I love Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff

Look what I had waiting on my front porch the other day... It's the new Generation Z line by Little Yellow Bicycle from Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff. The embellishments are amazing and I didn't even order everything they had. I can't wait to play with this line!

Crop layouts!!!

Last week Personal Scrapper posted a mini online crop. After using up the Eerie papers, I was a bit stumped on what to work on next, so the challenges were quite welcome.

Fellow PS member, Lisa Hidy, posted a great 2-page sketch for the crop. I altered it just a bit, but LOVED using it. I was able to use my new "hot spot" Cosmo Cricket chipboard letters from Archiver's for part of the large, mixed title. I used Scenic Route "Salem" papers with these photos from 2007.The Monochromatic Challenge was a hard one for me - they always are! I decided to keep working with the SR Salem papers and pulled out the green patterns and a sheet of coordinating green cardstock. I liked the way a mask was used on a layout by Stacy Cohen in Scrapbook Trends' February issue. I also incorporated Stacy's ruffle technique on this layout of Kevin with

his new cousin Reese in late September. I always love challenges to use multiple alphas since I LOVE to mix my alphas. "100% fun" came together pretty quick. I switched back to the SR Salem line for this one. I was stumped on the "fears/phobias" challenge until I came across this spider photo in the photos I used for "one perfect fall day" (above). Both Blake and I are terrified of spiders, so I used this fun photo of a hay bale spider at the pumpkin farm to tell the story. I was stumped for design inspiration, so I reviewed Shannon Zickel's gallery on her blog. I know she is great about leaving plenty of room for journaling. The hand-stitched spider was all my idea though! I drew it with pencil, poked the holes, then erased my lines. It didn't take as long to stitch as I thought it would - that was a good thing!My last completed layout for this crop was for the "Mix it up" challenge to use five different products. Sticking with the SR Salem line, I used cardstock, patterned paper, stickers, chipboard adn brads. However, I wasn't able to get this one posted before the crop ended last night.My goal was to finish all ten challenges, but my body wasn't cooperating and chose sleep over scrapping. I had a migraine on Sunday and have been battling what is likely the "Kentucky Crud" since then. I've been going to bed early and trying to get a lot of rest.

I hope everyone else is staying well!

Another Snow Day...

Lucky for me, Erica at Personal Scrapper started a mini online crop last night. I think the boys are tired of spending time with me...and with each other. We were able to spend time together in the same room today as I scrapped a bit and they took turns between playing on the computer and PS2.

The first challenge I completed was to scraplift a LO Erica posted using the February PS kit. I pulled out these two photos of the boys playing inside a portable toilet at Bass Pro Shop a few years back. It was NEW one on display. We were on our way back from the pumpkin patch, so I had my camera with me. I used the Halloween themed "Salem" line by Scenic Route even though they aren't Halloween photos - the papers just really matched well.For the celebration LO, I scrapped New Year's 2009. I am really proud of myself for working in pink with these photos!There is also a photo collage (4 or more photos) challenge. I've had this collage of Reese (my niece) printed out for a couple months now. Finally, I have an excuse to scrap it! Since the photo collage was so large, I kept everything else really simple. You are probably wondering about the story behind "reesy cup!" Well...I was watching her one afternoon and while she was asleep, I'd sing "Reesy Cup..." to her to the tune of "Ricola!" (as seen on the commercials). Every time I'd do it, she'd smile or make a funny face. Her eyes would open, but you could only see the whites. I'm so glad I had my camera nearby!

There are seven more challenges that I "hope" to get to before the crop is over.

Happy Scrappin'!

Snow outside means scrapping inside...

This year has started out to be the coldest I can ever remember. We've also experienced more snow than I can ever remember. Last week we had over 6" of snow and the boys and I had a blast building not one, but TWO snowmen. It was the perfect snowman building weather. We also had enough snow to make snow cream. Yum!!! And luckily we had plenty of hot chocolate. We ended up missing three days of school last week and after more snow this weekend, also missed school yesterday and now AGAIN today! (We were out Monday for the holiday.)

My snowmen are STILL standing in the front yard! While we've been home, I've stayed pretty busy with the boys. We watched a lot of movies together, played some checkers - just had fun! I did spend a little time in my scrap area though.

I was back in my Halloween-scrapping mode...

I am trying to finish off my supply of Basic Grey's "Eerie" line. Here I paired it up with some old Scenic Route (arrows). I thought my title "Trick ARRRR Treat" was appropriate for these Halloween photos of Pirate Blake from '05. Gosh, he's grown!

I also scrapped a LO for Blake's album using family shots from this past Halloween.

For Blake, I also scrapped shots of the boys at home before we left to go trick or treating. I was inspired by a LO on Alison Davis' blog. "We want Candy" was inspired by a sketch posted by Lisa Hidy on her blog. It was a single page sketch, but I stretched it out into a 2-pager and used American Crafts products.

I continued using the American Crafts products on Kevin's layout showcasing the family costumes on Halloween. That's my next-to-youngest sister Kaitlin in the center dressed at Tranformer's Megatron. She's 21!Today I scraplifted a LO by Roree Rumph in the February issue of Scrapbook Trends magazine. I used some Scenic Route Cape Town papers that a friend sent me. Scenic Route never goes out of style. (Have I mentioned how much I'll miss them?!?) I got crafty with my paints and glimmer mists. The tag was a BRIGHT yellow, but I used Tattered Leather glimmer mist. It was too dark, so I wiped it off and it left a wood-grain look. I thought it was pretty cool ;) The red in the chipboard stars and on the tag was from Candy Apple Red Glimmer Mist. I now have more colors on my wish list!I have one more Halloween layout to share, but I scrapped it with Valentine's Day products since Reese, my niece, was a too cute pink monster.I was actually able to visit with Reese twice over the past week. She's really grown since October, hasn't she? She's a mess!

Now, I'm trying to work in some crop time. Personal Scrapper is having a mini online crop that started last night.

I'm actually hoping we are back to school tomorrow! I think the boys are ready for it, too.

New Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff Projects to share...

A couple weeks ago, I did some serious sorting in my scrap area. I had a few baskets of "things to scrap" piling up. A lot of it was memorabilia and team and class portraits. I took a recent order from Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff and created a couple simple layouts using the boys' class portraits mixed in with some memorabilia I'd saved from the same year. There's nothing fancy about them and they were quick to complete. The school themed products made it easy to document special memories for my boys.

I also realized I have a growing collection of Cub Scout photos to scrap! Lucky for me Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff carries a large selection of Cub Scout themed products. This "Ready Set Go!" Pinewood Derby paper really didn't need any embellishing. I just needed to crop and add photos.

I have already received a new order from Scrappin' {Sports} and can't wait to get started with projects using the Teresa Collins "Family" line of papers.

Halloween in February...???

When I reorganized my scrap space, I came across a few (too many?) Halloween themed scrapbooking papers/kits. My favorite was the Basic Grey Eerie collection from this past fall. I had purchased individual sheets and some embellishments back when it first came out, but only got so far as to "kit" them together. On a recent trip to Archiver's, I found several matching embellishments marked down 50%. I was anxious to use this line!

Last night my aunt came over for some late night scrapbooking. I was inspired by some LOs by Allison Davis (2-pagers) and my new issue of Scrapbook Trends magazine. I was able to finish four layotus last night and another one earlier this afternoon. I LOVE them all. Like I mentioned earlier, I loved Eerie to start with. It was just that much better after adding photos.

I started by pulling out my 2007 Halloween photos. This was a year where the boys costumes didn't really coordinate. Kevin really wanted to be a skeleton, so he used an old costume of Blake's. It was deja vu seeing him look much like Blake - like a yard decoration - during our photo shoot in the front yard. He was adorable when he took the mask off though. "Boo to You!" was inspired by a LO in the February issue of Scrapbook Trends by Lisa Dickinson.

The rest of Kevin's trick or treat shots from this year are used on "Trick or Treat Glendale". Each year we trick or treat in this (safe and quaint) nearby railroad town. We met up with my sisters boys this year. It was Luke's first Halloween. He was a fly trapped in a web (with the "web" on his stroller) while his big brother was a spider. I was inspired by an Allison Davis layout on her family store's blog. "Dracula" was also inspired by an Allison Davis layout. The tree I used replaces three paper Christmas tress she had on her original. 2007 was a favorite year of mine as far as Blake's costumes go. I thought he was the coolest Dracula!"Ghost Train" wraps up Halloween 2007 for Blake. (I had already scrapped a couple photos for his album a while back.) I was inspired by a Kelly Noel layout in the February issue of Scrapbook Trends.I am proud to say that "Trick Tattoos" is all original-Amy. I printed these b/w shots of Kevin and my dad sporting fake tattoo "sleeves" right after I took them in October 2008, but never scrapped them. I thought they worked great with the Eerie papers. Not sure if you noticed on the other layouts, but I did a lot of distressing with my edger and also inking (gasp!...I know!...me inking!). I took it a little further on this one and even distressed the edges of my photos with my paper edger and some little "roller thingy". Yes, I'm sure it has a name, but whatever it was left little holes in my paper. I still wanted a more distressed look, so I pulled out the never-before-used steel wool from my drawer and rubbed that around the edge of my photos. (That's what made the orange spots on the photo.) I am happy with my results. My favorite part of this page, was the creative burst that hit me when I was adding my title. I decided to place the skeleton where the two Os should have been in "tattoos." The blinged out eyes are my Os. ;)

Although I feel like I could scrap all night, I'm declaring tonight movie night with my husband. I will admit though that I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the snow they are predicting for Monday night to hit. Big. I'd enjoy a snow day filled with scrapping in between making batches of hot cocoa for my boys.

Thanks for looking!

9 layouts = 1 great value!

In October after making the design team, I received my first order from Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff. (Click here to see it.) I quickly created several pages using it. Then I did a few more here and there over the past few months.

In January, it was COLD. I believe it was the 16th before we had a day hit over the freezing point! I guess I was thinking warm thoughts...about sitting out at the ballpark and enjoying a game in the sun. Maybe? I pulled out my container of Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff supplies and grabbed some baseball photos. By adding some cardstock and Scenic Route background papers, I was able to finish NINE more layouts!

I used a SR background paper for the base of this layout for Kevin. The photo looks pretty uneventful, but I wanted to remember him in the stands at a travel tournament supporting his brother before he was named an all-star. It probably doesn't sound like much to most of you, but now I can look back and appreciate the time he spent patiently waiting and supporting his brother.

Next, I documented the all-star uniforms from last summer. Love this page. (Love this kid, too!)Speaking of loving this kid...I came across these photos of Kevin from his last year of teeball. I couldn't get over how much he's grown! I was amazed by the expressions on his face in both photos. Instead of scrapping about the game the day the photos were taken, I decided to use these photos as an example and journal about why we invest so much time (and sometimes money) into baseball. It's for our boys. It's to give them the opportunity. It's to give them moments like I captured in these two shots. It's to give us all this much enjoyment.Finally, I scrapped one last LO for Kevin. These shots are from a tournament last summer. They got their butts kicked in this last game, but they were 7s playing in an 8 year-old tournament. They won game after game, but finally hit a roadblock against a great team. You can't win them all, but by playing hard, you'll become a better player in the end. And what is baseball without Blake?!? Last summer I took (too) many (???) shots of him at bat. I had printed a 5x7 collage of several smaller photos, but I decided to break them up and reposition them in a diagonal row across the page. Blake's strength amazes me, but I know with hard work, he'll still continue to improve. This next photo (an enlargement) isn't Blake's favorite. It reminds him of a season where his team wasn't the greatest and they didn't play their best. To me though, it reminds me of the lessons Blake learned by being on this team. They didn't always play "together." Many of them didn't work hard. Blake didn't even get to play much that season. This, however, was a real turning point in Blake's attitude. It wasn't all fun and games. Blake learned that he had to really perform to earn a spot. He learned that hard work isn't always rewarded. He learned that not everything is fair. Still, whenever he was in the game, he gave 100%. I think in the long run that last summer's experience will make him a better player. I took a break from baseball photos and scrapped a little football...We all enjoyed our trip to a Louisville football game last fall. They won! (This LO is for Kevin - Blake's was already scrapped.)In December, we spent our anniversary attending a Western Kentucky basketball game (the boys were able to get free tickets and ours were only $5 each!). It was a fun outing. Kevin is obsessed with "Big Red" their mascot! Blake is just an all-around sports fan, so he'd be happy at any game. The fact that the Hilltoppers won their 500th win in their arena made it even more memorable. I scrapped a 2-page layout for each of the boys.

My stash of Teresa Collins products has been officially used up! I placed a new order with SSS today for some Teresa Collins "family" products. I hope I can stretch them as far as the sports line!

Snow fun...

We had a bit of snow this past weekend. I guess about 3 inches. The boys had fun playing outside in it on Saturday and Sunday. Luckily it didn't interfere too much with the roads and we were able to get out every day and back to school on Monday.

I guess you could say I was inspired by the snow to scrapbook a bit. On Sunday night I created this layout using photos taken during the ice storm last January. It's hard to believe that exactly one year ago we were without power and staying with my parents (who had power restored...and hot water!). I mentioned once that we were without power for almost a week. Blake was quick to remind me that it was actually six days and ten hours! I used my new January kit from Personal Scrapper for this page. I added some older items to it also (metal snowflakes from Michael's, Li'l Davis coaster, fabric tab...and Thickers!).

We could get more snow this weekend or early next week. We will have six more weeks of winter, afterall!

Stay warm. ;)