Very Mary

BOO! (a card)

Just a quick post to say Happy Halloween to you all!
I didn't make any Halloween cards this year, but thought I would share one from last year that I finally sent out! I am notorious for making cards and never sending them! Trying to change that!
This card was published in Cards magazine. I used a funky font (can't remember which, sorry!) in PSE to create the "BOO" and added the exclamation point with a stamp from the Bold and Beautiful Punctuation set from gel-a-tins. "BOO" was attached to the card with pop dots for a little extra dimension. The orange part of the card opens up so you can write a lil' something inside.

Hope you have a safe and wonderful time celebrating this ghoulish holiday! Back next week with another mini-album, a project, a layout or two and maybe some more cards!

The Month of May (a mini-album)

Elizabeth is easily one of the most talented people I know. Not only is she an amazing scrapbooker and photographer, she is the momma of three hopelessly cute and spunky little people. I check Elizabeth's blog religiously, and I am forever hoping that her witty writing style will rub off on me. Her third little girl is so much like Sadie that I often think, "Well now, I should really just make life easier and cut and paste that paragraph right there and pop it into my scrapbook." I don't, but I'm sure tempted.

I was so incredibly lucky that a) we were both Hall of Famers in 2006 so that I got the chance to "meet" her; and b) she asked me to be one of the contributors for her fabulous book, The Scrapbooker's Almanac. I know I've said it before, but when I got my copy of the book, I was floored! The ideas are endless and biased opinion aside, it's still my very favorite book on scrapbooking.

Pages 158 and 159 are home to my very favorite project, and one that I knew immediately that I absolutely had to scraplift. And there's no doubt about it - it's a scraplift, pure and simple. I loved Elizabeth's mini-album about her daughter so much, that I had to create one of my own.

 

The idea is simple. It's a photo-a-day challenge. With a focus. My focus was Sadie. During the month of May, she turned one year old. Everybody knows that babies change so fast and so constantly, and I was feeling very, very behind on my scrapbooking and memory keeping in general. This album was a way for me to refocus and to get some of my thoughts, observations, and memories into an album.

 

I created a page for each day of the month and on each page was a photo that I had taken that day with an accompanying story. Some days, the photo came first, and other days, I had a story in mind, so I followed Sadie around seeking a perfect photo.

 

Elizabeth's album is in a vertical format, but I chose a horizontal format simply because I all ready had this Bazzill 12" x 6" album. She used the same patterned paper on each page, but being the patterned paper junkie that I am, I mixed it up and used a different color/pattern on each page.

 

During the month of May, I did not do anything else scrap-wise. I simply took photos and wrote stories, and every night after Sadie was in bed, I put the page together (although I was consistently a couple days behind - not sure how that works). I followed Elizabeth's design and kept my pages pretty simple. I wanted to get the album done and not get bogged down in adding embellishments or doing time-consuming techniques.

I did pretty well with this album, but after making 31 of the same pages, I lost my ambition and it ended up on my "to-finish" pile for the sake of three photos that I needed to order and attach in their respective places. 

 

But this week of finishing projects has been the motivation that I needed to get this done! And adding in the photos has been an excuse for me to look through the album and marvel at how much she's all ready changed in the last five months.

 

I could have made 31 full-size 12" x 12" pages about Sadie, but this album was a manageable way to scrapbook a lot of the details of her life and personality at age one. Details that I will most likely forget before I could ever get around to scrapbooking them in a larger, more embellished format. 

As far as scrapbook albums go, this is my second completed album (right behind the wedding album). It was worth every second of time I spent photographing, typing, cutting, pasting, and stitching. I love it.

     

I'm still debating about working on one every year. Next year, it might simply be a week's worth of photos. We'll see.

 

Supplies shown: Album: Bazzill Basics; Patterned Paper: Daisy D's (dots), Chatterbox (flowers), Die Cuts With a View (pink), KI Memories (green); Rub-ons: 7gypsies; Chipboard Letter: (Autumn Leaves)

Superstar!

Not exactly an older layout, but one I started with good intentions several weeks ago for the Scenic Route Monthly Challenge. Just a little something to document Sadie's self-taught, superstar moves with one generic laundry basket.

 

The challenge was to mix up different Scenic Rooute lines. I used product from the Background (graph paper), Loveland (pink patterned paper), North Shore (yellow-orange paper), and Metropolis Collections (sticker). 

A close-up of the title. The journaling was created in Photoshop Elements, and I formatted it so it would frame my photo and sticker title. I made space in my journaling for these metal photo turns (a favorite these days) from American Crafts.

 

It's difficult to see, but I stamped the black strips with Hero Arts Layering Circles (easily the most used stamp set in my collection), which I sprinkled with glittery black embossing powder.

The film strip is from the Creating Keepsakes Mix It Up kit. Originally, it was undressed chipboard, but I embossed it multiple times with black embossing powder. Love that it suits my superstar theme and also makes room for five more photos! 

Back tomorrow with a completed mini-album to share...

Smile

Remember a couple years ago when clipboards were all that? I decorated this one for a DT commitment a loooooong time ago. At least, it seems that way.

Normally, I don't dabble in altered items, so I tucked it away on a shelf and forgot about it (really easy to do in my old studio). But when I packed, purged and organized during my mad studio move, I found it again. I was tempted to toss it, but then I thought it would be perfect to give to Derrick for his office. He's always asking for updated Sadie photos, and he can use the clipboard to display them.

The only problem with this brilliant idea was that the Heidi Swapp rub-on that I used for "smile" was flaking badly. I wasn't sure if I should just try to peel it off, but then I saw this post by Nichol, where she used Stickles Glitter Glue over a Heidi Swapp Silhouette word, so I decided to attempt a salvage. It worked! I gave the rub-on two coats of Stickles - you can see the added dimension a little better in this photo:

As for the background, I stamped the cardstock with stars inked in Versmark and brushed them with Pebbles Inc. shimmer chalk (one of my very favorite techniques). Other than that, a little stitching, a little glue. Here's a closer look at the little tag on top:

Supplies:
Cardstock: Worldwin; Patterned Papers: Rob and Bob Studio; Stamps: gel-a-tins; Ink: Tsukineko; Rub-on: Heidi Swapp; Stickles: Ranger; Die-cuts: KI Memories

Tales of Carving

This year, we kept things simple with three pumpkins because as Derrick remarked, "Pumpkin carving is more fun when it's over." True enough.

Sadie has been curious about "pumps" since I first gave her a mini pumpkin while we shopped at the supermarket (she dropped it five seconds later, and it rolled to its bitter end under the cooler of broccoli. I pretended not to notice so I wouldn't have to crawl around on the supermarket floor trying to retrieve it from its new, dark and dusty home).

This, however, is her first look inside. I think the expression could be categorized as "curious with a side order of disgust."

 

Last year, I think Derrick cleaned all five of the pumpkins we carved.

 

This year, he was spoiled. He just cleaned Sadie's.

 

I attempt creativity in some things, but I readily admit that pumpkin carving is not one of them. 

I picked easy templates too because nothing annoys me more than getting halfway through a project and suddenly realizing that I am bored. You can find great templates here: Pumpkin Masters and Hershey's.

Rest assured, we did not make Sadie sort pumpkin seeds. She's actually coloring and eating Cheerios. An unplanned trick of the eye.

 

Carving: success!

 

Portraits: not so much!

     

And now (drum roll, please), the grande finale: TA DA!

 

not so scary...

For four years running (pre-Sadie) I was sick on Halloween. The 31st passed by with hardly a flicker, while I zoned out on the couch watching The Nightmare Before Christmas and Derrick played the role of candyman, dealing out mini Snickers and Kit-Kats to the the little ghouls and goblins that run the neighborhood with overstuffed sacks of sugar.

Not this year! Having Sadie in our lives gives me the much-needed ambition required for holiday festivity. This year, I have planned ahead. This year, I have even decorated.

Behold the bottles of poisonous and toxic substances that lie idle on our bookshelf!

I was quite proud of myself for these. I bought the little glass bottles and stickers (Martha Stewart) from Michael's and then filled the bottles with orange, green, and purple water. Add mini-pumpkins and spiderweb and voila!

 Getting a little crafty with my very own handmade Halloween Tree. I found the dead branch on a walk, and I spray painted it black. Well, due to some confusion at Home Depot, it's actually spray painted "Charleston Green," but who can tell?

 

A close-up of the cute little Halloween bobbles I bought at Michael's to decorate. 

At Halloween, I make an exception to my general dislike (total aversion?) of the color purple. This little banner is from  K&Company. I debated making my own but for a sale price of $6.99, I couldn't put it back on the rack.

 

And last, our little glittery haunted house. Also from Michael's.

 

Tomorrow is dedicated to pumpkin carving...

Entertainment at the touch of a button...

 

But shockingly, no matter how quickly or how many times she pushes the button, the dishes get done no faster.

The Very First Pumpkin Hunt

This weekend, we welcomed the fall with a festive pumpkin hunt at a local farm/petting zoo. We are truly part of a technology advanced era when you have to sign up on-line for tickets to take a wagon ride.

Sadie had decided earlier in the day that she would indeed have a nap, so - of course - we were running late and - of course - the little farm is as far as it could be from our house and still be part of the city. After a hair-raising speed race across the city, we arrived on time, with exactly three minutes to spare. We were minus a pair of Sadie-sized gloves. But we made do.   

She started to cry when she saw everyone getting on the wagon. I think she was afraid they would leave without her...

     

Did you know that all the adults on the wagon ride were temporarily color blind? Everyone, that is, except for Derrick, who shouted, "I SEE ONE! I SEE A PUMPKIN!" I had to elbow him. In a nice way, of course.

After the wagon ride, Sadie got to meet the farm animals. This is Ben, a very sweet, but very BIG horse with very BAD timing. Just as Sadie was warming up to him, calling him "HOW-EEEE!" (that's our dog's name, by the way), he sneezed a great sneeze and practically blew the house down. Derrick has it on video. Complete with sneeze juice and everything. Sadie was terrified. Me too, but I didn't let on.

    

Life improved dramatically when Sadie noticed this cute black and white farm kitty. She forgot about Ben the Terrible and immediately began to follow the cat, yelling "TEE-TEE! TEE-TEE!" and when he stopped, she would fall against him and press her face onto his fur for a hug. It was really adorable. I'm not sure Mr. Kitty thought so.

   

And then, imagine her delight when she saw another one! She actually sat still long enough for a decent photo...

 

She wasn't quite as keen on the goat. I liked him (her?) though.  

She's mad because we let Mr. Kitty get away...

And what trip would to the farm could be complete without a ride on the John Deere tricycle and a visit at the bunny pen?

   

And a visit with Ruby the piggy? Incidentally, Ruby was even scarier than Ben the Terrible. Who knew pigs were so loud?

   

The baby goats made up for it though. Lots of nibbles. They were so sweet and excited to see us. They made quick work of finding some fabric to chew on.

The goats were also labeled "HOW-EEE!"

 

And last, but not least, my favorite little piggies. 

Inner Beauty (a card)

I have a whole bunch of things on my to-do list, incidentally, none of which include sitting at the computer reading blogs. But, that seems to be my pattern, for better or worse.

So just a quick share today. A card that was recently published in Cards magazine:

The background stamp CardArt Write-In is from Hero Arts and makes the most perfect little space for handwriting, stamped letters, rub-on letters, or in this case, a sticker strip, which I cut apart to fit into the space.

The background is colored with watercolor pencils and then blended with a Versapen. You could use water too, but the Versapen is less messy and doesn't warp the paper. Just remember to start with your lighter colors first.

Supplies: Patterned paper: Making Memories, Stamp: Hero Arts; Ink: Impressions, Sticker: KI Memories, Ribbon: American Crafts; Paper Frill: Doodlebu Designs

A Challenge with Laura

I love challenges. I get a lot done by challenging myself to enter scrapbook contests or submit for calls. I hadn't done a one-on-one challenge with another scrapbooker, but I love Laura's designs and I thought it was a totally fun way to try a few things/techniques I seem to never get around to, like:

1. Using the color orange (supposedly, the color inspires creativity, and though this may seem totally unrelated - stay with me here - I never wear it (or dress Sadie in it), and I find that I usually match patterned paper to clothing in photos...)

2. Paint (Never. Ever. Too messy! And it is a slow scrapbooker's foe - it takes way too long to dry!)

3. Chipboard (I do have a lot of chipboard. A lot. A lot. A lot.)

4. Lots of Photos (who doesn't have lots of photos?)

Laura bravely let me pick the challenge variables, and she came up with this awesome layout (you can see more details HERE):

I love that she does these photo collages. Such a great way to get a lot of photos onto a layout without it getting cluttered. She is the most productive scrapbooker I know. I think she had this layout done within 24 hours of us picking the challenge items, and she can just pull stuff together and make it work, which is so inspiring to me because I tend to stare at things a while and move them around over and over again! And it is so funny because I had the very same orange patterned paper out in hopes of using it on my layout!

 

And I totally loved that she used foam stamps to create her title. Someday, I am going to expand my paint skills to include stamping with paint. Laura makes it look so easy!

And I should add that now I finally know what webkinz are! LOL!

And then, here's my layout:

    

Totally different. I love that we can have the same starting point and go completely different directions with it. Creativity is so very cool.

The starting point for me was orange. And it's October, so you know, October = Halloween = Orange = Halloween = Sadie's costume = adorably cute butterfly costume = subject for layout. (The visual equation for my thought process.)

A very tiny dose of paint on those little butterflies. I punched three butterflies each from translucent vellum, and then transformed the top one into an orange, glittered vellum shape with paint and well, glitter. It's hard to see in the photo, but it has a flimsier, more delicate look than plain ol' colored cardstock would.

  When I scrapook, I always journal last, and I had a lot to say about these photos (see previous post). In this case, there were too many words to fit into my design space, so I added a pocket behind my photos for the "behind the scenes," which turned out to be an added bonus, because I squeezed five more photos onto my page.

Thanks, Laura, for the awesome challenge! Your work inspires me so much!

Supplies: Patterned paper: Making Memories, Scenic Route Paper Co.; Journaling Block: Fancy Pants; Chipboard Letters: American Crafts; Buttons: Various; Punches: Martha Stewart, Paper Shapers; Glitter: Martha Stewart; Gems: gel-a-tins; Stamp: Hero Arts; Ink: Stampin' Up; Rub-on: Making Memories; Circle Cutters: Creative Memories.