Determination....

My goal for this summer is to finish my son's senior album. I suppose that it is about time.... after all, he will be a college junior in the fall... LOL!

I am having a lot of trouble with the pages because he selected the 8 1/2 X 11 album size. He thought it would fit into bookshelves better.

Anyway, I have been scrapping 12 X 12 pages for years now and I love that size because it allows for so much more embellishment and detail.

I am down to the last few pages in the album and I find myself getting a bit uninspired.

My son also selected the colors and basic "style" that he wanted. He really likes the more earthy colors and the grungy type of look. (Believe it or not, he really likes Tim Holtz style.)

One of the things that I have done on every layout is use distress ink and/or glimmer mist to add that distressed or grunge look. On this particular page I used 2 different colors of glimmer mist. I also did some stamping.

See those little dots around the embellishment in the lower left and upper right corners? Those are actually tiny little flat beads that I painted with nail polish. I really wanted some enamel dots, but I have been trying to live up to my personal oath of not purchasing things if I already have something in my stash that will work. So.... instead of purchasing enamel dots I stuck these beads on a sheet of wax paper, painted them with nail polish, and allowed them to dry before pulling them up and adding them to the layout. Pretty good, don't you think? I am amazed at what a little determination can do.

Happy Anniversary....

Tomorrow is my 21st wedding anniversary.   It is hard to believe that I have been married to my sweet hubby that long. It hasn't all been easy, but he has always been there as my strength, support, and listening ear.

I took some time this morning to create a special card just for my hubby. It started with this great sketch from Case This Sketch.

I like to layer my cards so I used 6 different layers of paper. I added some inking, embossing, stamping, and sewing. I used one of my favorite Stampin' Up stamp sets, Wonderful Favorites. I love it because it is so versatile!

This was my first time ever making a 6X6 card, but I really like that size! I think I will definitely be making more of them.

Can You Believe It?

I didn't post on this blog for over a year and now I have posted two days in a row! What can I say? I got hooked on challenges this week. That might just be the ticket to getting me back into the papercrafting world.

I started with the challenges over at Scrappin' Mojo. Those gals can always inspire me. Then I came across this sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches.

I really liked the diagonal stripe across the card, so I started digging through my stash. I came across a chipboard cherry embellishment that I knew would be perfect for the Mojo Tutti Fruity Challenge. That helped me decide that I wanted a vintage type of look for my card.

I ended up using a piece of "Core Impressions" paper that I had been saving for a long time. I sanded it a bit to reveal the inner core through the embossed polka dots, added some lace, buttons, vintage print papers, inking, and sewing. I REALLY like the end result!

I have bookmarked the Freshly Made website and you will also find a link in the sidebar. I will definitely be keeping an eye on their sketches each week. They are GREAT inspiration for someone like me who needs to start using some of that mountain of craft stash that I have been keeping for years!

Hello...... Hello...... Can Anyone Hear Me?

Just checking to see if this blog even works anymore..... LOL!

Life has kept me pretty busy this past year. It was my daughter's senior year in high school and between college visits, fundraisers, trips, track meets, and various other competitions it seemed like we were constantly on the run.  School and family took up most of my time. I don't think I have scrapbooked in over a year. I did create the occasional greeting card, but other than that my supplies have just been gathering dust.

Last week that all changed.

I came home after teaching a week in our summer credit recovery program and I logged on one of my favorite websites: Scrappin' Mojo. (There's a link in the sidebar if you are interested.) It just so happened that the gals were hosting a summer crop full of WONDERFUL challenges. The timing was perfect!

So far I have finished 4 challenges, creating 4 cards, three of which I will share with you. (The other one..... I am not so happy with.... If you want to see it, you will have to visit the website.

CARD 1

This card is for the single layer challenge. That in itself is something I rarely do. I also decided to try a new stamping technique. I grabbed a small rectangular acrylic block and inked it up. Then I spritzed it with a water mist so the ink would bead up. Then I stamped directly on the paper. After my rectangles dried I went back and added the flower stamping and dry embossed some lines above and below the image.

CARD 2

 



This one was for a polka dot challenge. I LOVE polka dots! I used one of my many embossing folders to emboss the bottom edge of the card. Then I dry embossed some lines above that to create an area for my stamped greeting. I raided my flower drawer and found a printed plastic flower, a chipboard flower, and a rhinestone sticker flower. I stacked all of those to create my own unique flower at the top of the card.

CARD 3

 

 

This one was for the watercolor challenge and was inspired by a card on Pinterest. I used the same technique that I mentioned earlier, this time inking up a larger acrylic block with several different colors of distress ink. Then I spritzed it with water and stamped on watercolor paper to create the background. I blotted it with paper towel and allowed it to dry before stamping the image with black ink.

 

The summer challenges have been extended through this week, so I am hoping to get a couple more done. Who knows? I may even get out some pictures and scrapbook a page or two!

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!