Sep 28, 2010

A Trying Tuesday

I did not make it to yoga today so I am a bit testy. Instead I dragged the kids to the doctor because I was sure Little Miss had strep throat. But it turns out it is a virus and we just have to power through it....ugh. She still has a touch of fever so no school again tomorrow. Double UGH.

On a more positive note, if you are interested in a quick, flower making tutorial, my Tuesday Tutorial is posted at Scrap Tiffany. I won't repost the whole tutorial here, but this is the flower I ended up with:
Seriously it will take you five minutes to make, and like the rolled roses they are sort of addicting lol! So stop by ScrapTiffany today and then again on Friday when my reveal of the Scraps Challenge is posted. Here is a little peak of that:

Hmmm, what else can I share today so I dont have to inundate you on Friday?? :)
Here is another layout from September's 3 Scrappy Boys Add On kit. On this layout for the newsletter I shared my favorite technique which is machine stitching...
And yes, I will continue to use different variations of that picture until I get another equally loved one :)
Little Man has been heavily featured in my layouts recently because I was feeling bad about how many fewer completed albums he has :(

Those adorable papers are Upsy Daisy. I hand stitched in yellow around the artisan shape. I bought those little canvas flags by Canvas Corp. It was one of those "I MUST have those" moments. I placed Thickers on each one, misted them with Maya Mist, removed the Thickers and outlined them with a brown slick writer. Then I ran the top edge through the sewing machine, overlapping just a bit so they were all attached and then glued them down and placed buttons on the corners.

And to be far, how about a girlie one?
Lots more handstitching on this one and LOTS of My Little Shoebox goodies. Who could resist those little birdies? :)
Have a great night and great week and stay healthy!




Sep 26, 2010

Fall...Really?

Wasn't the other day the first day of Fall? You wouldnt know it here. We are still up to 110 every day. The only difference is overnight the temps are dipping down into the 70's. It is not much in the way of relief, but it is a start. I was worried the pool would be too cold, but it is actually still quite refreshing.


This week's ScrapTiffany Challenge was to do a 4 photo (at least layout). I still have a bunch of photos from Little Miss's birthday that havent been scrapped yet. I like using multiple photo designs for events since I usually take so many photos. Here is my layout:
I added some straight stitching on the edge of the polka dot paper in a dark brown thread,
 then added some zig zag stitching on the 12x12 vertical strip.
 All the papers are from Upsy Daisy Designs. I love how their collections include journaling spots and little tags and quotes.

Other than some dips in the pool. We had a relatively mellow weekend. I went to the Bazzill Warehouse Sale on Saturday. They sell discontinued and imperfect cardstock for super cheap. I got a pizza box of cardstock and some very cheap spools of ribbon and tulle. Little Miss ended up with a couple of glue runners and a mini  book to decorate with drawings. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! See you next week--on Tuesday I will be doing the Tuesday Tutorial at ScrapTiffany. See you then!

Sep 20, 2010

Whirlwind Weekend

Not that we did much of anything, but the weekend rushed by nonetheless. I missed posting on Friday. The ScrapTiffany challenge last week was to do a scraplift. I found a fabulous layout by Jen Jockisch on Studio Calico's site and came up with this layout:
Lots of October Afternoon goodies here and a photo I love of Little Miss and her Little Friend at a Mom and Me Scrapbook class ;) 
I had this card up on the Cards Blog last week (the challenge was to make accordion flowers):


And....The 3 Scrappy Boys September kits are selling and the Design Team has posted their creations to the gallery. I LOVE this kit. I have been ogling Crate Paper's Restoration line and was thrilled to get to work with the Add On kit this month that included that plus a bunch of fun embellishments.  I love how this kit can be totally girly (with the Prima bling):


or totally at home on a boy layout:
I also made a couple of simple cards:




Once I had made all this (and another layout I can't share yet because it will be in the newsletter) I had some strips of patterned paper left, so I made this 8.5x11 layout:


If you want to check out this fabulous kit, go to the 3SB Store. And be sure to check out the Gallery for more inspiration.
I WILL be back on Friday for the ScrapTiffany challenge this week which is a layout with 4 or more photos :) Have a great week!

Sep 15, 2010

Quick HI

Just popping in real fast. In not too long, Little Man and I have to go over and pick up Little Miss from Kindergarten. I mentioned her progress report the other day. Turns out there was no reason for me to stress. Her progress report was sterling. Seriously she is rocking the kindergarten thing.

Anyway, just wanted to share a layout I did for this week's American Crafts challenge to scrap yourself. Here is mine:
For the edges of the Kraft paper, I sprayed it with Buttermilk Cream Maya Mist and rolled it forward. Then I flipped it over and sprayed Brown Metallic Maya mist on the back heavily enough that some sunk through to the front.


Supplies Used: American Crafts patterned paper (from the Blue Skies and Adobe collections), American Crafts rose trim, American Crafts Thickers, American Crafts soft flowers, American Crafts Slick Writer pen, Jenni bowlin journaling tags, Cosmo Cricket mini alphas, Maya Road Maya Mists and Maya Road pin, Bazzill cardstock. 

Last week I had a layout up on the Jillibean Soup blog. It was this one:

I love all the new Jillibean Soup fall papers. Here is one with their Pasta Fagioli line:

I've also been busy with October Afternoon's Seaside line. This one is my favorite so far:

ok, I think that is it for now. Be sure to check back on Friday for my take on this week's ScrapTiffany challenge, which is Scrap Lifting.
Enjoy the rest of your week!
:) Rebecca

Sep 11, 2010

Fast Friday

With Monday off, we zoomed straight ahead to Friday. Today was a quick day too. Little Miss had Early Release because progress reports are coming out on Monday already!! Can I admit to you all that words like Progress Report still bring a little stressful knot of anxiety from my stomach to the back of my throat? Doesn't help that it is someone else's progress report and not mine. Especially since it is my kid. Oh well, she is doing great. And the little guy got picked up after lunch. Then I took them in the pool. Then the little guy napped and Little Miss dressed up as part witch, part ballerina, part fairy.

Today the second half of the ScrapTiffany reveal was posted. This week's challenge was to do a cardstock only project--no patterned paper. Cardstock was actually my first love ;) I live about 15 minutes from the Bazzill warehouse so getting good cardstock is not an issue here. For this layout I used Bazzill kraft and brown cardstock and Coredinations cardstock from the Jenni Bowlin stack.
The star border is a wide EK Success punch.
I had to add a little Jillibean Soup sprout for journaling. Love those things.


I love how much my kids love school. I hope I can keep the excitement up for a long time.

The other big news this weekend is that 3 Scrappy Boys Back to School Crop is going on ALL WEEKEND LONG!! There are a ton of "classes", challenges and prizes up for grabs. Stop by, finish some challenges and chat for chances to win! I taught a stamping class and did this layout for it:

I used some Hero Arts and Studio Calico stamps and the goodies are from Echo Park's Happy Halloween line. I can NOT wait for pumpkin patch visits. So much fun!

Have a great weekend :)

Sep 4, 2010

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

For my U.S. friends, I hope you are enjoying the long weekend with family and friends! We are still hibernating because it promises to be in the 115's all weekend. Which means pool in the morning and late night and movies and indoor play. That's ok, I guess, just being together for 3 days with no school and early mornings makes it worth it.

So I promised to return with my Scrap Tiffany reveal for the vintage challenge. I dug into my stash of October Afternoon Thrift Shop for this layout about my Grandma:
I cut apart a K&CO lace frame to go around the "vintage" mini book page. And the butterfly is by Jenni Bowlin.
The blue flower is by Maya Road and I think may be the last one I have in that color--I've used them here and there on several pages. I am not usually one for distressing too much, but I felt this layout called for it. So I used an edge distresser to rough up the edges of the vintage patterned paper background. But since I don't do it very often I guess I distressed with a little too much gusto and ripped a several inch tear into the background! My mouth dropped open, I said "ooops!!" and then decided I was goingt o use a large damask matte for the photos anyway, so problem solved! I don't let myself get too hung up on those kinds of accidents--this is supposed to be fun after all lol! 


While I had the October Afternoon out, I came up with another layout rather than use the yellow patterned paper leftovers for a card:
Lots of stitching, another Jenni Bowlin butterfly and...
those October Afternoon journaling cards and mini alphas are the finishing touches.
And to be fair (because when you have two children everything must be EXACTLY even, or at least that's what they keep reminding me) here is a layout of my little guy with his cheesy grin:

Have a great weekend!
:) Rebecca

Sep 1, 2010

It's Only Wednesday!!!

On the one hand, I am super excited to be here and actually posting before Friday. On the other hand....it's only Wednesday????!! Seriously, it was a tough morning around here with lots of crabbiness and tears. But, we just have to make it through the week and then we have that awesome three day weekend. So on that note, let me show you what I have been up to...
First up, is a layout I did for this week's American Crafts Challenge, which was to do a project with 2 or more Dear Lizzy products. No problem there. I love the Dear Lizzy lines. Here is my layout:
I love the adhesive backed fabric and those roses...


Supplies Used:
American Crafts Dear Lizzy patterned paper, rose trim, Thickers and fabric adhesive backed paper. Bazzill cardstock. October Afternoon vintage card. Pettaloo flowers.

I have made a pact with myself that I will use scraps from every layout IMMEDIATELY on a card. I have to be very strict with myself or they build up, get recycled, get thrown to Little Miss for her projects (and she already has a TON) etc. So here is the card I made with scraps from the journaling strips and fabric paper. I added some Pebbles ribbon and a couple of SRM stickers and called it a day lol :)
Next, I blogged for Just Imagine Crafts on Saturday. I did a simple layout with a simple punched border:

Go on over to to Just Imagine Crafts to see close ups and check out what the other designers have been up to.
Next, I have a little sneak peek for the ScrapTiffany challenge this week.

The challenge is vintage, so if that is your love, or if you want to (like me) step outside your comfort zone, try your hand at some vintage and email it to Tiffany.
I also have an Echo Park, Life is Good layout that I did based on a sketch from Studio Calico.
I love all the letter stickers, borders and little odds and ends Echo Park includes in their collections. I can not wait to tear into their Halloween line, but I don't really feel like scrapping last year's photos again, so I may have to wait a bit. The clock stamp is Hero Arts and I have been waiting for the right moment to use it, but now that I broke it out, I think you may see me use it quite a bit more ;)
I've actually been using sketches a lot lately. I used this sketch from the My Little Shoebox blog:


and came up with this layout:

I did this one at a late night crop on Saturday, so I had plenty of time to hand stitch the pink border, brown circle AND the blue scallop. A good exercise in patience too lol :) All the paper, stickers and alphas are My Little Shoebox (I love those little birds). The crochet flower is American Crafts Dear Lizzy and the big pink button is My Little Bit of Whimsy. Pebbles ribbon DMC embroidary floss and Divine Twine. The journaling is about how much my little girl has learned in the past 3 weeks of kindergarten. I don't remember kindergarten much, but I am certain I had not amassed the amount of knowledge she has in three short weeks!

I think that is enough for today! Thanks for stopping by. Have a great week and come on back on Friday for my ScrapTiffany LO reveal. :)