Drumroll Please...

I am back to announce two lucky winners from last week's Scraptastic giveaway!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

26

Timestamp: 2013-12-23 13:20:38 UTC

Here are your random numbers:

10

Timestamp: 2013-12-23 13:20:57 UTC

And the winners are:

Kristin said...

My favorite christmas activity is all the good food I get to eat!!!

Such a great kit ...so much fun!!!

Pam said...

My favorite Christmas activity is SLEEPING IN LOL But I also love decorating our house for the Christmas season. Inside and outside.

December 17, 2013 at 4:36 PM 

Congratulations ladies! Kristin will receive Scraptastic's Home for the Holidays kit, add-on, and stamp set. Pam will receive Scraptastic's This Life Noted kit for December, along with another fabulous stamp set. Please send your address to me at madelinefox [at] cox [dot] net, and I will pass them along to Jessica at Scraptastic. 

Here is another layout with the wonderful Home for the Holidays kit and add-on from Scraptastic. I used Susan Stringfellow's December sketch, which you can find HERE on the Scraptastic blog.

Little gold dots of Liquid Pearls embellish the red letter stickers below:

Here's wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

Home For The Holidays Give-Away!

Today I have a fabulous give-away to announce! Just in time for your seasonal scrapping, one lucky winner will receive their very own Home for the Holidays kit, add-on, and stamp set from Scraptastic:

    

Seriously, this kit is chock full of all the little miscellany that make creating pages fun. Layered chipboard stickers, vellum and gold die-cuts, exclusive wood veneers and flair. Check out the gold doilies on vellum...sooo pretty! Oooo...and don't forget about the stamps:

To be entered in the drawing to win this prize pack from Scraptastic, leave a comment on this post and tell me your favorite Christmas activity. Entries end on Saturday night, and the winner, chosen at random, will be announced Monday on the blog.

A second lucky winner will receive the Scraptastic This Life Noted kit for December, along with another fabulous Scraptastic exclusive stamp set. 

Here's a look at one of the layouts that I created with the Home For The Holidays kit:

Down in New Orleans we don't have a "real" winter. There will be no skiing, sledding, or ice skating, and no snowy landscapes out my window. IF we get the rare snow, it's but a few flakes that melt on their way down. But we DO have a fabulously frosty cultural icon in our beloved Mr. Bingle. Here he is, centerpiece of a newly opened miniature golf course in the park. 

Nevermind that this photo was taken in the dog days of summer! Scraptastic's Home for the Holidays kit was the perfect accompaniment.

Merry & Bright

Today I'm sharing a project of mine that was showcased on the American Crafts blog last Friday. The entire week was dedicated to holiday projects such as this, and now begins a week of neighbor gifts. There are lots of great ideas. Check it out if you haven't already! 

Here is my festive tree frame:

This holiday frame features several papers and stamps from the American Craft Autumn Crisp collection. I chose a fresh, updated color scheme and added details such as buttons, glitter stars, and stitched wording, along with a pretty embossed border. Detailed instructions are included below.

 

Instructions:
1.    Cut turquoise Willow Road paper (366521)-Autumn Crisp into a 9x12 rectangle.
2.    Cut white center of Maple Street paper (366516)-Autumn Crisp into a 7x10 rectangle, and adhere to center of turquoise paper.
3.    Stamp and emboss the turquoise paper in white, using the berry branch from the Autumn Crisp Pine stamp set. Arrange so as to slightly overlap the branches at each corner.
4.    Cut trees in the following dimensions (left to right as shown):

• Pink, Park Place paper (366519)-Autumn Crisp (Height 4 ½ in. Base 2 ¾ in.)
• Polka dot print, Warm Welcome paper (366160)-Polka Dot Party (Height 4 in. Base 2 ¼ in.)
• Plaid, Poplar Place paper (366524)-Autumn Crisp (Height 5 in. Base 2 ¾ in.)
• Brown polka dot print, 6x6 Paper Pad (366086)-Cut & Paste (Height 4 in. Base 2 ½ in.)

5.    Ink edges of trees and set aside for ink to dry.
6.    Generously spread Crystal Zazz glitter glue onto chipboard stars from the Cut & Paste Adhesive Chipboard Pieces pack. Set aside to dry.
7.    Stitch sentiment onto bottom of white rectangle, using stitching template and pink floss from Right Now Alpha (366082)-Cut & Paste. Adhere star sequin above the base of the letter “i”. (Hint:  With pointy pencil, mark scrap paper with phrase and use this paper to center words on background before punching holes.)
8.    Adhere trees as shown, leaving space for trunks, stars, and button toppers.
9.    Add trunks to trees by cutting and notching brown sticker from Cut & Paste 12" Epoxy Borders.
10.  Add trim to second tree, red and white ric-rac from Epoxy Borders pack. Sew red button on top.
11.   Sew white buttons onto fourth tree, with one on top.
12.   Adhere stars at the top of the first and third trees as shown.
13.   Add glossy paint to berries and let dry thoroughly.
14.   Place in 9 in. x 12 in. frame and enjoy!


This star garland, shared in my last blog post, was made from many of the same papers as my frame!

One compliments the other!

Paper Star Garland

Folding and weaving the pretty little 8-point stars seen below can be very addictive! Check out this easy to follow Instructional Video for the One Million Stars Project and imagine the possibilities. Make them large or small. Use ribbon, paper, or magazine pages for your strips. String them up to hang in a window or on a Christmas tree. They also make cute embellishments; add one to a card or scrapbook page!

This star garland, created for American Crafts' November 2013 Design Team Gallery, will be a colorful addition to my Christmas tree this year:

Each star is made from four 1/2-inch x 12-inch strips of patterned paper, and results in a 2-inch x 2-inch star. No adhesive needed! Just cut, weave, fold, tuck, snip. After doing a few, you can do it in your sleep...almost. ;)

Try it. Bet you can't make just one!

Patterned papers-American Crafts' Amy Tangerine Cut & Paste and American Crafts' Autumn Crisp.

Another Christmas Layout

The color scheme for this Christmas page was chosen to compliment the photo, one of my dad reveling in his job as Santa. Sorting through the papers from American Crafts' Peppermint Express collection, I picked out all of the blue, pink, red and brown, purposefully ignoring those that were green, and came up with the pretty combination below. 

Here is a close-up of the banner:

Two of my favorite stamps from the Peppermint Express stamp set were made to resemble postage stamps:

How do you scrap Christmas? Do you go with traditional colors, let your photos dictate your color scheme, OR do you do a bit of both?

Peppermint Express

Shuffling through my Christmas photos from last year I'm getting in the spirit. Thinking  about all the shopping I have yet to complete, I'm getting nervous! Recently I heard a statistic that surprised me. Evidently more than 60% of the population are already finished their Christmas shopping! Ha! Then the malls shouldn't be too bad next week, right? ;)

Here are two seasonal projects that were recently featured on the American Crafts' blog, showcasing their beautiful Christmas collection, Peppermint Express. It's such a fun collection, combining traditional colors and icons.

I love all the sparkle and shine of the foil and glitter enhanced accents. A little Zazz glitter glue, dabbed onto the festive bulb paper, mimics the effect.

Satiny ribbons are layered behind the die-cut tree for this festive card. The glittery dimensional star finishes it off perfectly!

So...who's already finished their holiday shopping?! If you're like me and haven't started, are you beginning to feel the pressure? :D

Fall Colors?

Here in Louisiana, we have a different kind of fall, without the colorful show of leaves typical in other parts of the States. The cypress trees in my yard go from green to down-on-the-ground brown, while the live oak in the front yard remains green throughout the year! You won't find postcard pretty scenes of red, orange, and yellow, at least not in my neighborhood. So I decided to use the autumn color palette of Scraptastic's Home kit to scrap this photo of my son in a (very) orange shirt!

The "5 Great Things" ticket shaped sticker inspired my journaling, where I listed five great things about the day. Finally, the die-cut title was enhanced by writing over the letters using Chestnut Liquid Pearls...and a somewhat steady hand. ;) 

So there you go. See how the cacophony of warm colors in Scraptastic's Home kit worked perfectly for my out-of-season photo? I love it! 

Pretty Clever Camo

I've finally had a chance to play with Scraptastic's November "Home" kit, and wow...I've found another favorite paper...the golden leaf print you see below. It is simply gorgeous, so after cutting a strip for this page, I portioned out two more pieces for upcoming layouts. 

Cardstock challenged, I much prefer using subtle patterned paper for my backgrounds. However, by treating this creamy solid cardstock to gold and yellow mists, and then stamping a random crosshatch design (stamp from the "We Are Family" kit), I was able to make it a little more interesting.

Feathers and leaves are tucked behind an exclusive flair badge in a wonderful chestnut color:

I really love the houndstooth design printed on this Maya Road wooden heart. The little wood veneer bird (from my stash) was inked in a coffee brown.

Giraffes are such cool animals, and you have to agree, they camouflage themselves well in the dense brush of ...Walt Disney World! ;)

Do You Believe In Magic?

The sign beneath the altar said "SERIOUSLY, DO NOT TOUCH". Another sign in the shop asked that pictures not be taken. Seriously? How could I NOT...take a picture, that is?! Unless the sign were in a museum or some other venue where a flash would cause harm to the artwork, a sign such as that seems more like a dare. And only solidified my determination to take a picture. Camera at my waist, flash off, I stealthily snapped one of a really creepy assemblage of artifacts. Odd statues, dead flowers, candles, jewelry and coins were scattered beneath a weird painting of a snake-haired lady.

This was Marie Laveau's VooDoo Shop in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The place obviously attracts a lot of tourist traffic, but look around and you will see that the shop definitely caters to those who believe. "Recipe" books and the ingredients for any sort of "potion" you can imagine are in the back, along with knowledgeable staff who will read your palm and help you choose whatever talisman or charm you need to help ward off those evil spells...or cast one yourself. Voodoo dolls anyone?

Here's how I scrapped that furtive photo:
  

I was inspired by THIS sketch from the talented Susan Stringfellow's Sketch Savvy blog.

Most of the patterned papers are from Echo Park's Chillingsworth Manor collection. Other supplies include patterned paper and die cut paper from BasicGrey, wood veneer birds from Studio Calico, alphabet stamps, an old script background stamp, a foliage stamp, date stamp, ink, ribbon, and shipping tags.

Eeek! Do YOU believe in magic?!

In Real Life

Several months ago I had the chance to visit with some scrappy friends on the west coast, most of whom I have known for years. With the exception of one, I had never met them in real life! I was in the Seattle area for a Fair Trade workshop and added on an extra day so that I could meet the girls at the beach. We had SO much fun. 

After lunch on the day of my departure, we had a group picture taken by the restaurant's friendly hostess. It was a bit blurry but still a treasure. Here we are, together, in real life.

We sure packed a lot of fun in those last 24 hours. (The other girls had the whole weekend.)

Then off again to catch my plane.

Supplies: Patterned paper-October Afternoon, Simple Stories. Chipboard-Crate Paper, Basic Grey. Labels-Jenni Bowlin, October Afternoon. Brad-Simple Stories. Flair-Basic Grey. Bitty bag-Webster's Pages. Letter stickers-October Afternoon. Sheer letters-Heidi Swapp.

 Good friends, good food, and a couple of art projects to top it all off. In fact, I'll have to share those projects one day!

Magical Memories

It's finally done! It was one of those photos that kept getting relegated to the back of the pile. We're at Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World, getting ready to experience a most amazing day of fun. It's a great photo. But somehow, I never had the papers, patterns, colors, etc. to inspire me. Uninspired, I didn't even want to try. So it remained in the pile...until I paired it with these papers from Dear Lizzy's Polka Dot Party. Now I'm not sure which part of the page is my favorite!

The first word of my title was stitched with the help of an Amy Tangerine stenciling kit:

I love this little cluster of fussy cut papers. (Some are remnants of older Dear Lizzy collections.)

And the "piece de resistance" are the beautifully patterned satin ribbons shimmering beneath the cut out moon and stars. 

 

Here it is, all put together:

  

I'm so glad to have finally scrapbooked this favorite photo!

Embracing the Pink

Here is the second page I created Scraptastic's October kit, Never Tear Us Apart. Although it features a photo of three boys, my son and his cousins, I didn't hesitate to use pink.

A large swath of pink woodgrain paper was layered over the background sheet of kraft. Corners of the paper are turned in to expose the pink and grey chevron print on the reverse. I love how the mix of soft colors compliments my photo.

A cross-stitcher from way back, I couldn't wait to punch holes and stitch over the heart shape on the woodgrain accent card (cut from one of the patterned papers in the add-on). Thread was chosen in a blue color pulled from the other patterned papers. It really stands out against the dark woodgrain print.

 

Do you see those colorful "diamond" print strips that run across the top and bottom of the pink woodgrain patterned paper? They weren't originally diamonds.

The strips were strategically cut from the hexagon print paper in the kit. The hexagons were too big and busy for what I wanted to do with them. Cutting them down into diamonds was the perfect solution!

When scrapping the guys in your life, do you embrace the pink?

Top Chef

I cook...so we can eat...so that we live. Although I'm a good cook, it's not my favorite thing to do by far. Tommy, however, LOVES to cook. He enjoys the process as well as the results. And yes, he is a good cook, a very good cook. But even if he wasn't, it wouldn't matter, because any meal I don't have to make is a good meal as far as I'm concerned!

The layout I'm sharing today celebrates my husband's love for cooking. I nominate him Top Chef:

A creative title was fashioned by inserting a mason jar wood veneer in place of the letter "O":

Various stickers and cut-apart papers were assembled into a fun little banner that was pop-dotted off the page:

 

This page was created with Scraptastic's October kit, Never Tear Us Apart, and its add-on, including lots of goodies from Crate Paper's Close-Knit collection.

Model Behavior

These boys are such good sports. On this particular day, walking through the French Quarter with my mom and sisters, we were constantly asking them to stand here or there, posing in front of various scenic spots. It could be an interesting wall, an old weathered door, a stately column, etc. They always obliged. Here is Kevin and his cousin in front of a particularly interesting set of doors. Were they set in Europe, I'd swear they dated from medieval times!

Supplies: Patterned paper and chipboard frames-AC Dear Lizzy Polka Dot Party, Stickers, chipboard elements, stitching template-AC Amy Tangerine Cut & Paste, Thickers-American Crafts, Mist-Studio Calico.

Now that the weather has cooled off a bit, I'm ready for another photo walk in the French Quarter. Who wants to come along?!

Crazy Days

What happened?! I thought I had everything under control. But then things got a bit out of hand. Sorry about letting this blog go stale. I have excuses. 

First off, I decided to look for a J.O.B., a job that pays, something I haven't really had for over 13 years, since the youngest was born. Yikes! Not fun, especially since I let my medical technology license expire in 2004. Ooops.

Secondly, I am the sole "school bus" driver as we were not able to find a carpool for Kevin this year. It feels like I'm ALWAYS in the car. When he had exams last week (half days) I didn't even bother going home. I dropped him off each day and went to a nearby park to read...or walk...or take pictures, then picked him up a few hours later. 

And there's our crazy evenings...2 hours of swim practice followed with hour after hour of homework. Yes, homework involves me. You wouldn't believe how much science and history I've relearned this year. And math. I'm getting pretty good at algebraic word problems!

So, that's my story. 

I might not have done much in the way scrapbooking...but I have pictures from my walks in the park! Enjoy!

 

Done Is Done

Back in August, Susan Stringfellow created this wonderful design for the sketch challenge at Scraptastic. I loved all the layered papers, the fun little banner and the circle elements, and decided I would use it for one of my kit layouts. 

I kept my page very close to the original sketch, horizontally flipping a few of the design elements, but otherwise following Susan's prompts for the rest. 

My favorite part of the page is the little cluster of elements below the photo: a paper frame, cut apart tags from Elle's Studio, and an exclusive Scraptastic flair.

What I am not so wild about is the cardstock background. Sigh...I should have added mist, paint, or stamping. But done is done! It now has journaling and is in the books...literally.

When you have a scrapbook page that doesn't meet your expectations, do you let it go and just move on? Or do you try to "fix" it?