Freedom

I made this card for Memorial Day and for a couple of challenges: my friend Stacy's and
Simon Says Stamp Presents a Star Challenge! over at Lily Pad Cards and Simon Says Stamp and Show a summer holiday. You could say this would work as a Memorial Day card and a Fourth of July card. I used a PageMaps sketch... I took it pretty literally!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are enjoying the Memorial Day weekend and remember our fallen soldiers and their families with a prayer.

California Animals 12,000 Years Ago

First, I have to say Happy birthday to my wonderful Dad!!!

Well, I have to say I went a little haywire with the Crate Paper sparkly die-cuts on this one! I guess I must have been in the mood for color since the mural only had a couple of colors in it! It also may have been because of the colorful Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger:  Luminous Layers challenge this week.  I used a fun sketch from Sketchy Thursdays to make the layout of these two photos which I pieced together from our San Diego Zoo visit.  I think you can tell that the inspiration came from the Tuesday Trigger and that Crate Paper made the perfect patterned paper for it. Who knows what happened from there! My layout also fits Frosted Design's challenge this week to include animals!

Anyway, thanks again for visiting! I really appreciate your sweet comments! They make my day!

Have a great day!

Last Layout from Memphis Trip

Phew! I'm finally finished with our Memphis, TN, trip that we took during 2010 Spring Break!  I forgot to post this last week!

Read to Me, Gramma Ginny

My friend Stacy HW has a challenge over at Sketches 4 All where you could only/and must use stamps, bling, border punch, and vellum (other than Paper, Photos, Adhesive, Black Pen and A Shape Punch).   If you have time before the end of May, I'd like to encourage you to check out some of Stacy's Mix It Up challenges. She makes them very fun, and if you win, she will send you an AWESOME prize!!!! I should know--I've won enough of them!!! I used mostly Glitz Design with a little CTMH stamping thrown in so I could enter it into a Paper Secrets challenge, too.

The Paper Variety Sketch

I made this layout from this week's The Paper Variety challenge:  a sketch by Jana Eubank. Speaking of The Paper Variety, I wanted to thank Yara for sending me such a wonderful box of goodies that I won on the latest The Paper Variety's blog hop! I can't wait to start using them!

Holland, Michigan-Statues (Summer 2010)

I made this layout for the Moxie Fab World Challenge: The Appearance of Cameos.  Most people enter cards for these challenges, but I can't help but see what I can do on a layout!  I still have so many photos left to scrapbook from our June, 2010 trip to Michigan this summer! We are buried under 18" (with mountains of snow piles in the yard)! So, the summery colors made me happy! Of course, the silhouette cameo goes really well with all of the statues!!  The cameo and frame are from Glitz Designs! The papers are from My Mind's Eye! And, of course, the letters are Thickers!

Another Prom 2010 Layout

After a break, it looks like XOXO is back.  Hey, wouldn't you like to scrap-lift this layout to win a prize? Go to The XOXO challenge site for details. My term was up in August, but since the site was static for a few months, the challenge was postponed until now!

Homecoming 2010 - The Kiss

I did the TRIFECTA this week over at Design Dollies! It was a little hard until I realized I could paint the doilies and add a pale, shimmery yellow ticket that wouldn't clash with the color challenge!

Homecoming 2010 take 2

I did this for Let's Scrap Julie Bonner challenge. Its so pretty in real life. Sad that the photos don't show how pretty it is!

I don't really know how to take a photo of a 2 page layout!

Evening of Drama - Take 2

Artful Delight has a challenge going on to make a layout showcasing something your child, grandchild or family member has done either at school or in a sport that has made you proud. I used #141 Sketch Inspiration.  This layout shows my son in two roles:  1) the cool detective and 2) the nervous, creepy janitor! I've already scrapped Mitch in the detective roll--ironically also using a Sketch Inspiration sketch.  It is here if you care to see it.  I was really proud of Mitch that he took the time to learn two roles and voices which he had to interchange at the drop of a hat in the play! He did a fantastic job!  He is so busy during the year that it was just a little icing on the cake to see him perform so well at the Evening of Drama (eod)!  I hand-made the flower on the left.  I fussy cut the star "border" out of a sheet from Core'dinations.  It seems I am a little addicted to banners right now, so I added one for fun here! I tried to keep this a pretty masculine layout! Most of the paper is Bo Bunny - Mamarazzi which fits me to a tee!

Haley and Mitch in Florida - Take 2

When I saw this sketch by Liz Qualman over at Sweet Peach Crop Shop, I knew that I had the perfect pictures to go with it!  I thought it was so fun to use hearts instead of pennants for my banners!  Since Mitch went to Florida with Haley's parents this summer, I didn't get as many photos as I normally would have gotten.  So, this layout plus this layout are the only layouts I'll do of them at the beach!  The shot on the left is one of the "standard" poses we usually get--I love the goofy sideways glance Haley gives Mitch in it!

Worms!

I made this layout for a challenge to take two ugly, mismatched pieces of paper (sorry Glitz) and make a layout with it at The Studio with Sketchy Thursdays 8/26 challenge sketch. I made it pretty simple to fit into a new (to me) challenge site called "Lasting Memories" Layout Challenges.  To me this is simple because it only uses paper and stamps around the edges--no embellies like ribbons, jewels, brads, etc.

Here are the two ugly pieces of paper:

Fireworks -- Balloon

I made this layout for Sketches in Thyme weekly challenge! The title and year glittery letter stickers. I have a jewel in the center of each firework sticker! The balloon was so cool!  We kept watching it float higher and farther away until we actually started getting worries.  Then, finally, it blew up in the air!! Very amazing firework!!!!

Cupcake Card

I made this card for 

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #71...! and Sketches 4 You. The cute cupcake is from Fiskars (my secret sister sent it to me)!

Holland, Michigan-Statues

I did this layout with several challenges in mind (a lot for me, but I have seen crafters who enter 16 challenges at once which seems amazing to me).  The first is a new challenge site to me:  Artistic Inspirational Challenge Blog. I just happened to have the perfect photo and paper for this challenge.  The green Glitz Designs background has blue writing (faint).  The strips and inside of the sun were from a piece of paper I've had "forever" so I don't even remember the manufacturer, but it couldn't have been more perfect.  I met all of the bonus requirements on this layout:  1. Sun or sunset = 1pt 2. Shades of blue and green on your layout = 2pts 3. A cut out black silhouette image =3pts.  If you love art and are interested in incorporating ideas from paintings into your layout, I suggest you check out this cool blog challenge site!!  The second challenge was Practical Scrappers challenge to use one photo!  The third is for August Flower Challenge at Scrap Our Stash to make a flower. Mine is a simple spiral flower.  You basically take a circle, cut it into a spiral and then roll it up and glue to hold the flower shape. It is one of my favorite flowers to make as it is so easy to do, and it looks cute! You can roll it as tightly as you want and make the circle as large as you want!!! Easy peasy! Finally, Sketches 4 All! 

My Niece Julie and Her Boyfriend Eric

I did this for the Pages in Time Thur Sketch of the Week July 22.  I used some of the things my Fiskateers Secret Sister sent me! What fun!  When I first saw the sketch, I was a little intimidated by it, but I thought by adding the different textures with the Magic Mesh and funky wired ribbon, etc., that it worked out ok!

I'm also going to enter it to http://scrapourstash.blogspot.com/, a new challenge site I just found recently!

St. Joseph, Michigan-Lighthouse in the Fog

I made this for My Sketch World's July challenge. The crochet stars were made for me by my friend Mary!

Grand Haven, Michigan

Well, after trying several pictures and several papers/embellishments etc., I finally found what I wanted to do for this great sketch by Liz Qualman for Sweet Peach Crop Shop's monthly challenge.  They would prefer that we use their kits, but I didn't have one.  The sketch was just too good to pass up!  AND, it was after I received Scrapbooking from the Inside Out's Courage kit that I found the exact papers I wanted to use!! No, my layout is not about courage, but I was able to find some great scrapbooking inspiration when I opened the kit (which is therapy to me)!!!

Here is the sketch:

School Play -- Evening of Drama

My son and his girlfriend in the school play. Mitch had 2 roles: a detective (shown here) and a creepy janitor (that's why he's holding the mop even though in his "detective" costume). He played both so well. His girlfriend played a "zombie"--in the top left picture her eyes were rolled back in her head--what they won't do to "act" it out perfectly!!!

I made this for Sketch Inspiration's #132. I forgot to post it here until now. The challenge is over, but they offer great prizes for their weekly challenge.

3 generations (the young girl is my twin sister's daughter)

I made this because of a CK prompt.  I like the banner (some of which has Tim Holtz Rock Candy) and the hand-made rose (which also has Rock Candy). I just bought the Rock Candy (at Scrapgal.com) and it is a lot of fun! It comes out of the bottle really fast and doesn't look like much UNTIL it dries--then it looks a little sugary. The patterned paper is Glitz Designs (dark blue and the banner).