Happy Halloween

I got this stamp a few weeks ago, but this is the first time I have used it.  It took a few tries to get a clean stamp because the stamp is large, and the middle didn't want to transfer.  I finally decided to do it differently.  I cut the paper and instead of stamping onto the paper, i put the stamp inked upside up, and placed the paper on top of it and rubbed the image onto it.

 I used distress inks to color. The first one I used reinkers and a water brush, and it took quite a bit of time, but I like the results.  I used the Tim Holtz ruler to pierce an edging on it, then used pop dots to give it a little bit of dimension

The second card I used the Distress markers.  I liked the control it gave me for coloring, but I guess I need to work with them more because I like the colors I got with the reinkers better.  Instead of piercing around the edge of this card, I used the deckle blade on my cutterpede to trim it to where there isn't any white showing, and I think I like that look better.

Next time I use this stamp, I think I'll use a combination of reinkers and markers. 

Piano Card

Don't you just love it when you wake up on your day off and your mojo is screaming to be used?
The pianist at church had a birthday this week, and last weekend I saw this card on Pinterest, and knew it was just the card for Martha!  I wound up using the same paper collection which I had used for a mini album that I made for her wedding in 2011.  I really loved the original, but here's my take on it, and am so pleased that I already intend to make a couple more:

I had a few challenges, but figured out the best way to do the keyboard was to create a file on my Silhouette.

I had intended to make some roses using my McGill punches, but wound up using a cluster from Prima. 

I don't have a butterfly punch that I wanted, so I had to improvise.  I was about to cut one out with the Silhouette, but decided instead to look for a stamp.  (Insert groan here thinking about dragging all my stamps out to look for just the right one).  But then I remembered that I'd decided to take a picture of all my stamps and put them in a folder on dropbox, so I picked up my kindle, took a quick look, and had just the stamp I wanted in less than a minute!  For those of you that don't know what dropbox is, it's a cloud storage for files and photos. If you are interested and sign up using this link, we both get free storage: http://db.tt/Ja2OshBS I found out about it when I lost some digi pages due to a computer issue. If you want to take a peek at my stamp album, https://www.dropbox.com/sc/58nmcf3jym4xh54/k_ oVKjsX4w and let me know if you are able to look at my other pictures from that link. Test the security of it if you will.

LOAD213 DAY2

So today's prompt was to figure out what would consist of a perfect day for me and scrap it, with the intention of from knowing what a perfect day would be then it could be created.  God has blessed me with many perfect days in my life.  My trip to Scotland was a whole week of perfect days.  This was a small snippet of one of those days.  But another page completed in my sister's digital scrapbooks. :)  The paper and overlays are from a kit on digitalscrapdesigns.com  I created the loopy design above and below the panoramic picture after spending too much time trying to find one.

LOAD213 Day 1

I don't know how Lain could challenge me more than she did today.  She actually challenged us to create a layout without words!  Words are the difference between a photo album and a scrapbook in my opinion.  But I do have these pictures that I haven't been able to come up with a clever title for, nor have I decided what story goes with the pictures.  But I did know of a technique I wanted to use! And the pictures were too cute to leave unscrapped.

First, I cut 2 circles out with my coluzzle, the larger one a light green, the other a reddish pink.

Then I used the Tim Holtz Distressing tool and distressed the edges. 

Then  I inked the edges of the green pp with Pine Needles Distress ink.  The distressing I did in the previous step helps the saturation degree of the edges.

Then I used  some adhesive sheets by 3L to adhere adhesive to all of the pinkish red circle and adhered to the middle of the green circle.

Using the scissors, I cut the circle in to half, and then quarters, and the eighths.

Then using Festive Berries, I inked the edges of the pieces.  See the difference it makes on these?

Then I used  Enamel Accents and put fake seeds on the watermelon pieces.

Then using a cd to put the watermelon pieces on a pleasing semi-circle, I attached the pieces to my layout.

 Here is the final result. I used Sketch Savvy #76 for the design.  I cut the shape at the bottom out with the Silhouette, and then distressed and inked it the same as I did the green circle in the 3rd step above.  And then for another detail, a technique I did which I wasn't planning to do was the stitching.  I actually used my Sew Easy!  I was almost finished stitching when I realized that the green piece of paper was one of the pieces that Lain sent me for winning LOAD212.   If I had thought, I couldn't have planned it better.  

ScrapHappier213

What makes you happy about scrapbooking?  I think for me, it is seeing finished pages that have the pictures and the stories.  For me, that is what makes my scrapbooks special, to have the stories with the pictures.  My family has a history of strokes and memory loss, and when I am old and can't remember, I'll still have my memories. But don't think that's all, I adore using different techniques on the pages. I love using tools and creating my own embellishments.  Nothing better than making a title or an embellishment and knowing it's better than what I could have bought in the store.

This time last year, I was preparing to do something that I heard Lain Ehmann talking about on paperclipping round tables (the most amazing scrapbooking podcast).    It seemed revolutionary, or perhaps I should say it was evolutionary.  The task: to create one scrapbook layout each and every day, no matter what.  The premise is that by doing this task, you find out what your style is, what supplies you really do like, and improve your personal process of creating a page.

I succeeded.  I created a page each and every day in February 2012.  I created pages with pictures I had wanted to scrap every time I came across them in my box of photos,  pictures I hadn't thought about scrapping, and even ones that I had almost forgotten I had.  It was an incredible experience and one that I would encourage everyone who loves to scrap to embrace at least once!  The video prompts are general enough that it can be interpreted many different ways!

I had a routine in place.  When I woke up, I would watch the video prompt.  Sometimes I knew right away what I was going to scrap, and other days I didn't have a clue, and figured I'd just scrap whatever inspired me for the day.  Then I would go to work at my real world job and let the prompt stew around in my mind.  I usually wound up writing my journaling on a break, and my title would usually come to me as a result of the journaling.  I discovered that for me, I like having the journaling done first.  Having the journaling done helped me know where I was going with the page, which helped in choosing the paper from all my options, which embellishments would compliment the story, and made me realize what I wanted to stand out from the pictures, even helping in narrowing down the photo selection in some cases...and send me looking for another picture that I knew I had somewhere. 

These are a few of my favorite layouts from last February:

I had seen a layout which inspired me to want to create a graphic background with hexagons.  I didn't have anything to punch out hexagons, but I did have a set of spellbinder octagons.  It took me too long to cut these out, and placing them was a pill, but I did this on one of those days that I had more time to play:

I don't have a cricut, but a couple of years ago when I was shopping with my friend who does have one, we came across a smoking hot deal on some cricut cartridges, and I bought a couple of pooh cartridges for her knowing that one day I'd be using them.  I went to her house one day last Feb, and knew it was my chance to use it.  I had so much fun making this page of my daughter's last birthday with her papa.

I almost forgot about these pictures of me and my best friend in elementary school.  As you can see, some of them have been damaged over the years.  This page didn't take me very long at all because the owls were print and cut, the design was simple, and 

This was a great time to finally put some of those scrapbook ideas that I'd save to lift to use.  I had so much fun with this one.

Sometimes a sketch is just screaming to be done, and I had so much fun with this one.

One day the prompt was to simply scrap some photos that make you happy.

Very importantly, I also took time to document some of my family history

I hope you think of joining me for the February 2013 layout a day challenge. 

On to the next stop!

Heather Dubarry: http://noexcusescrapbooking.com

Alison Day: http://adayinthelifeor5.blogspot.com/

Danielle Taylor: http://scrapperonthestreet.com

Alison Charlton: http://scrappinginsingapore.blogspot.com/

Christy Strickler: http://myscrapbookevolution.blogspot.com/

Lynnette Nagle: http://sassyscrapper2010.blogspot.com/

Julie Shepler: www.sheplerfamily.com

Joy McHargue: http://www.studiowowjoy.com/

Kelli Panique: http://scrapbookgirl71.com/

Cathy Holiday: pikespeakscrapper.blogspot.com

Leslie Smith: http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com/

Lori Martin: http://Www.chaosandcraziness.com/

Connie Hanks: http://ClickyChickCreates.wordpress.com

 

Betsye Erazo: betsyerose.blogspot.com

 

Marcia Fortunato: mfortunato.blogspot.com

 

Regina Huminski: http://ginabeth1.blogspot.com/

Beth Soler: http://www.scrappingwonders.com

Kristie Sloan: http://kristiesloan.com/blog/

Danielle Hunter: http://ecoscrapbook.blogspot.com/

Katrina Forman: http://k84mansramblings.blogspot.com

Jessica Baldwin: www.inkyaddict.com

Cheryl McCain: http://cherylmccainphotography.com

Briel Schmitz: http://scrappingwindow.blogspot.com/

Marygail Mello: www.marygailscorner.blogspot.com

RMS Friends

The first 2 pages of 2013! 

The Pretty Paper Party Prompt for today revolved around using strips of paper.  Shimelle gave us a few sketches, but I like to use more than one photo on a page, so I changed it up a little.  I used a sketch in Sketchbook Generations 8 book.  It used several of the same features as one of Shimelle's sketches, and I'm happy with it. 

The papers are from Bo Bunny's "Popsicle" collection.  I must confess...this was the 4th collection I tried with these photos.  I might have a few too many choices.  But even with not being able to decide which set of pictures to scrap today (I found pictures from 2 different events that would fit the sketch and was equally happy with scrapping either one) and having to call a friend and say, "DD's middle school graduation, or Grandfather Mountain Highland Games?" and then struggling over which paper collection to use, this only took me 3 hours, which is very good for me.  I'm a slow scrapper.

The white strips of cardstock will have the names of her friends put on them, but I didn't want to add them before putting on the internet.

Pretty Paper

Top o' the morning!

For the next 4 weeks, I am participating in a class by Shimelle, Pretty Paper Party.

I'm very excited about it this morning.  I read the welcoming prompt and am sharing with you a picture of my pretty paper.  I'm sure I could have gotten it into one picture, but it's in separate parts of the room...

This is my collection of Basic Grey collections:

Here I have my BoBunny (the last section and a half), Fancy Pants, Echo Park, and Carta Bella (my new favorite)

I love to make cards, and the prettiest cards are made with pretty paper, right?  and the prettiest paper for cards are made in little 6x6 pads, wouldn't you agree?

But this is the majority of my paper.  These shelves hold most everything else (except what is in project boxes...you know, the iris boxes that I have set aside with everything related to heritage, scouts, Scotland, etc.)

I can usually talk myself out of buying a new collection when I think of these pictures...but sometimes the collection is just so wonderful that I know I'll be searching high or low for it once it goes out of print, and then paying too much for it once I find it. I did that with Cosmo Cricket's Snorkel collection.  I put off buying it for myself until I couldn't find it anywhere...until I was at a Scrapbook Superstore, and then... there it was, (happy sigh), in a double collection pack.  The other collection was eh, but I had to have it!  I had finally found the collection I wanted! I have made 4 pages with it so far, and will use it again when I get the right pictures printed.  Hmmm... maybe it's time to go find those pictures.