FUN layouts!

Here are some recent layouts.

What I love about this first layout is that it's just a layout I wanted to create.  It's not for a challenge, it's doesn't go with a sketch, it's just something I wanted to create.  When did I lose that whole doing what I want to do?  I need to do that more often!  I'm trying to do more Emily layouts lately.  She'll be graduating and going off to college before I know it, so I want to make a big dent in her high school layouts!  I love creating marching band layouts.  They make me happy, and I love everything about this one!  :)

This layout features Jessica and her girlfriend Sedona all dressed up for a wedding that they were going to.  I pulled out a very old collection by American Crafts to scrap these photos!  Gorgeous girls!

Wow, this last layout was tough to scrap.  This is one of Emily's SENIOR portraits.  Cindy did a great job with her photos, but I'm happy and proud to say that this is a photo that I shot with my point and shoot digital camera.  Not too shabby if I do say so myself!  Look at that beautiful intelligent young woman!  I could not be more proud of her!

I am going to create more just for me!  Yippee!  So excited!  I want to create just for the fun of it.  No sketches, no challenges, just all ME!

Thanks for stopping by!

Better Late Than Never?

Quite some time ago, I won an AWESOME prize from American Crafts!  I just never took the time to post it!  Sorry about that American Crafts!  I am very appreciative!  I won KNOCK OUTS, and they are really fantastic!  I am very impressed with these punches!

I used my favorite Knock Out border punch on this layout!  The piece on the left was bordered punched with my new awesome punch.  Isn't it fun!?!  I love it!  I used wonderful Amy Tangerine on this layout.  Love this collection!

I hope you're having a great day!  As always, 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!

2 Cool - FRAME YOUR PAGE!

I created this layout for a Walking on Sunshine CROP CHALLENGE over at Inspired to Scrap! The challenge is to Frame Your Page! I used the AWESOME A Bit of Sunshine kit from Inspired to Scrap! I just love the way this turned out!! :) Come on over and play with some of the awesome challenges!!

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

"A Bit Of Sunshine" kit layouts

This is the first layout I created using the "A Bit Of Sunshine" kit at Inspired to Scrap! I love this kit!! What a value! The Bella Blvd. Sophisticates collection is really nice! LOVE it! The kit also features Echo Park, Lily Bee Design, and American Crafts!

One of the layered American Crafts pieces that I got in the kit reminded me of the sun, so that's what I used it for! I hand cut the rays and inked them up with a little orange on the edges.


I love the Ciao Bella Blvd. chipboard pieces that come in this kit. I added a circle scallop that I cut with one of my Nestabilities templates under the chipboard. I love the way it looks! It's like a little flower!

There is some American Crafts tulle in the kit too, and I cut mine with the Nestabilities and then used some glimmer mist on the pieces! I love the way these flowers turned out! The glimmer mist worked really well on the tulle!

Here is my second layout using the kit! I love this photo! While we were on vacation in Arizona, Emily and Jessica would take silly self portraits on my camera! I, of course, love that! This is one of them! Classic! I love these two girls! ♥ The title is perfect for the photo!!

I just had to add googly eyes to the title! Googly eyes crack me up!!

So, I love this kit! Check it out in the Inspired to Scrap store! You will love it! I'll be working more with it this week! Check out the forum for more awesome DT layouts featuring this kit! As always, thanks for stopping by!

More Layouts!

Here are two more layouts that I created during the Winter Crop at Coordinates Collections! I had so much fun with the challenges, and I love the layouts I created!


This first layout was created for a frills and bling challenge. I had these fantastic photos of Emily all dressed up for Homecoming, and I knew they were the perfect photos to use. I used My Mind's Eye Lost & Found paper and glitter die cut, MME Lush brads, some rhinestone bling, Primas, a Pink Paislee ticket, and actual ribbon from her wrist corsage. I wasn't too thrilled with this when I was done, because I wanted it to be amazing, but the more I look at it, the more I like it!


This layout was created for a tools challenge. We need to use at least two tools on our layout. I used three: my i-Top, my i-Rock, and a border punch. I used Crate Paper Restoration and some Studio Calico wood veneer letters. I love my cactus flowers!

I hope you're having a great day! Things are calming down around here after the BLIZZARD and after having lost power for over 16 hours overnight from Tuesday into Wednesday! I'm so glad it's Friday! Have a great weekend, and as always, thanks for stopping by!

Lots of Scrapping!

I was very CREATIVE this weekend! It was wonderful! An online crop at Coordinates Collections really inspired me! Here are just a few of the things that I created!


I created this page for a white space/negative space challenge. I love white space! I used Crate Paper Snow Day, some Pink Paislee cushy alphas, and some ribbons. I love the trio of ribbon next to the photo! Isn't that a gorgeous photo? It was a sunrise, and I love a pink sky!


This page was created for an orange and turquoise challenge. I love that color combination! These are some fun photos from our Disney vacation. I used a Hambly transparency (yes, it got sewed on crooked!), some Jillibean Soup, American Crafts, and Prima. I love the way this turned out. Fun vacation layout!


This layout features just one manufacturer. I love Sassafras Indie Girl, and it just seemed to work with these photos of the girls and their new fleece blankets. They're so CUTE!


This card was created for a frills and bling challenge. My mom's birthday is coming up, and she'll love a pretty feminine card! I used Cosmo Cricket DeLovely, some tulle, rhinestones, and a Prima. The sentiment is a Stampin' Up stamp, and I cut it with one of my circle scallop Nestabilities. I like it!

I hope you had a great weekend! There's talk of a blizzard for Illinois. I hope they're wrong! I don't like the word blizzard unless I'm going to Dairy Queen! :) Thanks for stopping by!

Color Me Happy!

Happy Halloween!! I'm so excited, because I worked on and finished up this layout today!! So, a few weeks ago, Jillibean Soup announced that they were giving away a kit from Coordinates Collections! Well, I WON the kit! I got it on Saturday, and WOW, I couldn't wait to work with it! I saw that there is a Color Me Happy challenge at ScrapFit. They want us to use lime green, orange, purple, and black! YES! It just so happens that my fantastic Black Magic kit from Coordinates Collections HAS those very same colors! The kit features Jillibean Soup and American Crafts, and I am crazy about it!! So, I found these photos of Jessica and Emily from 2004! We had gone to a health fair, and they got the doctor gowns, masks, and gloves! We came home, they grabbed "scalpels", and we took some pictures! LOVE these photos, and they totally work with this color scheme and kit! I also loved using the Jillibean Soup monster and "I'm watchin' you" sprouts! I think the sewing is an awesome finishing touch! Perfect!

I hope you have a SPOOKTACULAR Halloween!! Eat some candy!! Thanks for stopping by!

September Guest Designer at CraftySteals!

I am the Guest Designer at CraftySteals today! Stephanie is wonderful, and she sent me some Martha Stewart stamps to work with! I created four projects!


First, I used the stamps on this layout! I stamped the border stamps down the side of the layout and under the photo. I stamped the scallop circle down the other side of the layout. I love the way that looks! Then I stamped a plaid circle ring on striped paper and made a journaling circle! I repeatedly stamped a small asterisk/flower stamp in the white strip under the phone. I also stamped a butterfly and a heart, detail cut them, and then added them to the layout. I really love the way this turned out! I love incorporating stamping on my layouts!


Next, I decided to stamp a fun scallop flower trio. The scallop ring and the inner ring are two separate stamps, but I stamped them together. I then used an asterisk/flower stamp and repeatedly stamped it across the card front. Last, I stamped a butterfly, detail cut it, added some rhinestones, and then added it to my card. I love this card! It's bright and fun! It's a happy card!


I decided to try a monochromatic card, and I love the way this turned out! I stamped two butterflies. One is directly on the card front, and the other was stamped on white cardstock, detail cut, and added to the bottom of the card. I stamped the scallop border stamp across the bottom of the card front, and I also stamped it twice on an angle so that it formed a corner design. As you can tell, I really like that asterisk/flower stamp, because I used it again when I stamped a trio on this card front! I'm digging this monochromatic card!


Last, I used one of the elegant flower stamps in a trio, and stamped a simple sentiment under them. I think this card is elegant! I love the way it turned out!

I had a lot of fun creating these projects for Stephanie to feature on the CraftySteals blog! If you check out the blog post, please leave a comment!! Thank you Stephanie for asking me to be one of your guest designers at CraftySteals! It's a thrill! I hope you're having a great day! Thanks for stopping by!

Home Economics Challenge!

Scrap-Friendzy just started our Scrap University! It's going to run the entire month of September! Come on by and play along! Today, I posted the 2nd challenge of the month, and it's a Home Economics Challenge! For my challenge you need to add fabric and sewing to your layout! Here are my examples.


This page features denim and machine sewing! I literally cut a pocket out of a pair of shorts that the girls wore when they were younger. I love the pocket design! I also die cut two denim flowers in my Cuttlebug using my Tim Holtz Tattered Floral die. This layout features Jillibean Soup papers, some Cosmo Cricket Lil' Man items, a Jenni Bowlin ticket, and Maya Road velvet flowers. I even added a clothing tag from one of the shirts to the page. Last, but not least, I am LOVING those varsity Thickers for this layout! I used my sewing machine too! Oh, how I love my sewing machine!!


This page features a fabric flower that I created (tutorial is on the Scrap-Friendzy site), and I also added fabric to the edge of my journaling block. All of the sewing on this page is hand stitching. I took some FUN photos of Jessica in June, so I decided to create a Jessica June 2010 page! I love these Bo Bunny papers!

I hope you have a wonderful long holiday weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

A Layout for FUN!

I finished a layout yesterday that I created just for FUN! It isn't for a challenge, it's not based on a sketch, it is just something that I wanted to work on! What a concept! I used some new Sassafras Indie Girl papers. I love them! These are photos of Emily marching in her first high school parade on the 4th of July. Wow, was it HOT! What a trooper! I love the way this turned out!

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

Scrap Your Addiction

So, I joined a new site, and the ladies there are hysterical!! They make me laugh every day, and it's fun chatting with them! Anyway, Stacey issued a challenge to scrap your addiction! The only problem for me is which one!?! LOL!! I'm addicted to so many things! I chose just a few and showcased them on this layout! I love my sewing machine, ink, new products, and paint! I love the way this turned out!

I hope you're having a great day! Enjoy your weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

Some Cards!

I created this card for a wonderful blogging friend! I used one of my NEW Tim Holtz texture fades embossing templates. I also used the Tattered Floral Tim Holtz Sizzix die. I love those flowers! I also did a lot of distressing and some sewing. Last, I used my typewriter! I ♥ my typewriter!! I love the way this turned out!


I needed to send a sympathy card last week. I struggle with sympathy cards! This is mostly Jenni Bowlin, and once again, I used my typewriter for the sentiment!


This last card is not the best, but I wanted to use ONLY what I received as a prize from the amazing Stephanie at Crafty Steals! She sent so much, and this card features: Cosmo Cricket Early Bird, American Crafts flowers and rhinestone brad, and some Jenni Bowlin crepe paper ribbon.

I hope you have plans for a very fun weekend! Happy Friday! Thanks for stopping by!

How Can It Be?

This is for the Last Scrapper Standing challenge over at Memorable Seasons. I got kicked to the curb and didn't advance, but I love the next challenge, so I'm still playing along! LOL! I came across this photo of Emily and Jessica when I was sorting pictures. So, I journaled it with today's perspective. The title is: How Can It Be?, and the hand-written journaling reads: "That ten years go by in the blink of an eye? These girls amaze me on a daily basis! Being their mom is an honor and a privilege! Wow, I love these two!" Photo-11/4/99, Journaling-7/2/2010.

I really love the way this turned out! These two amazing girls are all grown up now! How can it be? I used distress ink, Making Memories papers, a Maya Road journaling sheer, I did some sewing, and added lace and ribbon. The crocheted flower was made by my Emily! Isn't it gorgeous?

I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

2 Cool!

I created this layout during the crop at Scrap-Friendzy. My online friend Stacey created a sketch for the crop, and this was my layout based on her sketch! I used American Crafts Blue Skies that I got at Scrapbook Steals! I love all of the layers on this layout, and I love the photos of my girls! I did some sewing on the page too!

Thanks for stopping by!

A couple of layouts!

Here are a couple of layouts that I worked on recently.


This first one features of photo of Emily in Palm Springs the day after we visited Disneyland in Anaheim where she enthusiastically met Minnie Mouse! Her reaction to meeting Minnie Mouse is one of those moments that is etched on my brain and is truly priceless! She's two years old in this photo, and I'm sure you'll agree that she is too cool! The red paper at the top is Cosmo Cricket, the red polka dot behind the photo is packaging from Jenni Bowlin journaling spots, and the black and white journaling sticker is American Crafts. I added a stamped Stampin' Up heart, a couple of Minnie Mouse close-ups that were cut from patterned paper, and some Primas with Making Memories brad centers.


I did a little masking and misting on the "Disney" in the title! It wasn't completely successful, but I went with it anyway! I used the backing from adhesive letters for my mask, and basically, it wasn't heavy enough on the paper, so the mist ran underneath. I was going to just trash it, but I figured that tracing the letters would work, and it did. These are three random photos that I shot over my shoulder while we were on the airplane on the way home after our Disney vacation. As you can see, Emily and Jessica were sitting behind Dave and I. I think these photos are hysterical! I did some sewing, added some Making Memories papers and travel stickers, and I even detail cut and lifted the "e" and the "y" in the title so that I could slip a photo underneath. I love the way that looks!

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

My Girls

I created this layout based on the challenge posted by Chris over at Inspired Crafters. She posted an awesome Studio Calico sketch. I used Basic Grey papers that I won from Scrap and Stamp a long time ago! I used some of the AWESOME Jillibean Soup corrugated letters for part of my title. Anyway, I just snapped this pic of my girls, and I love it! So, I decided to create a page about what my girls mean to me. I love the way this turned out!

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

Emily and Elmo

Sketchy Thursdays posted an awesome Second Chance Challenge Sketch for some amazing Lawn Fawn stamps, and I just had to create a layout based on the sketch! This is my Emily with her Elmo way back in March of 1997! Emily was ten months old on her first Christmas in 1996, and my mother in law got her a Tickle Me Elmo. This was the Christmas when you COULD NOT find the Tickle Me Elmo in stores. My mother in law bought it before all of the craziness set in, and she didn't become aware of how popular it was until someone offered to buy it off of her before Christmas! Anyway, she refused, she gave it to Emily on her first Christmas, and Tickle Me Elmo (with the tickle sound box removed!) quickly became Emily's stuffed toy that she always had with her! In fact, when I gave birth to Jessica in July of 1997, Emily and Elmo came to the hospital to see me! The doctor even put a small surgical gown on Elmo! Anyway, this photo is precious to me, and it brings back so many memories of my sweet girl and her Elmo! This sweet girl is now 14 years old, and YES, she still has her Elmo! ♥

So, I used a beautiful sheet of Prima paper for the background. How could I resist that red and orange color combination for this page!?! The orange dotted is by Making Memories. I added a little Elmo stamp on a My Mind's Eye journaling card. The other Elmo detail cut is from a sheet of paper from a pad that was in the dollar section of Target. It's perfect on this page! I used Thickers, Cosmo Cricket tiny type, and Jenni Bowlin alphas to create the title, and I sewed on a few buttons. I love the way this turned out, and I know Emily's going to love it too! Be sure to visit Sketchy Thursdays to see the fantastic sketch!

Happy Friday! I hope you have a GREAT weekend, and as always, thanks for stopping by!

Fashion Diva

This is my sweet Emily when she was little! Isn't she fabulous!? I used the April kit from Scrapbook Kit Club. I cannot emphasize enough how much I love that kit! I also used a sketch that is posted on the Scrapbook Kit Club forum. This page is also for a challenge at Scrap-Friendzy to use a frame around a photo. I used a My Mind's Eye transparency frame. This page is also for another challenge at Memorable Seasons to do something to the edge of your layout. The example given was using a Cuttlebug embossing folder and the QuicKutz squeeze. That's exactly what I did, and I love the effect! I'll be using that technique again! Last, this page is for Challenge #1 at The Color Room. This page has lots of Dear Lizzy by American Crafts, and I did a lot of sewing on the page. I just LOVE the way it turned out! Oh yeah, the beautiful crocheted flower? Emily made that for me, and it's fabulous!! Hard to believe this little girl in the photograph is now 14 years old! ♥

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

April Guest Designer at SBKC!

I am so excited to tell you that I am the guest designer at Scrapbook Kit Club for April, and would you just look at the amazing kit that I got to work with!! First off, I want to thank Amber for having me as the guest designer this month! I'm thrilled and honored! The kit is filled with amazing products by Cosmo Cricket, American Crafts, and Maya Road! The kits at SBKC are really fantastic, and Amber's customer service can't be beat! You get A LOT for your money! If you're looking for a wonderful kit, I cannot recommend this one enough! Go take a look! Tell Amber that Carol sent you! ♥


Here's the first layout that I created! I just love it! This is a photo of Emily on Christmas Day 1997. Isn't she adorable? Dave and I asked her, "How big is Emily?" The answer to this question is, of course, "SO BIG!" This is one of my favorite photographs EVER, so it deserved to be showcased on a layout all by itself! I used the rulers from the Cosmo Cricket Material Girl patterned paper. They're perfect! I also detail cut the small border under the photo, and detail cut a flower also from Material Girl papers. The chipboard title is also by Cosmo Cricket. I usually dislike the look when crafters leave the centers in the letters (as seen on the "o" and the "b" in my title), but with these letters, I think it looks awesome! I cut the pennant banner from a Dear Lizzy paper by American Crafts. The pom pom trim, crocheted flowers, and kraft envelope are all by Maya Road. I finished off this page by adding a zig zag machine stitch all the way around. I love it!


For my second layout I created with the kit, I wanted to feature some favorite photographs of Jessica! She used to make the cutest scrunchy face when she was a baby! Totally adorable! I cut the banner across the top and all of the semicircles on the left side from Dear Lizzy papers. The brown strip and the pink strip at the bottom of the layout are cut from fabric paper! Very cool, and it has such a great texture! The title is Cosmo Cricket chipboard, and the flower was detail cut from Material Girl. I took apart one of the Maya Road kraft envelopes. I journaled on the flap, and then I matted my photos with the rest of it! Once again, I added some machine stitching around the layout. I love the way it finishes off the page! I love this layout too! ♥


This layout features a photograph of the girls and I in Palm Springs, California. We flew out to visit my mother-in-law right after Emily turned 2. Vicky took the girls and I to a beautiful wildflower field, and we snapped this pic. I love it! I detail cut the bottom and the pennant from Dear Lizzy papers. The flowering branch on the upper left is from the fabric paper. I added a glitter Thickers title, and a ribbon flower. Once again, I sewed around the background. In case you didn't notice, I'm totally into sewing lately! This page is simple, but I love it! I really let the photograph be the main focus of the layout!


I love that Material Girl is all about sewing, so I just HAD TO create a layout about one of my favorite things . . . my sewing machine! I love this machine, and what I love even more is that it was only $15 at a garage sale. It is the best garage sale find EVER!! I sewed some denim to a border element, and I made some denim flowers in my Cuttlebug! I detail cut three spools, and then I added thread to them! I love the way that looks! I added some buttons, and I sewed them to my layout. I also added a button with twine. I did a ton of zig zag stitching on this page (of course!), and I added a title with Thickers! Once again, I love it! I should hang this above my sewing machine!


I had so many scraps on my desk, that I had to create a card! I used the extra folio closure from the envelope that I used on the "Scrunchy Face" layout as my flower center! Isn't that cute? I also mounted the chipboard sentiment on some of that envelope. Believe me, I used that envelope up! I love the Maya Road ribbon. I knotted it, and pushed through two of the amazing straight pins! Beautiful!


For my last project, I created a "We Are Family" banner from the Maya Road chipboard people that came in the kit! This represents us! Dave is decked out in Harley Davidson denim, I am in red (which is my favorite color), and Emily is in blue gingham, and Jessica is in green gingham. The ginghams are the backsides of Material Girl! The alphas are by Jenni Bowlin. I gave myself a diamond necklace, and the girls both have skirts! All three girls have flowers in their hair, and Dave's chipboard piece has a motorcycle brad! The "LOVE" is Cosmo Cricket chipboard. Not everything that I used came in the kit, but I did my best! I haven't decided where I'm hanging this yet, but I love it!

So, I hope you enjoyed looking at the projects that I created using the AMAZING April kit at Scrapbook Kit Club! I cannot recommend this kit enough! Amber's kits are wonderful! Try one, you won't be disappointed! Thanks for stopping by!