Hello :)

This is the last week of the DSA Scrap-off 2010. We didn't get any new mini-kits this week, but we did get to use anything and everything out of all the kits we've received in the previous weeks. I got busy and got my page done early this week and really love the way it came out, but I'm not sure it's "good" enough to submit as my last page. Like I said, I really love it, but I know I can do and have done better. So, I posted it in the gallery, but I haven't officially linked it as my last page yet. Here's a look, let me know what you think:

If I find some time I'm going to scan in an old photo and see if I can't come up with something spectacular. hehe. But, I do love the way the colors from the kits worked so well with our school colors of Maroon and Gold. Go Vikings!

I also found another challenge over at 'My Life And Scrap' that caught my attention. It's a Project 52 challenge, but it's called "My Life IN Scrap". Each week they give you a different prompt for your page, and they are all about yourself. This weeks was 'Your Home Town'. I had to jump at this one. I even went as far as "scrap-lifting" our own city's website for inspiration! lol Recently I've been completely fascinated by the history surrounding my home town. I can get caught up following one link after another all over the web reading for hours about how Forest Grove began, and who some of the first settlers were in this area. We still have several Historical homes and buildings in the area and I would love to visit them and see just how they've worked at restoring them to their original beauty.
Anyway, here is my page:

I used a beautiful new kit by Alexis Designs, called "Cappuccino". It's a beautiful kit full of unique elements. It would be perfect for scrapping heirloom photos.

That's it for tonight. Thanks for visiting me again in my little corner of the world. :) Good night.

Check this out!!

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it. But it truly happened and so I HAD to take a picture for proof. Lol! What do you think Tyler could have possibly been doing? Yes! He was DOING HOMEWORK!! I know, I was floored! And because of it he has now passed his English class. And I am so proud of him for that! One step closer to Graduation! Yay!

I just finished a layout for a "Mystery Layout Challenge" over at 'My Life And Scrap'. I'd never done one of those challenges before, in fact never even heard of it! But it was really fun, and I like the way my page turned out, even though it is much different than I have ever scrapped before. I don't usually do circle photos, it just feels odd to me. Lol. Anyway, here is "Winter Hat":
I used a kit by GET Designs and Project B, called "Warm Winter Wishes". Isn't it pretty?

Quick late night post

I did a Speed Scrap tonight at Scrappity-Doo-Dah and here is the page that I made, Relaxin':

Kit - 'Chickadee January Grab Bag' ('You' by Lisetescrap).
Chicken wire from 'My Dad's The Man' by Tracie Stroud.
Fonts - Bleeding Cowboy and Tempus Sans ITC.
I hope you like it, Mom! :) Love ya!

Good night now.

New Look...

I finally got around to making my new background. How do you like it? I used several different kits by two of my favorite designers, Brandy Designs and Creations By Rachael. As you know, I CT for Brandy Designs, and next month I get to guest CT for Creations By Rachael. I'm so excited! She's been one of my faves for quite sometime, and she has some amazing kits! I got the papers and glitter for my background from "XOXO". The swirls are from "My Secret Garden", and the brown flowers (recolored) are from "Autumn Hues". The wire "love" and ribbon in my header are also from "XOXO". From Brandy Designs I used "Rosey Posey" (not yet available, but watch for it! It's beautiful!) for the lace and "Hot Cocoa" for the white and pink flowers(recolored). I usually don't use more than 1 kit at a time, too much to choose from overwhelms me, lol. But I think this one turned out good! :)

I'm working right now on a couple different pages, so I'll be back when I finish them up. One of them is using a kit, by GET Designs, in which all the proceeds from it are going to help Haiti!

Thanks for visiting me again! :)TTFN! Ta Ta For Now!

Quick post...

Can you handle 2 posts in one week? Lol. I just wanted to show you the 2 new layouts I did last night.

This first one is for Sunshine Studio Scraps. I used a gorgeous kit my mcp designs, called "Charmed". I really love this kit. It is so pretty! And it went perfectly with a beautiful pic I have of Toni from last Easter. I also used a template by Denise Beatty from The Digi Chick Template Challenge. Here is "Easter '09":


And this one is for Week 3 of the DSA Scrap-Off 2010. We only have 1 more week to go! I don't expect to win a CT position there, but it sure has been a fun challenge. It has stretched me and I've enjoyed the learning process. This weeks kits were provided by Jennifer Barrette, Jude, Polka Dot Plum, Viva Artistry, and Litabells Designs, and I think they were the prettiest so far. I had just taken this photo of Tyler a couple nights ago when he was acting like a tough guy. Lol, when he saw this page he said, "If I had known you were going to use that picture I would cleaned up and looked nicer." Hello! I'm a scrapbooker! If you wanna look nice in your pages, give me nice photos. Otherwise I work with what I've got! Lol. Anyway, here is "18":

I can't explain to you the difficulties I'm having trying to go through this time with Tyler. He wants so badly to be grown up, yet not quite able to make it on his own. And I just want to be able to go back in time when he would cuddle in my lap and give me hugs. I say it all the time, but time really does go too fast.

Thanks for visiting me again! :) I hope your day is blessed, because you are a blessing!

More Show N' Tell

Grr! Does one post a week make me a bad blogger? I keep telling myself it would be easier to keep up if I just post after each page I make, but it just doesn't seem to happen that way. Probably because I do all my scrappin' so late at night, that by the time I finish a page I'm needing to drag myself to bed! LMBO! So, yeah, I have a few pages to share with you again :) I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

I've made another page of Toni. Yes, she is one of my favorite subjects. She just makes it so easy! She's so stinkin' cute and she just loves the camera. Not to mention, I spend all day everyday with her! LOL BTW: this photo of her is when she was much younger. For this page I got to use a beautiful kit by Chris Greiser called 'Cosmopolitan {Classic}'. You'll find it at Sunshine Studio Scraps. It's full of my FAV color! And some very unique elements. The template is by Cyndi Price for 1/5/10 Template Challenge at Scrap Matters. And I used the font 'Pea Devon Caps'. This is "Pretty In Pink":


This next one is the first page (hopefully) of many. I'm trying to Project 52 this year. I told you that last year I didn't do so well, and, well, I've already started slacking off again. BUT I have decided, to make it not so difficult, to do a Project 52. The plan is to take at least a couple photos during the week and scrap those on 1 page a week. Some weeks I may have all 7 days, some I may not, and that is ok! :)So, that being said... here it is the 4 week of January and I finally finished the first page. LMBO! I used a kit called "Project 365" by Brandy Designs. I actually didn't use asd much of the kit as I thought I would, but with all the pics so random, I had a hard time figuring out what else to put on the page. That one is going to take some getting used to. The flowers(recolored) are from "Hot Cocoa" also by Brandy Designs. And the font is 'Problem Secretary Normal'. Here is "Jan. Week 1":


My next page LOOKS like Toni again, but it's not! It is her big sis, Akalia, when she was 2 years old. She is another beautiful little girl. Both of my sisters and my brother were both blessed with beautiful baby girls. I got a bunch of handsome boys, who don't like their pictures taken and I'M the scrapbooker! Grr! Anyway, for this page I got to use an adorable kit by GET Designs called "Love In Bloom". You have to go check it out. It is perfect with Valentine's Day coming up on us so quickly! The template is by Jubeefish. And the font is 'Turtle Club'. This is "I {heart} Dora!":


This next one was my entry for week 2 of DSA's Scrap-Off 2010. By the way, my first weeks LO, the 2-pager of my Wedding wishes, only got 3 measly points! :( This next page got 6! I'm much happier with that, lol. And we are half-way through, we only have 2 weeks left. This weeks kits were by Ramona, Charlize Creations, BZB Designs and Creations By Correen Silke. And my font is 'Smiley Monster'. Here is "Cody":


This next page I did for a challenge that I've never tried before, but found very intriguing. GoDigitalScrapbooking.com has a challenge called Pick Your Palette. They provide the kit, all in grey-scale. You first have to submit a photo and a color scheme based on that photo. Then you have to make a page using that color scheme and recoloring all the pieces of the kit. Now, I change colors of bits and pieces of kits all the time, but I've never had to do a whole kit! It was more work than I thought it would be! It totally gave me a new appreciation for all the awesome designers out there!So thank you, thank you, thank you to all you designers who allow me to use your creations to make my kreations! ;) Back to the page, lol. I also used a word art by Bethany on this page. (BTW: This is my beautiful daughter, but I didn't get to bring her into the world, She came as a package deal with her Daddy when she was 4 years old :) Here is "Child Of God":


Alright, last one. I know, I really do need to post more than once a week, huh? This one is of my younger sisters beautiful little girl, Jenna. I'm really happy with the way this one turned out, because I'm not real good doing the tiny scatters yet, but I love them, so I gave it a try and I think it turned out ok! This kit is by Project B and it's called "Comfort Zone" and I also used the Mini-kit that matches. This is a great kit! I love the soft color scheme. Pretty! I also used "Easy Layout Templates Set 1" by Secret Garden. And the font I used is Angelina. This is "Happy Girl":


Alrighty, well, I guess there'll be no scrappin' tonight, as it is now late and I must drag myself to bed. lol Thanks for visiting my little part of the digi world, and I hope you have a blessed day! Good night.

I'm still here!

Sorry! I'm falling behind again. But I'm back and now I can share with you the page I mentioned last time.
I used a new kit by Brandy Designs called "Hot Cocoa". I love this kit! I love the color combo, and it is full of unique elements and richly textured papers. The template is by WM [squared] for the 12/29/09 template Challenge at Scrap Matters. The alpha is "Another Day, Another Alpha"' by Allison Pennington. And the font I used is Pea Summer Sweetness. Here is my sweet niece, Toni, in "Cozy":


My next page was done for the Digi Scrap Addicts 2010 Scrap-Off Challenge. I didn't start out trying for a 2-pager, but that's what I ended up with. And I'm really pleased with how they turned out. One really cool thing about this challenge is that each week, the mini-kits they give us to work with are all the same color scheme. That way we can mix and match and have lots to work with. The hard part about that is that it's not a color combo I would usually choose to work with. But that's what makes it more of a challenge for me. The hardest part for me is trying to find photos that will work with the color combo.
Being the start of the new year I'm seeing all these pages of Resolutions and goals. I've also seen lots of wedding pages in the galleries and I wanted so badly to do a page of our wedding. So I decided to combine the 2 with a wish of mine for our 15th Wedding Anniversary, which is this July 15th. Unfortunately, we don't have any wedding photos that are frame worthy, and we were not given the photos on a disc, so I don't have any way of getting them onto my computer, either. This led me to pulling out my wedding gown and taking some photos of it. I think they turned out quite nicely :) I titled these pages "New Beginning":
Here are both pages together:

And a closer view of each page:


We are now into week 2, so I'll be back to share the next one when I complete it. :)

For my next page, I got to work with an adorable kit by GET Designs. The kit is called "Backyard Explorer". It's a perfect kit for your little explorers, the ones who like to put creepy crawlies in their pockets. lol I love the papers and it 's got some cute little unique elements. The alpha is "DSP_Definitively Defined Alpha". And the font is Pea Dalovely Damanda. Here is "Family Tree":

I LOVE this photo. I have been waiting for the perfect kit to scrap it, and I think this one compliments it perfectly. I took this photo in September of 2008 in a park around the corner from where we live. Those are my 5 children and my niece, Tisha, who is my 6th child :)

Ok, last one tonight. For this page I used the January Designers Collab from Sunshine Studio Scraps, called "Bubblegum Fun". This kit is SO much fun! The colors and the elements... You can use it for SO many different types of layouts. This page was done for a scrap lift Challenge, also at SUN. We lifted a page by a friend of mine, CaroB71. You can find her page here. And here is my take on it, "Silly Girl":
That photo cracks me up! That is my niece, Natalie, taken at another nieces birthday party. I asked her to say cheese and she cocks her little head to the side and posed for me instead. Hehe.

As for my photo of the day... I have been dong very well at keeping up! I haven't missed a day yet. I also haven't scrapped them yet. lol. That is on my to-do list, along with Scrap-off week 2, a page for GET Designs, Brandy Designs, and SUN. I'll be back to share soon. Until then... God bless you and goodnight!

Busy, Busy...

Well, did you get your kids back in school today? Mine all went, but not very happily. Cody asked me about 5 times if he could stay home. He was tired, he said. Lol! Oh! Ok. That's not going to happen! But he went and so did the other 2. And I can tell you, they were all ready for bed tonight without having to fight them. I LOVED that! Hehe ;)

Well, I have been a busy scrapper the last couple nights. I've been using my chart and getting things done just the way I wanted to! Imagine how much more I could've accomplished last year had I been just a tiny bit more organized, lol.

Oh! And I want you to know that I have taken my Photo-of-the-Day everyday so far! I'm trying to figure out if the first "week" of January ended Saturday, because that's when the week ends? Or if I should scrap the full 7 day week. Hmm... giving that one more thought.

Anyway, on to my first page for tonight.

I finally finished that layout of my boys last Christmas! Yay! And I love how it turned out. I used Brandy Designs "Santa's Shoppe" kit and a template by Chrissy W. from her "Gotcha Cornered", template 4. Here is "YES!":

Those photo's are priceless! I love the expressions on my boys' faces. They were SO excited!

And for my last page for tonight, I used "Winter's Garden' by Alexis-Designs. The template is by eranslow for the Dec. 27th Template Challenge @ Scrap Orchard. This kit is SO pretty! It's full of so many beautiful elements and Word Art. I loved working with it! The photo is of my niece, Jenna, on Christmas. Here is "Beautiful Memories":

Isn't she just beautiful in her Christmas dress? I squatted down to get to her level to take her picture and she plopped down on the floor! I couldn't get her to stand up for nothing, so I just started snapping. She's so funny.

I actually finished another one, but I just realized the kit isn't even out in the store yet, so you'll have to wait until then to see my pretty page! ;) Be watching!

I am so excited! I am trying something new this year. You've heard of the Amazing Race on TV? Well, we have our own version of it here in the digi world, the Amazing Digital Scrapbooking Race, and I really wanted to try it this year. It requires a partner, so I asked my best digi-friend, Caro, if she was interested and she said "Yes!" WooHoo! It doesn't start until February, so as it draws closer I'll fill you in on more details. I'm just so excited!

Also, I'm participating in the DigiScrapAddicts Scrap Off 2010! Caro actually suggested I try this one. This is the first week of it and I haven't made my page for it yet. I think that had probably better be the next one I get done. This week they provided 4 free mini-kits for us to use, and that's ALL we can use. Well, of course our photos, but nothing else. The kits are beautiful and they all coordinate! Brilliant idea! I love it! I just have to find the perfect photos now...

Well, that's it for tonight. I hope the day greets you with a little bit of sunshine on your face. God bless you and good night.

Another new beginning...

It's time to restart my Scrap Ticker. I have kept track all of 2009 of how many layouts I got done, over in the right hand side-bar. Well, I originally started out counting up to meet my goal of 100 pages in the year, which I thought was a very high aspiration for myself. But I was pleasantly surprised when not only did I meet it, but exceeded it! I created 129 pages in 2009! And I am so happy about that. I love to be able to go back and see how everyone has changed, what we did through the year, and how my scrapping style has changed and progressed. Yes, I 've always had pictures, but they all just sat in my computer and nobody ever saw them unless they happen to catch them running through my screensaver. Now I have them prettied up, printed out and in my album for everyone to share. I love that! So... I will restart my ticker. I don't know that I really have a goal for myself this year other than to beat last years ;)

And here is my first page of 2010! I didn't take any pictures on New Year's Eve, we were too busy having a great time. But I did want to remember that, so I made this page. "New Year's Eve 2010"

I was inspired to make this page from a challenge over at Scrap Matters. It was an Inspiration Point Challenge and they had chosen a movie poster as our inspiration. I loved the blockiness of the poster, so that's what I used to make my own template. Then I used "It's Gonna Be A Happy New Year" Collab by Jennifer Barrette and WM Squared, found here. I LOVE this kit! Full of pink, grey and black, adorable elements, and beautiful papers!

Now, I do NOT make resolutions, because I have NEVER been able to keep one. But there are a few changes that I would like to implement in my life and now is as good of time as any.

I want to find a better way to keep myself more organized this year, scrapbooking-wise. I always find myself scrambling to figure out what I need to get done, what I have done, and where everything is. So, I have made myself a spreadsheet on excel and printed it out so that I can keep better track of what I'm doing. This is what I made:

If I need to make any changes or adjustments to it I can easily enough, but at least I have everything on one page. I have a tendency to write myself little notes on post-its and then lose them or have a hard time remembering what I was trying to remind myself of in the first place. I'm hoping this will be a huge help for me.

I also am going to try again this year to do either Project 365, 52, or 12, I haven't committed myself to any one just yet. I think as soon as I feel like it's a "have-to" is when it's not so fun anymore and I stop it all together. So for now, I plan to take a photo a day and see where I go from there. Last years attempt only lasted a couple of weeks. I'm determined to do better this year. There are so many sites taking this on as a challenge with random freebies to help along the way, that I feel like I have a better chance of sticking with it this year... Only time will tell. :P But, I have taken a photo both days so far! Hehe Last year I showed them to you each day, but I din't think I'll do that this time. I feel like if I keep them to myself I'm more likely to scrap them at the end of the week, or month, which ever I choose. So, you'll just have to keep watching to see what happens! Until then... God bless and C'ya!

Time for a Celebration!

Image is linked to Brandy's blog.