My Crazy Sweet Life and My Sweet Arts, too!

Family Layouts

2011-09-06T12:22:00.000-04:00

"Delight... in golfing with Papa"

This is one of a handful of pre-made layouts that I have used over the years. I picked this one up when one of my favorite stores was going out of business. I love that I did not have to do anything but trim my pics down and adhere them. I especially love that I captured such a special moment with Miss H and her Papa!

"Papa's little punkin"

This layout I completed at recent crop I went to with Granny... actually I have to admit that Granny had just gotten this paper pack in her most recent Memory Works delivery and it matched my pics perfectly! So, I kinda stole it... thanks Granny ;o) I love scrapping fall/halloween layouts, but to be able to scrapbook pumpkins and pink on the same layout was so fun!

"Splash"

One of may lazy days in granny's pool! Love that I was able to capture my little fish swimming (underwater) back and forth from Papa to Granny. She can hold her breath so long it scares me sometimes!

"Tooth Fairy"

The night Miss H lost her first tooth, she was so excited to use her tooth fairy pillow! Little did we know she would get to use it the next night too... she woke up the next morning and went to tell me what the Tooth Fairy left for her and her 2nd tooth popped right out of her mouth into her hand :o)

Hawaii

2011-08-29T14:12:00.004-04:00

"Black Sand Beaches"

Bella Blvd

completely scrap-lifted from somewhere ;)

"Lovely Hula Hands"

posted the left side as part of an open call with a single page sketch and finally made the other half of the layout (because I knew I would never leave it as a single page layout, lol!)

Handmade those flowers with twill ribbon and pleated the twill myself.

"Luau"

Posted this layout once before as part of an open call with a sketch, but I added a couple of small pieces since then and just like the way it photo'd this time around.

"Cruisin North Shore"

CTMH Level 2 Paper Pack

Love the way this one turned out, so carefree and relaxed.

"Laugh"

Lime Rickey

I know I used a sketch, but I have no idea where I got it from ;)

I took these photos from our balcony of my daughter and hubby going down the twisy slide into the pool below. I love that I was able to capture these moments without either of them knowing... and from an interesting vantage point.

{click on any photo to enlarge}

Back to School Layouts

2011-08-28T19:27:00.002-04:00

I have been pretty productive lately and decided to post all my layouts according to the album the layout belongs in. These layouts are from Kindergarten... can't believe she already started Third Grade this week! Also, I finally got smart and started photo-ing the layouts as a double page spread, since that is how I intended them to look... especially when the elements and photos flow across both pages ;o)

(click on each image to enlarge)

"First Day of Kindergarten"

Imaginisce ~ Teacher's Pet Collection

Sketch scraplifted from PaisleyandPolkaDots

"2 Cute for School"

"Field Trip"

Bella Blvd ~ Sunny Happy Skies Collection
Scraplifted from PaisleyandPolkaDots

"Oh the Places You'll Go"

Bella Blvd ~ Sunny Happy Skies Collection

"Spirit Fridays"

Simple Stories Elementary Collection
Left sketch scraplifted from the Simple Stories Blog.

Girls Weekend 2011

2011-05-11T09:58:00.027-04:00

I am amazed at how little I got scrapped this year during our annual girls trip. I did however get in a good bit of relaxing, chatting, and just being with my girls. The four layouts I did actually came together pretty easy once I finally got to work. Especially easy was the kit from Scrapbook Generation (ya know, one of the many kits that I won from Sketch Support!) My camera did not want to cooperate, so these pics do not do justice at all, but if you click on the image it enlarges so you can see more of the detail.

"Sweet Cupcakes"
(click images to enlarge)

One of the kits that I won from Sketch Support :o)

I did this layout in record time! Especially for me, who tends to take days flip-flopping embellies around and making sure it's just right, lol! I think it took me about 20-25 minutes, including the time it took me to decide which pics to use! I will definitely be picking up more of these kits!

"Pajama Party"

(click images to enlarge)

A quickie layout that kinda has a funny story, let' see if I remember it correctly... Jodi did that tree out of ribbon and I though it was so cute and I scraplifted it from her, then she liked my sketch and scraplifted that from me (even though I copied from a sketch somewhere, lol.) Just goes to show that you never really know if your "idea" was really yours or just a distant memory of something you saw once upon a time! :o)

"Feeding Frenzy"

(click images to enlarge)

This layout has been in the works for awhile, mostly becuase I need Granny's help. I made the layout back in February! but wanted to add the koi and water lily and just knew that Granny could do a much better job than me or anything on my cricut. Boy was that right! She hand cut the koi based off a clipart I saw online and lord only knows how she made those flowers. She has been making tons of flowers lately, so she may have the info on her blog.

"My Deer"

(click images to enlarge)

This was another layout that got passed around and scraplifted :o) I actually made that deer using my Cricut (can't remember last time poor little Pinky got used!) and just inked the hooves and antlers darker instead or double-cutting (a little lazy, but it worked). The title was a gift from Jodi... she brought all of us a complete set of chipboard letters that she cut with her new Accucut Apricot font! Soooo want more of those, or better yet would love to just buy my own Accucut but I will just keep dreaming ;o)

Sketch Support Blog Hop Winner!

2011-02-28T11:20:00.004-05:00

Can't believe I won the Ultimate Kit Club Sampler during the Sketch Support Blog Hop! Woohoo! I am so in love with Allison's sketches and can't wait to give these kits a try! Thank you so much to Allison Davis and the team at Sketch Support!

Here's what she said:

"The Ultimate Scrapbook Generation Kit Club Sampler" winner

What a great time the "Get to Know the Creative Team" blog hop was! One thing all of us at Sketch Support agreed on was how thoughtful the comments were on all the blogs. It was so great to see that not only was everyone taking the time to read each post and hop to each blog but to also take the time to leave such amazing comments. Thank you from everyone here at Sketch Support!

The winner of "The Ultimate Scrapbook Generation Kit Club Sampler" is...

ScrapyTiff said...

Woohoo, made it around the world and back... Loved reading about all the new DT members, plus picked up a few scrapping ideas along the way! Great blog hop!

You can email me at allison@scrapbookgeneration to claim the giveaway. You'll also need to include your shipping information and we'll have that prize on it's way to you.

And I won all of this:

"The Ultimate Scrapbook Generation Kit Club Sampler"

The winner of this giveaway will receive:

• The February Super Sketch Club kit - includes the materials and sketches to make five two-page layouts. The February kit includes products from Fancy Pants, Jillibean Soup, and BoBunny.

• February Boy Crazy kit - includes the materials to create a two-page boy themed layout with BasicGrey products and a sketch.

• February Girl Crazy kit - includes the materials to create a two-page girl themed layout with Echo Park products and a sketch.

• February Generation Page kit - includes the materials to create a two-page layout with We R Memory Keepers products, a color photo of the layout, and directions.

• February Hall of Fame Page kit - includes the materials to create a two-page layout with BasicGrey products, a color photo of the layout, and directions.

• Generation Card kit - includes the materials to create four cards with My Mind's Eye products, color photos of the cards, directions, and a cutting guide.

To sum it up that's seven sketches and the materials to make nine two-page layouts andfour cards!

Happy Holidays

2010-12-15T17:11:00.000-05:00

Scrapbook Generation

2010-11-22T17:50:00.002-05:00

Sketch artisit Allison Davis, who runs Scrapbook Generation with her mom, is doing an open call for Creative Team members for her new website. The new site will be dedicated to sketches all month long and that is where the new creative team will kick in... sounds like a plan to me! So, here is my take on the sketches she posted...

Sketch #1

"Hula Hands"

This one will eventually have a second matching page where I will journal about the hula lessons and the history of the song they danced to, it was sooo cool!

Supplies:

My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary Little Miss Muffet: "That's My Girl" (purple posies paper), "Delight" (purple plumes paper), and "Delight" (brown polka dot)

Quickutz: Magnolia Grand Font

CTMH: Just Blooms Posie (leaves), Cocoa Ink

Colors: Hollyhock, Colonial White, Cocoa

Misc: Twill Ribbon, Velvet Rick Rack, Buttons, DMC Floss, and the Cutter Bee Piercing Bugs

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sketch #2

"Rose"

My little girl doesn't know it yet, but this will be her birthday card in a few short weeks... I cannot believe she is going to be seven! As soon as I saw the circles on this sketch, I had to make these flowers using the Quickutz Nesting Circles, the machine-stitched winding vine continues the circle theme, and I rotated the sketch counter-clockwise, just cause it looked a little better with the vines growing "up" than across :o)

Supplies:

Basic Grey Euphoria Bless (stripe)

Alpha print paper scrap (I think it was Heidi Grace?)

Bazzill Basics Paper Leaves

Quickutz Nesting Circles

CTMH: Big Brads, Cardstock

Colors: Heavenly Blue, White Daisy, Blush

Misc: Sewing Machine and Thread

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sketch #3

"Luau"

I am having so much fun scrapping our Hawaii trip from earlier this year... Hawaii is actually the only thing that I have scrapped so far from 2010! I need to get moving and quick! In an effort to squeeze in a few more photos, I did another one of my pull out tricks behind the 5x7... I will just slit the page protector and you can pull the ribbons to see four more photos! I made a number of "variations" on this layout, here are a few. First I used a 5x7 in place of the two vertical photos on the left, second I changed the placement of the wallet size photos on the right, and third I let the floral pattern act as my accent paper on the far left (since it was so pretty) and last I journaled right on the background. I used that same background pp on the second page, just turning it 180 degrees so the floral patterns are on the outer sides of the layout. I still "see" the sketch, but I really made it my own and made it work for my photos. Here is a close-up of where the extra photos pull-out...

Supplies:

BoBunny Calypso Dream (background)

BoBunny Calypso Life (stripe)

Making Memories: Cranberry Paint

CTMH: Just Blooms, Big Brads, Bitty Brads, Dimensional Elements Solos, RickRack

Colors: Honey, Dutch Blue, and Cranberry

Misc: ribbon, fuzzy big brads (wish I could remember where I got these!), Sanding Block, Heidi Swapp Edge Distresser

Happy Scrapping!

2011 Crops

2010-11-14T01:22:00.002-05:00

Mark your calendars for the next two crops at St Pauls,

January 22, 2011
3pm-10pm

and get this....

February 18 & 19
Friday 6pm-Midnight
Saturday 10am-10pm
Woohoo, a two day crop!

Also, I am scouting out a location for a monthly Friday night crop that will not be the same weekend as SPUMC, and wonder how many others would like to join me? I have heard that the public library will allow use of their room but haven't gotten any details yet... who's interested?

Oh, and I am totally putting it in my calendar now for next year's ScrapFest at Archivers in Atlanta! I have missed it the past couple of years, but I am putting in on my calendar now September 16-18, 2011. Yeah, I know that is a bit far down the road, but I loooove that store and have decided I need to make more trips there to crop since it really isn't that far away ;o) I have a tiny prius but would love some travel buddies... who's with me? :o)

A Couple of Quickies

2010-10-19T14:14:00.001-04:00

This layout was one that Granny started and I kinda stole it off her scrap table last time I was visiting ;o) Thanks Granny! I love how she cut out the little "chalk" drawing that was printed on the paper. I added the strip of argyle paper to widen the die-cut sheet so it would be wide enough for the 8x10 class pic.

I decided to leave all the names and school info on the pic and journal about her teacher, my volunteer time, and who her best friends were. Hopefully she will stay connected with these friends, but we all know that sometimes life happens and twenty years from now, it will be nice to remember all those names.

In my last post I commented on Miss H's rolls. I recently came across these pics (I actually forgot about this sitting until I came across these prints) and you can definitely see those adorable baby chub rolls here around her wrists and ankles, so cute and cuddly! Ohhh and the one around her neck, I am melting :o)

Making up for lost time!

2010-09-12T18:46:00.002-04:00

I am making up for a lot of missing scrapping time. I have about 7 layouts that I did since last posting and have been waiting to put them in albums until I photographed them... finally did that today so I am just posting them all, not a lot of details. But, if you have a question please just leave me a comment and I will be happy to share a technique, manufacturer, or supply inquiry.

By the way, all of my layouts are two-page layouts and generally have some flow across the page. So, if you go to the link --> over there to see my gallery, you can see the pages next to each other and they make a little more sense :o) Enjoy!

This is a layout from Summer 2009 that I did during my girls weekend but had been waiting on the enlargement. My little girls first official ballet class... not her cup of tea! She has never asked to do ballet again since! :o) Which cracks me up since I did ballet for over a dozen years!

Valetine's Party at VPK waaaayyy back in Feb 2009! Can't believe how young she looks in that bottom right photo, still has the little baby chub! Awww, I miss her little rolls!

I totally cheated on this one and bought it from my mom (SBFO on eBay and etsy) because I was totally in love with that little bear in the dress! Thanks mommy, I love my layout and these were the perfect pictures!

When we first moved to Tally, Miss H took TaeKwonDo lessons for a little while. She was so funny to watch and was actually pretty good at it... unlike ballet ;o) I would like to see her eventually pick an activity and stick with it, but I figure she is young and should experience a variety... she def has tried a number of things in the last year or so!

The title photo needs a little explanation, so maybe I will revisit this layout another time... but it is overall a "year in review" layout from VPK.

Oh, we had sooo much fun at our Girl Scouts Skate Night! Mommy stayed off the skates though, one wobbly woman was enough for daddy to steady! I am quite proud of those die-cut skates... I actually did those all by myself, free-hand, no diagram, and no outside inspiration! They even have real tied-up laces and big brads to look like wheel-bearings! Pretty cool, huh?!

And finally... You are my sunshine! On the last day of VPK, the school had a huge pool party with blowup water slides and shaving cream! Great way to end the year! And a great way to end this post!

Monkey Business

2010-06-22T15:14:00.000-04:00

Can I just tell you... I am so excited about this little guy! I actually made him all by myself :o) No help from Mommy (of course, she was really sick otherwise I am sure she would have been happy to help). I used the Cricut Gypsy to tweak one of the monkeys and manipulated a couple different layers to get the different colors. He turned out so cute, and exactly the size and proportion I needed. Ok, so maybe I do love my Gypsy sometimes... I definitely wouldn't love my Cricut without my Gypsy that's for sure!!!

The layout is of my munchkins summer classes at our local gymnastics place. She is definitely my little monkey, hanging and swinging and climbing all over the equipment... no fear!

The tree branches are from the Quickutz border die... I just trimmed down the main 12" branch into the two pieces I needed. The leaves were hand cut from patterend paper that happened to be the perfect size and colors.

So maybe this layout is my favorite from Girls Weekend! I can't decide!

My Fish

2010-06-20T12:05:00.000-04:00

Egg Frenzy

2010-06-19T23:36:00.000-04:00

Juicy

2010-06-18T18:51:00.001-04:00

Okay, so I am a total slacker at blogging! Life took over and I never got around to posting the rest of the layouts, so here goes! This layout was from our visit to the Dole Plantation in Oahu, Hawaii. We learned alot and tasted some very juicy pineapples, hence the title!

ready, set, LEARN!

2010-05-05T16:01:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite layouts of the week, I actually started this one before but wasn't able to put the finishing touches on until I got to Granny's and could take advantage of all her different fonts! :o) I think my favorite part of this layout was the way I could use just one of the lined die-cut papers by cutting off one side and spreading it apart with the other patterns between... kinda looks like one really wide sheet of lined paper, don't ya think?

My friend Jodi scrap-lifted this layout and was able to use just my scraps and one piece of her own die-cut paper, pretty cool. I started this layout so long ago I can't remember whether I lifted it from somewhere or came up with it on my own, lol! How's that for bad memory?! I do know that this is one of my kits from Kraft Girl Kits that I am hoarding because have closed up shop :o( I loved this kit so much that when I found out they were closing, I ordered an extra! This ribbon is from an old CTMH set and the buttons are just from my stash. The title is Quickutz Holiday, CK Handprint, and Yogurt.

Girl's Escape 2009

2010-04-30T10:17:00.000-04:00

During my trip last week, I decided I had to scrap last year's trip before I came home with hundreds more photos from this year's trip! All of the 4x6 photos flip open and my journaling is hidden under there too. We went to the same restaurant and had the same meal as last year... except this year was NOT a good experience! Nevertheless, we had a great time and the view was awesome of course... how could we complain sitting on the dock watching the sunset?!

Just a taste!

2010-04-26T19:00:00.001-04:00

I am back from my annual amazing Girls Getaway... somehow we talked our hubbies into 6 days this year and they all did a great job of holding down the forts while we were away! I am photographing and processing the layouts as quick as I can, but I think I have a cold coming on so I am taking it easy. I will share one of my layouts now and hopefully get the rest up as the week goes on. Our layout count this year was 39 completed layouts (a mix of single and doubles) and granny did 18 base layouts (just missing the photos)! Most of the 39 were done by Jodi who managed to crank out 14 two-page layouts and 9 single pagers!!! Wow!

I have to say a huge Thank You to Granny and Papa for hosting (that's my Mom & Dad). They had the house all staged for cropping with stations for the Cricut, sewing machine, Quickutz, and Accucut. We each got our own bedroom (for the little sleeping we did), and they planned most of our meals! They are amazing! Papa made us dinner & dessert every night (except our Birthday Dinner night) and made us lunch quite a few times as well!

Here is the first of my 9 layouts...

This one was the quickest layout of just about all time! Start to finish was about an hour, maybe two... seeing as it was about 3am I couldn't really read tell time, lol! I hand cut the trees and bus out of one of the patterned papers. Wheels was punched out using my newest Quickutz font Strawberry, which I am sooo in love with! And BUS was punched out of one of granny's fonts using chipboard then painted it, I think it was a Sizzix Bigz font? The buttons are CTMH Craft buttons.

She started it!

2010-04-06T22:13:00.003-04:00

Well, I have obviously been neglecting my blog. I have been scrapping though, just haven't had time to photo and post the layouts. My mom recently did a post... about me... to my surprise! Actually, it's more about my scrap room. So, I thought it would be good to dust off the blog and share my scrap space with all of you, too.

This is my little scrap closet... And I do mean LITTLE! My desk measures 24x40 and there is j-u-s-t enough room for a chair, so I can close the door if I want/need solitude. It is supposed to be my hall closet, but my dear hubby decided I needed a place of my own and we could find a home for "normal closet stuff". {I actually think he could foresee me using the dining room table for the rest of our lives and never eating on it again :o) }

So, I designed on paper what I wanted on each shelf, measuring along the way and he custom built the shelves. My dad made me the wooden boxes that house all of my 12x12 paper. If you have ever met me, or maybe just read here occassionally, you know I am a little ocd about color... I love ROY-G-BIV! I love having everything in the order of the rainbow, it makes for a bright happy feeling when I need something!

If you click on the photos they will enlarge so you can look closer, if you feel the need. And feel free to comment or email if you have any questions about organization or any products you see. After helping friends get organized over the years, we all come to say the same thing... once you find a home for everything it really helps you be more productive and surprisingly helps you spend less because you know what you have and whether you have room for it if you buy it, lol! Hope this helps someone out there! ;o)

orange vs. BLUE

2010-02-01T13:21:00.003-05:00

Again with the wonky colors, I just dont get it! I even played with Photoshop on these! Oh well, I think we all know what shade these colors are supposed to be :o) This house bleeds orange and blue! Last year, we were fortunate enough to be able to arrange a bit of a reunion of old friends from UF and coordinated it with the Orange & Blue spring game. We had a blast and got to meet all the new additions (current & future) to our families!

This side of the layout is a scraplift of one I saw on Kelly Noel's blog. Of course, hers was sooo much cuter! I was having a hard time with all the journaling strips and fru-fru stuff. I did play with my Cricut & Gypsy with the title and title block. So, I was happy with that.

Of couse, I like to include the tickets from the event... that pretty much covers the date & place for my journaling. I just added a few little notes on the sticker plaques.

PP: Misc picked up along my travels ;o)

CS: CTMH Autumn Terracotta, Moonstruck, White Daisy

Cricut: Accent Essentials (antique frame), Don Juan (BLUE), Lyrical Letters (orange)

Quickutz: Nesting Circles

Other: Rick Rack, Ribbon, Felt Flowers, Heidi Swapp Bling in the center of a couple flowers, Scenic Route sticker frames

Home of the Braves

2010-01-25T13:21:00.002-05:00

On a trip to Atlanta last summer, we had the privilege of attending a Braves games. It was so hot and humid, but I think we all truly had a good time. Even though Hailey refused to smile for the camera, she was having a blast hamming it up for everyone around us making faces and doing the Gator Chomp instead of the Braves Chop! Doesn't go over so well in Georgia, doing the Florida Gator chomp... but most people thought it was funny! Towards the end, she did finally get the chop... she has no plans on ever making that motion again. :o) Yes, I realize my neighbors are cringing and glaring at me right now, lol! But being born at UF, kinda makes her a Gator Girl for life!

On to the layout, enough sports debate. This is the other layout I got done on Saturday at the crop... even though my hubby just looked at me and said "That's all you did for 8 hours, two layouts!?" What can I say, four hours a layout is actually making good time for me.

The colors on this side of the layout are a little wonky... someday I will learn how to use Photoshop and fix this, but oh well. You get the idea! No sketch, but really similar to the Queen Bee layout and pretty simple.

PP: Reminisce Patriotic

CS: CTMH White Daisy, Cranberry, Outdoor Denim

Quickutz: Stardust Grand

Ribbon: (from the stash)

Chipboard Stars: from Granny's Accucut

Paint: Making Memories

White Uniball Gel Pen

Queen Bee

2010-01-24T15:40:00.003-05:00

I managed to get two whole layouts done at yesterday's crop! This is one of them, but I totally cheated and copied my friend's layout... darn near exactly! :o) Thanks Jodi! Funny part is, it still took me the same amount of time to scraplift! Jodi did this layout last year at our girls retreat and I wonder if I subconsciously encouraged Miss H to be a Bee for Halloween this year so that I could copy the layout! LOL!

I picked up this paper in the Target dollar bins, thanks to my friend Jenn for showing it to me. It was one of the only Halloween type papers I could find that used yellow instead of orange to coordinate with the yellow/black bee theme. The little bumblebees I made on the Gypsy with layers of yellow, black, and vellum generic egg shapes. I used the flourish and bling to mimic the flight pattern. I also have to share that the day of Halloween, Miss H decided that a Queen Bee needed a crown to go with the costume. So, I used one of her old princess crowns, painted black where the "stones" were and used pipe-cleaners and yellow puff balls to make her a Bee Crown/Antennae. She loved it!

PP: Target Scrapbooking Supplies

CS: CTMH Honey & Black

Quickutz: Moxie Classic, Flourish

Embellies: RickRack (from the sewing stash), Bling

White UniBall Gel pen for journaling and detailing

Cricut: Doodlecharms (egg outline)

Imagine It! & Fritz's

2010-01-22T11:00:00.000-05:00

These are not the best pictures because I had to photo them in the page protector... so you get the whole "picture" of what I did. And, I am probably going to do a horrible job of explaining this, but pictures are supposed to be worth a thousand words anyways, right?! These photos were taken a couple of years ago at the Imaine It! Children's Museum in Atlanta, GA. If you are ever in the area, it was a fantastic and relaxing place to spend an entire day! She had a blast and the place was so low key, that I was actually able to sit down and watch her play! Great place!

Anywhoo, the right side of the layout is normal, no flips or anything special interactive. But the other side, with the big enlargements... That side is cool! One of my better thoughts on making pages interactive, if I do say so myself :o) The pictures had so much going on in them, that I had to make them big in order to really get a feel for the place and all the details... the problem was making them big and keeping them all safe! So, I came up with the idea to use a 9x9 page protector and sew it to my layout! I ordered 8x10 photos and trimmed them to 8x9, I put two of the photos in the page protector and other was attached to the layout. This left me 1" of page protector extra to sew to my layout. I was able to get THREE 8x9 photos on this page! And they are all safe. That is probably clear as mud, but if you really want to get it, you just have to come over and see it. Here is a close up (the photo is upside down) of the top of the photo attached to layout, where I cut my 12x12 protector to slide the 8x9 protector out.

Here is a closeup of where I sewed the 8x9 protector to the actual layout with the 2 photos inside, then mounted the third directly to the layout slightly overlapping the 8x9 protector.

The next layout is a really old, reallllly simple one, but what was cool about his one was that I needed a pp that had pink and navy, but could only find pink and brown. I cut some CTMH Outdoor Denim cardstock in to strips, distressed them to match the feel of the paper and adhered them over the brown stripes, voila. Exactly what I needed.

Fritz's was a really cool restaurant in Kansas City, MO that delivered your lunch via a train! At the time, H was totally into trains and thought that was the coolest thing ever!

Oh, and you ordered your lunch via the telephone on your table and got to wear cool conductor hats! Oh the things we do for our children... dear hubby might not appreciate me posting this photo, but I think he cute as a conductor :o)

Disney Layouts

2010-01-12T01:30:00.000-05:00

After I finished all the Disney layouts to go in my album, I decided to make a front and back cover page. The front holds our ticket stubs and one of my fav pics of the castle. The back cover is my one and only pic of Epcot (since we spent a whole 20 minutes soaking wet there) along with a guide map, so I can plan my next visit :o)

Above

Vellum Paper: unknown

Quickutz: Magnolia Grand, Lemonade Skinni Mini

Cardstock: Dutch Blue, Cranberry, Black

Embellies: Retired CTMH Ribbon

Below:

Patterned Paper: CTMH Floral Tapestry

Cardstock: CTMH Hollyhock, Baby Pink, Indian Corn Blue

Quickutz: Spicy Chicken Grand

Embellies: CTMH Ribbon Hollyhock & Garden Green

Not a clue where either pocket template came from!

This is one of my favorite layouts in the Disney Album... Eeyore! Super simple layout, but the photos speak to my heart! All I did was dry-emboss the lines using the indentation on my paper trimmer, then sanded to reveal the white core.

Cardstock: CTMH Craberry, Black, Grey Flannel

Quickutz: Blossom Grand

Embellies: CTMH Buttons & Ribbon Rounds

Kinder Orientation

2010-01-11T15:30:00.000-05:00

Patterned Paper: K & Company "Carolyn Gavin"

Cardstock: Kraft Paper, CTMH Hollyhock & Keylime

Clear Buttons: Close To My Heart

Bigger Brads: Close To My Heart

Leaf: CTMH Just Blooms

Felt Flowers: ?

DMC Floss

Digital Cutter: Cricut Expression, Opposites Attract Cartridge

Visiting Snooty

2010-01-10T13:45:00.004-05:00

I did this layout while I was at a crop with my mom and it was my first real attempt at welding letters with my Gypsy! The font I chose was not ideal, but I was short on time and cardstock, so I used it anyways. I used some Stampin Up! raw chipboard letters, painted them with brown MM paint, then overlapped "SNOOTY" with my welded "visiting". I think it turned out pretty good for my first attempt!

I think what really makes this layout so adorable is the little Quickutz die-cut manatee, this was my friend Debra's idea. I am still not sure I got him put together as nice as she had him, but he's still cute. I sanded the edges to make it pop a little more and gave him a little bling eye using the tiniest of my CTMH Sparkles, that was Granny's idea ;o)

As with most of my layouts, the 4x6 photos are mounted on folded 6.25" x 8.5" cardstock and have 3 photos in the footprint of a single photo. Many people have asked how why I take soooo many photos and how I pick which photos to scrap and this is my answer... I just scrap three times the photos. And thanks to Close To My Heart's Flip Flaps, all three of the photos are protected!

Patterned Paper: We R Memory Keepers "NonSense" Stack

Cardstock: CTMH Junipter, Hollyhock, Keylime

Bling: CTMH Bitty Sparkles

Ribbon: American Crafts

Chipboard: SU!

Paint: Making Memories

Digital Cutter: Cricut Expression, Gypsy, Opposites Attract Cartridge

Uncle Mattie & my little animal

2010-01-09T15:00:00.002-05:00

Last year, well actually 2008, we traveled to NC to visit an old college friend, meet his wife, and their adorable new son! While we were there, they took us to a park with a quiet trail, a pond, and the perfect opportunity to take some photos. I was able to sneak these pictures while Uncle Mattie tried to teach H how to skip rocks. I love how our old friend is now H's friend too, he and his family are such great people!

Patterned Paper: Crate Paper?

Cardstock: CTMH Autumn Terracotta, Colonial White,

Quickutz: Chocolate Mini 4x8

Accucut: 7" Antique Frame?

Embellies: Ribbon, Buttons

Last spring, my friend and I took our little ones to the Tallahassee Junior Museum. My little angel ended up acting like a little animal, maybe she should have been in one of those cages, LOL! Just kidding!

Patterned Paper and Embellishments: DCWV Stack

Ribbon & Rick Rack: CTMH

Digital Cutter: Cricut & Lyrical Letters cartridge

Webkinz World

2010-01-08T16:00:00.000-05:00

These adorable little guys took over our house (and everywhere we went) this past summer. My munchkin got a little bug in her ear that she wanted Webkinz and surprisingly wanted to earn them! Her very first one was a reward after a long road trip at the beginning of summer and most of the others she bought with her own money after holding a garage sale and doing extras around the house.

By the end of summer, my darling daughter had talked Granny into creating an account and adopting a couple of Webkinz herself (pink ones, of course) and during a visit with my cousins, she worked her magic and got all of us playing! During a weeks visit, my cousin, her son, Aunt Amy, Granny, Hailey, and I had all adopted pets and were all sitting in the same room playing on the website together and visiting each other's online "homes". It was so funny!

When I started creating this layout, I knew I wanted Granny to work her magic with the little animal heads! Following the basic idea of the background paper, she was able to create a paper version of some of the Webkinz we had adopted. Above it a giraffe, frog (with its cute little pink tongue), and a monkey. Below is a lion and a hippo. So adorable! Thanks Granny!

Patterned Paper: Close To My Heart "Animal Cookies"

Cardstock: CTMH Sunflower, Buttercup, Dutch Blue, White Daisy, Topiary, Desert Sand, Bamboo

Quickutz: Roxy Classic & Shadow

Embellishments: Buttons & Ribbon from the old stash :o)

Happy New Decade!

2010-01-03T15:54:00.002-05:00

Hi all, I am still here just recovering from all the holidays and hoopla! Hope you all are starting off the New Year right! So far, we have celebrated my little one's 6th birthday and spent yesterday re-organizing most of the house... here's to clean and orderly! I have also been organizing my scrapbooks and photographing old layouts that fell off my radar and getting them ready to share! So, look for some new "oldies" in the next week or so.

Also, wanted to remind everyone that the St Pauls Crop is coming up on the 23rd! So, mark your calendars! I know I need some scrappy time, bad! If you need the rsvp info contact me or Jill over there -->

Livin La Vida Local

2009-10-13T23:15:00.007-04:00

Sorry the pics are dark, I didn't want to wash out the details. But, hopefully you can see it okay! By the way, I totally lifted that title off a layout in one of the scrap mags! I was sitting at the bookstore one night this summer browsing mags and loved the title, so I snapped a pic with my camera on my phone. About a week ago, I was cleaning out my phone and ran across the pic. It was perfect, because over the last year I had taken a few pics at our local farmers market we go to each week and knew exactly how I wanted to scrap it!

This layout was kind of like putting together a puzzle. I just started cutting down photos to the highlight the part of the picture I liked, picked a center line and built out from there, then worked in a couple pieces of pattern paper.

Patterned Paper: "Carolyn Gavin" Paper Pack by K & Company

Cardstock: CTMH Sweet Leaf, Pansy Purple, Cocoa, Desert Sand, White

Believe it out not, that's all! No ribbon, buttons, or bling.

Easy Peasy!

Now for the die-cuts, this was super exciting! I found a cute solid pear on Lyrical Letters Cartridge (under Shift & the tall one) but I wanted it to show the seeds, like the pp. So, I found another image that was a framed pear with the seeds showing, cut it out, then used a circle punch to punch out a circle of brown and layered that underneath the part of the pear that I also circle punched out. Next, I decided I wanted some other veggies, but couldn't find what I wanted in the carts I have... so I made my own. Using my Gypsy, I unlocked the proportions to stretch the pear (above) into an eggplant (below). Not much of a difference, but just what I needed! This is the number one reason I love my Gypsy! I can take their stock images and make them into whatever I want :o) I am one happy girl!

I am sure some of you are thinking that Cricut Design Studio does the same thing, but I am a Mac user and it is not compatible. And I really like not having to take my beautiful new MacBook Pro to crops, where something might happen to my baby! LOL! This baby isn't even paid off yet! ;o) Oh, and I have also been making my own 11.5" die-cut papers that are all the rage right now, soooo cool!

Blinkie Patrol

2009-10-07T09:21:00.002-04:00

Blinkie Patrol is going on over at www.CuttingAbove.blogspot.com

So, go check it out. Post their blinkie. Check out the site.

I have been loving all the cricut tutorials, more to come on that later!

Apple of Granny's Affection

2009-09-13T12:33:00.006-04:00

Combine the terms "Apple of My Eye" and "Object of My Affection", and get "Apple of My Affection" for this Valentine Layout. I had a kinda new friend over to scrap last night and we had a great time, stayed up late, played with the Cricut, and got to know each other a little better. So nice to meet such a sweet fellow-scrapper that I seem to have a lot in common with! I am borrowing about 10 cricut cartridges from a different friend for the weekend, so last night I tried to use as many as possible. I ended up trying out Simply Sweet for the word Apple, Cursive 101 for the rest of the title, and Doodlecharms for the apple graphic and the little caterpillar. I also got to play with my new Deep-Cut Housing and Blades finally, used it on the apple and stem and it cut a nice thick piece of chipboard pretty clean after setting it on Multi-Cut 2 with Blade and Pressure maxed out. I have also realized when you have a mat for chipboard and a mat for paper, things cut much more smoothly!

Journaling pulls out from behind the photo (where the ribbon is sticking up)
PP: K & Company "Berry Sweet" Stack
CS: CTMH Cranberry, Bubblegum, Kiwi, and Cocoa
Ribbon and RicRac: from the stash
Leaves: Bazzill Basics Paper Leaves

Digital Cutter: Cricut

Cricut Carts: Simply Sweet, Cursive 101, DoodleCharms

You are so TWEET

2009-09-08T02:42:00.008-04:00

During last nights insomnia and sniffling, I stumbled onto a new challenge website called Scrapfit and decided to try it out on this layout. I am waaaay outside my box on this page, mostly because of this funky paper, but it's all done and kinda cool! And all I had to do was follow these rules:

1. use 3 patterened papers

2: use 1 solid cardstock

3: hide your journalling

4: use at least 2 photos

5: use at least 1 star in your LO

6: use at least 2 different ribbons

On my two-page layout, I used:
1. Basic Grey's "Lime Rickey" Collection: Tutti Frutti, Fruit Fizz, and Tart & Tiny patterns
2. Close To My Heart Outdoor Denim, White Daisy, Sunny Yellow, Clover Meadow and Hollyhock Cardstock
(okay that's more than one, but I figured that was allowed too!)
3. Journaling pulls out from the bottom right photo
4. I've got 4 photos
5. Three little stars/asterisks on the journaling tag
6. Two ribbons from the stash
I also used Basic Grey Lime Rickey Chip Stickers, QK Maddie Anne Classic, and SU! Chipboard Alpha

Perks of Insomnia

2009-09-06T16:21:00.006-04:00

The last couple of nights I have not been able to sleep, mostly because I am fighting some sort of cold and nap anytime I can during the day (big mistake!) So at night, I sneak away into my little oasis and create. I have been working on this one for a couple of nights now and finally have it the way I want it. I also got to use my new Pink Cricut Expression for the title! I have only gotten to play with it a handful of times, so I hope to start using it and taking advantage of all it has to offer very soon!

I have a feeling I am going to be sneaking away more often now since hubby got my last shelf put in today and I am getting all the final touches put in and all my goodies organized! :o) Thanks hubby! One of the mind-numbing things that helped to get me to sleep on Friday night was hand sewing the stems of all these flowers, cutting out the flowers and leaf petals, and sewing the buttons into the centers of the flowers... turned out cute, but so very time consuming.

Cricut Expression: Plantin Schoolbook Cartridge Set on Tall Ball 1.75" at Speed 2, Pressure 4, Blade 5 for the cardstock layer and Set at Speed 2, Pressure 5, Blade 6 for the chipboard layer.
Quickutz: Maddie Anne Classic
PP: Making Memories Giggle Kids Fun Flowers, Stripe, Word Stripe, and Scallop Circle. CTMH Retired Heavenly Blue B&T
CS: CTMH Juniper
Buttons: CTMH Clear Craft Buttons
DMC: Embroidery Floss #309

Make a Wish & Blow out your Candles

2009-09-05T08:30:00.002-04:00

I think this is the final layout from H's Birthday this year. I reserve the right to post another though, lol! I have really had fun with this birthday! Usually, birthdays are one of my top two least favorite things to scrapbook, so it is quite unusual that I would drag out one birthday to four or five layouts! The flourishes on the above page are supposed to represent her "blowing" out the candles on her cake, get it? More flips on this layout, one of the pictures is of my house after the party! Wow! After having twenty little-ones trampling my living room, I was pleasantly surprised that there were no cake stains on the carpet, but there was quite a mound of wrapping paper the size of my couch! It was a really good, smooth party!

PP: Heidi Grace It's My Party "Cake" and "Decor Words"
CS: CTMH Hollyhock
Chipboard: Flourish ~ Accucut, CTMH Dimensional Elements Monogram W, I, S, H
Stamps: CTMH "Tiny Typewriter"
RicRac: From the stash

I have been a busy girl!

2009-09-04T08:30:00.001-04:00

No, I did not do all these layouts this week. But I did manage to fit them in over the last month... ya know, while I was neglecting blogging, lol! I do have a new round of photos coming in from the printers very soon, so I cannot wait to get busy! The online photo printer I use (and love!) www.scrapbookpictures.com has made quite a few changes on their site and I am super excited! The have finally added options for the pro-sumer photographer that just make sense, hello ~ like professional paper, and choosing your level of color correction ~ like none if you are good with photoshop and set your own color profiles, and the checkout process is so much more stream-lined and visual ~ so it's so much easier to see your crops as you make them! Needless to say, I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised, because I do not want to find a new photo printer after 5 years!

On to the layout, trying to finish up all of H's birthday party. I wanted to capture all the party guests and all the activities of the party, so I made little flip ups so that there are 3 photos in the each footprint and a couple of group shots. Granny is always trying to remember (for some crazy reason) names of people I went to preschool with (which was a looong time ago), so I am pleasing her and actually writing it all down for H.

Under one of the flips is a picture of H on the webcam with Granny during the party. We set up a two webcam's so that Granny & Papa could "be there" even though they are 350 miles away. Granny told me it was better than actually being there because she could mute it when the kiddos got too loud! Too funny!

PP: Heidi Grace It's My Party "Party Gifts" and back of "Decor Stripes", "Reagans Closet" pink micro-grid
CS: CTMH Hollyhock
Chipboard: K & Co "Lipstick" Fresh Paint Palette
Stickles: Star Dust
Jounaling Block: AccuCut "7.5 Antique" Custom Die

Granny's Girl

2009-09-03T11:33:00.002-04:00

In honor of Granny's Birthday today (no, I won't share which birthday) here is a layout with Granny and her special girl. Granny was very excited to be with H on her birthday this year, since we usually are not together this time of year, and H even shared her special cupcakes with Granny! Awhile back, I posted about the very special Cinderella castle that Papa found for his princess, and well Granny was just as excited about the castle and knew that H just had to have Cinderella Barbie and her getaway horse to go with the castle. They sat at the table most of the weekend playing Cinderella and generally spending some very special time together. :o) If you feel so inclined, go here now, and wish Granny a very special Birthday wish in her comments section please!

PP: Autumn Leaves "Princess" and Heidi Grace "Reagan's Closet" blue micro-plaid
CS: CTMH Hollyhock and Heavenly Blue
Ribbon: CTMH Hollyhock RicRac, blue grosgrain from the stash
Flowers: CTMH "Just Blooms" and "Big Pinks"
Buttons: CTMH Craft Buttons Autumn Garden~ Hollyhock
Quickutz: Vixen Classic and Maddie Anne Classic

Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday, Dear Granny!
Happy Birthday to You!
~
We love you!

One of my little joys

2009-09-01T08:39:00.004-04:00

This picture doesn't look like much to some of you, but to others I am sure you can feel my little twinge of joy. We recently moved in a new home, a small apartment to be exact. That thought may scare of alot of you, but for me it was exciting. I have never lived in an apartment before (except for a very large apartment when hubby was running one of the dorms on campus, but that was very different) so I was excited for this new adventure in our life. Hailey was more than thrilled since we let her paint her room pink and we now have a pool just a few yards away (most importantly, one that I do not have to tend to!) But, to get to the point, we have been here a little over a month and I have been having fun moving in, decorating, organizing, and generally just making it feel like home. One of the little things for me that makes it home is my plants and my scrapbooks. I was so excited when I figured out how to arrange the living room so that my favorite buffet table could sit just behind the couch with my orchids on top receiving the perfect southeastern exposure... and my scrapbooks below. This table is probably four feet long, and the bottom shelf is lined with all my completed scrapbooks. So, this photo represents all my memories of a wonderful life, all my hard work (and fun) I had making those layouts, and to a smaller degree, the results of my credit card bill ;o) LOL! But, I love that the albums are down low so that Hailey can look at them whenever she wants (and she does frequently!) I also love how neatly organized and lined up they are... yes, I am a little OCD, but I have learned to embrace it.

KGK Sketch Contest

2009-08-31T12:18:00.003-04:00

So, back at the beginning of the month I got an email from Pam, that I had won the July Sketch Contest over on her website at Kraft Girl Kits with my layout "National Champions". A few days later, I was super excited to receive a package in the containing all of these goodies! Thanks so much Pam! I can't wait to get a project started, there are so many fun things in here... I have something special up my sleeve, but it will have to wait for awhile ;o)

A Class Act

2009-08-30T22:24:00.008-04:00

**Update: Pictures were a little blurry, so I finally got some new ones taken and have re-posted the pictures so the details are more clear!**

So, yeah, I just realized how long it has been since I blogged! I am surprised that there are not little virtual spiders crawling all over the cobwebs and dust bunnies that have collected since I was here last :o) And I have so much to share, there have been so many, many changes in my real life that my virtual life has been put on hold. My apologies, but I promise I am back and better! I will be back tomorrow with more details, and more projects, and photos. But, for now, I will leave you with a layout.

This is my little girl, and her VPK class this last spring. It is bittersweet for me, but very exciting for her, what this photo represents. You see, this photo was taken at the end of the school year back in May... which you have probably figured out means that she started Kindergarten this past week! Needless to say, I was a complete wreck on Monday! I am dealing with it, and trying to embrace it, but for now... She is extremely excited and loving school! And that is what matters, right?! I journaled on the tall tags about how much her personality/ changed and developed over those 5 months. The other tag has the names of all her classmates and teaches on it, since I am sure I will forget all too soon.

PP: We R Memory Keepers "Nonsense" Paper Pack
CS: CTMH Tulip & Cocoa
DieCuts: The chipboard slide frame is an AccuCut die, "class" is CTMH Simple Alpha chipboard, everything else came in the paper pack and I popped it with 3d foam squares.
Brads: CTMH Juniper & Sorbet Bigger Brads, covered with Stickles
Ribbon: My stash :o)

First Haircut!

2009-07-17T01:00:00.009-04:00

So, I may have to retake these photos during the daylight tomorrow but I was so excited to share. Hailey had her first haircut the beginning of this year, yes I know 5 years?! It was hard for me, but surprisingly it made her hair curlier and much more healthy... so I have no problem taking her back, frequently! Her first hairstyle was a long layered bob, of sorts.

I got this layout started last night when my friend Becky was over... but just couldn't get motivated until tonight. It seemed to just fall into place. No sketch either :o) Hubby even gave me his two cents of a couple of color issues I wasn't feelin'. Turned out nice, thanks hubby! Granny, don't worry... the locket of hair is saved in her special trinket box waiting for that first lost tooth!

PP: CTMH "Emporium" L2 Paper Pack
CS: CTMH Vineyard Berrry, Cocoa, White Daisy, Indian Corn Blue
Ribbon: Unknown-picked up at Griffens ages ago, retired CTMH Indian corn blue grosgrain
Chipboard: Dimensional Elements Monogram letters, brackets from DE Simple Alphabet Lowercase
Quickutz: Metro SkinniMini
Buttons: from the stash

National Champions

2009-07-11T13:19:00.004-04:00

Yes, I realize for all my local friends, your eyes must be bleeding! An yes, I realize I am a Gator in Nole country! :o) Deal with it! J/K! Anywhoo, we had a blast back in January tailgating all the way from Tally, through Gainesville, all the way down to Maimi in our funky litlte RV for the National Championship Game, what a blast! My favorite memory is of Hailey leading a crown of about 50 people in a cheer, screaming "Give me G... give me an A.... What's that spell? GO GATORS!" You know the cheer I'm talking about!

The girls gave me a good razzing last night while I was working on this layout, but that's okay, all in good fun! The top page is from the Kraft Girls July Sketch Contest, really fun sketch to work with. I then created my own something for the second page of the layout, below. The Gator head is a sticker that we got at the game, I just dusted the back with baby powder to make it not sticky anymore, then used foam tape to make it pop off the page.

Sketch: KGK July Sketch Contest
CS: Close To My Heart Moonstruck, Autumn Terracotta, White Daisy
Quickutz: Dragonfly Mini, Studio Classic
Unknown: Buttons, Floss, Ribbon, Rickrack
Gator themed pp... picked up years ago and stashed it away ;o)

Papa's Princess

2009-07-09T12:37:00.005-04:00

This layout was so fun to do while I reminisced about that day! My dad, Hailey named him "Papa", found this huge Cinderella Castle one day and brought it home without telling anyone. Just before Christmas he showed it to me and told me he wanted to give it to her for her birthday, as if I was not going to let him?! So, the day of her birthday, after doing her cupcake, we told Hailey to cover her eyes and Papa carried in this castle and sat it on the table in front of her! It was nearly as tall as her! Once she opened her eyes, she squealed and couldn't quit smiling! Neither could Papa, it was so cute to watch him watch her! This castle has become a main fixture right in the middle of her room and all the toys play house there, even the big stuffed animals :o)

This castle is a whole story in itself, and really requires a whole post with instructions... so I will come back at another time with all the details and for now leave it at telling you that it started out as the Bare Elements Reyna Castle Book #1. Since that was waayyy too big, I used it as a template to trace, cut, and re-piece the smaller elements I liked most. The castle folds open to reveal the story of Papa's Castle.

PP: Autumn Leaves Adorable, Heidi Grace Reagan's Closet
CS: Close To My Heart Hollyhock, Heavenly Blue, White Daisy Textured
Quickutz: Maddie Anne Classic, Scallop 12" Border
Other: CTMH Hollyhock Brads, retired CTMH Daisy Sequins, Lace, Sewing Machine, White Thread, Zig Pen

Eatin' Dirt

2009-06-30T09:47:00.007-04:00

This layout I did a while ago and just never posted, I think I was waiting on the enlargement, who knows. Anywhoo, it was really fun to do because it uses only cardstock... and some patience! I had so much fun stamping the green background, making the colorful strips and sewing them on, and edge distressing all the matts and even using a little white paint to make it look like the photos are distressed, too. All in all, one of my favorite layouts.

Not to mentions, pretty cute subject too! We tagged along with Daddy to a conference in Kansas City and found the cutest little ice cream shop. Hailey was intrigued by the "Dirt Cup" and when I showed her the "dirt" oreo's and worms :o) she had to try it!

Supplies: CTMH cardstocks Hollyhock, Orchid Bouquet, Sweet Leaf, Sunny Yellow, and Chocolate; Quickutz flowers; CTMH stamps; CTMH Hollyhock My Accents and Summer Medley; twine; machine sewing; CTMH New England Ivy Ribbon Rounds; Coluzzle File Folder template.

Blog Candy for your thoughts ~ Closed ~

2009-06-29T00:21:00.006-04:00

Awhile back, I got an email announcing the search for submissions to the Quickutz Ambassadors Program and have finally decided to go for it! I have never submitted my work to anything before, not a contest, magazine, e'zine, or anything, so this is really hard for me. What makes it even harder is that I use alot of sketches and most of those sites state that you are NOT allowed to use those sketches for any kind of submission or publication. Adding to the frustration is that there isn't a LSS within two hours of me that sells Quickutz, so the likelihood that I will be chosen is null. But still, it can't hurt to just send it in. For this, I am supposed to send in a two-page layout (keeping in mind best use of Quickutz AND not using a sketch) and I cannot decide.

In the same week, I noticed that my favorite kit company, Kraft Girl Kits, is looking for some new Kraft Girls for their design team. For this one, I am supposed to send in 3 layotus and 1 non-layout that best represent my style.

I would be sooo excited to be chosen for either of these of these awesome opportunities. So, here is where the blog candy comes in... look through my gallery over there ---> and comment here with which layouts you think I should submit to the two DT calls. I have put together a nice little surprise box of scrappy goodness that I will randomly give away to someone just for choosing which layouts you think I should submit with each application! Cool huh? You have until Tuesday morning June 30th, 2009 at 10:00am EST.... Go!

Cupcake Queen

2009-06-28T22:43:00.008-04:00

Okay, so haven't finished (or even made a dent in) the monstrous amount of Christmas photos, but I have decided to move on to my 2009 photos. Yay! This layout is one of the few that doesn't utilize a sketch but somehow managed to look strikingly similar to another layout that I had scrap-lifted. Funny how that works. Like Granny says, there are only so many ways to cut a piece of paper so they all start to look alike :o) Oh well, it started out as my idea but ended up just being a memory of anothers.

Either way, I think it turned out pretty cute. Thanks for the title idea Becky, it turned out to be the perfect fit. And I finally used up those adorable little chipboard candles Granny cut out for me using her AccuCut. I painted them up using some Making Memories paint I scored last week from Tuesday Morning really cheap. The word parts of the title are, of course, Quickutz... would you expect much else from me :o) Maddie Anne Classic Lowercase and Abigail Grand.

The pink and green patterened papers are Basic Grey from Michaels and the Cloud paper is from my March 2009 Kraft Girl Kits stash, love it! The really fun part of this layout, is that I actually have 7 photos on this layout! The matts for two photos on the right page are cut double the height and folded (like a card) then I have three photos in the place of one footprint. When I go to put this in my album, I just use an exacto to cut a slit in the page protector and pop it out. You get the idea from this side photo.

PP: Basic Grey Euphoria, American Crafts Howdy
CS: CTMH Blush, Hollyhock, Sweetleaf, White Daisy
RickRack: unknown
Ribbon: Sweet Leaf Grosgrain
Buttons: CTMH Hollyhock My Accents
Thread: DMC Embroidery Floss
Quickutz: Maddie Anne Classic Lowercase, Abigail Grand
Paint: Making Memories

"4" at Build a Bear Workshop

2009-06-22T14:18:00.003-04:00

I have really gotten into my eyelets again lately. Maybe it is due to my new purchase, a PiNK Crop-a-Dile II... too cute! I am not totally sold on its eyelet setting abilities though. The hole punching works great, but the eyelet setter is not working AT ALL! I resorted back to my good ole' hammer and metal setter for all 51 eyelets. Ugh! I think I am going to call We R Memory Keepers and see what they have to say?!

This side of the layout is loosely based on an olde PageMaps Mini Sketch that I just resized and tweaked a little. Turned out cute, but not as cute as I had envisioned.

PP: Scenic Route
CS: CTMH Cranberry
Scallop Edge is cut from Granny's Accu-Cut.
Stitching with DMC floss.
Buttons & Eyelets are from my old stash :o)

No sketch for this one, just kept re-arranging the photos until I liked them. I toyed around with doodling on this one all around the edge of the layout and on the letters, cute. BABW stands for Build A Bear Workshop. I cut the letters out of Grannys new Sizzix Font with chipboard and the cardstock. The circle pp on the far right is a journaling block that pulls out.

PP: Scenic Route
CS: CTMH Cranberry, Honey, Garden Green, and Dutch Blue
Buttons, ribbons, and big brads are from Granny, and her rack of buttons in glass jars, so jealous!

Oh yeah, I really in need of some girl time... so girls call me, lets scrap!

You're Toad-ally Awesome!

2009-06-21T08:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there! Especially to my Daddy-O and my hubby! I love you!

A few more Christmas

2009-05-18T21:47:00.004-04:00

I just wanted to get these posted, I will come back later and add the details... I need some sleep tonight!

Sugar & Spice and Gingerbread Men

2009-05-04T15:41:00.006-04:00

Okay I am really feeling the heat of the summer already (and have the sunburn to prove it) so I am really wishing that it were Christmas time again! These scrapbook pages really take me back and get me in the mood all over again!

Hailey and I had so much fun making cookies this past year, although we totally cheated on the dough! I bought premade-precut dough, since I have zero baking supplies, and we just put all our effort into really cute decorating. I cheated on the decorating too and bought the bagged cookie frosting and lots of sprinkles from the Target dollar bins! :o) The really funny part was after all the snowmen, stockings, and trees were docorated, Hailey wanted to use the leftovers as cookies too. She said one looked like a shark and one looked like a stork! Too funny!

PP: Basic Grey Figgy Pudding
CS: CTMH Cranberry
CTMH Craberry Mini Safety Pins
CTMH Desert Sand Ink
Ribbon: CTMH Twill & Garden Green, RicRac from the sewing stash
Chipboard Title: Stampin Up! On Board and CTMH Dimensional Elements Monograms painted with Making Memories Paints

This was our first year making a gingerbread house, so it was a complete learning experience! I am all about making life simple, so we opted for the complete kit and I am really glad we did! It turned out a little lopsided with a gap in the roof, but we still had loads of fun and it was really cool watching her figure out the perfect spot for all the candy accents. After she decorated the people, it was really funny to watch her play with them like they were Barbies! They took on their own personalities and voices!

PP: My Minds Eye Stack
CS: CTMH Craberry, New England Ivy, and Colonial White
Embellies: CTMH Cranberry and NEI Buttons, RicRac
Quickutz: Maddie Anne Classic, Mary Jane Grand

Together Time & Crop for a Cure

2009-05-01T11:36:00.008-04:00

This layout has been sitting on my scrap table now for about two weeks just waiting on a title! Ridiculous, I know! So, I finally got it wrapped up in preparation for a major scrapfest tonight! So excited! The local high school is hosting "Crop for a Cure" an all night scrapbook event. Even better than getting to scrap for 12 hours straight, is that is is catered by Olive Garden... YUMMY! That has to be one of my most favorite places to eat! And I don't get to go very often because hubby doesn't care for it, so I am super excited about dinner tonight! And of course there will be tons of raffles, contests, etc. to keep us going all night long! Too fun! So if you are free tonight, email me and I will give you the details! You can register at the door if you like. Anywhoo, to the layout.

I made the flowers using the QK Nesting Circles (although you can totally free hand cut some circles), edge distresses the edges, then crumpled and flattened a few times, and hand sewed the button on top, right through all the layers to hold it together... much like the Prima Lollipop flowers. I am pleased with the result and this way they perfectly match my layout since I used scraps of the patterned paper and cardstock.

PP: Latte Stack from JoAnns Fabrics
CS: CTMH Petal and Garden Green
Quickutz: Blossom Grand, Maddie Anne Classic, Nesting Circles, Leaves
DMC: Embroidery Floss

First Day of VPK

2009-04-20T14:34:00.003-04:00

I used the Kraft Girl Kits April Sketch for the left page of this layout and just made up something for the right side that kinda of matched the flow. Papers and Stickers are all from K & Co "Sparkly Sweet" Paper Pad and Paisley Grand Adhesions. Ribbon is mostly CTMH and a little from my stash. I also used my Quikutz 12" Border Die for the scalloped edge paper, Blossom Classic and the Nesting Circles for the title block, a little machine stitching, andCTMH White Daisy Textured CS for the background and inked it with CTMH Orchid Bouquet Ink.

My Journaling and date are hidden under the photo on the second pape that has the ribbons tied on the corner. I just cut my mat to 4.25" x 8.5" and folded it down the center. When I put it in the page protector, I will just slit my pp and slide it out from inside.

Whoo loves you?

2009-04-11T14:07:00.005-04:00

This layout has such a funny story behind it! Not that my dd isn't adorable and funny, but I'm not talking about her and when the pics were taken... I am talking about when I sat down to start this layout! I will be the first to admit that I love to scrap-lift and very few of my most prized layouts are originals Shocking, I know ;o) But, I knew I wanted I wanted to do a layout using that adorable owl paper in the background, so I went searching on google for owl layout and came across this amazingly perfect layout! It had the right number of photos, orienation, and sizing even! You can see the original here. I immediately starting working on all the pattern paper strips, getting the bones of the layout down and then it all came to a halt when I got to that owl and branch.
Lucky for me, granny is a pretty amazing artist! She can free hand just about any thing that I throw at her! So, I emailed her a link to the layout I was lifting along with size and color guidelines. A day or two later, opened my mailbox to find this adorable little guy and perched him atop my layout just where I had envisioned! Awesome!

Or so, I thought! In the mean time, I started noticing other adorable scrapbook layouts using owls and came across one that used... H-E-L-L-O a Quickutz Revolution OWL! Duh, I didn't even think to see if QK made a die in the exact size and cuteness of this one! What's worse, is that I was telling my scrappin buddies at the crop on Friday about my goof, and one of the girls chimes in "oh, I have that owl!" Of course! So, if you love my layout or more importantly my owl... go buy the owl die-cut and save yourself some time! Too Funny!

On a different note, I took my layout to the crop on Friday to finish up the title and journaling, and was able to use my friend's Cricut... a first for me! It was alot of fun. My favorite thing about using it, was that after I programed in my title, I could go work on something else while it cut all by itself! And, after it was all done and I realized I wanted the words on the right to be a hair smaller, I just had to reload the paper and dial down the size! Easy Peasy! I did have to hand touch the center of the L, E, and Y... but all in all a nice cut!

Supplies:
K & Co "Berry Sweet" Paper Pad and "Words and Icons" Adhesive Chipboard
Cricut Machine and Cursive 101 cartridge.
CTMH: Watermelon, Bubblegum, Clover Meadow, Cocoa, and Chocolate CS
CTMH Desert Sand Ink
Background is very old CTMH Heavenly Blue B&T
CTMH Sweet Leaf RicRac

Little Witch... and a little suprise!

2009-04-11T14:04:00.005-04:00

Okay, this is one of those layouts that looks all wonky in photos... the layout really does match in real life :o) I promise! Anywhoo, I loved the Rusty Pickle Pirate Princess paper for this layout, pair that with the Die Cuts that match and it was sooo easy.

I used the Quickutz Nesting Heart on the right side over the file-folder and the Merry & Bright font for the title, all with Black and Bubblegum Pink Cardstock. I also used a few ribbons from my stash, the CTMH Dimensional Elements flourishes from the Fresh Shapes set, and some retired CTMH Bubblegum Buttons.

On an exciting side note: I just got an email that Accucut gave me little shout-out on their blog for a layout I posted as an entry into their Spring Design Challenge, here's how you can enter too:

You have until this Friday, April 17 to submit a photo of a spring project you are working on. All who enter will have a chance to win the new Dragonfly #2 die! Here are the details again:

Post a photo on your blog or website and give us the link by posting a comment here. Be sure to provide a way we can contact you. Or, if you don't have a blog, simply email a photo to blog@accucut.com. If you send an e-mail, use the subject line "Think Spring" and include a photo of the project (less than 150k please!). Make sure to include the item numbers of the die(s) used.
You must use at least one AccuCut die (steel-rule).
Be creative! Use any shapes or colors that shout "spring." From flowers, birds and bugs to Easter bunnies and eggs, the possibilities are endless.

Ice, Ice, Baby!

2009-04-07T15:01:00.006-04:00

I couldn't help myself with the title... a little blast from the past! :o) It was the first thing that popped into my head when I started thinking of titles for this layout, and now I can't get the song out of my head! It was dd's second time on the ice, but the first time she actually enjoyed it! At first she used a stack of 5-gallon buckets to lean on, then once she got the hang of it, she held onto the wall, and finally she got really brave and started skating on her own out in the middle. All I can say is, its a good thing it was mostly kids that were skating that day because there was no rhyme or reason to anyone's direction! LOL!

A quickie little layout and all my own sketch, just started laying the pictures in order, and voila! The paper is all scraps from last years Cmas layouts, chipboard pieces are all CTMH Dimensional Elements, snowflake eyelets are really old from my stash, then I machine sewed around the photos and some random flourish shapes and topped that with some stickles!

Journaling tag pulls out from behind the far right top photo, where you see the ribbon. Date and place are framed with the CTMH Slide Frame (retired).

Cotton fields and Pinwheel PopUp Flowers

2009-04-02T16:31:00.008-04:00

This layout was a scraplift of my dear friend Tara's, and she scrap-lifted it from the Feb 2008 PageMaps... thanks for the inspiration girl! I really like this close-up because you can see how I popped the flower with some foam tape, then used a brad to adhere through the background so that it pulls the center of the flower down and the petals lift up, espically on the layered ones! Cool, huh?
I love these pictures, the cotton fields were so beautiful and unexpected. We were driving through Alabama on our way to a conference and stumbled upon a handful of these fields... I finally decided to stop and check them out... stunning! I had never seen this in person and we all really enjoyed getting out to stretch our legs.

Patterned Paper: Three Bugs in a Rug "Happy Bird-Day"
Quickutz: Stardust Grand, Pinwheel Flowers (various sizes)
Cardstock, Brads, Bigger Brads, and Buttons: CTMH Juniper and Vineyard Berry
Floss and Ribbon: from my stash

Here is Tara's layout that I scraplifted, thanks for letting me post :O)

CS and Inking: CTMH Autumn Terracotta and Orchid Bouquet (retired)
Quickutz: Moxie Classic, Uptown Girl Classic, 2x2 layered Pumpkin
Heidi Swapp Orange Bling Rectangles
American Crafts Ribbon
PP: Unknown

The Fair

2009-03-30T21:43:00.004-04:00

I got these fun little baubles at M's awhile back, I think they were Making Memories, but they came in a set with this lime green, red, clear, teal, and maybe one other color. At the time, I thought I would use them as dew on a flower, but they seemed like a fun little touch on this layout.
Shortly after moving to tallahassee, we got to go to the North Florida Fair, thanks to my new neighbor who had some comp tickets :o) It was very laid back, had a great area with the smaller kids rides... all in all a nice way to spend our Sunday afternoon and most of the evening, too. After work, Daddy even joined us for a couple hours, some fair dinner, and a few last rides.

On to the layout details, the left side was a lift from the PageMaps book, and the right was just me making the rest of the pics fit. I also lifted the sewing idea from one of Granny's layouts last week. And that's about it!

PP: Basic Grey "Color Me Silly"
CS: CTMH Keylime, White Textured, Bazzill fuschia?
Embellies: Buttons, Ribbons, and Baubles from stash
Quickutz: Mary Jane Grand Uppercase, Rev Arrows

Girls Weekend Success!

2009-03-24T17:31:00.009-04:00

Okay this is a very photo heavy post, sorry to all those with slow connections, but... I just got home from a long Girls Weekend with my Mom and two best friends! And we got to spend the whole time in Granny's ScrapRoom with her Accucut, Quickutz, BigShot, Sizzix, you name it... we had it! It was so nice to take my time on my layouts, use new fonts that I don't own, try out some new embellies, and of course spend some time with the girls on the beach!

So, here come my layouts for the week! First up is a scraplift of my friends layout using some new papers I picked up at The Scrapbook Shoppe in Tampa, FL. I wanted to document my love affair with my daughters wardrobe from Gymboree, don't we all have a certain kids line we love? I even used the tag from her outfit for the title. Patterned Paper and DieCut sheet are Bloom & Grow by My Minds Eye. The background cardstock is Juniper from CTMH. Ribbon is Summer 2 Collection from American Crafts.

The Butterfly Rainforest layout was so fun to do because I used the Accucut 11.5" Antique Die to cut chipboard and my pp. No sketch, just started layering and ended up with this... I thinked it turned out nice. I used Quickutz Nutmeg and Uptown Girl for the title, a little Heidi Swapp Bling to higlight the butterfly in my hubby's lap. Everything else is CTMH. Blush and Topiary Cardstock, Craft Buttons, Inking, Discover Paper pack, and retired Blush Ribbon Rounds.

"Ummm, NO" is what my dd said when I asked her to help me carve the pumpkin last halloween, too funny! Patterned Papers are all scraps, solids are retired CTMH B&T. Cocoa, Goldrush, and Topiary Cardstocks, Inks and Buttons. I used the Quickutz 2x2 Pumpkin, Revolution Vine and Flourishes to create the pumpkin patch and 4x8 Dragonfly for the title with CTMH Dimensional Elements Solos. The ribbon I picked up from Griffins in Ocala, FL. The left page is from the PageMaps book.

The Strike layout actually turned out better than I was expecting... even my hand cut bowling pins!!! I used the Accucut Star Dies to cut out chipboard and painted them with Making Memories Paints, then embellished them with some Heidi Swapp bling and CTMH craft buttons and floss. Pattern paper is Bowl-o-Rama by Moxxie with a touch of retired CTMH b&t, inked up with CTMH Cocoa, Garden Green, and Goldrush. The title was cut with out of chipboard with a Sizzix font on the Bigshot machine and painted black. I finished it all up with a few ribbon scraps, machine sewing in black, and lots of pen work on the diecuts using my trusty Zig. The sketch I stole from somewhere, sorry I can't remember ;o)

And finally, my little Madame Butterfly was another layout that I got to play around with the big Accucut Dies, this one is the 11.5" Ribbon Circle cut out of Hydrangea CTMH cardstock then I cut an 11 " circle out of retired CTMH b&t then decided to use my old Magic Matter to mat that layer in Ocean CTMH CS. The pattern paper is CTMH Whoops-a-Daisy with Hydrangea, Ocean, and Watermelon cardstock, inking, buttons, brads, and ribbon. The title is Quickutz Dragonfly 4x8 and Blossom Grand. The scattered flowers are a mix of Quickutz 4x4's and Sizzix accented with some white pen work. I also used a couple of Heidi Swapp Ghost Butterflies with touches of white paint and adhered with watermelon brads.

I hope you all have a great week and get lots of scrapping time this weekend! I will be hard at work trying to use up the rest of my kits I have put together! :o)

Spring has Sprung

2009-03-16T13:15:00.002-04:00

Okay, so the weather was not cooperating today and the lighting is very weird between photographing the two sides... so they look waaay weird compared to acutal layout?! It is so pretty in person :o) Isn't that how it works, our best work is never portrayed in print as it is in person?

Miss Independent

2009-03-08T01:27:00.002-05:00

This layout was alot of fun to work on! I got to pull out my paints, some die-cut chipboard I had stashed, my ribbons and buttons, and of course my QK... finally got to try out Nutmeg! Yeah! This is the layout I completed at the crop on Friday night... gotta love having plenty of room to spread out, bring as many supplies as you want, and buzz around your work! I also met a few new scrappin buddies and chatted the night away, hopefully they will become regulars! I am off to order more photos!

FOUR... fabulous four!

2009-03-07T11:49:00.002-05:00

I started this layout last weekend at the SPUMC Crop and finally got it finished up this week. Not exactly like I envisioned, but it still turned out cute. The colors are a little off here, but IRL it does match :o) This is another layout out of the sketch mag I bought awhile back, def getting use out of that purchase! Letters are CTMH Dim Elements and QK Dragonfly. TFL!

Sale at Scrapbook Pictures!

2009-02-25T12:33:00.004-05:00

WooHoo!!! Time to stock up on pictures again! Its a good thing too, because I am going to a crop this Saturday, another one next Friday, and have a loooong girls weekend planned after that! Yeah! I am counting down the days, girls ;o) I ordered pics and got about 15 page kits made up just a couple of weeks ago, but I think I just might need more to last me through March!? Needless to say, my computer is a busy bee uploading pics to order! Have a great week!

Bringin' Eyelets Back!

2009-02-12T16:04:00.005-05:00

Okay, I recently renewed my love affair with eyelets! You know the song "Bringin Sexy Back".. well, I am single-handedly bringing eyelets back! :o) Mostly because I needed a brad in a certain color and didn't have one, then stumbled upon my old stash of eyelets (hundreds or thousands of them!) and in the color I needed! Yeah! Of course, now I have that song stuck in my head... at least it is upbeat so I am all peppy!

I also wanted to say thanks to my new friend, for putting up with my drama queen daughter. We met on Tally Moms and got together today with our girls, had a fabulous time scrapping, and can't wait till next time!

Tour of Tallahassee

2009-02-10T16:07:00.002-05:00

So, this is my first attempt at a layout using a kit! Yes, I know, not usually my thing... but, I have been cropping with a friend that uses these kits and I have been secretly drooling over them! So, I finally just decided to go for it and ordered the October and November kit from Kraft Girl Kits, since they are both on sale and I already had pics in mind for both kits. This one turned out exactly like I had wished! I even used the orange bling, rub-ons, thickers, buttons, and dmc floss that came in the kit! Yes, orange, but it really did add a nice touch! I am really liking breaking out of my comfort zone! In fact, the only thing on the layout that is not from the kit is the CTMH Textured Colonial White CS that I used as the backing, the CTMH black ink that I used to distress everthing, and the QK Metro Skinni Mini for the first part of the title. Overall, I am one happy scrapper!

Easter Cutie

2009-02-08T14:59:00.004-05:00

This is the other layout that I finished on Friday night, I just had a to get the 5x7's printed before I could post them... really simple, but I love the way it turned out with all the inking and clean lines.

Strike a Pose

2009-02-07T22:19:00.002-05:00

I got to go to a crop last night and had a great time! I was even able to get 2 layouts done, which is impressive for me, especially considering all the socializing I did with all my new scrappin buddies :o) Can't wait till the next one! If you are in the Tallahassee area and looking for scrapbooking events, I have added a new column over on the side to include a list of upcoming crops. You can email me directly if you have any questions or need more information.

This layout uses one my all time favorite Close To My Heart kits... including the Stickease!, some CTMH dimensional elements flowers and letters, a little inking, a few buttons, and some.... Heidi Swapp Bling! OMG, I finally used it! I have had that little package of sparkly goodness in my stash for ages and finally just got over my need to hoard it for that perfect page :o) I think using it is what makes it that page!

The Big 30!

2009-02-04T18:45:00.002-05:00

Dear Hubby,
Just wanted to publicly announce that you are getting old... the big 30! Of course, I can only rub it in for 13 more months before I am no longer a twenty-something :o) You know I love you and cannot imagine life without you! I will save all my readers the gushy stuff (besides I wrote most of it in your card) just wanted to say Happy Birthday my dear! I love you!

Pumpkin Guts

2009-02-03T21:19:00.004-05:00

I had a lot of fun with the layout! I painted all my chipboard elements, Quickutz'd, ribbon'd and button'd up a storm :o) and its hard to tell, but the little spiders have glittery legs, too cute! Here are a couple close-ups so you get the idea of just how much fun I had... I couldn't even wait for the paint to dry before I photo'd it! Please pardon all the awful grammar, but whateva!

I am hunting for a sitter for Friday night because I just found out about a new crop this weekend at the local high school, it is put on by the PTA. Llooks like it will be fun, hopefully I will be there to find out! I hope my little scrapping streak continues so I can do some more of this...

Happy Scrapping! I am off to try and sneak in some more before bed, at least pick out a sketch or two ;o)

Easter Saturday 2007

2009-02-02T10:18:00.003-05:00

So, I actually was able to get one more layout done last night before hubby got home! I just got the journaling finished up and loaded the pics :o) It turned out so much better than I was expecting! I added buttons overlapping the centers of the flowers on the pp, and they have waxy flax tied through them, it gives the layout alot of dimension and umph! Thanks to Granny and her Accucut, I had some cool chipboard flourishes and photo corners that I painted to match.

On a roll again... finally!

2009-02-01T16:46:00.002-05:00

So, I just got a ton of pics printed last week and spent part of friday night making up kits with pics and paper... all ready to scrap! I got the "Mrs. Bear" layout done first thing on Friday night, only took me 1.5 hrs (which is nearly a record for me!) Also exciting is that I used up some random ribbon and papers that I got long ago and didn't have a purpose for, luckily for me this worked out great! The "Unique" layout took a bit more out of me, I got it all cut out and pics stuck down but got stuck on the embellies... I was scraplifting this from a blog I follow, scrapliftable.blogspot. I woke up Saturday with a new set of eyes and got it finished up in no time! The "Silly, Sassy, Super Sweet Faces of Hailey" was an old layout that I was finally able to get pictures on! Yeah me! All-in-all a great weekend in scrappyland :o) Hubby still isn't home yet, so I am gonna try to squeeze out one more layout! Wish me luck! It is so nice to be in a scrappin' groove again!

New Accucut CHA Winter 2009 Releases

2009-01-20T17:12:00.003-05:00

Accucut has posted sneak peaks of the new CHA Winter 2009 dies and even better... they are giving away an A2 Criss Cross die! Go to their blog for more details and you can enter to win also! But I hope I win (or I hope mom wins, since I dont even have a machine, yet! :o) Not only do I love this card die, but I am sooo in love with the little birdie die that is coming out! Go check it out and enter to win!

http://accucut.typepad.com/craft/2009/01/sneak-peek.html

Tadpole

2008-12-23T11:15:00.003-05:00

I got this layout done while Hailey had a friend over yesterday... she is loving Cmas break because all of her friends that are usually at school are home and able to come over and play as soon as she wakes up! And pretty much play all the way through till dinner time! The photos on the layout are not all the great, but considering they are from a disposable underwater camera... they will do the job of showing my little tadpole swimming underwater, with her eyes open!

PP: "Amy Butler" K & Co. Stack from Joanns (loving the funky patterns in this stack!)
CS: CTMH Bubblegum & Colonial White
Embellies: CTMH Dimensional Elements Simple Lowercase Alpha (covered in the pp), misc ribbon, machine sewing (along the strip of pink pp), handcut waterdroplet shapes, MM paint: Spotlight White & Sky Blue
Sketch: actually, me :o)

Spring Break 2008

2008-12-10T13:37:00.003-05:00

It makes me so happy to be working on pictures from Spring Break this year, when we got to spend the whole day with our friends! Our three families have since relocated across the country, which makes this layout all the more special to have such great memories with them! We went to the UF Natural History Museum, followed by lunch at an infamous local pizza place "Satchel's", then we went to the farm for feeding time, and a park to play, and finally rounded out our day with Waffle Cone Wednesday at TCBY! It was a whirlwind day that couldn't have been any more perfect!

PP: My Minds Eye Confetti Collection: Party "Love" Stripes & Party "Birthday Girl" Dots & Die-Cut Flowers, Other: 11.5" Die-Cut Scalloped Paper (came pre-cut)
CS: CTMH Keylime, Breeze, Pink Carnation
Quickutz: Blossom Grand, Journal Grand
Ribbon: miscellaneous

Last of Cmas 2007!

2008-12-03T14:07:00.003-05:00

Just in the "Nick" of time for this years Cmas pics! Ha Ha, get it nick, as in Jolly Ole St. Nick! :o) Anywhoo, It took me long enough to get around to this last page, but I am now officially done with those, and I only have a handful of other 2007 layouts to do! WooHoo!!! And I am currently downloading my pics from last nights events... decorating the tree that is taller that we can reach! I can't wait to get started on the 2008 holiday festivities!!!

On my last post, Theresa asked how I do the scallops on my paper, most of the time I used the EK Corner Rounder... there is a great tutorial on Scrapbook.com, but I also took a few pis the last time I did it and am working on formating those so I can show you too. I also use the QK 12" scallop border sometimes and when I am at Moms house, I totally cheat and use her AccuCut machine on the chipboard and all! Its awesome! So, here is the layout... don't worry granny, the date and journaling are on the other side of the layout! ;o)

Amazingly enough I still have some of this My Minds Eye paper left over still (I only started with about 6 sheets and have done (3) two-pagers... which translates into, a few of my Cmas cards this year will be made out of this paper.

PP: My Minds Eye
CS: CTMH Cranberry & Baby Pink
Embellies: ribbon from the ever-growing stash

T'was the night before Christmas

2008-11-20T14:20:00.002-05:00

My last 2007 cmas layout! I will be back later with the second page... and all the details!

Christmas 2007

2008-11-15T11:58:00.002-05:00

I think i have just one more layout for Cmas 2007, I feel so accomplished! I think I have mentioned before that i really don't like to scrapbook cmas layouts, so it makes me even more excited that my cmas albums are almost caught up... and more importantly move on to more current (and fun) layouts! ;o)

Using up some more of the MMI papers I picked up at Whim-So-Doodle last time I was in St. Pete with Mom. The title on the first page uses all CTMH Dimensional Elements Monograms, painted, inked, and embellied.

I decided to give the Grungeboard another try, (i still like chipboard better) it painted up nicely, but I am still having issues with adhering it! I don't usually have the patience to use liquid adhesive but I think that is going to be the only solution :op

Finally, the second page...

2008-11-14T18:54:00.002-05:00

I am sitting at home in my clean house (yeah!) just finished the second page to last weeks layout, totally looking forward to scrapping with some new cropping buddies tonight!

Naughty or Nice?

2008-11-10T15:25:00.002-05:00

This is the other layout that I started at Saturday's crop, still working on the second side but wanted share anyways. Based off a semi-recent PageMaps sketch, I love the scattered strips of pp and how the inking really sets off the edge of each paper. I couldn't resist using up some of my velvet ric-rac I picked up at Scrapbook Market before they closed :o(

I got to use quite a few of my Quickutz on this one too: Lemonade SM, Maddie Anne Classic, and my Nesting Ovals (I have been using these way more than I thought!).

CS: CTMH Blush, Garden Green, Heavenly Blue, Colonial White
PP: My Mind's Eye Be Merry Collection
QK: Lemonade SM, Maddie Anne Classic, Nesting Ovals
Ink: CTMH Chocolate Distressing Inks
Embellies: CTMH Just Blooms & Leaves, Craft Buttons

I will be back later to share the other side... ;o)

My first Tally Crop!

2008-11-09T12:21:00.003-05:00

So excited!!! Yesterday I actually got to go to a crop... my first since moving to Tallahassee! Met a very nice lady that I think will quickly become my new cropping buddy and friend ;o) Yeah Me! I only got this layout done and another started, but we did so much chatting that it didn't matter ;o) My hubby actually told me I was giddy when I got home (after 6 hrs of scrapping!) and I told him it was because I finally scrapbooked with humans instead of online or on the phone. Too funny!

Anywhoo, this layout is from Halloween 2007, using a PageMaps for the left side and my own to match for the right. We went to a Community Party as Cinderella, her Fairy Godmother (me), her pet rabbit (aunt amy), and just as Hailey dressed him... "a crazy man" (daddy)!

PP: CTMH Notebook
CS: CTMH Baby Pink & Heavenly Blue for Matts, Colonial White & Bamboo for journaling strips
Embellies: CTMH Baby Pink & Heavenly Blue My Accents & Ribbon, American Crafts
Quickutz: Journal Grand

Sand & Surf

2008-11-07T11:00:00.003-05:00

For some reason, I never got around to posting this layout last week... but here it is from Inspired Blueprints #1 Sketch. Can't remember who the pp is from, but the big "&" sign and "{brackets}" are Tim Holtz Grungeboard (which I really did NOT like working with!), Quickutz Moxie Classic, everything else is CTMH. Just a fun and quick layout finishing up my Cruise Album, the first pic lifts up to reveal more beautiful landscapes of the sand and surf of Mexico! Again, using the CTMH 6-pocket page protectors cut down, folded under, and attached using CTMH Bigger Brads.

Oh, and my favorite part was making my own scalloped paper using my old trusty Fiskars Shape Cutter and the Oval Template (which has the large scallop around the outer edge)... just happened to align perfectly with the polka dots of the pp! (FYI: The Circle template has a smaller scalloped edge, too!)

So close to complete

2008-11-04T12:46:00.003-05:00

Many of you have seen my home in various stages of construction and/or demolition, well we are so close to complete and have put our home up for rent... email me if you are in the market for a home in Gainesville, FL.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T13:09:00.002-04:00

We, or should I say I, spent yesterday evening carving our pumpkins. I really don't think Miss H enjoys this tradtion as much as i do... can you tell by the look on her face!? I got all goopey and carved both of our pumpkins, with her supervision of course ;o)

Snokeling on the Reef

2008-10-28T10:47:00.006-04:00

Couldn't find a good pp for this one, so I made my own using CTMH stamps and inks. I used different little rings from C1232 Groovy Celebration, B1229 Solo E, and D1264 Angel Whispers. Inks and Cardstock are Cranberry, Honey, Breeze, and Ocean. The first page uses Inspired Blueprints Sketch #2 and page 2 I made up to go with it.

The title area uses Quickutz Abigail, CTMH brackets from the Dimensional Elements Simple Lowercase, CTMH Cranberry Bigger Brads, a hand-cut sunshine, and a Signo white pen for the accents. The scalloped edges I made using my EK corner rounder by taking off the cutting guide. This layout was fun to do despite the cold weather today!

Happy Fall Y'All!

2008-10-26T00:27:00.005-04:00

We had a very fun, but exhausting, day... just us girls! We found two of the most perfect pumpkins at the pumpkin patch (even got a few good photos), played at Michaels, ate lunch at Chick-fil-a, finally found some fun tights for H's witch costume at Target, and discovered that Office Depot in Tally does not carry any scrapbooking stuff... which really bums me out since I have a store credit there and wanted to get some refills for my trimmer (guess I will have to stock up next time I am in Gville!) We did pick up some flash card games for 2nd grade test-prep sight-words... which really surprised me to find out Miss H already knew 71 of the 96 words rights out of the box! I didn't know she could even sound out that many words, much less the sight-words! And she's only 4! Okay, I will admit it now, I really need to get this kid in classes of some sort!

The two pumkins in the front crack me up because they had warts all over them, Miss H kept saying they were moldy! There were also a number of RED pumpkins! It was sooo cool seeing all the different ones! Now I am off to try and get some scrapping done!

Tallahassee Moms Like Me

2008-10-24T15:51:00.004-04:00

So, shortly after moving to Tallahassee, I found this great website for local events, info, chat, and bulletin boards. I finally got around to making a group on the site to share ideas and info, and to help coordinate crop nights. If you are a tallahasse mom (or dad) that likes to scrapbook, stamp, or craft feel free to visit our group, join in, and come to one of our crop nights!

http://tallahassee.momslikeme.com/members/groupabout.aspx?g=615376

Happy Birthday Amy!

2008-10-18T00:49:00.003-04:00

If you know my little sister, she is turning 22 today October 18th! This makes me feel really old that my little sis is in her 20's, but anywhoo! I just wanted to say I love you and Happy Birthday Sweetheart! You are such an awesome sister, aunt, and friend! We hope you have a great weekend, try not to party too much! ;o) Hopefully we will see you soon!

Stingray City

2008-10-17T23:53:00.002-04:00

Woohoo #2 for the night, probably my last so I can actually get some sleep and rest my poor knee! Maybe I shouldn't have started exercising until my knee was completely better, uugh! This one uses Basic Grey Romani PP's, some CTMH Cranberry CS and ribbon, and my new Quickutz Metro Classic and Skinni Mini (love it!), and the arrows. Again, thanks granny ;o) See, I am already putting them to use! A simple but fun one! Journaling and date are under the flap on the right side.

First WooHoo of Friday!

2008-10-17T20:53:00.003-04:00

I am officially done with 2006!!!! I completed my goal I set for myself a couple weeks ago and it feels sooo good! And I ended on a really fun layout... Girly Girl Christmas! And I got to play with my new Abigail Grand! LOVING IT! And to think I was on the fence about this font! I also used Maddie Anne (one of my all time fav fonts!) And I used up some scraps of Basic Grey and CS! Yeah! Do you think I can say AND just one more time?! ;o)

Quicuktz Sale

2008-10-17T15:17:00.005-04:00

Okay, here is what they still have at Ruban Rouge, since i seem to be the QK source of info for many ;o) and those are the sale prices. If you do not live nearby, they will ship for $8.99. I believe the sale runs through Sunday, checkout their blog for details.

Spotlight CC Grand $32.50
MaryJane CC Grand $35.00
Abigail Grand $50.00
Finale Grand $50.00
Tangerine Classic $30.00
Katie Classic $50.00
Marisa Classic $50.00
Studio Classic $50.00
Lucy Classic $17.50
Metro Classic $37.50
Zoe Mini $25.00
Abigail Classic $42.50
Calvin Mini $37.50

Merry Christmas to Me!

2008-10-16T13:40:00.002-04:00

A picture is so worth a thousand words for all you Quickutz addicts out there!?! Need I say more?! Ruban Rouge in Palm Harbor, FL is having a 75% off sale! TOTALLY UNHEARD OF SALE! On all their in-stock Quickutz fonts and shapes (except the september releases)! Call the store now before they are gone! They charged me $8.99 shipping, but I had my package in just two days! Dont worry hubby, this is my Christmas present from Granny! I cannot thank you enough Granny, but you must stop shopping now... although i know you secretly wanted these too ;o) I love you!

Granny's Kitchen

2008-10-16T02:12:00.004-04:00

Not a recent scrap...just one I forgot to photo ;o) I love these pics of when Hailey got her beloved kitchen from Granny that Cmas!

QK: Katie Classic, REV Tabs
PP: Basic Grey
CS: CTMH Baby Pink, Cranberry, Olive

Dance

2008-10-15T00:12:00.004-04:00

This was H's first dance class with Grandma! The colors really didn't photo well, looks much better in person! All supplies I picked up at my LSS closing sale, including the nesting hearts!

QK: Nesting Hearts
CS: CTMH Baby Pink, Blush, Plum Mist
Embellies: CTMH Dimensional Elements Monograms
Ribbon and Ribbons I picked up at Scrapbook Market on a recent visit.

Forever Family

2008-10-10T11:07:00.002-04:00

This is one of those layouts that I started completely lost on what to do! Then I just started cutting and painting and voila! Paper pieces were literally flying as I tossed them over my shoulder! ;o)

QK: Spicy Chicken Grand, Lemonade Skinni Mini CC, Nesting Ovals
CS: CTMH Cranberry, Garden Green, White Daisy
Ribbon: CTMH Cranberry, Garden Green, White Daisy Grosgrain
Embellies: CTMH Just Blooms, Bigger Brads, Craft Buttons

Go Fish

2008-10-08T00:42:00.002-04:00

This layout went together in less than 30 minutes!!! But, it took me another hour to labor over the journaling, kind of an important one to me! ;o) And the paper was a total fluke, picked it up awhile back at another store closing sale for 20 cents!
Both sides are different PageMaps sketches.
PP: Scenic Route Brighton Snowdrift
CS: CTMH Tulip & Baby Pink
Quickutz: Classic Bright font, rev tabs, and my new 12" scallop border die ( using my new 12" plate for the revolution, thanks Granny!!! I am loving it!)
Embellies: CTMH Baby Pink and White Grosgrain Ribbon and Buttons, Heavenly Blue buttons, and Cranberry ink around the edges.

Busy organizing today...

2008-10-07T16:48:00.002-04:00

my new (to me) scrapbook cabinet. ;o)

Christmas 2006

2008-10-05T01:46:00.002-04:00

What do ya'll think of the new way I have been photographing my layouts? I kinda like it, but when I look back, my eye get less distracted away from the layout when there isn't any backdrop? I don't know!

I usually don't do many black & whites, but once the layout was ready for the pics the layout no longer looked good with the color pics... it screamed for b&w's! Surprisingly, I had good ink in my photo printer so I could get the pics on here before I forgot what this layout was for! Just a few snapshots of Cmas 2006! I am trying sooo hard to get caught up to at least 2007 before the 2008 holidays strike!

PP: Prima Romantica Collection
CS: CTMH Textured Black & Olive
Quickutz: Paige Mini
Other: CTMH Black Ribbon Rounds

Curious Christmas

2008-10-04T14:41:00.003-04:00

PP: Prima Romantica Collection
CS: CTMH Vineyard Berry & Olive
Quickutz: Stardust Grand, Flower
Embellishments: CTMH Craft Buttons (Clear & NEI)
Other: RicRac I picked up on my travels ;o)

Home is where the heart Is

2008-10-04T14:33:00.003-04:00

I am trying a new way to photo my layouts to see if they come out a little truer color, we'll see! This is one of a few quick scrapbook layouts to try and get caught up on all those dreaded Christmas layouts! ;o)

PP: Prima Romantica Collection
CS: CTMH Tulip & Barn Red
Quickutz: Flourish
Embellisments: CTMH Just Blooms Leaves, Dimensional Elements Solo H,O,M,E.

Hunting Easter

2008-09-26T01:05:00.004-04:00

One last layout for the night, probably the last one for awhile! I really need to get back to life as usual! ;o) I took a break from catching up on old layouts and did a quick one from this year to keep my creativity fresh! This one was actually really quick, less than an hour including Quickutz, journaling, looking up the date and all! (For me that is record time!) And really the glittery paper didn't need any more embellishment than that!

PP: Best Creation Inc. (Egg Stripes and Green Bunny)
CS: CTMH Bubblegum & Textured White Daisy
Quickutz: 12" Scallop Border, Bright Classic Font
Ribbon: CTMH NEI and Blush Ribbon Rounds

Finally done with 2005!

2008-09-25T16:26:00.006-04:00

Oooh, I am so excited...this is my last layout for 2005. I have a thing about birthday and christmas layouts, I really don't like doing them! My mom is just the opposite, she could do them all day long. I have tried to talk her into doing all my birthday and cmas layouts, but she won't go for it ;o)

I went through a couple of months back and printed contact sheets of all my pictures to date at that point, then planned and printed all that I thought I might want to scrapbook. Well, I actually scrapbooked everything that I printed for 2005! All I have left for 2006 is Christmas! Of course, that will probably end up being more than one layout, but that is still really cool!

This layout was sooo much fun to do. I got it all sketched out last night and then this morning I quickly cut all the paper... the slooow part was doing all those Quickutz hearts! It looks so cool though because I used different depth pop dots so there are so many layers. I even figured out a way to pop up those hollow hearts. I punched out the Quickutz stamping foam using the same die and that way the foam and the die were the exact same size. I really like the way it turned out!

PP: BoBunny Holiday Cheer: Swirly Whirly, Plaid, Gumdrops
CS: CTMH Cranberry, Crystal Blue, Textured White Daisy
Quickutz: Chocolate Mini 4x8 Font, Hearts: QRS0003, QRS0047, A-RS0001, A-SS0001, A-RS0010, Stamping Foam

***UPDATE***

I just realized that these pictures posted weird! This layout does not have a blue tint to it! I really need to work on those manual color adjustments! ;o)

Family 2005

2008-09-24T18:18:00.005-04:00

This layout really did not want to photo well, so I had to shoot on manual with no flash and manually adjust stuff...needless to say it is all weird and obviously looks a ton better in person! I think this is one of the two of my last stray layouts that I had for 2005 and that is it! 2005 is completely done! Then all I have left for 2006 is Christmas! And I really feel like I have been keeping up otherwise. Especially with all this time I am getting at Grannys to sneak away and scrap!

This is some paper I picked up yesterday at The Scrapbook Shoppe. It is from an up & coming Kaiser Crafts, from Australia. This is really nice cardstock thickness, double-sided patterned paper, and there were multiple designs in this line. Granny picked this one out for me, good job Granny! I used that little trick on this layout of twisting my spiral clips to look like vines. Kinda cool and fun little accent.

PP: Kaiser Scrapbook's Deck the Halls: Mistletoe, Ivy, Holly
CS: CTMH New England Ivy
Embellisments: CTMH Just Blooms, Leaves, Buttons, Spiral Clips, Dimensional Elements Monograms. And more machine stitching!