Some Completed Swaps

from over at Scrapbooking Fun.Biz.  Love all these pieces and they will definitely be showing up on projects in the very near future!

First, the Character Swap.  These pieces turned out great, though I did hear from some participants that they felt as I did and couldn't stand their pieces after the swap.  LOL  Sometimes you just need to distance yourself and you will see how cute they really are!  A few weeks later and I like my Sponge Bob and Patrick much better.

Next, the winter paper clip swap.  All were created with Jumbo Clips.  These will be beautiful on pages.

Below are the Summer paper clips.  I have to find out where the super size colored paper clips came from.  The watermelon in the corner actually has two pieces in everyone else's baggies.  These are mine and I messed up one, so it isn't here.  I used DCWV Cardstock for the pink part of the watermelon.  It works much better in my sizzix than in the cricut.

The Disney group - three participants!

 The Spring Group.  Those flowers on the pink paper clip are really done well - I have to find out how she did those - or if they were a special purchased set.  You can see all the detail in them wonderfully IRL.  Same as with the watermelon, I created the little sheep, but made mistakes on mine, so the ones everyone else receives have pink noses and there are two.  Lambing is in the spring, that is where I got my idea.

 Finally, the fall group!  These will all go into the mini albums I have been working on (see previous posts for details).  I love how well they all turned out.

Next Swap:  FarmHouse Paper Sugar Tree Autumn (need to double check name) line of paper - these are much prettier IRL than they look here.  Note:  on the ATC Title blocks, there are different styles.  This is the one I kept as I had to use a different letter for the r.

Finally, the Farm House Barber Shop Line.  These colors and the paper are wonderful to touch IRL.  Can't wait to put these pieces to use.

A Beautiful job on all these swaps was done by all.  I can't wait to use these pieces.  Hoping to get them into page kits by next week.

Gifty time

While I am still loving my lapbook, I have some gifts that really need to get completed.

No shopping today, but I am working on an album for a friend.  Same one as the December Daily was to go to, but I went easy and selected a regular album style (one of Kathy Orta's hidden hinge binding - love those).

9 pages, 5 styles.  All pages are from various mini albums i have seen others create/learned to create with them, so I am not exactly sure who to credit.  I know I have seen a lot of videos/bought patterns from both Paper Phenomenon and Following the Paper Trail.  This entire album (almost, I did have to buy more adhesive), is coming from my stash.  I did a lot of cleaning/sorting and now that I can find things, it has been wonderful to be able to create.  This is at my upstairs work table (see previous posts about Achilles issues if two tables sounds confusing).  I pulled it again the other day, so sitting and scrapping has been standard, but it is still difficult to stay used to.  I still stand up to place things correctly.

First - the hidden hinge.  Not sure if I did it the exact way or not, but I discovered that the DCWV Cardstock is great for this.  It seems to be stronger than the Bazzill and AC Cardstocks that I normally use.  This allowed for 9 pages.

Next are just photos of pages that are now attached to the binding.  I am working to finish up tags for this mini, though I may change to use a neutral color cardstock for tags to make journaling easier.

December Daily Lapbook

This is definitely fun to put together, but not nearly as fast as some other mini's I have worked on.  I am having a blast, but as those who know me can guess, I am starting to make changes to design.  That is one of the great parts with these albums - making them your own.

There are too many flaws in this to give to someone, so I am going to use up my scraps and keep it.   I decided to turn some pockets to open in different directions and changing a bit of how tags work.  Nothing major, just things I like.

 Not quite sure why this one loaded this way??  It is the reverse of the small flap with windows above

Time to stop again for the day.

Working on the December Daily Lapbook

Stopped at this point - I put these papers down, thought, that is ugly and decided it was time to put this aside and start fresh later.

 I like how these worked.  Some more inking will really help dull down the yellow.

 The plain still needs work, but it is progressing.

some of the left hand side.

 More right hand side stuff.

To give you an idea of how large this really is, I put my standard 12" cutter on top and opened up to the center.

Paper Phenomenon/Kathy Orta's Youtube December Daily Lapbook videos.  I will end up keeping this unless I can come up with a way to hide the print that shows in the 4th photo.  It is in the crease and has the brand name of the folders in black.  Lots of embelllishing to go if I want to have this ready before her grand baby arrives.  Color scheme is really unique, but I am creating for her, not general for just anyone.  Plus, it is to be a little boy, so the G45 Little darlings line accents should work once I get the album built.  If not, I bet I can find other vintage baby items.

Working on December Daily Lapbook

With Kathy Orta/Paper Phenomenon You tube videos.  So far, I just completed day one.  If this works how I hope, I plan to make one as a gift for someone.

First, I use what I have, so my file folders are a bit different.  These were headed to the trash, so I have them to use.  Since the pages will be matted, I am not worried about writing/color.  Just making sure that the paper selected goes with this yellow (toned down a bit when inked) will be enough.

My area is pretty sunny during the day.  The photos are pretty shadowed, but you can see the steps.  This is from her Lapbook December Daily 2012 Part One.

Off to view part two (if enough time during lunch break) :D

Well, I made it through three parts today.  This wonderful mini is for a friend who is going to be a Granny soon.  She loves vintage, orange and bling, so the yellow folder will work out great.  I have a My Mind's Eye paper pack (signature suite by Jen Wilson) that I have been using for a few years (yep, stash time), but the colors are working perfectly.  I am hoping that a few of the pages will work well with the Graphic 45 Little Darlings accents/papers I have as well.  I am also using up a DCWV Indian Summer cardstock stack.  It works great for pages that need to have inking as they have that white core.  Hmm, maybe that could be useful later on :D.

Anyway - here is where I have gotten to.  I have to break and work on a wedding album now, plus some Thanksgiving baking and sewing of Shopping Totes.

Quick notes - here is where my flap started.  Notice that the slot pocket does have some paper behind.  I really didn't want anymore yellow showing through so I added a 3" piece of paper behind the slot.  Enough to be sure it doesn't catch up in anything.

Then the papers are added.  Yes, I think these colors are going to work out beautifully.  I have quite a ways to go, but baby is due 12/3, so I am hoping to have it done by then.

And for friends who have asked, yes, I did go to the Wilbur Chocolates factory and I do love Wilbur Chocolates :D.

Senior Fun

Senior year, that is.  A great camping trip in the BWCA with the Venture Crew.  I used a sketch from Let' Get Sketchy (November, Week 2) for this page.  These photos just worked well together and I remember the huge smile from that day.  The BWCA paper is from Scrappin' Sports & More.  The die cuts are all cricut cuts from an alphabet  swap over on the cricut messageboard.  My enjoyment from making swaps is only exceeded by my joy in using swaps!  Add some stash scraps (sorted by color for quick finds), some quick inking to the edges and a few remaining Basic Grey letter stickers (maybe from Max and Whiskars set?), some ribbon scrap and a Jolee's canoe sticker and remaining stars from a set I purchased several years ago (really?  that long ago - wow does time fly) and viola!  A page ready to go for the album.

I am working on several more pages right now as well as a few mini albums as gifts.  If the camera is handy, pics of those will be coming later this month.  Also planning the next Ustream class.

Happy Scrappy Time

As many of you know, Wednesday is my current day off.  Day off?  Well, not really off, but it is the day I have do to some things I enjoy -- scrappy time!!!

After scanning through a few blog hops and looking at various entries (and their blogs - wow are there some amazingly talented folks out there), I found another blog hop!  Whoo Hoo - even time to play.  It is over at Frosted Designs.  http://frosteddesigns.blogspot.com/2012/11/blog-hop.html.  So, after searching through those blogs (and finding several to start following), I decided to enter their contest.  I gathered my supplies and found 6 of the 12 items to use on my tag.  It is a fall themed tag, designed for a page I am creating for the boys trebuchet and pumpkin chuckin at our Church's Pumpkin Fest a few weeks ago.  If you want to see the trebuchet they created - head over to posts around the end of October.

Anyway - the tag ingredient list:
Buttons - a few from my vintage stash
Flowers - some prima's worked well here
Rhinestones - ah - grab some leftover self adhesive bling from a project a while ago
Stamping - the stars in the background and the pumpkin stamps are from an October Afternoon Halloween collection a few years ago
Spray Mists - Believe it or not, this was a neon tag that has been stamped with brown Inkado ink and then I used gold glimmer mist to give it a bit of sparkle
Pumpkins - stamped and cut outs - after all, that was the theme of the day :D

I also used some die cut chipboard from my stash to create the star/gold circle on the top.  Just a piece of scrap ribbon and smooch ink to enhance those.  The smooch gives even a bit more sparkle without overpowering this tag for a page all about destruction.  The star paper is from my stash - no idea what it is from.  The metal piece in the corner is from my stash as well.  I adhered it with Crystal Accents, but it has been here quite some time.  The lettering is from a Target $1 spot set of stamps I have had for years.  They fit perfect in a .38 bullet case and it keeps them easy to find and use.

Oh, some of the inspiration came from The Flamingo Chronicals Blog. The paper with inky layers was key to my jumping off to create this tag.  She currently has a super blog candy giveaway going on this week too.  Check it out!

So, my tag:

I finally found the Tim Holtz ornament Sizzix die at a price I was willing to pay!  Now I could incorporate it with the wish sentiment I found on clearance.  I have used the wish before, but boy does it work better with the die!  Anyway, this is a card I created for Cheryl's Holiday Card Challenge over at Sketches 4 All.  I struggle to complete cards, but this one is so simple that it came together very quickly.  All papers, lace and pearls are from my stash - actually all were scraps.  I added some inking to the red and kept this card very simple and straight forward.

Next is a fun frame I found while cleaning my scrap area.  I turned in into this wonderful little Garden frame that I will use for either a mini album about some massive changes we made to garden setup this year or I will insert a photo.  Not quite sure which way it will go, but I know what photos it will be used with in the very near future.  It is also my entry into Stacy H-W's Stash Challenge over at Sketches 4 All.

Well, I have had some fun creating, now I need to get my errands completed and laundry started.  Hope you all have a wonderful day!  Remember, if you like scrapbooking swaps, stop over to Scrapbookingfun.biz and check out the wonderful swaps available.

It's a layout!

without the subject.  No permission to use the photo, so it won't be showing up.  Anyway, I did have fun creating this layout for the challenge/blog hop over at Let's Get Sketchy.  http://letsgetsketchy.blogspot.com/ and for the Use It Tuesday blog challenge.  http://useittuesday.blogspot.ca/

The challenge over at Let's Get Sketchy was to use the color combination as well as something Fall related.  My photos have to do with a particular someone napping and a cat napping right along side of them.  The title is All Star Napping (not displayed because it sets partially on the photos).

The challenge over at Use it Tuesday is to hit your stash.  I definitely did.  I started with the items below, though not all of them made it into the layout.

Next, I created a rosette from a piece of the scrap Making Memories Findings paper.  Hockey pucks work great to hold things together while drying.

 Then I started on a border.  First I punched some stars from a strip of brick/fall red scrap and then I took a scrap of yellow and, using just the lower half of a Creative Memories star punch, I punched out some parts of stars to make these little border tag elements.  I also used a piece of scrap K and Company Boy Scout Paper to punch some yellow/brown flecked stars.

Then, I changed my mind about pop-dotting the stars and did some inking instead.  I made a mask from one of the little red stars I punched out.

 Just did a quick pounce with my inker.

 This one shows the light inking.  It looks a bit darker in real life, but you can kind of see the basic idea.

 Finally, I added the yellow stars to the tags, making groups of three stars, a few blue stars from a scrap of core'dinations cardstock that had been sanded a bit, a piece of ribbon from Target's dollar spot that has been around a while, a left-over blue heart from Kaisercraft's Madame Boutique collection, and another scrap of sparkly paper for the main photo mat.  It is a piece of Making Memories Vintage findings.  Oh, the button on the rosette is one from my stash as well.

Anyway, I had a ton of fun, now off to add the photos and title piece - they are super cute!  Sorry, but I was asked not to put them online :D.

Finally some time to scrap!

So first off, a layout for the Cricut FANatics October Sketch challenge.  Nothing like waiting until the very last minute, but I have had my eye on doing something like this for these particular photos.  I don't know if you have ever read Gulliver's Travels, but working in my pumpkin patch this summer, thoughts from that story came back to me and the plants kind of reminded me of Lilliput.  I had always spelled the name wrong for reports, so couldn't resist doing it here as well.

 

If you have ever seen cuts from the Cricut Collage Cartridge, you will notice right off where my idea for my journal box came from.  I have used the same process before to create hockey papers and other custom word pages.  I used Alphalicious, Opposites Attract, Gypsy Font and Freshly picked for this particular word box.  The patterned papers and element are Cosmo Cricket Early Bird and the Letter stickers are from some Creative Memories I still have on hand.  The brown paper is Core'dinations and the yellow is doublemates.  

Off to do some more creating.  I had fun exploring the Let's get Sketchy Blog Hop today and can't wait to try out those color combinations.  Some of them are in the layout above!