Gorgeous Card Kit from Lifepreservers Scrapbook Club

These papers from Collage Press are gorgeous!! Combine them with the fantasic goodies that Von finds and we have a fabulous August Card Kit from http://www.lifepreserversclub.com !!

I started out making this for the BSH contest at Lifepreservers Scrapbook club. We had to use an 8.5x11 sketch for inspiration. I then added some cardstock and a few more pp stripsand a little lace to turn it into a 12x12 to fit my album! Sneaky, huh!!

I just love the airplane paper!! I was perfect for the photos of our stop at the Space and Air Museum!




Non kit items were:
Tim Holtz mask was from a previous Lifepreservers kit
Tim Holtz Distress inks
chipboard star
corkboard star I cut from an old sticker
buttons
thread

Home

And the plot thickens as we play the waiting game to see who moves forward to round #4! Our challenge this week was:
ric-rac
- paint
- at least one hand-made flower (made by YOU) - can be made out of paper, fabric, felt...whatever.
- 1 or 2 photos (no more, no less)
- Include the words "I'd rather..." in your journaling - make it long or short as you like.

I printed my photo onto cardstock so that it looks like canvas.



I hand cut some of the flowers from burlap then inked the edges with Tim Holtz distress inks.
The other flowers are hand cut from the flat side of a milk jug (seriously!) I cut the plastic from the milk jug into flower shapes, embossed them with my cuttlebug, then painted the backside so that the paint would go into the embossed groves, and wiped off the excess paint.



The title block was cut using the Cricut. I stitched the edged, dry brushed on some green paint, and added a rubon. I embossed the letters with the cuttlebug, sanded and inked the edges, and finished them off with some homemade glimmer mist ( thanks to my best friend ever!)




I printed the journaling on a transparency, then dry brushed paint on the back. I ended up covering more of the photo than I would have liked, but I still like the end results.

The journaling reads:
I am a country girl through and through. I know my parents would laugh to know that I loved living on the farm as a kid. I dreamt of the day I would marry a farmer and have a house full of kids of my own. Luckily for me, I met, and married the most magnificent man....a farmer. Gorgeous sunsets sprawling across the land. Sitting on the front step watching the stars with only crickets disturbing the silence. Stomping in springtime mud puddles...of course not when the kids were watching! How I loved having a garden. Even more, I loved canning. Watching the pantry fill knowing that it came from the labor of my hands. How I loved to work in the fields, driving tractor...the smell of the freshly turned soil. I even have to admit my love for the cows, and helping in the milking barn. Working side by side. I guess God has other plans for me. I know that he is using my illness for his purpose, though I don't see it now...and maybe never will. I really don't try to understand it. What an honor it is to know that he deems me strong enough to carry this load. I have come to accept it for what it is. I try my best to serve in the way he has chosen for me. I accept it. I deal with it. But yes, it is frustrating. I do get tired of being sick. I miss out on a lot. I do have my occasional pity party. I try my best to not let it bring me down. But some days, it really is only with the strength of the Lord that I carry this burden. I am so incredibly fortunate to have a husband and boys who are so understanding of the situation. But I really hate that I can't be at the farm side by side with them. Sometimes I feel so guilty knowing they are working so hard and here I sit. I know that it isn't my fault, and I understand that there is nothing I can do to change our situation. But sometimes, it makes me feel like a failure as a mother, and a wife. I am very blessed to have found a nice house that works for me in such a wonderful neighborhood. Who could ask for better neighbors?! I am privileged to have been able to establish a successful business here. Honestly, I miss my guys. I miss the farm. Really...with all my heart, I'd rather go home.

My guest designer goodies!

I’ve have had the most fun creating from my Lifepreservers Scrapbook Club kit! Not only are the papers fabulous, Von has added some super fun embellishments! Von also has some awesome kits lined up for the up coming months!! *hint hint*

Here is what I have created so far for my Guest Design spot!

I really wanted to experiment with other options for the punchinella so on this lo I cut it into circles. I created the spaceship using the Paperdolls cartridge and the Cricut. The “dome” of the spaceship is clear packaging material that I embossed with the cuttlebug, then cut to fit the ship.



On this layout I adhered the Punchinella to the chipboard stars, then trimmed.
The other stars were created from plastic packaging material (actually, I emptied the package from the chipboard stars and cut a flat piece of plastic from that!) I cut the plastic into star shapes, then embossed the stars with my cuttlebug. I finished them off by dry brushing paint on the back. The stamped circles were created by stamping VersaMark onto the cardstock with the bottom of paint and stickles bottles!



I also created a fun birthday card!



These papers are to cute!! I am off to see what else I can do with them!

I know I am dating myself here!

Well, here is my entry for round #2 !



Our requirements were:
Layout must include:
- at least 3 pictures
- 4 different patterned papers (no more, no less)
- 2 colors of cardstock (no more, no less)
- at least one arrow
- buttons or beads
- must have journaling that includes..."If I were honest with myself...". It can be as long or as short as you like but must include those words.
- must be an original design - no sketches please!

I stepped outside my comfort zone on this one! I haven’t decided if I like how it turned out….not sure that it portrays the feel that I was striving for, maybe that’s it.

Like how I doodled the arrow, heart, and flower?! They actually turned out better than I had hoped! I sanded the black cardstock to reveal some white and used a glaze pen to doodle in the word "totally." Love that glaze pen! That is also the pen I used to doodle in the black checks.



How about the laces with the friendship beads…they were a must-have on here!




Who didn’t have a belt, or a half dozen?! I couldn’t pass on adding some “Madonna” lace and netting (mesh)!




The journaling reads:

An 80’s teen! Our clothing was gnarly, dude….Not! Oversized shirts w/shoulder pads, big gaudy belts, stirrup pants, and parachute pants, scrunched socks and jelly shoes. Don’t forget to top off the look with mega makeup and some totally radical chunky jewelry. Big hair….AquaNet…..need I say more?! We looked totally awesome! Well, at least we were comfy!! Seriously, It was a great era to grow up in. We were freer to express ourselves with out being ostracized. Communication had a whole different meaning. Families ate together and played together. Fun with your bff’s was packing as many people as you could in a car and heading to the Drive-in movie, or the local dance. Laws were freer. People seemed to be more sincere. Maybe it was just the stage I was at in life, that made the world seem that way. Maybe it was the way my parents raised us. McDonalds launched the chicken McNugget. Apple sold the 1st Mac. Boombox and Memorex. Rubik‘s cube. If I were honest with myself, I would have to say that being an ‘80s teen was like toooh-tally awesome!





Hope you enjoyed the trip through time! Thanks for stopping by!


p.s. I saw the typo on my journaling tag after all was said and done! But, I decided, it just wouldn’t be me without at least one typo!!

ScrapFIT Reveal!

Today is the 15th and you know what that means! A new challenge will be posted at ScrapFIT!! Kudos to Ann and Kelly for another great challenge! scrapfit.blogspot.com

Here is mine!

another sneak peak!!

Stepping outside my comfort zone here! I love the look of the clean layouts with lots of white space, but I really struggle with creating them myself. I decided it was time to give it a whirl!



Reminder!!! ScrapFIT.blogspot.com announces another challenge on the 15th…only a few more days!! Want a sneak?!

my TS entry!

As promised!

Our instructions were:

Get creative!
Use 1 photo
Use a circle - 3” or bigger
Use torn paper
Must contain “I wish someone had told me that…” in either the title or Journaling



You really need to click on it to really see it....doesn't look like much in this itty bitty photo!


I have two circles - a vintage paper doily, and a coffee cup coaster from a restaurant...really!!! (hubby and I were out for lunch when I spotted it. The poor thing was begging me to bring it home and find a better use for it. How could I resist?!)
Torn paper - polka dotted flowers, pink roses, leaves & vine, journaling strips

For a little extra creativity:

All flowers were handmade -
tore polka dotted paper, wet, smooshed, dried, and I added tulle to the two biggest flowers
Tore pink paper, chalked edges, stickled edges
Stitched lace
Stitched scalloped velvet ribbon

The leaves and vine are torn, wet, smooshed, dried, then stitched on
The journaling strip is the packaging material from Prima! Don't they have the prettiest packaging!!...and it just happened to match my pp perfectly!

The journaling reads:
I wish someone had told me that none of my dreams would materialize, but life would be bigger and better than I could have imagined. I wish someone had told me that I would spend most of my life struggling with health issues, but through it would gain strength. I wish someone had told me that, rejection and skepticism from relatives and friends, would open my eyes to sincerity. I wish someone had told me that through the harshness of my first marriage I would learn appreciation and forgiveness. I wish someone had told me that being a parent brings heartache as well as joy, and through it all, my children would be the ones to teach me to live more freely. I wish someone had told me that there is no perfect marriage, and that there is no perfect man, but that I would find a true night in shinning armor, who would come to my rescue time after time. I wish someone had told me, that although my life would not be perfect, it would be prefect for me.




I hope it was worth waiting for!!

Super Sunday!

Wow! Can you believe that it is already the 9th of August?! Trying to keep up with time can be exhausting….no wonder I feel so old some days!! LOL!

Less than 24 hours to upload our layouts for the TS contest. I know I said wasn’t going to compete this time, but I decided last minute to give it a whirl. I finished my lo this afternoon. Now, to upload, then cross my fingers that I make it to the next round! I’m going to make you wait until after tomorrow to peek though! I promise it will be worth the wait!!

Don’t forget to check out the challenge, and post your lo in the gallery for a great prize over at Scrapfit.blogspot.com! A new challenge will be coming at the end of the week.

I created my first Christmas card of the season!

Lots of distressing and ink! For the swirl, I painted white, then inked with both brown and blue, then ending with a few blue distress stickles. To the snowflake, I added paint to just the tips, then applied a heavy coat of diamond stickles….love that stuff!! I finished off the card with a few silver and copper rubbons to add a little pizzazz!




Thanks for stopping by!

Secret revealed!

Woot! Woot! The announcement has been made, and I can finally share another secret!!
I was selected as the Spotlight Member at Treasured Scrapbooking for the month of August!!

http://www.treasuredscrapbooking.com/


Sorry I have been MIA. It has been a crazy week. I’ve had a terrible time trying to catch up after a long weekend. …feels like a need a vacation!

Guess what I got?! That’s right, a cuttlebug!!! That little thing really rocks! I was disappointed that the store only had two embossing folders, but I picked up the bug with a half price coupon so I was still more than tickled! I did a bit of online shopping and was able to find a good sale on the folders. I can’t wait for them to arrive!! Crossing my fingers for today!

I also wanted to share that Life Preservers is hosting a super fun contest! The deadline to enter is 7:00pm August 8th.

The Big Scrapper House Contest

Announcing… The Big Scrapper House

Can you make the cut each week… or will you be eliminated in week one? A combination of layout contests, clues and quizzes, and a little bit of luck will come into play for all of you who enter the house… and try to stay.

WELCOME to the Big Scrapper House – a beautiful mansion set among rolling hills. The weather is always perfect at the Big Scrapper and the food is always free. You will have servants to cater to your every need, the best food and drinks, and amenities to die for! The ultra rich are jealous of this house… but not for too long. They know that each week, the number in the house will be dropping.

By week eight, only three will survive for the final elimination… and only ONE super Grand Prize Winner will be selected – BY THE ELMINATED PLAYERS! Oh yes… this will be fun.

Did we mention there will be small prizes and surprises throughout your stay in the house? Well we should have… because in The Big Scrapper House, the only thing for certain, is that nothing is!

http://lifepclub.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=8343


Check out the happenings at Treasured Scrapbooking! They are gearing up for another awesome crop, scheduled for Auust 10th - 16th.
Don’t be alarmed! They are not being taken over by pirates….or are they?!

http://www.treasuredscrapbooking.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21996



Thanks for stopping by!

Toot ta doo!!

The first of the month always bring excitement with the reveal of the new kits as everyone scrambles to get theirs first! Then, it’s off to check out the new challenges and sketches to prompt the mojo into gear! As you are blog hopping, don’t forget to check out the 1st challenge and the fabulous work of my teammates over at www.ScrapFIT.blogspot.com! Here is mine!



Finally!!!!

I get to share!!!!

Do you know how hard it is to keep a secret?!

I am honored to be a Guest Designer for Life Preservers Scrapbook Club for August!!! Yay!!!

You have to stop by http://www.lifepreserversclub.com/ and see what Von has put together! Amazing, I tell you!! As if her scrap kits and project kits weren‘t enough, now she has added a ribbon kit as well as a card kit! I can’t wait to get my kits and get started! ...now run, before they are gone because the are guaranteed to sell out fast!


Come back in a couple days, because I have more secrets to share!!