After Christmas Specials

The mad rushing of Christmas prepping is now over and yesterday I spent some time clearing off the leftovers. Not from the refrigerator- eating at grandmas eliminated any chances of goodies in our house! As the days flew past last week my desire to scrapbook was growing and growing (like my waistband) and it was mixed feelings of relief and sadness that I experienced about this page spread I made in November.

Relief because all I need now is to print a few photos and this awesome two page layout will be complete! I used my Embellish It! kit for the paper choices, dug into my stash of old metal rimmed tags and giant brads, washi tape, sequins and paper clips for the rest of my embellishments. The layout design itself was lifted from a CK feature.

I felt a bit sad though because I had intended to produce a process video to accompany the photo and release it on the day after Christmas. hahaha, the footage is all there but it may be NEXT Christmas when it all comes together?!

 I love making the process movies but sometimes I feel like I'm putting too much effort into them. Usually I feel this way towards the end of getting all the cropping, voice overs, and captioning put together and I finally head to the library with the finished file stowed on my Hello Kitty flash drive. All that time on the computer really gets in the way of my paper crafting!

Well, the feelings of relief at having my Christmas layout (with what ended up being the perfect title) all ready for pictures won out, my desk got cleaned off enough for me to feel comfortable starting something new, and I ended up creating one of my favorite pages of the entire year. You'll have to wait until the February edition of DieCutCrazy comes out to see it though!

 

Now, back to crafting something for Me! er, I mean for my family to enjoy for generations to come ...

Hoping the holiday buzz stays with you for a while longer, and has you creating something magical to store those good-time memories :-)

A little reminder...

Get Your Christmas Gifting On!

Hooray!
The latest editions of DieCutCrazy Magazine are available and chocked full of a massive amount of inspiration for you! As if that weren't fun enough, the magazine is also giving away a $25 Gift Certificate to one of my favorite web sites, TwoPeasInABucket.com
All you have to do is use this sketch to create something fabulous, email it to DieCutCrazyMag@gmail.com, and you could win!

Tonight is our Close To My Heart group's Holiday Party and I'll be crafting within a whirlwind tornado of paper so I' can bring something to share with my artistic friends. I have learned so much from each and every lady there over the last four years, they are all so fun to be around too. Isn't it wonderful how the different paths and avenues we walk in our life allow us to encounter people we may not have had the pleasure of meeting or spending time with otherwise? In the spirit of the holidays, I've been reflecting on the friends I've made through working at the bank, through selling PartyLite, though visiting the library's StoryHour, attending (albeit very irregularly) church, my arts and crafting companions... there is a saying that "friends are family you CHOOSE," and that's a great way to categorize these invaluable influences.
 Remember, YOUR creation could be featured in the January 2014 edtition :-) Good Luck, and Happy Crafting!

Is it Spring Yet?

Spent the morning focusing on the girls, dishes and thinking man, it is cold outside!

Warmed up quite a bit browsing through the next PartyLite catalog...

This is definitely one of my favorite layouts and it is just like the fun, cutesy, easy to see beauty of PartyLite in 2014. I know its going to be an awesome January for parties!

Then in February I'll be celebrating my Ten Year anniversary with this amazing direct selling company. Its still free to earn money the easy way and that's how it all started for me :-)

Sign up to receive notice of my blog posts and you'll be in the know about my upcoming catdmaking classes at Michaels, as well as the date of my next Silent Auction event for Cancer Relief.

Hope to hear from you this Holiday Season!

3>Anna

Www.PartyLite.Biz/AnnasCandles

My Cute Cowgirl

 The girls and I had so much fun exploring the fairgrounds this year at the Western Washington State Fair.

 Formerly known as the Puyallup Fair, there seemed to be a childhood memory waiting to be re-lived for me around every corner! I was ecstatic sharing all the goodness with Rainier and Sunday. After all, they don't know what corn dogs and BBQ corn on the cob, and earthquake burgers, elephant ears, curly fries, and caramel apples and SCONES taste like, so they weren't disappointed not to be offered any. And there was no way I could share or withhold such goodness, so I was able to resist somehow as well :-) It's a good thing I never saw a pickle barrel, though, that might have snagged me.

We got to see a lot of our favorite animals, including, a Camel! By the time I was ready to leave, we were all pretty pooped (how could we have only been there for three hours?!), but I managed to get one more photo shoot in, and my cute little cowgirl hopped up on the hay bale before she realized what the reason was for. She never has been into smiling on command! Or photographic eye contact either. Hence, I got none of her looking adorable-y at me, but did get an adorable shot nonetheless :-)

The map print background is by Studio Calico, and I got it in a kit from a Creating Keepsakes class about Mixed Media. The kit included a piece of dressmakers pattern paper, which could have been adhered with decoupage techniques. I chose to just use my regular favorite Red Duck adhesive down the sides and then grabbed a couple border strips for the top and bottom.

Once I had figured out how I wanted all my layers to go, I got stuck. This layout sat for about a month on my desk, I couldn't figure out just what it needed. With the additions of the border strips and my journaling last night, I finally feel like it can be put in the album.

Whew! I don't like it when an unfinished something keeps getting in my way of creating something new, but it's almost a feeling of relief once I have it completed! And who would have guessed that pattern paper can work with our beloved patterned papers! Not me...

now where are all those old patterns I'm not using... 

Here's another shot with the flash on, so you can see a little bit different view.

 

#HalloweenMemories

Aren't some of the digital photo-editing apps amazing?! I haven't got a chance to lay down my own letter stickers for this page yet, but a couple finger pushes and slides, and what do ya know, my Fancy Nancy titles looks great! Hardly digital looking at all :-) Scroll down to see the accompanying page.

Sorry for the blurriness. That's kind of a theme for this time of year, right? Wow, Halloween and the beginning of fall have come and gone, and I suddenly realize I haven't really started preparing for Christmas (or Thanksgiving) in the way of cards or thought-of-you gifts for my friends and family. So this week Rainier and I made two presents for persons not decided yet. I love Lisa E's simple but oh so cute ideas (look under the I'm inspired By tab above) and her YouTube movie voice is so friendly! She made a tutorial showing a grocery list holder that I thought would not only be super easy to make but easily duplicated too. We took a piece of chipboard, or heavyweight cardstock or kraft paper. 8 1/2x11" worked great. Using paper scraps, washi tape, and stickers we created a notepad holder with photo of the girls, and another home decor piece with a set of three cards attached. Sometimes you find out a card is needed at the last minute, or intuition tells you to bring along a "nice to see you card " when you go to the post office....so this would be a handy holder for grabbing a card on your way out the door.

what? You don't get those need to bring a card with me twinges?
 

Anyway, after getting two done in three days, I'm feeling better about getting into the making for others spirit. There will be a special Holiday edition plus the December copy of DieCutCrazy coming in the next week or so to look forward to. It's funny that as disappointed as I am that Creating Keepsakes and Papercrafting are no longer coming via mail delivery, I'm so excited for a digital magazine to come out.  I have to admit it is thrilling to be published amongst the other talented contributors! Each month it is only a dollar, for tons of inspiration including tutorials and tips and just all around great designs to scraplift, er interpret.  Plus, I make a lot of stuff, and I forget what I share with whom and what I send to the magazine too, so by the time they are published I cannot honestly remember what I will be seeing lol . I have never limited my projects to the season. Writing and making seasonal cards and tutorials for DCC has got me more aware and excited of the way all of that influences trends and motifs and Im thinking, Pretty soon New Years and snow scenes and then spring scrapbook pages will be rolling through my creative space too!
 

But first, I delved into my massive ck haul of fall STUFF. Die cuts, 12x12" richly toned, heavy-weighted card stocks by Echo Park & Basic Grey, amongst other brands offerings. Glittery, leaf motifed everything and everything pretty much :-) Thank you for SEIs last hour sale heehee! $27of Awesome. I have filmed that second page above (sorry the photo is so blurry) coming together. You can find it below, as well as with the other process videos of mine under the tab above. I'm always surprised and delighted to hear of a dash of inspiration a viewer received!! So please, feel free to comment appropriately :-)

Well these two pages came together in about half an hour each. Uninterrupted, non child carrying craft time for me is so rare, and my fingers (both hands!) flew about my desk gluing down this and that. Because I had been gathering like -items prior to creating the pages, I could just reach in my bag of tricks and literally put it on my base and build up with confident decisions. Speed scrapping at its finest! I'm really lucky to have both the girls napping for an hour or two Almost everyday, at the same time, together, without me! right now. Like, three out of five days. Thanksgiving indeed!

Blessings to you and your family, or if you are my family, this week and alldays :-D ~Anna

I am the Cruise&Crop Blinkie Contest Winner!

 

Have you noticed my Cruise blinkie to the right ? I'm so grateful to my loving honey for fulfilling my tropical island dreams: he's sending me on a cruise with my Dear Friend! Wow, right? What could be cooler than seen days at sea, visiting Mexico, Belize, and Honduras... oh, well it happens to be a scrapbooking cruise! With classes taught by one of my favorite teachers, Shelby Dredge of Embellish It! (embellishonline.com) 

Well Gail and Cheri at Cruise & Crop have been nothing but nice to work with, and they recently posted on their blog a contest for putting their new blinking badges on trip taker's blogs. Of course, I immediately put one up here. even if it wasn't for a contest I was so excited to share that my reservation has been made. It makes more real somehow! (After all, isn't everything you read online True!) You can click directly on the blinking green cruise button and it should take you directly to their site. Pretty cool!

Then .... Surprise surprise, I won! And the package came today! and it was filled with wonderful scrapbooking at sea paraphernalia! Yippeee!

 

It was such a beautiful morning that I had to take my girls for a walk. The sun was shining and we didn't get too cool in the shady spots. Sunday fell asleep on Rainier's shoulder, isn't that about the cutest thing you can hope to have happen at nap time? I was also able to submit the last of my creations and articles for next month's DieCutCrazy magazine. Both girls took their afternoon nap at the same time. Survivor is on tonight, too, so I think this is a day that I should celebrate as going MY WAY.

The cutest thing in the box was a page kit all about towel animals :-) If you've ever gone cruising, you may remember these adorable gifts from the stewards as being one of the trips highlights. There were also a lot of Glitz designs items, a cute stamp set with the word Friend included, and I'm just so excited to start packing now.
Oh Yeah,

Did I mention the cruise isn't until 2015...

 

CK Short Circuit!

Oh wow, it seems like its already been a year since last weekend's Creating Keepsakes Convention in Bellevue, but I guess time flies when you're not creating?!

So where to start, the amazingly great time I had catching and creating up with my Dear Friend, the wealth of knowledge I absorbed volunteering in classes taught by craft industry faves, or the inhibiting factors which didn't allow me to make another thing until yesterday afternoon?

I guess the first stop ought to be announcing the winner from my November 1-10th Blog-Hopping 10-Subbie Celebration Comment Challenge:

That sure was a fun way to say goodbye to CK for another year! I managed to make enough acquaintances in two days to hand out the 20+ Artist Trading Cards I made in preparation. So many talented and extremely nice people that I shared supplies, ideas, and most important, laughs alongside.

Megan You Are Ah-may-zing!

 Special thanks go out to my Director of Photography/Grip hahaha. And to Mike at Queen & Co for another year of allowing me to Vanna new products for him, as well as Megan Hoeppner and Shelby Bywater, two of CK's superstars! Also thank you to Melissa Frances, whose PSA and open conversation about her personal breast cancer discovery and recovery changed my view on monthly self-breast exams (DO THEM! MEN TOO!)

#MyTwoYearOldsAFearlessArtist

Well, usually I'm pretty reluctant to let anything get in the way of my usual chores-childcare-craft routine I've got established, but I really did miss my girls while I was away this weekend. As loud as the siren call of all my new kits, pretty papers, stickers, and unfinished layouts was, I ignored it in favor of trying to focus my attentions on my babes. Instead of crafting next to Rainier and offering half-hearted assistance, I stayed on her side of the art den and kept my hands off my stuff. Yuck and Yea at the same time! (Anyone else noticing the same craft hysteria face that Rainier and I are sharing in these photos?)

the lovely Ship Harbor Inn view

My go-to-guy also had oral surgery up in Anacortes on Thursday and he took the kids and I up early Wednesday night, so I had that to pack and plan for. We had a lovely time and his surgery went well, and before we took him to the dentist I even squeezed in a half page layout from a kit DF got me at the last minute. Was able to finish that and another layout with two more in the works while the house was napping yesterday afternoon...

MerryGoRound Love

I promise I will be sharing what I can remember learning over the next couple of weeks and months. Had a lot of brainstorming going on in our hotel room and it will be exciting putting some of those ideas into world-wide viewing portals :-)

Congratulations to my Big Comment Winner, who should be receiving a package in today's post, and for all who followed the contest and participated. You comments all made me feel like a true winner in the craft community!

Prepping for CK: Artist Trading Cards

One of my favorite memories from the first year I went to CK, is that of an elderly artist handing out Artist Trading Cards to the vendors at the Make and Take tables. The fact that it was a MAN and that he was there for himself, not his wife or other female companion just made it stick in mind that much more! Every year at the Creating Keepsakes Convention since has found me wishing I had some of those cards to pass out to the wonderfully creative people I encounter.
Well this year, I will!

It was so much fun making this batch of cards, Rainier and I are going to whip up another group some time today. First, we dripped watercolor on shiny paper. Its got an interesting effect with paint, if I knew what type of paper it is I'd tell! But alas I do not. The cool thing is that it lets the paint dry without it soaking in, so the paint remains really vivid. On some parts of the papers we did some ombre style painting, other areas we just went hog wild with drips and splatters. We recently watched a video by Wilma F. at Two Peas and could see that influence lol. After the paint dried, I got out my special Artist Trading Card Stamp and used that on some cards for my information. Other cards just got the same details freehanded in. Then we dripped on more color in the form of spray ink. Stamps by Ali Edwards that read Live In the Moment, Life, and Love were dispersed.

I wish I'd had these cards with me yesterday at the Library to share with all the storytime moms!

One of these days I'll have to do a tutorial about how to make this teabag gift holder. Turns out, it works great for holding this set of cards. Even if it is Halloween themed!

On a side note- did you happen to see how messy my desk is in the background shot from above?! I usually try to get it cleaned off in between projects, but I feel like I'm in creative limbo this week, storing up my mojo for this weekends outpouring :-)

Making some updated versions of this nifty holder might be a good side project for this afternoon... People often ask me, how do I find time to do all the art projects my heart desires? well, I'm pretty sure exposure to papercrafting from birth for both my girls is the key to my success, as well as the support and, time, and space to craft I get from their dad. Having the girls near me can be frustrating at times, like when they grab papers or fingerprint on stuff or peel off all the stickers from a brand new sheet to decorate the floor... but it's all worth it when I think about the fact that while sometimes a project doesn't turn out "perfect" it is perfectly full of the love of art we all share :-)

 I love the way my ATCs turned out,  and it will be so much fun making new friends and passing these little labors of love out. Maybe some will even end up in someones's Project Life or SmashBook Albums!

Bonanza!

At the Library today we really hit the jackpot!
First we were gifted these beautiful -handmade- headbands from our friend Christina. I've always wanted to adorn my girls with larger than life headwear, and she saw my envious glances at other children's hair-dos and even made them neutral colored to go with every outfit we own. They are so cute and also actually worked to keep Rainier's growing out bangs out of her eyes.


The next surprise came from Andrea, whose daughter Penelope is just about the happiest baby on the block. She looks around at us all with joyous wonder in her eyes and a big toothy grin on her face. I love all her very girly outfits and joked that I called dibs on her hand me downs... well I should joke like that with more cute kids' parents, because she brought us a big bag of beautiful, cotton clothes today! At first I thought that since they are like, 12-18 months clothes that Sunday would need to wait  a bit to fit, but apparently she wears a 12 months jeans now. And then I realized, well, this dress really is a shirt now... lol don't know why it's so hard to cycle through the outgrown clothes but I think it's because they have the associated memories of our growing kids within their fibers.

Came home to find a huge garbage sack full of 3T clothes for Rainie! Apparently her dad found them "out back" somewhere. So overhaul of kids drawers will be my project tomorrow. Not very crafty, but certainly delightful!

Die Cut Crazy Magazine Holiday Blog Hop!

 

Welcome to the Die Cut Crazy Magazine Holiday Blog Hop. The designers have made some wonderful holiday projects to inspire your own holiday crafting with your die cuts. If you just joined our hop, be sure and go back to the Die Cut Crazy Magazine Blog to learn how you can enter to win a prize from Die Cut Crazy Magazine when following the hop from designer to designer.  

 

The holiday project I am sharing today will inspire you to create a multitude of "say goodbye to fall" projects within a small budget. Can you say $10 or less!?

Often times craft stores will offer huge discounts on the previous season's supplies. I shopped my local Michael's with a 40% off coupon and was able to pick up 48 coordinating fall die-cuts in a large bracket shape, conveniently  bound up in a book that I can thumb through, looking for just the right pattern. As soon as I saw this leaf printed page, I tore it out and threw it onto a large card base. The die cut happened to land half off the page and I thought, hmmm... I like that! A few splashes of Mr. Huey's ink in Gold added interest to the otherwise plain background. Then I stamped the acorn onto a sticker which I fussy-cut, added a couple bling brads, and voila!

I'm not into waste, so I had to find  home for the strip of leaves I had cut off. I wanted another die cut that was more neutral toned, and found it in this barely brown, burgundy rimmed piece. Too lazy to cut the end off my card, my eyes searched my cluttered desk, looking for a way to fill in that gap. Ribbon? no. More ink? no.
Cute little doggy die cut that reminds me of the one my best friend's son once owned? Yes! A scene quickly built itself on the card with the addition of a die cut felt border, some whimsical flower and animal stickers,  and the finishing touch of a water colored background.

My little doggy looks as if he's speaking! Roughly translated, "Bone, fire hydrant, bow," means, "Let's Play!" 

If you've watched my latest videos, you'll understand, I've got CK on the brain! Every year my bestie and I attend a scrapbooking convention in Bellevue, WA, and as of today it is officially only ONE WEEK AWAY! This card will be a perfect lead-in to our weekend of creativity together. I love knowing that thinking of how much her son loved that dog will bring a smile to her face; a boy and his dog can be the best of friends, and she is certainly mine!

 Well when I was looking around at my cluttered desk, I noticed these coasters collected from restaurant on a recent road trip. Remember these coasters from when you were little? My grandmother was a waitress for over 20 years, and growing up, nearly every Saturday morning my grandfather would take me to breakfast where she worked. I always thought it was so neat to be able to color and personalize my own coaster while he told me tales of his youth. The gold spray was still out, so I experimented with a little of that while I reminisced.
Once I realized the gold border matched my die cuts, another card was quickly crafted! And yes, I did continue to shop from my scrap laying about  :-)  My young male co-worker was recently promoted and will be leaving our office. Despite the explosion of multi-colored blings and enamel dots, this card is still masculine enough to bid him good luck in his new position.

For these cards, I used the book of die-cuts pictured above and an acorn block stamp which I purchased at Michael's, Mr. Huey's Spray Ink in Gold, My Mind's Eye Enamel Dots, my Red Duck transparent adhesive roller, my daughter's Crayola watercolor set, bling and pearls by Queen and Co., as well as some very old stickers, die cuts, and cardstock from my stash. On this last card, the This Happened banner, corrugated arrow, and Congratulations stamp are all from Close To My Heart.

With my coupon, all of my supplies actually came to a whopping 5.49 at checkout, and I still have about 45 more die cuts to go towards my "say goodbye to fall" projects. You may even see a few of them in this month's edition of Die Cut Crazy Magazine!

 

Thanks for stopping by my post in the Die Cut Crazy Magazine Holiday Blog Hop! I hope my projects inspire you to create your own inexpensive holiday projects, and maybe even clean a little creative clutter off your desk.
 

In conjunction with this Hop, I am also celebrating the awesomeness of having TEN+ subscribers to my YouTube Channel! So, if you comment on any of my videos or blog posts from within the month of October 2013, including todays video and post as well,  I will put your name in a drawing for the first card I featured here today :-) You can enter by commenting as many times as you wish, and I'll draw the winning commenter at the conclusion of the Creating Keepsakes Convention, Saturday, November 9th at 6:00 Pacific Standard Time. Good Luck!

 

Next up in the hop is  Allie .  Go see the amazing project she has prepared for you to enjoy!

 

If you just joined the hop, here is a list of designers so you don't miss any

  

You Are Here --->Anna http://craftwithanna.blogspot.com

 

Allie http://mycardparty.com

Martina http://cardtreasures.wordpress.com

 

Debbie  http://www.scrapmequickdesigns.com/

 

Sandee  http://inthehillsofnorthcarolina.blogspot.com 

 

You can find all sorts of incredible inspiration at the Die Cut Crazy Magazine  site!

 

 

 

 

 

Special Edition: Packing For A Scrapbooking Crop!

I'm so excited to show you my system for creating To-Go Scrapbooking kits from my stash to take along to crop events!


First thing I do is gather a few photos that I really enjoy. Scrapbooking photos I love allows me to put all that fun energy I have from being at a crop event into my pages. Then I look through some magazines and books or cruise the 'net for some inspiration. I like to draw my own sketches from the pictures I look at, but there are many resources for pre-made sketches as well. Truthfully, I really enjoy drawing, and doing this gets my creative juices flowing towards collecting all my "stuff" quickly, AND enthusiastically!

Once I have a few sketches, I select the first photo spread that calls me, and begin gathering supplies based on the colors in the photos. Another way I make my choices is by considering, how do these photos make me feel... and then I select my papers and embellishments based on that mood I want to convey.

Beginning to bring in papers is such fun; if, when looking at my photos, a particular piece of patterned or solid paper seems to keep popping in my head, thats' what I grab. It could be that it ends up "going" perfectly, or if it doesn't, then I may use it for inspiration. Or, it could be that it ends up amongst the next kit created. Chances are that will happen because I don't like to put all my stuff away until I'm done or in between building kits- I do have two small children to look after! I also try to incorporate as much scrap material as possible. I'm toying with the idea of dumping my large scrap bucket upon leaving for this years Creating Keepsakes Convention. hmmmm

The same goes for stickers, or other embellishments. If a certain sheet or bling or button configuration is playing in my mind while looking at photos or while thumbing through bits of scraps, that's what I try to find. You can see how I store my sticker embellishments here:
 Makes it really easy for me to find the color scheme matches.

If I don't have photos, or I know of photos I want to scrap but don't have them printed yet, I will usually build off of an embellishment of some sort. If it the kit contents don't match what I print, I can either use the contents for another layout, or by simply adding a mat to the photos sometimes that will tie it all together.

I don't worry about alphabets, or paper size, or the perfect bling, because I tend to tote my alphabet box of stickers, paper trimmer, and bling box along with me, as well as a file of 12x12 sticker sheets. If I can't find what works amongst those tools brought along, I move on! (No, actually I usually buy about twice as much as I bring along- but not this year lol)

I think the most important strategy for creating these to-go kits is that I don't waste time second-guessing myself. If I see it and I like it, it goes in the kit. I'm not looking for the "perfect" match, I really try to trust my gut about whats happening. The great thing about having a multitude of somewhat hastily thrown together kits to take along is that, I don't have to use the kit if I'm not feeling it when I get there. AND most crops do have retail outlets available for purchasing if I feel desperate to scrap that particular set of photos.

I guess I was wrong about the most important strategy. THE most important part of this process is that I want to have it be FUN. If I start feeling overwhelmed, I stop the process. Because, really, it is all about having as much fun as possible, before, during, and while showing off what you've made upon return to real life :-)

I hope you enjoyed my process! Come back again next Friday, November 1st,  when I'll be announcing an opportunity for you to win some fabulously easily created cards in honor of a special occasion! Occasion will be announced on that date as well :-)

Meanwhile, what gets in the way of your cropping? Are you even sure you know what a crop is? My husband didn't :-) He now does, I did invite him to have one with me in my craft room but for some reason he didn't seem all that interested. Wonder why...

Happy Kit-ting!

Creating Your Next Tool

I spent yesterday morning creating a video all about how to pack for a crop. Well, a very specific crop in my case; there are only a few weeks left until the Creating Keepsakes convention in Bellevue, WA. I'm collecting already printed photos, gathering supplies, and trying to remind myself that I don't need to bring my entire craft collection along!
Check back here later this week and we'll have some fun getting ready together.

Contributions Galore

I've been having a blast assembling my contributions for November's edition of DieCutCrazy, the digital magazine I design for. I enjoy creating on an everyday basis, and there is something especially exciting about seeing those efforts amongst the talented team of designers who are also featured each month.

Cards, scrap book layouts, and home decorations accented by cleverly used die cuts can all be found in each edition of DieCutCrazy, available through your iPad and iPhone. The price per month is very reasonable, and inspiration comes at no additional cost!

I'll be sharing some of my past articles here on the blog so stop back by soon!

Finally Catching On to the Subway

 Last week my cousin's boys twin boys celebrated their first birthday. I am so in awe of she juggles the two of them with the needs of her six year old too. Somedays I feel ready for baby number three- and other days I want to run in my craft room and slam the door shut on mothering, if only for a wee bit :-)

I've been wanting to try my hand at the Subway art trend I've noticed appearing throughout the year in different forms but until this project I hadn't visualized his to do it. Then it occurred to me that I could be denting my humongous collection of word stickers if I spaced a whole bunch across this little photo holder I was creating for my cousin.

I'm really happy with the balance of the simple outside title, "My Boys," and then the wow! impact of the opening page.









 

On the inside I chalk inked some raw chipboard and added a few label stickers. I figure she can place a favorite photo of each boy alongside their initial.

 

Then of course she needed a card.

 

And of course you need to see this scrap able photo of my girls at the party, which had a farm theme and was held at Schultz farm out in Orting, WA.

Looking forward to some more fall fun!

Remembering Those Berry Good Times

It seems like just yesterday we were walking out the front door (sometimes as early as 7:45) in the morning to gather our fresh berries growing around the yard. Huckleberries, Wild Raspberries, Salmonberries, Slough berries, Blueberries,and of course, Blackberries!
We'd bring them inside and enjoy our pickings with yogurt, on our oatmeal, or just straight off the bush if we found an especially delectable selection!
Well those glory days are in the past, but we'll be able to relive the joys of straight-from-the-bush-consumption whenever we see this scrapbook page. And fall is definately here, and brings with it it's own joys; sweaters, the changing colors of the leaves, muddy shoes, and more, guiltless, time inside for scrappin'!
I hope you enjoy taking a quick trip back in time with me to scrap these adorable pictures of Rainier enjoying her freshly picked wild raspberries. This page came together really quickly, I was working off a sketch which featured three circles and ribbons too. I used Bella Blvd stickers and Echo Park papers, and Basic Grey die cuts, cupcake toppers, and paper backgrounds, too. It was such an easy page to create, I'm thinking of teaching a fall version next month up at Michael's. Let me know if you're interested in signing up!

Finishing Touches

How do you make use of the beautiful paper getting
"lost" between pages in your albums? I'm talking about the backsides of those gorgeous, eye catching designer papers we love to use.
In this example, I covered the brad tines that poked through from my previous post's layout with a few of my many washi tapes in different patterns and widths. This is something I often do; since I have a lot of tape, and I tend to pull pages in and out of the protecting sleeves more times than I maybe ought to. The tape is great for covering seams, too, since I usually cut the majority of background papers out as well. I'm such a paper hoarder!
After I laid my strips of tape down, my eye happened to fall on the stack of dollar bin embellishments I've been whittling down. I realized, I can use these Right Now! and with a few peels off their protective backings, a new page layout was in its early stages of development.
One of the main "problems" with using the backside of an already made layout is that, without proper planning i.e. almost every page I make, you are left with a page that NEEDS to have a consequential set of pictures on it in your album. If you are scrapping a series of photos, this usually will work out pretty well, you just put the next set of pictures down and boom, you're on to the next page! On the other hand, if you scrap -and print photos- out of order like I do, then often times that plank page will sit, basically forgotten, until the next time your album is looked through. With this in mind, I added a simple title that I figured could end up to be applicable to any photos of my girls that might end up being put in place at a future date.

Am I worried that the page will never be completed? NO! because, a)I used the embellishments I wanted to in a design that I'm happy with, and now I can buy more, b) I can always use the page for jounalling if I never find or print photos that "go" here, and c)whocares! Another page is completed and it looks like I had fun making it. Which I did!

Slidings more fun with Friends

Even though I have tons of both brads and buttons in my stash, I never think to use them because of my astonishing assortment of bling! I was determined to use many often overlooked products on this page, including paperclips, and whimsical animal stickers. Washi-tape, border stickers, and some pen outlining pulled the focus into the pictures of my girls playing with one of my great teacher friends, Miss Evans.
Isn't summer break from school just about the most looked-forward-to event of childhood? I can remember well all the grand road trips across country, visiting relatives and seeing our beautiful nation's landscapes from the van or motorhome window. My folks always stopped at several empty schoolyard playgrounds to let us kids stretch our legs. Now that I'm older, I realize it was probably to ensure a little nap time, too!

Anyway, Miss Evans always makes my girls -and me- feel so special and this day was no different.

She oohed and ahhed over Sunday, filled me in on the  latest school's-out happenings, and then went up and down the slides with Rainier for over an hour at her apartment's playground while I ate lunch. Sadly, we were only able to do this one time this summer. Now she's back to school, and we are scrapping all those gorgeous sunny days!

Catch up time!

Whew! I feel like I've been riding a roller coaster of creativity the last few days and I'm excited to tell you about what's been keeping me all charged up!

I noticed a few weeks ago that the new Gig Harbor Michaels did not have any papercrafting classes on their August or September calendar...what?! How is that possible, with Toadilly Scrappin closed and the closest class venues located in Tacoma and Port Orchard? I inquired at the register, and discovered there was no teacher. I immediately set bout to fulfill my dream of getting paid to teach and started the application process. I'm proud to say that I am now a certified PaperEd teacher at Michaels! You can see here the Merry Card Tricks class samples I made for my first day at work last Saturday.  My first class will be taught on October 6th from 4-6:00 pm. We'll be making a scrapbook page using Michael's PaperEd design principles- its Scrapbooking 101! Should be a lot of fun! You can sign up here.

Best part of getting the job, besides the 25% employee discount, was popping back into the store Saturday night, heading straight into the classroom, and using the supplies I found in the cupboard to create a card in under 15 minutes. Of course I followed that creative spurt with a little retail cool-down hehe.

 

What with all the online training, interviewing and sample making that was going on, I wasn't getting any ME time in, but yesterday I was able to create two more samples for classes, a layout to add to my album, as well as put together a card that my friend Joanne had die cut for me using the Cricut Craft Room program and our exclusive Close To My Heart Artbooking cartridge... I love the way everything turned out.

Now its Monday again and I have a whole new week of creativity ahead of me... thanks for joining me and let me know if you have any questions!