World Travels - Ireland Busch Gardens

So now I am kicking myself for wasting most of today doing nothing. The last two layouts I did from our recent trip to Busch Gardens just flowed together so easily. Now that its Sunday evening, I know that I will not be able to do much more scrapping until Friday. :( That's a total bummer. And being Sunday evening I'm starting to think about work again and dreading going in tomorrow. More drama, more b.s., more crap that I just don't feel like dealing with anymore....oh and there's the work too!

This layout is a photo of me that John took standing by the gate entering Ireland in Busch Gardens. I used the sketch done by Liz Qualman which is the challenge this week at Stuck On You Sketches. I used a mish mosh of manufacturers to complete this! The background paper is glittery but the photo didn't pick that up...its by BoBunny. The circle with the print is Basic Grey Basics, the circle that the photo is mated on is Basic Grey Capella but it was too pastel-y so I gave it a spray with Coffee Shop Glimmer Mist and got the look I was hoping for! The flowers and birds are by K&Co. as is the pearl brad in the center of the larger flower. The letters are both Basic Grey and Pink Paislee. The dot cardstock is from Oriental Trading and the ball trim I have no idea! I really like the way this layout came out!

July 4 ... 5 challenges!!!!

I have a couple hours tonight with NOBODY home....its glorious! I have the radio blasting and I'm singing my heart out (wouldn't dare do that in the presence of anyone else....I'm tone deaf I'm told!!). I decided to work on a couple challenges.....two for Sketches For You -- the first one is to use Red, White and Blue, add ribbon and a couple stars. Check, Check. Check. The second one there was to try a new technique. They gave a link to a tutorial for paper barn stars. Sooooo easy and they look great!!! The third challenge with this layout is the sketch which is a PageMaps sketch for Stuck on You Sketches. And there is a bonus if you use Red, White & Blue!! And of course Frosted Designs has Red, White & Blue as their weekly challenge!! Yay! I have to admit, I've only done ONE 4th of July layout (this one) and have a ton of fireworks pictures still and I've done 3 other Red, White and Blue layouts this month. I'm about tired of the colors and I'm running out of different papers to use!! All paper is by Scenic Route from last year! OK, so I didn't scrap LAST YEAR'S 4th of July yet either! I still have the WRMK Old Glory papers to use so there will still be more Red, White & Blue in my future!  This layout also works for the Summer challenge at Partners In Crafting Crime.  I know July 4 means summer to me!

I really should be working on a baby album that I have half done but I just don't want to! Is it bad that the shower is THIS Saturday and I don't intend to finish the gift until Friday night!!! I did pick up a bouncy seat as a gift in addition to the album so even if I don't finish it I still have a gift. And it would give me an excuse to go get my baby fix after he's born! Hmmm....no, I will try to finish it! But now....something more fun...not sure what yet but I have 3 Design Team projects to get done so maybe one of them will be next.

6th Grade - Stuck On U Sketches

Well, I THOUGHT I was going to bed soon after my last post until I stopped at the Stuck On U Sketches blog and saw the newest sketch. Its a double page PageMaps sketch but I chose to only do the left side. I found these SEI Silk Road papers when I was searching for the Monkey paper from the last post! Do you think I have TOO much paper? I forget what I have!! I don't think this is TOO old though....maybe 6 month or so. The photo is of my son, Matt. They have school photos taken twice a year (stupid if you ask me!). The Fall are the more formal portraits and in the Spring are these casual shots. What I didn't realize until I turned on my Ott light to photograph the layout, is that the dark colored paper is actually blue and not black, and the print where the photo is matted on has two colors...orange and pink! LOL! I definately did not see blue or pink the entire time I was creating this layout but oh well....I still like it and you really can't tell unless you are in good light. The foil embossed chip accent on the side of the photo is also SEI from the same line. The blackboard is Cosmo Cricket and I added some orange gems to the centers of the flowers. The paper flower is Recollections with a Lily Bee Lovely chipboard flower center and the larger chipboard flower is also Lily Bee with a gem in the center. Beneath the blackboard is a Jillibean Soup journaling sprout. I'm almost out of them and I promised myself no new scrap stuff until August!!  Chipboard letters are Basic Grey and the letter stickers are Recollections. Oh yeah, and the flowers again for Practical Scrappers!  Wonder what next weeks challenge will be?  This is it for today....my eyes are closing whether I want them to or not. I think I completed 5 layouts today....not bad!

Mom's Star

I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far! I haven't had much time in my scraproom, even though I was off work yesterday. My daughter's birthday is tomorrow and I was running all over creation on Friday making sure my baby got the gifts that she asked for! All she really asked for was a digital camera. I got her a small Polaroid Point & Shoot on sale at Target for $50! As a surprise, I bought her a hoodie and 5 t-shirts from Hollister (off the clearance rack of course!) for under $50 so mom was THRILLED! Hollister, for those that don't know, is VERY expensive in my opinion. $25+ for a t-shirt branded with their name all over it! A pair of shorts that wouldn't cover much behind were $29! YIKES! My daughter is only turning 12 yet a lot of her friends have Hollister clothing and I could never justify it. But I wanted her to be surprised so I checked the clearance racks. I was so happy when I got to the store to find out that they were offering an additional 30% off their clearance prices and there was TONS to choose from! One of the t-shirts I got her ended up being a little over $3 yet the tag says $24.50! Now that's what I call a great deal....mom is happy with the price and daughter will be beyond happy with the shirt! We are about to get ready to go out for her birthday dinner to Famous Daves. Yummy BBQ! She is bringing her BFF, Alisa, and I let her open her camera so she can take pictures at her b-day dinner!!

1. Sketch Inspirations - Sketch
2. Pink Elephant - Use a black and white photo
3. Frosted Designs - Use glitter (title)
4. Stuck on You Sketches - Embossing (I embossed the two larger stars)

 5. Scrap Fit - Use a machine - used Cricut and Cuttlebug