Spooky things are coming your way...

Hopefully, you'll have some free time on October 10th. And if not, well, you better rearrange your calendar!! Paper Popsicles is doing "Creepy Crawly Blog Stomp" that day.

What's a "Blog Stomp," you ask? It's a lot like a blog hop, but much SPOOKIER! After all, who ever saw a monster or goblin hopping around? They STOMP, STOMP, STOMP from place to place, haunting and tricking or treating, right?

So mark your calendar for some happy haunting and lots of tricks and treats. October 10th. More details to come...

Anybody wanna little peek????

I had so much fun with the Paper Popsicles mini kit I got to design with this month. The kits will be released October 1, but I got the okay to post a few little peeks today!!! So without further ado...

It's a little spooky...



Ooooh, are you scared yet????

Booooo!

As you can see, I had an awesome kit to work with. Full layouts will be posted soon, so stay tuned...if you dare!!!

If only she were always this adorable...

My daughter Cecily can be the sweetest, most charming little girl on Earth. Then, in the blink of an eye, she transforms into a manipulative, screaming monster. We jokingly refer to her as Dr. Jekyll and Miss Hyde, and we're practically certain that someday, she will accept an Oscar or an Emmy or even a Tony for Best Actress.

But when you capture one of her purely sweet moments, it's...well...sweet! And that's what happened when my mother-in-law took Cecily for her first manicure at the ripe old age of 3. No, we're not in the "Toddlers and Tiaras" reality show, and I wouldn't normally splurge on manicures for a girl that age, but my mother-in-law was babysitting and thought it would be a fun way to pass the time. It apparently turned out to be a great photo op because, all of a sudden, I started getting all these photos sent to my iPhone. So I picked my favorites and created a layout as girly and sweet as the moment in the photo:


This layout was inspired by one of the challenges at Scrap-Friendzy -- a "shopping challenge." Basically, you had to use the patterns or color scheme in this bedding ensemble (available at Target) as inspiration for a layout. I didn't really want to do another black/fuschia layout, so I decided to change up the colors and work with the damask pattern instead.

Papers and chipboard are from GCD Studios, border sticker is BasicGrey, letters are Thickers, rub-on is Daisy D's. Oh, and there are diamond Stickles on the polka dots and the white letters.

Rain, rain, go away!

As I type, I hear the rumbling of another Texas thunderstorm taking shape outside. During the past 7 days, I think it's rained for at least 5. And as much as Texas really needs rain right now, I'm getting a little sick of it. Not only is it wreaking havoc on my naturally-curly-but-flat-ironed-straight hair. It's starting to wear on my mood as well. There are only so many cloudy, dreary days a girl can take!

So how about something a little brighter...happier? Yes? Okay! I've got just the thing!

I created this layout at a crop over the weekend. It's for the weekly Paper Popsicles sketch challenge, and here's a peek at the sketch:


And here's my layout...I flipped the sketch to work with my horizontal photos:


I used a little square of fabric under the buttons:


The papers are Cosmo Cricket's Snorkel line. Most of the embellies are from the Scarlet Lime August kit, except for the Thickers in the title.

Thanks for visiting!

Feelings...whoa, whoa, whoa, feelings...

That's an old song reference, for those of you who didn't live through the 70s. Granted, I was young in those days, but I played the piano. And every piano songbook I had in the 70s and 80s included "Feelings." Go figure.

So why all this outpouring of emotion? Well, there's a challenge at Scrap-Friendzy to develop a layout that includes a photo of you and journaling about thoughts and feelings. I decided to do a layout about my feelings for my sweet and adoring husband. It was also a great excuse to use the incredibly yummy Scarlet Lime kit for September. This is my favorite kit from them so far. The papers are awesome and the embellies are a perfect mix of vintage and modern.

Here's what I came up with:


I added the Jenni Bowlin bingo card and the journaling spot is from a Jenni Bowlin Junque Box. Everything else is in the Scarlet Lime September kit. And they still have some left...run!

Sketch madness!!!

For those sketch-lovers out there, do I have a treat for you! A double-dose of sketchy goodness today. A card sketch AND a layout sketch! Something for everyone. And all compliments of Paper Popsicles.

So let's get started. First is the Weekly Card Sketch Challenge. You all probably know by now that cards are not my specialty. Sketches help though. Here's the sketch for this week, created by the very talented Amy Duff:



And here's my take on it. I used one of the Paper Popsicles mini kits for September. It's called "The Worm Had Turned" and it has some yummy Jenni Bowlin papers and Daisy D's rub-ons for the bargain price of $8.00!



Think you can do better? Of course you can! Link your version to the blog post here and you just might be this week's winner!

Next up, a super fun layout sketch by Lynda Lindley! Love this one because of the circle.



I had been dying to use this circle die-cut paper that I found at a scrapbook sample sale. I have no idea who the manufacturer is (it had no labeling on the back), but it was perfect for this layout.


The fabric flower is from Pink Paislee and the "Birds of a feather..." is from Cosmo Cricket's Earth Love line. The brown lace that I ruffled along the side of the photo was in one of my Scarlet Lime kits.

Survived another week...

Yes, it's Friday and that means my job hasn't killed me yet, and neither have my kids. I consider that an accomplishment worth celebrating. Is it happy hour yet?

While I'm waiting for the drink specials to kick in, I should probably post a layout. I actually finished this one on Monday, but it kinda got pushed under a bunch of other stuff and I forgot about it. I hope I didn't hurt its feelings. It really is a lovely layout. See for yourself...


I loved both sides of this Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday paper, so I did some creative folding to show the backside. (Or is that the front side? I can never tell.)


Thanks for looking! I'm off to start my weekend! Happy hour, here I come!

Guaranteed to make you smile (or groan)

Why is it that I feel the need to use puns on cards? Is it a stage that cardmakers go through? Or am I just a total cornball and it's manifesting itself in my cardmaking? Probably the latter. Maybe I'll grow out of it.

But in the meantime, I'll torture my blog followers with all my pun-spinning glory. The latest specimen is a card I created for the weekly card sketch at Paper Popsicles:

Ok, be honest. Did it make you smile? Or did it make you groan? Inquiring minds want to know!

After I finished it, I realized that, while it was cute and punny (or should that be pfunny?), it didn't look a whole lot like the sketch:

So I created this one:

No pun intended (or included) on that one. Just a simple, straightforward card. I used October Afternoon papers and die-cuts, the Fiskars Apron Lace punch, Hero Arts stamp and some ribbon from my stash.

I gotta say, I really prefer the first one. I can't help but "ruff" it.

What's Up?

The Paper Popsicles Weekly Sketch Challenge is up, and this time there's a RAK for one lucky winner. All the details are on their blog, but here's a peek at the sketch, which is great for a fast layout because you can use 4x6 horizontal photos without cropping.

Here's my take on the sketch:

I used BasicGrey papers, along with the Martha Stewart Loopy Border Punch and a patch of fabric that was included in my Scarlet Lime August Kit. I sewed (yes, you read that right...I SEWED) the patch onto the page before adding the photos and embellies.

Hangin' with the girls

Ever have a photo that you like so much that you have a hard time putting it into a layout? It seems that, the more I like a photo, the longer I put off scrapping it. It's like I'm afraid I won't be able to do it justice. Or maybe I'm waiting for that perfect sheet of patterned paper that has just the right feel to it. Or maybe I just like to make a lot of meaningless excuses. I don't know.

What I do know is that, once I get the thing down on paper, I'm usually pretty happy with it. A perfect example: the layout I did yesterday. I used a few of the papers and embellies from the Scarlet Lime August kit, along with Bazzill scalloped cardstock and shimmer cardstock and some things from my stash (button, ribbon, Thickers). The die-cut letters were done with my Revolution (the font is Zoe).


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I'm just a scrappin' fool!

Yesterday was another productive Saturday...for scrapping purposes, anyway. It seems like all my creative energy kind of builds up over the course of a week and, by Saturday, it's got to find a way to come out!

I completed the layouts (1 12x12, 1 card) that were lying on my scrap table...yay! I did a layout for the Paper Popsicles weekly sketch AND I started another layout.

But the biggest news -- at least in my mind -- is that I finally tried sewing on a layout. See, I'm kind of lazy about dragging my big ol' sewing machine out. I don't have room for it in the scrap room, so I have to put it on my dining room table and...well, it's just kind of a pain. But I needed to finish a ribbon belt for my daughter, so I figured "as long as it's out..."

So the verdict: I definitely haven't mastered it as a technique, but it was much easier than I thought. Here's the card:

I'd like to thank the Academy...

My Saturday morning started with a nice surprise. I just discovered that I won the Altered Project Contest over at Your Scrapbook Stash! My "Yum! Recipe Box" will be featured on their homepage, blog and weekly newsletter this month. I entered it on a whim and, out of 31 entries, they picked mine! Yay!

I've posted it before, but here's a little encore for those who are new to my blog:


I've been kinda slacking on scrapping this week. Well, okay, I've been out of town and had a lot of other things to deal with -- more than I care to go into here. But as a result, my scrap table is covered with a couple of layouts that are about halfway complete, and that bugs me to no end. I hate things that are halfway done. My goal today is to finish them, get them off the table and onto the blog. Then I can move onto some new stuff!

Hope everyone has a relaxing weekend, full of scrappy goodness!

Happy dancin' all over the place!

I'm so proud to announce that I've been invited to join the Fall Design Team at Paper Popsicles! There are so many talented scrappers in that community, and I'm amazed and honored that I was selected. I can't wait to get my hands on some of their kits!

If you've never visited Paper Popsicles, you really should check it out. They just released their September kits and they are awesome (and very reasonably priced). BasicGrey Junebug and some adorable Jenni Bowlin papers...must-haves!

Here's one of the layouts I submitted for the DT Call.


I also submitted the "Feels Like Fall" 2-pager and the "At the Pool" layout I did in July. I really wasn't sure I had a chance, but it just goes to show...you never know!