I've been in such a scrappy mood!

I went to an all weeken crop last weekend, I only got 6 things done (good for me) but some ladies there finished 20+ pages!!! What is your average finished pages at a crop or when you have free time to scrap?

Here are a few of my most recent projects:

This LO was a lift inspried by the amazing and talented Gabrielle P, here is a link to her original layout:
http://www.scrapbook.com/galleries/84905/view/3103835/-1/1.html

I didn't have some of the same supplies Gabby used so I had to create some of my own....see there I go with my DIY's again! Her background is from the Echo Park Be Mine Collection and mine in just plain black Bazzil cardstock so I gave it a similar look by using a white gel pen to create a few messy doodled lines. This deffinately made my page pop a bit more. Gabby used that same Echo Park line for her music sheet pp, which is another I didn't have so I used a stamp and carefully created the same pp, I love the way my paper turned out and will definately be doing this again. Try this in the future with a stamp you really love, just get your supplies out and go nuts! I don't know how you are, but I tend to buy buy buy supplies and then never use so much of it. Lately I've just wanted to dig right in and get my hands in it all, I feel like a kid in art class again!!! You'd be amazed at the pp's you can create with a piece of cardstock, an ink pad and a stamp! I'm not sure What Gabby used as a scalloped edge around her circle, but I just used a white scrap peice of lace which I altered with blac Smooch mist! The flowers on my lo the Petunia Collection by Prima which I loved working with! And last but not least the beautiful bling is more from my stash I purchased from Stephanie walker's Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/scrapashopaholic!!

I also wanna give my DH a big thank you for being the handsome subject in this lo, he is in fact my true love! But seriously he hated the idea of having such femme colors for his page, but he was a good sport anyway!

This is one of the pages I was able to complete at the crop last weekend and all the ladies just loved it! The flowers are actaully just plain ole' silk hydrangia's I purchased on sale at Joanns's. I used silver Glimmer Mist to color them and give them that blingy shimmery look! I used a silver ink pad to distress the edges of my paper which helped tie in the silver flowers. Lastly the GORGEOUS butterflies came from Angelica Franssen's Etsy Shop! You must check it out here's the link
www.angelicafranssen.etsy.com

Here is another page I finished at the crop! I LOVE LOVE LOVE bright rainbow colors, I know this is an older line from Sassafrass Lass (Zoo Balou I believe) but I still just love it! The bright colors and scallops are so fun to work with. The alphas were all just cheapies from Target which I painted with acrylic paint. I used the Create a Crtter CRicut Cartridge for the rainbow and clouds and the 2 center hearts are actually just cheapie foam stickers! I used a McGill punch (I believe) to create the butterflies and the just folded them in half to give them that deminsional look and finished them off with bling inthe centers! Hope you love this lo as much as do!

Last but not least here is yet another one of the pages I completed at the crop. I feel I don't do boy pages near as good as I do girl inspired layouts so when I do happen to create an AWESOME boy layout, I get SUPER EXCITED about it, lol! I love this one and it was actually pretty quick and easy....just some inking, water distressing and some more ofthose nifty learning letter tiles from the thrift store and there you have it!

Thanks for taking a peek at my blog, I hope you visit again!

Also a quick reminder CREATIVE SOUP is hosting a finish it up crop March 17-20 so you can get all those unfinished projects you have lying around done, so please join us for some fun and scrapping!



Creative Soup is adding to their team!



Who We Are: Creative Soup (creativesoup.forumotion.com) is a scrapbook challenge forum whose goal is to challenge and inspire scrapbookers to create, create, create!

Creative Soup has several challenges and events to help people get their mojo going!

1. Mojo Mondays: Weekly challenges that rotate between four different kinds of challenges (AAM, Sketch, Inspiration, and Random). You can learn more about these challenges here:creativesoup.forumotion.com/creative-soup-preview-f10/mon...
2. Quarterly Classes: We offer one free quarterly class with detailed format instructions and journaling prompts where scrapbookers can follow along online.
3. Fun inspirational threads that post each week including: Talk Tuesday (journaling prompt), Web Wednesday (cool sites to check out), Font Friday (featured online free font), and Snapshot Sunday (photography challenges/ideas)
4. The forum: unlike most challenge blogs, this site offers communities where people can chat, ask questions, and share their creations.
Why You Should Apply!
This is a free forum so there is no true compensation. This site is meant to be a fun, friendly place where people encourage each other in this great hobby! But there are several great reasons to join the team!

1. The Experience - if you have always wanted to be on a design team this is a great way to get experience that you can add to your scrappy resume! I am always happy to recommend people who have been on my design teams for other teams.
2. The Challenge - nothing helps keep you motivated as much as a being on a team with a commitment! Our challenges are creative and fun and will be sure to help push your creativity.
3. The Community - we are lucky enough to have a great group of people who are active and supportive of each other. It truly is a fun and welcoming site! We promise a drama-free zone where you can just enjoy yourself!
4. At the end of each quarter the site founders will send the Creative Team members who completed their challenges and duties a little thank you gift from us.

The Creative Team Requirements:
1. To create 1-2 projects per month for our challenges. Each team member will be assigned 1 challenge in advance that they must complete. If something comes up and you cannot do the challenge on time we ask that you find someone to swap challenges with or someone to cover for you. You are encouraged to do at least one additional challenge of your choice but this is not required.
2. Participate on the forum by checking in a few times a week and posting ideas, layouts, and responses to members’ questions or threads. You are not required to be on the forum every day... but we do hope to see a regular presence on the board.
3. Positively represent the board by sharing links to the site where you can (including blogs and forums) and by conducting yourself on the forum in a friendly manner.
4. Creative Team term is 3 months (April-Jun 2011), with an option to extend to 6 months if both sides choose. Members can serve no more than six consecutive months on the Creative Team as we like to keep the Creative Team fresh!

How to Apply: *Due Friday March 11th*

1. Projects: please send 3 favorite projects to creativesoupforum@gmail.com. These projects must be your original work. At least 2 should be layouts. We would love to see something non-layout like a mini or a card, but a third layout is fine if you prefer to do layouts. You may send more than one photo per layout if you like. *These can be existing projects in your gallery. No need to create new projects for the call*
2. Link to your online gallery and blog if you have one.
3. List of other design team obligations, if any.
4. Why you want to join our Creative Team
5. What you like to create: layouts, size preference, mini's, cards, etc. Please include if you like to do sketch challenges or not. It’s okay if you don't!
6. Links to forums you are active on.
7. A head shot to include in our newsletter announcement

**No previous design team experience needed!**
Any questions feel free to ask me!

Creative Soup is adding to their team!



Who We Are: Creative Soup (creativesoup.forumotion.com) is a scrapbook challenge forum whose goal is to challenge and inspire scrapbookers to create, create, create!

Creative Soup has several challenges and events to help people get their mojo going!

1. Mojo Mondays: Weekly challenges that rotate between four different kinds of challenges (AAM, Sketch, Inspiration, and Random). You can learn more about these challenges here:creativesoup.forumotion.com/creative-soup-preview-f10/mon...
2. Quarterly Classes: We offer one free quarterly class with detailed format instructions and journaling prompts where scrapbookers can follow along online.
3. Fun inspirational threads that post each week including: Talk Tuesday (journaling prompt), Web Wednesday (cool sites to check out), Font Friday (featured online free font), and Snapshot Sunday (photography challenges/ideas)
4. The forum: unlike most challenge blogs, this site offers communities where people can chat, ask questions, and share their creations.
Why You Should Apply!
This is a free forum so there is no true compensation. This site is meant to be a fun, friendly place where people encourage each other in this great hobby! But there are several great reasons to join the team!

1. The Experience - if you have always wanted to be on a design team this is a great way to get experience that you can add to your scrappy resume! I am always happy to recommend people who have been on my design teams for other teams.
2. The Challenge - nothing helps keep you motivated as much as a being on a team with a commitment! Our challenges are creative and fun and will be sure to help push your creativity.
3. The Community - we are lucky enough to have a great group of people who are active and supportive of each other. It truly is a fun and welcoming site! We promise a drama-free zone where you can just enjoy yourself!
4. At the end of each quarter the site founders will send the Creative Team members who completed their challenges and duties a little thank you gift from us.

The Creative Team Requirements:
1. To create 1-2 projects per month for our challenges. Each team member will be assigned 1 challenge in advance that they must complete. If something comes up and you cannot do the challenge on time we ask that you find someone to swap challenges with or someone to cover for you. You are encouraged to do at least one additional challenge of your choice but this is not required.
2. Participate on the forum by checking in a few times a week and posting ideas, layouts, and responses to members’ questions or threads. You are not required to be on the forum every day... but we do hope to see a regular presence on the board.
3. Positively represent the board by sharing links to the site where you can (including blogs and forums) and by conducting yourself on the forum in a friendly manner.
4. Creative Team term is 3 months (April-Jun 2011), with an option to extend to 6 months if both sides choose. Members can serve no more than six consecutive months on the Creative Team as we like to keep the Creative Team fresh!

How to Apply: *Due Friday March 11th*

1. Projects: please send 3 favorite projects to creativesoupforum@gmail.com. These projects must be your original work. At least 2 should be layouts. We would love to see something non-layout like a mini or a card, but a third layout is fine if you prefer to do layouts. You may send more than one photo per layout if you like. *These can be existing projects in your gallery. No need to create new projects for the call*
2. Link to your online gallery and blog if you have one.
3. List of other design team obligations, if any.
4. Why you want to join our Creative Team
5. What you like to create: layouts, size preference, mini's, cards, etc. Please include if you like to do sketch challenges or not. It’s okay if you don't!
6. Links to forums you are active on.
7. A head shot to include in our newsletter announcement

**No previous design team experience needed!**
Any questions feel free to ask me!

TOMORROW IS THE DAY! CREATIVE SOUPS MONTHLY CROP EVENT! COME CHECK IT OUT, LOTS OF FUN FUN FUN CHALLENGES AND GAMES GOING ON!

My Great Grandmother Ivy Langly Richard

I've had this photo for a year or better now, but I've been so affraid to scrap it as it's a special one to me.....I want it to look just perfect. I finally got the guts last week to just go for it, and I am so pleases with the results. It just may be one of my very favorite pages I've made to date. I just need to add some journaling at some point about her to go with it, I think since I have some great info about her and I want to include it all I will just put it in an envelope behind the LO in my album for my children to read one day. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do

I used some old lace I found at the thrift store on the edges of my LO and to give it a more antiquated feel I used my TH antique photo ink pad on the outer edges  as I did on the edges of the paper and the doily. For the doily I also seeped some hot tea and used a paint brush to lighty stain it so it wasn't so white, this also gave it an older look. I purchased the bling from Stephanie Walker's Etsy Shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/scrapashopaholic. The key was raw chipboard, so I used a bronze colored acrylic paint and mica dust glitter to achieve the look I wanted.

This next page was just a quickie, but I love the results!

On this page I used my Coffee Bean Glimmer Mist to alter the shade of the doily. I wish I hadn't used polka dot pp for the title, but it is what it is now, lol. The flower cluster is my favorite elment to this page, I got them from a dear friends of mine's old photography prop stash. The only thing about using dimensional flowers on your scrapbook pages is that you MUST store your albums standing and not lying down flat....this crushes the flowers and then your pages aren't so cute after a while.

Front of Card

                                                                       Back of Card

This is just a fun project using an upside down heart!! I will try and add my template later for you all to print off to make your own!

Lastly but not least, here is another favorite of mine!

CREATIVE SOUP WOULD LIKE TO INVITE YOU TO THEIR MONTHLY CROP, SEE DETAILS BELOW!!!

Invitation provided by: Kristin

Please join us for our Monthly crop!

Saturday, February 12th

"Love of All Things"

http://creativesoup.forumotion.com/

Insprired to scrap's sketch class starts TODAY!!!! Don't miss out there's some wonderful sketches to take advantage of!! http://www.inspiredtoscrap.net/

We have more than 15 sketches, a TON of samples and tips, and some great prizes to motivate you!   Plus, our digital sketch guru (Brenda!) just sent the digital files for all of you DIGI SCRAPPERS!
I hope you will join us…you won’t be sorry!! We’ve got a great group of ladies signed up already and I can hardly wait to see what they all do with the class sketches and ideas!
February 1-15: Inspired by Sketches- $15-

Back by popular demand is our sketch class!
Features of the class-
Brand new *exclusive* sketches!
Access to a private area of the message board
Daily sketches
Digital sketch templates
Photo and/or Video tutorials on a variety of techniques
All new sketches and layouts to spark your creativity
Encouragement and support to complete 15+ layouts
Inspiration from fellow classmates
Prizes!!
**Plus an extra two weeks to complete the challenges to be entered into a prize drawing!

Let's Play Catch Up

Well, I have decided that I definatley stink at keeping up my blog!!!! If my intentions to keep it up count, then I'm doing good though! So far 2011 is bringing such awesome oprtunities, I am in full swing and knee deep in projects for my LSS, as well as for Creative Soup and Inspired To Scrap, and loving each and every moment of it! I have so far faced some very fun projects as well as some projects that are so out of my element it's not even funny, being forced out of my box has proven to be a good thing for me.

My 2 favorite project's so far this year that forced me out of my box, although not to badly was 2 layout's I did for the launch party at Creative Soup. We were all given this sketch and asked to complete a layout from it. I liked it so much I made 2 from the same sketch both very different in style.




This LO was so much fun, the flowers used are actually old dried and treated flowers left over from a photographer's prop stash. I have no idea what they are treated with, but it made them semi hard so they are great to scrap with! If you look closely to the white flower you can see where I painted the edges to tie in in with the darker colored flower! I just took a fine tip paint brush and used a cordinating acrlic paint and drgged it gently over the edges, time comsuming but I think it all pulled together nicely and it was well worth it!


I love this LO, the flowers were inspired by a card I recieved from a RAK from Krista aka {PUPPET} on Scrapbook.com. The tiled alphas were a find from a thift store. They came in a large container and were obviously from a teacher supply store and were meant to be used to teach spelling. Since some were missing they were no longer of value and were a great scrappy find for me!


The reason I say this forced me out of my box is that I am not really a sketch loving scrapper, but I have however loved the ones I've done so far, and look forward to more.


Here's another creation for Creative Soup:

This Layout feature's my 11 wishes for 2011. The list was supposed to be 11 things you would want just for yourself if you caould have whatever you wanted this year. My wishes are:

1. Chef, maid, personal trainer, massage therapist
2.I'd love to be published
3.I'd like to buy another home with more property
4.Build our own personal motocross track
5.A new HE washer and dryer....I've worn out my first
6.Grow my hair back longer again
7.Loose 12 lbs
8.Larger scrap budget
9.An excursion
10.Line up more race sponsors for our kids
11.Toyhauler

On this LO I used acrylic paint on the alpha's and glittered them to match the butterfly, I also glittered the edges of the Petaloo Flowers, I've had alot of people ask about the edge......it's a fiskars border punch, sorry not sure which one it is. The butterfly is Prima and I just adore it, I do plan to buy some more in various colors!
Here's another fun one I did just because:

This one took me a while!!! The lace edge is actually newspaper I used another fiskars punch on. I know I know, it will yellow a bit. I'm not concerned.....it'll give it an old look. The flourish is my favortie part, I purchased them from Stephanie on Etsy. You must check out her stuff http://www.etsy.com/shop/scrapashopaholic The flowers are more from the photographer's old prop stash, also treated.





I have also been lucky enough to be published for the very first time in the January 16, 2011 issue of Scrapbook News and Reviews!!!! I was even more excited that my layout was the very first and only thing I've ever submitted for publishing and was so shocked and honored that it was accepted!! Go to
http://www.scrapbooknewsandreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3159:1-in-the-spotlight&catid=311:current-calls&Itemid=100868 to check it out!!!!



Well I think I have caught you up on most of my recent creations, thanks for stopping by and check back soon, I have many more I cannot post at the moment! Also be sure to stop by and take a peek at Inspired to Scrap http://www.inspiredtoscrap.net/  and Creative Soup http://creativesoup.forumotion.com/ !! Don't forget to leave me a comment before you leave! Have a Scrappy Day!