Where have I been?

We have had the flu this week. Collin stared it. I'm blaming him. Or one of our several friends who have it. Or Collin's school. Anyway, it is not my fault. Collin got on Tamiflu right away...Billy took nothing. Collin was hyper and only ended up with a crazy fever. Billy was curled up in the fetal position in bed for several days. I don't feel well, but it might be exhuastion. I was desparately wanting to create some things this week. I feel like I just never have time anymore. Or the energy to stay up past the kids bedtime. LOL

I feel like I am getting farther and farther behind on my layouts. I need to stop taking so many pictures...I have too much fun working on pictures I took last week and the older photos slip farther and farther behind.

Did you know that you can print your own background paper? Of course you did, but there are sites that have grid, graph and lined paper that you can print at home. Love it! Use it all the time! I used some grid paper for the clouds in this card.

I bought some super cute halloween stamps...now if I could find more time to use them. :) Here are two cards I tried.

Someone please tell me when my daughter starts school next year that I will have more time for the stuff I love!

My Birthday

On October 12th...I turned 34. Yes, you heard me. I am not afraid to say it...I know TONS of people older than I am, so I am not afraid of that number. LOL I got many lovely presents for my birthday...but now is the time to give a play by play about my present from the lovely Pam. Since she was not here to see me open it, I took lots of pictures so she would not miss a second. Unfortunately that means I am in most of them. LOL

You spoil me! I am so blessed to have a friend like you!

New Room!

Finally! After all of the talk...and waiting...and planning...I have a new office! (and Isabel has a new bedroom, but I sort of like my office better). It took a full day of painting and then a few days of moving stuff around...and then another full day of me re-organizing my stuff. Are you ready? Here is Isabel's new pink Tinkerbell room...very clean...very pink. LOL

And here is my new office! It is hard to take pics. in small rooms, but you do get to see my favorite part...my new "store" LOL. We got the slat walls and all of the trays/shelves for $60! Gret deal and I love the way it looks!

Cricut Cartridge Contest week #3

I haven't won yet, but I still hold out hope! LOL Pop in on the cricut site to put your name in to win a new cartride! And be sure to check out their new 100th cart...Winter Woodlands! So beautiful and lots of great cuts on it: http://www.cricut.com/shopping/ProductDetails.aspx?id=361&s=1&sc=2

Harder than I thought

Getting 2 rooms switched and painted is harder than I thought! It is overwhelming actually, but my scraproom cannot be in limbo forever. LOL Gotta get r done!

It is week 2 of Provocraft's 100 carts contest! Head on over there to sign up to try and win a new cart. Here is the link they asked us to post for the cool Winter Woodlands cartridge! http://www.cricut.com/shopping/ProductDetails.aspx?id=361&s=1&sc=2

Good luck!

M.I.A. and a great contest!

I know...I know...I have been M.I.A. I have been helping out some friends lately and busy, busy with school stuff for Collin and Belle, so I have not been able to really create much. Plus I feel sick. Really sick. The kind of...don't want to do anything buy lay here and be miserable and stare at the wall sick. That is unbelieveably frustrating for me, but what can you do?

First, I have a long overdue thank you for Scrappy Piglet. Isabel won her challege awhile back and recieved a great package, but I neglected on properly thanking her for the great prize. Isabel LOVED it! So Thank You, Scrappy Piglet and mommy! You guys are the best! Here is a pic. of Belle and her prize.

Big weekend for me this weekend! Despite not feeling good, Billy and I got to celebrate our anniversary (from July LOL) and have a kid free hotel weekend. It was nice just being together. Good food, a lovely hotel room and SLEEP! Uninterrupted sleep! My darling husband also gifted me with some really cool stuff to help me put together my new new (smaller) scrapbook room. (I am switching with Belle so she can have the much larger closet. We got a great deal and I can't wait to get Isabel's room put together so I can work on mine! Here is ONE of the 4x4 slat walls and a sample of each type of shelf he got to go on them. The total? $40!!!! What a fantastic deal. Of course there will be more pics when I get it together.

And last, but not least! Cricut is celebrating its 100th cartridge with a huge contest to win a new cart of your own! Here is a link to one of their great new carts (I REALLY want this one). http://www.cricut.com/shopping/ProductDetails.aspx?id=361&s=1&sc=2 and hint, hint...Michaels has them on sale this week!! So have fun shopping! If you want to enter the cart contest...go here: http://www.cricut.com/messageboard/tm.aspx?m=5248058 Good luck!

Simply Stamping

Today I thought I would break out some stamps and just made some simple cards. My new found love is kraft card bases, so I broke those out to work with, too. I had no rhyme, reason or plan...I just picked stamps I like and just stamped. I broke out my embossing powders, too. Fun!




This card is for my sister. I thought the stamped sentiment inside was very appropriate for us. LOL She is going to hit me. :)



My challenge for you: get out some of your stamps and start creating!

I-Top Review

A month or so ago I won a prize package from Give Away Today and it arrived! I am excited to show you my prize and let you know how I like it!

My first impression of the i-top was YEAH! A package that I can open without scissors! LOL Sounds silly, but when I get a new toy, I don't want to have to wrestle it to the ground trying to get it out to play. The tool has a cool textured handle (not a big fan of pink, but that is a minor thing) and comes ready to go with picture instructions and a DVD that shows again how to use it and some project ideas. They also sent me the carrying case...really fun design on it and removable pouches inside to store the tool and brads as well as a pocket that I put the DVD in and some papers. My only wish would be for it to be slightly bigger so I can store the punches in it as well.


Next in my box was a set of templates so I can trace the correct sizes to make the brads (seriously, probably would not happen...LOL...too much work) and ALL THREE PUNCH SIZES! I am excited about this because so far Michaels only carries one size of the punch, which seems pointless to me. the punches work really smoothly and the cut out design actually would be a fun accent all on its own.

Last but not least was the attatchment to make the larger brads, one set of each side of brads and some SUPER cute pre punched and STICKY BACKED papers so I could just peel, stick and make the brad.

I watched the DVD (although the package directions were good) and made a brad immediately. It was very easy to do and I like the way it came out. I have heard some complaints about the paper being a bit wrinkly around the edges, but, honestly, I think it looks fine. I can't wait to put it to work on some projects! So if you are on the fence, I would say climb on over. It is a great tool. My only concern (and it is a small one) is that it will go the way of some other tools I have liked and I will end up with the tool and no way to get the brads for it eventually. But that is a risk with any tool, I guess. For now, I am going to stock up. LOL

Finally Friday Inspired

If you have not check out Kristina Werner's videos, you are missing some great stuff. She does Finally Friday and Make a Card Monday videos (found on You tube and 2 Peas) and they are so fun and unique sketches. When I need some inspiration to get going, I always watch her videos and copy her sketches. They are so universal that even if you don't have the exact same products, you can swap things out to get wonderful results. And they are quick to make, too!

Today I was inspired by 2 of her Finally Friday cards. Here is the first one and beneath it is mine (sorry for the wonky picture):

And here is the second one I worked on today (Kristina's first and then mine):

Wow! Her pics look so much nicer than mine. I wish I had better lighting, but it is a gloomy day today. Beware, she uses super cute product, you will will be running out to get whatever she is using. LOL (I am totally wanting the Sassafrass lass stamps she used in the above card.)

Here is a link to her 2 peas:

http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/cg_list.asp?t=153

And here is you tube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/starofmay

Have fun!

Isabel's first post!

I found the CUTEST challenge blog for kids. Seriously. You have to check it out, even if you don't have any kids. It is really sweet.

http://www.scrappypiglet.blogspot.com/

I thought it would be fun for Isabel to play along. I even let her sit at my desk to work. She was so excited! She learned how to use stickles and perfect pearls last night, so she definitely wanted to try those again. The challenge was to make something showcasing fruit. Isabel picked everything out herself and also put it together with very little help from mommy. I'm so proud!

Isabel's card!

She decided that the back needed a little something, so she decided to draw a picture on it. Please leave her some love. She will be so excited to get some comments. :)

Fun with Life's a Beach

My friend, Kim, loaned me some carts while she was on vacation and I especially had a good time with the new Life's a Beach. Although it is a very theme specific cart, there is SO much on there! Lots of great cuts! It is definitely on my list now. Here is a layout I did of Isabel and her new found swimming skill.

The background paper is usually not my style, but I really felt drawn to use it. I used LOTS of stickles, perfect pearls and my homeade glimmer mist. This was a very cut intensive and technique intensive layout for me. Felt nice to get my hands dirty. See what happens when my hubby and kids leave the house for a while? LOL

Very cute blog candy!

Check out this blog and become a follower for some very sweet paper!
http://createdbyleanne.blogspot.com/
Be sure to browse her site, too. She does BEAUTIFUL work! Very inspiring, great color combos and nice details. :)

Enjoy!

Scrapbook Planner

I have scrapper's ADD. I get so easily distracted by great scrapping sites and message boards. The little time I do have to play I tend to fritter away on the computer trying to get inspired. I decided to combine my ADD with my OCD need to organize things and came up with a Scrapbook Planner. It is like a to do list that I can organize by month to plan out the projects/cards/pages I want to get done. I can also do sketches and plan things out in this, too. Here's hoping I can actually make all the cute things I think of AFTER the holiday is over. LOL

The inside is just blank pages. :) No need to take a pic. of that

Mad Scientist Today!

I have been taking the Thinking Inking class at 2 peas and drooling over all the fun mediums I don't own yet and wishing I could find some of them around here: ie: glimmer mist, crackle paint....

So, I decided to see what I could make myself and boy am I happy! First, here are my glimmer mists.

Supplies: Small spray bottles (I got Ranger's Mini Misters from M's), Pearl Ex powder, Adirondacks Alchohol reinkers and hair spray

I know that you can add just add some water to Perfect Pearls to get glimmer mist, but I don't have Perfect Pearls and I do have Pearl Ex just sitting around not being used. So I mixed some hair spray with a few drops of alchohol ink and added a scoop of Pearl Ex. It dries quickly and has an amazing shimmer to it. I actually like it better than the one bottle of Tattered Angels Glimmer mist that I own. Shhhh...

Next I thought I would give crackle paint a try.

Supplies: Acrylic paint in contrasting colors, Weathered Wood Crackling Medium (found at HL or M's by the Acrylic paints

I really wanted to try some crackle paint, but no one here carries it so I wanted to try to make my own. I painted a chipboard element with a base coat of paint. Let it dry. Paint over it with the crackle medium. Let dry (will take awhile). Paint on top of that with a contrasting color of paint.

The last thing I played around with was adding a pearlizing medium to acrylic paint. First I painted the chipboard tree with regular paint. On the bigger side, I mixed in acrylic paint with the pearlizing medium and it came out with a slight shimmer. I also tried (on the thin side) and painted the medium directly over the paint. I like it.

Have fun and show me pics. if you experiment!

Did you miss me?

My goodness! I have been WAY busy. Someday I will invent something that will KEEP my house clean so I can play. Now I know, that there is no law that says I cannot play first, but I just can't seem to do it! Have to clean to create! Lately, all I have managed is cleaning, though.

Here is a blog with a great giveaway! Check it out!

http://keepsakesbymelissa.blogspot.com/2009/07/my-blogaversary-giveaway.html

I did manage to do one card...took me 2 days, but i did it. LOL I will post it now and add details later. How about that.

Color Throwdown Challenge

I was in need of some inspiration today and Color Throwdown did just that! Their weekly color picks are very fresh and fun. Here is the latest Color Throwdown (#50):

Aren't these beautiful colors together? Very summer for me. I thought it would be fun to play with patterns today as well, so I stepped out of my box and just grabbed some paper in this color pallete without thinking about it. Here is my take on the colors:


I like it. My daughter asked what I was going to do with it and could she please have it. My response? Clean your room! LOL Here is a set of cards that I just finished. Having fun with bright colors right now.

Check out Color Throwdown here: http://colorthrowdown.blogspot.com/
I would love to see what you come up with for this color challenge, so please post on Mr. Linky so I can see your fun work.

Don't you love great photos?

My camera is not the best. It has slow shutter speed and is getting old, but it is all I have right now. I use all of my ingenuity to try to coax good shots out of it. I am very aware of my lighting and LOVE outdoor shots. Everyone once in awhile I get some shots that work for me.

I took a few of my good shots from last week and was inspired to make some layouts. I wanted to play with some fun summer colors and contrast some of the colors in my photos. I also am working on just letting if flow and not getting hung up on complicated layouts or embellishements. I want to put the fun back in scrapping.

What have YOU been working on lately? I would love to see.