In Character

I love the new cardstock that Jenni Bowlin has created with Coredinations. It is embossed and is made of two contrasting colors -- this one is red behind black. When you sand it -- the red is revealed in the pattern of some of her papers. It is delightful!

I used my cricut to cut out the large label shape -- and then used some temporary tape to tack it onto the page. Then I took some sandpaper and wrapped it around a stamping block so that I would have a fairly large flat surface with which to sand. The die cut kept me from sanding the cardstock where it was sitting so it left a great place to put my photo. I thought the background had a bit of a stamped leather look -- so decided to use it for the picture of Royce when he was headed out to PowWow (Royal Rangers -- camp) -- the men always go as guys from the 1800's -- and the character he has developed over the years is Trader Gray. The boys love to come up with something to "trade" with him for -- so he has amassed quite a collection of pointed sticks and arrowhead shaped rocks!

I loved this whole collection from Jenni Bowlin this month...her papers and embellishments always inspire me -- and this one really did too. I will be busy with November's kit for a while!

Wanted to show you a close up of this flower...I saw a tutorial here and had to make one....the 4 inch mini papers were perfect for this technique. Go check it out and make some for yourself.

You Have My Heart

I have had this picture of my niece and nephew for awhile -- but haven't been totally sure how I wanted to scrap it....so it has been sitting on my table for me to look at until I knew.

When I finished this background (as part of my techniques class) -- I just knew that this picture would finally find its home! The background was created with Adirondack Color Wash and Sea Salt....I KNOW -- I never would have dreamed that one up -- but Julie (our teacher is FANTABULOUSLY creative! You can still take this class from her -- and I would highly recommend it. You can learn more about her art -- and her class HERE.

I wanted you to see a bit closer detail of the "rose" I created for this page. Are you ready for another shocker?!?! That is made from a baby wipe! I bet you are thinking "Is there NOTHING she won't keep and try to use?!?!?" *laughing* The answer is "probably not!" The baby wipe got saturated with color wash during my "technique session" because I got it ALL over my hands. Once the wipe dried (I was scared to set it anywhere other than my craft mat for fear of spreading the "color joy), I thought it was really pretty...so I cut it into strips -- thinking I might use it as ribbon. The flower was made by twisting and turning the strip and sticking it down to a piece of paper that had LOTS of sticky adhesive on it -- starting at the center and working out -- tucking the edge under as I went. When I was done -- I trimmed the paper away and glued a button in the center. I would definitely make a flower like this again -- it is really simple and could be made from ribbon or seam binding.

Hope you are having a great week...

Practically Perfect

I am taking the MOST fun class with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer!

She is Amazing! You know the kind of artist that just makes you sit and stare at their work...well she is one of those. You need to check out her blog.

Anyway -- as I said, I am taking an on-line techniques class with her -- and I am finding I am ending up with lots of yummy bits and pieces. So what do you do with bits and pieces? Well -- they kind inspire me to quilt. Even when they are paper pieces. So this is a layout I created with several of the scraps of paper I have created during my class homework assignments. I love this picture of my sister...it captures the JOYFUL side of her -- and that is just ONE of the many reasons that I think she is PRACTICALLY PERFECT in every way....kind of like Mary Poppins!

Have a lovely rest of your week!

Just a Minor Baby Step Blog

This year started out so strong -- so many creative ideas....that needed exploring....and then -- well....then LIFE -- the big ole capital letters version of LIFE stepped in. So much of it it...all at once...and then it felt lie it did a big ole DOG PILE on top of me.

Those of you that know me well -- know that being creative is an outlet for the stresses and the strains of life....and the fact that there hasn't been much creativity to show for the past few months should tell you that I have not been in a place to be doing much creativity. But I do truly Believe that is going to begin to change! I have been back in my studio -- bit by bit...and it feels GREAT.

I am taking a wonderful on line class from Julie Fen Fan Balzer. She is amazing Check her out here...and has gotten my inspirational brain in gear....so hopefully you will be seeing some more creative activity from me soon.

One other thing of note...my very favorite camera producer...THE POLOROID...has a new printer/camera combination....but you can also just get the printer....which is what I am thinkint about doing. It will blue tooth pictures from your cell phone and print them out 2 x 3 -- with sticky backing. Great for scrapbooking! It also doesn't require ink...everything is in the paper you use. You have have to check these out! Of course you TOTALY maniacs will want the kind that is the camera AND printer all in one!

Chosen

There are so many reasons that I love scrapbooking...the fact that I know I am creating a collection of pictures and stories that are important to our family...and the those family members that are not here yet -- and some I may not ever have the privilege of meeting. They will know more about us than I have been able to find out about my ancestors....I think of it as my gift to them. And while that is the BIG motivator for me most of the time...another thing that I love about scrapbooking is the fact that sometimes it gives me the opportunity to create a meaningful gift for someone else. This shadowbox is an example of that...I created it for a baby dedication we were doing this past weekend at our church.

"Champ" is the little boy -- and what a cutie, huh?!?! He was adopted when he was just almost a year old....so we didn't really have "baby" pictures to work with....but I think the ones we chose to work with were just precious. I used three pictures and cut various parts of each one out and then used some foam square adhesive to pop each one up a bit higher...for a dimensional effect.

I also took some letters and used them to mask the child's name and painted on the backside of the glass....and then added some rub-ons to the front of the glass. The mom liked it -- and it got me thinking about what a super baby shower gift something like this could be....I found this frame at Hobby Lobby.

Hope you all are having a great week. I am spending the week finishing up paperwork from this semester -- and getting my grades filed with the University. Also, I have my niece's daughter here with me while her momma and daddy go to Gatlinburg for a few days. We are having an absolute BLAST. Ella is 18 months old....and just as sweet as sweet can be. I had a meeting away from the house today -- and had a friend come and stay with her for a few hours. When I returned home, Ella just sprang off of the couch and threw herself into my arms....gotta tell you it melted my heart instantly....such sweet joy....just happy to see me. WOW -- makes me want to give that same feeling to the people I care about....I may look a little silly -- but if it makes them feel as wonderful as Ella made me feel it will be totally worth it. Just a little mid-week pondering of "deep things" going on here. What are you pondering? What brings joy in your life?

On-line Gift Certificates

Ok...so today is a bit non-craft/scrapbooking related -- but it could help you get some new crafty stuff....so read on!

I know we are all looking for ways to save money in these economic times -- and I found one way I wanted to share with you. It is called SWAGBUCKS!

Here is how it works...you use their search engine (powered by Google) for the internet searches you would be doing anyway...and each day you are awarded or win a certain number of SWAGBUCKS. (You must be signed into your Swagbucks account) but it is really simple -- and each day you have to potential of winning 1-5 Swagbucks...I haven't ever won more than 3 -- but I see others get 4 or 5 -- so know that it is possible. Honestly -- once you win for the day -- you can continue to use it or go back to your normal search engine because you only win once a day. Your account accumulates your Swagbucks...and then you can redeem them for gift certificates or other items. Pretty cool -- and TOTALLY FREE!

To get started....go register for your own Swagbuck Account HERE.

Have a great day...

Tear It Up

I had so much fun in Houston last weekend visiting one of my best friends, Mona. She has a lovely home -- and three beautiful grown daughters that love to come over and spend time with their mama. I love spending time with them too -- and they brought their absolutely precious kiddos with them. It was beautiful weather (which if you know Houston -- is a rarity due to humidity) and we spent time sitting on the porch talking and laughing...and almost as much time around the kitchen island cooking and talking and laughing. It was just the best few days...so good for my soul. One afternoon I had the opportunity to take a few pictures of the newest member of their family...NASH. With beautiful natural light on the front porch, we just threw some blankets down and started snapping pics. He is so beautiful.

I just had to scrap a few of them -- and will post a few more later this week (gotta get those dreaded taxes done before I can play!). The page above was created by using some scrap KI Lace paper as a mask (the flowers) and spray painting the green cardstock. I then tore it into strips and then sewed them back together and pressed the seams to the front and side. I like how it kind of ended up having a soft worn feel to it. I added few swirly stamps (Autumn Leaves) and some glitter (Art Institute) berries.

Isn't he just beautiful?!?!? Babies just smell so sweet (well -- most of the time!) And he is a "snuggler" so I took full advantage and held him as often as possible. Great memories...I am so blessed to have such a sweet friend -- and love that her daughters have become my friends too.

Hope you had a wonderful Easter.

Pictures aren't ALWAYS necessary

I know that is almost scrapbooking heresay, right?!?!? Seriously, if you have a story to tell, but no picture to go with it -- you STILL need to tell the story. I decided to let a bit of my "artistic" self emerge to create the setting for this particular story. So I had fun with paint and stamps...making sure to leave room for the STORY. Do you have a story to tell? I can't wait to read it! Go for it.

Letting your cardstock take Center Stage

You know me...I love the layered page...I love techniques...I love distressing....but every once in a while -- I want to get back to the basics. These two pages were really about letting the cardstock be the basis of the page....and I like how they turned out. They are from two extremes of Weston's life -- but in both -- he clearly knows how to work the camera...


In this first one, I tried to make the Mickey Ears reflect the "REFLECTION" of weston in the pictures.... I think that the red pops off the page a bit more because I outlined the letters....just an idea. If you are using a Cricut, you can use the Cricut Color Markers before you cut out your shapes and they will come out evenly outlined...a time saver and a nice touch.




On this layout, I used one of the Cricut Shapes from the Graphically Speaking cartridge. It is an element that I think was intended as a "foundation" shape for a mini-book...but I resized it to FILL THE PAGE....and I love the rounded edges and all the little holes down the side....very graphical -- and would be fun to also add other colors of paper behind it. The largest I could get it to cut was about 11x11 -- so I could have put it on another piece of patterned paper or cardstock to make it a 12x12 -- but I liked the "see through" element so just kept it as is.

Hope you are having a good week. I would love to see your projects where you let your cardstock take center stage....link them here for us to see.

Fun with Embossing

I have used two different kinds of embossing on this layout. The birds and the script underneath the tag are both stamps that I then used embossing powder on and then heat set.

The tag is something new that I just discovered you can do with your Cuttlebug. If you will ink your Cuttlebug Embossing folder(any kind of ink other than permanent ink like Stazon) prior to running your paper or tag through the Cuttlebug you will get a very interesting embossed background. I tried inking both sides of the embossing folder and found I like the results best on the side that actually has the Cuttlebug logo printed on it. When you are done, just use a baby wipe to clean off any remaining ink. My mind is spinning with fun new ideas...and will be sure and post them here. Hope you have had a good Saturday...is it Spring where you are?