A New Ink on Life

YES, I Am Challenged- By Many Things!

I admit, I really love participating in a lot of the stamping challenges out there in Blogland, but am always short on time when it comes to my personal creating. So today I thought I would create a project that fit in with four; yes FOUR current challenges! One of my favourite go to challenges is on the PPA blog and this week they have an Anything But a Card challenge. The second challenge comes from the amazingly talented Makeesha Byl and she has a Colour Challenge going on. The third is for the Late Night Stampers Yahoo Group that I am a part of (this is a great group of stampers that share their ideas and love of stamping with eachother) and their challenge this week was anything with a Vintage Theme. And last but certainly NOT LEAST is a Valentine/Love Themed Challenge On Shelli Gardner's Blog who is the Cofounder and CEO of Stampin' Up! but also an amazingly generous and creative lady.

 

So as you can see by the picture the colours I had to use were Cameo Coral, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla. I actually LOVE this colour combination and had made a cuteTop Note Purse last year with this exact colour combo and it was also the combination that I suggested to Michelle Laycock when she was designing my blog-now does this combo look familar?! I know a lot of people are kind of iffy on Cameo Coral (right Kirsty?) but I love it especially with this combination.

So on with the details! There is LOTS of cutting out on this page but it was relatively painless with my trusty Paper Snips as they are the perfect tool for cutting out fine details. The main stamp set used was Vintage Vogue and this was another must have for me when I first saw the Occasions Mini Catalogue. I did lots of sponging and distressing on this page to give it a real Vintage feel. I also crumpled up some of the So Saffron paper to give it a more worn apperance. In my book the Cutter Kit and Sponges are definate must have items when creating a Vintage look. The heart image is from   I Heart Hearts and the "I" and "U" are from the Janes Type Alphabet.

I did the Rock and Roll Technique on some of the flowers using So Saffron and Cameo Coral Inks. The pretty Vanilla Pearls are from the Pretties Kit  and I just couldn't resist also using a Chocolate Chip Corduroy Brad. The decorative edge was created using the New Scallop Trim Border Punch which you can get for FREE during Sale a bration with a $65 order-Love It! And ribbon is Very Vanilla 5/8 Grograin.

Oh yeah and the little munchkin' in the picture is my devious 2 1/2 year old who by the way got into lipgloss today so she could be "so pretty"-unbeliable! And so it begins, lol!

Happy Stampin'
 

UStamp Give Away and More New Products!

Well it is only 3 MORE SLEEPS until UStamp starts!!!!!! Are you excited? I am sure am and I am even more excited to offer you once again a chance to win a FREE PASS! All you have to do is answer a question and leave your answer in the comments section of this post and I promise this time the question is REALLY EASY,LOL!

Do you scrapbook and if so do you prefer to do Traditional or Digital pages? 

Please remember to answer by 5pm Pacific time on Thursday and I will randomly draw the winner for the FREE PASS and they will recieve their invite for Friday Jan.15th!

I really enjoy scrapbooking and usually do traditional pages-I LOVE all of SU! papers, embelishments and the feel of the ribbons, buttons and chipboard. Although I am quickly becoming a huge fan of My Digital Studio!

Now on to some new projects using the gorgeous NEW products from the Occasions Mini Catalogue-LOVE IT!

 



Okay like I said earlier I am in love with all the new products in this Catalogue! For this 6x6 Scrapbook page I used the Designer Series Paper Stack Sweet Pea; you get 48 sheets of double sided paper in 24 different designs and of course I LOVE every single one of them! I also used the super cute Monkey from Fox and Friends, this set is full of cute critters and is a must have for everyone. For the top portion of the title I combined the Jumble Alphabet Set with the word "little" from the Enjoy Every Moment Stamp Set (another one of my all time favourites). And can I say more about the Clear Mount Stamps?! Stampin' Up! has really out done themselves by keeping the same high quality rubber and images but now offering the "Clear Mount" option- takes up less space so more room for more stamps right?!

 

 

 For this card I again used one of the patterns from the same Sweet Pea Paper Stack just this pattern has more blues and has a little more of a masculine feel to it. The Owl is from the Fox and Friends- see I told you this set is super cute! The colours used are So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip and Taken with Teal. I know this card has ribbon on it but I think it could still pass as a more "manly" card-right?! Brads are masculine aren't they? Hehe! The Sentiment is also from a new set in the Occasions Mini called Well Scripted, another great multipurpose set .

Well that's it for today but be sure to leave your comment so you can enter to win the UStamp PASS!

See you soon and happy Stampin'

 

ARRRRRRR!

 
Just a quick post today but I wanted to share a page I did of my youngest's Halloween costume! I just love how quick and easy it is to create a scrapbook page in the MY DIGITAL STUDIO program from Stampin' Up! Although I must admit I did do lots of "fussing" over this page, but so worth it for the result! I changed the picture from colour to black and white and played around with the different "textures" you can add to the page with the virtual stamp sets and punches. What is also great is that SU! has released some more digital downloads to add to the program and they are great Christmas themed ones-perfect for this time of year. You can check out all the amazing images and accessories that are included in this program by viewing them HERE.

I must admit that after this Halloween I think it is becoming my favourite time of year! There is quite the story behind my little one's costume as I had a very cute pink poodle one already for her to wear but when she saw her older brother and sister's costume she wanted to be an "arrrrrr" too lol! You can click on the picture to view it larger and see the journaling. So this was what I quickly came up with on Halloween day and she too was a pirate. I will share a few pages of the others kids and the three of them together over the next few days-they are way too cute!

If you have any question about this page and what papers and accessories I used from the program please feel free to send me an email.

Have a great day and happy creating!

U r 2 Sweet!

I'm at it again! I am so glad to finally get some scrappin' done lately-okay so it's only two pages but that's a start right?! Again I chose a sketch from 52 sketches 52 weeks this time using sketch #20. I continued with pictures of my daughters birthday and also carried the focus of the #2 through to this page including it again in the title and using the same colour combinations. I plan on having these pages side by side in her scrapbook so it was fun to carry the theme over from one sketch to the next.

Here are the layouts together:

 

One thing that I love including in my scrapbooking is of course stamping, but also making my own embelishments from ribbon, paper, punches and chipboard. This page was no exception. I made a tag for the title by using Whisper White cardstock and the Tag Corner Punch,I love how this little punch let's you quickly create tags of any size. Then I just had to add the awesome Crushed Curry Polka Dot Ribbon with a Tempting Turquoise Brad. Speaking of Ribbon; it is a great way to add fun accents to any project and can be used in so many ways.  I wanted to mimic the idea of a ruffley bow on top of a present, so I just sort of started folding another piece of the Crushed Curry Ribbon back and forth until I created the effect I wanted and then secured it with a Jumbo White Brad then attached to the top corner of my journalling box with Mini Glue Dots. For the actual journaling I just used a sentiment from the Party Hearty stamp set and stamped it on strips of Whiper White and also directly on the Tempting Turquoise Top Note shape, that was Die Cut by the best toy-I mean TOOL ever- the BIG SHOT! The cupcake in the bottom right corner was inked up with two of the In Colour Markers, punched out and then layered on a  paper and Chipboard Circle. I then backed it on to a piece of DSP from the Pink Flamingo package and matted that on Crushed Curry. See how fun and easy it is to make your own embelishments?!

Here are the sketches that I used, I wanted to post them so you could see that a sketch is a great starting point for for your page but does not have to be copied exactly. That is what is so great about Scrapbooking and paper crafting- making something that is YOU, and sharing it!

 

Stamps: Contempo Alphabet, Party Hearty, Schoolbook Serif Numbers   Paper: Razzleberry Lemonade DSP, Pink Flamingo DSP, Crushed Curry Textured, Rich Razzleberry Textured, Whisper White          Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, Rich Razzleberry and Soft Suede Markers    Accessories: Crushed Curry Ribbon, Bold Brights and 5/16 Jumbo Neutrals brads, 1/2", 1",1 1/4",       1 3/4" Circle Punches, Big Shot, Top Note Die

U R 2!

 

My youngest turned two back in May and I am finally starting to scrap her Birthday pictures. (Never mine the older two kids that have none of the bday's done, lol! Oh except I did do a mini album of my other daughters 9th birthday). I started with  sketch #6 from 52 Sketches 52 Weeks. This is a great site to find lots of creative sketches to get you scrapping!

When I first sit down to scrap I choose my photo, then my lay out and then the colours. I like to draw colours out from my photo. For this page I actually decided to base the colours and titiling around her #2 birthday candle and build the page from there.

The base is a 12x12 textured piece of Crushed Curry and I matted the two 4x6 photos on Razzleberry Lemonade DSP. To the right of the photo is where I added all my embelishments journalling and title. The DSP is from the Pink Flamingo Pack and this pattern has Tempting Turquiose and Bashful Blue dots. The solid piece of cardstock is also Tempting Turquiose. I ran a strip of the yummy Polka Dot Razzleberry Ribbon to "join" the two papers together. For the titling I wanted to use Chipboard to give the project dimension but decided to leave it for the most part raw. I love Stampin' Up!'s chipboard for this reason, you can decide to colour it any color you want with their Craft Inks or for this page I used my markers to mimic the design of the birthday candle. For the "U" I just simply punched out a circle in Razzleberry and placed it behind the chipboard to bring out the letter.

For stamping on this page I used the Jumble Alphabet and the Party Hearty stamp sets. I just have to stamp on my scrap pages! The "Celebrate You" was inked up twice, once in Tempting Turquoise and once in Crushed Curry. I then punched them out with the 1 3/4" circle and the 1" circle. The 1' circle has a Circle Rhinestone brad and was then attaced to the larger circle with a dimensional. For the journalling I just cut strips of Whisper White and cut the end to make them look like a banner, then I wrote on them with a Razzleberry Marker. I then used Tempting Turquoise and Bashful Blue Brads to accent  and attached the journalling with Dimensionals. You can click on the picture for a larger view to see the details.

Wishing everyone a wonderful long weekend (what's left of it!) and happy stamping!

Stamps: Jumbo Alphabet, Party Hearty  Paper: Razzleberry Lemonade and Pink Flamingo DSP, Crushed Curry Textured, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry  Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Crushed Curry, Basic Black, several SU! markers  Accessories: Scallop edge, 1 3/4 & 1",1 3/8 & 1 1/4 Circle punches, Ice Circle Brads, Bold Brights and Soft Subtle Brads, Lots of Letters Chipboard,Playground Buttons, Rich Razzleberry Ribbon

Simple Scrapbooking

  

 

 

It has been a while since I did any scrapbooking and the sneak peek of My Digital Studio at Convention really got me in the mood to get Scrappin' again. Plus all the beautiful samples that were displayed there on the boards had me longing to make use of the endless Scrapbooking supplies that I have on hand. And of course what could be easier than pulling out a Simply Scrappin' Kit and watch your pages come together like magic!

For this two page spread I used pictures that were taken back in June at a local water park. The colours in the photos matched so perfectly with the Sunny Days Simply Scrappin' Kit that it was just a matter of deciding on a layout for the pictures. What I love most about these kits is that everything coordinates  perfectly, so whether you are a beginner or a scrap everthing type of person; these kits are for you! 

For the first page I started with a 5x7 photo of my son making his "Stop taking pictures of me mom or this is what you will get" face! I matted it on Old Olive as I found it was a good contrast against his orange shirt. The base of the page is a 12x12 sheet of Textured Tempting Turquiose and to add more contrast to the page I cut a strip of the Pumpkin Pie patterned paper and layered one of the die cut strips on top of it. The title is stamped in Basic Black using the Jumble Alphabet on two of the cloud die cuts that come with the kit. The jounaling box as well as the tag, and flower are also die cuts. They make putting these pages together a snap! The only thing that is not from the Simply Scrappin' are the ribbons and the little clip on the jouring box, and of course the stamp sets. 

The page with my daughter on it was heavily base on the layout sample that came with the kit. I think we sometimes forget what a great resource the samples found in Stampin' Up!'s Idea Book and Catalogue and the examples that are given in these types of kits can be. For her page I used the textured Old Olive Cardstock, cut a strip of one of the patterned papers and made use of several of the self adhesive die cuts that come with kit. The only stamping that was done was the "Happy" definition from the Define Your Life Set. I think this stamp set along with an alphabet set are must haves for any scrapbooker.

Hope you enjoy these pages and that they inspire you to get out those pictures and get Scrappin'! Remember Scrapbooking should not be overwhelming-but fun! Enjoy recalling those special memories and using a Simply Scrappin' Kit is the perfect way to start!

Stamps: Jumble Alphabet, Define Your Life  Paper: Sunny Days Simply Scrappin' Kit  Ink: Basic Black, Pixie Pink  Accessories: Tempting Turquiose, Old Olive and Basic Black Grosgrain Ribbon,  Clips Assortment

 Don't forget to visit my post HERE for your chance to win a FREE PASS TO USTAMP! Just leave your answer and comment in the comments section of THIS post and I will randomly draw a name on Tuesday August 18th.  

WOW- What a time! Convention Highlights

So let me first start this post off by saying "Caution" lots of amazing project pictures to follow! I was so totally overwhelmed by the amazing talent that was displayed on the boards, and so inspired to get home and recreate EVERYTHING that I saw, unfortunately laundry, children and everyday chores have dictated otherwise LOL! Today I am going to post some of my favourite scrapbook pages from Convention and dare I say it some sneak peeks of MY DIGITAL STUDIO! This program is way over the top! I could not believe all things you can do with it, but tradition Scrappers do not fret as this will not replace all the amazing scrapbooking products we have, it will just open the door to a different chapter in scrappin'. Think very quick and easy brag books, Storybook style books with hard or soft covers, calendars, and even cards!

Now on to the good stuff! (click on the photos to view them larger)

 

   

These are just some of the 150 pics that I took!

Now on to MY DIGITAL STUDIO!

               

My jaw hit the floor when we were given a quick tour through the program. It has Stampin' Up!'s exclusive colours, Designer "paper" patterns, embelishments and "Stamp Sets"! You will not believe what you can create with this program. I must admit that when I first heard about Stampin' Up! introducing Digital Scrapbooking I thought; Great, but not for me. Boy was I wrong! I will always love and continue to do traditional scrapbooking, I can tell you that this will be the perfect program to make gifts for many people on my list this year.

Here are just some of the books that were on diplay:

   

 

How awesome are those? I have so much more to share with you from Convention so be sure to check back this week. I also have another exciting announcement and will be posting that info later today.

Have a great day everyone!

Positively Progressive

 

  

Here is another progressive page that I had made to demonstrate how easily scrapbooking can be done in any size. I don't know about you but the biggest feed back that I hear from non scrappers is that they just don't know where to begin. What I personally love about Stamping Up! is that there are so many options to look at when you finally start scrapping. When I am doing a page I love to combine stamping with my scrapbooking. When making a progressive page you first start off with a 6x6,step it up to an 8 1/2x11 then a 12x12. These picture were taken of my oldest daughter back in December and now looking back on them it's amazing to see how much she has changed in the last 6 months. I think that is what I enjoy so much about scrapbooking, you have forever captured a moment in time with not just a picture but also through the paper, colours and journaling you have captured the emotions and feeling surrounding that moment.

For the 6x6 page I started off with a 6x6 square of Chocolate Chip cardstock and matted my photo on Rose Red.  I randomly stamped the out line heart image in Chocolate Chip and stretched a piece of Rose Red Double Stitched Ribbon across the page, attached it with sticky strip and used a brad from the Silver Hodgepodge Hardware. The cute flowers are two from Felt Fusion and joined together with a silver brad. The sentiment which I also chose to use as my journaling was punched out which the Wide Oval. To take this layout to a 8 1/2x11, I placed my ribbon this time on an piece of Pink Piroette, used two brads attached the 6x6 page, added a small piece of Sweet Always Designer Series Paper and Pumpkin Pie cardstock with several punched out circles in varying sizes on it. This time I added the title "LOVE" cut out with a sizzix decorative strip. I then added two more photos. The last step was to take this to a 12x12. For that I used a 12x12 piece of Kraft cardstock stamping it with one of the solid hearts in Versamark ink to give a watermark effect. I changed up the positioning of my DSP and the Pumpkin Pie piece so they were a little more angled and decided to do my titling down the side of my page, this time using chipboard. Using the same ribbon I placed it vertically along my page, then made a bow and attached it to the strip of ribbon.

So for all of you non scrappers out there I hope you will try this, as there is nothing more satisfying than not only enjoying the work that you put into it, but also the response that you get when those loved one's see what you created just about them!

Stamps: Something New to Love (retiring June 30)

Paper: Kraft, Pink Piroette, Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Shimmery White(punched out hearts), Sweet Always DSP

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Craft Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette,

Accessories: Big Shot, Peace Love Joy Decorative Stip, Scallop, 3/4",1",and 1 1/4" Circle Punches, Heart to Heart punch, Assorted SU! Chipboard, Double Stitched Rose Red Ribbon, Chocolate Chip Ribbon, Felt Flower Fusion

Friends Forever

 

For those of you that have more than one child, I'm sure you can relate as to why I love these pictures of my two youngest. I grew up as an only child so sibling rival is something I have a hard time understanding. My husband on the other hand just thinks we should buy them all boxing gloves and send them out in to the yard to "play"(he grew up with an older brother!) So when I see how much my kids truly do love each other, it warms my heart. If only for a minute until the next "he said/did, she said/did" episode! With my oldest we were very lucky that when her brother came along she instantly became a little mother hen and if anything "loved" him too much. With the youngest two it has and I'm sure always will be a battle of wills. So when I took these pictures of them playing and laughing together with no tears or yelling (boy can that little one scream!) I couldn't wait to scrap them.

And of course the colours in the photo go perfectly with the new in colours! For this page I used a piece of patterned paper from the Razzleberry Lemonade DSP tearing it to add more intrest to the page, and a sheet of Pumpkin Pie textured card stock as the base. I just love how the brightness of Melon Mambo contrasts with the orange. I think the poka dot in colour ribbon will be something I will be using a lot of this year. I also had a piece of cardstock left over from cutting circles for my last layout and thought it would make a great frame for my featured picture. The stamp set I used is a new Hostess only set that will be featured in the new catalogue. I just love the swirls in this set and think it's fun to mix stamping with scrapbooking. I stamped the bird image in pumpkin pie on Whisper White that was cut out with the Top Note die. I then printed the jounaling on vellum cardstock and also ran it through the Big Shot. I am really pleased with the way this turned out and just hope that one day when they are older they will look at this page and remember the fun that had together. (I'm sure they will have to get through the teenage years first ugh!)

Stamps: Wings of Friendship (hostess level II)

Paper: Razzleberry Lemonade DSP, Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Vellum Catdstock

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Basic Black, Melon Mambo

Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note die, Jumbo Brads, Melon Mambo Poka Dot Ribbon, Scallop and Large Oval Punches, Circle Scissors Plus, Corner Rounder Punch

I'm in a Scrappy Mood! (Oh Yeah, and A Sneak Peek!)

   

This is a 2 page lay out that I did last week while crafting with some really great and talented ladies. I used the Hoppy Memories Simply Scrappin' kit and the NEW Jumble Alphabet set. A super quick and simple lay out. My son Logan rarely ever sits still so it is even more rare to have this many pictures of him at one time. I took them about two weeks ago while he and his younger sister were playing in our yard .These are the only page that I have scrapped of just him in a long time. I find that I have way more pictures of just the girls.

So are you ready for a NEW Idea Book and Catalogue SNEAK PEEK?

 

 

TADA! Boy I just hate it when pictures don't do something justice, IMHO this looks so much better in real life. Oh well, but aren't the new in colours amazing? Although a few tears maybe shed by me when Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red and Pacific Point go, I sure am glad that there are some great replacements. The new IN COLOURS are:

Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, and Dusty Durango!

I know some of you have already seen the NEW In Colours and other Sneak Peeks but because I am Canadian I just got my pre order on Friday. Picture this; me spending most of the day waiting patiently (or not) for that dreamy vision to appear in his awesome brown truck and even better brown shorts- yes that's right I dream about Mr. Brown (aka the UPS man) and there are thousands out there just like me! So when I heard the truck drive up my street I already had my shoes on-poor man he probably will be asking for a different Route after seeing me on Friday LOL. I actually jumped up into the opening of the truck with arms held out waiting for my new goodies. Apparently I wasn't the only mad stamper because he laughed and said  "Boy there have been alot of you super excited to see me!" I'm sure that must have made his day, poor man probably doesn't get that much attention at home (I know y husband doesn't) as he does when it's NEW Catalogue season!!!! You see this time we got a single copy of the NEW Cattie in our pre order box (see, I told you there are lots of great benefits to becoming a demo). So yes, I do have a coveted copy of the new book and it is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!  Even the finish of the pages are different, softer if that makes sense. And there are lots of great sections with product groupings and project ideas. I am IN LOVE! Okay now that all that is off my chest back to the scrapbook page.

I also took these pictures the same time as the ones on the other scrapbook page. My 2 year old daughter learned how to draw circles about 4 months ago and will draw them any where and every where she can. (Walls and chairs included NOT LOL!!!) So I thought this picture was the perfect opportunity to use my Circle Scissors Plus cutter and the soon to be released CIRCLE CIRCUS stamp set. In the picture Logan and Isabelle are drawing circles with different coloured chalk and I know it is hard to tell from the picture but the one they are working on is very close to the new colour Bermuda Bay. And check out the poka dot ribbon-YUMMY! It comes in all 6 new in colours and yes I did order all of them. Only two more weeks until the new Catalogue is here and then you too can be as giddy as I am right now- or NOT!

Paper: Very Vanilla, Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Razzle Berry Lemonade Designer Series paper

Stamps: Circle Circus, Jumble Alphabet

Ink: Dusty durango, Melon Mambo,Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry,Basic Black

Accessories: Circle Scissors Plus, Poka dot ribbon in Dusty durango, Melon Mambo and Bremuda Bay, Cicle punches 1 3/8 and 1 3/4