The Marriage of a Family

I have a new sketch challenge going on over at Sketches4All.  I created a sketch for this challenge, and I'd love for you to play!

(Those pathetic looking circles are buttons or any other embellishment.  I never claimed to be able to draw - LOL!)  Here is what I came up as an example:

We celebrate our 20th anniversary at the end of the month, and these are pictures from our wedding day.  They are such precious pictures to me - and Shane was absolutely the cutest!  Jerry's mom made him the little tux to wear, and I am just thrilled to have that in his memory box.  Even though I have ong since finished our wedding album, I always knew that I would want to scrap some of the pictures again as we reached "milestone" anniversaries.

I hope you will come over and play!  I give a great prize away with every challenge!!

This layout also fits the challenge over at Adornit.  July's requirement is to use a button, paper as ribbon, and hand written journaling.  I used the Adornit July kit to complete this.  Isn't it just beautiful paper?!  I love the font of the alpha - very pretty!  The ribbon under the picture of Jerry and Shane is my folded paper ribbon.

Ei Ei O

Old McDonald had a farm...and these little boys visited it!  These are three of my great-nephews, and what adorable pictures!  My nieces post such wonderful pictures on FB that I can hardly wait to scrap them.  I've used Fancy Pants My Family paper for this page, and the sketch is from Cherie over at Sassy Lil Sketches:

Items used:  Fancy Pants My Family; CTMH rub-ons and ribbon; Slice Basics 1 card

The next layout I want to show you is a sketch from Cheri over at Let's Scrap.  Her sketches are amazing!  I am just showing you the left side.

I won a challenge over at Adornit, and they sent me whole big box of supplies - paper, stickers, clips - I was in shock over what I received!  I am so appreciative of all the fun things I get to make from their fun paper!!  (And if you like fabric, they just started making it!)  Anyway, I dug into that paper for this layout:

Items used:  Adornit paper; Slice Big Kids card (bear and phrases); CTMH brads, buttons; waxy flax, and tag ( I cut the banner and arrow free hand).  Yes that is Shane's hand in my mouth 20 years ago.  Sometimes we do the funniest things with our kids!!

It's Time for a Sketches in Thyme Reveal!

It is not my week to show you a layout (although I am going to make one!), but I wanted to remind you that there is a new sketch over at Sketches in Thyme.  These are such wonderful sketches, and I know you'd love playing along.  Head over there and give the Mavens some love for their great examples!!  This is the prize this week:

Easel Card

I have been creating every single day (and even into the night), but I realized that I have not been sharing!  A lot of the work I am doing is for design teams, so I'll have to wait until reveal day to show you those things!  I took some time off of layouts to make some swap cards for a group of my co-workers.  I have not made one of these easel cards before, so I had fun! 

Items used: CTMH Cherries paper and TLC stamp set; Unity stamp; Mark Richards gems; Kraft paper; random ribbon

I have the day off today - yippee!!!  Last night was kind of a tough night.  Machines didn't work, flowers and cartridges were missing.  That's always hard.  Those of you that know me, know that I take great pride in my teaching, so it's always tough when things don't go right.  But yesterday is past, and I'm here on my day off!!  It's a BEAUTIFUL day here (80 degrees and low humidity)!  I whipped up a tuna macaroni salad this morning  with all fresh veggies in it from the farmer's market.  Jerry and I are going to take the boat out on the lake tonight to picnic, enjoy the scenery, and relax.  Sound like a perfect night to me!!

Pucker Up!

I can never pass up the opportunity to make a card for the Bo Bunny challenge!  I have been working with all their most recent collections, and for this card I pulled out some Sunkissed.  Here is the sketch:

And here is my take.  I've used all Bo Bunny products - paper, sticker, flower, and chipboard.

Don't you love all those bright summer colors?!  That lemon and lemonade sticker are really cute! Have a great week everyone!!

Timeless

I created this simple layout of my Dad using Graphic 45 paper.  He really loved baseball (well, all sports) when he was alive, and I am glad that I have a picture of his baseball stance.  When I see pictures of my sister's kids playing baseball, I notice their baseball stance first of all!  Isn't that funny - Dad taught me well how to play baseball!

This paper is jsut gorgeous, and I want to make sure that I only used one pictures so that I could keep the beauty of the watches.  I've double matted the photo.  The large watch was on the paper under the picture, so I cut that out and popped it up.  I didn't feel like this layout needed a lot of "stuff."  To me and my sisters, the picture speaks volumes.

Cards, Banners, a Recipe, and Some News!

I should warn you that this is one of my longer posts!  And for the Sketches in Thyme reveal, scroll on down to the next post - it's fun sketch and I've used Bo Bunny Jazmyne.

Okay, I got carried away with banners yesterday.  I bought the new Hero Arts banner stamp, and I just love it!  It's so cute.  I think all you banner-lovers will agree!

My first card is for the weekly challenge at Let's Scrap.  I love the card sketch:

Along with the stamp, I have used: CTMH paper, button, swirl clip, and flowers; Chocolate Zing embossing powder; Think Pink Slice card

My next card is for the July 14th Sassy Lil' Sketches challenge. (Side note: My first design reveal for SLS will be on August 21!) At first when I saw the sketch, I didn't know what to do with it, so it took me some time to come up with a card.  It's a great sketch, and it challenged me (you know I love that!).

However, when I pulled out my Bo Bunny Peacock Lane paper, it all came together for me.  I also used a little May Arts ribbon, a Unity sentiment, and that lovely Hero Arts banner stamp.

Th third card is for two challenges over at Sketches 4 All.  Dannette had a card sketch challenge and Stacy wanted us to use monochromatic blues and bling. 

For this card I used: Hero Arts banner stamp; Unity sentiment and flower stamps; CTMH White Daisy and Dutch Blue Textured CS (one side of the Dutch Blue is a matching light blue - one of the reasons I love CTMH's textured paper!) and Dutch Blue and white embossing powder; May Arts ribbon; Little Yellow Bicycle gems

All right, my last card is for the Heart2Heart challenges.  I just love the challenges that these ladies present, and you know that I still have a big heart for CTMH!  The challenge this week is to incorporate a recipe.  Easy!  People are always asking me for this recipe, so I made a card to have on hand.  For this card I used all CTMH.

Quiche:

Foolproof Crust - 1/2 c. butter; 1 c. flour; 1/4 tsp salt

Mix these ingredients and pat into a 9" pie plate.  Prick generously and bake at 400 degrees for 7 minutes.  Remove from oven and turn heat down to 375 degrees.

Filling - 1 c. shredded swiss; 4 eggs; 1-1/2 c. milk

Variations: green onion; mushrooms;  green pepper; spinach; broccoli; bacon; shrimp; sausage, crab

Spread cheese and one or two variations into the crust.  Lightly beat eggs and milk.  Pour into shell over other ingredients.  bake at 375 for 35 minutes or until set.  Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

(This is our traditional Christmas brunch.  My husband and son love it!  It is also good cold, so if you make it early, it will still be awesome!)

OK, we made it through the cards, banners, and recipe.  Now I have some news!! I have been chosen to be on the Let's Scrap Design Team!  I am so excited to be working on this fabulous community!  If you haven't been there yet, be sure to stop by.  Everyone is so incredible and the challenges are so much fun!!  You'll start seeing my work there the very first week of August.  Yippee!!

Sketches in Thyme Reveal!

I am happy to bring you this week's sketch from Sketches in Thyme!  Have you been to visit yet?  The sketches are fabulous and leave loads of room for creativity!  Here is this week's sketch:

Now you can see what I chose to do with this one:

This is a picture of my lovely foxglove.  The weather has been just right because since I took this picture, I now have 6 more shoots blooming!  I just love the summertime and all the flowers!

Items used:  Bo Bunny paper, stickers, flowers, brads, and buttons.  I cut the word "blossom" with my Spring Slice card.  There are also some Bazzill flowers, and May Arts ribbon on this layout.

Delight

When I saw this photo of my nephew and his little boy, I couldn't wait to scrap it!  You will have to click on the layout to see their perfect faces looking over Lake Superior.  Truly a delight!  Over at Let's Scrap, challenge #59 is to scrap a photo where the face tells a story.  I think this picture does just that perfectly!

I've used Lily Bee paper and rub-ons for this layout.  Isn't it wonderful paper for the summer months?  Because I used my Fiskars border punch this LO fits into the Frosted Designs challenge.  I used my Slice Fall/Back to School card to cut the sun and clouds.  The letter stickers are CTMH.

I must confess that I truly enjoyed working on this clean and simple page!

Farmer's Market

I have been hoping to find a reason to use the new Petal Pushers paper from Bo Bunny.  You know, I am just now getting to use all of their new papers and more will be coming after CHA!  I just love Bo Bunny, and I can't wait to see what they will be releasing!

Anyway, on to my layout.  We went to the Farmer's Market with Shane not too long ago.  The Minneapolis Farmer's Market is HUGE.  We had such a good time going through all the booths and getting fresh foods.  Shane wanted to buy some plants for the empty planters at his house, and I was all for that!  I love flowers and Shane grew up with flowers around him.  He went right to the "sunshine-colored" annuals.  I started taking pictures of him, and he didn't even realize it.  I love that!

For this 2-page layout, I used a sketch from the very talented Cheri over at Let's Scrap. 

Along with the Petal Pushers paper, I used the matching stickers and flowers.  The other elements I used are:  Bo Bunny Jazmyne gems, May Arts ribbon, Bo Bunny Alissa letter stickers, CTMH gems, buttons, and arrow.

Be sure to give a click on the picture if you'd like to see the layout in more detail!

I am off ot work shortly.  It's a treat this weekend for me to be hosting the Scrap Mania.  I love that time I spend with customers showing them new product (the Imaginisce I-Rock tool is amazing!), helping them pick out papers, and just generally getting to know all these wonderful people better.  I had a blast last night, and I anticipate the same kind of night tonight!  I hope you are all enjoying the weekend!

Bloom Where You are Planted

This week over at Heart2Heart Challenges, the challenge is to make anything but a card.  It would be easy enought to make a page, but I thought I'd put together an accordion album for future gift giving. 

I had two 4" square acrylic pieces, and I rounded the corners with my corner chomper.   The book is easy enough to make.  If you have 4" covers like I did, cut 2 strips that measure 3-3/4" x 12".  Cut 3/4" off the strips making them 3-3/4" x 11- 1/4".   Score both strips at 3-3/4" and 7-1/2"  Mountain fold both strips and overlap and adhere the end of one strip to the beginning of  the next.  Then adhere them to your cover.  Easy peasy!

All products used are CTMH - Caboodle Level 2; Tiny Tabs; Colonial White Grosgrain Ribbon; Primevera Rub-Ons; Bitty Sparkles; Sweet Leaf Swirl Clips, Buttons, and Brad

I made this flower by using my Slice Basics 1 card.  I cut (5) 2" flowers, (1) 1-1/2 inch flower and 2 leaves.  From there I laid them out and lightly misted them with water. I crinkled them into little balls and set them aside.  When dry, I inked the edges of the flower with matching ink (Crystal Blue, Sweet Leaf, and Sorbet), and put them together with a brad.  Very easy and very pretty!

I am tired, girlies!  I have had an extremely busy week, and my week isn't over yet.  Lots to do and just not enough time in a day.  I'm sure you can all relate to this at one point or another!  I went scrapping today with a friend (and had a blast!), but I didn't feel like I had any mojo, so I guess I'll put my things away and try again this weekend.  I have Sunday off, so I am looking forward to crafting some more then.

Have you entered my challenge yet over at Sketches4All?  Head on over there and see if you can create a page with my sketch.  I'd love to see you enter for the chance to win!!

I hope everyone has had a great week so far, and that you are looking forward to a fabulous weekend!

Smores Bucket

By this time, my sister has her birthday gift so now I can show it to you.  Bo Bunny shared this idea using a rectangular lunch tin.  I used a pail, and here's what I came up with:

I've used the Bo Bunny Roughin' collection to make this.  Now what a fun gift for her!  They have a campsite during the summers, so I know they will make good use of this when they are having campfires!

I used super tape to adhere the paper.  I used paper and a punch to make the scalloped border.  After all the embellishments were on, I used Martha Stewart decoupage to seal it.  Hopefully they will have this tin for years to come!

Sketchy Thursdays

This is my second post for the day, so be sure to scroll on down for more layouts!

I saw this sketch on Sketchy Thursdays, and I loved the simplicity of it.

I used some new papers from Fancy Pants (Like Father, Like Son) to complete this layout along with some CTMH rub-ons.  The letters and word were cut with my Slice Big Kids card.  This is definitely a "boy" layout!

Now on to some card-making!

Outdoor Layouts - Blog Award

Jerry and Chanel went fishing this morning, so I am spending the day in my craft room.  It's kind of humid and gray outside, so I think this is the perfect day to get some paper crafting done!

I've used all Echo Papers today.  I received these as free goodies, and I am really impressed with the versatility of this line.  It could literally be used for anything or anybody.  I LOVE that!  The first LO I want to show is a sketch from Sassy Lil Sketches.  Play along during the month for a chance to win the monthly prize!

I left this sketch pretty true to it's form choosing to use only a few colors and not many embellishments.  The colors really make the pictures stand out!

The next sketch is from Let's Scrap.  Did you know that if you play along on this site, you have a chance every week to win a prize?  Such lovely, complimentary women over at Let's Scrap!

I LOVED this sketch because I could get so many pictures on these two pages.  Again, this is Echo Park.  I lvoe the papers and embellishments for this line!

Here are the pages singly:

And finally, I want to tell you about a Blog Award I received!

My wonderful and dear friend, Kim bestowed this honor on me!  This was so sweet of you, Kim!!  You know I am sending this right back to you.  You inspire me through your artwork, and I love that I have gotten to know you so well just through reading your blog!  (Blog world is a great place!)

This award comes with a set of rules...

1) Thank the person who gave it to you 2) Tell seven things about yourself 3) Pass the award on to five bloggers whom you think are fantastic..

I am passing this award on to Irena, Dawn, Diana, Laurel, Debbie, Susan, Jamie, and Barb.  Okay, so I went over five, but these women really inspire me!

Now to tell seven things about myself:

1. I am a terrible typist.  I am fast enough, but there are usually some letters mixed up, and I just don't find the need to correct them.  (If you've been reading me long enough, you alreadly know this!)
2. I am pretty darn honest.  In my younger years that was much to my detriment, but now I think it's a great quality.  Along the same lines, my biggest pet peeve is lying.  Gracious, the truth may seem hard, but in the end, it's always the easiest.
3. I don't like pants.  If you were to come to my house, 99% of the time I would be in a dress or skirt.
4. I love going to wine tastings.  I don't know that is tasting the wine so much as it is the atmsophere.  Wine tastings always leave me remembering our day in Tuscany.
5. In 6th grade, my teacher told me I was a horrible artist.  I still remember how I felt and I did not even try anything artistic for years.  I scrapped my first pages when Shane was just a very little boy, but I didn't like them.  It wasn't until a few years ago that I understood that I am not a horrible artist.  Perhaps that's why I encourage individuality in all the classes I teach.  Everyone's artwork is a reflection of who they are, and that makes it all good.
6. I listen to all types of music.  I only steer away from music with angry lyrics.
7. I miss all 4 of my sisters almost every day.  I don't live near any of them, but they are a part of me.

Now, I must get back to crafting.  There are so many fun challenges sitting on my desk!  I am going to catch up on readng blogs this evening while watching tv.  I can't wait to see what you've all been up to!!

Happiness Is...

I hope you all are having a fabulous Saturday.  It looks and feels like we have rain in store for the afternoon.  We went to the Farmer's Market this morning.  It was so busy, but it was so much fun.  It isn't far from Shane's house, so we picked him up and had a great family outing!  I'll share a couple pictures at the end of the post. 

I always look, but I have never worked with Kazan's sketches over at 2Sketches4You.  This one was very basic, and I thought that was great.  You could go clean and simple or embellish like crazy.

I chose to go down the middle of the road with some of my Bo Bunny Paradise scraps.

What a great card to send to someone going vacationing on the ocean!  This is such pretty, warm paper.

Okay, a couple of pictures from the market this morning.  In this first one, Shane is picking out some annuals to plant in his yard.  Gracious, I wish I had waited - the prices at the market were great!

Take a look at this hibiscus!  That is Shane's hand next to it so that you can imagine the size.  Holy cow!  I didn't ask, but I am thinking these are the perennial hibiscus that would work well in MN climate.

We had to cancel a camping trip this weekend for a couple different reasons, so it was nice to get out this morning before the rain to do something fun!

Creative Imaginations Sketch

I really like the sketch from Creative Imaginations this month.  It is just so versatile and leaves room for so much interpretation.

This is what I decided to do with it:

This is my daisy patch and my hops vine.  Now that hops vine has literally taken over a windmill and garden.  I must have it in the perfect place because it surely has taken on a life of its own!  I've used CI Creative Cafe papers in orange.  I cut flowers from one of the patterened sheets, stacked them, and then I curled them up with a little glimmer mist.  I've also used May Arts pretty white ribbon, and CTMH buttons and brads.  I was going to put a phrase on the banner, but I kind of liked it plain.  Everything is faux-stitiched with a white uniball pen. 

Hope you enjoy your Saturday! 

Congratulations Trevor!!

I need to take some time to congratulate my nephew, Trevor.  It is such exciting news!! 

Trevor attended Under Armour national tryouts this summer.  Yesterday he was called and invited to play ball in the Pirate City World Series in Florida!  Oh, I am so happy for Trevor!!  He doesn't graduate high school until 2013, but he was one of ten in that group chosen to play.  Can you imagine how excited he, my sister, and their family must be!!  Trevor gets to play, train, eat, and sleep like the pros down at the Pittsburgh Pirates training camp!  It is exciting to me that he gets to compete on a national level.
I'll brag on Trevor a bit now.  He is an amazing student, so kind and compassionate, could beat anyone of us in Scrabble (really - I'm pretty good and he rocks that game!), and is an awesome ball player.  What impresses me the most about Trevor (and actually all of my sister Patti's kids) is how caring he is toward family.  My sister and her husband should take great pride in the Christian way they have raised their children!
So, a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE congratulations to Trevor!  You are amazing, kiddo!!

Heart 2 Heart Challenge

This is my second post for the day, so be sure to scroll down for the Sketches in Thyme reveal!

This week's challenge at Heart 2 Heart is to use a sketch from Jeanette Lynton's Wishes book.  Just a little two cents from me here.  If you are looking for amazing sketch books that give you oodles of ideas, these are the best out there.  I love that all the dimensions are right there in the books.  It saves a great deal of time when you are paper crafting!  Okay, now on to the sketch:

I have used all CTMH product:  Grace Level 2; Grace Stickease; Ivory organdy (retired); TLC stamp set; Spot On stamp set; Sparkles; Desert Sand ink to distressing

Sketches In Thyme Reveal!

If you haven't visited Sketches in Thyme yet, be sure to hop over and check out the sketches.  Kim has done such a marvelous job of creating this blog.   This week's sketch is from Moma:

Now this looks like a really fancy and elaborate sketch.  Don't be frightened by it!  I have used very basic colors and embellishments. 

Items used: Lily Bee papers and rub-ons; CTMH dutch blue cardstock; CTMH buttons and brads; May Arts ribbon; Basic Grey letters

There is a prize this week!  Take a peek at the acrylic album from Apple Pie Memories that you could win:

Just link up your layout on Sketches in Thyme by 8:00 pm EST on July 14th.  I can't wait to see what you come up with!!

Hello

I have been so focused on scrapbooking that I haven't made many cards lately.  I saw a sketch I liked on the OCC Sketch Blog and Our Creative Corner and thought I'd give it a whirl.

I used papers and rub-ons from Lily Bee Design.  Such bright and cheerful colors!  I have just recently discovered this yummy paper, and I can't wait to keep working with it!

Other items used:  May Arts ribbon; Martha Stewart daisies; Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder

Sisters

I always like to play along with Bo Bunny challenges, and this is their most recent sketch:

Here is my take:

There is a hidden tag on this LO.  You are able to view the journaling by pulling out the large brad on the right side of the picture.  Except for a few pink pearls, crystal gems, and the waxy flax, everything used to build this LO is from the Bo Bunny Jazmyne collection.  Such gorgeous rich papers!