Patricias Perspectives

A Moxie Fab Get Well Hug

2012-02-01T21:52:00.000-06:00

For Cath (sans CHA) with Love Blog Hop

As many of you will know, Moxie Fab World's Cath Edvalson (Trends Editor of Paper Crafts) won't be able to attend CHA next week due to a nasty pain in one of her shoulders. So... to cheer her up and thank her for "bringing" all of us to CHA with her during these past years, I thought we could surprise her with a blog hop.....

The above was what Lorena wrote for our Facebook event. My sweet blog friend Lorena first Flickr mailed me about her idea (she already has Susan Opel's OK) and before you know it, with a little input and help from me, a blog hop was born within an hour!

Here we are today to share our creations to cheer Cath up! Any Get Well Soon/Feel Better/Sending hugs... cards/creations are much appreciated. After all, Cath has done so much for us card-makers over at Moxie Fab World, this is a great way to show her our appreciation and love!

So here is my card for Cath, I so appreciate her and wanted to send some love too! A cute owl Get Well card seemed appropriate, but it needed personalized. So I added a wounded wing, just like Cath's cranky shoulder. :)

Hope you feel better soon Cath!

Gabriel Turns 3!

2012-01-21T10:10:00.000-06:00

So things have been really busy here, but I wanted to share pictures from Gabe's birthday on 12/27/11 and from his party on 01/01/12. Once again the immediate family got to enjoy a day off on his actual birthday and celebrated all day at Easton. Here is a photo recap:

We woke Gabe up early and he opened Grandma Mary and PaPa Rick's card first.

Grandma Nancy and PaPa Dan stopped by early on their way out of town to visit with my Aunt Betty in Virginia. Love Gabe's grumpy face, he wasn't quite awake yet. They gave him a gift card to Half Price books, which purchased 2 movies and 8 new books!

His first Birthday gift from Mommy and Daddy was a brand new mow-mow just like Daddy's.

Our first stop at Easton was to get a new stuffie at Build-a-Bear, this year his choice was this super cute fox.

So we waited in a very long line...

Then finally it was Gabe's turn to bring his fox, Finney, to life. Here he is picking out his heart, he also chose a beating heart for him.

Here Gabe is with his new friend Finney the fox, special thanks to Grandma Mary and Papa Rick- this was his choice with his birthday money.

Then we headed to eat at the Cheesecake Factory, thanks to two saved up gift cards from my boss.

Me and Aspen at our late lunch.

Daddy tells Gabe a surprise is coming after we ate...

Then surprise they brought Gabe a Birthday piece of cheesecake and sang to him!

Yummy, here is Gabe and his oreo birthday cheesecake.

One of the reasons we love to visit Easton this time of the year, it is beautiful.

Another shot from the sidewalk.

After such a big day Gabe was asleep before we left the parking garage. What a great day!

Then we celebrated his birthday with my Mom's birthday on New Years Day and here are the photos from that event:

Gabe's Birthday pumpkin pie, yummy.

Here is Gabe using his new Doctor kit on Daddy.

Dr. Gabriel gives Daddy a shot in the chest, Ouch!

Well that's it for now, I will share some projects soon!

Handmade Christmas Gifts

2011-12-26T12:32:00.000-06:00

So this year we made a lot of handmade gifts to save money. Here are two of my favorites, an altered Gingerbread calendar for my Mom and 26, yes 26 moustache mugs for all of Aspen's friends, teachers and Scott and my co-workers.

Materials Used: Crate Paper/Peppermint paper collection; Jillibean Soup/Dark Woodgrain Chipboard Alphas, Kraft Tags & pink/red felt blossom; Queen & Co/Felt Gingerbread Stickers; Zva/Pink flowers; Recollections/Gingerbread STickers; pink & red gemstones


This idea was discovered by my daughter Aspen via one of her favorite blogs to follow: Kandee Johnson, the full tutorial is found here: http://www.kandeej.com/2011/12/guilt-free-sweet-treats.html A trip to the dollar store for mugs and a special marker from Michaels and we were all set.

Of course we had to add something inside the mugs so there were 2 dipped and sprinkled oreos in each mug as well. YUM. The mugs were a huge hit!

Hope your Christmas was fabulous!

Happy Holiday Photos!

2011-12-19T22:01:00.000-06:00

We did our annual Christmas Photo Shoot and just wanted to share some of our favorite family pictures:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you and your families!

Moxie Fab Potpourri Challenge

2011-12-17T10:01:00.001-06:00

I had been working on a card that seemed to fit perfectly into the Potpourri Challenge over on the Moxie Fab World Blog. Regardless here was the inspiration photo:

You could interpret it however you like, here is my interpretation:

I was inspired by the cute little chairs and the doily and incorporated those into my design, attempting a shabby chic effect.

Materials Used: Scenic Route & SEI papers; Close to my Heart Stamps/Chairs to You; EK Success/border punches; white satin ribbon; Tim Holtz/Distresser; Cats Eye/Fawn Brown Ink; Archival Ink/Coffee; American Crafts/White Card Base; Want 2 Scrap/green pearls

I found this stamp set half price by Close to My Heart at a Scrapbook Event in October, how cute is this chair? The whole set is adorable and called "Chairs to You." So there you have it a quick card post, very busy time of year here. Better get back to work on Christmas preparations! Hope all you elves out there are enjoying this season! It would be much nicer here in Ohio if we could please have some SNOW instead of RAIN! Yuck, it is not supposed to rain in December. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow......

Great news when I began this post on Thursday it was raining, today it is SNOWING! YAY!

The kids and I did our annual Happy First Snow Dance!

The Color Room - Palette #87

2011-12-06T21:54:00.000-06:00

There is a spectacular palette posted on the Color Room website this week. The whole month is dedicated to the Christmas Spirit and this week really inspired me, here is the inspiration:

Oh my isn't it gorgeous? The colors, the photo, the sketch- soooo lovely.

So here is my interpretation and some close-ups:

Materials Used: Bazzill Cardstock: metallic silver & white base; Basic Grey/Picadilly-Blue Plate Special; Jillibean Soup/Wonderful White corrugated Alpha & Corrugated sheet; Cosmo Cricket/Salt Air-Half Shell; Cuttlebug die/Winter Play; Stickles/white; Martha Stewart/clear bling; EK Success/border & corner punches, white feathers, opalescent ribbon, cream pearls

Hope you are all enjoying your Holiday seasons too! Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Thanksgiving Projects & Insider Tip

2011-11-24T10:41:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to share a quick post today to say Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! May you be surrounded by your loved ones and may your bellies be filled with delicious Thanksgiving delights!

I have been busy creating something special for my families table place settings. Some super fun sour cream container treat placecards. I used all Jillibean Soup papers/Apple Cheddar, HOmemade 6 Bean & a little Dutch Mustard. Here are some pics:

These adorable owls were for the pre-teen/teens; Inkadinkadoo Stamp/Mini Halloween Asst.

The little chickadees were for the youngsters; Hot Off the Presses Stamp/Snow Bird

These Home Cooking Pies were for the women of the group; Studio 112 Stamp/Fall Mini Asst.

These awesome Turkey Bowl ones were for our manly men; Studio 112 Stamp/Fall Mini Asst.

So I may have gotten carried away but, they are super easy to make and I warn you, they are addictive!
There is a great TUTORIAL on how to make these at the Jillibean Soup Blog here.

Here are a couple really quick cards using Jillibean Soup/Apple Cheddar

Oh I almost forgot to enable you.... There is a huge BLACK FRIDAY SALE happening at the Jillibean Soup Retail Site almost everything is 47% off it runs from 4:00pm today to 7:00pm on Sunday!!! That includes Unity/Jillibean stamp sets, Coredinations Cardstock Pads, Corrugated Alphas, embellishments, clear stamps, paper even the discount packs which would be $85 in product for 47% off of $19.95! So if you need restocked now is the time!

So there you have it, some Thanksgiving joy for my friends and family.

I am very thankful for you my "gnomies". :)

Inspired by Nicole Samuels

2011-11-14T12:55:00.001-06:00

I try to follow some of my favorite designers when I get the chance and recently I was very inspired by a layout from Nicole Samuels blog, for Studio Calico on this post here.

Here is her inspirational layout:

I loved the effect of the one very large photo and the design elements framing it. The folded banner title the happy little flags and cute journal tag and banner below. Soooo this is two fall layouts I created based on that inspiration:

I know finally the Trick or Treat layout I promised!

I used almost all Jillibean Soup on this one from five different lines and Jillibean Mini Kraft Alphas. Then there are K& Co. alphabet stickers, Pink Paislee Soiree stamp/banner, My Minds Eye Journal Tag and Basic Grey Felt Stickers.

This is one featuring a hayride photo from our annual pumpkin patch trip to Leed's Farm, pure happiness.

Materials Used: Jillibean Soup/Apple Cheddar, Dutch Mustard, Watermelon Gazpacho & Atomic Soup papers; Jillibean Felt Blossom, Apple Cheddar Pea Pods, Dutch Mustard Alphabet Stickers; EK Success border punch, Jillibean Bakers Twine, Pink Paislee/Hocus Pocus orange glitter alphabet stickers.

I have plans for two more layouts utilizing this very versatile layout design, one for my niece's High School Album cover page and one for my daughters Lacrosse Team Photo! Would love to hear what you think of my scraplifts!

Moxie Fab Challenge- Random Fun Challenge

2011-11-12T22:27:00.000-06:00

There are some really fun challenges going on at Moxie Fab blog this week to celebrate their release of the 365 Cards issue. So I had to join in the Random Fun Challenge, to create a paper crafted card that incorporates a button(s), a mustache(s), or an alcoholic beverage.
I chose the mustache:
Here is what I came up with: Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto :)

Materials Used: My Minds Eye Paper, ribbon & brad, Jillibean Soup kraft card, Making Memories/shimmer alphabet, Basic Grey/Life of the Party-mustache sticker

Here's a close up of Mr. Roboto

Ha Ha, Hope it made you smile too. Have a great weekend!

Apple Cheddar Layout & Article Sneak Peek

2011-11-06T16:55:00.001-06:00

So out of the New Jillibean Soup Lines Apple Cheddar was not my original favorite, but oh my how it has grown on me. The color palette and B side design are so perfect for fall and literally any other theme. The woodgrain/Milk was one of my single paper favorites from the start and the calico on its back its so sweet. My other fav paper is the Green Peppercorns with the brown gingham on the back side. I did a product review on Apple Cheddar for Scrapjazz.com and created a layout, card and a teacher chalkboard gift. Here is a sneak peek of the layout:

The article should be up at Scrapjazz.com very soon, so be sure to watch for it!
UPDATE: Article is up now go here
Also those very cool kraft diecut titles are available now at the Jillibean Soup Online retail site here.

Here is another layout I did using this line and fav photos from Church Camp this year:

Materials used: Jillibean Soup/Apple Cheddar Line: Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Green Peppercorns, Milk, Apple Cider, Bite Size Bits; Apple Cheddar PeaPod Diecuts & 12x12 Sticker sheet; Journaling/Soup Labels; Jillibean Orange bakers twine, Stampin Up/banner pieces; Butterfly punch

Hope you like this line as much as I do! You can find it online at Scrapjazz.com ($3.99 flat rate shipping in the U.S.!) or Scrapbook.com or at your local scrapbook stores around the country!

Trick or Treat Anyone?

2011-11-02T19:37:00.000-05:00

Monday night was the final of three different trick or treat ventures. Gabe was fully understanding the concept this year, hold out your pumpkin and get candy. He was loving it, even his sister got into the Halloween spirit this year and dressed up and went out with her bff. Here are my fave pics, already working on a layout too!

Gabe is doing the "Alex" from Madagascar pose- ROAR!

My Babies Too cute to spook

We take our pumpkin carving seriously round here.

Scott's werewolf extraordinaire, I think he outdid me this year.


My hoot owl, or as Gabe says Who How.

Gabe at our neighbors, how cute is that tail?!

My fave pick of all!

Hope you enjoyed sharing Halloween with us! I will have some layouts very soon!

October Outings Photos

2011-10-29T17:12:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to share some of our fall frolicking so far. Highlights this fall include the following:

4th Anniversary Getaway Weekend to The Georgian Manner B&B in Hocking Hills/Logan, Ohio

Annual Pumpkin Patch Visit to Leed's Farm in Ostrander, Ohio

I will share trick or treat adventures next week, since we still have one more candy collecting event planned!

Have a Happy Halloween!

WCMD Winners Announced at PaperCrafts

2011-10-28T20:58:00.001-05:00

So I decided to enter 4 cards into the WCMD contest over at PaperCrafts. After what seemed like an eternity they announced the 20 winners today, and I am one of them!! WooHoo! Happy dance breaks have been ongoing all day- did I mention that I am finally getting published, yep the March/April 2012 issue will feature one of my cards. As if that wasn't enough, there is an amazing prize pack worth $1,000- oh my goodness is this really real? I'm still pinching myself. But here is the proof, the blog post link:http://www.papercraftsconnection.com/blog/2011/10/drum-roll-please-world-card-making-day-2011-winners/

Just wanted to share my happy moment! Have a fabulous fall weekend! We hope to carve our pumpkins in the morning. Also coming soon, some great pumpkin patch photos from last weekend.

Moxie Fab Inspired Card

2011-10-16T19:09:00.001-05:00

Well what a week it has been here, a little crazy. During all the madness I popped over to the Moxie Fab Blog and discovered this lovely Tuesday Trigger: Finesse the Dress:

(I would totally wear this dress, by the way)

Anyhow, I was inspired mostly by the color combination- really love the contrast. But I also love the stitching so I added some of that too, just in the opposite combination. So I put together a quick card from Jillibean Soup's Sweet and Sour Soup collection:

Materials List: Jillibean Soup/Sweet & Sour paper: Shredded Cabbage, Tomato Sauce & Bite Size Bits; Soup Label/sentiment: Cats eye/Chestnut brown ink: Martha Stewart/gemstones-blue; turquoise embroidery floss

and a close-up shot:

Added a quick bite size bit for the inside greeting it reads: "You're only given a little spark of madness, you mustn't lose it..." by Robin Williams- Ha Ha love that quote, hopefully that leaves you smiling too. :)

WCMD Winner!

2011-10-06T08:00:00.001-05:00

Sorry it took me awhile to post the winner, here she is:

TeenaBugg38 said...: Im already a follower nd I loveee these cards! The cute as a button one is my fave :) Havew a great weekend and thanks for a chance to win some goodies :); September 30, 2011 5:36 PM; Congratulations! Please contact me with your shipping address and I will get a goodie pack shipped out asap!

HAPPY WORLD CARD MAKING DAY!

2011-09-30T14:52:00.000-05:00

So happy you stopped by my blog to say hello! In celebration of World Card Making Day I have a few new cards to share and a GIVEAWAY! So be sure to read all the details at the end of the post to get a chance to win a fabulous prize package!

This first card is a baby shower card that I made last weekend for my cousin, created almost entirely from Jillibean Soup/Homemade 6 Bean Soup

And a few close-ups of this one:

Here is another everyday card I created with Homemade 6 Bean Soup:

and a close-up of this one:

Hope you have a great weekend! Would love to hear what you think of my cards and if you become a follower you will qualify for a RAK giveaway. If you are already a follower then just leave a comment asking to be entered. A pack of goodies could be headed your way next week... just become a follower sometime before midnight on Sunday 10/2.

Moxie Fab - Card Play Challenge

2011-09-25T22:02:00.000-05:00

Greetings friends! I got some time to make up some cards this weekend and wanted to share this one created for the challenge over at the Moxie Fab blog. It is a card play theme so you can make a project interpreting that theme in your own way. I was inspired to make this fun paper-pieced card:

Materials used: Jillibean Soup/Watermelon Gazpacho- Yellow Bell Pepper, Seedless Cucumber & Ice Cubes; Sweet & Sour/alphabet stickers; Sweet & Soup/diecut; Typography/Button; Cats Eye/brown ink; yellow ribbon and blue embroidery floss.

So let me know what you think of my "up your sleeve" card. If you want to play along you have until October 3rd, find the challenge, here.

NEW Basic Grey Blog Sketch Challenge

2011-09-11T15:46:00.002-05:00

First off in honor of all of those who lost loved ones on this day ten years ago, my sincerest condolences. My thoughts and prayers are with you on this monumental day. May God bless you in ways you never imagined and may none of us ever take for granted the wonderful blessings in our lives.

On a much lighter note, I just wanted to share a layout I did this weekend. There is a brand new blog out there by a not at all new company, Basic Grey. They have been an industry powerhouse for seven years now with cutting edge design always at the forefront. I have long been a fan and was so excited to see their new blog and then a sketch challenge too! So I decided to give it a try, here is their sketch:

Of course I had to change it up a little, so I rotated it to the left by a quarter turn and eliminated the title but then stayed true to the sketch beyond that. Here is my take:

Here are some close-ups:

Materials Used: Basic Grey/Indian Summer, American Crafts/ribbon, e. Prima/gem & pearls, Stampin Up/Ruby Red marker, Archival Ink/Coffee- inked edges

Be sure to check out Basic Grey's new blog here. As usual I would love to hear what you think!

New Articles Up at Scrapjazz.com

2011-09-02T23:42:00.000-05:00

Two of my recent articles are up over at Scrapjazz.com here are the links:

Webster's Pages- Yacht Club Product Review
http://www.scrapjazz.com/topics/Techniques/Patterned_Paper/3414.php
A couple images from the article:

Crate Paper- Eclectic Buttons Product Review
http://www.scrapjazz.com/topics/Techniques/Embellishments/3390.php
A couple images from the article

So be sure to check out the whole articles! Let me know what you think!

Road Trip Niagara Falls & TCR#72

2011-08-23T19:26:00.001-05:00

So I got some time to play this weekend with some new Jillibean Soup, Apple Cheddar line for an upcoming Scrapjazz.com article and The Color Room's color palette. Here is this weeks tidbit of inspiration from The Color Room:

So I had to dig a little deeper in my stash than usual to come up with the colors but Joy Ride by Cosmo Cricket paired up nicely with bling cardstock and a little Jillibean Soup. I also turned the sketch a 1/4 turn to the left and added extra photos too. Here is the result:

I think it turned out perfect for Gabe's album, a sweet layout for my little cutie.

Let me know what you think!

The Color Room Palette #69

2011-08-06T12:52:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to share the layout I did for last weeks palette at The Color Room. The sketch this week is perfect for summer and the palette is too! Here is the inspiration:

So I took it in my own direction but did stay true to the sketch and colors. I created a layout that features my top 3 dream vacation destinations:

Materials Used: Basic Grey/Recess; Bazzill Swiss Dot/White; Jillibean Soup/White Corrugated Alpha- #3 & brown mini kraft alphas; Making Memories Alphabet Stickers/Glitter Bling & Shimmer Alpha; Hero Arts/Stitching stamp; Art Warehouse-Ribbons & Lace/Stripe line stamp; Stampin Up Ink/Chocolate Chip & Sahara Sand; Fiskars border punch/Upper Crest

We can all dream right?! Ahhh to float down a street in Venice, to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef or explore the art of Paris.... maybe someday. I used lots of stamping, a border punch and paper pieced the sunburst. I was happy with the result, let me know what you think! In fact I am going to make a coordinating page with my top 5 U.S. vacation destinations. So stay tuned for that one.

Have a fantastic weekend, we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Scott's parents! Looking forward to time with family and a trip to Niagra Falls!

Scrapjazz.com Article Sneak Peeks

2011-07-30T09:56:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday everyone! Just wanted to share some sneak peeks of recent articles I wrote for Scrapjazz.com. These articles are also posted for Scrapbook.com! The first one on how to make a Prom Mini Album has already been published so you can hop on over and check it out at the link here. Here is a photo of the completed album:

The second article was a product review of the ever popular Nikki Sivils delightful new Summer line! Really loved working with this line and this upcoming article will include a single boy theme layout, a family double layout and a miss you card. Here is a couple sneak peeks:

This article should be up at scrapjazz.com this week!

The next one I created was a product review for the amazing Crate Paper's Eclectic Buttons. This article features a very simple single layout, an altered antique muffin tin and a wedding card! They all use the buttons and paper from either Crate Paper's Emma's Shoppe or Toy Box. Really loving Crate Paper more and more these days. Here is a couple special sneak peeks for you:

This article will be up in early August.

The last sneak peek I want to share today is for one of my favorite companies, Webster's Pages! I did a product review of the fabulous new Yacht Club line. This line just screams summer vacation, but I did manage to use it for several other themes as well. The projects in this article include: A double lighthouse layout, a graduation card, birthday card and celebration card. Here is a few sneak peeks for you:

This article will publish in mid to late August!

So be sure to watch for the full articles over at Scrapjazz.com or Scrapbook.com, they should all be up by the end of August!

The Color Room Challenge#68

2011-07-25T19:57:00.000-05:00

So I got some time yesterday to create a layout to play along at the Color Room. They come up with the coolest color palettes and inspiration and so I felt, inspired. Here is the palette/inspiration sketch from "Her Room":

So here is my interpretation of it, I kept the sketch intact and added a lovely photo of my daughter and her bff. There's some fun masking, stamping and lots of layers! My favorite part is how the bottle caps combined with some vintage pearl buttons look like sweet little cupcakes!

Here are some close-ups:

Materials Used: Studio Calico/Elementary (base), SEI, Jillibean Soup/Kraft, My Minds Eye/Life Stories, Jillibean Soup/Corrugated Button Flowers (as masks), Making Memories/Animal Crackers velvet brads, Fiskars/effervescence & apron lace border punches, Flower punch, E. Prima/pearls, Maya Rd./Maya mist-brown, pink ribbon, Scenic Route/gold letter stickers, vintage trim, vintage buttons, vintage bottle caps

This color combo makes me happy, makes me think of a bakery and pastries, lol.

Let me know what you think of my latest.

Have a great week!

Church Camp Extravaganza!

2011-07-16T19:41:00.001-05:00

Wow just got back from our one week vacation at church camp, and what a year it was! Soooo much fun and so uplifting. We really look forward to it all year long and feel spiritually recharged for the coming year.

This year's theme was breaking the cycle, any cycle in our lives that has a hold of us in a negative manner. We focused on one area of our lives to change for the better spiritually, mine was peace. I struggle with it as most mothers do, everyday anxieties and worry. So I will be working on that, with God's help anything is possible right!

I just wanted to share some photos from the past week, here are my favorites:

That is just a few highlights, can't wait to scrap them all! Have a great weekend everyone!

Blog Hop Winner!

2011-07-04T23:10:00.000-05:00

Thanks for stopping by this weekend and joining in for the blog hop! The lucky winner of my RAK is....

Kathy said...: So sorry to see you leaving the DT....your work is gorgeous! Love the colors and patterns you have combined here, and that banner rocks! I have become a new follower on your blog, and I lOVE Jillibean Soup!; July 1, 2011 7:06 PM

Sooo Kathy please email me at: dreamglass224@aol.com with your name & address and I will get this prize pack shipped out to you ASAP!

Scrapbook Challenges Seasons of Change Blog Hop!

2011-07-01T08:25:00.004-05:00

Welcome to my blog stop on the blog hop!

If you just stopped by you can join in on the Scrapbook Challenges blog hop at the beginning here: Brynn (http://bzb-designs.com/blog)

My name is Patricia and I am a retiring member of the Scrapbook Challenges Team. I was so lucky to be a part of this team and really loved the sketch design for the blog hop challenge, check it out:

I actually did not change it up much, just added a few more details. Here is what I came up with using a photo from my daughter's last Lacrosse game of the season:

This layout is almost all Jillibean Soup

(four different paper lines: Watermelon Gazpacho, Pasta Fagioli, Blossom & Soup Staples; yellow bakers twine,Watermelon Gazpacho Sprouts & Pea Pods, Chilled Strawberry Alphabet stickers)

Other manufacturers: Banner Stamp-We R Memory Keepers/Peep, Stitch Stamp-Hero Arts, Punches-Fiskars, Pearls-Queen & Co., Silver rhinestones

Here are some close-ups:

So on to the good stuff....

RAKS involved in this blog hop:

1. For one person who leaves a comment on all the blogs in the hop, they will get the Salt Air Collection from Cosmo Cricket.

2. For one person who does a layout based on the sketch and posts in the HOP ON section, will receive a $20.00 USD Gift Certificate to Scrapbook.com.

3. For inviting people to join the group one person will receive a mix of alcohol ink goodies from Ranger.

** Colors may vary

4. One new member over the weekend will receive a mix of alcohol ink goodies from Ranger.

** Colors may vary

5. MY RAK- To be eligible all you have to do is become a follower of my blog. If you are already a follower just leave me a comment on this post that says: "Please enter me in the Jillibean Soup Giveaway" It's that easy and you could win a fabulous Jillibean Soup Summer Squash Prize Pack! Includes 6 Sheets of patterned paper, cardstock stickers and a ribbon pack.

Ok that's everything, Thanks for stopping by!

Now on to the next stop on the hop:

Nanette scrap-4-kids.blogspot.com.

Bo Bunny Card Challenge

2011-06-25T15:13:00.000-05:00

So I needed a birthday card for my Dad and saw this Bo Bunny Card Challenge and thought I would give it a try. Really liked the sketch and I love Bo Bunny papers, a complete materials list is below. Here is the sketch:

Well I flipped it upside down and here is what I came up with:

Materials List: Bo Bunny Timepiece- Stripe, Tick-Tock papers, Bazzill Swiss dot cardstock, Bazzill Lt. Gray Cardstock base; K& Company/Word Transfer Pad (Celebrate) Rub-on; Jillibean Soup/Bean Seeds-felt leaves/Harvest-Lg.; 2 Large Vintage Buttons; The Paper Studio/Sticky Doos foam dots

If your interested in the challenge you can find it on their blog here: http://bobunny.blogspot.com/2011/06/card-sketch-challenge.html Have a great weekend!

The Color Room #63 Challenge

2011-06-20T20:22:00.000-05:00

Hey all, I got a chance to do the Color Room Challenge this weekend and used some fabulous new Webster's Pages Yacht Club collection pieces. Just wanted to share, here is this weeks palette inspiration:

This is my interpretation of it:

Here are some close-ups:

So in love with this line from Webster's Pages, lots of fun to work with! If you are interested in getting weekly inspiration from The Color Room follow this link: http://thecolorroom.ning.com/ If you are interested in more Webster's Pages inspiration then go to their website InspireMe, There is lots going on there with a brand new Celebrate line premiere with games and prizes!

Let me know what you think of my latest creation!

Jillibean Soup Consumer Website is OPEN

2011-06-14T10:08:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to share the great news! Jillibean Soup now has a consumer direct website where anyone can order direct. We have several items that you may not be able to find anywhere else, including: older paper lines, kraft die-cuts, wood accessories, etc.

Also there is a special intro Discount Pack up for sale with $80 worth of product for $19.99!

Be sure to check it out, the brand new retail store is located at this link: http://www.jillibean-soup.com/retail/index.php

Jillibean Guest Designer Projects

2011-05-10T21:24:00.001-05:00

My second project was posted today over on the Jillibean Soup blog, Bean Talk. Here is a link to it, it features one of my other favorite projects ever, a village called Dutch Mustardville.

Here are some close-ups of the last two projects that were featured there:

Got Sunshine? Antique Printers Tray:

To see the completed tray go to this link. I made it using the Jillibean Soup/Blossom Soup line.

Here are close ups of the one posted today:

Dutch Mustardville Home Decor

To see the whole village go to this link. I made them using paper mache houses and the Jillibean Soup/Dutch Mustard line.
As always I love to hear what you think of my latest creations, so leave a comment if you have time!

Jillibean Guest Designer Post

2011-05-03T11:46:00.000-05:00

Today is my first Jillibean Guest Designer Post over on the Bean Talk blog! It is my favorite project, an altered antique printers tray using Blossom Soup. Go to this link to check it out:
Jillibean Soup/Bean Talk Blog

I will post some close-ups tonight of that project and share the materials list here as well.

Let me know what you think!

Scrapjazz Articles Sneak Peeks

2011-04-28T06:50:00.000-05:00

So you may or may not know that I write articles for Scrapjazz.com which actually end up on Scrapbook.com. I recently have done several and wanted to give you a few sneak peeks of some fabulous products that I reviewed:

#1 Jillibean Soup- Corrugated Shapes
I fell in love with these fabulous new shapes the moment I first saw them, they are so fun and versatile- great for cards and layouts!

#2 Cosmo Cricket- Glubers
Ok, how much fun are these dreamy dots of adhesive? They make these fantastic coiled flowers in just a couple minutes- so cool.

#3 Lily Bee- Happily Lost Paper Collection
This paper line really spoke to me, simple vintage meets elegance is how I describe it and I couldn't find a theme it didn't work for. Perfect colors for Spring and Summer!

Let me know what you think, you can watch for the full articles at Scrapjazz.com.

Letter "O" at Scrapbook Challenges

2011-04-22T10:15:00.000-05:00

HAPPY EARTH DAY!
I just posted my second challenge over at Scrapbook Challenges website. You can find it by following this link. The challenge has the following requirements:

So for the letter “O” of our continuing ABC’s of me challenge you will need to create a layout using these three items beginning in the letter “O”:

1) Use the color Orange somewhere on your layout.

2) Use an Oval shape in your layout, and yes egg shapes totally qualify as ovals- especially this week!

3) Use photos that were taken Outdoors

Here is a layout I created using these requirements, it's titled "Happy Campers":

Materials Used: Jillibean Soup/Talk Soup- Hint of Gossip & Chit Chat, Jillibean Soup Coredinations Cardstock/Green (sanded & inked), Jillibean Soup Journaling Sprout, NEW Jillibean Soup Chipboard Alpha/Woodgrain, NEW Jillibean Soup Chilled Strawberry Pea Pods (Diecut title box)
Jillibean Soup Atomic Soup/Lt. Blue box alpha

I used the color orange in the journaling sprout subtitle, the oval shape can be found in the shape of the owls and the photos were taken on a camping trip,all outdoors. Oh and the owls are a bonus “O” addition.

I would love to see you join in the ABC’s of me letter “O” challenge, please go to this link to join in the fun! If you have never visited the Scrapbook Challenges website, you are missing out on tons of inspiration!

Can You Say Watermelon Gazpacho?

2011-04-15T06:43:00.000-05:00

Exciting news over at Jillibean Soup, a brand new mid-release!! It is crazy cute and was designed by the super talented Laina Lamb! Check it out:

Here is the link to a more detailed blog post over at Bean Talk. Just wanted to share some sweet almost summer goodness!

Jillibean Soup Announcement

2011-04-01T07:18:00.000-05:00

So there is big, big news over at the Jillibean Soup Blog today! They just posted their 2011 Design Team and Guest Design Team you can find it here.

Drum roll please........I have been asked to be a guest designer!!! Wooo-Hooo, happy dance. I am over the moon excited and honored to be considered for such an invitation. I love Jillibean Soup and can't wait to see what the new year will bring. In honor of the announcement I thought I would share a few of my favorite Jillibean Soup layouts with you. They are not the ones I submitted for the dt application, I will save those for later ;)

This one is titled "My Sweet Honeybee" it features photos of my very busy boy and the Jillibean Soup line of Atomic Soup with some Kraft Staples/Brown Pea Pod, Green Sugar Staples and Summer Squash/Gold Potatoes paper. There are Speckled Egg Alphabeans, bakers twine, a kraft journal sprout and a Sugar Pick too.

This is a fun review of the year of 2010 using the scrumptious Pasta Fagioli line with some Coredinations cardstock and corrugated arrows thrown in.

This remains one of my all-time favorites- "Snugs", mostly due to the fantastic photo of my two babies! This one using the classic Old World Cabbage line (love it!) with some Pasta Fagioli/Meatballs, kraft journal sprout, bakers twine and corrugated buttons thrown into the mix.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing my big news! Have a great weekend!

Reminisce Party Contest

2011-03-30T21:11:00.000-05:00

Reminisce is having a party contest over on their blog here. As soon as I saw their new Monkey Adventures line I knew it was perfect for my 2 year old son Gabriel. So I have created a double layout from his birthday photos. He is absolutely crazy about trains right now so this line was a perfect fit.

Materials Used: Reminisce Monkey Adventures 12x12 Cardstock Sticker sheet and Reminisce Monkey Adventures diecut sticker quotes; Jillibean Soup/Red Sugar Staples (polka dot base) and White Bean Soup/Pepper to taste (green plaid) with Alphabean Stickers in Glazed Green and Roasted Red; Navy Blue Cardstock, Red Cardstock and med. blue cardstock; Assorted black buttons

Gabe got train gifts, a train cake and even train party favors. We also celebrated Grandmas Birthday the same day, so the middle car of the cake train is filled with flowers and says "Grandma". Here are some more close up photos:

How cute is that Monkey Train? Let me know what you think! If your interested in the contest you have to enter by April 7th.

PageMaps & Websters Pages Challenge

2011-03-26T16:53:00.000-05:00

Somehow I have managed to sneak in another layout this week. There was a challenge at the Pagemaps blog that joined forces with Websters Pages and I just couldn't resist the combo. Here is the Pagemaps sketch:

Here is my take on the sketch challenge, titled "Church Camp Family Fun"

Materials Used: Websters Pages/Wonderfall, Hollywood Vogue, Waiting for Santa; Making Memories/Passport flowers; Best Occasions/metal dots

Here are some close-ups:

Only a few days left if you want to join in the challenge, deadline is 3/30 here is the link.

Let me know what you think of this layout :)

Have a great weekend!

Websters Pages March Challenge

2011-03-25T23:58:00.001-05:00

One of my other favorite inspiration website, Websters Pages InspireMe has challenges every month. I was able to play along in their traditional category this month which was to create a layout with a shaped base. You can find the challenge here. They have an amazing design team that shares wonderful projects. This website is full of ideas, tips, sharing and fun, you really should check it out.

Here is my entry for the March Challenge, titled "My Veggie Girl"

Here are some close-ups:

This is a layout I did of my daughter and her choice to be a vegetarian. I used new Websters Pages- Spring Market paper, vellum and some Lullaby Lane and Wonderfall and Waiting for Santa alpha stickers. I created my own template to shape the corners for the challenge and used my eyelet punch to make the holes. There are lots of pop up dots and vintage buttons to top it all off. Let me know what you think!

The Color Room- 50th Palette Celebration

2011-03-21T20:32:00.001-05:00

Over at the Color Room blog they are having a 50th Palette Celebration! There is a fantastic, and long blog hop- but I guarantee you won't be disappointed by what you see along the way. Those are some amazingly talented ladies, and they share tips and techniques as well as their works of art. So please go check it out, they are one of my favorite sites for inspiration.

Here is this weeks Palette and sketch (there is also a card sketch for anyone interested):

And this is my interpretation of it, Titled- "Ticket to Mischief" :)

Materials used: Basic Grey/Wander; My Minds Eye/Ooh La La, Alphabet Soup; Crate Paper/Restoration-border sticker; Jillibean Soup/Blue Bakers twine; Vintage buttons, white bazzill cardstock, tickets

Love this photo of Gabe from last year, that look he has on his face- pure mischief! And yes he is that ornery and then some!

Thanks for stopping by would love to know what you think of this one.

Sketch Time at Scrap and Stamp

2011-03-21T19:57:00.000-05:00

For the next two weeks at Scrap and Stamp there is a sketch challenge, you can find it here. It is a Pencil Lines sketch and it is below:

This is the layout I created for the sketch, using our Christmas photo and Cosmo Cricket/Dutch Girl papers:

So please join us and play along, we would love to have you!

Get Punchy at Scrap and Stamp

2011-03-06T00:11:00.002-06:00

The challenge this next two weeks at Scrap and Stamp is to create a layout using punches and a stamp. So I decided to share a project that I made for a gift a printers tray, it used a heart punch and a Webster's Pages/Unity stamp.

Have a great weekend!

Aspen's Sweet Sixteen

2011-02-28T22:44:00.000-06:00

So my baby girl is now officially sixteen, can't believe it- the years have flown by. This weekend we threw her a big Sweet Sixteen party complete with over 60 guests, D.J. (my brother Stace), 3 tier cake, ice sculpture, black lights, several gifts and yes, a car. Her Dad got her a 2000 Black Honda Prelude, she was so surprised and very excited. Still can't get used to the fact that she will be driving herself around soon. She hopes to take her drivers test this week and get her license. Wow, what a week this has been. Thank goodness we had lots of help with the party preparations and several family and friends that helped us pull it all off. A special thank you to all of them for their efforts. We tried to keep costs down by doing most everything ourselves and Scott's work donated the banquet hall. Anyhow enough with the talk, the pictures say it better:

Aspen and her Dad in her new car.

The cake that Aspen chose, Grandma baked and I decorated.

Aspen with her little brother Billy.

All the kids at the party.

The ice sculpture, by the talented French Chef Marc.

Perhaps the rowdiest kid at the party, Aspen's littlest brother Gabe rolling on the floor.

Make a Wish

Those are just a few of the highlights, hope to make some great layouts with the photos. Happy Monday!

My First "Scrapbook Challenges" Challenge

2011-02-19T10:19:00.000-06:00

So this week please join me over at SCRAPBOOK CHALLENGES for my first challenge with their design team. It is an ABC's of me challenge for the letter "F", so I chose the word "Faith". This means you have to create a layout that features what "Faith" means to you, because these challenges are all about you. Here is my example layout:

Materials Used: Brand New Jillibean Soup/Dutch Mustard papers, pea pod diecuts, cardstock stickers; kraft staple/white pea pod, Corrugated Alphabet/White, Corrugated Shape/Hearts, Alphabean Stickers/Speckled Egg

Here are some close-ups, I loooove the new Jillibean Corrugated Shapes, Pea Pods diecuts and coordinating stickers they make embellishments like this easy:

Speaking of Scrapbook Challenges, while I was at CHA I got to meet two members of that team. I got to meet the owner Pamela Young, in fact she was working in a booth very close to ours with My Little Shoebox. I also got to meet Carmen Cohen-Henriquez she is another design team member there, she was very sweet and I got to catch a photo with her:

I hope you will check out Scrapbook Challenges it is a website full of inspiration with new sketches for anyone to use WEEKLY and a huge archive of sketches!

We are headed to the rodeo tonight thanks to my brother getting us tickets! Can't wait to see how Gabriel reacts to a real rodeo. Aspen is at the big youth rally in Gatlinburg, Tennessee this weekend- Winterfest 2011. So please pray for her faith to grow and a safe journey! Next week is her 16th Birthday on the 24th, can't believe my baby is turning 16. Wow it happens so fast. Gotta run, we need to be working on her party preparations. Have a great weekend!

More CHA Photos to Share

2011-02-12T12:16:00.000-06:00

So I promised more pics from our trip to L.A. for CHA. We had such a good time and I made lots of new friends too. Here are some more of my fav photos:

Palm trees and sunshine, sigh...

Downtown L.A. has really cool lighting at night, this is in an outdoor courtyard area.

Downtown near Staples Center, where the Lakers play.

At dinner at the Yard House with three famous Jillibean Soup Design Team Members:
Summer Fullerton, (me), Kimber McGray and Laura Vegas. We had so much fun, however may have been the loudest restaurant ever, lol. Great food though.

Here is the other side of our very large table at dinner with 3 more design team members:
Jill (Jillibean Owner), Jen Harkin, Aly Dosdall, Alecia (Jillibean Sales) and Laina Lamb.

Now to share more Scrappin Rock Star Photos!

Yep that is the Celine Navarro from France, she is one of my all time fav designers! Her photography always amazes me and her multimedia syle always inspires. She came to the booth to visit and was so nice, in fact she is a big Jillibean Soup fan too!

This is Jing Jing Nickel another designer I was so happy to meet. She has a graphic playful and colorful style that never disappoints. She seemed surprised that I wanted a photo with her :)

Well that's all I have time for now, Gabe needs a bath and a nap! Have a great weekend!

Heritage Layouts at Scrap and Stamp

2011-02-05T08:28:00.002-06:00

Thiis week over at Scrap and Stamp we are highlighting Heritage layouts. To join in the fun all you have to do is create a layout with a heritage photo and a stamp. The winner will receive a prize of several different ribbons.

Here is my layout, it is another Christmas gift that I created especially for my father. This is his senior picture, wasn't he handsome! I added lots of his favorites things to the layout, fishing, hunting, outdoors and his favorite hymn- "How Great Thou Art".

Materials used: Cosmo Cricket/Mr. Campy-Skipping Stones & Nature Walk & Cardstock Sticker/leaves; My Minds Eye/Ooh La La; Jillibean Soup/Alphabeans stickers; Stampin Up/Lovely as a Tree stamp set; Hobby Lobby/Shadowbox Frame & wooden fish decor.

On a Cosmo Cricket side note I was blessed with the chance to go to CHA last week and I got to meet one of the owners of Cosmo- Julie. She was so sweet and even talked with me for a minute. Then I got to take a tutorial from the very talented Natasja Verbeek on a new product called Glubers- so cool. So of course I invited her to come down to the Jillibean Soup booth to give our make and take a go and she did! So I was able to get this photo with her:

Natasja was so nice and we made sure to load her up with some yummy Jillibean Soup products to use back in Amsterdam! I will share more CHA peeks soon, gotta run for now.

CHA Joy to Share

2011-02-03T12:59:00.000-06:00

The booth on the first day, so many fantastic projects by the design team!

So I said I would be back with fabulous photos from our trip to CHA! We had such an amazing time our Jillibean Soup team is soooo much fun! First off pics of the Jillibean Booth and the fabulous new products:

Here is the scrumptious Chilled Strawberry Soup served up specially for you on Kraft!

This is my personal fave of the new lines, the darling Dutch Mustard Soup.

The beautiful blooming Blossom Soup is fresh and fun perfect for Spring and Summer!

Last but not least is the celebrations line of Spotted Owl Soup, with the cutest party owls you've ever seen!

Brand New Jillibean Products: 4 Chipboard Alphas (burlap, newsprint, gingham & woodgrain); Bean Blossoms (wrapped twine with button embellies); Kraft File Folders; 6x6 Paper Pads! (for Dutch Mustard, Blossom and Spotted Owl); 12x12 Cardstock Stickers Sheets (for all 4 lines); 12x12 Diecut sheets- Pea Pods (for all 4 lines); Mini Kraft Alpha Stickers (4 colors: black, brown, white or red); Unity Stamps! see below (for all 4 new lines, including fab itty bitty's with a strawberry owl and a bicycle)

Other new products by Jillibean include: 4 New Corrugated Shapes (houses, clouds & trees, hearts & owls, butterflies & banners, frames); 3 New Sugar Picks (butterflies, hearts and flowers); 4 New Sprout packs

Here are some fun pics from the booth:

2 Jillibean Design Team Members: Summer Fullerton & Jen Harkin I got to meet them for the first time on the trip and they are both just as sweet as they look with wonderful sense of humors too!

Alecia (Sales & Marketing) and Jill (the big bean) clowning in the aisle.

I didn't find a pic of our design team coordinator- Kimber McGray from the booth so I wanted to share this one. It's one of my favorite pics from the trip Kimber, me and Summer at dinner. These two ladies rock, personally as well as creatively so happy to have them as new friends!

Three scrappin rock stars that visited the booth left to right: Emily Pitts, (me), Nicole Harper & Davinie Fiero

Well that's all I have time for right now, but I will share more L.A. photos and Scrappin Rock Star photos soon!

Greetings from CHA!

2011-01-31T08:24:00.000-06:00

So I am here in L.A. for the CHA show thanks to the generosity of my employer, Jillibean Soup. I have been working in the Jillibean booth and having an amazing time. I have met so many famous deisgners and seen so many wonderful new products that I am on sensory overload. I never would have imagined that I would get an opportunity such as this! I can't wait to share some photos but don't have the ability to upload them now, but I will soon!

I did see that my article on Tim Holtz Tonic Studio scissors is up over at Scrapjazz.com so I wanted to share the link and the layout I did for it. Here is the link to the article:http://www.scrapjazz.com/topics/Products/3110.php I do highly recommend the product, I haven't used any other scissors since I got them.

Here is the layout I added to the article it is one to celebrate my daughter's 15th year of life. She turns sixteen in less than a month, YIKES! I tried to do the layout in a style she would appreciate so it is a bit out of the box for me, but I really love how it turned out!

Thanks for stopping be back soon with fabulous photos from CHA!

The Year in Pictures Challenge

2011-01-21T22:38:00.001-06:00

The next challenge at Scrap and Stamp is a Year in Review theme. So I did a Year in Pictures collage of my 2010 memories. This layout is all Jillibean Soup, specifically the Pasta Fagioli line (I just love those cameras!), coredinations cardstock and corrugated arrows. I stamped the month abbreviations on most of the photos.

It was a great year, full of special moments. We are blessed.

I also wanted to mention that some fabulous sneak peeks have been happening over at Jillibean Soup with tons of giveaways, go HERE to check them out. You won't be disappointed Jill's latest products are amazing!

Scrapbook Challenges Blog Hop Winner!

2011-01-11T22:27:00.000-06:00

A big thanks goes out to all the Scrapbook Challenges blog hoppers that joined as followers this weekend!

As I promised I have this big pack of goodies ready to ship out to the winner of my giveaway:

Goodie Pack includes: 25 Sheets of Paper (Jillibean Soup, Prima, DCWV, Colorbok & Pink Paislee), 1 Pack of Basic Grey rub-ons, Autumn Leaves/Rhonna Farrer Clear Stamp, Legacies Ribbon Set, Karen Foster brads, Paper Adventures rub-on Alphabet & Making Memories-woven corners

I randomly chose from the followers list and the Winner is:

Tiffany

frogscrapgirl@yahoo.com

Congratulations Tiffany! Please send your mailing address to me at: dreamglass224@aol.com

New Beginnings at Scrap and Stamp

2011-01-11T20:27:00.000-06:00

This week at Scrap and Stamp they began a "New Beginnings" challenge. To join in all you need is a layout with at least one stamp and a type of new beginning theme (examples: new baby, new job, new home, etc.) I chose to share a gift I recently made for my lovely Mother's birthday on Jan. 5th. It is an altered glass storage jar that would make a great "New Home" gift.

I used the wonderful Websters Pages/Wonderfall, Lullaby Lane &Waiting for Santa collections with some yummy embellishments from Queen & Co.-felt lace, some ribbon and gemstones. The stamped heart images are from Stampin Up, stamped in "Close to Cocoa" ink onto patterned paper. I also added some hand pieced flowers that I shaped like one of my Mom's favorite flowers- Pansies.

Here is what you can win if you join in on the challenge:

Perfect for those New Years Celebrations layouts!

Scrapbook Challenges New Term Blog Hop

2011-01-07T09:29:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the Scrapbook Challenges New Term Blog Hop! If you just happened to be visiting and want to start the Hop from the beginning then go to Pamela's blog here: http://www.pamelasworldofscrap.blogspot.com/

This is the first time I get to communicate that I am a new member of the Scrapbook Challenges Design Team! Woo Hoo! I was very honored to be accepted and look forward to a term full of learning, creativity and fun! I have been "formally" scrapbooking for 13 years now and I am an admitted scrapaholic. I am very happy to be working in an industry that I love. I am a mother to two children, son 2 years old and a daughter almost 16! Thankfully I have a wonderful husband that supports my scrapbooking adventures. God and family are my driving forces and I have been blessed richly.

For this blog hop we all had the opportunity to make a project based on this fantastic sketch:

This is my interpretation of the sketch:

So check out the fabulous prizes you could win for joining in on all the fun!

1. For one person who leaves a comment on all the blogs in the hop, they will get the new Spring Market collection from Webster's Pages, including chipboard buttons and twine.

2. For one person who does a layout based on the sketch, they will get the Be Mine collection from Echo Park Paper Company.

3. For inviting people to join the group, one person will get a collection of adhesive from Helmar.

4. For one new member over the weekend, they will get some new stamps from Unity and Webster's Pages.

(PHOTO NOT YET AVAILABLE)
It's your lucky day because I am also offering my own RAK pack of scrapbook goodies, sorry I don't have a photo available but you won't be disappointed I promise!
To enter my giveaway you must become a follower of my blog. Just click on the FOLLOW button in the right hand column and follow the prompt. I will randomly select a winner after the end of the blog hop by Jan. 12th.

Without further ado, the next stop on the blog hop is Sookie's blog: http://totallydoodles.blogspot.com/

Here is the complete order for the entire hop, just in case you were wondering:
.
BLOG HOP ORDER:

1. Pamela (http://www.pamelasworldofscrap.blogspot.com/)
2. Jolanda (http://jolandascrapsels.blogspot.com)
3. Marilyn (http://marilynrivera.blogspot.com/)
4. Jackie (http://mybasketofscraps.blogspot.com)
5. Amy (http://queen-of-the-crazies.blogspot.com/)
6. Shelly (http://shells-space.blogspot.com/)
7. Amanda (http://afewpacesfromhere.wordpress.com)
8. Janine (http://rachauscratchpad.blogspot.com/)
9. Shannon (http://sdombkowski.blogspot.com/)
10. Jo (http://josocrafty.blogspot.com)
11. Rene' (http://www.stampinginsunnysa.blogspot.com)
12. Yara (http://itssummereveryday.blogspot.com)
13. Dani (http://alongcamedani.blogspot.com)
14. Chanell (www.theinstinctivescrapper.blogspot.com)
15. Ana (http://anazelia-myscrapbookaddiction.blogspot.com/)
16. Holli (http://holligurl01.blogspot.com/)
17. Carmen (http://scrapbookchallenges.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?user=2za8nmp...)
18. Jowilna (www.jowilnanolte.blogspot.com)
19. Patricia (http://www.patriciasperspectives.blogspot.com/)
20. Sookie (http://totallydoodles.blogspot.com/)
21. GUEST from HELMAR: Becky (http://www.beckyteich.blogspot.com/)
22. Sabrina (http://sabrinascrapbook.blogspot.com)
23. Natalie (http://njmacs.blogspot.com/)
24. Cheryl (http://craft-thing.blogspot.com)
25. Mary Ann (http://www.thepapersalon.blogspot.com/)
26. Jamie (http://paperheartproject.blogspot.com/)
27. Brynn (http://www.bzb-designs.com/blog)

Thanks for hopping by and have a great weekend! :)

Look Who's Two!

2011-01-04T22:59:00.000-06:00

So our baby boy turned two last week and he has had a whirlwind triple dose of celebrations. First was Christmas of course, so much fun for him this year. He is beginning to understand the Santa concept and really caught on to the presents idea. I caught him yelling from his crib at naptime twice this week the following: HO, HO, HO Merry Christmas Santa! (when I say yelling, I mean yelling) this little man is such a character.So then came Monday, Dec. 27th his real birthday. Scott took the day off and we all (plus Aspens Friend Sarah) took Gabe to Easton for a birthday lunch and build-a-bear trip. We got to go to The Cheesecake Factory (thank you Jill for the giftcard) It was all of our first time there. It was amazing, the biggest menu I have ever seen and literally 20 different types of cheesecake for dessert. And they sang to Gabe for his birthday and gave him his own piece of birthday cheesecake. He loved it, the singing and the cheesecake. For the rest of the day he was singing, Happy Birthday Me and smiling. Here are some photos of the lunch celebration:

One of my favorite photos of Gabe ever, and Aspen took it!

Then we headed outside to walk around for awhile and discovered the Easton Railway train set. Gabe was completely enthralled and considering how cold it was outside that is saying alot. Here are some photos of the train encounter:

Then it was off to Build-a-Bear for Gabriel to create a new birthday stuffie. So we take him in and we literally go through every animal asking him do you like _____? Every time he said, No, No, No- until finally we picked up a horse and he grabbed it hugged it and said YeeHaw...lol. So he is truly a little cowboy at heart apparently, living up to his Grandma Fox-Folchert side of the family for sure!

After that we walked around some more and it got dark, so we had to go back to the trains in the dark. It was even cooler lit up at night.

Saved the best for last, they had an incredible Christmas Tree lit up in the courtyard. Wow.

Hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and New Year's Eve! Best wishes in 2011!

Let's Get Shabby- Challenge 18 Favorite Christmas Carols

2010-12-18T09:14:00.000-06:00

Let's Get Shabby blog has such a fun challenge going on that I just had to play along. The challenge is to scrap your favorite Christmas Carols, so I decided to get the whole family involved in this one and did each of our favorites. I chose the fantastic Websters Pages, Waiting for Santa line. I also plan to submit this as one of my projects for their current design team call. So here is my layout, lots of love and hours invested in this one:

Bottom left is Scott's favorite: Silent Night; middle left is Aspen's favorite: Sugar Plum Fairy; Middle Right is my favorite Carol of the Bells (Scott's version of course); Bottom Right is what we imagine to be Gabe's favorite: Little Drummer Boy (fits him right!)

Some close ups of the two pages:

Merry Christmas to all of you, be sure to let me know what you think of my latest creation!

Winter Traditions Challenge at Scrap and Stamp

2010-12-12T07:54:00.000-06:00

There is a winter traditions challenge at Scrap and Stamp this week. So share a layout with us about something you do every winter and use at least one stamp. For me, we had a frosty day in the snow with Gabriel making his very first snowman. Here is how that layout turned out:

Materials Used: My Minds Eye/Colorful Christmas; Jillibean Soup embellishments: corrugated shapes, sugar picks, ribbon & Alphabean letter stickers; misc. buttons; Queen & Company/Pearls; Stampin Up/Snowflake stamp set.

It was a magical day and it is so much fun to see these first time experiences through your childrens eyes. Makes you feel like a child again yourself. That is why I am so excited for Christmas this year. Gabe is almost two and Aspen almost sixteen and they will be so much fun! Can't wait!

The Color Room Palette #34

2010-11-30T23:15:00.000-06:00

So I love to play along at The Color Room when I get a chance. They have weekly challenges and they give you inspiration via a theme photo, color palette and sketch. Here is this weeks inspiration block:

So one thing I love about my daughter having a face book page is that I get extra photos of her to work with. This one she took herself in a mirror? Amazing photo, I love it. Plus it shows off her new glasses, so sophisticated right? Anyway, I love how these vibrant palette colors popped against a black background!

She is growing up way too fast. But I am so blessed to have her.

Let me know what you think of the layout...

Fabric Dye Tutorial at Scrap and Stamp

2010-11-20T12:28:00.000-06:00

There is a fabulous tutorial challenge up at Scrap and Stamp this week, it is how to use fabric dye on layouts by my friend Jowilna. It was really easy and the results are fantastic. I used turquoise fabric dye, mixed it with water in a small spray bottle and sprayed a piece of fabric and lace. If you look close you can see that I even used the lace as a mask on the left side of the fabric swatch. Then I heat set it with my heat embosser gun. Then you can instantly add it to your layout. So easy, right! So give it a try, here is my layout:

This is a special layout for a few reasons: 1) Julia was baptized that day at church camp (Northwestern Ohio Christian Youth Camp); 2) It was Scott's first baptism and it came after several hours of discussion with both of us; 3) Angels were there with us rejoicing! I also added the bible verse Acts 2:38 which explains how we are to be baptized in Jesus Christ.

As far as the page goes, the colors of the photos really matched the palette of these papers by My Minds Eye/Ooh La La collection. A beautiful layout for a magnificent day, Praise God.

Sketch Challenges Fall Getaway

2010-11-15T11:55:00.000-06:00

I wanted to create a layout about our recent fall getaway weekend to The Georgian Manner in Logan, Ohio. I found this fun sketch at Sketch Challenges by Pamela Young. Here is the sketch:

This is my take on the sketch, lots of yummy fall colors and textures. I adapted it into a double layout with 10 total photos! Most of the papers are Basic Grey/Indian Summer with lots of Jillibean Soup embellishments. There are also some very special embellishments that I got while on this weekend trip- I found some wonderful treasures at an Antique Mall. They are the vintage buttons and vintage patterns paper (behind the leaves) that I used on the layout! Also I used something new and different for me, fabric strips- they seem to be an up and coming trend in the scrapbook world.

Such a magical weekend deserves a special layout. As always, I would love to know what you think of it!

New Sketch To Try

2010-11-05T23:50:00.000-05:00

This week at Scrap and Stamp there is a new sketch challenge to try out. Take a look and give it a try, you have two weeks to complete it. Our sponsor this week is Torta Gialla Designs, and they are giving away a $10 gift certificate prize!
Here is the sketch:

This is my interpretation of the sketch, I did an altered shadowbox frame that is also a wedding gift for this weekend!

Sketch Challenges Birthday Bash Blog Hop

2010-11-01T22:55:00.000-05:00

So my friend Pamela has a great blog hop going on at Scrapbook Challenges this weekend to celebrate their Birthday! Go to Pamela's blog to begin the blog hop and then go here to find the hop on opportunity to join in the fun. I just could not resist this adorable sketch:

Here is my Halloween take on the sketch, Gabe was so cute in his costume as a turtle.
Love the color combo, some of my favorites and these Bo Bunny papers are just too much fun!

Hope you and yours had a fabulous Halloween too!

Fall Activities Challenge at Scrap and Stamp

2010-10-31T14:38:00.000-05:00

The newest challenge at Scrap and Stamp is to share a fall activity or sport layout. Just add any stamped element, traditional or digital to your layout and you will quality for the challenge prize drawing. The sponsor this week is Wil Feda Designs and you could win two digi's of your choice! So pull out all of those fantastic fall photos and get to scrappin! and remember you now have two weeks to complete a challenge layout! So no excuses...

My layout is a blast from the past, only a year ago. This is a fall layout of my family last halloween and one of our favorite fall activities is carving pumpkins.

In fact we just carved some last night, so that layout will soon be arriving via the blog to be sure. Oh and Gabe is a terrific little turtle this year, wait until you see how cute this costume is! Happy Halloween to you and your families, enjoy!

Fantastic Fall Getaway

2010-10-31T14:29:00.000-05:00

So Scott and I got to indulge for the first time ever in a weekend to ourselves to celebrate our third anniversary. We had planned on a cabin in Hocking Hills but opted for a Bed and Breakfast instead. I was excited since I had never been to a B&B, but didn't really know what to expect. We went to "A Georgian Manner", outside of Logan, Ohio and it sits right on Lake Logan.

Who knew a place like this existed in Ohio? We are so happy to have discovered such a treasure. This place is pure elegance indoors and outdoors. From the beautiful victorian decor inside to the immaculately kept grounds outdoors, it was full of wonderful surprises.

Our room was lovely, so romantic with it's own private balcony and extraordinary view. The food was exceptional, breakfast was way beyond what we had expected.

Being right next to Lake Logan makes the Manner such a unique experience. We enjoyed watching swans, ducks and herons all weekend long. We fished the lake and used the Manner's canoe for a sunset cruise, it was so peaceful that it is hard to describe.

The owner's were such a delight too, we so enjoyed talking with them. They answered every question we had about the area and gave us inside information on all the best activities and restaurants in the vicinity. Overall I must say that this was the perfect place to disconnect from the rest of the world and reconnect with each other. We are already planning a return visit for our anniversary next year. Just wanted to share a positive experience!

Painted Frame Tutorial at Scrap and Stamp

2010-10-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

This week at Scrap and Stamp there is a tutorial on how to paint a frame on photos. It is sooo easy and the results really add punch to your photos. Just pop over to the blog and join in the fun, you now have TWO WEEKS to complete a challenge! That's right we have made a few changes on the challenge blog and extended deadlines for chalenges.

Also this weeks sponsor is Hambo Stamps you can check them out here. They are providing the prize for the winner of the challenge!

Here is my take on this weeks challenge. A lovely layout made especially for my Mother. Check out this photo from her senior year, isn't she beautiful! Anyhow I wanted to thank her for all that she does for our family and for being such an extraordinary example of how a christian woman should be. Lots of her favorites on this layout: Pink, Amazing Grace and lots of flowers. Thanks Mom, I love you.

Material Used: Jillibean Soup/Kraft Staples- White Macaroni, ruler twill & corrugated buttons; Studio Calico/Anthology- woodgrain paper; Prima/Breathe- flowers & diamond pattern; K & Company/pink gingham; American Crafts/White Ribbon Roses; Colorbok/journal envelope and tag; Martha Stewart/Flag Pennant; Alphabet stamps; Making Memories/green gingham; pink gemstones; misc. buttons

Stitching Challenge

2010-10-16T15:24:00.000-05:00

Do you like to add real sewing or stitching to your layouts, or are you like me and would rather just stamp them on? Either way you should give the challenge over at Scrap and Stamp Saturday a try! Stitching and a stamp is the only qualification for this week.

Our sponsor this week is Delicious Doodles and you can check them out here. They are offering some digis as a prize this week.

Here is my layout it is titled "Farm Fascinated" and was inspired by a trip to the pumpkin farm last fall. I adore this photo of Gabe, his whole face is lit up by excitement. So much fun that day was.

So let me know what you think!

Moxxie Fab Pleating Challenge

2010-10-10T15:57:00.000-05:00

So there is a new challenge posted over at Moxxie Fab World blog and it is to use pleats. Soooo I actually have done a double layout using their new autumn line. I pleated my ribbon border to add texture. Love these colors and the photos are so perfect- they are from Scott's parents visit last fall. We had such a great time when they were here and really tried to embrace fall in Ohio. A visit to Leed's Pumpkin farm, a hayride and a day trip to John Bryan State Park. I love fall.

My Sketch at Scrap and Stamp

2010-10-10T14:56:00.000-05:00

This week at Scrap and Stamp they are featuring a sketch challenge by yours truly, me. So you simply must play along! Remember from now on, you have two weeks to complete the challenge, so no excuses. The sponsor this week is Inktegrity Digital Images, be sure to check them out. Here is the sketch, it can be interpreted however you like as long as you add a stamp to it.

This is my take on the sketch, of course another double layout.

This layout celebrated the last day of school campout of my teen daughter and her friends. Love the Bo Bunny Sun Kissed lines explosive colors and playful patterns. They had a blast by the way.

The Color Room - Palette #26

2010-10-04T18:19:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I fell in love with the newest color palette and sketch at the color room. Check it out here. Here is the sketch and palette below:

I knew I had to play along and my wonderful husband allowed me to create all day Saturday. I instantly pictured a layout for Aspen celebrating her 15th year. So I called it "Fab 15" and used patterns and a style that I thought Aspen would like. I was right she loves it, it is very much my core shabby chic style and I also love how it turned out.

Materials Used: Coredinations/Red cardstock base; Jillibean Soup/Clove of Fresh Garlic-Pasta Fagioli (red text paper); Pink Paislee/Love Potion-Cupid Collection (red flower & rosebuds); Pink Paislee/Front Porch-Bayberry Cottage (houndstooth); Daisy D's/Pintuck Antique Black (title black mat); Me & My Big Ideas/#5956 CC-170(black flourishes); Glitz Design/Digital CD Season 3-Hot Mama (Zebra & Earrings print); Fancy Pants/Silver Snow-Christmas Magic (gray pattern); Jillibean Soup/Herbed Houndstooth Alphabeans (Title stickers- Fab 15); American Crafts/White Roses & Netting; Queen & Company/White Pearls; Stickles/Red & White Glitter; Jillibean Soup/Red & Black Bean Stalks (black ribbon); White cardstock (journal tags); Computer font Journaling/Rockwell; Unknown/Black flower stamens; Fiskars/Scallop border punch (corners)

So using Aspen as inspiration really allowed for a fresh layout combination. I would have never thought to mix so many patterns otherwise. But I just love how it turned out, especially her beautiful smile. So let me know what you think!

Alaskan Cruise & Hope Jacare Digital Stamps

2010-10-01T19:49:00.000-05:00

Doodles by Hope Jacare Digital Stamps are the sponsors for this weeks challenge over at Scrap and Stamp. They have some really cool images that are so easy to use. In fact, for the first time ever, I used one on my layout below. The "Boat at Sea" image on each side is from their website. I just used craft markers to color them in and added eyelets for the portholes. This week's challenge is "Anything Goes" so that means any type of layout with a stamped image will qualify so join us this week and maybe you will win 3 digis of your choice.

Here is my layout for the week, it is for my parents and their Alaskan Cruise they took last year. They had a wonderful time. I hope to take an Alaskan Cruise someday, in fact Alaska is in my top five places I want to see in my lifetime.

Have a fantastic weekend! And be sure to join my list of followers for email updates whenever I post!

Shared Excitement, I Met Lisa Bearnson!

2010-09-25T09:57:00.000-05:00

So the most amazing thing happened this past weekend and I just had to share. The Jillibean Soup team (Jill the Big Bean herself, Alecia/Sales & Marketing and Karen Nuce/Design Team member) and I headed to a charity event crop. The Power of Purple Crop, in Celina, Ohio- it was to benefit the Mercer County Domestic Violence shelter and services and we were teaching a card class for the event. We were all soooo excited to hear that Lisa Bearnson was going to be there and we couldn't wait to meet her. We arrived set up our booth and awaited Lisa's presentation, we were certainly not disappointed. I expected her to be very charismatic and outgoing, but I did not expect her presentation to move me to tears! She was amazingly sincere and so sweet- she reminded us of the importance of the little things in life and how we need to capture the everyday moments. She shared relationships she had made in Ohio and they were such touching stories. I was really pleasantly surprised by her down to earth attitude and the depth of her sincerity. As if that wasn't enough I entered the Power of Purple Layout Contest and won second place. Which meant that I got to have a private dinner with Lisa and two other ladies!!!! I was soooo excited- To top it all off she complimented me on two of my layouts!! I was blown away.

During Lisa's Presentation

Chiara (the crop organizer) and her sister sang the most beautiful song from "Wicked"

Students busy creating at our Jillibean Soup card class

Our private dinner with Lisa!

We talked about our jobs and our families and we all got photos taken with her and even our layouts. It was also so refreshing to witness an individual who is so bold in her faith- she openly shared her religious beliefs.

Lisa and I

My winning layout

The Jillibean Soup Booth and our crazy crew!

Needless to say, I was on cloud nine, and I'm still smiling every time the memory comes to mind. Such a unexpected treat and a magical day. Here are photos from the event, if you live anywhere near western Ohio you should definitely consider attending next year, it was tons of fun!

Here was this years link to register: http://scrapbookcrops.com/scrapbooking-events/scrapbook-crop-ohio-featuring-lisa-bearnson/1260 I'm sure they will be attempting to organize another next year. I would love to see you there to support a wonderful cause and have tons of fun!

Embossing Challenge & Tutorial at Scrap and Stamp

2010-09-25T08:02:00.000-05:00

This week is an embossing challenge over at Scrap and Stamp, there's even a tutorial. So don't wait, check it out now here. This weeks sponsor is Sassy Studio Designs, you can find them here.

For my layout I chose photos from my husbands birthday last year, he wasn't real excited to hear that I was posting it on my blog. It was a surprise party and as you can see in the photos we did surprise him. I used Coredinations cardstock and followed the tutorial to create some really neat birthday candles at the bottom. I love the color combo and how it turned out.

Materials Used: Bo Bunny: Double Dot Purple base, Peacock Lane Stripe, polka dot, green grid & purple grid, Block Party/green arrow sticker & "40" stickers: Coredinations Green & Blue Cardstock; Jillibean Soup: Monster Stew Journal Sprout, green twine & Green/White Bakers twine; Green silk ribbon; McGill Star Punch, 3D pop up dots; Stampin Up Music Notes stamp, Colorbok/Green glitter letter stickers, Cuttlebug Cut & emboss Birthday Candles, sanding block.

Thanks for stopping by, please leave a comment!

Let's Get Shabby Design Team Call

2010-09-20T15:17:00.000-05:00

So over at the Australian blog "Let's Get Shabby" they are having a design team call. Since Shabby Chic is my fave style I thought I would give it a try. So this layout is for their music challenge. It is somewhat outside of the box for me, but tried to create something my teenage daughter would appreciate! Tough to impress teens isn't it? Anyhow, I actually recycled junk mail in this layout. The red eye looking embellishment is from a Verizon Droid advertisement, I thought it would adapt well to this layout. Let me know what you think.
The layout celebrates Aspen's favorite concert of the year, Warped Tour. Scott got to take her this year, what an adventure it was down in Cincinnati.

Happy Monday! Be back soon...

All About Numbers & Lets Get Shabby Design Team Call

2010-09-17T14:26:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday Everyone!
The numbers are where it's at this week at the Scrap and Stamp blog. The sponsor for this week is the Cutting Cafe check them out here. The challenge is to use a stamp and numbers on your layout, very easy to do. I chose to highlight my age as the main number on my layout, there are also numbers in the patterned papers across the top, left side and bottom. I love colors but never really embraced orange until recently, love the energy it exudes. Lots of details in this layout, I chose to be true to my favorite style which is shabby chic. Which is why I am also entering the design team call for "Let's Get Shabby" blog. Here is my layout for this week's challenge and their call:

Material Used: Jillibean Soup: Orange Bakers Twine, Orange & Brown Sugar Staples (Polka Dot Paper), Journal Tag from Chicken Noodle Soup, Daisies/Chicken Boullion, Kraft border/White Stock, Text Border/Diced Tomatoes; Dream Street Orange Floral background paper; Jenni Bowlin/Account Paper; American Crafts/Brown Gingham ribbon; October Afternoon/Vintage Girl & flower insets-Fly A Kite line; Martha Stewart/Flag; Queen & Co./white pearl; Fiskars/Border punch; Prima/flowers; Autumn Leaves Stamps/Postmarks; Stampin Up Ink/Chocolate Chip; Misc. buttons, lace & trim.

New Sketch Today at Scrap & Stamp

2010-09-10T16:59:00.000-05:00

So over at Scrap and Stamp this week is a Sketch Challenge. The sketch is by my fantastic design team member Paola and this is it:

Looks like fun right? Why don't you join us this week and give it a try the sponsor this week is Digital Delights check them out here. Here is my take on the challenge:

Have a great weekend!

Multiple Photos at Scrap & Stamp

2010-09-04T08:54:00.000-05:00

There is a multiple photos challenge over at Scrap & Stamp Saturday this week. You must use multiple photos and a stamp, challenge post is here. This weeks sponsor is the fabulous Digi Doodle Shop, full of digital designs check them out here. Here is my post for this week:

I am also finishing a class kit for a class at B&B Scrapbooks in Powell, Ohio on Tues.night 9/7 it is a Sports-o-rama Class kit that uses Jillibean Soup products and it is made to be customized to any sport and any school colors. Here is a photo of the main layout, featuring my stepson Logan in Football last year.

So spread the word if you know anyone that may be interested in the class or just the kit ($20) which includes two cards with and step by step instructions for all three projects. Gotta run, need to prep for Sunday School class tomorrow! Have a wonderful Holiday weekend!

My Tutorial Week

2010-08-28T13:47:00.000-05:00

This was my week to provide the tutorial over at Scrap and Stamp Saturday. My tutorial explains how to create custom faux buttons to match any layout and it's easy. Find my tutorial here. Here is a preview of the buttons I created.

Here is my layout for this weeks S&S challenge, special thanks to Pamela Young for this fab sketch- she has a new one posted every week at her blog here. I wanted a layout to capture the energy of my 21 month old and Aspen helped me to come up with the title (it's a fav song of hers right now) "My Sweet Honeybee". Gabriel is one busy little bee to be sure. Love how this one turned out, although it seems a little busy to me :) ha ha.

Another Sketch Challenge

2010-08-14T15:57:00.000-05:00

This week at Scrap and Stamp is another sketch challenge. This sketch (see below) is a fun one full of possibilities, so take a look at the website here and give it a try. You just need to use your interpretation of the sketch and stamp somewhere on the layout. Also this weeks sponsor just happens to be Jillibean Soup and you could win a stamp set, ribbon set and pack of sprouts.

Here is my interpretation of the sketch, I used BoBunny Peacock Lane and love these vibrant colors. Who could resist the smiles in this photo? Irresistible!

Hope to share more soon, have a fabulous weekend!

CK Convention in Cincy!

2010-08-03T06:36:00.000-05:00

I was so excited to see that Creating Keepsakes has scheduled a convention in Cincinnati next month! So I just wanted to share the information in case anyone out there is interested in attending and for the chance to win some free tickets! Here are all the details:

Join us for a weekend of scrapbooking and more where you can enjoy shopping, classes, and chances to win at our newest location—CKC-Cincinnati!

Register online now through Monday, August 30 at 9:00 pm at our website: www.ckscrapbookevents.com/cincinnati. Plus, receive a FREE gift and FREE magazine subscription when you register online (free items available only through online registration).

Schedule:

Thursday, September 9

Vendor Faire: not open; classes: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm; CK Sketches Workshop 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm

Friday, September 10

Vendor Faire: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm; classes 8:30 am to 8:30 pm; Friday Celebration Crop 7 pm to 11:30 pm

Saturday, September 11

Vendor Faire: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm; classes 8:30 am to 5:30 pm; Super Saturday Crop 7 pm to 11:30 pm

Vendor Faire daily pass pricing: Adults and children ages 10 and up: $10 at door (see web site the week before the event for discount coupons); seniors ages 65 and up: $7; children ages 9 and under: no charge

Be back soon with a new post!

Gabriel's Imagination & Paper Piecing

2010-07-31T09:00:00.000-05:00

So over at Scrap & Stamp this week the challenge is paper piecing and a stamped image. The sponsor this week is Wags n Whiskers.

If you are familiar with my work you know that I love paper piecing- it's so much fun and the possibilities are endless. So next time you can't locate a design or embellishment you want, then make your own! The layout below is my all time favorite little boy layout, the rocket and sub are of my own design (inspired by cosmo). I used all Cosmo Cricket in this one, loving that I could use five different lines of theirs all together. I really love how they turned out, and those photos are some of my favs.

This boy gets ornery by the hour, so much fun- pure joy.

Buttons & Jillibean Soup Prize

2010-07-24T07:50:00.000-05:00

This week at Scrap and Stamp there is a new challenge posted to use buttons and at least one stamp on a layout. More exciting is that Jillibean Soup is the sponsor this week! We are offering a great prize pack including a stamp set, ribbon set and a pack of sprouts. So head on over and check it out, also follow this link to see Jillibean's brand new catalog packed full of product that are premiering at CHA this week! Also Kimber has been busy on the blog with tons of sneak peeks with details on all of them check out the blog here: Bean Talk

So here is my buttons layout, this one began with the quote at the bottom. Love these photos of Daddy and Gabe they are two peas in a pod to be sure! Such a joy to see them enjoy the piano together, precious moments to cherish forever. This layout is a wonderful mixture of two of my other favorite companies Cosmo Cricket and Sassafrass Lass.

Hopefully I can find some scrap time soon I have great sketches and photos from my Michigan trip, Cedar Point and Church Camp. Hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Black and White Photos Challenge

2010-07-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

I don't know about you but I love me some black and white photos, anything vintage really. There is just something about black and white photos they seem to capture more details, somehow. Anyway this week at Scrap and Stamp is a challenge to use them in a layout, along with a stamp of some sort. For this one I did a double layout with a BoBunny line that was made for B&W photos, literally. It's called MamaRazzi and I love it. Lovely shades of green, blue and ivory with a distressed, vintage feel- so nice. I stamped the journal boxes to create a "story" for each photo. This is how it turned out:

Hope you like it! Gotta run, have a fantastic week of inspiration!

Girl's Weekend Getaway

2010-07-11T00:41:00.000-05:00

This week for the Scrap and Stamp challenge there is a fabulous sketch by my design team buddy, Paola. Find the challenge here. This week's sponsor is CocoDingo, check them out here.

For my layout I chose two photos from my recent Girl's Getaway weekend with my Mom and Aunt Sally. We had sooo much fun in western Michigan. We stayed in Holland and visited Douglas as well. We visited lighthouses, beaches, yard sales, shops, restaurants, parks but mostly just enjoyed being together. The hotel was fantastic, Holiday Inn Express/Holland, it was just as nice inside as it looked from the outside (see photo). Oh and no we are not at a strip club, lol, the dollar bills on the wall behind us were for a children's fundraiser! Anyhow, can't wait to see where next year's weekend adventure takes us!

Have a great week! I'm off to church camp tomorrow, pray for us... so much fun but so exhausting. Gabe is going with us too, so things could get a little crazy!

Scrap and Stamp Red Challenge

2010-07-05T15:43:00.000-05:00

So this week over at Scrap and Stamp the challenge is to use, on a layout, the color red and a stamp of course. I use the color red a lot and had this layout from our recent Colorado vacation to share. We got to swim in the snow that day at Waunita Hot Springs near Gunnison, Colorado, it was magical. This Hot Springs Ranch is undeniably one of my favorite places on earth. Check out their website here if you are interested in visiting, you won't be disappointed.

Have a great Monday!

Ink Tutorial Challenge

2010-06-29T22:05:00.000-05:00

This week at Scrap and Stamp there is a tutorial on using a paint resist technique, check it out here. This is a layout that I used ink three different ways stamping, misting and masking, the layout itself was from a class I took with Studio Calico at CKC this year. It was lots of fun and I loved this photo of Aspen and Gabriel.

So that's it for now, I have tons of great photos from my recent trip Girls Getaway to Michigan and Gabe's First Amusement Park Adventure so hopefully I will get some scrapping time soon! Take care and become a follower for automatic emails of any new posts.

Someone Who Inspires You Challenge

2010-06-19T11:12:00.000-05:00

This week I have a special layout to share for the challenge over at Scrap and Stamp. The week's theme is to create a layout about someone who inspires you. So I did one on a very special lady, someone so special that my family adopted her as a Grandma of our own. I used a line she stated on a recent visit as the title, "No Spring Chicken" and I paper pieced some cute chickens of my own design. Here is the layout:

I used all Jillibean Soup papers in this layout along with some vintage lace and buttons. I love how it turned out, if you click on the photo you can view it large enough to read the journaling. I guessed at what she would say the prescription for life would be with the bible verse from Matthew 22:37; "Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind." Thanks Grandma Taylor for being such a wonderful example of how a christian woman should be, we love you bunches. We can all hope to still inspire people at age 92, can't we?

Paige's Graduation

2010-06-19T10:46:00.000-05:00

So I have been so busy that I have not been able to blog at all lately. I had promised photos of Paige (my step-daughter) from her recent high school graduation, so I wanted to do that first. To say that she excelled in her high school years would be a bit of an understatement, she took every activity that she participated in to the highest level. She was Valedictorian, Basketball MVP and Homecoming Queen this year, just to hit a few of the highlights. She was also president of the FFA chapter which just happened to win first place in their state competition. She is truly an extraordinary child with unlimited potential, everything that her father knew she could and would be. I so wish that he could be here to witness all of her accomplishments, but he is watching it all from a superior vantage point to be sure. So here are a few photos:

These photos are from Paige's graduation and her graduation party. To use a line from her Valedictorian speech, ready or not world here I come!

A Few of My Favorite Things Blog Challenge

2010-06-14T20:43:00.000-05:00

So here is a quick post on a challenge entry I did for A Few of My Favorite Things Blog Challenge. It was irresistible, and the babies shoes idea just popped into my head. Love how it turned out. Enjoy!

Handmade Flowers Challenge

2010-05-30T21:23:00.000-05:00

This weeks challenge at Scrap and Stamp is to follow fellow team member Isolde's tutorial for making handmade flowers. She uses felt, but I used paper- Jillibean Soup paper as a matter of fact. It is for a layout for Paiges (my stepdaughter) High School Album of when she won Grand Champion at the Hardin County Fair. And of course I will have to share photos in my next post from friday night when Paige graduated. But here is the layout:

There it is some handmade Jillibean Soup goodness for you. :) Enjoy.

Make A Wish Card

2010-05-27T22:24:00.000-05:00

So I came across a challenge I wanted to enter at Spoon Full of Sugar. It is a card challenge blog and their theme this week is Celebration, so this card came to mind. It is part of my project kit for my second class in June, the layout was in the last blog entry.

Here is the Pocket calendar that goes with the kit as well, too cute.

Be back soon, have a great Holiday Weekend!

Celebrate

2010-05-21T22:34:00.000-05:00

Here is this weeks Scrap and Stamp Challenge layout, the challenge was to scrap a Birthday. The sponsor this week is MelJens Designs, their website is here. I chose Gabe's first birthday and used four photos and just for fun I made three out of four black and white so that my favorite one would stand out. I really love this Pink Paislee paper line/Starlite very patriotic on one side and pastel on the other, so versatile. This will also be my second class in June layout at B&B, along with a card and a pocket calendar.

I love how the pinwheels turned out, there is a great tutorial on how to make them at the Jillibean Soup website here.
Well gotta run have a great weekend!

2010-05-21T21:55:00.000-05:00

Jillibean Soup Job

2010-05-19T16:13:00.000-05:00

So many of you know that I have been looking for a part time job for quite awhile now. I wanted something in the field of scrap booking and thankfully God has blessed me with that opportunity. I am so excited to say that I am going to work for the Jillibean Soup Company starting on Monday. For those of you in the Scrapping World you know exactly who I am talking about, but for everyone else here is an overview: Jillibean Soup is a local (Dublin, OH) paper company owned by Jill Yegerlehner and began in 2009. So they are very new and growing, which means that business is good. They already distribute worldwide and their paper line is very popular among the paper crafting industry. I will be working as an administrative assistant with opportunity for teaching and assisting in events and shows as well. For more information, their website is here and you can check out their blog here.

Here is a link to their newest release mini collection especially for summer: Summer Squash Soup
Anyway just wanted to share the good news, I know my design team at Scrap & Stamp will be especially excited to hear as well.

Ribbon Challenge

2010-05-15T22:17:00.000-05:00

This weeks challenge at Scrap & Stamp was to use ribbon on your layout. The prize this week is from Alota Rubber Stamps, check out their website here. I had been working on this Alice themed Birthday layout for Aspen for awhile now so I used it and added ribbon. There are some good shots from Aspens birthday party and the movie theater. The background paper is Sassafras Lass and I added lots of Heartwarming Vintage ephemera and embellishments.

It's been a busy week and everyone has been sick at least once this week. Had five scrapbook deadlines to meet this week, so it has been a real push, usually only one or two. Some great new stuff to share soon though, cool new beach theme project kit for a June class and a summer music themed mini album is almost complete as well for Scrapjazz article. Gotta run, need sleep.

As You Wish

2010-05-08T07:54:00.000-05:00

So this has been a crazy busy week, house cleaning for a showing Sunday and then both kids have been sick. One with an unidentified ailment and the baby with Strep Throat. Yuck, hate seeing either of them hurting so I am a bit worn out and sleep deprived. But I did manage to complete my sketch challenge for the design team at Scrap & Stamp. Here is this weeks sketch:

So below is my take on this sketch, it is a bit different for me almost has a gothic look and feel. Not sure where that came from but it is always fun to experiment with different styles. The Princess Bride is one of my all time favorite movies and that is where the title came from. My favorite features are the flowers stamped in white ink on black polka dot paper and the double ric-rac trim with one row popped up.

Well gotta run, have a great weekend!

First Design Team Post

2010-05-01T11:56:00.000-05:00

So my first design team project is now posted over at Scrap and Stamp, check it out here and click on the link to see all my other teammates interpretation of the Summer Challenge. You can play along by submitting a summer themed layout with some stamping on the page. The prize this week is from Sunshine Stamps, they have some cute digital images for you to check out. Here is my "Mom's Front Porch Swing" project kit (it will also be a class kit I'm teaching at B&B Scrapbooks in Powell later this month see below for details). There is a double layout that focuses on "A Mother's Love", an altered journal book and a card. The layout features some fantastic vintage photos in black & white of my Mother and Grandmother. Special thanks to my Aunt Anna Mae for the great photos of me with my Grandma.

If you are interested taking the class here are the details:
Date: May 27, 2010
Where: B&B Scrapboooks link to directions here
Cost: $20

Call today to reserve your spot! 614-336-0556

Thanks for visiting today, Happy National Scrapbooking Day!

Big News!

2010-04-26T08:56:00.000-05:00

I found out Wednesday night that I had made my first design team! I have been applying to teams for months now and so I am very excited to be chosen for this one. It is perfect for me because it combines two of my favorite crafts, scrap booking and rubber stamping. It is an online blog called Scrap & Stamp you can click on this link to see the announcement. There were six new members chosen, four of which are international! So I will be designing with an international team that includes: USA, South Africa, Belgium, Italy and Singapore- how cool is that? Did I mention I was excited? Anyway speaking of layouts including both scrapping and stamping my last class at B&B Scrapbooks had a layout with both. It was on Thursday and was my biggest class yet and we had tons of fun. Here is the layout we did and the cards:

This was definitely my favorite class project to date, I love how this Bo Bunny Mama-razzi paper was made for black and white photos. I also must give a shout out to Joan from my class, she had the most amazing vintage photos of her aunt from the 1920's and 1930's and they looked stunning on this layout. I must get a photo and share with you sometime. Anyway, gotta run. We are still trying to finish prepping the house for showings and Gabe just finished his breakfast. :)

Aspen's {Baby}??

2010-04-21T17:23:00.000-05:00

So it must be your lucky day, two blog posts today- a first for me for sure. I just finished a funny layout about Aspen that I just couldn't wait to share. She is currently in Creative Living class and got to bring home the legendary "think it over" baby last week! She was really excited about it and overall it went fine but it was amusing to watch her handle a "newborn". The first crying fit from the baby gave Aspen a partial meltdown, but after that she held it together pretty well. A couple oops moments when she forgot to support the head and some neglect during the night (she is a very heavy sleeper) was about the worst of it. The best part of the entire experience is that neither Scott or Aspen are pressuring me to have another baby now, hee hee. The one small taste of what it would be like with two little ones in the house cured them right now. lol.

So in true scrapper form I created this layout based on a challenge over at Candy Shoppe Designs, I recently applied for their design team and wanted to play along in this challenge for the fabulous prize. A kit from Scarlet Lime is up for grabs, super cool stuff- check them out at: http://www.scarletlime.com/
The layout had to include raindrops or teardrops- explains the baby tears right. Anyhow enjoy!

Materials Used: Papers-Daisy D's/Medallion Grape & Sidewalk Chalk; Colorbok/Apricot Lattice; Scenic Route Paper Co./Douglas Cootey,Coral Splash; Crafts Etc!/Orange Friendship; Embellishments: Franks Navette Crystals; Vintage lace; pink ribbon bow; Stampin Up/Eggplant Envy & Blush Blossom Marker

Well hope this post brought a smile to your face, I know it did bring one to mine.

Easter Antics

2010-04-21T06:07:00.000-05:00

So I promised some Easter photos, have not had time to put any into layouts...yet. In case your wondering why Aspen is not in them, she spent that weekend with her Dad- so she escaped my camera onslaught. Anyhow we had a great Easter and hope that you all did as well.

Gone Fishin

2010-04-19T15:49:00.000-05:00

So I put together another layout for a sketch challenge at Scrap & Stamp. I used the wonderful photos of Gabe's first fishing adventure with his Daddy & PaPa. The challenge included the requirement of using a household item for your layout, so I used an onion bag from the kitchen ;) - its the netting. I really like how it turned out.

Materials Used: Lt. Blue Textured Cardstock; My Minds Eye/Life Stories-Kraft graph pattern & Bohemia/water paper; Bo Bunny/MamaRazzi- cattails & fish; Stampin Up/Fishin stamp set & Bordering Blue ink; Studio Calico/Journal Frame stamp; Maya Road-alpha rub-ons & Silver mist spray

Well gotta run, hope you had a tolerable Monday!

And When You Pray...

2010-04-16T21:16:00.000-05:00

So I know I promised Easter photos next, but technically the photos in this layout are from Easter Sunday. I did this layout today for this sketch challenge at My Minds Eye (http://mymindseye.typepad.com/blog/2010/04/challenge-10-dream-big.html) blog and wanted to share it. This was the sketch:

It also had to use a line from a song called: Dream Big by Ryan Shupe & The RubberBand. So I chose the line that begins "And when you pray." Of course I instantly thought of the photos I recently caught of Gabriel's first attempts at praying. So here is my version of the above sketch:

There it is another first for Gabe, praying. I also sent out a phone video message today of him praying and playing the piano. Quite the combo act he's got. At the moment he and Daddy are playing carnival ride with a plastic toy bin that happens to have wheels. Never a dull moment around here. Happy Friday!

A Favorite Treat

2010-04-15T12:44:00.000-05:00

So as all of our family already knows, Gabriel loves Root Beer Floats. I have been wanting to do a layout to share his favorite treat and I finally got around to it. I used my favorite style which is vintage and it turned out great, I have already entered it into a challenge at http://scrapandstampsaturday.blogspot.com and submitted it for possible magazine publication. So we will see how it does. Mostly I just wanted to share the cute photos, in the one of him looking at Scott he seems to be saying "What do you think your doing? I didn't say you could have any of my float". Too funny this little guy. Everyday is an adventure.

I will try and share Easter photos soon, we have some cute ones. Have a great day!

Alice In Wonderland

2010-04-12T22:12:00.000-05:00

As you know my daughter Aspen turned 15 in February and we ended up having her party later due to a mother daughter weekend jaunt [so much fun!] Regardless, I don't think it was coincidence that her slumber party fell on the opening day of the new Alice in Wonderland movie. So we all went to see it , in 3D no less. It was lots of fun and so when I saw the new Fairy Tale paper line from Reminisce with Alice I thought of her birthday photos and of a May class project. So I have combined the two and this will be my first May class, not sure on the date yet. I also am linking this post to the fabulous NVS girls at http://nvsgirls.blogspot.com/ who are doing an Alice Collage challenge this month with a prize pack from The Snobby Walrus at http://www.snobbywalrus.com/index.html. I have another Alice sketch ready that is more my artistic style, hopefully I will get to it also. But I thought I may as well enter this one and see what happens. Whatever happens at least I got to share some fab photos of Aspens birthday celebration. Hope you all had a great Monday!

Here is the project photo the class will include a double layout, bookmark and gift card: