It's true - I actually created a scrapbook page!

I'm sure I am not alone when I say that I have so many pictures to scrapbook that I'll never be caught up. Sometimes the tasks seems so daunting and I just don't even know where to start. I have thousands of pictures of my two grandkids - and Natalie is only 3! We are just a little camera happy in this family.

In addition to all the snapshots and family event pictures, Jenn has provided us with many beautiful portraits of the kids and I really need to get them in albums. So, lately, I have been playing around with some ideas for portrait layouts - I get especially stumped with those. Working with a single 5x7 or 8x10 photo presents its own challenges - a 5x7 leaves a lot of blank space on a page and an 8x10 leaves next to none. On top of that, I like my embellishments to support the theme or mood of the pictures and this is not always easy to do with portraits.

This is the first layout of the 5x7 portraits. For this page, I used the first background from the Mrs. Robinson's collection at SVGCUTS. Originally designed for a smaller photo, I tweaked the file in Inkscape to create a larger photo mat. Then, instead of using the one piece background cut as it was created, I used the cut out elements.

I inked the edges of the border cut and added stickles to the inside edge. I created some 3d flowers using ribbon and brads. Using Inkscape and SCAL2, I cut the lettering and some small flowers from font files. To complete the layout, I added a few rhinestone flower centers.

I'm not entirely sure that I am happy with the result - maybe I added a little too much? However, it is a completed layout so it's time to move on.

Sorry about the poor picture quality - I really need to set up a space to take decent pics of my projects.



Thanks for stopping by - I hope you have a Happy and Safe New Year!

WINNER ANNOUNCED

Before I announce the winner of my small blog candy, I'd like to thank everyone who stopped by during my first blog hop - it was fun and something I definitely plan to do again! A special thanks to all of you who decided to become followers - I am working on some new things and hope to have some stuff ready to share soon!

Thanks to Karelj at One By One the Flamingos are Stealing My Sanity for hosting this December Calendar blog hop. Your hop challenged me to think outside of my normal style and do something different which is always fun!

Thanks also to all the other participants in this hop - it was really wonderful to visit your blogs and see all of the different interpretations of the calendar pages and to explore your creative ideas.
AND, the winner is:

A Scrap Above said...

WOW!! I love your calendar, and your Ghost is adorable spooky!! I am already a follower of your blog
TFS and a chance to win
Bonnie C

December 29, 2010 1:37 PM B

!!!!! December Calendar Blog Hop !!!!!

This is my first ever blog hop and I am excited to participate. If you are a blog follower, did you start at the beginning of the hop? If not and you want to participate in the full hop, here is the link to get started: Touched by a Butterfly.

If you visit each blog, you will end up with ideas to create a 2 page calendar layout for each month of the new year - TIMES 2 - yes, that's right - there are 2 offerings for each month! Also, if you visit and comment on each blog, there is some nice blog candy being given away: “The Grand Prize Blog Candy is a brand-new Designer’s Calendar Cartridge, donated by Karelj at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity. In order to be eligible to win, you need to leave a comment on each and every stop on the hop, along with a way for her to contact you. She will choose a winner by random.org on the 31^st and announce it on her blog, as well as contacting the winner personally.”

I am also offering a small prize package here on my blog (a set of Month/year acrylic stamps and some small packages of gems and pearls to add a little bling to your layouts/cards/etc.). Leave a comment with a valid email for me to contact you, and I will choose a winner via random.org and post at the end of the hop! If you become a blog follower (or already are), mention this in your comment, and you'll have 2 chances to win.


Not sure if I did this right or not - this is my first ever calendar layout. So, without further ado, here is my October 2011 layout:


Here's a list of supplies used and some explanation of what I did:

Papers used include 3 different patterned cardstocks from GCD Studios Autumn Afternoon stack, 2 colors of Bazzill cardstock and various scraps from my scrap bin. I used a Tim Holtz distress ink pad- tea dye, a couple of different pens and markers, liquid glue and some foam dots. All cuts were made using the Cricut Expression and Sure Cuts A Lot. I created .svg files for use with SCAL2 to cut all of my calendar/layout components. I set each file up in SCAL2 as I cut it and the files are available for download via my 4shared account here. (password is "touaccepted")

My calendar page is constructed without a lot of tedious gluing of numbers/squares. I used the black cardstock as the base layer, cut all of my numbers out of a full sheet of green cardstock, then cut my "grid" into the top patterned paper layer. The only thing I had to glue was the centers of the various numbers/letters.

I made mini icons for several of the holidays/celebration days that occur in October - (National Golf Day, International Smile Day, National Fire Prevention Day, Columbus Day, Sweetest Day, Boss's Day, Make a Difference Day, United Nations Day, and Halloween) - you can use any combination that would apply for your layouts.

I purposely left the negative space at the beginning and end of the calendar - this space could be used for small photos or for recording notes about your monthly activities.

Here is the list of all of the participants - your next stop should be Belinda at Queen Bee's Musings www.queenbeesmusings.blogspot.com

1. January and April: Celeste at Touched by a Butterfly at http://touchedbyabutterfly.blogspot.com/

2. January and September: Jessica at Overjoyed Scrapper www.overjoyedscrapper.blogspot.com

3. February: Christel at Scrappin' Sista http://onescrappinsista.blogspot.com

4. February and March: Karelj at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity http://karelj.blogspot.com

5. March and July: Diane at Crafting This Moment http://www.craftingthismoment.blogspot.com/

6. April: Bonnie at A Scrap Above http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com

7. May: Michelle at Peanut Butter and Jelly Designs http://peanutbutterandjellydesigns.blogspot.com/

8. May: Natalie at Timeless Legacy Designs http://timelesslegacydesigns.blogspot.com

9. June: Lisa at Lisa's Paper Butterflies http://lisaspaperbutterflies.blogspot.com

10. June: Jamie at Glitter, Paper, Stamps, Oh My! http://jamieisacraftymomma.blogspot.com/

11. July: Summer and Jennifer at Cricut Diaries http://cricutdiaries.blogspot.com

12. August: Denise at Starlight Scrapper http://starlightscrapper.blogspot.com

13. August: Gina at Gina Thornton Stamping http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com/

14. September: Deb at If It's Groovy http://ifitsgroovy.blogspot.com

15. October: Rebecca at Creations with Becka www.creationswithbecka.blogspot.com

16 . October: Lora at Notes From The Scrapbook Lady YOU ARE HERE

17. November: Belinda at Queen Bee's Musings www.queenbeesmusings.blogspot.com

18. November and December : Col at Col's Creative Corner at www.scrappycol.blogspot.com

19. December: Deb at Tidbit's Place http://tidbitsplace.blogspot.com

Winner

Sorry I haven't been around much lately - between work, frantically preparing for the holidays, attending physical therapy and working on my blog hop creation, I haven't had time for much of anything else.

Did want to pop on here long enough to announce the winner for becoming a follower - thanks so much to those of you who did sign up! I have a small package of goodies that will be making it's way to Meghan Thuss!! Congrats!

Made a few more cards

The Christmas tree is from the Holly Jolly Lever Cards kit at www.svgcuts.com. The poinsettia and the cardinal cards are both ones that I have created. Not happy with my background paper selection on the cardinal card but I know that now and will select something less busy next time. The card face still needs to be dusted to remove the loose glitter but have to wait for glue to dry - so you'll have to imagine it without all the loose glitter.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look.

Christmas Cards

Worked on Christmas cards yesterday so today when I got home from work, I took pictures to share.

With the exception of the computer & santa, which are my creations, all cuts are from www.svgcuts.com - if you haven't tried Mary's files yet, you are in for a real treat!







Thanks for stopping by and taking a look!

Blog Hop

I've decided to try my hand at something new - I'll be participating in my first ever blog hop Dec 28, 29, and 30! The hop is being organized by Karel at One By One The Flaminogs Are Stealing My Sanity and will feature calendar layouts. You will be able to visit the various blogs and collect layout ideas for a calendar page for each month of 2011. In addition to the main prize being offered on Karel's blog, I will also be offering a prize on my blog for one of the lucky hop participants.

I've never made monthly pages but with the grandkids, I thought it would be a nice way to document their lives without filling volumes of scrapbooks. So, I'm stepping outside of my comfort zone and going to work on designing a 2 page layout for the month of October 2011. The layout will obviously be designed and created using Cricut and SCAL - but I will include digital stamp type files for those who do not have the software so that they can print and cut/color to create the pages.

In preparation for this blog hop, I would like to encourage readers to become followers of my blog. Sign-up between now and December 17th, and you will be entered to win an as yet to be determined prize package (I'll post a pic as soon as I do some shopping).

The rules are simple, become a follower and leave a comment in this post and you will receive one entry. Post a sidebar link on your own blog and note that in your comment and you will receive a second entry.

On another note - what is everyone working on? Me, I'm still busy working on the advent calendars - I should have more pictures tomorrow or Friday. Anyone have any inspiring card designs I can look at? I need to start my Christmas cards next!

Thanks for stopping by to take a look around - I'm off to get ready for work. Have a great day!

The last Advent Calendar

Here's my last Calendar front - now to start assembling the boxes. Hopefully I'll be all done on by Sunday night!

More Advent Calendars

Posting 5 more advent calendar - some are only the fronts - still working on the boxes!

I have some strange color combos here - and for some reason the colors look really off on the computer - going to have to figure out what's up with that.

Awesome Kit available at SVGCuts!

Mary at SVGCuts has done it again - she has created an unbelievable kit for creating custom Advent calendars for the special people in our lives!

Available as a free gift with a purchase of 9.98 or more through Tuesday(11/16/10) or it can be purchased for the very reasonable price of 6.99 - this kit includes cuts for the front and back panels, all of the strips to form the interior boxes, and even decorations and numbers.

I've made two of these so far - they are lots of fun and I can't wait to send them to my grandkids and nieces and nephews!!

Here's the first two of the many I will be making:



Click the link below to see the details on the SVGCuts blog - there's even a video tutorial you can watch on how to assemble the project

SVGCuts Christmas Advent Calendar Kit

Something for next spring/summer?

NOTICE: Please go to the SVG tab at the top of my blog for important information regarding SVG downloads. 

I am slowly but surely working my way through all of my svg files - trying to purge. When I first started with SCAL, I downloaded every free file I could find - then soon realized that 1) just cuz it's free doesn't mean I'll ever use it and 2) not all files are created equal.

Anyway, in going through all my stuff, I found this cute little gift I put together for my grand-daughter and nephews. I found something similar at the store but couldn't bring myself to pay the price for it - and knew I could make a cuter tag using my Cricut. Picked up the sand pails with shovels at the dollar store - added a brownie mix, pudding mix, and a bag of gummy worms and tied it all up with cellophane and some ribbons.

Link to download the cut file is below the picture.

By Request..... My Sewing Collection

NOTICE: Please go to the SVG tab at the top of my blog for important information regarding SVG downloads. 

One of my blog readers left a comment asking if I would consider reposting my sewing collection from last year. This morning I have taken the time to review and edit that collection. I've cut all of the components to ensure that they cut well. I totally redid the sewing machine in order to create something with far fewer parts. Below is the resulting collection - hope someone can use it!

Nashville, here we come!

This past Wednesday, Melissa called me on her way home from work to tell me they had just announced on WDRM that Garth Brooks was going to play a benefit concert in Nashville on December 17 and asked if I would look up the information on it. I went to the website and it confirmed what she had heard - ONE show, December 17th, with Trisha, all proceeds to benefit the Nashville flood relief efforts - and tickets would only be $25. Tickets were to go on sale on Saturday, 11/6/10 at 10:00am CDT.

I immediately called Jenn because that is the weekend that her and Tom and the kids are supposed to travel down here for the holidays - and I just knew she would want to go! We worked out the logistics and made plans for Jenn, Tom, Harvey and myself all to be on-line Saturday to try and get 6 tickets. We waited, 10:00 came and nothing happened. About 10:02 we were able to select tickets but the show sold out in about 3 or 4 minutes so we didn't get tickets. We decided to just hit refresh for a few minutes and keep trying in case some people didn't actually purchase tickets. Jenn finally got ONE ticket - she bought it hoping we might get some others. Then, they posted a second show - it promptly sold-out just as quickly. Hitting refresh, I noticed a third show added for Sunday evening and selected six tickets, entered the security words, and lo and behold, I got ALL SIX TICKETS! Didn't even worry about seat location but we actually ended up getting decent seats - about center of the arena, half way up.

Garth had hinted that he would be open to adding another show if the demand was there - but I never dreamed they would end up with a total of 9 shows in 6 days. A similar thing happened the last time we went to see Garth. We had to wait in line for the wristband, went back to get a place in line. Harvey ended up 8th in line and he was the last person at that location to get tickets. This was for Garth's final concert in 1998 at Reed Arena, Texas A&M University. Garth ended up adding 3 or 4 additional shows to that venue prior to the announced "last show."

So, now that I've bored you with my story about getting Garth tickets, let me show you the first layout I've completed. This is the left page - the right page is just going to have scans of all of our tickets and I haven't printed them off of the ticketmaster site yet.

I created svgs to cut the circle G logo, the Garth silhouette, music notes and the guitar. The strip at the bottom of the page is printed with a marquee type font - can't remember which one - then inked with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Antique Linen. I turned a small section of sheet music for "Unanswered Prayers" to sepia tone, printed it on matte photo paper and tore the edges. Papers are from The Paper Loft and Cosmo Cricket - some old stuff I had on hand.

SVGs used on Vintage Photo Layout

NOTICE: Please go to the SVG tab at the top of my blog for important information regarding SVG downloads. 

I have a couple of necessary tweaks to the files and zipped all of the svgs into one .zip file for ease of downloading.

Here is a view of everything included in this download:

Presenting Princess Natalie and Prince Daniel!

A Layout TWO days in the making

I spent yesterday working on creating svgs and picking out papers for this layout of pictures of the grandkids dressed up for the vintage look photos. I had lots of thoughts in my head and I just couldn't decide what I wanted to do.

Probably the biggest challenge I faced was coming up with some type of decorative mat for the 5x7 photos. I ended up starting with an svg from svgcuts.com and modifying it to suit my needs. The svg is one of the 12x12 designs from the Mrs. Robinson collection but I modified it to remove the word Love, the flowers, the frames and then resized the remaining solid piece to fit the photos I had. I also removed the vertical bars since I had a vertical stripe pattern paper.

The hats, gloves, tie, suitcase, and vintage camera are my designs. Forgive the bad pic of the layout - lighting wasn't great but didn't feel like scanning and stitching all the sections tonight. I still have some work to do to get the files ready to upload but if you are interested in any of the items, check back tomorrow or Tuesday and I should have them up.

Halloween Costumes

I've been playing with fabric instead of paper for the past week - making the grandkids their Halloween costumes. Just finished Natalie's and have them boxed to ship - on my way to FEDEX but thought I'd take a minute to share a picture of the completed costumes first.

A few kitchen themed cut files

NOTICE: Please go to the SVG tab at the top of my blog for important information regarding SVG downloads. 

Finally getting to the bottom of my scrapbook desk and getting this room organized - in doing so, I found a few kitchen items that I had cut but haven't posted yet. These are part of my kitchen collection that I did over a year ago. I haven't cut all of the files yet - I will post more as I have a chance to test cut more of them.




No pictures of the cut files to share but I know they cut well because I have used them on a layout. (I can't share the layout as it contains pics of a nephew that I do not have permission to post).

I have a bunch of other items in this collection - if there is something in particular you are looking for, leave me a comment and if I have it, I'll try to get it cut and posted. In addition to cookware, utensils, etc., I also have quite a few food items that I created as well.

Hope someone can find a use for some of these!

Do I or Don't I?

I've been pondering this new Cricut Imagine machine - trying to decide if it is right for me. My Cricut Expression works just fine and cuts everything I ask of it so I don't NEED the Imagine. For the most part, I prefer multi-layer cuts so I design my own and cut using SCAL. I'm assuming I would not be able to use SCAL with the Imagine so I would have to keep both machines.

Anyone have the Imagine yet? Other than being able to basically make a colored die-cut image, what are the great things you've been able to do with it? Would love to see some examples if anyone has some - post a link below if you have Imagine projects to share!

It's almost the Weekend!

Have to work tonight - I close so won't get off until around 8:30. As soon as I get home, we are headed out to meet-up with Jenn, Tom and the kids for the weekend. We are meeting in Clarksville, IN so that tomorrow we can take the kids to the pumpkin patch. We lived at Fort Knox, KY for several years when the kids were younger and used to take our kids to the same farm - I even took my scout troops there. In addition to the pumpkin patch, they have a petting zoo, corn maze, pony rides, a big slide, a small "mining" operation, mini-tractors for the kids to ride, etc. They offer a traditional farm market selling seasonal fruits/veggies. They also have an on-site bakery, ice-cream shop, winery and deli. Saturday, they are even featuring live music on the patio. The farm we are visiting is Huber Orchard and Winery in Starlight, IN.

The weather is forecast for mid 70's and no rain so it should be a much more enjoyable visit than last time. 3 years ago the temps were pushing 90 - and we all got a bit of heat exhaustion from being out all day in the sun.

After dinner, we are planning to cross the bridge into Louisville in order to go to the Louisville Science Center - another place we used to take our kids when we lived in the area. It's a science museum that features a lot of interactive activities for kids - I know many cities offer something similar.

Taking my new camera and hopefully will get lots of great pics.

Have a great weekend!

Cricut Mats

I don't know about all of you, but I have been very disappointed in the stickiness of my Cricut Mats. Half the time they don't seem very sticky when I buy them and they surely don't stay sticky very long. I've tried the washing and letting it air dry trick - it cleans the fibers and stuff off the mat and helps for a while but really doesn't restore the sticky. Same with the baby wipe trick.

As for trying to apply new adhesive, I've tried the wide 2-way Zig adhesive but it was hard to get a nice even coat - seemed like I got too much on and ended up ruining a mat. Then, I tried taping off the edges and using a repositionable spray adhesive - this gave a pretty good result but was messy.

Last week one day, browsing various forums, I found another method and it has produced, BY FAR, the best result. It's economical - 4.99 for the glue, you mix 50/50 with water and since it is thin, you don't use much. You can paint it on with one of those cheap disposable foam brushes and it is easy to get just the right amount. I did one mat as a test on Saturday night. I cut all day Sunday on it, did the Nurses cuts this morning, and IT IS STILL STICKY! What is this miracle glue? Aleene's Tack-It Over and Over. Here's the video.

Nurses Call the Shots

NOTICE: Please go to the SVG tab at the top of my blog for important information regarding SVG downloads. 

I am posting a file this morning as the result of a request on the Craft Edge Forum. I made this last year as a special request. I took the time this morning to cut this before posting it so I am sharing a pic of the cut file below. Pardon the roughness of some of the cuts - I need to get some new blades for my Cricut. I cut a lot of glitter cardstock this weekend and it sure seems to kill the blades quickly.

Need to get some pics of my SIL in her nurse garb so I can use this!

Pics of previously shared files

I finally got some of my desk cleared off and found a couple of the layouts I promised to share - not the greatest pics but you can get the idea of how they look in use. The links will take you to the original post that includes the link to download.

Here is the Under Construction layout:


And, this is the We've Got Spirit layout:

Teapot Card

NOTICE: Please go to the SVG tab at the top of my blog for important information regarding SVG downloads. 

My grand daughter loves tea parties so I thought this card might be the perfect choice for her next birthday party invite. (Don't mind the mess - going to get it cleaned eventually!)

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Snap Lock Beads

NOTICE: Please go to the SVG tab at the top of my blog for important information regarding SVG downloads. 

I made these by hand for a layout before I got my Cricut - these are sure much neater and more uniform than the ones that I hand cut. There are 4 different bead shapes in this download.

Doesn't every child play with these at some point?

Cheer Uniform

NOTICE: Please go to the SVG tab at the top of my blog for important information regarding SVG downloads. 

Just a basic uniform - the letters are the ones I used for my daughter's school but you can easily change them to suit whatever school you need.

School Spirit

NOTICE: Please go to the SVG tab at the top of my blog for important information regarding SVG downloads. 

This file was created for some of my daughter's HS pics - I kept this file very generic so that anyone could use it simply by changing paper colors when you cut.

This is another file that I have actually used - just need to find the layout and take a pic of it. Maybe tonight. There is also a cheer leader uniform that would be a perfect compliment to this set. I'll try to find that one and post as well - since it is FOOTBALL season!

(edited to add picture 10/10/10)

Anyone a Vera Bradley fan?

NOTICE: Please go to the SVG tab at the top of my blog for important information regarding SVG downloads. 

My daughter lives in Fort Wayne, IN - the home of Vera Bradley. She attends the annual outlet sale and last year her sister and I went up to go as well. Had to make a file to commemorate that trip. I've cut this but haven't used it yet. As I'm cleaning up in the scrapbook room, I will find and share the cut image - or maybe I'll make a quick layout!

Under Construction

NOTICE: Please go to the SVG tab at the top of my blog for important information regarding SVG downloads. 

I made this file in honor of my Uncle Lew when he passed away. He was a self-employed contractor for most of his life. I have a layout completed using this file and will try to find it and take a picture to share.

On my layout, I did not use the individual letters for the title - I opted instead to use the reverse, stencil portion from the cut. It worked better for my layout (and I didn't have to deal with all the little pieces!) My layout includes pictures of our house as it was when I looked at it and made the decision to purchase it - very much "Under Construction."

(edited to add picture 10/10/10)

My one and only adventure in Vinyl

NOTICE: Please go to the SVG tab at the top of my blog for important information regarding SVG downloads. 

I saw this quote and just had to make my own version of it!

Rubber Duckie

NOTICE: Please go to the SVG tab at the top of my blog for important information regarding SVG downloads. 

I think these elements and the resulting layout are some of my all time favorites.

Fall Leaves & Acorn Border

NOTICE: Please go to the SVG tab at the top of my blog for important information regarding SVG downloads. 

I used this file on the layout below - I just cut it apart and positioned it as I needed it.