Basic Grey Blog Sketch entry!

Oh how I have missed playing with paper! Been reorganizing my scrap area and its finally DONE and now I give myself permission to play once again!

First up is a challenge from Basic Grey using the card sketch posted on September 10th.

I used some older papers that  I discovered in my reorganizing, Lemonade from 2009. Loved it then and still love it today!

Thanks for dropping by. Godspeed

A Three-fer!

Speaking of combining challenges! I scrapped yesterday and was able to combine the Zany Zinnea Summer Sketch Club sketches with a challenge issued by Terry at The ScrapRoom called Simple Scrapping, AND Willow Trader's Use Up Those Kits challenge! PHEW!!

For the first two, I took a photo of my scraps before I started and then the finished layout::

The "bungee! woo-hoo!" layout is also my entry at Paper Secrets  for their August "I Love Echo Park" contest!

As I mentioned, these we are kept pretty simple, chipboard stickers, alpha, and pretty simple focusing on the photos and not the foo-foo.

The one thing I have discovered in "shopping" thru my older stash, it may have come out two, three, four, or even five years ago, but its all new to me again! And honestly, I'm so glad I didn't use up all of the above papers before because these photos are PERFECT for them!

Thanks for stopping by!

 Godspeed

August 10 - "rings"

August 9 - "messy"

One day I need to get totally organized so I can actually use this table. In the meantime, its one big messy eyesore!

August 8 - "8 o'clock"

At work on my lunch break tonight, glanced at the clock and wishing it was already 10:30pm and time to go home!

August 7 - "glasses"

Part of my antique glass collection we like to get out and fill with a yummy milkshake every now and then. ;-)

August 6 - "handwriting"

I made this layout tonight and VIOLA! My handwriting is in a few spots!

Every year we have a town carnival and this year's included a mechanical bull small enough for the kids. Makayla was having a blast trying to see how long she could last without losing her grip!

August 5 - "logo"

When I get to work, the first stop is at Starbucks for my morning pick me up! This particular morning it was their new Lime Refresher. WOW! Is it ever tasty!

August 4 - "somewhere I sat today"

Until I got booted from this recliner, I was enjoying my cup of coffee! Look who decided they wanted my chair while I made breakfast:

They are kinda cute sitting like that though!

August 3 - "coin"

hmmmm.........

August 2 - "One"

This is ONE gorgeous forecast! Living in the PNW we don't get the extreme heat and humidity others do, but just a touch of 90 degree weather before it heads back to normal. My kind of summer!

Godspeed

August 1 - "Outside"

Jennifer over at The ScrapRoom has issued a challenge of taking a photo every day for the month of August. She is even so kind as to offer the "prompt" for the day - YAY!!! - and with camera in hand,  I'm ready to take on this challenge! And since I may end up scrapping these photos, might as well blog them and get that journaling started!

We had such a late start to our warmer weather but my pole beans didn't give up and my granddaughter  discovered these two "teenie beanies" yesterday. Look closely, they are there!

I'll be back tomorrow with that day's photo!

Godspeed

FiNISHED!

It took me awhile to get this canvas finished but, VOILA!! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Godspeed

Creative Canvas

A few months back I won this class from Miss Arts Paper Crafting. I have been itching to work on it but something always came up - LIFE! So, last night I decided I had waited long enough!

I've been trying to use up my scrap supplies since the beginning of the year and, had some Echo Park Sweet Summertime, Kaiser Kraft Love Notes, a misc. sheet of "clouds", paints and a 12x12 canvas and got busy!

I know I still have tons to learn and NEED to realize that perfection is not necessary in the world of mixed media!! Once I get that idea burned into my head, I'll actually be a bit more relaxed with the process. In the meantime, I need more masking tools, some gel medium, smaller canvas, and REALLY cool looking larger stamps!

TFL - Godspeed

time to chill....

Taking the Kidding Around 2 at Big Picture Scrapbook has been lots of fun, but today Makayla and I ventured off into our own little painting world. We're using the larger purple SMASH Book with the "maps pages" as our back drop.

I thought this quote would be an appropriate one for her and as I created the left side, she did the right. One day soon, I will put that quote to canvas, but for now its tucked away safely in her book. ;-) She hasn't decided if she wants to do more to her's, but I think at 7 yrs. of age, she did AWESOME work!!

TFL - Godspeed

Insanely BUSY this month!!

Where has the month gone? Summer's in full swing, spending loads of time with family, participating in the Kidding Around 2 class at BPS with my oldest grandbaby, working extra hours when I get the chance, and although I haven't done as much as I'd hoped, I did manage to find some time to scrap just no time to blog it. ;-)

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I've been on hiatus from purchasing new supplies to use up my stash. I have found lots of cute stuff that I've stashed away! Here are a few scraps from Jenni Bowlin and misc. papers. In one of her Kidding Around 2 classes, Makayla was to create a game. It was lots of fun, and although we took a few turns to fine tune it, she know enjoys playing it now with her little friends!

And in this second one is October Afternoon's Fly A Kit, which I adored when I first got it and love even more now! (Sketch from ZZ's Summer Sketch Club)

This MLYB was just waiting to be used up and these photos were perfect!

And we've all had those kits that we receive in our kit clubs that just don't quite fit anything we have. It took awhile but finally came up with a solution for these Crate Paper Toy Box papers. However, the rest of them went back in the stash and the chipboard pieces found a good home that includes twin boys!

Here is another Crate Paper collection that I couldn't bear to part with but took some time to find the right photos. I grabbed a little bit of this and a little bit of that from my embellie stash and with the aid of stitching from my new sewing machine, came up with this one. LOVE the way it turned out!

I can't believe I held onto this Bo Bunny sheet for so long, but decided to cut it up and make a card. I love the whimsey look and feel and it will make a great notecard for my Mom to receive!

And then you have photos that just don't match up to anything you have, so I mixed my own inks to the desired colors, sprayed it on bubble wrap, and VIOLA! I need to do this more often!!

So there you have it, my creations so far for July! Not sure how much more I'll get finished with everything going on, but thanks for stopping by and toddles till later!

Godspeed

LOVIN' this sketch class!

Although I didn't get too much done this past week for LOAD, I did manage two more of the sketches from Zany Zinnea's Summer Sketch Club! What a great set of sketches Stacey has put together - thank you Stacey!! And being on a kit buying freeze, has forced me to dig deep into my stash and discover some papers that I had totally forgot I had. It's so much fun "shopping" thru my own goodies!!

My first layout from ZZ's class is from the Echo Park Sweet Summertime. I didn't realize until I snapped a photo that my smaller strip on top of the large striped piece was upside down. It was planned to have the other side, a pinkish and white small stripe instead of more of the diamond shapes. Oh well, its cute anyways with my little water babies!!

When I first received this next set of papers in my TSR DoubleShot kit I had no idea what I'd do with it. This has been hanging out in my stash now for almost two years and when I came across it this afternoon, I just knew my photos would work perfectly with the whimsey they perceived. Some times it does pay to hoard. ;-)

This last one is TSR's June Blog Sketch Challenge. I discovered these MME Miss Caroline 6x6 paper pads from a local business and just LOVE the size! They were perfect for this layout of my grandbaby watering plants in my garden - SWEETNESS!!

The weekend is still young, so I hope to be back tomorrow with another creation!

Godspeed

LOAD continued....

With the help of Zany Zinnia's sketch class, I've rediscovered my mojo and have scrapped just about every day this past week! Stacey has done a beautiful job creating some wonderful and easy to follow sketches in 12x12 format that I have easily altered for my 8.5x11 size layouts. 

This last one is of Father's Day 2012. Love my guys!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Godspeed

More LOAD .....

Okay, the best laid plans didn't happen.....I doubt I'll get the 15 layouts done that I was hoping for, but it is what it is and I ain't sweatin' the small stuff!

Actually, the past two weeks have been extremely hectic and I just haven't had a spare moment. The kids closed on their new home and we've been painting and getting them moved. So excited for them, especially since they've been thru so much these past 18 months and this home will be that new beginning they hoped for. :-)

BUT! I did manage to get a couple layouts in and thought I'd share. As I stated before, I'm taking a sketch class and these are two more from that class. In the first one, All Done, I was keeping Ruby occupied while they were doing all the heavy furniture move. She has become VERY good at assembling puzzles and I LOVE that look on her face!

The second day they needed to get Ruby's playhouse moved, but the gate opening was too small! So the next best thing, besides taking it all apart, was to go Up & Over the fence! And Ruby, she couldn't be happier with her "house" in her new yard!

And now, onto the next one! Thanks for stopping by!

Godspeed

LOAD

By now we all have, or most of us anyways, participated in a LayOut A Day challenge in one or more of the various scrapping message boards here on the web. This month one is being held at The ScrapRoom and although I missed yesterday, I am trying hard to keep up with it this time. And with the help of Zany Zinnia's Summer Sketch Club, I should be able to do at least 15 of the 30 days for June, but hoping for more. But, we all know how life interferes and so much for those best laid scrappy plans!

My first up for LOAD is from ZZ's sketch #1. I think the story behind the layout is self explanatory and oh, so CUTE!

Now I must get myself together and head out to a softball game. Have a good day and thanks for stopping by!

Godspeed

Before May is history......

.... I need to share what I accomplished with my scrapping. We had a crop at The ScrapRoom and with the weekly challenges, I managed 8, yes 8!, layouts in the week's time!

First one up was my challenge - "Look Up In The Sky!" The participants had to use white, blue, and yellow only. I also double dipped papa's princess with the "Heavy Metal" challenge and added some staples to the little banner in the upper right corner. Then I went on to triple dip it for one of the three lifts I did for the scrap lift challenge - see more layouts below.

 March '12 was for the "Photo Inspiration" challenge and I chose the pretty greens and yellows.

carefree was black and white with a touch of one color that was in your photos challenge. This one was a bit of a challenge because I knew exactly what photos I wanted, but had a hard time with coming up with a title. My DH looked at it and said "she looks so carefree" and BAM! it quickly became the title!

 These next three are for the scrap lift challenge, which I couldn't do just once, but THREE times! This first one, hanging out, I lifted Mel and double dipped with a recipe challenge from the Mods.

 In WHEE! I lifted the strips of paper like Andrea did in hers. So glad I kept those scraps of paper!

And I just couldn't resist these cute photos and made a quick layout from scraps of my youngest grand baby here in You Go Girl!

Celebrate 75! was from a weekly MOD challenge at The ScrapRoom. We were to incorporate a number in the title. I'm also in a sketch class at Zanny Zinnia and this is sketch #1

 And mom's day I just did to commemorate my Mother's Day spent with my kids. :-)

Hopefully I'll get back to my scrap table sometime this weekend and get busy with some more layouts. Thanks for stopping by!

Godspeed

I did it!

My pantry/freezer meal challenge was definitely what the cupboards and freezer needed! I still have plenty of foodstuff left and will continue into June! Just picked up a few items from the grocery store and gave my self an "allowance" for the month on a gift card. I'm determined to cut this grocery bill down to size and keep it that way!

Wish me luck for June!

Godspped

eggstravaganza!

Not getting as much done this weekend as I had hoped in my scrappy space, but that's what happens when the sun finally appears!

These photos are from Easter this year and just a bit of "monkey business" that is my everyday life. Wouldn't have it any other way! I adapted this two page sketch found in Sketches for Scrapbooking, vol. six into an 8 1/2 x 11.

And now before it gets bright and sunny out, I'm off to finish up another that I've started!

Godspeed

Happy NSD!!

This afternoon I ventured out to Craft Warehouse, the only scrappy supply place for miles around here. They try their best to carry the latest in scrapbooking and crafty supplies and I haven't been disappointed yet. Anyways, they were doing some darling make & takes and although I stood in line for almost 90 minutes I found out that scrapbookers truly are the chattiest people on the planet! It was a long wait and my feet were not happy - wrong shoes! - but this is what I came home with:

Of course I just had to buy a few things while there to make a few more of these for some very good friends of mine! I think they'll love it just as much and I do. :-)

Now back to scrapping! Godspeed

My Monthly Food Challenge!

When work for Butch took a downturn last month, it made payroll on the first rather bleak and I knew I had to make a HUGE adjustment to the food allowance. So, I've challenged myself to eating from the pantry and freezer for the month of May, only going to the store for perishable items such as eggs, milk, and fresh veggies. Now as someone on a gluten free/wheat free diet, that can be quite tasking but I'm so up for the challenge! Thank goodness I stocked up on my supplies for baking my breads and Makayla's pancakes last month, PHEW!

Those cookies I posted earlier, yeah, they came from the pantry. I have so much stuff in there that just keeps getting pushed further back that I'm sure some of it is past expiration date. I never even realized canned foods came with an expiration date till I opened a can of tomato sauce, noticed it was brownish and saw the date of 2008!! WOW!! That one REALLY got lost!! And the freezer, let's just not go there!

So, this afternoon I pulled out a whole chicken, stewed it up in a pot, added potatoes, frozen veggies, some celery from the fridge and now eating a nice hot bowl of this chicken concoction that tastes rather yummy. And the best part, there is plenty to separate and store in the freezer for my lunches next week!

I never realized just how frugal I could be once I set my mind on it!! I'll keep ya posted on how this all transpires. :-)

Godspeed

YUMMY!!!

Who says eating a gluten free diet has to be bland and non-eventful? Ever since being diagnosed I have been all over the Internet and hoarding recipes to try when time permits. I had a few minutes yesterday afternoon and made these.

WOW!!! What an awesome taste!! They taste just like peanut butter cups which I absolutely LOVE!!

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Mix together:
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup naturally organic peanut butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
Add:
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup chocolate chips

The dough may seem "dry" but comes out just fine. Form into 1" balls and place on lightly PAM sprayed cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes, any longer and they may burn. Makes 24 cookies.

ENJOY!!

Godspeed

NSD at Little Yellow Bicycle!!

Make sure you drop by Little Yellow Bicycle on May 5th for some fun and your chance to win some awesome prizes! I know I'm a HUGE fan and can't wait!!

Godspeed

layouts to share!

In both layouts I used sketches by Allison Davis of Sketch Support and Echo Park's Little Girl collection.  Thanks for looking!

Godspeed