Home For The Holidays

We spent Christmas Eve at my mom's house last year.  This is a layout of her and her beautiful Christmas tree.  I created the layout using the Home For The Holidays collection by Karen Foster Design.  This collection is both elegant and whimsical depending on which papers and embellishments you choose, so saying it's versatile is probably an understatement.  I cut out several snowflakes using the Cricut cartridge, When It's Cold Outside, then glittered them up and embellished them with pearls. 

Merry Christmas Pets

My family and I have always enjoyed the Christmas season, but one year we were especially fortunate to have my mother and her dog staying with us.  While we don't typically dress up our dogs, we just couldn't resist putting this cute little hat on my mom's dog.  I'm sure you can tell by her expression that she was just thrilled to be donning the elf hat.

This layout features the Joys of the Season collection by Moxxie.  I really love this collection because of its versatility. The poinsettias and ornament were created using a Nestabilities die-cut template and alcohol ink from Tim Holtz. 

It's a Winnie The Pooh Christmas!

My Goddaughter, Steph, has always been a beautiful little girl.  Of course, I am biased because she's my Goddaughter, but regardless, she's grown into a beautiful teenager.  As I've been strolling down memory lane this week, I decided to put this photo of her onto a layout.  I used the Cloud 9 Design Christmas Is collection which I have always loved but have never used in a layout before.  The embellishments for this collection are amazing...rub ons, carstock stickers, chipboard, acrylic stamps, etc.  So, needless to say, the task was simple! 

Reindeer Crossing

I did a stroll down memory lane while creating this layout.  My daughter participated in a holiday program at her preschool (she's 16 now!) and I just couldn't resist using the Let It Snow collection from 3 Bugs In A Rug with these photos.  The reindeer theme was perfect for these photos!  I used the Winter Wonder Cricut cartridge for the REINDEER Crossing phrase. 

Christmas White Elephant

My husband is from a very large family; nine siblings and countless nieces, nephews and cousins.  Last year, in lieu of traditional gift-giving, it was decided that we would do a White Elephant exchange.  Words cannot describe the fun we had.  I laughed so hard I cried.  One cannot imagine the "stuff" that can be gifted.  Here, my sister-in-law, Peggy opens up a child's bowling ball. 

This layout features one of my favorite manufacturers, Moxxie.  The Joys of the Season collection is new for 2010 and features seven double-sided papers with coordinating stickers and rub ons.  I love the use of the non-traditional blue and yellow hues in this collection. 

What a retreat weekend!

This weekend was the Crop Til You Drop Oktoberfest Extravaganzaa scrapbook retreat and what a weekend it was.  My friend, Jen, and I worked mostly on dog-themed items that we're donating to a wonderful cause, the Placing Paws Pet Rescue.  Jen adopted two dogs from Placing Paws and has fostered others.  She is very involved with the organization and being a pet lover myself, I was excited to be able to make some things to sell as well.  I also worked on a few sports layouts for a friend of mine.  This retreat was the inauguaration of the Pazzles Inspiration machine, so I used the embossing tool and Core'dinations Color Core paper to make the background words .  I think it turned out awesome:

Christmas Mint Layout

Here's a layout I created using the Christmas Mint collection.  As I stated earlier, I find this collection to be sophisticated, so I'm looking for just the right picture to put on it.  I'm thinking of playing with the Sepia tones in a few pics to see if maybe that works.  I'll let you know how that turns out. 

JOY to the world...Christmas is coming fast!

It's that time of year again around here...new Christmas product is coming in fast and furious and for me the dilemma of which collection do I work with first.  This year I chose the Christmas Mint collection because of its unique color scheme and sophistication.  Since we are hardly sophisticated at our house around Christmas time, I couldn't find a single picture that would look nice on this paper, so I decided to do an altered art project.  I purchased paper mache letters (about 8" tall) for about $1.99 a piece and painted them mint green.  Then I decorated them using several elements from the Christmas Mint collection.  Admittedly, I like how they turned out (I am often my own worst critic).

You can see the Christmas Mint collection from SEI in its entirety by clicking here. 

More fall altered art

I've had so much fun creating altered art this past week that I've done a few more things.  Here is a hanging plaque piece that I've hung from our mantle.   I used Kaisercraft's Beyond The Page tag kit along with the Fall Frolic collection from Moxxie (you know they're one of my favorite manufacturers). 

Fall Is In The Air....

I've really enjoyed working with the Fall Frolic collection from Moxxie over the past couple of days.  Here's a quick centerpiece I created using a few sheets of paper and some rubons from the collection.  You can see the entire collection along with a few other layouts and project ideas here. 

New Altered Art Project

Sometimes it's just fun to take a break from traditional scrapbooking and do an altered art project.  Here's a fall wreath I created using a metal hoop, scraps of ribbon and a few dried gourds. 

Gettin' Goofy

I wanted the right picture for this layout, and luckily, while I was going through some old Disney(c) photographs I found it.  Here my daughter is 2 years old (she's 16 now)!  Goofy was always one of her favorite characters...probably because she could relate to him so well. 

This layout features the new Off To The Parks collection by Moxxie.  I have a ton of fun playing with the collection; it is quite versatile. 

The ironing board will do...

This is what a few desperate girls will do for some scrapping and cropping time....when you're short on space the ironing board will do.

Is it really over already?

What a whirlwind the past two weeks have been.  Getting ready for the Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) tradeshow is one of the most difficult things I have to do.  Don't get me wrong...I'm not complaining!  It is also one of the BEST things about this job!  Coming together with thousands of men and women who all share the same passion for crafting as I do....what more could a girl ask for!?! 

This year's show was phenomenal as usual...lots of new products and ideas, a plethora of giveaways and the opportunity to schmooze with the folks at Provo Craft.  These were just some of the highlights of this year's convention.  Honestly, there are too many great things to list them all.

I'm so excited to get the new product.  I purchased several lines including Joys of the Season, Fighting Back, Wizardry and Shades of Autumn from Moxxie.  I bought BLING galore from Mark Richards and several collections from Creative Imaginations including Away We Go, Happy Camper, Harry Potter, Polar Christmas, Be Jolly By Golly, Yellowstone, Lego and Greece.  Also got two beautiful new collections from 3 Bugs In A Rug; A Trip To Paris and North Pole.  From Karen Foster I chose the Thanksgiving, Whimsical Christmas, Pet and L'il Stacks collections.  As usual, SRM stickers had some great new releases which I purchased as did Scrapbook Customs (formerly Stamping Station).  They offered a new Tropical Paradise release that is just gorgeous..makes me want to head for the islands!  Last but not least, I purchased two Christmas collections from Kaisercraft along with a travel collection featuring Hot Air Balloons in brown tones.

Reality has now set it and I know that I am going to be quite busy over the next few months, but it will be worth it!  I can hardly believe it is over already!

   

The Great Outdoors

One of our favorite things to do as a family is go camping.  It generally involves lots of good food and good fun, and the kids generally bring a friend along so it makes it that much more interesting!

This layout features Cosmo Cricket's Mr. Campy collection, which I just love.  The little marshmallow guy is the absolute cutest!

Pumpkin Carving Kid

As I've stated before, my daughter will always be a kid at heart and here is yet another example!  She still loves carving pumpkins and then baking the seeds.

This layout features the Bump In The Night collection by Moxxie.   

Splash!

This picture is old...more than 10 years old.  I know that because this is my nephew, Alex, and he is now driving and just turned 16!  My how time flies...funny I don't feel any older most days.  His family lived in Florida for many years and we were fortunate enough to be able to visit them a couple times.

I know this layout is what my friend Jen would call, "Busy!".  But I like busy....sometimes.  I think I may have overdone it, but as my own worse critic I know that someone, somewhere will probably like this. The layout features the new collection from Moxxie, Keep It Cool.  It has vibrant-colored, fun pages and coordinating stickers, rubons, etc.

Flowers + Water = Tranquility

To me there is nothing more tranquil than sitting, listening to the waterfall in our pond and watching the beautiful lives that it has created.  Fish, frogs, snails, water lilies, cattails...a wonder to behold.

This layout features the Fresh and Fabulous collection by Flair Design, along with their paper trim.  I've embellished with flowers from Petaloo; some of which are highlighted with Smooch ink.  The grommets are from We R Memory Keepers. 

You're Never Too Old To Build A Sandcastle

One of the things I love about my daughter is the fact that she will never grow up.  She may get older and wiser, but she will always be a kid at heart.  If she sees sand, she makes a sandcastle.  If she sees a puddle, she jumps in it.  If she sees a tree, she climbs it.

This layout features the paper and embellishments by K and Company. I also used Core'dinations paper for the banner as well as a Martha Stewart Punch Around The Page punch for the seashell border.

Setting Sail To Celebrate 40 Awesome Years!

In 2006 we took the most fabulous cruise ever!  My sister was turning 40 and we were determined to make sure she celebrated life and wasn't worried about getting older.  So, we left from New York City on an 11-day cruise to the Southern Caribbean.  Ironically enough, this picture was taken on January 8th...it was unseasonably warm in New York, but we would soon find out that the Atlantic ocean in the middle of January is COLD!  This layout features the Moxxie collection, Maiden Voyage.  The anchor was cut from the Going Places Cricut cartridge.

5, 4, 3, 2,1.....Blast Off!

There's nothing like the feeling of the ground shaking under your feet and the sound of the booster rockets propelling the Space Shuttle into orbit.  I was lucky enough to witness the take-off of mission STS-123 in May, 2008...it was a defining moment in my life and one I will never forget.  I've always been a space nut (wanted to be an astronaut as a kid), but ironically enough I hate flying.  This was a dream come true for me and I hope that elation is depicted in this layout.  For the layout I used Cosmo Cricket's Cogsmo collection along with some Core'dinations paper and the space embellishment from Jolee's Boutique. 

Aren't You Glad Your Nose Isn't This Big?

I took this picture while we vacationed in Florida early this summer.  We hadn't been to Busch Gardens in years, so we decided to visit.  It was breathtakingly beautiful.  The kids called it the best zoo they've ever been to because it had roller coasters.  For the layout I used the Citronella Collection from K & Company, along with rhinestones from Kaisercraft and a Punch Around The Page border from Martha Stewart Crafts.  The sunglasses are from the Summer Brad Buddies collection by Hot Off The Press. 

Here Goes Nothing...

I've been wanting to do a blog for awhile now.  Not because I think I do great work, but  because I want to share not only the layouts but the stories that go along with them.  So in a sense you could say that this is going to be a digital scrapbook of sorts.  Here goes nothing...