Oh, Snap!

Haha...I love saying that! I have a few pieces of fun & exciting news to share this beautiful Friday morning. First of all, you know how every time you see a "Giveaway" on a scrappy blog, and all you have to do is leave a comment to enter? You know how how you know you mostly likely won't win, but you enter anyway? Well, back in January, I saw a giveaway on the Burlap & Buttercups blog for a Page Maps 2 Sketchbook. I actually purchased the first one years ago when I first started scrapping and I loved it. I still pull it out from time to time for inspiration.

Well, I logged on the other day and saw that the winner had been drawn, and out of 400 entries, it was ME!! WHAT?! That never happens to me! I was flabberghasted! I am SO stoked to be receiving the newest book from Page Maps! Yessssssss!! I can't wait to get it. Thank you to Burlap & Buttercups!



My next bit of good news is that I was chosen to be a Design Team Member for My Scraps & More! It's an awesome online scrappy store, plus there is a forum just bursting with inspiration, ideas and fun scrappy ladies! Check out the blog, the forum & the shop...there are awesome prices on the newest scrappy items, and there is almost always a discount code. GREAT prices!!

Here is the layout I submitted for my DT application. It was based on a sketch provided specifically for applying. Yep...that is my sweet little Paige unknowingly flipping me the bird! She was just really trying to stick her fingers in her mouth, but the right one popped up at the right time, and of course, being the crazy scrapper that I am, knew that picture would be hilarious! I didn't realize the string from my tag was on top of the photo until I had already cropped & edited it. Oops!



I used the Dance in Sunshine collection from Glitz...I have had this collection for several months now, just waiting to be used. I also wanted to use some some of my old flower stash. I went through a phase where I had to have every flower of every color, so now I need to use them up :)



Thanks for visiting me! I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Page Maps Imaginisce Sketch

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I have a layout to share this morning that I created for the latest sketch contest at Page Maps.

Here is the sketch:



I used the new American Crafts Dear Lizzy Neapolitan line...oh my gosh is this a gorgeous set of papers! I just start drooling every time I see it! Such luscious colors :) This layout is sweet & simple...I loved these pics of Paige dangling her feet in the pool, and the aqua color immediately inspired me to use these papers. Sometimes I'm in the mood to get really messy with a layout, and other times I want it nice and neat. This is a neat one :)




Hope you have a nice day! Thanks for stopping by :)

My Mind's Eye Entry - Challenge # 33

I hope everyone is enjoying a fun-filled St. Patty's Day weekend :) I finished up a layout for the March blog challenge at My Mind's Eye. I am so loving the news lines from MME. I splurged and used some of my Christmas money and got the new Be Amazing line. The colors and patterns are just unbelievable. It's really hard to cut these papers!

I must tell you this story...I had the majority of this layout all finished, and I left it on my desk to go do something. When I came back to it, I saw that my daughter had taken a pen and scribbled all over her face and the blank space on the right side!!! I almost had a heart attack!! I couldn't believe she chose my MME goodness to scribble on. Luckily, I was able to print a new picture and then rotate my background paper to cover up her art work. Talk about the layout that almost wasn't....

Here is the sketch:



I used one of my all-time favorite pictures of Reese from a few summers ago. This is her true smile, and she just looks so beautiful to me. She was having a great time in the pool, and the look on her face says it all.



I bought the sheet of transparencies that come with the line, and they are SO cool! The small kites at the bottom left and upper right are from that sheet.



Thanks for stopping by! See you soon :)

Paper Thrills #51 / Stuck?! & Artful Delight

Happy St. Patty's Day Eve! I have two layouts to share this afternoon. The first one is for the latest reveal at Paper Thrills. The challenge goes right along with St. Patrick's Day...use a green color palette. You can add neutrals in, like brown, white or black. I had these pictures of Paige in a little green & white sundress and they were perfect for a green layout! I used a sketch from Stuck?!, and this is also being entered there for the March 1st sketch contest.

I grabbed a few different shades of green paint and just smudged and smeared in various places, and then dripped paint all over.





Here is the Stuck?! sketch I was inspired by...


My second layout for today is my entry over at Artful Delight. I just love the sketches there! More of my little Paige and her squishy cheeks :) I used some Sass papers that my awesome friend Sara Zenger sent me a few months ago. LOVE the colors & designs!!




Here is the sketch:

Thank you so much for stopping by...have a great St. Patty's Day weekend!

ScrapFIT #64 - Easy as 1, 2, 3!

Yay!! It's the 15th, which means another awesome workout at ScrapFIT! This one is special because we're teaming up with The Paper Variety! Check it out....

ScrapFIT has offered up a journaling challenge and The Paper Variety has created a sketch challenge. Put them together and you will get an awesome layout and a chance to WIN a prize from both places!

Workout #64- Its Easy as 1, 2, 3...

The 'Its Easy as 1, 2, 3..' Workout is here and all you have to do is list out numerically your journaling on your layout! This could be a list of your Top 10 favorite moments from last year, a list of goals for the new year or the countless reason you love ScrapFIT (Just kidding!). Show us your numbered list!

Be sure to incorporate this journaling workout with the Sketch below from The Paper Variety so you can enter you layout at both places!

ScrapFIT's sponsor for this workout is Paper Quirks / http://www.etsy.com/shop/PaperQuirks

This is a special kind of workout and we want to offer up a second prize! ScrapFIT is offering up this prize to a random person that leaves a comment on the ScrapFIT's blog post!



Here is what I created. I used the Life is Good collection from Echo Park. It's a few years old, but I still love it! The only thing that isn't EP is the blue cloud background. It's vellum and it's from the new AC Dear Lizzy Neopolitan line...talk about yummy papers!




Now its your turn to show us how you work this combined workout with ScrapFIT and The Paper Variety! Link up your layout to Mr Linky on the ScrapFIT blog by March 31st for a chance to win the prize from Paper Quirks. Also, remember to leave a comment on the ScrapFIT post for a chance at our random draw prize!

Now hop on over to The Paper Variety to see how their Team worked this Workout and enter you layout for a chance to win Prizes with them as well!

Challenge Me Happy #19

Howdy, scrapper friends! I want to share with you a layout I created for the latest DT challenge at Challenge Me Happy. The task is to create your own embellishment. I made the little blue ribbon flowers. They're so easy to make!

I loved this photo of Paige's little curls...I felt like it deserved a scrappy page all to itself :) I used some coordinating papers from Michael's...the Recollections brand. So many colors & patterns, and when I have a 40% off coupon, I'm definitely buying it!

I started with some Kraft paper and then added lots of drips & splatters of blue & green watercolor paint. I made it really watery so it would be kind of see-through. I painted around the perimeter of the page the same way. I like the way the color of the Kraft sort of dulls the color...I like that effect.


These little flowers are so easy...I just punched a circle and covered it with my tape runner. I start in the middle of the circle and just start adhering the ribbon while turning the circle. It becomes this little spiral flower...and then I just added a pearl to the center.



I loved this unique sketch from Page Maps, so I jumped right on it.

The amazing sponsor for this month is once again

The winner will win a delicious Nikki collection!! You can't beat that!

Hop on over to the blog and see what the other team members created...so many different homemade embellishments! Thanks for your visit...I'll be back tomorrow with ScrapFIT's latest workout :)

Once Upon a...Sketch entry

Happy Monday, everyone! Let me start off by saying that I usually don't enter contests that intimidate me...and the layouts I see over at Once Upon a...Sketch are just always so gorgeous that I never enter. I always stalk the blog and oooh and aaaah over all the amazing work there. My style just never seems to fit the level of talent over there. That's intimidating and I shy away from creating anything to enter.

Well, the current challenge totally inspired me and made me gather my courage! I decided to stop being intimidated and just create something that represents me and not worry about everyone else's style. I'm so glad I did because I wound up loving what I made :)

The topic is to scrap something about YOU and what you're GOOD at. I sat and thought, and then an idea popped into my head and I went with it. I am a Spinning instructor, and I've been teaching for almost four years now. It's my other passion (other than scrapping) and I enjoy it so much. I have lots of faithful spinners who work out with me weekly, and I've really loved watching people get in shape & lose weight over the years.

Here is my layout, based on the sketch provided. Let me explain this photo! One of my great friends and fellow spinners had this image created for me last year for my birthday, and then it was put onto a t-shirt. I have the image framed in my scrappy office, and I just love it! It's me on my spin bike, wearing my favorite Florida Gator shirt. I absolutely LOVE this drawing, and it puts a huge smile on my face every time I look at it. It's special to me, and it is definitely scrap-worthy :)






My journaling reads:

"It’s really hard for me to give myself a compliment. I was asked to focus on
something I’m good at, and believe me…so many things I think I’m BAD at came to mind. I know we are our own worst critic, but it just doesn’t come easy for me to say, “I’m really good at that!” and not feel narcissistic. As I thought for a moment, I realized that there is one thing I KNOW I’m good at, and I’m constantly reminded of that by others—it’s teaching Spinning. I have been an instructor at the YMCA for almost four years, and it is a huge passion of mine. I love exercising, and I have a lot of faithful Spinners in my classes. I’ve watched people lose over 50 pounds from working out, and it’s a great feeling to be a part of that. One of the students in my class had this image drawn up for me for my birthday last year and put on a t-shirt. I was so excited! Through teaching, I feel like I really do inspire others by helping them get in shape, lose weight and relieve stress. It feels so good to hear someone say, “I really love your class! You kicked my butt!” I hope to keep on teaching as long as I can."

Here is the sketch:


Thanks to the ladies at OUAS, who inspired me to get out of my comfort zone and create something that scared me initially. I tend to create my most favorite layouts when I do something I never expected to do!

Paper Thrills Layout & more ScrapFIT fun :)

Happy Thursday! I have a few things to share this morning. First up, I wanted to remind everyone of the newest Step Class at ScrapFIT. Sheila has posted an awesome tutorial on making your own unqiue stick pins! You simply must check it out...it seems really easy and fun! Click HERE to see it.

I also wanted to share a layout I made last week for the Paper Thrills DT. The challenge was to create a layout about "leaping," and while I didn't have any photos of either of my girls leaping, I did have this cute one of my husband tossing Paige into the air. Close enough :) I used some of the new MME Miss Caroline Dolled Up collection.






Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day :)

ScrapFIT Weekend Warm-Up #25

Howdy there, scrappers! I apologize for not getting this up on my blog on Monday, but I was dealing with my blogger photo limit situation. I appreciate all the help. I wound up buying 20 GB of space for only $5, so it worked out. Now I can upload a gazillion pictures and not have to worry!

I want to share with you the latest Weekend Warm-Up over at ScrapFIT. It's #25, and all you have to do is be willing to GET MESSY! Create a project that involves splattering or dripping...you can use watercolors, paints, mists...as long as you "color outside the lines," it will work :)

Here is the sample I created. I used some homemade mists & watercolors, and sprayed & painted inside the end of a cup. (I cut the bottom end out and made my own little circle template). I sprayed a lot, and then just let it run. It's a great way to create your own unique background!



I was in the mood to keep the messy theme going, so I ripped up several papers of different colors and just started inking, distressing & gluing.


After everything dried, I took my chalks in matching colors and adding some darker spots and shading.


If you win the Warm-Up, you will be our featured FITGirl in our Spotlight later in the month. It's your chance to shine and show off your scrappy skills :)

Help!

Blogger friends, I need your help. I was uploading pictures to my personal family blog this evening when I noticed it said that I was at 99% of my photo storage. I clicked on the question mark button, and it's pretty much telling me that when you get to your maximum storage, you have to BUY more if you want to continue to upload your photos. Has this happened to anyone else? I really don't want to have to go and delete any of my older posts, but I don't think I want to have to purchase space, either.

Does anyone have any experience with this? I know on my personal blog, my photos used to be really high resolution, so they took up a lot of space. I never thought to resize them or anything...I never thought it would matter. Well, apparently it does, and I don't know what to do.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, friends! Thank you.

ScrapFIT Workout #63 - a sketch!

I am so excited to share the newest workout at ScrapFIT! For all of you who were faithful followers of the awesome Sketchy Thursdays, we have an amazing Diana Fisher sketch for you! She is our Creative Trainer, and let me tell you, I didn't realize how much I missed those ST sketches. It felt so good to have a brand new one to work with :)

Here it is....


Here is what I created. I couldn't resist scrapping this adorable picture of my little Reese with her little swimsuit wedgie...haha! This one came together pretty quickly. I punched some circles to use as masks and used some Smooch that matched the swimsuit. I used some papers from a very old stack of DCWV summer papers. I dripped some blue watercolor paint in random spots...it just reminded me of water droplets. The blue wave border was something I've had in my stash for SO long. This was finally the layout to use it on.

Our sponsor this month is Paper Quirks, an adorable etsy shop!

Check out this awesome kit you could win!

You really must hop on over to the ScrapFIT blog and see what the rest of the DT created. I love that everyone's interpretation is so different. That's the beauty of scrapbooking :)