It's Been Nice Knowing All of You.....

Am I going somewhere? NO.... but when my son sees this photo on the computer, I'm not sure how he will react....LOL!

First some background.... my son is a very serious, proud to be "grown up", teenager. For several years now he has not liked having photos taken, something that is rather difficult when your mother scrapbooks. He also hates costumes. I don't think he has been in one since he was 6 or 7.

In 2010 he was helping with the BETA Club Halloween dance and the candy distribution in town, so he had no choice. He HAD to have a costume! He and I went to a couple of stores and I finally convinced him to purchase this chef's costume. When the night of the candy distribution came I had to have a photo, since I knew I might not see him in a costume again. Unfortunately for him, the camera shutter did not want to close fast enough. He stood there smiling..... smiling..... smiling..... until finally the shutter closed.

When this photo came up in my camera's view window I knew that I couldn't delete it. It was just too funny!



The layout was a natural for some old Basic Grey "Color Me Silly" papers that I found in my stash. I used another Page Maps 2 sketch as inspiration. I am LOVING those sketches!

A Change is in the Wind.....

I am feeling bright and creative this year, so I've decided to update the look of my blog a bit. (As soon as I go to the hairdresser next week, I will update my photo too. I think you will all be surprised by how much my hair has changed.)

First a report on 2010 and my scrapbook efforts. I didn't quite make either of my goals for the year. I didn't scrapbook 100 layouts and I didn't use up my stash as diligently as I had hoped.

As for this year, I'm still working on using my stash, but I don't think I'm being quite so obsessive about it. When I just let myself go and use what feels "right" for a particular layout, I tend to be more satisfied with the results.

I'm allowing myself to purchase a few things, especially things that I know will help me scrapbook more and create more. One of my first purchases for the year was the Page Maps 2 book by Becky Fleck. I always make sure to download the pdf each month with new sketches and I had purchased her first book. When I found there was a second one I HAD to add it to my scrap resource library!

I proudly present to you my FIRST layout of 2011! It was inspired by one of the sketches from Page Maps 2 and includes MOSTLY items from my stash.



I used some old Bazzill carstock for the background and stamped snowflakes with some of my Stampin Up stamps and white craft ink. The patterned paper is my only new purchase: Bo Bunny Midnight Frost, a new paper that I just HAD to buy!

My favorite element on the whole layout though, has to be the icicle stickles on the word "Snow" in the title! I LOVE itt!!

Look Out World!!

There's a new student driver!

Keenan got his permit the day before Thanksgiving. Of course, with all of the snow and ice he hasn't gotten much practice yet. He's hoping that the weather clears so he can get more time on the road.



See that key? It's one of those "blanks" that you get sometimes, inviting you to come in for a car giveaway. You know... the ones that never open the car??? LOL! Keenan kept this key from some mail that we had gotten a while back. While I was working on the page I said, "I wish I had a car key." He said, "Wait just a minute," and went to his room, coming back with this key. He laughed and said, "I thought you might be able to use it for something at some point."

Boy do my kids know me!

Latest Projects

I thought I would share a couple of my "challenge" items from the Challenge Master website.

The December altered assignment was to alter a notebook. I have been meaning to do that for a while now, so it was very timely.



I used a lot of odds and ends on this one. I LOVE the way my distress ink blended. I really need to get that out more often!

For the December tag project we were to make Christmas tags, of course. I tried to make a couple a-la-Tim Holtz.....BUT they didn't turn out like his. I'm pretty happy with them though.



I'm really enjoying the challenges, and I think you would too. So.... if you are snowed in, like me, and you need some inspiration.... hop on over to Challenge Masters and join in the fun!

New Challenge Board

Sitting around here on my snow day and I got to cruising the web. While I was going through old bookmarks and deleting sites that no longer existed, hadn't been updated, etc. I discovered a brand new one.... (At least it was new to me!)

Challenge Masters seems like a great place to get inspired. If you are into challenges, this is a great place to visit. The gals are very friendly and have a gallery where you can post your finished projects too.

I've placed a link to their site in the sidebar. Just click on the membership badge and it will take you straight to their website, where you can check out their blog, forum, gallery, and all of the other fun stuff!

Snow in Kentucky means 2 things........

1. A snow day....
2. Scrap time!!!

The snow actually came on a weekend this time, so number 1 (a snow day) didn't happen, but I DID get time to scrap yesterday.




This page came together very easily. I will admit that I used a sketch, so the design part was fairly simple. The fun was in picking through my supplies and deciding what to use. (That always has been my favorite part of this hobby.)

I've also been busy creating things for Christmas: cards, sock cupcakes, gifts for others.

I've really missed crafting, cutting, and scrapping. Life has just been so uncooperative of late. Deep down in my heart, I know that if I'm to find the time to relax and enjoy my hobby it is up to me MAKE the time. I suppose I just need to think about it more and determine HOW.

My Latest Christmas Project

While sifting through some old magazines and idea books recently, I saw a project that I really wanted to try. It is a spelling book for beginning readers.

My nephew is in kindergarten and it so excited that he is beginning to read. One of my co-workers also has a young son who is just beginning to learn letters and sounds. I decided this would be the perfect gift for them.

My co-worker's son is CRAZY about Handy Manny, so I decided to create my own version of Manny's hammer for the cover of his book.



The outside is really cute, but the inside is where the magic comes alive!



I stamped three sets of alphabet letters, with the vowels in red and the consonants in black. I laminated all 3 sets + 3 blank cards. Each stack was punched and I used binder rings to put the whole books together.

When the child is ready to spell a word, he or she just flips the cards around on the rings. I added the blank cards so the child can use 1 stack, 2 stacks, or 3 stacks of letters at a time. This allows him or her to learn just the alphabet, by revealing only 1 stack of letters, create 2 letter words, or 3 letter words.

I REALLY like the ending result! My husband wants me to show it to the kindergarten teachers at school. He has seen similar items at teacher stores, and they sell for a LOT of money. I would really like to create a few and sell them, but for a much lower price than they are available for commercially.