Friday Picks

Here I am at the end of another week of surfing, tweeting and blog hopping, so my best finds are linked below for you. A shorter list this week, but all good stuff! In no particular order, and some not directly related to scrapbooking:


#1 If you are a fan of Page Maps Sketches, you probably already know there is a new book out. Here's how you can win a free copy!


#2 This tutorial for making perfect pumpkins is quick, easy and the results look great!


#3 Finding Time to Scrapbook: Four Tips to Getting Your Pages Done by Lain Ehmann. Short article, great tips.


#4 A thoughtful blog post over at Simple Organized Living on the value of time vs. money.


#5 Any article that starts with "Need a kick in the mojo?" has my attention, but there are plenty of other reasons to read 8 Ways Handmade Cards Can Give You Ideas for Scrapbook Pages. 


Hoping to take care of lots of household chores today, because we have something special planned for Saturday. More on that next week!

Grandma's Kitchen

Can you picture your grandmother's kitchen? What kind of memories do you recall? Phil and I had a conversation at lunch the other day that helped me put together this layout. His grandmother died before we started dating, and I regret that I never got to meet her. But it's so much fun to have Phil's words and these photos to try and piece together what she was like. First, the collage of photos and paper, then the background.

 And the final result.

Design: Creative Scrappers

Cardstock: white, Core'dinations Cosmo Cricket Classics Collection

Patterned Paper & Embellishments: Basic Grey Pyrus

Journaling: Basic Grey Basics Kraft Label Sticker

Lettering: October Afternoon Mini Market Stickers, Basic Grey Pyrus

I journaled a simple list of Phil's memories: wood stove, fresh-squeezed lemonade, homemade noodles, recliner (yes, in the kitchen, by the wood stove) and blanching chickens (which Phil said usually made him leave the kitchen). What would your list look like?

Friendship

Isn't it wonderful to have a few close friends? Friends you've known for many years, shared tears and laughter with, and can just be yourself around because they fit you like a comfortable pair of jeans. They know your faults and quirks and are still your friends! The two ladies with me in this layout fall into that category. Just wanted to create a page featuring the photos Phil took one day when we were being silly.

Design: My Little Sketch Blook

Cardstock: blue, black, Basic Grey Basics Manilla

Patterned Paper, Embellishments, Title: Basic Grey Pyrus

Here's how this came together. I created a collage of photos, paper and a journaling circle. Mounted the focal point photo on black cardstock to help it stand out.

Chose a simple, light background and put the two together.

Next came two things I rarely do: 1) place embellishments before adding the title, and 2) use a ginormous piece of chipboard. (note to self: start saving room on layouts for ginormous pieces of chipboard)

I placed the embellishments in a visual triangle first to see how much room I had left for my title, then decided to go with a simple title and call it done. I still want to do something with more journaling about what their friendship means to me, but that can wait for another day.

Side note: my husband saw the giant piece of chipboard and wondered if I had done it with my Slice, except he said, "Did you cut that thingy with your cutter thingy?" I love that man!

Tossing Eggs

The annual Harvest Festival at our church is a day of fellowship, food and fun. The Egg Toss Contest is always a favorite, and we're a pretty competitive bunch. This layout shows how Phil and I got out of the mess in 2009: he declared himself the Official Egg Toss Photographer! (and I "assisted") Pretty sneaky. Here's how my page came together, using a bright color scheme of blue, green and orange.

Design: Sassy Lil' Sketches

Patterned Paper: We R Memory Keepers Vintage Blue

Who says kids should have all the fun? If you call breaking raw eggs all over your clothes a fun time...


You've still got until October 31st to enter this month's challenge over at Scrapbookers Anonymous! The challenge is to use a minimum of 3 different patterned papers from 3 different manufacturers. That's not too hard! The goodies for the winner are 6x6 packs of Basic Grey paper - well worth the effort!

Down to the Wire

Just a quick post this Friday afternoon to make the deadline on a couple sketch challenges! Both are from the Pencil Lines 4th Birthday Celebration last weekend. First, sketch 47 followed by book sketch. All the sketches were really nice, but with a 1-week deadline, two were the most I could manage.

I used Basic Grey's Pyrus line for both layouts. Really enjoying this paper right now and I've got lots left! Think I bought just about all the embellishment options, too. Overkill, I know, but embellishments are my weakness.

Now I've got some grocery shopping to do before I settle in for an evening of scrapping. Hope your weekend is wonderful!

Friday Picks

Ah yes, another week spent surfing, tweeting and blog hopping. Here again for  your pleasure are some of my best finds. In no particular order, and some not even remotely related to scrapbooking:


#1 My sister put this YouTube video on her Facebook page. It's less than 2 minutes, there are puppies, and at the end you will ask yourself, "Really, how did he do this?"


#2 Love the new format over at Practical Scrappers - especially this post about using black and white photos and this post about a favorite manufacturer. Great info and beautiful layouts!


#3 Nine Quick Tips to Identify Clutter: I am tempted to forward this one to my husband. 


#4 If you are a card maker and fan of Core'dinations cardstock,  check out this new book, 175 Fresh Card Ideas. Looks like a winner!


#5 Great article over at Get It Scrapped! 5 Questions to Ask When Selecting Colors for a Scrapbook Page




Busy weekend ahead, but it's a good busy. Should be able to get in some scrapping. Hope you can, too!

No Place Like Home

Over at The Studio Challenges, a recent challenge topic was "home", as in create a page featuring your home.  I believe the idea for my layout came from a past issue of Creating Keepsakes: capture a screen shot from MapQuest and pair it with glimpses of home.

I have a section in one of my scrapbook albums about everyday life at home, and this is the opening page. A simple layout, really, but one of my favorites.

Organizing Sketches & Challenges, Part 2

Yesterday's post dealt with blogs that reveal their sketches or challenges on certain days of the week. Today, here are the sites that reveal sketches or challenges on certain dates of the month. Some will appear more than once if they reveal on more than one date.

Date - Site - Due Date

1st - Challenge Heaven - due at the end of the month

1st - Inspired Blueprints - due at the end of the month

1st - Scrapbookers Anonymous - due at the end of the month

1st - Stuck?! - due at the end of the month

7th - Sassy Lil' Sketches - due first Friday of the next month
14th - Sassy Lil' Sketches - due first Friday of the next month
15th - Get Picky - due on the 28th

15th - Inspired Blueprints - due at the end of the month

15th - Sketchabilities - due on the 10th of the next month

15th - Stuck?! - due at the end of the month

21st - Sassy Lil' Sketches - due first Friday of the next month

28th - Sassy Lil' Sketches - due first Friday of the next month

30th - Get Picky - due on the 13th of the following month

30th - Sketchabilities - due on the 10th of the next month

last day of the month - Kraft It Up - due at the end of the next month

last day of the month - Page Maps - due at the end of the next month

Please let me know if I made any errors. Some sites are very good about clearly posting this information, others not so much. I have one folder in my Google Reader for date reveals and now I know when a site is due to post a reveal. If a blog that reveals on the 1st has something posted on the 5th, for example, I know it is something else. This helps me prioritize when time is limited.

Once again, all of these are listed in my side bar under Sketch & Challenge Blogs. Here's how I organize. There are basically two kinds of due dates: weekly and monthly.

Weekly Due Dates: If I think there's a good chance I'll use the sketch or challenge to scrap a layout in the next 7 days, I immediately print it out, label it and take it downstairs to my scraproom. Otherwise, it just stays in Google Reader.

Monthly Due Dates: I like these so much better because I have more time to get them done! But I have way too many to realistically do more than a few each month and prefer to print only those I absolutely intend to do. But I love having all those choices! So here's where it gets a little techie. I save them all into Evernote, which is also synced to my iPod. I take my iPod down to my scraproom and have everything at my fingertips. Those of you who have a computer and printer in your scraproom have it made!


Clear as mud? If you've read both this post and yesterday's post, congratulations and thank you! I promise to be back with scrapbook layouts very soon!

Organizing Sketches & Challenges

I'll admit it. I am addicted to sketch and challenge sites, but if you've followed my blog for any length of time you already know that. I have so many in my Google Reader, it's getting very confusing. So I sat down and made myself a few little charts. They've proven helpful, so maybe they will enable help you. First, here are the sites that reveal sketches or challenges on certain days of the week.


Sunday Reveals
Creative Scrappers - due at the end of the month
My Little Sketch Blook - due at the end of the month
Pencil Lines - due at the end of the month
Sketch Inspiration - due the following Saturday
The Studio Challenges - due at the end of the month
Wednesday Reveals
Let's Scrap - due the following Tuesday
Thursday Reveals
Sketches in Thyme - due the following Wednesday
Sketchy Thursdays - due the following Wednesday
Friday Reveals
Let's Capture These Sketches - due at the end of the month
The Color Room - due the following Thursday


I hope I got it all correct. Some sites are very good about clearly posting this information, others not so much. Now I have folders in my Google Reader for these days and each blog in the appropriate day of the week. I know when a site is due to post a reveal. If a Sunday reveal blog has a post on Tuesday, I know it is something else. This helps me prioritize when time is tight. Who am I kidding? Time is always tight.

All of these are listed in my side bar under Sketch & Challenge Blogs, so I'm taking the lazy way out and not putting links in this post. Please forgive me.

My next post will be a list of Sketch and Challenge sites that post on a certain date of the month. I'll also give a glimpse into how I organize all this information to use in my scraproom, which is 2 floors down from my computer.

Happy Monday!

Giveaway Winner

A big thanks to all of my followers and commenters. You are a big reason blogging is so much fun! I am happy to announce the winner of my first giveaway. That winner is:

     downtheroad said...

     Just followed! Great giveaway! :)d

Congratulations! Please email me with your mailing address and I will get the books out to you ASAP!

Giveaway Update

In less than one week, I have 30+ followers! Welcome to my new followers and a big thank you to everyone who follows my blog and leaves comments! I will leave my giveaway open over the weekend and pick the winner on Monday morning. It's not too late to enter!

You are welcome to leave a comment here of course, but it will not enter you in the giveaway. You need to become a follower and leave your comment on the My First Giveaway post to be entered!


Happy weekend!

Design Team Excitement

There is a new challenge site, Scrapbookers Anonymous, and I applied for their Design Team Call.  They supplied the sketch from Liz Qualman and instructed applicants to use 3 different patterned papers from 3 different manufacturers.  We were encouraged to use older paper from our stash, which I did. Here was my entry:

Patterned Paper: Making Memories, Reminisce, Sweetwater (all older papers)

Title: Slice Design Card: Turkey Daze

Star Embellishments: Basic Grey Basics, Slice Design Card: Applique

And guess what? I was invited to be a member of the Design Team! My sidebar now contains a new blinky and list of Design Team members. All their blogs are inspiring! And be sure to check out Scrapbookers Anonymous. They have some great stash-consuming challenges coming in the next several months!


Friday Picks will return next week. I just couldn't wait to share my exciting news!


If you decide to become a follower of my blog, thank you very much! Don't forget to go to this post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway.

My Birthday, My Style

Since I celebrate a birthmonth, which means a party can break out at any time during July, my actual birthday is usually a quiet affair. Even my (gulp) 50th, being on a Tuesday this year, was no exception. Phil took the day off and we just hung out, enjoying a beautiful day being together.  I call that perfect.

Design: Challenge Heaven Sketch

Patterned Paper: October Afternoon Thrift Shop

Transparency Overlays: Ali Edwards Days & Months

If you decide to become a follower of my blog, thank you very much! Don't forget to go to this post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway.

My First Giveaway

I greatly appreciate everyone who follows my blog and leaves comments. So I'd like to say thank you and offer a little incentive. When I reach 30 followers, one of those followers will receive these 3 items, absolutely free:

These 3 books represent the best of both worlds; the tactile nature of paper scrapping and a chance to dip your toes into the world of digital scrapping.  If you have a computer, a printer, Photoshop Elements and Microsoft Word, you're all set! (You can download a free 30-day trial of Photoshop Elements from adobe.com.) Topics covered include photographs, type, text, paper, embellishments, design and albums.  You'll see well over 100 hybrid layouts and learn simple lessons using digital elements. The Paper and Pixels book includes a bonus CD with 10 exclusive scrapbook kits so you can re-create the artwork in the book. All this just for clicking the Follow button in my sidebar! How easy is that!


If you become a follower, please post a comment below to enter the giveaway. If you are already a follower, just post a comment below to enter.  When I reach 30 followers, I will choose a random number and that comment number will receive the prize!

Wonderful Weekend

Any time spent with our son and daughter in-law is wonderful indeed. I'm sure these photos will end up on a scrapbook page eventually, but it's fun to share a few thoughts while the memories are fresh. First, their spunky and photogenic cat, A.J., is getting bigger and more personable all the time.

We couldn't help noticing how Andrew and Jennifer organize their books. First time I've ever seen it done by size and color. But what should I expect from a graphic designer and an artist? They are really pleased with this arrangement!

The weather was so beautiful, we even managed to squeeze in a little friendly but competitive putt-putt, Ryder Cup style. Team Male beat Team Female by only 4 strokes, but Phil admits he may have added wrong. We'll let this one slide.

Hope your weekend was as wonderful! I'm getting caught up today around the house and online, checking blogs and writing posts. I have some fun planned for tomorrow!

Friday Picks

After another week spent surfing, tweeting and blog hopping, here again are some of my best finds. In no particular order, and not all directly related to scrapbooking:

#1 I signed up for Nic Howard's latest class at Big Picture Classes, Colour! Or is it Color?, using the 10% off link and coupon code from the Paperclipping Roundtable. I'm looking forward to taking this class with some fellow bloggers! There's pre-class material, so I'd recommend signing up soon.

#2 As Andrea was blogging about My Dream House; My Farmhouse, I found myself fantasizing right along with her. Not that I don't love my own home, but these photos are wonderful!


#3 A sketch site that insists on the use of kraft paper? Count me in; I order kraft paper in bulk!


#4 The new Bo Bunny Midnight Frost line almost makes me excited for winter. It does make me totally excited to scrap great winter photos.


#5 And this new collection from My Mind's Eye looks like that perfect combination of colorful yet subtle that I absolutely love.


#6 Allison Davis was kind enough to feature one of my layouts on her blog this week. Love her sketch books and the Sketch Week feature on her blog!


#7 Did some serious updating to the sidebar of my blog. Happy Surfing!


We'll be spending time this weekend with our son and daughter in-law. Really looking forward to that. I didn't get much scrapping done this week and don't expect to accomplish much over the weekend, so next week could be a little sparse for posts. But I'll be back at it soon!

Seasons of Sports, Seasons of Life

Do you ever feel like your life revolves around the kids and their sports schedules?  Would it help if I told you it won't always be like that? Would you believe me if I told you that you might even miss it a little bit? The photos on this layout are all at least 10+ years old. They bring to mind a very busy time in our lives, but also many happy memories.

Journaling reads: "The passing of time was measured by Andrew's sports seasons - and we enjoyed every game!"

Design: Sassy Lil' Sketches

Patterned Paper: Basic Grey Kioshi

We've moved on to an empty nest, different activities and interests. Most of the time we're just as busy. We're happy to be at this place in life and thankful for the blessing of our grown son and his wife.

I'm in Love with My Car

In our household, buying a car is a long, drawn-out process and usually involves at least one minor argument. Indecision reigns. But this time, the reward for all our trouble was well worth it, in my opinion. Our 2008 Mercury Mountaineer is fun to drive and has a few bells and whistles, like dual climate control, that feel positively luxurious. So naturally I had to make a layout. Photos and paper first:

 And the finished product.

Design: Sassy Lil' Sketches

Patterned Paper: Bo Bunny Sophie

Embellishments: Tim Holtz Sprocket Gears

We got the Mountaineer, our son got Phil's 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis and Andrew's 1995 Neon (formerly ours, too) was donated to his church. Andrew learned to drive in that Neon, so it was a bit sad to see it go, like the end of an era. But it was time. Do you ever look at older photos, see a car you or your family once owned, and the memories come flooding back?

Friday Picks

Once again, I spent a good part of my week surfing, tweeting and blog hopping, so here are some of my best finds. In no particular order, and not all directly related to scrapbooking:

#1 Yet another challenge site called Get Picky is getting ready to start up. Each month they will be posting a sketch challenge and an inspiration based challenge for multi-photo layouts, with prizes up for grabs and an opportunity to guest design.


#2 Basic Grey Product Videos feature the newest lines from one of my favorite companies. Can't wait to get my hands on Curio!


#3 8 Tips for Getting Your Home Ready for Fall. Easy, practical, beautiful.


#4 Sir Scrapalot Designs offers these tips for Using Patterned Paper as Backgrounds. Looks like there's lots of good tips on this site.


Looking forward to a relaxing weekend getting things done around the house and watching college football. I love fall!!