More TLC

TLC being "To Love and Cherish" by Imaginisce. My wedding anniversary is coming up in May, so I made my hubby an anniversary card. Hopefully, he really did give up on reading my blog, or he won't be very surprised when I give it to him.


I really love how the black and white papers make even a simple card look really sophisticated. The other thing I love, which you can't really tell from this photo, is the glossiness of that black paper with the white stems on it. It has such a beautiful shine to it, but it doesn't fingerprint. It's magic, I tell ya!

Be sure to stop by the Imaginisce blog tomorrow for the unveiling of the May Sketch. You just might recognize the sketch artist! ;)

It's all black and white

Well, not really. Nothing's ever black and white. Life is full of gray areas. But you didn't come here for my philosophy of life (or if you did, I'm really sorry to disappoint you).

When it comes to scrapbooking, I don't do a lot with black and white. I like color. So when I got the box of Imaginisce goodies with the new "To Love and Cherish" collection, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it. I'm not quite ready to tackle my wedding album just yet and the monochromatic look was a little intimidating. But then I started playing with it.

Oh. My. Goodness. This stuff rocks! You can put literally any accent color with it and it jumps right off the page.

For example, here's what I did with a sheet of Core'dinations Cardstock:

The label shapes were all made with this acrylic stamp and cut out. I used pop dots on a few of them and left the others flat.


Here's another one with a little less color, but it shows that this collection can do WAY more than wedding photos...


Cecily was playing with the willow tree, but it's hard to tell that just by looking at the photo. So I added a little butterfly to create a focal point for her. Also, I cheated a little bit on the shaped paper at the top. I don't have a die-cutting machine that cuts 12" so I found a sheet of die-cut paper that I liked and traced it onto chipboard so I could use it as a template for any other paper. Don't tell anyone, 'kay?

Be sure to check out the Imaginisce blog on Monday. They're doing a Release Party for this collection, and the other DT members have done some A-MAZ-ING stuff that you're definitely going to want to see. And I might just have a couple of other projects up my sleeve, too.

Thanks for stopping by!

Excuses...And Solutions!

I know what you're thinking...no new posts must mean I haven't been scrapping. Well, you couldn't be more wrong! I cranked out 13 layouts over the weekend...really!

They were all for a scrapbook I'm working on for Ronald McDonald House of Dallas. It's my Junior League project for 09-10, which means it has to be finished by the end of May. I made a ton of progress this weekend, but I still have somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 pages to complete. Eek! I can't post the pages here because I don't think the people in the photos have given their permission for the photos to be posted online. So you're just going to have to take my word for it. BUT...if you want to see what the NEW Ronald McDonald House of Dallas looks like, check this out. It's an amazing place, full of amazing people. I feel so proud to have a place like this in my community.

In other news, Imaginisce has posted some tips for maintaining your i-Top. If you're like me and use this tool a LOT, you may have noticed the heads getting a little loose. So here are some tips to make sure you get perfect brads every time:


Leave a comment on today's post on the Imaginisce blog about WHICH of the 3 tips you found the most helpful and you could win an Imaginisce goody box!

The one that didn't make it

Last week, I got the wonderful email from Memory Makers that "one (or more) of the layouts you submitted was selected for publication" for their Big Book of Scrapbooking Ideas that will be published next year. I was instantly excited, but then I read on to learn that I wouldn't find out which ones had been selected until a few days later. (whonnnt whonnnt)

I finally got the details email earlier this week, and out of the three layouts I submitted, they selected two of them. Yay!

Obviously, I can't post the ones that were chosen, but I can post the one that wasn't. Poor Avery still isn't going to make it into a pub...


I did a lot of hand-cutting on this layout, and I painted the flowers at the top with Shimmerz to make them pop a little. The edging around the circle is a sheer black ribbon that I pleated and adhered to the back. The papers are from GCD Studios, Jenni Bowlin and Scarlet Lime. I'm loving the turquoise and red color combo, which I also used on this layout in brighter shades.
Of the three I submitted, this was probably my favorite, but it goes to show that you never know what they're looking for. Go figure.

Where the magic happens

It's been about three months now since I claimed the nursery for my scrap space and it's finally starting to look pretty organized. That's a major accomplishment for me -- no other room in my house looks organized -- but it just proves that there ARE organization and storage tools out there that will help even a hopelessly disorganized person like me. In other words: you TOO can have a room that looks like this:

If you're wondering about the stripes, it's a long story. The short version is: the crazy pregnant me forced my poor husband to help me paint the nursery this way, and it took us forever -- ultimately using a tiny paint brush to straighten out the lines. So the stripes are staying. Forever. And I love them...really, I do.
Another holdover from the nursery: this changing-table-turned-fabulous-scraproom-piece. The deep drawers are great for hiding stuff in -- oops, I mean storing larger tools and binders. I also have one full drawer devoted to layouts I haven't gotten around to filing. Yes, friends, there are THAT MANY layouts I haven't bothered to put in a binder. I really am disorganized (please don't tell anyone).

It's also nice having a devoted space for die-cutting. Before, I had to drag out the machine each time I needed a letter or shape (and I was usually too lazy to go to all that effort). It's a nice change to have all the tools at the ready whenever I need them.

The white shelving on top of the cabinet is the Making Memories Embellishment Center, and it's been a pretty fun organizational tool. Avery has enjoyed helping me put everything in "rainbow order," which she is amazingly good at. In fact, each time she comes into my room, she "corrects" things that I've put away in the wrong spot. It's handy to have a detail-oriented child.


On the other wall sits the Expedit shelving from Ikea. I still cannot believe how much this thing holds (and it's not even the big one!). Albums, alterables, chipboard, patterned paper, idea books, page kits, scraps, miscellaneous "to be filed" stuff -- it's pretty amazing. All of my altered projects are displayed along the top, and my Clip-it-Up mini is on the left corner for eye-level embellishment shopping.

I have my patterned paper organized by manufacturer using the Cropper Hopper vertical storage. I had to trim about 1/2 inch off the top of each file so it would fit in the Expedit cubby, but now it's perfect!

I printed clear labels and trimmed them before applying to each file -- subtle, but effective labeling.
I love this cubby because (a) I'm addicted to ribbon, and (b) it's so colorful. Plus, the Mason Jars remind me of my grandmother who used to can tomatoes every summer. I can't fully explain it, but this whole display makes me happy and teary every time I see it. So what if I have to dig for the ribbon I want...I'm never getting rid of these jars.

These storage cubes from Michael's hold cardstock, punches, stamps, adhesives, inks and other cutting tools. They were fairly easy to assemble, but some of the drawers don't line up that great and they make an awful screeching noise when I open and close them. If I could find a piece of furniture with shallow drawers and 12x12 horizontal shelves, I'd replace these cubes.

Here's the other Clip-It-Up...base plus top tier. It holds alpha stickers, rubons, small acrylic stamps, bling and larger embellishments. It sits on the edge of my desk at arm's reach because I use this stuff a lot. The Clip-It-Up makes it easy to flip through everything and see what I have.

The trestle desk is from Target (ordered it online), and I think it's the perfect desk for scrapbooking. It has a HUGE surface, so there's room for the Clip-It-Up and the Making Memories Desktop Carousel (which holds my most-used tools). And the open shelves underneath are perfect for stashing my paper trimmer and layouts in progress.

I hope you enjoyed my tour! Thanks for stopping by!

I'm a PageMaps Girl!

Yes, I get excited by the most trivial of things, but I was so honored to be able to contribute a layout for the April PageMaps that were released this week. I had a great time working with Becky Fleck's fabulous sketch:


And here's my layout, using the Sassafras Cherry Delicious line (which was perfect with these silly photos):


I was having trouble deciding what to do with the circle when I discovered that I had Making Memories paint in the perfect shade of blue. So I cut a circle from scrap cardstock (an ugly shade of orange I knew I'd never use) and painted it. Not only does it provide great contrast on the layout, it also has a nice brushstroke texture.

Happy Easter!