My Attempt at Cardmaking

I am a member of the Scrappin' Mojo group online.... (link is provided in my sidebar.) This is a great group of gals who love scrapping, cardmaking, and papercrafting. Some of them got together a few months ago and formed a small group who participates in a special card event monthly. One member will put together a card kit and sends it out to each member. Each crafter works to use the kit contents to create their own special card creations and shares them in a blog post.

I have watched every month as ladies posted wonderful inspirational cards and found myself oohing and aahing at their creativity. As for me..... cards have just not been a strong point. I think that this is largely due to the fact that I just haven't tried to create them very much.

A couple of months ago one of the kit club members surprised me by sending me the kit. I opened the kit and found myself almost afraid to cut into anything. My cards just aren't good enough...... at least that is what the little voice inside my head kept saying. Besides, my scrap space was so stacked up at the time that I didn't even have space to work.

This month another member of the club sent me the kit. Once again I opened it and found myself in awe of the contents. (Here is a pic.... so you can ooh and aah right along with me...)

See what I mean? GREAT stuff..... Anyone could create cards with this stuff, right? I had to give it a try. Besides, my scrap room is now relatively clean and organized, so that isn't even an excuse anymore.

I headed off to Pinterest, my usual inspirational search location and with a little help from there, I was actually able to create 4 cards that I am happy to say, I MADE!!!

Hey, I could get used to this! As long as I have Pinterest to help me with ideas....LOL!

Seriously though.. if you like cardmaking and scrapbooking, check out Scrappin' Mojo. These ladies are fantastic crafters and some of the sweetest ladies you will meet. And who knows..... you might discover that you can do things you didn't think you could do too!

Christmas in July

Some of you have probably joined my blog via the "Christmas in July" Blog Hop.

I hate to put pressure on anyone...... but I really felt that I had to make you aware that there are only 163 days until Christmas!!

Ok...... do I have your attention now?

Seriously though, it is right about this point in the year that I start seeing Christmas ornaments popping into my local Garden Ridge and Christmas craft project supplies showing up at the nearest Hobby Lobby. Sometimes, working on a Christmas project can be a great way to "mentally" escape the heat that normally befalls us in the middle of July, but it can also put a lot of pressure on someone like me who still hasn't done anything with the photos from LAST CHRISTMAS!

Luckily for me, I happened to take part in this blog hop that should help inspire me to get creative and document some of those memories from 2012. Not only will that help me clear the desktop, but it should also help me clear some space in my stash piles before the newest Christmas supplies show up in the scrapbook stores.

Lucky for you...... You can join the fun too!

First, let me share my layout with you....

This page gives homage to my daughter, who is probably the BIGGEST Christmas lover in our family (and that is saying a lot!). Kari sings Christmas carols all year long and loves nothing better than sitting through a Christmas movie... no matter WHEN it is on television.

I snapped this photo at a store in Tennessee. When we visited the store in the month of July, my daughter was thrilled to know that Christmas was ONLY 171 days away.

I reached into my stash to find 2 sheets of 6X6 papers from the Basic Grey "Jovial" paper pad. I used these to create the block behind the photo. I added some paper strips that I cut from various 12X12 papers in my stash, a border strip punched from some scrap paper and several stickers and chipboard words and letters from my abundant supply closet. Some inking around the elements helped tone down the colors a bit and blend the elements together. All in all, I am very happy with the end result... and definitely in the mood to do more Christmas scrapbooking!

Now it is your turn! Join in the fun and create your own Christmas project. If you participate, use the hashtag #scrapbookchristmas in Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

Next up on the Blog Hop is Alanna-  http://scrapping-and-life.blogspot.com

If, at any point, you get lost, here is a FULL list of the blogs participating in this event:

Ruth - http://scrapmachine.com/

Bernice - http://btsoi.blogspot.com/

Theresa - http://himynameistheresa.com/

Holly - http://harmonydiy.blogspot.com/

Sandra - http://www.thecraftybunch.com.au/

Melissa - http://digitalscrapbookinghq.com/christmashop

Kimberly - http://kimberlymariekett.blogspot.com/

Stella (YOU ARE HERE) - http://myscrapbliss.blogspot.com/

Alanna - http://scrapping-and-life.blogspot.com

Megan - http://meganlianesblog.blogspot.com/

Jen - http://myreillyboysandme.blogspot.com

Lisa - http://mykreativepursuits.blogspot.com

Margareta - http://www.paperpilekitten.com/

Taniesa - http://thecraftypickle.com/

Smitha - http://www.smilingcolors.com

Catherine - http://paperaddictcatherine.blogspot.com

Kate - http://www.funkytales.blogspot.co.uk

Tasha - http://tashascreativejuice.blogspot.com/

Melissa - http://yesterday2day4ever.blogspot.co.nz

Alison - http://magicalmesses.blogspot.com/

Cat - http://decisioninspired.com

Manda - http://www.mandalikadesigns.com/

Madeleine - http://senoritaml.wordpress.com/

Melissa - http://www.scrappyjedi.com/

Amanda - http://amandathemadscrapper.blogspot.com/

Ali - http://www.moloneystylestamping.wordpress.com

Jenny - http://scrappinjen-partyoffive.blogspot.com/

Ros - http://noteverypicturezperfect.blogspot.com.au/

Sue - http://themakingtable.blogspot.com.au/

Julie - http://plywthpper.blogspot.com/

Leave a comment and let me know what you think of my layout. You can also share links to YOUR Christmas in July projects. I can't wait to see how everyone is inspired!

Finally Scrapping Again

This week I FINALLY managed to scrounge up the creative energy to create a layout again. Actually, to be honest, I started the page several weeks ago, but then my little scrap mojo engine lost steam. The page has sat here on the desk gradually being covered by paper after paper and new purchases.

This week I decided to just get started digging through the stack and do SOMETHING creative!

I found myself here at home, all alone. Hubby was working, along with my son, Keenan. We had dropped Kari off last week for Governor's Scholars. The house just got too quiet, and I got too bored. I had to do something..... so I cleaned. When I found this layout at the bottom of the stack, I had to try to finish it.

The scan isn't perfect, but you get the idea. The original sketch came from one of the Allison Davis books that I purchased from Scrapbook Generations. I LOVE those books! If I had to do it over, I think I would have added just one more of the vertical strips behind the photos, but I guess it will do. At least...... it is done!

Technique Tuesday

WOO HOO!

I LOVE stamps! They are one of my BIG scrapbooking weaknesses. Today I checked my emails and discovered a great stamp event that I just HAD to share with you!

Technique Tuesday, one of my favorite stamp companies, is having a week-long event full of blog posts, giveaways, and fun.

To start things off, they are offering a chance to win THIS prize pack!

GREAT stamps that any scrapper or crafter could use!

Be sure to go to their blog for all of the GREAT things going on this week
To make it easier, here's a direct link:
Technique Tuesday BLOG

Life is Fun

It is so often the "little things" that I remember..... the smile on my son's face when he just can't help but show his feelings, the touch of my husband's hand on mine, the way my daughter wears different colors of nail polish on each finger.

I think it is for this reason that I love scrapbooking. A single page can be my opportunity to document those little things and why they mean so much to me. Each page is a 12 by 12 freeze frame of my thoughts, my feelings, and my life.

Take for example, my latest page.....

I realize that my daughter won't be so carefree forever. As she continues to age, the weight of schoolwork, adulthood, and life's little problems will begin to weigh on her, just as they do on me. Yet she will always have this page documenting a time in her life when she could focus on just enjoying life and maybe being a little bit silly. Hopefully that will encourage her to continue to live her life with just a little bit of laughter and fun. Maybe I need to remember that too!

Scrapping With an Empty Nest

Last night I reached a realization.

One of the reasons that I am not scrapping much anymore is that I am not taking pictures much anymore. With my oldest child away at college and my other child a busy teen, I have lost two of my major subjects. Kari is busy with track and field or cross country, both of which are very difficult events to photograph well. The few pictures that I do get are the same images over and over. I get a few photos that Keenan's college pals post on Facebook, but they are usually the typical staged group shots.

With no photos of them, what do I scrap? I know that there are some people out there who scrap about themselves. I tried that for a while. I don't have many photos of myself and I can only do so many pages about my hopes and dreams.

I love my scrapbooking hobby. It has always been a personal release- allowing me to throw my creative energy into telling a story with photos, papers, embellishments, and journaling. It also allowed me a stress release. Alone in my scraproom with all of my "toys" I could create without fear of someone coming by to evaluate the outcome.

I don't really know what my future is, as far as scrapbooking. I don't see grandchildren in my future for quite a few years, but I don't think I can give it up either. I would love to hear from some of you scrapbookers out there who are like me- working women who have or soon will have an empty nest. What do you scrapbook? Where can I go for motivation?

Valentine's Day is Coming...

Christmas is barely behind us and now I need to get a start on Valentine's Day projects. Lucky for me that we had a crop at Scrappin' Mojo over the weekend!

I decided to get a jump start on some V-Day cards.

One challenge asked us to select a Pinterest project that inspired us and create our own card or layout based on it. I decided to make a Valentine card based on one made by Darlene over at Splitcoast Stampers. Here's my finished card:

I love the way the patterned paper peeks up though the the heart-shaped hole. This is one of the first times I have used Baker's twine too. I think I like it!

For my second Valentine's card I tried a different technique.

First I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the white paper. Then I colored the raised parts with my Prismacolor pencils. I used gamsol to soften the color a bit. I added some pearls on some of the flower centers, tied on ribbon and a couple of tags. I LOVE the look!

A Special Page

This weekend my favorite gals over at Scrappin Mojo.com are having an online crop. I happened to have a bit of time so I figured I would join in on the fun.

Terri posted this sketch from Page Maps for one of the challenges:

I flipped through my photos and found the perfect 2 to create a special page. They weren't the size mentioned in the sketch, but I thought that I could adapt it.

When I started working everything just seemed to fall into place. I ended up with THIS page commemorating my daughter's baptism this past Easter.

There is plenty of time to join in on the crop fun. Come on over to Scrappin Mojo. You'll find a link in my list  to the right. They are great girls with very creative ideas!

WHOO HOO!!!

A new year and a new goal for myself.....

Last year I didn't get much srapbooking or crafting done. Work, life, and other things just took too much of my time and focus.

This year I have made a goal or a resolution, if you will, to reignite that creative flame in me and to begin scrapbooking once again. It has always been a kind of therapy for me, a chance to escape the stress of life and work and just do something that I love. I need that back in my life.

I figured that there was no better time to start than January 1, so today I completed a simple, but finished page, focusing on my daughter's love of s'mores.

I used old papers, old chipboard, old letter dies, and some sewing. BOY, did it feel good!