Blizzard of 2010

Lamp post icicles
Snow drifts on the roof

Our car.. somewhere under there..

December has been the fastest, craziest month ever and just went I thought it couldn't get any crazier - *BAM* *POW* *POP* BLIZZARD!!! And normally I would be so thrilled to enjoy a bonus day off from work and lots of hot chocolate with my hubby, but today was the day we were scheduled to move into our first house!! We have been waiting so long for this day and now we wait a little longer. This is going to make for some sweet scrapbook pages once we are finally settled in. Another reason why my December posts have been light. Everything has been packed away in preparation for the move. In the meantime, I wanted to make sure I documented a few photos from today. Estimating ~17 inches with the wind continuing to howl. Looking forward to getting home.. hopefully we don't have to wait to much longer!

December (6th) Daily

I am not sure I am going to post every page in my December Daily album so don't be surprised if I skip around a bit. It is Day 6 already! Today's page is my Target page. My husband has this tradition where every year he gets me a gift card for my stocking. I love to see which design he chooses. These are 2 of my favorites from past years. The paper is part of the Paper Trey Ink Men of Life collection. Such a perfect fit.

December Daily 2010

December Daily 2010 Cover

December 1

This year I am completely swept up in the excitement of Ali Edwards December Daily project. I love the idea of capturing the month of December which always seems to pass us by far too quickly. This album is such a great way to slow down time and savor all that is good and beautiful about this time of year. I'll share a secret - I don't exactly have all of my foundation pages done, but I am going to go with the flow and hopefully be able to complete a full album. There are so many exciting events happening this month and I want to get in each and every detail.

Here is a sneak peak at my cover and Day 1. Day 1 is an envelope and inside is a copy of this year's Christmas card.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A few days late, but Happy Thanksgiving! This is hands down my favorite holiday. There is something about a house full of family, good food and football that warms my heart. We have so many family traditions and I look forward it each and every year. Your ticket to the Thanksgiving meal is to write something you are thankful for and then everyone draws cards to read out loud. I am so very thankful for my wonderful husband who always sees the positive side of everything and a family that is loving, supportive and downright funny! This year, I was on appetizer duty and decided to put a fun twist on the "veggie platter".

Gobble gobble!

It is here!!! The Organized and Inspired Scrapbooker

I am bouncing off the walls with excitement right now! My copy of Wendy Smedley and Aby Garvey's Organized and Inspired Scrapbooker has arrived! I don't remember when I first learned about this book, but as soon as I did, I knew I had to have it. I was really bummed out to learn that it was no longer in publication. But I did some research and found out that it was going to be reprinted in November. And it is now November! Yeah! I also discovered that Wendy and Aby did a class with Big Picture Classes called Get Organized and Be Inspired 2009 and I am really hoping this class will be offered again. Now I just need to find time to dive in and appreciate each and every page.

Seagull Rock

Here is another page from the summer Lake album I am working on. I normally don't do journaling on these pages as they are meant to be simple layouts highlighting popular landmarks. This happens to be Seagull Rock, a beautiful spot where the seagulls hang out to watch the evening sunsets. This photo was taken from our row boat as we took a ride out to join them one night. I guess I could journal that inside one of the clouds..we shall see.

Wedding Cake Card

Lots of cards lately..I'm trying to get back on the layout bandwagon, but lack of time and a disorganized scrap nook are making it difficult. I do have time set aside this weekend for a mini crop so hopefully some pages will get done. In the meantime, here is a card I finished last night for my friend's wedding --which is next weekend! The cake and mini bride & groom are all from the Sweethearts cart. I decorated with beads and stickles. I wish I could make real cakes this pretty!

Stationary Set

Today kicked off the start of Christmas shopping -- sort of! My amazing sister-in-law put stationary on her wish list so of course I saw an opportunity to create something fun for her. I shopped my stash trying to find papers that reminded me of her. The scallop and monogram are from the Winter Woodland cart. Now all I need is a box to put everything in!

The Free Cricut Carts

I am so excited about the recent Provo Craft promotion.

Buy and register a Gypsy by Cricut by October 31 and receive 6 free cartridges downloaded to your Gypsy – including the exclusive, all-new "Smiley Cards" cartridge.
Free cartridges include: Smiley Cards (new and exclusive to this promotion)
Tags, Bags, Boxes and More (not available in retail)
Christmas (not available in retail)
Blackletter (not available in retail)
Printing Press (not available in retail)
Indie Art (not available in retail)

I registered my Gypsy the day I got it so all I had to do was update my software and I had access to these new carts. Looking forward to finding some time to play around with all of them. Thank you PC!

Happy Halloween

I made this card last year, but realized I never gave it to my hubby. I dug it out of the archives today! These are all Stampin Up stamps from my friend Nicole's collection. Happy Halloween everyone!

Christmas Cards in October!

Concept #1
Inside: Merry Christmas!
Concept #2
Inside: Merry Christmas!

This weekend my friend is hosting a shoebox swap where everyone designs a card and brings kits for each participant to complete. There are 12 of us attending which means everyone leaves the party with lots of great cards. The designs have to be somewhat simple - the rule is it should take 10 minutes or less to complete a card, but it must have at least 1 embellishment. I played around with these BoBunny stamps I just bought and ultimately decided to go with concept #2.
I embossed all of the silver paper with my Cuttlebug and pre-cut all of the ribbon. The finishing touch are the stickles for the ornaments. Can't wait to see what everyone else came up with!

Thank You Card

A quick and simple thank you card.

Frankly, I Love Halloween

Inside: Happy Halloween

My Pink Stamper issued a challenge today to make something cute! I immediately thought of a stamp I bought last Halloween, but did not get the chance to use. My Frankie stamp. Such a cute little monster. I paired him with 2 items I won in the Scrapbook Update swag giveaway. 1. Tim Holtz retro circles embossing folder. 2. Crafty Secrets Halloween Greetings Double Sided Creative Scraps (ticket - can't wait to use the rest of the scraps). To complete the look, I had to use the Martha Stewart Drippy Goo punch. October means Drippy Goo time!

8x8 Laundry Page

I love 8x8 pages! There is something extra fun about them. I'm working on a summer vacation album which is filled with pictures of my favorite things about the Lake. At the top of the list is laundry day. Nothing smells quite as nice as fresh laundry dried on the line. You may recognize this page design - I picked it up in Use Your Stash! I also found 3 things in my stash that were perfect for this page: 1. Mini clothes pins 2. Cosmo Cricket clothes line paper 3. Journaling tag that says "Favorite Things" & coordinating flower sticker.

Birthday Card and Bookmark

Inside: Your very special day!

Ever since Use Your Stash ended last week I have had zero motivation to scrap. I knew I would not keep up the pace I set in class - 4 layouts a week for 4 weeks (16 total!) - but I also didn't think I would come up with zero. To keep those creative muscles working, I always go to my fall back projects which seem easier for me to turn out. This weekend is my mother-in-law's birthday so I cooked up a sweet card and used some cute rubons from my stash. I also modified a project from the Big Idea Festival and instead of a tag, I used a longer piece of ribbon and made a bookmark. She loves laundry so I took a picture of our fresh laundry on the line and paired it with some fun Cosmo Cricket paper.

Princess Card

I needed a birthday card for a very special little girl who is turning 4. I grabbed Paper Doll Dress Up and came across this super cute princess. Loved the accessories she came with. Quickly ran the background through the Cuttlebug to create whimsical circles. The inside is stamped "Have a magical day!"

Fall Photos

This weekend I had 2 classic fall experiences - apple picking and the always fun corn maze! It was unseasonably warm weather - which I don't reccomend apple picking when it is 75 degrees - hello misquitos! I also forgot to get a pumpkin picture so I might just have to another trip to the orchard when it gets cooler.

Toronto

I'm in week 3 of class - Adventures in Scrapbooking: Use Your Stash - and I am just loving every day of it. I am going to be so sad when it ends (you may hear me say this a lot). The inspiration from May and all the ladies in class is a key source of motivation and I can only hope that I will be able to continue the momentum on my own. Today I'm going to share a layout from my recent trip to Toronto. My personal challenge was to use up some of the Sassafras Indie Girl paper that I didn't really need, but decided to buy. I also managed to include some Dear Lizzy ribbon that was collecting dust.

Corny Card

Here is another anniversary card I made for a family member who appreciates a good pun. The inside says "Congratulations on 12 ears together!" The basket cut from the Cricut Doodlecharms cart is one of my favorites for fall.

A few more cards

Tweet Tweet Happy Birthday!
Congratulations!

I had to take a small break from scrapbook pages today to whip up some cards. I managed to finish 1 birthday card and 1 wedding card. A co-worker of mine is getting married in Pittsburgh and he and his fiance are huge Steelers fans. I did keep up with the basic principles of class and dug into my scrap paper, found some hidden bling and broke out the stickles & my Cuttlebug. Off to try to finish 2 more cards!

Hooked

Last night I was working on a page for class - Adventures in Scrapbooking: Use Your Stash - when I got the overwhelming need to scrap this photo of an amazing rug that my mom hooked for me for my anniversary. It was so strong, I dropped everything and put all my energy into this new page. I've never had that happen before and I'm so glad I just went with it. This page uses up paper from a stack that I had been "saving". It also features the Maya Road Sew Cute Minis, another part of my secret stash that I was hiding because it was too cute. The embroidery floss was a last minute add to the spools to bring in some texture. This page makes me smile.

Seeing Triple

Too few!

Too many!

Just right?

You are probably thinking you are seeing triple, but really what you are seeing is a reflection of my indecision. I know there are no redos in scrapbooking, but I bent the rules. I just did not love my arrangement of buttons and so I kept fidgeting with them. This is the best I can do. It is time to walk away and start fresh on a new page!

Adventures in Scrapbooking: Use Your Stash

I had such a blast participating in the Big Picture Scrapbooking Big Idea Festival that I immediately signed up to take one of their classes. There was one in particular that seemed to be calling my name - Adventures in Scrapbooking: Use Your Stash by May Flaum. I buy products at a much faster rate than I use them and sometimes I love a product so much, I just can't bare to use it at all. This class is teaching me to remember why I buy things in the first place -- to create with them! I'm also learning that I have way more stuff than I thought I did. We are only in the first week and already I am extremely inspired. Here are a few of the layouts I've put together. Can't wait to see what this week brings!

Sophia's 1st Birthday Party

Welcome to the ladybug party!

My birthday card for Sophia.

Guests can take candy to go! Yum!

Happy 1st Birthday banner for the front fence.


Sophia banner for inside! Look at that amazing spread!

Today we celebrated little Sophia's 1st birthday! My friend had a vision for a beautiful ladybug party for her baby girl and it turned out amazing. I provided the banner and to-go containers for the candy. Her mom carved up that adorable ladybug watermelon fruit salad. Way cooler than my plain bowl from last month. Here are some pictures from the fun day!

Odds and Ends

Here is the matching birthday gift tag - the back has a photo of my friend. Her present was a gift certificate to card making class so I decorated the envelope to give her a hint about what it was!

BIF Day 11: Simple Card

Tonight's mission was to create a birthday card in time for my dear friend's birthday on Saturday. I was inspired by Elisha Snow's bonus project of making simple cards and trying to use up some more scraps. This design started out completely different, but somehow ended up as is. I love the creative journey - you never know what may come to be! My husband was kind enough to help me decide on the placement of the date card. The inside is stamped "birthday".

BIF Day 3: Inspired by Lisa Day

Main Layout:

Bonus Layout:

While on vacation, I did my best to keep up with the Big Idea Festival. Day 3 was taught by Lisa Day and I was inspired by both her main project and the bonus project. These layouts were so much fun to create. One of my goals for the BIF was to use up the products I have and love, but never use. The puffy font stickers came in bright bold colors so the red ones found their way into the bonus layout and since the colors would not work for the Top Chef layout I covered them in orange paper. It was time consuming, but the end result was worth it.

Scrapbook Update Swag Giveaway Winner!

I am a daily reader of scrapbookupdate.com. I really enjoy learning about what is going on in the industry and reading the great articles about new products & trends. I also enjoy listening to Nancy Nally on Paperclipping Roundtable. Earlier in the month, there was a lot of coverage about CHA and an article on "the things we do for swag". I left a comment and entered to win one of their swag giveaways. Well, my name was randomly selected as a winner! Wahoo! I have never won a giveaway before so I was pretty excited. The box arrived this week while I was on vacation so I am just opening it now! Here is a picture of all the wonderful goodies! My favorite item has to be the autographed Tim Holtz embossing folders, but the Honk If You're Crafty bumper sticker is a close second! Thank you Nancy & Betsy for the chance to win and for coming up with such a fun giveaway!

BIF Day 2: I Learn...

I learn to be resourceful with what I have! Today's project is Photo Parcel Gift Tags by Tracey Clark. This challenge truly inspired me. Finally a purpose for my big stack of photos that were "unscrappable". These tags were made using scraps of paper from my scrap bin, random photos, leftover rubons and ribbon bits. My favorite of the 3 has to be the rutabaga tag. It is an inside joke with my husband's family. He hates rutabaga. Every Thanksgiving my mother-in-law makes it and every year my husband makes fun of it! This tag is going on one of his Christmas gifts.

Big Idea Festival Kicks Off

The Big Picture Scrapbooking Big Idea Festival starts today! 13 days of fun and creativity. I haven taken classes at BPS before and really enjoyed them. The best part about the festival is it is free! They recommended purchasing the Cocoa Daisy July kit, but it was sold out so I got creative! I spent several hours going through my stash trying to find similar products to use. Here is a link to the original kit:
http://www.cocoadaisy.com/newsletters/2010/jul_2010/jul10_kit_contents.pdf
And here is a picture of what I managed to pull together. Can't wait to start designing!