More challenge pages!

For this next challenge, I got to revisit an old book that I was published in. It is from 2004, Chatterbox's 25 Meaningful Albums. The challenge is Nicole's and it is to use a book or magazine cover as your inspiration. So, I used Chatterbox's book cover as my inspiration.

I decided I would use the lined up books as my background replacing them with patterned paper of course.

Here's my take:

My title wasn't showing up enough on the background so I rubbed my Stampin Up Crushed Curry stamp pad over the letters to make them pop a little. I like how it gave the grainy effect.

 

I sprayed the butterflies with white Mr. Huey mist- yum!

The next challenge was to stitch on a picture and it is Kimberly's challenge. I'm not much of a seamstress as some of you may know. I can't sew a straight line for the life of me and I never can get the tension right on the sewing machine. So for this stitching I wanted to make sure that didn't matter. So look closely at my picture for the stitching:

Yep, that's the stitching, just a couple little lines! This was my hardest challenge. If I get more time this week, maybe I will revisit this challenge. Here's the page:

P.S. winners posted soon for the stamp sets below!! (:

Giveaway update and a couple pages!

I'm so excited that my stamps will soon have a new home. I will be drawing names for the stamp sets tomorrow evening-7pm EST. So, if you haven't entered, see the post below to do so. I will update with the winners by Tuesday 8am EST.

Now on to some pages I have made and am excited about. The pages I'm posting over the next few days are for the challenges going on at Studio Calico. This first one is for Laura's challenge to use a quote on the page. I used song lyrics from Bruno Mars: "Girl you're amazing just the way you are." I love that song, but am very disappointed in Bruno's drug usage- I do not support that at all and actually made this page a couple of nights ago and then read about his issues yesterday on the internet- very disappointing. Okay onto the page:

 This next picture shows a close up of the Maya Road butterflies. I used Ranger Liquid Pearls on top of them to give the shimmery, puffy look. It is so easy and gives a unique look to them.

My next challenge was Sasha's challenge to use a page from the SC February design team gallery and I chose Tina's gallery. Here's Tina's page:

And, here's mine:

This is my page I call "Fish Lips"!! It's the typical teenagers making that silly fish lip face- so bizarre!! It ended up being a big hit of a page for those 3 teens. They, too, thought it was hysterical!

I love these challenges. It has gotten me very busy creating. I will share more pages tomorrow (:

Working on some challenges! Who's with me? And, a giveaway!!

Starting now, over at Studio Calico, they have some challenges going on for CHA week. For those of you not sure what CHA is: It's the Craft and Hobby Association show. That's where all the new crafty stuff is being released to business owners to buy for us addicted hobbyists to get from them. Yay! More goodies to feed my addiction! So, who's joining me for some challenges?

I've done 5 of the challenges so far! I will be sharing them on my blog tomorrow. But, let's just say I really stepped out of my comfort zone when I used Vee Jennings style to replicate on one of my pages! She has a very artsy style I would say. And, she's not afraid to put a picture on the page crooked. Well, my style is more linear and I have a hard time with stepping out of my straight box. But, I did it!

Now, for the giveaways:

I've got a couple of stamps from previous kits that need a home. So, just leave me a comment and you will be entered. I'm not afraid to ship internationally. So, my friends around the world are welcome to participate too.

Happy Scrapping!

Heart-Broken

About three months ago,my darling little girl got her first big heartbreak. It was a sad, sad day. I never realized how painful it would be to watch. Oh sure, I remember my first heartbreak and how bad I hurt then. But, I don't think that even compares to watching my daughter hurt. I never thought I would scrap a page about this, but it was a huge part of her life and I have watched her come to terms with it and grow because of it. So, it's time to scrap this photo of her red, puffy eyes and nose. She is a much bigger person now and I love her strength. She is truly special.

I used the Napa Valley kit from Studio Calico. I punched hearts out and then ripped them in half and dabbled paint on the rip and put them back together again. For the title, I painted my Jett alphabet stamps with white paint- this makes the white brighter than ink so that it shows on the patterned paper. Here's some close-ups:

Thanks for stopping by!

Insomnia and a Challenge

Well a night of insomnia resulted in making a page for the Sunday Sketch Challenge on the Studio Calico blog. I hate insomnia- ugh! But, I loves me a good challenge!

 

So, I got out some Christmas pictures and decided I was going to make a page using one kit which is another challenge they are having there at SC. I don't know what I was thinking because I sat there and used the sketch. It was the lack of sleep for sure. Now I have this page that used only one kit and is the sketch. Should I enter it in both challenges?? I don't even know if that's allowed. I'm not a rule breaker!

 

Here's the Sunday sketch I used.

And, here's my take on it...

 

 

I used the Busy Sidewalks add-on kit from SC. This add-on came from the December kit Metropolitan.

And, here's some funky, yellowy closeups from taking pictures in bad lighting in the middle of the night when I should have been sleeping- hahaha!

 

 

Now, I just know I'm going to want to fall asleep when I'm getting my hair done today!

Love This!

I just love it when I capture an unexpected picture of the kids loving each other. I know they love each other by the way they stick up for one another, help each other out, give these occasional hugs and the 'I Love You's' I hear. Don't get me wrong, there are also the arguments, name calling and grating my nerves days too (it's not all bliss!). But, we aren't going to harp on those days. Nope, I'm going to enjoy this day, this picture, the day of loving each other. It may not be the perfect photograph, but it's the perfect moment that makes it the best photograph to me!

I used the Napa Valley kit and the add on Santa Cruz from Studio Calico for this page. I grabbed my paints and slopped some on the arrow and stars to help them stand out a little bit. I love that Basic Grey paper on there... it's a fav... I'm going to have to savor the scraps from it!

Enjoy your day! Make it a good one!

She's a Scrapper

She's so much like her Aunt Julie! She talks a LOT, she reads, she worries and she loves to scrap! That's my niece Abbey! And, I love her!! Don't worry Riley- you will get a turn on my blog too and I love you too :)

 

I knew I wanted to do a page about Abbey loving to scrapbook just like me. When I get to see her (she's in Texas, me in Ohio), we always have to make scrapping time! She once wrote me a list of things she loves about me and my basement scrap area was on her list- a girl after my own heart!

 

 

I used the Napa Valley kit from Studio Calico for this page. I first painted the background cardstock with Tim Holtz crackle paint and then sprayed Mr. Huey cream mist over it. I love the effect it made- some cracks are lighter than others. For my title, I painted the Jett alpha stamps. Love those stamps- it's a must have font!

 It's so cool that I can share this hobby with her!

Brrr! It's cold outside!

This weekend has been about hibernation! It's the part of the year that I dread the most- the bitter cold! I've been using a hot cup of coffee to keep me warm. Why is it that even thought he house is kept at 68 degrees through the fall, winter and spring it feels colder in the winter? So, my coffee keeps me warm!

This pic is from a couple of weeks ago before it got soooo cold out~ we went tubing. What a blast!I just ordered these pictures and can't wait to do something with them!

On a good note, thanks to the bitter cold this weekend, I got some organizing done in my scrappy area. I had an 8 inch stack of layout that needed home in albums... done, check! I had a 12 inch stack of extra pictures that needed put in albums... done, check! I follow Stacy Julian's Library of Memories system for filing away pictures except I have a lot more pictures printed than she does. I just feel that if they are printed, I will use more. So, I pulled some favorites to store in my drawers and then put the rest in albums. I do this after I have scrapped the ones I want to play with the most! If you didn't take her class, her book, Photo Freedom explains the system very well. The somewhat amazing thing is that when I was finding a link to the book, I found it's now amazing price of $118 on Amazon~ are you kidding me? Wow! There has to be a better price somewhere!

I'll leave you with a couple more tubing pictures that didn't turn out so great because I had purse camera in my pocket and she got cold and persnickity as time went on!

Stay warm!

Spirit Week

I've been the scrapping fool in January. My page count is keeping up with the days of the month count- that's a record for me this late in the month! This page I made last week when I was scrapping with BFF Sam :) We were cranking out the pages that day! (Pssst... we need to do that again Sam!)

 

So, this page is from Alexa's Spirit Week at school. Mackenzie participated day 1 and then said "This costs too much money buying all the stupid little things for it!" And, that was the end of that for her! (It's amazing when they are spending their hard-earned money how much more they watch!

I used the Metropolitan Kit at Studio Calico(it's still available- I love this kit, so check it out if you don't have it yet). I will tell you I was afraid of those days of the week stickers and thought I would not use them. But, man, I'm glad I did because they were perfect for this!

 

 

Monday- Nerd Day

Tuesday - Superhero Day

Wednesday- Pirate Day

Thursday- Color Wars

Friday- Toga (for football night)

And, here's a toga page I made for the special event!

I used the Who's Who kit from SC. It's sold out now though. I must confess my booboo with the book stamping. I put it on my block upside down and didn't realize it until the image came out in brown looking like much with no defined lines. I was like "crap" or maybe a less nicer word. To remedy the mess, I restamped in white the correct way over top and I must say I'm happy with the result!

 

I rolled the canvas whimsie into a puffy flower shape, stapled the center to hold it and then used a foam brush with brown paint and brushed across the top of the flower to add highlights.

Now, I may hibernate in my crafts to stay warm! I need to move south!

I love books!

I'm admitting to my reading addiction. I love books. Not a day goes by without a book in my hand or my Kindle (which I love). I'm currently reading book 2 of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. I cannot put this series down. It is that good. If you haven't read it, you must pick it up!

 Book 1

 Book 2

I'm almost ready for book 3, Mocking Jay.

So, last night I made a bookmark for my reading. I've been using a bookmark I made about a year ago and it's getting pretty tattered so I figured it's time for a new one.

I used the hot air balloon stamps from Papertrey Ink and their matching dies. Check out the little cloud- I used felt and ran the die through my Epic. A tip for this is using a thin enough felt. The felt at Papertrey Ink is the perfect thickness to use with dies. It cuts nicely and the image pops right out. The bookmark says 'the sky is the limit'- I love that!

Cards

I am in need of bulking up my birthday card stash! We are about to embark on the big birthday season around my house and I need to get busy. The girls turn 18 next month- yowza!!! And, that starts a chain of birthdays! So, I made 2 cards last night to share. Both cards I made for the males in our family because my stash of girly cards is okay right now.

 I used stamps from Papertrey Ink for both of my cards today. The background stamp is wood grain and I used vintage cream ink. I also used the Up, Up and Away and the Fillable Frames sets and coordinating dies, but stamped with fresh snow ink.

 

For the second card, I used the Just the Ticket stamp set and coordinating die.My ink is Jenni Bowlin Fountain Pen and Stampin up Pumpkin pie. For the frame, I used Tim Holtz crackle paint from Ranger. (I secretly idolize him- shhh... don't tell!) 

I have been itching to use all of the stamps I used last night for quite some time and am so glad I pulled the out. Now, I'm off to spend some time with the kiddos. They have a funny schedule this week due to exams, so more time for us!

Sunday Sketch Challenge

Well, I'm getting all crazy now and decided to participate in the Sunday Sketch challenge over at Studio Calico. This will be the first challenge I have participated in there and it all started because I adored the page Nicole Harper did and immediately put it in my favorites to scraplift. I also had the perfect idea for my theme for the page- a year in review. So, "2010 In Review" it is!

The Sketch

First, I gathered the pictures I wanted to use. I didn't care about how many. I just wanted a good selection of highlights through out the year.

To add a twist (and an additional challenge) to things, I decided I wanted to use at least one of my favorite leftover items from each of the Studio Calico monthly kits I received throughout 2010. So, I began the task of choosing those items and I lined them all up in a row on my desk- ahhhh, they look so cool altogether there mingling amongst each other!

It's time to get down to business! I decided on my background papers when I was leafing through my leftover kits. I knew I wanted to paint the edges of the one paper and set to that right away!

Also, from the start of my idea for year in review, I new I wanted to use the cool month stamps from SC. Sorry, they are sold out on the website, but if you come scrap at my house, you can borrow them!

I added my pictures and embellies (you know the ones from the leftover kits from each month- this was a great way to use up some bits and pieces I had left.

And, here's my finished product. Sorry, the top got a little cut off in the scanner and after working all night at the hospital, I really didn't care to struggle fixing that!

Thanks Nicole and SC for the inspiration!