Meet Me on Monday

1. Who would be your dream celebrity date? 
 

I guess I'd go with Gerald Butler because I could listen to him all day- LOVE his voice and accent... and he's not hard on the eyes.  If you haven't seen P.S. I Love You, watch it.  Then we'll all "queue up." 
 
2. Do you have any food restrictions?

I'm on a seafood diet. I see food and I eat it.  Joking aside, no, no limitations though I could probably happily live on a SEAfood diet. 

3. How much time do you take to get ready in the morning?

~30min

4. Sausage or bacon?

5. Do you Google, Bing or Yahoo?

Tim Holtz Tags

Honestly, I just jumped on the Tim Holtz wagon this year- yeah, 2011.  I'm a bit slow.  And, truthfully, I'm still not a complete convert.  I've had a tough time getting some of the products to work how I'd like.  However, I have taken 2 classes at a local scrap shop (and I'm signed up for another this month) where we learn to make 1 or 2 of the TH Christmas tags.  Apparently every year, he cranks out the 12 Days of Tags and I think it may be 2 a day.  Needless to say, this could get the shop some business for a long while.  Anywho, long story short, these are what we've made so far.  They're definitely good for learning techniques which is really what it's all about.

2010 Card Book

So who doesn't get a load of cards, especially if you're a kid.  Notice it's not a question.  There's the birthday, Christmas, Valentines (all the little minis they get from classmates), etc. etc.  I hate to throw them all away but what the heck am I going to do with them all?  Right now, they just clutter up storage space that I'd happily fill with more craft supplies if I weren't keeping them in odds-and-ends piles.  I don't want to just craft them or recycle them because I think Boy might be interested in looking at them in the future, particularly the photo cards of his friends.  Enter an idea I saw the other day and I'm SO sorry to whoever posted it because I have NO idea who you are any longer- I didn't bookmark the page.  SORRY.

I made a book with ring bindings that I can store all of those cards in and I'm hoping to make it a yearly thing.  I just started with last year's cards because those happened to be the ones I laid hands on first.

Ingredients:
Book base: 1 cereal box with the front and back cut down to a bit larger than the biggest card I want to keep in the book
Paper: My Mind's Eye Complete Boy Collection
Ink: SU's True Thyme, Old Olive and Certainly Celery, Tim Holtz's Antique Linen
Stamps: Hero Arts Banners, SU's Brushstroke Alphabet, Small alphabet from Target's $ Aisle
Die: Spellbinders Classic Ovals Large
Stickers: Stamps/Postmarks but I don't know from who- I've had them for a LONG time.
Ribbons: Fiber ribbon: SU, Twill tape from Joann's (colored with the inks)
Misc: Pop-dots (the banners are pop-dotted at the top and taped at the bottom to give them a bit of depth while keeping their tearing possibilities low.)

Challenges:
CropStop Sketch #14

Craft Your Passion #52: Anything Goes

Craft Test Dummies Green/Recycled Link Party (The cardboard box base is definitely recycled and using stickers I think I've had around for at 8yrs has to count for SOMETHING!).  Heck, just binding up old cards into a book makes me happy!  :)

Quick and Easy Spray Box (for Spray Mists, etc.)

I had a hard time justifying buying on of the cardboard spray boxes to keep my work area from getting blech when I use spray mists.  However, I need to keep my work area from getting blech when I use spray mists.  Enter old cereal boxes.  3 cereal boxes, a bit of gluestick or tape, and about 5min and you're ready to rock and roll.  Just gently tear your boxes open at the glued seams, lay them out, overlap the backs and sides of two boxes and tape/glue them together like that.  Those make the sides and bottom of the spray box. (Sorry, I didn't take pix to make a tutorial!)  Take a third box, use its back and one side as the back of your spray box.  Use the tabs from it and the other two boxes to attach the whole mess together.  The 3rd box's front and other side hang loose in case you need a top to your box or additional height for spraying against.

It may not be glamorous but it certainly helps keep everything clean while using up something you were going to recycle (certainly not throw in the garbage!) anyway and saving you a few bucks at the same time.

Are you familiar with Crafty Steals?

I posted about this site a few weeks ago but now they're pushing to hit 20k Facebook fans.  It's definitely a site and a FB page I suggest checking out.  There's going to be a "bit" of a celebration come 20k!

As if 1 Blog Candy post wasn't enough....

I just stumbled on ANOTHER fab crafty blog candy that I think you'll definitely want to check out.  It's over at A La Card Monkey, a new challenge blog.  I linked you to the site, not the post since there are actually 2 giveaways.

   

Blog Candy!

Jenn is having a very nice giveaway on her blog, Scrap Happens.  Take a look.

Love Link Up Party for All the BRAVE Girls Who Dare To Be....

Kristal over at "Getting Cricky with K Andrew" is having a link party I thought I'd jump in on.  If you haven't checked out her blog, I would- some great inspiration from a very neat lady, not to mention fab giveaways!  :)

8 Apr Note: I swear I'm trying to get around to all of the other bloggers' links!  Thanks if you've become a follower of mine... I'm trying to get through the hop.  PROMISE!

Meet Me on Monday

1. If you had to eat only one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I'm not sure I can pick one food.  Type of food... maybe.   Fruit?  Bread?  Asian foods?  I'm still not sure.


2. Do you write your blog posts in advance or the day you post them?
I've actually never posted in advance and I don't know how but I need to look into it before I participate in a blog hop in June.  :)

3. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?
Thankfully, no.

4. What is your favorite candle scent?
Fall and wintery ones- cinnamon, pine, apple, etc.

5. Coffee or tea?
Tea, particularly chai.  I actually like the smell of coffee and despise the taste.  Nothing coffee- ice cream, candy, tiramasu... you can keep it all please.

Boy's bday card

So.  That was the girl's card so now we have party #2.  It's a buccaneer bash- something I can get into a bit more than Dora the Explorer. 

Ingredients:

Paper: Real Red & DSP from Hostess Print Pack, White & Black: Michaels

Ink: Real Red & Basic Black: SU

Stamps: Pirate Time: SU, Alphabet: Studio G

White embossing powder: Michaels

Misc: Embroidery floss

Challenge:

Tiff's Sketchy Sunday #13 : Truth be told, I really like the sketch as it is- vertical.  However, I couldn't fit my sentiment on that way so I had to rotate it.



Girl's bday card

So Boy has been invited to 2 birthday parties tomorrow.  Maybe it's just me but I generally give folks more than 1wk warning on birthday parties- he received both invites Fri. afternoon last week.  Color me silly I guess.  Anywho. 

Bday #1.  The invites were Dora themed so I'm guessing maybe the whole party will be Dora-ish (I've never even seen the girl so I have NO idea if she's a huge Dora fan.)  I'm guessing she's a bit girly based on that (possibly a bad assumption but that invite is all I know about her- my 3yr old can't tell me diddly) so I went with a girly card.  My girly stamps are minimal so I was going with a dress up doll.  Then I thought I could make it Dora colored and such.  Not perfect but at least I know I tried.

Ingredients:

Stamps: Doll: Buttons, Bows & Twinkletoes: SU (I redrew and trimmed her hair a bit to make it more like Dora and added long sleeves to the dress for the same reason.)  Sentiment: Hero Arts

Paper: Yellow & White: Michaels, Shimmery purple: DCWV's Latte pack, Glitter... Target I think

Punch: Boho Blossoms: SU

Challenges:
Get Sketchy #81

Desert Islands Crafters Challenge #5: Use 3

1. Ribbon
2. Glitter: Glitter paper... maybe counts
3. Birthday theme... Got it
4. Bow
5. Dots
6. Pearls
7. Child image... does a doll count?
8. Balloons image... Got it
9. Bright colors... I think so.
10. Easel card technique

Fab Candy giveaway

It's Dawn's 2nd Blogiversary!  I highly suggest you go check it out- it all wraps up tomorrow evening.

Meet Me on Monday

Hmmm.... since my last post was Meet Me on Monday, I'm guessing that I haven't done anything crafty this past week.  Nope, I know it.  Between getting ready for company, general tiredness (blasted Angry Birds) and feeling like a wet dishrag after making it to all 3 pilates classes, I just haven't had anything left.  So... onto it...





1. Crunchy or soft tacos?
It used to be crunchy but if we go out, it seems to always be soft, particularly if fish tacos.

2. Do you scrapbook?
If you look at my posts, you won't ask.  :)

3. Do you take any daily medications?
Yep but that's all you need to know.

4. What is your favorite sound?
I'm with Java- cicadas in the summer.  That can take me from the worst, most riled up mood to relaxed in a second.  I'm going to seriously miss having the woods behind us this summer. 



After that, a snoring cat ranks high on that list.

And as Lisa reminded me, the sound of the ocean.  Duh!

5. Where were you born?
Maryland and I hope to retire on its Eastern Shore some day.

Meet Me on Monday

1. What jewelry do you wear 24/7?
I don't even wear my engagement ring/wedding band out of the house all the time.  If I'm going to the gym or something like that, they stay home and when I do wear them, they're one of the first things I take off when I get home and last to go on before I leave.  I just don't want to mess them up and I'm not a huge jewelry person.  The only thing that I wear all the time is an earclip.  I got it in New Orleans in 1996 and have only taken it off for 1. my wedding (wish I hadn't actually and it went back on right after the reception), 2. haircuts (stylists tend to catch their combs in it) and 3. when I put it back on too tight (after a haircut) and my ear gets really sore- not infected but bruised.  Then I'll take it off for a day or three.  In all though, I've probably had it off less than 10 days in the past 15yrs.

2. Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it?
Twirl

3. How many siblings do you have?
Zippo. Zilch.  Nada.  None.  My childhood babysitter had 3 sons who I refer to as my brothers (the the babysitter and her husband are "mom & dad" and sat at the parents' table at our wedding reception) but I think I consider them more my siblings than they do- they have each other.  That's my only regret for my son- he's an only of onlies.  No cousins, aunts or uncles. 
4. Were you named after anyone?
Jenny Lind, an opera singer, also known as the "Swedish Nightingale".  Better than my "boy name": Ethan Allen.  Not after the furniture store but that's what I would have been cursed with.  And no, I can't carry a tune in a basket.
5. Coke or Pepsi?
Coke, all the way... unless there's Dr. Pepper, root beer, or ginger ale.  Then I'd have to think about it but sometimes, I just want a cold Coke... like now.  Thanks!

Kayakin' Layout

Wow!  Another single page spread!  It's amazing how much easier those are.  LOL! 

Ingredients:

Paper: Only Orange, Tempting Turquoise, Brilliant Blue & Yoyo Yellow CS, Vellums (I'm not sure of the blue's color but it's LONG retired): Stampin' Up

Mist: Gum Arabic, Interference Blue Pearl-Ex, Brilliant Blue SU refill ink

Embellishments: Shrink Film colored with Crayola colored pencils (transparent and matte films)

Challenges:
Apron Strings: Birthday Party Day #12: Use 4+ strips of paper 1-2" long. 

Ok.  Just as I was about to submit this, I read it again.  When I started this layout, I was thinking "at LEAST" 1-2" long.  I could say I've cut up those strips in the middle but that would be ridiculous.  In reality, the orange and turquoise strips are about 9" long and the yellow and blue are about 3".  So.  It does meet the requirements but since I was doing it with the intent of entering, I'm going to submit it anyway just to say I tried.  :)

Sketchy Thursdays: 3.17 Challenge

The St. Patty's "Supposed to" outfit

This is what Boy was supposed to wear today.  Darn he's cute in it.  I found the tie idea at Sugar Bee Crafts and HAD to do it.

This is what he wore.  The first one stayed on all of about 2min.  Yeah.  That's the Grinch.

*sigh*

Meet Me on Monday

1. Do you have a fireplace in your home?
Yep.  Unfortunately though, we've only used it once and that was just enough to burn a bunch of paperwork we didn't want to keep around (a shredder just isn't good enough sometimes apparently.)


2. Can you drive a stick shift?
Nope.  Never tried but would like to learn.  I had a friend offer to teach me once back in college.  He'd only had the car a few weeks and it was his first new car.  I valued our friendship more than learning how to drive stick.

3. How many computers are in your home?
Two- an antique and my laptop.

4. Are your taxes done yet? Do you do them yourself?
This is the first time we've ever paid to have them done and they should be done next week.  We figured since we're dealing with taxes for 3 states, an interstate move and such, it would be a good time to make sure it was all done right.

5. What is your favorite meal of the day?
Sunday breakfast or brunch.  The rest can vary by the day and what we're eating.

Laurie Berkner Band pages

We now interrupt our regularly scheduled scrapping to bring you this important announcement!  Warning!  Warning!  Crummy picture alert!  Can't do daytime photos with these since I just finished the pages and the challenges end tonight so you'll just have to suffer through the best I could do. Sorry.  :)  And now back to our regularly scheduled scrapping.

We went to see LBB last summer and had a great time.  The pictures I took there were a bit mediocre but it was a dark theater and we were pretty close to the back so I did my best.  In the end, we had a great time.  LBB is a great kids' band and while we didn't know too many of the songs (then... now's a different story) it was a great concert.

If you're wondering what the paper sticking up behind the first page's picture block is, I used the block as a pocket to hold the program from the show.

There's not much on the ingredient list for this one-

Blue and white paper: SU   Black paper: Michaels

Brushstroke Alphabet Stamps: SU

Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, Brilliant Blue, Elegant Eggplant, Green Galore, Basic Black inks: SU

Challenges:

• Club CK: 1-hr challenge, take 2: Fabric (banner)
• Paper Craft Planet: Scrappy Sunday's Squared layout (week 1)
• Apron Strings: Birthday Challenge #6: Banner
• Apron Strings: Birthday Challenge #9: Chaos (that title tilted more than I intended!  By far!  Silly stamps are slipping all over their blocks- something's happened to their glue!)  And I hope I can use the same layout for 2 different bday challenges- I knew I wasn't going to be able to get another done tonight.  I guess I could say pg. 1 is for #9 and pg. 2 for #6.  ;)

A few hours after posting this, I can say I'm going to have to do something about that title block because I'm REALLY not liking it...  there's a task for another day though.

Young Love? layout

I'm not sure there's much to say about this one other than the ingredients, etc.

Papers: All prints from a stack that lost its cover- My Mind's Eye maybe.  Whisper White from Stampin' Up and black from a generic pack at Michaels

Stamps: Alphabet from $1 aisle at Target, SU's Handwritten Alphabet

Punches: SU's Boho Blossoms and Scalloped Circle

Ink: SU's Old Olive, Tim Holtz's Faded Jeans

Cricut Cartridge: Winter Wonderland

Challenges:

Sketches In Thyme's #39:

Sarah Hurley Challenge Blog #33: Flowers

Southern Girls Challenge Blog: Flowers



This is Halloween, this is Halloween...

Ok.  So there's this cool challenge over at SweetStamps.com: Challenge 5: Vellum or Parchment.  I kinda wanted to get in on it but was coming up a bit blank on what to do.  I looked at the DT samples.  GORGEOUS florals.  I looked at entries.  GORGEOUS florals.  What's a girl who's generally not into florals to do?  Hey!  Let's see what's on the stamp shelf that would look great in white... look!  A skeleton and a ghost!  Cool!  Halloween!  :) 

I feel that there's still something missing but I haven't figured out what. Part of me is screaming to put a black glittery flower on in place of the left bottom bat... we'll see. And yes, the crow at the top does stick up off of the edge. I like it as a topper.

The skeleton was stamped with VersaMark, topped with Heat & Stick powder and topped again with black glitter.  I then flipped it and dry embossed the back side of the vellum so that the skeleton raised and turned white.

Ingredients:

Stamps: SU's Scary Skeleton

Ink: VersaMark

Paper: SU: Elegant Eggplant (I think... definitely SU though!), Cast-a-Spell DSP, White vellum

           The Paper Company Studio: Jeepers Creepers Candy Corn Stripe, Black CS from Michaels

Accessories: SU: Heat & Stick powder, Martha Stewart: Black glitter, Cricut: Happy Hauntings

Other challenges:
Sweet Stampin Challenge:

Work of Art? layout

Who of us with kids hasn't been there?  The day you walk into you little monster's darling angel's monster's room and find that they've decided they don't like the wall color the way it is?  All I can say is thank you for Mr. Clean Magic Erasers! 
This layout is unlike any other I've done in that there's only one photo.  Of course, that's because I only took one because it said it all!  Since I usually work on 12x12 pages and this is 6x6, I think I'll eventually incorporate it in to a larger "art" page I do.

You know the drill- the first picture is clearer but way off tilt (did I mention I have no software to rotate photos in anything but 90deg increments?  Grrrr.)  The 2nd frames better but loses some color definition.  My photos would be SO much better if I'd wait to take pix during the day with some real light but I always just want to get them posted when I finish them which almost always means after everyone else has gone to bed.

Challenges:
Crop Stop: Challenge #9: Sketch + use Spellbinders

Ingredients:

Paper: SU's Tempting Turquoise &... some light aqua color. Sorry.  Brown from an unknown source.

Stamps: SU's Weathered, Letters from a Target $1 aisle set

Ink: SU's Whisper White, VersaMark, Walnut Stain Distress Ink

Accessories: JoAnn's Copper EP, Spellbinders' Large Oval (2nd smallest), Crayola stick-ons (from Michaels), White gel pen

A Boy's Bad Day layout

Here's one I've wanted to scrap but hadn't gotten around to until Better Living Through Scrapbooking gave me a shove.  Their theme for March's First Challenge is a bad day: this challenge is to "scrap one of those times that things didn’t go as you’d planned. Make a layout that preserves a highly anticipated day that went badly, an unwelcome disruption of a big event, or just your run of the mill bad day."  I was going to scrap something about myself but I figure that my "One Little Word" class will address enough of my hangups and angsts that I don't need to revisit them here.  LOL!  Then I saw Corrie Jones' DT layout about her daughter and that reminded me of this page that I've had on hold.  (Sorry for the "flash-blast" on Boy's face!)

The additional rule is to use at least two of the following: (I did 1, 2 & 4)
1. Include hidden journaling about the event that inspired your layout. (you can see that the WAAAARGHHH!!! is used as a handle to pull out additional journaling, detailing what I wanted to capture initially in this "photo shoot": The Boy's favorite toys.)
2. Draw or doodle a border to a picture on the layout. (The "explosive" edging around the main photo and journaling was penned.)
3. Make one prominent item one that isn’t a traditional scrapbooking element. Leave the paper crafting section of your local craft store – or leave the craft store alltogether – to find an interesting focal point for your project.
4. Write about it – if you have a blog, or if you post the project to an online gallery, write a description of the event that inspired the project. When you put your layout in the mini-gallery, leave a comment with a link to the blog post or gallery entry.  (You're reading it.)

The layout is from Coordinates Collection's March single page sketch challenge.  I added an extra photo instead of some of the decorative edging in the column and I flipped the layout since my photos were facing left but other than that, for once I stayed pretty true to the sketch.

I'm also entering this in Craft Your Passion's Challenge #48: Anything Goes

Ingredients:

Stamps: SU's Toy Box, SU's Brushstroke Alphabet, Letters from a Target $1 aisle set

Paper: SU's Whisper White, Brilliant Blue and Pumpkin Pie (textured)

Coloring: Zig Pens, Staedtler watercolor pencils

Other: SEI's Monsterville Blurb, "W" tile from K&Co.

Meet Me on Monday

1. What is your favorite way to eat potatoes?
Hmmmm.... french fries (boardwalk style, ie. Thrashers, now Wendy's, 5 Guys, etc.) or twice baked.

2. What was the last package that was delivered to your house?
A box of goodies from Melanie @ Scrappily Ever After - winnings from a giveaway she had during her Craft Room Cleanup Bootcamp.

3. What is your favorite scent that you love to smell?
Honeysuckle
4. Do you smoke?
I've never even had a single puff.  I came REAL close to taking it up a few years ago as stress relief but found out I was pregnant at the most stressful point.  Boy.  THAT helped my stress level.  hahahaha!
5. Are your parents married or divorced?
Married.  If I've done my math right, this year is 45yrs.

Baseball wishes

I'm jumping in on the Apron Strings Bday Bash #4 challenge.  We were supposed to pick our favorite types of cakes from a list of possibilities.  I chose choc. cake, coconut cream filling, choc. frosting and icing letters.
That got me a brown background, summer print paper, ribbon and rub on letters.  I made this one a bit quickly but I did it as it came to me.  I was going to use a bright floral print but then I came across some baseball paper I was given and thought of the hubby and The Boy who happened to be at a baseball game while I was working.  It went from there.  I stretched "ribbon" a bit to twine (and tied it a bit like a baseball bat... a bit!) and honestly, I don't have any rub-on letters.  I thought I did but they turned out to be stickers so I used them instead (if I hadn't told you, you might not know.)  I can see this going to one of The Boy's friends this summer for a birthday card.

The brown papers are Kraft and Close to Cocoa (SU) and the "Have A" is from SU's Prehistoric Party set.  The baseball paper... couldn't tell you.  I picked some cuts of it up from a "freebies" table at an all-day scrap I went to. 

I'm also entering this in Kraftin' Kimmie's #68 challenge: Twine or floss

3/8 Note: Hmmm.  Apparently this was supposed to be a layout for AS Bday bash... oops.  :)  That's ok.  I'll still get some use from the card.

Big Blog Hop with a Bigger Prize

Today is Jenn's 32nd bday and she's celebrating in a big way.  She's got a blog hop going on with 34 other participants.  Quite a few have blog candy and Jenn's giveaway is HUGE.  Go check it out.

Rhythm of the Home

Hey all.  Just wanted to share a great project site with a fantastic giveaway with you.  I just found Rhythm of the Home this morning.  They apparently e-publish a bunch of seasonal projects and just released their spring version.  They're also giving away a lot of what you'll find in this edition later this week.  Definitely worth a look-see.