My Cluttered Corner

Having Fun

2012-01-27T11:09:00.000-08:00

I've been busily finishing up and shipping off some projects for CHA. I so wish I could be there, but it wasn't in the cards this time. Oh, well, not like I don't have a million things to do right here ;) In the midst of assignments, I've tried to do some things just for fun. One was a take on this Jillibean Soup sketch:

I loved the sunburst images but decided to transform them into another circular image....doughnuts!

I had so much fun with this, from stitching the "doughnuts" to adding sprinkles to the "o" in the title:

I wish the actual doughnuts had come out as good! I had trouble keeping the oil hot enough to bubble without burning the outside and so the inside did NOT cook enough. I guess we'll just have to try again!

I also finally had a chance to play with Echo Park's A Boy's Life line. I really love a good Boy collection :)

This was one of those, "I love every paper in this collection, how can I use them all at once" moments.

Well, I am off to to dig into that fabulous February Scrapbook Circle Kit. SMILE. Hope your weekend is fabulous!

♥ Rebecca

Supplies Used:

Jillibean Soup papers, alphas, stickers, Echo Park Papers, stickers, alphas, American Crafts Alphas, Bazzill cardstock, Therm O Web Memory Tape Runner, Therm O Web Zots, Therm O Web 3D Zots.

MUST See

2012-01-26T21:08:00.000-08:00

Oh my, you must see Scrapbook Circle's February Kit. It is called Remember This and this photo, while amazing, does not even do it justice...

I can not even wait to dig into this. Oh and Scrapbook Circle is offering an AMAZING add on this month...

I snapped one up today! There are limited quantities so run over and pick one up--you will ♥ it!

♥ Rebecca

Make it Sunday and a Giveaway at Elle's Studio

2012-01-22T08:41:00.000-08:00

If you follow the Elle's Studio blog, you know they are doing a fun weekly feature called Make it Sunday where previous design team members share projects made with current Elle's Studio products. The best part? Each week they give away the products that were used! And the really best part? This week, I got a chance to be featured!! I LOVED my time designing with Elle's Studio and still use their products all the time. I made this layout:

I used five different Elle's Studio tags or cards. I used a couple of Daily 3x4 Tags and an Only Stripe...

several Tidbits and a Pennant...

and a few Collected Journaling Tags:

As you can probably tell, I had so much fun working with the new Elle's Studio products! And the best part is they are giving away a pack of each of the tags and cards I used on this layout. So run over to the Elle's Studio Blog and comment there for a chance to win!

Good Luck!

♥ Rebecca

Introducing Imaginisce's Sole Sisters!

2012-01-16T20:08:00.000-08:00

I am so very excited for the release week of Imaginisce's new line Sole Sisters especially because my first Imaginisce projects as a Design Team Member are on the blog today! (Still absolutely thrilled to even be uttering those words!!) Anyways....I made a couple of layouts and a card using this adorable new line:

Isn't the mix of houndstooth and polka dots adorable?! The chipboard purse and other items are too cute! I added some i rock bling to go along with the polka dots...

More dots, purses and bling here too. I love that the i rock can heat set the bling to chipboard, paper and fabric flowers too...

I hand cut the big heart and tied twine around to attach the little purse...

For my card, I focused on the die cuts, again added i rock bling, twine and some Coredinations Tim Holtz Kraft Core...

Go on over to the Imaginisce blog today and all week to see all the Design Team projects and comment there for a chance to win this fabulous collection. Have a great week!
♥Rebecca

Hello Mid January...

2012-01-15T14:01:00.000-08:00

What happened to the first half of January? Seriously? I thought we all agreed time needed to slow down a bit! Getting back into the swing of things after a long break is always hard though. Been busy getting started with Imaginisce goodies and CHA projects for Ruby Rock-It. I so wish I were going to meet some of the awesome friends I've made online, but it just isnt in the cards this time. I do still have plenty of things to share though! Today I posted a Valentine's Project on the Therm O Web blog.

I used 5 different Therm O Web adhesives on here, lots of Crate Paper and some other random goodies. When we were packing Christmas away, I realized I don't have a Valentine's box of decorations and decided it was about time to remedy that! I look forward to making several more fun decorations and definitely a wreath for the front door. And speaking of love...

This layout was my Scrapbook Circle lift this month, you can see the original layout I lifted HERE.

Finally, I have decided on my word for 2012. Last year was the first year I chose one and I decided I would only do it if a word chose me. And the word I couldn't get out of my head is:

All those things I've started, projects, ideas, motivations, I want this to be the year I complete them.

Stop by tomorrow here and at the Imaginisce blog to see my first Imaginisce projects--so excited!

♥ Rebecca

Scrapbook Circle--6 and counting....

2012-01-05T18:37:00.000-08:00

I know I have told you how much I love Scrapbook Circle kits before, right? Perfect mix of paper and product, perfect mix of different collections and companies... I've also mentioned that a TON is included in each month's kit? Well this month's kit You+Me is no exception. I have made 6 layouts and one card so far and I am not done with it yet! Here is the most recent layout I made:

Everything is from the kit except the cardstock and Thickers. And this little goodies section at the bottom exemplifies what I mean when I say LOTS of fun stuff comes in the kit:

Die cuts from My Mind's Eye, a doily, layered stickers, patterned papers... If you haven't spent any time over at the Scrapbook Circle Blog, you should definitely check it out. There are always fun challenges and great prizes being offered. Right now there is a card sketch challenge HERE. If you enter by January 18th at 9pm you will be in the running for a 15$ GC to the Scrapbook Circle store! Here is the sketch:

and here is my take (my first card of the year!):

Everything on the card is from the You+Me kit except the Tim Holtz Kraft Coredinations cardstock--LOVE that stuff!

Have a great night!

♥Rebecca

A Sketch and A Tape Runner

2012-01-04T19:58:00.000-08:00

I have a little secret....I am not really that into sketches. I know, GASP, COUGH, AAAK. But for me part of the fun is figuring out what goes where, the design for me is a problem solving element that I enjoy. But whenever I can I like to play around with Julie Bonner's monthly sketch on the Jillibean Soup blog. I really like Julie's sketches and feel like that work well with my style. Here is her sketch from last month:

(from the Jillibean Soup Blog)

And here is my take on the sketch:

Everything here except the cardstock is Jillibean Soup. I ♥ this Hearty Barley line! This layout is up on the Therm O Web blog today where I am also espousing the wonderful qualities of the Therm O Web Tape Runner XL--

my GO-TO adhesive for layouts.

Have a great night!

♥Rebecca

A Winner, A Layout, A Sneak Peek

2012-01-02T21:18:00.000-08:00

Should we pick a winner of my Big Giveaway first? Sure, why not! The winning comment is:

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:13Powered by RANDOM.ORG

which makes Lynda who said

lynda said...

I'm now a follower too!

December 30, 2011 9:08 AM

the big winner! Lynda--please email me (the link is in my profile at the left) your address and I will send your goodies right out to you!

Now for the layout, I adore Scrapbook Circle's January Kit You+Me and have already made 5 layouts with it.

Everything you see here is from the kit, I only added the American Crafts Thickers for "good" in the title. And let me just say, during winter break, those good days were few and far between! The You+Me kit is currently available, so go over and check out all the goodies included HERE.

In other news, GCD Studios has previewed a new line designed by non other than Ms. Heidi Sonboul, DT Coordinator extraordinaire! I could tell you how gorgeous the colors are, how fresh and trendy the patterns are, but really you have to see it, so...

Doesn't it just make you smile? The full line will be revealed on the GCD Studios blog on January 6th so come check it out!

Have a great week!

♥ Rebecca

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T10:05:00.000-08:00

If you're looking for my big end of the year give away please go HERE. Today is the LAST day to enter to win and the box has gotten bigger and more full as I am trying to make room for new collections and projects so PLEASE go over and enter to win!

I can not even believe we are at the end of the year already! How does so much happen in a single year and yet it feels like it goes by in the blink of an eye? I love having a year in review post to look back on so, I hope you'll humor me here--there will probably be more than a top 10 because I always have a hard time narrowing it down! Let's talk numbers first. It looks like this year I made a total of about 228 layouts and 86 cards. I blogged 90 times. I took about 3000 pictures. WOW! But narrow it down, I must...so...
In January 2011 I was so excited to become a member of Scrapbook Circle's Design Team and I was doubly thrilled at the end of this year to make it on the team for another term.

This layout was from the Harvest Festival kit (November's kit). Also this year I was honored to be a member of Elle's Studio Design team. I love Elle's tags and journaling spots especially since I do a lot of handwritten journaling. This layout combined my favorite Elle's Studio products with one of my recent favorite Crate Paper lines and was both a tutorial on Elle's Studio blog and a winner on the Crate Paper blog!

This was also the year I joined the GCD Studios team and what an amazing ride that has been! This was one of the layouts I submitted to get on the team and it remains one of my favorite layouts of all time:

This year I was lucky enough to be member of the MyStampBOX design team and I was thrilled to join the Therm O Web design team. I am officially a Zots addict and I used a ton of them on this layout:

I was so excited to have several layouts published this year in the Scrapbook Trends and Create publications and this year marked the first time MY picture showed up in publication:

I also continued to design for my local scrapbook store, Scrapbook Barn and loved this American Crafts collection they let me play with:

I also got to be a member of the Best Creation Inc. design team.

And to finish the year off with a bang I was over the top, crazy and insanely excited to be chosen as a member of the 2012 Imaginisce Design Team:

I am also so excited to be a member of the Ruby Rock-It team this year and I have a few Ruby Rock-It layouts that are absolute favorites but I have to be very hush hush right now, so just keep your eye on the Ruby Rock-It blog this year!
And how about a few more that are just plain favorites? A few Echo Park layouts...

And how about some Jillibean Soup...

and a favorite card or two?

And a favorite photo or two?

And with that, I would like to wish you all a happy, healthy, productive, creative and wonderful new year!

♥Rebecca

Onward and Upward and a GIVEAWAY

2011-12-28T16:37:00.000-08:00

With 2012 right around the corner, I wanted to shake the end of the year and after Christmas blues. So I spent some time at my desk. And Phew do I feel better! Nothing has changed, nothing is actually any better, but I spent some time doing something I enjoy and that makes me feel monumentally better. Another way I've found of cheering myself up? Giving to others. I've been collecting stuff for a box to go out to someone and I've decided not to wait until New Year's, but do it now. The details of the giveaway will be at the end of this post, but first...
I realized I didn't post all of December's layouts from Scrapbook Circle's kit Note to Self. I thoroughly enjoyed this kit and want to share the last few layouts:

and my absolute favorite:

There are a few Note to Self kits left HERE. And while you are over shopping at Scrapbook Circle, you will definitely want to check out January's kit You + Me. I ♥ Valentine's/Love themed kits because they are so easy to use on ALL kinds of layouts. An example? I made this Angry Birds layout which is about as far from Valentines as you can get ;)

♥ ♥ ♥ this kit :)

One more thing before the giveaway...

Ruby Rock It has released another peek and it is GORGEOUS. Get a load of this:

Ok, enough talk! On to the giveaway! I have a box almost ready to go, some new things, some gently used things, some things I bought for DT applications for teams I am now a member of ;) and I want to brighten someone's day. If that sounds good to you, leave me a comment and you will be entered to win. For a second entry you can follow my blog and leave a second comment telling me you now follow or already follow. I will draw a winner on Sunday January 1, 2012 (EEK!)

Have a great week!

♥Rebecca

The Other Side of Christmas

2011-12-26T18:51:00.000-08:00

Sorry I am late to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Christmas about did me in this year. Everything was late or small scale. So many things I wanted to get done didnt get done. I am a bit down not just because of the usual after Christmas blues, but also because our tree fell over today. Turns out our stand is broken and of course the tree fell forward ON the special and favorite ornaments. Most were broken beyond repair including the glass ballet slippers ornament my Grandma gave me when I was young and Little Man's first year ornament from my parents. Sigh. But looking to 2012, I need to work on my perspective. I am trying to be grateful for all that we do have. I am trying to decide on and fine tune my One Little Word for 2012. I am thinking along the lines of positivity, balance, restraint. As you can see, I have some more thinking to do in the next 4 days ;)
Speaking of ornaments, did you see my Ruby Rock It post the other day? All about ornaments: http://rubyrockit.typepad.com/ruby-rock-it/2011/12/the-christmas-ornament-tradition.html

Ruby Rock It are giving sneak peeks of the 2012 lines. Let me just say they are AWESOME! Here is a peak:

SO EXCITING!

Also very exciting is the January kit coming out from Scrapbook Circle--check out this gorgeousness...

Is it me or are Valentine's papers the best? It is the only holiday paper I like because you can use it for any layout that includes ♥ :)

And finally, how about a few Christmas photos?

(picking out our tree)

(Christmas Eve saying good bye to our elf until next year)

(Coming downstairs on Christmas morning)

(I LOVE this face--this may be one of the main reasons I wanted to have children)

(The aftermath--am I the only one who takes this picture every year?)

From our house to yours Happy Holidays!

♥ Rebecca

Big News!

2011-12-16T06:55:00.000-08:00

I have some super exciting news to share!

Abby Laubenstein (Illinois, US)

Adora Concepcion (Washington, US)

Cari Locken, DT Co-ordinator (British Columbia, Canada)

Diana Fisher (New York, US)

Guiseppa Gubler (Utah, US)

Heather Leopard (Texas, US)

Ilene Tell (Delaware, US)

Mary Ann Jenkins (California, US)

Shelley McDaniel (Texas, US)

Tiffany Hood (Utah, US)

Rebecca Keppel (Arizona, US)

Rosangela Philippsen (Curitiba, Brazil)

Regina Mangum (California, US)

Rhonda Van Ginkel (Minnesota, US)

When I got the news I definitely screeched, jumped up and ran down stairs. The first person I told was my Little Miss. I knew she would be more excited than anyone else because she knows I will be making LOTS more headbands for her ;)

:) Rebecca

Traditions, Gifts and Guest Designs

2011-12-13T12:08:00.000-08:00

Hey all! How are you doing with your holiday check lists? I am definitely behind. No holiday photo yet and so no holiday card. No wrapping has been done. The last 2 days have been chilly and RAINY. So much rain that leaving the house is not at all tempting. But, we have been having holiday fun and carrying on with holiday traditions. Little Miss had her Music Program last week.

At first she looked a bit like she might hurl, but then she got into her groove and was very animated through the whole program and said she had a lot of fun.

This weekend we decorated a gingerbread house. For the last few years we have bought a kit from Target:

It never ends up looking as cute as the picture, but wow, do they have fun decorating (and eating) the house:

We also have an Elf this year. They LOVE him and run downstairs each morning to see where he is hiding and what he is up to. I've been trying to get a good picture of his antics, but the weather is not agreeing.

In other news, I am one of the Helmar Guest Designers this month! My introductory post is HERE, where I explain how I made this little Christmas decor:

AND, I've still been creating with Scrapbook Circle's December kit Note to Self. This is my latest:

Everything here (except the cardstock and American Crafts Thickers ampersand) is from Note to Self. I pulled a lot of the pink elements together for this one, which left a lot of masculine colors left for a different layout. I love the Lily Bee index cards and layered them here for a fun file-o-fax look. The Ocober Afternoon Little Flyer tucked right in there.

I had been wanting to play with these Basic Grey flowers too:

They would be super cute on a card too :)

Well, off to procrastinate a bit more ;) Have a great week!

♥ Rebecca

This and That

2011-12-08T12:41:00.001-08:00

Are you buckled in for the whirlwind ride that is the rest of 2011? Looking around I am not sure if everything is going to get done--not nearly! But it is not for lack of giving it the ole' college try. Thankfully soccer is over and so we are just in the midst of decorating, baking, wrapping, crafting, finishing up school for the quarter kind of frenzy. Tonight, Little Miss has her music program and the little guy's is next week. Add in a few holiday parties, Karate testing for a new belt and I have had enough! To top it off, I promised Little Miss I would sew her and the doll (that she MAY be getting for Christmas ;) ) matching pajamas! And you all know I only know how to sew on paper lol! Well, I finished her nightgown, but now I need to do the doll's--not looking forward to those teeny tiny sleeves --AAACK! I will take pictures when I am done--maybe ;)
And while I have been busy with some behind the scenes stuff that I can't share yet, I also have been around blog land a bit. This layout (made with Scrapbook Circle's December kit Note to Self) was on the Scrapbook Circle blog the other day HERE.

Yup, I am still feelin' the love for my typewriter...
And these ornaments, made with The Twinery twine and Therm O Web SuperTape was on the Therm O Web blog HERE.

Have a great week!
:) Rebecca

Scrapbook Circle's Note to Self

2011-12-02T08:09:00.001-08:00

To be totally honest, I am not a huge fan of Christmas collections. GASP. I know, I know, bah humbug, right? But the truth is I don't get very many AMAZING Christmas photos. I try and do better each year, but the lighting is always horrible and they always turn out just so-so. So when I heard Scrapbook Circle was going to be offering an everyday, not holiday focused December kit I was ecstatic. When I saw the Note to Self kit, I was thrilled (it is amazing). When I got to work with the kit, I had a blast. SO versatile!

So I ended up with layouts that make me happy rather than layouts I feel obligated to make just because it is the holidays. For example, this moment happened the other day and it was one I had on my mind since it occurred. Not a holiday moment, just an everyday one that I never want to forget:

Everything here including the corrugated cardboard is from the Note to Self kit (except the cardstock and twine from my stash). The diversity of patterns in this kit make it perfect for a number of themes. For this layout I stuck with the boyish patterns, but there are plenty of florals for girlier pages too. So for the holidays this year, why not buy yourself a kit you will LOVE to scrap with, rather than papers you feel obligated to use just because it is December!
Have a great weekend!
♥ Rebecca

Ribbon Candy

2011-11-23T23:23:00.000-08:00

I have never actually tried ribbon candy, but it is so gorgeous--the bright colors, the swirls, the amazing texture and shine. If you search ribbon candy on Pinterest you will find an almost overwhelming amount of inspiration.

Image from http://all-recipes-collection.blogspot.com/2009/08/ribbon-candy-recipe.html

Rather than be overwhelmed, let's be inspired and make a quick and easy ribbon candy ornament!

Start by cutting several strips of patterned paper. I cut about 5 strips size 1"x12".

I then glued the thin edge of each strip together to make one LONG 1" wide strip:

I then rolled that strip over and over, not quite folding it because you want the rolled look:

And stuck a paper piercer in the middle of the whole thing:

I then threaded clear string through the entire rolled ornament and tied brads at either edge and came up with this:

Quick and easy! It was so fast I decided to see how I could duplicate the look on a layout too!

Again I started with several strips of patterned paper, but rather than rolling them on top of each other I made a border rolling and adhering as I moved across the page.

The ribbon candy border gives a ton of dimension to a layout and adds such a festive look that is perfect for the holidays.

Supplies Used:
All papers by GCD Studios, Glitter Candy Dots by GCD Studios, Alphas by American Crafts, Twine by Daisy Bucket, Adhesive by Therm O Web.

♥Rebecca

Happy Days are Here Again

2011-11-15T11:09:00.001-08:00

My daughter was recently invited to a 50's costume birthday party. Unfortunately she couldn't attend because she had a soccer game, but it got my mind thinking about why the 50's iconography is so popular. There is something so fun, carefree and unburdened about the soda shop, jukebox and days of saddle shoes :) A time when everything seemed a little simpler, slower paced and more innocent. I guess that is why I love the Echo Park Good Times collection so much:

The colors in this collection are just right up my alley too. We don't do a lot of sock hopping or soda jerking these days, but there is one family activity we do that reminds me of 50's memorabilia--bowling! I remember bowling as a kid and having fun doing it, but I wasn't sure our kids would get such a kick out of it. Turns out they love it. I couldn't believe that even bowling alleys are pretty high tech these days--score keeping is digital and you can make bumpers rise each time it is a kid's turn! My kids each have a special way of getting the ball to the pins:

Little Miss does the roll between the legs move. Little Man? He literally tosses the ball from a standing position. I am afraid he is going to dent the alley and we will be banned from bowling for good lol! In any case everyone has a good time.

But this collection just isn't for bowling layouts lol--that WOULD be a specialty collection wouldn't it? I also used Good Times for this layout:

I figured the circular patterned paper (does anyone call it a circular anymore??) was perfect for the motherhood theme. Did you notice that I placed the layout off center so that you could see the "Mom's Malt Shop ad? ;)

I know I probably say this every time, but this really IS my favorite Echo Park collection ever. So versatile and fun, happy colors and cute graphics. But it is November 15th and it was definitely time to break into the holiday spirit. What better way to do that than find your favorite Christmas or Winter collection. Are you more a fan of the traditional colors in Seasons Greetings or a more wintery collection like Winter Park? My fav is Holly Holly Christmas:

I love the addition of pinks and aquas to brighten up Christmas colors and I like the cutesy graphics. I got the entire collection kit and the 6x6 paper pack. And I used them to create my first Christmas gift tag:

I stitched 2 pieces from the 6x6 pad onto a manila tag (inked all the edges with red chalk ink) and then added some stickers from the collection kit. The little present is popped up with Therm O Web 3D Zots. And I added another 3D Zot dipped in chunky glitter with some thin wire made to look like a Christmas tree ornament.

Have you started or, ahem, finished your Holiday cards? Now that I have a Christmas collection I love, I guess I better get cracking. Hopefully I'll be able to share some next time! Until then, have a great week!
♥Rebecca

Halloween After the Fact...

2011-11-08T15:03:00.000-08:00

Did everyone who celebrates Halloween have a fun Halloween? We certainly did. We went over to our friends house and trick or treated with their kids and another family who has kids the same age as ours. Lots of fun. I have a few layouts from the American Crafts Night Fall collection which my LSS Scrapbook Barn let me play with.

I love these little happy ghosts:

The nice thing about this collection is that there are plenty of papers that are not just for Halloween:

Those little leaves were just asking to be cut out:

Life has been so busy lately, I have lots more to share...Scrapbook Circle layouts from this month, my Ruby Rock-It introduction in a few days and lots more, so I will be back....oh and I feel a giveaway coming soon, so stay tuned!

♥Rebecca

Big News and So it Begins...

2011-11-01T12:47:00.000-07:00

I have some big news that I wanted to share yesterday, but Halloween celebrations got in the way...I am a Ruby Rock-It designer!

The announcement was made yesterday. You can see the rest of the team and a project from each of the team members HERE. I am so thrilled and can not wait to get started!

And so it is November 1st! Can you believe it? So here we go through the craziness that is the last two months of the year! I feel like I am behind already lol. The good thing about the first of the month is that the new Scrapbook Circle kit was released. It is called Harvest Festival and it is definitely another MUST HAVE. The combination of patterned papers in this kit is phenomenal (Bella Blvd, October Afternoon, Jillibean Soup, American Crafts). I made my favorite layout in a LONG time with this kit:

The cardstock and American Crafts alphas are from my stash, but everything else was in the kit. The "fabulous" banner is the alphas included in the printable. And the Maya Road flower is so soft and layered--I definitely want a whole bunch more ;)

The little stickers are from the American Crafts Remarks--you get the whole book! One of the Jillibean Soup papers has a whole side of journaling squares, many of which have lines perfect for handwriting:

The kit is available now, so run over and get one HERE.
And before I go, I have to at least share a couple of Halloween photos. I had a Lalaloopsy Doll and an Angry Bird this year:

The angry bird costume was supposed to be poofed up with pillows worn over the shoulders, but that was weighing him down too much :)

The wig yarn hair didn't last too long either ;)

But, all appearances to the contrary from a certain Angry Bird, they had a great time and got way too much candy. Our dentist has a program of paying 1$ per pound and it gets donated to the troops so we are now learning the lesson of sharing and doing good deeds :)

Have a great week!

♥ Rebecca

No Black and Orange

2011-10-20T05:30:00.000-07:00

Sometimes using non traditional colors for a themed layout is lots of fun. This month my color inspiration was this gorgeous photo:

I guess I could have jumped ahead to Thanksgiving pictures (since the table setting definitely makes one think of a holiday meal), but since this was my October project I was leaning more towards a Halloween layout. So I decided to just go for it. There’s no black, orange or purple, but since my daughter’s costume is pink I figured those colors wouldn’t really work anyway. AND since the background of my pictures (our pool, and the cement wall) bring in blues and browns, this color combination is actually perfect.

Obviously since I wasn’t using traditional Halloween colors, I also did not use a traditional Halloween collection or pattern. But, again, since my daughter’s costume is cutesy rather than scary, most traditional Halloween papers wouldn’t really work here. Instead I used an animal pattern from the Boys Animal Crackers collection (to go with the pony theme).

I used a pocket from the Funhouse Collection to tuck my journaling into and one of those fun Cabochons too.

I am sure I will be using more nontraditional colors for this year's Halloween pictures too!

Supplies Used:

GCD Studios patterned paper from the Boys Animal Collection and The Great Outdoors, Cabachons from the Funhouse Collection, Popcorn Journal Tags from the Funhouse Collection and Metal Rimmed Glass Brads and Die cut paper from the Boys Animal Crackers collection.

Another Round of Catching Up

2011-10-19T11:34:00.000-07:00

Is it me or this year whizzing by? Little Miss is already done with one quarter of her year. The parent/teacher conference and report card are completed. Halloween is quickly approaching. We haven't even made it to the pumpkin patch yet. Mostly because it is still SO hot out that any pumpkins left out would probably be rotten in a day lol! This week we are back to our regular school, soccer and karate schedules. The thing about this time of year is how it is literally one thing after another--Halloween and then you turn around and it is Thanksgiving, blink again and it is Christmas, take a quick breath and it is a new year. Overwhelming to say the least. So let's just talk layouts instead :)

The Jillibean Soup layout I posted HERE was Soup Spotted today! It is up on the Jillibean Soup blog right now.

Last week, I had this layout on the Scrapbook Circle blog, to show off the many uses for the Studio Calico Scrap Pad included in October's Kit Fresh Picked.

and speaking of the Fresh Picked kit, I don't think I shared this one yet--an 8.5x11--I know, what??!!

That sweet little face is currently sporting a black eye. A friend at school was swinging a wooden block around and the corner hit Little Man between the outside corner of his eye and eyebrow. No stitches necessary, but I can't help thinking how lucky he got that it was a few centimeters over. And yes, I took pictures of his black eye. He says he looks like one of the pigs from Angry Birds after you hit them. Nice.

Have a great rest of the week.

♥Rebecca

Fall Break , But No Fall Weather

2011-10-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

So we are officially on Fall break, but it doesn't feel like Fall--AT ALL. It got over 100 degrees yesterday and today I broke down and put the AC back on. A temperate home definitely means a less cranky family ;) The nicest part about this break is a break from soccer.

Don't get me wrong--I love that the kids love soccer and that we all go to practices and games together, but every night of the week someone has SOMETHING and it just gets exhausting. Of course Little Miss only actually has 2 days off from school and every day since last week has been 1/2 days which means tons of back and forth for me and not much time to create. But I did get to work on the Jillibean Soup sketch this month (created by Julie Bonner). Here is the sketch:

I stuck pretty close to the sketch, but turned the single photo into 3 small vertical photos (from Thanksgiving 2009). All the patterned papers, stickers, alphas etc are Jillibean Soup:

Lots of sewn edges and a stitched paper ruffle...

some inked edges...

and of course, typewritten journaling (I am definitely getting a bang for my buck with that thing)...

As with all my layouts lately, and from here on out, this entire project was adhered with Therm O Web adhesives. I use the Tape Runner XL for the main pieces, 3D Zots to pop things up like the Home Grown sticker and Small Zots to adhere the corrugated letters.

LOVE LOVE LOVE it all.

Alright, gotta get everyone into bath and bed. Have a great night!

♥ Rebecca

Halloween "Treat" Bag

2011-10-06T12:01:00.000-07:00

The kids get SO much candy on Halloween, don't they? In general we are not a big candy family (we go in more for ice cream and baked goods lol), but that only makes the kids more excited about the mountains of candy they amass on Halloween. For me, though, I like to give them a little gift bag with some fun Halloween items like a coloring book and crayons or bubbles. And to make it even more special, I try and dress up the gift bag and usually put their names on them too. Once again I looked to Pinterest for ideas on making a fun gift bag. I found these:

image from http://thepinkcouch.blogspot.com/2009/10/trick-or-treat-bags.html

I just love the ruffled crepe paper! Did you know you can get two rolls of crepe paper (one orange and one black for $1 at The Dollar Tree? Armed with my crepe paper, I pulled out some fun GCD Studios products and went to work. Here is what I came up with:

I made the big crepe paper bow by rolling it in larger and larger loops and then stapling the middle. I added a loop of tickets from the Funhouse Collection in the center as well as Chipboard Wheel and Mini Flag.

The strips of patterned paper are also From Funhouse. I mounted everything on a piece of black cardstock. The best part, though, is the mustache on a stick that I thought my kids would totally get a kick out of taking pictures with! Even little (non candy lol) gifts are more fun if you dress up the gift bag!

Supplies Used:

GCD Studios Funhouse Collection patterned paper, Mini Flag, Chipboard Wheel and ticket trim from Ribbon Spool.

Scrapbook Circle News

2011-10-05T09:50:00.000-07:00

Yaaaaaaay! I couldn't be more excited to announce that I will be staying on for another term of the Scrapbook Circle design team. The announcement was made HERE. Check out this fantastic team...

Congratulations to the new design team!

Sophie Crespy
Paige Evans
Penny Smith
Michelle Lanning
Melissa Stinson
Rebecca Keppel
Nicole Nowosad
Elizabeth Carney
Jennie Blaser
Diana Waite

I am absolutely honored to be included in this amazing list of talented people! But before we get ahead of ourselves, I still have layouts to share from the September kit, Fresh Picked. This one is one of my favorites and the explanation is up on the Scrapbook Circle blog today.

The story behind this? The Little Guy was supposed to bring in a family picture to school, to hang on the Family Tree. I immediately panicked. I can count on one hand the number of pictures we have of all 4 of us together. And then I thought about it. I have 1) a digital camera, 2) a tripod, 3) a self timer on said camera or even a remote shutter release, 4) NO EXCUSE. So one day just as it was about to rain (so it wasn't 1,000 degrees outside) I dragged everyone out and set up the tripod. The kids were, hmmmm, how shall we say, less than cooperative?? And the pictures? Well, these were the BEST of the bunch lol. But practice makes perfect and I am committed to getting pictures of us together.

Lots of stitching, a mix of alphas and those fun Elle's Studio pennants:

Have a great day!

♥ Rebecca

Scrapbook Circle's October Kit--Fresh Picked

2011-10-03T12:46:00.000-07:00

I know we are three days into October already! Yikes, this part of the year really does start to fly by. Between school, homework, studying, karate, soccer practices, soccer games and work I feel like we are all running on a treadmill every day. Our October/Fall break is only a couple of days so I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving for a much needed break (and visit from Nona!). But getting into October means a new Scrapbook Circle kit is live!

It is called Fresh Picked and it is absolutely FABULOUS. An amazing combination of Lily Bee, Crate Paper, Pink Paislee and Jillibean Soup. Add in a Studio Calico Scrap Pad, some Elle's Studio goodies, Pebbles stickers and Divine Twine and it can not be beat! Today on the Scrapbook Circle blog, I have a layout that is a lift of Scrapbook Circle subscriber, Andrea's layout. You can see Andrea's layout, my lift and fellow DT member Diana's lift HERE. Here is my layout:

I used three 3x11" strips of different patterned paper and stitched around each one to create my background.

The "FUN" sticker is from Pebbles, but the Enjoy Today is from the October Scrapbook Circle Printable that comes with the kit. This month I printed mine onto off white cardstock and love the slightly vintage look it gives.

One of my favorite parts of this kit are the Pink Paislee alphas. I had been wanting to use them since I saw them released at CHA and this was my first chance. They are fabulous. The font is SO fun and the size is perfect--slightly larger than a typical alphas but not too large. The little bow on the "y" matches my daughter's hair band (which by the way is one I made for her!). The journaling is on a piece of the Scrap Pad and layered on stitched cardstock.

If you haven't seen everything included I hope you will go check out Fresh Picked. It does have some beautiful Fall colors, but is a super versatile kit!

Well, I am off to run around for the rest of my Monday. Have a great week!

♥Rebecca

The Back to School Adventure

2011-09-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

Red and Aqua may be one of my absolute favorite color combinations ever. There is something so fresh and vibrant about it. My favorite thing about this combination is how it can be used on layouts about boys and girls. Since I have one of each, I struggle with finding fun fresh color combos that are not too girly and not too grungy. This one fits the bill:

Add a nice warm grey and you are thinking of Fall and Back to School time!

I pulled out some school themed papers from the GCD Studios Elementary My Dear line. I love the die cut apple sheet! Truth be told, sometimes I don't know the best way to use die cut sheets, but since I knew I wanted the apple image to represent the red from my color combination I thought layering it over a blue patterned paper and thinking of the two as one whole patterned paper made it a lot easier to use in my design. A strip of pencils as a border was a no brainer for a back to school page so I was really just looking for some grey to incorporate into my layout. I found it in a grid "B" side from The Great Outdoors collection. From the same collection I grabbed the big chipboard "Adventure" to make my title pop:

Add some stitching for that homespun feel:

and some typewritten journaling:

and you have a Back to School layout for boys, girls or both!

Supplies Used:

GCD Studios Elementary My Dear (stars, apple die cut, pencils)

GCD Studios The Great Outdoors (grid patterned paper, Adventure Chipboard)

American Crafts Alphas and apple sticker

Elle's Studio Journaling Tag

Winner!!

2011-09-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Ours was pretty hot. Both kids had soccer games on saturday and we all about melted. The toughest part is walking ALL the way out to the field from the parking lot carrying chairs, coolers, gear etc. The kids are exhausted before the game even starts! Sunday we all just relaxed, watched some football, baked cupcakes, went in the pool. Definitely a much needed respite from the craziness of the week. So....I owe you all a winner for the fabulous September Scrapbook Circle kit. I used Random Org to pick a number for me...

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2011-09-26 17:01:41 UTC

Which makes KateB the winner!Congratulations, Kate-- I already emailed you for your address! Before I go I want to share a couple more layouts I made with the kit (while I am already playing with the October Scrapbook Circle kit and will only tell you--it is JUST as awesome!).
This one I did with literally SCRAPS left lol.

I sewed a grid, splattered some mist and then punched sunbursts from the tiniest scraps of patterned paper that were left after completing 7 layouts. We didnt get to go anywhere this year, so I tried to do lots of fun things with the kids right here. I think one of their favorites is swimming in the pool.

I really love the Amy Tangerine die cuts from the Add On. I figured even though we didnt travel some of the phrases work for our Staycation:

Next is one of my all time favorite layouts ever.

Sorry if you now have The Sound of Music stuck in your head ;) I cropped my photos into squares and left enough room between them when I printed so I could cut them into Polaroid shapes. The whole layout with the larger white border on the bottom is supposed to look like a Polaroid too, but I probably should have left a larger white border. The faux Polaroids are strung with bakers twine that I got from the Scrapbook Circle shop.

I will be back soon, maybe with some sneaks of the October kit, so stay tuned!!

♥ Rebecca

BIG BIG BIG Giveaway!

2011-09-22T21:09:00.000-07:00

You know how I have been RAVING about the Scrapbook Circle September kit The Good Life? Well Scrapbook Circle owner, Lisa, recently celebrated her birthday and she is letting me give one of you one of those kits!! Don't you love when people give you gifts for their birthday lol! Seriously though, this kit is A--MAZ--ING and you do not want to miss out on the chance to win one! All you have to do is comment on this post by Sunday September 25 and I will enter you to win. If you'd like another entry you can follow my blog and leave a second comment indicating you are now following (or that you already follow). (Oh and if your blogger profile doesnt have a link to your email address please include that too!!)
Before I go, let me share yet another layout I made with this fabulous kit (I think my total is 8 this month!!)

I can't get over how little she looks--this was just last year for crying out loud!

I tied some thin strips of denim through the canvas Maya Road buttons...

and around the journaling tag:

to go along with the denim look of the Crate Paper Random stickers.

Isn't it amazing how much kids learn in kindergarten? They go in babies and come out school kids. We are in full school kid mode with homework every night, lots of reading, spelling tests, and now soccer practices. Both kids have their first games on Saturday--wish us luck!

And I will wish you luck on winning the kit!

Have a wonderful night.

♥ Rebecca

Give the Husband Some Air Time

2011-09-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I've noticed that husbands tend to be absent from both pictures and scrapbook pages, don't they? Besides getting myself into more photos and layouts, I want to do the same for Scott. To that end, here are two layouts that will go into his sadly slim album ;) Both were made with the Scrapbook Circle September Kit, The Good Life. The first is a lift of a Scrapbook Circle member, Kelly. You can see the original layout and a lift by fellow DT member Elizabeth HERE. And here is my layout:

Everything is from the Scrapbook Circle September kit except the Amy Tangerine Bits which are available as an add on. Oh and I added some mist in splatters on the page and to color the Maya Road flower.

and a little bit of bakers twine to "hang" the journaling card from.

I didn't use any 3d adhesive under the butterlies, I just use some Therm O Web Medium Zots. I put a Zot in the middle of each butterfly so the wings were not adhered down and could be folded up for the 3D effect.

And then there is this one:

I hand cut the giant heart, added the little word stickers by Authentique and stitched around the entire thing:

I added some Bits from the Amy Tangerine Add On and included some of the Fancy Pants mini alphas on the little banner:

And while we are talking about Scrapbook Circle, don't forget about the Design Team Call going on. The information is HERE.

And not to SELF, Husbands do and say funny things too, just like the kids lol. There are jokes that we have that I want to remember too. Remember to get those things down on paper before I forget them.

♥ Rebecca

All about me...

2011-09-13T13:42:00.000-07:00

I got a layout about me in the August issue of Scrapbook Trends. A layout about ME! No kids are present in this layout lol. Sometimes I forget how much fun it is to scrap about myself.

I did another layout about me recently using the Scrapbook Circle September kit. For this layout I was tasked with using the Authentique Diction word stickers. I punched stars from the sticker sheet and sewed them onto my layout:

I did the same thing over here:

and stitched along the chevron pattern that I had cut along the zig zag. And some more stitched along this paper strip:

I love that "Hello" sticker by Crate Paper too (hmmm, I may need another sheet of those just for that one lol!
Love the Amy Tangerine Bits that are available as an ADD ON.

And finally, even after cryptic journaling and all, I do feel better getting it out. There is something so therapeutic about telling one of YOUR own stories.

Before I go, I want to mention that Scrapbook Circle is having a design team call. I cannot say enough about how much I love designing for Scrapbook Circle. The kits are amazing. Always a perfect mix of product and always all the latest and greatest. The other design team members this term were so wonderfully inspiring and creative and Lisa, the owner is simply the best. Here is all the information for the call:

Who are we looking for?
* People who love working with monthly scrapbook kits
* People who are good communicators and emailers
* People who maintain an active blog
* People who enjoy sharing ideas in the scrapbook community
* People who able to meet deadlines

How do you apply?
Email the following to lisa@scrapbookcircle.com.

* 5 images of your favorite layouts (keep images below 600kb)
* Links to your blog and online galleries/communities where you actively participate
* Short bio including why you would be a good fit on our design team
* List of other current design teams you participate on (if any)

All submissions are due by Friday, September 30.

The design team term will be from November 2011 – April 2012.

International submissions are welcome.

Seriously, get your applications in now! You will have a blast.
♥ Rebecca

Handprints and GCD Studios

2011-09-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

Apparently, when my first child was born I had a lot of time on my hands. I impressed her tiny hand into clay for a frame, I painted it and used her hand print to make a turkey on a Thanksgiving plate and I made hand prints for the grandparents. When my son came along, my daughter was still only 21 months and suddenly all that extra time evaporated. Fast forward four years and the poor little guy has no keepsake of his hand prints! There are tons of ideas on how to use hand prints in art work and design. Browse the internet, Etsy and Pinterest and you are sure to find lots of fun ideas like these:

http://www.chiccheapnursery.com/

http://funhandprintart.blogspot.com/2009/09/cute-fish-handprint-tile-keepsake.html

http://susanweinroth.typepad.com/a_little_bit_of_me/2011/04/hippity-hop.html

I thought it was about time to remedy my son's lack of hand print memories and figured a layout was the perfect way to do so. Lucky for me, I had the perfect story to tell about a book called The Kissing Hand that his teacher read to him on the first day of school.

I painted his hand with non toxic washable paint and gently pressed it onto white cardstock. I made about four impressions on a 12x12 piece of white cardstock so I could choose the best one! The story is actually about raccoons, but I thought the elephant with heart and little turtle (from the die cut sheet from the Animal Crackers for Boys collection) were too cute not to include.

and I left plenty of room to journal about the story and our connection to it:

I hope this gives you some ideas of how to include those little hand prints on your next project so we can always remember how small they were!

Supplies Used:

GCD Studios Animal Crackers for Boys patterned paper and Metal Rimmed Glass Brads

American Crafts Alphas

Papertrey Inc. White Cardstock

Lots of Winners!

2011-09-08T21:38:00.000-07:00

Sorry this week got away from me! We had a nice long weekend with some slightly lower temps and then back to school/work on Tuesday and the record temps were back. I feel like my brain is melting. Lots of fun news though....
Tessa posted the winners drawn from the Precocious Paper blog hop winners HERE. Go see if you won!
Also Best Creation announced some winners from the Stitched creations Blog Hop, you can see if you are a winner HERE.
And finally, I used Random.org to pick a winner from my blog for the Best Creation blog hop and it chose number 3...
That makes Ange my winner:

Ange said...

I'm a new follower. :)

August 30, 2011 9:26 AM

Please email me your address and I will get some goodies out to you!

And last, but not least, stop by the Scrapbook Circle blog tomorrow. I will have this layout up and be talking about list journaling:

Have a great night and even better Friday!
♥ Rebecca

The Good Life

2011-09-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

I can't help myself, I really like the song and video:

The September Scrapbook Circle kit is called The Good Life and man, oh man, it is one amazing kit. I know everyone is trying to get their hands on the American Crafts Amy Tangerine line and there are several papers and goodies from that line in this kit, as well as new Maya Road, Authentique, Crate Paper (from the Random collection) and Fancy Pants. It is seriously one versatile kit and I love every bit of it. I may say this every month, but I am definitely going to use this one down to the bare bones. Here is one layout I did:

The cardstock and American Crafts Thickers are from my stash, but everything else is from the kit. The die cuts (like the file o fax card and star) are from the Amy Tangerine bits which are available as an add on HERE.

I made the little flag by wrapping one of the Fancy Pants banner stickers around a toothpick.

and the journaling card was from the free printable. I printed it on cardstock, cut it out and used my typewriter for the journaling:

Pick up your kit HERE, your Amy Tangerine Add On HERE and stay tuned for LOTS more layouts from this amazing kit!

♥ Rebecca

P.S. Dont forget you have until Monday to send in your Fall words for the Best Creation blog hop.

P.S.S. I too will announce my winner of some Back to School goodies on Monday September 5th

P.S.S.S. Keep checking HERE for the winners of the Perfectly Precocious blog hop--they will be announced soon!

Best Creation Blog Hop and a GIVEAWAY!

2011-08-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for the Precocious Paper blog hop please go to THIS POST.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you are looking for the Best Creation blog hop then you are in the right place!

Today we have a fun blog hop with projects using thread! Visit each blog listed at the Best Creation blog to find the secret FALL words! Once you have found the FALL words, email them to mel@bestcreation.us for a chance to win our new 12x12 Hello Fall collection kit !

Here is the collection you have a chance to win:

Winners will be announced Tuesday, September 6th!

You definitely want to start at Best Creation blog if you haven't been there already. And here is the stitched layout I made using the Back 2 School collection:

I machine stitched around every piece of patterned paper I used. I love the way a plain straight stitch finishes or borders an edge.

And then on the cardstock strip I used a zig zag stitch to mix it up a bit:

Machine stitching is a quick and easy way to add a unique, handmade look-- don't you think?

Thanks for stopping by! And now you'll continue you on with the hop by travelling to Karen Taylor's blog.

But if you leave a comment on this post I will put you in the running for some of your own Back 2 School goodies! You may leave a second comment to let me know you are a new follower of my blog or that you already follow.

Thanks for stopping by!

♥ Rebecca

Precocious Paper Blog Hop!

2011-08-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Do you know Tessa, owner of Etsy shop Precocious Paper? If you are not familiar with her creations, run right over to Precocious Paper and check out the many gorgeous flowers and goodies she has to offer.

(This is the Autumn Afternoon--September Sampler--I love these colors and that mix of texture!)

Not only is Tessa exceedingly talented, she is also super sweet and so for her 30th birthday she is offering all kinds of prizes if you take part in this Precious Paper blog hop.

If you just happened upon my blog (thanks for stopping by) you will want to start the hop at Tessa's blog. You definitely want to start at the beginning of the hop and make your way all the way through because the birthday girl is offering tons of prizes along the way! If you complete the entire hop, leaving a comment on every designer’s post, you will be entered to win the grand prize – the September, October, November and December Samplers! That’s a $54.00 value and dozens upon dozens of hand-crafted scrapbooking embellishments. Follow Tessa’s blog to be entered to win a $20.00 credit to the shop, and if you follow Precocious Paper on Facebook, you could win another $20.00 credit. Tessa is also giving away surprise credits to blog hop participants, so be sure to leave a comment on this post!

Now on to my projects. Tessa sent me a handful of gorgeous layered flowers to work with. I suppose you could totally use them all on one project, but I had all sorts of plans for these beauties For example, one on a brightly colored but simple card steals the show.

I knew when my daughter saw Tessa's flowers, she was going to want me to make her a big flower hair clip. So I pulled out my Imaginisce i top and got to work making a large Twist Daddy with some bright American Crafts paper that seemed almost a perfect match to this Precocious Paper flower:

Next, I covered the Twist Daddy with Therm O Web double sided sticky tape.

I pulled off the red backing once the entire twist was covered and stuck it in the center of the back of my flower...

and voila...

The quickest hair accessory I've ever made in my life because Tessa did all the work for me!

My daughter loves it and she wants me to use all remaining Precocious Paper flowers for her hair accessories! So I made this layout about my daughter's new clips:

I love the lace and felt combination because it adds so much texture and interest:

But the patterned fabric she has chosen for the flowers are AMAZING too:

Tessa has added many new things to her shop as part of the celebration, so be sure to stop by and take a peek. If you use this code during check out RKBBHFREE you will receive free shipping and a free thank you gift. (Within the US, there is no minimum purchase needed to use the free shipping code; international buyers must make a $5 minimum purchase). You will be able to use this free shipping code at Precocious Paper from now until September 5th!

Now it is time to send you along to the next designer: Clair Rigby – www.obstinatepursuit.blogspot.com

But before you go, please dont forget to leave me a comment here! You may leave a second comment if you become a follower of my blog (for an extra chance at the random blog hop participant prize) or if you want to let me know you already follow.

Happy Birthday Tessa!

♥ Rebecca

Time to take a Country Drive...

2011-08-25T19:32:00.000-07:00

So I don't have Echo Park's new line Happy Days yet--can not wait to get my hands on that one! But I do have Country Drive and I have to say it is one of my favorite Echo Park lines. Not sure if it is the colors (yellow is featured prominently and I love to scrap with yellow) or the happy graphics--buzzing bees, vintage sunglasses and a cool green truck.

Probably it is the fabulous combination of both. While I await the arrival of my Happy Days collection pack, I used a ton of Country Drive on several projects--enough that I may have to get another pack just to HAVE. Sick, but true.
For some reason, I am not usually a fan of making birthday cards. Maybe because they are so required I find them tedious, but this little number came together in a snap because I combined a Country Drive sentiment (popped up with Therm O Web Foam Squares), fun patterned paper and the cutest little beetle car ever. I loved adding the mini flower stickers to the headlights.

Next, I did a layout with a ton of embroidery stitching, which I felt was perfect for the "country" aspect of this collection:

Ok, so the cardstock and thread were from my stash, but everything else on this layout is from the 12x12 collection kit, including the patterned paper, stickers and journaling tag--love having everything all included.

And finally, my favorite layout in a LONG time...

Truth be told, no one really gives me a hard time about Little Man and his craftiness, although I do get the occasional eye roll from Scott about how he is my little scrapbook buddy lol.

Notice my typewriter is getting plenty of action?

Love that little bee sticker. Funny thing is bees and wasps totally freak me out. I got stung once when I was completely minding my own business and a nasty yellow jacket or wasp was just feeling ornery so now they make me edgy, but little bee graphics are just so cute.

Wanna know my new favorite way to adhere ribbon? Therm O Web Sticky Lines. They seriously ROCK and make ribbon adhering easy and lasting.

You can find them HERE.

Ok, that is enough for tonight. Be sure to stop by tomorrow. Best Creation Inc. is having a blog hop including stitched projects and my blog will be one stop on the way--there will be PRIZES!

♥ Rebecca

A little bit of this and that

2011-08-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

I know some of your kids are just starting school or not starting until September. For us, this is our third week. After the first couple of weeks of settling in, things are starting to get serious. Little Miss came home with a few graded tests--92 and 100 on math and 100 on reading comprehension. And this week her homework includes studying for a spelling test. Even Little Man has a homework folder now! Each Monday he gets to take his homework folder home and has until friday to complete it. Since he is just in Pre K the homework is not mandatory, but he does get to go into the class treasure box if he completes it. This was his second week and both weeks he completed all his homework items on Monday afternoon lol! Following in big sister's footsteps I guess.

Here he is post hair debacle. Yikes that hair is short! But it has been 115 everyday this week and we are all melting so short hair is probably best for now. I probably wont have to cut it until October lol!

Ok, on to business...

Have you seen the sneak peek for Scrapbook Circle's September kit---let me just say it DOES include some Amy Tangerine!!! Yaaaay!

And calling all stampers:
ATTENTION all stampers and myStamp BOX fans!
We are looking for new Designers to join our team. If you are enthusiastic about our stamps, love to stamp, are a good team player, and know a thing or two about blogging, you are the right match for us! We are interested in designers with a variety of styles who can creatively showcase myStamp BOX designs in their layouts, cards, altered art and other projects. No previous design team experience is necessary. International applicants are welcome to apply.
Our Term is 6 months from October 1st, 2011 to March 31th, 2012.
Team requirements:
* 4 projects per month
* 1 blog entry per month including good quality photos of a project and instructions/tutorial
* Upload all projects to the myStamp BOX website gallery and other online galleries
* Submit at least 2 projects per term for submission to print magazines of your choice
* Occasionally help with additional design opportunities – new stamp sets, classes, etc.
* make myStamp BOX the only stamping company you design for during this term
Team benefits:
*bio and picture on the website, with links to your blog
*a starter kit of stamp sets and additional stamp sets throughout your term
*other free scrapbooking supplies from product partners as they become available
*30% discount on purchased myStampBox stamps during your term
Please include in your application:
*personal information (your name, address)
*a short paragraph about yourself and why you think you’d be a good fit for myStamp BOX.
*link to your blog and gallery
*3-5 examples of your work showcasing your stamping ability and style
This call ends Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Send your application to bettina@mystampbox.com
myStampBOX website: www.mystampbox.com
We can’t wait to hear from you!

I will likely have another post today with some recent projects AND should have a post this week with my first Best Creation projects (AND A GIVEAWAY!!!) but for now...
Remember this post, where I made my little guy an ABC decor for his room? Well if any of you have two kids, you know that you NEVER make ONE of anything lol. So of course Little Miss was very upset that she didnt have an ABC hanging for her room--even though she is obviously well past learning her ABC's (in fact the book she brought home to read to me this week is one of the Magic Treehouse books and she is actually doing pretty well at reading it. But that's besides the point. Fair is fair in their mind everything MUST be equal, SO...

I got to use up some Thickers (I hardly ever finish the X's or Z's!!) and used a frame I had gotten from IKEA from FOREVER ago. Alright, with that said, we are all equal and fair now lol! Have a great day!
♥ Rebecca

Best Husband Ever, Worst Haircut EVER and a winner...

2011-08-16T22:31:00.000-07:00

I was feeling a little down in the dumps lately. Probably just the heat getting to me. We're all experiencing a bit of cabin fever and the kids have been fighting like cats and dogs. So, the other day, Scott and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. We didn't go out--we don't have a sitter and no family lives nearby. And the kids fought ALL DAY LONG. I was worn out and drained. The one bright light was a listing I found on Craig's List. On Monday, the best husband ever brought this home for me:

It needs a new ribbon, but other than that it is in perfect condition! It weighs about 32 pounds lol! And I adore it. It totally makes me smile. I've been looking on ebay and other places for a manual typewriter and they always seem so expensive.

This one in perfect condition--every key works--was only $25. So, best husband ever! Not only that....we had a weird situation with our oven door the other day. One screw came off the handle of the door, but in an attempt take the door off to fix it, the insulation from the door shattered--EVERYWHERE. I should've taken a picture it was so crazy, but I was so frustrated and upset. Buying a new stove just wasn't in the budget this month. Again, the best husband ever looked on Craig's List and found someone in our neighborhood selling her stove. She said it worked fine, she was just getting new appliances. Turns out the stove she was selling was the exact one we had! She sold it to us for $40! So we joke, "this NEVER happened..." lol.

Ok, best husband ever...check.

Want to see the worst hair cut ever? Little man was sitting 5 feet away from me cutting out pictures. He came over twice to show me what he was cutting. Both times I said, "oh, nice, but make sure you are sitting with the scissors, not walking around with them." I looked away for a minute or two and when I looked back he had the scissors on top of his head! The damage was already done! This time I did remember to take a picture:

You know how people usually say, the picture doesn't do it justice, it looks better in real life? Well I can assure you this looked WAY WORSE in real life. It was a HUGE patch. I immediately shuffled him upstairs to cut his hair, but the short guard on the clippers didnt take off enough to make the bald patch unnoticable. So I threw up my hands in the air and told him he'd have to wear hats for a while lol. Best husband ever was brave enough to buzz it on the shortest guard and it looks MUCH better albeit it VERY short. I guess I can laugh about it now, sort of. Definitely scrapworthy, dontcha think?

And finally, as promised, how about the winner of my giveaway from last week? I used Random.org

True Random Number Generator

Min:

Max:

Result:4

which makes Doreen my winner. Doreen, I will email you!

Ok, I am (understandably, I think) wiped and ready for bed. Have a great night!

♥ Rebecca

Beautiful Eyes--i heart faces challenge

2011-08-16T13:34:00.000-07:00

I read the i heart faces challenge every week, but never enter. Why? Not sure, but this challenge, Beautiful Eyes was begging to be entered. People comment on Little Miss's eyes ALL the time. Every where we go. So I decided it was about time. Without further ado, here is my entry for this week:

Thanks for looking!
♥ Rebecca

Keep it Simple

2011-08-10T21:46:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for my giveaway, go HERE.
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I was feeling greedy with my patterned paper the other day. Do you ever get that? Find a piece that you love and maybe cut a tiny bit off. Look at it again and cut another small piece and then carefully put it back. Sometimes I just don't want to use it all up at once. Well I only had a few sheets from American Crafts Peachy Keen collection and really wanted to use it, but didn't want to use it all on one layout. So I punched out a few squares and sewed them on and hoarded the rest lol! It makes for a simple layout, but one I am simply happy with:

Let me first say, that I did NOT edit her eyes at all in that photo--that is exactly how they look in real life.

I figured the Pearl brads were perfect for a layout about her pearly whites :)

More sewing, I can't seem to stop sewing on layouts, and I can't seem to find the energy to learn how to sew anything else lol:

Speaking of energy levels, this has been a draining week. Both kids started back to school on Monday (Little Miss in 1st Grade and Little Man in Pre K). We are all trying to get back into a good routine, making lunches, going to bed on time, up early, homework etc etc. Wanna see how cute they were on the first day?

Those last two were edited with The Coffee Shop Blog's awesome new action Caramel Dreams, which I absolutely love.

And this one I just had to include because I rarely get one with both of them.

And with that...have a great night!

♥ Rebecca

My Memories GIVEAWAY!!!

2011-08-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

Recently I had the pleasure of trying out the My Memories Suite digital scrapbook software--WHAT FUN! The software is downloadable from the My Memories site for $39.97 and does EVERYTHING. Photo collages, scrapbook pages and albums. It has pre made pages or you can make your own. I made a simple photo collage:

Wouldn't an 8.5x11 photo only collage like this print out nicely to be added to a 12x12 paper layout for a perfect hybrid layout!?
Then I tried my hand at a full digital layout:

I know it is super simple, but you all know that's just how I roll ;) It was SO much fun! Best part is the folks at My Memories are letting me to do a giveaway! One person will receive the My Memories Suite software! You will love how user friendly it is and how quickly you will get going on making photo collages, layouts and more! All you have to do is go over to http://www.mymemories.com/ and find your favorite digital paper pack then come back here and leave me a comment telling me which is your favorite.
I am going to offer lots of extra entries for this giveaway:
1. Leave comment with favorite digi paper pack from http://www.mymemories.com/ on this post
2. Follow my blog and leave a comment telling me you do or already did
3. Follow the My Memories Blog.
4. Follow the My Memories Facebook Fan Page.
5. Follow My Memories on Twitter.
That's five chances to win! I will leave the giveaway open for a week and will draw on Tuesday August 16th. But if you aren't the lucky winner I do have a coupon code for everyone! For $10 off the price of My Memories Suite just use this coupon code:
STMMMS32701
How cool is that? So go on over to http://www.mymemories.com/ and look around and tell me what you think, but be sure to do so by August16th! Good luck everyone!

♥Rebecca

ABC's and GCD Studios

2011-08-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

I know a lot of people are only half way through their summer, but we go back to school tomorrow! I was thinking about making my son something for his room and he is going into the Pre K class at school this year so he is getting excited to learn to write his letters. I had a 12x12 canvas laying around just asking to be altered so I decided to break out a pack of GCD Studios chipboard alphabet. I individually prepped each letter by spraying it with water

and then embossed each letter with the same letter.

Once all my letters were done, I misted them a few different colors and glued them onto the canvas. I added a few chipboard pieces from the GCD Studios collectionGreat Outdoors coordinating with the letters near them like a canoe for the letter "c."

I outlined the embossing on the blue letters since I was adhering them to a blue patterned paper.

Finally, I famed the whole thing with a dry brush stroke around the outside and tied some twine from the Fun House Collection Ribbon Spool.

My son loves his new room decoration and can't wait to get back to school!

Supplies Used:

GCD Studios Picnic Table and Bandana Patterned Paper from the Great Outdoors Collection, layered Chipboard and Chipboard Stickers from the Great Outdoors Collection, Bottle Cap pin from the Great Outdoors Collection, Bakers Twine from the Ribbon Spool from the Funhouse Collection, Medium Chip Art Alphabet by Melody Ross, 12x12 Canvas by My Mind's Eye

Last Few Days

2011-08-04T14:01:00.000-07:00

Here we are in our last few days of summer! Yikes! We are BUSY! Meet the teacher tonight, Karate, hair and nails appointment tomorrow, packing bags for the first time since May, buying things for lunches, editing photos of my friend's new baby, catching up with deadlines, etc etc. But I did want to pop in and share a few more things.
First up is a layout I did for GCD Studios using this color combination (the layout appears in this month's Newsletter which you can download HERE):

Living in the Southwest, we see a lot of the sun and to stay cool we spend a lot of time in the water. Even when most of North America is heading back to school and starting to pull out their Fall clothes, we are still wearing shorts and tank tops and trying to keep cool. Two places my kids love to be when it is hot? Either in the pool or at a splash pad. Last year we visited the splash pad until it closed for the winter and we were swimming in our pool well into September. So I decided to make a big sun as the background for my water pictures. I cut 2 large coordinating yellow patterned paper circles and a bunch of triangles for the sun rays:

I added some stitching for texture and thought this big flower was the perfect compliment:

And finally, I pulled out a photo strip chipboard sticker from the Funhouse Collection to pull my pictures together:

The patterned papers, flower and photo strip are from 4 different GCD Studios collections, but they work so well together! When working with a color combo I love I am not afraid to mix and match collections, sometimes they are just perfect together:

Supplies Used:

GCD Studios Homespun Collection (Vintage Birdie and Blue Calico), GCD Studios Material Girls Collection (The Sweetest Thing), GCD Studios Fun House Collection (Photo Strips), GCD Studios Sweet Surrender Collection (Layered Flower), Bazzill cardstock, American Crafts Alphas, EK Success border punch.

Next up is a layout I did for Scrapbook Circle's One Item Wonder Feature on the Scrapbook Circle Blog. I was challenged to use the mini canvas Maya Road tags in August's You are My Sunshine kit. This is what I came up with:

I misted the tags in a gradation of colors to match the Sassafras cloud sticker, added the mini My Mind's Eye Alphas from the kit and strung them from some baker's twine I got from the Scrapbook Circle shop.

Everything is from the August kit (except the twine) even the Kraft cardstock--it is American Crafts Kraft cardstock and I ♥ it--definitely will have to get more!

Ok, that is it for now, but I will be back soon! And for my digi friends or those interested in trying some digital scrapbooking, I have a BIG giveaway coming up so stay tuned!

♥ Rebecca

BEST Day Ever!

2011-07-31T22:24:00.000-07:00

I am not ashamed to admit that I enjoyed watching the movie Tangled and I love that part...."BEST DAY EVER!!" lol, but here I am actually referring the Design Team announcement by Best Creation Inc!

woohoooo! You can see the announcement HERE. I am thrilled to be a part of this exciting team!

And after all my griping about now having any time to craft....well, I spent the entire day yesterday at a crop at Scrapbook Barn (the LSS that I design for) and I got TONS done, including 2 layouts and a card for Scrapbook Barn with the Barefoot & Bliss Bo Bunny line,

a few Echo Park projects from the Country Drive line and 4 layouts done with the August Scrapbook Circle kit! The You are My Sunshine kit goes on sale tomorrow

and you will definitely want to snap one up--it is gorgeous. Here is one layout, I did with it to whet your whistle.

Be back to share more soon!

♥rebecca

Where to begin?

2011-07-28T22:24:00.000-07:00

Seriously? Has it really been over a week since I blogged? Really? Is there really only one more week of summer left? Really? Where has the summer gone? Really? (Anybody else love the Really???!!! with Seth and Amy skits from Saturday Night Live?) Really it is no laughing matter that as much as I will miss my little crazies, it is TIME FOR THEM TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL. They are sucking my creative will to live. Really. Ok, it is not them per se, it is the fact that I have to moderate arguments about such weighty topics as whose big toe is bigger, who really went under water the most (really??), and who should get a stamp for cleaning up the mess that they just made themselves. Really???!!!! That and the fact that we haven't seen a temperature under 110 in...ummm... weeks now, is just exhausting me to the very core of my existence. Not that it won't be tiring to get back into the school schedule, because it most certainly will, but at least I will have a few fight free mornings to clear my head!
With all the afternoon heat we have been inside crafting a ton. I went through a ton of old 4x6's and pulled out the ones I know I'll never use and passed them on to the kids--they LOVE them. So while they are busy scrapbooking, I did get a few things done.
Here is a quick tutorial I did for GCD Studios:
Do you ♥ the GCD Studios Bottle Cap Pins from The Great Outdoors collection as much as I do?

I wanted to do something a bit different with them and decided to make them into a banner. But I wanted them to hang from the twine and rough the banner up a bit. I started by laying out the bottle caps on the Funhouse Garland to see how many I would need for my banner.

Then I punched a hole at the top center of the bottle caps using my Cropadile.

Next I looped some jute through the holes...

and tied them onto the twine.

And there you have it-- a quick and fun way to make a bottle cap banner! Now just add it to your layout,

pop some of the pennants up with a dimensional adhesive and add a chipboard star for a whimsical look!

And how about a layout I made for MyStampBOX, you can see the description on their blog HERE.

And a card for the MSB sketch challenge HERE.

Here is the sketch:

and here is my take where I rotated the sketch:

There is also a layout sketch challenge going on at Scrapbook Circle. DT member Nicole Nowosad created this fab sketch:

and here is my layout:

If you make a layout with the Scrapbook Circle sketch be sure to post it to the Scrapbook Circle Facebook page by August 3rd and you will be in the running for a $15 credit to the Scrapbook Circle store!

Ok that is enough deluge after the drought. Have a great end to the week!

♥ Rebecca

Scrapbook Circle's July Kit

2011-07-18T14:53:00.000-07:00

Did you know I made a total of SIX layouts with Scrapbook Circle's July kit--Blast Off!? I love the fun October Afternoon and the goodies are just SO good! You can pick up your very own July kit HERE. I was challenged to use the Maya Road zipper trim and from watching a few videos on the Maya Road blog, I came up with this zipper swirl flower:

I figured it wasn't too "flowery" to use on this boy layout:

And just in case you were wondering, the Maya Road star pin is clear--I colored it with a Copic marker to make it yellow!

:) Rebecca

Lift a Daisy

2011-07-16T19:41:00.000-07:00

The Upsy Daisy design team was challenged this month to lift another Daisy team member. I love this layout by fellow design team member Marielle LeBlanc:

and here is my lift:

This layout came together lickity split using Marielle's fabulous design as the inspiration. I used the Upsy Daisy Vogue collection. I used the same collection on these mini thank yous:

Before I go, I have some fun information from GCD Studios to share:

That's all for now! Have a great night!

:) Rebecca

Getting Ready for CHA sale

2011-07-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

I always love a sale lol!

Claudia & Company is taking 25-40% off to prepare for all the new CHA product! Check out the sale information HERE.

Happy Shopping!

:) Rebecca

Pop!

2011-07-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

I know it has been quiet around here. I have been getting some things done, but most I can't share quite yet. Here is a tutorial I did for the GCD Studios blog. You can see it there...

I know, as all moms of small kids know, that bubbles always bring smiles. When someone is a bit cranky or you have to ask little ones to wait patiently for a bit, bring out a bottle of bubbles! For this layout, I wanted to recreate some bubbles and I used two embossing techniques to make them. I started with some GCD Studios chipboard circles and sprayed them with white mist to prep them for the Chip Art tool:

Next, I used the Chip Art tool Funky Circles to emboss a slight pattern onto the chipboard circles and resprayed white and blue mists.

Next I swiped the embossed circles on a glue pad and covered them with clear embossing powder.

After shaking off the excess powder, I used a heat gun to to melt the embossing powder. I wanted a thicker, shinier look, so I went through that part of the process again and ended up with these:

I added my "bubbles" to my layout...

I love all the texture the double embossing adds.

Next time you're outside blowing and popping bubbles, take a few shots and be sure to add your own bubbles to your layout!

Supplies Used:

Chip Art Chipboard Shapes: Chip Art tool Funky Circles, Basic Shapes Small, GCD Studios patterned paper from the Soulfood collection, fabric brads from the Homespun Chic collection

Half Way Point

2011-07-03T11:47:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we are already half way through our summer. I was so worried about the three of us being home all day every day, but we have been so busy and we have been having a lot of fun. We made our own felt board the other day and today they are making sock puppets. We have been swimming every morning. Both kids are doing Karate once a week. Little Miss tested on Friday and got promoted to a Gold Belt! No pictures unfortunately because I was stuck at home with Little Man and his stomach ache. Sigh. This weekend Scott has been painting our bedroom. It was, of course, the last room upstairs to get painted and it will make a huge difference once it is done. I have been trying to keep the kids busy and out of his way. Not so easy when we got up to 117 yesterday. We are all going a little stir crazy. One picture I took recently was to mark Little Miss losing her second tooth!

Tomorrow we will be going to the summer movie pass movie, baking "fireworks cookies" and meeting friends tomorrow night to see the fireworks. This will be the first year we are going to go someplace and sit and watch them.So I should have lots of pictures to share soon. Until then, let me update some business here ;)
First of all, GCD Studios is giving away a kit of the month!

You can read all the details of the contest on THIS POST.

Next order of business....thank you to everyone who posted comments for the MyStampBOX blog hop. The winners were posted HERE. Also, on the MyStampBOX blog, we just featured a bunch of summer projects. This was my summer layout using Echo Park and MyStampBOX stamps:

You can see this layout and all the other designers takes on the summer challenge HERE.

In other news, the Scrapbook Circle July kit, called Blast Off! is available HERE and it is awesome! FUN papers and embellies. I love all the October Afternoon, of course, but additions like cork stars, Maya Road pins and a huge sticker sheet by Simple Stores make it spectacular. The downloadable printable is 2 pages and is awesome. Here is one layout I did with this kit:

You can pick up Blast Off! HERE.

And speaking of Scrapbook Circle, it looks like there are still more Garden Party kits available HERE. After 4 layouts and a card, I still had more Garden Party left and here is the layouts I made with the last bits of it:

And, my final (and the other designers from this team's) Elle's Studio gallery was posted HERE. The post below this one has one layout from my June gallery. Here is the other and the Father's Day card I made:

Like I mentioned, I am so sad to be at the end of my term designing for Elle's Studio, but I adore their designs and will continue using them. In addition, Elle is a total gem and I feel so fortunate to have had the chance to work for her. I am excited about all the new blog features and love playing along with the sketch contests. If you haven't checked out Elle's Studio blog lately, you should! You will definitely continue to see LOTS of Elle's goodies around here. :)

And last, but not least, check out one of my layouts in the Echo Park design gallery HERE.

Thanks for making it through! The one good thing about only one more month of summer is I will have more time to create and post! Until then, hope you're enjoying your summer too!

♥ Rebecca

I ♥ Echo Park

2011-06-25T16:53:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for the MyStampBOX blog hop please scroll down to the post right under this one...
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I know if you've been here before you know how much I ♥ Echo Park. I have a few new Echo Park projects to share and one quick tutorial too. The Cards blog had a challenge to create an animal shaped card. I decided on a fish card using Echo Park's Splash line. I started by making a fish template by drawing a fish shape free hand on cardstock in about 4x6".

I cut out my template and traced it onto a piece of cardstock folded into about 6x6.

I overlapped on the top so that the card would fold up and down.

Then I punched half circles from various Splash patterned papers.

You will need a lot of half circles!

I added a dollop of wet glue to the center of the half circles and started laying them down along the outside of the fish shape. I used wet glue in the center so the sides would curl up a bit and look a bit like scales.

Once I had gone around the fish and filled it in with "scales"

I let the whole thing dry and then covered the scales with Rock Candy for texture and shine.

I added a googly eye on top of a button, and some Pearl Paint around the mouth. The sentiment was placed on a rectangle of cardstock which I poked a hook through. The hook was made from a metal tag that I cut and bent. I added a fish from the sticker set of Splash and that is it!

Probably the most labor intensive card I've ever made, but totally worth it :)
I made a much simpler layout with Echo Park's Little Boy line and I wanted to show you that too because the layout is not about my little boy--instead it is about my little girl and her mood swings lol! It just goes to show you that Little Boy is not just for Little Boys:

And last but not least, one more layout that was included in my Elle's Studio gallery this month. Lots of Dots and Stripes (from the Candy Shoppe collection here:

Lots of stitching on this one, a few Maya Road pins and some cute Elle's Studio tags which complimented the Echo Park colors perfectly :)

From simple to labor intensive, I love using Echo Park collections on my cards and layouts.

Have a great night!

♥ Rebecca

MyStamp BOX Mystery Box Blog Hop

2011-06-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

If you have just happened upon our event today, please begin your journey on the myStamp BOX blog here.

All of our wonderful myStamp BOX designers are joining us today to show off some inspirational BOX creativity!

Bettina Von Gross (http://mystampbox.com/blog/)
Jill Hildebrand (http://www.fromthefarm-jill.blogspot.com/)
Sue Sykes (http://www.kewl-beans.blogspot.com/)
Jaine Drake (http://www.craftydrake.blogspot.com/)
Janet Zeppa (http://janetsjoy.blogspot.com/)
Birgit Koopsen (http://birgitkoopsen.typepad.com/)
Linda Abadie (http://lindaabadie.com/)
Jolene Johnston (http://jolenejohnston.blogspot.com/)
Agata Pfister (http://underconstruction-agata.blogspot.com/)
Rebecca Keppel (http://www.myclutteredcorner.com/) <============ YOU ARE HERE
Marsha Valk (http://marshavalk.wordpress.com/)
Allison Cope (http://yourmemoriescanada.blogspot.com/)
myStamp BOX Blog (http://mystampbox.com/blog/)

We are giving away an amazing prize package from the myStamp BOX shop for our event this weekend and all you have to do is COMMENT along your journey to WIN.

We have given three of our lovely designers a mystery prize box and you could WIN the prize inside just by leaving a COMMENT on EVERY designer’s blog. Our Mystery Box Hop winner will be announced on the myStamp BOX blog on Monday so all comments are due by Sunday June 26th at 11:59pm EST. Good Luck!

And here is what I did with my MYSTERY BOX…

I started by covering the box with patterned papers from Echo Park. Then I stamped (*Smile*) from the Sigh Gush Gasp collection and adhered it to the lid with a punched border. I added a butterfly from the Colorful Companions collection.

Next I stamped a border of hearts with a little heart from the Symbols collection.

For both sides I stamped another butterfly from Colorful Companions.

And once you get a peek at what is in my little gift box, you'll understand why I went with so many butterflies lol! One last stamped butterfly is adhered on the inside of the lid:

And here is the little butterfly post it book and pen I bought from the Target dollar spot all wrapped and ready to be given to my daughter.

Now it’s time to HOP along and find out what the next talented designer has created with their MYSTERY BOX. Your next designer is Marsha Valk. Don’t forget to leave a comment below for a chance to WIN one of our MYSTERY BOX giveaways!

♥ Rebecca

Misting and Inking Chipboard

2011-06-22T07:55:00.000-07:00

Usually when you are prepping a piece of chipboard for embossing with the GCD Studios Chip Art tools, you spray and slightly moisten the chipboard. This softens the chipboard enough to allow an impression to be made. For this technique, you are going to use an ink mist to moisten the chipboard. It provides a hint of color, shine and shimmer (depending on the mist you use) and adequately softens the chipboard for embossing. These are the supplies you will need (a piece of chipboard, the GCD Studios Chip Art tools including the mallet, block, and plate, spray mist and chalk ink.

You will start by misting your chipboard piece:

You want full coverage without making it sopping wet (because you dont want the chipboard to fall apart when you start banging on it).

Next, use the Chip Art tools to make impressions in a pattern on your chipboard.

I applied mine randomly and made sure to have several hanging off the edge for a fun look:

Finally, you can ink the edges with a darker chalk ink for definition:

And you are left with a pretty handmade chipboard piece to be attached to layouts or cards.

I added mine to this layout:

Of course, I couldn't resist adding one of those gorgeous Cabochons from the Funhouse collection as the finishing touch!

Taking Care of Business

2011-06-21T15:49:00.000-07:00

I have some business to update here. First of all, have you seen any of the sneak peaks of the July Scrapbook Circle kit? No? Well let me show you...

Do you spy anything you are interested in playing with? I do...ALL of it lol!

Keep checking the Scrapbook Circle for the release of this awesome kit!

Ok, next order of business... MyStampBOX is having a Mystery Box blog hop on Thursday June 23.

There will be prizes! So be sure to stop by the MSB blog for lots of altered inspiration (we are all altering a box for the hop) and for the chance to be one of several winners of an MSB stamp set! Winners will be chosen from 3 different DT blogs (the mystery is whose blog will draw a winner) so be sure to stop by all the DT blogs including mine on Thursday!

And finally, because I can't NOT post a layout, here is a GCD Studios layout...
Summertime is hot, hot, hot where I live so we spend an inordinate time inside where it is air conditioned or alternatively in the pool. And yet, my kids are nervous about swimming. So last year when my daughter finally let go of the edge and ventured out into the center of the pool, I knew I had to document it!

I used the Material Girls collection for this layout because the blues really went well with the blue in the photos. And the pops of pink coordinate with her pink swim vest:

So next time you are working on a summer layout don't be afraid to reach into a non summer themed collection of GCD Studios paper--you might find something that perfectly matches your photos!

That's it for now. I'll be back tomorrow with a GCD Studios technique and Thursday with the MSB blog hop!

♥ Rebecca

When One Door Closes...

2011-06-16T15:09:00.000-07:00

Ok, it is not really a door closing, but my term at Elle's Studio ends this month and I was feeling really bummed about it. I am not going to get into goodbyes yet because we still have a June gallery to reveal, but needless to say, I was a bit down. And then I got some exciting news:

I was so excited to find out that I will be a member of the Therm O Web Design Team! You can see the announcement and the rest of the team members on their Facebook Fan Page. I can not WAIT to get work!

And if that wasn't enough...my Just Keep Swimming card:

was in last week's Cards gallery!

and if THAT wasn't enough....

I won TWO collections of my choice from Echo Park for their Dots and Stripes contest!

OK, one last SUPER EXCITING, CRAZY out of control item of news! I found out today that I was one of the winners of the Crate Paper Wedding Week contest! EEK! I think I get an awesome GC to Crate and Barrel--my favoritest store EVER! You can see my layout on their blog HERE.

Phew, now you'll have to excuse me as I need to run out and play the lottery ;)

Before I go, I want to share at least one layout here. This one is from the GCD Studios newsletter.

In the newsletter I explain how I made that big bow in the corner.

I saw Heidi Swapp make one on the Create Blog and had to try them out....beware they are a bit addicting!

Be sure to send an email HERE for the GCD Studios newsletter if you don't already receive it.

Thanks for stopping by and wading through all my excitement.

♥ Rebecca

Who said?

2011-06-14T15:29:00.000-07:00

Who said this little bean...

was allowed to turn into a 6 year old, seemingly overnight?

Certainly, not I. Six is such an interesting, scary, crazy time. We've already been through the transition into elementary school, but the idea of going into FIRST GRADE just sounds SO grown up! There is some ability to reign in the emotions and definitely mellowing as far as temper tantrums go, but on the other hand the battle for independence is definitely in full swing. She is really a very good kid, but she often works my very last nerve. She can be a button pusher, but the next minute she can be so kind and encouraging to her little brother that it melts my heart.

She is so creative and smart as a whip. She has a razor sharp memory for things like phonograms and poem recitation. She has a knack for numbers and an eye for creative design. She is a good eater and tries new foods constantly. She pushed us to let her try out Karate and to sign her up for weekly classes. We are so proud of her initiative and doing something out of her comfort zone. She is a good friend and always nice to others.When the mood strikes her, she is a good helper and listener. She loves music and dancing. I wish I had photos from the other day. We went to the bowling alley and they were playing fun dance music loudly. After every bowl, she would stop and just shake it or raise the roof. I couldn't stop laughing--it was pure joy to see her having so much fun.

"Sometimes" we butt heads. She pushes, I push back. We argue. She wants to do things her way and on her timetable. So, it always amazes me to hear that she wants to be like me. She has been leaving me little notes and cards that say, "I love you Mommy. You are the best Mommy ever." Sigh.

And yet, she will always be Daddy's little girl.

They have the same sense of humor, sarcasm and competitive spirit. They have so many similar likes and dislikes--too many to list.

All in all, six has gone by fast, way too fast. I certainly hope the next six years will go a bit more slowly, although I highly doubt it. We love you Little Miss. Happy 6th Birthday :)

♥ Mom

Summer is on a Roll

2011-06-07T15:28:00.000-07:00

Yikes, here comes the summer train rumbling through. It has been a full week since I have posted, I have photos backed up waiting to be edited, layouts needing to be completed, deadlines and assignments to do and cleaning to be done before my Dad comes to town on Thursday. But summer schedule has taken hold. Swimming, movies, going to the gym. Yes, there have already been lots of sibling arguments and we are less than 2 weeks in! But there has also been lots of fun too. We baked mini cupcakes from scratch. We made several trips to the dollar store for craft supplies and immediately used up said supplies! But the 2 pieces of big news... My girlie lost her first tooth!

She has another one well on it's way out too! Sheesh, I totally remember the weeks of sleepless nights when she was teething and these teeth were growing in as if it were yesterday! Of course the tooth fairy paid her a visit last night ;)

And in just as big news, she passed her first Karate test to move up from a white belt to a high white belt. We were so proud of her and she was SO cute:

As you can see she was right in the middle of a hiiiiiiii......

ya!

I have been busy playing with the June Scrapbook Circle kit. It is called Garden Party and, yes, you NEED it. lol! The papers are a gorgeous mix of Pink Paislee, Girls' Paperie and Jillibean Soup. It includes the fabulous Fancy Pants filter flowers and my personal favorite...the Studio Calico Wood Veneer butterflies. I would buy this kit for the butterflies alone. Did you know they are already discontinued and most places are out of stock?? Fortunately the rest of the kit is also gorgeous and worth every penny!

There is a fun card sketch contest happening on the Scrapbook Circle blog. Use this sketch:

link your take to THIS POST, and you are in the running for a Crate Paper Neighborhood collection kit! Easy peasy, right? Here is my take on the sketch:

And here is a layout that was part of the Lifting You series HERE:

I cut out a few clouds from the Jillibean paper to make a journal list:

I popped up the wood veneer butterfly on a rolled up Zot so it looks like the butterfly is flying off the page and rolled a tin strip of paper like you would for paper quilling for the butterfly trail:

I have three more layouts to share and more in the kit to create even further! I am telling you the Scrapbook Circle kits are PACKED with goodies! Hope you are having a great week and hope to be back in a few days rather than another week! :)

♥ Rebecca

Tutorials Galore and more

2011-06-01T12:14:00.000-07:00

We have been busy finishing up the school year, witnessing a Kindergarten graduation

and starting our summer. It is so nice not to be on a strict schedule, but MAN, the days are LONG when the kids get up at the crack of dawn. We have a day filled with activities by the time 10:30am rolls around lol. Anyway, I have been busily creating whenever I can grab a moment. Today on the Elle's Studio blog, I have a tutorial on various ways to use journaling tags (besides just journaling on them!)

I managed to complete another Elle's Studio sketch challenge layout too, but that won't be posted until tomorrow. :) Go over today to see the layout above and tomorrow to see the sketch!

And in some super fun news regarding another sketch challenge...one of my layouts was up on the Crate Paper blog yesterday! I made this one based on their May sketch:

I wasn't the winner of the challenge, but even seeing my layout on their blog was quite a thrill!

Finally, if you stop by the MyStampBOX blog tomorrow, you will see another tutorial from me. I can't share the layout yet, but here is a little peek:

thanks for stopping by! have a great week!

♥ rebecca

Three is the Magic Number...

2011-05-24T22:11:00.000-07:00

It is no secret that one of my favorite scrapbook companies is Echo Park. I remember when Sweet Summertime was released--I knew I had to have it because the colors and designs seemed like they were made for me. I love using bright colors and happy, playful designs. I think I have gotten every collection that has been released since that very first one last year. You can't beat the price for a whole collection including patterned paper, journaling card sheet, paper strip sheet, alphas and stickers all coordinating and all the cutest ever! Here is a collage of a few of the layouts I made last year:

So of course when I had the opportunity to grab a few of the current collections I jumped at the chance. I have three layouts to share with you made with three different Echo Park collections.

Here is one using elements from Dots and Strips:

I added a piece of white Bazzill cardstock and some American Crafts Thickers but everything else is from the Dots and Stripes Metropolitan collection.

I loved that the banner sticker was flexible enough to "hang from a few spots at the top and the mini alphas bring that lighter blue color in a second time:

I couldnt resist rolling a flower to match the one on my daughter's dress and then spiraling thin strips of the EP paper around a paint brush to mimic the corkscrew ribbon curls in her headband:

I also got the new Echo Park Splash collection! We have a LONG, HOT summer here in Arizona so water is completely our friend and I have a ton of sprinkler, pool and fountain pictures.

I used a piece of pink polka dot paper from the Dots and Stripes Candy Shoppe Collection and then layered a bunch of Splash paper and stickers over it. Every product on this page is made by Echo Park. I love layering a bunch of the sticker elements together as I did here to make the title (and you get so many on the 12x12 sheet that you dont feel like you're using them all up on one layout!):

Finally, I decided to make one layout with an oldie but a goodie--Little Boy. All those moms of little guys out there know how hard it is to find cute scrapbooking supplies for little boys. In my opinion Echo Park's Little Boy remains one of the best ever:

Again, I just love the combination of journaling spots, border stickers and fun alphas all included in the collection.

I know I don't need to convince any of you that Echo Park rocks. I mean, they have a staggering number of Facebook fans and blog followers! I just can't wait to see what they come up with next! How about you?

♥ Rebecca

Big News!

2011-05-23T20:47:00.000-07:00

I am beyond excited to share that Elle'S Studio first project kit is now available. Doesn't it look gorgeous??!! Lots of fun goodies AND exclusive Elle's Studio tags! Run over and put your order in--once they are gone, they are gone! And if you order today May 23rd you will be entered to win a Fujifilm Instax Mini! All details can be found on the Elle's Studio Blog.

Speaking of Elle's Studio, did you see that the May inspiration gallery is live? I love the way Elle puts the designer slide shows together. I literally sit with my coffee and watch them a few times over lol! Here is one of mine from this month:

For the first part of the title I used one of my all time favorites, the Sweet Stitches Note Tags.

and tied for favorite are these This Moment Circle Tags. (I think I could use one of these on every layout!)

I also love the long thin tags like this one from the Details Tiny Tags set.

And finally I thought this little scallop was perfect behind the "o" and a Studio Calico heart: (from the Owl Love You Forever Scallop Circle Tags set).

I'll be back to share more of my May Elle's Studio Gallery. Dont forget to stop by the blog and get your project kit!

Have a great night!

♥ Rebecca

Elle's Studio Sketch Thursday

2011-05-19T12:59:00.000-07:00

Have you seen all the fun going on at Elle's Studio blog lately? Project Kits for sale, Step by Step instructions for a quickly created layout and now Sketch Thursday! Melanie created this sketch:

based on DT member Lory's gorgeous layout. I HAD to play along! I turned the sketch into a 12x12 layout and used circles instead of squares, but otherwise it is very similar to the sketch:

Want to take a crack at it? Get a layout done using this sketch and link it back to Elle's Studio blog HERE by 11:59pm on Weds. May 25, 2011 and you will be in the running for a $5 gift certificate to Elle's Studio shop! I hope you'll play along!

♥ Rebecca

Blogger is Back!

2011-05-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, I could blame my long absence on blogger. Truth is, life was a bit busy this past week and it wasn't until last night that I had both the energy and the time to try and blog. And that happened to be the same time that Blogger was doing site maintenance. Go figure. Oh, well, let's just keep blaming Blogger ;)

So I do have tons to share. For Mother's Day I got an entire afternoon to scrap--best present ever ;) The kids went from playing outside, to crafting in the office with me, to nap/quiet time without too much struggle and so we all had a nice day. Then we all went to Cafe Rio so I could get my favorite big salad. AND I actually have a picture of the three of us:

And Little Miss took a few pictures too. Ok, so the little guy is completely cut out but at least she got one of Scott and I lol:

OK, so on to the scrapping. It also happened to be National Scrapbook Day last weekend so there were lots of crops and activities going on. I used the remaining parts of my Scrapbook Circle May and Anniversary kits to complete some challenges at 2peas. Here was my take on a sketch challenge (with the Anniversary kit):

Here was a folded paper challenge (with the May kit Grandma's Attic). It has been SO long since I did an 8.5x11 page and I'd forgotten how fun they can be.

So I had to do another *lol* (with the Anniversary kit) for a scraplift challenge (this is a scraplift of a layout by Jen Gallacher):

And finally a Create Your Own Embellishment with Bits and Pieces Challenge.

The Anniversary kit was perfect for this challenge because it came with the fun Ephemera, corrugated pieces and Lily Bee stickers. I added some of the digital printable and sewed everything on top of the Jillibean Corrugated frames packaging:

I have more to share, but I think I will save what's left from that weekend for another post.

But before I go, I wanted to let you know that Scrapbook Circle is continuing the anniversary month with challenges and giveaways. In fact today they are giving away a $20 GC to Shey B.'s site (maker of those gorgeous camera straps). Head over HERE for your chance to win!

♥ Rebecca

Hey there winner...

2011-05-05T21:20:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been a bit absent the past few days. I have been madly finishing up Teacher's Appreciation gifts, Mother's Day cards, a mini album for my Dad for his birthday and a load of products for my first GCD Studios assignments (super exciting!!). But I do have a winner for the $10 Scrapbook Circle blog hop.First, I want to thank everyone for all the sweet comments and for all the new friends following my blog--if you didn't win this time, stick around-- more giveaways are sure to come soon! ..... My winner is ANDREA:

Andrea said...

I am following your blog and you LO is excellent! these kits are great!

May 2, 2011 3:39 PM

Congrats Andrea! I didn't see your email address so be sure to head on over to Scrapbook Circle if you dont get an email about your GC. As a matter of fact, you should all head over to Scrapbook Circle because there was a load of winners and maybe you were one! AND there is lots more fun going on this month at Scrapbook Circle. There is ANOTHER anniversary kit up for grabs if you participate in our sketch challenge going on. You have until May 18th to create your version of this awesome sketch by Diana:

I loved this sketch! I rarely do the patterned paper blocking thing, so I had fun with it:

I used the scrumptious May kit Grandma's Attic for this one. ♥♥♥ those tile alphas. And I am SURE I have mentioned my spazziness with rub ons here before? No? Well let's just say, while I know applying rub ons is not rocket science, it may as well be as far as I am concerned because I am bound to screw it up. BUT these Hambly rub ons are seriously magical. Decide where you want them, remove the backing and take a swipe or two and the whole thing instantly applies itself neatly and without wrinkles. I am in love ;)

I've seen those little birds (from the Studio Calico paper) all over the place too and couldn't resist cutting some out for this page:

One last note? The Crate Paper trims are divine:

If you take the sketch challenge be sure to link it up to the Scrapbook Circle blog for your chance to win the fabulous Anniversary kit!

Have a great night!

♥ Rebecca

Scrapbook Circle's Anniversary Blog Hop and Giveaway!!

2011-05-01T01:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Scrapbook Circle’s Anniversary Blog Hop! Scrapbook Circle is celebrating their 5th anniversary and wants you to celebrate with us.

We will be celebrating all month long with several giveaways each week from amazing sponsors, so be sure to check out our blog throughout the month.

This month there is not only a regular May Kit, Grandma’s Attic,

but there is also a special Anniversary Kit.

All of our current subscribers can get the Anniversary Kit at the amazing low price of only $18. This is a regular full sized kit, but we are offering it at a big discount as a thank you for your support.

If you aren’t a current subscriber, but still want to pick up an Anniversary Kit, you can do that too. Just go to this page for purchasing info.

If you start your subscription with our May Kit, that qualities you for the discount on the Anniversary Kit.

I can't say enough about how much I ♥ these kits!!! I ♥♥♥ LOVE them! I cant recommend one over the other because they are both seriously SO awesome. Here is one layout I made with Grandma's Attic:

Everything you see here (besides the green cardstock) is in the May kit. Lots of yummy Crate Paper and gorgeous embellies by Girls Paperie and American Crafts:

Isn't this a must have kit?? Well how about a chance to win a 10$ gift certificate to Scrapbook Circle? One random winner from my blog (and all the other designers blogs) will win 10$ to spend at Scrapbook Circle! Leave me a comment and you'll be entered into the drawing. If you want a second chance, follow my blog and leave me a comment telling me you did (or that you already do). The winner will be chosen on May 3rd--good luck!

Now, hop on over to Diana's Blog for some more inspiration and another chance to win!

Thanks for stopping by!

☻Rebecca

Time Flies!

2011-04-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

Wow, where is this month going? Going, going, almost gone! Next month is the last month of school!! We had a great long weekend. We got into the pool on Thursday, bounced with friends on Friday, hung around the house on Saturday and enjoyed Easter festivities on Sunday! Monday was back to the grind and we all moved veeeeeery slooooowly. But before moving on, I just wanted to share a few Easter pictures. We bought our favorite paint roller egg kits:

We decided to paint raw eggs because I am the only one that likes them hard boiled and I just can't eat THAT many hardboiled eggs! Of course three broke, so maybe I should just go back to hardboiling and eating as many as I can--sigh. Still, they had fun:

Yesterday, I got some awesome news :)

The announcement is HERE. I am so excited :)

And I haven't shared my other Elle's Studio April projects--seriously, where has this month gone? Anyway, here is a layout I did with a ton of tags and NO patterned paper. You really don't need it when you use a whole bunch of Elle's super cute tags:

I used almost an entire set of the This Week Note Tags. I stitched on a few and stamped Sweet Memories from an Elle's Studio stamp (no longer available) set on another. I also used one of the Make a List Journaling tags to house both the journaling and the title:

and there is one more tag from the Fun Circle Tags collection hidden behind a Maya Road zipper:

My last two projects are a couple of birthday cards using Echo Park Sweet Summertime line with a Birthday Circle Tag and a couple of the Birthday Handmade Layers Pennants in this one:

and a Large Birthday Circle Journaling tag and the candles are stamped from this Elle's Studio set.

If you like those little candles run over and grab that set for $1.80 before they are all gone!

And last but not least, I told you about the 2 kits for Scrapbook Circle this month, right? There is a gorgeous May kit AND a special and equally beautiful Anniversary kit. I've had to stop myself from creating like crazy with these kits--they are SO awesome! Seriously the best kits EVER. How about a little sneak peek? Here is a couple of peeks from the May kit called Grandma's Attic:

and a couple from the Anniversary kit:

Seriously!! Can you believe all that scrappy goodness? I am not exaggerating....my favorite KITS EVER. So be sure to sign up for the Scrapbook Circle newsletter so you get all the information about this fun anniversary month!

And with that, it is time to put my monkeys to bed! Have a great night!

:) Rebecca