Go (Scrapbook Sketch Fun)

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!

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...