New Projects

Happy Easter Everyone.  I have been super busy with the Retreat House and small projects, so busy I haven't had time to update my blog.  Soooo without further ado, I will share with you my latest projects.

This was one of 20 journal cards in the popular theme of Project Life.  The back of the card leaves space for journalling.  The background paper is one I purchased from Gecko Glaz

 The above is an ATC Card that I did for a small swapping group that I'm involved in call Keep Calm and Swap On.  There are 15 of us that swap monthly.  The group organizer assigns a theme each month.  The above was in conjunction with "Grandmother's Attic" Theme. 

 This 5x7 canvas was altered using modeling paste and paints.  I first laid the stencil down, spread the modeling past over the stencil and then removed the stencil.  I let the paste dry overnight then came back with several different colors of paint.  I blended the paints with a damp baby wipe.  I also used modeling paste around the vintage photo I purchased from Gecko Galz, in an effort to make it appear as part of the canvas.  I didn't quite get the technique down perfect but I'm still pleased with the outcome.  I added crackle paint over the photo and the surrounding areas to make the canvas appear older.  I then topped the entire canvas with vintage photo distress stain. 

 Here is another altered canvas, this one a 3x4 size.  I used another vintage photo.  I used washi tape (stamps) and a dusty attic border I had in my stash.  The chipboard heart, the fluer de lis, button flowers and jewelry piece were all found in my stash bin.  I love the background color.  That was just painted a beautiful aqua color and then distressed with Tim Holtz Distress stain. 

This post card was one that I created for a swap over on Alpha Stamps.  The vintage photo was one I found online using a google search.  The Greetings was cut using my cricut and I glued sand onto the bottom and inserted the shell buttons. 

 The above layout is one I did a couple of weeks ago.  I used Graphic 45 paper, the sun flowers were make using my cricut and different color seed beads for the center.  I added modeling paste and a stincle in the torn and distressed areas as well as one either side of the layout.  The title was cut using my Cricut. 

This is a close up one of the flower clusters. 

This is the left side cluster.  I cut burlap leaves using the Tim Holtz die.  I also used a prima flower and butterfly.  The ribbons were some from my stash. 

This layout is the total opposite of the one above and very out of my element.  I was just messing around in the studio one rainy afternoon and used up some old paper from my stash.  Haven't found photos for this one yet.

That's all I have for now, thanks for looking. 

Joined the Close to My Heart Family again

After a couple of years hiatus, I decided it was time to rejoin the CTMH Family.  I really do love the way this company takes the guess work out of matching paper for layouts.  Their kits come with everything you need, even the recipe page, to make sevaeral layouts that are beautifully coordinated and sooooo easy to master.  Here is a layout I created using the Stella Kit.  All materials used were included in the CTMH  Stella
kit with the exception of the flourish stamp which was something that I had in my stash, a Martha Stewart border punch and some iridescent gold glimmer mist that I used on the flowers for some added sparkle and shine. The banner was made using the CTMH Art Philosophy Cartridge.  I love using my cricut to cut out intricate shapes and fonts.  I would never be able to cut all of that out myself with the nerve damage in my arm.  The flowers were white cotton and I used my CTMH inks to color them to coordinate with my page.  

It's beginning to look...

a lot like Christmas in my scraproom.  I still can't do too much with the injury to my arm, but I can't just sit and do nothing.  I never now what will set the nerve off unitl it happens.  Anyway, here are some things I've been working on over the past several months. 
The tags were created as part of a contest at Swirlydoos.  Create 25 tags in 25 days.  Each day has a theme.  Its really fun.

Day One:  what Christmas means to me

Day Two:  Monochromatic

Day Three:  Sparkle!

Day 4:  Reindeer

This is a photo of Russ and I taken in our hotel room before attending an evening performance of Cirque: Dreams.  It was an awesome performance and a night to remember. 

The following picutre is a close up my flower and stickpins.  I used three on this layout.  Is it a bit over the top??  You decide. 

Latest Layouts

 It has been a busy summer.  I attended several 4 day crops and had an absolutely fantabulous time.  My husband and I took several short trips close to home and I tried to do some scrapping at home in between.  Below are several of the layouts that I worked on and completed over the summer break. 

This is my graduation picture.  I can honestly say, its the first time I have scrapped a "vintage" picture of myself.  I just love the colors of this layout.  The picture really doesn't do it justice.  The blues are a smokey color.  The Cameo embellishment comes from Swirlydoos as does the dusty attic clock.  The doily was cut using the Mother's Day cartridge from Cricut.  Both the doily and clock embellishment were colored using several different colors of glimmer mist.  The feather with the rhinestone jewels was purchased at Hobby Lobby, it was a barrette that I destroyed, LOL.... The flowers were cut from material using Tim Holtz's flower Sizzix die.  The lace and buttons are vintage. 

The layout above is one of Matthew's graduation pictures.  It had that old Hollywood feel to it.  Every time I look at it I think Art Deco.  Soooo I did a search online for examples of designs in the Art Deco style and found a leaded glass menorah that I liked and used it has the inspiration for the art deco arches on this layout. 

I still need to add my title and think I will use something like Heart Throb.  You can see in the photo below, that I have used three stick pins and one has a red heart on top.  I also scattered red and black vintage buttons, used a vintage "frog" and button card.  The tux tie was part of a costume that Matt used for one of the Mardi Gras balls he participated in and the journal card reminded me of an old coat check claim ticket, again, thinking old Hollywood glamour, when everyone dressed to the "nine" every evening.  

Torn, so proud yet so very scared.  The layout above was very hard for me to complete.  I started it in July and didn't finish it until Labor Day.  I had the vision in my head but had a heck of a time transferring it to the layout. 

I would like to add that I have had many "difficult" times in my life, just like we all have, but I have to tell you that this was one the most difficult to date.  I had dreaded that day since he had informed us 18 months earlier that he had joined the Marines.  He and his brother are my heart and to watch your child leave for a war torn country knowing full well it could be the last time you see him alive was soooo very hard.  The only thing that got me through the whole ordeal was knowing that it was all in God's plan for Matthew and nothing would happen if it wasn't part of the plan.  I am happy to report that Matt did return from Afghanistan in April and we are now awaiting his second deployment in January of 2011. 

 A class I participated in, taught by Connie, a very talented teacher at our local scrapbook store, Treasured Memories.  The pictures are of some of my hibiscus blooms.  The soft purple flower won a gold ribbon at the Hibiscus Show in 2007.

Another class, this time taught by Melissa, again from Treasured Memories.  Now I need to add the pictures.

That's all for now. 

Summertime Crops

I love summer break, not only do I get about 10 weeks off from school, but its also the time I get to attend 4 day crops. Already this summer I have attended two cropping events, TAC and Treasured Memories. I really love attending this events. The inspiration that oozes from the room is awesome. I took tons and tons of pictures so that I will be able to scraplift my favorite layouts during the long dreary months of winter. Here are some layouts that I completed recently, along with some of my favorites from others.

Memories from Disney World. I love the way this layout turned out. The map looks old and burned around the edges, and the little treasured scattered here and there just remind me of pirate loot. I used Graphic 45 paper on this layout. I love, love, love Graphic 45, especially the back side or to me its the back, most people use the more graphic side, while I tend to use the patterned side, LOL.

Here is one of the little treasured I added to the layout. The coin came from a pirate set that I bought in the airport in Wilmington, NC when we flew out to welcome Matt home from Afghanistan. The set had the coin, a map and a eye patch. I just had to have that set, I knew I could incorporate some of the items into a layout. I also attached a cluster of beads and charms on a jump ring, then attached to whole thing to the trim. Love this look!!!


Here is a cluster of feathers, tied with a ribbon and some scattered buttons and charms. Stuck in the feathers is a custom made stick pin from Treasured Memories, a local scrapbook store. I just brought my layout to the counter and together the owner and I picked out the beads. I love stick pins, they just seen to add the right amount of POP to a layout.

The last cluster is more feathers, buttons and a little drawer pull along with my journaling card. I tend to like my journaling hidden, after all, I think of my layouts as parts of a diary, private, and therefore tend to hide the journaling.

I'll add the rest of the photos a bit later today, the garden is screaming for attention and there is a storm in the gulf that I must prepare for.

Laissez Le Bon Temp Rouler

I can not believe it but I won a layout contest!!! This layout pictures my Grandfather playing his accordion. The smaller picture was taken at Festival Acadiens when he was honored as a pioneer of French Cajun Music. He began playing the accordion and fiddle when he was a young boy. He told me his father taught him to play the fiddle and one of the local legends, Joe Falcon, taught him to play the accordion. His father was the fiddle player in Joe Falcon's band and they would let my grandfather play the music while the band took their break. Another legend, Mark Savoy, once told me that Paw played versions of these great old french songs that no one else did. Mr. Savoy also told me what a wonderful accordion player Paw was. After my grandmother passed away, while cleaning out their house, we found a notebook filled with the classic french music my grandfather played. All of the music was written by him in french. One of those old songs, Let the Good Times Roll, was the perfect addition to the layout. Anyway, last weekend the scrappers voted this layout as their favorite. What an honor!!!

Inspiration

Where does inspiration come from? For me, it comes from looking at common objects and daily activities of living. I can find inspiration for my scrapbook pages just by looking at bath salt bottles, chipped enamel coffee pots, vintage buttons, vintage lace, vintage jewelry, postcards and clothing. When working in the garden, I get the flashes of the perfect scrapbook page or title, the layouts just fall into place. The major problem I have when I get these moments of inspiration is that I don't stop what I'm doing and write the fleeting thoughts down. Then much later, when I'm seated at my desk, I try to think back on those moments only to find that they are lost. Lost in the shuffle of chaos that envelopes my daily life. So, my goal for this summer is to try and write down these spurts of inspiration as they flutter through my thoughts.

The project below was born of such a moment. I was in a flea market in North Carolina when I ran across a bag of odd earrings. There was not a matching set in the bunch. The pieces that were in that bag were fabulous, and several just screamed to be used on a page about my grandmother.

The flower center is an old clip-on earring that just reminded me of my grandmother. The hat pin is another reminder. After my Grandmother passed away and my grandfather went to live with my father, my father and his siblings had the daunting task of cleaning out their home. One of my sons, who was helping with the clean up, found my grandmother's hats. Attached to several of the hats were hat pins. After finding the hat pins, I started searching flea markets for these little jewels. The one I used on this layout is a reproduction that was given to me by a friend. Our local scrapbook Store, Treasured Memories, has a wide assortment of pins and will even make them to match your layouts.

The other two layouts also use vintage jewelry pieces.

The beautiful "buckle" on the ribbon is actually a pin that I picked up at a flea market for a dollar, the small metal disc at the top of the right hand page is actually another earring.

This layout has a clock face in the cluster of buttons and gears at the top of the right hand page, which was salvaged from a broken watch I purchased in another grab bag of old jewelry, and what a better way to reinforce the topic of "Les Le Bon Temp Rouler".

Inspiration, where does yours come from?

A couple of new projects

I have finally found some much needed down time in the studio. It has been so very hectic with Mardi Gras and our trip to Disney. School is winding down, the days are getting longer and I am getting back into the swing of scrapping. I have several 4 day crops planned in the next couple of months. I have been jotting down ideas for layouts and trying to get everything together into page kits. We will see how it works, but knowing me, I'm a fly by the seat of my pants kinda scrapper so planning page kits is beyond my comfort zone.

On to my latest projects.

I have been wanting to do this layout for months. I saw a button tree on the internet and loved it so I adapted the design by adding a few pictures of my ancestors and came up with a family tree. The pictures are of my Parents and Grandparents. I'm about 4 and Mom says the photo was taken on Easter Sunday.

This is the third time I have created layout using this photo of my grandparents. I did a two page layout last summer for myself, and a shadow box similar to the one above for my dad for Father's Day. Well over the Christmas holidays, my aunt saw it and fell in love with it, so I told her I would make one for her. It will be shipping out this weekend.

This was created for a co-worker who snort whenever she laughs, which in turn makes me laugh. Anyway, I saw this saying in a magazine and decided it was perfect for her. I cut the letter out using my circut.

This is my example of the tape transfer process. I am a bit disappointed that my lady didn't show up better, but hey not bad for my first time.

I have some other photos I need to post, but for now I'm signing off and heading to dreamland.

My Latest Project, flowers and a class layout

I have not been working in the studio for some time now. I have been busy getting ready for Mardi Gras pictures and visiting with my son who came home on leave for a week. I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things next week. I will have the week off for Thanksgiving break. I can't wait!!!

I have been tinkering with this layout for weeks now and have finally completed it. I love the photos of my family. We were all so young.

What do you think about my rose? I recently stumbled across this wonderful tutorial on how to make your own beautiful roses out of cardstock! This technique is sooooo easy. Please understand that this is not my idea. The only credit I can take is the copy and paste part, LOL. This is a stolen tutorial from the Scrap a Little blog. Enjoy!

To start you will need 18 hearts in 4 different sizes. If you have a Cricut it comes in real handy here. Cut from sturdy card stock: 6 hearts at 2 1/4" 5 at 2" 4 at 1 3/4" and 3 at 1 1/2"

If you don't have a Cricut you could use a Fiskars heart template.

Ink all edges Punch a tiny hole at the bottom of every heart. Take a brad (in the same color) and turn it upside down and start stacking all the hearts from smallest to largest

Now the magic starts: take petal by petal and scrunch them up and around towards the middle. Don't be gentle here; the more manhandling the better!

Last step is to spray the rose with glimmer mist. I have tried this with smaller sized hearts also.

Lastly, I want to share with you a fun layout below that I recently completed as part of a calendar class which is offered by Treasured Memories, my local scrapbook store, The class was taught by Wendy R, a very talented friend of mine. Every class she teaches she makes sure to include several new techniques like the fence on this one.

Well like I said things have been slow in the studio, hope to post more later.

Vintage Layout

I am so in love with the vintage look. I'm not sure if its because I have all those old photos that need scrapping or its just the look itself. On a recent trip to San Angelo, Texas to visit my son, who was stationed there, we went into town to do some shopping. I ventured into a store called J. Wilde's Boutique. The sold items from the 50s, 60s and 70s. It was like walking into my grandparent's house or even my house as a little girl. I saw suitcases I had, canisters like my grandmother had and furniture everyone had. In the back of the store there was a section on decorator fabric and trims from the same periods. I found the most adorable ribbon, it was green and fluffy with fabric roses. I just had to have some, but at $8 a yard, I couldn't get crazy. I also found some beautiful black trim with tassels. Love it. So, you want to see the layouts I did with the vintage ribbon and trim?

Journaling reads "Pearl and LJ Hebert, Married in October of 1932" My Dad couldn't remember the exact date, and this isn't their wedding picture. No one knows when this photo was taken so I just figured I would put their names and the year of the marriage because its when their love story began. For this layout I used bazzill cardstock, Patterned Paper by Creative Imaginations (Christine Adolph), that vintage green lace with 3D flowers incorporated into it, vintage cotton lace (purchased at a garage sale for 25 cents had almost three yards), feathers, a stick pin, jeweled brads, buttons, Prima butterfly, and a shabby chic bird I purchased at a crop. The title is something I found in the sewing department at Hobby Lobby. It think it says it all.

Uh Oh, I forgot to take a picture of the other layout. Everything is done except the title. I will take the picture this weekend and upload it on Monday.

The Few... The Proud...

I am so happy with this layout. I'm not sure if it's the actual layout or the fact that I'm so proud of my son. This is his boot camp graduation picture. I used the cricut cartridge "Base Camp" for the title. All edged were distressed and inked. The patterned paper is from Graphic 45.

I have only seen him a few time since he graduated from boot camp. After graduation he came home for about 10 days then he was off for additional training in North Carolina. After that he was moved to an airforce base for his MOS. He is now awaiting another transfer to a different MOS. He surprised me this past Saturday with a 3 day visit. I was so excited to see and feel him it was great. Of course, the time flew by. He only had 1 and 1/2 days to visit with me and more importantly all his friends, LOL. I took him back to the airport at 6:30 am on Memorial Day.

It was so nice to see people treat him with such kindness the whole time he was here. The restruant where we took him Saturday night, comped his meal after they found out he was a Marine on leave. Sunday morning he said he wanted donuts for breakfast, when the shop owner overheard us talking about what time he had to report back to base, he asked, what branch he was in AND again, comped our breakfast. When I took him back to the airport for his return flight, everyone who realized he was military, shook his hand and thanked him. It was soooo impressive to see.

Anyway, this layout is my tribute to his courage.

Designer's Eye Class

My local scrapbook class offers this wonderful class once a year. It is taught by a very talented lady, C. Girard. This is one of her creations with my twist on it. It was so much fun to create. I have already signed up for the next portion of the class. In the class, which is two parts, you get to create the layout of your choice from the first 5 of 10 that she created, but you get the booklet with the other layouts as part of your supplies. Then the next month you can create a layout from the second set of 5. You learn so many of the latest techniques. Hope you enjoy.

This is a white on white layout. Its hard to see but the entire layout is lined with chipboard letters (painted white) with the phrase "Let it Snow" running from left to right. Some of the letters are heat embossed with silver and some are glittered using stickles star dust. The photos were distressed with sandpaper and the tiny files and the photo mats were torn. We also added several chipboard snowflakes that were painted white and then had an application of crystal effects added. See the dangling crystal from the snowflake on the right hand page?

Recent Projects

Life has been really hectic around here. You would think that now that Matt is living away from home and Jake is on his own, I would have all the time in the world to indulge in my paper crafts. But alas, I do not. I work a full time job and during the week after work I'm just too tired. On Saturdays I watch my grandson and on Sundays, I split my time between working in the garden, creating in the sun room, doing laundry and housework.

But I did find some time recently to do a little creating. Here are pictures of some recent projects. Hope you enjoy them.

I entered above layout in a sketch contest and came in second. Not bad for my first layout contest.

The Religious Milestones layout was completed in 2007 as part of an album for my husband.

Wanted was also completed in 2007 and added to my husband's album.

The layout below was done using the Paper Dolls Cartridge only. The initial idea came from a class at a lss. I purchased one of the left over kits and completed it at home with, of course, a few changes. I, like most people can not copy a layout completely. You know we always have to change something, LOL...


This is a little book I created for my Dad. He loved it and displays it on the coffee table for all to see.

Wow, looking back at some of those pictures is a bit scary, especially the last one that says 48. All I can say is "Who ME??"