My Favorite 20 Layouts of 2011

I decided to look back at my scrapbook layouts today and reflect on what I created in the past year. Do I care how many layouts were done? No. Do I care if I used a sketch, a kit, completed them for a challenge, or used a certain manufacturer? No. What I care about is that I took the time to be creative in 2011 and create layouts that preserve a memory and capture a moment in time that was definitely worth capturing! It's a reminder about why I create, and it's a reminder to me that I do what I love! I create! Here are my favorite 20 layouts of 2011. I love them all! ♥♥♥

I love the Enjoy Life layout that ends this look back! It's a gorgeous photo of my two favorite people in the whole wide world! The smiles on their faces mean everything to me! They are my joy! Thanks for looking back with me! As always, thanks for stopping by, and Happy 2012! ☺

25 Days Until Christmas 2011

Wow, it's been a long time since I updated my blog or did anything crafty. I miss my creative time. Working full time leaves little time to do things that I want to do. My free time is spent doing things that I have to do. Oh well! Maybe in time it will all get easier. Anyway, here is the cover to my 25 Days Until Christmas book for this year. I love the way it turned out. Obviously, I'm already far behind on this book, but I'll be able to print some pics this week, and quickly put pages together. I keep this book very simple, so I should be able to get many pages done in one night. We'll see! Considering I haven't even decorated yet, it's pretty obvious that I'm behind on pretty much everything!

I hope you're having a great day. As always, thanks for stopping by!

Fall Layout and Card

Here's a fall layout and a card that I made recently. I love Fall! ♥ I used some Making Memories items that I bought on clearance at Michael's a couple of years ago. I really miss the Making Memories collections. They haven't come out with anything that I truly love in quite some time. I only have a couple of those silk fall leaves left. I need to get some more for my stash.

I hope you're having a great day. Thanks for stopping by!

Bootiful

I used some brand new American Crafts Nightfall on this layout. My background sheet is Tim Holtz ink resist kraft. This photo represents the end of an era, because only one of my girls dressed up for Halloween last year. Time passes by too quickly! This is based on a sketch by Stacey at Inspired to Scrap.

I hope you're having a great day. Thanks for stopping by!

WCMD Cards

Wow, it's been a month since I updated my blog! Well, I haven't been creative lately. Just too much going on. I'm searching for a full-time job. That's a depressing process! Anyway, I made three cards yesterday for World Cardmaking Day. Epiphany Crafts issued a couple of challenges, and since I won some really cool Epiphany tools a while back from Cosmo Cricket, I decided to play along! I'm glad I did, because I WON one of the challenges! I am a very lucky lady! Anyway, all three of these cards has an Epiphany button on it! Their button makers are totally cool!

I hope you're having a great day! Thanks for stopping by!

Enjoy Life - Crate Paper RANDOM!

I am the luckiest lady I know! I won the ENTIRE Random Collection from Crate Paper! Thank you, thank you, thank you Crate Paper!! I love this collection!! I had to create a layout immediately!! I used this CUTE photo of my girls that was taken when they were at band camp! I love it! You can click on the layout to see it larger. I used the awesome sketch at Sketchy Thursdays! Thank you to my most wonderful and amazing blogging friend Chris for the reminder to USE the Sketchy Thursdays sketches!! I started off my misting my layout because the sketch has misting on it, but my Glimmer Mists are ALWAYS clogged (drive me CRAZY!!), and it just looked awful, because the drops fell on my layout in big ugly drops! Blech! SO, never fear, I covered it up with the AWESOME blue paper! Success! Love it!

I hope you're having a great day! Thanks for stopping by!

Sketch Layouts!

I created all of these layouts using sketches by Stacey at Inspired to Scrap! If you've never taken one of her sketch clasess before, you don't know what you're missing!

I have you're having a great day! Thanks for stopping by!

Creative Saturday!

I created three layouts on Saturday! Memorable Seasons was having a members' challenges crop, and I created all three of these layouts for challenges! It was really fun to spend a couple of hours scrapbooking!

Thanks for stopping by!

Make A Wish!

I love negative space! I created this page, and I used it as a challenge on a site that is doing members' challenges this weekend. I used some goodies from my Sassafras warehouse box! FUN!! Isn't Jessica adorable!?! Wow, this is from 2006! Time passes by too quickly!

I hope you have a great day! Those of you on the East Coast . . . stay SAFE! Thanks for stopping by!

More layouts!

I've been neglecting my blog lately, but I don't think anyone really visits it anyway, so that's OK! Here are some more layouts I've done lately! The first one uses an awesome kit from Inspired to Scrap! I love, love, love the grid design that I created! The next two use Crate Paper! I love Crate Paper collections!

I'm wrapping up all DT duties at the end of August, and I will then be scrapping for ME!! Just for me! I won't be doing challenges, etc., unless I LOVE them, and I will be creating only things that make me happy! Remember that? Remember not using sketches or challenges or even thinking about what's on another site, blog, or message board? Remember creating a layout just because you wanted to preserve the memory? I am NOT saying that I haven't loved each and every DT that I've been a part of, because I have! They were all wonderful opportunities, and for them ALL, I'm so thankful! It's all been a creative journey, and I would change that for anything! However, I think somewhere along the line I've forgotten about doing what I want to do! No more! Beginning in September, I'm doing my own thing and I'm going to be having FUN!

I hope you have an excellent Friday, a fantastic weekend, and as always, thanks for stopping by!

Some layouts!

All of these layouts are based on sketches from the last sketch class at Inspired to Scrap! There is going to be another awesome sketch class in August!! Check out Inspired to Scrap for more information! The layouts ALSO use the amazing kits at Inspired to Scrap!! Check them out in the I2S store! They're an AMAZING value!!

Also . . . I2S is having a DT call! Be sure to check it out on the forum!

I hope you're having a great day! Thanks for stopping by!

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

I created this layout for a challenge at Memorable Seasons for the last scrapper standing contest. I was kicked to the curb two weeks ago, but I'm still playing along, because I like the challenges. This week we needed to create a layout using no photo, at least 20 of something, and patterned papers from 3 manufacturers. No photo, no problem. I have 36 manufacturers on my layout, and I apologize to those that I left off! I already know of a few that aren't on there! My patterned papers are from Pink Paislee, Cosmo Cricket, LYB, and Authentique! This layout also shows my love of sewing on my layouts, my Thickers obsession, and how I love Primas!! This was fun! I love it!

I hope you're having a great day! Thanks for stopping by!

LWE Marching Griffins

I created this layout using the NEW amazing July/August STORYTIME kit at Inspired to Scrap! I ♥ it! This is also based on a sketch by Audrey at Memorable Seaons. It's for the LSS contest, and even though I was kicked to the curb, I'm still playing along. I did a lot of inking and distressing on this layout!

This is my favorite part of the layout! I stitched a star! It looks AWESOME!!

Here's a close up of the smaller photos! You can see my talented girls in action!

I've had these tickets in my stash for a while, so I used them because I loved the stars with the wood veneer stars! I added some Technique Tuesday stamps to the layout too!

I hope you're having a great day! Thanks for stopping by!