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!

On Hold...

I haven't forgotten about the blog, but I haven't had access to the computer much this week. On the positive side, it has left me more time to work on creating cards and getting ready for Christmas.
Until next time...

Georgia

It's Georgia's turn to be featured in my 50 states album! The state is cut at 4", the flag at 3", the bird and flower at 2 1/2" and the word 'Georgia' is at 1". To see the rest of the album posted so far, click here.

Florida

It's been awhile since I posted a page in my 50 states album. Here's Florida! To see the others that have been posted so far, click here.

I'm really excited about...

This!!
I ran the numbers for Scott, and it was a really great deal for me to upgrade to the Expression (a larger model of the Original Cricut). Not only does it cut bigger, but it also cuts smaller (down to 1/4") and has more features and options available. It came with 2 cartridges (one that is a new release and only available when purchased with the Expression). And, when purchased between Oct. 15 and Dec. 15, www.cricut.com is offering a rebate for 2 free cartridges. So, that is a new machine and 4 cartridges for a great sale price. :)
My mom was able to come with me and brave the Black Friday crowds, and we had a great time. We even had time to spare between buying the Expression and waiting for Michael's to open.
It does mean that I will have to sell my other Cricut, so if you know of anyone that might be interested, let me know!
I hope to experiment with the Expression today. I have a few Christmas projects in mind...

Thanksgiving-pt. 4

Here's the last layout of my Thanksgiving series. I hope it has been helpful to see an example several pages using a theme...it's an easy way to speed up scrapping when you have several similar pages to complete (i.e. holiday, vacation, wedding, baby, etc.).
This page is dedicated to feeding one of my nieces on her first Thanksgiving. After sorting through the pictures, we noticed that we had 7 pictures of different people feeding her!

Here are the close-ups:

Thanks for looking!

Thanksgiving, pt. 3

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone. The anticipation of getting together with family has been fulfilled and the beautiful golden brown turkey has been replaced with re-heated leftovers. A Christmas tree adorned in lights and decorated (very heavily on 2 branches, due to our little munchkins) with delicate ornaments now stands in my parents' living room.
While all the lights, songs, and decorations are already announcing the arrival of the Christmas season, I am not quite ready to let go of Thanksgiving just yet. I'll be spending a few more days on Thanksgiving before I move on, so I hope you'll indulge me.
This is the third post in a series of Thanksgiving layouts I worked on a few years ago. On this page, I continued the theme of colors, verses, twine, and lettering. Without further ado, here are the close-ups:
And here are the verses that I used on these pages:
"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations." Psalm 100:4,5and "Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever." Psalm 107:1

Thanks for looking!

Thanksgiving pt. 2

Here are the next pages in my Thanksgiving series. On this layout, I introduced the theme of Thanksgiving-related Bible verses, and I also used embellishments that match my lettering along the right hand column.

The verse is Psalm 107:8,9 which says, "Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness."

Here's a closer look:

Thankful...

Well this post marks a milestone for my blog...it's my 100th post!!! Thanks for reading, looking at my creative attempts, and leaving comments. I have enjoyed hosting this blog and sharing my ideas with you.
This being the week of Thanksgiving, I find myself reflecting on the many blessings that I have in my life. How I wish I were more diligent to carry this attitude throughout the year...counting my blessings is the greatest anecdote to a complaining and/or discontented heart!

We Give Thanks: 2000
Today I will begin posting a series of Thanksgiving scrapbook pages I made to chronicle the holiday 8 years ago. Because I had several pictures to scrapbook that would span a handful of pages, I decided I wanted to work around a theme to make it cohesive and to save time and materials, too.
I chose a few themes to carry throughout this series to tie it all together: colors, font, twine, and Bible verses regarding thankfulness. I wanted to convey a sense of warmth while reflecting on the meaning of Thanksgiving and the harvest time of year.
For the title pages, I introduced the colors, font (idea from Creative Keepsakes), and twine.
Here are some closer looks:
Thanks for looking! Check back tomorrow for more holiday pages.

The Bad Foot

It's been awhile since I posted a scrapbook page for my family album. These pictures are almost a decade old, but they all depict a silly family tradition: doing the "bad foot" as a goodbye greeting. Thanks, Dad, for getting this started ::eyes roll::.
The journaling is done on the individual circles on the right side of the page. Yes, this took some planning to get exactly the right number of circles and the right number of words to fill the entire space. It's not something I'll do on every future scrapbook page. ;) The circles had to be smaller than 1" (the smallest setting on the Cricut), so I had to find a way to work around that. See my previous post for how I did it, using Walk In My Garden.
The circle outlines (around my Dad's foot on the picture and as one journaling circle) are from Graphically Speaking, as were the layers for the flower on the lefthand page. The title is cut from Mickey Font at 1 1/2". The feet are from New Arrival at 2".
Here's a closer look at the first page:
and the second:
and a detailed look at the flower, which I put dimensionals between the larger and smaller layers. For the very top layer, I shadowed the center and some areas of each petal to make it more realistic. I also scored each petal and folded it up a bit to give it some shape like a real flower. The ribbon is from American Crafts.
Here's a look at the journaling. There are a few flowers thrown in there to mimic the patterned paper in the center.
Thanks for looking!

*Edited to add journaling:
"It started when Chuck's kids were small. Hannah & Adam were leaving one day and Dad started hopping on one foot saying he had a 'Bad Foot,' trying to make them laugh. From that time forward, whenever a visit came to an end, the family had to gather outside to do the 'Bad Foot.' Neighbors gave us strange looks, but family traditions are quick to be born, and Hannah & Adam insisted on our hopping. Soon, our neighbors even joined in on this silly Staley family tradition."

Tips and Tricks-Circles of various sizes

I finished a layout this week and needed to cut several circles to add to it. The circles had to be slightly smaller than 1", but the smallest setting on my Cricut is 1". No problem! I got about 55 circles cut with my Cricut that were just the right size. I thought I'd share with my friendly blog readers how I did it.
I used Walk In My Garden (other cartridges will work, too, but you just have to look thoroughly in the handbooks to see what is available). With the 'real dial size' button OFF, I cut out the center of some of the flowers. I had to experiment with different sizes but I think I finally settled on a dial size of 3 or 3 1/2 inches to make the circle the appropriate size.
By cutting the circles this way instead of choosing a standard circle from a cartridge like George, you are not limited to the sizes listed on your dial. Just thought I'd share in case it helps someone else...
Thanks for looking today!

Confession

Someone mentioned in her comment that my 50 states album is a great learning tool for 'older kids.' It's time for a confession. I think I am that 'older kid'!
Geography has never been a strong subject for me; in fact, I had little to no interest in it growing up. Leave it to crafting to pique my interest in learning about this subject! I have really enjoyed this project and I'm looking forward to doing all the journaling for each state and learning more about my country.
Of course the album IS for my kiddos so they can learn about the USA as they grow. Yup...that's my story and I'm sticking to it!!

Delaware

Here's the next in the series of my 50 states' album. The state is cut at 4", the flag at 3", the flower and the bird at 2 1/2" and the word 'Delaware' at 1". The envelope holding the quarter is cut at 2" and it is from Fabulous Finds.

Thanks for looking!

I Miss You

I completed this layout for the latest Chirper Challenge. We were to use mainly black and white with only splashes of color, and also use brads. I decided to make a page dedicated to my first dog, Ash-Lee. She was a special dog and always lots of fun. She had to be put down about 3 years ago. Whenever I see a Cocker Spaniel, I remember fondly the dog that was treated more like another child than a canine. I am really thankful for the years I had with her.
The bone is cut from Mickey Font and the sentiment is from Alphalicious. The hearts are from Fabulous Finds.
Thanks for looking!

Connecticut

Here's Connecticut and I realized when I uploaded the picture that I took the picture before I finished the flower. Yipes! I will have to edit this post after I take a new picture.
Click here to see the album to-date.
Thanks for looking!

Hurry for a Free Photo Book from Snapfish!

I saw on the Cricut Message Boards that Oprah is offering a free 20 page Photo Book from Snapfish. It's a $29.99 value. The offer does not include extra pages or shipping and handling (a $6.99 fee, I believe). Click here to find out more! The coupon (applied to your account on check-out) is valid until Friday November 14 and the book must be compiled and ordered before Sunday November 16.**

**edit: the deadline for ordering your book has been extended until Saturday, November 22.

Colorado

I'm still plugging away at the 50 states album. Here's Colorado: the state is cut at 4" with the capitol feature selected. The flag is 3"; the bird and flower are 2 1/2" and the word 'Colorado' is 1".
Thanks for looking!