Better Living through Scrapbooking Reveal Day!

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge!!  Be sure to take a look at the prizes for this month on my right sidebar.  WOWIE - there are some good ones!!  I LOVE designing for this challenge blog.  I am challenged every week, and that is just incredible.  If you've been scrapping for a long time like I have, it's good to learn to streeeeeetch!!  So without further ado, here is the challenge this week at BLTS!

Quite the fashion disaster, don’t you think?! My husband laughed and laughed when I brought out this picture! Okay, now I think it’s quite the look, but back in 1982, it was really a good look! That BIG hair, BIG glasses, BIG faux fur coat, silver metallic dress. Really, what on earth was I thinking?! Stop laughing!!  It's time to get on to the challenge…


“Fashion disaster challenge”

Create a layout about a fashion disaster, hair disaster, or social faux pas that happened to you. I've highlighted the options that I used:

1. Use an old school photo of yourself on your layout.

2. Use fabric or canvas on your page(s). I used twill fabric as a mat on my layout. It’s kind of fun to use because you can pull the threads on the sides. After I did that, I distressed it with Vintage Photo distress ink. In fact, all the paper is edge distressed and then age with Vintage Photo. I’ve also added a felt vine to my page.

3. Use one larger and two smaller photo on your page.

4. Use ribbon in a fun and/or unusual way on your page. There are so many great things to do with ribbon! it is not very original to put a piece across the layout as I’ve done, BUT I’ve knotted the same ribbon and used it as flower centers. The little butterfly was fussy cut from the paper behind the picture, and I covered it with glossy accents to give it a glass look.

5. Use the following as a page title, or the beginning of your journaling: “Quick, Call the Fashion Police!” Well, really what else can you say? I needed the fashion police and they were nowhere to be found that day! I printed this on vellum and aged the edges.

Items used: Cream Vellum and French Vanilla Bazzill flowers (Discount Cardstock); Le’Romantique and Fashionista paper (Graphic 45); Crocheted Ribbon (American Crafts); Felt Vine (Prima); Vintage Clip (Close To My Heart); Vintage Photo Distress Ink, Edge Distresser and Glossy Accents (Ranger)

You're the Cream in my Coffee

There is a wonderful challenge site called Papercraft Star.  They post their challenges ahead of time so that you have plenty of time to play.  That is so great for the busy crafter!!  You can also "like" their Facebook page.  So fun for getting updates and they are giving away a gift certificate when they reach 150 fans!!  I saw the challenge this week, and of course I had to play.  Look at the inspiration, and those of you that are my regular readers will know why.  Have you had coffee from a French press?  There is no better way!!

I have had this coffee cup template for quite some time (I'm sorry that I don't remember where I got it!), and this was the perfect time to use it!

I love the way this card turned out - so fun!  I printed the saying on my computer.  Other items used: Bazzill CS; Graphic 45 Steampunk paper; Mark Richards crystals; Wal-Mart ribbon; Tattered Rose Distress ink

Sketches in Thyme Reveal Day!

It's time for a new sketch over at Sketches in Thyme!  We are using a sketch from Helen Croft - she is amazing!  You can link up to her Scrap-a-Little Sketches blog on my left sidebar.  Here is the sketch we are working with this week:

Don't you love the possibilities?  Even though it's not my reveal week, I was anxious to use this sketch!

Items used: Lily Bee Designs paper, rub-ons, and chipboard; Petaloo paper flower; CTMH dutch blue cardstock

Play along for your chance to win the fabulous prize sponsored by Maven Tanya that you'll find on my right sidebar.

Wednesday Afternoon Artwork to Share

I have a couple of cards and a layour to show you this afternoon.  My artwork will be done in spurts for awhile until I can get used to my full-time schedule and getting up so early in the morning!  I used to be a night owl getting a lot of work done into the wee hours.  I've actually gotten a lot more done today, but it's not time to reveal them yet!  (I am so thankful for scheduled posts!!)

All rightie, let's get to the good stuff and the reason you stopped by in the first place.  First up, I've got a layour for the Adornit monthly challenge.  I've been playing along for 4 or 5 months now, and I almost forgot to do this challenge!  I neglected to order the monthly page kit that Adornit puts together.  Usually I leave that out as a reminder.  (Sidebar - can you image what my craft desk really looks like with all these piles?!)

I grabbed some Adornit I had in my stash and created a layout with the theme "everyday giggles" and using the three items necessary - a rub-on, a dimensional flower, and a sticker.  Here's what I came up with:

Shane was just a year old here.  What a little blonde peanut!!  I used all Adornit for this layout except for CTMH black cardstock, a SU! rub-on, and my "so cute" from the Slice Big Kids design card.

Up next is the a card I made for Heart 2 Heart challenges.  I haven't had the chance to play for a month or so, and I really wanted to make the time this week.  It's a CTMH color challenge - NewEngland Ivy, Autumn Terracotta, and Honey.  Well, those colors are right up my alley, so I created this fall card using the circle templates from Jeanette Lynton's Wishes book.

All products used for this card are CTMH.

The last thing I want to remind you about is the Sketches for You Sketch-a-Thon.  It started today with the pre-challenges.  I posted this fall/back to school challenge using a sketch from PageMaps:

Items used: Imaginisce Apple Cider; Kraft paper; CTMH Colonial White buttons; Tim Holtz sentiment stamp; Zing Vanilla Embossing Powder; random hemp and leaf button

You have until Spetember 30th to complete this challenge, so hop on over for your chance to win a prize!

I hope you are having a grand Wednesday afternoon!  Be sure to make it your best day!!

Let's Scrap Reveal Day!

It's Wednesday and a new sketch over at the Let's Scrap community!!  Here is the sketch that Cheri designed for this week:

I have used the right side of the layout making it more masculine:

I had these pictures from a storm we had this summer where we lost part of our willows.  I wish I could angle on a layout so that I could have done that 4th picture that way.  I fear that the "straight line" scrapper in me would rip the layout apart at a future date.  You all know that about me anyway, though - LOL!!  Check out the main page over at Let's Scrap and see what the other design team members did with this layout.  Gorgeous!!  Play along for the chance to win the weekly goodies!!

Items used:  Bo Bunny Roughin' It, Paradise, and U Bug Me collections; CTMH swirl clip and edge anchors; ribbon from stash (and I wish I could remember where I got it because I love that printing on the twill!)

Let's Scrap also has a monthly challenge using a Julie Bonner sketch.  If you play along, you have a chance to win a huge Jillibean Soup package!!  You will find this sketch on the Let's Scrap main page.

Sketch Reveal at Sassy Lil Sketches!

There is a new sketch over at Sassy Lil Sketches today!  The reveal is done by the "7th Sassies," so be sure to hop over there to see their work - it's awesome!! 

Check over at my right sidebar to see the prize for September. Again, there are some fabulous sponsors this month!!! For each time you play during the month, you gain an entry.  Fun, huh?!!

New "Brenda's Challenges" over at Sketches for You!

Have you joined the Sketches for You community yet?  I have a group over there were I present challenges, and you have a chance to win a prize!  Here's my challenge for the month of September ~

As you can see, I've reversed the sketch. I've only used a couple of things on this layout - Fancy Pants Like Father, Like Son paper and stickers and star rub-ons from Stampin' Up. I love scrapping my handsome son!


Here is your challenge along with the requirements: 

1. Use the Page Maps sketch (interpret any way you want as long as Becky's sketch is evident) 
2. Use one photo of yourself or someone in your family 
3. Use 10 journaling words that start with the first letter of your subject's name (my son's name is Shane, so I've used 10 "s" words to describe him) 
4. You cannot combine this with any other challenge - sorry! The benefit is that you'll get another page done that focuses on this challenge. 
5. Post your challenge in the gallery as "Brenda10."

 Use all 5 requirements to be eligible for the RAK. The prize this month is a $10 gift certificate to the the marvelous online store - The Cutting Cafe. Whether you are a card maker or scrapper, you will love Regina's images and templates!

  

Hop on over to Sketches for You and join in the fun!  I can't wait to see what you do with this challenge!! 

Also here's some fun news!!  This month Sketches for You is having a Sketch-a-Thon.  There will be sketches starting on September 8th that go all the way through the month.  Nikki Sivils and Cherie from Sassy Lil Sketches will be special guests during the Sketch-a-Thon.  If you participate, you are going to have a chance to win prizes and RAKs.  I hope to see you there!!

 

 

 

What a Lovely Weekend!

It has been a lovely weekend in our house!  On Saturday, we spent a part of the day at Jerry's mother's house.  We brought up boxes and looked through pictures.  I have been wanting to scrap some of Jerry's little boy years, so I was on a mission!  I found treasure after treasure in those bins of pictures.  I made copies of some of the things and hope to spend another day looking through some more.  Bins of pictures can be daunting, so I am trying to do it piece by piece.

Today was another wonderful day!  My niece and nephews had a surprise 25th anniversary party for my sister and her husband.  Oh was it nice!!  It was so nice to spend time with ALL of my sisters and my mother.  I thought I'd share a couple of pictures from the day.  Look at my sister's beautiful family and see just what 25 years brought them!

These sisters of mine will never know just how much they hold a piece of my heart.  It must have been wonderful for my mother to have all of us together...

I took pictures of each of my sisters and my mom individually with me, so you will see those in layouts in the near future.  Here's a really sweet picture of Jerry and me:

And I have to share this last one.  These are my god-parents.  I just never think to take out my camera when I see them, and I am so glad I did today!  (In the days to come, you'll also see a layout with a picture of me and my god-son.)

Now that I've shared some of my weekend, I wanted to ask you if you are a subsciber to the "Here's the truth..." daily thoughts from the Brave Girls Club.  These are daily inspirations written by Melody Ross (GCD Studios).  I love getting this in my e-mailbox every day!  Go HERE if you want to check it out and sign up.  For me, they seem to say the right thing at just the right time.  I wanted to share one of them with you.  First my thoughts to go along with this one.  I am a goal setter, and I have always liked having "the next step" in mind - whether it was to move on toward a long-term goal, finish something, or just plain start a new goal.  I think we can all agree that this is a good thing in life!  I don't know about you, but sometimes I get so caught up in THE goal  - and sometimes getting discouraged along the way - that I forget to look back and remember what I have done or been through in life.  Well, read for yourself - this is a good reminder.  And I hope you find as much inspiration in this as I did.

Dear Incredible, Beautiful, Courageous Girl,

You have been through a lot...and you always pulled through. You are a champ at pulling through! Sure, there were some things that you may have done differently given the chance, but all in all, you made it through every storm, every fire...and up every mountain.

When is the last time you sat down to REALLLLY think about how far you have come? When is the last time you listed all of the things you have learned, all of the weaknesses you have overcome and all of the times you chose to see the good stuff even though the bad stuff seemed to outweigh it?

Sometimes you just need to tally it all up. We all forget how far we have come and we only focus on how far we still have to go. Imagine having to run a marathon and never knowing how many miles you have run....you would probably feel like it would never end!

You are so much further along that you think you are. You are so much stronger than you think you are. You have done so much more in the world than you think you have. Sit down today and really think about the long path that has brought you to now...and pat yourself on the back a little...you did a great job!!!

And you will continue to do a great job.

Thanks for being so brave. You inspire more people than you will ever know!

It's Sunday - Better Living Through Scrapbooking Reveal Day!

These aren’t colorful pictures done on vintage paper. These are just bad photos! They were left in one of those old magnetic albums too long, and this is what happens to them after time. So if you have any photos still in magnetic pages, you might consider taking them out as soon as you can!!

I could never let go of these pictures, though, because they are the only ones I have of my great-grandmother who we called Moo Moo. She didn’t speak English (or maybe she did but just loved her native language of Finnish). I don’t remember much about her because I was just a little girl when she passed on, but I do remember how very nice she was – and that I loved the times we did visit her!

And that is what the challenge at Better Living through Scrapbooking is all about this week – scrapping those bad photos! Maybe you have old ones like this. Or maybe you’ve got a recent one that you love, but it’s just not the best quality. Scrap them anyway!! You can do marvelous things with them, and you will never regret having them in your memory book!  You'll need to use at least two of these options on your layout:

Create a layout using a photo or photos that you would normally have discarded.

Chose at least 2 of the following:

1. Use rub-ons or stickers directly on your photo(s). 
2. Use paint on your page in a messy or unusual way.
3. Use a die-cut or pre-purchased journaling “spot” on which to write your journaling.
4. Use the following sketch as design inspiration for your page: http://www.betterscrap.com/images/sketch2.jpg 
5. Make a handmade flower using Katie’s technique in our August 1st reveal, and use the flower on your layout.

I’ve done a few different things on this layout, so I’ll tell you first about the four challenge options I used:
 
1.  Rub-ons directly on my photos
2.  Painted edges of my photos with gold and sandal ranger paints
3.  Angela had a great sketch for us to use this week, so I gladly used that!
4.  Journaling spot was diecut with vellum and cardstock

There are a couple of other techniques you’ll see on this layout:

1.Stitching using a Bazzill template and floss
2.Crackle paint and glimmer mist on the flowers

Now take out those bad pictures and see what you can do! Be sure to go over to Better Living Through Scrapbooking to see what the rest of the marvelous design team did!!  We’d love to have you join us!!  Play along all month for your chance to win one of the prizes on my right sidebar.  WOW - there are three amazing prizes!!

Items from Discount Cardstock:

  

Midnight Black Cardstock

Cream Vellum

Bazzill In Stitch’z Granny Stitches Template

Bazzill In Stitch’z Pebbles Floss

Bazzill Raven Paper Flowers

  

Graphic 45 Papers:

Communique

Hallowe’en in Wonderland

Le’Romantique 

Other items: K&Company – crocheted ribbon; May Arts velvet ribbon; Tim Holtz Filmstrip; Prima flowers; Imaginisce gems; Tattered Angels wheatfields glimmer mist; Ranger gold, sandal, and clear rock candy paints; 7Gypsies rub-ons; Close To My Heart edge anchors, paper clip and charm; Slice Vintage Findings Design Card

Are you a Better Living Through Scrapbooking fan on Facebook? We are holding a Labor Day giveaway on our Facebook page, and it’s so easy to win! 

Just visit our Facebook page (if you’re not already a fan, just click the “like” button at the top of the page, and you’ll be signed in!) and look for the Labor Day giveaway post. Just leave a comment to that post, tell us your favorite inspirational quote, and you’re entered to win! 

Once lucky recipient chosen at random from the eligible participants will win a Punky Sprouts album from their new Summer CHA release, along with a pack of My Little Shoebox alphabet stickers to help you decorate the album!

Woohoo!!

I was so surprised when I was blog reading and found that I was Top 3 at Keep it Simple!!  I have to thank my friend Laurel because she was the one that suggested it - thanks Laurel - you are always inspiring me!!

Altered Tin Challenge!

I just posted a new challenge over at Sketches for You, and I'd love if you played along!  The challenge this month is to alter a tin.  You can purchase a tin at your local craft store or (and this is my favorite way to get a tin), you can wash any empty tin that had food, mints - whatever - in it and alter that!  Here's the first tin I want to show you:

I don't remember what this round tin was from, but it was in my "recycle" box! I inked it up with alcohol ink - wild plum and lettuce. I stamped the top with one of my favorite Melody Ross stamps. (If you stamp on alcohol ink, I've found Staz-On to work best.) I added some flowers, ribbon, and a hat pin - and it's done! Easy peasy and finished in less than 30 minutes.

Here's another example:

This is an empty Starbuck's mocha powder tin. It was just too perfect to throw away! I covered it with beautiful paper from Nepal. A little ribbon and a charm - another easy project in less than 30 minutes!

I challenge you to work with your supplies and cover a tin. I'll tell you a little bit about adhesives. I usually use super tape (red roll) to adhere paper. Then I cover with some sort of decoupage medium. I think Martha Stewart has a great decoupage and sealer and I use it often. However I also like paper Mod Podge. It's nice to finish off your projects with a sealer so that they are protected.

I'd like you to load your projects right in the post on Sketches for You, so that I have easy access to them. I am really excited about this prize for this challenge!!

I am going to randomly select a winner to receive a $10 gift certificate to The Cutting Cafe. The Cutting Cafe has amazing images and templates that work for cards, scrapbook pages and altered items. The winner will be able to select what they want - and $10 will go very far!!

This challenge runs through the whole month of September. you must have your project loaded by September 30th at 11:59 pm CST. I can't wait to see what you'll come up with!!