Quote of the Week/Scrapbook Challenge

God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars. ~Martin Luther

The natural world around us is so inspiring to me. Both of these pictures were taken from my classroom this week. I know, rough isn't it? How bad could a day at the "office" be when you can look out at this scenery? (Winter can be a bit blah, but the mountains are interesting no matter what the weather.)

I challenge you to find a handful of pictures that go well with this quote and use them (photos & quote) on a scrapbook layout. If you complete the challenge and post your layout online, link to it here in the comments, okay?

Make Your Own Flower Soft

How fun is this crafty tutorial? Check it out at http://hogwildaboutstamping.blogspot.com:80/2009/10/make-your-own-flower-soft.html

Frugal Organization

Organizing Your Way is a great blog that I found. If you know me then you know I need help in this area! I am extremely well organized in a few things, but the rest... Anyway, check out some suggestions for some frugal craft storage ideas.



Please share your favorite organizing tip here by leaving a comment! It can be crafty (or not). Anything that makes your life easier and helps it run smoother is something I'd like to learn about. Thanks!

(I will have an original post all of my own in the near future. Until then, enjoy cruising some fun sites!)

A Scrapper's Journey (AKA One Scrapper's Process)

Did you miss me yesterday? Boy was it crazy around here! Macey wasn't feeling well Sunday (sore throat/cough) and it turns out she was running a fever, so she couldn't go to school Monday. My MIL is home from her trip to Greece and Turkey, so she offered to keep her which worked out very well. (DH had two generator jobs lined up- yay!) I had a 7:40 conference (my work hours are 7:30-3:30), my first of the last reading endorsement class from 3:30-7:30, and an extremely important church vestry meeting from 4:30-6:30. (I went to the vestry meeting late and left early, but at least I was able to vote on the big issues.) The funny thing was that I got locked out of the middle school and it took forever for me to get someone inside to answer their cell phone and let me in. (The two numbers I had wouldn't answer, so I called a friend who was able to give me another participant's number, and I was finally in.) Okay, that was TMI I'm sure! I ate a bowl of cereal for dinner at 8:30. Whew.

Today's tip comes from the blog Write. Click. Scrapbook. (You can find it on my sidebar at right.) You've probably noticed that I love to scrapbook and record my family's memories. It is also very interesting to me to read about how and what other people scrapbook. Go read Marnie's journey. I'll bet she'll inspire you. What do you scrapbook? I'd love for you to share here what you typically scrapbook or how you like to scrapbook.

I am really enjoying trying to follow Stacy Julian's Library of Memories "system." Each of the girls have their sets of albums, and I will continue to add "their" layouts to their albums. (That is not part of her system but part of mine.) We have a set of family travels albums (and I don't feel totally obligated anymore to add those layouts to the girls' albums. They can fight over those layouts when I'm gone.) I am planning to start a "Places We Go" album for those places that are important in our lives: school, church, dance, etc. I have started a "Things We Do & Love" album and an "All About Us" album for family things or for layouts of Daddy or me. Now, this system may sound like a lot of work to you, but I am really enjoying it. If I could just get my finished layouts into actual albums that would be really good! Dinner is calling, and yep, I'm the "chef."

Twitterpated Workshop Today

This afternoon after church I'll be scrapbooking and making cards with a great group of ladies. Here's a peek at the cards we'll be making. (I'll show you my layouts when I actually get the photos on them.)

Here's a hint about the two adorable mushrooms. The caps are half of a decorated chipboard circle! If you don't have a chipboard circle, I bet you can cut a circle of patterned paper in half. (Have you ever thought of making your own chipboard with thin cardboard? Empty cereal boxes work well! If you think it's too thin, cut and adhere a second layer for more thickness.) If you have any broken buttons they sure would be cute too. (Now I'm going to have to go dig through my button box to see if I have any suitable "mushrooms!")

The stem is actually a stamp, but how easy would it be to draw your own or cut some paper? I challenge you to try making some dimensional mushrooms today! If you do, leave me a comment with a link to your creation so we can all go "ooh and ahh." Thanks for stopping by. Now go get creating on this beautiful day!

Halloween Photo Tips

Halloween is one of my girls' favorite holidays (2nd only to Christmas I think). Scrapbooks, Etc. is offering some great Halloween photo tips, so go check them out if you have some ghosts and goblins to photograph this year.

We are busy around the house today and are going to a Western-theme dinner at church tonight. Yeehaw!

Woohoo! 5 Continents!

Woohoo! I've had visitors from 5 different continents on my blog! North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia were all represented at once on my "recent visitors" map (at right). Please leave me a comment if you stop by! Thanks! Merci! Danke! Gracias! Arigato!



(So now you know, how truly simple a person I am since international visitors really make me this happy! Now if they would just leave a comment... Maybe they're afraid I'll stalk them... LOL)

5 Stamps Challenge and Sweet Color Comb

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? Today's 365 Cards challenge, #237 Friday Five, is to use exactly five stamps on your card. Mine is obviously modeled after the sample card there, but I just couldn't resist!

My color palette is totally stolen from Stacy Julian's I Love Color post today, Sweet. I used (from left to right on her palette) Blush, Pansy Purple, Orange, and Hollyhock.

My second card uses the same circle stamps and color palette, but I added the Treasure Life sentiment and dotted curvy line from my Angel Whispers stamp set.

All materials from Close To My Heart:

Both cards:

Blush, Pansy Purple, Orange, and Hollyhock inks

White Daisy, Pansy Purple, and Hollyhock card stock

Adorable, Connections, and It's a Party! stamp sets

Card #1 also uses:

Be True stamp set

Blush ricrac

Hollyhock button

(I used my circle punch to cut out the Pansy Purple card stock circle, stamped the cross medallion image on it, and then pop dotted it onto the card.)

Card #2 also uses:

White Daisy grosgrain ribbon

Angel Whispers stamp set

(I stamped the backside of the Blush medallion image in second generation Pansy Purple to get the circle behind the cross medallion image.)

Twitterpated My Stickease & More

Last night my sixth grader had her first-ever band concert!
(She is learning to play the clarinet, like I did at her age.) They've only been in school for about 10 weeks, and the band director said that they have had only 15 practices with instruments. I was pleasantly surprised with their rendition of "Mary Had a Little Lamb!" Then 7th & 8th grade bands also played, and it was amazing to hear the difference a year or two can make.

Today is a half day at school for parent/teacher conferences. Since I have to stay the full day, DH is keeping the girls and crazily enough has allowed them BOTH to have a friend come home for the afternoon. Maybe he'll still be sane when I get home...

Since I haven't had any time to create more artwork, I thought I'd share the adorable Twitterpated My Stickease. They are so cute! (My Stickease are self-adhesive artwork with a matte, cardstock-type finish to them. You get two 6"x12" pieces of artwork in every My Stickease package.) I can't wait to use these on my Twitterpated layouts at this weekend's scrapbook class. If you're in the neighborhood, we'll be scrapping at 2:00 on Sunday, and then making cards starting around 4:00. (You can read more about it on my CTMH website- link at right.)

The very last image shows the back side of the My Stickease: two different two-page 12"x12" layouts featuring the Stickease. How's that for inspiration?

Spring 2007 (Layouts #47, 48, and 49)

{Disclaimer: You have seen these photos already but not these layouts. It may feel like deja vu but it's not.}

We couldn't decide on our photos from our photo shoot way back in '07, so we ended up buying the entire proof package. I am so glad that nothing before the Tickled Pink paper pack special ever felt "just right" for these photos, because I love how these work together! It was so nice to make time Saturday to create these layouts.

Ansley's layout is based on the Imagine Personality Presence sketch. I love that Close To My Heart's how-to guides give exact measurements that you can follow (as I did on the left) or customize to suit your photos (as I did on the right).


For once I had fewer photos of Macey than Ansley so I chose a different sketch, the Conclusion Combo pattern, also from Imagine. (Seriously, if you like to scrapbook or want to get started, you have got to check out these books!) I had to pull some Crystal Blue cardstock from my stash to complete her layout, which was no hardship since blue is her favorite color.


Finally, I had to make myself a 6"x6" layout for MY album. I used scraps plus a 6"x12" piece of Crystal Blue cardstock (cut in half). While I didn't follow a sketch, the left side definitely resembles a Reflections Main Frame and the right a Sidebar.

Even though spring is long gone, I will always treasure my memories of my little angels at this age. Having a family portrait really captures the moment for all time.

Thanks for looking!

All About Us Album Title Page (Layout #46)

This is one of those layouts that I really wish you could see in person. Besides enjoying meeting new people from all over, this layout is so much prettier in person. I may never go back to plain white cardstock! The base for this page is CTMH's textured White Daisy cardstock, and it is so rich.

My photos are from a photo shoot at church back in May of 2007. I finally broke into my Tickled Pink scrapbook kit from this past May. (Sorry, the papers and stamp set are no longer available.) I wish that I had taken a close up of the flower clusters so that you could see the textured cardstock and of the glitter paper too. LMK if you'd like to see it IRL! I'd be happy to show it off. The layout is based on the Reflections Title Topper- Photos (#1h), and it is the title page of our "All About Us" album.

1st Grade (Layouts #44 & 45)

Here's my baby back in 1st grade. Don't you love the snaggletooth grin? She's now a big 3rd grader. The left side is based on the Reflections Sidebar- Original (#3a) and the right is the Bottom Border- Portrait (#2c), also from Reflections. The great thing about this book of one-page layouts is that it tells you what layout sketches also look good with the pattern if you're wanting a two-page layout. Except for my title/closing pages, I always create two-page layouts. I just have a thing about both sides matching.


I also went ahead and made myself a 6"x6" layout of the wallet photos. I figure the girls' 12"x12" albums will go with them one day, so the smaller albums are mine. :)

Both layouts use the (now retired/unavailable) Whoops-A-Daisy paper pack and the (still available) coordinating My Stickease. Fast, quick, and easy! (No comments about that one from the peanut gallery, okay?)