Cherish

I have a layout to share today, that I made for the Scrapbook Stamping class over at 2peas. March's class was all about using wood block stamps. I know, I am cutting it close since today is the last day of March and the next class will be up tomorrow!! The photos are from my wedding, almost 10 years ago. I used the Hero Arts Fern stamp and Ranger's Pearl Paint Daubber instead of ink to create the two strips behind my photos. I love how those strips turned out.

I am loving this class!! I like that I am getting more use out of my stamps and not just using them for cards all the time! And it's forcing me to really think about every stamp I get...can I use it for just cards or scrapbooking too?? Lately, the answer has to be for both for me to get it!

I have big plans for April! And no it's not an April Fool's joke!! I am going to attempt to make a layout a day during the month! I will post the layout here a day behind...so I will have my first layout of the month on the second, and so on. It's going to be a challenge that's for sure!! With working full-time and normal life responsibilities...I am hoping to really find my scrapbook style and streamline my creative process! I may also be breaking out of my normal 2 page layout mold...and put together more one page layouts! I am not sure if that will work for me...the OCD in my really needs both sides of the layout when you open up an album to go together...but maybe if I use the same line of papers it will work!! I am keeping myself open to that and the whole creative process!! So I am feeling a bit stress about the daunting task of a layout a day, but I am so excited to give it a go!!

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Deb

Papertrey Playhouse Challenge x's 2

When I first came up with my challenge for my next turn as host over at the Papertrey Playhouse, I immediately thought of a past Papertrey Ink Blog Hop challenge to ink up a stamp set that hadn't seen much love recently. I didn't get to play along with that Blog Hop challenge, so I thought it would be great to offer it again. But then as I started building my card, and doing LOTS of heat embossing, I thought that would be a great challenge too.

So my challenge was to either ink up a set you haven't used in a while, do some heat embossing, or both!

One of the first sets I got from Papertrey Ink was Turning A New Leaf. I used it quite a bit when I first got it, but then it sat and sat on my shelf...unloved!! I decided to break it out (along with my much unloved Through The Trees set) and ink them up. Here's what I came up with...

I embossed everything that I stamped! Then I added some gems for added interest. It just seemed too empty without them! The leaves are from Turning A New Leaf and the sentimed is from Through The Trees.

Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

Papertrey Playhouse - It's Your Season Challenge

So I finally had time to play along with Kay's Challenge over at the Papertrey Playhouse!! Better late than never, and I am surely cutting it close as the next challenge goes up tomorrow (and I am the host of that challenge).

The challenge was to make a project that represents our favorite season. I know that so many people in the country are just waiting for Spring to finally arrive. It's been teasing a lot lately in many parts. But in Florida, summer never really ends, and as a northern transplant to the only state in the country that didn't have any recordable snow this past January, I long for a true fall!! You know the kind...leaves change to beautiful shades of red, yellow, and orange at the peak!! I miss four distinct seasons so much I easily could have made a winter and spring card too, but I stuck with fall!

For my card, I broke out a set I haven't really inked up yet, and it was fun to finally get it a little messy!

I used Fall Elegance and Mat Stack 1 stamps for this card, using the leaves from Fall Elegance to create my own background. I love Fresh Snow ink on Kraft!! Then I used Terracotta Tile for the frame and sentiment (which is also from Fall Elegance), also on kraft. Finished it off with two Terracotta Tile buttons on the side of the frame. I can't wait to send this to someone this fall!!

Stay tuned tomorrow morning for my Papertrey Playhouse challenge!! And my personal layout a day challenge will start here on Saturday (I'll post my layouts the day after I make them). Excited to get some pages made that had been pushed aside for so long!!

Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

4x6 Photo Love

Happy Monday!!

So I finally put together a layout for the first installment of the 4x6 photo love class over at 2peas, which you can find here. I know, I did the second lesson first and the first lesson second...but now I am all caught up! I am loving this class!! I can't wait to see how it progresses, as Shimelle is adding an uncropped 4x6 photo to each month's lesson...which means that by December she will have a class with 12 4x6 photos!! I am looking forward to that one!!!

But for now, I have my one photo layout...

My hubby and I have a tradition (well, more like a habit now) of taking a photo of ourselves at certain events. You know the kind where one of people holds the camera out, arm fully extended, and snaps the picture kind. Over the years we've started taking more and more pictures of us like this! I love these kind...so much more so with the digital camera...we can look at it and delete it if it's necessary to try again. We started this a few years back at one of the many Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parties we have attended over the years, and it's become tradition ever since. But we seem to do it more and more...which I love!! This photo was taken at last year's Very Merry Christmas Party, which also happened to be my hubby's birthday!! So that was fun!

I used lots of American Crafts Dear Lizzy Christmas papers, and a few patterns by Echo Park too (they go so well together). I also used some AC Thickers too!! Love those Thickers!! The snowflakes are Papertrey Ink's Peace Be Still die collection...with assorted buttons from my stash. And I used Papertrey's Mini Scrapbook Series: Journaling Circle stamp set as well to document the event and date! Made for a bright and cheery layout...much like it was a fun evening spent with my hubby celebrating his birthday and Christmas!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Giveaway Winner

So I went over to random.org to select a random winner for my giveaway and it selected #18 (I wish I knew how to copy the generator to the blog...but I am a bit technologically challenged at times).
 
Here is the comment:

Kay said...

Oops, I'm a dork; I forgot to tell you what my favorite holiday is!

My fave is Christmas- ya gotta love seeing the faces of the little ones when they open their gifts, and it's the only time of year we get to see certain relatives AND there's all the yummy baking and candy making!

March 17, 2011 2:50 PM
 
Congrats Kay!! And thanks everyone for your comments and for visiting my blog!!
Deb

Lawnscaping and Wee Memories Co-Challenge - Cute and Cuddly

Lawnscaping and Wee Memories teamed up to host a Co-Challenge and I am super excited about it. It's sponsored by Lawn Fawn and there are TWO chances to win...once over at Lawnscaping, and another over at Wee Memories. What could be better then two chances to win Lawn Fawn??

I am so in LOVE with Lawn Fawn stamps (and no I am not paid to say that)!! They stamp like a dream EVERY time!! They are great to color and great to paper piece!! What more could you ask for?? Eventually I think I will have every set in my collection they are that fabulous!! Not only that you can mix and match so many sets together to come up with a fantastic creation!! And that's exactly what I did on the card I made for this challenge...

I was very much inspired by Kelly's card and Nichol's card...and since I count my self among the lucky one's to have gotten my hands on Say Cheese quickly (I picked it up right away when I saw it hit 2peas about 2 weeks ago) I had to get it inky for this challenge. I did lots of masking on this card. Can I just give a huge shout out to Inkadinkado's masking paper now...LOVE it!! I did some copic coloring and used a pattern paper from an unloved Basic Grey Origins 6x6 pad. Let me just say I will be giving this mini deck some more attention as I am just loving the patterns in there!! How did I have this in my stash and not use it all up right away?? But with Spring on the mind, it's a great set of papers to use!! Yep, today is the FIRST day of spring...though in Florida did summer ever really end???

Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

Supplies:
Cardstock: (Kraft) Stampin Up!; (Solar White) Neenah
Stamps: (Say Cheese, Critters in the Forest, Critters in the 'Burbs, Harold's ABC's) Lawn Fawn; (Clouds) Hero Arts
Ink: (Close to Cocoa, Green Galore) Stampin Up!; (Soft Pool) Hero Arts; (Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko
Pattern Paper: (Origins 6x6 pad) Basic Grey
Other: (Green Bakers Twine) Martha Stewart; (Green Button from Lime Rickey Collection) Basic Grey; Assorted Copic Markers

Stretch Your Sketch

I have a layout to share today that I put together for the Stretch Your Sketch class over at 2peas (you can find the info for this sketch's lesson here). There are four classes a month and I am a fan of three of them!! Love that they give me crafty ideas even when I might not be feeling crafty! And I LOVE that I am putting more layouts together!!

I actually just took these photos this past weekend when I surprised my sister and her family with a quick visit to New York for my nephew Matt's second birthday. The kids have been trained from very early on to smile for the camera with all of their family living far away. They've had a camera snapping pictures of them for most of their life!!

I used the Togetherness collection kit from Cosmo Cricket for some of the pattern papers, along with some Bo Bunny Double Dot paper, and some Echo Park paper. I have had the Cosmo Cricket for some time and haven't used it. Loving this paper...how have I not used it yet??

I used some Papertrey ink supplies as well (the star prints die and the buttons). Love PTI buttons. The title was die cut using three different images from the silhouette store. Love my Silhouette!!

I had so much fun putting this page together!! I used a lot of stuff from my stash. In fact, I think the only new items are the red dot paper I used for the title (it's from Echo Park's new For The Record line) and the sentiment stamp (which is from the February edition of Studio AE that I have just now opened up). I am already planning a project for the March Studio AE stamp set. Love this stamp club!! You should check it out here and consider becoming a member! 

And if you missed my post yesterday, I am having a giveaway of a $10 Papertrey Ink Gift Cerfiticate in celebration of my blog's first birthday! Check it out here and be sure to leave a comment on that post if you didn't already!! You have until Sunday the 20th at 6pm to leave your comment on that post!!

Thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

Happy St. Patrick's Day and a Giveaway

Well blog friends today is St. Patrick's Day...and it is also my blog's first birthday...so I have a giveaway today (stay tuned for that at the end of the post). I started this blog to help me with my scrapbook jornaling, and I find that I have made more cards than anything. One of my goals for 2011 was to get back to my scrapbook roots, and still I find myself making a lot of cards. But that's OK!! In fact, I have two cards to share today!! I do have some big scrapbooking plans coming up. I am going to try to make a layout-a-day in April. Right now that's the plan, but I may push it off until May. And hey, May is 31 days, so that would push another layout out right!! I am still undecided, but that personal challenge is coming.

Now on to the cards that I have made for this, my favorite holiday and my blog birthday. First up...my St. Patrick's Day card. For this card I used some Hero Arts layering papers from my stash and some new (or almost new) stamps.

For the sentiment I decided to use the first set in the Tag-its collection. I also finally inked up my Delightful Doilies set, and used a brand new dot cling stamp from Hero Arts and Basic Gray. Love that dot stamp and I couldn't wait to ink it up! I used some Hero Chalk ink in Grass and some Wild Wasabi Stampin Up ink as well for this card.



I love the ribbon for the tag. It's from Tim Holtz and when you get it it's plain white seam binding (there are two other styles of ribbon in the set also white). I used some distress ink to make my own green ribbon. Love that I can make my own color!!

My second card is my birthday card. I had been waiting patiently for this cupcake stamp by Belles & Whistles to come back in stock, and once I saw it had I scooped it right up. I wanted to color this image!! I love all of the details!! I am already eyeing a few more of these stamps to add to my collection!!

This is a closer shot of the image. I used my colorless blender copic marker to distress the jeans a bit. Love how this turned out! Can't wait to color this image again...so many different possibilities!

And now for the giveaway. As a big THANK YOU to everyone out in blog-land, I wanted to giveaway a $10 gift certificate to one of my favorite craft companies...but which one there are so many that I love. Since I love stamping and I love Papertrey Ink, I decided my first giveaway would be for them. So all you have to do is leave me a comment and let me know which holiday is your favorite and why. Let me know by Sunday at 6pm eastern, and I will pick a random winner which I will announce later that evening. If you want to follow my blog, well that would be awesome too, but not required!! Thanks so much for welcoming me into the crafty blog community, thanks for a great first year, and thanks so much for stopping by!!

Deb

Lawnscaping Challenge #5

The fifth Lawnscaping Challenge was to use a stamp in an unconventional way. When I received my Happily Ever After stamp set, I saw the skirt of the dress and thought it would make a cool flower when flipped over. I paired it with the Fancy Flourishes stamp set by Papertrey Ink.

I also used the tag from Bows & Holly and the sentiment is from Just My Type, Too. And of course, I can't forget to mention my new favorite 6x6 paper pad, Emma's Shop from Crate Paper. The new Crate Paper lines are so lovely!! I picked up the 6x6 pad for my cards and the 12x12 papers for scrapbooking!! Love it THAT much!!!

Be sure to check out all of the projects over at the Lawnscaping blog and thanks for stopping by!!
Deb

It's Your Birthday

I wanted to share the card today that I had originally put together for the Scor Tape-Glitter Make It Monday challenge a few weeks ago. I loved it so much, and it fit one of the Paper Crafts sketches, so I decided to submit it instead. However, much to my dismay, it didn't get picked up. That means I can share it with you now!!

I love the simplicity of it. I went with a rainbow color scheme and I LOVE that big blue Prima flower!! The sentiment is from the new Hello, Friend stamp set.

That is a much better shot of all the glitter, the HUGE flower and the sentiment. I cannot wait to send this...but I think I will need to send it in a box!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Deb

Daisy

Daisy isour PBGV mix (that stands for Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen). We adopted her almost five years ago, and I am just now around to putting her first scrapbook page together. If you know me, you know I don't rush into anything!! I am a procrastinator by nature...so I am right on schedule! HA!

I put this layout together for the 4x6 photo love class over at 2peas (you can find it here). I did change the orientation of my photos, using two horizontal photos versus two vertical photos, but overall I really love how this layout turned out.

I don't usually use this much patterned paper. Usually I am a solid cardstock kind of scrapper, with a little pattern paper...but I just went for it! Lots of American Crafts on this layout. The background clouds and dots are Echo Park, but the rest is American Crafts (mostly from the Dear Lizzy collection, but there are also patterns from Boutanique, Letterbox, and Love collections as well).

I also paper-pieced the Lawn Fawn banner at the top. LOVE how this turned out and LOVE that 2peas is now carring Lawn Fawn!! I was planning to pick up a few sets from Simon Says Stamp (and I did get one), but by the time I went to check out, a few of them were sold out. So when I saw Lawn Fawn at 2 peas yesterday morning, I quickly grabbed 4 more sets and checked out so they wouldn't get snagged by someone else!! I finally picked up Lunar Lights, and then I added Say Cheese, Say Cheese Too, Critters in the Forest, and Happily Ever After. Can't wait to get these stamps inky!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Deb

Make It Monday Challenge #4

Oh my word I am still in shock about being the randomly selected winner of Make It Monday Challenge #3. I NEVER win anything like this!! For my freebie set I asked for Big Birthday Wishes. Still can't get over the generosity of Papertrey Ink!! Love them!!

For Make It Monday #4, the challenge was to creat a project using Fun Foam. I didn't have any here, but it's not that expensive at the craft store. I got a sheet of pink...of course. I decided to break out my star dies that I haven't used yet. So, I did some stamping and then layered up the sentiment piece.

I used the small and medium start to stamp my background with fresh snow ink onto kraft cardstock. Then I used the large star in my layered sentiment piece. I am not sure this will be something I do again, but it was fun to make a project that was outside the box (at least for me anyway)!

Thanks for stopping by!
Deb