My Bits and Pieces of Paper

Imaginisce has posted an interesting video explaining their i-rock tool and they're giving away prizes too! Check out their blog today to learn more: http://www.imaginisceblog.com/2010/06/introduction-of-new-i-rock-questions.html I've got to have one of these fun tools for my stash!

I created this card as a Thank You to the person who has been coming into my home for several years and doing my housecleaning. Because of health problems today will be her last day working for me and I wanted to show my appreciation by giving her a handmade card and a gift basket filled with soaps and lotions. I've used the Twisted Sketches Card Challenge sketch to create this card for this week's challenge. I wanted it to be bright and cheerful with a bit of sparkle. The challenge twist was "flourish" any how, any way; so, I used a Basic Grey bling circle that has two small flourish swirls to accent the sentiment. The blue circle is raised with foam dots to add dimension.

I was filled with happiness on the day Brendon was born. He is such a bundle of joy. These pictures were taken when he was one day old and I visited him in the hospital. The page is based on sketch #185 from Pencil Lines. I used a page pack from Pebbles Inc called My Baby Boy.

Brendon spends lots of time "on the road" so I wanted to be sure to have a page for his scrapbook showing him in his carseat. Here he is all snuggled inside and ready to go. I used a sketch from Twisted Sketches (#049) and the twist was to use color any how any way. I thought a black background with large circles in primary colors suited this layout. I matted the photo with each of the colors, added stickers randomly throughout, and did the title in dimensional stickers.

Brendon loves his monkey. In this photo he was snuggling with his monkey while we were at a crop. I just couldn't resist taking a picture of him and his special blanket. I used sketch #123 from Sketch Inspiration for this colorful page. Bo Bunny's juicy orange popsicle, orange citrus dot, and brilliant blue dot, along with Dana paper from Reminisce were used on this layout. I added bling circles from Me & My Big Ideas along with the large gemstone stickers from Martha Stewart for dimensional colorful accents. The journaling circle is by Reminisce and the letter stickers used in the title are by American Crafts.

A couple years ago my husband and I converted a bedroom into my scrapbook room. We put up drywall, painted, added slatwall , tract lighting, carpeting and installed a new window. I realize I am a very lucky person to have a room dedicated to my scrapbooking hobby. I thought it might be nice to share a few pictures of my space so others can see where I create my layouts. I have to admit I am an obsessive organizer and find myself much more productive if everything is well organized; so, there are lots of drawers, containers, and shelves in my space. I have two toolboxes (yes, the kind you would normally find in your husband's garage) which I use to organize tools and supplies such as ribbon, chipboard, and punches. They work well because they have drawers that glide and they are made for heavier items like punches. The drawers are also a variety of depths which can accommodate all of my different scrapbooking supplies. Much of my walls have slatwall added to allow me to add shelv

Jamie had pictures taken in December at Perfect Prints Photography. This was my favorite photo. Waiting for my first grandchild to be born was a very exciting time for me. I'm glad that Jamie agreed to have these pictures taken only a few weeks before she delivered the baby I layered several papers from the Princess Bride collection from Rusty Pickle, added some trim and velvet ribbon, stamped a flower with a flourish design then layered the center with a clock I cut from Graphic 45 paper. Now, we have a beautiful baby boy that fills our lives with happiness and joy. This page reminds me of the anticipation of his arrival.

This picture of Ryan and I was taken while we were bowling one afternoon in March. There aren't too many pictures of the two of us together so I wanted to be sure to include this in his scrapbook. I used the 4.29 sketch from Sketchy Thursdays for the inspiration for this page using Fancy Pants Designs papers and ribbon from the Summer Soiree collection. I added lots of layers and various punches to add some fun to the page. I even made a little pocket for a bit of hidden journaling and added some glittery rub-ons for sparkle. I'm planning a trip to Great Lakes Mega Meet this weekend with a friend. While we're there we have signed up for a crop at Archiver's. Can't wait to enjoy a weekend filled with lots of shopping and cropping! Hopefully I'll have many more pages to share afterwards.

The twist for this week's challenge at Twisted Sketches was "clean". I chose to work with a picture of me as a baby taking a bubble bath. After all, how much cleaner can you get? I used a variety of patterned papers from various manufacturers including Making Memories, Sweetwater, and My Mind's Eye. The solid blue cardstock was sprayed with pearl glimmer mist to add some sparkle and shine. The sheer ribbon along the bottom of the photo was knotted in 3 places and then I added little paper flowers by Prima for the finishing touch. I'm also adding this to the color challenge this month at A Cherry on Top which was to do a blue monochromatic page. Thanks for looking.

The Friday Sketch Challenge on the BoBunny Blog April 23rd was used to create this layout of my grandson Brendon. We had professional pictures taken just before Easter by Perfect Prints Photography and so I decided to use one of those for this page. I used the Flutter Butter Collection by Bo Bunny including several of the papers and brads. Also, from BoBunny was the double dot paper and the ribbon. I also used the Harmony clear stamp set by BoBunny to create my own paper. I started with a cream cardstock and stamped the large circles with chestnut roan ink, the small circles with yellow ochre ink, and the smaller flowers with olive pastel ink. I chose to stamp the images randomly to create the background paper. I really like the way it turned out. Each flower was made differently. The first is punched from the handmade background paper, layered with a green punched flower and a large brad was placed in the center. For the second flower I punched a large brown circle, added a stamped c

Today's layout is for Sketchy Thursdays 4.22 Challenge based on the sketch I've included. I've had these two identical wallet photos of Ryan for quite a while and just didn't know how I wanted to use them on a layout. This sketch worked well for them and I just loved the rubber duckies paper from Wubie Prints that I was able to use for it. The bubbles are Stickopotamus vellum stickers placed in a random fashion and the letters are puffy thickers from American Crafts. I'm very pleased with the final result of this layout.

Petting Farm was created for Ryan's album. These pictures were taken in the fall of 2005 and he was 2 years old. He went to an apple orchard with his Dad and Mom where they had a petting area for the kids. Obviously I have had these pictures for quite a while. He looks so little here. The page is based on sketch #046 from Twisted Sketches. The twist challenge was to use "touch" any way you wanted to interpret it. I chose photos of him touching the goat at the petting farm. The papers are from the Cosmo Cricket Gretel Collection.

We had a family picnic Sept. 6, 2009 at Pottawattomie Park. The whole family was able to be there. Ryan brought a friend, Daniel, along for the afternoon. We had burgers and brats for lunch. There was something for everyone: ladderball, badmitton, rollerblades, skateboards, and a playground for the boys. It was a nice afternoon together. This layout was based on Sketch #182 for Pencil Lines. The cardstock is Bazzill, the striped paper is We R Memory Keepers, buttons are Basic Grey and the ribbon is Daisy D's.

Just finished another layout "just monkeyin' around" for week #16 challenge at The Scrap Room. The challenge was to scraplift someone from the April Gallery and I chose Melanie Call and her layout titled 16 Months. The picture was taken by Perfect Prints Photography. I used 3 Bugs in a Rug Animal Stackers Collection for this page. It had the perfect monkey paper to go along with the picture of Brendon and his monkey blankie. He gets so excited and happy when you bring out his monkey. It's fun to see him smile and laugh, he's such a cute little boy.

Lately, I have really enjoyed the challenges of creating scrapbook pages using sketches. This sketch by Pencil Lines was the foundation for the 2009 Christmas page I created for Ryan's book. The glittery border was created by sewing some Christmas trim around the square. I also added Bazzill paper flowers which had been inked around the edges to the lower right corner. For added dimension to the poinsettia and holly leaves I applied foam dots underneath various areas to add depth. After completing the original page, I decided to make a companion page with other photos from our family Christmas. By using the same color scheme and more of the poinsettia and holly I was able to achieve a second page which complimented the first very nicely.

Arrived in Fort Myers Beach on Saturday. It's so nice to have a vacation, especially one with warm weather. We've been looking forward to this vacation since January and it's finally here. We've been to the flea market, walked on the beach, and soaked in the hot tub. Planning to visit several local scrapbook stores in the area while I'm here.

With the purchase of my new laptop, I've decided it was time to start my own blog. I want to be able to share my scrapbook pages with others and I think this will be the best way to accomplish it. This will also be a great way to share information