Sketch #152 at Sketch Inspiration

I hope you all had a wonderful, restful Thanksgiving filled with family & friends.  We were blessed to spend our day with some very good friends and their parents.  It was relaxed and delicious...not to mention the kids all played really well together and there was no fighting.  Now that is something to be thankful for!

I've been super busy crafting Christmas gifts and haven't taken much time to scrap for me so yesterday I decided to play with the sketch for the week from over at Sketch Inspiration.  I'm not real big on Halloween but I've had these papers that I picked up in the dollar bin at Target probably 2 years ago laying around and I finally decided to use them up. 

Here's the sketch...

And here's my take on it...

This sketch was a really quick and easy one for me to use and I have a feeling I'll go back to it again in the future.  Thanks Sketch Inspiration for inspiring a little "me time" into my busy pre-Christmas preparations.

A Christmas Mini

I've had lots of projects going at once - most of which are gifts so I can't share them here...you never know who might be lurking - wouldn't want to spoil the gift opening on Christmas day.  This project I can share because it's for my family and it's already out on the coffee table...the first of many Christmas decorations to make their way into my home.



Sorry for the not-so-great pictures.  Our weather can't decide if it wants to snow or sun today so my lighting was hit or miss.  This photo I spread the pages out around the binder ring so you could see a little more of the embellies. 

And here are a couple of the individual pages.  I used a real hodge podge of supplies...stuff from multiple manufacturers but that's the great thing about the holiday lines - they all have a very similar color scheme so you can work a lot of them together on the same project. 

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving.  I know I have so much to be thankful for.  Take a moment to remember all of the good in your life and give thanks!

Scrap the Moments Challenge is Like New

The Scrap the Moments challenge this week is to scrap with something from around your house...a tag, a receipt, a ticket stub...you get the picture. I had lots of cool clothing tags from some of my teenagers' jeans that I thought I'd use but that didn't seem "interesting" enough to me. For a little while I was stumped and then it dawned on me that I could use paper towels. Yes, you read that right...paper towels. I don't remember where I recently saw this technique but I loved the way it looked and thought it was such a clever use of materials. I hurried to my kitchen and tore off a sheet and headed back to my craft room. Here are the results and my layout for the challenge.

Start with shite paper towels and tear them into strips.

Using Smooch Spritz in Spun Sugar and Gingersnap I misted the paper towel strip heavily on both sides then set them out to dry a bit.  You can't let them dry completely as they need to be a bit damp and pliable when you twist them into flowers.

To make the flowers I rolled each strip the long way on the paper towel then I simply twisted and rolled until the flower shape was how I wanted it.  I set them aside to dry a bit more then used my hot glue gun to smear glue all over the back of the flower to help it maintain its shape.

And here they are on my layout.  All the elements on my layout, with the exception of the Thickers, the "ring" border strip and the paper towel flowers all came from the November Artful Delight kit that I won back in October.  Enjoy and make sure to head on over to Scrap the Moments and enter this weeks challenge.  Catch the Moments is sponsoring and they have a fabulous prize package lined up for the winner.

 

Scrap the Moments Challenge

The first challenge to be tackled by the new design team is up over at Scrap the Moments blog.  I for one can't wait to get started on it.  Head on over and check it out.  Entries are due by December 6th.  We can't to see what you come up with...

Exciting news...

I'm thrilled to announce that I have been selected to be a design team member over at Scrap the Moments - a lovely challenge blog created by Devon Hickman.  Here's the official announcement.  I can't wait to get to work on my first design team challenge!  Devon also has a wonderful kit site (Catch the Moments) where you can purchase some fabulous kits.  Check it out here.

For now...I'm busy, busy, busy working on Christmas presents - I swear my craft table looks like Santa threw-up.  What a mess it is!  I'm thinking I'll have to take a break from Christmas papers and embellies and make a project completely un-related just so I don't go nuts from all the red and green.  Until then...happy crafting and be blessed!

A Thankful Giveaway...

Melissa over at Creating from the Heart is giving away an amazing Christmas bundle.  Click on over there...check out the giveaway, get yourself entered for a chance to win that yummy prize, and check out Melissa's wonderful blog.

A Little "Sass" afras...

I've been drawn to the Sassafras collections for a long time for their fun and funky colors and images.  They're a little sassy don't you think?  I added some to my collection through a great buy over at Crop Chocolate then didn't know how to use it since I tend to scrap more "traditional" papers and embellies.  I happened to have these photos of our two youngest on my table when I was organizing my supplies and the Sassafras stuff I purchased caught my eye.  I love how this layout came together almost as much as I love to see my boys chilling out with a couple of books.

I mean really how often are they both sitting still (quietly, nonetheless)??? 

$100 Two Peas Giveaway.

Seriously who would be crazy enough to pass up an opportunity to win $100 at Two Peas - you know you could all easily spend that!  Head on over to Iheartart and check it out.

A Crafty Kind of Week...

So I seriously think I'm working on a record this week for how many times I can post on my blog...not on purpose but because I have lots I want to share with you all.  I completed this layout last night based on this week's sketch over at The Everyday Scrapper. 

It was a fun one for me as I did a lot of stuff that is out of the box for me.  I pulled older papers from my supplies one of which (the background paper) was white with this swirl embossing.  It was kinda plain by itself but smear an ink pad around it a bit and it really made the embossing pop off the page and fit right in with the fun theme of the boys' birthday party.  I also mixed elements from so many different manufacturers some of the stuff was just sitting in my supplies and it had probably been there for at least a year - untouched...well, not anymore.  It all made it's way onto this fun layout documenting a really fun party.  Enjoy!

November Queen Scraps Kit Layout

The gorgeous November Pebbles May Bouquet kit has been released over at Queen Scraps.  This kit has a wonderful selection of double-sided patterned papers, flowers, Thickers (who doesn't love Thickers) and lots of bling  Hurry over and check it out before they are all gone. This kit is so versatile.  I used it to create an Easter related page, a Halloween related page, a fishing page of my son, and this page I'm sharing today of myself.  Here's the kit...

And here's one of the layouts I completed with it...

  The journaling on this one reads "She wasn't where she had been.  She wasn't where she was going...but she was on her way" (Jodi Hill).  I love this quote and truly feel it is where I am right now.  God has big plans for my life, this I know.  He is shaking things up a bit.  Changing them around for the better.  There are growing pains involved but He will be beside me through the entire process and when it's all over, God will still be there. 

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

Be blessed in all you do!

Happy Fall Y'all...

It finally feels like Fall around here...we got our first snow of the year yesterday which is really late in the season for us.  As a matter of fact, my boys had shorts on the day before as we enjoyed temperatures in the high 70's.  I recently made this lovely wreath as a housewarming gift for some friends. 

I'm a bit hooked on these Yo-Yo wreaths and keep thinking of new themes that I can make.  I think I could pretty much have one for every season/holiday of the year.  The manufacturers have so many amazing product lines out there that you really can transform the concept to work for any occasion you can think of.

You could even replace the little embellishments with photos - ooh, how cute would that be.  Black and white mini photos on a super colorful wreath.  I'm feeling another project coming on...

I'll be back a little later to share another of my Queen Scraps projects using the November kit so make sure you check back this afternoon.

Time Stands Still...

Here's a layout I did for this week's sketch over at The Scrappiest.  I don't know how she manages to do it but Liz comes up with some of the best sketches I've worked with.  Or maybe they just suit my design style...whatever it is, I can pull together a layout in record time (mind you, a few hours IS record time for me).  So here's the sketch...

And here's my spin on it...

I love this photo - it's yet another one I took last February when Paul and I were in Georgetown for a long weekend.  There were so many beautiful, historical elements to photograph and I went absolutely nuts with my camera.  This buggy was sitting alongside a frozen stream in the midst of what appeared to have been someones farm.  The colors were faded but I could imagine how bright and vivid they once were.  When I reflect on this photo it's almost as if time is standing still and I'm transported back to another era.

Challenge #2 over at Crop Chocolate

I'm having a lot of fun with the challenges over at CropChocolate...now if only I didn't have to work so much this weekend at church, I'd be hustling to get all the challenges done.  Alas, that is not the case and I may not get to anymore of the challenges before I head back to work tonight.  This is my layout for challenge #2 (the dinner challenge).  My menu included black, banner/pennant, bling and rubons.  I used Liz's sketch from The Scrappiest this week to complete my layout.   Here's the sketch...

And here's my take on it...

I used patterned papers and embellishments from Basic Grey's Sugar Rush collection and the banner is from Sassafras...the colors worked great together and I love how the title turned out - a combination of Thickers and a rubon from Colorbok.  A little white gel pen and it was done...love it and I love my husband!

First of the Crop Chocolate Challenges...

Drum roll please....here is the first of many challenges being post over at Crop Chocolate for the weekend online crop.

CHALLENGE #1--AD CHALLENGE I've chosen an advertisement out of a magazine to inspire you all. There are so many great things about this ad and I created several examples to show you how I was inspired by it. You might be inspired in a different way, for instance in how the elements are placed, by the colors used or by a particular design element. As long as you're inspired by the ad and we can see that inspiration in your layout then the challenge would be completed. Good luck to you! Sweetly, Annette Pixley (pixleyyy), Chocolatier DETAILS: 1. CHALLENGE #1--AD CHALLENGE will be judged based on the number of “likes” your project gets. 2. You may submit a maximum of ONE layout (LO) for judging. 3. Make sure you have read and understood all of the rules for the 2010 Online Crop before submitting an entry. 4. The DEADLINE to submit your LO is MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2010 11:59 PM MST (CC time). 5. The prize for the winning LO will be a Basic Grey collection pack kit with a $100 estimated value!

Here's my take on the challenge, a birthday card for one of the kids' friends.

 To participate head on over to Crop Chocolate, go to the Community section then the Sweet Talk section and look at the details for posting your work.  Then head over to the Contests section and post up or "like" the projects.  I'd love your support on this card...seriously, who couldn't use $100 worth of Basic Grey product??? 

First Ever Crop Chocolate Online Crop!!!

Trying to figure out what to do with yourself this weekend now that the harvest festivals are over, all your leaves are raked, and it's too early to start cooking for Thanksgiving? Come play at Crop Chocolate for a 48 hour online crop November 6 and 7, 2010!

All you need to participate in the Online Crop and to be eligible for the prizes is to have an active CC account with a valid e-mail address. It will be part shopping, part crafting, part challenges, and completely fun! Come play to win some prizes, complete some projects (layouts, cards, altered items--you know finally use up some of you stash), and have some fun! There will also be some fun mini-games and activities going on under the Sweet Talk section of the website throughout the weekend, so make sure to stop by Sweet Talk and check them out too.

Can't make it for the whole weekend? No worries! The main challenges will be posted beginning on Saturday November 6th at 10:00 AM on the main page and it will alternate a challenge, then a SWEET deal, then another challenge, etc. If you miss a challenge on the main page they are always accessible under the "past deals" section of the website. The deadline for the submission of projects to be considered for prizes for the challenges is MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8th, 2010 11:59 PM MST (CC time) unless an earlier deadline is stated. That is approximately 24 hours after the crop ends. The challenges will be posted between 10:00 AM and 10:00 PM on Saturday Nov 6th and 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM on Sunday Nov 7th.

Making Memories Guest Designer...

A while back Making Memories was seeking guest designers for their blog...I jumped at the chance.  Well, today is the big day and here I am featured on their blog.  I had free reign to design whatever I wanted as long as I used Making Memories products.  Naturally I turned to Christmas decorations since I LOVE Christmas and basically take down all the "regular" decor in my house and replace it with Christmas themed stuff - am I the only one who does this because my husband thinks I'm nuts???  So hop on over to the Making Memories blog and check out what I created...I can't wait to hang it in my house and I've already made a second one that I gave to a good friend as a gift.  They're fun and easy to make and oh so cute to display!

Toot, toot!!!

I'm super excited that today is the 1st of November....not only because the chaos of Halloween is OVER and now all I have to do is manage my kids' candy consumption so they don't overload on sugar and go zinging all over the place but also because I have THREE layouts in online publications this month.  One is here at Scrapstreet.com (my sweet boy on the "Ahoy" layout), one is here at Scrapbooking.com (our family farm featured on "Where Love Lives") and the last one is here (featuring my oldest son on "Dream Big").  Check them out, support the magazines that are kind enough to see my love for scrapbooking, and come back tomorrow when I'll share about a guest designer spot I did.

Until then...have a blessed day!