New layouts from the holidays!

Here is some of what I have been doing lately. I've set some challenges for myself in 2007. Let's see how much (quality of course) scrapping I can get done! 272 layouts; 50 cards; 12 altered items. What are your scrapping goals?

Am I Thinner?

I took some pics of myself because I know I have lost weight since the summer. I can tell by the way my clothes fit. This one came out the best, but it is still blurry. I have yet to figure out how my dd has managed to take all those great pics of herself!
I do work hard, at the very least, maintaining my weight. The goal is to lose a few more inches, but I do it slowly so that I am sure it stays off!
Do I look thinner? I think so!

A slide show - A Study In Lines & Textures

I like to photograph different things. Here is a recent shoot I did while at the beach.

Scrapping Pets

This is my pupparoo, Runt. He is an Australian Cattle Dog according to my vet. He looks like Frankenweenie. Sometimes we call him "Sausage Dog" beccause he looks like a sausage with legs. This was for a layout challenge about eyes. My dd took this picture, and I just had to use it!

Just remember that sometimes you need to get up close and personal to your pets and get some different shots. You don't always have to shoot the whole body or head on. This photo says alot, and is just darn cute!

My first photobucket slide show. Not to be my last!

Here is a slide show I made recently to show a votive holder I made and a recent paper and fiber purchase. I know, silly thing to do , but why not!

Altered Votive Candle Holder

Rachel Ray had some cool chick on who used cinnamon sticks to decorate a votive candle. Well, I went to the store, bought cinnamon and this votive holder. The cinnamon sticks were sold with six in a jar for $3.96. I estimate it would take about 16 to go all the way around this votive. I tried using just 6, which looked ridiculous. So I took them off and stuck some Beadazzle beads on anyway. The paper is WRMK, which an online buddy, Lisa, sent me to try. Very nice paper, btw. Thick and two sided! This would be a lovely gift idea for Thanksgiving to your hostess or as a Christmas gift to friends, teacher, or co-workers. You could make a set of 3 for practically nothing!

Birthday Cards, All Occasion Cards, Cory Boyd

Hello Cory Boyd! #3 on the USC Gamecocks! He's my favorite player this year. I love to watch him. He is a very driven young man who loves football, and you can tell . This was taken at Steve Spurrier's Ladies' Football Clinic.
What does that have to do with cards. Nothing. But I do have some great pics to scrap from that day!
I made the masculine card for my brother's 40th birthday. Hard to believe the little man is going to be 40 years old. I still picture this little butch haircut kid with a big little round belly at 5 years old! Cute little freckles on his nose. Fun to play with. Now he is kind of an ornery ole cuss, but what do ya do? Gotta love him anyway!
The rest of the cards were from the road trip I am on. Had to use flowers. I have these great flowers and this fabulous paper and all these cards from Self-Addressed card kit I got for a while as something different. So I went crazy. Gave them as my bunko gift last night...which I won most bunkos...5! woohoo! I was on a roll, and that was fun!

Try some new colors

I had scrapper's block in the worst way. I was just running out of ideas. I decided to use some new colors to scrap these photos you see here. It was just what the doctor ordered. So next time you have scrapper's block, step out of your color zone and do something different! It really does help!

Some things I have been doing lately

I have been very busy lately making some awesome layouts. I love this Shutterbug one. It is my favorite. It is a self-portrait taken in a mirror. Isn't it fun!
I scrapped my cats, Kibbles & Bits, looking at who knows what, but it definitely had their attention.
And I did some Christmas memorabilia from when dd and ds were around 5 and 6. I'm on a roll!

Cards In Many Shapes and Sizes

I think I went crazy the other night. I made 12 cards! It was for a challenge. You had to make cards with flowers on them. Well, this girl I met at the CS Retreat gave me some flowers as a hostess gift for a swap I hosted. I have used the hound out of those flowers. They were delicious colors and all shapes and sizes.
For a while, I was a member of a card kit monthly club. We got lots of cute papers, cards in all shapes and sizes and embellies. I made some cards along the way, but the other night I was compelled to just make cards until I exhausted just about every card base I had left! That was the 12. Now I do have a few more cards left to make, but they are from another kit and another company. I'm sure I'll whip them out too somewhere along the line.
These cards will be used for my Bunko gift coming up next week. Our theme is something soft. A fabric flower is soft, and so that is what I am giving in the form of these delicious cards.
I will also save some to bundle together for Christmas gifts, to whom I'm not sure yet, but I'll worry about that later. A nice ribbon and a pretty tag, and they will be good to go!

Cards Galore

I have been playing at a scrapbook website again. They are having a little "Road Trip" for two weeks full of challenges. It has actually been very practical as far as card making goes! I made all my Thanksgiving cards and about 11 Christmas cards so far! That aside from all the layouts I have gotten done.

I have been a scrapping fool lately. I guess I am just in the mood. I made 5 layouts Friday night, 4 on Saturday, 3 yesterday and 2 today. Go, girl, go! I can't complain. I'm using current pictures AND pictures I have had matched with paper that I've been carting around to weekend crops for eons! I'm nearly done scrapping my family vacation from this summer, which is a small miracle.

I think this website has been good for me as far as giving me different ideas to get things done. It is sparking my creativity. I don't think I will win this road trip contest. And honestly, for $30 worth of scrapping supplies, it's not worth all the work it would take to win. There are 10 stops with about 4-5 challenges at each stop. I'm on stop 5 right now.

Now, do I go crop or collapse? I'm tired. I did housework all day. My kitchen is very clean, and I have dishpan hands!!!

Piano Hinge Album

I made this piano hinge album the other night. It was sent to me as a thank you gift for hosting a rolodex swap. Wasn't that nice!

The album is from ClubScrap. They are very simple to make. There are alot of websites on the internet with directions if you do a google search. What I like about these is they are interesting looking. You could use chopstix or even sticks from a tree for the spine, which gives you some flexibility. Of course, you have a rainbow of colors to choose for paper. Adding beads to the fiber gives it some pizzazz.

I hope you will check these out. I think they will be a nice addition to your scrapbooking challenges!

Out for Publication

I am getting published in November in an online scrapbooking mag. It's good for the creative juices to get published or win contests here and there. I think otherwise we start to think our stuff is just crap! Another fun thing about getting published, besides the ego boost, is to put up your "Out for Publication" sign where your layout or altered art is posted on scrapbook sites. The particular thing that was selected is some an altered milk can that I have to pull from where it was posted for the month of the mag. I created my out for publication sign using an altered canvas I made a while back and importing it into my photo editing software. I just typed text over the top of it and ta-da!

Sketch Challenge

I'm not a big fan of sketches. It just is hard for me to fit my free flowing brain into that kind of boxed-in environment. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with doing them. I find it is harder for me to fit my brain in that arena than for others. However, I did do one Saturday night for an online crop. The crop itself was lame as the hostess didn't really have anything for us to do..., but that website is kind of odd anyway so I shouldn't have been surprised! Anyhoooooooo, she did pick a sketch from some sketch artist she likes and had us do a layout. I did it, and I think every once in a while we need to step out of our comfort zone, especially if our mojo is on hold for whatever reason!!! I was rather pleased with my results, although my picture makes the straight lines of paper look crooked. they are not. I just couldn't get my scanner to work. I have a great all-in-one printer that is terrific for absolutely everything, except apparently scanning my layouts. I'm not complaining because the photo quality is so good, people don't realize I printed my pictures at home when I'm cropping!
Anyway, here is the sketch and my layout. I did turn the sketch on its side because my pics didn't work with it the way it was originally drawn.

I was in a contest recently at an unnamed website where the prize was $100 worth of scrapbook product for first place and then there were other prizes for 2nd and 3rd. It was 5 rounds. I made it through round 4. I appreciate competition. It brings out the best, and there was some amazing stuff that was done.

More Halloween Treats to Make

Ah the delight young children feel at

Halloween all jacked up on sugary candy, running around in fun costumes, overstimulated by friends... My nephews are just the right age to appreciate getting a box full of Halloween treats I've been making for this challenge at a website. I made these two puzzles today. We were supposed to alter some puzzle pieces, but I didn't have any and I KNEW what kid would want altered puzzle pieces? They want puzzles! Right? These were quick and dirty puzzles that I whipped out on cardstock. To make them more durable, just mount on chipboard. I didn't do that because we get points based on how fast we finish. That explains why these aren't inked on the edges or chalked anywhere. They were just slapped together and cut up and posted!

The pumpkin is an altered CD. Yes, I am the queen of altered items, but even as quickly as I put this together, two other divas beat me to the punch and got more points by posting faster! So you can see that time is of the essence and the details and fun little tricks I might normally do are cast to the wind as I whip these out like Edward Scissorhands. I will put a wire loop at the top of the pumpkin so my lil' guys can hang this up.

They will be receiving quite a stash of stuff. I hope that makes me a fun Auntie!

Halloween Fun Stuff

I'm in this Halloween Derby at this website. We have made some stuff that I will be sending my nephews for Halloween. I think they will get a kick out of it. Things I probably wouldn' t have made otherwise. Check this out!
Door hanger is my own design. You just need a piece of paper that is 4"x8 1/2", a 2" circle punch, and a 1" circle punch and a corner rounder. That's it!

Homecoming Card & Gift

My dd gave her big sis on varsity a gift for homecoming. They exchange for certain games. She asked me to make a card and so I did. I also made this little doo-dad for her. Why not! I can!!! Heather can't believe I made the card. I made a matching envelope with pom pom paper that has a megaphone on it. Oh, how I entertain myself!

Goody Bags n Tags

The Ugly Truth
I'm the kind of mom that when asked to bring something for the bake sale or classroom makes a pan of brownies. Now mind you, I have a recipe for brownies from scratch that will make you see Jesus, but before I found that, it was just the good ole box kind. Functional - asked to make something - I did. Unlike the superMOMS who bring in a cake made to look like the Mona Lisa. Take my Christmas gift one year to the day care teachers: homemade pepper jelly with a stick on bow. The stick on bow was my wrapping. That lovely jar stood on the counter with the bags that were so colorful and covered with curlied ribbon and the most beautiful designer paper with something inside that would probably merit such a delicious gift bag. What can I say?
Redemption
My friend and I get to do the snacks for the JV cheerleaders today. We are not one to take this job lightly. She calls them goody bags. So, being the scrapbooking goddess I am, I made some basic tags and then found some cute little cheerleaders to go with it. A little coordinating curly ribbon, and we have some fun treat bags that the other mothers will now have to outdo. My friend, Lynn, said that we probably overdid it (for once in my life...she has no idea), but the truth is, we know we will do it exactly the same way again next time. Perhaps I can add individual photos next time...

The Cheerleading Scrapbook

I am having a time today getting this stinkin' blog to work. I don't know if it is me or the blog.

I have made my dd a scrapbook for each year she has been a cheerleader. It is alot of fun for both of us. One thing I have learned is to let her take pictures, too. You get her perspective as well as mine. She does enjoy sharing these books with her friends, which is nice for me, too! Her friends like to see what new pages I have created. I think it is like a yearbook, they are looking for themselves!

I used an 8x8 format for last year because I like the challenge of the smaller page. I found that paper was my main embellishment with a few accents here and there. I do prefer to use other colors than the school colors just because you will die of boredom if you don't.

I do have a folder full of cheerleading stuff: paper and rubons and embellishments and die cuts. If I see something I like, I buy it for future use! You will see on one of my lo's I used a transparency of my own design. When in doubt, make it yourself!

I was in a sb store in WI not too long ago that had a whole wall of all the local schools. I'm talking albums, stickers, die cuts of mascots, coordinating everything. It made me so wish my sb store would do that. It really is hard to find things in the right colors. Not that I can't make her book without it, but it would be fun to have some of those things available.

The Pocket Page and More

The Pocket Page
There is so much you can do with the pocket page. This particular page is a knock-off of a layered idea I have seen before. I just keep finding memorabilia that I want to save from this once in a lifetime trip. This way, I have room for those little things I thought I put in my memorabilia storage bag I was using, but apparently didn't! I mean where else am I going to put the purple wrist bands that we wore at the pool so we could get towels? Or the coaster from the bar or the empty coffee bag from the coffee we bought?
I really like the white stamp pad as you can probably tell. The stamps are CS and from their Surf's Up kit. They are unmounted. The letters are some foam stamps I got on sale at hobby lobby. It is one of my favorite fonts. I just wiped my chipboard letter with ink and then took some white ink and dabbed it on. Yes, my ink pad got dirty, and I had to clean it. Bad idea, cool look. This is not an amazing page, but a practical one, and sometimes you need practical.
Don't be afraid of old stuff in your stash.
My second lo had me reverting to my chalking days with some die cuts from Deluxe Cuts that I have had forever. I got out my chalks and went to town on these blah die cuts. If you know me, my motto is "it doesn't matter what color an embellishment is, you can always change it if it doesn't match". I gussied them up a bit to bring out the colors on the leis my dh and I are wearing. This page is a little distorted because it was in my album, but you get the idea. I inked my paper water glass coaster from our hotel room with the same ink that I used on the "M" on the previous lo. I just really like that effect. I used some shells as the flower center. Flower is more memorabilia from Hawaii. And I had one last stinkin' sticker which just so happened to match the colors in this lo so I used it.
Don't you just love that postcard? I think postcards are fabulous to us in scrapbooking when you travel. Some of my other lo's have postcards in them, too.
Now I thought I was done with this album, but I found a group photo of all the attendees and my dh's company newsletter came with the same photo in it. So I actually have two more pages to whip out, but then I will really be done my Hawaii album.
Not every page has to be a masterpiece.
This album is complete. It is a great feeling. Yes, I could have used more embellishments, more paper, more paint, more ink, more stamps, more special effects, but I would still have those 15o some odd photos lying around waiting to be scrapbooked. I am not one to COUNT and feel accomplished by the quantity as some folks do (CM you know who you are), but I do have a goal oriented personality and having this album hanging over my head is not FUN. This way, I have the memories to enjoy already and the delight in knowing it is complete. Satisfaction, dahlings! It's a great feeling! So quit worrying that your pages won't all be ART to hang in the LOUVRE in PARIS. It doesn't matter. The important thing is, you have something to show people and yourself about your trip.

Pep Rally Card for Cheerleading

My dd has her first pep rally as a jv cheerleader tomorrow. Very exciting for her. She has a secret sister who is a varsity cheerleader, and they will be swapping treats before the pep rally tomorrow. I made this card for my dd to give to her secret pal - naturally in a clear envy so everyone can see it and be envious (LOL).
The background of the card is a "hot pink", but for some reason, it didn't scan. The blue and gold are the school colors. Her secret sis loves pink. That is why I made a pink card, plus if you know me, I love to go outside the box and use a non-traditional color palette. It just makes it more fun. The "RAH!" is from a cheer transparency of my own design.
Inside the card it says "U R Cheerific!". The "Cheerific" is from my tranpsarency and the U R are KI blue icicle letters. It looks really cute. They are over the pink stripe paper you see on the front.
FYI this is a 6x6 card.

CS Aug 2006 Retreat

Just back from the CS 2006 Aug Retreat. What fun that was! Met some terrific ladies and had alot of fun. Here is a pic of Lynn, me and Julianne as pirates. What in the world would possess grown women to dress up as pirates? Perhaps that is one of the powers of CS??? These two cool chicks were on my floor as well and great fun. I met Julianne last year, and she is a doll.
We made many great projects during the retreat. Can't talk about it now because we pinky swear not to until the other two retreats are over (Sep and Oct). It's hard, but our gift was so great and definitely needed. And our kit...oh la la. Ain't saying nuthin' else. We even made one thing that I have never done before which I have proudly been showing off. So how is that for vague?
Some of my crew were: Lynn and her sis, Mary, Anastasia (whose name is just way too long LOL), Julianne, Kim, Jill, Pat & Woody, Nancy, Laura, Angie, and Jen, and my roomie, Mandy. If I forgot to name anyone, it is just a momentary lapse and I apologize.