Scrapping with January PageMaps sketches...

We had a snow day on Friday. (Yay!) I took some time to scrap and worked in some more time over the weekend, too. I challenged myself to use all of the January PageMaps sketches. I was able to scrap with all TEN sketches, too!

(I'm sharing my layouts in the order they are listed on the PageMaps PDF.)

For the first sketch, I adjusted the sketch from a 2-page 8-1/2"x11" to a 2-page 12x12. I used the new Crate Paper "Snow Day" line.

The photos are from last winter.

I turned the sketch for "Cast of Characters" clockwise. Instead of using flowers like the sketch suggested, I used spiders.

For this layout, I used the October add-on from Polka Dot Whimsy. LOVED the handmade "flower" from the kit made out of a striped napkin. It came flat, but was easy to "poof up." Michelle does a great job selecting embellishments for her kits!

I made adjustments on my third layout to accomodate more photos. I also had to change the journaling position. Used the October PDW add-on kit for this one, too.

"Prepare to Scare" is actually based on a single-page layout. I loved the squares on it and it made it easy to stretch into a 2-pager and adjust for photo count and sizes. I used the October PDW add-on for this layout, too. I just had to pull black cardstock from my stash. I also added the green Jillibean Soup alphabet.

"Passed Out" is based on an 8-1/2"x11" sketch. I made it 12x12. This is another good use of the October PDW add-on.

Here's a layout I kept pretty true to the sketch! I just turned this one clockwise.

Loved the "googly" eyes that came in the kit. I thought they were a fun addition to the center of my "O"s.

I switched into Boy Scout mode for the next sketch. It was for an 11"x8-1/2" layout, but I made it 12x12 and added some photos. I used supplies from Scrappin' Sports Stuff to complete this one.

Back to Halloween..."I love a Hayride" is based on a single page sketch that my friend Mel actually designed with for the PageMaps newsletter this month. I had too many photos for it, so I stretched it into a 2-pager. (Surprised?) Everything on this one was from the PDW October add-on except for the 2 sheets of black cardstock from my stash.

I did another Scout layout for Scrappin' Sports Stuff. I kept to the sketch on this one and only adjusted for the photo size. I left off the butterflies. The focus on this one is the journaling.

The last sketch not only finished off the scraps from the October PDW add-on, but it also wrapped up Kevin's pile of Halloween 2010 photos. There is more snow in our forecast for the coming week. If we have another snow day, I just might turn it into another scrap day.

Have a great week!

Thank you Creating Keepsakes...

I was surprised to open my email last night to find a message from a member of the CK forums telling me my layout was spotlighted this week. I checked the Creating Keepsakes blog and there I was in their "Scrapbooking Inspiration January 3" post (here). My layout, "Wintertime Help" is the 6th of ten that they shared.
While I'm talking about Creating Keepsakes...

Have you seen their new January issue? It's on sale now. I'm on page 32. (!!!) I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to vote for me a few months ago when I was one of three selected to be part of their Reader's Pick Poll. I won and my layout was published. It's really fun seeing my work in print, but the best part is seeing my boys' excitement when they see themselves PICTURED in print.

This week is now half-way over. I miss my pajama days, but it's nice to be back in a routine.

Good times with family...

Today I'd like to share the first layout I made with my January "City Life" kit from Polka Dot Whimsy.

First, let me explain my process when I work with a kit. I will either instantly grab my favorite items and scrap with them immediately OR I'll take the items that intimidate me or aren't things I'd normally use on my own and challenge myself to use them first.

With this kit, I was surprised to find a large square of brown/dot fabric and several sequins (large brown and smaller blue). I didn't dislike them - they were just items I would never have thought to scrap with if I had been selecting the products myself. So, instead of pushing them aside to use later (with scraps or not at all), I decided to work with them first.

The color palette in the fabric reminded me of Thanksgiving, so I pulled out my photos from Thanksgiving and went to work to create my layout "Good Times with Family."And I love it! I instantly thought of layering the sequins over the dot pattern of the fabric. I chose to use a grid patterned paper (backside of a sheet of Cosmo Cricket paper) with the fabric in the center. To finish off the edges of the fabric, I trimmed it with one of the beautiful trims from the kit and added a hand-stitched border also.

I kept my needle and thread out and sewed a "knot" (I'm sure there is a technical name for this) to keep the two different sized sequins together. I added them to the centers of some of some of the dots on the fabric and also used one as a flower center for my accent/journaling block grouping.
Both my journaling block and the tag I used for the background of my title were cut out of patterned paper and then adhered with pop dots. (You know I love dimension!) I used a mix of alphas and a phrase sticker to make my title. So the Sassafrass Lass grid alphas would stand out, I backed them with paper (a sheet of notepaper from the kit) and also outlined them with a black pen.

I finished off the layout by adding a piece of ribbon from the kit to the tag with staples. Then I added punched photo corners to my row of photos.

I love that I was able to use so many different items from the kit. I think the use of fabric and trims provides the perfect "homey" feel for this layout about family.

Check this out...

Today my first blog assignment is up on the Polka Dot Whimsy blog. You can check it out here.

I was asked to design with this sketch:
I flipped it and adjusted it to fit my photos to create this:I used the FUN "City Life" January kit that is ON SALE NOW.

It's back to work today. Hope everyone has a great first week of January!

Oh, how I love City Life...

It's January and that means that a new kit is up over at Polka Dot Whimsy - "City Life." This kit is my first to use as a member of their design team. I love the variety of pattern papers that Michelle included and especially the assortment of embellishments.

I'll leave you with a quick preview of my projects. Later this week I'll share them with you.
Happy scrappin'!

Top 10 things I did in 2010...

I wanted to post my top 10 photos from 2010, but with my boys there was no way to narrow that down to just ten photos! So, I'm taking a different route and posting the top ten things I did in 2010. This post is all about me. Throughout the year I have already shared nearly every milestone I've shared with Blake and Kevin.

Instead of posting these ten in order of importance, I'm posting them chronologically...

1. In May I attended my sister Kaitlin's graduation from the University of Louisville. I am SO PROUD of her. (For her graduation gift, I took her to see Wicked the next week. I so enjoyed spending time with her.)2. This summer, we took a few days to head up to Cincinnati. It was fun seeing a Reds game and spending time at Great Wolf Lodge. All four of us loved the indoor waterpark. I could have spent more time out by the pool though - that was so nice! (And with our boys getting older, that means they are offering to take photos of me and Tom together now.) 3. In September, thanks to my sister Kaitlin, Tom and I attended a concert in Cincinnati. I got to see three of my favorite bands perform in one show - The Whigs, The Black Keys and Kings of Leon. I had a lot more fun than Tom did, but I'm so glad he went with me.

4. At the end of September, I had thyroid surgery. About 3/4 of my thyroid was removed. I am amazed by what a positive experience that has turned out to be. I'm also thankful I had such a great surgeon.5. In October, I went out with Kaitlin once again. This time she went with me to see Band of Horses in concert. It was wonderful! I hope in 2011 that we can find a couple things to do together again. :)6. 2011 turned into my year of the concert! The night before Thanksgiving I went to Louisville to see The Whigs play at a local bar. I was right up against the stage with my sisters Adriane, Ashley and Molly and our cousin Kimberly. What a great night. We even met the band! 7. I have always wanted to go to New York City. This year I finally got to go to celebrate my 36th birthday and my 13th anniversary with Tom. It was amazing to see Rockefeller Center at Christmastime.8. And I walked ACROSS THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE!!! (This is really something for a girl afraid of both heights and water!) I saw the Statue of Liberty for the first time from the bridge. I think Tom got a kick out of hearing me scream when I saw it. 9. I had lunch on my birthday at Carnegie Deli. Yes, the Reuben was worth the 30+ minute wait in line to even get inside the door. Om nom, nom...10. On my birthday, I also went to the top of the Empire State Building. I tried to talk Tom out of going. (Remember, I'm afraid of heights.) I am so glad he convinced me to go. The view was something else. It was freezing cold up there, but I didn't want to leave.

That's my year in review. 2010 is going to be hard to top!

Happy 2011!

Christmastime is here... (Noel Mignon-style)

Tom and the boys gave me the Noel Mignon "Bedford Falls" (Christmas) kit for my birthday. But, then I went to NYC. And came home to return to work and prepare for Christmas. There wasn't any time left to scrap. Finally, the week before Christmas, I took some time to scrap. I finished 7 layouts using the kit in one night. I have since finished a total of twelve layouts and still have a TON of product left to work with. (These kits are a GREAT value!)

My first layout using the kit - "new PJs" - documents an annual tradition we have. Last year Kevin received University of Louisville pjs while Blake's were the Indianapolis Colts. Since this was the first layout with the kit, I challenged myself to use up the MM frame embellishment that came with the gold foilage since it wasn't my favorite. I backed it with one of the Pink Paislee Santas (another item I really didn't like much) and ended up being very happy with how it turned out.

After I finished my next layout, I realized it didn't have a title. (!!!) ALL of my layouts have titles. But, I was really happy with the look of this one, so I didn't add anything to it.

I added a few items to the NM kit for this one. I used some of the American Crafts rose trim in white, but I changed the color by misting it with Mr. Huey in Green Apple. I used a scrap piece I cut off behind the "home is..." MME die cut that I also added. These photos from last Christmas just make me happy.

My next layout was completed for Noel's challenge blog challenge for "Outdoor Decor." I scrapped the outside of my house and also an "outside" tradition of leaving out "reindeer food."

In addition to using the kit items, I also added a couple tags from Shabby Chic Crafts and a layered "home" sticker from MME. To finish off the layout, I traced "santa" with Glossy Affects.

While scrapping, I realized we have a lot of traditions for Christmas. :) Another one is the boys each by one gift for the other. I had already made a 5x7 photo collage of last years exchange, so this year's layout was easy to scrap. I was inspired by a layout in the December '10 issue of Scrapbooks, Etc. by Lisa Truesdell.

I sprayed my kraft background with Green Apple Mr. Huey and then added a couple Shabby Chic Crafts tags and some baker's twine to the layout.

Forgive me for the awful photo of this next 2-page layout. I rushed to get photos of them before the holidays and now that I am looking at them, the pages are already in an album. This layout was inspired by a Vicki Boutin layout in the December '10 issue of Scrapbooks, Etc. I adjusted it to fit the sizes of photos I already had and mixed up the embellishments and title placement.

I added a Shabby Chic Crafts tag and green star stickers/alphas by Jenni Bowlin to the kit I was using. I even worked in some rub-ons on this page. I RARELY ever use rub-ons anymore, but I love how they look against the kraft paper.

"Christmas Morning" is a continuation of the last layout. No cropping was involved on these photos since I had printed two 6-up 5x7x and a 2-up 4x6.

Again, I used rub-ons. Can you believe it? This was a super simple & FAST page to complete. I just added the "Christmas Morning" tag from Shabby Chic Crafts over the top of a MM embellishment to make my title.

Here's another super simple page. I went with my "go-to" design. I slightly cropped my photos and positioned them across the center of my page. Then I added strips of paper to give the look of crossing the entire spread. My title starts on page one with the FP "All I want for Christmas is..." sticker and is completed with the Jillibean Soup corrugated alphas "gifts!" I added the alphas, a Shabby Chic Crafts tag, and some baker's twine to the kit.

I used all of the We R Memory Keepers papers from the kit on this layout with photos from last year. I had a story to tell, so the ruled die cut paper was perfect. I added some Shabby Chic Crafts tags and more Glossy Affects (on the holly berries).

Last year was the first year the boys really wanted to help put the tree up (instead of just decorating it when it was ready). They were a big help. "O Christmas Tree" uses more of the WRMK papers. Again, I added some tags from Shabby Chic Crafts and Jillibean Soup corrugated alphas. And there Glossy Affects add dimension to the tree on the round tag.

I printed these photos of Blake from last Christmas at my parents' house as two 6-up 5x7 prints, but then cut them apart. I spaced them out in a 4x4 grid and filled in the empty squares with embellishments.

I just added more Shabby Chic Crafts tags and the green star/alpha stickers by Jenni Bowlin to complete this page. Next up, I did a 2-pager using more photos from Christmas Eve '09 at Mom & Dad's.

Of course, I added more tags from Shabby Chic crafts and accented the heart on on of them.

I finished the layout by tying some baker's twine through a couple ribbons. My final layout (so far...) gave me a change to try out my new Martha Stewart around-the-page border punches. I added a layered sticker (quote) from MME and some AC pompom trim.

And, you knew I was going to use more tags from Shabby Chic Crafts, didn't you? I just love them! If you haven't already checked out Shabby Chic Crafts, do so now. They have a great variety of tags, but more importantly, they offer great customer service.

I have a few assignments coming due, so it was time to put the Noel Mignon kit away. I hope to have more things to share with you soon.

Enjoy the rest of 2010!