can't scrap without...

Just to make this blog of mine interesting, I thought I'd list things I can't scrap without... :

Adhesive!

A favorite right now? 3L tape from Scrapbook Adhesives... It's super tacky and it's STRONG. I love it.

But I did cave into the ATG hype and ordered one last week. I plan on doing some major scrapping and project making in the near future so I need A LOT of adhesive... Hopefully this ATG will live up to its reputation. It should come via FedEx tomorrow... I'll review it once I get used to it. Stay tuned!






For wet adhesive I really like Glossy Accents... It bonds really well - especially embellishments that don't seem to stick really well using other types of adhesive.

And I've tried a TON of adhesives in the past!

I still have a bunch of Herma dots and Herma tabs...

I still need to find a good adhesive for Vellum too...

But otherwise, I still love these two the best... :)








I can't scrap with good music! I love my iPod!

I admit, I have to update my playlists and download more music, but I still can't get enough of my iPod...

My favorites depend on what type of mood I'm in - rap, hip-hop, R&B, Michael Buble... It just depends. I need noise in the background. It helps me think...


Well, that's it for now... I've got more to my list, but I'll save it for another day...

What about you? What can't you scrap without? :)

Happy Monday!

mosaic of the day...

Just for some visual inspiration... bloglifted the idea from Cynthia!

I love me some CUPCAKES! :)



1. Pink Cupcakes, 2. Sprinkle Cupcakes, 3. Cupcakes!, 4. Delicious Cupcake!, 5. Copyright Infringement Cupcakes!, 6. PRINCESSES OF POWER..., 7. Coconut Chocolate Cupcakes, 8. IMG_1321, 9. Coconut Chocolate Cupcakes, 10. Coconut Chocolate Cupcakes, 11. The Lighting, 12. Coconut Chocolate Cupcakes, 13. 2007_0428 - Smores Cupcakes01.JPG, 14. 2007_0428 - Cookies&Cream Cupcakes06.JPG, 15. Gail, 16. More Than One Reason to SMILE: Martha Stewart's Brownie Cupcakes Packed with Edy's Slow-Churned Vanilla Ice Cream, 17. More Than One Reason to SMILE: Martha Stewart's Brownie Cupcakes Packed with Edy's Slow-Churned Vanilla Ice Cream, 18. You Know Who Can't Wait for the Smiley Face Cupcakes, 19. More Than One Reason to SMILE: Martha Stewart's Brownie Cupcakes Packed with Edy's Slow-Churned Vanilla Ice Cream, 20. More Than One Reason to SMILE: Martha Stewart's Brownie Cupcakes Packed with Edy's Slow-Churned Vanilla Ice Cream, 21. More Than One Reason to SMILE: Martha Stewart's Brownie Cupcakes Packed with Edy's Slow-Churned Vanilla Ice Cream, 22. More Than One Reason to SMILE: Martha Stewart's Brownie Cupcakes Packed with Edy's Slow-Churned Vanilla Ice Cream, 23. More Than One Reason to SMILE: Martha Stewart's Brownie Cupcakes Packed with Edy's Slow-Churned Vanilla Ice Cream, 24. Delicious chocolate cupcake, 25. Cutting Hersheys Kisses

one for the day...

After we got home from church today, Carl and Jonah fell asleep on the couch - I was tired too, but I was itching to get a layout done and I did! :)

this one was super easy once I picked out which patterned paper to use. I also used 2 stamps from Ali Edwards' Kit of the Month. Love these stamps! I can see myself use them over and over again.

I wanted to do a little journaling, but I didn't know exactly what to say - so instead I used a transparent sticker...

I think the picture says it all... :)

supplies: cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper: Wild Asparagus (I think) from My Mind's Eye; letter stickers: American Crafts; transparent definitions sticker: DCWV; mini brads: Making Memories; rubber stamps: Ali Edwards' Kit of the Month (Creating Keepsakes); stamping ink: Colorbox

ali rocks...

From Ali Edwards' fabulous blog...Love this idea!

Why can't I come up with creative stuff like this???

i'm a terrible mom...

Someday, I hope Jonah will forgive me for scrapbooking every moment of his life - the good, the bad, and the ugly!

Though, this picture does give me and my hubby a giggle every once in a while...

We just love him to pieces! Even when he's angry, he's just so CUTE! :)

Happy Saturday!

supplies: cardstock: Bazzill (kraft and 6x12 white scalloped); patterned paper: Flair, Creative Imaginations (graph paper); B is for boy sticker: Soft Spoken by Me and My Big Ideas; "Oh Baby!" license plate: Sticker Studio; ribbon: EK Success; tab punch: McGill; pen: American Crafts

a card...and a layout! :)

I got pretty lucky today... Jonah slept for quite a bit for his nap this AM and I was able to get some creative time in... :)
supplies: patterned paper: Autumn Leaves, Creative Imaginations; cardstock: Bazzill; stamp: 7gypsies; circle punch, circle template: EK Success, Coluzzle; chipboard letter: Lil Davis Designs; paper frills: Doodlebug Designs

supplies: patterned paper: Chatterbox (flowers), unknown (dotted); cardstock: Bazzill; plastic flowers: American Crafts; rub-on: Making Memories; other: mini brads

I had a great time creating these... There's really something relieving about getting work done and keeping up with my scrapping goals. Hopefully I keep the momentum going!

Happy Friday everyone! :)

what do i need?

From the fabulous Cynthia's blog:

JoAnn needs support.
JoAnn needs to stop falling for boys.
JoAnn needs help.
JoAnn needs answers for legislature.
JoAnn needs to think seriously about retooling her career to boost her income.
JoAnn needs comfort.
JoAnn needs to eat less and exercise more.
JoAnn needs prayer.

Too funny... Try it for yourself. Google.

scrapbooking-itis. *lol*

Yep, I've got a severe case of scrapbooking-itis... I'm doing pretty well with my goal of 5 layouts, 5 cards per month... It's actually been TOTALLY do-able. It's motivated me to keep up with my BFF, Rinne. And it's actually been pretty cathartic in a sense that I get a little time to myself everyday. With a newborn baby in my house, those 5 minutes to myself are VERY precious!

So, I can only get one project done per week. 5 minutes here and there... then by Saturday my layout or my project is completed. It's pretty cool. And it's actually the best I've done - EVERY. At least, that's what I think.

My spending challenge to myself has gone down the toilet. *lol* I guess that's one of the symptoms of scrapbooking-itis. The more I scrap, the more I want to reward myself with goodies to scrap with. *lol* And so I reward myself... and reward myself... and reward myself.

Today was a trip to Picture Me Perfect (my kryptonite - seriously!) I had made plans to meet Rinne there to do a little shopping (I got her a gift certificate for her to use for her birthday) and I wanted to partake in her shopping joy with her. It was super fun. Got to hang out with the fabulous Suzy and we even got to hang out for lunch. Super fun. :)

Made me realize that I miss going to crops and hanging out with other gals who share the same love of this hobby as me. Rinne and I barely get to work on pages together (1. we have so much stuff that neither of us wants to lug our stuff to each other's house. *lol* 2. we usually have opposite schedules when we work so we can never find the time that works out for the both of us.)... I occasionally scrapbook with my friend A, but it's been a little hard to find time with the new baby in my house....

*sigh* so now I'm just a lonely scrapbooker.

My friend O just had a baby so she's on maternity leave like me so when she's settled with her routine, she's determined to come over and scrap with me while we let our babies nap. *lol* We'll see how that goes.

supplies: cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper, rub-on stitching, letter stickers: Doodlebug Designs; lined patterned paper: Creative Imaginations; sentiment sticker: Imagination Project; pen, foam corner: American Crafts; other: mini brads.

Happy Birthday, Rinne! :)

Well, I'm a day late with wishing her a happy birthday, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY RINNE! :) I hope you enjoyed your day on Saturday and I hope you have fun with all of the scrapbooking goodies I got for you! :)

This is the card I made... One of my best cards, if I do say so myself. :)

And I've hit my goal for the month - it's my 5th card. Hooray! :)

supplies: most of this was actually from a kit of the month club I had gotten a year/year and a half ago... cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper: Making Memories, Creative Imaginations; velvet ribbon, velvet letter sticker, rhinestone buckle: Making Memories; silk flower: Prima; other: circle punch.

Mother's Day present...

I took a class last year at Suzy's, that was taught by Michelle Tornay...It was a Love Accordian album that incorporated 4x4 canvases and such... It was really cool. When Suzy moved her store from her garage to where it is now, I actually won their book "Scrapbooking on the Table" when they were doing raffles during their grand opening celebration...

Well, since then, I've been super inspired - to scrapbook again and to actually create things and think "outside of the box"...

My mini album is based on Michelle's Love book - a lot of technique and design was used, so I can't take all of the credit, but think of it as an homage to Michelle's talent - she definitely ROCKS. :)

To see the complete book, I posted it at 2peas: CLICK HERE (and leave me a comment too, while you're at it! :) I love feedback!

supplies: 4x4 canvases: Canvas Concepts; acrylic paint: Making Memories; patterned paper: Crate Paper; flowers: Prima; buttons: MOD by Autumn Leaves; other: ribbon

Oh and I'm counting this as 3 layouts for this month - this was quite a task! :)

i give up.

In all honesty, I'm doing really terrible with this spending challenge... The more I limit myself, the more I WANT to spend the money - and because of sales, deals, free shipping offers - I DO.

*hangs head in shame* (Rinne - I'm sorry!)

Don't get me wrong - I'm still really going to try and spend less (try being the operative word here.), but I'm really going to continue with my "USE IT" challenge and combine the old with the new... And use what I have.

3 layouts done so far this month. Not too shabby. Only a few to go! :)

FutureSex/LoveSounds

I'm reliving my teenybopper days and going to the Justin Timberlake concert...

(Sorry, Rinne! I got the tickets at the last minute and I figured you couldn't go because of saving for the wedding! These tickets were $$$ - seriously.)

Anyway, I scored some pretty decent seats to the second leg of the concert tour when it comes into town this September.

So excited. :)

This will be my...8th 'NSYNC related concert...2nd Justin concert... I had to skip a show during his 1st leg of this US tour in January because I was still 8 1/2 months pregnant! *lol*

I'm super excited. Hopefully he'll put on a great show. *happy dance*

awesome...

it's my new favorite word of the moment. *lol*

I got a page done yesterday while running back and forth from tending to Jonah and jumping to my scrapbook room... It's not too fancy... I kind of slapped everything together, but it's cute and I like it.

It forced me to use that paper slab of Magnolia/Wild Asparagus from My Mind's Eye that I picked up at Costco last week. :)

supplies: cardstock: unknown (I've had it lying in my stash of supplies since 2002!); patterned paper: either Magnolia or Wild Asparagus (I threw away the reference), Creative Imaginations; letter stickers, pen: American Crafts; flower border: Doodlebug Designs (one of my favorite things right now!); button: MOD by Autumn Leaves; other: silk flower

dropping off...

Since this is my scrapbooking blog, I wanted to drop off this link:

Donna Downey's acrylic stamp storage.. I "heart" Donna Downey. Her style just ROCKS... And this idea for her acrylic stamp storage JUST, well, ROCKS. *lol*

And this is pretty cool too... It's a storage thing by Skipping Stones Design... Haven't seen it in person so I don't know what to think of it yet...

But right now my acrylic stamp collection is sitting in a box and collecting dust... I need to organize it somehow... Either I make something or buy it.

Any ideas?

kits

I'm addicted to anything that takes the guesswork out of things and makes life easy for me. Monthly scrapbooking kits are my weakness - but, I've been very good and haven't joined a kit of the month club in quite some time. I've found that I end up leaving the kit intact and not distributing its contents where they belong in my scraproom and everything just gets left untouched... So I've been good about that. Still tempted. But I've been good.

I'm also in love with mini albums... I haven't originally created one of my own yet (although this might change soon because I'm planning on making something for my mom and MIL for Mother's Day...) There's just something so enticing about a little story that just fits in the palm of your hand.

A few weeks ago I picked up a premade kit for a family mini album from Suzy's... I finally had a chance to sit down and put it together yesterday. All I have to do is add pictures and I'll be done. It's super cute. I'll post pics when I get a chance.

And I'm counting this to my layout count - it's not original, but it took time to put together... It includes pictures... AND, it's something that has been sitting around so I used it.

That qualifies, right? I'm counting it as 2 layouts - it took THAT long to put together. When I post pics, you'll see what I mean. :)

to everyone who visits...

Just want to wish everyone a Happy Easter! :)

layout #2 of 5 - DONE! :)

supplies: cardstock: Bazzil, Amercian Crafts; patterned paper, number stickers, journaling pen, ribbon: American Crafts; silk flower, rhinestone: Prima; journaling tag: 7gypsies.

I guess I have to give myself a round of applause for getting a second layout done this week. It's pretty hard to find the time with a newborn in the house. I feel like I'm not entertaining him enough when I steal time away to work on a layout or some cards... I try to steal the time when he's asleep, but he usually falls asleep in his swing and the swing is in another room from my supplies. So instead, I just have to keep running back and forth... This layout took me a few days to complete. I'm pretty happy with what I did. :)

And I don't know why the scan always cuts the bottom. Grrr.

I also got 3 cards done today - go me! :)

I'm really fond of using the scraps I have... especially from recently completed layouts...



cardstock: Prism; patterned paper: Scenic Route Paper Co.; chipboard letter: Pressed Petals; acrylic stamp: Heidi Swapp









cardstock: Bazzil; patterned paper, ribbon, yellow cardstock: American Crafts; rub-on: Making Memories
















cardstock, patterned paper: KI Memories; buttons: MOD; rub-on: Making Memories

i have a confession...

It's only the 5th of April and I'm doing terrible with my spending challenge.

Don't get me wrong - I have good reason...

See, before I challeged myself with this whole thing, I signed up to be a Memory Works consultant with the encouragement of my husband. He's been looking into one of us doing an at home business (for fun and for tax write off purposes)... So since I'm into scrapbooking, he thought that by being a consultant it would be perfect... I also found Memory Works to be very cool - no uplines or downlines (AKA no one to report to), 20% comission, 20% off, no monthly or yearly quotas so there's no pressure of actually working. And that's what sold me. I can get supplies at a discount. And I could use this consulting thing as a hobbyist and not for profit... Maybe eventually I'll get into it more, but for now it's just for building my supply stash.

So yes, I caved in and bought stuff this week - there was a sale on TOP of the already 20% stuff and I couldn't help myself. I can't resist a deal, even if I AM trying to limit myself. A deal is a deal and I just had to... I didn't want to kick myself in the butt later for not buying anything and then seeing it at a more expensive price later on...

So yes, in the spirit of Lent, that is my confession.

I'll do an extra 2 layouts to repent, I promise.

digital

Lately I've been looking for inspiration for my layouts - on 2Peas, idea books, magazines, etc. and I've been seeing digital scrapbooking everywhere... Oh no, I thought to myself, I'm in trouble. It's just another way for me to spend money and spend most of my time on the computer, right?

A couple years ago, my coworker left my unit to transfer to another and all of the staff on my unit were really sad about that... So we decided to give her a gift - well, they enlisted me to be in charge of a gift. I wanted something original and creative so I ventured into the world of digital scrapbooking.

This is the layout I came up with. Nothing fancy - I just cut and pasted the elements of the digital kit...

I guess another scrapbooking goal I'm setting for myself is to take the plunge and learn more about this creative part of the hobby. I think it will be fun to learn something new.

Oh, anyway, I had printed this layout out on scrapbookpictures.com and framed it. It took a few years to finally give her this present (I kept forgetting to bring it to work with me!) but finally when I was able to give it to her, she really liked it. :) That makes me happy.

supplies: digital kit: "Moody Blues" from shabbyprincess.com; computer font: Century Gothic; computer program: Photoshop Elements 2.0

hooray

I made this card for my unit to give to a former patient who had been with us for months and finally went home recently. I used the leftover scraps of SEI paper and some old jelly stickers from Creative Imaginations (they were so old that they were sticking to the OUTER packaging!). Added a few brads and a stamp from Autumn Leaves and voila! My first card for the month of April.

And um, hi. I'm supposed to be on maternity leave and what the heck am I doing making a card for my unit?

1st of 5 layouts - DONE!

It's not all that fancy... It's not a layout that wows me... And I'm not that super excited about it. What I AM excited about is the fact that I used stuff from my stash and forced myself to combine it with newer stuff in my supplies.

The patterned paper is from SEI - remember when it was all the rage back in 2002? Yeah, well I might have every collection of it, and possibly every sheet of paper that came with those collections. I have no idea what to do with all that paper.

So I combined it with some new stuff and here's the end result. I still don't think this layout is perfect... but it's simple and I know my son will look at it one day and love it no matter what.

supplies: patterned papers: SEI, Heidi Swapp; chipboard letters: "Thickers" by American Crafts; ric-rac: "Paper Frills" by Doodlebug Design Inc.; acrylic paint: Making Memories; computer font: Century Gothic; other: ribbon, transparency

handful of cards.

Just some more cards I made in the month of March... All were made with random scraps I'd used previously on random layouts... I also utilized a bunch of supplies that were gathering dust from old monthly kits I had lying around.

I need to find a way to organize these cards... They're starting to add up!

And so April begins today... and so does my challene to myself - for real... The starting count for April is 0/0 so we'll see how it goes...

Hopefully I'll find the time though! I'm crossing my fingers! :)