Me @ 41....

Welcome to an All About Me challenge at Better Living Through Scrapbooking.

“About Me Challenge”
Create a scrapbook page layout about yourself.
Chose at least 2 of the following:
1. Include at least one photograph of you (and only you).
2. Journal about yourself (i.e., your quirks, something you would like to change, your hopes, disappointments, etc.)
3. Use a traditional office supply on your layout.
4. Use foam adhesives or “pop-dots” to give elements on your page dimension.
5. Use an old book or magazine page as part of your layout.”

Sponsored Supplies Used:
Cardstock: Discount Cardstock “Clove Felt 80# 12 X 12”
Papers and embellishments: Gauche Alchemy “Acme Mixed Media Paper Crafting Kit”
Stamp: Plaid “All Night Media: Splatter Pattern Stamp”
Paint: Plaid “Apple Barrel: Apricot”
Adhesive: Plaid “Mod Podge: Matte”

Additional Supplies Used:
Paper: My Mind’s Eye
Embellishments: Lucky Girl Crafts Kit alphas, Making Memories journaling tag
Ink: Close to My Heart
Misc: Felt flower, button, twine

Criteria I chose for this one was to include a photo of me, use an old page from a book, journal about something life changing (my infertility issues), and to use office supplies (tag and twine). I also used some Plaid pop dots to lift the stamp and the old clothes pin up off the page just a bit.

I loved this All About Me Challenge. I really had to think about something that defines me as a person at this stage in my life. For me, at 41, that was that I have finally come to accept my infertility. I always knew that at this stage of my life I would be a mom, driving kids to and from football practice. We'll, I'm a teacher of third grade students and an Aunt (Nee Nee) to six incredible kiddos. I'm not technically a mother, but my life is very blessed and fulfilled. I'm in a very happy place at 41!

So now hop on over to Betterscrap to visit with the rest of the Betterscrap ladies and she what incredible inspiration they have for you!!!!

Blessings,

hello...

Good Morning,
Just a quick little post today. We are in countdown mode for state assessments now, only 14 school days until that dreaded week is here. So much emphasis is put on that one week. It is so draining.....
Anyways, back to scrappy happy things. I have a card to share with you today. This image is found at Creations by Penny. It is called Bird in a Tree. I used some scraps from My Mind's Eye on this one. The bling and ribbon are from stash. Penny has a Design Team Call going on right now, check it out here.

Don't forget that there is a blog hop going on over at The Town Scrapper for two weeks, go visit and you may win some prizes!!!!
Blessings,

All That We Love Deeply....

Good Morning,
Have you been over to meet my sister at The Sisterhood this morning? When you drop by, please be sure to leave her some love!

Yesterday was such a glorious day and we are expecting another today, highs almost 60!!!! YAHOOOO!!!!! We were outside pruning roses, butterfly bushes, burning bushes, and other shrubs. My daffodils are about two inches high.....oh spring is right around the corner, praise God!

This morning, I'm sharing a quick simple card I made from scraps that were still out. This one uses up some My Mind's Eye, a stamp and ink from CTMH, bling and ribbon from my stash.


After church today, we are back outside doing more spring pruning, getting all that we did yesterday cleaned up, and just enjoying a nice day. I hope you are having a beautiful day in your neck of the woods!
Blessings,

Technique Week.....

Good Morning,

I'll have two posts today, so please check back later for some BIG NEWS @ The Town Scrapper! Also, visit another of my new sistah's over @ The Sisterhood!

This week at Frosted Designs we are sharing our favorite techniques! What is your favorite technique for paper crafting? At the end of this challenge, we will have our TOP 3 posted and then we are going to vote and the best out of the TOP 3 will win 5 digi-stamps courtesy of Diane over at http://www.disdigidownloads.blogspot.com/. Challenge closes on March 12th. Top 3 announced on March 13th . Here is just a sample of one of the five images. Check them all out here.

So, I chose distressing, are you surprised? Didn't think so.....you all know how I LOVE distressing with my inks. I chose to do a distressed flower. I used some My Mind's dp, scalloped nesties, milled lavender and cocoa inks. I cut three layers of three nestie sizes, crumpled them up as much as possible. I opened them up enough to rub the lavender over to pick up some ink, layered them, popped in a brad, some bling, and then inked the outer scalloped edges with the cocoa. I just cut the leaves freehand and distressed those too! I hope to see you favorite technique this week.

Don't forget to visit my fabby Frosted Design team sisters, wow, the fun techniques being shared are so incredible! They're linked up in my side bar!

Blessings for a wonderful Friday,

2gether....

Good Morning,

I hope you are nice and warm on this snowy Saturday. Today, I'm sharing a layout based on the Friday Sketch at Practical Scrappers. This sketch is brought to you by our very own Heidi M. of Practical Scrappers. If you haven't been to visit her, please do. She has the best sketches and so easy to come together, not to mention her scrappy talent is among the best!

Here is her wonderful sketch:

and here is my layout.

Recipe:

all papers~My Mind's Eye

flowers and bling~Prima

title~Cuttin' Up

ink~CTMH

I hope you can play along with us this weekend!

Blessings,

You're Sweet....

ETA: I just found a new digi challenge blog, Lia Stampz, this one is just perfect for it! Go check her out!
Good Afternoon,
Super busy day going on here at my house. Today is Friday and that brings two new challenges this week for you at Frosted Designs and Humble Pie Stamps. I created one project this week that incorporates both challenges.

But....before I share, I want to congratulate our winners from last week! Our super talented top 3 of the star challenge at Frosted Designs were, Laurel, Hannah, and Jess, check them out!

Our winner of the one embellishment challenge at Humble Pie last week was the super talented Maria, she had the cutest "messy" snowman project, be sure to visit her!

Alright then, the new challenge at Frosted Designs is to use your own handwriting on your project. I wrote on the two tags, "You're Sweet". Everyone always compliments my handwriting, remember, I am a teacher, and have years of practice at "neat" writing.

Our challenge at Humble Pie this week is to make an easel card. Can someone wonk me on the head for not trying these earlier???? I had no idea how super simple these cards were until the Lovely Lisa, my fellow Baker, posted her tutorial on the HP blog. You can check it out here.

Recipe:
all papers, flowers, tags~ My Mind's Eye
inks-CTMH
Berry Maggie~ Humble Pie Stamps
buttons, ribbon, floss~stash

Well..... we have LOTS of stuff to give away at Humble Pie this week!
One lucky winner will receive the beautiful Whiff of Joy "Charlotte on Carpet" stamp, now available at The Town Scrapper!

Another lucky winner will receive "Sitting Ellie", exclusive to The Town Scrapper!

And "ANGEL MAGGIE" is back by popular demand! EVERY participant for this challenge will receive the Angel Maggie digi via email - if we haven't sent her to you already, please be sure to leave a comment with your email address! Remember, you MUST play along to get this digi, and your project must be created NEW for our challenge!

So be sure to visit the Fabby Frosted Designers and Humble Pie Bakers in my side bar. You don't want to miss the inspiration they have for you today!

Blessings,

Easter Chicks.....

Good Morning,
Today is a new challenge over at Practical Scrappers. Thanks to you all who played last week! I always love to see just how creative you can be with each challenge and I love the inspiration I always receive from you! Congrats to our top 3 this week, Denise, Gram Cheryl, Penny and a favorite, Gloria. You can see their winning creations here.

On to our new challenge, this week, we want to see you using flowers.
We're going to pick three winners - the most creative use of flowers, the project that uses the most flowers (leave us a comment so we know), and again our favorite project! We will also be picking one winner randomly generated to get some bling from Glitz Design.
I used this sketch from my incredibly talented dt sister at PS, Heidi. I love this sketch and it worked perfectly for what I wanted in this layout.



Here is the layout. All my papers are My Mind's Eye. The title is thickers, inks are CTMH, the bling flourish is Prima, and the stones in the flowers are from stash.



Be sure to visit my PS sisters, amazing creations to be seen. Leave them so love and let them know how they inspire you!


Blessings,

I Love You...

Good Morning,
I spoke to my aunt on the phone yesterday and SHE is ready to go home! She suffers some communication processing from her stroke in 1984. She thinks when she's ready, it should happen. So, needless to say, she doesn't like that the doctors want to continue to monitor her. I tried to explain to her that we were in the middle of a winter storm and she just needs to stay there in the safety of the hospital. So she is continuing to do well.
Today I am using this week's Midnight Madness Sketch

for this card at Tellen's Place.


Terry and the Diva's are asking for one more card with hearts (at least 5). I pulled out more scraps from My Mind's Eye and absolutely love this free image at Tellen's Place this week. Isn't she just beautiful? I'm sorry the lighting is off on this one. It is still snowing here.
Blessings,

toothless.....

Good Saturday Morning,

I do hope you are safe and warm this morning. The "Powerhouse Storm", as the Weather Channel is calling it is beginning to bring some more snow my way. If you are in the path of or have already been hit by this one, I do hope you are in your scrappy space, warm, and crafty away!

This morning I am sharing the Friday Sketch from Ann Katrin at Practical Scrappers. Doesn't she do the most incredible sketches? So easy to design with...here's this weekend's sketch,

Since my little 5 year old nephew, Jon-Christopher lost not one, but BOTH bottom teeth last Saturday evening, I thought I'd scrap his "toofless" picture. I really should have titled it just as he said it, "Toofless". You can click the photo for up close on the journaling.

My "Tooth Fairy Cynthia" is an exclusive from The Stamping Boutique. When I saw her, I knew I had to have her for this layout. My Honeybee was uncertain that I could make her work on a "boy" page. I assured him to never underestimate the power of a woman with watercolors in her hand!!!! I think I proved my point to him....big giggles.....

Head over to Practical Scrappers to see some of my sister's take on Ann's sketch....they are wonderful!!!

Recipe:

Tooth Fairy-The Stamping Boutique

papers-My Mind's Eye

Ribbons, ink, staples-CTMH

watercolors and stickles

Ashlyn cart

Blessings,

Humble Pie...Always...

Good Morning,
Who is ready for some LOVE? That is exactly what we want to see at Humble Pie this week! Show us your love or Valentine's cards. I used the adorable little Dusty. He has a soft and cuddly teddy bear waiting for you....

I used the sketch at Midnight Madness on this one. I cut the heart and sentiment from my Ashyln cart. My papers are My Mind's Eye. This is some yummy American Crafts ribbon, prima flowers, brads and ink are CTMH. I also used my CTMH markers to color the darling image. Everyone will be finishing up Valentine's this week, so be sure to link us up!!!! Also, check out the love that my fellow Baler's have cooked up for you today!
Don't forget, Phebe is still having her sale at The Town Scrapper, buy 1 get 1 half!
Have a fantastic Friday!
Blessings,

Sweetheart....

Good Morning,

It's Wednesday and time for a new challenge at Penny's Challenges. This week Penny wants to see projects with a Valentine/Love theme. I was cleaning up in the scrappy space yesterday and came across this little round tin. It was actually a tin that paper clips had come in. I think it was something my mom had brought to me from drug reps at the clinic. Anyways, I was inspired to decorate it up and put some candies in it for the Honeybee. This is a side view to take in the dps and the sweet ribbon trim.

I hope you are inspired to create something all about love today. I have my incredible DT sisters linked up in my side bar to the left. Take a peek at the "lovely" inspiration they have for you!

Recipe:

tin-stash

dps, sentiment, and heart-My Mind's Eye

flowers-Prima

bling-Wal Mart

ribbon-stash

inks-CTMH

Blessings,

Valentine....

Good Morning,

We have a fun new sketch up at Practical Scrappers this morning.

I love this sketch, my page just came together. I've used up that stash of My Mind's Eye papers that I've had forever. These photos are a couple years ago, but worked with the paper perfectly. AND what about the "Honey be mine?" You know since I call Ben my Honeybee, he loved that. I used foam dots to give dimension to the hearts, the little cupid, as well as the title.

So, if you are like me, and you find yourself being snowed in today, pull out some papers and see what inspiration this gives you. Be sure to post it to the Mr. Linky at Practical Scrappers.

Blessings,

My Love....

****THIS POST WILL REMAIN AT THE TOP UNTIL MONDAY---PLEASE SCROLL DOWN****
Good Morning,
Thank you for stopping by my blog during the Practical Scrappers Designer Blog Hop! I'm so excited to be participating! Because I am such a "hopeless romantic", I have created this layout to share with you. This hop is all about the "love."

Here is a close up of the journaling. When Ben and I were married 13 years ago, our wedding vows were from the book of Ruth:16-17. I just thought that was the perfect touch for this page.

I'm giving away a 6 X 6 sweet romance album as a prize for the blog hop. All you have to do to qualify is become a follower here and leave a comment on this post. I will announce the winner on Monday, January 25th so make sure to check back in!

You should have arrived here from my amazingly, talented, scrapping sister, Kerri's blog. Your next stop is another of my amazingly, talented, scrapping sisters, Heidi. If this was your first stop, head over to Practical Scrappers to start at the beginning of the hop. The designers are giving away some great prizes - you don't want to miss your chance!
Thanks for joining us! I'm sure you'll find all the inspiration you need to create something you "love!"
Recipe:
All papers-My Mind's Eye
pearls and ribbon-stash
journaling card-K & Co.
Cricut carts-Storybook and Doodle Charms
flourish-Prima
ink-CTMH
Blessings,

To Everything There Is A Season...

Good Morning,

I hope everyone is having a good week. I've been back to school since Tuesday, the first time since December 18th!!! It's been a busy week. We've missed two weeks of instruction and trying to push it in. Whew.....I'm happy to be back with my kiddos though. So, if I'm not making a daily read on your blog, you'll understand why.

It is with a sad occasion that I share a card today. I was in a meeting with my Principal after school yesterday. He told me that he and his wife had found out they were having a second baby. They had kept it hush until Christmas. They shared the happy news with everyone then. On the Monday after Christmas, she lost the baby. I've known him for over 25 years. She was 10 weeks. I can't imagine what they are going through. My sister, the little kids mother, lost her first baby in 1996. She was 28 weeks. We had to go through birth and burial. That was the hardest thing I've ever faced. I had this card already made and this verse is always so comforting to me when my heart aches from loss.

Recipe:

dps-My Mind's Eye

stamps & ink-CTMH

flowers-Bazzill and Prima

brad and pearl-stash

Blessings,

I Love You...

Good Morning,
Today is Wednesday, and that is time for a new challenge for Penny's Challenges. Before I get to the challenge, thanks to all of you who played along in our chalk challenge. This week you need to use inchies on your project. I kind of struggled with this one. I was so focused on the image being an inchie. Then I remembered this punch by Creative Memories and it all fell together. This is a very simple card, but I love it! Don't forget to visit my team sisters and leave them some love. Their links are in my side bar. You are certain to find inspiration once you arrive! I hope you'll play along with us!

Recipe:
cardstock, stamps, and ink-CTMH
dps-My Mind's Eye
ribbon-American Crafts

Blessings,

My Prince...

***Second Post, Scroll for Humble Pie card***

Welcome to my blog! I hope you are having fun on the Sassy Studio Designs Rockin' Blog Hop! If you have just arrived on my blog, be sure to go here to hop from the start. I chose the Royal Frogs for my image. I love my Honeybee so much, he is "My Prince", so this is his Valentine card. I used My Mind's Eye papers, water colored my image, used some sticker stitches, pearls, ribbon, and button from stash. I embossed the crowns for some extra bling. I used the Card Patterns sketch this week for inspiration on this card.

Enjoy the rest of the hop and be sure to leave comments along the way! I hope you have been inspired today!

Blessings,

XOXOXO...

Good Morning,

I still had the scraps on my table from my Creations by Penny card from yesterday. So, I decided to use them for this card.

Once again, very simple, but getting more cards ready for Cards for St. Jude's. I just stamped my hearts, cut them out, put some foam dots behind them and the flourish. I just wanted to add some sparkle to the polka dot heart. I hope you are all having a fab day! We may see 50 degrees today. Oh, I pray we do! We are still a winter wonderland in my neck of the woods.

x0x0x0 Recipe:

dps-My Mind's Eye

stamps, flourish, and ink-CTMH

bling-stash

Blessings,

Love You...

Good Morning,

I'm seeing the beautiful and bright sunshine today for the first time in about 5 days! Oh how glorious! Our temps are supposed to slowly beginning warming today and be in the upper 40's to about 50 by Friday. It'll take that to melt all this snow!

Today Penny is releasing another new digi image at Creations by Penny. This one is so gorgeous and so much fun to play with. It is called the "Butterfly Flower". I really wanted to see some spring colors in this. I just can't wait until time for the flowers to bloom and butterflies fluttering about.

I used my CTMH markers to color this one. I colored and cut a second butterfly to give some dimension and the flying effect. I used the Unscripted Sketch for this week. Love that one, so easy and versatile!

Love You Recipe:

dps-My Mind's Eye

ribbon-stash

image-Creations by Penny

stamps, markers, & ink-CTMH

Blessings,