You Are My Sunshine

I can hardly believe that my eldest son, Jonah, will be turning 3 next Friday. Where did the time go? He's getting to be so big and he's everything a little boy should be: he's playful, outgoing, adventurous, messy, mischievous, funny...just a joy!! Well, most of the time.
I found this layout from when he was 3 months old. He's changed so much, but he still has the same smiley eyes! I journaled a song I used to sing to him along the side, 'You Are My Sunshine.' There is more personal journaling on a flap underneath the picture. To tie into the theme of the page, I chose to do strips of yellow patterned paper underneath the picture to imitate rays of sunshine. They intersect at his face to draw more attention to it. I sewed around the edge of the journaling strip.
Thanks for looking!

The Bond of Sisterhood

Oh dear, my apologies if you saw this earlier...my soon to be 3 year old typed his own caption for this page and actually published the post while I was getting ready for the day! I have to keep my eyes on him at all times...
Anyway, this page is all about the bonds of sisterhood. The picture was taken about 10 years ago at a favorite family destination: Morro Bay. It is of two of my nieces kissing in the foreground and the three of us sisters looking on in the background. The title was done with Opposites Attract. The journaling is in the file folder, which was cut from Fabulous Finds. The paper is Basic Grey. The design of the page is based off a sketch from Pages By Design. I added knotted ribbon to go along with the theme of 'family ties.'
Thanks for looking!

More Challenge Sites

Today I'm adding more sites for challenges. Eventually my goal is to have them organized with links in my sidebar to make it even easier, but until I have the opportunity to do that, you can always find them all in one place by clicking on the 'Sketches and Challenges' category in the sidebar. Here are more sites worth visiting:

• SoCal Scrap--Not just a single challenge site but a whole forum made just for challenges. Pick your favorite and jump on in!
• No 8 Wired-The NZ Dare Blog--These dares are usually more 'outside of the box.' From Haiku to fuzzy embellishments, you're sure to find a dare you haven't tried before.
• Scrapdragons--Challenges are offered on the 1st and 15th, but they haven't updated since November so I don't know if they're still playing. But, assuming they are and life just got too busy for a time to keep up with the blog, the design team is amazing!
• Caardvarks--A card challenge site with really great examples on it.
• Whimsical Scraps and Bugs--A biweekly challenge site geared towards those with a Cricut. I'm excited to be one of their new design team members!
• Okieladybug's Scrap N' More--Okieladybug is a member of the Cricut message board, and she is a master of Design Studio. I don't have the software, but for those who might, she is kind enough to share several .cut files on her blog. Additionally, she hosts challenges frequently on her blog.
• Scraps-N-Such--This is another forum that has areas for everything from scrapbooking to stamping to challenges. I have not personally checked it out, but it may be a helpful resource.
• Scrapbook & Cards Today--Very user friendly site--because it's well organized. They post on the following schedule: Design Challenge Monday, 3 T's Tuesday (tips, trips, techniques) Design Team Project Wednesday, Reader Submission Thursday, Freebie Friday, Sketchy Saturday, Sneak Peak Saturday. You can also see various sketches by clicking on the link on the left sidebar.
  

Thanks for looking!

Love Birds

Here's a recent layout I completed. It's for a challenge from Whimsical Scraps and Bugs. I am now one of their design team members! :) As a design team member, I get to create projects for their challenges issued every other week. I am really looking forward to contributing--the other members of the design team are so talented! It's fun to have my work thrown in there with theirs. The challenge for this layout was to use red, pink, and white, any heart cut from Cricut, ribbon, and buttons/brads/other embellishments but NO glitter.
The ribbon is fairly obvious so I won't comment further on that. I cut the heart from the Graphically Speaking cartridge. I used the center cut feature on my Expression and cut out a heart and then increased the size a notch before cutting out the same heart. This left me with a frame--and it was transparent because I cut it out from the plastic packaging that comes on a cartridge. Next, I covered the frame with different shades of pink skittles.
The paper is from DCWV. I used the Martha Stewart scallop dot border punch for the pink patterned paper and I placed lettered pink brads (Big Lots $1 find--and it comes with lots of them!) in the holes. I know it's hard to read, but it says "love birds." I tore the red paper behind it and inked it to give it some texture and depth.
The stamp in the bottom left corner of the picture is from Fancy Pants. I love how dark it turned out using my new VersaFine stamp pad! I used to trace over my stamped images with a black ink pen because the images would come out dull or gray. Very tedious.
Here is a better image of the details:
Thanks for looking!

Congratulations on your New Arrival

Well, it's been awhile since I posted any of the projects that I've been working on lately. This is a card that I created for the most recent Chirper Challenge. We were to use a sketch, the word 'New' and a paper flower (instructions found here on the Hallmark Ladybug site). The papers are from various companies--I can't remember specifically. I used the Martha Stewart border punch "scallop dots" for the border along the bottom of the card. The brad in the middle of the flower says "baby" on it and it's from a baby scrapbooking kit I got from Deja Views--it's the Sharon Ann collection.

Here's the inside of the card, which reads, "Congratulations on your new arrival." The 'new arrival' words are cut from the New Arrival Cricut cartridge. It was a cut that I might not otherwise have used, so I am thankful for the challenges that give me an excuse to think outside my little box. The rest of the sentiment is in my own handwriting.
Here's a close-up of the flower and the cute little brad:
Thanks for looking!

Shoutout to Sheetload

Well, if you haven't guessed by now, I'm a fan of Sheetload. Like I've said here and here, it's a great website for building your card stash. Right now, they are offering some wonderful prizes on their site--something I've had my eyes on for awhile--a JustRite monogram stamper and borders! Check them out. You can download the current issue here. You'll just have to click on the thumbnail to begin. Enjoy!

Once a Month

If you're looking for fresh ideas for sketches and challenges, here are sites that are updated monthly:

• Scrapjacked--This is updated on the 15th of the month. Each time, they pick a random layout they have seen and liked, and they post it on their blog. The design team 'scrapjacks' that layout and makes their own version of it.
• Christmas Cards All Year 'Round--If you love to send handmade Christmas cards but the thought of making them all at once is just too intimidating or time consuming, this is a great alternative for you. Each month, they post a challenge. The purpose of their site is for you to do a few cards each month. Just by doing 5 cards for each challenge, that gives you 60 Christmas cards by the end of the year--easy!!
• Page Maps--Several sketches and beautiful examples are posted once a month. The site is also well organized and easy to navigate to find exactly what you're looking for.
• Sheetload--If you've followed my blog for awhile, you might remember this post in which I made several cards in one evening using a formula from Sheetload. Every month, this website provides you with instructions on how to make multiple cards (4, 6, or 8 usually) from minimal paper. The directions include where to cut your paper to make the most of it. It's a great resource if you're looking to build your card stash. I love being able to have cards to send out for the right occasion already pre-made.
• Gettin Sketchy--I love the style of the sketches on this site, and the Creative Team is wonderfully talented.

Thanks for visiting today!

Sunday

Hi all! It's been a fun week sharing with you some of the websites and blog that are both old and new for me. If you've missed this week's posts, be sure to read the introduction post on Monday. It's Sunday, which means it's time for me to provide you with sites that are regularly updated on most Sundays.

• Pencil Lines--A new sketch is offered every Sunday. The PL design team is extremely talented. I love seeing their takes on the weekly sketches. Every month, they pick a favorite reader's submission layout and the entrant wins a special prize.
• Creative Therapy--I love this one because it's not your typical challenge site. So often, we (read *I*) scrapbook the memorable (or not so memorable) events in our lives, but we (I) neglect to put a lot about ourselves--what we think, feel, imagine, etc. Every week, this site posts a different question that gets the creative journaling juices flowing. I haven't participated yet, but I think it's an excellent idea and my goal is to incorporate more pages like this in my scrapbooks so that future generations have more of an idea of not only what I did, but who I was as a person.
  
• The Design Experiment--These designers equip you with "real challenges, raw topics, and creative prompts" (words taken from their website) every two weeks.
• Bitten By the Bug--Regina issues a challenge to use a specific cut from a Cricut cartridge and lets the designers go at it! They come up with beautiful creations, and others join in, too. There are frequent challenges with wonderful prizes.
• Card Positioning Systems--This site is great for card sketches. Weekly drawings take place due to the generosity of various sponsors, and there are contests, prizes, and more.
• 52 Sketches 52 Weeks--Just like the name suggests, a new sketch is provided every week. Julie is so kind to share her sketch and her beautiful takes on it with us. She is a very talented scrapper.

So there you have it. I will post again over the next few days new links to explore--these sites are wonderful sites but don't necessarily have a specific day that they are updated. And, as I find other fabulous sites, I'll be sure to share them with you, too. Although, I am anxious to also share with you some of the projects I've been working on! Stay tuned...and thanks for following along with me this week!

Saturday

I hope you are enjoying the weekend! It's rainy here and my hubby and I are re-doing the kiddos' room. I figure I'd jump on and post real quick while the paint dries. Here are some sites you might find helpful. They are updated on Saturdays.

• BasicGrey Challenges--This is a challenge group, made up of people who love the Basic Grey brand. It is designed for you to use at least one BG product on each project. There are prizes most every week.
• Sketch Saturday--Just like the name suggests, a new sketch is posted every Saturday. The sketch is designed for cards, but, like many sketches out there, can be adapted to layouts.
• Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge--A different challenge is posted every Saturday. At the end of the month, all those who participated will have a chance for a giveaway.
• Triple the Sketch--This site was also mentioned in my Friday post, but on Saturday they update the blog with a card sketch.
• My Sketch World--A layout sketch is posted on the 1st Saturday of each month and a new card sketch is offered on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month.

Happy blog-hopping! :)

Friday

Yes! It's Friday! Thanks to all who have followed along this week as I've shared some different sites for inspiration. There are still more posts like this to follow--Saturday and Sunday, and then I'll finish off this series on Monday, when I'll share sites that don't necessarily have a specific day that they update, but they're helpful, too.
Once again, if you use a sketch from one of these blogs, please refer to that specific site's policy about uploading your work to a public gallery.
Here we go...

• Daring Cardmakers--This is a team of cardmakers from the UK, New Zealand, and Australia. They post a new 'Dare' every Friday.
• Kristina Werner's Finally Friday--Much like her "Make a Card Monday," every Friday she makes a card and shares the video of her making it so you can make one, too.
• Triple the Sketch--The sketch offered every Friday is specifically designed for you to use it in any size layout, card, tag... The design team is encouraged to either use it as is, flip it, or show otherwise how versatile the sketch can be.

Thanks for looking today! I hope these links are helpful to you. I'll be back tomorrow with a few more. Have a great day!

Thursday

Happy Thursday to all and thank you for stopping by! If you haven't been here recently, I am working on a project (explained here) that will hopefully be of benefit to some. My hope in doing this is to organize different challenge sites according to the day of the week they are updated--thus always having a ready resource for fresh ideas. Here is Thursday's list, short and sweet! :)

• Cute Card Thursday--This title is appropriate, as it explains exactly what this challenge blog is all about.
• Sketches! {by Tamara}--This site, also referenced on Monday and Tuesday, offers a card sketch every Thursday.

I'll have more resources tomorrow, so be sure to check back!

Wednesday

For those who check my blog regularly, I hope you are finding the posts this week beneficial.
For those who are new, "Welcome!" This week, I am sharing sites with you that are helpful resources in providing inspiration--be they sites for challenges, sketches, instructions on new techniques, etc.
*If you use the ideas found on a particular site for a project, please refer to each site's individual policies before uploading your project to a public gallery of any kind.*

Here are sites that are regularly updated on Wednesdays:

• One Little Word-Every week, they provide you with a new word to use on a project. It's amazing how much emotion is conveyed with a single word.
• Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration - Kristina posts a picture and challenges you to use the colors in it on a card. Lots of people join in on this one. She posts some of her favorite reader submissions on her blog.
• Split Coast Stampers Resources - Every Wednesday, in the 'resources' tab of SCC, there is a new technique posted. Sometimes it's a new card fold and other times it's a stamping technique. Either way, if you're looking for something new to do to expand your creativity, check it out! Great step-by-step instructions make it easy to follow along.

Thanks for looking!

Tuesday

Continuing the theme of yesterday's post, here are sketch and challenge sites that regularly update on Tuesdays. Please refer to the individual site's policy on copying images and/or using their sketches--particularly before uploading them to a public gallery. Thank you!

• Stuck?! There are fabulous new sketches every week, along with a talented design team to show how it's used.
• Arty Girlz This site provides various challenges for all sorts of crafters--whether you're a scrapbooker, cardmaker, or otherwise, you'll find something here to spark your creativity.
• Sketches! {by Tamara} You may recognize this site from yesterday's post, but on Tuesdays Tamara offers a recipe challenge. She lists 3 items that must be used on a card or layout. You may use more, but you must use what is listed. Looks like fun!
• Scrapiopath Another fun sketch site. Sometimes she posts on other days besides Tuesday, so check it out every so often.

I'll be back tomorrow with more resources! Thanks for looking!

Monday

Recently, I have been working on a project that will benefit not only myself but hopefully all of my readers! If you have ever experienced "scrapper's block," then you will most certainly want to stay tuned this week!
In order to make my blog not only a gallery of my own work but also a helpful resource for you, I have compiled a list of several blogs and websites that issue challenges on a specific day of the week. Today I will list the sites I've found that upload challenges/sketches/new techniques on Mondays--tomorrow I'll list the sites for Tuesdays, and so on.
***Many of these sites have copyrights, so if you are inspired by any sketches or challenges (and I hope you are) and if you share your work on your blog or other public gallery, please give credit to the site which inspired you.***
So, without further ado, here are helpful Monday sites:

• How Much is Too Much? Challenges are issued every other Monday, and everyone is welcomed to join. This blog is designed to help you create wonderful layouts and use up your stash while doing it.
• Color Combos Galore Every Monday a new challenge is issued to use a certain color combination on a layout. If your entries are uploaded to their gallery before the following Sunday at 11:59 p.m., you will be entered for a monthly drawing.
• 2 Sketches 4 You Each Monday a sketch is offered to help you create beautiful cards.
• Mojo Monday Lost your mojo? A card sketch is issued every Monday. Get out your stamps for this one! There is a monthly contest as well.
• Papertake Weekly A new sketch each week. Use it to make cards, LO's, ATC's, or...anything!
• Make A Card Monday Kristina Werner, over at K Werner Designs, makes a cute and simple card every Monday. She not only has the picture of it, but she also does a video so you can watch step-by-step how it's made. You will see more of her throughout the week.
• Mothers and Daughters Creations A scrapbook-related challenge is issued every Monday. Sometimes it's a sketch, sometimes it's a theme. There are prizes up for grabs if you play along!
  
• Sketch and Stash Challenge This is a brand new challenge site! Every 2 weeks, they will issue a new sketch, and you are challenged to use your newest 'stash' to complete it.
• Sketches! {by Tamara} Every Monday Tamara releases a new sketch for a layout. She has various challenges and sketches throughout the week, so we'll be seeing her again!

Please leave a comment if you have a favorite site for sketches and/or challenges, or if you have any trouble with the links.
Thanks for looking! Have a wonderful Monday, and I hope you find some of these sites helpful for inspiration. I'll see you back tomorrow with more resources! :)

August 10

I was looking through stacks of old pictures the other day and realized I had several pictures people had given to us from our wedding. So, I set them aside and planned to do a few pages. Here is the first (and only one so far).
My goal is to keep these pages simple and clean looking, using certain elements throughout to keep with a unified theme. On this page, I included our invitation, as well as a wedding program. I left the program so that it could be opened up on the page to remind us of our ceremony.
I used the Martha Stewart border punch "Scallop Holes" along the right side of the program (thank you, Susy), along with my new Calligraphy cartridge I got for Christmas (thank you, Mom and Dad)!
"August 10" is cut from the Calligraphy cartridge using the Inspiration feature. I love this cartridge because it's like getting 5 calligraphy fonts in one cartridge--each feature is a different font, and each on is beautiful! The heart with the swirls is also on the Calligraphy cartridge.

Close-ups:

with the program open:Thanks for looking!

Photography

My dear sweet husband surprised me with a Canon Rebel XS for Christmas! I'm looking forward to taking more professional-looking pictures and having better looking scrapbook pages! YAY! Since Christmas, we've been traveling near and far with our new toy, trying to figure out the various settings.

Please...if you know of any good photography websites, would you share them with me? Comments are welcome!

Here are a few samples so far...Enjoy!

Jonah holding his brand new cousin Andrew on Christmas Day!

Close-up of pretty Christmas ornament

Noah in the bathtub. I apologize, Noah, but it is a cute picture and it really shows off those smiley eyes of yours!

The Griffith Observatory at night, with a planet (not sure which one) to the right of the dome.

Jonah playing in a little patch of grass across from LAX

Hello From the North Pole

Here's the last Christmas card. The snowman is from Christmas Cheer and the blue background paper is from the DCWV Christmas 2007 stack. I also layered the bottom part with vellum that I hand-embossed with snowflakes. The design came from the Sketch Saturday blog.

Thanks for looking!

Christmas is on it's Way!

Not really, but that's what the card says. The soldier is from Joys of the Season. The background paper is from DCWV Christmas 2007 stack.

Thanks for looking!

Naughty or Nice?

Santa Claus is making his list and checking it twice for this card! This whimsical St. Nick is from Christmas Cheer. His suit is embossed with the Cuttlebug (Divine Swirl) and then stickled over the swirls. The paper is from the DCWV Christmas 2007 stack.

Thanks for looking!

Brrr...

My break without internet access lasted much longer than expected, but I'm back online and happy to be sharing projects with you once again.
So, though the Christmas season is over, I hope you'll be patient with me as I post some of the things I wanted to post in December but couldn't.
This card was inspired by Sketch Saturday. The title and the snowflakes are from Graphically Speaking and the little penguins are from Zooballoo. The background paper is from the DCWV Christmas 2007 stack.
Thanks for looking!