Wow, August already?

I am back in the blogosphere after a couple months off.  Summer has been very busy: bedtimes and schedules have been thrown to the wind!  I have taken a few extra days off here and there but for the most part I have tried to fit everything I can into my two days off a week.  As a result I have not scrapbooked for two months.  Yesterday, all of my running around finally caught up to me and I hit a wall.  I was so exhausted and run down I called in sick to work.  I had no energy whatsoever. My sweetie and I discussed a complete diet overhaul and earlier bed time ( I have been staying up way to late these summer nights).  Forcing myself to slow down I made myself create. It felt sooo good! Here is the layout:


Even though I haven't been scrapping for the last two months, I have been taking pictures and I have some gems! My sister visited for a month with her kids and we fit in as much "cousin time" as we possibly could. Here are some pics of a layout I completed on our trip to Bodie in June.

It feels so good to be scrapping and blogging again!  The patterned paper is colorbok, brads are MME, letter stickers sassafras.  Have a great week and thanks for stopping by!

Sketches & Page Maps

I did this layout based on a sketch from the  page maps blog .  It was a Fancy Pants challenge  that I have yet to post on their blog.  I am hoping to get it posted over there soon. I tried to include the page map sketch so you could get a better feel but unfortunately, my computer had another thought in mind and it didn't work out.  I really enjoy using page maps and sketches.  They help alleviate some of the pressure and actually allow me to create and explore a little more.  Once the pressure of the design is removed the freedom to just play around with what's left is kinda fun!

 Here's a close up.  I used Bazzill as the solid cs, the pp is Recollections: Fabulous Girl, the buttons, chipboard elements and brads are MME, the canvas border is LYB (I inked it to match the pp), the letter stickers are colorbok & the butterfly punch is MS. 

The last layout that I posted today is of Our Critters.  We have gotten so much joy from these little balls of fur.  I really wanted to be able to have these for the kids to look back on. I have so few pictures of my childhood pets and I wanted to insure that didn't happen for my kids. Our pets are such a huge part of childhood and growing up!  I used Recollections: Today, Tomorrow Forever, cork & canvas LYB, buttons, brads & chipboard elements MME, circle punch Recollections, paper tape K&Co and the twine is Teresa Collins.
Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!

My little scrappy space

Spent a little time yesterday cleaning up my space. 

 The above is my computer desk that I hope to paint black very soon. The  shelf houses my Boyd's Bear collection. I don't actively collect them anymore but  I  am not willing to part with them.  The valence above the door matches the skirt on my table.

 I know that I have posted this angle many times before , just moved a few things around.  Not much new here. To the left of that cabinet is the door to my bathroom.  It's kind of handy having a bathroom in my scrapbook room, especially the sink!

 Another angle just to give you a feel. plus a glimpse at what hides under the table. Hopefully you get an idea of how I keep almost everything within arms reach.

 My Washi tape storage and stray ribbons.  I have my favorite "go to" ribbons on the top plate.

I keep a few odds and ends on this mug rack.  I like to keep my stuff visible so I remember what I have.

End of an Era?

Well, CK announced that they were going to be shutting down their mb.  We were all a little shocked by the announcement.  I will surely miss the place and I have to admit I was a little blue after hearing the news.  Thankfully however, a few gals from the mb started up a new one where we can all go and continue to share our creativity and love of scrapbooking! So thankful that we will be able to continue to spend "time" together.  I can't help but wonder what will come of CK the mag...hopefully it will survive (not holding my breath though).   I have seen so many magazines go under over the last few years. I know that we have reduced the number that we carry by at least 100 titles.  (When I say we, I mean at B&N...my second home  LOL)

 This afternoon I was able to put together a couple of layouts.  The first one was pretty simple, I used patterned paper from Recollections paper pad Today tomorrow forever.  I added canvas & cork board shapes (my new favorites), wooden buttons from Prima, brads and a journaling tag from MME and twine from Teresa Collins. 

 I also added a butterfly (MS punch)

 more butterflies!

 Still really digging this kit from MME.  I love that I am really using all of this kit.  Thrilled with how versatile it is!

Close up shot: canvas & cork shapes LYB, twine Teresa Collins & everything else MME.
Thanks for stopping by & have a great week!

Playing catch up!

I am just a little behind in the birthday layout dept.  These pics are from Evan's birthday last year.  I didn't get very many pictures due to the fact that I was entertaining the kids and running around like a crazy person!  I am  happy that I got a few pics though.

 My sweet boy! I chose to go very bright and playful with this layout to really capture the energy and craziness of a 6 year old's birthday party! LOL!  I love the canvas banner by LYB...so sweet. I tried to play around with it a little bit but it was pretty rigid.  Oh well!

 I added pop dots to the back of the Celebrate banner and layered the other tags in the back.   The cork and canvas shapes are from LYB (they were on clearance at M's), the patterned paper is from the paper pad Funfetti by We R Memory Keepers and the brads are MME.  I love it when a paper pad has patterned paper,  tags, letter stickers and even chipboard that coordinate all in one handy dandy paper pad!  Makes things super easy!

Finally starting to scrap my pics of the kids from this last Halloween. I used patterned paper from Martha Stewart, the brads & Washi tape are MME, the cork and canvas shapes  are LYB and  the twine is Teresa Collins.

A close up to see the twine and other embellishments. 
Have a great weekend all!

Washi fun

On my quest for more masculine paper I picked up a paper pad from Heidi Swapp with a travel theme.   I love the colors and they blend so  nicely with many of the  MME products that I have on hand.  Even though these pics were taken at the pumkin patch, I focused on the colors of the photos rather than the event.  Truth be told, I do that a lot!

 Added washi tape, wood frames and brads all by MME (but from different lines)

 The stars were a gift from a friend.  She picked them up at Staples for a buck.  I was pleased with how well everything worked together. I love the ease of working with an entire collection but I also really love it when I pull several different lines together to form a cohesive end product.  Very satisfying creatively.

 For the above layout I used a white piece of paper and a strip of almost every piece of washi tape I have.  (I left out a few Christmas ones.)

 The embellishments are MME from Indie Chic collection.  I started out with just a small cluster of embellishments but I just kept adding and adding.  LOL!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful week!

A Peach of a deal

I love  http://www.peachycheap.com/ I get some great deals through them and my most recent acquisition is no exception.  I hadn't purchased anything from them in a long time but the other day I was checking out what they had and I discovered a great collection of Washi tape from MME...I snapped that offer up right away.  A  few days later they had an amazing deal on MME's Indie Chic,  the entire collection mind you! I love how everything works together so well.  I was so inspired that I created 3 layouts shortly after opening the box! 

 Love how well the title works with this layout of the girls field trip to the capitol!

 I absolutely adore this garland! Buying a kit like this is a great way to play around with new products.  Everything would have been crazy if purchased separately.

 Isn't this paper versatile? I am not generally a yellow girl but I love the summery feel of it all.

 Everything is so yummy!

 went a little crazy with these banners! LOL

 A layout of a couple girlfriends.  I went a little patterned paper crazy with this layout but I do love how it turned out.  Every once in a while ya gotta shake up your style a bit and try something new.

 The yellow peeking from behind the picture was originally a tag about family but I loved the shape of it even if the sentiment didn't fit the layout.  I trimmed off the sides and added it to the picture.  To finish is off I also added a little bling. Looks like it was supposed to be that way right? LOL

Close up of the journaling tag and the chipboard banner.
Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!

A couple More

Both of the layouts that I posted today are from Easter but they are from two different Easters.  The first layout is from our Easter lunch that we hosted at our house this past Easter. Just Ian's folks and Mine, so much less stressful than the year before!

 I used a few different manufacturers on this layout: cs Bazzil, patterned paper We R Memory Keepers, journal tag & Bingo card are Jillibean Soup, the sticker pennant is Sassafras and the brad is MME.

 Here's a close up of the journaling and the sweet MME brad.

 This Easter layout is from last Easter when I had a group of over 20 people at our house! I used a lot of the same products for both layouts.  I love the bunnies in the We R Memory keepers paper...so cute!

A close up of the bunnies, a  crocheted ribbon from Recollections, canvas heart LYB, brad MME & the frame is Jillibean Soup.

It's raining!

The weather put a little bump in my plans to photograph my layouts, but thankfully the rain let up long  enough for me to still get several layouts photographed.  I do wish that it was a little sunnier, but oh well. As Sophia's Kindergarten teacher used to say: "Ya get what ya get and ya don't pitch a fit! "

 The pics from this layout are from last summer and our trip to the Nevada City Fair.  The kids had a ball with their cousins and I tried to capture the same feeling with this layout.  I used the Green stack from DCWV, cutting out the critters from a sheet of patterned paper .  A little time consuming but I really like the way they turned out.

 I added pop dots to give them dimension.  The brads, buttons and other chipboard is from MME, the journal tags are Sassafras, the paper ribbon is K&Co, the twine is Teresa Collins  and the cork letters are from LYB.

 another close up of the critters.

 The layout from another angle to show the slight dimension.  I have had this stack forever so I was glad to be able to use it!

 On NSD I stopped by my LSS after work  and picked up some sprays from Tattered Angels.  I used Tattered Leather on this layout but I also picked up Graphite and Coffee Shop..they are so fun. 

The patterned paper for this layout is from colorbok, the cork letters are LYB, the brads are MM, stickers are Sassafras and the chipboard & wooden  embellishment are MME.  I picked them up on NSD also.  I figured since I had to work I might as well celebrate with a few new goodies! 

I am a lazy scrapper

Yep, it's the truth. I am a lazy scrapbooker! I have everything close by and once I get started on a project I try to remain seated until the project is complete. In fact, after I clean up my space a bit I plan on taking pictures from my chair so you get a 360 degree view.  I even have my chair on wheels so I can glide effortlessly on my hardwood floor. Ah, it's the little things. Knowing how you scrap is half the battle and I realized a long time ago that I need to have all of my go to products within arms length.  I just hate getting up mid project, the interruptions put a damper on the creative flow.

 So here it is, one of the layouts that prompted my blog title for today.  I basically left this paper pad out on my desk from my last layout and decided to use it again  (and again and again!) As is turns out, I do not have very many boyish or manly patterned papers.  I guess I know what I will be on the lookout for next time I am at the scrapbook store! I do love this paper though and it worked well with the photos.

 Here's a close up: I think that I have used those canvas hearts from LYB on every layout since I opened the package, the wooden buttons are Prima, the dragonfly is Recollections, the brads are MME  and the bingo cards and star circle are just cut out from the patterned paper (Awesome Boy by Recollections)

 Ok, it should come as no surprise that I used Awesome Boy and another canvas heart.  For the title, I cut out the Sutter's Fort sign and added pop dots.

A closer look: the solid colored brads are MME & the other are Prima, the 3D sticker is K&Co, and the brass label is MM.
Thanks for stopping by & have a great week!

Feels like Spring

Everything is blooming and the kids are having fun playing outdoors.  We have a very small window when it comes to Spring so we all like to take advantage of it! One of the things that we really love about our house is this little patch of land that we own. Almost 2 acres of trees, grass and even a little creek.  The kids love exploring and I love the fact that it is fenced in. Even though the kids feel like they are conquering  the great unknown, they are safely corralled. 

 Took these pics a couple weeks ago and they went perfectly with this paper pad from Recollections: "Fabulous" I also added some of my "go to"enamel brads from MME.  I am truly in love with those things!

 Used my new favorite butterfly punch from Martha Stewart and I love the little touch that this washi tape adds!

 More butterflies, a strip of ric rac  and a little bling. It's the little touches that sometimes make the biggest impact.

 My sweet niece Elli.  These pics are from when they visited last summer. Kept out my paper pad and punched some butterflies out of the floral pp.  Sprayed a hint of color with Heidi Swapp's color shine in teal. (I really need to get some in more colors! LOL)

 Love the something extra that these wood flowers from Studio Calico add.  I also adhered  pop dots to give the butterfly the illusion of flight.

This layout came together rather quickly, just added things here and there.  I even pulled out some of my stickers from Three Bugs In a Rug. 
Have a great weekend!