1st Recital Layout - Scrap Within Reach The Cottage Line

*This will be featured in the July issue of Scrapbook News and Review*

These are the only pictures Emma "allowed" me to take at her first dance recital a couple years ago. These do show her personality though...she can sometimes be a pouty pants! The butterfly circle at the top was a happy accident. I had already punched a butterfly from one of the circles on the paper for another project and realized I could add another circle cut from the paper behind it to give it a new look (kind of like it's a tag). The brown from the circle underneath even shows on the edges of the wings for a neat effect.

Papers/Die Cut ABC's: Scrap Within Reach The Cottage
Cardstock: Core'dinations
Pearls: Mark Richards
Scallop Punch: Martha Stewart
Butterfly Punch: Paper Studio
Tiny ABC Stickers: Making Memories
Size: 12x12

I

Pebbles Inc Lil' Buddy Sneak Peak

Isn't this cute?? This collection by Pebbles Inc. includes 6 double sided printed papers and 3 stickers that are designed for Baby & Toddler Boy. I'm loving the little giraffe that is peeking out!

Is it Water Slide Time?

(Click on for a larger picture)

Not quite here in Iowa, but it did get into the 70's today although overcast. But I guess it's supposed to rain buckets this weekend, yipee (insert sarcasm!) I created this layout for the weekly challenge over at the American Crafts blog - you had to use 6 pictures and of course American Crafts products! I am hooked on their stuff, so I had no shortage of supplies of which to chose from. I used their Moda Bella papers, Mini Marks Rubons Jack Jr Sidekicks (for all the little white summer icons), Vinyl Thickers (Sprinkles) and various Detail stickers. I had hoped to try to get a decent picture of this outside, but instead I scanned (and cussed!) It wasn't so much the scanning or stitching, but since it's been so long since I used Adobe, I couldn't remember how to merge the two pages together. After a few choice cuss words and some time, I am somewhat successful. I hate that scans always cut off some of the edges, so just imagine there is more of an orange border around the page and also between the two pages. But hope you at least get the idea!!

Scrap Within Reach The Cottage - Miss U Card

This was my first attempt at a shapes card and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I used a butterfly page from a Making Memories journaling book to trace the shape and snipped off a little at the bottom so it would sit upright. The papers and die cut U are from Scrap Within Reach "The Cottage" line. Other supplies include jewels from Kaisercraft, Doodlebug glitter, mini ABC stickers from Adorn It, a little Clearsnap Chesnut Roan ink, a felt circle and my Sakura glue pen. I traced the circles with my glue pen and added the glitter, super easy!

Just My Sketches April 15th Reveal - Jillibean Soup

Here is my card for Just My Sketches April 15th sketch. I was really happy with the way this card turned out. It actually came together fairly quickly. Sometimes I can move elements around for an hour until I'm happy. I was trying to figure out what item to put in the rectangle and looked over and saw the raw chipboard Bazzill keys I had bought recently. I then came up with the sentiment, dug in the keys some more and even found one that had a heart on it...perfect! The heart gems are by Martha Stewart and the papers are from Jillibean Soup and the Minestrone line. I have been wanting some of their papers since they came out and hadn't ordered any online yet. No one local has it yet...boo hoo... Lo and behold, I won some goodies and from Creating Keepsake's blog and among other things it included some Jillibean! I distressed all of the edges with my Heidi Swapp sander (love that thing) and inked up the key with my all time fave ink Clearsnap Chestnut Roan.

Scrap Within Reach Full Bloom Mini Album - Puddin Face

My daughter was around 3 when these taken. She has always been messy - if she's eating, playing, crafting, anything! Often when she would eat pudding and other messy foods we would actually make her sit in her diaper. I'm pretty sure it's in her hair in these pictures!

I sassed up my album a bit with glitter. I ended up going a little crazy and so my pictures also have a bit of glitter since there is just so much on the album. I used a glue pen to outline the flowers, letters and draw designs on some of the papers and then I applied the glitter to it. I love glitter, but then I wear it for days after!

Papers/Die Cut ABC's: Scrap Within Reach Full Bloom
Chipboard Album (6x6 inches): Creative Imaginations (4 pages front/back - 8 total)
Flowers: Prima, Petaloo, Imaginesce
Glue Pen: Sakura
Glitter: Doodlebug
Ribbons: Portafolia, May Arts, Others
Jewels: Doodlebug, Petaloo
Brads: Queen and Co.

P.S. This got a BOB (Best of Blogosphere) mention over at Card of the Week!

A Little October Afternoon

I have been wanting some October Afternoon paper for awhile. Unfortunately no one local has had it, but I found some from a vendor at a recent crop...yipee! it :-) They have since come out with some more cute lines, but this paper is still new to me and I still love it!

The papers and ABC stickers are from their Night Light line. The cute fuzzy deer sticker is from the Colorbok Forest Friendzy line and coordinated perfectly. I apologize if the sentiment is a little cheezy, but I don't deny that I can be a little dorky sometimes!

I went to a crop yesterday with the sisters and actually got quite a bit accomplished. I will have more to share later in the week. I even won some prizes! And we all know a girl can never have too many supplies.....

CARDS Pub Shares

I thought I'd post some recent pubs I've had in CARDS magazine since I don't have anything new to share with you today. This was in the February issue.These were in the January issue. I have a thing for butterflies can you tell?

(this is a gift card holder that can be opened up)

These were in the December 08 issue.

The kids are over at the neighbors playing so I'm off to take advantage of some alone time and hit the scrap room!

A Couple of Cards

I have been working long hours at work this week (I'm glad that doesn't happen very often!) and so I'm making this quick as I'm up way past my bedtime. I can't wait to get into my scrap room this weekend. This card features papers from the Full Bloom line from Scrap Within Reach. Also happy to say that my mini album I made lsat month with the Full Bloom line is "Craft of the Week" over at She's Crafty! Also the frills and felt flowers are from a jumbo scrap kit I got from my work gang for my 10 yr work anniversary earlier this year. They know me well :-)

This card features a variety of Bo Bunny papers and brads. Also loving these pink Prima flowers I won awhile ago. I made this for one of their sketch challenges. I apparently misread when the sketch was due so I missed the deadline, but hey I still made a card I'm happy with and so that's what counts.

Another Miss Emma Creation - Altered Photo Box

Not too bad for a 6 year old I say! When she draws or does craft things, she has a vision - I"m jealous! She had a bunch of my other products in her sights for the box too, but I was a mean mom and wouldn't let her use my new stuff :-) But don't worry, she has a pretty sweet scrap set up courtesy of Mom. She was so funny because as soon as she got it done, she wanted me to take a picture and post it on the internet. She is meant to be in print someday!

She knew how to use everything - the brads, glue dots, adhered the ribbon etc. The only thing I helped with was poking the holes for the brads, since I wouldn't let her use the piercer. (The red flower didn't photo the best, but it looks cool IRL).

Go Emma!

A Couple of Screw Balls

These were goofy out takes from our Christmas Card pictures in 2007. I actually caught both kids in good moods and ended up snapping about 100 pictures! This layout is almost entirely made from the Scrap Within Reach Industrial Park line. I layered the die cut "The Cog" paper over the "Historic District" paper. I used some of the other papers as photo mats and added a strip of "Market Street" to the bottom. I also added a bunch of rubons on top of the papers and then added some screw brads from The Paper Studio to the rubons and other areas of the papers. I pop dotted under the title for added dimension. Hope you like!

ETA: This was picked as a BOB (Best of Blogosphere) over at Card of the Week - cool!

Spare Change?

Well I survived my Vegas trip! Didn't really do too much par-tay-ing, but it was insane there. A zillion people being blown everywhere by the wind. We had a good time - saw a Cirq show, gambled a bit (I probably broke even or slightly ahead - it would help if when I win a bit I would cash out!), toured Hoover dam and did a lot of walking! It was way busier than when I went last February, but Spring Break was going on along with March Madness, so people were everywhere. Hoping to get back into some creating now. My new room still look like it exploded but there are some different deadlines coming up I want to tackle, so for right now I'm working in the middle of the mess...making the mess even worse!

This card is in the May/June issue of Paper Crafts that just came out. I used some 3 Bugs In A Rug and Making Memories papers, Magistical Memories chipboard tree, Making Memories ABC stickers, Darice bling and some ribbon from an Are You Kitting Me kit. I glittered the tree up with Sulyn (green) and Doodlebug brown glitter. I have a love/hate relationship with glitter...love the look...hate the fact that you wear it on your face for a week after!

Scrap Within Reach Afternoon Tea - WELCOME sign

*Project will be featured in the April 2010 issue of Crafts N Things.*

Here is a wooden sign I altered this week using one of Scrap Within Reach's new collections - Afternoon Tea. In addition to papers, this line also coming with an alphabet, rubons and some cool ribbons. This wooden sign I found at Hobby Lobby (I stock up when they clearance them) and painted part of the base with purple paint.

This is short and sweet as lots to do before Saturday's trip. I wish I had Friday off!

Just My Sketches March 15th Reveal

I made this card for my March 15th Sketch Reveal at Just My Sketches. There are a variety of layout and page sketches that are posted through out the month, so stop by their site often! With spring finally on it's way in Iowa, I went with a bunny :-) I had just picked up some of the Heart Attack line the other day by We R Memory Keepers and thought it was uber cute.

We just got back from a family mini vacation to the Omaha Zoo and you couldn't have asked for nicer weather. The kids are now spending a couple days with Gma and Gpa while they have Spring Break from school this week. My sisters, Mom and I leave for a Girls Vegas weekend on Saturday. I usually don't go anywhere and two trips in two weeks! So I'm working away on some things to share with you while I'm gone.

Cosmo Cricket Snorkel and Girl Friday Cards

These two were made with Girl Friday papers and pink ribbon. I'm a sucker for anything bright colored, flowers or bird related. Felt bird is Chatterbox, rubons are American Crafts, ABC stickers are Making Memories, green felt ribbon is Joann's and bling is MAMBI and Paper Studio.

****CARD REMOVED FOR PUBLICATION IN CARDS AUGUST 2009 ISSUE****

These are some cards hoping to bring out the sunshine here in Iowa! I totally loved this Snorkel line. I even went back and bought more because I have some summer pictures these go perfect with too. Papers, rubons, ribbons are all Snorkel, cardstock is Prism, gems are MAMBI and Paper Studio

Got all of this yummy new Cosmo Cricket and while I was shopping at That Scrappy Girl while at a crop last weekend. It was a 14 hour one and I made these towards the end...so they turned out pretty quick and simple! It's late so I'm signing off!

Scrap Within Reach Full Bloom Mini Album

(Click on each picture for a better view)

I made this mini album with the Full Bloom line. I'm a flower nut, so of course I'm loving this paper! I also used a Clear Scraps chipboard album. The album actually should be horizontal, but I decided to punch the hole at the top and open it that way. Glad I have my Crop-a-dile! I had these pictures of Emma from last spring and since she was in purple...the papers were perfect! She has since cut her hair short (sniff sniff), but I remember this day she was a posing fool, so I took advantage of her good mood and snapped a bunch of pictures. I was excited this line and others were at my LSS Memory Bound last weekend!

In other Scrap Within Reach news:

There is an adorable kit to purchase over at Scrap Within Reach using the Industrial Park line. Also if you place an order for $20 or more between March 8 -March 15th you get free shipping. I'm a girl who loves my free shipping!

They also now have a monthly kit club for purchase and right now if you and a friend join you can get into the drawing for a free May kit.

And last but not least they have a monthly newsletter so be sure to sign up on their site.

I hope that everyone has a great weekend! It has finally warmed up here - but of course that means everything is mud. Tomorrow my Mom and Dad are coming down to help paint my scrap room and do some other cleaning/organizing on the rest of the house. I will be glad when the house remodel is over. When half your house is ripped apart, it's hard to want to keep the other half nice all the time.

ETA: This was selected as a BOB (Best of the Blogosphere) over at Card of the Week - cool! Also selected as Craft of the Week at She's Crafty. Also cool!

Now That's A Sweet Ride!

Here is Parker's Pinewood Derby car (or should I say truck)? He wanted to do a truck, he painted it red and wanted me to help paint flames on the side. Being his mom and him thinking I can do anything say sure. (I can't detail paint at all....) As I was looking for the glue gun in my various temporary scrap tubs, I came across these baseball rubons from Scrappin' Sports and More. I showed them to him and he switched gears to wanting to do a baseball truck (whew!) I can't believe how well they stayed on even after competiting. He was car 33 so we put that in the baseball on the roof and grand slam on the side using some Making Memories rubons. I forgot about the wheels so I should have centered the baseball bats better, but I'll know that for next year if we get scrappy on his next car too.

Last year Parker won the entire Derby. This year he did place 2nd in his den (and got a medal) and made it to the Championship where he was quickly defeated :-) He takes everything to heart and I know he was a little upset about not winning, but it's also a good learning experience for him too.

CPS Sketch #103

I used The Cottage line from Scrap Within Reach to make the card for this week's sketch over at CPS. I'm loving the colors of this line! All products (papers and rubons) are from SRW and I topped it off with a Mark Richards pearl. I am working on some other SRW projects so be sure to stop back soon. This is a short post as I need to get to bed - busy day tomorrow including my son's Pinewood Derby. Last year as a 1st grader he won the entire thing. We've been warning him it probably won't happen again :-)

A Trio of Cards

Here is a card I made with the Honey Pie line from Cosmo Cricket. This card was featured recently in the sketch section of the Paper Crafts March/April 2009 issue. I just love using kraft cardstock. You'll notice it a lot on my blog :-)

These next two cards are a couple of rejects for a recent call. They didn't get the love, but that's ok. That's the way she goes...lol. I use some We R Memory Keepers Hoopla papers, Basic Grey stickers, Bazzill brads and Autumn Leaves and Heidi Swapp flowers.

I used some My Mind's Eye paper (love the texture and glitter on this line Out & About), a Heidi Swapp flower, Creative Imaginations flower brad. I used my label maker for the sentiment.

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I do have some fun news to share. I was selected to the Just My Sketches card team. I love sketches so this will be fun!

Also be sure to check out Christine's blog. Not only does she have a fun giveaway but she has also opened up a scrapbook retreat called Scrap Retreat House at French Valley. I wish I lived closer as my scrap gang and I are always on the lookout for a fun place to scrap!

Sunglasses Required?

Warning: These cards came out a little bright!

This was made for a sketch challenge over at Paper Trey Ink. I have some of their products on my wish list! The textured cardstock is Dotted Swiss from Bazzill (I just got it last weekend and am loving it!), some Tinkering Ink paper, Hambly transparency, Kaiser gems, and a Colorbok sticker.

This card was made for a challenge over at the uber talented Melissa Phillip's blog. It was based on a bright colored, fun and funky purse. I love bright colors so this was right up my alley. Doodlebug flocked blue paper, some older Creative Imaginations green paper, Around the Block sentiment paper, Prima, Imaginisce and Making Memories flowers, blinged out with some MAMBI gems. P.S. Thank you Kim for the Imaginisce goodies!