Exploring Textures - Project Catwalk Week 7

The challenge this week on Project Catwalk was to explore the use of texture in new and different ways. I had so much fun with this layout. The picture is of my stepdaughter Becca on our family vacation a few weeks ago. I used texture by adding duct tape, gaffer tape, upholstery fabric (behind photo), birch bark (found during the walk), leaves, and twigs for the title. I also used vintage glass glitter around the right edge of the photo, and to dot the i in "Magic." I am still in love with the Happy Camper papers from Cosmo Cricket which I used for the background layering.
These weekly challenges have been so good for stretching my mind creatively. I think this was one of my favorite weeks. I like to put unusual things on my pages anyway, but this really got me thinking about textures in an even broader way. I can't wait to start adding more interesting textures to all my layouts!

Gratitude, an Award and a Tag!

Happy Happy Friday! I've got lots to report today! First of all, I received this "Blogging Friends Forever" award from my Crop Chick and SiStv friend Tracy Pratt! Thanks Tracy, I am honored!

The Rules of this award are as follows:

1. I must pass the award on to five people.

2. Four must be dedicated followers of your blog.

3. One has to be someone new or recently new to your blog and live in another part of the world.

4. you must link back to whoever gave you the award.

So I would like to pass this award to...

• Sharmaine
• Kristina
• Nat
• Barbara
• Glenda
  

These women are all so creative and they have cool blogs - check them out if you haven't already! Thanks for being my blogging friends you wonderful women - Yeay! Let's keep the blogging friends forever vibe going!

Okay, next I was TAGGED by the aforementioned Glenda (Tkalac). For this tag I am instructed to list 7 Strange things about me and 6 Random Facts about me. I think I will combine the two and give you:

Seven Strange Random Facts About Me

1. I type with my toes. Yep. It's like a nervous tick. I don't actually put my toes on a typewriter, but as I'm watching t.v. or doing other things, I find that my toes are going thru the motions of typing what people are saying. Sometimes I don't notice I'm doing it until my calves start to hurt. I believe this comes from so many years of typing for a living.
2. I once drank soap directly from the squirty dispenser in a restaurant bathroom. Okay, I was a child and it was bright green and smelled like limes. Who could resist that?
   
3. I once shoved a barbie doll flower so far up my nose that I had to have it extracted at the doctor's office. My mother realized I had done it because my nose was "whistling". What can I say - I was a curious kid.
4. Most of the injuries I have had in my life have come just after I utter the words "Look What I Can Do!" You'd think I would learn.
   
5. I love to sing. Alot. All Day Long. Which is not to say I'm good at it. I just love it. Luckily, I have a husband who does not find this annoying. In fact, he does it too! (a match made in heaven I tell ya)
6. I also tend to jump around alot. I jump up and down when I'm happy. I bounce around when I talk. I dance while I make the bed. This might have something to do with all the Code Red I drink. But I'm not sure.
   
7. I love to be up REALLY late at night. There's something about nighttime that seems so magical to me. It's when I feel the most creative. On the weekends, there have been times when I'm working on a layout and notice the sun coming up before I realize how late it is. I don't see this as strange, but some of my friends do, so I figure it counts!
   

Okay, so now - who should I tag??? I tag all the people above that I gave my BFF award to! If you got an award you are tagged!

I will leave you with my layout for Week Six of the Project Catwalk Challenge. The challenge was to create a layout using very few supplies, but still creating a dramatic impact. I chose to make a list of 49 Things I Am Grateful For on my 49th Birthday:

(you should be able to click on the image to make it bigger if you want to read the list.)

That's all for today folks! Don't forget to head on over to Scrapping The Music to check out this week's challenge (if you haven't already). The Song is "Don't Give Up" by Eagle Eye Cherry and it's a good one!

P.S. Only one day til we can reveal our week seven submissions for Project Catwalk!

P.S.S. Only three days left til the Premiere Kit Reveal at Shop Crop Suey!

It's fun having things to look forward to!

Peace, Love and Sunshine to you all!

New Layout for Me and New Program for SiSTV!

When I saw the new "Mr. Campy" line from Cosmo Cricket I knew I had to get it! Not only is it sooooo cute with all the little dancing s'mores and smiling pine trees; but I knew it would go perfect with the pics from our recent family vacation in Northern Minnesota!
Here's the first layout from the vacation. I love this pic of my stepson Tony! The tiny pic I love too - it's of Tony and my other stepson Steve - taken thru the porch screen...

Aside from the Mr. Campy line, I also used some SiStv houndstooth gaffer tape, some thrift store fabric (for the trees), and birch bark I collected that weekend (for the tree trunks). The title letters are the kind you buy to put on your rural mailbox. They are hard to photograph but they look really cool and reflective in real life!

SiStv has a new affiliate program. What is that you ask? Well, if you have a blog, and you put their new banner on your blog (that's it there in the right hand column of my blog); and people click on it to go to the SiS boutique and buy something, then you get money! How cool is that! Now I wouldn't do this for just anybody, but I love and promote SiSTV stuff anyway, so I added one. So, if you are going to buy something from the SiS boutique - why not help a gal out and click thru the banner on my blog to get there? That would be oh so cool... :0)
Oh, and also, if you decide to add a blinkie to your blog, (so you too can be an affiliate), and you click on my blog first, then I will get credit for signing you up. If you do this, leave me a comment here, and I will send you a little happy mail! Who doesn't love happy mail?

Let's see, what else??? Oh - the new song is up at Scrapping The Music! It's "Don't Give Up" by Eagle Eye Cherry. It's a great song with really uplifting lyrics that would be awesome to scrap to - head on over and check it out!

Well, It's almost time for the new Project Catwalk Challenge at SiS...

Take care everyone and I will talk to you soon!

Winner of the Retro RAK!

Drum roll please............................

And the winner of the Retro RAK is:

Sherry said...

Hot stuff!! This is gorgeous~

August 24, 2008 1:50 PM

Congratulations Sherry! I hope you enjoy the goodies! I am sending you an email now to get your address...

I Still Remember - Four Snazzily Dressed Women and One Mangy But Lovable Dog

So I took the entire weekend as a personal scrapaganza weekend, and it took me til last night to get my mojo going! Does this ever happen to you? Aargh! I can't say I wasn't productive though, I cleaned and reorganized my scraproom, which felt GREAT! It's so much more fun scrapping in a clean environment! I will take pics soon and post them.
So, once I got my mojo going it felt really good. I decided that I would use up the last of my SiStv Hipster collection. I just counted and I have made 8 projects with that collection - and one of them was an 8x8 minibook! It's been great, but alas I now say goodbye to the Hipster with this one last layout:

The picture is of my sister Renee, Me, My mom, our poodle Pierre and my Grandma Thompson. The journaling reads: "July 4, 1971. I remember the warm sun on my face. I remember how pretty grandma's flowers looked. I remember feeling we were lookin' snazzy in our red, white and blue outfits!"
Isn't it funny how we remember certain specific moments of life? That was so many years ago, but I can still feel that warm sunshine.
Along with the Hipster collection ingredients, I used a butterfly cut from a magazine, embroidery floss, some blue ric rac and ATB Labeling strips.
Don't forget to leave your name in the Retro RAK post below if you would like to be in the drawing! You've got til tomorrow evening!
Now that I've got the mojo going - I'm off to see what else I can create!
Hugs and peace to you all!

Retro RAK for You!

It's time to celebrate! Do you love thrift stores as much as I do? Do you love scrapping with unique items that you can't find at the craft store? I LOVE it! To celebrate my birthday I'm giving away this RAK of retro lovelies I have been collecting!
Included in the RAK are three pieces of retro fabric (approximately 12" x 12"), one smaller piece of pink furry-type sweater fabric, one strip of orange striped velvet, two small fabric strip rolls, one large ball of red yarn, one smaller bundle of orange yarn, a bunch of retro orange fabric ribbon, two lengths of woven hippie-type trim, one old book page and three retro playing cards.
I just love the bright colors and retro-groovy feel of this stuff - I hope you do too!

If you want to win this RAK, just leave me a comment! I will pick a random winner Monday night.

My Whimsy Jar Came!

Yesterday was an awesome happy mail day! I got three packages! First, my whimsy jar from my swap partner Susan Alton arrived. I just love the jar she chose - it's so unique! I had to dump everything out right away! There so many cool little doodads in there. Some of my favorite things in the jar are the retro playing cards, swizzle sticks from Las Vegas, poker chips, a couple of cool crosses, a big green dangly gem-type thing, an antique doily, a maya road keychain and so much more! Thanks so much Susan - I love my jar! I will display it proudly on a shelf in my scraproom and dig into it often for inspiration!

The other two packages I got were my Round Robin Swap box, which was absolutely full of goodies! (I forgot to take a picture, but it was loaded!), If you've never done a round robin swap, you should try it! We fill a box once-a-month with used scrap goodies that we no longer need and send it off to the next person, who then gets to take out whatever she wants, fill the box back up with stuff from her scrap supplies, and then ship it off once again! It's a great way to recycle, eliminate waste, and get some new scrappy supplies to try!
Last, but not least my Urban Prep collection from SiStv arrived. I've been watching the layouts in the SiStv gallery made with this collection and I am so inspired! (Scroll down to see a pic of the collection). I can't wait to create something with it!
OMG you have to check out the video that Bree and Camille posted on Crop Suey yesterday - it's awesome! Click here to see it! P.S. did you check out the sneak peeks of the paper lines they are using in their premier kits? YUMMY!!! I'm counting the days til September 1st!
I leave you with a pic of my snugglebear Willie - I took it yesterday when he was sitting on my lap...
Happy weekend everyone!

It's Still My Birthday Til I Go To Bed...

I know this post says Friday, August 22nd, but as far as I'm concerned - it's still my birthday til I go to bed! I turned 49 today and it's been a wonderful day. I'm so grateful for all the blessings in my life! It's been an incredibly busy day, but in a good, fun way. Right now it's 3:26 am and I am sitting in my scraproom surrounded by a big mess. I just emailed my project catwalk submission for week six of the challenge. I made the 24 hour bonus deadline with a few hours to spare. Yeay! I've got so much more I want to share, but alas, I must get some sleep! Hugs to you and we will talk again soon!!!

Special Deal Going on at SiStv's Boutique!

Hey boys and girls! SiStv's boutique is having a special sale right now where you can get a $10 gift card for the boutique if you spend $50. There's all kinds of fun new stuff in the boutique, and because of the special sale, they are also offering their newest collection "The Urban Prep" for pre-order! Here's a pic of the collection - look at all these fun goodies! There's handmade paper in there, vintage fabric swatches and all kinds of good stuff! I ordered mine and it already shipped! The preorder starts now and goes til 8/24. What could be more supercalifragilisticexpialidocious than that?!!! Head on over to the SiStv boutique now and get yourself one!

Allison Krauss @ Scrapping The Music and Project Catwalk Week Five

Hello and Happy Monday!!! It's another beautiful week here in Minnesota - the sun is shining and the birds are singing! I just got back from a family vacation (which was wonderful I might add) and am getting settled into real life again! Project Catwalk At SiStv was really fun this past week! The only rules were that the project had to be made from denim, be a wall hanging, and be at least 4 x 6 inches. Here's what I created:
I used an old pair of shorts, a twig from our tree in the front yard, letters from the SiStv beach bum collection (painted black), some fabric and trims (both vintage and new), hand-stitching with pink and orange embroidery floss, two iron-on patches and some beads and bells that I still have from my old jewelry-making days. It's going to go on our front door.

The new song at Scrapping The Music is "When You Say Nothing At All" by Allison Krauss. A beautiful song with lyrics that reminded me of Michael right away. Here's the layout I created for the challenge:
I'm looking forward to a fun week ahead! It will be a quiet week, so I will be doing plenty of scrapping! Yeay!!!

What I Learned from Happy Mail

Happy mail is a beautiful thing. To go to the mailbox - in this age of technology when everything is done via emails and text messages - and find something there with your name on it - handwritten by someone - is a beautiful thing! Yesterday I got an envelope out of the blue with these lovely goodies in it:
an adorable mini-set of acrylic stamps, two pads of journaling tags, and a super cute handmade greeting from Susan Alton (Ladymissusan at SiStv). It totally brightened my day! Thank you Susan!

I also got my final package from my happy mail partner Lorena - and it totally touched my heart. She created the cutest altered tin for me with a label that says - Destination: The World of Art - Returning: Never! Indeed Lorena! I LOVE that! The tin was filled with scrappy goodness, including this handmade book of quotes. Here are some pics of what she sent me:

The scrappy goodness that was in the tin lunchpail,
the altered tin,
the handmade quote book (I love the hot pink duct tape around the edges!)
I love how each page is different,
and so beautiful!
alot of thought obviously went into this, and I am so touched!

Thank you so much Lorena, from the bottom of my heart!

This round of happy mail is over now, and I am left with the memories of what it taught me. First, how nice it is to have a pen pal. I loved sending and receiving letters and packages, learning about a new friend (Lorena), and sharing a bit of my life with her too. Second, I will not forget the beauty of getting something in the mail. You don't have to be in a formal happy mail program to send someone happy mail. I can brighten someone's day anytime by putting a little something in the mail to them. My mind is reeling with ideas...

More Scrappy Goodness for my Birthday!

Today I got yet ANOTHER awesome package of scrappy goodness in the mail! My folks (Pat and Elmer) and sister Renee sent me the "rest" of my early birthday present! It's the August "Story of My Life" Scrapbook Kit! It's called Lost Luggage. I had been drooling over this kit - and knew I couldn't afford to buy it. It's absolutely gorgeous! Even more beautiful in real life. It's got many of the papers from the new Passport Collection, plus a super cute tiny suitcase, and all kinds of other travel-related goodies! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to my loving family!!! Here are some pix of the kit:



I can't wait to get started scrapping with this great stuff! I feel so lucky to have a family that appreciates and supports my love of creativity. I am a very grateful girl.

"On with the dance, let the joy be unconfined!" ~ Mark Twain

Project Catwalk Week Four

This week on Project Catwalk, we were to come up with a mini-album. The color scheme had to be red, white and blue. We had a list of words to choose from, and we had to use at least three of those words. The words I chose were strength, glory, determination and brave. Here's what I came up with:
I did my mini about people who inspire me. I used 3x6 pieces of chipboard which I painted and papered, punched holes and added rings. The newsprint letters are handdrawn and cut. I wanted to keep the design simple to focus on the photo and the words.

For each person, I listed their name, a descriptive word and a quote.
Strength: Martin Luther King Jr.
"I have a dream..."
Glory: The 1980 USA Olympic Hockey Team
"Do you believe in miracles?"
Hope: Oprah Winfrey
"Live your best life"
Brave: Rosa Parks
"The only tired I was, was tired of giving in."
Determination: Lance Armstrong
"If you worried about falling off the bike, you'd never get on."

I've been wanting to do a mini like this for awhile now. I'm so glad I finally did it!

Oh hey, the slideshow is up at Scrapping the Music - there are so many beautiful layouts for "Time of My Life!"

Happy Saturday!!!

There's another sneak peek up at Shop Crop Suey - check it out!

It looks like a beautiful day out there, and I'm off to an all day crop. Take care, and have a great Saturday!

An Early Birthday Present, Sneak Peeks and Project Catwalk

Yesterday I got the most exciting surprise in the mail - a box from SiStv came - and I hadn't ordered anything!!!! Turns out it was an early birthday present from my Sister and my folks! They had sent me three (count 'em) THREE SiStv collections...
The Kelli Crowe Collection,
the Autumn Bliss Collection,
and the Kristina Contes Collection! How awesome is that?!!! I'm in heaven with all this scrappy goodness! My family is so good to me - THANKS MOM, ELMER AND RENEE!!! And then - the lovely staff at SiStv added in this cute bunch of ribbon with a little happy birthday tag on it:So nice! What a great birthday surprise!!! Even tho my birthday is not til the 21st!

There are a couple of fun sneak peeks up over at Shop Crop Suey! Check it out! These are going to be some fun, funky and unique kits - stay tuned for the debut kit coming out for September!

Here are my projects for the first three weeks of the Project Catwalk Contest over at SiStv. The first week we were to scrap an 8 1/2 x 11 layout using 2 grocery store items. I chose a coffee filter (the earth), a mophead (the stitching) and I threw in some paper towels for good measure (the quilting behind the earth). Here's what I came up with...
Week two had us making a green card, with matching envelope made out of newspaper;
and for week three, the challenge was to create a 12 x 12 layout about who you are as a scrapper/artist, and it had to be inspired by one of the dresses on Project Runway that week. I think this pretty much sums me up!

You've still got one more day to post a layout for this week's Scrapping The Music Challenge! Head on over and play along with us!

Have a fantabulous weekend everyone! Hugs to you all!

Tuesday Fun!

Well, our Tuesday started out with some excitement for the boys this morning - a morning dove taking an extended bath outside the scraproom window... aren't they cute?! A couple of urban cats totally diggin' on being transplanted to the country!

Then I came home from work to find this happy mail waiting for me! It's a page kit from my friend Kim - isn't it fabulous?!!! There are five of us in a monthly round robin group. We recycle scrap goodies by sharing them with each other. Anyway - we decided this month that we would each make a little kit for the person we are sending to, to go along with our regular box. Kim went above and beyond for me - I am absolutely giddy! There are even three kinds of fabric! Check out those cute little charms and emoticons! And HOW on earth did she find a flashcard with a green beetle car on it!!! THANKS Kim! You are the greatest!


Isn't happy mail the greatest? Penny - I am getting your page kit ready and will be sending it soon!

Okay, so then I got an email from my sister Renee, telling me that my whimsy jar was picked for the weekly catwalk at SiStv! I am so excited! I made this jar for a swap I am in and will be sending it off to my partner Susan very soon. Thank you Rhi for picking me!

Oh, hey, there's a great tutorial over at Shop Crop Suey! It's for making an embellishment organizer out of a thrift store lampshade! What? I know! It sounds crazy but it's fabulous! Check it out here. You have to scroll down to the August 3rd post.

What else? Oh! I learned a new technique! It's called reverse stitch applique. Here's my first attempt:
I made this ATC last night. You can learn how to do this fun stitching technique on the latest SiStv webisode (#78) here.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

"If you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint,"
then by all means paint,
and that voice will be silenced." ~Vincent Van Gogh

David Cook at Scrapping The Music!

I am a self-professed American Idol fanatic! Oh my word I love that show. I'm not much for reality shows in general, but this one is different. It's music. It's watching young people pursue their dreams. What could be more inspiring? I am so happy to tell you we are featuring "Time of My Life" by David Cook this week at Scrapping The Music! I love this song! The lyrics are so inspiring! Here's my take on the challenge:
I used the Farmhouse Chic collection from SiStv for this layout, plus some buttons from my stash, a scrap of sheet music that I had painted on for another project, and a white colored pencil. The little pink and orange flowers were punched out of the paper I cut the big flowers from.

These lyrics just spoke to me! Come on over and play with us at Scrapping The Music!

I'm A Crop Chick!!!!! Yeay!!!!

Guess what??? There is a brand new, super fun kit club starting up in September - it's Called "Crop Suey", and I was chosen to be on their design team! I am soooo EXCITED!!!!! Thank you Bree and Camille for choosing me! Check it out here: Shop Crop Suey! I can't wait to work with Bree and Camille and the other "Crop Chicks" on this new venture! More info to come on this....

Happy Saturday ATC

I'm doing a series of monthly ATCs for my round robin group. I decided to do my theme on creativity quotes. Here's my latest one.
I was having trouble fitting the entire quote on the front of the ATC and my friend Christina gave me the idea of having it open to reveal the rest of the quote on the inside - GENIUS! Thanks Christina!

The materials I used include Sassafras Lass cardstock from the Sunshine Lollipop collection, Pink cardstock - acrylic paint for the rainbow and miscellaneous other stuff from my stash.

Okay, I'm off to work on my layout for tomorrow's Scrapping The Music song - have a great Saturday!!!