Monday, November 29, 2010

Pre-Thanksgiving scrap...

Since I know my December is going to be crazy-busy, I tried to get a jump start on my design team commitments for Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff. I used the We R Memory Keepers "Show & Tell" line to scrap Kevin's diorama project from earlier in the year. I was soooooo proud of Kevin for all the work he did himself on his project. He was the only student to draw his animals, too. The layout was pretty simple and focused on the photos, but I added stitching with a white pen to the die cut paper and also to all of the alphas. Then I switched years and scrapped photos with papers I was dying to use together. For the first time ever, we went to an orchard and picked our own apples. The "Apple Cider" line from Imaginisce was perfect for these photos.
Again, I went with a simple layout and focused on my photos. One photo wouldn't fit in my "grid" so I cropped it in to a cirlce. Then I got a bit creative and cut two leaves out of kraft paper, wadded them up, and painted them green.
I also used the green paint on my kraft corrugated alphas. I cut several strips of patterned paper and used a border punch on some of them. Both layouts just make me happy.
Have a great week!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

I am thankful...

This past Thanksgiving weekend sure kept us busy! But, it reminds me that I have a lot to be thankful for.


Kevin came home Tuesday afternoon and announced that the family turkey we made last weekend won BEST OF SHOW out of the entire 3rd grade. We sure were proud of that Elvis turkey! (Blake's class winner wasn't announced before the break.) The night before Thanksgiving, I ventured out with three of my sisters and my only cousin on my mom's side of the family. We had tickets to a concert and stopped off at Hooters for dinner on the way. My sister Ashley thinks Hooters should be our annual Thanksgiving Eve tradition! (We LOVE fried pickles and buffalo shrimp!)

Then it was on to Headliner's for The Whigs concert. !!! It was a really small venue (standing room only) and we were right up by the stage all night. The two opening acts, Bad Blood and Midnight Sons, were entertaining, but The Whigs were the best. We even got to meet all three members of the band. The drummer, Julian Dorio, was at the table selling shirts so we talked to him before the show. Then we met lead singer Parker Gispert and bass player Timothy Deaux after the show. They were all really nice guys.
On Thanksgiving morning, we delivered meals for our church. It had been a couple years since we had, but plan to make it an annual tradition. It was really good for the boys. We spent Thanksgiving day with my family. All six of us girls were there. (That's Kaitlin in the rabbit fur hat she bought in Utah earlier in the month! Oh, and we are sitting in age order left-right back row, then front.)The boys enjoyed their dinner. My mom is the best cook! They sat at the "kids table" in the sunroom with my nephews.And you can't forget Reese!
I put our tree up when we got home Thursday night.
Friday, I went out shopping for a few hours with my mom. We didn't leave until almost 8:00, but hit a few stores and got what we set out to find.
Saturday we went for Thanksgiving with the Wheelers at Tom's mom's. The highlight of my day was when Tom asked our nephew Jax to pose with me. Jax threw his arm around me and leaned in for the photo. Jax has autism, so a hug from him isn't always guaranteed. This photo is REALLY special to me. Today I dressed the boys up for church and posed them in front of the tree. I love our tree. This year I sat it up by the fireplace instead of by the front window. I also moved around several other decorations and didn't put a lot of them out. I simplified. The things that mean the most to me are out. The rest stayed boxed up.
Since I'll be away on my birthday this year (Saturday), the boys went ahead and gave me my presents today. (We have something every night this week until we leave, so this was the stress-free route.) I loved everything they gave me.
But my two guys are my greatest gift!
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Finally...(and a thank you to Shutterfly!)

With Love Chartreuse Christmas 5x7 folded card
Get custom photo Christmas cards online at Shutterfly.com.
View the entire collection of cards.

There's nothing like procrastinating! I swear I do not know where this year has gone! Needless to say, I will not be sending my usual handmade cards out for Christmas. After using Shutterfly's site to create a card (and not just any card, but a FOLDED card!) complete with inside greeting, I am starting to wonder if I will ever make another handmade Christmas card. This was just too easy!

The best part is that these should arrive right about the time I'm returning from my birthday trip to New York City. That gives me plenty of time to get my annual letter written...

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Show & Tell

While straightening up my scrap area last week, I noticed I have a LOT of "kit" (coordinated line) bags with photos tossed inside. I don't want to forget about these photos, so I need to make a point to scrap with them. Often once I start with a kit bag, I like to scrap with it until it's gone.

I used my bag of We R Memory Keeper's "Show & Tell" products over the summer after I first received them with my design team supplies from Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff. I made several layouts I loved then, but then moved on to a new line/batch of photos and didn't get back to WRMK.


My first new layout actually used brand new photos! These were from earlier this month when I went to school with Kevin for Muffins for Mom. The best part was that it was ON HIS BIRTHDAY! He was so excited. It was a special morning for us both. Since my mind was thinking what a special time we had, I included the tag from the line, but cut the tag "loop" off and just used it as a die cut complete with brad center. Of course, I had to mix up my title!
The photo for "writing in recess" isn't great. Ok, it's not even good. But, it's the only one I have of Blake writing a letter to a special teacher at the end of 5th grade. I loved how the ruled die cut paper gave me plenty of room to tell my story. Afterall, that's why I scrapbook - to get these stories down for my boys to remember. I thought the row of apples were too cute. I cut an extra one out and popped it up with pop dots. Blake may never notice that little touch, but it made me smile. :)
I didn't have many good shots of the actual "graduation" for 5th grade. The gym is the worst place in the world for photographs! I did have a good shot of the screen when they flashed Blake's "then & now" shots. (He was just under 2 in the "then" shot.) I also had four others that could be cropped down a bit and still tell my story.I purposely went with a ruled background paper so I'd have a lot of room to list the awards Blake received at the ceremony. There were several. We are so proud of him!I didn't mix up my title on this one too much. I did overlap my letters a bit though. "Time 2 Say Goodbye" was a fun layout to plan. It reminded me of that day when Blake wanted to get photos with these teachers and staff members that had meant so much to him. The 5th grade has four teachers that you see for different subjects, so he spent time with all of them. I also have photos with the principal, music teacher, PE teacher, my aunt the office clerk, and the library aide who was a special friend the whole time Blake was at the school. I decided to overlap my Thickers for the title again. I think this year I have scrapped more school layouts than ever. There are just so many great lines that have been released this year. Plus, the boys' school stories are some of the best ones that I have to share. I still have some of this WRMK line, but I still have several other school lines still in my stash.
Speaking of school...it's the last day before Thanksgiving break. Yay!!!

Monday, November 22, 2010

The end of pink?

Are you ready for some more pink layouts?

I had posted a few I made of Reese over the weekend. I used the My Mind's Eye "Alphabet Soup" line that I actually purchased specifically for my niece's photos. (Yes, I have so many photos of this child, I could probably pass her off as my own!) I decided I was going to scrap with this line until it was gone. (I like to do that...)

"100% mess" pretty much says it all. I had more photos from her afternoon with the mini cupcake (that I scrapped for Kevin's album), so I printed 6-up on a 4x6 and then cropped them to make a row of mini shots along the bottom of my 11x8.5 layout. I added some Lily Bee tulle flowers that look sort of like a hair decoration (!!!).
I also accented the page with a Maya Road envelope and a couple different sets of Thickers. I'm also getting some use out of my border punches. They are a recent "go-to" item for me.
Before Reese turned one, she was in this stage where she'd say, "no, no, no, no" if she knew she was doing something she shouldn't. So, I had to scrap her getting into the cabinets under our tv. Yes, she was telling me "no, no, no, no" in the shots, so it was the perfect title for the page.
I cut a Maya Road scalloped envelope in half and positioned it so it looks like it stretches across the height of the page.
Once I was down to just scraps, I switched to a cardstock background for my final layout. I also used three different border punches on this page. I even added in some buttons and brads. All of my photos were adhered with thin pop dots to add some dimension to the page. And, I "dotted" my fabric Thickers with white ink. Finally, with the last few scraps I had, I did the unthinkable.
I, AmyInKY, made...
wait for it...
are you ready?
Cards!Ok, so they might just be three SUPER simple cards, but they are cards.
And I think they are actually cute with their Glossy Accent dots on the telephones and ladybugs. Plus, I added white dots to my letters again. Who knows? I might just start making more cards from scraps now.
This past weekend I was hit with a migraine that took me out of commission on Saturday. I did feel like scrapping a bit on Sunday in between cleaning, laundry and helping the boys with their family turkey projects.
Check back tomorrow to see what kit/theme I picked up next...

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Turkey Time!

It's family turkey time!

Both of my boys brought home a turkey to decorate/dress up for Thanksgiving. Kevin's grade is giving out prizes for most creative, funniest, etc.

Kevin came up with an Elivis-themed turkey.

He had it all sketched out for me. We used my Sticles (scrapbook supply) to color in the feathers. We cut a shirt and sunglasses out of cardstock and also glittered them up. I had to draw the star and write Elvis on the shirt for him. We cut "blue suede shoes" out of fabric and I stitched laces on them for him. The guitar was a sticker. Oh, and we added a gold ribbon "scarf." The cardstock hair and sideburns looked a little bland, so I cut a piece of Blake's Halloween wig so Elvis would have some "real" hair and sideburns. :)
Good luck, Kevin!
Blake went a more predictable route - for Blake - a Boston Red Sox turkey. (I'm still not sure how Kevin came up with Elvis!)
Blake's turkey required less parental help. I help him cut out the shirt, hat, ball, glove and cleats. It's amazing what you can do with vellum - it's great for tracing over things and then using as a template!
The winner in Blake's class gets a free lunch from a local drive in. He really wants to win that prize!
"Turkey Day" is just around the corner!!! Four more days! But, only two more days of school. Yay!!!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Warning...pink layouts ahead...

A few months ago on a trip to Evansville, I stopped in the local scrapbook store. I came home with a paperline that was purchased specifically for scrapping my niece, Reese. It's the My Mind's Eye "Alphabet Soup" line for girls. I've used some of it for layouts since then, but decided the other night to scrap with it until it's gone.

The first layout I made is one for my personal album, so I scrapped 11x8.5. Reese was 11 months old in these photos and not yet walking. Still, she liked to push her toy along and "walk" with it. I gave this layout dimension by adding a paper ruffle, flowers and using pop dots behind certain elements. I also scrapped a layout for Kevin's album. It documents the two of them sharing mini cupcakes. Reese had ONE and made quite a mess. I was reminded of the "if you give a mouse a cookie" book title and titled my page, "If you give a Reese a cupcake."To mimic icing on cupcakes, I painted the top half of my Jillibean Soup corrugated alphas pink, then added some glitter to top it off. I also accented a few elements on the page with dimensional glaze (like the dots and hair on the doll on the layout).
So far tonight, I've finished two more Reese pages with this line with one more started. I'll share those with you another day.
Have a great weekend!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Blog hopping...

Yesterday when I had a minute, I checked out a few blogs for inspiration. When I stopped over at Allison Davis' blog, it was neat to see MY layout pop up on the page as part of her "Around the World" post.



She included my "I love Fall" layout that I made using her October Sketch Week sketch. You can see the post here.


Then I stopped over at the forums at Scrapdango. One of the design team members had posted to be sure and check out their blog for their Member Monday post. I was a few days late in checking, but very glad I did. They had actually selected three different members' layouts to spotlight and mine was one of them.
The funny this is that I also used an Allison Davis sketch for this layout! You can check out Scrapdango's Member Monday post here.

Since returning to work after my day of scrapping while home with the flu-stricken Kevin, I haven't scrapped a thing. Our evenings have been full with Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and religious education at church. Tonight we have basketball tryouts.



I can hear my scrap table calling me...



I just received these in the mail today from Shabby Chic Crafts. If you haven't checked them out, you should. They have WONDERFUL customer service to go along with their cool products!



Now I just need to wait patiently for this to go on sale over at Noel Mignon so I can get crafty with Christmas:

I have years of Christmas photos to scrap!

Happy scrapping!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff...and school, too!

For my DT layouts this month, I was able to work with three different lines from Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff.

For my first layout, I documented Kevin's all-star baseball team's end of season party. The team went undefeated this summer, 23-0. I used the Bo Bunny "Block Party" line for this layout. The colors worked great with the team colors (although you can't see their red in these shots). I also added a journaling card by Little Yellow Bicycle. I thought the "Season Highlight" heading was appropriate to wrap up their year. I was able to incorporate my new Martha Stewart "cherish" border punch into this layout. Plus, I even made my own baseball embellishment. I copied this idea from Allison Davis.
Speaking of Allison Davis...I used her November Sketch Week sketch for my next layout, "At the bus stop." Again, I used product from Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff. This time I worked with the Crate Paper "School Spirit" line. I scrapped photos of the boys from the first day of school in August. I even handstitched all around that alpha paper. I'm also really liking the look of matting my alphabets instead of just sticking them down on the page. Sure that chipboard accent was meant to be an A+, but for my page, it became "at"...Finally, I pulled out another line from Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff to scrap Blake's recent (last week!) awards ceremony at school. On the standardized tests they take in the spring, he scored proficient on Reading, Writing and Social Studies. He was Distinguished in Math. (We are so proud of him!!!) The colors in the Pink Paislee "Old School" line worked great with my photos.Since I was scrapping Blake and one of his best friends, I cut the "skirt" off of the female "restroom person" on the glitter sticker sheet so I'd have two males to accent my page.
Once again, I decided to mat part of my title (distinguished). This was a fun page to put together. I already have plans for my Scrappin' {Sports} Stuff projects for December. Stay tuned...