More Layouts

I have been working on so many layouts and I can't wait to share some of these kits with you.

1)  Firefighter Heros by Wimpy Chompers available HERE at Pretty Scrappy.  The template is by The Paper Iris @ www.thepaperiris.blogspot.com

2)  Bohemia by Sweet Blossom Designs; Template by The Paper Iris

My youngest got to go to Prom this year.  He is only a freshman so it was an honor to be allowed to go.  They had so much fun and Lauren was glad that she hadn't missed her senior prom.

3) Family Matters by Creations by Rachel available HERE at Pretty Scrappy.  The template was a freebie by Chrissy W.

I read a challenge on one of the blogs (of course I can't remember which one) that asked you to scrap about why you scrapped.  I even lifted this layout from that site.  I promise I will give credit when I figure out which blog I got the idea from.  If you know and want to leave me a comment I will fix this. :)

 4) Life 365 by Weeds and Wildflowers 

I did this layout for a speed scrap that I held over at Pretty Scrappy this month.  I love this kit and all of its pieces.  

5) Fun in the Sun by the Pretty Scrappy Design Team.  This kit will be available June 1, 2009 at Pretty Scrappy.  The template is by The Paper Iris.

I love being able to play catch up on scrapping, and working with pictures of the boys when they were little really brings a smile to my face. I remember Sticker Pox so vividly that it still makes me chuckle. It is amazing the things that kids find to get into trouble with.

6) School's Out 4 Summer by Teri's Thing-O-My-Jigs available HERE at Pretty Scrappy.  Template by The Paper Iris.

Ali Sarah Brace Face

I applied for a "one kit only" Creative Team place at Digi Scrap Talk because Ali Sarah released this new braces kit and she needed someone who had their own "brace face" to work on the layout.  I jumped on the chance since I hadn't seen a kit that I liked in order to document Ben's braces.

Credits: Brace Face by AliSarah; Templates by The Paper Iris

Pretty Scrappy Layouts

This was my first month as a member of the Creative Team for the Pretty Scrappy Store and I was so excited to have been accepted.  There are so many awesome kits and designers and I got to pick 3 kits plus work with the designer's collaborative kit.  Here are the layouts for this month.  I am looking forward to printing them all and putting them in my scrapbooks which have finally been brought downstairs and placed on the coffee table.

I have finally started working on the vacation album for the second part of my Alaska/Washington vacation and while it won't be completely digital, there will be a large part done on the computer.  I couldn't figure out any other way to add a majority of the 2000 (yes THOUSAND) pictures that I took on the trip.  Of course, I am not going to scrap them all but the template album from The Paper Iris that I have chosen has places for 25 pictures on one page which will cover some of the mountain pictures.

I am using the May Pretty Scrappy Collaboration kit called Dew Drops which can be found at Pretty Scrappy here.

Ohme Gardens was one of the best "field trips" we took during our stay in Leavenworth, WA.

Credits: Dew Drops by the Pretty Scrappy Design Team; Template by The Paper Iris

One of the reasons that I scrap digitally is the abundance of AWESOME kits created that you just can't get with paper scrapping.  I have been waiting to scrap these pictures from 2004 until I found the perfect kit.  Here it is:

Available HERE

Credits: Soccer's A Kick by Teri's Thing-O-My-Jigs; Template by Just 2 More Things

My brother in law started a deck several years ago and ended up having to leave for the oil rig in Brazil before it was finished.  After being gone for 30 days, my sister was about to climb a wall since the baby couldn't play outside.  When the bil came back home the rest of the family decided to head over and help him either build the deck or the doghouse.

Available HERE

Credits: Lil' Digger by Lady Vdzine; Template by The Paper Iris

I am really liking the concept of hybrid scrapping and this kit works perfectly for my wedding.

Available HERE

Credits: Love Actually by Ladybug Pages; Template by Sweet Tomato Designs

Leaving some Creative Teams

If you have been watching my blog, or my crazy life, you will realize that I am getting busier and busier as school comes closer to an end.  Yes, my kids are teens and yes, Josh is about 14 days away from graduating (Praise God) but I want to be able to stay home with them for the summer and do all of the fun "mom-kid" stuff like go to Galveston, Keemah, Moody Gardens and Schlitterbahn.  Of course, while that means more pictures and blogging it means that I won't be able to be on as many creative teams as in the past.  

That being said, I have dropped two of my store creative teams, Bouquet of Pixels and Digi Scrap Station.  I am keeping Pretty Scrappy since they are both the newest and have some of the most creative designers I have found in one spot.  I so greatly appreciate the opportunities that I was given by both of those stores.

I am happily keeping all of my personal Creative Teams that I have picked up and will continue to work on all of the fun kits that I am priviledged to work with on a monthly basis.

So You Think You Can Scrap Layouts

I entered the Shabby Pickle Designs/After Five Designs So You Think You Can Scrap contest in late March but due to time constraints and other obligations I was unable to finish the full six weeks of challenges.  It wasn't as though I was anywhere near as talented as a majority of the scrappers entered.  I am pleased to say that during the challenges I learned a lot of new things and grew a lot as a layout artist.  I have also found that for me it has become less about the number of layouts and more about the quality and amount of fun I have putting the memories down on paper.

Since I am no longer eligible to earn any prizes in the competition (you had to finish all 6 weeks) I really wanted to post the layouts I finished on my blog.

I purchased the first five kits that were offered in the competion and am looking forward to using them on so many other projects.  These kits were made in collaboration with designers from both stores however you can get these kits at the following store.

It's So Me by After 5 Designs

Flashback by Shabby Pickle Designs

A Moment in Time by After 5 Designs

Sing, Sing a Song by Shabby Pickle Designs

Color My World by After 5 Designs

Layouts

Both my mother and I were born in Nuremberg and we were both baptised in this same church.  She was the first baby baptised, and I was the last.

Credits: Flashback by Shabby Pickle and After 5 Designs

Credits: Flashback by Shabby Pickle and After 5 Designs

Credits: A Moment in Time by Shabby Pickle and After 5 Designs

Credits: Sing, Sing a Song by Shabby Pickle and After 5 Designs

Credits: It's So Me by Shabby Pickle and After 5 Designs

Credits: It's So Me by Shabby Pickle and After 5 Designs

Credits: A Moment In Time by Shabby Pickle and After 5 Designs

Credits: Flashback/It's So Me by Shabby Pickle and After 5 Designs

There are so many cool memories that are on these pages now and I am glad that I got to participate in this challenge.  I may not have won a new Ipod or Wacom Tablet, but I am very proud of what I have accomplished.

Called Home and Freebie

I worked on a very touching, at least for me, layout today and went through an emotional roller coaster that I guess I was not only unprepared for but didn't realize was still available for poking with a stick.  I was asked to use Scrappy Shannon's kit "Called Home" which deals with loss.  You can find it here at Pretty Scrappy.  I went searching for a picture of my grandmother from before her Alzheimers and Glaucoma and found a few that ran me down memory lane.  

Here is the kit and the quickpage I created with it.  I extracted one of the best pictures of her that I remember of her.  It was taken around her 78th birthday and I had to cut my aunt out of the picture.  Of course that isn't because I don't like Aunt Jo, she took care of grandma for longer than I can remember but because Grandma just looks so peaceful and serene.

Download HERE

Bouquet Freebie

As I promised yesterday I am posting a freebie from Sweet Tomato Designs.  The template was also created by her so think of this as a two for one. 

Download HERE

NSD Wrap-up

I don't know about you but this weekend has not gone the way I expected it to go. This is my first year of NSD hoopla and I didn't get to enjoy very much of it. If you recall, I did my first (not last, those are FUN) speed scraps at Bouquet of Pixels on Friday and while we had a small daytime turnout, we had a great conversation, I got to spend some time getting to know some more people better and I got another layout done. I used one of my CT kits from Bouquet of Pixels called I Give A Hoot by Inkin Creations. You can find this kit HERE. It is well worth picking up since it is so versitile. Here is the layout I did with it.

Unfortunately, after that was done, my day went downhill quickly. Benjamin overloaded the washing machine and shorted out the timer and started the motor smoking. Wayne tore it apart trying to fix it and since he didn't know exactly how it was supposed to come apart he ended up having to order a $7 part to replace the one he trashed. When he put it back together, he forgot to put in the level switch and despite the fact that there were two teenagers in the area, no one noticed that the washing machine was overflowing all over the floor. It took about 45 minutes to get that cleaned up and the kitchen in some semblance of order.

One thing that I did get done this Scrapbook weekend was to go to all of the stores where I kept my wishlists and purchased those things I really wanted, anywhere from 30 - 50% off their normal prices. I did really well at Pretty Scrappy, Sweet Shoppe Designs, Divine Digital, and Digital Candy. I now have kits coming out of my ears, which will be great if I actually use them. LOL.

I also realized this weekend that I have a number of CT layouts from my different designers that I just haven't put out on my blog. That is unacceptable to me and I am going to fix that. :) It will also keep my daughter in law from emailing me daily asking if I have done any new pages LOL.

I did this layout at Kelly's Speed Scrap last week. I thought it only appropriate that I use one of her kits.

Credits: Black Tie Affair by Late Night Scraps

I was just accepted to another creative team. This one is a little different. A few days ago I posted on my blog about a relatively new designer called The Paper Iris who has only done templates so far and has dozens available in her store and on her blog. She is currently doing a promotion where she is giving away a template a day for the next 75 days. So far all of them have been 2 page templates and I love them. You can go to her blog HERE and start downloading. I do know that she only keeps the templates up until it has been downloaded 100 times then she moves them into her store.

As part of my CT duties, I get to promote her blog (which I visit daily anyway) and can use her templates with any of my other teams as long as I give credit. I think that is MORE than reasonable. I just can't make quick pages with them, so the quick pages you get from me will not be her creations.

Several years ago I was a volunteer in the Sealy Fire Department and I took the boys and my camera down to the station one day when I was not on duty in order to capture these memories.

Credits: Into the Fire by Late Night Scraps; Template by The Paper Iris, Fireman and "When I Grow Up Tag" part of When I Grow Up Kit by Heather Roselli

I found the When I Grow Up kit by Heather Roselli at Digital Candy and had to have it because the kids in the kit were just so doggone cute. While I was looking over all of the pieces looking for the ways I can use it, I was struck by how many things kids say they want to be when they grow up. I remember wanting to be a doctor, police officer and even Wonder Woman. (yeah, I date myself). Anyway, I have been remarkably blessed to have been able to do so many things in my life and I decided to put those feelings down on paper as well.

This layout also qualifies as a Creative Team offering since I used a template by one of my designers Aubrey's Mom Designs. I know that Amy had some trouble with the store that she had just joined since it went out of business shortly after starting due to some personal issues with the owner, but she has found another store and has released several new kits within the last few weeks. Head over to her blog HERE to check them out.

Credits: When I Grow Up Kit by Heather Roselli; Template by Aubrey's Mom Designs

The other two layouts I have to show you are also from the designers I work with (which is why I love being on Creative Teams. I might have mentioned that part once or twice lol)

Lisa Minor just recently released a bright summery kit called Lemon Sunshine and it is such a cheerful palatte that I think everyone needs it, and her store, Scrapdebris, has everything on sale for $1.00 per kit. This is not the NSD sale price, this is the everyday, all day price for all of her kits. I suggest you head over there and pick up a few things.

Credits: Lemon Sunshine by Lisa Minor: Template by Chrissy W.

Finally, I have been taken on by one designer, one that is pretty well known on the Digi-Free circuit since she gives away templates on a pretty regular basis. I have started working with Sweet Tomatoes Designs, working with the new kits that she is putting out as well as utilizing her templates. Since I am using both, I can give away freebies based on the layouts I produce. Tomorrow I am going to put the QP for this layout up as a freebie in hopes that you will help support her new endeavors as well.

Credits: Bouquet Kit and Template by Sweet Tomato Designs