December 26, 2009

Nieces are So Fun to Scrap :)


I made this layout of my niece Maya as a Christmas gift for my sister-in-law. Hope she likes it :)

By the way the papers that I used are from the "Bittersweet" collection from BasicGrey. It's my favorite collection they've made. It's no wonder, it's all pinks and browns!


(sketch from Sketch Inspiration)

December 23, 2009

So Blessed!


Dan and I feel especially blessed for the holidays this year because of this pregnancy that we had waited so long for. It's hard to believe that we're already 30 weeks along and that the baby will be here very soon!


I used some Glimmer Mist and of course Stickles on this layout to bling things up a bit :)
(sketch by Liz Qualman)

Merry Christmas everyone!

December 15, 2009

Waving!

Here's my little miracle at our 12week 5day ultrasound back in August :)


I based this layout on a sketch created by Becky Fleck. Do you like using sketches, too? Want a chance at a prize? If you would like to participate in a challenge using the same sketch that I did you can find all the details on the SD4U forums here. I am hosting a new sketch challenge there every 2 weeks!

December 12, 2009

Another SD4U December Kit Project

I hope everyone's having a nice weekend! It's finally warming up a bit here... right now it's about 20! That's a lot warmer than the -26 that we had earlier in the week!!!

Here's another layout that I made with the December What's Cookin' kit from Scrapbook Deals 4 U. This photo of my sister and me is about 4 1/2 years old already but I'm glad I finally got it scrapped!

(sketch from Sketch Inspiration)

Thanks for stopping by!

December 6, 2009

SD4U December Kit Projects!

I have the pleasure of designing with the What's Cookin' kit this month from Scrapbook Deals 4 U. This kit is loaded with Basic Grey and October Afternoon goodies!

I've finished 3 layouts so far and have more in the works. Here's what I've done so far...


This is my dear niece, Isabella, just moments after she was born :) I based this layout on a sketch created just for SD4U by Kristine Davidson of Creative Scrappers. If you would like to participate in a challenge using this very sketch (and have a chance at a prize!) head on over to the SD4U December Sketch Challenge thread of the forums!

Here's little miss Isabella again. The photo was taken by her mommy during this past summer. She really is a sweet girl!

Here's my dear niece, Amber. The photo was taken by Dan last year at Christmas. Whenever we see her, she almost always has this genuine smile! If you're new to scrapping and would like to learn how to make this layout, I've posted a photo tutorial on the SD4U forums here.

I'll post the rest of my kit projects when they're ready to share!

November 30, 2009

Hello Third Trimester!!!

Hooray! I've made it to Trimester 3!

In celebration, I thought I'd finally share a "bump" shot :) This photo was taken yesterday at 26 weeks 2 days. Please believe me when I say that I am much, much happier than I appear to be in this photo!


I had a wonderful baby shower yesterday! My Aunt Laura and my mom worked hard to make it a very special occasion for me. It was so nice to celebrate with some family and friends. I'm so very grateful!

Here are a couple of photos from the shower...



My little one received lots of adorable pajamas and outfits as well as an awesome highchair, fun activity items, and other necessities. I cannot wait for her to arrive and to be able to use all of those things :)

While it's starting to really hit me that we really are pregnant and really are going to have a child of our very own, part of me still can't believe it after everything we've been through to get this far. I feel so fortunate to have been blessed with this miracle!

November 22, 2009

Handmade Thank You Cards

Hey everyone! It's been awhile since I've had a chance to do any scrapbooking. Things have been a bit busy with work and appointments and such, and we've been cleaning out the spare room in preparation for the baby :) We still have a way to go on that but I'm happy about the progress we've made so far.

This weekend I did get a set of 30 Thank You cards made in my favorite pink/brown color combo. I kept them more on the plain side so as to be mail friendly :)



In a couple days I'll be traveling home for a visit with my family and friends. I can't wait!

November 15, 2009

SD4U December Kits Sneaks!

Martha has given us peeks at some of the products in next month's kits! Check 'em out!

Kit # 1 - Christmas Mega Kit
A combination of 3 beautiful lines! October Afternoon, Bella Blvd and Eskimo Kisses


Kit # 2 - Christmas Magic
Featuring the beautiful line from Fancy Pants


Kit # 3 - No name yet
This is a non-Christmas kit using the beautiful papers from October Afternoon - Farm Fresh and Basic Grey - Nook and Pantry


Once again all 3 of these kits are going to be fantastic! How will we ever choose which one(s) to get? As soon as Martha shares more peeks at the kit contents I'll let you know!

November 3, 2009

Hooray for Pink!

Until we recently found out our baby's gender I was trying to stick to relatively neutral colors for the scrapbook layouts of the ultrasound photos. I didn't necessarily succeed with that but I had at least avoided using full-blown pink.

Well now that we know, I pulled out the pink, brown, and white combo that I love so much, and of course some pretty flowers!



The design of this layout was inspired by a layout called "Natural Beauty" that was created by my friend Martha.

October 31, 2009

We're on Team Pink!

We had our big ultrasound yesterday and it went great!

We got to watch our baby on the big screen for about 30 minutes while the doctor took all kinds of measurements of the various anatomy. The baby was awake and was doing cute things, like sucking on its fingers!

Most importantly the doctor said everything is measuring right on track and that he did not see any signs of any abnormalities. Yeah!

Along with that wonderful news, the doctor told us that it looks like a girl! We are super excited to have a daughter on the way! :)

Here's her cute profile!



Thanks for stopping by :)

October 29, 2009

A Couple Spooktacular Crop layouts

Hello everyone! As I mentioned earlier today, the Spooktacular Crop and Treat weekend at Scrapbook Deals 4 U is underway! I'm hosting two of the crop challenges and I thought I'd share my sample layouts here.

The first challenge is to create a layout about any pet that you have, had, or would like to have, or, about any animal at all that you love. Here's my sample layout for this one:


The second challenge that I'm hosting is a sketch challenge. The sketch that I chose is this one from PageMaps:


and here's my sample layout:


These two challenges along with 8 other fun challenges will be running until midnight PST on Sunday November 1st, so you have plenty of time to join in the fun! There are lots of great prizes just waiting to be won, so what are you waiting for? Head on over to the Spooktacular Crop forum at SD4U and jump in :)

Spooktacular Crop and Treat Weekend

The party has gotten started!


There are many challenges to participate in and several games too!
Lots of prizes are waiting to be won, including a guest designer spot!
Come join in the fun!

October 27, 2009

SD4U November Kit Projects Reveal and Online Crop!

Here's what I created this month using the super cute "Simple Pleasures" November kit from Scrapbook Deals 4 U!

That's Dan and me. The photo was taken this past summer.


My niece Amber when she was just under 1 year old.


My kitty Emily.


My niece Isabella when she was just under a year old.


Also, be sure to check out SD4U's first ever online crop! Spooktacular Crop and Treat Weekend starts on Thursday Oct. 29th and continues through Sunday Nov. 1st. There will be 10 super fun challenges and several games to participate in. I hope you will head over and play... you could win some fantastic treats! The GRAND PRIZE will be a Guest Designer spot for December and a free January Kit! WOW, huh?! The second place prize is a previous SD4U kit and the prize for third place is a grab bag of scrappy goodness. Each challenge will have a random draw winner too!

October 25, 2009

Rest in Peace Pumpkin Pie

Our dear kitty, Pumpkin, lived his final day today after a wonderful life of nearly 21 years. Dan has been his Papa for about the last 18 of those years. When I met Pumpkin almost 8 years ago he turned me into a kitty-lover, and I've been proud to be his Mama since.


Pumpkin was a loyal companion who got along very well with anyone of any species. He was most certainly the ruler of the house and was totally adored by our younger kitties. We are all going to miss him dearly.

October 24, 2009

November SD4U Layouts - Sneak Peek!

I spent the day today working with the November "Simple Pleasures" kit from Scrapbook Deals 4 U. This kit is really cute and as always Martha included tons of awesome embellishments!

I've finished 3 layouts with the kit so far and I plan to finish another tomorrow. Maybe some cards, too!

Here are a few sneak peeks at what I've been working on...



October 20, 2009

Sketch Challenges

Of all the various scrapbooking challenges that are available out there, sketch challenges are definitely a favorite of mine.

Today it was my turn to post a sketch challenge on the Scrapbook Deals 4 U forums.

Here is the sketch that I chose (from PageMaps):

Here's my interpretation of the sketch!

This was our second ultrasound photo at 9 weeks 5 days pregnant :)


I would love to see you play along! Entries are due on Sunday, November 1st. The poll for voting will be up on the 2nd, and the winner will be announced on the 3rd! So head on over to the forum and jump right in!

SD4U November Kits!

Ooooooh la la, Martha has done it again! All 3 of the SD4U November kits are beautiful and loaded with embellishments.

Kit #1 Simple Pleasures - 3 Bugs in a Rug:

Kit #2 Sam - Dream Street Papers:

Kit #3 Flutter Butter - Bo Bunny:

The kit club subscription members will be able to start selecting their kits tomorrow! The remaining kits will be available for non-subscription customers to purchase on October 25th in the Scrapbook Deals 4 U store!

I should be receiving my kit in a couple days, so check back to see my projects!

October 17, 2009

SD4U November Kits Sneekies!

Take a peek at the 3 choices of kits that Scrapbook Deals 4 U will be offering for November!!!

I see some 3 Bugs in a Rug goodies here!


Oh oh oh how about the Dream Street goodies in this next one!


Oooooohhhhhhh who can resist the Bo Bunny?!


I can't wait to show you the full kits soon!

October 15, 2009

Half-Way!

I really cannot believe we're already half-way through this pregnancy! It seems like it was just last week that I was a human pin cushion getting all of those IVF injections in the abdomen and hips! It's hard to believe that there are only 20 weeks, or 4.5 months, to go until our little miracle arrives!

So in celebration of this milestone I want to share something that my sweet little nieces Amber and Isabella sent to me. I actually received this several weeks ago, right after my first ultrasound in fact, but it's only now that I'm really starting to believe I'm actually pregnant.


They sent me a super soft baby blanket along with handmade cards. Isn't that sweet?! The cards have been hanging on my fridge and the blanket is safely tucked away waiting for our little one :)

6 days to go until the big ultrasound! Any guesses about the gender?? We can't wait to find out!

October 11, 2009

Creating Handmade Lollipop Flowers!

I'm sure many of you have seen and even played with those pretty flowers made by Prima Marketing called "Lollipop flowers".

Well, I'd like to show you how simple and fun it is to create your own handmade lollipop flowers! I know that many of you already make these as I've seen them on your amazing layouts! So please bear with me as I attempt to inspire the rest of us :)

Let's get started!

Step 1: Gather your supplies (patterned paper, scissors, edge distresser, mini mister (or regular squirt bottle), heat tool, white acrylic paint, Stickles (or other glitter glue), glue dots, twine, and a button).

Step 2: Using your scissors, cut 3 squares from the patterned paper, making the second square about a half-inch larger than the first, and making the third square about a half-inch larger than the second.

Step 3: Next, trim one of your squares into the shape of a circle. The circle does not have to be perfect!

Step 4: Trim the remaining squares into circles.

Step 5: Using your edge distressing tool, distress the edge of your first circle.

Step 6: Repeat the distressing process for the other two circles.

Step 7: Using your mini mister (or squirt bottle), spray clean water onto the edges of your first circle.

Step 8: Continue to spray the entire circle, getting a bit of water in the center of it as well.

Step 9: Next, crumple the wet circle in the palm of your hand, smashing it all up!

Step 10: Unfold your crumpled circle and then bunch up the edges of it (the circle should still be wet at this point, allowing you to easily shape the paper).

Step 11: Using your heat tool, dry your circle until it is no longer wet (the heat "sets" the shape and the dimension that you made by crumpling and bunching in the previous steps).

Step 12: Repeat steps 7-11 for your remaining two circles.

Step 13: Time to get messy! Squeeze some of the white acrylic paint onto your fingertip.

Step 14: Using your fingertip and thumb, spread the white acrylic paint all around the edges of your first circle (this process adds to the distressed look of the finished product!).

Step 15: Repeat steps 13-14 for your remaining two circles.

Step 16: Time for some sparkle! Apply Stickles (or other glitter glue) all around the edges of your first circle.

Step 17: Repeat the "Stickling" process for your remaining two circles and allow to dry.

Step 18: Line your circles up largest to smallest and grab your glue dots.

Step 19: Adhere the middle circle on top of the largest circle, and then the smallest circle on top of the middle circle. It's starting to look like a flower!

Step 20: To create your flower center, string a piece of twine through a button.

Step 21: Next, tie the twine into a bow and trim the excess off.

Step 22: Press your button onto a glue dot.

Step 23: Adhere your button onto the center of your flower.

Here is the finished handmade lollipop flower!!!

Here's a look at the wonderful dimension that using water and then a heat tool adds to the flower!

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial for creating handmade lollipop flowers! They are so fun and quick to make. You could use these flowers to embellish your layouts, cards, and other projects!
 
BLOGGER TEMPLATE BY DESIGNER BLOGS