clean or create.....

January Sketch Challenge

2012-01-21T08:00:00.001-06:00

It has been several months since I have been able to work with the sketches on Shannon's Blog. Life has just been way to busy and complicated this year. Never realized that a child's senior year would be so busy. So excited to be able to work with the sketches again as I really like her designs. They are easy enough to follow and yet leave room for creativity.

I choose to use a few pictures of Sarah dancing at WestWing Nursing home this summer. She has been a member of the Tap team Design for the past 3 years. This team spends the summer traveling on Thursdays and Saturdays to different nursing homes in the area. Of course the favorite place to dance at is WestWing in DeWitt because Grandpa is a resident there. This year their leader sent the rest of the members back to change but kept out 2 to interview. Sarah was one of the ones that he interviewed. The first question he asked her was where her favorite place to dance at is, of course she answered WestWing and then when he asked her why she told all of the residents that it was because her Grandpa was a resident there. Everyone enjoyed that story. The bottom picture of the layout shows both girls with Grandpa. I think he really enjoyed the attention also.

While the sketch was easy enough to follow I had a hard time with the papers and colors. I don't normally use pink to scrap with.

ScrapbookLifeJournal 2012

2012-01-02T12:27:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I saw an interesting article on a blog that I frequent. This post was about a new class for 2012. It would be a 12 month class, with different assignments for each week. It was to also include some doodling that I could color and a calendar for each month, plus instead of a word for the year, there is one word for the month. I jumped on this class so quick. I was really surprised because I have only done one other online class and that was a few years ago. This one just seemed different and drew me in. I already have most of the prep work done. I still have to complete my title pages for each month, but I might do that as each month comes up. I also still have most of the cover to do, I have picked a background paper that I like and will work on building the cover as the year goes on. Yesterday I was able to get the January Doodle page done and also the January Calendar page.

December Daily

2012-01-01T18:36:00.001-06:00

This year I decided to try the December Daily album that many are talking about. I was hoping that with the digital scrapbooking program I would be able to keep it up better. While I didn't finish the album (I have a way too boring life) I did manage to get many pages done.

If you don't already have a copy of the easiest digital software in the world then take advantage of this promotion. Click on the icon in the right side bar. This will take you to the My Memories Suite Software. If you enter this code(STMMMS61276) you will not only get 10.00 off of your purchase but a second code/coupon good for 10.00 off of your order from their store with all of the designers sets. Cool deal right!!

Twisted Tuesdays

2011-11-21T22:37:00.000-06:00

I am hoping to start a new weekly post for you. I will be calling Twisted Tuesdays simply because my oldest daughter suggested this title and I can't think of anything I like better. Feel free to send me suggestions if you can think of something.

I have to say that the more I play with the MY Memories Suite software the more I am in love. I think that I am going to try and complete Ali's December Daily and the Journal Your Christmas project this year digitally. This will be the first time that I will create a digital book. I am thinking that this will actually help me stay on track and finish the book on time. I will not have to worry about waiting until pictures are developed. In the meantime I want to become more familiar with the software and the new version. To do this, I am going to be posting a bit more on this site.

Today's post is a quick page that I created for Sarah's senior year of cheer.

Now here is the really cool part of this email a freebie. This package will work with not only My Memories Suite software but also other programs that you may be using. Feel free to click on this link and grab this weeks freebie:

http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_3

Here is what I created with the package quickly tonight.

Imaginisce Blog: One door closes as another opens!

2011-11-02T06:31:00.000-05:00

Imaginisce Blog: One door closes as another opens!: Signing off... Today's post is going to be rather bitter-sweet as it's going to be my last as design team co-ordinator, but also a time ...

My Memories Suite and a Giveaway

2011-10-13T08:28:00.001-05:00

In honor of my daughter's 18th birthday Random.org picked

Congrats to Sarah Ackerman, who said
"Lots of great designs! I like the vintage grunge papers 1 & 2, heritage,
round vintage cards, etc, etc : )"
you are the lucky winner of the My Memories Suite Software. I will be sending you an email later with the details and the code you need to download the software. It won't be until tomorrow or later as I won't be home today until very late.

My Memories Suite and a terrific giveaway.

2011-10-07T21:14:00.001-05:00

I have been wanting to learn how to digi scrap for awhile now. Several years ago I took a mini introduction class and then came home and was able to create the announcement for Sarah's confirmation. While I have no idea what I did and can't repeat it now, I do remember how hard it was and frustrating. Had to remember layers and what needed to go where, plus getting everything sized just right was a pain.

Fast forward four years and it is time to create graduation announcements. I knew that there was NO WAY I would ever be able to figure out how to use the software that was on my computer again. No Sarah was going to have to settle for the plain announcements like everyone else had. When all of the sudden My Memories Suite comes riding in to rescue me. All of the sudden I am asked to test out this digital software program. I am in love. Look what I was able to create during my first hour of playing with My Memories Suite.

I was able to create these 5 layouts with virtually no learning curve required. I just opened the software for the first time, picked out the templates that I wanted to use and then chose the pictures. The program even pops up with a tool that helped me to size and crop the picture perfectly.

The next night I had a little bit more free time and spent some time looking through My Memories Suite website for different kits that I could download. They have several different kits in many different themes to choose from including an entire section of free. In the free section I found some graduation kits, which of course caught my eye as the parent of a senior. I went ahead and downloaded two of the kits. Instead of using the pre-made pages (they were the wrong color) I was able to use the elements to create my own page. Now all I need to do is add pictures once the ceremony is complete in May.

I must admit that the more I play with My Memories Suite, the more I want to do. I am enjoying creating many different layouts including this one from a favorite family get together this past summer. We went to my cousin's farm (which is the farm that the family started on over 100 years ago.) My grandfather and dad were born and raised on this farm and I spent many happy days with my cousin's on the farm. I am so thrilled to be able to share it with my own daughters.

Check out this brief video for an overview of some of the things that you can do with this digital scrapbooking software. There are many other great things that you can do with this software, but I am showing you what I was able to do after only playing with the software for a short time over two days.

And now for the totally cool part. My Memories Suite is giving me a free download for one lucky winner. All you have to do is be a follower of my blog, vist the My Memories Suite website and then leave me a comment with your favorite line of papers and embellishments that can be downloaded. For extra entries do the following:

1. Check out the My Memories Suite blog and become a follower

2. Like My Memories Suite facebook page

3. Twitter about this giveaway and follow My Memories Suite on twitter.

4. Share about this giveaway on your blog or other forms of media (facebook, fiskateers, etc.)

Leave me a separate comment for each thing that you do. In honor of my oldest child turning 18, I will close this giveaway at 12:00 noon central standard time and then pick a winner and post the winner here around 9:00 pm central standard time.

Good Luck

If you are as excited as I am about this software and can't wait to see if you won, or if you don't win, the people at My Memories Suite are so awesome that they are allowing me to share this code with you for 10.00 off of your software purchase and another 10.00 coupon for the store so that you can purchase even more great downloads besides all of the free ones that are available. That isa total of 20.00 off of your purchase. How can you refuse such an awesome deal. Hurry over today and use this code. STMMMS61276

I want to thank My Memories Suite for donating the software so that I could try the software and for donating the software for the giveaway. While MY Memories donated the software the opinions are my own after spending a couple of hours over two days playing with the software.

June Sketch

2011-06-18T08:00:00.001-05:00

For the past few months, I have been participating on a design team for Shannon White's sketches. I have to say that I really love her sketches. They are easy to follow and always seem to inspire me. I haven't had time to get them done before the posting date the past few months. Now that school is out for the summer I was actually able to get this months sketch done a couple of weeks early. I choose to finish up Sarah's cheer album for this year with the pictures from the Potluck Awards Night. So far this is the only album that I have been able to keep up with lately. I just have one more year of high school cheer to put in, but it is kind of hard to scrap the pictures since her senior year hasn't begun yet.

This years edition

2011-06-01T13:15:00.000-05:00

Every year we get invited to many different graduation parties. I have started making the cards instead of purchasing generic cards. One of the things that I really like to do is to try and make the card in the school colors for the graduate. I also try to make a different card each year. This year we have been invited to parties from several different schools. In the top picture we have Northeast and Camance, The middle picture is Central Clinton, and the bottom picture is Clinton High school. I still have one more card to make and that is for Durant High School. Their colors are Blue and Gold.

Congrats to this years Graduates.

Card making

2011-05-01T20:16:00.000-05:00

Before I go any farther, Mom if you are reading this stop right now. Please do not read any farther, spoiler alert.

Okay, now that I have taken care of that little problem, I am not even sure if my mom reads my blog, I want to show you what I have been working on the past couple of days.

This is a card for my Great Aunt who will be celebrating her 90th birthday this coming Saturday. She is so outgoing and does well. You would never know that she is 90. I hope that when I am 90 I am doing half as well as what she is. She was my grandfather's younger sister. He was in just as good as shape when he passed away, hoping that is a family trait that was passed down to me.

Mother's day card for my mom. I will actually give it to her on Saturday when I venture down to my Great Aunt's open house.

I also spent the day working on several birthday cards, but they aren't quite finished yet. They are still missing something and I am not sure what.

Make Take Murder

2011-04-23T17:03:00.000-05:00

A couple of years ago I found a new series of mysteries that also involved scrapbooking. I came across the first book of the Kiki Lowenstein Scrap-n-Craft mystery series, Paper, Scissors, Death. I really enjoyed reading this book and quickly purchased the second book in the series, Cut, Crop and Die. Not only do I enjoy reading about Kiki and her adventures in the scrapbook store, a couple of my friends also enjoy the series. Last year when the third book, Photo, Snap, Shot came out, I quickly purchased the book and read it right away. I just had to know what was happening to Kiki and her family as soon as possible. I have been anxiously awaiting the fourth book, Make, Take, Murder that was due out this spring. I had the book on my Amazon wish list and was just waiting for the release date of May 1st, when I was delighted to find out that I had won a copy from the author's blog. My autographed copy arrived yesterday, April 22. Of course I had to begin reading right away. I finally set the book down mid morning when I finished the book.

Kiki is dumpster diving for her lost paycheck when all of the sudden she finds a severed leg in the dumpster. After a call to 911, things really start to heat up. There is a threatening message left on the store's answering machine. Kiki is convinced that she doesn't have time to investigate the possible murder of the leg's owner, when the murder women't daughter stops by with some books to help Kiki find the killer. Other smaller plots that are developed through out the story include Kiki's love life, and domestic abuse. With at least three different men pursing Kiki she has a choice to make, Detective Chad Detweiler, Ben Novak, or newcomer Detective Hadcho. Throughout the story Kiki is also learning about domestic abuse that has occurred with some of her friends. She discovers that she doesn't really know her friends and co-workers as well as she thought that she did. In the end Kiki decides to start looking for a way to help those that are caught in domestic abuse. Needless to say, I am now counting down to the next book in the series due to be released Spring of 2012.

2011-04-16T06:59:00.000-05:00

Good morning. Last month I joined the Scrapping Stampers Sketch Design Team. I really love the sketchs. I was so excited when I saw this month's sketch but alas time got away from me. Need to get more organized with my job (new position), house and other things. Sounds like a good summer project doesn't it? Anyway Shannon is so awesome that she is giving away two prizes on her blog. 1 for the design team member that sends the most people, please comment that Colleen sent you and 1 for a lucky commenter. You and I both have a chance to win some fun blog candy.

Don't worry I am still going to use this sketch, as I totally love it.

Something new

2011-03-27T18:26:00.000-05:00

So for the past couple of years I have dabbled a little bit in basket making. Usually I make them in a group or class effort. Today however I decided to try my hand and making my own basket. I didn't have a pattern or instructions for this basket. Granted it is a small napkin sized basket but that is what I wanted to make. I think that it turned out really cute. I make have to make some more up for gifts. They would be perfect to place small themed items in for a gift holder.

March pages done

2011-03-26T12:55:00.000-05:00

Just a few of the layout I have created this month. So excited, Sarah's cheer album is almost complete. I just need to scrap the pages from the awards potluck this past week. Will get them done as soon as they come in.

Grace Crop March 2011

2011-03-20T17:53:00.000-05:00

We have started hosting 27 hour crops at our churches campgrounds. The camp has two retreat centers. These centers have a large area that is perfect for cropping, A fully stocked kitchen, two bunk areas that both sleep 20, two bathrooms and showers. Just perfect for a group of scrappers who need to get a lot done. We usually start around 4:00 pm on a Friday night and go until 7:00 pm on Saturday. Every time we have a crop the planners ( myself and two other ladies) try to do something different. We have had make n takes, contests, prize drawings and this time t-shirts. Normally we have between 20-30 scrappers but this time around only 10 were able to make it. A great time was had by all and we have decided to try and expand from twice a year to three times a year. Plus we are going to try and have a 2 night 3 day crop this summer.

2011-03-19T08:00:00.001-05:00

I am so excited to be designing for a new sketch challenge. There are several wonderful designers on this site so make sure that you check out this blog and all of the wonderful designers. Head over to The Scrapping Stamper to see all of the creative ideas. Here is the March sketch.

And my take on it. Sarah was a member of the pit for the high school musical. They performed the Music Man. Since I couldn't get a picture of the pit I chose to scrap this cast picture instead.

Wow, 2 awards

2011-03-04T17:22:00.000-06:00

For this award I need to list 8 things you don't know about me and award 8 different people

For the 8 things about me
1. I play the clarinet and alto clarinet
2. My nickname in high school was bashful
3. I became a CM consultant without ever seeing the company or scraping a page.
4. I love cooked spinach.
5. I always wanted to be a teacher
6.Besides sewing and scrapbooking, I can also knit and crochet
7.I really miss having a dog, but we just don't have the space or time for one.
8. My favorite sport is Volleyball.

The second award is the

and is designed to showcase new blogs or blogs that you really want to share with others.

I now need to pick 8 bloggers to receive the first award and 3-5 bloggers to receive the second award. Since I getting ready to go out to a show, I will pick my receipents later.

Thanks Ann for awards.

Top 10 layouts in 2010

2011-01-01T12:17:00.000-06:00

Last year I was challenged to find and post my top 10 layouts for 2009. I enjoyed doing it so much that I decided to see if I could come up with a top 10 layouts again this year. Here is my choice for my best layouts this year. Most of them have to do with my oldest daughter Sarah as I am trying to get caught up with her pictures. I do have a few pictures of my younger daughter Kristen also.

52 Sketches

2010-12-29T10:41:00.000-06:00

The Disney yahoo group that I am on has been having a 52 weeks sketches challenge all year long. Each week a new sketch has been posted. While some of the members have completed almost all of the sketches, I am far behind. Yesterday I was able to get 12 pages done. While I still have a ways to go yet, (19 layouts) I at least made good headway yesterday.

A new venture

2010-12-04T11:14:00.000-06:00

I am trying something new. As you have seen by the last couple of posts that I am playing with vinyl now. I have created several different window clings for athletics. Of course the ones I would create first would be for Clinton High and the River Kings and Queens, but other schools and designs are available. I can also make ones for Football, Volleyball, Cross Country, Swimming, Baseball, Softball, Cheerleading and other designs. Please contact me if you are interested in getting your own, or working on a fundraiser for your organization.

A second Vinyl Cling

2010-11-27T19:57:00.001-06:00

My second vinyl cling for the car. I made this one for Sarah's car. She wanted one that said that she was a cheerleader. Behind the cling you will notice her old poms from the last couple of years in the back window. I am having a lot of fun designing these vinyl clings. Can't wait to see what else I can make for the home with the vinyl. I might have to try one of those cute sayings for the wall.

Vinyl Clings

2010-11-26T13:28:00.000-06:00

About a month ago I found out that I had won a gypsy. I was excited, because the gypsy would allow me to use my cricut in many different ways. I am able to use different cartridges all at once and move things around to create a design. I have seen the vinyl clings and decided to try my hand at making one for Kurt. I know that the picture doesn't really do it justice, not sure how to take a good picture, if you have a suggestion let me know. Next on the agenda is a cheerleading one for Sarah's car and maybe a cheerleading mom one for my car.

Grace Scrapbooking Retreat Nov. 2010

2010-11-14T13:46:00.001-06:00

We had our 3 crop retreat at Grace Camp this weekend. This year we had it in Peter retreat center. What a fun building to use. Even has a sunroom off to the side, that we used for dining. This was the setup before everyone arrived.

We had a composition book contest. Here were some of the supplies

DeJe working hard on her Christmas Card project

Everytime I go away to a crop that is overnight, Kristen sends me with one of her pigs. This time Football Pig was able to come with me. Here he is checking out my supplies to make sure that I have everything.

Football pig went visiting to see what others were making

We had a Kitchen stocked with all kinds of goodies

Here is a friend from Church Lindsay

Sarah dishing up some breakfast

The notebooks that were entered in the contest. Everyone is so creative

More people working

Time to get your scrap on

Some of the pages that I finished. Not sure why some of the are turned wrong.

And now for an announcement. I am totally caught up with one of my albums. I have all of Sarah's freshman and sophomore cheer pictures done and her album is completed at the moment. Now the bad news. The next cheer season starts in two weeks, so I will no long be caught up, but I am planning to enjoy it while I can.

Our next retreat will be March 18-19. Hope to see your there.

And finally my tablemates and friends. Deje, Sarah, and Catherine. Catherine was the first person to organize this retreat and has since followed her husband to Ohio, but she came all the way back just for our retreat (not really, she wanted to see her family, but we can pretend). The other two are my co-organizers. We spend lots of time at a a pizza and wing place in town planning the retreat and eating.

win a gypsy

2010-10-18T08:16:00.000-05:00

check out Pinky's blog. She is giving away a Gypsy for the cricut. Just become her follower and tell her that I sent you. She blogs about scrapbooking, chickens and her life. I look forward to reading her blog every day. Thanks so much.

Win a gypsy and oops I got carried away , here is my fiskateer winner

2010-10-10T12:12:00.000-05:00

If you want a chance to win a gypsy for the cricut then head on over to Pinky's blog and check it out.

Okay, so I totally got carried away with school, work, doctor's appointments, and fighting children that I totally forgot to draw a winner for my Fiskars scissor's giveaway. So without further ado here is the lucky winner

Scraples: This is a great idea!!!

So Scraples you have until October 16th to contact me with your mailing info

cole19@mchsi.com

Congrats

It's an Orange and Green Hop.

2010-09-10T06:30:00.000-05:00

For the past few years I have been a member of a great online community sponsered by Fiskars. Before I joined this group when I thought of Fiskars, the only thing that came to my mind was the famous orange handled scissors. Now when I think of them, I think of all kinds of fun scissors, squeeze punches, border punches, corner punches, trimmers, and of course friendship and support. Today I am privilaged to join them in the Fiskateers first ever blog hop. Before I tell you about my fun project lets get a little housekeeping out of the way, if you have come here from "Kelly Starsky 6446" then you are in the right place. If you have stumbled upon the blog hop you can start at the beginning at the Fiskateers Blog.

As I have aged, I seem to have a problem remembering what wonderful toys I already own. I have been looking for something that I record all of my toys in, but yet would be small enough that I could take it with me. I decided to create a 3 ring binder. I used an 8inch chipboard binder from Pine Cone Press. Actually this was left over from a class that I took a few years ago. Never got around to creating the project. I painted the edges of the album with Adirondack Acrylic Paint Daubers Sandal. After the paint dried (which doesn't take that long) I coverd the paper with Coredinations cardstock, choosing the orange and light green from the REtro Mod Squad collection. These two colors were almost an exact match for the Fiskateers colors. I used Tombow Mono Aqua Liquid Glue. I have to say that of all of the wet glues I have tried for scrapbooking this is my all time favorite. I love that it comes with both a point for detailed work and a bigger brush on the opposite end. Since I am trying to also use up my stash before purchasing anything new, I just used a cheap piece of black cardstock, not sure but I think that I purchased it from Walmart awhile back. I used my Cricut Expression to cut out the letters with Plantin Schoolbook. When I cut out smaller sized letters, I loved to use my Xyron X sticker maker to put adhesive on the back of the letters so that they can be attached with out to much of a mess. I used the Fiskars Corner Rouder squeeze punch to round the corners of my papers so that they match the corners on the chipboard album. I must say that the squeeze punches from Fiskars are probably the easiest punches I have ever used.

Once again because I am trying to use up my stash, I choose a piece of green patterned paper that I already had in my collection. Not really sure of the brand for this one. As you can see I didn't have quite a large enough sheet to cut out two pieces, so I ended up piecing the back page together.

For my inventory pages, I am creating documents on my computer using Microsoft word. Each page will stand for a different product. I have decided at this point to list all of the items available in that line and then highlight the ones that I have. I know that I will need to update my lists every so often , but at this time, feel that it is better than a handwritten list. Plus this way, I can put a pencil mark next to items that I really would like to get, making it easier for my husband and children to purchase a gift for me, without having to ask what I already have, or what I would like. (DH if you are reading this, the hint is for you). I have many more pages to complete with this project, but only limited time, so I am trying to add a page or two every week. Since I am on a no buy kick, I am hoping to have all of my lists created before I let myself purchase new supplies.

I will probably eventually add dividers as I get more pages created. I am hoping that this size works well for me, I don't think that it is too large that I don't want to carry it, nor do I feel that it is so small that I can misplace it.

I have plans to finish the outside of the album yet. I am thinking about putting Inventory down the spine of the album and would also like to add some embellishments to the front. I played with a few things while making it, and nothing seemed to work. If you have any suggestions feel free to leave me a comment.

For a chance at a RAK for a Fiskars scissors then become a follower and leave a comment.

Thanks for stopping by, now please hop on over to Donna 6036.

FIL's album

2010-09-06T11:51:00.000-05:00

Last December we moved my Father In Law into the nursing home. During this time, I inherited 3 boxes full of pictures. My goal is to work through the boxes and create a scrapbook or two for him with all of the pictures. Sad to say many of those pictures were not labeled, so I am not sure who is who. Luckly, I was able to figure out most of the grandkids, so decided to start there. I have created 10 pages for his album. The first two will be the title page to this section of the album, and then a single one page layout for each of the 8 grandchildren. On the Grandchild title page I made a list of each of the 8 children including their middle names and their birthdates (and death date, when applicable). I choose to use blue cardstock for the boys and a pink for the girls. I will also create a section for his 5 kids. I might do a two page spread for each, as I am sure that there are enough pictures to create a two page spread. After this I want to start the great-grandchild section. This will take some help from either the parents or grandparents of those kids as I really don't have too many pictures of them. After that I will create pages of both my FIL and my MIL plus pages for their wedding. Hopefully after that is done, I will be able to narrow down the pictures a bit more.

Fiskateer Blog Hop

2010-09-05T07:22:00.000-05:00

A really cool, orange, and green blog hop will be coming to a blog close to you soon. On Friday September 10th and Saturday September 11th, there will be a fiskateer blog hop. You will need to start at the Fiskateer Blog and then hop around to see all of the really cool orange and green projects. I am finishing up my project and it will be posted and ready to play by 8:00 am on that day. As you hop around the blogs you may even find a RAK or two. Come play with us this weekend.

Want to win some paper

2010-08-24T09:26:00.000-05:00

If you want a chance to win not only some paper but also some really fun stamps then hop over to A Thousand Sheets of paper for a chance to win this stack of paper. While you are there check out the rest of her blog. You just might find plenty of inspiration for some card making. Good Luck

2010-08-06T09:00:00.001-05:00

Here is the sketch for the week of August 6th from Pieces of Me blog. I must say that I am really enjoying these sketches and the different look that my albums are going to have because of them. I have been working so hard on trying to get Sarah's album caught up and also do a few of Kristen's layouts, that I have totally neglected doing anything for Kurt or I. I have decided that I need to throw in a layout or two for each of us or for the family once in awhile instead of always working on the girls pictures. Several years ago, we were able to get away for a Friday night in September. I know very rare indeed. The football team played on Thursday that night. We went up to Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to see the Brewers play ball. Traveling companions were Kurt's coworker and her husband. We attended a pregame party in the parking lot sponsered by one of the computer companies and then had free tickets into the park. This was the first time Kurt had ever been in a major league ball field, I have been in a few others through out the years. We had a great time and really enjoyed being able to get away from it all if even for just a short time period.

July 30th sketch

2010-07-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

Judy has another awesome sketch up on her blog Pieces of Me Scrapbooking. This weeks sketch was actually done by a friend of hers who is helping out while Judy is on vacation. Must say that I really enjoyed this sketch and even tried to use two different patterned papers. Yes, thanks to the sketchs I am getting better at using different pattern papers . Here is my take on this weeks challenge.

I only have two layouts left for the cheerleading so decided to take a break this week and work on a slightly different topic. Still working on Sarah's stuff, mainly because I am really trying to get caught up before she graduates. These are pictures from Marching Band her freshman year. The show that year was Batman, which is why I have used a few papers from a super hero collection.

New website

2010-07-24T13:20:00.000-05:00

Earlier this morning, I heard about a new website (blog) that sounds interesting. Better Living Through Scrapbooking. From what I am understanding they are going to be having challenges to help us get those pages done, but they are encouraging people to scrap both the good and the not so good. I am anxious to see what all they have to offer and I encourage you to do the same. Go ahead and check them out.

Pieces of Me Sketch 7-16-10

2010-07-16T09:15:00.001-05:00

Judy is back and creating her sketches again. Pieces of Me Scrapbooking I am so thrilled as I not only liked her sketches but they led to some fairly neat layouts. Since I started doing the sketches, I think that my pages have improved.

Here is the sketch for 7-16

Since I like to create two page layouts (when I can) here is my takes on her sketch.

and the right sided page

I am not adding much journaling to the cheer pages, as I am hoping that Sarah will go through and add her own notes as soon as I finish the album for her.

2010-07-12T13:27:00.000-05:00

Check out this site for more info, or click on the picture above. There are a few steps you need to do, but they are easy. Good luck and remember if you already have an Expression, than you can share with me.

check out this RAK

2010-06-11T15:45:00.001-05:00

Go check out what my Fiskateer friend Pinky is giving away on her blog. Wow, how generous can one person be? I love checking out Pinky's blog daily, she always has such cool stuff and great inspiration on her blog. I am hoping that one day our lives will cross in real life not just the virtual world and we can meet each other.

Just a few cards

2010-05-28T19:49:00.000-05:00

This year we have close to 30 graduation parties to attend. I decided it would be easier to make cards vs purchasing that many cards. I choose a simple design that would be easy to mass produce, the only thing I changed is the color of the cards. I choose to make each card in that groups school colors.

Fiskateer Crop

2010-05-22T19:55:00.002-05:00

I have been a Fiskateer for a couple of years now. I have always read on the message board about all of the fun Fiskateer Crops that people were having around the country. They sounded like so much fun, I kept hoping for one to come close enough that I would be able to participate. Imagine my excitment when Peg posted on the message board about hosting a Fiskateer Crop in May. I knew that I just had to attend. Couldn't wait to meet some of my fellow fiskateers from the area. The crop was held at the Deere-Wiman house in Moline. Actually in the carriage house, It was so much fun to imagine a previous day when the building would have been filled with carriages. (Side note, I think I would have loved to live during that time period).

Peg, her Mom, and Sarah working hard and talking

Look at all of the room we had, hopefully some more of you can join us the next time.

Betsy sent this really fun little gift for all of us. Thanks so much.

Peg demonstrating a really cool technique that used watered down paint and alcohol to create a distressed look. She even brought extra supplies so that we could play along.

A few of the door prizes. Thanks Rebecca and also a couple of scrapbook stores in the area.

What was left of this really super grilled pizza that Kevin, Peg's husband, made for us. Very yummy.

I loved the vanity in the women's restroom

Sarah, Peg's mom and me

Sarah, Peg, and me.

Peg and her mom

Loved the gardens just outside of our building

The Deere Wiman home (Anyone wants to build me a house like that, I will gladly accept your generous offer.

A couple of the prizes that I won.

Some really cool Fiska-fun stuff from Fiskateer lead Rebecca.

It was so much fun to get to finally meet Peg. It seemed like we had known each other for years instead of just meeting each other. (of course, we have been Fiskateers for a few years). When we were all done, Peg showed us how to find the new scrapbook store in Moline. After we left Sarah and I decided to stop at Scrapaganza to pick up a couple of things and then we stopped at Tuesday Morning. I have heard things about this store and all of the wonderful deals that others have found. So excited I found 2 of the Christmas Fiskar scissors for only 2.99. My girls were both so jealous when I got mine last year and now they will be so excited on Christmas morning to receive their very own pair in their stocking. (Shhhh, don't tell.)

Graduation cards

2010-05-20T21:35:00.000-05:00

Every year we seem to get invited to several graduation parties. Probably has to do with the fact the Kurt is the athletic trainer for the district we live in and I teach high school in a neighboring district. Since starting to play around with card making I have made the card for that year. I usually try to use the school's colors when making the card. Here is this year's design. Now I only have about 30 more to crank out. Most will be in red and black but a few will be purple and gold and one will be blue, red, and white.

2010-05-16T19:19:00.000-05:00

Oops I totally forgot to post the two layouts I created for Judy's sketches over on her blog, Pieces of Me Scrapbooking. I am really enjoying the sketches that Judy creates. I wish I was talented enough to design my own sketches. Her husband has been hurt so she will be taking some time off of her sketch designing in order to take care of him. I will miss her sketches and the inspiration that they inspire. I can't wait for her to get started designing sketches again.

Sarah in her robe for Acappella choir. She was one of only 15 sophomores that made the choir. This choir is so awesome. In March they went to Washington D.C. to compete in the Heritage Festival competition and brought home 3 golds. The only other golds went to a band and orchestra (they didn't qualify for those awards.) Plus they brought back the trophy for the best group there. Way to go Acappella Choir.

This is a picture of Sarah's Sophomore basketball cheer squad. I had fun playing with this layout. It was the first time that I have ever tried to stamp and emboss on a layout. You also need to check out the buttons. They are custom made by Charlene from the Button Box. She has an etsy shop, I would highly suggest that you look for the shop and check out her clever buttons. Now if only she will make a few football shaped ones for me.

National Scrapbook Day

2010-05-01T21:32:00.000-05:00

The girls and I took an online class with Angela and the fiskateers, made this really cool headband

Right page of a two page layout, This years acappella choir

Right page of a two page spread with sophomore cheerleading

Preview night from Sarah's freshman year

Stunts that the freshman cheerleaders learned to do

2nd page of stunts

One dejected cat, since the girls and I are scrapping, no one is paying any attention to here. I think that she is jealous.

Pictures from Homecoming parade and assembly Sarah's freshman year

Misc. cheer pictures. I was able to finish Sarah's freshman cheerleading pictures. Now to print off the sophomores and start all over again.

As you can see, I was able to get a few things done today for NSD even though I didn't join in any crops or go anywhere.

Want to win a Cricut Expression?

2010-05-01T16:59:00.000-05:00

If so, head over to Everyday Cricut and check them out. They are giving away an Expression just in time for Mother's Day. Of course if you win and live near me, I need either visitation rights or joint custody or something along those lines. Good Luck and tell them that I sent you.

Happy National Scrapbook Day

2010-04-30T02:01:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite holidays, this ranks right up there with Christmas and Easter. Normally I head to my favorite LSS for a two day crop but they are not doing their big crop until the end of June this year. Since I am writing this early, I haven't decided yet what I will do to celebrate this holiday, but I know that it will involve spending time with my paper, pictures, and glue and also very possibly at least one of my two daughters. Might just stay home and participate in a couple of online crops. This way both girls can scrap and watch movies to our hearts delight. Anyway here are my takes on the sketches posted over on Pieces of Me. Make sure that you pop over there and check out all of the other very talented scrapbookers and their layouts. I am sure that you will receive all kinds of inspiration.

Kristen's 1st Quilt

2010-04-24T13:49:00.000-05:00

3 years ago, my mom purchased this quilt kit for Kristen to work on, partially because Kristen wanted it. She worked on it a little at a time, but not very much. Just recently she got out the kit and has worked on it fairly steady for a couple of weeks and has finished it. Now to take it to the fabric store and find some fabric to back it with. Kristen is quite proud of finally finishing her project (I think that maybe she was just too young before). She isn't quite sure what she will use it for, but thinking that it might make a nice doll blanket.

A new Venture for me.

2010-04-23T02:01:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago one of the Fiskateers, posted on the message board that she was looking for some scrapbookers who would create layouts with her sketches before the date that she planned to post the sketch. Her goal was to be able to show samples of how other people used her sketch. I decided to email her as I had just done a few sketches and decided that I really like doing them. It keeps my scrapping new and different. I was getting into a rut with how my pages were layed out. Now I am using different layouts and more patterned paper. Hoping that doing the sketchs helps me out in several ways.
1. Getting more pages done, now I have to work on at least 4 layouts a month
2. Helping me to use up my stash. I am trying a no buy challenge, except for adhesives and basic colored cardstock.
3. Helping me to design different layouts and get more creative.
You can check out the sketch, and all of our takes on Judy's blog Pieces of Me, you really need to check them out, her 11 year old daughter is one of the ones doing the sketches and wow is this girl talented.

A scrappy get to know you.

2010-04-13T20:40:00.000-05:00

Here's 25 scrapbook-related get to know you questions. Copy & paste the questions to your blog and change the answers to your own! Have fun! Leave a link in the comments so that others can check you out. I found this at Pieces of Me .

1. Scrapper/cardmaker/both? Mainly I scrapbook, but have fooled around with cards a little in the past year.

2. How long have you been scrapping/cardmaking ? How did you get into it? I have been scrapbooking for over 13 years. I originally saw an ad for creative memories and they were looking for consultants, so I signed up without having ever seen their product or done a page.

3. Do you prefer to work alone, or get together with friends/go to crops/classes etc? I actually prefer both. I don't have a designated place at home so I do what I can there, but enjoy packing up and heading off for a weekend or even an evening with the girls

4. Favorite embellishments? Good question, not sure what I like to use the most, I am trying to use some different products.

5. Favorite paper brands? I tend to purchase whatever fits my needs and I like

6. Favorite tool? Mr Fiskars paper cutter

7. Favorite kind of ink? no favorite, just use what ever I can get my hands on. I don't do much stamping and always seem to forget about distress ink.

8. Whose your scrap idol? Almost anyone, love other peoples work

9. Something you bought that you wish you hadn't or have never used? Not sure here,

10. Do you have your own scraproom or do you work in a shared area? I usually work in a corner of the living room, but am counting down, in a little over 2 years, I am hoping to have one of my daughter's rooms to use. Love the idea of kids going away to college.

11. Are you a chronological, reverse chronological, or random scrapper? Mostly chronological, but starting to do a little random scrapping

12. What is your scrapping style if you have one? Very clean and very simple. There is usually some white space left on my layouts.

13. Whats on your work area right now? as many supplies as possible stacked up to keep them off of the floor.

14. Favorite adhesive? Dry, K and Company, Wet Tombow .

15. Technique you have never tried that you would like to? alcohol inks

16. Are you on or have you ever been on a design team or been a guest designer? no,

17. Have you ever had your work published? No, .

18. Are you a consultant for a company such as Close to my heart, stampin up, creative memories, etc? I used to be for creative memories but stopped about 8 years ago.

19. Do you subscribe to any kit clubs, if so which ones? Just started "The Story Matters" a new kit club from Scrapaganza.

20. Do you have a minimal stash of supplies or are you a shopper/collecter? Way too much, trying not to buy much except for adhesives and white cardstock.

21. Are you a sketch user, scraplifter, or do you come up with it all on your own? I usually do my own stuff, but just started playing with sketchs and have decided that I like them.

22. Do you participate in any online challenges, if so which ones? I just completed the sweet talking challenge from Log Your Memory and have been working on the sketch challenges from Scrapaganza.

23. Do you own any diecutting machines (manual or electric) and if so which ones? The original cricut and the cuttlebug.

24. If you have a manual diecutting machine what kind of dies do you use? Mostly cuttlebug and my daughter has several of the cuttlekids dies.

25. Are you a Stickleser (is that even a word?) Once in a while I use stickles but not much.

April Sketch Challenge

2010-04-11T16:19:00.000-05:00

I think that I am starting to get hooked on sketches. Never thought that would happen, but it makes it really easy to design a page. I just need to find the right pictures and paper and then put it together. Here is my entry for the sketch challenge over at The Story Matters.
The sketch for April

My take on the sketch.

Thanks for looking

A little creating the past few weeks

2010-04-10T19:25:00.000-05:00

I have had some time to get some of my pictures scrapped. It feels nice to actually get many of these put into layouts. I still have to go back and add some journaling to many of the layouts. I am almost finished with Sarah's 8th grade year, only two years behind, but need to get more pictures printed. Hoping to be able to get even more done, but until my order arrives, looks like I need to work on our trip to Disney in 2006 (almost done with that) or some for Kristen and the family album.

Sweet Talking journaling challenge

2010-03-28T18:07:00.000-05:00

Today I was able to finish the sweet talking journaling challenge over at Log Your Memory. Todays four layouts and the challenge for each. I used In the Driver's Seat for the show and tell challenge. Kristen was a little jealous of Sarah getting her learner's permit and decided that she should at least be allowed to pretend to drive the car. For the Conduct and Interview I used a picture of our cat Sox in a grocery bag and conducted a pretend interview with her. Sweet Sixteen was used for the count on it challenge. We had fun coming up with 16 different things about Sarah. Finally a favorite picture of mine, Kristen with my youngest nephew in the prairie up at Whittier Elementary school. Those two kids are two peas in a pod. This picture worked out great for the Make a Diagram challenge. I had completed the Bonus Blog Cast challenge so I didn't need to do one journaling challenge. I choose to skip Chart Your Story, I like the layouts I have seen using this method, but think that it would probably work better for digital scrappers than paper scrappers. This was a fun challenge and I am really happy with most of my layouts. Very glad that I went ahead and attempted the challenge. Thinking that I need to do more challenges and they are stretching me and making me try a few different ideas and techniques.

2010-03-27T18:02:00.000-05:00

Trying to finish up the Sweet Talking Challenge. Had hoped to work on it last weekend, but forgot to take the challenge assignments with me. Oh well. I have managed to complete 4 layouts today. The first one was PIG LOVE, I actually had that one done last Sunday for a different challenge, but then decided that it need a little journaling, so I added it today. For the fairy tale challenge I choose to write about Sarah and her dream to become a cheerleader. This will make a great first page for her cheerleader album. ( I found the perfect album for her cheer pictures.) For the compare contrast assignment I decided to contrast the two girls. They are so different. I decided to use the Build A Bear for the play by play assignment. Now I only have 4 out of 5 more challenges left to complete to finish the Sweet Talking Challenge.

Grace Scrapbooking Retreat

2010-03-21T19:28:00.000-05:00

Here are several pictures from the retreat this weekend. Everyone seemed to have a great time. Of course it is always fun to get together with friends and spend the time scrapping, fellowshipping and eating.

Pig Love

2010-03-21T17:49:00.000-05:00

The sketch challenge at The Story Matters for this month.

My take on the challenge

I knew that as soon as I saw the pig card, I had to scrap some of the pictures of Kristen with her pigs. She loves them so much. Must have something to do with her beloved Great Grandpa. He raised pigs. I remember butchering pigs when I was little and while Kristen doesn't have those memories, she loved Great Grandpa and she loves pigs.

Choosing Gratitude

2010-03-07T15:22:00.000-06:00

I have been a member of Faithbased scrapbooking class yahoo group for a few months now, but have mostly been lurking. When the last class started "Choosing Gratitude" I wanted to play along. Each week we would be given a reading assignment along with a scrapbooking layout or more challenge. I finished the first part today (as least I think that I have all assignments completed for the first part). I am loading most of the required layouts for this class. There was also a couple of projects including making 10 Thank you cards. I am not strong at card making but managed to succeed with those also, even though my cat tried to keep me from getting them done. Everytime I sat down to work on them, she wanted my attention and then threw up on about 1/2 of them when they were halfway done. I don't think that she liked them very well.

Look what I won

2010-02-21T18:53:00.000-06:00

At the end of January one of my favorite challenge blogs The Story Matters(not that I ever did a challenge, ) had a contest and the prize was a new I-Top. I was so surprised to discover that I had won the challenge. This was an easy challenge, just answer the survey questions about kit clubs. Well yesterday I picked up my fun new toy. I have been busy watching the DVD and checking out Imagininisce website for inspiration. As soon as the punches come in at my favorite LSS (I am too busy to take the time out to cut out the patterns)I will begin playing with my new toy. In the meantime check out The Story Matters and Scrapaganza for their new kit club. Loved the colors of the Feburary kit (of course anything with red and black I would love) and the homemade buttons are to die for.

Father/Daughter Duo

2010-02-14T14:55:00.001-06:00

This is the first layout that I have done with Scrapaganza's new kit club, "The Story Matters". I created this layout for two different challenges. The first challenge is on Log Your Memorys site for their Sweet Talking Challenge. A month of journaling challenges with challenge one to be a list of things. The second was for the sketch challenge on "The Story Matters". I have never used a sketch before but found it very easy to do. The picture was taken on Clinton's photo day for the football team.

Join Me for some Sweet Talking

2010-02-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

We’re kicking off a month-long challenge at one of my favorite sites today … the Sweet Talk Journaling Challenge at Log Your Memory!

I hope you’ll come on over and check it out today … there will be an entire month of scrapbooking challenges with a focus on “real life” journaling, plus the chance to earn points and prizes along the way! And if you’ve never visited before, you’re in for a treat! We have a wonderful group of friendly, helpful scrapbookers just waiting to say hello and show you around!

Get started by visiting the Log Your Memory Blog HERE and get ready to journal your way to becoming a Log Your Memory Sweet Talker!

And tell them cole19 sent you

Top 5 layouts for 2009

2009-12-30T14:59:00.000-06:00

So I was checking out one of my favorite sites (blogs) and was inspired to pick my top layouts from 2009. Now I haven't completed a page since July, but I decided to give it a try. Here are my choices.

This layout is from my 2008 Journal Your Christmas album. I loved this project, but didn't keep up with it for 2009.

Not sure how old Sarah was in this picture but love the colors that were used. I can't take full credit as this was a kit I purchased from Scrapaganza

A picture of the Mixed Choir. This page actually goes with the next layout.

This is a picture of Sarah in her Mixed Choir Uniform. Very few freshman make the mixed choir. They have to be recommended by their middle school director. This is the only year that Sarah will wear that uniform as she auditioned for and made Acappella choir for her Sophomre year.

I love this page that I did, showing how Sarah is both on the football team and a cheerleader. Way to get involved right at the start of her high school career.

This was much harder than I thought it would be to choose 5 layouts. Especially since I haven't completed a page since May.

A new venture

2009-11-07T21:06:00.001-06:00

I have been trying to figure out someway to make some extra money. After talking to a few people and showing them a towel that I made for my husband for the football season. I have made up a second one now for the basketball season and to have a picture so that I can show people. I can change the colors for your school colors and also the symbol for the sport depending on what you desire. The ATC stands for my husband's position, and I can substitue either a position, name, or jersey number on the towel. Now to figure out what to charge. The towels cost between 2-3 dollars and then there is the cost of the thread and fabric stiffner. I am thinking of charging around 6.00 for a towel but am open to suggestions. Let me know if you have any ideas. Hoping to get a couple more made up tomorrow or this next week so that I have a few more variations for examples. Please leave me comments and let me know what you think. Thanks

Super Happy Mail

2009-10-29T21:04:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago there was an online crop pink held at the Fiskateers site. It was not only very fun but also educational. People were sharing about how cancer and breast cancer has affected either them or their families. There were also challenges related to the scrap pink theme. I was one of the ones who won. The package with my RAK came today from Fiskars. Wow, I can't believe how much stuff was packed into the box. What perfect timing for all of this goodies. Thanks to conferences I have tomorrow free. I have a few swaps that need to be finished and then I get to play. What fun goodies to play with. Thanks Cheryl and Fiskars

finally, it has been a long time

2009-09-18T21:26:00.000-05:00

Okay so it has been a very long time since I have felt creative. Really been missing the creative outlet, but it just wasn't too happen. So I have been trying to figure out a way to get a little extra cash and thinking that I could put my crafting skills to work. I am thinking about seeing if I can make a few items that I could sell on Ebay or Etsy. I came up with this card design tonight, hoping to make a few more tomorrow along with some dish towels. Let me know what you think and how much you would be willing to pay? Thanks

Win a cricut cartridge.

2009-09-10T19:32:00.000-05:00

Help us celebrate our 100th Cricut cartridge—Winter Woodland! That’s right, we reached 100 cartridges. As a thank you for our great Cricut community members we want you to celebrate with us. So, we’re giving away 100 cartridges over the next five weeks (20 per week). Head over to the message board to find out how

Snowman ATC

2009-07-13T21:59:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I finally decided to jump in with my feet and try my hand at an ATC. The final push was a snowman ATC swap on Fiskateers. For my first ATC cards, I am really happy with how it turned out, but I am open to suggestions from those of you who are more experienced with ATC cards.

Favorite things Crop

2009-07-12T16:30:00.000-05:00

Spent the past two days at Scrapaganza's Our Favorite Things Crop. What a good time. This year I actually went with 3 other friends. Usually I go by myself and find myself someone else who is by themselves to sit with. It was so nice to sit with others that I know. We had so much fun, talking, laughing, and cropping. Since it was Our Favorite Things Crop we were given each of the design diva's favorite things. I ended up bring home more stuff than I took. I am never going to get my stuff used up.

Kristen's 4-H projects

2009-07-09T12:54:00.000-05:00

For Kristen's 4-H project this year she decided to make a poncho and blanket. She loved getting started on some basic sewing. The only problem she had is that Sarah and I are both right handed and have right handed sewing shears, Kristen however is a lefty. She found it really hard to cut the fabric. Yes, I will be getting her a pair of sewing shears soon, just for her use. Now she can't wait for a football game so that she can stay nice and warm.

Lovely blog award

2009-07-08T09:38:00.001-05:00

I received this blog award from Tiggers Scrap Place. Thanks Patty for choosing me!

Here are the rules:
1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award. These are the 15 blogs that I am passing the award to. I will add more blogs as I get a chance this week. Stay tuned.

Pinky

Debby's Dares

Simple project to organize those plastic bags

2009-06-04T12:32:00.000-05:00

Used some of my free time today to make a simple project to organize all of those plastic bags that seem to multiply all over my house. Took a new hand towel, sewed bias tape on the inside about two inches from the top and bottom. Threaded elastic threw the bias tape and then sewed up the side. Finally took a piece of twill tape and attached the two ends to opposites of the top. Finally a nice looking place to put all of those bags and when I need one, they will be easy to find.

End of the year teacher gifts

2009-06-02T21:32:00.000-05:00

Kristen has been begging to learn to sew and also to give her teacher a baby gift. Her teacher is expecting her first child in a few weeks. I figured that decorating a couple of cloth diapers and making some fancier spit rags would be a good introduction to sewing and a very useful present for her teacher. Kristen was thrilled to be able to use the sewing machine and make her very own present for her teacher. I still say that a homemade present is much better than a store bought one anyday.

NSD 2009

2009-05-05T21:12:00.000-05:00

I can't believe how much I was able to get done. It really helps to have the pictures cropped and papers already choosen. 45 layouts in all. I am now finished with 7th grade, but I still have 8th and 9th grade to go.

Shoebox Swap card

2009-04-25T19:14:00.001-05:00

I was invited to participate in the Eastern Iowa Shoebox Swap. Sounded like a good time, only problem is I have never really done cards before. Since I couldn't decide on a theme for my card, decided to go with something that could be used for many different themes. Even though my card was one of the more simple cards at the swap, many people commented that it was a cute card. I might have to come up with a few more card designs. Just what I need yet another hobby.

Cuttlebug Challenge

2009-04-14T11:13:00.000-05:00

Gardening Journal

2009-04-11T21:14:00.001-05:00

Kristen loves to garden. She actually has some bulbs coming up in a flower bed that I tried to plant bulbs in about 14 years ago. Mine never came up, but it looks like all of Kristen's are coming up. Since she has done such a good job with the clearing out of the flower bed and then planting all of her bulbs, she is getting her own gardening tools for Easter. I decided to also make her a journal so that she can keep track of what she plants and when. I am sure that she will really like this.

I was tagged

2009-03-25T18:51:00.001-05:00

I was tagged.
The rules state that you need to find the 4th folder in your picture file and then find the 4th picture and upload it to your blog. Then pick 4 other people. Here is my picture. My 4 picks are on my other blog

It came, I am so excited

2009-03-14T20:05:00.000-05:00

I spent about 1 1/2 hours on January 1st trying to order this kit. The web site kept shutting down. I wasn't sure that I even got in to place an order. Every one started getting their kits right away, and I wasn't hearing anything. Finally I called the company and was told that they had no record of my order. Since the kits were sold out there was nothing that could be done. Besides the ones that were getting their kits many were also placed on back order. It took over two months for the back ordered kits to come in, and then the company started shipping them. I finally get an email with a shipping number on it, but once again I check with the company and they still don't have any record of my order. Didn't know if it would come or not. Was so thrilled to see this in the mail yesterday. Thankfully, I have been keeping my pictures up to date. (Check out my project 365 blog, link on the side). Started putting the kit together today. Almost done with the first two months.

Are you getting tired of JYC yet?

2009-03-08T18:09:00.001-05:00

I spent the weekend at a crop that our church was hosting. What a great time. My goalwas to complete my JYC album. I am sure that your are thrilled to know that I am almost done. I have to get some more pictures developed, but otherwise all pages are complete. Now I can move on to Sarah's album. I really am hoping to get caught up with her stuff now. I have all of her 7th grade year cropped and the paper picked out. Will see what happens next.

Journal Your Christmas Again

2009-02-28T19:55:00.001-06:00

I keep plugging away at this album. I am really looking forward to getting it finished. Hoping to finish next weekend while I am at an overnight crop.

More Journal Your Christmas

2009-02-22T19:24:00.000-06:00

I am finally getting a chance to work some more on my Journal Your Christmas Album. Here are another 6 pages. I have really enjoyed doing this and can't wait to get the entire album finished.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T08:31:00.000-06:00

This was a joint effort between Kristen and myself. She tells me earlier in the week that she needs Valentines Day at school. Wouldn't have been a big deal, except this is conference week so I have to stay at school late two nights and have meeting the other nights. Anyway, I woke up at normal time this morning (even thought I didn't have school) so that I could get a box for made for her. She then had fun using up some of my embellishments and stamps to decorate her box. I think that this box is going to have to last for another 2 years. I can't be doing this daily. Of course this was done with no pattern. If I would have been smart I would have searched for a pattern online and printed it out while at school. Wait I couldn't do that because even though we had conferences and needed access to grades the computer search engines for the district were turned all blocked. At least she had fun and doesn't have a plain box or bag. Kristen has to be a little different from the norm.

Disney Swaps done

2009-02-08T18:14:00.001-06:00

Okay, I belong to this totally awesome online group ScrappiestDisneySwapping. They are an awesome bunch of ladies. I have learned a lot about scrapping from this group. I used to just use stickers or diecuts to create a title, now I design my title to match the pictures. Before joining this group I had never heard of journal boxes, deco squares, paper piecing, side mounts, bazzill paper and many other things. Now I am branching out to learn how to do many other things. The pictures I posted are from an ABC swap. Can't wait to get them back (and of course head to Disney so that I can add new pictures to this album). I also posted two titles that I am submitting for a couple of swaps. If you are big into Disney and Swapping and would like info, let me know and I will send you the link to join.

Fold a paper bag book

2009-01-31T20:08:00.000-06:00

Okay so I have been asked to share how I folded the paper bag book that I posted about in August.
Step 1: Start with 3 paper bags.

Step 2: Take 2 of the bags and line up the bases.

Step 3: Glue the bases together

Step 4: Fold the left hand side over at the base line

Step 5: Fold the Right hand side over next, so that it just overlaps the left side.

Step 6: This is the inside page. Take the left over bag and fold it at the base line.

Finally place this page inside the other two that were glued together. Either staple together or punch holes and use ribbon to tie together or be creative and share your idea with me.

All about You in 52

2009-01-25T18:24:00.000-06:00

I am participating in Debby's Dares challenge All about you in 52. She will give one prompt a week and the idea is to journal about that topic and then create a layout. I am keeping up with the journaling, but just now started the layouts. I was having a hard time deciding how I wanted to do this project. Finally decided a smaller album that will concentrate on the words and be simple in design.
Week 1 topic was Who Influenced Your Life the Most. This was a fun topic to think about. There have been many people who have influenced my life in both positive and negative ways.
I am also including a few other things in this journal, so looking forward to completing the journal this year.

Journal Your Christmas

2009-01-18T19:13:00.001-06:00

While I kept up with the daily journaling for Journal Your Christmas, I am finally get a chance to complete my pages. Today, I was able to finish my cover page and the first 6 days of pages. 7 done only 31 left to go. Feel free to jump over to my family blog Flathers Family to read the journaling.

July 4th

2009-01-16T21:06:00.000-06:00

I had fun making this paperbag mini album for July 4th. It uses Rusty Pickle's Bottle Rocket line. I really love Rusty Pickle papers. Now all I have to do is get the July 4th pictures printed off.

Wanted

2009-01-16T21:04:00.001-06:00

Last November many of the scrapbook stores conducted a CSI day. It was sponsered by three different companies and all of the make n takes were free. Anyway, I finally got around to finishing my layout from that day.

This Year

2009-01-16T16:23:00.000-06:00

Okay, I just finished Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas, (okay finished the journaling still working on the pages) and fell in love with her online classes. She is offering a free class, she is posting the info online slowly. She is also giving away some of her products. Check her out here Shimelle

Explosion Box

2009-01-15T19:21:00.001-06:00

Lisa Falduto has offered a couple of free classes. You need to join a yahoo group and purchase the supplies to get the instructions. Since I am not always free to get to a class at my LSS when they are offered, I have enjoyed taking her classes. The instructions are SO easy to understand, the finished project is terrific, I usually learn a new technique, and I can take the class when it is convenient for me. Today I took advantage of yet another snow day to work on her latest class, an Explosion Box. Now that I have learned how to make an explosion box, I am thinking that it would be fun to start creating some for gifts.

Day of Creativity/ Dec and Jan

2009-01-14T15:48:00.000-06:00

I finally got the pictures for the last two day of creativiy layouts printed. The December layout I used pictures of the family dressed up. Usually Kurt and I don't have a picture taken of just the two of us, so this was kind of nice. For the 2008 Review/Welcome 2009 I went through and picked out a few pictures from last year that were a highlight to our year. There was a few more of Sarah than Kristen, but 2008 was a big year for Sarah. Confirmation, High School, Marching Band, Choir etc. For the welcome 2009 I used pictures that I took from a party that we had on Jan. 1st. We had 12 people over and for the first time in years there were two other kids, so our kids had someone to talk to.

Christmas Countdown

2009-01-14T13:55:00.000-06:00

Okay, I signed up for this class in November of 2007. I had some car problems and didnt make it down to the class.. I was able to pick up my class materials later. It has only taken me a year to get this project done. The joys of snow days. Since it is now Jan. looks like we will use this project next year.

Project 365

2009-01-10T20:26:00.000-06:00

So I have decided to join Becky Higgens and half the crafting community in Project 365. For those who haven't heard this is a cool way of keeping track of your year and the ordinary things that happen to a person. I have created a separate blog for the pictures. Feel free to check it out
www.365flathers.blogspot.com

Perpetual Calendar

2009-01-03T17:17:00.000-06:00

I thought that I might do this calendar as a gift for someone, when I couldn't find what I was looking for, but then changed my mind. I have completed the calendar, but not sure if I am going to keep it or give it away. It was a fun and quick project to do.

altered frame, 1st attempt

2009-01-02T17:10:00.000-06:00

Awhile back I received the very awesome frame kit from Kelly Jo. Yesterday, I finally had some time to try my hand at making a frame. I choose to go with some green bazzill paper for Christmas. I am not quite finished with the frame as I want to find a small Christmas embellishment for the left side, but I am really happy with the way it turned out. I plan on making a few more of these to give away and also maybe a few special "River King" ones for my high school aged daughter to remember the best days of her life. Thanks Kelly Jo for the inspiration and the supplies needed to make these, you have allowed me to learn something new.

My first blog award

2008-12-05T10:51:00.001-06:00

Tracy from Inside the ScrapHeap picked my blog for an award. How cool is that?

( will pick my seven tonight when I am off of work instead of now.)

Edited:
Okay, so I totally forgot about picking my favorite blogs to pass this on to, so I am going to start working on this now. I must admit, that I have a ton of blogs in my reader and it will be hard to pick 7. If you are reading this and I didn't pick you don't feel bad. Matter of fact, feel free to just add this award to your blog, because if I take the time to follow you then I like your blog.

1. Candy's Creations
2.Brandie's Thoughts
3. Bren's Stuff
4. Bush Life
5. Debby's Dare
6.I Scrap, you scrap, we scrap
7. Jennie's Scrap Space

There I have choosen 7. Please don't feel bad if you were choosen, I just ran out of space to list all of the blogs.

Date Stamps

2008-11-28T20:57:00.000-06:00

Tonight, I took a break from decorating the tree to begin my JYC project. I created my date stamps for each page. I decided for my first year to go with something a little simple. I simply punched the 37 circles and 74 holly leaves. After putting the numbers on, I attached two holly leaves to each circle. I decided not to distress the edges as I am not sure what papers I will be using this year. I know some people are using the page maps to create their pages ahead of time, but since I don't know what I am doing, I will make my pages as I go along.

Journal Your Christmas

2008-11-25T20:18:00.000-06:00

Last year while surfing some blogs, I came across one blog where the blogger had posted a page from her Christmas Journal. I really liked the idea and decided to ask the blogger about where she got her idea and her prompts. She referred me to Shimelle's blog. I chose not to sign up last year as it was already half way through the month of December and I felt that I was too far behind. I kept watching the sight and signed up once the post was up for this years class. I am really excited about doing this and hoping I can stay on top of things. Usually December is very busy, but since Sarah is in high school we have two fewer programs to attend for the month. I plan on posting my layouts to this site, so check back often, this may help keep me accountable.

All I need now is some time.

2008-11-22T19:14:00.001-06:00

I must say that even though this has been a very busy week with a few things, the mail this week has been great. On Tuesday I received my final package from my fiskateer secret sister. She sent me the coolest things including a wonderful orange(fiskars) colored ornament, and a holly squeeze punch from fiskars. Plus a few other scraping goodies. She has been a wonderful secret sister. If you don't know what a fiskateer is please click here to find out. This group is so friendly and supporting. On Tuesday I also received my embellishment swap back from another great yahoo group. There were 10 of us and we each created an embellishment kit for paper crafting. We each had a color and created 10 kits Then sent the package to our fearless leader, who redistributed the kit and sent it back to us. I received 10 different colored packages. Finally today, I received the frame kit that I won from Kelly Jo, one of the fiskateer leads. This kit looks like so much fun, it even included a fiskars tape runner. I love this adhesive, but have never seen it in a store.
Now all I need is the time to spend many hours creating. Do you think that Santa would bring me at least 72 hours of total free time, without any other distractions so that I can create and scrap and rest? Please Santa, that is all I really want, besides a clean house and children that actually help verses hinder.

Spit Rags

2008-11-02T10:12:00.000-06:00

When Kristen was a baby, I received a very nice gift that had some decorated spit rags. The person had simply taken a cloth diaper and found some cute ribbon then sewed it down the edge. I loved this look and also the fact that when we went out, or for something nice, I could take a nicer looking spit rag. I saved those rags for outings, church, family holidays etc. Because I love those so, I decided to make a few for my new great niece Allison. I did two with the ribbon down the side, and then I did two with my embroidery machine. I will be meeting Allison later today, at the birthday party for Austin and Kristen. She is about 6 weeks old, so can't wait to see her. I am hoping that she enjoys these spit rags as much as Kristen enjoyed hers.

Mail Time

2008-10-29T20:40:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was such a fun mail day. I regularly read a blog Debby's Dares, and had won a chance to get some of the Fiskar's new Halloween and Christmas punch shapes. Not the actual punches, but 10 of each shape. I received such a big envelope just full of the punches, some are on paper that I haven't seen before. I had also won one of the bazzill monochromatic little albums from Lisa Bearnson's blog from Creating Keepsakes. She was giving away 25 of those adorable little albums a couple of weeks ago for a project started by Stacy Julian. She wanted everyone to take 10 photos of the people or items in their life right now and then put them into a small album that could be carried in a purse or put in a drawer at work. Then you are to open the album up each day and look at it to be reminded of all that is important in your life. I love idea and can't wait to put together my mini album on Saturday. Anyway, Lisa B enclosed some other fun scrapbooking goodies besides the mini album. I so can't wait to play.

Kristen's Halloween costume

2008-10-29T20:29:00.001-05:00

This year Kristen has decided to skip the usual princess costume to be a cheerleader just like her older sister. When Sarah was in Kindergarten, I made her a cheerleader costume for Halloween. While Kristen liked that costume, she decided that she really needed a new one that more closely resembles Sarah's uniform. We found a pattern with several different designs on it and I managed to talk her into one that didn't have quite as much bling to it as the other ones, which is good because we had a hard time finding any trim that would work. I had the skirt almost made, when I had Kristen try it on. At this point I realized that I would need to trim almost 3 inches off of the sides so that the skirt would stay up. Wouldn't I love to have no hips like that child, however 2 children and eating way to many Halloween treats have given me hips. The pattern came with a pattern for a spankie. I wasn't going to make the spankie for Kristen, but after seeing how short the skirt is, I decided to go ahead and make it. I will wait for tomorrow night to get it finished. It is Kristen's bedtime and I have a feeling that I will need to resize the spankie also.

Haunted House online Class

2008-09-21T11:50:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, I had the whole day free. Only one child at home and didn't have to go anywhere. Fiskars was having and online crop and I could play along. I was so excited. I decided to work on the haunted house cosmo cricket online class that I had signed up for. The supplies came in earlier in the week and I couldn't wait to work on it. Loved making the shingles for the house. That is a technique that I have never done before but it was really fun. I also enjoyed creating the windows for this house. Now all I have left to do is find the pictures of the girls in their Halloween costumes.

Friday Night crop

2008-09-14T20:03:00.000-05:00

So Friday night I went to my church's monthly crop. While I didn't get any pages finished to show you, I did manage to get all of Sarah's 7th grade year organized. Not bad considering she is in 9th grade. My goal for this school year is to totally get caught up with her scrapping so that I can stay on top of it, plus get a little of Kristen's done. Once I am caught up it shouldn't be too hard to stay on top of things. Or at least I hope not. Most months I am able to get to two different crops, one at my church Grace Lutheran and the other at a church in the town I live in, Church of the Open Door. I really enjoy both crops and hate when I have to choose between them. I think that what I enjoy the most is the fellowship with other adults. Of course in just 4 years, I won't have to go to a crop to be productive with my scrapping. Sarah will be in college and I will move Kristen into Sarah's room and convert Kristen's tiny little room into my space. Perfect for scrapping and sewing. In the meantime, I will continue to scrap at crops and in my messy living room, plus sew at my kitchen table.

Day of Creativity

2008-09-07T15:28:00.000-05:00

Scrapaganza had a day of Creativity yesterday. You could pick from 4 different areas to create. They were offering two simple cards, a 2 page 12 x 12 layout, a fall clipboard and an ocean book. You had the chance to do as much or as little as you wanted to do. What is really nice about this, is that the girls were allowed to participate also. Kristen and I both chose to make the 2 different cards. The cards are really simple and hopefully I will remember this as the cards are a good pattern to use for making just about any style of card. Just change the paper and stamps to fit the theme.

July 4th Towels

2008-09-05T18:56:00.000-05:00

Besides paper crafting I also love to sew. I have been sewing on and off since I was 9 years old. Hey, I can still remember the first outfit I made. It was a shorts outfit. Top and shorts. I made it out of some cheep white fabric first and then made a second one out of a green material with trim. This was not only my first sewing project, but the first sewing project that I entered at the fair. I was so proud of that outfit. Through the years I have made many things, however some of the favorite things have been clothes (dresses) for my daughters, however they are getting to old and don't want Mom to make them cute outfits anymore. A couple of years ago I purchased a Sewing/Embroidery Machine and love to play with it. One of the things that I have done quite a bit of is dish towels. I enjoy taking the feed sack dish towel and dressing it up for the holiday or season. These make fun gifts for people. The set pictured is a fun Fourth of July patterns that I downloaded from the web for free. There are all kinds of free patterns out there if you are willing to take the time to look. I entered them in this years county fair so couldn't use them for the holidays this year, but can't wait to use them next summer. Thanks for lookng

clean or create.....

January Sketch Challenge

Scrapbook*Life*Journal 2012

December Daily

Twisted Tuesdays

Imaginisce Blog: One door closes as another opens!

My Memories Suite and a Giveaway

My Memories Suite and a terrific giveaway.

June Sketch

This years edition

Card making

Make Take Murder

Something new

March pages done

Grace Crop March 2011

Wow, 2 awards

Top 10 layouts in 2010

52 Sketches

A new venture

A second Vinyl Cling

Vinyl Clings

Grace Scrapbooking Retreat Nov. 2010

win a gypsy

Win a gypsy and oops I got carried away , here is my fiskateer winner

It's an Orange and Green Hop.

FIL's album

Fiskateer Blog Hop

Want to win some paper

July 30th sketch

New website

Pieces of Me Sketch 7-16-10

check out this RAK

Just a few cards

Fiskateer Crop

Graduation cards

National Scrapbook Day

Want to win a Cricut Expression?

Happy National Scrapbook Day

Kristen's 1st Quilt

A new Venture for me.

A scrappy get to know you.

April Sketch Challenge

A little creating the past few weeks

Sweet Talking journaling challenge

Grace Scrapbooking Retreat

Pig Love

Choosing Gratitude

Look what I won

Father/Daughter Duo

Join Me for some Sweet Talking

Top 5 layouts for 2009

A new venture

Super Happy Mail

finally, it has been a long time

Win a cricut cartridge.

Snowman ATC

Favorite things Crop

Kristen's 4-H projects

Lovely blog award

Simple project to organize those plastic bags

End of the year teacher gifts

NSD 2009

Shoebox Swap card

Cuttlebug Challenge

Gardening Journal

I was tagged

It came, I am so excited

Are you getting tired of JYC yet?

Journal Your Christmas Again

More Journal Your Christmas

Valentine's Day

Disney Swaps done

Fold a paper bag book

All about You in 52

Journal Your Christmas

July 4th

Wanted

This Year

Explosion Box

Day of Creativity/ Dec and Jan

ScrapbookLifeJournal 2012