Lucky Girl Blog Party Day 1...

If you arrived here from Jessica's blog, you are in the right place! Lucky Girl Family Gatherings kit is fabulous!!!!! Just take a peek at this yummy paper! All I added to this was a journal tag (came in kit), a flower and some bling. Of course this is my "sweet" little man that I love so much!


This month's special:
Since we're gearing up for the holiday season, we've got some awesome deals in the Lucky Girl store! Get your holiday crafty gifts taken care of with one happy stop to shop! For all of the sale items, click here to be brought to that section of the store. In the mean time, here's a quick break down of the major sales items you'll find there.

Save $3 on all September, October & November paper packets (the papers & cardstock only from each month's kit) - priced as marked

SALE KITS - very limited supply! (Regularly $29.99)
"Summer Lovin'" - June kit is now just $21.99
"Summer Vacation" - July kit is now just $23.99
"Old School Cool" - August kit is now just $26.49
"Fallin' for You" - September kit is now just $27.99

If you like the November kit, Family Traditions, you'd better hurry! There's only ONE NOVEMBER KIT LEFT as of the time of this post!!!
*******
And as always, the random winner from each Lucky Girl's blog will receive a mini inspiration kit filled with scrappy goodies.
The main prize (on the store blog) will receive a $25 gift certificate to the store!

Want to win my prize? Follow my blog if I inspire you, leave a comment answering this question?
Have you ever scrapped an informal family gathering?
Now you want to hop on over to Natalie's blog to see what she has for you!

Are you LUCKY?

Have you seen this latest Lucky Girl "Family Gatherings" kit? OMG, I know, I know, I say this every single month, but this really is my favorite that we've had!!!! Take a peek at all this goodness!


And this is all the gorgeousness that comes along to embellish with. Talk about a play day!!!! To quote my Honeybee when I shared what all was in my dt kit, he said, "Now that's a truck load of scrappy stuff!" Hurry over to order yours today, quantities are VERY limited!!!!


How about lots of savings - but only while supplies last!

$3 OFF all paper packets (including just the patterned papers and cardstock) from our September, October & November kits!

AWESOME SAVINGS on past kits - June, July, August & September kits available at a discount!

Be sure to come back tomorrow morning as our three day Blog Party kicks off!
Blessings,

Some Halloween stuff....

Are you ready for your trick-or-treaters? Our city is having Halloween tonight. I never get any little spooks or cuties come up my way. I miss that so much. There is still such a fun loving little girl inside me! Don't believe me, take a look at my costume for school yesterday.

There are three of us who teach third grade at my school. Jan is the Cat, the other Kim and I are the Things. Did you check out those wigs...boy was I ever so ready to shed that when I got home.





We had such a fun day. Our school is K-4 with just over 400 students. We have a very nice walking track that stretches for just over a mile. Parents and businesses lined up along the track for a "Trunk-or-Treat" event. The cars and treaters were all decorated and in costume too! We walked up and back. The kids received so much candy. This was a wonderful safe environment for them to do what they love about Halloween, dress up and get candy!
And check this out, no you are not seeing Johnny Depp, however it is Jack Sparrow, aka, my Principal!

It looks like the little boy is alive and well within him, too!

I hope you all have a safe and spooky Halloween!

Blessings,

FYI....

A good chilly morning to you all....it is nice and frosty here in my neck of the woods! Just a quick post to say that there is an AWESOME distressing feature over at Practical Scrappers this morning. Two very inspiring tutorials about distressing. Hop over to check it out!

Also, don't forget that I'm having a Design Team call over at Sketches in Thyme! I'm currently looking for some scrapbook and card Mavens! Please help spread the word...

I'm spending this chilly day in the scrapbook room creating some dt projects and watching football, what a fun day for me!!!!

Blessings,

r.i.p.

Welcome to a fun day!!! Over at Frosted Designs we were sharing some Holiday Treats! Our sponsor is Purple Panda. We were given some fab little images to play with. I know I wanted to use the spooky "rip" image. So I created a little goodie for my Honeybee!

Side view of the pretty glass jar. This used to be a candle jar....I love it

I used scraps from the DCWV Midnight Spell papers as the background for the image, added a couple bats, some Halloween ribbon and the cute little tag is finished.

This is the top view of her candy jar. I used a felt embellishment and some Halloween trim to finish off the treat. Oh and my Honeybee found it last night....needless to say, I doubt he'll have any candy left by Sunday!

I hope you'll check out the rest of my fabby Frosted sisters. There are some spooktactular projects for you to browse today! I can't wait to see what you create!

Blessings,

forever friends...

Today is reveal day over at Sketches in Thyme! Remember, we are having a DT call over there right now thru November 13. We are looking for scrapbookers and cardmakers to add to your dazzling team!!!
This week we went with a two page sketch! I must admit, when I first began to scrapbook. I always did 2 pagers! Now, I very rarely do. I feel so guilty when I don't. I love the matching pages, but usually just do the one page for the challenge. Hopefully this will inspire me to get back to what I love!!!!!


This is the last sketch for October and our last Scrapbooksetc sketch for a while. I really love it.
I chose to scrap some more of my little niece, Ashlea and nephew, Jon-Christopher's fall photo shoot photos.


I used some really old Wild Saffron papers and embellies. I bought this entire collection and have been hoarding it....why?


I suppose for this two layout!


These papers are perfect for my photos....

Hop on over to Sketches in Thyme to see what the rest of the Mavens have for your scrappy inspiration today and don't forget we are looking for more Mavens!!!

Who wouldn't want to win a $25 gift card from Michael's??? This is the yummy November prize! All you have to do to win is play, remember each entry is another chance you have at winning!!!

Blessings,

Eeek!!!!

Good Morning,

Today is my day to host the challenge over at The Sisterhood. I chose to use a Sketchabilities sketch by Karan Gerber. You all know how I love sketches!!!! This one just called out to me....

Isn't it just perfect for any and all cards, and layouts too! I went with a Halloween card as I'm just about finished with mine for this year. I'm giving this one to my Principal along with a bag of chocolates....what educator doesn't love chocolate?

These papers were in a kit I won over at Debbie's blog. They are DCWV Midnight Spell stack. I hate that the silver foil around the moon and eek looks white. I just couldn't get it to photograph very well at all. I love the big bling for bat eyes!!!

Lookie what the random winner of this week's challenge will win.....

Hurry on over to The Sisterhood to see what my lovely sistahs did with this sketch. Leave a link to your project by 5 pm (est) on November 2 for your chance to win!!!
Blessings,

Candy and Family Gatherings...

This awesome candy is up for grabs over at my Maven Tanya's blog. It closes on October 31! Hurry on over!!!

I am so in love with this kit! The rich colors are reminiscent of autumn and pumpkin pie, cozy gatherings with family and close friends and a handful of traditions you hold near and dear. While this kit is perfect for Thanksgiving and fall festivities, it is versatile and can be used for any heritage, romance, or childhood pages too! I can't wait to share them with you... just a few days until our monthly blog party!

And, because I'm such a Lucky Girl with all of your support, we've only got FIVE kits left and they just went live today! Get yours before they're gone at www.luckygirlcrafts.com

Want to know what else is in store?!
How about lots of savings - but only while supplies last!

$3 OFF all paper packets (including just the patterned papers and cardstock) from our September, October & November kits

AWESOME SAVINGS on past kits - June, July, August & September kits available at a discount

Hope you can't wait for our big November Blog Party beginning right here on Monday, November 1!!!!!

Big News...

My sweet friend, Pat, has begun her very own happy scrappy place to play! It is called Scrapping the Moments.

Pat is currently having a design team call. Here is her info:


Open Design Team call

I am looking for DT members to fill the following openings: sketches, scrap lift, cards, stamping, hybrid,
& recipe challenges. This call is opened from today Oct.23, 2010 until Nov. 6, 2010. The design team will be announced Nov. 7, 2010 & the 1st challenges will be posted on Nov. 15th. You will be responsible for one layout/project a month. And even though there is no compensation for being on the DT you will still be responsible to being an active member on the forum & in the gallery. You will be required to post to the boards at least 2x a day & to post comments in the gallery.
If you feel you are really able to commit to this for 3 months, please send me an e-mail with 3 of your layouts/projects to: scrappinvt2003@yahoo.com

Hop on over to The Moments to join in all the fun!!!

My Honeybee, cooking????

Time for another challenge at Better Living through Scrapbooking.

October Challenge #4 is a Recipe Challenge:
Criteria:
October Challenge #4
“Favorite Recipe Challenge”
Create a page showcasing your favorite recipe that you received from your mother, grandmother, or other relative or family friend.
Chose at least 2 of the following:
1. Include a photo of yourself preparing the dish, or a photo of the completed dish.
2. Include a photo of the person who gave you the recipe.
3. Make a copy of the original recipe, or hand write the recipe on a card and include it on your layout.
4. Use cardstock as your background, but ink, stain, paint, or color-spray it to make it unique.
5. Use a shape punch or border punch somewhere on your page




Sponsored Supplies Used:
Cardstock: Discount Cardstock "Kraft 80# 12x12"
Stamps: For the Luv of Art, "Heart stamp set"
Stamps: Plaid All Night Media "Spatter stamp"
Papers and embellishments: Gauche Alchemy "Acme Mixed Media Paper Crafting Kit"
Paint: Plaid "Apple Barrel: "Barn Red"
Adhesive: Plaid "Mod Podge: Paper"
Adhesive: Plaid "Mod Podge: Dimensional Magic"
Adhesive: Plaid "Pop dots"

Additional supplies used:
Papers: Graphic 45 "Hallowe'en in Wonderland"
Inks: CTMH "Cocoa"
flower: Recollections
Alphabet: Making Memories "Noteworthy"
Punch: Creative Memories

Criteria I used:
2. Include a photo of the person who gave me the recipe
3. Make a copy or handwrite the recipe on a card and include on the layout.
4. Use cardstock as your background, but ink, stain, paint or color-spray it to make it unique.
5. Use a shape punch or border punch somewhere on your page.

Techniques used:
Once again I let pant be my distressing inks. I used a barely dampened sponge to put barn red all about the edges of my Kraft cardstock. I used an old sewing pattern to give character to the cardstock then stamped and distressed with paint.

I really enjoyed scrapping this page. My husband loves to cook! His favorite comfort recipe is Unkie B's Vegetable Soup! Now I have this in his handwriting to pass down for generations to come.

Please be sure to visit Better Scrap for more inspiration from the Better Scrap ladies!
Blessings,

Have you heard?

I'm having a Design Team call over at Sketches in Thyme!!!!!

We are having a Design Team call here at Sketches in Thyme!!!!
I am looking to add a few new ladies to the team of Mavens. Do you love to scrap with sketches? Do you love sharing your projects and inspiring others? Can you commit to 2 projects a month? Do you enjoy sharing tips and tutorials? We will be offering a weekly section of tips, tutorials, and techniques on the weekends. If the answer is "YES", then please send 3-5 samples of your layouts, projects, and cards to neeneesparks@gmail.com.

We are having this call to add 2-4 new sketch layout Mavens and I'm also looking for 3-5 card Mavens. I'll be adding a weekly card challenge too!
So spread the word, this call is open until November 13 with the new team to be announced by November 15. Term will begin in December and end in March with the option to reapply.
Blessings,

"Younique"

Good Morning,
I'm a day late getting this posted. This is the sketch for Sketches in Thyme Challenge #20. Once again we are using a sketch by Scrapbooksetc.com, sketch #5. I used this one twice already and can see myself using over and over!

I had won a FABULOUS blog candy at my friend, Brenda's, blog. I received it this past weekend and just knew this yummy Cosmo Cricket paper was just perfect for these new photos I had taken of my little kids.

The Honeybee and I had taken the kids on a fall drive across the Little Shepherd's Trail, a 14 mile scenic trail across one of the highest mountains in our region. The leaves weren't exactly at peak color, but we had such a wonderful day driving, laughing, taking photos and enjoying the scenic overlooks.

Stop by here to see what the rest of the Marvelous Mavens have created with this sketch! Have a fabby Friday!

Blessings,

Happy Halloween...

Good Morning,
Today is a new challenge reveal at The Sisterhood. Lovely Lisa is hosting today. She is challenging you to create a "Boo"rific project. I had this little card left from last year. I so wanted to recycle the vintage image. I instantly thought of you, Dar when I pulled this out! You always do vintage in the most incredible way!!

It already had the little bit of sparkle about the pumpkins and the blue background. All I really added was the little bits of amber bling and some pom trim. I cut my black cardstock slightly larger and distressed the edges with with a pair of scissors.
Now head on over to The Sisterhood for a cup or "Boo"rific inspiration.
Blessings,

Storage in my room...

As scrapbookers and paper crafters, we love to collect and in some cases, gasp, "hoard" our supplies! How do you manage to keep it all together and organized? Today I'll be sharing some ways that I personally organize things in my scrapbook room. I spent about a week this past summer getting things really organized so I could easily locate what I needed, while keeping things pretty and on a budget.

The photo above shows how I organize many of my rub-ons, stamps, alphabets, punches, etc. My Honeybee built the bottom white shelf for me several years ago. The three white shelves on the top came from Target and were about $15 each. Notice I use many different little bins to store items in.

I bought several of these bins for $1 to hold stamps, punches, rub-ons, alphabets, chipboard, 8x8 paper pads, etc. Notice in the photo of the white shelves that I finished each off with a bow and labeled with tags.

I picked up two of these lime green bins at Wal-Mart for like 4 bucks. I desperately needed to find a way to keep scraps of solid and patterned papers together. I have one for each....
Laurel Seabrook gave me the idea to use gallon sized bags to sort my solid and patterned papers. Here is a peek at what is inside the green bin....

I have several of these little shoebox drawers that I picked up at the dollar store for around 6 bucks. I have them labeled with the contents.


This one holds all of my girly girl stuff.

This is where I store all of my acrylic Close to My Heart stamps. I picked this three drawer storage shelf up at the dollar store for $14. It is perfect for holding my acrylics.

I cut up one of my CTMH shipping boxes to create dividers in the drawers and have my stamps organized by kids, flowers, alphas, holidays, sentiments, and cards. Works perfectly!!!

And finally, I absolutely love my Cropper Hopper vertical paper storage. I have six on the lower shelf next to my scrap desk. I have these papers separated by manufacturer. The green box is another $4 find from my local dollar store. It kind of holds a hodge podge of odds and ends papers.

Well, there you have it, a quick peek into some of my storage solutions in my scrap room.

If you have some fun ways to organize and store your things, please share a link in the comments below. I'd love to feature you over at Practical Scrappers!

Reuse, Reduce, Recycle.....

Good Morning,
Time for a reveal at Better Living through Scrapbooking...


Criteria for Reuse, Reduce, and Recycle Challenge:

1. Use corrugated cardboard or other recycled packaging on your page.
2. Find fun or unusual item around your house and use them as elements on your page. Playing cards, clothing tags, junk mail, broken jewelry, old greeting cards or postcards, buttons and/or material from old clothing, advertising magnets, pins and keychains, and blooms and/or leaves from discarded plastic floral arrangements are just to name a few ideas.
3. Journal about why recycling is important to you.
4. Use traditional adhesives (Scotch tape, masking tape, duct tape, Elmer's Glue, staples) on your page in lieu of scrapbook adhesives.
5. Use glitter somewhere on your page.

Sponsored Supplies Used:
Cardstock: Discount Cardstock "Eggplant Felt 80# 12x12"
Stamps: For the Luv of Art, "Heart stamp set"
Stamps: Plaid All Night Media "Spatter stamp"
Papers and embellishments: Gauche Alchemy "Acme Mixed Media Paper Crafting Kit"
Paint: Plaid "Apple Barrel: "Pumpkin Orange"
Adhesive: Plaid "Mod Podge: Sparkle"
Adhesive: Plaid "Mod Podge: Matte"
Adhesive: Plaid "Pop dots"

Additional supplies used:
Inks: CTMH "Smoky Plum"
Embellishments: Miscellaneous button and staples
Adhesives: Scotch tape

Creteria used:
1. Use corrugated cardboard or other recycled packaging on your page.
2. Find fun or unusual item around your house and use them as elements on your page. Playing cards, clothing tags, junk mail, broken jewelry, old greeting cards or postcards, buttons and/or material from old clothing, advertising magnets, pins and keychains, and blooms and/or leaves from discarded plastic floral arrangements are just to name a few ideas.
3. Journal about why recycling is important to you.
4. Use traditional adhesives (Scotch tape, masking tape, duct tape, Elmer's Glue, staples) on your page in lieu of scrapbook adhesives.
5. Use glitter somewhere on your page.

Techniques used:
I used my Pumpkin Orange paint to distress the edges of the Eggplant cardstock, I am totally loving this effect! I also used Mod Podge to adhere one of the playing cards and the Sparkle Mod Podge to add a shimmer of glitter to the cocktail umbrella. For a more feminine touch, I gathered the Gauche Alchemy Acme fuchsia lace with staples and then attached it to the corrugated cardboard using staples.

This was another challenge that took me completely outside my box and I love that I created this important page for my "All About Me" book. Recycling is important to me as I love to scrapbook with those little treasures, as well as, reducing the amount of waste I am adding to my Mother Earth!

Please visit my Better Scrap family for more inspiration and fun ways to include some recycled items on your next project!

Blessings,

true talent....

Good Morning,

Just a quick post today. I used the current Creative Scrappers sketch #125 to create this layout for Aaron's band book.

It will be a companion page to the one I posted on Thursday. I used cardstocks from CTMH, the music sheet and the notes are from Hobby Lobby, the bling is Prima, I made the spiral flower from ctmh cardstock. I also added some Sparkle Mod Podge to the blue embossed circles. The alphas are some from my huge stash and I used a silver Sharpie to write the word true.
I hope you have a great Saturday!!!!!
Blessings,

So Thankful....

Good Morning,
Today is my day to host the challenge at Frosted Designs! I'm choosing my favorite time of the year at my theme, fall! I love this beautiful season and all the glorious color it brings! Now, fall also includes that spooktactular time of year that kids love, Halloween. You can show us your fall/Halloween projects.
I chose to scrap this photo of the love of my life, my sweet Honeybee!

This is an 8X8 for his little book. We spent the perfect day together and I so wanted to document this day and my love of fall and my best friend, Ben!

Stop over at Frosted Designs today to see what the rest of the Frosted Designers have to inspire you in this challenge!
Blessings,

Sketches in Thyme Challenge 19

Good Morning,
Welcome to our Challenge 19 reveal at Sketches in Thyme! This week we are using this sketch by Scrapbooksetc., sketch 18. I love it! I can see so many ways to use it....

Here is what I came up with. This is my little cousin, Aaron. This is his senior year in high school. I'm going to be putting together a year of band for one of his graduation gifts. I really like how this one came out.

I really struggle with putting together band pages. He and my niece, Samantha are in the same band. It seems like their pages always look exactly alike. I made the blue spiral flower and now looking back on it, I think it should have been a little bigger.
Anyways, hop on over to Sketches in Thyme to see what the rest of the Mavens have for you browsing inspiration!
Blessings,

LOVE....

Good Morning,
Today is a new reveal day at The Sisterhood! My fabby sister Darlene is hosting today. She wants to see us "Let it shine"......you can use bling, glimmer mist, shimmer paint, glitter, anything to "shine".....

I came up with this black and white card. I have a friend who is getting married on October 30. This will be just perfect for her. The flower and bling are from Recollections. I used some black and white ribbon from my stash, CTMH cardstock and rubon. Very simple, yet so elegant.
Hop on over to The Sisterhood to see what inspiration the rest of my sisters have for you!
Blessings,

Halloween Mini .....

Good Morning,
I haven't had anything crafty to share since Sunday. I thought I'd share some of this book that is almost finished. This is last year's Halloween Party mini. I always take my little kids to the Pumpkin Patch and we have a big party at my house that night. I think I only need 3 pages to get this one complete.

The album is Making Memories and those velvet bats were already on the kraft cover. I cut the title from swiss dots Bazzil and used a stamp for the Happy Halloween

This inside cover is all stamps.....

This was the invitation I created for the kiddos! We had such a "spooky" night!

Don't forget to visit Practical Scrappers today to read the new article on distressed cards.....
Blessings,

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,

Boo!!!

Wooo Hoooo, my computer is working again! Hopefully it is fixed for good now!!! It feels so good to have it up and running! I had really forgotten what it was like before the laptop!
Anyways, here is my take on this week's Frosted Design challenge. Barb is hosting and she has challenged us to use some hand doodling and our own handwriting on our project.

This is one will be for Jon-Christopher or Hunter. I just used my white Jelly Roll pen to add some doodles to the "air" around the bat and a spooky Boo!!

Everything on this card is left over from last year's stash.

I hope you will hop on over to Frosted Designs to check out what the rest of my fabby frosted sisters came up with.

Enjoy this beautiful day!!!

Blessings,

Finally a post....

I'm still having to do this at school, so I'm going to be quick....Today is reveal day at Sketches in Thyme......Our very own Maven Diana created this beautiful sketch!!!! Isn't it terrific?

I really loved this photo of my little man posing with his school mascot, the Eagle.

I used all We R Memory Keeps MVP kit for this one. Please hop on over to Sketches in Thyme to see what the rest of the Mavens did with this one!
Blessings,