One of my little joys

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.

National Champions

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

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

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.

Little Witch... and a little suprise!

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.

Girls Weekend Success!

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)

Sand & Surf

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!)

Snokeling on the Reef

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!

Tallahassee Moms Like Me

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