Princess of Purr

   She is very happy here. The evidence is the frequent, almost non-stop purring. Sometimes I swear she purrs for hours on end, just happy to play and share some time cuddling. So, I decided to dub her the Princess of Purr.

Inspiration Challenge #41 from Paula Gilarde
Artsylicious Chipboard Alphas
Maya road stick pins
Prima Stamp in Colorbox Ruby Satin ink
Basic Grey Rub ons, black magic glimmer mist
Making memories button
Crochet flower- found in a thrift store, antique button
leftover packaging- photo matte, chipboard border

   At first glance, one might not notice that there is absolutely no pattern paper on this page. I used the package backing from an embossing folder for the matte. I covered the text using some ribbon scraps and the crochet flower. The chipboard alphas were chosen, in part because they cover the price tag. I noticed the alphas had this awesome border on the bottom, so I cut it off and used it here on the page. A very thrifty page that does not look thrifty at all!

Calvinball update:
1st time player- 1 point
late to the party- 1 point
1st time sub- 1point
layouts-3 points
spreading the word-1 point
daily blogging- 1point

total: 8 points

Painted Out

  About a year or so ago, I would have never considered painting on a scrapbook page. Paint has become  a staple product in my arsenal of tools. I was glad to have it when I pulled out some Halloween photos from a carnival we had taken my son to. I always struggle with photographing him at carnivals. There are just so many people around. It seems like strangers always get into the shots. When I do come around to scrapping pages from events like these, I often find myself trying to come up with ways to hide the unwanted people in the background. Sometimes I use embellishments. Other times, journaling on strips of paper does the trick. For this page, I chose to use paint.

Frosted Designs Sketch #31
Basic Grey papers
DMC floss, white acrylic paint
Glimmer mist in black magic and tiger lily
K and company border stickers
Prima black ribbon
Cosmor Cricket tiny type alphas
glossy accents
 Marcella K large black alphas

 I just started the photography class at big Picture. So maybe the next time I take my son to a carnival, I will know some tricks to take better photos in crowds. Meanwhile, I have photos of the less than perfect nature from past years. I guess it's a good thing that I like paint!

January's Counterfeit kit

 I started participating in these challenges at the Counterfeit kit challenge about a year ago. While I could not participate in every month, I sure did enjoy partaking in them. I have become more aware of the contents of my stash. I have found new ways to use my supplies. I have also learned a little more about why some patterns go together and how to pair papers from different lines. So if you have never tried counterfeiting a kit, I really encourage you to do so. You may be surprised about the things you learn about yourself and your supplies.
  As usual, when I make my kits, I tend to go a bit overboard. That's the terrific thing though, about using your stash. It's not like when you are in the store and you overspend. There is no real penalty. I chose to lift three of the Cocoa Daisy kits suggested for the January challenge. The first is based on the cocoa and marshmellows kit.

Papers: October Afternoon: ducks in a row-sleep tight( yellow) and
Fly a kite-sprinklers, Sassafrass- Vintage yummy- darling dear
K and co. jeweled brads-wild saffron
October Afternoon- farmhouse flower sack
October Afternoon- 5 and dime found alpha
ribbon- webster's pages fabric

I am still not too sure about using the darling deer paper. I like the pattern, but I am trying to think about what I might use a deer with in my photos. So that's why I chose the OA blue paper pattern as well. it will be a nice alternate if the deer paper does not work.
  The second kit is based on the Sunshine and Snowflakes kit. I plan to use my Martha Stewart snowflake punch if I make any winter related pages. I also added a touch of blue. I am not a huge yellow fan. I am ok with it as an accent colour but am not fond of it in large doses.

Papers: Sassafrass sunshine broadcast-static( grey polka dot)
all other papers are from the Pink Paislee house of three soiree collection
Pink paislee Printed tissue
Pink Paislee soiree wood shapes
American crafts thickers-forest
Ruby Rock-it summer house bitty buttons
misc. ribbon

The last kit I chose to lift is the Amber Snowflake kit.

Papers: Crate paper- farmhouse( ruler) and Restoration-cents( die cut)
sassafrass- life is beautiful- Piccadilly( rose print)
all others- October Afternoon farmhouse( black print) and Thrift store
Misc. white doily, wood banner pieces
Sassafrass alphas-goldenrod
Prima button pieces

I know some people have mentioned to me that they would be frustrated to not be able to match each exact piece. I know that when I first started counterfeiting kits, I felt the same way. I have found though, that it is very satisfying to find a similar pattern that works. I feel like I get more from my stash this way. I hope others try this challenge in 2012. It's very budget friendly! Now...since it's a Saturday, I hope to play with some of these kits!

A Tone on Tone Background

  I've been eyeing border punched backgrounds for awhile. Tone on Tone punched backgrounds always seem to make quite a statement. So when I saw the current pagerize this challenge at Scrap Our Stash, I felt the punched background would be a nice substitute for the stamped and painted background of La Vikinga's page.
Since this was a page for my wedding album, I chose to use some of Bazzil's pearlized cardstock. I only own three border punches and only one seemed to be appropriate for my wedding theme. This meant that  I had to get a little creative. I hand cut scallop borders from one inch strips. I then layered the leftovers from the punched edges and the hand cut borders in alternating patterns. Doing this made it seem as though I had more border patterns then I really did.

Pagerize this challenge#16-Scrap our Stash
Bazzill Cardstock
Apron Lace border punch- Martha Stewart
Bazzill paper flowers-white
other flowers-Prima
K and Co. brad
Webster's pages trims and lace
Little Yellow Bicycle hat pins with glass beads
Pink Paislee rhinestone button
Webster's pages sparkler's buttons

  I added an additional photo to the design and substituted flowers and embellishments for the title. I did not feel the page needed a title since it will be in the middle of my wedding album. I am happy to say that the lace I used was a scrap piece. There was just enough to make a second page with the same design.

I managed to use up the last of my Webster's pages sparkler buttons and several packages of flowers. I can say that I am happy to have used so much of my stash and I now have two more pages complete in my wedding album.

Now it's your turn!Head on over to Scrap our Stash so you can pagerize this!

First Gondola Ride

 I started off with just one page. I ended up with two! The page on the left is a  scraplift for the Pagerize this Challenge #15. Tamara's page was easy to work with and I was inspired enough to stretch over to a second page.

MME Stella and Rose papers, ribbon, chipboard button and sticker
Prima Jewels
MM chipboard alphas
Echo Park mini alphas
Paperframe designs acrylic snowflake
unknown twine
sei inke blue ink
Glimmer mist in elctric blue and black magic
DMC floss

On a trip we took this spring, my son rode on a ski gondola for the first time. I loved his facial expressions every time the lift took off from the station. Tamara's page allowed me to highlight this moment perfectly.
   Now it's your turn! Do you have a moment to highlight? Pagerize Tamara's LO and share it at Scrap Our Stash!

The First Set of Honeymoon Photos...

have officially been scrapped! It has been fun for my husband and I to go back through our honeymoon photos after 13 plus years. I was a little sad when I found them, though. There really are not many pictures at all. I guess since the honeymoon took place in the pre-digital camera era and the cost of film was so high for a young couple...well,We just did not take many photos at all. I guess it's a good thing those memories are so vividly in my head. Looks like I will be journaling those stories in the album rather than sharing photos. On the positive side, it should not take long to get the honeymoon album done.
  As far as our honeymoon, We spent the first few days after our wedding hanging out with the best man and his wife. It might sound strange to some, but we hardly get to see the two of them since they live on the other side of the country. On one of our evenings out, we enjoyed some music and barbecue at the House of Blues.

Basic Grey papers
Prima flowers with making memories jewels
white and blue acrylic paint
Sapphire glimmer mist
cloth with music print
Submitted to Scrapfit Weekend Warmup #11,August

The photos are not the best, but they are what I have of that night. So I scrapped them in spite of the bad lighting. Sometimes the story is more important than the quality of the photo.
  I based this page on a card sketch on the Sketch Support site. Since this was for the Counterfeit Kit Challenges Sketch swap, I chose card sketch #8 and converted it to a layout.

 I then stretched it into a two pager. From the looks of things at the Counterfeit Kit blog, it looks like I wasn't the only one to favor this sketch.

My August 2011 Counterfeit Kit

  I must confess that for this month's Counterfeit Kit challenge, I sort of just did a grab and go type of thing. I am in the middle of packing for a move. We are not moving far, but far enough. ;) Anyway, my hopes are to still be able to play with my stash while we await for our moving day. So I am trying to pack my supplies in such a way that I can still use them. Since I have been busy packing, I really did not have a lot of time to dedicate to making kits. I chose to grab some of my pre-packaged kits to which I then went overboard adding embellishments. I think I have enough variety in them to work with plenty of photos in various themes.

  I decided that it might be a good idea to work some more on my wedding album. I started it last year. I hate to admit it, but it's been a little over 13 years since I was married. I really didn't start scrapbooking until my son was born. His birth and the invention of the affordable digital camera really pushed my scrapbooking career( along with my husband's encouragement). Last year, I had gotten Basic Grey's periphery collection pack. Many of it's papers will be perfect for my main kit and for scrapping my special day.

Main Kit contents:
Basic Grey Periphery collection pack
pink paislee  Parisian anthology trims
crochet doily- from a thrift store
unknown ribbons
Pink Paislee Queen bee flip notes
My Mind's Eye clock die cut
American crafts chipboard shapes thickers
Studio Calico Journal card
Prima say it in crystals
beads- from the craft store
K And Co. Elizabeth Brownd metal art frame
maya road chipboard album
sassafrass vintage brooch

And while I am at it, I might as well have a go at my honeymoon photos. I have not yet touched my Treasure Box Club kit from last month. It has the Basic Grey Out of Print line in it. I figure that it's whimsical patterned papers might be a fun way to scrap our trip to New Orleans. I did add a few items to the kit. I can't help but add stuff sometimes. ;)

Limited Edition kit contents:
Basic grey's out of print papers: 2nd edition, daily news, reprint
publication, bits n pieces, special feature, batik and giclee
Amer. crafts mini jewle brads
Fancy pants die cut- damask Floral
7 gypsies metal tags
Amer. crafts pink check ribbon
Amer. crafts thickers- by the yard fabric letters
music fabric
Prima Flowers
7 gypsies Numero tissue paper
K and Co. chipboard frames
Making Memories Sabrina frame-pink
7 gypsies foldover stickers in classic black
7 gypsies train tickets
Studio Calico journal card
Prima say it in pearls
Pink paislee bayberry cottage cork buttons
Twinery twine in carribbean
Making Memories simply stated alphas
Glitz designs metallic rub on- damask
Webster's pages fabric flowers

For the album kit, I decided to just use last month's Fourth of July kit. I loved the kit I had made and I still have a few photos I did not get to scrap with it. I could have made a birthday kit similar to what was shown, but  the Fourth is America's Birthday...right? So to save time and scrap the photos I am motivated to work with, that's what I chose to do.

Album kit content:
Sassafrass papers and cardstock stickers from the cherry delicious line,
also from anthem and Life is Beautiful
October afternoon paper- from modern homemaker and road map
Cosmo cricket garden variety paper-sunshine
Basic Grey sticker trims-basics
Webster's pages flowers
Jenni Bowlin bingo card
prima flowers
K and Co. transparencies
Unknown ribbons
twist ties-recycled from my husband's dry cleaning
My Mind's Eye lost and found die cut
Simple Stories die cuts

Since life right now is going to involve a new home and also because I still have Easter photos to scrap, I chose Crate paper's neighborhood collection for my Creative kit. I felt it gave me a nice variety of papers for various topics. Finding embellishments to match it also came quite readily for me.

Creative kit contents:
Crate Paper's Neighbourhood collection pack
unknown die cut
Making memories Paperie greenhouse felt clips
Webster's pages princess petals
Craft Affair brads
Webster's Pages Designer threads
Making memories Chloe's closet frames
Making memories Spring pebble clips-butterflies
Maya Road felt badges-birds of a feather

When I saw the Theme park/fair add on kit, I knew exactly the one to use...my new echo park Summer days kit! I have some photos I have been wanting to scrap about us at a small fun park. I can't wait to see what the challenge will be for this kit!

Theme park kit contents:
echo park Summer days kit pack, chipboard and rub ons
doily- from Ikea curtain section
making memories Chloe's closet stick pins
sassafrass felties
Sassafrass in stiches clossoms in: kelly green, orange and kraft

Last month, I managed to make 7 layouts with my kits.I had so many ideas for more pages, but life had other ideas for me. I have managed to add past kits and past kit items to my August selection of supplies. I hope I can use up some partial packages and add to my page count for this month.

Flowers for the Fourth? July Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog hop

Welcome to the July Blog Hop for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge!   You should have arrived here from Angela's Blog. If you are lost or arrived here first by mistake, hop on over to The Counterfeit Kit's website to find the right path. I hope you enjoy all of the projects being shared!

If you had come to me last month and asked me which papers from my stash would be used to scrap our family Fourth of July memories, Floral prints would definitely not have been on the list. Yet here they are on this next page! I got the idea from the counterfeit kit club challenge.If you don't know what it is( though most likely you do if you are hopping along)... The idea is to scraplift a kit from a kit club using what you have in your stash. One of the kits I saw had a lot of blue and red  floral papers in them. Since flowers are not always easy to use on a page for boys, I felt this would be a great opportunity to use them. Oh...and would you believe there are travel themed items on the page too!?!? The journal spot and the tab sticker on the corner of the photo are from travel collections.

page maps sketch For Counterfeit Kit's 4th of July sketch challenge
starburst paper- Cosmo Cricket
all other papers Sassafrass
sassafrass border
Prima flowers
foof a la buttons
7 gypsies tab sticker and paper clip
Journal spot unknown( Maybe K and Co.)
Making Memories rub on alphas
hand made denim flowers
Basic grey Border sticker-cut apart

Originally, this was going to be a page about sparklers. However, I kept looking at this photo of my son and a sort of, deeper meaning manifested itself. He doesn't have the "trying too hard,sicky sweet smile" that he has had lately. It's the real him...just sweet and pure. So I journaled about that. The title for this page comes from a song by Bob Marley called "three little birds" which is the current challenge at Scrapping the Music.

  I did manage to make another page about the sparklers. We have not had any at the fourth for several years. So it was a nice treat for my son to have some and to share the fun with friends this year. Once again, the floral paper came through for me. I think it gives it sort of a vintage, yet warm feel to the page.

Sketch Inspiration #229
diamond Stickles
otherwise, everything use are scraps are from the above layout

I printed out my photos in wallet size. They were so nicely done on the photo paper, that I trimmed it down and used it as a collage style block. It was a HUGE time saver. My rub on alphas did not go on perfectly. I used a black marker to fix the letters as best I could. The "f" is still a little wiggly though.

 The next time you are feeling a little blue about not having the right themed papers in your stash, check out a kit club or the counterfeit Kit challenge. It just might give you some ideas to help you rethink how to use products you already own. Now it's time for you to hop on to Emily's Blog.

A Journey into the Past

  If you are Looking for the Sketches For All blog hop, hop to this link...or scroll down, if you are feeling in the mood to read along.

  Almost 20 years ago, a tornado destroyed my Great grandmother's home. She survived and came to live with us. She brought with her a few things she had managed to salvage including some very beaten up photos. As you may have guessed, this was one of them. The photo matte was beaten and bruised with part of the photo missing. I had no idea how, or even if, I should scrap these until a recent NSD challenge at Let's Scrap inspired me to do just that. The challenge asked for us to scrap photos cut on the diagonal. Mother nature had already done the job of cutting the photo. So I scanned it, then set about to scrap the original. I matched the papers to the original scroll work on the matte. It's a wonderful black embossed leaf print over the chipboard style base.

Let's Scrap Sketch NSD#1 from 4-30-10
papers-Jenni Bowlin, Creative Memories, Basic Grey
Acrylic paint-buttermilk
walnut stain, alos used as a spritz
prima flower
making memories tag witj Jillibean Soup twine
DMC floss
7 Gypsies brads
Lace- unkown
Crate Paper banner
Basic Grey Stamp in paint-leaves
submitted to Let's Scrap, Punky Sprouts, and Sketches for All

The wonderful thing about my paper selection today is that each one was a paper I was not sure when I would ever use. The base is a piece called feed store by Jenni Bowlin which I received with a scrap kit. I liked the vintage look and so I chose to use acrylic paint to cover the feed store name, date and location. The red paper has been in my stash for at least 3-4 years. It's by Creative Memories. I liked the way it and the brown tones of the Basic grey paper made the photo pop out.  I am very happy to have made another page for my son to see in our family heritage album. I hope someday, he is able to share it with his kids. I invite you to scrap your old photos, no matter what their shape.
 Now, on a less serious note, I am off to submit this to a banner challenge over at Sketches for All and to Punky Scraps. I absolutely LOVE their cat button!

Sketches for You Spring blog hop

Spring has sprung! To celebrate spring and the Merry Month of May, we are having a blog hop until May 18th. there is also a plethora of challenges over at Sketches for All! If you have arrived here first, please stroll on over to Stacy's blog. She'll get you going on the right path. If you follow along the blog hop trail correctly, you will have the chance to find some secret words and a challenge. Find all of the words and you will be entered into the drawing for a chance to win a $10 Gift certificate from Scrappy Jo's. Find all of the words AND complete the challenge for a chance at first prize! How awesome is that!

FIRST PRIZE!!!!

As for me, I will also be hosting a challenge. You may find it by surprise, like a pair of roguish eyes... over at sketches for you in the group's forum. Hmmm....sounds like I left you a few hints about my "Spring is in the air" challenge. Now to throw you off just a bit...some people celebrate Bicycle week during the month of May. I have a little challenge going which is all about transportation. We've been heading around the world in 8O layouts, but this month we changed things up a bit. Rather than focus on a country for inspiration, we are focusing on how we get there. Speaking of how we get places, and the month of May...did you know  that this Friday( Friday the 13th) is National frog hopping day? Quirky huh? Kind of like this post! Well, in honour of such a hopping good day, I made this page:

page maps sketch
basic Grey paper
prima flowers with e line pearls
acrylic paint
Studio G stamps
Paper trunk stamps
SEI alphas
handmade alphas
hampton arts flock

Last year around this time, my son and I raised tadpoles. He was like a mother hen( or should I say frog?) in caring for the little guys. We released 30 of them! That's a lot of hopping!

   Which leads us back to the Blog hop, as it were. It's time to Hop on to Michelle! Happy hopping everyone! I'll see you over at Sketches for All!

P.S> please don't forget to email your words to: scrapmiep2@hotmail.com

Day 2 of NSD!!!

First off...Happy Mother's Day!!!

It's been nice having so much time to relax and scrap this weekend. I have two more pages to share with you. Also, if you haven't checked it out,Scrapbook Challenges is having an NSD blog hop. You can start the hop here with Brynn's blog. The cool thing is that you too can participate in the hop by completing a Scrapbook Challenges sketch and then linking your blog to the hop. For my sketch, I chose a more current one.

Sketch 252 Scrapbook Challenges

Some items are from my Couterfeit kit for May
Echo park papers
prima flowers
making memories jewels
bread tags-recycled from pantry
recycled note pad cover, cut into circle then stamped with a studoi G stamp
colorbox white and chestnut roan inks
Plum pudding shimmerz spritz
making memories tiny type alphas
K and Co. wood veneer alphas
marth stewart opaque punch on vellum
Orange Bic mark it-faux stitching

I wanted to enter a current challenge while still getting a page completed. I love combining things. I get a lot of challenges done by combing them with others. It can be a challenge in and of itself, but it makes things a bit more fun.Which is why you may see this page at a few spots around the web like BPS, Frosted and Sketches for You. (hint: it will be part of an upcoming challenge over hosted by yours truly at Sketches for You). Since the word roguish means michievous, I wanted fun, playful colours. I paired them with pink and flowers for a feminine tone. My husband snapped this picture of our cat, Sweetpea hiding in the sink. She is always full of mischief but very girly...so I think the page suits her well.
  My second page features our other cat, Boo. He is one of those long slinky cats. I call him the contortionist, because he looks folded up when he sleeps. To capture the theme, I used bright colours and circus style papers. The paint and stars remind me of circus paint and clowns.

Sketchy Thursday 5-5-11
Sassafrass papers and borders
white paint
star punch
yellow stickles
My Mind's Eye chipboard frame centers
Colorbok die cuts-arrow and star

I chose to use some leftovers from some My Mind's eye chipboard frames. I wrapped them with thread and used them to frame the circles for a fun pattern.
  There is still a little more time to get in on the NSD fun. Don't forget about being part of the Scrapbook challenges blog hop. I am off to try to get a few more pages done...

Waiting for the World Record

  Last summer, we enjoyed the opportunity to witness a Guinness world record.That was something I thought we'd never get to do  and quite honestly, not something I thought to ever seek out. However, when a local resort heralded the opportunity to watch Nick Wallenda break his own world record, we decided it would be a nice family outing. We chose to sit at one of the resort's outdoor cafes. We enjoyed a pizza and some virgin frozen daquiris while we waited for the main event. After about a half an hour, Nick Wallenda made his appearance. He first walked across the tight rope about 260 feet in the air without a safety net. After which, He rode a bicycle across, thereby breaking his own world record.
 To commemorate this event, I chose some of Crate paper's restoration line from my Counterfeit kit  challenge March kit.I liked the bright fun colors and the vintage feel. I went on-line to Vintage Printables and found some wonderful vintage style circus posters.

submitted to Artastic Inspiration challenge blog
note the small bear riding a white horse on the vintage poster
also submitted to the Chopped Challenge for week 2 at Challenge Masters

I drew scallops and then filled them with white paint. The white paint with Bic mark it's Fandango pink and Summer melon reminded me of circus clown make up. I hand made the flowers using cardstock scraps, a prima flower and artsylicious brads. The tutorial for those can be found here at the Making Memories blog. Twinery lemondrop twine was stretched across both pages to symbolize the high wire.

Sassy Lil Sketch 3-7-11

Overall, it was a fun page for me to make. The colours are somewhat feminine and ones that I do not normally get to use. Yet here, with both the circus theme and the resort setting, they serve as a fun accent to the story of watching a world record in the making.

Counterfeit kit: My take on February

If you are looking for the blog hop...just scroll right down...

 Who doesn't love kit clubs? I for one wish I had more money to subscribe to a whole bunch of them. However, with very little in the budget for that and having a large stash of supplies already, I simply can not justify buying more than the 1 subscription I already have to the Treasure Box Club. Recently, I found this little bog called the Counterfeit Kit Challenge. I thought this would be the perfect way to use up some of my stash and give myself the excitement of having a kit each month.
  I awaited the post for this months' kit to copy with great anticipation. I hope to use it for challenges and other things throughout the month.So without further ado...here is my kit for this month:

Main Kit:
Pink Paislee Bayberry cottage 6x6 pad
Pink Paislee apple Cider 12x12 PP
My Mind's Eye Lush 12x12 papers
Paper Pizazz Black Silver Floral foil
Artsylicious brads in Kohl
Pink Paislee House of 3 Parisian Anthology flair
Making Memories Sabrina trim
red and black ribbon-unknown
My Mind's Eye Lush ribbons
Making Memories tiny type black and white alphas
Prima flowers
K and Company decorative pins
My Mind's Eye lost and found Union square ticket
Jenni Bowlin Bingo cards

Add On:
Making Memories Sabrina vintage frames
Pink Paislee bayberry cottage brads
Pink Paislee Bayberyy cottage flip notes
Prima e line pearls
My Mind's eye lush red rhinestones
Prima say it in Crystals
Making Memories sabrina buttons

Color add on:
K and company border strips
Glimmer mist in viva pink and silver sugar
Shimmerz spritz in plum pudding
stickles in fruit punch and Christmas red
Shimmerz paint in Royal red

The Pink Pancake Party

  Pink is not a color most boys would love. I admit, it is not always one I favor. However, pink is the main color for Valentines day. So when I saw pink pancake mix, I thought it would be a sweet way to treat my little sweethearts. I also picked up some vanilla pancake mix with red, white and pink sprinkles, however, it was truly the pink pancakes with chocolate chips that garnered all of the attention. After all, how often do you see a pink pancake?!?!



Sketchy Thursday's Feb. GDT challenge sketch

   I wanted a Valentine's feel for the page, but I also wanted a homey, cozy feel. Basic Grey's Bittersweet collection was the perfect choice. I loved the pinks, reds and whites while the brown prints reminded me of the chocolate chips. Add in some Pink Paislee Bayberry cottage brads, Prima lace and some hand stitching and I had the cozy feel I was going for.After dotting the "i" in pink with a heart, I accented the title with glossy accents and marker to make it pop out a bit more.

Since I was on a roll, I continued onward with page two, this time adding a 7gypsies journaling tag and a bread tag. I recycled that bread tag from my cupboard and added some stickers with glossy accents. I love the way it looks hanging off the thread.

I do apologize that my son never smiled nicely in the photos. It was, evidently, due to the large quantity of pink present at the time the photos were taken. He did, however, eat his pink pancakes down to the last crumb.

Warm Wishes

   If you live in a cold climate, then this page may very well make you laugh. I live in a tropical clime and recently, we had a cold snap with record low temperatures. I took a photo during the afternoon of our patio thermometer. I like to document the weather. I think it's good to remember that, wherever you may live, the weather is sometimes the same, but at other times unexpected. I know that's a given...but I also know many times we have a tendency to overlook such small details. Those small details may prove interesting later on. But I digress...

   So back to the page at hand. We reached a high in the low 60's. It's not really a big deal...except when you factor in that we have no central heat. We live in a place that rarely gets this cold. So this means that the house is only 3-5 degrees warmer than whatever it is outside. So this was taken during the day, and you can well imagine when the temperature dropped 10 plus degrees at night how cold the house was. For us it was freezing! We survived though...bundled up, with lots of hot cocoa to drink and some warm wishes.

Some of you may recognize the cute snowman 4x6 card from the WE R Memory Keepers merry January line. I love the paper. For whatever reason, I thought I'd be satisfied with the 4x6 pad. I don't know why I thought this. Anyhow, since I am currently on a spending freeze, this meant I had to get really creative with my stash. The white polka dots of MY Mind's eye's Andrea Victoria line reminded me of snow. Since the color seemed to fit well, I added the matching black sheet and then inked both with colorbox white ink. For a little added texture, I ran some leftover clear packaging through my texture boutique with a Swiss dot embossing folder.

I sanded it a bit and then layered on making memories chipboard snowflakes and lush brads. Some prima lace and hand stitching finished off the page. If you like the page design, then check out Sketchy Thursday's Jan. 6th post. BTW, there is a wonderful challenge to scrap about winter over at Sketches for all in the challenge forum. Maybe I'll see some of your creations over there. I hope so. Meanwhile, I am off to start page 2...

a Bright and Happy Sketches 4 All DT sketch reveal

WOW...it's been a few weeks since I have posted. I must admit that family illness and travel have left little time for blogging and sadly, scrapbooking. I did manage to find a little time to complete the DT sketch for Sketches 4 All. I am honored and excited to continue to be a part of their Design team. I was also happy that this sketch helped me to complete a page that was several months overdue!

My son has a fascination with most things SCI FI. He gets it from his parents. What can I say...except that it's very awesome to share something in common with him that both my husband and I love. In the past few years, my son has developed an obsession with aliens. When he found out that we had seen an alien statue at Planet Hollywood in Orlando, he requested we take him there for a birthday lunch. We happily complied...however, it's been so long since my DH and I have been there that many things have changed. Including the props showcased there. The alien is no longer on display. We did enjoy a nice lunch and DS got to see many sci fi related props. It was still a great trip. I love that they take your photo as you go in the door. I have a wonderful photo of my DS.

I sprayed some of the napkins with archival mist and found they worked great with the page. Kraft paper toned down the rich purple photo frame. I pulled the red and yellow from the napkins. I used borders punched from a swap I was in and added a purple recollections Halloween border. The I-rock allowed me to easily add some bling to the prima flowers and border. The tickets were from a Rak I had just received. I am a sucker for these little tickets and was so glad to use them here...along with the silver hat pins I have had in my stash for months. Now I am hat pin crazy! LOL You may be seeing them on other pages. Stay tuned for page 2 of this layout....

P.S>since I love the bright colors of this page and since it just makes me happy, I am submitting it over at Scrap Whispers!
P.P.S.Don't be surprised if you see this at frosted designs 11-5-10 challenge. ;)

Halloween Bonanza

  If you don't know by now, I love Halloween. I love the costumes, the trick or treating, carving pumpkins...well everything! Sadly, I am WAY behind in documenting the photos that go along with this holiday. So, with many recent challenges focusing on this spooky holiday, I took the opportunity to use some of my new BG Eerie paper to get those photos onto paper.

Let's Scrap sketch 10-13-10

Pumpkin carving is a favorite family pastime, so I wanted a fun, pumpkin theme page. Add to that the fun of incorporating your senses into the page...for carving pumpkins is a very touch based experience. Orange Cardstock set the mood and I loved the textured feel of the embossed felt pumpkin trim from Recollections Autumn collection. To add to the sense of touch, I used Chatterbox corduroy brads to hold twine and handmade felt banners. I found the poem on-line,printed and stamped a tree onto the background, then used colorbox inks in chestnut roan, olive and creamy brown to mimic the tones in the BG paper. I did the same with the title. Hand stitching added a warm cozy feel while i-rock jewels and orange peel stickles added a little glitz to the pumpkin stamp.

To scrap the trick or treat fun, I used Eerie papers over a DCWV purple Cardstock base. This is a hybrid page. I used a printed title from CLUB CK which I fussy cut and distressed with colorbox inks. I also distressed a prima flower with black ink, then added an Eerie brad for the center. This was the first page I had made with my new I-rock. I love how easy it is to put on jewels. The trim is from my local fabric store. I have been finding some great deals on trims and lace there.

completed for Sketches for All Sketch-a-thon

I love how the many challenges out there get me in the mood to scrap. There's a ton of Halloween challenges right now from the Halloween party at Sketches for All, Workout #30 at Scrap fit, to the Halloween/Fall challenge at Frosted.  Also, don't forget to submit to Scrap and Stamp Saturday if you use a stamp on your page. So go on out there...find challenges, make pages!

Go Green Challenge

Recycling is always a good thing. With acid free mist, there is a whole new world of possible embellishments or items that can be incorporated into a scrapbook page. When my son recently had a birthday, I had decided to make him some cinnamon rolls as a special breakfast. I decided to save the packaging and use it in the layout.

As I mentioned before, You will need an archival or acid free mist spray. You can follow the directions on the can to preserve the label or item for your page. I highly recommend NOT using anything that has been touched by food. As you can well imagine, it just might not be good for your photos. Labels though, can be a great way, not only to preserve the moment, but to also give a little look back at the way things were. Think back to how many times advertising and labels change with the trend. It just might take you back on a little trip down memory lane.

The other cool thing about this page is that I used scraps left over from creating the left side of the page. The polka dot paper is My Mind's EYE while everything else is Cosmo Cricket's Early bird line. Even the coffee mug sticker border was a scrap. I had cut it apart to use on the previous page.

The flowers used on both pages are Prima. For other ideas regarding  recycled items for projects, check out Scrap Fit's Workout#28.

It's all Vegetal!

Yes, that's a word. At least, I think it is. It's vegetal...as in vegetation. I like using the word. It sounded interesting and upon reading that it was a challenge over at Method Playground in which I need to use something plant related. I set out to find some floral paper to use up in my stash. I settled upon some MM die cut 5th avenue paper. It's black and white color matched with what I need to complete an LO about dinner at Carmine's...an Lo which I am entering over at Challenge Masters, and, as is my usual pattern, am popping around the net submitting where it may best fit into with other challenges. The challenge masters week 2 challenge requires me to use colors that match the logo of a favorite food or place to eat. Coincidentally, We had just been to a local favorite restaurant: Carmines! I had taken a photo of the sign over the door. So I fussy cut this and used 3-d adhesive along with pink paislee letters to make the title pop on a polka dot background. I went to Carmine's website to look for more photos and a menu. It was a jack pot! If you ever visit someplace and don't have a photo, their website can be a goldmine for you or for ideas on how to scrap your trip.

I used some white crochet lace ribbon from Melissa Johnson. The black crochet trim was found at my local fabric store. The buttons were an awesome find. I was cleaning out a box of craft supplies and discovered them in a box. They were my great grandmother's. I used some MM and prima flowers embellished with  some prima pearls. I felt all of these elements matched the atmosphere of the restaurant. Carmine's is a family style, Italian place decorated in a style I like to call gaudy elegance. Some of the looks are very traditional, but there are tons of photos in various eclectic frames on the walls. Some of the lamps in the bar are mismatched in both color and style. So I felt that the crochet provided the home style feel of a family meal, while the mismatched buttons provided the eclectic feel. Diamond stickles on some of the dots and flowers of the paper added to this eclectic tone.

The Longest Day

  Those words can conjure up the worst of images or the the best of them.  There are two really long days that I can remember with vivid clarity. One being my wedding day and two being the day my son was born. Both hold great memories for me. As many of you know, I started scrapbooking when my son was a little over a year old. What that means is that the days of his first years are happily documented in scrapbook tomes. My wedding, however, is only now being scrapbooked. 1997 was a long time ago, but yet it seems like yesterday. I can remember in detail getting ready to walk down the aisle, how it felt to look into my husband's eyes while we recited our vows, how happy we were to be married, and well...all of the wonderful memories of that day. Here is but a glimpse at that day...one moment perfectly captured on film.

  Finding wedding paper in my chosen colors has proved to be difficult. Since we had a garden wedding, I had chosen hunter green so that the wedding party would match whatever might be in bloom that day. Hunter green scrapbook paper is either not available in a wedding theme or just not pretty. So I chose Basic Grey's cappella line. It seemed elegant and fit perfectly with the photos.I inked the edges in colorbox platinum ink. I chose Bazzill bling cardstock in glass slipper. I loved the weight of the paper and the pearlized sheen made it seem special and perfect for the wedding.

I used white prima flowers and MM all a flutter trim. I can say that if I want to use a lot of jewels in the future I will definitely look into an I-rock.These little self adhesive jewel shapes look nice but are such a pain. This page is based on one I had seen in a June newsletter on Basic grey's website. I plan to submit it over at Scrapwhispers for their longest day challenge. Do you have a day that seemed like forever? Think about it and maybe try to document it. You'll be glad you did...