5 Reasons Why I love a 15 month old {Pink Paislee: Cupid Collection}

So I'm pretty sure this all comes from the Cupid Collection from Pink Paislee but feel free to correct me in the comments! lol

I did this LO for the journaling challenge at Birds of A Feather - I loved all of Amy's challenges this month! Never has my December been such a productive scrappy month ;) Amy is great, she has sent me wonderful goodies from both of the two crops that I've participated in...you should definitely check out her site. My favorite thing about her kits is that she includes 2 of each of the patterned papers - that's a requirement for me!

We had to start the journaling (or title) as "5 reasons why I love" and then list the 5 items in list form. I dug way back in my pictures from almost 4 years ago! The 15 month old in these pictures just turned 5 (FIVE!) today! It's so hard to remember my life before her :-)

Also, I can't be 100% sure, but I'm pretty positive that this was my first time to scrapbook a black & white picture!

Like the butterflies? You should probably get used to them since they are from the awesome Martha Stewart punch that Santa brought me! ;)

Santa Number Two {Cosmo Cricket: Jolly By Golly}

I hope you are all having a merry week. I'm so thankful that I finished up my shopping early and don't have to stress out about presents while I'm out and about this week!

These pictures are from our second Santa visit this year. I got a kick out of the little one refusing to sit on Santa's lap (even though she sat on the first Santa's lap just fine) until I told her the only way she got a candy cane was to sit on his lap. She was all for it then!

This is based on a Julie Bonner sketch at Birds of A Feather for the December Sketch Challenge and for the December Cosmo Cricket Challenge at scrapbook.com. I started to think I wouldn't get in on the challenge this month but these pictures were perfect for the Jolly By Golly line. I'm running dangerously low on my CC stash! The challenge was to use distressing (red CS), inking (cream CS & cocoa paper strip) and layering. I'm hoping my embellishment layering counts! I really liked layering the rubons onto the chipboard elements.

Thanks for stopping by and have a Merry Christmas!

Me Want Cookie

This layout is inspired by the colors for the December color challenge at Birds of a Feather.

 While I was scraping a couple weekends ago, I ran across an old collection from Stampin' Up! and the colors were perfect for the challenge!

I made a mistake on this layout, got stickles all over but you can't tell in the pictures ;)

The toy she's trying to eat is a Cookie Monster remote control - it was a favortie gift last year!

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I can't forget to mention that the layout is based on a PageMaps sketch! Thanks for looking :)

Fancy Pants {Tradition}

Back today to share two more layouts I did for last weekend's crop at Birds of A Feather. I was so productive, that Amy called me "Queen of the Crop" and gave me an awesome prize! Getting 6 pages done in December was prize enough for me :-) but who am I to turn away Little Yellow Bicycle and Echo Park?!? ;)

This layout was for the challenge to scrap some of your decorations. My oldest daughter loves having a tree in her room - and this year we went with the Charlie Brown tree. My youngest daughter loves to go to our big tree and look at the picture ornaments that I have for each year. I clump them together in one spot on the tree so they are fun to compare year to year.

 And this layout was for a challenge to scrap a tradition with some specific journaling prompts. Since we just went to The Nutcracker 2 weekends ago, it was perfect timing to scrap this :)

I think part of the reason I was so productive was that I worked within kits. Both of these layouts are using Fancy Pants newest Christmas line, Tradition. They were my last scrappy purchase that I made a few months ago. Oh, and that double pager is based on a PageMaps sketch...love those sketches! Thanks for stopping by, I hope to have another layout to share this weekend :-)

P.S. I've been so productive that I'm over 100 pages this year now!! ;)

Gifts at Grandma's

Back today with more from the crop! I saw this sketch and immediately thought of presents - you know, good old fashion boxes decorated with bows :)

And this is what I came up with (many grueling hours later, lol)

 I love the design and think it works great with the pictures...but I only wish that I had taken the time to do computer printed journaling! I was so frustrated with all the different boxes that I was rushing to just get done and didn't take the time to get my lines straight :( I still love it though - this is one of those that looks much better in real life!

The paper is from an OLD collection of Stampin' Up! It sure felt good to use up lots of my stash this weekend - especially since I still like that paper. I can't say that about all of my stash!

Winterfest Crop

Good morning! I spent my weekend scrapping and finished 6 pages, plus one altered item! I played along with Amy at Birds of a Feather for her Winterfest crop. Fun challenges!!! This one was for the Song Title challenge - had to use a holiday song as your title.

I love this picture - oldest DD was totally afraid of The Grinch at our local Festival of Lights. Actually, I'm not sure she'd seen the movie at all to know who he was.... Anyway, I pulled her hand and forced her into the picture ;) Another year older, she tells me she will take a picture with him this year, but only if she stands by me :)

The block under my journaling strips is from Bo Bunny and the ribbon is awesome - it's actually part of the paper! The other patterned papers are from SEI and look really cool in real life - they have a metallic shine. The flowers and ribbon trim are from Kayla - just perfect for several of my layouts this weekend...thanks Kayla! Oh, and the layout is another based on a PageMaps sketch - I've already used the sketch several times - I must like it. lol

You still have another day to get your pictures uploaded for the crop so go checkout the challenges! I'll be back this week (hopefully, lol) to share the rest of my pages ;)

New Design Team Member at Kitchen Keepsake

We just wrapped up our Design Team contest over at Kitchen Keepsake and Mary, aka Mary Ellen, aka Southern Moments, is our newest DT member! Congrats to Mary, we are looking forward to working with you!!!

I haven't actually made a page for my recipe album in a while now...I'm looking forward to getting inspired to do so very soon! We'll be posting challenges and I hear there is even going to be a crop ;) Come check us out!

Stocking Fun {Cosmo Cricket: Jolly By Golly}

I created this layout for the November Cosmo Cricket Challenge at Scrapbook.com. The challenge was to create a layout about Christmas. I used a PageMaps sketch from Jan '09 (I think) and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! All of my Christmas pictures from last year were dark & blurry as I was still getting used to my new camera. But the design of the page and the Jolly By Golly really made this layout look great! Of course, a little stickles always helps, right? I really like the ribbon with the background paper, too :)

Thanks for looking!

Autumn Inspiration {Basic Grey: Green at Heart}

This is the 2nd layout that I completed for the online crop last weekend at Birds of a Feather. The challenge was to use one of several quotes and use a tree, leaves or pumpkin on your layout. I don't normally scrap with purple but these pictures called for it, and the Green at Heart paper went great with the pictures. The striped paper and the circles used on the tree are the only two sheets that I bought from that collection. I was digging through my cardstock stash at 1 am to find a shade of purple that worked! lol The tree, grass, butterfly & bird are from a set of Little Yellow Bicycle rubons...I have way too many rubons! I doodled around the circles on the tree, under my journaling and around the outside of the LO...it just needed something extra when I looked at it the next morning ;)

The quote I chose is "Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile. ~William Cullen Bryant" and is on the brown journaling strips. I didn't use a title for this layout - it feels weird to me to not have one!

I used an Inspired Blueprints sketch. I have no idea what number, sorry :( But it does have a tree on it, just like my layout!

Pizza Casserole & Pasta Recipe

Here's the recipe for the NON-casserole that I recently posted the layout for here.

Pizza Casserole

Ingredients:
1 lb ground round
1 tbsp minced onion, dry
1/2 tsp oregano
1/3 c ketchup
1 c pizza sauce
1/2 can tomato soup
1/2 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can mushrooms
~1/4 c brown sugar (to taste)
1-2 c shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz medium egg noodles

Preparation:
Brown meat w/onion, oregano & salt/pepper to taste. Drain.
Add next 6 ingredients and bring to simmer.
Cook noodles as directed.
Combine beef mixture and noodles in casserole dish.
Sprinkle cheese over top.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 mins.

Let me know how you like it!

Balls a.k.a. Pumpkins {Bo Bunny: Kitchen Spice}

I came across Birds of a Feather Kit Co last week when they were in the middle of their grand opening online crop. I've been following Amy's blog for a while now but had missed that she was starting up this company :-\ Luckily, Suzanne wanted to win some goodies and referred me over to the site :)I completed 2 challenges...this first one obviously a sketch challenge! I used pictures of my little one at the pumpkin patch. The circle immediately make me think of these pictures - she's at the stage where all things round are balls {said with MUCH enthusiasm :)} and where she wants to THROW all things that are balls! Pooooor pumpkins, lol. I love this sketch and will be using it again :) The best part is that I was able to use scraps of pattern paper! Can you believe I was fussy cutting those flowers after midnight on Saturday? What was I thinking?! lol

Cookbookin' October Sketch {Basic Grey: Nook & Pantry}

Here is this month's sketch for Cookbookin'. And here is my take on it.

I got this recipe from a friend, and my husband really likes the dish but hates ANY thing that is named "casserole". So I've started renaming all of the recipes :) Pizza casserole is now known as Pizza & Pasta, lol.

I chose this recipe because it was the only recipe I had a picture printed for Suzanne's challenge at Challenge Master's was to scrap a casserole recipe. A two for one layout :D

Thanks for stopping by and I promise to share my other two layouts this week!

WooHoo!

Check out my scrapping progress ------->

I just passed up last year's total! I'll post more this week with the layouts and the challenges I used...but for now, I need to go to bed ;)

Sweet Pea {Cosmo Cricket: Garden Variety}

I created this layout and plan on submitting it for the October Cosmo Cricket Challenge at Scrapbook.com but man, some ladies just uploaded some really great layouts! I have no expectations of winning this month. :) The challenge is to use 90% CC products and more than one photo. My September layout for P12 is also something I created but it's even more blah compared to this layout! So here's my entry:I nicknamed this horse Sweet Pea a few years ago because she is SO sweet to me and the girls. Not so much to strangers and the other horses ;) I just took these pictures last week and when I saw the paper in my stash, I knew I had to use it for a page about her! I used a Julie Bonner sketch as my starting point.

Did you notice that I was too impatient to let the stickles dry? lol

Cookbookin' September Sketch Challenge {Basic Grey: Nook & Pantry}

Cookbookin' has a new blog and Kristie gets to be in charge of the blog! She is VERY talented and I get tons of ideas (including the pinwheels from a few posts back) that aren't even all recipe scrapping related.

They are having a monthly sketch challenge - yay! September's challenge is to use this sketch: And this is what I came up with. This is an 8 1/2 x 11 page which I'm finding I like most for most of my recipes.

I haven't personally made these cookies yet but they are super delicious and sound super easy to make! Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

1 chocolate cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 package of Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Miniatures

Mix the first three ingredients together until well blended. Mold cake mixture around the Reeses PB Cups and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 mins.

Grid designs {Cosmo Cricket: DeLovely}

I saw this layout: on Scrapbook and Cards Today magazine (Monday's challenge) and I just loved the grid design. I have been dying to use the Cosmo Cricket DeLovely paper so I broke it out for this. I also used this layout for the September CC challenge at Scrapbook.com. This month's challenge was to use 2 or more lines of CC paper. Most of mine is DeLovely, but the sweet pea embellies, pear and yellow chipboard flower are from Garden Variety & Early Bird. I have to be honest....DeLovely was the only line I own that didn't flow really well with all of the others! It truly was a challenge for me ;)

And then I had this bright idea that when I like a sketch/design and I'm using a picture of only one of the girls, I should make another layout for the other one! Two layouts, one design...but totally different looks. Loved it!

This is using the same retired Stampin' Up! paper from my last post....

I love these little Scrabble letters and was so excited when I realized I had the right letters for her name! I'm really getting down to the end of those letters though :( Does anyone else use the same design for multiple layouts at one time? Any other tricks you can think of like this?

August Project 12 (and July, too!)

Back in January, I started scrapping one {double page} layout per month as part of Project 12. I was so excited about the concept and it is making me feel a little better about being so far behind on my scrapping. I can't even scrap all the current photos that I want, much less scrap something from years ago!

I am very proud of myself for having kept up with Project 12 so far even though I've only shown a few here on the blog. And I've never submitted for a prize before because the prize for me is just getting the month done. They are not usually my most favorite pages...but I really cherish them for all of the details they hold. I love how they all have something similar yet look so different. In mine, I've used Kraft CS as one of the two base papers for every month.

So here is August and I've got to tell you there are several parts I'm in love with. One is the title "August" how it's all scrunched up. I'm normally VERY linear ;) The pattern papers are all from a retired collection of Stampin' Up! I've had for years and it felt so good to use some of my stash. Another part is this little owl and the rubons I mixed with it. I'm a rubon hoarder so I was glad to use some up. I'm also an owl hoarder...I have a whole separate section in my stash that is devoted to owl paper, rubons, embellishments, etc. I'm glad to finally be using some of that, too!You can see more rubons in the tree - the owl and 'shrooms. I stickled the heck out of the flower paper and the tree cut out. It's a very pretty LO in real life :)

One thing I wish is that I had stitched instead of doodled...but I'm just not comfortable enough yet to sew on a layout - especially a double pager!

Here is July, which I also finished this week...

My favorite part on this one is the little word stickers on the photos in the collage. I saw that somewhere recently and was so proud of myself for remembering to try it ;)

Whew, that was a long post...as always, thanks for looking!

My Mind's Eye Penny Lane/Croppin' Bug Contest

I entered this layout into a contest at one of my local stores, Croppin' Bug Scrapbooking. It's not the closest to me but I've started going there more often because they have a love for Basic Grey! So they gave me two sheets of paper, I purchased the transparency and added just a few things from my stash. I used Kristie's tutorial for making the pinwheels. SO easy!

Kayla found this quote for me...just perfect! I adhered the transparency to the paper (from the MME Breaking Free line) and then cut around it.

I couldn't resist adding a little stickles to the birdies and the pinwheels :)

IF I win, I'll get $150 in My Mind's Eye product - from a newly released line. I wish more of you lived nearby so you could go in and vote ;) It was interesting to see the other entrants...there was an altered mini birdhouse, a shadow box, gift basket and then the rest were 12x12 layouts.

Another Digital Layout

I made this in just a few minutes tonight based on a PageMaps sketch for a challenge here. I actually have a layout done for the sketch with real paper, too! Here's the sketch: I'll be back later (more likely tomorrow!) to share my other layout for the sketch! TFL!!

I've Gone Digital!

I wasn't sure if I would actually ever get around to making a digital scrapbook page...but here ya go! I downloaded a starter kit from Basic Grey - one that I definitely liked the colors/patterns so that I know I'll use it on other digital pages, too. Then I followed the FREE online video (Kristina Werner is who's talking, and I like her style) to create the page.

It would not have taken me very long if I wasn't having issues with my computer and Photoshop. Apparently...they do not like each other!

I definitely won't be giving up traditional scrapbooking, but I like this aspect, too! And I really like that when I purchase an element, I can resize it, alter the color, and use it OVER and OVER again. For the $, it really is a better deal. Shhhh, don't tell my husband ;)

TuTu Cute {Fancy Fants: Christmas Magic}

I PROMISE...my next post will not be about Christmas! lol

Here's a double page, title courtesy of Suzanne!Could the girl stand any farther away from the ballerinas? lol This guy just snatched her up. She was soooo tired by the time we met the dancers. I hope she'll enjoy them more this year :) The Playbill is inside of a clear envelope and has a couple of autographs inside marked by my bookmark with hidden journaling on it.

The hardest part was working with scraps on this layout. Once I decided to NOT attach the playbill, I had to find more scraps to cover the part behind the Playbill. But it all worked out in the end and I'm excited to have this event scrapped!

Thanks for looking :)

More Christmas In July {Fancy Pants: Christmas Magic}

Another Christmas time layout. It will be the next door neighbor to the first layout in the last post I did. One more double page layout to go and I'll be done scrapping this event and can get back to non-Christmas layouts! lol

Do you spy my new border punch? It's not much but I had to find a way to include it ;) I think I'm addicted to making these flowers. Seriously, it's so easy and I get to make them match the LO so much better :)

Thanks for looking and enjoy your weekend!

Christmas In July

I'm pretty sure that I scrapped a lot of Christmas last July, too. Must be that I'm trying to get a break from the heat! LoL

I've been hanging out with Suzanne at her new site, Paper Whores. This first challenge was spread out over a week or so and we had to follow daily instructions to complete a LO. Here's mine - I love it!

Then the next challenge was to scrap our addiction - which part of scrapbooking we are addicted to. Mine was the paper (I really do belong at Paper Whores!) and alphabets. I would say border punches are close to becoming an obsession, too! We had to use a punch AND it's negative space (flower in the center) and 4 different pattern papers. The alphabet for the title just so happens to be my favorite Thickers!

And then this last one is really from a kit that Suzanne sent us for being so chatty. 5 of us all had the same supplies and came up with at least on LO using ONLY those supplies. This is my first one...{I used an older Inspired Blueprints Sketch to get me going on this one}but then I went back to make a page to go with it. The only thing I added was the red twine on this page...and I still have supplies left to make at least one more page! Suzanne was VERY generous :) btw, the title says "{Fairy} Fun Xmas" because my oldest DD was sporting her fairy wings - which she pretty much wore every day of 2009 :D The are kinda hard to notice but she's wearing them in front of the tree in the first LO.

If you are looking for some fun challenges, come visit me at Paper Whores :D