Some Cards for the Cove

I made a few cards today, just to finish off my work for Scrapper's Cove this month. This is the Bella Blvd. "Estate Sale" paper and that Creative Imaginations banana leaf paper:

Here's the giant Prima flower:

Here trying to treat the banana leaf paper like crepe paper:

Threw in some American Crafts rub-ons, washed seam binding ribbon and Tim Holtz paper tape to finish things off. I need to go drop this off tomorrow and I'm looking forward to picking up a few items. Well, I always look forward to that but tomorrow I need to pick up supplies for this. Another class with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer at the Ink Pad in NYC. I'm am so totally excited for this class. I had so much fun last time, and learned so much - and it was only a 2 hour class. This one coming up is an all day class. Gonna be good!
And, since I'm talking Julie...the "Be-All/ End-All" "only CHA recap you need" is posted on Julie's blog. Holy cats! I can't imagine how long it must have taken her to do these 3 posts but I'm sure glad she did. Trust me, if you read her 3 posts, you will feel like you were there.

Tomorrow I'll post my first The Studio Challenge Site layout as a DT member. I had a great time working on the challenge and hope you will consider giving it a go..but more on that tomorrow.....

The Asbury Mini

I was reading the Scrap Doctor's blog/ (aka Natalie) earlier this week and she had made this gorgeous mini album (she makes lots of gorgeous things!). As soon as I saw that piece of laser cut chipboard on the cover a light bulb went off in my head. I had this unusual piece of chipboard kicking around from a Studio Calico kit from a few months ago. It's by Buzz & Bloom:

I had some ideas about how to use it but I just didn't want to stick it down onto a piece of paper. This was too special. Then I saw Natalie's cover and I knew exactly how to use it. So, here's what I made - a little ode to Asbury Park:

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I used the photos I took from my photo assignment from a few months ago. Here's an interior shot - the pages flip out like a photo holder from a wallet:

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It was my plan that day to take photos of urban landscapes so I couldn't make this album without including them, too:

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I made the pages with these:

I picked them up at a local hobby shop the other day while I was shopping for a birthday gift. I think they are intended for baseball cards. The slots are 2 1/2" x 5 1/2" - cool shape and only 5 for a $1 - how could I not buy them? I cut one in half and then stuck them together with the Tim Holtz tape. Then I sewed them to reinforce the seams (and so they'd look good, too). Then I folded them accordion style and used a bone-folder to crease down the seams. Now I need to make something out of the other 9.

The cover is kind of like a checkbook and took a little 'think' to figure out the mechanics but it worked out just fine. Here's the back cover & spine detail:

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The papers used here are Studio Calico & Basic Grey. The stickers in the back cover are 7 Gypsies.

I had so much fun making this album. It's definitely my favorite. I think it's done but maybe the cover needs a subtitle - maybe on a sticker stuck to the first picture page, so it falls just under the chipboard. I don't know. What do you think? Thanks so much for looking - hope you all have a nice weekend!

For the Scrapper's Cove

This month's supply from the Scrapper's Cove features the "Estate Sale" line from Bella Boulevard. I like it and seem to be having a much easier time with it than I did with last month's product. (That was that Eclipse-y Halloween paper from the Creative Imaginations "Breathless" line and those Ranger Enamel Accents - just thinking about it makes my head hurt.) Here's my stash - which also includes a giant lavender butterfly & flower by Prima, and a piece of blue banana leaf paper from Creative Imaginations.

sigh...it's always something...I'm still waiting for my revelation on what innovative thing to do with that banana leaf paper, aside from the obvious punching & cutting I've already done. Need to do a little online research tonight. So here are 2 layouts I've made so far.
I came up with this layout - the one 4 x6 photo with the 2-3 wallets. Liked it so much I used it on both my layouts. But that's ok. The styles are so different. On the one above I used that new Tim Holtz paper tape. Oh, how I love that tape. I've got to get onto one of those washi tape sites and go nuts. I also finally used that Tim Holtz measuring tape that's been sitting on my desk for 2 months. I knew it would come in handy at some point - which happens to be the case with most of my scrapbooking supplies!

The purple butterfly/blue flower combo is not my usual style. I don't think I've ever used purple on a layout...well, actually, I shouldn't say that. Some day I'll share the 'purple passion' layout, as I like to call it. (A disastrous layout I did back when I first started scrapbooking in '03...but that's another post...lol) With this layout, I knew that if it was going to have that butterfly on it, it better be girly. These were the girliest photos I had so they had to work. I converted them to b&w since my daughter's costume was bright red. I masked with a chipboard flower then misted with Glimmer Mist (Marshmallow). Then I used the chip shape to cut the shape out of the banana leaf paper. Traced the masked flowers and sewed down the banana leaf flowers - mainly out of necessity because they were so darn lumpy.

I've got enough left over to make a couple of cards so I better get them done. Also in a mini-album making mood. Have one in the works on my desk right now that I am absolutely loving. I'll share it as soon as it's done.

Let's Do...."insert style"

I have to say, the current set of Card Style challenges over at Moxie Fab World have really got me thinking. I always wonder what style I work in. It was interesting to try to categorize some of my recent creations. I went through the 4 and realized I've dabbled in each style - so I decided to create this post. Each section of this post links back to the original Moxie Fab post where there are examples. Feel free to explore your style along with me...so without further adieu...here are my 4 entries..in order of style preference:

Clean & Graphic
"characterized by the utilization of white space, clean lines, and simple treatment of text. It is no-frills, bare-boned, modern, and hip"
Ok, I've got plenty of these on hand. I work easily in this style and due to major time contraints lately, I find it very appealing. This one is a Christmas card I made for a December call. I was on a simple/graphic kick that day:

Shabby & Vintage

My second favorite style "characterized by layering. It is soft, utilizing ribbon, lace, and techniques such as inking and distressing. The final product looks comfortable, weathered, and worn." Even though I know it's super trendy at the moment - I can't resist its florals and ribbon & buttons. And the Vintage part...well, regardless of trend I'll always be into that.
Here's my card even though this one has no buttons or ribbon, I think it's a fit because everything about this paper line is Vintage/Shabby:

Classy & Elegant

"is polished....its look is regal, stunning, and dashing. And while its lines are clean, sweeping, and dramatic, it can also incorporate monochromatic color schemes with layered textures" - hmmm, I think this one fits the bill. Could also be shabby/vintage - I also think I work in this style quite a bit though I hate to use those words to describe my work. Sounds way too formal for me.

 

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Fun & Cute

This one always gets me...."a happy color scheme, a sweet sentiment, and an uncomplicated design." Sounds so innocent & friendly but I have a hard time being cute and funny, or even worse...punny with paper. Here's a card I did a few months back. I've posted it before so sorry for the re-hash...this is as clever as I get people:

That was fun but now it's time for me to get back to work on some projects for The Studio. My official term starts on Monday & I really hope you will join - there are some really fun challenges coming up!

Tuesday Trigger

I got a little sidetracked this morning. I was loving that Tuesday Trigger photo over at the Moxie Fab site and had an urge to make a few more cards with the newly acquired Pebbles stash. It worked out that the Pebbles colors and the Moxie Fab trigger colors were in the same family. Here's the trigger photo:

Love those lanterns. I know they are a big trend now. I think they are really cute. I made three cards. All the papers are Pebbles, except the white cardstock which is Bazzill:

As you can see, I was all over the circle punch and the crimper. Don't laugh when I tell you that I was dreaming about the Trigger photo and these cards right before I woke up this morning. Pretty sad, huh? All I know is that when I woke up I had to make them. So, there - done. (Wonder if I can dream up some other paper projects tonight? lol) Ok, back to the desk now...

Just checking in...

to say "hi"...

Busy all of the sudden. I'm in serious need of a new organizational system! I think a trip to the local Staples is in order today. Or maybe a road trip to the Container Store in Paramus. Actually, forget the road trip - I've driven almost 950 miles in the last 2 days. No driving today :)

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend. The CHA postings should start soon. Looking forward to seeing all the new product. Next weekend is the Valley Forge, PA CKC. Anyone going? I'm undecided at the moment. (but could be easily convinced...) It's blistering hot here in the NE. I don't mind laying low today at the desk with an occasional break to swim. I'll leave you today with some cards I made last week. Dare I say...rejects...

Used some American Crafts and Pebbles on the card above. The one below is Core'dinations, Crate, a Basic Grey flower & Studio Calico letter stickers. I needed to stitch the stems with heavier thread & maybe add more wavy stitching around the edges.

Enjoy the day!

It's Official...

yay, I made the design team for The Studio Challenge Site and I'm very happy!! (Sure needed some good news this week!) Thank you to everyone that voted and to Amanda for keeping the competition fair & friendly. Now I'm looking forward to diving right in with the talented team of designers. (I've been having a a blast reading all of their blogs and getting to know their styles.) Hope you will join in, too! There are some fun challenges and events ahead...can't wait :)

 I'll leave you with a little card I whipped up this afternoon...more Pebbles, surprised, right?

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Ok, time to prepare for my trip to Buffalo, NY - catch you on the flip side!

A big thanks...

I'd like to thank everyone that posted on the subject of the passing of my sister-in-law. I can not thank you enough for your kind words. I will take them with me in my heart this weekend when I make the long trip to Buffalo, NY to say goodbye to her.
Thank you so very much!

a new fave...

Pebbles - and I'm not talking about a bunch of little rocks, but this. Good stuff. I've been noticing it around more and more lately. That cloud paper came in my Studio Calico kit and I decided I needed to 1) get more & 2) investigate the brand for other must-have papers. I was so excited by what I found on their website that I ordered up a nice little pile of goodies. Complete impulse buy. My stash came yesterday and I have been playing ever since. Here's what I've made so far.

That's me in the photo on the right. These photos are from our vacation in 1972 at a place in PA we went to every year. (Told you I've been digging through the old photos.) I broke a cardinal sin of scrapbooking on this one and used the actual circa 1972 photos. I just loved the color & quality and those rounded edges. I confess I wanted instant gratification. (I also happen to know there are others just like it in an album.) My dad took thousands of pictures of us - but I don't doubt he'd have hissy if he saw this. (just look away Pop!)

Also found some photos of our 'old' house' - the first house Dan & I owned together. It was actually old - an old Dutch Colonial and I loved it. It was just too small for our growing family. We had some really happy times there. I've been wanting to make this album for a long time, now it's finally on my desk:

Aren't those happy colors? I focused on the details - the little things I loved about that house - here's the interior:

I took most of these photos for a circle journal I did back in 2006. Glad I saved them. By the way, this is mostly the Pebbles "Tree House" line. I added some American Crafts Thickers & chipboard shapes. Some smaller letter stickers by Cosmo Cricket. Small word stickers by Studio Calico and October Afternoon, and I gave my new Studio Calico label stamp a work out. The album is Maya Road.

So that's me for today. How about you - have you been enjoying all the lovely CHA sneaks? I am absolutely loving the new Maya Road stuff and the new Crate lines. Don't even get me started on the new Studio Calico stuff on the way. Anyone going to CHA? I came really close to going this time, for the first time. Chicago is one of my most fave places on the earth, but I decided against it. I've got my sights set on the winter show, though :)

btw...The Studio Update..

Thank you so very much to everyone that voted for me in The Studio design team challenge and those of you who attempted to vote. I think I was doing ok and that is all thanks to you!!!
Apparently, though,  Amanda/the blog owner suspected abuse of the voting system and deemed the poll unfair. I'm happy she was looking out for those of us that were playing by the rules. Now she is asking her current design team to vote for the new members. Hopefully, they like what I've done & I make the cut. Will find out on Thursday and will absolutely share results with you.
Thanks again everyone!!

A 'looking back' kind of day..

well crafty friends, it's been a rough couple of days here for me. I found out late on Sunday that my sister-in-law, Michelle, passed away suddenly over the weekend. She and my brother had separated & divorced a few years ago and it had been a long time since I'd seen or spoken with her - but I loved her just the same. I'm filled with equal amounts of regret and sadness...about things that happened, things that never got to happen, about never getting to say goodbye to her. I thought of her often; I see her face in our family photos and I really, really thought we'd be seeing her again.

So, I've been digging through old photos for the past 2 days. Amassing all the pictures of Michelle I can find. In my search for a good picture of us together, I unearthed other photos I had forgotten about, including these:

I took them on the way to work one day, my last winter as a commuter to NYC in 2003. I was heading up the stairs at Penn Station in the daily cattle herd that was my commute to work. I worked downtown in the East Village on Astor Place. Boy, did I meet awesome people there and have some fun times at that job. I even had a turtle - a red slider. His name was Baby G. I adopted him from a co-worker but he orginally came from Chinatown. He lived on my desk until my doctor told me it wasn't cool for pregnant women to own turtles, or any reptiles for that matter. (He was cute but he smelled bad!) I should scrapbook him, too. Anyway...there is absolutely nothing like working in New York City. It's the most awesome place ever, and I really miss it. I left my job and my commute right before I had my daughter in the summer.

Thanks for letting me look back & ramble on. I think I'll be doing that a lot over the next few days. For now, though, I'll continue the search and maybe make some more layouts.

Don't forget to hug the people you love :)

A long overdue cookie post..

but before we get started...did you vote over at The Studio? I'm in the running for a spot on their design team. It's really easy to vote and you don't even have to register. (fyi...you have until Wednesday)

So back to the cookies....I don't bake very much in the summer - mostly because our house does not have central air and the room air conditioners don't appreciate having to duke it out with the oven. I couldn't resist this job though, which was for small batches of brownies, blondies and my somewhat-famous Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies for a good friend. I threw in some iced flowers just for fun. I wrapped them all up in a little tower.

Here they are all packed up & ready to roll, or should I say fly...

Here you can see a little bit of the biz card I had to put together - my little co. is called Sweet Mama's:

Here are the 'in the box' views...first up: the brownie/blondie box - these aren't everyday ordinary blondies, these are amazing coconut chocolate chunk blondies  The brownies are the Martha Stewart recipe for Double Chocolate Brownies, found here. Bar none, the best brownie recipe ever, and trust me, I've searched the world over for a decent brownie recipe. (Good chocolate is key to this recipe). They are extra fudgey - so if you like a cakey brownie, you will not like these:

The blondie recipe is from the no-longer-in-print Chocolatier Magazine. I've scanned a copy and put it here. Yes, they are as good as they sound :) One of the main ingredients is Mounds candy bars. Ok...next up...the cookie box, underneath the box is my indgredient list:

These are Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies. I make a lot of these. They have a touch of cinnamon which really makes them special. And lastly, I topped it all off with these little summer flowers:

These are my iced shortbread. Because of the extreme humidity & heat here in the Northeast, I don't make these cookies in the summer very much. I had to compensate with these by making them smaller, thicker and over baking them just a touch.

The coolest part of this whole cookie package by far, was the unique pick-up arrangement - this was a first for me:

Usually, if my client lives far away, I'll meet them half way. We'll pick a parking lot in a shopping center or something like that. Exchanging the goods/money like an illicit deal of some kind. This, however, was just pretty darn cool. That is our friend Karl loading the cookies onto his airplane:

Besides being our good friend, he is a flying instructor and for this pick up, he flew from Bridgewater Airport, NJ and met me at the Monmouth Executive Airport, our local airport.

Pretty cool, no? Makes me wish I wasn't such a chicken and could learn to fly myself.  My kids thought it was pretty great, too. I could maybe see a future pilot here:

So, back to the craftiness now. There's a call due on Monday night and some other projects I want to work on, including the current challenges on The Studio blog. I love the idea of getting at least one layout done a week and who doesn't like to win stuff? There's a little Cosmo up for grabs this month. Maybe I'll see you there..

Time to Vote!

Hopefully for me, but truly, you should vote for the layout you like best.  The Studio features some amazing work and I've been very inspired by what I've see there so far. Design team or not, I'm looking foward to participating in their weekly challenges. 

So, here's my layout:

You can read my little blurb about it on The Studio blog but here's the basic story: I focused on the year 1993, which was a year of huge risk and change for me. Luckily, I didn't realize it at the time - otherwise I might have crumbled. My solo trip to California at the end of that year was the symbolic end to the upheaval of '93 and proof to me that all the risk and change had paid off. Here are some details:

I sewed through the letters, then the arrow around to the little airplane.

Those are my actual boarding passes from that trip. I've always saved that kind of stuff - I've been a scrapbooker at heart all along. The clouds were stamped with a new Studio Calico stamp. I used the SC Continental kit for this layout. My favorite part is the background paper, which has tall palm trees printed over the ledger. The trees look so California. How do those people at SC know just what to put in the kits? They must be mind readers!!

Ok, so onto the card, made from the leftover scraps & pieces of the layout.  Here's what I had left...not much at all:

I had the waste from the back of the letters, some thin strips of the ledger paper, a chunk of the Scenic Route graph, a couple of airplanes & a poorly stamped cloud. Here's what I came up with:

I took influence from the tiny scraps I had left and the theme of my layout. When I realized I had the E, S, W and I just needed the N to make the compass - I knew where I was going to go with the whole concept. I really like it. Feels different from my ususal. More graphic. I want to experiment more with that graph paper and making a little mosaic.

Voting is up until Wendesday and it's really easy. Just click in the little box on the side bar once you decide. If you happen to vote for me - thank you!!!

The Studio Layouts...

I made 2 layouts for The Studio Design Team challenge. 

I'm getting ready to email my offical entries, so today I thought I'd share the one I didn't use. The challenge, as I've mentioned, was to scrap the bravest thing I've ever done, or biggest risk I've ever taken, then make a card from the scraps.

This was hard for me. I've done things that I thought were brave at the time. Once I put them on paper, though, they seemed kind of lame. The bravest thing I ever did occured during the birth of my second child. I'll spare you the graphic detail. Trust me when I tell you I had to be very brave. I just could not bring myself to make a layout about the subject.

So, I focused on some other brave things. For this layout, I scrapped more about a risk. It's about letting go of a person who was really bad for me. A person who was a part of my life for many years.  In the hidden journaling on the tag, I talked about how long it took me to get to the 'walk away' point and the positive things that came from the risk of letting go of him. (Like getting on with my life, traveling to lots of amazing places, getting together with my husband and having our family.) So here we go:

The photos are so old. From 1991. I scanned them then reprinted them. In the photo on the right, my husband is in the shadow directly to the right of the boat mast. The "other" person is at left. I was introduced to my husband by this person - so good things did come from the time I spent with him, and I learned a lot, including how to sail. Here's the journaling tag, which folds & tucks in behind the photos:

I used my brandy-new Studio Calico "Continental" kit. Perfect for this page. Lots of nautical looking stuff. Have always had a love for the nautical thanks to my sailing days. I stamped the numbers onto the background because they reminded me of the numbers printed on our sails. (It's an old Close To My Heart stamp.) I also used the Continental kit for the page I submitted to The Studio. It's a great kit, especially if you're doing anything travel or vacation related.

Voting starts over at The Studio on Friday so stop by. You can check out my layout & the card I had to make from the scraps. I had a ton of fun making that card. Hope you like it and vote for me! If you played along with this challenge, I'd really love to see your pages - so leave me a comment with your link!

Some summertime layouts

....while I'm in heavy duty layout making mode. I'm still not where I need to be with my submission for The Studio Design Team layout. (This is the 'scrap a brave act' challenge.) I've been digging through ancient photos, scanning, and getting a little bummed walking down memory lane - looking for proof of my acts of bravery on film. Having to sift through old photos of  'the ex,' old friends I lost touch with but shouldn't have, wishing I had my 20-something waist back. waaaaah! Now I know why I scrapbook my kids and happy family stuff.

So, thought I'd take a little break and share these happy summer layouts I made for an Ella page call a few weeks ago. Both of these were made with the June Studio Calico kit Partly Sunny.

Aren't those little planes adorable? They are cut from a Studio Calico paper. So are the big letters.

For both of these layouts, I used the Pebbles cloud paper (Sunset from the Tree House line) for the background. Oh, how I love that paper. I just ordered 2 more sheets because I can't bear not to have any in my stash. American Crafts has a blue & white cloud paper I feel the same way about. AC & Pebbles are now sister companies. They sure know how to rock the clouds in that family.

Ok, back to the layouts - only 1 more day to wrap this up, plus make a card from the scraps. I'll let you know how it goes!

A paperless day...

but that didn't stop me from thinking about it....as we drove off yesterday - four hours west to an amusement park in Pennsylvania.
....You see, my Studio Calico kit and all the extras I piled on was about to land on my doorstep, along with the threat of torrential and long overdue rain. I left a desperate note for my usually cranky UPS person and a large plastic bag. How awful would it be to arrive home to a sopping wet box of ruined paper & such? I got queasy at the thought! Luckily, the rain held off and the UPS person bagged the box and tucked it into a protected area. Whew!
So I worried for no reason, all the way to Elysburg, PA.

Home to one of the happiest place on earth, next to our beloved Disney:

This is a huge, old-timey vintage amusement park in eastern PA called Knoebel's. It's up on a mountain in the middle of nowhere. Once you leave the interstate, this is what you see for half an hour:

The park opened in 1921 and they've been adding rides ever since. It's huge and some of the attractions are original vintage rides. Here's the old Whipper, looks like it's from the 50's:

and these are my faves. They are called Panther Cars and they are in amazing condition for being so old. Looks like the 40's to me. The kids just love them:

Aren't they cool? There are a few different colors. I always love to scrap pictures from these trips (we go every summer). So much color and so many happy faces - this place is a scrapbookers dream!
I don't know if it's the camera I'm using or what, but lately, I just love taking photos in amusement parks and at fairs. I love the colors and the potential to shoot motion. Here are a couple of my attempts to play with the shutter speed:

That's my hubby up there at the top/middle of the photo.

(I'm not a fan of 'spinny' rides.)

Floss is what they call cotton candy. I love this neon sign and when I took it with a slower shutter, the red really burned out. It was a nice surprise.

So back to reality, the challenge for The Studio design team finalists has been issued.

 and here it is:

Scrap about the bravest thing you have ever done. Have you taken a big risk in your life? Did it pay off? And THEN... make a card from the scraps left over from creating your page!

hmmm....brave is not a word I would use to describe myself. I've done superficially 'brave-ish' things, but I think I need to dig deeper here. Whatever I decide, it's due by Thursday. On Friday voting will begin for 3 team spots. I'll be sure to blog a reminder so you can have a look at what I came up with, along with the other 7 finalists. Can't wait to see what those talented ladies make with this challenge.

By the way, you are welcome to play along - I'd love to see what you come up with, too :)