ScrapNight part 2

This is a sequel to yesterday's post... the second LO I did with my friend's pictures (of her and her sweet newborn daughter) and with the Echo Park 'Be Mine' collection.
Again, I cut/ripped and inked several patterns. I arranged the photos on the papers. I then punched some butterflies (Martha Stewart punch) out of scraps of the paper and added rhinestones to them after lightly inking their edges and folding their wings up for dimension. Love the built-in journaling lines on the background paper- helps me write straight :P

ScrapNight part 1

My wonderful husband hosted a poker game here last night. Usually, I hide out in my office all night playing on the computer after getting the kiddos to bed. But, this time I got the bright idea to invite a couple friends to come scrapbook in my (rather small) basement craft room. That inspired me to do a bit of rearranging and reorganizing to make more usable space for tables. And I also nagged my husband to finally hang my MM magnet boards (discontinued ages ago but they still work for me :P )

Unfortunately, a few peeps had last minute issues; but, one friend did make it over and we had a great time. At some point, I decided I would much rather scrap her photos than my own so she gave me a few pics of her and her adorable newborn daughter. It was so fun to SB girl photos and I ended up with 2 layouts I really, really like.

This first LO was done with several papers from Echo Park's 'Be Mine' collection. I am not really into V-day that much and normally don't care about themed papers for the holiday; but I love this collection and I think a lot of the papers are very versatile. Plus, it was my chocolatier February challenge layout for CropChocolate.com  (the theme was love)

I cut/ripped and inked several patterns (including using the manufacturer label edge from the bottom which has about 6 inches worth of the pattern) and then arranged the photo on the papers. I then punched a ticket shape (McGill punch) out of a scrap of the paper and layered one of the stickers on it. I de-stickied another ticket shaped sticker and then popped both up on pop dots in the upper corner of the photo. Finally, I added a few Prima roses (snagged from the same friend) to the bottom after first spraying them with pearl and sugar plum glimmer mists. The 2 random brown half circles on the very bottom are actually my easel :P

Anyway, this LO is now hanging on one of my magnet boards. I have decided to start rotating through some of my most recent LOs instead of immediately shoving them in an iris box to await getting put into an album. I have a couple 12x12 frames somewhere too and think I want to put those to the same use - should make for a fun way to "decorate" my scrap space :)

This LO is all about letting the paper do all the work. I think it's CI - I found it in the clearance paper at archiver's and thought it would be great for pics of my boys and cars but even more fun for these pics. My friend parked her car on Friday and all was well; but, after rain on Saturday, we found it difficult to leave on Sunday. It was very reminiscent of the tire turning scene in My Cousin Vinny. Luckily, Alfred (and his dog) came to our rescue. Big letters are AC Thickers again; Bling is Heidi Swapp; rub-ons were MM. White Uniball Signo again (yes, it is my fav white pen too!) for the two hand-written words. Photos were taken by another friend there that weekend (thx, R!) and artfully arranged :P in Picasa. Love their collage feature- but I forgot to show a new friend how to use it last weekend- d'oh!

This LO is one I did while at Archiver's mania a month or 2 ago. I love this paper which is from Making Memories - I am all about geometrics (i.e. circles in this case) and bright colors- so fun. I absolutely despise the photo of me on the LO; but decided I needed to just use it anyway. The pics are from celebrating my friend Rach's birthday at Melting Pot last summer. The company was outstanding and the food was yummy but I have to say the service was lacking- they just don't do largish groups well :P
Anyway, the paper is MM as I said. The ribbons are all American Crafts- I am totally loving the wall of $3 AC ribbons at A's- thought it makes it much too easy to buy a bunch *LOL* Both letter sets are AC Thickers (Have I mentioned I have a Thickers addiction?). Journaling card is MME and I used a Uniball white gel pen to write on it. LO is not nearly as crooked in person- my picture-taking was just lacking last month when I photographed the last batch for the blog.
I'm about out now so I'll have to start photographing the LOs I did at last weekend's retreat soon :)

Sorry for the long absence- had a busy work week followed by a long weekend away- scrapbooking with some of my fav ladies :)

This LO is supah simple but I like it nonetheless. Papers (and borders) are Sassafras Indie Girl, letters are AC thickers, peach trim? can't remember- but all are from a SPCS kit (Sept I think?) Buttons are from a Hobby Lobby bag from my stash

Garden of Friends

One of the best things that has come out of this wonderful hobby of mine is the opportunity to meet other women who share it. And I have been incredibly blessed to have made some truly wonderful friends that I cherish. The women in this picture are just a few of them. It is from a scrapbook weekend we took in Summer '09 - we had a blast!

I did this LO with SPCS' October "Pink" kit plus a couple tidbits from my own stash. The CS is bazzill. The papers are Echo Park ("Life is Good") Journaling spot is Jillibean Soup (I think). Bloom trim is AC. Teal ribbon was Leeza Gibbons from my stash. I wrote on the ribbon: "friends are flowers in the garden of life"

Thankful

This is another LO I did at SPCS's winter crop last weekend. It was also done with their November Juicy kit (which I LOVE). Do check them out from my sidebar link. The CS is Bazzill, papers (and diecut) Teresa Collins. The flowers and bling are Prima. Chalk ink cat's eye by Colorbok. The pics? my awesome family :P

Sew What

This is another "sketch" LO. Again, the sketch is from Page Maps 1 or 2 (can't remember). The papers and stickers are all Scenic Route Appleton. The ribbon is offray and the embroidery-esque thread is Making Memories. Yes, I sewed on a LO. Crazy, huh? I still need to add journaling but I'll get around to it eventually. Probably something about Alexander having been at SunBrooke since he was 12 weeks old and his teachers and directors knowing him his whole life.

As usual, every time I use my stash of SR papers, I am so sad theya re no longer designing/manufacturing product. Love their stuff and I am using it for the rest of his pre-K "graduation" photos

Sketch me if you can

So, I am a scrapbooking magazine and book junkie. I love looking at all the LOs and reading about design. I have a bunch of sketch books (notably the books from both Becky Higgins and Becky Fleck) But, up until a few nights ago, I can count on one hand the number of times I have actively used a sketch. And those few were specifically for forum/blog challenges. But, I took the time to put all my pagemap cards on a book-ring along with the cards from the kit club I subscribe to. Then I had a convo with a friend who almost always uses sketches (as do many of my friends) and I decided to make myself use some sketches. I have to say, it really does simplify and speed up the process. My only concern is that it may turn into a crutch for me- and that I might tend to follow sketch examples too closely. I don't want to zap the teeny smidge of creativity I actually possess :P But, I think this is - overall- a good tool to have in the arsenal and I've done 3 LOs with a sketch and have picked out another 2pg sketch to work on next.


Anyway, the first layout is my attempt to fix the LO from the previous post. I changed the title to a blue and significantly smaller letter treatment and I like it way better. I think the yellow letters were just a tad too bright an also way too big. I am much happier with the LO now though I still don't think it's my fav page ever *LOL* I think I may go back and paint the last corrugated flower yellow too- maybe that is what I still am not loving even though it was a "design decision" to leave it kraft originally :P What do you think?

The bottom LO was sketch attempt number 2 - from Becky Fleck's PageMaps (2?). It was put together with Heidi Grace's Midnight Kisses papers, Bazzill cardstock, CM border scissors, AC Thickers, 7 Gypsies velvet flowers that were Glimmer Misted to modify the color, K&Co paper clips, a butterfly punch, and the unknown random white CS from Michaels I really like how this one came out.

Frugal Embellies?

Well, maybe not. But they are re-purposed and recycled. I have to admit that one of my guilty indulgences is getting a latte at Starbucks. I esp love the pumpkin Spice seasonal latte so tend to go a little crazy from Sept 1 until it departs (in January this year - wahhh). But, this year, I got the bright idea to get something extra out of my expensive habit. I realized I could die-cut shapes from all those corrugated cardboard warmers instead of throwing them out and throwing more money on the cute corrugated embellies that have hit the stores. So, I can finally put that hand-held quickutz die-cutter and alphabet sets to good use. But, initially, I used some quickutz flower dies at archivers to cut out a bunch of flowers. The layout on the right was done there a few weeks ago and the flowers were colored with glimmer mist. I have absolutely no idea whose papers I used on it.

The LO on the left was finished last night. The c.c. flower on the left got stickled only- I wanted to pull some kraft color into that side. The ones on the right were colored with a Jenny Bowlin paint dabber and then stickled. The PP is was a scrap that someone gave me so I am not 100% sure who made it. The CS is Archivers. The little star embellies were from a clearance pack at Tues Morning from some unknown brand. The vellum start paper was bought so long ago that I have no earthly idea where I bought it much less who made it. The title is AC Thickers

BTW, I apologize for the pictures. Not only am I still trying to figure out the best way to take pics of layouts; but, the weather here is snowy, icy and overcast- making "natural light" photos impossible. After multiple attempts, I gave up on "good" photos and satisfied myself with "less bad" :P

Thanksgiving

This is another LO from Saturday. (Click picture to see larger) I used the November Juicy kit from Sweet Peach Crop Shop (see sidebar link). The cardstock is Bazzill. The papers are SEI and Teresa Collins. Die-cut is also TC. Flowering vine is Prima with some copper Stickles added to it. Flower ribbon is Maya Road, brown ribbon is French Block. The pictures were printed together in a collage and are from a family Thanksgiving at Lake Logan Lodge in NC. I really like how this LO came out :)

Yum!

On Saturday, I went to an all day crop held by Corrie of Sweet Peach Crop Shop (see link in sidebar). A bunch of ladies I love went plus I met several more great women. I had a wonderful time. I only completed a dozen layouts; but, I loved getting in "girl time" and just chatting :)

This is one of the LOs I did- the pics are from last fall's jaunt to Highlands with my parents (in honor of my son's birthday). Specifically, these are from a trip to the local ice cream shop. Letters are AC Thickers. papers are Ta-Da. The borders were made from strips of one pattern. I punched out the circles and popped them up over the spots I punched them from as well as on the photos' corners. Bling i.c. cone is from BG (found the bling at Big Lots for .50 a couple weeks ago) You can click the picture to see it larger

All About Me

This LO is the Yin to yesterday's yang. These are the negatives from the layered die-cuts (WRMK and Kaiser paper) from the other LO layered on top of MME glittered paper and embellished with Portofino (Costco bundle) paper flowers, primas, Kaiser Craft bling, Creating Keepsakes rhinestone brads (yes, they used to have their own line), and an MME journaling card. The big flower on the bottom right was cut from the background paper. I don't really like photos of myself and I am usually the one manning the camera but I am trying to make an effort to occasionally scrap something about me

For the first time since I started working from home (almost a year ago!), I had lunch with my husband on a work day (he works 15 mins away). Funny how happy that makes me :P I think we should do this more often. Looking forward to a great weekend- my parents are baby-sitting so Joe and I can have a date night tmrw; I am going to an all-day crop with good friends on Saturday. And Sunday will hopefully involve lots of time spent with the boys as well as the drudgery of putting away all the xmas decorations. I am such a procrastinator - oh well

Maybe if it is pretty

I will come post? I just gave my blog a cosmetic overhaul. Happiness, Bliss. I figured it out without too much trouble (you'd think a developer would be more clued-in) and it is so pretty :P Maybe I should ask the artist if she's consider making 12x12 formats so I could print and scrap with the background *LOL*

I did this LO at a retreat a while back. A lovely friend took timeout from scrapbooking to create layered diecut patterns on her Gypsy The cardstock is probably Bazzill, the papers are Kaiser Craft and WRMK, the letters are AC Thickers. Can't remember where the little "journaling" stickers came from (and you can barely see them on the LO) "my" was handwritten with a micro Sakura pen. Bling is Kaiser Craft as well