I'm back...

Hey there everybody - I'm back from California. I can't thank you all enough for all of your thoughts and prayers. I really appreciate it so much.

You can expect regular posts again from me starting right away. Tomorrow is National Scrapbook Day and I can't wait to participate in the online crop over at Studio Calico! There will be challenges from each of the design team members, and much more! Click here to check it out!

Thanks so much for hanging in there with me, and I will see you all tomorrow!

The Voice of an Angel...

I wish you could hear my sister sing. She has an incredibly beautiful voice. This is the song she sang at Elmer's memorial service on Monday...



It was such a beautiful tribute. Thank you Renee.

Roses in Bloom...

Hi everyone! I'm sorry it's been awhile since my last post. We are in California for Elmer's memorial service. It's a difficult time for my family right now and I would appreciate any thoughts and prayers being sent our way. Here's a pic of the roses in bloom at my mom's right now. Aren't they beautiful?

Teesha Moore has some new fabric journal video tutorials up on her blog! They are awesome! Check them out here.

I will be back soon with another update. Thanks so much for stopping by and for your comments. I really appreciate them!

Cards, Cards, Cards...

After I finished making my Embroidery Hoop Mini Album last December, My Studio Calico Marketplace kit was left with alot of papers that looked like this (lol)...
So, I got the bright idea (if I do say so myself), to take the kit to my monthly scrapbooking day with my girlfriends, and go on a card-making crusade! I had SO MUCH FUN!!! I'm not usually good at coming up with cards, but using a kit made it so much fun! And I feel like those papers were not wasted! Yeayyy!!!

Anyhoo, I ended up with eleven completed cards. Here's how they turned out...












I hope you are having an awesome week my friends. I will be back tomorrow with another update - thanks so much for visiting!

Thank You's...

Thank you so much to everyone who left a comment on my last post about Elmer. It really means a lot to me. Our family is going through a difficult time right now, but we will get through it and I appreciate your words more than I can even express.

Now, on to the happy news...


I want to say a big thank you to Georgia Visacri who works for Altered Hearts Magazine, for asking me to write an article for their April issue! Altered Hearts is an online 'zine all about altered art-style scrapbooking and art journaling.

I'm so excited to say the April issue is now up and features my article along with twelve of my art journal/scrapbook pages! The magazine is only $3.00 to download and has over 60 full-color pages to read. Here is a link to check it out!

P.S. Georgia is an awesome digital artist whose work I've admired for a few years now. She does this work that is fun and colorful and always makes me smile! Check out her blog here to see what I mean! Thanks again Georgia!

Have a wonderful Monday and I will see you soon! Thanks so much for visiting - you brighten my days!

In Memory

In memory of my stepfather Elmer Yates, who passed away this morning. He was my dad for over twenty years. He was a gentle soul that I loved dearly.

His relationship with my mother gave me hope that true love is possible.

I will miss you Elmer.

40 Dogs At Scrapping The Music...

The new challenge for this week at Scrapping The Music is the song "40 Dogs" by Bob Schneider! If you haven't heard this song you've gotta take a listen!!!! It's such a fun song and one I have been singing for weeks now - it just sticks in your head, you know? Bob Schneider is one of my favorite songwriters; and one of the things I love about his songs is that he packs a lot of words into them! It's truly amazing! I did my layout using one of my favorite lines of the song...

I don't know if you can tell or not, but I actually used a black and white photo, and made just Michael in color. I'm not a digi scrapper, so what I did was print the same photo a second time in color, and then cut Michael out and pasted him on top of his black and white self. The lyric just describes him perfectly I think - he's such a colorful character and he lights up my world! The title and the dots on the photo are all done with Poster Paint Sharpies - I love those things!

I hope you will hop on over to Scrapping The Music and check out our 40 Dogs challenge! We would love to have you play along with us!

See you all tomorrow with another update! Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful and inspiring day!

Tuesday Stuff to Share...

Wowza, I just found out from my friend Julie, that one of my layouts is featured on Noel Mignon's blog today!!!! I am so excited and honored!!!!! Click here to check it out, and thank you so much Julie for letting me know! There are some other projects in the post that are totally awesome and inspiring!!!!

I had fun playing around with this week's "Sunday Sketch" at Studio Calico and my new "Joyland" kit! Click here to see the sketch, and here's what I came up with...I've been going to lunch every month with my sisters and mom-in-law, and having such a good time, but this is the first time we took a picture, so I couldn't wait to scrap it! I love all of these wonderful women so much! Everything I used is from the kit except the title alphas, which are Thickers in my fave font, "daydream."

Speaking of Studio Calico, sneaks are up tonight for their May kit, and it looks fantastic! There is a live chat, and the sneaks will be up in the gallery at 11 pm central time. Click here to check it out.

That's about it for today my friends - thanks so much for visiting and I will see you tomorrow!

Harmonie Products Layout...

I had fun the last couple days playing with the beautiful papers and embellies I received from Harmonie Products! The products they sent to me are from their line called Envolée Printanière, which according to google translator means "soaring spring." How beautiful is that?! I thought it was the perfect chance to scrap a photo of stepdaughter Becca on the day of her senior prom. Here's how it turned out (click on the image to see more details)...
Everything in the layout is from Harmonie except the buttons and rhinestones. Oh, and I also used a piece of brown cardstock from my stash for the background. My favorite paper of the line is called "Passion and Renaissance," and it's the one with the butterflies and dragonflies on it. It is so beautiful and unique! I cut a strip from it to go across the middle of the layout. The three pink butterflies were cut from their patterned paper as well, and the title was hand-drawn and cut.

There will still be more to come as I have more papers and embellies to play with. Thank you so much to Harmonie, for allowing me to create with your products!

Alrighty then - That's all for today. I wish you a Marvelous Monday my friends! Thanks so much for visiting!

Live With Prima Project Two...

I got my new Studio Calico "Joyland" kit this week and I am LOVING it! Check it out (click on photo to see it larger)...

I just love how this kit coordinates without being the least bit "matchy." In fact, I was so inspired by the new kit, I dug right into it immediately and made my second layout from Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's "Live With Prima" class. Here's how it turned out...

That's Michael and his Dad - can you see the family resemblance? Julie always has such unique ideas, like the garland on the bottom half of this layout! I had so much fun making my garland! The flowers were a natural color, and I dyed them with spray ink. Julie actually used a sewing machine to make her garland, but I used the alternate method she offered, of just gluing my circles and flowers onto bakers twine. Now I can't wait to dig into the third layout from the class! Thanks for the inspiration Julie!

I hope your weekend is going well! See you soon!

He's Got Magnificent Feet...

Hey everybody! It's movie tribute week at Scrapping The Music, and this month we are featuring the title song from the movie "Footloose!" Here's what I created...
The name Footloose made me think of feet which made me think of this little duck that we saw in San Diego. Aren't his feet amazing!?!?!!! Talk about fantastic camouflage. Here's the full picture of what he looked like standing in the weeds...


It's kinda funny cuz his feet are fantastically camouflaged, but then he's got this big round black body that stands out like crazy - so, ummm, what good do the camouflaged feet do? Unless, maybe they are meant to camouflage him from someone/thing that swims under him in the water??? Maybe that's it. In any case I just love the little guy - he's adorable!

Hey, guess what? There's a new scrapbooking community/challenge! I just found out about it yesterday and it's called "The Color Room." Lots of people are joining already and it looks like they are going to have different challenges every week, like color combos, sketches and techniques! The first challenge is already up and it's a gorgeous color combo! Click here if you want to check it out!

Congratulations are in order for my friend and Fave Things cohort Jamie Dougherty! She made the new design team for Couture Cardstock! Check it out here! Congratulations Jamie!!!

Look what I found on ebay! It's a 4+ lb. lot of vintage ephemera, and I had the winning bid with only $7.00!!! It came in the mail yesterday and it's even more fun than I imagined! There are things in it like letters from the early 1900s, receipt books, old travel diaries, ads for everything from old felt hats to fishing bait. Now I just have to figure how to work it into my art! Hmmmm... I love a challenge!

Have you ever gotten something really cool from ebay? If so, what was it? I would love to hear!

Alrighty, I am really behind on my projects, so I'm off to start making stuff. Have a fabulous Friday my friends!

The Slideshow Is Up...

It's our first Wednesday slideshow at Scrapping The Music and it's a good one! Check out all the magical layouts inspired by the song "Fireflies" by clicking here...

See you again soon!

Live With Prima Project...

Thanks so much for all of your comments on my last post about organizing projects! I love hearing the different ways people have of making time for creativity!

I finished my first of three layouts from Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's latest "Live with Prima" class last night! I didn't have the kit, but I had a blast figuring out how to create the project with my own stash. Here's how it turned out...
Becca is my stepdaughter and it seemed perfect to use a photo of her for this very girly layout. In the class Julie used alcohol inks to dye some prima flowers. I didn't have any alcohol ink, so I used a combination of spray ink and copic marker to dye my flowers, and I love how they turned out! I also didn't have a Prima vine, so I cut one myself from a piece of brown felt. This was seriously so much fun! I love learning from others cuz it always broadens my creative horizons! I totally dig that painted circle, and I would have never thought to do that for a background on a layout before. Thanks so much for the inspiration Julie!

I can't wait to do the other two layouts from the class! Yeayyyy!

The new deadline for Scrapping The Music is Tuesdays at midnite, so if you want to play along with this week's challenge, you've still got a few hours! Check it out here! The new song will go up tomorrow evening.

Thanks for visiting and I will see you again soon!

Keeping Track of Projects...

Hi everyone! I got a question in the comments that I'd like to answer - Candy asked:

"Can you talk a little bit about how you regularly schedule time to be creative? You mentioned on this blog how you were changing your routine to do a particular project."

Thanks for the question Candy, I'd love to talk about that! There are two pieces that I'd like to address: The first is how I schedule my time, and the second is how I keep track of what to do with that time.

Back in January of, I think it was 2008, I participated in a challenge at Big Picture Scrapbooking called "A Layout A Day." Did any of you do that one? It went for one month and the idea was to make something - anything - every single day, and post it to their online gallery. I thought it would be a huge challenge, but I was up for it so I signed up. Not only did I finish the challenge, I learned that creating something every day makes me REALLY HAPPY!!! - so I've been doing it ever since!!!

I do have a full-time day job, but in the evenings, almost every day - I make the time to scrap or art journal.

In order to not spend my whole evening trying to decide what to create, I keep a project list. This is where I keep track of design team assignments, online class assignments and just-for-fun projects that I want to do. Some people have said they would feel totally trapped by a list like mine, but for me it's like planning a party for every nite! Here's an example of a page from my list (click to see the details)...
I color code the projects by type (i.e. design team, class, etc.), and I put the due date next to the project as a reminder. Am I crazy obsessive? Perhaps - LOL, but for me it's FUN FUN FUN!

I hope that helps - Let me know if you have any other questions. :0)

P.S. If you are interested in the "Layout-A-Day" idea, I noticed that Lain is hosting it again in May from her blog. Click here to check it out.

Sometimes, I just don't feel like doing anything on my list, so I don't - HA! I love to break my own rules! Anyways, that's what happened on Saturday, so I played along with the Studio Calico Sunday Sketch instead. Here's how it turned out...
I used my new Noel Mignon kit, plus a couple of things from my stash. The yellow pom pom, which I cut in half so I could glue it to the page, and the turquoise flower, which is actually an old earring.

Do any of you have systems you've created for organizing your creative projects? I'd love to hear about them!

I'm off to watch the new Prima Class by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and scrap along with it! Check it out here - you can make three layouts in two hours, and it's free!!! Yeayyy! (I'm ignoring my list again - grin)

See you tomorrow and thanks for visiting!

Project 12 for March...

Okay, so I got seriously INSPIRED after finishing the February Project 12 pages, and absolutely HAD to jump right in to the March pages! I completed them both in the past couple of days, and am excited to share! I used the Studio Calico "Baker's Dozen" kit for both layouts.

Here is the official Project 12 sketch that Becky Fleck created (for April actually, but I used it for my March layout)...

and here's how my layout turned out (click on the image to see it larger)...
I stuck pretty close to Becky Fleck's April sketch for this one. I know it's confusing, cuz I get super excited to use the sketches as soon as they come out, (instead of waiting for the next month), so I will always be a month ahead on the sketches, hence the April sketch for the March layout - LOL. The black and white striped Happy tape, and turquoise ribbon are from my own stash. Writing the journaling for March was a bit of a challenge, because our family had some big health issues to deal with. I don't normally scrapbook about hard stuff; but I want these monthly layouts to be a true reflection of our life, so after consulting with some friends at Studio Calico, I came up with some words that felt right. Thanks Ally and Astrid!

After I finished that, I dove right into the calendar layout, and I must say it was fun to do them right together like that. I think I will do that every month. Here's how it turned out (click on the image to see it larger)...

Speaking of Project 12, Denise asked on the February post, if I got two sheets of the (exclusive Studio Calico) Newsprint paper in my kit, since I made a double-page spread with them. I didn't get an extra sheet in my kit, but one of the cool things about Studio Calico, is that with each kit, you have the option of buying an extra set of their exclusive papers as an add-on, which is what I did. I love that option because when those papers are gone, they are gone, and I almost always want more! Thanks for asking Denise!

So, now I'm off to start my next project. I will see you tomorrow with another update! Thanks for visiting and have a super duper Saturday!!!

Project 12 Part Two for February...

I finally finished my February calendar page for Project 12, and I gotta say, these little buggers are time-consuming, but SO MUCH FUN to put together!!! I had the best time doing this one!!! Here's how it turned out...
I used the Studio Calico "Quilting Bee" kit, to coordinate with the February Sketch layout that I finished earlier in the month (shown below). These pages feel like putting together a puzzle, and this kit's Sass Lass paper really lent itself well to making the little squares.


I'm so inspired, I think I will put aside tonight's regularly scheduled project, and work on my March Project 12 layouts - yeayyyyy!!! This is going to be FUN!!!

Oh, and also, I was SO EXCITED to see that Davinie featured my February sketch layout on her Project 12 blogpost today! Click here to see it, plus some wonderful work from other Project 12 participants!!!

We announced our new design team member at Scrapping The Music today! We are so excited to have her joining our team! Click here to find out who it is!

That's all the news for today! Thanks so much for visiting and for your comments! I really appreciate them! Have a fabulous Friday!