layouts!

Once in a while I get a chance to sit down and scrap... Sometimes layouts only take me less than an hour. Sometimes layouts take a few days. Creating layouts isn't the problem sometimes though... I just don't have the energy to scan them to post here.

The computer that's hooked up to our scanner is an almost 5 year old Windows based PC. It's sometimes a little finicky, sometimes slow, and most of the time ANNOYING since I'm used to my trusty Mac Book Pro.

I guess I could use my camera to take a pic of my layout and upload that instead... I just can never take the picture right...

Anyway, here are the layouts I've worked on these past few weeks... I'm pretty proud of myself because I used what I've had in my stash. Go me!

patterned paper: Fancy Pants
tranparency: Hambly Studios
pen: Sharpie
rhinestone title: Me and My Big Ideas

patterned paper: Fancy Pants
jounaling tag, title: My Mind's Eye
felt numbers, bracket, plastic flowers, brads, pen: American Crafts
stamping Ink: Crafter's

Stampin' Up!
cardstock: Pacific Point
patterned paper: Good Morning Sunshine DSP
lace cardstock: KI Memories
pen: Uniball Signo
vinyl letters: American Crafts

Stampin' Up!
cardstock: Bazzil; Whisper White (SU!)
patterned paper: Hand Drawn DSP
lace cardstock: KI Memories
stamp set: Big Bold Birthday
ink: Pacific Point, Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, So Saffron
font: Century Gothic

It's just been so cathartic to create again. I'm going to be bummed when I have to go back to work and divide my time. Why can't I just be a millionare and a stay at home mom and scrap all day??? :)

new year. new me.

Well, not really a new me, but I do have some New Year's goals... I didn't do so well with last year's scrapping related goals, but I hope to do better with BabyGirl on the way... Cross your fingers that I can do it!

1. Use what I have. - Yes, I know. I think I say this every year. But this time I mean it. We're saving up to buy a house and we just don't have room for any more stuff.... Also, I shouldn't spend money that could be used for our savings... And with me going on maternity leave soon, our finances will be spread thin. Time to budget.

2. 1 project a week. - Kind of broad right? I can whip out a card, a layout, a mini book, etc... It's kind of a non-committal type of goal. I can do it. I know I can.

3. Post my work here. - I've been slacking in that department. I scrapped a handful of times last year, but never got a chance to scan or take pictures of my layouts for posting here. My mojo was gone, but I still was able to do stuff. I just was too lazy to share with all of you (there ARE still people out there, right? *lol*)

And there you have it... 3 goals. Almost a year's worth of time to keep up with them. I can do it. I know I can... (just don't get mad if it doesn't happen within the month BabyGirl is born. *lol*)

here are some layouts I did last year that I didn't post here...

feelin' a little crafty...

I have a confession. I've been in a scrapping rut lately. I thought this loss of mojo would be temporary, but it wasn't.

I'm on vacation starting today so I'm hoping to get something done in the next week or so. My scrapbook room is in serious need of some TLC.

Got 2 layouts done though! Yippee!!!


supplies: patterned paper: Basic Grey, Tinkering Ink, Sassafrass Lass; letter stickers, pen - American Crafts; felt flower: prima; journaling card: College Press; stamping ink: ColorBox; other: ribbon

And in honor of my BFF Corinne who is getting married next Saturday!


supplies: cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper; Love Elsie; ghost heart, bling: Heidi Swapp; label sticker; Fontwerks; rubons, chiboard letters, pen: American Crafts; stamping ink: StazOn

So, yup I did it... 2 layouts done...

Next on the checklist - ORGANIZATION. Ugh.

brought to you by the number 3...

I had some time to work on some layouts so I finished 3. :)

This one makes me laugh because Jonah was only just shy of 4 weeks old and we were already tormenting him with pictures. *lol* And we were battling the cradle cap crap so his complexion was all weird at the time...
supplies: patterned paper: Kristina Contes Collection by Scrap In Style TV; letter stickers: Chatterbox; felt letters: American Crafts; transparency overlay: Hambly Studios; tag: College Press; pen: American Crafts; stamping ink: StazOn; other: staples

I created this layout after finding an old pic from my 29th birthday... I was 4 months pregnant at the time...
supplies: patterned paper: October Afternoon, Autumn Leaves; letters: American Crafts; felt flowers: Prima; journaling tag: College Press; stamping ink: ColorBox; pen: American Crafts; other: ribbon

And this is me with Jonah on my 30th birthday...one year later...
supplies: patterned paper: October Afternoon; felt letters: Creative Cafe; price tag: Creative Imaginations; stamping ink: ColorBox; other: mini brads, string, ribbon

So I guess I could say I've been pretty productive. My goal for the year is to complete 100 layouts. 3 down, 97 to go... Haven't set a goal for cards and other projects yet... But I guess that will come in time. :)

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Jonah's birthday is in less than 2 weeks and his party is coming up so I don't know how much I can scrap between now and then. I'm truly amazed at how fast time flies!

At almost 12 months he loves:

• his sign language videos (he can sign "milk"!)
• cruising around
• climbing up the stairs
• climbing off the couch
• puffs
• lots of time with Mommy and Daddy
• his snoedel

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Anyway, have a good rest of the weekend, everyone! :)

hello mojo.

I don't know what's coming over me. Today I had the urge to clean... Well, I shouldn't say CLEAN since all I did was tidy up the house. It started with the kitchen, then the dining room... And then it led me to the scraproom/office.

And I stared at all the unopened kits I have from the past 3 months: Studio Calico, A Million Memories, Label Tulip - all of them just staring at me in the face, chanting: "Use me. Use me. Use me."

And I did.

And it felt good.

I finally got around to scanning a layout I did last month...

supplies: patterned paper: Basic grey, Fancy Pants, Scenic Route; chipboard: Scenic Route; stamping ink: ColorBox; journaling tag: My Mind's Eye; pen: Uniball Signo

The picture was taken at a family member's wedding in September... Carl took it. I love the photo. It's totally Jonah. :)

And tonight I sat down and created this:

supplies: cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper: Basic Grey, 7gypsies; notepaper: Making Memories; acrylic tree: MME; pen, letter stickers: American Crafts; stamping ink: StazOn

I'm getting closer to making my 100 layouts this year goal.... 3 more and I'm there! Unfortunately I won't have the time to scrap between tonight and Dec. 31st... I work all weekend and I have a huge party on New Year's Eve...

But who knows... I might find a layout I'd created and never posted... Hmmm...

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Here comes 2008! :)

3 more...

I guess you could say I was on a roll this week... Which is good - at least I feel productive, having been off since last Thursday night. Well, technically, I wasn't off since then - I had to take 2 classes this week that were mandatory for work...

So I have 4 more shifts of work before I go on vacation to Vegas in a little over a week. Excited? A little bit. I just need a little getaway. :)

supplies: patterned paper, ribbon, pen: American Crafts; die cut letters: "Printing Press"; font cartridge for Cricut; stamping ink: Color Box Chalk Ink

First time using the Printing Press Cricut cartridge. Had a lot of fun!

supplies: patterned paper: Kristina Contes paper collection at SIStv.com; transparency overlay: Hambly; felt letters, flowers, brads: American Crafts; tab punch: McGill; stamping ink: Color Box Chalk Ink, StazOn; Dymo Labeler

And it was a rare 8.5x11 layout. Super proud of myself! :)

supplies: patterned paper: Basic Grey, Tinkering Ink; transparency overlay, rub ons: Hambly; label sticker: Fontwerks; pen: American Crafts; chipboard letter: Lil Davis Desings; chipboard number: Heidi Swapp; stamping ink: Color Box Chalk Ink, StazOn

Had a lot of fun creating that one... the "V" is for our last name... but I'm thinking it could stand for "version" in a future layout... Might have to think about that one. :)

Have a great weekend, everyone! I'll be spending it working for 3 nights and being tired. Ugh.

jonah layouts...

I went to a friend's baby shower this past Saturday and it got me in the mood to scrapbook more of Jonah's pictures - don't want to get behind!

So I was on a roll with the layouts... I had been working on a couple of them for a bit (sometimes I walk away from my desk when I feel uninspired) and finally finished them up...

My favorite is the first one here:

supplies: patterned paper, foam letters, chipboard shapes: American Crafts; font: CK Jot; stamping ink: Chalk Ink by ColorBox, StazOn

I like it because it's pretty much displaying the story of Jonah's first night of sleep in his crib... I remember being so happy that he did it, but I was sad because I knew he was growing up. So bittersweet.

Then I worked on a few more LOs...
supplies: pp, chipboard, rub ons, foam letters: AC; pen: uniball signo; rub on stitching:L Daisy D's

supplies: cardstock: Bazzill; pp: Cloud 9 Design; ribbon: Scrapworks; transparency: Hambly; font: 2Peas Tiny Tadpole; rub on letters: American Crafts; stamping ink: Chalk ink by ColorBox

supplies: cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper: Basic Grey, Prima; rub on stitching: Daisy D's;
fabric tag: Scrapworks; stamping ink: Chalk Ink by ColorBox; letter rub ons: American Crafts;
stamp: 7gypsies; Dymo labeler; other: tag, date sticker; photography credit: Corinne

And then I made this card today:
supplies: patterned paper, rub ons, pen: American crafts; stamp: 7gypsies

Remember that baby shower I metioned earlier in this post? Yeah, well, the baby wasn't due until around Thanksgiving. On Monday (mind you, TWO days after the baby shower) we get a picture text message - our friends had the baby! So exciting and surprising and I know only TOO WELL what it feels like to deliver early and feeling unprepared (Jonah was born 2 weeks early and the day after my baby shower!). I made the card for our friends to let them know we're here for them - for a hot meal delivery or even advice givers... We hope all is well with them...

Hump day is over - have a great rest of the week!

productive... well sort of...

I've been in a good mood to scrap these past few days, but I've really been unhappy with what I've been coming up with. *sigh*... I get in these ruts sometimes. The best thing for me is to just push through it and get past the slump...

This first LO is a LO I did a while back and used it for a DT submission... I really liked it because it's kind of funky yet clean... And I like the pictures I used: the one on the left was 1 week before Jonah was born and the on the right was the day before (at my baby shower)... Brought back memories when I created this one...

supplies: Daisy D's, American Crafts, chipboard, ribbon

This next LO is one I just finished tonight. It's my interpretation of the 2nd dare in the We Dare You book: "Safe Place." I couldn't think of just one place so I scrapbooked about the fact that I feel safe any place far and away from work. *lol*

supplies: My Mind's Eye, Scenic Route, Art Warehouse, Century Gothic Font

And finally... This is a LO I did a couple days ago... Love this picture but I didn't know what to do with it... Eh... Used some old stuff in my stash: the KI monograms! Yippee. :)
supplies: Sassafrass Lass, Fancy Pants, KI Memories, Hambly, American Crafts

Sent in another DT submission this evening... Keep your fingers crossed and say a little extra prayer for me, will ya? :)

Have a great weekend everyone! :)

testing... 1...2...3...

Scrap in Style TV has this cool new function where they give you a cool script code so you can place it in your blog as a widget. The demo looked cool. I'm going to try it out right here...

Created a few little cards in the past couple of days... Used a bunch of my scraps so that made me super happy. :)







Finally got my "We Dare You" layout done - based on the first dare of the book. Super simple, but I'm really happy with the way it turned out! :)



Happy Thursday! I have to work tonight so I don't know when I can get more scrapping done! :)

scrapping on the brain...

Lately I've had scrapbooking on the brain and I've been itching to work on a couple layouts... Unfortunately, Jonah's daily schedule is changing - he's taking less naps and the ones he DOES take are shorter. Oh well...

I've been working on a couple of challenges and got one done tonight:

This one was for HMITM #52: Use 30 scraps. Super challenging but it was a lot of fun working with old scraps I have lying around all over my scrap room. *lol*

supply list:
Quickutz Stiletto font
Cricut Base Camp font
Bazzill cardstock
Patterned Papers: Tres Jolie, Cherry Arte, Jenni Bowlin, 7gypsies, Lil Davis Designs, Basic Grey, Prima, Daisy D's, Bo Bunny, Heidi Grace, Scenic Route, Crate Paper, A2Z Essentials

The other day I also finished my second digi LO for K-Joi Studios:

Really simple LO I did using the Cafe Pigalle kit by Dragons Lair Designs. Didn't come out the way I wanted, but I'm happy with it. :)

And and this is super awesome: My Love Story matchbook is LOTD at AMM. Yippee! :)

Have a great rest of the week! :)

lots of stuff to share!

I had worked on a few projects these past few weeks and now I can finally share them! I wasn't sure if I was going to use them for DT submissions, but since the deadlines have already passed I can now share with all of you! :)

The following LOs and card are things I created for Suzy's store Picture Me Perfect for guest designer for September. Laurie sure created some really challenging assignments! :)
Assignment: Use the AC Thickers and 1 PP and 2 CS to create a LO... I added more AC goodies, Heidi Swapp chipboard letters, ribbon, and Hambly journaling block rub on. :)

Assignment: use the Thickers and create a card too! So I created a card using more American Crafts stuff and also cut the little feet using my Cricut (love that thing!)

Assignment: Use the Luxe Jotters... I was kind of stuck with this so I created a simple wedding LO because I wanted the picture to be the main focus instead of a ton of embellies. :) Used more Luxe paper and cut more letters with the Cricut. :)

And the last assignment was to create a LO that incorporated a house as a design element (click on the pic for more details). This was a little tough for me, but I had fun. The door is on hinges so inside the door is our address, on the sale sign are the details of our house and the chimney pulls to reveal journaling. This took a while to create but it SOOO worth it and super fun. :) Used Daisy D's paper, Heidi Swapp chipboard, Paper Salon ink, and other random goodness. :)

And then I created these last 2 LOs a while ago but never posted until today. :) Wasn't sure if I'd use them in DT entries or not!
supplies: Piggy Tales, Paper Salon ink, button, pre-printed twill

Click on the pic for more... But I created this LO to show the progression of my ever growing tummy (hence the title. *lol*) Used A Million Memories' August kit and had a great time! I might change up the journaling block (I don't like how it's smashed in there and it's crooked), but for now I'll leave it as is... One of my favorite LOs I've done in a while...

This book came in the mail the other day and I can't put it down! I never really participated in the Effer Dares before because I only got back into scrapbooking regularly recently and I couldn't find time to participate.

But this book is so awesome - it's pretty much having all the dares at your fingertips and you don't even need an internet connection to get started!

Corinne and I are going to each dare weekly and post our progress here... She already got the first one done - I need to get started! *lol*

Have a great week everyone! :)

been scrapping...

Believe it or not, I've actually been scrapping lately... Haven't posted anything here recently because I'm saving them for some DT entries that end at the end of this month and I'm not sure which ones to use...

But I do have a couple to share:

Love this one because I used a picture of when Jonah was so small and cuddly. Now he's bigger and all over the place. *lol* I miss him when he was little. :(

supplies: patterned paper: Heidi Grace, Scenic Route; transparency overlay: Hambly Studios; vinyl letter stickers: American Crafts; other: ribbon

And I still find BamPOP super challenging for me, but I forced myself to make it work. *lol* Used the SOML April kit and some other stuff...

supplies: cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper: BamPOP; foam letters: American Crafts; ghost clock: Heidi Swapp; other: ribbon

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So yeah, I've got some LOs and cards that I've done, but I'm keeping them in my back pocket before I show them off... I'm still unsure whether or not I'm going to use them in my entries or not, but for now I'll keep them safe and unpublished (in an internet sense...) Sometimes I feel that my LOs are really strong, but my altered project is the one that is my downfall most of the time. Then again, there's a lot of competition out there - I might not even be a contender. Who knows?

Yesterday, I scrapped with my good friend from work who's *almost* as into scrapping as I am. She's up there, but she's not CRAZY like me. *lol* It was really fun - had a ton of laughs as she pulled out random pieces of patterned paper in her stash and we were like, "What were you thinking?!" Had to be there.

What was even more awesome about scrapping yesterday was that we got to call into work for a conference call, put the phone on speakerphone so we both could listen AND put it on mute so we could scrapbook and talk smack.

Good times...

And productive too... Awesome combination. :)

3 layouts...Wii!!! :)

I guess, with my birthday celebrations I forgot to post my newest layouts last week. :)

supplies: SOML April kit: Bazzill, Crate Paper, American Crafts, stars; Fontwerks stamp, Ranger stamping ink

supplies: Label Tulip August kit: Scenic Route, Prima, ribbon; Fontwerks rubons, Hambly overlay transparency, American Crafts

supplies: AMM August Kit: 7gypsies, Autumn Leaves, Prima, lace; Hambly, American Crafts

AND this layout was Layout of the Day at AMM on 9/1/07 - I just found out 2 nights ago. :)

So far my birthday week has been pretty awesome... Got a lot of cool gifts, including a new iPod from the hubby, Mario Party 8 and Carnival Games for the Wii... Super fun...

I'm thinking of hosting a Wii party. There are eVites with Wii themed invitations. :)

Now THAT would be a cool scrapbook LO. :)

Have a great rest of the week!

i was on a roll.

Jonah went to bed early last night. Summertime TV is pretty much over (No more So You Think You Can Dance Wednesday and Thursday nights for me!) So I decided to get some major scrapping done. :)

supplies: "I *heart* CandyTown" Collection from SIStv...

My first time doing a vertical 6x12 LO... Kind of harder to work with but it was still fun to think outside the box. The papers in this SIS collection are so fun to work with! I have a hard time with cartoony patterns, but this stuff is just too amazing to resist! :)

supplies: cs: Bazzill; pp: Heidi Grace designs; bling, chipboard alpha: Heidi Swapp; stamp: Autumn Leaves; ink: Paper Salon

Had this HG paper in my stash for a while and wanted to play around with it. Fun! :)

supplies: August AMM kit: Daisy D's, ribbon, lace, buttons, 7gypsies; other: Heidi Swapp, Scenic Route

I'd type the journaling out but it makes me a little teary. Love this pic my hubby took of us, though... I'm going to miss Jonah being this small!

supplies: pp: Stemma, 7gypsies; lace; bling: Heidi Swapp; stamp: A Million Memories

I have a hard time with patterned papers with words on them! I never know whether to cut them, use them as mats, or what! So this time, I pieced them together. :)


supplies: Scenic Route, Hambly, Heidi Swapp

LOVE this pic of Carl and Jonah in bed. So sweet...


supplies: More "I *heart* CandyTown" Collection goodness. :)

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In other news... Well, I got rejected again for a couple more DTs: Studio Calico and Label Tulip...Darn. Of all the DTs I've tried out for so far, these 2 were the ones I was REALLY crossing my fingers for. They have some really great kits and everyone at both places are SO VERY NICE. It makes me sad that I won't get to work with them.

By the way, thank you to everyone in my previous post who gave me such great comments and motivation to keep trying. Rinne, Cathy, Vee, Kim, Laurie, Anna, Anna (there are 2 of you! *lol*), Emine, Ady, & Lisa - you gals ROCK. :)

More posting later...

oldies but goodies.

This week has been crazy busy for me... On top of working all last weekend - Carl caught a cold and he was miserable. Then I thought Jonah caught it but he seems fine. This morning I woke u feeling a little ick with a sore throat (darn that Carl!) So now I'm miserable and feeling unmotivated to do anything.

Didn't get picked for a couple of DTs I tried out for... And I'd like to say that I'm ok with that, but I'm not. It's a little disheartening and discouraging when you see the same names and faces over and over again. I thought I had thick skin but maybe I'm just too sensitive for the picking process... So I've decided that after this month's round of calls, I'll just lay low for a while... No more visiting Pub Calls or Scrap Submit for a while... just need to boost my confidence for a while...

Anyway, here are 2 layouts I did a while back. I used them for DT submissions so I didn't post them until now. Simple - totally my style...

supplies: Autumn Leaves, Hambly, Jenni Bowlin, Lil Davis, Cricut

supplies: Scenic Route, Hambly, Jenni Bowlin, Love Elsie, Hedi Swapp

Busy weekend ahead... Hoping to get some scrapping done, but I've kind of lost a little mojo with all this rejection going around. *sigh*

purse junkie...

You know, before I became a nurse, I never was into designer purses. I was content with whatever was functional and cute... But after being surrounded by all my friends with Coach, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton, I started getting envious (yeah, I'm talking about you, Corinne! *lol*)... And I really wanted one too...


So I started off with a little black Coach purse that Carl got me a couple of years ago... That started off a collection of another purse, 3 wristlets, and a wallet... And I created a LO of my newest baby to add to the collection. :)


By far, the biggest one of them all, I wanted a big one because, well, I'm a mom now and it's so cool I can carry Jonah's bottle, a book and a couple of other things along with my cell phone and wallet. I deem this my "big" mom purse. " :)


I started this LO yesterday and finally finished this morning right before my nap. Carl actually likes it too. Yay!

With bulky LOs like this one, I'm trying to practice my photography skills... Eh... Could be better...

supplies: A Million Memories August Kit, Hambly, Lil Davis chipboard letters, Coach tag and tissue paper. :)

And I took some close up shots of the LO... What do you think?

Ok, that's really it for the weekend... probably won't update for a couple days... Have a beautiful weekend! :)