Express Studio J Layout

I recently delved into the Express Collections of Studio J.  Have you been there?  When you go into the Express Collections, you simply choose the pattern you want, and add the pictures.  From there, you put in your journaling and you are done!

I copied the flourish to add one to the top, and I copied some stars to put by Lacey's name.  This really was done in almost no time at all!  Isn't she about the prettiest catcher you've ever seen?  And she's a sweetie, too!

Don't forget to click on the photo on the right to enter my 500-follower giveaway!

Wall Hanging & Matching Tin

I've been watching Netflix on my computer and putting some gifts together this afternoon. Jerry is settled in watching the Vikings/Packers game, so I am taking this chance to play freely in my craft room.

I don't know the last time I purchased a store-bought gift. You know, I really enjoy making things for the people in my life! Today I needed to make a gift for my niece. I pulled out a round DCWV tin that had a matching accordion album in it. Instead of making an album, I made Miss Miranda a wall hanging. What girl doesn't like seeing her name on the wall with flowers and glitter? I decorated the tin as well so that she can use that for little trinkets. That's a Prima flower on top of a diecut flower from my Slice. I used the sugar-coated paper from the MME Laundry Line. All kinds of other assorted accessories as well.

Now I'm thinking I need one for me for my craft room!

Chick'n Scratches Layout

Over at Two Chicks Design on Facebook, the Head Chick put out her first sketch challenge. If you don't have a Facebook account, Two Chicks is a great reason for getting one! Christie is always putting out good challenges, and not only that, she has amazing scrapping clothes and kits. Look for her at expos. You will see her booth!

Anyway, you will see that I flipped my pages form left to right, and then I rotated the sketch. My design holds true,you just see it a little differently - isn't individuality great?! Here are the challenge "rules":

1. You have until 11:59 pm central time on Sunday, Oct. 18 to upload a photo of your layout using the sketch.
2. Two Chicks will draw a name to win a $50 gift certificate to their site.
3. You must use at least 2 buttons and 1 piece of chipboard on the layout.
4. One word on the layout must be in your own handwriting.
5. You have to use one piece of patterned paper that you have been "hoarding" for at least 6 months.
   

What a fun challenge! I knew right away I would be pulling you Moon Doggie from CTMH. I have had that paper sitting around since April. It's been a hoarder because I just didn't know what to do with it. Also, I wasn't quite certain when I bought it that I liked the paper packet.

All the products used are CTMH (except for the Bazzill flower). You'll notice that the skethc called for 5x7 prints. Well, here is a hint if you don't have any. I used 4x6 pictures, and there are four mats under the (2) 5x7 spots. They are measured in quarter-inch increments. I don't know how well you see it on the computer, but in "real life" - LOL! - I like the looks of it. I also popped up a few photos for character.

These is my sister Patti's family, and she is in the picture as well. We spent a day in Duluth with them, and it was gorgeous by Lake Superior. Truly it is wonderful to see her kids together. They certainly love each other, and their kindness towards each other is amazing. My sister Patti is truly a mother to be admired...

Jerry loves the layout and the faux woode grain paper that is used as the base sheet. Me? I like this layout, but I'm still not too sure I'll make anything else with this paper. Maybe it will be my one hoarding paper set!!

Another Twitterpated Layout

What a pretty young woman! I wanted to scrapbook my niece Lacey's graduation invitation along with a picture from her party. For this particular page, I liked the stickers from Twitterpated "it's a Wide World." I built the layout from there using all CTMH products.

Scrapping and Fishing...All in One Day!

What a fun day we had scrapping!! I thought a would share a few pictures with you. In the front row on the left - my niece Jessica and my sister Linda. In the back from the left - my niece Kristina, me, and my mother-in-law Sharon. So the hall pass was used, and the clapper worked great! I loved hearing that because then I got to see everyone's work and their creativity! Jessica and Kristina tied for the most pages done at the end of the day winning a card kit!

We played a couple of games during the day. I think the first one was much to everyone's dismay! I had everyone take out 2 sheets of matching paper that they liked and I gave them a 5x7 card base. Then they had to pass their paper to left and it was up to the person on the left to create a card for them in 8 minutes! It was a fun, fun game, and I liked seeing everyone work on a card quickly. Sometimes we might need a card in a hurry, and that's what I was trying to teach. I loved what everyone did! Kristina made my card from the Animal Cookies paper I passed her - and it is great! The best part was that everyone won (just the Ellen show!) and went home with a bag of cards and paper!

In the afternoon, I had everyone take out their ugliest piece of paper. You know we get packs or pads, and there is inevitably that one piece we don't like. We had to add one element and then pass it to the left. By the time it got back to the owner, it would have 5 elements and it would be BEAUTIFUL. I have to say, Linda's was the most difficult to work with. Brown peacock feathers - yuck! Am I right, girls? However, even Linda's was beautiful by the time it got back to her! Never underestimate any piece of paper!!

I have had request for the recipes I've used, so I'll put those in another post!

Now I have to bring you to the fishing portion of the day. Jerry spent the day fishing on Lake Superior on a charter. Oh, did he bring back some amazing pictures!! He is getting to be quite the photographer!!

I love the first picture because he purposefully caught the reflection of the cargo ship in the beautiful Lake Superior water.

Here's a morning picture on the lake. In the distance, there is quite heavy fog.

This is the catch of lake trout at the end of the day. Six of them fished, so this is a great haul. As I type, Jerry's portion is on the smoker. Do you like smoked fish? I love it paired with aged cheese. Hmmm. it will be yummy!

So it was a wonderful day for all! Our guests left by 6:30 last evening, and Jerry and I were sleeping by 7:30! Is that a sign of age? Please tell me it's not!! Really we both only gotten 3 hours of sleep the night before getting up at 3:00 am, so the rest felt good! But again I say, it was a wonderful, wonderful day!! I can't wait to scrap again with my family, and Jerry and his buddies are anxious for their next charter fishing trip!!

Creative Scrappers Layouts

This is a layout of two of my grand-nephews. You will find the matching layout in my next post. Are they cute or what?!
The paper and journaling tags are Paper Loft. The rub-on is MME, and the brads, buttons, and hemp are CTMH. This was a challenging sketch because of the way the papers were laid out. However, the I do like the finished product and it shows off these cuties really well!










I love this picture and that face on my grand-nephew Aaron. The journaling blocks were perfect for his expression. They are from Cosmo Cricket. Paper is Basic Grey's Wassail (yep - a Christmas paper!) CTMH has new dimensional elements that are round, and how easy was it to cover it with the paper. (Hint** I used Bonding Memories glue when covering dimensional elements or chipboard. It is awesome!**) The buttons, felt, and hemp are also from CTMH. I am quite certain this layout and that precious face will make you smile!










This is the matching layout for the one above. Again I've used Wassail from Basic Grey. The tags are from Cosmo Cricket. Chipboard, hemp, felt, and buttons are from CTMH.
My nephew has a great-looking family!

For a Very Special Girl

My lovely niece, Lacey, moved away from home a little bit ago. She is not too far, but far enough. She is working and will be starting college soon. I learned from my sister this morning that she has not received any mail yet. Oh my! Immediately I sat down to create this journal/notebook for her. I thought it might be a nice pick-me-up when days are a little tougher. Plus, i don't know a girl yet that doesn't like to write - whether it's lists, thoughts, or just our names, we like to write!

For this journal, I used sugar-coated MME paper. I covered the front, back, and inside covers. I have a bunch of random gerbera daisies, and I thought this one was a good match. The chipboard flower, message, and rub-ons are matching pieces from MME. The ribbons are random from my stash. These are so fun and easy to make - really! I have found that I like CTMH's Bonding Memories the best for adhering paper to the composition book. And I've tried a lot of different adhesives on these! When it comes to the big things, I use CTMH's Liquid Glass as an adhesive. That really holds well!

Enjoy - off to create some more!

Julie's Youngest Three

My youngest sister Julie is 10 years younger than I am, and she has four children. Her oldest son Nick is not pictured here, but I had pictures of her other three children. Caine, in the picture on the top, is our godchild. We love this picture of him, and I was really happy to be able to scrapbook it. And look at the smiles on the two youngest - Jaimen and Miranda. They are adorable! I was able to chat with all of these kids last weekend, and I loved catching up!

I used a Basic Grey sketch from October 2007 for my pattern. You can find these and all kinds of other cool sketches at Page Maps. Let tell you a bit about the product I used for this layout:

• White Textured Cardstock - CTMH
• Twilight Textured Cardstock - CTMH (scored in a grid with the Scor-Pal and then sanded)
• Cranberry Plaid B & T from Route 66 - CTMH (short right edge against white journaling piece scalloped with green EK Success corner rounder)
• Sweet Leaf Ric Rac - CTMH
• White Daisy Craft Button - CTMH
• Chipboard Frame - CTMH
• Cranberry Waxy Flax - CTMH
• Chipboard Stars & Saying - My Mind's Eye
• Rub Ons - My Mind's Eye
• Prisma Glitter - CTMH

Party-Filled Weekend

My niece Lacey graduated last weekend, so we went up north to celebrate at her party this weekend. Now tell me, isn't this just the cutest picture of her and her boyfriend? What a sweet pair!
It was such a lovely graduation party! So many people came to wish Lacey well as she faces her future. She is going to follow in my sister's footsteps and go into Occupational Therapy.

As I grow older, it's a unique experience to watch my older nieces and nephews raise their children. They should be so proud of the job they are doing! Young children watch their mom and dad so closely, and they are all so aware of that. They set such a good example and really keep their children in the forefront. How proud my sisters must be of their children!

I'll be posting a picture later this week of a gift my sister Linda made. It's the cutest apron that she machine embroidered with my name. The fabric is such that it will be a craft apron for me. So nice!! The best part is that she made them for all my sisters choosing fabric that she thought would suit each each one of us. I love gifts from the heart - and this is another one from her!

I was washing dishes for my sister Patti (Lacey's mom), and I also got to re-connect with a niece and nephew I hadn't seen in awhile. They both came to me at separate times and we had nice chats over dishwater. I love those kind of times. Unplanned, unscripted, real.

So, now Jerry and I are home again, and I have "bookends" sleeping to the left and to the right of me. That would be Chanel and Sassy. Do you think the pets miss me when I'm gone for 24 hours? LOL!

Off to get ready for my scrapbooking day tomorrow at Archiver's. I'm loking forward to spending the day with my mother-in-law working on pictures. I'm sure you'll see someone of the finished product next week!