Merry Christmas from Our House to Yours

This LO is of our Christmas Tree. Each year my DH and DS put up the tree. I love how beautiful it is each year. The ornament that I featured is one that we got at the Grotto here in Portland, Oregon. This is the only LO I have completed this month. We have been so busy. I wish you joy, peace and happiness this holiday season! May you prosper in the New Year!

Contest Extended at Sketches: Creatively Yours!!!!

The contest featuring Gina Rahman's Digi Stamp "Cat and mouse" and Ann Seleshanko's Card Sketch has been extended by 7 days until Dec 14th, Monday, at 12 midnight EST to allow you a bit more time to get your fabulous entries in!

Remember you have a chance at a fun and useful, earth-friendly prize: a set of Gina's Digi Stamps in the versatile "Cute Kitty" Collection! So go-go-go and get 'em done then send 'em in!

Just to clarify: Remember cards, tags, mini albums, altered tins or other items etc... are acceptable as LONG as they INCORPORATE the DIGI STAMP Frreebie by Gina, and also Ann's SKETCH!

Sketches: Creatively Yours: CONTEST EXTENDED!!!!

Sketches: Creatively Yours: CONTEST EXTENDED!!!!: "CONTEST EXTENDED!!!!

The contest featuring Gina Rahman's Digi Stamp 'Cat and mouse' and Ann Seleshanko's Card Sketch has been extended by 7 days until Dec 14th, Monday, at 12 midnight EST to allow you a bit more time to get your fabulous entries in!

Remember you have a chance at a fun and useful, earth-friendly prize: a set of Gina's Digi Stamps in the versatile 'Cute Kitty' Collection! So go-go-go and get 'em done then send 'em in!

Just to clarify: Remember cards, tags, mini albums, altered tins or other items etc... are acceptable as LONG as they INCORPORATE the DIGI STAMP Frreebie by Gina, and also Ann's SKETCH!"

Sketches: Creatively Yours: CONTEST EXTENDED!!!!

Sketches: Creatively Yours: CONTEST EXTENDED!!!!: "CONTEST EXTENDED!!!!

The contest featuring Gina Rahman's Digi Stamp 'Cat and mouse' and Ann Seleshanko's Card Sketch has been extended by 7 days until Dec 14th, Monday, at 12 midnight EST to allow you a bit more time to get your fabulous entries in!

Remember you have a chance at a fun and useful, earth-friendly prize: a set of Gina's Digi Stamps in the versatile 'Cute Kitty' Collection! So go-go-go and get 'em done then send 'em in!

Just to clarify: Remember cards, tags, mini albums, altered tins or other items etc... are acceptable as LONG as they INCORPORATE the DIGI STAMP Frreebie by Gina, and also Ann's SKETCH!

All info is HERE."

Sketches: Creatively Yours Digi Freebie!

Sketches Creatively Yours is having a Digi Card Contest sponsored by Your Special Delivery!

The free cat and mouse stamp is on S:CY here is the link:
http://creativelyyourssketches.blogspot.com/
Create a card using this free digi stamp.
Then leave a comment on the Sketches: Creatively Yours blog and leave your blog address for us to visit your beautiful creation.
Also if you visit S:CY and leave comments through out this contest and mention my name I will be in the DT Most Referrals contest!
Any one who creates a card will also be in the drawing for the 4 Adorable Kitty digi Stamp Set!
The contest ends December 6th!
The winner will be announced on the 9th at Sketches: Creatively Yours.
Hope you will be able to join us!!

The 100th Blog Post and RAK!!!!!!

Blog post 100. This should be something important, momentous even.
I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has encouraged me in my hobby of scrapbooking. First and foremost my husband and son. They are the tirelessly photographed subject of many a layout. Oh, and Onyx, our lovely pink collared and red pedipawed cat! Then all the gals from FSS and the Pink Tiara gals on sb.com. You are all wonderful friends. Thanks to Kristen and all of the people at Serendipity Scrapbooks, my second family. Then to MarKay, my BFF, thanks for letting me introduce you to scrapbooking and card making.

I want to also acknowledge those who have pushed me along creatively by welcoming me onto their design teams. Faith Sisters, BW Scrapbooking, Scrappy Jo's, Serendipity Scrapbooks, Scrapbuck.com, CraftSassy.com, Scrap Around the Clock Challenge Blog and Sketches: Creatively Yours.

Thanks to all of you! I am going to provide a RAK to a lucky follower. Between today and the 15th of December, I would like you to lift one of my LOs. Post a comment here with a link to your gallery and I will check it out. One lucky person will win a RAK from me! Thanks for following me!

'Tis The Season

First of all, thanks to Jane for the Blog Award! It is my first one and I am over the moon!
Tomorrow, I am on my way to Washington DC to speak at the National Institutes of Health. I am looking forward to it! I will be back Wednesday evening. Whew!
It is my last trip before the holidays, so I am going to enjoy it and then cherish my time at home.
This weekend, I made a few cards at the holiday crop at Serendipity Scrapbooks. There are some really great ideas posted at the web site. They will be up until after the holidays, so check out some of the tips! Becky Fleck made an exclusive sketch for Serendipity. It really captures the holiday feel. I made a card and a layout with the sketch. I love it when I catch Mr. P being helpful!
Have a wonderful week!

TAG! You're It!!!!

Over at Sketches: Creatively Yours Ali posted a fun Tag sketch. I did mine for a Thanksgiving hostess gift tag. I am really inspired to make some Christmas tags to get ready for the holidays! While I am cleaning up from all the glimmer mist around this place, I hope all of you have a phenomenal week!

Sketches: Creatively Yours

I am so honored to have been asked to be on the design team for Sketches: Creatively Yours! The first sketch I got to work with was this weeks challenge, Sketch #24. It was wonderfully challenging.
For my LO, I continued to use the fabulous Indian Summer papers by Basic Grey. I did a hand stitched swirl in the corner using DMC floss! I love how it came out. The photos were taken a few weeks ago when we had fat-free hot dogs and marshmallows for dinner, roasted over our baja oven! It was such a fun time, even though it was chilly! I am looking forward to more fun fall and winter events to show you!

Taking One for Team Jacob

I was lucky enough to spend four days in La Push last month. Here are some of the spectacular photos that you can get if you are fortunate enough to spend time there!
For this LO I chose Basic Grey Indian Summer patterned papers. The largest is 12 x 12, the second is 11 x 11 and the third is 10 x 10. I simply layered each on top of the next. I added a Basic Grey sticker embellishment across the center of the layout at 6 inches (or the middle of the paper). The photos were placed using the Tim Holtz clear ruler. I centered them from the middle of the page leaving 1/4 inch between the photos vertically and horizontally. Each photograph is 4 x 4 inches. Third was the title work. The top set of letters are white glitter letters from AC Thicker, the middle are vintage silver glitter letters, and the bottom are the Basic Grey Indian Summer letter stickers. Finally, I accented the upper left corner with flowers from Maya Road, that I got from their warehouse sale.

Thanks for taking a look and have a wonderful week.

Newly Discovered Information and Some Other Important Facts!

I have been on the road for the last two weeks for my job - home on weekends. The first week was to La Push and the Quileute Tribe! Yes for all you Twilight fans for real and it was work and no I am not in the movie industry! And then last week I was in Albuquerque, NM. It snowed in NM, yes snow. Meanwhile with all of this travel, I check out the TSA web site about scrapbook stuff.
Yes you can take your scissors, as long as they are not too long. I didn't believe this, but I checked with the guys at the Portland airport and they said yes. They also seemed to think that I wasn't the menacing type. They said I would be "crafting".
Also, the sewing kits at the Garden Inn in Albuquerque have little tiny scissors! Great for distressing, never mind the sewing. I was able to complete a mini by taking stuff along on the plane. On the first flight someone had the same bag as me and I though how funny it would be if they got mixed up and he took the mini I made for a contest as Serendipity Scrapbooks home as a surprise in his suitcase! Tee-hee....
Have a great week everyone!

Son Shine - IMHO

IMHO, I have a wonderful son. Not perfect, but perfectly wonderful. This last week was his school jog-a-thon, where he ran/walked 3.7 miles. I did this LO of him using a sketch from Sketches: Creatively Yours. I used sketch #20, which I really love.
These photos were from our beach vacation. I love not only how happy he looks, but that jump of joy! I am blessed to be a mom.
The papers for this LO are American Craft and SEI, Ink: SEI, Ribbon: Unknown, Buttons and felt are from Chatterbox.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope that each of you has a wonderful, joyfilled, and creative week!

It is Fall!

I am so excited, fall is my absolute favorite season! I love the leaves changing colors and the cool crisp mornings. It also reminds me that Halloween is near. Our cat, Onyx, would love to be a scary black cat, but she was blessed by being black and white. In fact, her inner black cat is rarely seen. She is such a sweet cat, very affectionate. And rather than being scary, she tends to be the scare-e. She is a little bit jumpy! (She actually reminds me a little bit of me....). I did two layouts of her. "Cat in the Bag" is based on a sketch available at Serendipity Scrapbooks by Susan S. Susan is the most amazing scrapbooker around. She has such creative techniques and now she is doing sketches too! AWESOME news!!!!!
Appropriately I used a lot of ink on these, I love the Color Box fluid chalk in charcoal. It really adds some scary distress to these pages!

Faith - Swirlydoos October Kit

I just started getting the kits at Swirlydoos and what a kit! For this layout I used items in the kit. What was added? My cream lace and the decoration on the flower.
I made the angel face with a polymer clay mold. After it was baked and cooled, I used Krylon gold spray paint and painted it. I also made the wings from those wonderful paperbark maple seeds that are flying around my neighborhood. I painted them with the gold paint. They also work great with glimmer mist as well. To further the artistic look of this layout, I printed the photos on watercolor paper. I altered the circle in PSE to sepia tone and a softer look.
Thanks for coming over and taking a look! Have a wonderful week!

Ad This

I am lucky enough to be the guest designer on Ad This, this week!
Here is my LO.
I used Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Patina on DCWV Spring Stack (2009). I used punched card stock flower shapes as the "mask". The ad that I was using was for Absolut Vodka and was Raspberry Pink with touches of bright yellow. I decided to go for a blue theme, instead. I loved all the shapes in the ad and used not only the flowers but some paisleys made of chip board from my stash. Hope you enjoy it and check out the Ad This Blog! http://adthis.blogspot.com/2009/09/august-14th-ad-guest-designer.html

Last Days of Summer

Back from vacation and celebrating the last days of summer. Tomorrow Preston starts third grade. Where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday we rolled him up in a blanket and rolled him across the bed to each other - oh wait, that was Clark Griswold. We are back from our Vacation and ready for the fall.

I have a lot of vacation photographs to be scrapping. My next project, however, is a mini for James and Noriko, who bought the house in Everett. They are a delightful young couple and "need" a mini of photos of the house being built. I am starting that project tonight.

The LO that I posted today is of Seaside OR. I designed the background patterned paper using PSE and royalty free clip art from Dover Publications. Following the design of the paper, I printed it at Craft Sassy. I love having the option of designing my own paper. I then hand cut the shape of the paper and mounted it on card stock. The rest of the design is completed with embellishments.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek! Have a great week!

Vacation!!!!!

I am so excited! We are on vacation!!! This is the first two week vacation I have taken other than our massive road trip, when Preston was 4. I am out collecting photographs and ideas to put into vacation minis and LOs when I return! I have missed scrapping for the last three weeks! See you soon!

Fun at Lila's Scrapbooking - Everett, WA

Some of you know that I grew up in Everett, Washington. I have such fond memories of Everett and my time at Cascade High School (GO BRUINS!). When I was recently up in Marysville, I had an opportunity to meet up with my on-line pal, Elisa K. She told me about Lila's in South Everett. Lila's place is literally 1/2 mile from the house I grew up in. So, we met there.....

Seldom do I just walk around a store and pick and chose for one LO. I knew I had these bird photos at home, so I decided to do a zoo themed LO while I was visiting in the store.

This LO takes two pieces of Core-dinations card stock, three patterned paper, a palm tree chipboard embellishment, chalk in tea green, a chip board title and some Grunge Board photo holders.

I hand cut the background shapes using a shaped patterned paper as my template. I trimmed the inner patterned paper about 1/8 inch smaller than the original size and distressed and chalked the edges. Lila had the pp with the leaves cut out. The only change I made was that I took a corner punch (which I had in my car) and used it to punch the border scallop at the top. I found the super fun tree in my "walk about". I changed it up by tying the string (from the packaging) around the trunk.

The other huge advantage at Lila's was the air conditioning! I love that she has make and takes and a huge space for classes! All good reasons to support your LSS! Think about it!

Serendipity August Altered Kit - The Beachest!!!

I really love this kit from Serendipity. I had the most fun! This album features pictures from Seaside Oregon. I added Crackle Paint, Stickles and loads of ink to really give it a "beachy" feeling. Enjoy!

Paper Lace Technique at Serendipity

Today I posted a tutorial at Serendipity Scrapbooks on making paper lace. On this LO I used paper lace, new lace and vintage lace. The patterned papers are all the Basic Grey Lemonade line, which I love. I also mixed and matched AC Thickers letters, since I have lots of odds and ends of letters. Check out the tutorial and watch for a mini album tutorial soon here!

Fun On-Line Store and Blog!

My newest find is Scrapbook Deals 4 You . I just recently completed a challenge for their blog.

Five things I really like about their store and blog are:
1. They have super Tutorials,
2. Cute kits at a reasonable pirce,
3. Fun challenges
4. Friendly members, and
5. The fun blog!

Take a peek and let me know what you think!

From Daily Living

From items in our everyday life can come scrapbooking inspiration.
Core’dinations is having an everything but the kitchen sink challenge. "For this challenge we want you to grab something that is NOT a traditional scrapbooking tool. It could be something from the kitchen, the basement, or anything that will give you a cool effect (i.e., sanding over it, embossing it into the cardstock, dragging it over the cardstock, etc.)."

So I went out looking for inspiration with my 5 inch by 5 inch square of Core'dinations and my sandpaper. So I found my car........ my sweet Grand Prix. Can you tell I love my car? I used the grill to create a honey comb background for the card that I created. I used a Basic Grey Bee rub on on white card stock, which I cut out and mounted with a pop dot. The teal border was cut using Fiskars Apron String punch on the core color side of the card stock. I accented the card with vintage baby rik rak. The rub on title is from Cosmo Cricket (actually part of a Halloween rub on).

I think this card came out pretty cute from an interesting source!

Serendipity Scrapbooks July I Deserve It All Kit!!

So my fellow DT members got a kick out of me with this one. It is supposed to be the "I Deserve It All" kit, but I called it the "I Want It All" kit. But seriously, I really can't say enough about the mix of Graphic 45, Websters Pages, and Jenni Bowlin products. This kit was really exciting to work with. Kristen puts together phenomenal kits, that you will love.

Check back in the next few weeks for tutorials on the Lollipop flowers and on the mini book (made from one piece of 12 x 12 inch paper)! Have a joyfilled 4th of July and Happy Canada Day to my Canadian friends!

RED, WHITE and BLUE RAK WINNER

True Random Number Generator

Min: 1
Max: 17
Result: 17
Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Our lucky winner of the RAK is Heather, #17
Here is what she said
What a nice giveaway. I am now a follower. I guess I would have to say I am patriotic because my dad was in the airforce and my man was in the army, and is now in Iraq as a civilian supporting the military.

Heather, please send me your address at drmommyrd at yahoo.com and I will get your package in the mail!

Backyard Relaxation!

I am loving the products from Scrapbuck.com! This layout cost only $3.88. Isn't that amazing? Anyway we just put a hammock up in our backyard. This is my DS really enjoying himself in the "relaxation position". Our cherry trees are just the perfect distance apart to hold up the hammock and the boy! Hope you all are having a wonderful summer! Can you believe it is almost July?

A Different Kind of Request - National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplagia

Some of you who know our family know that our DS was born with a genetic difference called EEC. The parts of this include hand differences, dental differences and skin and hair differences. We are truly blessed because so far he is missing only two adult teeth and has hair (blond, blond hair :)) However, he also is missing the middle "ray" on his left hand, so he doesn't have a middle finger. Mom thinks this is all good! Preston's presentation is very mild and there are many children with much more difficult problems, including lacking the ability to sweat. You can help in a really easy way.

There's less than a month left in the Prescribe the Nation campaign and we need your help to send 6,000 more e-Cards. For every e-Card you send in this campaign, Vaseline Skin Fund will donate $5 to the NFED, up to $50,000.

The deadline is July 23rd so send your e-Cards today!

4,000 have been sent so far which has raised $20,000 for the NFED. We need your help to reach our $50,000 goal. The money will help send children affected by ectodermal dysplasia to Kids' Camp at the National Family Conference.

The Vaseline brand's Prescribe the Nation campaign is for its Vaseline Clinical Therapy lotion, a prescription-strength lotion available without a prescription. Learn more about how the Vaseline Skin Fund is helping the NFED.

It’s easy to do…

1. Go to www.prescribethenation.com.
2. Choose “Send e-Cards to Help Skin Fund” from the menu.
3. Follow the directions.
4. After you are finished completing the form, Vaseline will send you an email to validate your address. If you don’t receive it, be sure to check your junk mail folder. Click on the URL in the email to validate your address. Your e-Card will be sent!

Help Spread the Word

1. Forward this email to all of your friends and family and invite them to send e-Cards, too.
2. Post a link to Prescribe the Nation on your blog or Web site.
3. Post the information and link on your Facebook or MySpace page.

It takes just a few minutes to do, it doesn’t cost you a thing, and it means great awareness and funds for the NFED. There's only a few weeks left, so send your e-Cards today!

We are grateful to the Vaseline Skin Fund for their generous support.

Sincerely,

Mary K. Richter
Executive Director

and Preston and our family too!

Red, White and Blue RAK

I'm feeling a little patriotic this week and thought it was time to do another blog RAK. This time the theme: Red, White and Blue! What you see is the top layer only. Much, much more!

To be eligible for this RAK, sign up from today June 23rd to June 30th to follow my blog AND leave a comment below about why you are patriotic. If you already are a follower, just leave a comment below. I will draw a lucky patriotic winner on June 30th at 7:00 PST.

Good luck everyone!

How Low Can You Go?

This is my DS at almost 4 years old. I just "found" this treasured photo in my stash!
This LO was made from all products from Scrapbuck.com and I decided I would "cost out" the LO to see how economical it really is. For this LO the papers all cost 70 cents (it is part of a pack that is 36 pages for $5), the flowers 67 cents, the embellishments were 41 cents and the letters about one cent, bringing the total cost minus the photo to $1.79! I could hardly believe how inexpensively I could create this!

I am loving Scrapbuck.com! These papers echo the look of a lot of the pricier lines and are fabulous quality! Going to the store is like a treasure hunt on line. I hope you will all check out the store!

Cat fangs for Staycation

Here is a LO I did for the Serendipity Staycation Crop! It was a wonderful time. Although I have to say that with two little league baseball games and a Portland Beavers game, I did not have much of a staycation! At least it wasn't leisurely.
I love this photo of Onyx. You know I really do dote on her. I love the show of fangs!

We are moving on to the last scrapper standing now at Serendipity! There are over 34 people signed up! Awesomeness!

Look for some new Scrapbuck.com layouts very soon. I have some wonderful, inexpensive product to show you!

Serendiptiy Stay-Cation

Hey everyone, come on over to Serendipity Scrapbooks for the Stay-Cation. Lots of us are economizing this year and vacationing at home. What better way to "kick off" summer than with a crop that will take you around the world, around the US and back!
Here is a LO I did for one of my challenges (British Invasion Stay-Cation)!
You will also travel to Hawaii, Asia, France, the Lake, and many other exciting cropping destinations. Come join us!

Do You Ever?

Most of you know that both my mom and dad have passed. This is not unusual for someone of 46. I was 31 when my mom passed. I can tell you that nothing prepared me for that telephone call. I didn't have a mom to help me plan my wedding or for the birth of my child. I have missed her so many times. A few months ago, I got back into heritage scrapbooking. I have never done any layouts of my mom until just these last few months. Now I feel I am really ready to write down my memories of her for my DS to enjoy. It surprises me now when people say, "Wow, you look like your mom!" I don't think you ever really get over your losses, but you do grow through them. So, over the next few months, I will look forward to sharing my mom with you. Have a wonderful week!

Serendipity June Altered Kit!!!!!!!

Okay, can I just say I am in love with the Serendipity June Altered Kit? Kristen consistently outdoes herself every month. I always think, it just cannot get better than this, and then it does! I am in love with the Fancy Pants multi-media book. It has acrylic, chipboard and felt pages. It is so fun to work with! I thought the Cosmo Cricket papers were perfect for fun baseball LOs. This album would also be super fun as a family recipe book! Anyway, thanks for taking a peek at my LOs!

Have a wonderful week!

Serendipity Sneak Peak - June 2009

You are going to adore the altered kit this month! That is all I can say. Kristen has put together phenomenal papers and embellishments and a mini album that is to die for! I am in love with all of the papers in this kit. Check out http://serendipityscrapbooks.com to see the sneak peeks in the store! Way to go Kristen!!!!!!!