Happy 7 year Blogiversary!!

Hello! Today is a very special day here at Black Shadow Creations! It is my 7 year Blogiversary and I can honestly say I am so excited to still be here!  Over the years, there has been an ebb and flow to my posting due to various reasons, but I still enjoy creating and sharing in Blogland.  I have made some wonderful Virtual friends and have gained so much information and knowledge over the years.  I've also noticed that paper craft blogging has lost some of it's popularity...

Why be a follower of a blog when you can simply search Pinterest for an idea? Not to mention there are so many new ways of communicating and sharing now... However, Facebook, Pinterest, and the other forums don't offer a genuine way to tell your story or a way to really get to know about the artist you admire.  My girls argue that no one has time to 'read' that much and this is why they love Snapchat and Instagram.  Personally, it makes me more than a little sad that we have become so busy that we don't 'have time' to actually connect with other people...  This is why I will continue to blog (as my real life schedule allows) and visit other's blogs.  There is something so comforting and human about not only seeing someone's creation, but learning about their inspiration and motivation.  It's like actually talking to your favorite artist.  Imagine how fabulous it would be to see a Monet painting and have his words telling you about the day he painted Water Lilies, or sharing in Van Gogh's sufferings as you looked at Wheat Field with Crows (believed to be his last painting).  It is in the spirit of these thoughts that I am offering some Blog Candy and the opportunity to share YOUR blog with others!

The candy is a surprise (partly because that's just fun, and mostly because I haven't finalized exactly what or how much I'll be giving!) and there will be more than one winner!  I'm not going to require 'following' because I only want you to do that if you really want to, but commenting is a necessity!  Sharing on your blog is perfectly ok, but also not a requirement.  When you leave a comment, please leave a link to your blog (if you have one) and I will be putting together a post with all of the links for others to enjoy.  On March 22 (one month away!), I will 'draw' a name (or more) and announce the winner(s)!  This blog candy is open to anyone since some of my favorite artists/bloggers aren't in the US! *I do have comment monitoring, but as long as you're not spamming or scamming you'll be accepted! Only one entry per person, please! Don't be greedy!!*

I'm going to end this post with a reinvention of my very first blog post creation!  You can see the original gift card holder here! This is an easy to make gift card holder using a paper towel tube, patterned paper, and some pretties!

Flashback Friday- Hoping for Spring

Hello! I can not tell you how excited I am to be sharing a Flashback card with you!  I have not been feeling very creative or motivated lately, but today's card was one that kind of came together on it's own and I'm feeling hopeful that my muse hasn't completely left me!

Springtime Vintage might be one of my all time favorite papers.  It reminds me of fabric and I love the delicate floral patterns. Plus it has 'spring' in the name-just what I need right now! 

My card is very simple, but I loved the way the papers came together to remind me of a quilt.  So naturally they got 'quilted' with the fancy fan embossing folder.  There ended up being a few more retired items on here than originally planned and that is always a good thing in my book!

This week has been cold once again, and I'm calling this 'the winter that came late and stayed...forever'.  Please, please, March, come in like a lamb!!!!!  I guess no matter what the weather decides to do, I will still be here and I hope you'll come back to visit me, and if you can bring some sunshine and warmer temperatures with you, I would greatly appreciate it!

Card Recipe: Flashback Items (all retired)-Springtime Vintage dsp, Baja breeze ink, Baja breeze seam binding, vintage flowers, Stamp Set-Remembering Your Birthday, Paper-very vanilla, Accessories-MS leaf punch, fancy fan embossing folder

A Mooving Card! Flashback Friday

Hello! As this is posting, I am road tripping with my girls to visit my best friend who lives near Indy.  We have been friends since I was in 7th grade and she was in 6th.  She was frequently my partner in crime and was also in my wedding.  Shortly after that she moved and we lost touch for a few years, but things were quickly back to our version of normal after a weekend reunion.  She often comes 'home' since they still have family living in the area, but I have yet to get up to see her.  So after a rather crazy week last week, I decided I needed a change of scenery and she was more than willing to be my get-away location!  I couldn't however leave you without sharing my most recent Flashback Friday!

I've had the cow image for so long that I have no idea where it is from... I'm sure it was a freebie, but have no clue who made it.  This was another of the images that went camping with me, so it was all colored up and in my stack of things to do.  My blogging friend, Lynn is always making fun and fabulous cards for her blog.  This cute cow reminded me of something I might see on her blog.  I think she probably would have done a better job with it too! :)

 

Along with the old digi, I also used a very, very old piece of hay dp-no clue who made it as it was a leftover in my scrap container.  The denim ribbon is now retired and thankfully I was able to buy an extra roll before it left. Love this ribbon!! The red dsp is from Summer Smooches (ret). Oh, and I couldn't resist using wiggle eyes either! I stocked up on those too! That means the only current items on here are the whisper white cardstock and the markers.  On the inside, I used part of a Michael's $1 stamp.  It says 'You're getting too old!'  I'm not sure who will be receiving this, but it will probably be one of my older siblings!

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks so much for stopping by!

Flashback Friday-Return of the border stickers....

Did you ever go through your supplies and cringe at some of the things you purchased?  Things so bad that you smack your forehead as you say "What was I thinking????"  You know...those things you had to have because they were so cute/cool/trendy/on sale/in the store...    I may have made a few irresponsible purchases over the years, but most of my 'yikes' supplies were at one time a great purchase.  Border stickers are a perfect example.  When I started scrapping, these were all the rage.  No page was complete unless you had the perfect banner spanning the length of your page.  Coming up with your own title was crazy talk!!  So I had a huge pile of these wonderful stickers for every occasion you could imagine.  My mistake? Buying waaaaay too many of them and then realizing I could make my own titles and use paper I already had for a border.  So now I have a file folder full of various borders.  I could throw them away (and honestly a lot went to my girls for them to use for whatever), but I decided to challenge myself to use some of them.  I cut several apart and used them to frame photos on some pages, filled in some gaps on others.  I won't bore you with those pages, but I couldn't help but to share this one which is quite a throwback style...

Check out the fall border stickers in all their glory!! 

Top AND bottom!!  Gotta have the bookend effect!!

I am telling myself that the pages will be fine since the photos are several years old (not quite border sticker old, but still).  Maybe no one will know that they were put together in the present time!!  

So sorry about the glare on the page but with all of the rain we have been getting, I could not get a decent photo... Notice the glare off of the lovely glossy sticker! LOL!

So what was your 'I can't believe I own this' item?  I would love to know!!!  Even better, use it to make something and share a link to your creation!!!  Who knows, I might even give away a prize for the the best forehead slapping item!  Have a fabulous weekend!!

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

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

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

Flashback Friday- A Souper Day!

Happy Friday!! I'm so glad you're here! It's another flashback day on my blog and I love that just about everything on these two pages are from my older stash! I pulled out some yellow paper from my nonSU stack and paired it with some retired DSP and some really old letter stickers.  The lucky limeade ribbon on the second page was just a little too sheer for this page so I braided three strands together and added a matching brad.

I am happy to say that I am seeing a small improvement in my stacks of older photos.  Little by little, they are coming out of the organizer and going into the albums.  Makes my heart feel all fuzzy inside!!  It was a little bittersweet scrapbooking these pages.  The pictures are from a soup cookout that we had the fall before my Dad had his stroke.  He no longer has the mobility to walk unassisted and it made me a little sad to see him standing and stirring the soup kettle.  However, we are blessed that he is still with us and still just as stubborn as ever (glad I'm not like that...). I am thankful that we are able to make more memories for me to record.

Well, we are preparing for a busy weekend here.  DD#1 is participating in the District Solo and Ensemble competition and I'm volunteering, so we will be doing a lot of running and waiting.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Page Recipe: Paper-yellow from stash, Orchard Harvest DSP (ret), early espresso, Accessories-summer smooches brads (ret), letter stickers from stash, jumbo sticky round, lucky limeade ribbon (ret), twill ribbon (ret)

Flashback Friday- Doing a Little Digging

Hi! Welcome to another wonderful Friday at my little spot in Blogland!  I have another Flashback project this week and I really did some digging for this one!  I unearthed some very retired DSP and pulled out some very neglected embellishments as well.  Isn't it funny how I can keep using my older things week after week and the pile doesn't seem to get any smaller?  I'm hoping one morning I will look at my paper stacks and see that I really NEED to buy some more paper!!

But enough of my wishful thinking, you came here to see something crafty!  I pulled out some older pictures again for today's page.  I'm hoping I will be able to say I'm finished with 2008 soon!

I used the DSP Play Date that has been in my stash for ages.  I'm not even sure when that was current.  I also snagged a doily from the leftovers of the Artisan kit, and inked up some paper daisies as well.  Ironically, the only new feature on this page is not from SU.  It's the Martha Stewart leafy punch that I recently purchased with a coupon! I think it's supposed to be an evergreen, but it reminds me of the delicate leaves of the daisies that pop up at the edges of the fields each year.  

I hope this weekend allows you some time to dig through your older goodies and have a play date! Ha! Get it?  Play Date DSP, play date...  Sorry! I really need to get out more...  Have a great weekend and thanks so much for visiting!

Page Recipe: Paper-Play Date DSP, whisper white, old olive, Stamp-Just Journaling, Ink-crumb cake, basic black, real red, Accessories-doily from Artisan kit, paper daisies, brights brads, stickers from stash, MS punch

Flashback Friday-On a Roll

Hello! I am so glad you stopped by today!  I have really been trying to get some scrapbook pages completed lately and am happy to say I have two more to share with you today!  If you read the post title, you will know that this uses my retired and older stash of supplies, hence the flashback...

The pictures are a bit of a flashback too.  These were from several years ago and it amazes me how much the girls have changed!  Now neither one of them ride the kiddy rides and would rather spend most of their visits at the water park instead of visiting Santa!

I used some older Page Maps sketches for my two page layout.  I 'm trying to use a lot more of my older DSP since I have so much, and I dug out the retired brights DSP pack for these pages.  There's still a lot left, but it's a little less than before :)

I hope you are inspired to take a look at your older neglected supplies (and photos), pull them out, and use them!  Have a wonderful weekend and may all your days be crafty!

Page Recipe: Paper-daffodil delight, real red, whisper white, Brights DSP (ret), Gingham Garden DSP, Stamp-Just Journaling, Ink-crumb cake, basic black, Punches-full heart, butterfly, scallop border, bitty butterfly, spiral border, Accessories-circle framelits, candy dots, paper piercing kit, real red stitched grosgrain ribbon

Flashback Friday- More Christmas Cards!!

I'm baaaaack! With another Christmas card!!! Shut the front door!  I also used lots of retired goodies- the only current items are some of the inks, and the chocolate chip and whisper white paper! Woo! Hoo!

Because the striped paper was pretty busy, I decided to keep the design simple.  It went together so quickly, I made four of them! Now I have four more cards to add to my stash!!

I'm surprised I didn't have to blow some dust from the stamp set!  I haven't used it in ages, but I really love it!  Such a simple image to work with.

Well, I'm trying to get my laundry done so I can go to a local arts and crafts festival tomorrow.  This is our traditional girls day with my mom and sisters, but one of my sisters won't be with us.  She somehow got this crazy idea that it would be more fun to take a cruise to the Bahamas with her husband instead of shopping with her favorite little sister... What was she thinking???  I'm hoping to score some fabulous crafting goodies and old postcards so I can rub her nose in it show her my purchases. Wish me luck!!

I hope your weekend is super fabulous and filled with inky, crafty, goodness too!

Card Recipe: Paper-Holiday Treasures DSP (ret), ruby red (ret), chocolate chip, whisper white, Stamp Set-Sidekick Sayings, Ink- stazon black, chocolate chip, old olive, ruby red (ret), summer starfruit, Accessories-chocolate chip ribbon (ret)

Flashback Friday (on a Saturday night) -Still trying to get a jump start...

Hello! I am so glad you stopped by and I'm even happier that I actually had a little time to get online and post something for you to see!  I am amazed at how quickly time can pass lately.  Normally, I'm online every evening and catching up on things, but it has been several days since I've even gone online!  Things are going well with my job and our lives aren't overly crazy right now, but I still find that between work, family, and housework, there is very little time at the end of the day!  Not complaining though!!  I am however missing out on visiting my blog buddies and really want to squeeze in some time to visit everyone again!  So if I haven't been around lately, I promise I will be soon!

Many of you know that I am a true blue procrastinator and always seem to be doing everything at the last minute.  You may also remember that last year I actually had my Christmas cards completed early and was quite shocked at the extra craft time it gave me.  I also decided last year that I would make Christmas cards throughout the year so I could be finished earlier this year too. Well... let's just say that I started out with the best of intentions and then it all just kind of went out the window!  But I recently was inspired again to dig into some of my older papers and decided I REALLY needed to make a few (ha!) more Christmas cards before Dec. 25th!  So I pulled out some retired paper and ribbon, combined it with several current materials and knocked out 4 more cards!  They are all the same so I'm only sharing a photo of one.

                                         

On a noncrafty note, I've recently started doing a major overhaul of my entire home.  We are hoping to build within a year and I really want the actual move to be as painless as possible.  Our current little home is so crowded with stuff that we 'needed' when we moved here and I'm really trying to look at everything with a new perspective.  I think I've finally hit the point where I've realized that all of this stuff is not necessary and it will be so much easier to move if there is less to pack.  I even got the girls on board this week and they have gone through their closet and dresser to pull out any clothes they know they won't wear.  Now I need to make a trip to our local charity thrift store to give all of our 'stuff' a new home!  If you are looking for a great site to motivate you to organize and clean your home, Fly Lady is awesome!  She even sends you emails to remind you that you're supposed to be cleaning instead of playing on pinterest (not that I would EVER waste time on pinterest when there was housekeeping to be done...) Nope, sorry...couldn't keep a straight face through that one!!  She has a great sense of humor too which helps when you're facing a messy house!

I hope you are enjoying your weekend and find some time to be crafty too!  Thanks so much for visiting!

Card Recipe:  Paper-Holiday Treasures DSP (ret), old olive, Baja breeze, ruby red, whisper white, Stamp Sets-Four Frames, That's the Ticket, Ink-chocolate chip, ruby red, Accessories-old olive scallop dots ribbon (ret), ticket duo builder punch, decorative label punch

Flashback Friday- A Collaborative Effort

Hi!  I can't believe that October is almost at an end!  It seemed like a month ago, we were getting our camper ready for the season, and now we're squeezing in our last few outings before it is stored for the winter!  Plus, Halloween will be here before I know it, and then Thanksgiving, and then GASP! Christmas!!  I'm feeling a bit panicked already!

But I didn't intend to stress you out today, I'm here to share another scrapbook page for my Flashback Friday!  My oldest took one look at the photos and exclaimed, "That is SO Shadow!"  My page title was born!  She continued to offer ideas and opinions as I worked on the page and since it's for her album, I used pretty much everything she offered.

The vibrant red base is one that I have had for a very, very long time.  It always seemed a little too red for everything.  But today, the red seemed to add another element of energy to the very energetic photo.  I am quite happy that it now has a home because I was about ready to just pitch it!  I kept the page incredibly simple and let the fun pictures of Shadow be the main attraction.  A quick dig through my stickers file turned up the vellum piece.  He really was still quite a puppy at the time the pictures were taken, only a year old!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Happy crafting!

Page Recipe:  Paper-red base from stash, basic black, whisper white, Stamp Set-Designer Typeset, Ink-black stazon, Accessories-vellum quote & black alphabet letters from stash

Flashback Friday- They grow up so fast...

Hello! I'm so glad you've stopped by for another Flashback Friday, where I attempt to use up some of my older crafting supplies, and dust off those retired Stampin' Up items.  I have another scrapbook page this week.

A while back, my youngest was commenting about all of the pictures I still needed to scrapbook.  In her ever optimistic mind, she thought if I had a whole weekend for scrapbooking, I could get caught up.  Isn't that cute?!  Not that I mind the idea of locking myself away for a weekend of crafting, but I'm pretty sure that wouldn't even make a dent in the pages that need to be made.  I might be able to get all of my  printed photos scrapped, but then there are the hundreds of photos that are still on CDs that need to be printed.  Such is the life of a shutterbug...

I have managed to squeeze in quite a bit of time this month to working on pages and I'm slowly getting them finished.  Today's page has photos from 2008 and I had to smile at the sweet little faces!  They don't look quite the same 5 years later!!

I used an old sketch that I've had for ages.  I'm not even sure where it's from, but I loved the little scallop blocks for the title.  It was also nice to use some older cardstock for my base.  That pile is slowly getting smaller too!  The original sketch had die cut style flowers, but since I've loaned out my Big Shot to my sister for a project, I made ribbon flowers instead. *I never realized just how much I use the Big Shot until it wasn't here!*  Oh, and those red letters in the title?  I can not even fathom a guess as to how long I've had them.  I was a little surprised they were still sticky!

close up of the ribbon flower...

I hope you enjoyed today's post and that maybe you are inspired to catch up on your scrapbooking or use some of your older supplies.  Have a wonderful weekend and happy crafting!

Page Recipe:  Paper- yellow base from stash, whisper white, pacific point, Accessories-scallop square punch, jumbo sticky rounds, ice cream parlor ribbon (ret), really old red alphabet stickers  

Flashback Friday- Getting Inky!

Hello! I'm apologizing in advance... Today's post is a little picture heavy, but I did include some cute, furry kitten photos so I hope I'm forgiven!  As I was making some phone calls and paying bills last week, I was grumbling to myself  that I really needed to get a little more organized with all of the papers that seem to accumulate when the girls go back to school.  Sign this, send in $ for that, be sure the choir gowns are altered by the first concert, return fundraiser information now...  It is enough to drive me batty some days!  Just as I was wondering what in the world I could find that would organize and I would actually use, Shadow's big ol' Lab tail knocked a clipboard off of a shelf.  I picked it up and was going to return it to the shelf when inspiration struck.  I should have taken a before picture, but didn't think of it until it was already painted.  The clipboard was one that I had bought to use for preschool and the kids helped 'decorate' it with stray marks from markers and pencils.  I gave the whole clipboard a good coat of off white acrylic paint.  As the paint was drying, I went to Pinterest to see what ideas I could borrow to make my new organization board.

I really wasn't in the mood for a neat and clean papered clipboard, of which there were TONS of photos.  I liked them, but didn't really want to do the whole paper thing.  I did however find some inspiration in a mini clipboard that was all inky and stamped-not my usual style, but it looked like a lot of fun!  

So I pulled out some of my favorite stamps, lots of ink pads, and got busy.  I'm not sure if it was the acrylic paint or the clipboard, but my bold browns were sucked right in, leaving behind a very muted design.  I really liked it, and quickly decided to exchange my subtle blues and greens for the stronger, brighter colors.  The funny thing was I would never have combined the different shades that I used, but they really worked well together once they were dry.  Then I went back and sponged some browns and blues, and a little vanilla for good measure.

When I finished, the chrome clip looked completely out of place! Can't have that!!  So I pulled out the vanilla flower trim and made it all inky as well.  The newsprint bird was a suggestion from my oldest DD, and I added some 'vintage' crochet ribbon to finish it off.

Now I just have to convince myself to clip important notes and paper on here.  Not an easy task since it will cover up all of the inky goodness, but maybe it will motivate me to take care of those papers so I can see the clipboard again.

I hadn't intended to share photos of the kittens, but they were weaving in and out of the table legs as I was trying to take my pictures.  I figured if they were feeling so photogenic, I should oblige.

Katniss decided to climb up my leg as I took her photo. Ouch!

Beauty was too busy swiping to sit still, but finally

I was able to capture this shot.

Where was Shadow during all of this?  Why, resting comfortably on the deck like a good dog.  I'm pretty sure he's convinced that we make way too much fuss over the silly cats who don't even have the courtesy to stay out of my pictures.  He does however make quite a big deal of strutting back into the house with me.  I'm certain he makes faces at them through the window as he enjoys his place inside.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and find some time to play with your craft supplies too!

Project Recipe: Paper-very vanilla, First Edition DSP (ret), Stamp Sets-Faith in Nature (ret), Inspired by Nature (ret), Warm Words (ret), World Map, Ink-soft suede, early espresso, baked brown sugar, marina mist, not quite navy, night of navy, garden green, old olive, Accessories-bird builder punch, scallop oval punch, vanilla flower trim, Chantilly crochet trim

Flashback Friday-Family Ties!

Hello! I am finally back with a new Flashback Friday!  We had two family reunions in September and I took several pictures at both.  I figured before I let another year pile on, I better get some of the older reunion pics scrapped.  

I come from a large family.  I am the youngest of six, Mom is in the middle of eight, and Dad is one of the older of eight.  Needless to say, even a 'small' gathering is a big deal.  On the flip side of the coin, my husband is the youngest of three, and his Mom and Dad are both the oldest of two.  Our wedding reception was a bit overwhelming for his family.  They were amazed that not only was I related to so many people, but also knew all of them by name!  Over the years, cousins had kids, and their kids had kids, and I can no longer claim to know everyone by name, but we still have a great time together!  It's so fun to share stories with the younger kids about their parents and grandparents when they were little.

Today's page holds photos from 2008 (you do the math and see how far behind I am!), and I was so happy to see that everyone in these photos were also at our most recent reunion.  Sometimes it's a little sad to scrap older pictures and realize that some of the loved ones are no longer with us.  But fortunately, that wasn't the case this time.  I kept the layout fairly clean and simple since I really didn't want anything to take away from the documentation purpose of the photos.  I added a large journal block to the back of the page, documenting everyone's name and relationship.  I know my kids think it's a little funny when I list that Grandma is their Grandma and I'm her daughter, but 50 years from now someone else may be viewing these asking "Grandma to who?".  On the front, I journaled about the location and some of the fun activities we enjoyed.

This was truly a dip into my older stash!  The only current thing I used was the very vanilla cardstock and the Stazon ink and marker!  I even dug out an old epoxy quote sticker, mounted it on a scrap of vanilla and used it to embellish my page.  I thought it described my family perfectly.  It seems like no matter what has happened or how many years it has been, when we all gather together, it's like no time has passed at all.  What a blessing to have this, and an even bigger treasure to pass on to my girls.

Well, that's it for me today!  I hope you are ready to enjoy another wonderful weekend!  We don't have too much planned, so I'm hoping for a little more crafty time to play.  Have a fabulous day and thanks so much for stopping by!

Page Recipe:  Paper-very vanilla, Sending Love DSP (ret), Stamp Set-Jayne's Type Alpha (ret), Ink-Stazon black, black journaling marker, Accessories-scallop border punch, old epoxy sticker from stash

Flashback Friday- Surprise!!

Do not adjust your monitor! I am really here with a Flashback Friday again!!!  I am really trying to keep up with my Christmas card making so I'm not freaking out mid December!  So I pulled out some retired Snow Festival dsp.  One of my favorite sheets from this set is the various images placed perfectly in squares.  It is soooo easy to make cards with this and I didn't use a single stamp on these!!  So easy that I managed to make 4 cards in one short sitting!

Another flashback item- Baja Breeze seam binding

Like I said, these were incredibly simple, but I think they turned out pretty cute!  I hope I've inspired you to dig into some of your older supplies and make something new too! Have a wonderful weekend and happy crafting!

Card Recipe:  Paper-Snow Festival, gumball green, primrose petals, soft suede, Accessories- Petals a Plenty embossing folder, Baja breeze seam binding, gumball green stitched satin ribbon, vintage faceted button

Flashback Friday- A little more Ski Slope...

I am so glad you stopped in today, and hope that you're not sick of seeing my Ski Slope Christmas cards!  I am happy to say that all that is left is 1 full sheet and a baggie of scraps!  So there's a good chance that this will be the last you see of Ski Slope for a while, but no promises!

I went with a very simple design  that featured the DSP as the focal point and embossed the paper for a quilted look.  I love the distressing that occured when I did this-a happy accident, but happy all the same!  The delicate snowflakes were punched from some ragged scraps of whisper white cardstock that really needed to be used up.  I only made two of this design, but I think I will probably use this layout again using different papers.

a close up for a little more detail...

I hoped you enjoyed my new creations using old products and that maybe I've inspired you to dig out some of your older favorites too!  As this is posting, I will be knee deep in cookie making and camp prep. We are once again helping out at our local Kids Camp and will be in charge of feeding 18 hungry boys!!  Wish me luck! Have a wonderful weekend and happy crafting!

I also linked this up at Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge. They have an anything goes as long as it's Christmas challenge for the month of July!

Card Recipe:Paper-Baja Breeze (ret), Riding Hood Red (ret), Whisper White, Ski Slope (ret), Stamp Set-Teeny Tiny Wishes, Ink-chocolate chip, Accessories-snow burst embossing folder, non SU snowflake punch, basic rhinestones

Flashback Friday-Scrappy Holidays!

Hello! I'm so glad you stopped by today!  I am doing my very best to keep up with the Christmas card making plan and I have four more cards to share today!  Once again, I used the retired Ski Slope DSP and  the package is looking even more pitiful than before. 

I was so excited as this card came together for three reasons. 1. It used a lot of smaller scraps that I always struggle to use (but yet can't seem to throw away!). 2. It used almost all retired product. and 3. It came together so quickly!

a close up of the design

and all four cards...

I have to admit that it feels pretty good to use up some of my older goodies and add to the growing stack of Christmas cards.

**Revised** I am linking this card up at Merry Monday where they are having an Anything Goes-Christmas challenge all month long!  I've also linked up with Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge, who also has an anything goes as long as it's Christmas challenge for the month of July!

I hope you have a marvelous weekend and happy crafting!

Card Recipe: Paper-riding hood red, scraps of whisper white, Ski Slope DSP (ret), Stamp- non SU from my stash, Ink-kiwi kiss (ret), Accessories- brads, photo corner punch

Flashback Friday-See what a little cleaning can do?

Hi! Welcome to another Flashback Friday! I hope all of my fellow Americans survived their Independence Day's activities without any injuries!  Our holiday was pretty low key.  My nephew came home for a visit and we all had a wonderful time together.

I have been using my time off this summer to try to do some much needed cleaning and organizing.    No big surprise that one of the first areas I tackled was my crafting space!  Since then, I have moved on to other areas of the house (not nearly as much fun, but easier to purge clothing that is the wrong size, than old beloved stamps!), but I keep coming across things that pull me back to my crafting space!  For example, my dryer was becoming the catch all area for outgrown clothes, so I finally bagged them up so they would be ready for donating to our local charity thrift store.  During this cleaning, I found a few homeless buttons and figured that I would never find the matching clothes, or they were probably long gone.  So I gave them a new home in my buttons container where I found the bag of buttons I bought a long time ago at an antiques and collectables store.  This led to a complete side track from cleaning!

My first card actually features one of these buttons.  They are metal and a little shabby looking and I absolutely loved them.  I used a faux mosaic tile technique for the focal point and added the button as an accent.  Along with my old button, I also pulled out some retired Tea Party DSP for this card.

As I was working on the first card, I moved a ziplock bag of thin strips of paper that were scraps from Easter cards.  I decided I really needed to either use them or pitch them and then I remembered the cute Easter bear digi I colored a looooong time ago.  This image is so old that when I went back to the person's site to link up to it, her site was gone...  So Caroline, I tried to give you credit but I'm not sure where you are now!

I glued all of the skinny strips of paper onto a rectangle of copy paper and then trimmed the edges to make them even.  Then I glued that to the base and glued the teddy to the front.  I realize that little bag of scraps didn't make a big dent in my stash, but I am glad that I finally found a use for all of the colorful scraps!

Well, DD#1 and I have a date to watch the Warehouse 13 marathon, so until next time, happy crafting!!