Now that the holidays are over

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! Ours was wonderful! Brianna is at such a fun age and really enjoyed all the magic of the season.

Now that things are slowing down I've actually had a minute to get into my craft room. (After cleaning the HUGE mess from present making!) I'm embarrassed to say I'm still working with my November Gossamer Blue kit. Although I'm in love with the kit so I can't say I'm too sad about that!

For this layout I worked from a sketch from Scrapbooksteals.com. The layout came together really easy and it feels so great to create for myself again!

Hopefully I can continue to get crafty time in and start using up these beautiful kits. That shouldn't be to hard while six months pregnant, packing a house and moving across the country right? Yikes!

Scrappy time

I actually found some time over the weekend to do some crafting that wasn't for a Christmas present! Seems like every year I'm scrambling to finish crafty gifts and it really cuts into my scrappy time! :) I finally broke into my November Gossamer Blue kit. I love this kit and I'm really hoping to find more time to work with it. Especially since my December kit is already here and patiently waiting for some attention!

I'm glad I took the time to document something so cute that Brianna says. It makes me smile every time. Also relieved that I haven't forgotten how to scrap! Thank you for stopping by!

Hey I'm back!

So after finding out in July that I am expecting baby number two, my energy both creative and other wise took a huge dip! Finally half way through my pregnancy I have found the energy and time to get back in my craft room! Here are a few cards I made this weekend.

The first is for my nephews 12th birthday and the second is for my great aunt who just moved over the weekend. I've just started exploring my prismacolor color pencils and love the look they give! Hopefully the cards bring a smile to my family's faces and hopefully I can keep up with some crafting now!

Mid week mojo Pearl #4

Hey I almost got one done on time! My friend Jen McDermott was last week guest sketcher on scrapbooksteals.com. Her sketches were so amazing! I can't wait to find time to do the second one. Here is the one I decided to do,

Here is my layout,

I had such big plans for this layout but I'm not really sure how I feel about it. I'm trying to start using stamps in my layouts but I don't know if I pulled it off. I am glad I finally tried it hopefully I get more comfortable with it soon. Thank you for stopping by!

I'm a guest sketcher on Scrapbooksteals.com!

To say I was nervous when Kristy Lee asked me to be a guest sketcher, would be a huge understatement! Scrapbooksteals is my favorite place to buy my scrapbooking supplies and also the first place I look for inspiration. When I found out I had the chance to work with My Minds Eye, Nostalgia collection, I could not wait to get my hands on it!

I knew I had the perfect pictures for this collection. Which was a relief since I had been staring at these pictures for six months without any idea what to scrap them with! Nostalgia has such wonderful soft colors and I can't say enough about how much I love the embellishments. Once I finally forced myself to cut into the beautiful paper, the layout came together so easily.

The only problem after finishing my layout was that I hardly used any of the amazing embellishments. I just couldn't stop thinking about those embellishments! Finally I decided I to attempt my first mini album. 

 I see many more mini albums in my future! I had so much fun with this one! Now be sure to head over to Scrapbooksteals.com and check out all the fun stuff they have going on for their third birthday! Thanks for stopping by!

Totally Turquoise

Scrapbooksteals is wrapping up another round of ten mid week mojo sketches. I may not of always had them done on time but they are all done! Some I have posted here some I haven't, so if you've seen these before sorry! :)

Turquoise 1

Turquoise 2

Turquoise 3

Turquoise 4

Turquoise 5

Turquoise 6

Turquoise 7

Turquoise 8

Turquoise 9

Turquoise 10

Thank you for looking! Now I have to run over to the Scrapbooksteals blog and throw my name in the hat for the big turquoise grand prize!

Playing catch up... again

I wonder how many of my post have started out with, playing catch up or I've been behind lately? Probably more than a few! This time I'm behind because of a short vacation, so at least it's for a good reason! Anyway without further ado here is my latest work.

Mid week mojo #7

Mid week mojo #8

I really enjoyed working on these two layouts and love the way they turned out. Hope you enjoyed looking at them! Thank you for stopping by!

Mojo catch up

I was able to play a little catch up this week and get some past Mojo sketches done. Here is my version of Mid week mojo Turquoise #3

And Mid week mojo Turquoise #4

Now to find the time to get this weeks sketch done! Thank you for stopping by!

You and me

I was finally able to get a Mid week mojo done on time! Early even! Maybe I'm sick... Anyway here is my take on the Mid week mojo Turquoise #5 sketch.

I love scrapping old photos of me and Trevor. Trevor has actually requested that this layout be framed and hung up in his office!

I also made a few quick cards using my scraps and a Monday card madness sketch from two weeks ago.

Thank you for stopping by!

Authentique Free Bird cards

I can't tell you how excited I was when I was asked to create cards for Scrapbooksteals.com. They are my favorite place to go for scrappy inspiration and to buy scrapbooking supplies.  I was given a fraction of the Authentique Free Bird Cardmakers Dream Bundle (1/7th to be exact) and was able to create 25 cards! Here are just a few of my favorites.

Thank you so much for stopping by! Now go steal a card making bundle for yourself before they're all gone!

Turquoise 1

I'm a little bit late finishing up my Mid week mojo this week but that seems to be my trend with everything these days! I changed up the sketch a little bit and used one large photo instead of five little ones. I love this photo of Brianna and was excited to finally cut into my Cosmo Cricket, Upcycle!

I was also able to make two quick cards from my scraps.

Thanks for stopping by!

A few projects made with my counterfeit kit

On Friday I was mentioned on The Counterfeit Kit blog as having the worlds largest kit. Uh oh! I guess I better get using it! I'm being watched! As usual I haven't had as much time as I'd like to scrap, but here is what I've done so far.

The first is a mid week mojo sketch from Scrapbooksteals.com This sketch was done by my super talented friend Melissa Dehne.

                                                                       Amethyst #3

This is also a mid week sketch, This one done by Kristy Lee.

                                                                      Amethyst #4

I also made a few cards. Two of them based on Scrapbooksteals Monday card sketch. One I just threw together with scraps.

I'm gonna try to squeeze in more than just a mid week mojo this week! Wish me luck!
                                                             

                                                                

March counterfeit kit

When I saw the March inspiration kit for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge. I was a little worried. I don't have a whole lot of blue and yellow in my collection and I just could figure out which direction to take my kit. So I sat down and looked through my paper stash, I finally came across the right paper to start my kit. I decided on this piece from Crate Paper: Restorations.

From there I chose I few more pieces from Restorations and then my paper selecting got a little out of hand. I ended up with almost 40 pieces of patterned paper. I considered putting some back but I prefer to have a large kit to work with so here's everything.

   Patterned Paper
Crate Paper: Restorations, Heirloom side A and B
Crate Paper: Restorations, Lace
Crate Paper: Restorations, Ruffles
Crate Paper: Restorations, Refinish side A and B 
Pink Paislee: Daily Junque, Tabs
Pink Paislee: Daily Junque, Map
Crate Paper: Emma's Shoppe, Dolls
Crate Paper: Emma's Shoppe, Fabrics
Crate Paper: Emma's Shoppe, Books
Cosmo Cricket: Upcycle, Re:Peat
We are Memory Keepers: Vintage Blue, Sugar Plum
We are Memory Keepers: 72 and Sunny, Summer
Sassafrass: Apple Jack, Translate
Sassafrss: Apple Jack, Discover
Sassafrass: Ellie's Tale, Simply Stated 
Sassafrass: Count Me In, Plus my Pals
Sassafrass: Count Me In, Polka Polka
Sassafrass: Sweetly Smitten, Vintage Lovely
Sassafrass: Sunshine Broadcast, Kindle
Sassafrass: Paper Crush, Loves Notes
Sassafrass: Paper Crush, Sweet Smooches
Sassafrass: Starters, a...b...c...
Sassafrass: Starters, Intro
My Minds Eye: Fine and Dandy-Tickled Pink, Lovely
Studio Calico: Classic Calico, Newsprint
My Minds Eye: Stella and Rose-Hazel, Mother
My Minds Eye: Alphabet Soup-Girl, Lovely
My Minds Eye: Alphabet Soup-Girl, Flower Patch
Authentique: Splendid, Richness
Basic Grey: Olivia, Brianna
Crate Paper: Emma's Shoppe, Playhouse
Studio Calico: Classic Calico, Plano
Studio Calico: Classic Calico, Woodgrain one
Studio Calico: Classic Calico, Folio
Cardstock in Brown, Tan, White and Kraft

Alphabets
American Crafts Thickers in Typo, Rocketeer, and Daydream
My Minds Eye: Lush brown chipboard stickers
Authentique diction stickers from Blissful and Splendid
Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type
Studio Calico: Classic Calico, Cardstock stickers 
Sassafrass cardstock stickers
American Crafts: Mini Marks, Hildi

Embelishments
Elements and boarders from Crate Paper: Restorations
Banners from Sassafrass: Indie Girl
Die cuts from My Minds Eye: So Sophie, Stella and Rose, Breaking Free and Authentique: Blissful
Chipboard sticker from Basic Grey: Olivia
Sassfrass paper whimsies
Manila tags
American Crafts Embossing powder in Denim
Twinery Twine in Cappuccino and Pink Sorbet  
Floss, brads, buttons and eyelets in coordinating colors

It's a pretty big kit but I'm very excited to work with it! I already have a picture or two in mind. Now I just need to find the time to scrapbook!

Mid week mojos with my counterfeit kit

I seriously had so much fun working with my counterfeit kit! I used it for the whole month of February and loved being pushed outside my comfort zone. Here are the layouts I created last month, all are from Scrapbooksteals Mid week mojo sketches.

I just finished putting together my March counterfeit kit and will post it tomorrow when I can get a picture!

Countfeit kit challenge

For a few months now some of my friends have been talking about the Countfeit kit challenge. Basically you make your own kit to work with inspired by the kit of their choice. Since I started scrapping about a year and a half ago I have only worked from kits. It makes it so easy to match everything! I was very nervous about putting together my own kit but it seems like such a great way to use up your stash, I had to try it!

I choose to counterfeit the Scrapbook circle, You + Me kit or to be more exact I counterfeited my friend Heather's counterfeit of the You + Me kit. This being my first time it was easier for me to start with Heather's kit for inspiration since I had a lot of the same paper and embellishments in my stash.

 Paper
My minds eye: Be loved, Affectionate
My minds eye: Be loved, Desirable dots
My minds eye: Be lover, Lovely Loops
My minds eye: Be loved, Fond Flowers 
My minds eye: Be loved, Sweet Hearts
My minds eye: Love me do, Rock and Roll Heart
My minds eye: So Sophie-Savvy, Anything for you
My minds eye: So Sophie-Savvy, In love
My minds eye: So Sophie-Savvy, Never enough
My minds eye: Ooh la la, Lah dee dee
My minds eye: Ooh la la, All dressed up
My minds eye: Ooh la la, Frivolous
My minds eye: Alphabet soup, Zoo cuties
My minds eye: Fine and Dandy, Delicate
My minds eye: Be loved, Dearest dot
My minds eye: Lost and found-Market street, Happy birthday
Sassafras: Sunshine Broadcast, Beaming
Sassafras: Paper crush, Pucker up
Sassafras: Paper crush, Sweet smooches
Sassafras: Ellie's tale, Sweet score
Cosmo Cricket: Upcycle, Re:Peat
Cosmo Cricket: Togetherness, All a flutter
Cosmo Cricket: Togetherness, Kite Strings
Crate Paper: Emma's Shoppe, Playhouse
Studio Calico: Classic calico, Newsprint
Sassafras: Starters, a...b...c...
Sassafras: Starters, Line up
Sassafras: Starters, Prolouge
Brown, Tan, White and Kraft cardstock

Alphabets
Studio Calico: Classic calico, Cardstock stickers
American Crafts Thickers: Apartment (red), Delight and Daydream (light green) Rocketeer and Daydream (brown)
My minds eye: Lush chipboard alphabet stickers
My minds eye: Alphabet soup alpha stickers
My minds eye: So Sophie-Savvy Alphabet stickers
Cosmo Cricket: Tiny type in Teal, Storytime, Top Secret, and Handwriting
My minds eye: Lime Twist, Together alpha stickers
American Crafts: Mini mark rub-ons, Hildi

Embellishments
Die cuts from My minds eye, So Sophie-Savvy and Be loved
Sassafras: Vintage Brooches
Buttons, Brads and eyelets in coordinating colors
Tattered Angels glimmer mist, Bronze, Old Lace, and Creme de Chocolate
Twinery Twine, Maraschino and Cappuccino
Divine Twine, Cotton Candy
Floss in Brown, Tan and Red

Finally here is my first page using my kit. I used Scrapbook Steals  Mid week mojo sketch  #8.

The doilies weren't originally in my kit but I knew they would be the perfect addition to the layout. I was surprised at how easily the layout came together and I love that my counterfeit kit forced me to step out of my comfort zone!

99 and 100!

The last 2 projects to finish off my 100 project challenge were two layouts for the 8x8 albums I made for my mom and mother in law. I did a layout of Brianna's second birthday with We are memory Keepers, Funfetti.

I took a picture of Brianna holding a picture of herself on her first birthday. I got the idea from pinterest and I love how cute it turned out.

I'm so happy to be done with my 100 project challenge. It has been a good exercise in restraint and helped me to focus more on creating instead of buying. I might even start another challenge soon. 

Mini smash book (98)

Months ago when K&company released their smash books I was so excited to get one. I had been looking for a nice notebook to write little stories about the cute stuff Brianna does. Things that I wouldn't do a scrapbook page about, like the way she mispronounced words when she was first learning to say them, or for cell phone pics that weren't scrap quality. The smash book looked perfect. I used it for about a month or two and then it sat on a shelf in my scrap room forgotten. So around new year, as I was making scrappy resolutions, I decided I needed to try harder at keeping it up.

The problem I had with using it was it wasn't convenient. The smash book itself is a little big to carry around with me and I don't have time to stop what I'm doing and go write down a cute story. So I decided to make a small notebook to carry with me. I pulled out my Bind-it-All and made a small three and half by five inch notebook. I guess I could have bought one but this way I got to use my scrappy toy and make it pretty!

Now I keep this notebook in my diaper bag at all times so it's easy to grab and jot down a quick note. After a few weeks I sit down and transfer the stories to the actual smash book. So far my method is working great and I'm so glad I will have these stories to look back at as Brianna grows up!