Dreaming In Scraps

Cleaning (and a tease!)

I've been on a cleaning kick lately. Not my house -- that's still a wreck, as usual. And my laundry...well, let's not even go there. But my craft room is getting a nice purging right now. I have way more stuff than I'll ever use, and I know there are scrappers out there who can give my things some love.

The main motivator for my purge was a local scrapbook garage sale last Saturday that I decided to join at the last possible minute (thank you, Shelley, for letting me in!). I spent a frantic two evenings throwing things into boxes, and I recruited my two best employees (Avery and Cecily) to stick on price tags. By Saturday, we were READY!

The sale went great, and I met some really wonderful scrappers that I hope to see again sometime soon. But I still came home with a lot of stuff. So once I have a chance to sort through it, there will be some giveaways a-happenin' on this blog.

Because I always work better with a schedule, I'm going to start a new feature called FRAK, which of course stands for "Friday Random Act of Kindness). And it's also fun to say. Try it: FRAK, FRAK, FRAK

See?

Be sure to check back here on Friday for the first FRAK and your chance to win a wonderful box of goodies.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a couple of layouts. I had fun playing with the January kit from Jenni Bowlin and this fabulous Fiskars punch.

Journaling idea inspired by a layout I saw on Pinterest.

I love the pleated chiffon flowers...so soft and sweet!

And using the same kit, here's the full view of the layout I created for the Go Red feature on the Ella Publishing blog.

Hope to see you back here on Friday for the first FRAK!

Go Red!

Ahhh, the month of love is upon us. But February is more than paper hearts and boxes of chocolate...

February is National Heart Month, and Ella Publishing is celebrating with three days of heartfelt stories and projects leading up to National Wear Red Day on Friday, February 3. Learn more by visiting http://www.ellapublishing.com/blog.

Here's a peek at the layout I created:

The entire layout is up on the Ella blog today, so I hope you'll check it out. It's a very personal layout that deals with my struggle to lose weight -- something I haven't really talked about on this blog. I guess I've been afraid I would jinx myself or pull an Oprah and gain it all back. Which I might. But I don't think so.

The truth is: I am stronger. And not just because I created a layout that says that. I've learned some things about myself and about food that I will carry with me for a very long time. Hopefully forever.

But back to today. Or more specifically tomorrow. I have a special request for you:

Please join me tomorrow, Friday, February 3, in wearing red to bring awareness to heart disease in women.

Wear a red shirt, red ribbon, red lipstick, red shoes -- anything you have that's red! I know you will look FABULOUS!

Go Red for Women is a cause that is very near and dear to me. I know women that are my age or younger whose lives have been threatened or taken by heart problems. The fact is that more women die each year from heart disease than the next three causes of death COMBINED (including all forms of cancer).

I don't mean to get all Debbie Downer on you today. Just want to use any means available to make the women in my life (and that includes you, dear blog reader) more aware of their heart health. Get your check-ups, know the warning signs and take steps to live a longer life.

If you'd like more information on warning signs or how you can spread the word, visit the Go Red for Women website or "like" Go Red for Women on Facebook.

Hot and cold

It doesn't feel anything like winter here. Not that I'm complaining. I'd gladly take this over the ice/sleet/snow mix we had around this time last year.

Ironically, after taking bunches of snow photos during that big, nasty storm, the last thing I wanted to do was scrapbook them. I was sick of looking at snow and ice and ready to see some green grass and spring flowers.

In the spirit of catching up, I dug out (no pun intended) last year's icy, snowy photos for a couple of pages about what winter really should feel like.

I used Little Yellow Bicycle's Winter Twig collection, and I mixed in some die-cuts -- doilies and scalloped circles to play off of the snowflakes in the collection. I don't do a lot of black and white photos lately, but I liked the way the snowflakes really stood out in Cecily's hair in the black and white version.

This is a page I did for the Pretty Little Studio blog, using the new Winter Wonderland collection. I don't use a lot of pale colors, but I have to say that the soft pale shades in this line have made me rethink my need for color. I love the way this turned out!

The layout was for an inspiration challenge, and the photo I was working from was gray-striped straws. I translated the straws into the diagonal strips of paper to form the background, and I mixed in a few strips of washi tape.

On top of the doily tag is an Epiphany Crafts Scalloped Circle, topped with a button. I think that Scalloped Circle has become my favorite Epiphany Crafts tool. It's a great shape!

Thanks for stopping by!

12 Photos and 2 Layouts

Last week, I started the Take 12 Photography Challenge with Ella Publishing. I have to admit: I was starting to panic a bit around 5 p.m. when I had only taken 4 photos. But it made me realize that my life truly begins when I leave work -- because I had absolutely no problem getting the remaining photos taken once I picked the girls up from school and we started going about our evening routine.

Left to right: stack of mail, mostly catalogs; picking Avery up from school; favorite winter coat; practicing piano; Lilah waiting for her treat; girls in their stylin' boots; to-do-list; Ceci writing in her notebook; my daily drink of choice (OJ diluted in water); marble jars -- our reward system; my messy desk; my nightly drink of choice.

I felt a little silly taking photos of my coat and the mail, but I think I might look back at this stuff in 10 or 15 years and think how outdated (or maybe retro?) everything looks. Chances are my desk will still be just as messy, though. Next step: get these guys into a layout...stat!

It's not too late to jump into the Take 12 Challenge if you're interested. You can start at any time -- all you need is a camera!

And while I'm here, I'll post my layouts I created for a challenge on the Ruby Rock-It blog. The challenge is to include a banner, pocket or tag on your layout. While it's not an official assignment, it gave me a little push to use these awesome Ruby Rock-It papers (the line is called Paper Boy) -- and they were perfect with the photos.

I got in the banner, but no pocket or tag. But I had paper left...and more photos...and time! So I kept going and made this one, too.

Journaling is hidden in the little mini paper bag/pocket.

These tags are so old-school. Metal-rimmed vellum tags that have been in my collection for years. They used to be the "in" thing, but they've faded from popularity. Still, once in a blue moon, a project comes along and they work perfectly.

Thanks for stopping by!

Love Is in the air

Have you spied all the heart-shaped chocolate boxes and bouquets of roses that are popping up at every grocery store, drugstore and gas station this week? Guess that's our not-so-subtle reminder that Valentines Day is approaching.

At least this holiday has a fun color scheme for decorating. Red, pink, black and white are pretty fun to play with, so I created this little banner for a feature on the Epiphany Crafts blog this week.

I used square coasters, turned to become diamond shapes. At the bottom was a perfect spot to hang a charm. Just a few jump rings, hooked to a die-cut circle, then an Epiphany Crafts Heart 25 on top.