Better Living through Scrapbooking - September Challenge #1

Ooooh, I so loved the challenge this week!  I have to tell you, even though I am on the design team, Better Living Through Scrapbooking challenges me in a unique and wonderful way!  When you do one of the layouts for the challenges, you will find that you think a lot more and the layout takes on special meaning.  Have you joined in yet?  What about the Facebook page?  You can follow there and keep up with everything going on!

All rightie, on to the first challenge for September!  Cehct out my right sidebar for the prize this month - it's a really good one!  Play along with all four challenges in September, and you have the chance to win!!Here are the deets for this challenge.  I've highlighted the options I used in my layout.

"Inspirational Quote challenge"

Create a layout that is based on your favorite inspirational quote. Need some ideas? Visit http://www.inspirational-quotes.info/ for a great searchable collection of quotes.

Chose at least 2 of the following:

1. Use one 5x7 photo of a place or thing that inspires you.
2. Use a palette similar to this one: http://www.colourlovers.com/palette/1254702/BetterScrap_Ch5
3. Make this a double 12x12 or double 8 1/2 x 11 layout, with at least 2 photos per page.
4. Place your title on a circular or wavy path.
5. Use a transparency of some sort on your page, whether an actual transparency sheet (Hambly Screen Prints, Fancy Pants) or transparent embellishment (Heidi Swapp Ghost Shapes, Making Memories) that you purchased, or a handmade transparency made by hand or with your computer printer.

Now I know everyone has a favorite quote!  Grab a picture or two and create!!  Here's what I created:

I so love this picture of Shane.  He was such a tiny little peanut, and I love what the studio did with the background.  Seemed like a perfect time to use Graphic 45 papers! 

It was very easy for me to choose an inspirational quote for the challenge this week. I prayed this Proverb for Shane non-stop. “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Not because he was a difficult child to raise, but because children find their own wings at a certain time in life. There was a point as a parent that I had to understand to let go and trust that what we taught Shane would stick for the rest of his life. And today, I still find myself meditating on that Proverb.  Once a mother, always a mother!!


Items used:
Graphic 45 (Hallowe’en in Wonderland and Christmas Past)
Bazzill Cardstock from Discount Cardstock (Natural Smooth and Midnight Black)
Bazzill Flowers (Raven and Kisses)
CTMH (Bamboo Bitty Brads, Swirl Clips, Black Grosgrain)
Slice Cards (Big Kids, Noteworthy; Spring); Colorbox Chalk Ink (Chestnut Roan)

Sassy Lil' Sketches - New Sketch!

It's the 28th which means it's time for another Sassy  Lil' Sketch!!  It's a great sketch - again - and the 28th Sassies have some great inspiration!!  So be sure to head over and check out their work!

We have two fabulous sponsors again this month - a digi sponsor and a paper sponsor!!  Regina from The Cutting Cafe will be lavishing the digi winner with three files from her site!  Let me tell you, there is something for everyone on her site.  I wanted to finish off my Thanksgiving cards for Operation Write Home and I found a perfect sentiment.  Head over there and take a peek!  Also, Monica from Scrap Freak is  sending our lucky winner one of her gorgeous embellishment kits! 

How are you eligible to win?  Your name is entered for each layout/card you create throughout the month! Make sure you use Mister Linky to link your creation by September 5th at 11:59 p.m at Sassy Lil Sketches!!

Now if you haven't gone through the blog hop yet at SLS, be sure to do so before August 30th!  Lots of great prizes up for grabs in the Hidden Treasure hop!!  Click on the link at the top of the page to get to my blog hop post.  I've listed all the names so that you can start at the beginning.

See you tomorrow for the Better Living through Scrapbooking reveal!!

Cards for Friday

I haven't made cards in awhile, so last night when I was watching a movie, I put a couple together.  I haven't look to see if they will fit in any challenges (where does the time go?), so it was purely for the fun of it!

Cute paper, huh?  I bet there are lots of moms out there that wish school supplies were still this inexpensive!!  I used October Afternoon Report Card paper for this card. "AEIOU" is cut from a piece of paper and the card is a matching element.  Everything else is CTMH.

I have been wanting to make a card with this stamp set for a long time.  Both the spools and the sentiment are from Unity.  I fussy cut the spools and wrapped black hemp around them.  The kraft paper is Bazzill, and the printed paper is from Cosmo Cricket's Material girl.  I punched the bottom of the kraft piece with the Fiskars threading water punch.  Oh! I just realized this one could go into the Let's Scrap August challenge using Cosmo Cricket. 

Hope you are looking forward to a great weekend.  It's State Fair time here in Minnesota.  Jerry and I will be going next week - such a fun place to go!!

New Challenge at Sketches in Thyme, Sharing Our Anniversary Dinner, and Some News!

First I want to tell you about the new challenge over at Sketches in Thyme.  Be sure to hop over and give the sketch a try.  It's another good one from Helen Croft at Scrap a Little Sketches:

Okay, now I have to tell you about our anniversary dinner last night.  We went to the restaurant where Shane works - Chino Latino.  He didn't work last night, so he was able to come with us - prefect!  I don't think I would have know what to order.  Oh, but I have to tell you something fun.  When you make reservations for a celebration, they print menus that say "Happy 20th Anniversary."  (or whatever you are celebrating)  Is that fun or what?!  So anyway, Shane put in the order with our server and let us be surprised.  Here's what we had:

Sushi - Shrimp Caterpillar with Mango

Saigon Rolls - you eat these wrapped in large lettuce leaves

Squid with onions, red and jalepeno peppers

Jerk Chicken with plantains (I've never had plantains - they were crisp and yummy!)

And for dessert...Mango Cake (isn't that candle great?!)

Jerry's Chocolate Volcano Cup with Kahlua whipped cream

Everything is served family style, so we didn't really eat as much as it looks like!  And we brought 3 boxes of food home!  It was definitely a fun meal, great atmosphere, and we had a blast!!

Oh, here's what Jerry brought me for our anniversary.  He is really a sweetheart, and I was very surprised!

Now on to some news!  If you've been reading for a time, you know that I work at Archiver's as an instructor.  Yesterday I accepted a position near our home as a nursing assistant.  Something you may not know is that I worked as nursing assistant and medication administrator for 14 years.  I even went to nursing school for a time.  But Shane was toddler age, and I just felt like I needed more time to devote to him.  So I left health care and just did a lot of other things over the past 18 years.  I am very excited about this new job!!  It is a beautiful campus, and I know I am going to love everyone I come across!  One of the HUGE positives is I'll be able to start teaching in my home again.  I am really looking forward to that!!  I loved the ability to design and create my own classes. 

Well, that's enough chatting for me!  There will be some more artwork coming!  Click on the links on the top of my blog to get to the post about my blog candy and Sassy Lil Sketches blog hop.  Then hop over to Sketches in Thyme and create a page with the sketch.  I'd love to see what you put together!!

Let's Scrap Reveal Day!

I want to show you an awesome sketch from Let's Scrap!  It's a brand new week, and it's time to play along!  The sponsor this week is Paper Threads - what a huge online store!!

Can you believe this sketch?  It could potentially hold 26 - 30 photos!  I wish I had seen this sketch when I had done some vacation layouts!!  However, if this sketch frightens you, I wanted to show you another way to use it.

I have used just the left layout and flipped it to suit my needs.  Instead of photos, I have used double matted pieces of the beautiful paper.  I fussy cut those ornaments from a sheet of paper and tucked them behind the photo.  This picture is special to me because it is the last picture I have of my whole family getting together.  It was a poor quality picture in the first place, but when I blew it up, it was even worse.  In this partcular case, I don't even care.  I know if I showed my mother this page, she would love it.

Items used: Fancy Pants paper and tag; Basic Grey Wassail stickers, Wal-Mart ribbon

One more thing - today is our 20th Anniversary!  Who knew that 20 years could go so fast - or be so wonderful!  We have truly loved being married to each other, and if possible, I think we are happier today than we've ever been!!  Tonight we are going out to dinner and taking Shane with us.  What a wonderful anniversary celebration it will be!!

Oh My Goodness!

I can't believe how blessed I am to have all of you following me!  I reached 200 followers, so on September 1st, I will be drawing TWO winners!  I haven't decided what I am going to put in the package for the second winner, but I promise it will be wonderful!!  Thank you all so much for following and for constantly leaving comments that brighten my day.  I don't think I could do without my blogging buddies!!

Sassy Lil' Sketches Blog Hop!!

We are having a Blog Hop…Sassy Lil’ Sketches style! We want you to get to know all the new Sassies. There are some pretty fabulous prizes to win, too!

The Sassy Lil' Sketches "Hidden" Treasures Blog Hop starts at Sassy Lil' Sketches where you will find two sassy sketches and the complete rules for the blog hop.  FOUR of the blogs have been chosen as "hidden" treasures!  If you post on that blog, you could be a randonly chosen winner!  Isn't that fun?!!  You've just got to hop!!  This hop runs through Monday, August 30th at 9:00 pm EST so that you have plenty of time to play!

I've chosen to use this sketch for the hop:

I liked it because it fits LOADS of little pictures.  I have pictures of Shane's little boy years that I want to scrap. but they are sooooo far away and there is sooooo much background (oh, I would have loved digital back then!).  So that's what I have chosen to do with this layout:

Items used: CTMH Route 66 Level 1, Shining Star stamp set, honey ink, clear detail embossing powder, and buttons; Soft Spoken embellishments; Bazzill Ribbon

Do you want to know the fabulously generous sponsors for the hop?  There are some awesome prizes!!

Xyron  - 9' Creative Station 

Thoughts 2 Paper - Zutter Distresser 

Scrappy Jo - Gift certificate 

Crop Stop  - Gift certificate

Apron Strings - July 2010 Kit 

Crop Chocolate - $40 Account Credit 

Now, of course I wanted to offer some blog candy, too!  I love that you've stopped in while you've been hopping!!  Here's my prize of nearly 60 journaling tags and journaling spots from Elle's Studio.  Great for scrapbooking and card-making!!  You need to leave a comment on this post, and I will draw a name randomly on September 1st.

Here are the rest of the Sassies that you need to hop over and visit:

Aimee 

Amanda 

Amy 

Brenda B. 

Brenda R. (that's me!!)

Carla 

Cherie 

Cheryl

Christine 

Deanna 

Debbie 

Denise
Isabelle 

Jessica Bree 

Katie 

Kelly 

Laura 

Martine 

Nancy 

Rebecca 

Sandra 

Shana

Enjoy the hop!  And remember you have until August 30th to finish!!

Better Living through Scrapbooking Reveal Day!!

We all do it.  We buy paper and then we get home only to look at it again and think..."boy is this paper ugly!"  I guess we should say that it's just not our favorite - LOL!!  So that is what the 4th challenge for the month at Better Living Through Scrapbooking is all about - your least favorite paper.  Search your stash for sheets or scraps of paper that aren’t your favorites, and use them on a layout!  Chose at least 2 of the following:

1. Use a 12x12 sheet of “ugly” paper as your layout background.
2. Use at least 3 scraps of “ugly” paper somewhere on the page where they can be seen.
3. Use 2 4x6 photos, any orientation.
4. Use “stitching” somewhere on the page. It can be actual sewn stitches, or your stitches can be hand drawn, created with a template, or stamped.
5. Use color mist (such as Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, or a homemade ink or paint mist) anywhere on your page.

Would you like to see mine?

It’s not in the right colors for me, and it’s somewhat muted. But here it is – having sat in my craft room wondering when it was going to be loved!

This challenge was the perfect time to bring out this paper. I have used three of the challenge options on my layout. I used the cardstock and printed paper as my background (#1). I also used three other different papers from the set on my layout (#2). The faux stitching was done with a white Uniball (#4). That always a little something.  I like the pictures very much! But even though I “cuted” this up – just not sure. The funny thing is that now I have to make a matching page – LOL!!

Items used: Recollections Rockets and Sprockets; Bazzill carstock; White Uniball; Ranger Glossy Accents; American Crafts Thickers

Let's see what you can create.  Link it up to Better Living Through Scrapbooking when you're done.  This is the last challenge for August!  If you do all four, you are eligible to win the monthly prize!!  Check out my sidebar to see those goodies!!

I really hope you get the chance to play - either this week or the coming months.  As an instructor, I am always looking for ways to grow in paper crafting.  I appreciate - and love - what Better Living Through Scrapbooking is all about.  The challenges are fantastic, and I think that you'll find you would grow in them, too!  There is a newsletter you can sign up for right here, and you'll get great tips and articles.  This month there is a great sketch in the newsletter, and here is what I did with it.

My cat, Miss Sassy, and our dog, Miss Chanel #5 (yes, she was named after Coco Chanel by our 21 year-old son!), are a constant source of photo inspiration in this house. I do believe they think they are human!!

Let me tell you a little about how I make “designer” buttons. It’s so quick and easy if you take clear buttons and scraps of whatever paper you are working with. Put a little Ranger Glossy Accents (or CTMH Liquid Glass) on the back of the button. Set it down on the top of the paper. Let it sit a couple minutes to adhere. That’s it! You can use your paper piercer to poke through the button holes to thread with your choice of floss. Easy peasy, and it adds a nice touch!

Items used: Imaginisce Apple Collection; CTMH Colonial White CS; CTMH Clear and New England Ivy buttons; Hero Arts Hello Flags stamp (I stamp on the wrong side of the paper, fussy cut my banners and mount them on matching paper); CTMH white hemp; Chicks with Lasers die-cut

Sassy Lil' Sketches Reveal!

I have played along with Sassy Lil' Sketches all month, but this is my first reveal as a Sassy!!  Isn't that exciting?!  I have been looking forward to this day!  I will always post the monthly prize on my sidebar and play along from week to week, but you will see my reveals on the 21st of the month.  Okay, on to the sketch from Cherie:

Here is my take on this great sketch!

(You may want to click on this layout to see some more detail.)  These are pictures from 1991, and they were a little dark.  So I needed to find some paper that would compliment them.  I chose to use Fancy Pants Like Father, Like Son.  The Sassies were given an opportunity to work with some Cutting Cafe images (they are one of our monthly sponsors), and I just loved playing with them! I printed the top banner on one of the designed papers.  I layered it with CTMH colonial white cardstock, and then another banner.  I printed "Party Time" directly on carstock.  For added embellishment, I've used a lot of CTMH Autumn Terrecotta buttons, brads, and pin.  The mat for the line of three photos is CTMH adhesive twill.  This was a fun layout! 

On Monday (September 23rd), there will be a Sassy Lil' Sketches blog hop.  Be watching!  I know there are going to be great prizes!!
Now hop on over to Sassy Lil Sketches and play along!  I'll stop in and see what you've done with the sketch!!

Sketches in Thyme Reveal Day!

It's Thursday, and it's my turn to reveal at Sketches in Thyme!  Have you played yet?  Look at the prize on my right sidebar being offered by Maven Fern.  What a great prize!!  Here's the sketch this week by Helen Croft.  Check out her blog - amaazing and free sketches for your inspiration!

I chose to go simple with this week's sketch.  I found the cutest pictures of my nephew Riley from 1998:

I've used a CTMH Level 1 layout from Zippadee.  It was just the perfect colors, and for all my CTMH buddies out there - you know how much I love the Level 1's!  I cut  2 different patterened "so cute" from my Slice Big Kids card, and then layered them to look like a shadow.  The buttons are Jenni Bowlin.

Now hop on over to Sketches in Thyme because I am looking forward to seeing what you create with this sketch!

Learn to Pause...

This is my second post for the day, so be sure to scroll down for the Let's Scrap reveal!  In this card, I've used the Alcohol Ink Faux Bleach technique over at Splitcoast Stampers.  When this was shown last week, I couldn't wait to sit down and try it!  I knew excatly what alcohol inks and stamp I wanted to use for this:

I have used two different alcohol inks - butterscotch and lettuce.  The wildflower stamp is from Hero Arts, and the sentiment is Tim Holtz.  Click on the link above to see exact directions and give it a try!  It's such a pretty technique!!