Leaving On a Jet Plane *The ScrapRoom* {Out for publication}

The Peter, Paul and Mary version just popped into my head when I came across these photos. You younger gals won't have any idea what I'm talking about, I'm showing my age again! The Amy Tangerine line "Ready, Set, Go" was part of my Flavor of the Month kit from The ScrapRoom and it worked perfectly for this layout. This was the the first time we'd ever flown as a family and the first time ever for the kids.

 

Cut the giant "United States" with the Stand and Salute Cricut cartridge. It was the 1st time I've used the 12"x24" mat and it was pretty easy. Deciding where to position the paper is another story.

Smooch spray ink in the background. I can't believe I'm using this stuff on almost every layout. There was a day when I said I hated it!

 I love it when a collection comes with lined or grid paper, it makes journaling a snap :)

Fun icon stickers and cute little puffy stickers

I was a little nervous about flying as a family and I think Matthew was too :)

I know these Thickers are from a previous Amy Tangerine line but they worked perfectly.

Check out the The ScrapRoom Blog for more fun ideas!

He's a Future Heartbreaker! (Out for Publication!)

My little hunk when he was 2 years old. You can't see in this photo but my husband was pushing him around in this Little Tykes Coupe, he loved that car :)

Cut a heart out with my Cricut and used it as a mask for the spray ink and paint splatters. A little tracing with a marker helped it stand out a little better.

  I never imagined that he would grow up to look like this...

 

Destined to break a few hearts. Sorry in advance to the parents of those ill fated girls.

Dug through my old chipboard stash and found this perfect little stoplight.

Inked the Thickers and accented the bottom of the red letters with some of the blue ink. 

This boy themed collection from Echo Park  is one of my favorites.

I know I've been a sporadic blogger lately. Unfortunately I can't promise to be better. Someone has to take all these photos to scrap. In addition to this job and my full time nursing job, I'm also expected to find lost articles of clothing, keep everything washed and ready, run up to the school umpteen times a day to bring forgotten items, come to games or pick up the persons responsible for this list from practice. Oh and I forgot...bake cookies for the bake sale, come to meetings and be a "Band Mom". I'm sure you all know what I mean...but that's my excuse and I'm stickin' to it!

The Easter Bunny Was Here!

This particular year he was at our church and left dozens of plastic eggs right out in the open! Matthew was all of 2 1/2 and Mariel was 6 months, my how the time flies. These photos were taken with the cruddy camera I had at the time. Every single background I took with this camera is DARK :( No amount of Photoshopping will help, believe me I've tried. I decided I would just scrap them anyway and make the best of it. 

Most Easter paper is light and pastel, not really what is needed for these pics. Miss Caroline by My Minds Eye seemed a good fit. Used a sketch I found on the Scrapbook Trends submissions site.

This was one of those layouts that I fussed and fussed over and just didn't like. Finally called it done and gave up. I decided it's because the paper is just too light for these dark photos. Unfortunately nothing else in my stash seemed appropriate for Easter photos.

 

This sweet little bunny is from the Kate's ABC's Cricut cartridge. Layered and accented with Prima paper flowers, Doodlebug & Kaiser Kraft pearls, marker and Glossy Accents.

 

 Used (come on, you know what comes next...) Thickers! 

 

Accented with some Little Yellow Bicycle  leaf pins and Crate Paper diecuts.

Hope you had a great weekend! It was rainy and cold here. Gave me an excuse to scrapbook :) Spent today with two of my favorite friends and our kids. First we visited the local antique mall and shops, then we went to see "The Odd Life of Timothy Green." Loved it! Sobbed through the end. It's a good thing I nabbed extra napkins, my friends both needed them too :) The kids just couldn't see why we were so emotional. You just can't appreciate the feelings it invoked unless you've been a parent. I'm not Roger Ebert but I give it 4 stars!

Monsters, Owls, and Monster Dracula?...Oh My!

Fall is here and I can finally haul out the Halloween decorations....Mwaaaahaaahaaha! Halloween is hands down my favorite non religious holiday. I'm sure this love stems from my Mother's love of dressing up, making costumes and scaring the crap out of little kids. I'm feeling nostalgic today because it would have been my Mother's 63rd Birthday.

 

This was taken in September of 1976, I'm not sure where, maybe at a school meet and greet?  I wish I had a photo of her in one of her famous costumes. Miss you Mom.

Once she dressed up as a witch and sat on our porch with the candy bowl in her hands. She was so still that everyone thought she was a prop...but when they reached for some candy she would cackle, the screams were bloodcurdling. Then there was the year that she and my Dad strung a ghost on a zip line between trees and across the sidewalk so that when someone walked by they could let it slide in front of them. I know ...my family has a sick sense of humor :)

She used to sew all of our costumes or assemble them from odds and ends. Tweety Bird, Sylvester the cat, and a gypsy are a few I can remember. My sister can probably name them all but she hasn't reached the ripe old age of 47 yet and still has some vestige of memory left!

Here are a set of cards I made using an older, cute line from K&Co. Why do those embellishment packs come with so many in them? No one could possibly use them all!

 

The diecuts were perfect card size.

 

Remember those Doodlebug Frills on a roll? I finally used some!!!

 

This goofy little owl needed a branch to sit on. Cut one out using the Straight From the Nest Cricut cartridge.

Are you in a Halloweeny mood yet?

 

My Inspiration *thinkingthroughdesign*

Our topic for this weeks' thought was list journaling. Boy am I list maker! Grocery lists, lists to guide trips for errands, lists of what the kids need for school, dream lists and I could go on. Lately I've fount that I tend not to use embellishments with sayings on them, they just sit in my stash untouched. This one from My Minds Eye begged to be used and I was dying to scrap this photo of my beautiful daughter (can you believe she is 13 going on 14!?) from a recent "photo shoot".

 

Stuck with a very traditional style because I wanted the photo to be the focus.

  

 

Used Pink Paislee canvas resistables. Antique tatted lace and buttons I found in an antique stores. I love combing through all the little nooks and crannies for treasures like these.

 

Journaling done on a Hambly screen printed transparency. This led to the layout being staged on a display stand, every time I tried to photograph it flat it created a glare.

I hope you take my link right over to *thinkingthroughdesign* and check out all the amazing layouts my team members created using lists! Thanks for stopping by :)

P.S. The surgery went well. Pretty painful the first day but getting better.

 

Wish Me Luck

Having a couple of minor outpatient surgeries today in hopes of feeling better soon! New layout for *thinkingthroughdesign* out tomorrow. Hope you'll visit to check out the wonderful layouts using "list" journaling :)

Happy hump day!

High 5 *The ScrapRoom*

I'm of the opinion that sometimes the best layouts come from being forced (or limited) to using scraps, do you agree?  As I sat staring at my scraps from The ScrapRoom's September Doubleshot Kit a light bulb came on over my head :) I went straight to the computer and printed these photos!

The colors were spot on and they went with the school theme :)

Cut the title 3 times on my Cricut with the Graphically Speaking cartridge then layered them for a chipboard effect. A little black ink around the edges really made it pop!

Cut the arrows with the same cartridge and used them to point out my son's name.

Well... I have a few scraps left, one sheet of cardstock, a couple of buttons and one brad, just enough to make a couple of cards!

HMS Art Fair * The ScrapRoom*

We R Memory Keepers Hall Pass is the featured second half of The ScrapRoom's September Doubleshot Kit. Love the colors in this line! The kit is full of cute brads and versatile wooden buttons, and baker's twine.

When I saw the bracket diecut in the kit I immediately thought of a layout I'd done for a sketch challenge at Club Creating Keepsakes. "Big Smile" was chosen to be published in the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of Creating Keepsakes Magazine. This time I changed it up a bit, using different photos sizes, changing the title and journaling placement, then creating a banner to span both pages.

As seen in the January/February 2012 issue of Creating Keepsakes Magazine. Copyright Creative Crafts Group.

Went for an artsy look with some splattering and used spray ink on the wooden buttons

and then did some dry brushing

Created the badge by layering punches and a fabric brad. Turned out pretty darn cute if I do say so myself :)

Stitched the centers from the border punch to create the banner.

Now the journaling.

Pop by later this week for yet another layout using the WRMK Hall Pass line. Love to see your comments :)

Falling For You and the ScrapRoom's September Sketch

This is my 2nd layout using The ScrapRoom's September Doubleshot Kit. Matthew made a new friend on our trip to Big Dan's for some apple picking last fall. The neighbor's dog thought he was the next best thing to a big bone or maybe something stinky to roll in :)

My friend and fellow ScrapRoom Design Team member Aphra Boyler created this sketch for the September sketch challenge on the ScrapRoom blog.

Visit the ScrapRoom Blog to see more takes on Aphra's sketch.

Loving those Jillibean alphas. Outlined them with Sharpie to help them stand out. The "you" stickers are the new "Do It Yourself" Thickers with a layer of yellow Doodlebug glitter.

Foam squares are my friend :)

More layered diecuts, so versatile!

I have to confess...this layout was a comedy of errors :P  First I fingerprinted it and had to hide the marks with distress ink. I mean, a little distressing goes well with a fall theme...right!? Then I dropped a chalk ink pad right on the bottom and it bounced! I hate those ink pads that don't stay adhered to their base! Grrr. So out came the chevron and yellow cardstock strips to hide the damage. Moral to the story, cover your layout when working with ink and wash your hands frequently or embrace your mistakes :)

Thankful for You & The ScrapRoom September Reveal!

There are 2 great lines in this month's Doubleshot Kit, Jillibean Soup's Country Pumpkin Chowder and We R Memory Keepers' Hall Pass. Country Pumpkin Chowder was perfect for these photos of my daughter a couple of "Falls" ago and to express how thankful I am for all the blessings God has given me...especially her!

 Aren't these scalloped circles cute! You can do so much with diecuts, add some foam, ink the edges, and layer. I'm sure there is more that escapes me right now.

These little orange alphas are included in the kit, they are a great size for journaling or creating a long title.

Count your blessings everyday.  My new mantra :)

A little brad pizazz.

More layouts with the ScrapRoom's September Doubleshot Kit coming all this week :)