I scrapped for no reason!

.

Other than the fact that this face is too cute not to.

Sho 'nuff.

SD4U August Kit Reveal & 2 Sketches 4 You card

Being the total Scenic Rout junkie that I am...imagine how excited I was to get SD4U's August kit this month:


It's jam packed with 6 sheets of patterned paper from Scenic Route's bold, colorful Grafton collection along with a total smorgasboard of matching embies! There's chipboard! there's rubons! there's buttons! there's ribbon! there's stickers! A seriously great variety...wow! Here are a couple of things I've done with it so far:

This is a collage of photos of my two favorite guys and I last summer enjoying our very own Huntington Beach pier at dusk. The grouping of flowers and vines on the left side of the page is a cluster I made out of the Inque Boutique stamps that were included in the kit. Have you seen these stamps? They're very cool...they stamp a crisp, clean image like rubber stamps, but they mount on to your acrylic block for perfect placement, I'm loving these things!

The tropical feel to this paper was just perfect for scrapping these photos from my trip to Costa Rica last February...this was a beach that backed right up to a remote rain forest that you could only get to by an hour and a half boat ride. It's famous for all the sea turtles that return every year to lay eggs on this secluded beach.

And this is me, enjoying that very view in a hammock with a foofie cocktail. That was the life, sistah...I tell ya. *sigh*

And of course, there are some cards, cuz I just can't help myself these days:

To take a closer peek at the kit, and to see other DT member's projects made with this ginormous collection of summery goodness, pop on over to the site and check it out here.

And just in case that wasn't enough eye candy for one post, here's my card based on Kazan's sketch #5 over at 2 Sketches 4 You for the week:

I used the Let's Pretend line from Imaginisce, some ribbon, buttons and acrylic stamps from Autumn Leaves and Close to my Heart. I really love how it came out!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by, it's always nice to have company ;)

What gives?

Summer is in full swing, and the month of July is quickly coming to an end in Southern California. So what's up with this?

This is what I've woken up to each morning for the entire month, and let me tell you, it's NOT what I signed up for living in the Sunshine state...wait...or is that Florida? Either way, it's totally bumming me out. I love the summer heat and look forward to it all dreary winter long. This year mother nature seems to have gotten her seasons all mixed up!

On the upside, all the gloom outside makes me want to stay inside and get scrappy! I've been working at the scrap table all week long, playing with the warm, bold, ultra-summery paper in the SD4U's August kit. I can't share that stuff quite yet, but I can share a couple of other things:

I am making some note cards to sell at a white elephant sale they're putting on at my grandma's apartment complex next weekend. So far I only have these two designs completed in sets of 5. Ideally I'd like each set to have a different design and color scheme...but we'll see how that goes as the weekend sneaks up on me...

And here are a couple more projects I worked on for the Creative Imaginations booth and catalog:

This is the Rita House Book Box. Inside are a handful of mini books just perfect for storing recipes and traditions. I dressed these up in Samantha Walker's Sweet Tooth collection.



I just adored this Scott Accordion file for sorting and organizing all kinds of photos. I dressed this up using the Retro Tropical Signature collection, and I have to tell ya, it was a really fun line to work with! Doesn't it just totally remind you that Brady Bunch episode in Hawaii? Minus the hairy, scary tarantula, of course!

I used Samantha Walker's Trick or Treat collection to dress up these cute little Patsy Mini Boxes. Wouldn't they be the cutest little favors at a Halloween Party? And they were a cinch to make!

And finally, this is a layout of my dh and grandma last Christmas using the Tinsel Town collection. It's got a vintage feel that will go great with old-time photos as well as the ones you'll take at Christmases to come.

So that's about it for now, I gotta get back to those notecards before I only have these two sets to sell on an 8-foot table! As always, thanks for stopping by to say hello!

Talk about cutting it close...

With what I can only assume to be minutes to spare, here is my card entry for Laura's Sketch #4 at over at 2 Sketches 4 U:

I substituted the scalloped paper border for some flowers I punched from patterned paper and then curled the petals around a pencil and mounted them with pop dots...a total obsession with me right now. The flower centers are jewel brads from Creative Cafe, and the Patterned paper is by Crate. The idea was to machine stitch around all the panels, however, I ran out of thread in the middle of stitching, and didn't have time to run out for more. Maybe that'll teach me to start a project more than an hour before it's due...maybe.

More Schtuff

See? I promised I'd be back with more peeks...and here I am!!

Here's a few layouts I made for the booth:

How fun is this round lace paper? It's just one of the papers included in a new Art Warehouse line for Autumn and Halloween called Harvest Moon. The little centers of the spider webs are swarovski crystals, and man do they just sparkle in the sun!

This is a new line by Debbie Mumm called Cowgirl Up...The more I played with it, the more I really fell in love with the color combo. I didn't have any photos of Ashley in a cowgirl costume, so the photo mats will be filled with stock photos.

This one from the Signature line was a blast to make...I actually ripped the cream colored map paper and then burned the edges with a lighter (don't worry, it wasn't mine...I borrowed it from Hector). I cut the skull and swords from an additional sheet of paper and mounted it with pop dots, then added big rhinestones in his eye sockets. I'll need another stock photo here, too. Geez, wasn't Ashley ever anything but "Baby Spice" for Halloween?

And finally, this is made with the Retro Travel collection. Another fun color combo, and a great 50's feel...the perfect compliment to these photos from my trip to Costa Rica.

So that's it for today, I'll be back in a day or two with a few more. In the meantime, I'd love to hear what you think of the new collections so far...which one is your favorite?

"It's July What!?"

Wow, what an unbelievably busy couple of weeks! Seriously, I blinked and half of the Month of July was over!

On the family front, the 4th of July holiday weekend was just perfect! The entire family was together at my dad's brand spankin' new house that he deserves more than anyone I know. He's worked so hard supporting and raising kids his whole life, and I'm so excited he finally has a nice place all his own (where we can come and visit whenever we feel the need for a little Vegas Vacation).

Even this little guy made the trip, and was diggin' all the attention. He was a perfect gentleman the entire weekend, even during the two (yep, two!) "safe and sane" fireworks we lit in the backyard.

I can't think of a better way to celebrate our country's independence and honor those that fought for our freedoms than by shoving food in my mouth the entire day without stopping to breathe. Talk about a major food fest! We had BBQ chicken, bratwerst, corn on the cob, home made coleslaw and potato salad, beans, fresh fruit...literally food for days, and all of it extremely delish! Thank gawd that calories eaten with family and friends don't count, or I'm pretty sure I would have gained a pound or two. Look, it even says so on this chocolate bar:


No sooner did I step foot through the door from my little trip, and it was time to design a make & take for The Scrapbook Garden's 1-Year Anniversary Party!! I can't believe how far this store has come in just one year, and all the wonderful friends I've made there including these rascals:

Ly and Alice are two of the most creative people I know...I am constantly wondering if their heads hurt from all the creativity that runs rampant in there all day long. On Saturday the three of us hosted make-n-takes for the Anniversary and wow, what a huge turnout! Thanks to everyone who came down and supported the store and even it's teachers!


On a side note, this chick has worked her booty off and she and her hubby deserve every ounce of success they gain from this fabulous store:


Happy Anniversary Melissa and The Scrapbook Garden!

On the scrappy front, most of you know I've been jumping thru hoops to get a boatload of projects done for Creative Imaginations before the big CHA Show in Chicago this weekend. All in all I think I submitted 20 projects for the catalog and the booth! And while I'll admit it gets a little hairy with the deadlines and stuff, I really do love every late-night sleep-deprived marathon minute of it. It's always exciting when I finally get a copy of the catalog and open it up to see my work in there, my family's faces starting back at me. Like this one:

It's a Bare Elements Jana Ribbon Frame dressed in a taste of some of the newest stuff in the antique and cream Narratives collection by Karen Russell. But Ms. Russell can't take credit for that little cutie pie in the photos...that's ALL me baybee, and some of my most spectacular work if I do say so myself! That black heart in the upper right corner was torn out of a heart shaped journaler's notebook...too cute, huh?

Here's another one that went in the catalog:

It's the Bare Elements Carey Music Box covered with the Baby Bella Collection by Renae Lindgren...isn't it just precious? It has that same little twirling ballerina that the jewelry boxes had when we were kids...

I have a bunch more projects to share, but I am already getting carpal tunnel syndrome, so I think I'll save them for the next post. Back in a day or two...I promise. Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday Drive-By

I am so bummed I couldn't squeeze in a card for the for 2 Sketches 4 sketch challenge this week...what a crock! I've been totally up to my eyeballs in booth and catalog work for Creative Imaginations, and had no time to squeeze much else in! The upside, though, is since the show is starting in mere days, I will finally be able to start sharing sneak peeks of the projects and the product lines! I'm out today hosting a make & take over at the Scrapbook Garden, so I don't think I'll get to any today, but check back starting tomorrow for an eyefull of awesome stuff that will be hitting your LSS soon!

Hasta Manana!

A Fun Challenge

So I was doing a little link hopping yesterday and stumbled across this fun new card challenge site called 2 Sketches 4 U. Each week they post a new card sketch, then create a gallery with links to each entry. There is an unbelievable amount of eye candy to be found there and even cool prizes every week! I loved the sketch there, and decided to play along.


The Sketch:



My Card:



The paper is from Dream Street and the Bling is Kaiser Craft. The chipboard flowers and the cardstock sticker sentiment are Karen Russell's Narratives from Creative Imaginations, and the paper flower is from Close to My Heart. On the Card front I stamped a flourish in versamark ink, added some clear embossing powder, and heat set it.


In other news...we're getting ready to take off to go visit my dad on Thursday in Las Vegas. It'll be a zoo there, but I miss my dad so much and look forward to spending some family time over the holiday weekend. Grandma will join us, and Chris and Christa and that cute little baby boy of theirs will meet us there, and we'll spend some time barbecuing and playing cards. Good stuff...totally can't wait!!


Thanks for popping by!