ScrapFIT Workout #11

Hey yall! We are 'in stitches' this week at ScrapFIT!!! Tee Hee! Our challenge this week requires you to use some type of stitching on your layout and to use the phrase 'It's A Wonderful Life' somewhere on the page. It can be in your journaling or in your title.

Here is what I created for this challenge. I had to do some 'faux' stitching with the use of a scrapbook pen. I was at my Mom's when I created this page and did not have access to a sewing machine. So I had to make do. All of these papers are Die Cuts With A View. I also used some of Mom's EK Success punches. I brought in some ribbon, trim, and chipboard alpha's.

'It's A Wonderful Life'

If you have a moment, hop on over to Scrapfit and check out the other DT's fabulous stitched projects. Also, you can find instructions for playing along with us. We'd love to have ya!!!

http://scrapfit.blogspot.com/

Also, some more ScrapFIT news.....

1. We are having a DT Call!!!! Be sure to have your entries in by the 5th at midnight. For more info, visit the ScrapFIT forum.

http://scrapfit.freeforums.org/index.php

2. We are having a crop!!!! It will be held Jan. 8 - Jan. 10. You can check out more info on that on the ScrapFIT forum as well!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! I hope you have a fabulous day and Happy Scrappin'!

Scrapbook Circle Design Team Work

Hey yall! I hope all of you had a fabulous Christmas!!!! We had a wonderful one!!!! It was just so much fun! But I wanted to share some DT work with ya. As I told yall a few weeks back, I was asked to join the design team at Scrapbook Circle!!! I am so excited to be designing with their wonderful kits and with the other fabulous designers. If you can, do hop on over and check 'em out. You can check out the kits, then read about the designers. Next, hop on over to the idea gallery where you can see things created with the individual monthly kits. Of course, last, you can stop by the forum to chat! I love it over there! Everyone is so nice and so creative!!!! Here is the link for ya....

http://www.scrapbookcircle.com/

The January kit is just fabulous! The papers/embellishments are so yummy. But I have to say my fave are the Thickers by American Crafts! They are sooo cute!!! I have created 3 layouts so far using the kit.

"Vero Amore" (True Love)
This is me and the hubby while we were dating. I added in some stitching and doilies. I cut the doilies into eight pieces and layered them for a dimensional effect. I also used a Martha Stewart border punch called 'double rings.'

Aren't these Thickers adorable!!!???!!!! They have little hearts on them and are just the cutest!

"Sweet As A Cupcake"

This is my nephew Carter. He is such a little sweetie! I love this cupcake paper that came in the kit. It looks good enough to eat! Tee Hee! Everything you see is from the kit with the exception of the brown trim and a few of the alphas. I also used a Martha Stewart border punch on this one. I did some paper pleating on the bottom and used some decorative scissors along the bottom edge.

"Cupid's Cutie"

This is another one of Carter. I cut some of the leftover scraps I had into 2x2 squares and created a grid pattern. I used my Cuttlebug to emboss a few of the squares. I also used my Stampin' Up Writer to create some faux stitching. The only thing I added on this page was the green velvet ribbon and pin.

Again, love love LOVE these alphas. I also love the little chipboard birds that came in the kit.

If you do have a moment, do hop on over to Scrapbook Circle and check out the 'Idea Gallery.'

That is all from me today. Brandon and I are leaving Monday morning for our cruise. So this will probably be my last post for a week or so. If I have time to scrap tomorrow though, I'll be sure to share. I hope all of you have a wonderful rest of the weekend! Have a fabulous week and Happy New Year!!! Thanks, as always, for stopping by my blog! Happy Scrappin'!

Lots of new goodies.....

Happy Tuesday!!! I hope all of you are having a wonderful day! We are still under about a foot of snow and it's freezing! Brrrr! I plan on staying in and staying warm. I believe I'll scrap!!! Whoo hoo! But first, I wanted to share with you some stuff that I completed last week. I wanted to get these up sooner, but the weather did not cooperate. First, I am excited to say that I was asked to be the December Guest Designer for Kitz Girlz. Check 'em out! Their kits are fabulous!!!!

http://www.kitzgirlz.blogspot.com/

I would like to say Thank You to the ladies at Kitz 2 Go! I have loved this opportunity to design with this fabulous kit!!! THANK YOU!!!!!

Now, on to my creations made with the December Kit.

Layout #1: "The Nutcracker"
In our house, The Nutcracker is a favorite story. My Mom collects the little wooden Nutcrackers and always places them, along with the book, on our staircase. Last year, Carter was quite intrigued. So my Daddy took a moment to sit down on the stair and read the story to Carter. The whole time, Carter held tight to his favorite Nutcracker doll. It was just the cutest sight. My Mom snapped this picture. Well, when I opened up the kit from Kitz 2 Go, I immediately noticed the Nutcracker embellishment and knew I wanted to scrap about this moment. I just adore the papers in this kit....especially this die cut shaped paper. I added a bit of stitching around the upper and left hand sides of the page.

I put a little spin on paper pleating around the shaped paper. For this, I took some of the red patterned paper from the kit and cut it into 2x2 inch squares. I folded the edges, used some decorative scissors on one side, inked them, and then overlapped them in a pleasing pattern. This was so fun to do and gives the look of paper pleating...except so much easier!!! If anyone is confused, let me know and I will try to do a picture tutorial on this after the New Year.

Here is an upclose of the pic. Isn't the Nutcracker embellishment so cute? I also love these Thickers chipboard alphabet. I used some of the leftover period as rhinestones below the picture.

Layout #2: "Santa Baby"
I had so much fun with this page!!! The envelope and scroll that you see in the background both came in the kit. I have to confess, when I first opened the kit and saw this lone envelope and a red Crayola crayon, I was like...hmmm....what do I do with this? LOL. But then I noticed the wonderful instruction pages that came with the kit and saw what the designers at Kitz 2 Go did with the envelope. You take the crayon and melt it onto the envelope to create a wax seal! I would of never in a million years thought to do this for a layout! I just loved it! Isn't that the neatest idea?!!! I wish yall could of been in my scrappy studio that day. Brandon walked by and said...'Um...dear, what in the world are you doing?' He had the funniest look on his face. I just giggled and said 'You'll see!!!'

Upclose of the envelope tucked behind the 'letter.' I crinkled the envelope first, distressed the edges, and then did the wax technique.


Layout #3: "Naughty Or Nice?"
For my third layout, I chose to scrap some of the kiddies in my family. This is Carter and his 2 cousins, Drayven and Cole. They all curled up in Popaw's chair on Christmas morning. They were so cute!!! Everything on this layout was pulled from the kit except the black ball fringe (pom pom trim). I added it. Again, totally love those Thickers!!!

I also was a big fan of the music note paper in the kit! It is one of those sheets of paper that I hate to use because I did not want to cover it up. LOL. It was so beautiful!

Card #1: "Hi"
The kit also came with a Prima Stamp. Well we all know how fabulous the packaging from Prima is. I had to recycle it for use on a card. The little birdie on the limb is darlin'! I started with a patterned card base and added paper and alphabet from the kit. The white trim was pulled from my personal scrappy stash.

Isn't the packaging the coolest?! Love it! I love to recycle!

Card #2: "MC" (Merry Christmas)
For my second card, I started with a blank card base. I cut the ornament from some patterned paper that came in the kit. I used my Martha Stewart branch punch to punch out a few branches from some of the paper in the kit. The button is from my scrappy stash.

Altered Item: "Christmas Gift Card Tin"

Last, I had some scraps from the kit and still had not used the wonderful stamp from Prima. So I took a plain, white tin and decorated it up. I thought this would be nice to put a gift card in for Christmas. Everything is from the kit with the exception of the green rhinestones.

I was so pleased to be able to create so many projects with this kit....and guess what??!!! I have scraps left! So I believe after the holidays when I have some more holiday pictures, I'll turn to those scraps to use on some pages. If you can, do be sure to go on over to Kitz 2 Go and check 'em out! So fabulous!!!

Next up, I wanted to share a layout that I completed for my DT at Tallyscrappers. This is another page that I've had done for several days, but with uncooperative weather had to wait until today to snap a pic. The lighting is not as good as I would like. It is a pretty day outside, but just not enough sun. The background paper, which is Coredinations cardstock, is a brighter pink than what is coming through in the pic. I lightly sanded the edges to bring out the lighter core of the cardstock. I did some faux stitching around the perimeter of the page using a Stampin' Up journaling pen. I used the Fiskars Threading Water border punch. I also incorporated some stitching.

"Merry Christmas"

That is all for me today. I want to thank you for taking a moment to stop by my blog! Also, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas!!! Brandon and I will be leaving Thursday morning to make the long trek down to AL to spend Christmas with our family. Then we leave for our Caribbean cruise on Dec. 28!!!! I am so excited and very, very thankful! I can't wait to go! We never get to do anything, especially go on vacay, due to Brandon's hectic work schedule. So we are so thrilled! I may try to scrap some the day after Christmas. If I do, I'll be sure to share. If not, I will return on Jan. 3rd!!! I'll miss you guys! Happy Scrappin'!!!! Big hugs!!!!!

Two New Boardbooks....

Happy Saturday everyone! I hope you are enjoying a wonderful weekend! We are under a bunch of snow and it is chilly! Brrrr! It's still snowing too! Snow, snow, go away!!! Coming from the south, you think you would enjoy the snow since we did not get many when I lived in the south. Well, we had one snow up here in PA when we first moved and I am so over it already! LOL. But anyways, I wanted to share with you 2 new boardbooks I finished up this week. These were ordered from a lady who wanted to give her Mom and Dad one for Christmas. The Dad one is decorated in a rooster theme and the Mom in an antique, feminine theme. I hope you can tell with these pix. Again, I love creating these, but HATE to photo them!! Ugh! But maybe you can tell. I designed each of these in Inkscape and cut them with using SCAL and my Cricut.

First up, here is the Dad book. I had so much fun with this one!!!! Love the papers and the roosters!!! I designed the rooster in Inkscape. I used the Distressed Stripes embossing folder for the photo mats. These papers are from Graphic 45 and Creative Imaginations

Mom book...At this point, my Cricut had died!!! :( Had a little accident and it looks like I'll be buying a new one. I had cut the book and the paper that goes over the chipboard, but not any of the embellishments. So I cut all of them on a borrowed Cricut using the Storybook and Home Accents cartridges. I added a lot of bling/pearls to this one. I used a Martha Stewart border punch called 'double ring' on this one for the photo mats. I embossed the mats with the Swiss Dots embossing folder. I also adore the paper for this one. The blues/pinks/reds are some of my fave. All of this paper is from K&Co. Here it is...

That's all from me today. I have been working all week on an altered project for a contest and some layouts/cards using the kits from Kitz Girlz and Tallyscrappers. As soon as I can get some photos, I'll share those things as well. Enjoy your weekend everyone! Thanks for stoppin' by!!!! Happy Scrappin'!

Treasured Scrapbooking Reveals and ScrapFIT Workout #10

Hey guys! Can you believe it is the 15th???!!! Christmas will be here before we know it!!! Today I wanted to share my 15th reveals for Treasured Scrapbooking. First, here is my layout. Everything you see was pulled from the kit with the exception of the stitching and the buttons. This is Carter and Caressa on Christmas Eve 2007.

'Joyous'

For my altered, I decided to create a paper topiary for Christmas. I have been wanting to do one of these for over a year and am so glad I finally got to. I followed directions I found on Splitcoast Stampers for the project. Here they are if you would like to make one of these also:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/paper_trees

This was so fun to make!! I purchased the ceramic pot that this is sitting in from Michael's. It was 60% off and I got it for like $2!!! Whoo hoo! I added some spanish moss to cover up the foam. Then I pulled 2 pieces of paper from the kit at Treasured Scrapbooking. Accidentally, I ran out of paper with about 1/2" left on the styrofoam cone. So I trimmed it off, added some ribbon and red tinsel from the kit. Then to cover up the green styrofoam that you could see, I added some glue and sprinkled on some of the gold glitter that also came in the kit. Here is my paper topiary. I hope to make another of these soon!! So fun!

View from the top so you can see the glitter...

the base...

Next, we have a new a new challenge at ScrapFIT. Our sponsor this week is Cosmo Cricket. If you would like to play for the prize and to see the other DT's pages, go here...

http://scrapfit.blogspot.com/

For the challenge we have 2 requirements....one, you must use Cosmo Cricket in your layout. Second, you must choose a word that has something to do with Christmas and relate something in your layout to each letter in the word. For example, I used Cosmo Cricket patterned paper for this page. For my word, since He is the reason for the season, I chose the word 'Christ.' So in my layout I have:

C-Cosmo Cricket/Cutwork

H-Handstitching (I used a Bazzill In Stitchz template and stitched the flourish)

R-Ribbon

I-Ink

S-Staples

T-Torn Paper

This page is of my nephew Carter. He is out enjoying the breeze on a warm Spring day.

'They Call Me The Breeze'

Up close of the hand stitching and cutwork.

I just love this pic. He was outside playing by his playground and the breeze was just blowing his hair. He always loved the wind as a baby. He would giggle and grin everytime it blew.

Do come on over and join us for the challenge!!! We'd love to see what you can do too!

ALSO....ScrapFIT is looking for it's next DT!!! Why not tryout?!!! The search begins Wednesday, December 16th and will run through January 5th. Here is the link to the forum for all the details:

http://scrapfit.freeforums.org/scrapfit-dt-search-f43.html?sid=8615d3158518ca2517cb233947d80505

Good Luck to all who apply!!! Can't wait to see who the new team will be!!!

That's all from me today. I hope you all have a beautiful day and Happy Scrappin'! As always, thanks so much for stopping by!!!!! Merry Christmas!