Back to School with Practical Scrappers

Today at PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS, we are showing off our back-to-school themed layouts.  This was a great challenge for me because I usually struggle with fall-themed layouts and that includes back-to-school stuff - maybe because it still feels like summer when the temperature gauge keeps steadily hitting 100+ degrees here in Tejasland!

The Huntress actually has one more week left of freedom before school starts, so I decided to do a little journaling and create a quiz reflecting her current likes (and a dislike) and what she hopes to accomplish in school this year. 

Just like a real quiz, the categories are on the front and the answers are on the back.  Want to know the answers to my 8th grader's quiz?  Yeah?  Here you go:

1.  Favorite movie (A: Scott Pilgrim)
2.  Fave T.V. show (A: Adventure Time)
3. Favorite New Song (A: Wow by BtoB)
4. Besties (A: Crystal and Kamber)
5. A fun activity (A: Getting crafty with Pearler Beads)
6. Can't stand (A: It's still brocolli)
7. Fave Foods (A: Pizza and Spaghetti)
8. This year I hope to... (A: get good grades, have nice teachers, and improve my singing)

My journaling tag tucks nicely into a pocket sewn into the back of my photo frame.

I used CRATE PAPER'S Portrait Collection to creat this layout - an older collection, yes, but it contained the "back-to-school" colors I was looking for without being overly "fall-y" or in-your-face back to school.  In other words, just the right papers for my project!  One thing I love about Crate Paper is that their collections always include a page of paper die cuts, which are perfect for creating clusters or titles - like mine! 

 

I also used this SKETCH found at Page Maps to get me jump started.  My layout doesn't look much like the sketch at all - but it got me going and that's all I needed!!!  By the way, Page Maps is having a contest with this sketch right now which is open for another few days - be sure to check it out!

 

That's it for me today.  Before I go, tell me, what kinds of papers do you prefer to use for your back-to-school layouts?  Do you go traditional and use themed collections or do you buck the trend and do your own thing?  I'm curious...

Pretty Little Studio/Love My Tapes Blog Hop!

Hello and welcome to the Pretty Little Studio and Love My Tapes Blog Hop!  We thought it would be fun to combine forces and share with you projects highlighting Pretty Little Studio whimsical goodness paired with the versatility and trendiness of Love My Tapes.

During the Blog Hop, you will be visiting blogs from both PRETTY LITTLE STUDIO and LOVE MY TAPES Design Team members.  We promise to bring you a hop FULL of inspiration and creativity!

And what's a blog hop without give-aways?  Be sure to visit all the blogs, including the Pretty Little Studio and Love My Tapes blogs for a chance to win some PLS and LMT goodies!  When visiting the Design Team member's blogs, be sure and leave comments as many of the Design Team members will also be hosting their own Blog Hop giveaways.

The Hop will start on the Pretty Little Studio blog and end on the Love My tapes blog, so head on over to the Pretty Little Studio BLOG if you are just joining in.  We will announce the winners of the PLS and LMT giveaways on May 3rd, so be sure to be watching for the announcements.  If you get lost along the way, just check below to get you hopping in the right direction.

 

Here is the complete list:

 

Aimee Maddern: http://aimeesarmoire.typepad.com/

Annette Allen: http://myclevercreations.blogspot.com/
Annette Witherspoon: http://www.aspoonfullofsugarcrafts.blogspot.com/
Ashley Horton: http://www.ashleyhortondesigns.com/
Candice Elliott: http://truedivinehand.blogspot.com/
Christina Collins: http://dontworry-bescrappy.blogspot.com/
Heather Adams: http://craftyscrapbooker.blogspot.com/
Janice Whiting: http://www.janiceaileen.blogspot.com/
Jenni Calma: http://www.papercardinal.blogspot.com/

Krissy McKee: http://krissyclarkmckee.blogspot.com/  (that's me!)

Lisa Spiegel: http://lisaspiegel.typepad.com/my_weblog/
Lisa Wilkinson: http://www.createfor7.blogspot.com/
Mary Ann Jenkins: http://www.maryannjenkins.com/
Missy Whidden: http://littlenuggetcreations.blogspot.com/
Penny Smith: http://www.pennysmithdesigns.blogspot.com/
Tina Walker: http://adogslife-thirteen.blogspot.com/
Missy Whidden: http://littlenuggetcreations.blogspot.com/

 

Now, you should have just arrived from Jenni Calma's blog HERE.  

 

Okay, let's get hopping!

 

Here is a quick little layout I did starring my youngest smart girl, who was just inducted into the National Junior Honor Society!  

 

I have never been a huge tape user - before now.  The LMT products that I was given were so easy to use and extremely versatile.  I matted my layout with the tape, I made a photo corner with my tape, I adhered it to dark cardstock to make a banner, and I adhered it to white card stock and punched stars.  When you combine that with my PLS papers which I discovered a while back can be used on ANY and EVERY type of layout - well, it's "so fab" - just like my girl! (no I could not resist!)

A little close-up:

I think the Love My Tapes banner that I made and the Pretty Little Studio title created using papers from the Birthday Cake Collection go pretty well together!

I am loving all this loveliness, and to celebrate the "fabness" of it all - I am giving away a $10 gift card on May 4th to Pretty Little Studio's Store to some lucky person who leaves a comment on my blog and the PLS BLOG and the LMT BLOG.  That's right, leave a comment on all three blogs by the end of the blog hop and you could win a gift certificate to the wonderful online store that started my love affair with all papercrafting things vintage!

Okay, that about wraps it up for me.  Next on the list is Lisa Spiegel who can be found right HERE!

Nature Walk Blog Hop (Pretty Little Studio)!

Happy Monday and welcome to the Pretty Little Studio Nature Walk Blog Hop, where we are celebrating the reveal of a fabulous soon-to-be-released collection - Nature Walk - full of the cutest, vintage-inspired flora and fauna you could imagine!  If you thought the recently released Birthday Cake Collection was a huge hit, I am telling you the Nature Walk Collection is going to be a home run!!!

***IF YOU ARE HERE TO SEE WHAT I MADE WITH GOODIES FROM PAPER SECRETS, SCROLL DOWN TO THE NEXT POST.***

Now, you should have just arrived here from HEATHER'S BLOG.  

Head on over to the PRETTY LITTLE STUDIO BLOG if you are just joining in and want to hop all the way through.  Or, if you should have made a right turn in Albuquerque - for those of you who grew up on Bugs Bunny cartoons like I did - here is the complete list:

                 Aimee: http://aimeesarmoire.typepad.com/

                 Candice: http://truedivinehand.blogspot.com/

                 Christina: http://dontworry-bescrappy.blogspot.com/

                 Heather: http://craftyscrapbooker.blogspot.com

ME----->  Krissy: http://krissyclarkmckee.blogspot.com/

                 Lisa W: http://www.createfor7.blogspot.com/

                 Lisa S: http://lisaspiegel.typepad.com/my_weblog/

                 Mary Ann: http://www.maryannjenkins.com/

                 Penny: http://www.pennysmithdesigns.blogspot.com/

I have had so much fun playing with Pretty Little Studio's collections lately, which are FULL of unique ephemera and wonderfully coordinated papers that you just won't find anywhere else.  And even though Pretty Little Studio goodies are vintage inspired, they are extremely versatile and can be used for any style of scrapbooking and card making - such as this layout I recently created for a PLS sketch challenge using the Sandcastle Collection (one of my favorites):

Pretty, right?  Would you like a chance to win your own Pretty Little Studio  loot, I mean, products so you can make your own pretty little creations?  You would?  Well, you are in luck because we are having a giveaway!  That's right, one lucky person will win a $20 Gift Card to the Pretty Little Studio Shop!  The best part is, you don't have to kill the bad guys, or lift heavy weights, or run 10 kilometers.  In fact, you don't even have to leave your chair!  For a chance to win, all you have to do is: 

 

1.      Follow Pretty Little Studio’s BLOG;

2.      Like Pretty Little Studio on FACEBOOK;

3.      Leave a comment here letting me know what Pretty Little Studio item you like the most or would like the most if you had a $20 gift certificate burning a hole in your pocket!

 

That's it for me today.  Next up on the hop is my good friend, LISA W - I just know she is going to have some awesome inspiration for you!

Okay now, hop along now - get moving.  Don't need anyone getting any hare-brained ideas about hanging out around here all day...