scrappy saturday: catch-up

I made scrapbooking a priority this weekend.  Amazing what you can accomplish when you make something a priority.  Three layouts, that's what.

Of course, some sketches and free cut files didn't hurt either.

Here they are:

I struggled with this one.  I love these photos of my little boy#3 when he was nearly 2.  I had run some vintage filters to really soften them up.  I must have spent 30 minutes shuffling them around trying to get them to work with a Sodalicious sketch.  With the large size of my photos, it just wasn't meant to be.  Finally, I settled on this design and called it done.

Next up was this page

made easy by the Creative Scrappers sketch and Sherri Funk's awesome {and free--woo!} cut file.

And then I got myself all caught up with this layout

{don't think you can quite tell from this photo, but boy#3 is hysterically crying}

using this sketch from Lily Bee

 Feels so good to be making scrapbooking a priority in my life this year, and to be caught up to my goal of a page a week.

Thanks so much for taking a peek, and I hope you are making creativity a priority in your life.

scrappy saturday: layouts 1 & 2

One of my goals for 2014 is to create a scrapbook layout once per week.

Last year, I created a pitiful 10 layouts.  Ten.

In my defense I did attempt Project Life and got about 15 weeks finished.  Still, pathetic.

So this year, I am setting aside more time to scrapbook.

And I am declaring Saturday to be Scrappy Saturday:

Here are the first two weeks' worth:

Going back 5 and a half years to my 12 year old's 6th birthday celebration at the same school I now work at.  I look at these photos with new eyes: knowing how fast my little kindergartners will grow and how happy the small and simple things make them.

layout #1

For this page, I used the Prima Build-a-Page sketch:

My middle one had a tough week this past week.  As I created the page, I just wanted to tell him know how proud I am of him, and that love, kindness and honesty are what matter most.

layout #2

 How about you?  Do you have any scrapbooking or other crafty goals for 2014?  

insta scrap challenge #1

Happy Friday!

I have a little scrapbook page to share with you today.

The sketch inspiration for this page is from Artful Delight:

They have adorable kits for sale, so do check them out!

I used some of the Hey Girl! Basic Grey line that JoAnn's stores is now carrying.

This page is also the first challenge for a new little Instagram fun I decided to start.  

So, if you are on Instagram {and if you're not, what the heck are you waiting for??!}, create a page and post your creation with the hashtag #instascrapcrop1  I'm thinking I'll post a new challenge on the 15th and 30th of the month.  And maybe, just maybe, there will be some prizes someday...we'll see!

page maps sketch

Happy Sunday!

It is currently snowing like crazy outside my window, the big fluffy, almost-snowball-sized flakes.

It truly is beautiful, but I am ready for spring: the flowers, the birds, the warm sunshine...

Something that feels a little more like this:

This page was inspired by a sketch at Page Maps:

It feels so good to be scrapbooking again.  And I have spent much of the weekend getting myself organized for Project Life.  Only 8 weeks behind, I can catch up!  So excited for this project!

I'll be back later in the week to share a granny square project I'm working on {along with the pattern I created}, and hopefully some thoughts on Project Life.

Have a great end to your weekend!

christmas kisses and a baby

Super quick post to share two layouts.

I'm so happy to be scrapbooking again.  Ordered some ink for my little photo printer, filling in organizers for Project Life, going through and editing photos to send to the printer.  It all feels so good.

Here's a page I completed last week while creating with a friend:

The green ink splatters went a little awry so I had to cover them up with a snowflake (oops!)

a close up of a snowflake cut with my fabulous Silhouette Cameo:

Then last night, I searched online for some scrapbooking challenges to get me inspired and came across this simple one:

from My Scraps and More

So after cooking up some delicious crepes for the boys and I this morning:

recipe here

I set straight to work on this page:

Every time I use the Silhouette, I am amazed at how intricately it can cut.  Tell me you're not amazed.

That's all I've got for now.  

Need to go get lunch for the boys who have been rotting their brains on Minecraft and various other absurdities for the past 2 hours.

a few scrapbook pages

Thank you so much for the thoughts, prayers, notes and emails about my brother.  He is doing well and beginning to make progress in rehab.  It's going to be a long road.  My motto for this period in our lives has been this:

Don't look ahead at what might be, don't look back to what could've been.  Take care of this moment, right here and right now.

*****

Creating has taken a back burner this summer.  There were times I wondered if I would ever feel like scrapbooking again.  I didn't sit at my desk for weeks.  The mess from the last days of June and the first of July was still sitting there in late July.  Just looking at my space made my stomach turn.  The only thing I could do was Pin.  It was a good distraction, a reminder that beauty existed and a hope that all the inspiration on my Pin boards would lead me back to creating.

One afternoon in late July, after a fantastic visit with my brother, I sat down to create.  I had to force it at first, and I struggled.  But then a page began to take shape, ideas started to flow, and I got lost in the process.  This first page using the July Elite Kit was the result:

I played with stamps that had been sitting dusty, did some misting, and a bit of doodling.  And it felt so good to be creating again.  Here's what else I made with this kit:

Using Vero's sketch:

More stamping with paint:

Using a die cut paper as title and journaling holder:

This week I tore into the August Petite kit to create a layout about my amazing dad:

And a simple one of nuggets of advice for Maddox.  I love this word paper from Christy Tomlinson's "She Art" collection.

This kit comes with a 6 x 12 clipboard.  At first I thought I would cut the board in half to make covers for a mini album, but then I lost my courage to use hubby's circular saw.  So I opted for a holder for Fat Mum Slim's photo-a-day challenge prompts.

There's that cool word paper again.  

Thanks so much for looking, and I hope that I will have more to share with you soon.

Messy Baby

In the midst of all the gift/card making (I'll post pics soon) I took a few minutes today to create a LO.  

product from the June Petite kit

I had the bones of this LO laying on my desk for several days with nothing glued down--it just wasn't sitting well with me.  Then I came across this sketch from the lovely Pretty Little Studio, and wham-o! 

Instant inspiration.

I was really drawn to the horizontal lines of circles and busted out an old foam stamp (don't you just love using old supplies?) and some white acrylic paint.  I had exactly 20 minutes to create this page from the time I put my son on the bus to the time I had to be at his school for Sing-Along (ahhh, Kindergarten!).  And that's all it took--20 minutes to do everything but the title.  I swear it took me longer to edit these photos than it took to create this page.

Guess that's what a fabulous sketch and fantastic kit product can do for you! 

If this sketch inspires you, why not craft a little something and link it up at Pretty Little Studio.  There's a $10 gift certificate up for grabs!

Thanks for looking!

I'm a Girly Girl

I think most of you know that I have been blessed with three boys.  I love having boys, can't imagine my life without them.  I'm not even sure at this point I would know what to do with a girl--she would surely be a tom-boy and would never have a date with three big brothers to "protect" her.  

But I am a girly girl...always have been.  I did gymnastics instead of softball.  Chose nail polish over mud pies.  Wore dresses more often than pants.  Prefer pink to red.  My husband will tell you I throw like a girl, and the boys much prefer daddy's pitches to mine.

(my high school junior prom)

And I used more materials from the April Scrapbook Heaven Kits

Thanks for looking!

A sketch layout {plus one more}

Somehow I managed to scrapbook a page yesterday.  I sort of have this ominous feeling that I have forgotten something--forgot to get a present for someone, forgot to wrap something, forgot a chunk of my Christmas card list.  It just doesn't seem right that it is the week before Christmas and I had time to scrapbook.  I'm waiting for that middle-of-the-night-jolt-upright-in-bed moment to strike....

Here's the layout:

the colors are a bit off--the background is white and the green is not neon

I coupled the December Petite kit with this sketch from Nuts About Sketches

I wish I had more time to play with this kit this month--it's a cute one!  I did do one other layout with this kit that I don't think I posted:

I used alcohol inks to color the bird and then painted it with diamond Stickles.

I have one more little project that I'm working on with this kit--hope to have it done this week.

Enjoy your week!

Some Crazy Croppin' Fun!

We are drooling over some delicious recipes and taste-tempting foodie photos over at the Scrapbook Heaven Cornucopia of Cards crop.  Stop by and play along!

Here are the challenges and cards I created for the crop:

Main Course: SWEET POTATOES
Sweet Potatoes have always been part of our Thanksgiving dinner--my mom made them and before her, my grandma, and they always called them yams. It was one of the few things that never made it onto my plate. That and the boiled onions (yuck!). But I do have a sweet challenge for you to go with sweet potatoes!

Create a card that uses something sweet as its focal point: candies, cakes, chocolates, cupcakes, cookies. Here's my sample using product from the November Petite:

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Side Dish: MASHED POTATOES

source: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/perfect_mashed_potatoes/

Heap on the mashed potatoes! This is one food that I have loved my whole life (funny that I married a man who despised them; he'll eat them now because he has no choice!). Use the colors above inspired from mashed potatoes to create your project. Here's my sample:

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Dessert: PUMPKIN CAKE TRUFFLES

source: http://www.madeinmelskitchen.com/2010/10/pumpkin-cake-truffles/

I have not tested this recipe as of writing this post, but I'm hoping they taste as delicious as they look. And they certainly are inspiring. For this challenge, I want you to drizzle some paint onto your project. Splat, drip, drizzle--go for color, but also texture. Be sure to give yourself some time for the thick paint to dry! Here's mine using product from the November Elite kit:

And a couple of sketches I created for the event:

Completed projects for these challenges must be uploaded to the forum by midnight on November 30th to be eligible for prizes.