and I'm back...

Hello out there in blog land. I feel terrible neglecting this place but things have been a little hectic. Happy to report both of my children are no longer home sick and I finally finished up some scrappy assignments that were weighing on my mind.

I completed the album for my cousin and his Knights of Columbus group. I think I mentioned this a few weeks ago. The book was to document the story of a fundraising event his group did for a man named Brendan Marrocco, a seriously injured Gulf War veteran. It was a cool project for a great cause. Here are some not-so-great photos but you'll get the idea:

the cover - it had a window (I stitched the big stars down)

the opening page: I found some patriotic (but not-too-themey) Creative Imaginations paper and stickers that worked really well - don't remember the last time I matted a photo, but I did it here:

Here's one of the ephemera pages (the invitation and the tickets to the fundraising event) designed by my cousin Tom:

So glad this is done and delivered. I was really stressed about it. Making a scrapbook for non-scrapbooky people is challenging - mainly because you have no idea what they are expecting. Luckily, my cousin was open to my ideas and happy I wasn't going to load it up with stickers. Now it gets entered into a statewide K of C competition. I hope they win. I'll keep you posted!

I've got a couple of reviews coming up on the Scrap That! blog. Here's a close up of a card I made for one of them - used a whole sheet of Hot Off The Press border stickers for this one. I haven't used their product in ages but was pleasantly surprised with the great selection they sent me. Very cool stuff, indeed. Keep an eye out for it. Should post any day now:

Last week my Studio Calico pal Jamie, was kind enough to present me with this award:

Jamie is an awesome blogger & scrapbooker - you should check out her blog "October Sky". She's really funny, too! Thanks Jamie for passing this on to me - great timing and I wish I could give it back to you because I think you are stylin' too! Here's the rules - I have to tell you 8 random things about me (I wonder why 8?) then pass it on to 8 of my fave bloggers. Here goes:
1. I'm currently yearning for a pair of Beats by Dr. Dre. (the big 'isolation' ones :)
2. Have not put a layout in an album for over a year! (I ran out of space, bought new albums, but have been frozen about how best to organize them. Now they are in a big pile!)
3. One of my most fave movies ever is Lost in Translation.
4. Terrified of bugs (especially moths and anything 'hoppy')
5. First concert I ever went to was Cheap Trick - in 1979.
6. The last concert I went to was The Killers - in 2009.
7. The next concert I am going to is Interpol, in Asbury Park in May (yay!)
8. I hate the expressions 'eek' and 'ack' - no offense to anyone that uses them - they just bug me.

So there are my 8 random things. Here are 8 stylin' bloggers I think you should be checking out:
Jan, Patti, Amanda (she's launching a new kit club today!), Tessa, Joanne, Steph, Amy & one more Amy

Ok, back to the day job today. Lots going on & much to do. Hope you have a great day!

Sunday At The Studio

Card challenge time at The Studio. This weeks challenge definitely made me think. We see them all the time in the card shops but don't make them very often...the challenge this week was to use a photo on a card - here's what I made:

Yep, it's the same photo from this layout last week. This time I printed it on white cardstock so it wouldn't be too shiny. I kept it simple because the photo is kind of busy and I wanted it to be the focus. Here's a close up of the sentiment: 

materials: patterned paper: Echo Park; sticker: SRM; stamp: Scrap Rat; embossing powder: American Crafts; string: Martha Stewart

So now it's your turn! I really hope you will jump in and make a card for this challenge. Link up for a chance to win this month's prize - some goodies from Scrap With V!

Not sure if you are familiar with Amanda - she is the founder of The Studio, and also founder of the Scrap Rat shop - which has some amazing vintage goodies as well as some great new product. She's starting a kit club which I'm sure will be no less than fantastic. She's really got a way with putting old and new together - I for one can not wait to see what she comes up with. She's launching in April and is having a contest to be a Guest Designer and to win a kit! You can check out the details right here.

Today I've got to make some more Echo Park layouts for the Scrapper's Cove, plus finish up a couple of reviews for Scrap That. Looking forward to just chilling at my desk - and so glad last week is over! Hope you have a good day ahead :)

TCB Tuesday - Late Edition...and a winner!

Better late than never, right?
I'll kick off TCB Tuesday with a card I made as a back up for last week's Twisted Sketch.

I used Echo Park Springtime for this card. That is the most cheerful, spring line ever. I've got a serious crush on Echo Park these days! I have a few more layouts to make for The Scrapper's Cove with this collection.  I used a Crafter's Workshop as a template to pierce the kraft background. Here's a close up so you can see it better: 

Still time to get in on the action at Twisted Sketches :)

Feeling relieved this week that the project we are working on at my day job is nearly ready for presentation. A few more samples and a presentation board and we are ready to roll. Making the boards is my favorite part - we crank up the music and I get to use my scrapbooking skills & tools. Here's a little sneak at the details as they have been coming together on my desk - the project is for a residential dining room and foyer:

The fluffy things are rug poms. We use them to select color for custom area rugs. The rug colors have changed a lot since this photo was taken. (They are a lot brighter now thanks to assistance from my co-workers.) But that navy fabric - be still my heart. I am in love with that stuff - it's by Knoll and it was designed by Rodarte (the designing sisters who did the costumes for Black Swan.) It's just gorgeous in it's 'inkiness' - hope our client agrees.

So, how about that winner of the fantastic new Ella Publishing e-book Scrapbooking the Everyday?

The winner is:

Lucky #43 is:

Jeri Pettingill who said...

I'd love to win this ebook. I suspect each of the suggestions and examples are applicable to my family's life.

Drop me an email Jeri and I'll supply you with the download code!
Thank you to every one who stopped by and left a comment. I loved reading all your words and really appreciate that you took the time to join us for your blog hop!

Ella Friends Blog Hop

Welcome to the Ella Publishing Friends blog hop!

You should have arrived here from Jennifer Larson's blog. If you've gone astray, here's our blog list:

Brenda

Donna

Jennifer Hufford

Monika

Jennifer Larson

Valerie (you are here :)

Lee

Francine

Diana

May

Keshet
Mary Jo

Brenda

Today we are celebrating the release of the newest Ella eBook:

Scrapbooking the Everyday; 34 fresh new ways to celebrate your daily life - definitely one of my most fave Ella books ever. Elizabeth Dillow and Tina Cockburn have included 12 unique scrapbooking challenges that will have you creating meaningful projects that look at daily life in a new way.

The prompts in this book really got me looking at my photos, and even the patterns on my paper, with fresh eyes. Here's an example - I never intended to use this photo to illustrate a page about how crazy my life feels these days. (I actually never planned to use it for anything - I took it as an exercise in focal length). After reading Scrapbooking the Everyday, I started to think about the circus performers balancing those candle holders, and how I'm feeling at the moment  trying to balance what feels like way too much. Then I remembered this circus themed paper from my stash. Here is the result:

 

materials: cardstock: Coredinations; patterned paper: TaDa; letters: American Crafts; spray ink: Studio Calico

Here's another example: while visiting Disney is not exactly an everyday occurrence, I was inspired by one of the prompts in the book that recommends making a 'highlight' page. With that, I made this page which focuses on the amazing gingerbread creations we saw on a recent trip to Disney at Christmastime.

materials: cardstock: Coredinations; patterned paper: TaDa; letters: American Crafts

Now, it wouldn't be a blog hop without prizes so be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of this fantastic eBook! (I'll draw a winner tomorrow.) Thanks so much for stopping by!

Sunday At The Studio

There's a new layout challenge over at The Studio today and I couldn't resist playing along this week. Amanda provided us with this lovely sketch - and I love a great, simple sketch:

The only challenge requirement was that the page include a ruffle. Here's what I made:

I knew exactly what photo I wanted to use for this one. When I saw the 'ruffle rule' I had to think of a way to make it work on my boy page.To make my 'boy' ruffle, I used twill ribbon and simply bunched it up on a piece of super sticky red line tape:

So why not give it a try? While you are at it, check out the design team gallery this week because it is truly amazing. My favorite so far!! And don't forget, there's a fun card challenge too - you can find that here.

Twisted Sketch #51

Ahh, Saturday. I wish I didn't have about one million things to accomplish today! I procrastinated on a few projects and now they are biting me in the backside!

Let's forget about that for now so I can show you what I made with Twisted Sketch #51 - the twist this week is 'button':

image removed for publication

here's the close up:

image removed for publication

materials: cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper, embossing powder, stamp, punch: Stampin Up; ink: Versamark; sticker: SRM; string, paper flag: Martha Stewart

My white Stampin' Up embossing powder and those Martha Stewart paper flags are getting a serious workout these days! Maybe my class tomorrow with Claudine Hellmuth will break me out of my materials rut!

You can see the new sketch and the design team's inspiring work right here. Link up your projects in the comments - I'd love to see what you come up with!

Time to hit the to-do list! Happy Saturday all!

For Your Inspiration - Challenge #2

Wow, that 2 weeks went by fast. Did you get to work on your FYI challenge card because it's already time for the next challenge?! Here's this weeks inspiration - that Steph sure can pick inspiring photos!

When I looked at the photo - I saw jagged lines. purple and blue. I translated that into torn paper. The image seemed hopeful to me so I wanted the sentiment to be, as well. I made this tag:

 Here's a close up:

materials: cardstock: Bazzill; stamps: Studio Calico; ink: Versamark; embossing powder: Stampin Up

So, I hope you will join in on this challenge. I would love to see how you interpret this photo. Need to see more? Check out the work of the design team right here. They are sure to inspire you! You've got until 11.45 on March 29 to link up.

So today, after the day job, I've got to finish up the album for my cousin's Knights of Columbus competition and also start getting ready for the Claudine Hellmuth class on Sunday in NY. I've got my supply list and need to get my stuff ready. Looking very forward to learning collage from Claudine!

TCB Tuesday...one day late

Hi everyone - finally feeling like I can get me bearings after the last few days. In an effort not to go on and on, here are some of the highlights of last week:

• Sick kids since last Monday. Now one still remains home, diagnosed with pneumonia. Little guy is on the mend though
• Extraction of a 'foreign body' from my son's ear. (We thought it was a wax blockage, it was a piece of unpopped popcorn. He thinks his sister put it in there. I have my doubts.)
• Some family grief - sending my big brother good vibes today & hoping he is fine when all this is said & done.
• Finally solved the mystery of the rug colors for my client, thanks to my designing peeps at work.  Whew! (That was weighing heavy on my mind. Now everything else can fall into place.)
• Somehow managed to get to the weekend crop, almost as planned.

So, the weekend crop....that was a ton of fun. I got to meet & hang out with some crafty peeps who I've only known via my blog. Keshet Starr (who is an Ella Friend with me), Rebecca Ertel (who is an amazing scrapbooker) & Julie Balzer (who I've met while taking her classes in NY.)

How cool it is to see them doing their thing in person?!

Keshet is as smiley and happy as her pages - and look how neat she is!

I was not even sure if I was going to make it when my son got really sick. (If I knew, or had any idea on Saturday that he had pneumonia, I would not have left him.) When he woke up on Saturday, though, and was his usual self, hubby urged me to go forward with the plan. It was only and hour from home if I needed to get back fast.

Had a fun time showing Rebecca how to sew on her pages. Had great tablemates - in addition to Keshet & Rebecca - Laura and Linda were so nice and kept me company during the day on Saturday. Bought a Big Shot and a few other items from my gals at The Scrapper's Cove who were vending at the show. (now I need to get some dies asap!) Ate my weight in Swedish Fish and these...Keshet, Rebecca, Julie & I had a taste test to compare the two. (yes, they are different :)

...here's a backside that shall remain nameless ;) I'm told that under certain 'conditions', the words read 'holy crap' LOL

I worked on my Echo Park assignment for the Scrapper's Cove (sorry I don't have better pictures of these.) Here's a page with the Springtime collection:

Here are some pages with "For the Record":

 

Switched gears and made this little Disney mini with my fresh Studio Calico kit:

....need some more of this woodgrain asap!

I can't figure out how best to fill it. The base of the album is one of those postcard collections that I bought at the resort. Here it is before I took it apart:

...and here it is getting sewn back together:

...last but not least, I also made this layout with my December Studio Calico kit - so happy to be using up past kits:

If you look closely you can see I stitched my journaling strips down in the wrong order :(

I won nothing, which is fine. I already feel totally overwhelmed with stuff. In fact, unpacking seriously put me in the mood for a purge. Already have a 2" thick stack of paper pulled. Now onto the other stuff that isn't paper.

I hope you all had a great weekend and the week is off to a good start. It's already Wednesday, which I can hardly believe. Don't forget you have until the end of today to link up your FYI challenge projects. Looks like we have a good group joining in. Tomorrow Steph reveals challenge #2 so stay tuned!

Next week I'll be part of a fun Ella Friends blog hop. Have you seen the new book yet?

It's so good - working on a book inspired layout today for the hop. Next week you will have a chance to win one if you haven't already snapped it up!

Sunday At The Studio

Just a quick pop-in today to share my card for The Studio this week. The challenge this week is to create a card inspired by your favorite song. On of my faves is and your bird can sing by The Beatles:

I wanted the card to be cheerful since it's about birds singing, right? (It's probably really not. It's probably got some crazy underlying meaning but I'm going to run with the birds theme :) Here's a close up:

materials: patterned paper: Echo Park, Scenic Route; bird pins: K & Co; sticker: SRM; twine: Martha Stewart

Now it's your turn! Be sure to link up your cards at The Studio and while you're there, check out the work of our amazing DT - some great inspiration there!

Practicing Creativity Release Day

Welcome the newest member to the Practicing Creativity Designs family: Little Bundle! Now available at the Practicing Creativity Designs shop for $13.

I really enjoyed working with this set and I've got two more cards to share:

I mixed Little Bundle with For the Love of Grids on this card:

Don't forget to check out Courtney, Karen & Dana's blogs for more Little Bundle inspiration! And, there's still a chance to win 3 (yes, 3!) PCD stamp sets in the sketch challenge. Link up your creations here. Thanks for joining us for the March reveal!

It's pouring here in the Northeast today, and I'll be home with a sick kid, so I'll be forced to address the fact that I have not packed 1 single thing yet for this crop coming up this weekend. (It's a 2-day affair in North Jersey). I'm a terrible over-packer. I really don't want to bring too much, because then I have to put it all away when I get home - and I hate that part more than anything. So, that's my job for today. Print photos, come up with a plan.  Any tried & true advice will be greatly appreciated!

Little Bundle Gifties

Day two of the reveal for Practicing Creativity's Little Bundle. Courtney challenged us to make baby gift items and I couldn't decide which one to share, so I'll share both!
First up is this little banner:

I've had these teeny craft boxes in my stash for quite some time. When I had the idea to make a little banner out of them, I punched holes with my cropodile and connected them with ribbon first to make sure it would work. (The boxes are about 2" square, and about 1" deep) Then I got to decorating them. Here are some details:

I used some white & yellow embossing powders so the images would pop. The papers are Stampin' Up.

Project #2 is some cute baby journals. I simply covered plain white notebooks (they are about 3 x 4) with some patterned papers and embellished with the stamps. (I used Little bundle and For the Love of Grids on these.) These would be great for keeping track of little baby milestones. I always carried a small notebook when my kids were born for this purpose. Maybe if they were this cute I would have written more stuff down!

Want to see more great baby gift ideas? Stop by Courtney, Karen and Dana's blogs today and see their Little Bundle creations - and stay tuned tomorrow for day 3 of the reveal!

Have you been to the Write.Click.Scrapbook. blog this week? Emily Pitts has a card making series for the card-phobic. I was lucky enough to throw my two cents in...you can check it out here.

Ok, now I seriously need to consider what is coming with me this weekend to this crop. It's a 2 day crop - and I have not been to a crop of any kind since 2008. I'm a little rusty at this 'scrapping in public' thing. I'm actually a little nervous!

Pencil Lines Sketch #228

I think I mentioned that I stopped by the Scrapper's Cove to buy a little happy last week, and the ladies there asked me to make some store samples for them. Imagine my joy when they handed over not 1, but 2 collection packs of brandy-new Echo Park (For the Record & Springtime). I've been happily making layouts for them and plan to work on some more over the weekend at the crop I will be attending.
For this page, I used Pencil Lines sketch #228:

I used the For the Record line for this page, which has a vintage vibe. When I say I love every single pattern in this collection, I'm completely serious. I added a few MME metal buttons and some new Thickers. I also added some Mister Huey in cream but it's very hard to see. (And in 2 places, it turned yellow - making me think I should add some yellow drips to the page).

Here's a close up. There is a lot of sewing on those background strips but it's also hard to see. Oh, there's one of my Mister Huey drips on the 'documented' panel.

The photo on this layout is one of my all-time faves. I spotted this scene on one of our many snow days this winter. My kids asked me for the box but I didn't know what it was for. When I stopped in to see what they were up to - they were busy prepping for their tea party. I thought this was the cutest thing I ever saw. It deserved it's own page!
Thanks for stopping by!