid wanting to show it off! And I may just stick it to the front of MY fridge!

Yes, the picture is of me lazing around in the pool with my little neurotic doggy, Bailey. She cannot STAND to be left out of anything - whether it's the room I am in or, in this case, the float in the pool I am in!

And as pleased as I was with my layout, I was positively over the moon with my next project!

I found a cheap unfinished picture frame at Michaels that was perfect for covering with papers from my August Kit. The layout was easy to make with the majority of the time spent putting together and arranging the flowers. I used sticker flowers, fussy cut flowers and flowers made from punches for my "floral arrangement" and sealed everything firmly into place with Glossy Accents - a little something I learned from my bestie Alissa. The only real difference between this and a "regular" scrapbook layout is that I covered all my papers on the frame with a gel medium to harden them somewhat and make them more durable and less prone to tearing.

Here's a close-up of the flowers I had so much fun making!

Hope to see you over at Birds of a Feather and see what YOU'VE made with your kit! They are packed with so many goodies, the projects I can make seem to go on and on and on and on!

Let's Scrap Page Maps August Challenge

2011-08-03T09:40:00.001-05:00

You know how much I love sketches so to be chosen for the design team of a site that focuses on using sketches to create layouts (and that has an active international on-line community of wonderful women)is a very good thing! Most of the sketches are two pagers, but you can always use just one side, rotate it, flip it, combine the two sides - all things that I've certainly done at one time or another!

My Snow Cones layout was created using a recent Let's Scrap sketch from 7-27-11. I used Echo Park Splash papers and created my banner by punching out the circles from the paper with a small circle punch. I then affixed them to my twine by using teeny-tiny brads and a bit of adhesive on the back.

Enough about my layout, let's talk a bit more about Let's Scrap. Do you like sketches? Do you like Becky Fleck's Page Maps Sketches? Do you like getting the chance to win prizes? Then head over to the Let's Scrap site where, throughout the month of August, you can play with this sketch:

And have the chance to win this great prize sponsored by EnMarc:

For more info, just click HERE!

I Am in Heaven

2011-08-02T16:01:00.000-05:00

Now you may be thinking my title to this post is a little melodramatic, but I'm telling you, it's true! Here's why:

1. I love challenges and I love sketches - finding a challenge in which I have to create a layout by using a provided sketch (which is exactly what Birds of a Feather did) is the BEST of the best as far as I'm concerned;

2. I used my BOAF August Kit , which is FULL of bright patterned papers - some of my favorites for my summer pictures. And (yes here's a shameless plug) at $35 for the kit and getting the cardstock add-on, I have created (so far) 3 layouts, an altered item, two cards and am working on my fourth layout. You KNOW how much I like to layer papers and create paper embellies on my layouts so that's a crazy good deal in my book;

3. The sketch chosen for the July challenge (yes, I'm going to make you go to the site and find it)was unique, and I could easily tell that it would render a layout that I could quickly create but that still packed a visual punch.

So, there you have it, heaven. August is now here so I am off to see what things I can find at my favorite haunts to challenge myself with this month! If you know of anything fun and exciting - feel free to pass your info my way!

My First Birds of a Feather Kit

2011-07-29T10:10:00.000-05:00

These are my first two layouts from the August Birds of a Feather Kit Company.
I have had some kits in the past that, while they included pretty papers and embellishments, there just didn't seem to be enough of what I wanted to complete 4 projects - which is the standard, I think, for a monthly kit. That's not the case at all with Birds of a Feather - I kept pulling paper after gorgeous paper and cute, cuter and cutest embellies out of my pack!

Want to hear more about how much I LOVE these new kits (and see blogs and layouts from other equally happy scrapbookers)? Check it out HERE!

More 5 & Dime Fun

2011-07-26T08:05:00.001-05:00

Good morning! It's my turn over at the LCOM BLOG again. It's my last time working with October Afternoon's 5 & Dime collection, which makes me a little sad because I LOVE everything in it. Next up for me is Tim Holtz, and I am sure he (or at least his products) will make me feel a lot better!!! Anywho, for more details on my last layout, featuring my radiant sister-in-law and my sweet niece, please head over to the LCOM blog. Or even better, head over to the LCOM STORE where the 40% off Christmas in July sale has been extended to midnight tonight!

Want to see what else I did with my 5 & Dime goodies? I made cards - that's right, me, the non-cardmaker. I'm sure my Bestie ALISSA has nothing to worry about, but still - I really like the way they turned out!

Christmas in July

2011-07-25T06:42:00.001-05:00

What better way to beat the heat than to stay inside with the A.C. going full blast and go shopping in the air-conditioned comfort of your own home? The Let's Capture Our Memories STORE wants to help you do just that by celebrating Christmas in July! 40% off store discount today? I think someone's been a VERY GOOD girl this year!!!

The LCOM store has so much fun, scrappy goodness! I recently made this MINI-ALBUM using October Afternoon's 5 & Dime Collection and other sweet items purchased there. See?

I made journaling card inserts so I wouldn't have to worry about where to fit my journaling on each page...

This is what this page looks like with the journaling card insert in front of it...

And this is what the back of the journaling card and the page look like look like separately...

Again, with the journaling insert in front of the page...

And separately...

More pages...

Front and back of journaling card:

The back of my mini-album is almost as cute as the front!

Now that you've seen my mini-album, go hit the LCOM Christmas in July Sale and show me what you make with your early Christmas present to yourself!

Come Play with Us

2011-07-22T11:11:00.000-05:00

No pics right now, just a quick 411 to let you know we are having a fantastically fun Housewarming Crop over at Birds of a Feather. It started just a few minutes ago and runs all weekend long. It's WAAAYYYY too hot to go outside, so come participate in some fun challenges and games with us this weekend!

It's easy to find us. If you log onto the Birds of a Feather HOMEPAGE, you just click on the Henhouse to take you to the forums. Once you are there, we are all playing under the Housewarming Crop. Hope to see you!!!!

Good News and More Summer Fun!

2011-07-12T11:37:00.000-05:00

I have been jumping-up-and-down-excited since yesterday when I found out I was chosen as a Design Team Member for Birds of A Feather - an online store and monthly kit club. This is what the home page says:

We're birds of a feather, you and I! We love all things paper and glue, ribbon and lace, flowers and buttons.... so go ahead, admit it, you actually like the scent of those vinyl Thickers and you have hoards of paper yet always are able to find room for more. We love to create, and that's what Birds of a Feather Kit Co. is all about.

After reading it, I thought: Why yes! I DO love all things paper, glue, ribbon, lace flowers and buttons. And while I may not go around sniffing Thickers, Alissa and I have had several conversations about how much we love the SMELL of paper, which I happen to keep buying even though I have enough to last for the next decade! Then I looked at the products offered in the BOAF kits and realized I was looking at things I would most definitely be purchasing at my local Archiver's or Michael's anyway. So what's a girl to do? Apply for the design team, of course!

I can't wait to get my first kit and start playing with it, and I also can't wait to start playing along in the challenges and joining in on the Wednesday live chats and also the online crops. Hope to see you there!

And speaking of scrapping fun - I want to share this layout I made using a sketch found at Let's Scrap. AND I want send them a big THANK YOU for choosing my All the Way to China layout as their Inspiration of the Week! What a fabulous welcome that was!

This layout is of my bestie's (Alissa) son when they spent the afternoon swimming at my house last month. As soon as I saw the look on his face as he was jumping in the pool, I KNEW I had to feature his pics in a layout!

I used the sweet Echo Park Splash Collection Kit, which included sticker embellishments that I pop-dotted and added stickles to (I think the technical term is "stickle-ized")for emphasis.

I also tilted my title letters at different angles to add a sense of movement.

Last, but certainly not least, I want to give a big HUGE thank you to Practical Scrappers , a fabulously cool blog jam-packed full of creative ideas and challenges,including my favorite - sketches! They linked two of my recent layouts (Surf's Up and You Are My Sunshine) on their blog as examples of different types of layouts they were discussing. I am tremendously appreciative!

Okay, that's all for the day. Go forth and scrapbook. Peace out.

More Fancy Pants Fun

2011-07-09T11:55:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend so far! I have house cleaning and furniture painting to do, but I thought I would take the brief period of quiet time this morning while hubby takes daughter to acting class to engage in a little scrap therapy. My coffee cup has been filled, my blinds are open to let in the morning sunshine, and I am fully caffienated and full of creative energy!

I have no reason for sharing this layout other than I like it! I have been using Fancy Pants Beach Babe papers and embellies and really having lots of fun with them! The journaling talks about how much my youngest daughter loves to dig holes in the sand when we go to the beach - the deeper the better. I swear she's going to be a scientist one day - she loves the way the sand changes color and texture the deeper she goes, and she also loves the little animals she finds, even the creepy crawly ones! I keep teasing her that she's trying to dig a hole straight through to China, which is how I came up with the title.

Of course, you know I used a sketch to make this. I found yet another very fun sketch site called LET'S SCRAP, which has both single and double page sketches and all sorts of fun challenges. Go check out their site and, if you really like it, they are also holding a Design Team Call through July 15th!

A couple more close-ups (because that's what you're supposed to do when showing off layouts from what I see):

The swirl and starfish were part of an embellie pack in the Beach Babe collection. I simply painted over the whole thing with some Tim Holtz Crackle Paint which not only adds nice texture but tends to make the paper curl up a little at the edges. I think the curling adds a nice 3-D effect. I layered the bottom startfish with another smaller one and added a gem to the center to make it resemble a flower.

To mimic the starfish, I decided to use my star punch instead of traditional pennant shapes for my banner. I outlined each one with dark brown marker and crackle painted them to give more dimension.

And that's it. I'm getting ready to switch gears, so to speak, and work on a mini-album with pics of my family taken when they were younger. But first, I might do just one more beach layout...

Staying Organized

2011-07-08T10:32:00.001-05:00

Good morning fellow scrapbookers! I had a little free time yesterday afternoon and was feeling crafty, so I pulled out my Fancy Pants Beach Babe papers and embellishments and made this layout using a wonderful sketch by Heather Landry. A few quick words about Heather. She is an extremely talented scrapbook artist and a fascinating person. Her blog is the perfect juxtaposition of scrapbooking and family life; she candidly talks about her everyday happenings, both the good and the bad and, after reading her blog, I have the utmost respect for her.

Besides using Heather's very cute sketch, found HERE, the reason I was able to create my layout in the short amount of free-time I had available was due to organization. It seems everyone has been talking about organization lately, and I'm not above jumping on that band wagon to share some organization tips that I have found to be useful with you.

The main key is to think like a Nike ad and JUST DO IT! I've seen and you've seen the beautiful craft rooms and studios that are showcased on the internet and in magazines. And you've also seen the shelves and cabinetry specifically made for scrapbooking supplies. They are fantastic and oh so droolworthy, but they are NOT necessary!

The first thing is to find a spot to stash all your ~~crap~~ supplies. I am fortunate enough to have a large walk-in closet upstairs that I have been able to take over. It was basically a tiny mini-room with nothing in it, so I added some cheap shelves and different organizers as needed. The thing that makes it all work for me is that everything is separated and, most importantly (for me) LABELED!

Nothing that I have matches. I have plastic drawers from Target next to an old tin that my mom sent me next to cute decorative boxes from Michaels. But every last surface and container is labeled with a description of what is inside so I know immediately where I can find what I need. Of course, this only works when I actually KNOW what I need!

I do use Cropper Hoppers to store all of my patterned paper since they seem to maximize space. I store according to manufacturer and then divide by collection. For miscellaneous papers, I usually try to put them with a collection that looks similar or, if I have enough of one theme, I will actually make a themed holder, such as Pets or Vintage.

I have made two improvements to my paper storage system lately, which have definitely made a positive difference. First, I have been putting my scraps back with the uncut papers from the same collection rather than in a random scrap box. That way, if I need a smaller piece later on, I am not forced to go digging through an overflowing box (where I may or may not find it) and I don't have to waste a new sheet of paper. Second, I have started including flat rub-ons, stickers or paper embellishments with my paper in the Cropper Hopper so they don't get lost in the jumble of all my other embellishments and forgotten. Because they are flat, they don't take up much extra room and fit in nicely with my papers. These two things have been a huge time-saver for me and are what allowed me to be able to finish my Surf's Up layout in the short amount of time I had. Everything was together, labeled so I could quickly put my hands on it, and I didn't have to spend time looking through piles of random stuff muttering, "I could have SWORN I got ______ (fill in the blank) to go with this!"

Finally, I have implemented an idea given to me by my good friend, Alissa. I found these cute little pots at Hobby Lobby, on major clearance. They sit on my work table and hold small miscellaneous items that I want to keep right in front of my face so I can make sure I use them. I call them my "don't forget" pots.

Want more ideas on how to get organized? Then click on these links:

Home Organizing Ideas
Flying Unicorn Organize It Group
Simplify 101
Scrapbooking.com
Scrapbook.com

I am ALWAYS looking for new and improved ways to organize my supplies. If you have a tip that works for YOU, I would love it if you would share with ME!

A Day at the Beach

2011-07-01T21:04:00.000-05:00

Last week, my Bestie ALISSA, her son, my youngest daughter, and I headed to the beach for the day. We live about an hour and a half away from Galveston, and since we made our trip on a weekday, we didn't have to worry about heavy traffic or overly large crowds.

Alissa and I packed a cooler full of drinks, hot dogs, PB&J sandwiches and lots of fresh fruit; we liberally slathered sun screen on the kiddos; and we were off! Despite the 6 year age difference between her son and my daughter, they play together really well. That worked perfectly for Alissa and me because it gave us the chance to reeelllaaaxxx a bit while the kids dug in the sand and played in the water.

It really was a fantastic day! Of course, I couldn't let the trip go by without taking pictures; however, I was extremely hesitant to take either of my cameras with me to the beach. My solution? I stopped at a convenience store and picked up a $3 disposable film camera. The clarity of the pics left a little - okay, a lot - to be desired, but overall I like the different look I got. Here are my first two layouts from our beach trip:

I found the coolest sketches over at SASSY LIL SKETCHES (that's right, yet ANOTHER great sketch site!), and I dug out some fabulous netting given to me by a friend in a Secret Sister Swap over a year ago. I have been on a mission to use up my scrap paper, so most of what you see on my layouts are scraps - which made me feel proud and a little virtuous (never mind that I had just shopped for new papers earlier the same day)!

Want to see a couple of close-ups?

Recognize the two smaller flowers, by any chance? They are Seven Gypsies flowers (the same as the large one) that I simply turned backwards so that only the plain kraft paper showed.

Don't want to clutter up your layout with journaling spots but you still want to record your memories? No problem! A journaling tag peeking out from behind the picture is the perfect spot. I inked mine with two colors of distress ink and used a piece of netting in place of twine or ribbon so that it would tie in perfectly with the rest of my layout.

That's all I've got for now. But we have some fun family activities planned for this holiday weekend, so I am sure I will have a ton more pictures to scrap real soon!

Happy Canada Day and Happy Fourth of July, my friends! Hope YOUR weekend is full of good weather, good times, and good people!!!

Something Different

2011-06-30T12:50:00.000-05:00

Even though my time as a design team member has come to an end over at Sketchabilities, I know I will continue going back twice a month to play with some of the best sketches around, even when they present me with challenges such as Karan's new one has done.

Sketch #50 appeared easy enough when looking at it, but I realized as I was trying to create it that I don't do so well with seemingly random placement of little bits of paper or embellishments. Apparently, I want everything to be touching or connected somehow because I fought with myself the entire time I worked on this!

This is when detailed sketches come in handy because, otherwise, I never would have attempted something like my layout. And it just so happens that I LOVE the look of what I call "random placement" layouts, despite my brain not wanting to create that way.

Do you want some inspiration from the ladies who totally rock this look? Then why don't you check out some of the layouts created by MIJA
(I would totally lift every single layout she's ever done if I didn't think she would think I was some sort of weird scrapbook stalker), LARIALBERNAZ, FINNABAIR, NICOLE NOWOSAD, and, of course, my BFF ALISSA (who does random, cards, organizing and just about everything else really well).

So, how do you feel about these types of layouts? Want to give Sketch 50 a try? If you upload your layout to the SITE by July 13th, you will be entered into a drawing to win some pretty cool scrappy goodies! Go check it out!

You Are My Sunshine

2011-06-29T17:36:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago when I was visiting Archiver's, they very cleverly displayed all of their LYB Sweet Summertime papers and embellies right by the front door where I would be sure to see them and sure to buy them. Archiver's is pretty ingeniously evil that way.

Rather than organizing my loot and putting it away when I got home - where I would be sure to promptly forget about it until oh...Winter 2014 maybe...I decided to keep my purchase in the bag right next to my scrapbooking table so that I bumped into every time I sat down.

I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with the papers, despite the fact that I HAD to have them, but then a couple of things happened which made everything just fall into place. I love it when that happens!

First, I was trolling all my favorite sketch sites and found this recent sketch over at Pencil Lines:

It's another very simple sketch, which I loved because I could imagine as much or as little into it as I wanted. Don't get me wrong, there are times when I love detailed sketches with every little brad and flower spelled out, but there are times like now when I want nothing more than a simple idea to work with.

Next, I was perusing the gallery on SB.com and leaving some love for my friends when I came across a great layout done by the very wonderful, talented Fritchey, found HERE. I LOVED the sun that she made - especially the hand cut "rays" that are all different sizes!

And somehow, with those two things, my layout came together! I added a couple scraps of paper from different lines - just because they were sitting on my table in the small "scraps of paper to be used pile," and the circus bear charm was used because I had placed it in the "don't forget I exist" bucket on my table. But I think the scrap papers and my circus bear were good additions (and helped me use up my supplies).

Happy SCRUMP Day! And I hope you are able to spend a little time SCRapbooking to help you get over the hUMP in the middle of the week, too!

WWAD ( What Would Alissa Do?)

2011-06-23T13:24:00.001-05:00

I simply cannot resist a good challenge! And if I have the chance to combine a couple of challenges at the same time and give my creativity a little more of a workout, that's even better!

First, I combined two challenges over at Sweet Peach Crop Shop.

The first is the June sketch challenge to use this sketch:

I think it's a really nice sketch, easily able to be used for most scrapbooking styles. Sweet Peach also has a challenge going to use handmade paper embellishments. Those of you who know me know that I LOVE making embellishments from my papers - so completing that challenge was pretty much a no-brainer!

Secondly, my friend Alda's site, Flying Unicorn, has a Lucky 7 Challenge - this week to use 7 buttons on a layout.

Now you may be saying that's all well and good but what does this have to do with WWAD? I'm sure you've noticed my layout has none of her signature rub-ons and little brads. But, my layout does have a few other things that ALISSA has inspired me to do - things I wouldn't have otherwise thought of.

First, she taught me to keep a basket or bowl on my worktable with scrap odds and ends that I can add to my layouts - things I wouldn't otherwise think to use. See that little piece of yellow ribbon? I never would have thought of it if Alissa hadn't first found the hidden scrap and used a piece of it in one of her recent layouts! I put it in my new scrap container so I would remember it, too.

Second, she taught me that YouTube is my friend when it comes to learning new scrapbooking techniques. Actually, I already knew that; but I figured if she could take the time to post her own tutorials on YouTube, then I could take the time to see what was on there - and there's a LOT of cool stuff! I wanted to do something different with my flowers, so I found this TUTORIAL by Kristina Werner for Two Peas in a Bucket. The flowers were super easy to make and turned out well, don't you think?

Third and finally, she taught me to look at the leftovers from my punches in a whole new light. In the past, I would always immediately scrape those leftovers off my table and into my wastebasket, but not Alissa! Nope - they were fair game to be used on a layout. So, I decided to do the same...and I LOVE the result!

If you have a few minutes, take the time to stop by Alissa's BLOG and see what other wonderful, crafty ideas she has to share! Currently, she is showcasing her scrapbooking storage system, which is organized to the nth degree. She has some creative, neat storage ideas - I should know, I've ~~stolen~~ borrowed a few of those ideas, too!!!

A Great Day

2011-06-21T17:44:00.000-05:00

Ever have one of those days that seems incredibly wonderful - a day when you know that all the stars must be perfectly aligned or...something?! Well, today was that day for me!

First, the work portion of my day consisted of a commute from my coffee pot in the kitchen to my study, where I got to work in...

my Nick and Nora pink flamingo pajamas (I am a Nick and Nora pajama addict!). I am working hard to make my paralegal business successful, and I am thankful every day that I am able to work from home.

Then, I headed outside to do a little relaxation therapy in the pool with Bailey...

The water was the perfect temperature, and I enjoyed being able to zone out and bask in the sun for awhile.

And, just when I thought the day couldn't get any better, I found out I won the monthly challenge over at My Mind's Eye! Me. ME!!!!!!

Check it out HERE!

I am such a thankful, fortunate, happy girl! And I hope YOU are having a great day, too!

Shabby Chic Fun over at LCOM

2011-06-16T15:12:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's my turn to BLOG again over at Let's Capture Our Memories! This month I'm playing with Glitz Design papers and Prima products, which are perfect for shabby-chic layouts - a style favorite for me!

The pictures were taken of my youngest daughter the day before her 11th birthday when I caught her playing dress-up in her oldest sister's clothes and jewelry. Although she was "practicing" to be in her sister's wedding party (which isn't until the end of next year), I thought she looked just like a princess and ran to get my camera as fast as possible!

I used this wonderful sketch found at the LCOM SKETCH BLOG

Doesn't it look like it was tailor-made for Glitz and Prima?!?

I don't want to give any more away, so for additional details regarding how my layout was created and products used, just click the LCOM Blog link HERE!

Question of the Day: Shabby Chic is one of my very favorite scrapbooking styles (although it is SO HARD to choose). What is your favorite?

It's the 15th and You Know What That Means...

2011-06-15T10:34:00.000-05:00

...that's right, it's time for the reveal over at Sketchabilities! Karan keeps coming up with exciting new sketches and Sketch #49 is certainly in keeping with the standard she has set! See...

I decided to add a little more to the background of my layout. But I was playing with those wonderful My Mind's Eye papers and could NOT narrow down my decision on which ones to use. So, I modified my design so I could use them ALL - LOL!

If you want more inspiration, please head over to Sketchabilities and see the takes from the other uber-talented design team members. Their layouts are TOTAL eye-candy and are guaranteed to make you want to play with your scrappy supplies!

Happy Scrump Day! (Note: Scrump = mash-up of Hump [for Hump day] and Scrap [for scrapbooking])

Fun My Mind's Eye Challenge

2011-06-14T09:03:00.000-05:00

Here's a fun little challenge that's going on over at the My Mind's Eye BLOG until June 19th. You simply create a layout using this sketch:

Your layout must be 80% My Mind's Eye papers from any collection (I used Stella and Rose papers) and song lyrics, any song lyrics.

I chose Born This Way by Lady Gaga. While I'm not a huge LG fan, the lyrics that I used for the journaling are exactly what I want my daughter to believe about herself as she is growing up...

"I'm beautiful in my way
Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track baby
I was born this way
Don't hide yourself in regret
Just love yourself and you're set
I'm on the right track baby
I was born this way"

The prize offered to the winner by MME, by the way, is your choice of three entire collections - that was certainly enough motivation for me to play along! What about you?

How Do You Scrapbook?

2011-06-12T19:25:00.000-05:00

Two posts in one day - a little crazy, I know! But I've got to fit in my scrapping (and blogging) time whenever I can. Today, my little girl decided to spend extra time at her best friend's house, son was off with his dad, and I had a completely quiet house - free of any distractions. What's a girl to do when that happens?! Certainly not do housecleaning or catch up on laundry!!!

Now, here's my Sunday evening question to you - how do you scrap your pictures? Do you scrap them in chronological order? Or do you scrap them using some other method? I used to go strictly by chronology, but sometimes my layouts felt forced because I didn't have the right inspiration or paper. Once I switched to using three ring albums and could easily move pages around, it was totally liberating to stop using that system! Now, I look at my papers or a sketch and generally let those things dictate which pictures I am going to use.

In this instance, I saw a new Page Maps SKETCH created by the wonderfully talented Becky Fleck. As you probably know, I am a HUGE fan of her sketches and the very instant I saw it, I KNEW I wanted to use pictures of my son with his boat project for physics - pictures that had been patiently waiting on my computer for almost two and a half months. And the layout came together perfectly - with no wailing or gnashing of teeth that sometimes used to accompany layout creations when I wouldn't deviate from chronological order.

The only downsides I can find so far are: 1) It takes longer before I can say I have completed an album (I still have one only halfway finished with pictures from almost a year ago); and 2) sometimes I forget which pictures I've used and which ones I still need to crop!

Is there a third or fourth way to organize and plan layouts? If so, let me know! And tell me what method you prefer to use - I'm curious.

My Baby Girl

2011-06-12T10:57:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to share a couple of layouts I've recently done featuring the youngest of my brood, Hunter. She turned 11 on Friday and is growing up so quicky - too quickly! I have been remembering her baby and toddlerhood - a little melancholy that those times are forever in the past. But, I am so thankful that I have now found scrapbooking and a wonderful way to capture and record those precious, everyday moments as she grows up. And my mantra to myself this past weekend has been, "Remember yesterday but make TODAY count."

Make YOUR today count, my scrapbook friends, and tell the ones close to you how much you love them.

A Layout for My Son (Using Pencil Lines Sketch 240)

2011-06-03T10:10:00.001-05:00

Do you ever see a sketch and know immediately what you want to do with it - which picture you want to use, the embellishments, the look? That's how I felt when I saw Pencil Lines Sketch #240. It's a fairly simple sketch design, but sometimes less is more. As soon as I saw it, I knew this sketch allowed the freedom to add stamps, rub-ons - whatever I could imagine - to make the layout personal to me. Now, of course, I could add those things to ANY sketch-based layout, but in this case, I was able to visualize the use of those elements a little easier because there were no other "distractions" for lack of a better word - make sense?

It's so easy for me to get caught up in making cute, girly layouts, especially with three daughters and an adorable niece who provide me with a never-ending supply of pictures! So, when I do get pictures of my teenage camera-shy son, I feel a little out of my creative element. At 16, he's too old for robots and dinosaurs. And I've just about used gears to death. So, my challenge to myself was to use the things I love - flowers and ribbon and charms - and create a layout that still had a masculine feel.

Although I used a delicate white lace, you can see that it is surrounded by dark flowers and charms that have an industrial look to them. The metal accents and black misting leave no doubt that this is a masculine layout - one that my son would not be embarrassed to have me display where his friends might see it!

So, what do you think? And what things do you do that may not be considered the "norm" when creating masculine layouts for the boys, young and old, in your life? Feel free to send me a link to your blog or gallery showing me your favorite masculine layouts. I would love to see what YOU have done!

Another Great Sketch Site

2011-06-02T15:52:00.000-05:00

Just when I thought I had found all the great sketch sites on the Internet, a new one pops up and gives me the proverbial smack in the back of the head! Yep - Creative Scrappers has apparently been going strong for about the past three years and now has approximately 158 fun sketches to share! With almost 2000 followers, you KNOW their sketches have to be pretty amazing!

Not only do they reveal a new sketch each week, but they then include a design team reveal to help fuel your creativity and get you over any temporary scrappy blocks you may have! They do allow you to link up your take on the sketch at the bottom of each post so you have the chance to show off your own work - who doesn't like that?!

My layout was created using Sketch #150. As soon as I saw it, I immediately knew the picture I wanted to use. This site is definitely saved to my favorites list on my computer now, and I am sure I will be a frequent visitor!

Have any of you been to their site yet? Which sketch is YOUR favorite (if you can choose just one)???

Go (Scrapbook Sketch Fun)

2011-05-31T18:56:00.001-05:00

Sometimes you get a set of scrapbooking papers and you absolutely cannot wait to use them. Such was the case with My Mind's Eye marvelous new Lime Twist papers that I bought recently while shopping with my fellow scrapbooker and BFF Alissa.

I am a sucker for anything with hot air balloons, and papers that have hot air balloons I can fussy cut are even better! I wanted to draw as much attention as possible to my fussy-cut balloons and clouds, so I slightly curled the edges of everything I glued down. I then used pop dots under one balloon to add a sense of depth to the layout. Finally, I added bling accents to each of the balloons, for no other reason than...well...I like bling.

I did simple strip journaling (using the cut-out back of a Sassafrass package containing journaling cards. That's right, I haven't yet used the actual cards IN the package, but I sure have cut the packaging itself up for journaling on a couple of my layouts now! LOL!) I really like the effect adding pop dots to the back of the journaling strips has.

I used Sketch 84 from LCOM to create this layout as time seems to be at a premium lately. If you have limited time but need a scrapbook fix, I highly recommend the following sites which contain wonderful sketches that are frequently updated and are always so much fun to play with!

Sketchabilities
Let's Capture Our Memories
Pagemaps
Flying Unicorn
Pencil Lines
Nuts About Sketches

and last, but certainly not least, the wonderful Beggahuna!

Do you know of any good sketch sites I didn't mention? If so, please feel free to let me know. I am always on the look-out for more!!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2011-05-30T10:39:00.000-05:00

So, today is my birthday. And what is the best way to celebrate??? Well, a good start for me has been by munching on some delicious boiled peanuts that my stepson, The-Chef-In-Training, made for me. (You thought I was going to say scrapbooking, didn't you? I will, but that comes later...)

For those of you who are wondering what the heck boiled peanuts are, they are a Deep South ~~delicacy~~ snack made by using the same peanuts you find at any ball game; however, instead of being roasted so that they are crunchy, the raw, green peanuts are boiled in very salty water for hours until they become soft. The trick is to take them out after they have softened but before they become mushy. Most people who try them for the first time as an adult hate them, mostly due to the texture of the peanut. But for Southerners like me who grew up eating them every summer, they are SCRUMPTIOUS!!! I have sorely missed them in Texas as I haven't been able to find green peanuts so I could make them myself. But my wonderful stepson managed to procure them in bulk and cooked them to perfection for me!!!

While filling my stomach full of boiled peanuts, I have been marveling over the fact that today I not only have a blog posted over at LCOM, but today is reveal day at SKETCHABILITIES! Double the scrapbooking fun today makes one of the best birthday presents ever!

So, let's start with LCOM - I have been having a great time all month playing with Pink Paislee Hometown Summer papers and embellies that I got from the LCOM STORE. Here is the latest layout I made using an incredibly fun line of papers and using wonderful photos taken by the extremely talented Houston photographer, Kristine Canterbury.

Next up is Karan's wonderful Sketch #48. I don't know how she continues to come up with so many varied, detailed sketches month after month, but she does! And I am so grateful because I LOVE working with sketches!!!

Here is the sketch:

And here is my take on it using a picture of my sweet niece giving her daddy a kiss:

Please stop by Sketchabilities to see the superb takes on Karan's sketch by the rest of the Design Team. They are all remarkably good, and no two are alike!

Until next time...

Sweet Peach Fun!

2011-05-20T11:32:00.001-05:00

As many of you know I am the May Guest Designer for Sweet Peach Crop Shop, a "sweet peach" of a kit club that began with three friends at a neighborhood crop. My requirement was to create 4 projects using their May kit for posting on the Sweet Peach Blog. Let me tell you, I received so many papers and cute embellies, I ended up making three layouts, an altered picture frame and a card. I had enough left over that I could have easily made another layout or a couple more cards! The papers were full of bright, summery patterns that were fun to mix and match together! And, it even contained coordinating card stock, which came in quite handy!

I wanted to be able to stick primarily to the items contained in the kit - because that is the test of a truly good kit (in my opinion). I ended up using a few brads of my own and some tiny type letters (because I'm a nut about super small alphas) - but other than that, it was all Sweet Peach items! Sweet Peach Crop Shop and I will be revealing the other projects made with the May kit later this month, so be sure to check back! AND - if you want to check out their May kit or for a sneak peek of their upcoming June kit - head on over to the Sweet Peach BLOG!

Last but not least, if you are thinking to yourself, "Love that kit - wish I could design for Sweet Peach,"...well...HERE'S YOUR CHANCE! Sweet Peach Crop Shop is having calls for both a sketch designer and a new design team! Interested? Then GO CHECK OUT THE SWEET PEACH BLOG!!!!!! *SMILE*

Until next time...

Fun Problem to Have

2011-05-16T13:58:00.001-05:00

So, I've got a little bit of a fun dilemma - all the good scrapbooking things going on in my little part of the world are all being revealed at the same time!!! And I don't want to give any of them less credit than they deserve because the people I have had the honor to work with are all fantastic! So, I guess I will be sharing one reveal today and one tomorrow.

I'm going to start with Let's Capture Our Memories since I worked on my blog that is currently up over a week ago (yes, for once I got something completed well in advance of the deadline!). This month I am having an extraordinarily fun time playing with Pink Paislee Hometown Summer papers I got from the LCOM Store!

This layout stars my favorite niece, Audrey, sharing a drink with her BFF, Lillian (hence the title). What cuties, and the picture was absolutely perfect for the fun, bright PP papers!

I really enjoyed creating the flowers for this layout, too!

Normally, I will use a flower punch or fussy cut flowers from paper (or use pre-made, store bought flowers), but when I saw this VERY SIMPLE flower-making technique in a recent scrapbooking magazine, I just had to try it. Am I glad I did! It's very easy, and I think the result is fantastic! All you do is punch out eight small to medium circles. You fold seven of them into a "V" shape and then adhere the seven folded circles onto the eighth one. You top it off with a button or, in my case, a brad.

To get more details about the papers I used and for more close ups, head over to the LCOM BLOG! I'll be playing with more of the Pink Paislee papers and blogging for LCOM again on the 23rd and 30th (my birthday), so stay tuned...

And...just because I am so very far behind on posting here, I have included another layout, this time using scrumptiously beautiful papers by Glitz Design that I purchased at the LCOM store!

Seriously, the Glitz papers were almost TOO PRETTY to cut!!! I used a sketch to create my layout, which was designed by my wonderfully talented friend, ALDA. She's got some seriously cool sketches which she reveals on Mondays, so please go check those out and be sure to leave her (and her new design team) some love!

Until tomorrow...

And I'm Back with More Sketchabilities

2011-05-15T22:26:00.001-05:00

I cannot believe I haven't posted one single thing on my blog for almost a month! Have you missed me? I have MOST DEFINITELY missed you!!!

Anyway, over at the Sketchabilities website Karan has outdone herself AGAIN with Sketch #47, which looks like this:

Isn't that incredibly cute?!? I certainly thought so! I cannot get enough of her sketches!

I didn't follow the sketch to the "t" this time because not too long ago I designed a layout which ended up looking somewhat similar to Karan's current sketch. So, I wanted to do something a little different. But you'd better believe her sketch has been saved to my favorites and I will be copying it exactly in the very near future!

If you think my layout is cute, or if you just want more inspiration, please head over to the Sketchabilities blog for 19 more fabulous takes on Sketch #47, including one by Janet Zeppa, the Sketchabilities guest designer.

Sketchabilities has so many wonderfully cool things going on right now, I want to take a minute and make sure you know all about them!

First, if you decide to create a layout using Karan's sketch and upload it to the Sketchabilities gallery, you will be entered into a random drawing and qualify to win the current kit from We Scrap.
. Super easy right?

Second, this is MAJORLY EXCITING to me - after each reveal a new guest designer will be chosen from the layouts uploaded in the gallery. This means that in addition to your chance to win a We Scrap kit, you MAY BE CHOSEN TO BE THE NEXT GUEST DESIGNER FOR SKETCHABILITIES!!!

Third, a new Design Team call is coming up for Sketchabilities! Interested? The deadline for submitting your entry is June 10th, and the new design team will be announced on June 15th. Want more details? You know where to go...SKETCHABILITIES, of course!

Happy scrapping, my friends!

Trying Something New

2011-04-18T13:01:00.000-05:00

One of the things I love about scrapbooking is that it encompasses so many genres and branches off into other artistic directions while still using the same general scrapbooking products. There is absolutely no way to get bored, which is perfect for me because I tend to get bored quite easily. Once one technique has been mastered, there are at least ten others waiting to be learned. And once I have become tired with a particular line of papers, at least a dozen more are vying to become my "new" favorite.

Altered art or an altered item is a very simple concept. You take an item meant for one thing and then you "re-purpose" it, generally decorating it and making it prettier in the process (that's where the scrapbooking supplies come in). Just about ANYTHING can be altered, too! I have seen altered jars, cans, paint buckets, clipboards, jewelry stands - you name it. The items can be functional or purely for decorative purposes. Your imagination and creativity truly are the only limits!

So, with such a seemingly endless list of ideas to choose from, you would think I would have tried my hand at altering something long before now. But - you would be wrong! I don't know why, but I have really been a complete chicken about decorating anything more three-dimensional than a layout. Perhaps it's the memories of my horribly deformed construction paper banks and cubes made in grade school that held me back. Whatever the reason, this past weekend I decided to conquer my fear and alter a used cigar box that Hubby was getting ready to throw away. The box that started out looking like this:

...ended up looking like this:

I loved the end result, and it felt great knowing that I had challenged myself and conquered the "there's no way I will ever be good enough to do that" fear! While this project was time consuming (mostly waiting for my paint to dry so I could move forward with the next step), it was in no way difficult! If you've never altered a cigar box and want to give it a try, the detailed process with pictures taken at various steps can be seen HERE, and the wonderful Cosmo Cricket Salt Air Collection papers can be purchased HERE.

Here's the best part about challenging myself this past weekend. My ten year old daughter, who loves scrapbooking, saw me trying something new that was outside my comfort zone. We discussed how silly it was not to try something because we were afraid we MIGHT not be any good at it. After mulling our conversation over for a few minutes, she came to me and said that she wanted to try to make a mini-album, something she had previously been afraid to try. It really brought home how closely our children watch us and base their own actions and decisions on what they see us doing (or being too afraid to do).

And now, my awesomely perfect followers, I would love to hear about any scrapbooking (or scrapbook related) technique that you recently tried after conquering your own fear! And if you want to share a picture of the end result, just email it to me at krissyrockstx@yahoo.com, and I will gladly post it on my blog for all the virtual world to admire!!!

Hugs, and have a happy week!

And the Winner is...

2011-04-17T21:08:00.000-05:00

As you may recall, I recently held a challenge asking you to send me a layout using a creative method of journaling. The April 16th deadline has now passed, so - using my totally random method of choosing a winner by having a family member draw a number out of the trusty brown paper bag, the winner of my journaling challenge is...Amarilys!

Whoo Hoo!!!!!! I will be contacting Amarilys via email and sending her a $35 gift certificate to use in the Let's Capture Our Memories store!

Sketchabilities Just Keeps Getting Better!

2011-04-15T09:41:00.000-05:00

I am so glad I am part of the Sketchabilities Design Team, and I'll tell you why! Not only does Karan Gerber, the very talented creator of the wonderful Sketchabilities sketches and founder of the website, continue to amaze and inspire me with her bi-monthly sketches, BUT she has come up with all sorts of neat ideas to get YOU involved! More about that later, but first...

Here is Karan's fantastic sketch #45, which was revealed earlier this morning:

And here is my take on it using pictures of my husband (and friends) from his very early childhood (way back in the 50's):

To see the rest of the team reveal by the other amazing Sketchabilities designers, just click HERE or head over to sketchabilities.blogspot.com!

Now, for the other exciting Sketchabilities news (drumrull please)...

First, Karan has added a USER GALLERY! That's right, that means you can upload your own take on her sketches into the gallery. You can view other users' layouts and, my favorite part, you can leave some love for all the wonderful layouts posted and you can get love on your own layouts!!! Best of all, should you happen to upload a layout that you made by using one of the Sketchabilities sketches, YOU COULD BE SELECTED TO BE THE NEXT GUEST DESIGNER!!! How cool is that?!?!

Finally, Sketchabilities is incorporating a READERS REQUEST every month. What is this, you ask? Well, you leave a comment telling Karan and the gang what items YOU would like to see incorporated into the sketch reveals - whether it is ribbon, buttons, ink, paint, mist - you get the idea. The Design Team will then select from YOUR requests and incorporate that into our next reveal! To get started on leaving a comment, telling us what YOU would like to see, click HERE.

So, what do you think? Great changes, huh?! Now, go print out a copy of Karan's awesome sketch and have some scrappy fun!!!

A Journaling Challenge for YOU

2011-04-06T12:00:00.004-05:00

As many of you know, I love journaling. In fact, journaling is one of the main reasons why I began scrapbooking. I have become the de facto historian for my family, and the thought of some relative looking at my family's pictures years from now and not knowing the stories behind them makes me cringe! Even though I take lots of "everyday" photos that don't necessarily have a story behind them, there is always a thought or an emotion associated with the pictures. I want to capture and record those for my children and their children to have.

BUT - I get easily bored. And writing on the same old journaling tags over and over again is one thing that is sure to bore me! So, I try to come up with unique ways and places to include my journaling.

I recently got these wonderful My Mind's Eye "Gertie" papers, part of the Stella and Rose collection, from the STORE at Let's Capture Our Memories. I knew as soon as I saw the ledger paper design that I wanted to find a way to use it for my journaling. I ended up creating five flowers, to tie in with my title, and incorporated my journaling on each of the flowers. Super easy!

I am ALWAYS on the look-out for creative journaling techniques. And I want YOU to be rewarded for providing me with ideas for fun, alternate ways to journal. So, here is MY challenge for YOU:

1. You must be a follower of my blog;

2. You must create a layout using some unique journaling method - your imagination is the only limit;

3. Email a clear picture of your layout to me at krissyrockstx@yahoo.com. I will then upload it to show off your wonderful creation on my blog;

4. If you post your layout on your own blog or another website, I would appreciate a link back to my blog;

5. All layouts must be received no later than 9:00 pm CST on Saturday, April 16, 2011.

THE WINNER, WHO WILL BE CHOSEN AT RANDOM, WILL RECEIVE A $35 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO THE LET'S CAPTURE OUR MEMORIES STORE, WHICH IS FILLED WITH LOTS OF SCRAPBOOKING GOODIES!!!

Happy journaling, and I can't wait to see what you create!

Let's See What YOU Made!

1. Lil Punkin by Krystle

2. Free by Amarilys

3. Rock On by Alissa

Are We Having Fun Yet?

2011-03-30T11:02:00.000-05:00

I just contributed to the wonderful blog over at Let's Capture Our Memories. Please feel free to check it out HERE!

I had so much fun playing with the new My Mind's Eye "Gertie" collection that I recently received from the LCOM STORE. Please be sure to check them out as well as many other fabulous new items being loaded into the STORE every day!

Until next time...
Have a scrappy weekend!!!

Sometimes, Enough is Enough!

2011-03-18T10:29:00.000-05:00

I am pretty sure you've seen me say several times how much I love sketches. It's true! I love them! Especially when I have limited time to scrapbook but am dying for a fix ("Hello, my name is Krissy and I am a scrapbooking junkie!") because I have been too busy with "real life" to create a layout in over a week!

So, I was really excited to see the new sketch posted at Sketchabilities!

It has wonderful detail and really cute elements so I couldn't wait to play with it!

For my layout, I used:

Fancy Pants Papers, Happy Together Collection;
Bazzill Basics Floss (but any embroidery floss will work);
Bazzill Basics Stitching Template;
Small and Medium-Sized Self-Adhesive Pearls;
Markers and Distress Ink (to outline my papers);
Chipboard Letters; and a
Pen (for journaling).

You will notice that the sketch has the smaller photos located under the main picture instead of to the side like I have. It also includes cute little embellishments and swirls on the bottom and top left side of the layout. I tried to follow it; I really did! But once I spent the time to do my handstitching, I knew I didn't want to cover even a millimeter of it up with pictures. I also had "dead space" on the left side of my main photo so I decided that would be a good spot to place the smaller pictures. I then chose some pretty flowers that matched my layout and tried to place them along with small paper strips as shown in the sketch. They just didn't look right. I tried different flowers - paper flowers, fabric flowers, small flowers, large flowers - nothing looked right to me. I moved on to embellishments in lieu of flowers, but still nothing worked for me. I thought about adding a little more stiching and put several templates in place so I could visualize how that would look...nope. Finally, I noticed two packages of adhesive pearls that I had purchased earlier in the day and decided to add a simple pearl border around my layout. THAT worked.

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love embellishments. Trinkets, flowers, metal charms, anything made by my Silhouette - I love it all. But sometimes, they just don't work; they don't belong. And when that happens, I have to go with my gut and not try to "force" all those cute extras onto my layout.

I am certain I will use this sketch again and follow it more closely because I love the way it looks. But if, for some reason, I don't - it will still be okay - because the end result is MY creation. And if I am happy with my creation, that is all that matters!

I encourage you to create something that makes YOU happy this weekend! For more ideas and more wonderful takes on this sketch, please visit Sketchabilities!

Mini-Album Tutorial from Let's Capture Our Memories

2011-03-16T06:12:00.001-05:00

Are you loving those cute mini-albums you've been seeing but are a little unsure as to how you can make one? Check out this WONDERFUL tutorial from Andrea Wiebe at Let's Capture Our Memories! Andrea created her mini album using wonderful Shabby Chic Crafts and adorable Prima and Maya Road goodies that you can find at the Let's Capture Our Memories store!

Shabby Chic Crafts + Prima = Cute Mini Book!

products on the mini book cover: flowers (Prima); flower centres (Prima);
Pins (Maya Road);paper (Echo Park);mini frame (Shabby Chic Crafts)

I instantly fell in love with all of the Shabby Chic Crafts product in the Let's Capture Our Memories Store and I imagined that the line would look great with Prima flowers! Seeing everything together I was instantly inspired to make a Spring mini book and I'd love to share with you how.

The Supplies:

corrugated cardboard
cardstock
embroidery floss
pattern paper
adhesive
needle

The Instructions:

1. Trim two pieces of corrugated cardboard to measure 3 1/2 X 4, as well, cut a piece of cardstock to measure 2 X 4. Glue your corrugated cardboard onto your card stock as shown...making sure to leave at least 3/4 of an inch in the centre.

inside:

outside:

2. Cut a piece of pattern paper to measure 2 X 4 and use to cover the piece of card stock on the outside of book.

3. Fold mini book to form a spine.

4. Trim three piece of cardstock to measure 4 X 7 and fold in half. Place one piece of folded cardstock inside the book, along the spine, and poke holes using a push pin along the fold line...make sure that you push your pin through the spine of the book as well.

5. Handsew the cardstock page to the spine. Repeat with the other sheets of cardstock.

inside:

outside:

The book is now ready to be decorated!

The papers to use for my book was an easy descision...Echo Park Springtime! The lime green Prima flowers were a perfect springtime match :)

Aren't the little envelopes so sweet...

By layering up notecards you get lots of journaling room! I added a Maya Road Star Pin to the flowers pin for a fun look!

The pink and blue Prima flowers look so perfect with the pearl and crystal centres...

I added a little strip of Maya Road brown satin pleat ribbon for some extra dimension...

If you have any questions leave them in the comment section or you can email me...aswiebe@hotmail.com!

Have a great day,
Andrea

More Fun News!

2011-03-08T11:57:00.001-06:00

I am so excited that Sketchabilities has asked me to join their design team for the next three months along with these other fabulous ladies:

Julie Comeau – CANADA -returning

Sue Sykes-CANADA

Sandi Smith - CANADA

Shona Keehn - CANADA

Issa Lucido- PHILIPPINES-returning

Ria Mojica – PHILIPPINES

Svetlana Austin - SOUTH AFRICA

Stacy Rodrigues-USA-returning

Michelle McClure-USA

Mandy Starner-USA

Kimberly Arledge-USA

Danielle Aubroeck-NETHERLANDS

Margreet Westerling - NETHERLANDS

Miranda Wedekind – NETHERLANDS

Nicola Childerhouse – UNITED KINGDOM

Amelia Wahab – MALAYSIA

Mazlina Yusoff –AUSTRAILIA

Kanako Sakurai - JAPAN

Teresa Dieguez -Spain

Please take a few minutes to stop by Sketchabilities' website to see all the neat things they have going on. And it is TOTALLY worth your time to stop by each of these talented designers' blogs, too, as they are full of inspiration and eye-candy!

Art Journaling

2011-02-28T09:41:00.000-06:00

I have recently (as in this past weekend) taken the plunge and decided to start an art journal, an idea I first began toying with late last year. What is an art journal, you ask? Well, it's pretty much like a regular journal in that the topic can cover anything and everything - from your everyday life to travel, dreams and goals, diet and exercise, to-do lists, and the list goes on. The primary difference between an art journal and a "regular" journal is, as you may have guessed, that art journals focus more on illustrations. They can have some text or no text. The text can BE the art. And the ways to create your illustrations are just as endless and varied as the topics you cover. You can paint; you can create collages; you can doodle; you can glue photographs on your page.

What I love most about art journaling is that there is NO WRONG WAY to do it! And you don't have to have a perfect finished product (something I feel compelled to do with scrapbook layouts). You don't even have to be able to paint or draw well! It doesn't have to look good; it doesn't have to be complete. The purpose is to express yourself and to capture your thoughts, feelings or ideas in a personal, meaningful way.

My art journal is a watercolor and sketch notebook that I purchased from Hobby Lobby for under $10. You can use just about any type of journal or notebook; you can even make your own. If you decide to use paints, the main thing that is recommended is to first prime your pages with gesso.

Here is my first art journal page.

I bought several small bottles of very inexpensive acrylic paints which I put down in layers (over my gesso-ed page). I then used a template and misted a clock background. I cut out a stamped image of arms and legs that I colored, cut out a picture of my head and incorporated my journaling in the picture. I can barely draw stick figures and never graduated past finger-painting in grade school but I am HAPPY with my end-result because I created something that is meaningful to me - a picture I can look at and immediately know what I am trying to tell myself.

Need some inspiration to get started? Check out these links:

Images of other art journal pages;

Instructions on how to create and keep an art journal;

A fantastic Blog with different prompts and techniques for art journaling; and

A site with all sorts of ideas and tutorials.

"Art journals are visual expressions of the true noise, colors, clutter, emotions, and people within us." [authors Linda Woods and Karen Dinino in Journal Revolution]. According to Kay Marie Porterfield, writer and journal writing teacher, "Starting an art journal is a powerful way to move beyond words. Not only does working with images access a different part of our brains than words, making art is a source of playfulness and creative joy." Why don't you give it a try?

Fun with Sketches

2011-02-25T13:33:00.000-06:00

I love sketches, so I was really excited when I found out that Let's Capture Our Memories has a section totally devoted to sketches for cards and layouts!

The thing I love about sketches so much is that they give you a basic template for a layout without "influencing" you as to specifics. You don't see a particular line of papers, color of flower, or embellishments being used as you would with a scraplift, so it is extremely easy for your imagination to go wild! As with all sketches, you can follow it specifically to a "t" or you can rotate it, flip it, add to it or subtract from it. There is no wrong way to use a sketch!

I followed the basic layout of sketch 70. However, I added the large punched layer of paper and lots of pretty embellishments. I used three flowers instead of two as shown in the sketch, included sewing around my photo and added lots of pearl accents to give the layout a soft feel. I also outlined my title letters and flowers in white, and I doodled white along my vine to add visual interest to them as well as to tie them in with the white background paper.

I am going to try the card sketch next over at Let's Capture Our Memories. Since I am on a shabby chic kick right now, I may first load up on some Shabby Chic embellies at their store. Would you like to get some shabby goodness to make your own card or layout? Well, you're in luck! Let's Capture Our Memories is holding a contest until 9 pm Monday night (February 28th)in which YOU can win $15 of Shabby Chic Crafts Goodness just by leaving a comment - how easy is that?!

And if you use Sketch 70 to make a layout, would you email me a picture? (krissyrockstx@yahoo.com). I would love to see your creation and post it on my blog!

Happy weekend!

Ink-spiration

2011-02-23T10:51:00.001-06:00

Last October, when I was visiting some of my good ~~fellow addicts~~ scrapbooking friends in West Palm Beach, I was introduced to the Take Ten Stamper's Sampler and Somerset Studio magazines, both part of Stampington & Company's publications. Talk about a treasure trove of information and inspiration!

Any of you who know me and who have seen my layouts, know that one tool I consistently use in my scrapbooking supply arsenal is distress ink. I outline almost all of my papers with distress ink (or inks as is generally the case) because I feel the ink(s) add more dimension to my papers.

However, what I saw the Somerset people doing made me (mentally) smack my hand to my forehead and exclaim, "Why didn't I think of that?!" What the Somerset guys taught me to do is not only to ink my papers but to "ink" around my fussy-cut or paper embellishments, too! Instead of using distress ink pads, which are almost impossible to get into small crevices and corners, Somerset uses markers to outline the edges of the paper. I tried it and what a difference I think it makes. See?

{Note: all additional distressing to paper flowers and leaves shown below were provided courtesy of Cross-Eyed Pete and Danny-Boy, this author's ill-behaved, far-too-curious cats who have developed an ill-advised, intense fascination for scrapbooking supplies}

Flowers before outlining with marker

Flowers after being outlined with marker

Fussy-Cut leaf section before being outlined with marker

Fussy-Cut leaf section after being outlined with marker

Now, Somerset Magazine shows all images as being outlined with black marker. I used marker colors that were similar to the paper color. Eventually, I will try outlining my images in contrasting colors to see what result I get.

Why don't you play with this technique, too, and let me know what you think. If you email me a picture of your layout or card in which you have outlined your images with marker, I would love to post YOUR creation on my blog! (Email is krissyrockstx@yahoo.com)

Happy scrapping!

Psst...pass it on...

2011-02-22T21:30:00.000-06:00

I am so excited! Why you ask? Well, it's because I have been selected to be part of the Let's Capture our Memories Marketing Team! This is a great opportunity, and I'm thrilled to be working with such a talented group of ladies! LCOM has a store full of lots of scrapbooking goodies and a pretty neat blog, too! I will post more later but wanted to share the good news with you now. Check out their site and let me know what you think...and, pssst...pass it on!

And the Winner is...

2011-02-18T21:45:00.000-06:00

First, I want to thank everyone who played along in my first ever challenge AND everyone who left such wonderful messages. I loved celebrating my 9th year of being cancer free with each of you!

As you know, the winner of my challenge was chosen by random drawing. Each of the layouts were wonderfully, awesomely done, and there is no way other than random drawing that I could have chosen a winner!

And now, to announce the winner.

My trusty assistant Hunter helped me cut paper up and write a number corresponding with each posted layout on each piece.

Then we folded each piece of paper into small pieces, perfect for drawing out of a bag.

The papers were placed in the "regulation random drawing" paper bag which was then shaken vigorously by Assistant Hunter.

She then placed her hand in the bag without looking...

...and drew (drumroll please)...

Number 2!

CONGRATULATIONS TO EILEEN (NUMBER 2) WHO IS THE WINNER OF A $35 GIFT CERTIFICATE FROM SCRAPBOOK.COM!

I have had so much fun that I think I would like to add a new challenge each month. I would love to hear your suggestions and ideas as to challenges you would like to see (and play!) in the future!

A Challenge and a Prize to Celebrate My 9 Year Cancer Free Anniversary!

2011-02-11T09:50:00.010-06:00

Today is a very special day for me as I am celebrating my 9th year of being cancer free! How do I plan to spend my day? Scrapbooking of course!

I want to share my good fortune with you and give you an incentive to get crafty yourself. So, I have decided to create a challenge in which you lift one of my layouts posted over at Scrapbook.com.

The winner will receive a $35 gift certificate from Scrapbook.com's superstore!!!

Are you up to the challenge? Here's all you need to do:

This challenge will end at 9 pm CST on Friday,February 18, 2011.

Happy lifting, and I am so excited to see the wonderful layouts I know you are going to create!

Here are the lifts!

1. Wild Fun by Meredith (a lift of Big Imagination)

2. Hey Baby - can I buy you a drink by Eileen(a lift of Adorable in Every Way)

3. Come Together 2010 by KateB(a lift of Beach)

4. Kittens by Christy B (a lift of Beach Baby)

5. Blue Eyed Boy by Heather (a lift of Sweet Cheeks)

6. Sisters by Norma (a lift of Sisters)

7. Enjoy Life by Izzy (a lift of Beach)