Flashback Friday- Snow Fun

Hello! I'm back with another Flashback Friday this week!  I want to apologize in advance for sharing snow photos; I know most of you in the States are sick of the white stuff!  It has been such a crazy winter with super cold temperatures and more snow than we've had in a long time.  Mother Nature must have been feeling generous because even the southern states were gifted with this mess!  I am ready for spring and will be glad when there's no longer a chance of getting snow or ice for the rest of the year!

My photos are actually from a heavy snow we received several years ago.  Even though it was cold, the girls still spent a lot of time outside and even shoveled the deck and the stepping stone path for us.  I'm glad they would still rather go out and play than sit in front of a screen.

I used their coats as my color inspiration and used some papers from Lap of Luxury DSP.  I've had the dotty letter stickers in my stash forever and thought they fit the theme since they look a little like snowballs.

I've been doing a lot of very basic pages lately in an effort to get my pictures into the albums, but I'm thinking I may have to step up my game and get a little more involved on the next ones. 

I hope I've encouraged you to join me in using up the older papers and supplies! They look so much better when they have a purpose don't you think?  Have a wonderful weekend and happy crafting! Thanks so much for visiting!

Page Recipe: Paper-Lap of Luxury DSP (ret), whisper white, Accessories-modern label punch, old letter stickers from stash

If you give a cardmaker scraps...

...she will make a birthday card!  I am frequently teased about the scraps of cardstock and pattern paper that  I save. "Oh wait! There's still an eighth of an inch of paper there..." ha...ha...ha...

I'm not quite that bad, but I do save pieces that I think can be used, including strips of white cardstock that are 1/2 an inch wide.  Why? They are the perfect size to use with the word window punch and the bitty banners!  I also save smaller pieces of ribbon that can be folded and tucked to dress up an image or turned into something else.  These scraps also keep me from cutting into a full sheet of paper when I only need a tiny piece, and stretch a spool of ribbon just a bit further!

I was in desperate need of some birthday cards, especially kids and gender neutral.  I came across the dinosaur image that I made ages ago and put in my "Do Something With This" box.  We won't talk about how many things are in there... I made this paper pieced dinosaur shortly after I made this card.  The background paper just looked like dinosaur skin! So I used the scraps (seeing a pattern here?) to stamp and paper piece this awesome guy!

notice the scrap of paper used for the banner!

I also made a gender neutral card because sometimes I forget birthdays (gasp!) and then need to grab a card as I walk out the door.  These are great for those occasions!  I managed to use smaller pieces of cardstock for most of this card, but the best scrap use is the ribbon scrap as the tails of the badge.

Now I have a few more cards in my file and a few less scraps hanging around! Bonus!!

I hope you are having a wonderful week and perhaps you'll spend a day digging through your scraps too! Who knows what you might find?!  Thanks so much for visiting!!

Card #1 Recipe: Paper-crumb cake, garden green, whisper white, Woodland Walk DSP (ret), Ink-garden green, crumb cake, stazon black, Stamp Set-Dinoroar (ret), Accessories-pastels, bitty banners framelit, big shot

Card #2 Recipe: Paper-whisper white, daffodil delight, old olive, Ink-night of navy, old olive, Stamp Set-Blue Ribbon, Accessories-circle framelit, 2 1/2 " scallop circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, perfect polka dot embossing folder, chevron embossing folder, denim ribbon

In the Spotlight...

Hello! Today I am excited to announce that I am Anything But a Card's Spotlight Designer!

I am so blessed to be a part of such a wonderfully talented team.  My fellow DT members have so many amazing talents and their creativity knows no bounds.  They're also a pretty awesome group of ladies that never fail to inspire me to reach higher.  I also have to admit that they sometimes intimidate the crap out of me... Like today when I am in the spotlight sharing something significant about my artistic talents.  Now, if my job was to point out what I think their special strengths are, I could rest easy.  But instead, I found myself trying to decide just what is it that I do best?  I don't really have any one artform where I excel; I'm more of a work in progress.  I actually stressed out a bit about this and then I realized that while I'm not the master of fabric, flowers, mold putty, recycled art, or steampunk (not even close!), I am pretty good at telling stories.

My first introduction into paper crafting was creating a scrapbook for my first baby.  Little did I know how this little project would spiral into a quest to document my family's lives and preserve our stories for future generations.  I started out making cute pages for a few baby pictures, but didn't have a lot of details and next to no personal stories.  Over the years I have learned that while those may be fresh in my mind, they will not be there for future family members, and if I'm going to spend the time to make a scrapbook, it better become a family heirloom!!

So my Spotlight Project is scrapbooking, but with the added challenge of sharing more than just the basic details.  I have shared several of my creations and a few tips about preserving memories at the challenge blog.  If you have a minute, I would love it if you would stop by and check them out.  I would be even more excited if you would join my challenge to create your own memory preserving project!

Flashback Friday- Going Vintage

Hello! I am so glad you are joining me today for a Flashback! Once again, I've managed to pull out some retired paper and older photos and give them their 'props'. I also had to laugh that once again, the photos are quite fitting for a flashback!

Several years ago, I went on a field trip with DD#1 and her class.  There was a community about an hours drive away that held an annual tribute to their settlers roots.  Artisans from the area gather to show how things would have be done in the early years of the town's history.  They even dress the part!  It was wonderful to learn from them and actually see the processes.

Following my latest trend, my layout features a lot of photos so things are very basic.  I used strips of Springtime Vintage which fit the theme perfectly and even matched some of the dresses and aprons!

My personal favorite was watching the gentleman make

marbled paper that would have been used as decorative 

book binding. Gorgeous designs!!

 The tin/silversmith gave the kids lessons on making

punched designs that would be used on lanterns,

pie safe inserts, and other more decorative pieces.

I hope you are inspired to pull out some of your older supplies and maybe even some photos!  Just remember that when you use your older items, you make room for new goodies!  Now if that doesn't inspire, I don't know what will!! Have a great weekend and thanks so much for stopping by!

Page Recipe: Paper-river rock (ret), Springtime Vintage DSP (ret), Stamp-Just Journaling (ret), Ink-soft suede

Clearing out clutter-Such a simple idea!

A few years ago, I read a great idea in a scrapbooking magazine.  Instead of saving all of your kid's bulky art project (which usually fall apart at some point anyway), take photos of the creations and make a scrapbook page featuring their art.  I loved this idea but didn't put it into practice until recently.

This past summer we were cleaning out the girls' room and going through boxes and found some of their favorites.  I took the things outside for a photo shoot and told the girls they could keep the items on display in their room or get rid of them.  The nicer pieces were kept and some things were pitched.  I did keep my Mother's Day card! This past week, I finally got around to getting some of the pictures on pages.  The girls gave me input on what they wanted too.  I'm posting the pages not so much because they are so amazing (I know they are incredibly plain!), but to share the idea and possibly inspire someone else to preserve those great art projects for many more years without taking up too much space!

We also used up a lot of older letter stickers that may not have ever made it onto another scrapbook page, but seemed quite fitting with the random and colorful artwork.

I hope this has given you a new idea on using scrapbooking to preserve your memories!  Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!!

Page Recipe: older paper and letter stickers from stash-no clue on the origin of most of them!

A quick post...

Popping in really quick to try to catch up on sharing some things I've done in the past month.  Between the death of my camera and helping my parents, I haven't been able to accomplish many posts, so I thought I better get busy before you forget about me! (wink!)

The two cards I'm sharing today were made at my upline's Dishing Divas meeting in January.  Once again we had some fabulous food-the freezer pickles were to die for and I don't usually go crazy over pickles!  We also made two cards using one of the super convenient Stampin' Up card kits.  These are perfect if you want to give something handmade but don't have a lot of time to make cards.  Everything is precut and the flowers are chipboard stickers. The most difficult part was tying the tiny bow!

Well, that's it for me today.  I have lots to do! We have a very busy week and this weekend the girls and I are going to Gatlinburg with my sister.  I'm hoping the weather takes pity on us!  Have a great week and happy crafting!

A Punchy Penguin and Thoughts on Morning

Hello and Happy Monday!!!! What's that you say? I can't use happy and Monday in the same sentence? Well, more on that later...

Recently we celebrated DD#1's birthday and she loves penguins so when I saw this @ I knew I wanted to recreate it for her card.  It was super easy to make too, thanks to all of the punches and the top note die!

I am happy to say she loved her card! I am one of those mean moms who won't let her kids eat cereal completely loaded with sugar.  A little sugar is ok but if it's more than 10 g, no dice... Did I mention diabetes runs in my DH's family?  So for her birthday, I indulged and bought a box of Cocoa Puffs for her.  When she woke up birthday morning she found her birthday card taped to the box of cereal.  I could hear her squeals at the other end of the house!  Such happiness coming from a non-morning person!!  Which leads to the second part of my post.

I recently came across a quote on pinterest that I just can't buy into.  It was something to the effect that since we choose to be happy, someone who is not a morning person chooses not to be happy.  Now I will admit I am NOT a morning person, but I do consider myself to be a happy person.  I do agree that we have to make a conscious effort to direct our moods and we can choose how we respond to things; I just don't think that not waking up chipper is a 'choice'.  I simply need a little more time to ease into my day.  My oldest DD is the same way-quite pleasant after you give her a chance to completely wake up. 

What is my theory? I think people are predisposed to their morning attitudes and sleep cycles.  When DD#1 was a baby, she would wake up and be content to lay in her bed for a while before calling for attention.  DD#2 (my morning person) would wake up and instantly want to be out of bed, changed and fed so she could start her day.  She even resorted to shaking the sides of her crib to get our attention as she got older! :)

I also think having morning lovers and haters in the same household leads to better social skills.  For example, DD#2 learned at a very early age not to talk to her sister until after breakfast, Mom required a cup of coffee before turning human, and Dad, well Dad worked nights so well all gave him a wide berth until after lunch!  The rest of us learned that no matter what we thought, DD#2 would never sleep in and would always have a perky smile on her face as soon as her feet hit the floor.  We don't have to like it but we accept it!  On the plus side, she is one person I never have to wait on to get ready.  She is usually dressed, breakfast done, and teeth brushed before I finish my first cup of coffee.  She also likes going out in the cold to start my car! Not sure where she got that gene, but so glad she does!!

So if you don't like mornings, especially Monday mornings, don't worry... You're in good company and I'm happy I'm not alone!  Hope you have a great week!

Card Recipe:  Paper-basic black, whisper white, pumpkin pie, elegant eggplant, Ink-elegant eggplant, stampin' chalk marker, Stamp Set-pennant parade, Accessories-top note die, 1" circle punch, oval punch, scallop oval punch, decorative label punch

  

Tic Tac Love Challenge-A Cheesy Remake

Hello! Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend and feeling quite loved (It is Valentines weekend after all!).  Personally, we don't really do a lot for this holiday.  When the girls were in grade school they would make their own Valentines to share with their classmates, but now that they're getting older, there's not a lot of Valentine crafting happening.  So I was a little stumped on whether I wanted to make an actual Valentines project for this month's Anything But a Card Tic Tac Love Challenge, or go with an all purpose idea.  I compromised and made something that had a romantic feel but could be used for other occasions.  I decided to go with the top row.  Red, Recycle, Glitter.  Yes... I know my red is quite 'pink' but it is rose red so I'm pushing the envelope here!  I made up for my little act of rebellion by following the other squares to the letter.  My recycled container once held wedges of spreadable cheese, and I used both glass glitter and dazzling details for the glitter square.

I painted the cardboard container with vintage white acrylic paint and topped that with TH black soot distress crackle paint.  It's hard to see in the photo, but there are some fine crackle lines on there making it look just a bit aged.  I glued a circle of Junior Varsity DSP to cover the top of the container and used the spiral flower die to make the two larger blooms.  This was my first time using the die and while I'm ok with the results, I really need to play a lot more to get the rolling just right.  I inked the edges of the First Edition DSP with rose red ink before assembling the flowers, then added dazzling details to the edges of the petals.  I covered the seam around the rose red DSP with champagne glass glitter.  Then I decorated the top with the flowers and leaves.

 a close up of the sparkly flowers...

On a side note, these photos were taken with my new camera.  I would love to say this was a planned purchase, but unfortunately, my good ol' Canon bit the dust last week.  I was going to try to find a repair shop (none in our area) when my DH made the comment that it might be cheaper in the long run to just buy a new one.  WELL...Since you put it that way, twist my arm and I'll go pick out a new one!  I did some research, took advice from other shutterbugs, and finally decided to try a Nikon this time.  So far I really like it, although I must admit I don't have a clue what most of the buttons and settings do... :)  Hopefully, I will have some time to read the manual soon and learn a little more.

I hope you find some time to play along with our Tic Tac Love challenge; there's still a week left!  Have a wonderful week and thanks so much for stopping by!

Project Recipe:  empty cheese container, Junior Varsity DSP (ret), First Edition DSP (ret), circle framelits, spiral flower die, little leaves sizzlit, boho blossom punch, champagne glass glitter, dazzling details, vintage white acrylic paint, TH black soot distress crackle paint

Flashback Friday- A Dino-mite page

Hello! Welcome to another Flashback Friday!  Today's page is such a flashback, there are dinosaurs on it! Ha!!  Actually, I am finally getting around to documenting our trip to the Field Museum and seeing Sue, the most complete fossilized skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.  My oldest DD sent me on a bit of a guilt trip with this page since I was picking her brain for the details of the trip. She teased me about my need to scrapbook sooner since I seemed to be losing my memory.  Yeah, yeah, yeah...  Just wait til she gets older and starts forgetting things! 

This page is almost a complete flashback.  There is one lonely piece of sahara sand cardstock that is still current, otherwise everything is either retired or from my older stash of supplies.  I also realized when I started preparing this post that I did not use the first stamp on this page and very little embellishing.  Of course, with four full sized photos, there wasn't room for much more.

We learned some interesting tidbits about Sue.  The first being that they really can't identify whether Sue is a female or not from the fossils.  The dinosaur is named Sue after the woman who discovered the fossils.  We also found out that we were not viewing the complete skeleton.  The head of the T-Rex is so heavy it couldn't be safely supported on the frame, so they made a faux skull to place on the frame and the actual skull is on display in a different area of the museum.

There was also a traveling Aztec display at the museum when we went.  It was so interesting to see all of the different artifacts and learn more about the Aztecs.  It also made me very happy that I was not around during their time-quite brutal in some of their customs and rituals...  We also went through a replica of an Egyptian tomb system.  It was a lot of fun and quite mazelike, and there were a few times when we were a bit confused on how to get out.

I hope you enjoyed my page and perhaps I have inspired you to dig through your treasures and make some discoveries of your own!  Have a wonderful weekend and thanks so much for stopping by!

Page Recipe: Paper-brown base from stash, sahara sand, Ink-crumb cake, black journaling marker, Accessories-early espresso ribbon (ret), red letter stickers from stash

Mission Impossible

Hello! I am so thrilled that you are here!  We are half way through the week and I am ready for the weekend!!  My mom pulled a muscle in her back a few weeks ago and I've been doing double duty between my house and theirs. The recent colder temperatures  and the early arrival of lambs has made things a little stressful and I'm looking forward to a break!  Add to that all of the yucky snow and sleet that we received yesterday and I am ready for a new start! Is it Friday yet? But I digress...

Have you ever been struck by the fact that you're fighting a losing battle?  Like getting all of the laundry washed, dried, folded, and put away and then you turn around and BOOM! A clothes bomb has exploded in your laundry room?  Or that moment when you let the dishwater out of the sink because you KNOW you checked the entire house for stray cups and all of the dishes are clean, only to have one of the kids bring you a cereal bowl from under their bed (not that they are allowed to eat cereal in bed!)?  Yeah, me too!

I would love to say that I scrapbooked all of my photos (I wish!), but actually I just realized that while I have completed a lot of scrapbook pages, there are still a LOT of photos left and that doesn't include the ones that are still on my memory cards waiting to be printed, or the ones on the computer waiting to be dropped on a digital page.  I have decided that I'm like an agent on Mission Impossible.  My mission if I choose to accept it, is to get as many photos onto some sort of page and document the story as accurately as my mind will allow.  I will probably never achieve the status of Mission Completed, but at some point I have got to start making some sort of progress!  One goal that I think I might actually achieve is to use up all of the older 12x12 cardstock papers.  I am at the point where there are mostly oranges and yellows left on the pile and I'm thinking they may become some sort of card boxes at some point.  My ribbon and embellishments are a totally different story, but one mission at a time!

Today's page used the last of my older pink stash.  I also snuck a few vellum letter stickers on there. Those babies are OLD!

I had a hard time selecting a layout for this page.  I wanted all five photos on one page and was trying to figure out how to make it work.  I remembered that a long time ago, I had made a quilt-like page that had lots of pictures and thought that might work.  The hardest part was balancing the embellishments.  I have such a hard time with 'white' space.  But when I was finished, I managed to have all five photos and even a tiny shot of my in-law's Lab.  Shadow loves her and he couldn't bear for me to throw her in the trash bin!

Well, I better slip on my black sunglasses and get back to being an agent.  I just have to decide whether my mission will involve dishes, laundry, or pictures...  Wish me luck!

Page Recipe: Paper-pink base from stash, strawberry slush, pistachio pudding, Stamp Set-Just Journaling, Ink-crumb cake, pistachio pudding, black journaling marker, Accessories-paper daisies, Boho blossom punch, bitty butterfly punch, 1 3/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, Martha Stewart leaf punch, dazzling details, green vellum stickers from stash.

Tic Tac Toe anyone?

Hello! I have been a very naughty blogger lately! Things have been a bit crazy in my personal life and I decided to 'unplug' for a bit to keep myself from completely losing it.  Fortunately, I had some projects completed and was able to schedule those to post on  a regular schedule.   I haven't however, been able to visit all of the wonderful bloggers, and have really been slacking this month with my commitments to Anything But a Card.  So now I am trying to catch up and wanted to let everyone know that we have a new challenge starting this week! You have three whole weeks to play along and I LOVE our latest challenge...

Tic Tac Love!!

Please choose your Tic-Tac-Toe row
 to use as your creative mojo!
{either straight across, down or diagonal}

Choose your direction and follow
the key below for square descriptions:

1.) Red
2.) Recycling
3.) Glitter {can be loose or liquid type like Stickles}
4.) Bling it ON! {beads, gems, buttons, sequins and baubles - the sparkly bits}
5.) Heart
6.) Sprays and Mists
7.) Ribbons, Fibers and Trims... oh MY!
8.) Black
9.) Lace

Please share any current project you have created and JUST REMEMBER... create anything EXCEPT a card for this challenge. Please mention and LINK BACK to this challenge. ALSO - Please new projects only {no-backlinking}. :)

Don't forget that at ABAC, we encourage interpretation, so your creation doesn't have to be a Valentines  or love theme.  We would love to see what you do with our tic tac toe board, just as long as it's not a card!!

Well, the weather is plain nasty and I'm pretty sure we won't have school tomorrow.  My plan is to get laundry done tonight so I can play tomorrow!  Have a wonderful rest of the week!