Future Firemen

This is another project created for the American Crafts July gallery. Brendan and his fellow recruits were in the midst of their training, learning the ropes (or hoses as it may be). I'm so lucky to have these shots taken by one of the fire department guys! 

A single flair, button and brad make up a small cluster beneath the kraft envelope:

A speech bubble at the top of the page is home to a second cluster of fun objects:

 

Don't you love those whimsical little birds (tweets)? Stained yellow, this one coordinates nicely with some of the patterned papers...and he is so darned cute! I'll have to remember to pull out those little guys more often.

Time to run! But first I'd like to announce Scraptastic's 4th birthday celebration. If you're a fan of fun games and challenges, stop by the forum this weekend. There will be prizes including a 3-month subscription grand prize. We'd love to have you join us! 

That Last Wave...

Today I'm sharing a layout created for the American Crafts July gallery. For my page I decided to revisit a technique I've used before, and will undoubtedly use again...paper weaving! And just in time, as my vase of tear strips was stuffed to overflowing! Here's a peek at the backside of my woven mat, showing strips from the Cut & Paste, Polka Dot Party, and Plus One collections.

Here's the right side, all blues, greens, with a touch of brown and yellow:

As you can see by the finished layout, the only patterned paper besides the tear strips is a small rectangle of a yellow floral placed behind the photo:

A long title afforded me the opportunity to use several different packs of Thickers:

I love using a variety of fonts in my title. I don't know what I'd do without Thickers!

What do you do with the tear strips that you trim from patterned paper? I still have a couple of fists full in that vase of mine.

Something To Read

When I was a child, I loved the library. There was an entire room devoted to children's books, with a long wrap-around wall holding hundreds upon hundreds of J books, "just" for me. I'd scan the titles on the spines, pull out those that intrigued me, and read the inside flap summary before making my selections. Horse books were my favorite, as well as mysteries and adventure.

Well guess what? I've re-discovered the library! My Paperback Swap wishlist was moving way too slow, and the library...gasp!...has the books I want to read. Not everything is on the shelf, but I can order those I want and even have them delivered to the e-library near our house. So cool!

Before going on vacation last month, I gathered a few books for the beach, and recently scrapped a photo of the stack using Scraptastic's Either Way kit:

Here are a few closeups of the page:

Besides the books in the photos above, I've just finished reading The Rosie Project and Eleanor and Park, both highly recommended. Right now I'm in the middle of two science fiction novels. I know..."Why two?!" One lives in the car and I take it to swim practices while the other is besides my bed! I like to have books wherever I go. ;)

What have you read lately? Anything you'd recommend?

Cards for Everyday

Three of my cards were featured on the American Crafts blog last week. I usually stress out about my cards (they don't come naturally!), and these were no exception. But in the end, I like them; I really, really like them.

Why buy a card when you can make someone feel special with a handmade card? It doesn't have to be Valentine's Day or their birthday. Send one just because!

Warm the heart of that special someone with a card you've made yourself.

Scraptastic Kit Peeks

Take a look at the colorful sneak peeks from  Scraptastic! It's going to be hard to pick just one this month.  

August 2014 This Life Noted Kit-"Holy Moly, Me Oh My..."what a cute journaling card!

Celebrate Kit-a festive, happy kit, for so much more than birthdays. Those chipboard letters are the absolute cutest!

Boys of Summer kit-for boys and girls and adults too, the patterns are so versatile. I love those sheer letters and the flair. Game on!

Scrapping more boys than girls, I usually choose the kit that is more masculine. Lately, 

however, I've been making less obvious choices. We'll see!

A Button Challenge

There's a new challenge on the Scraptastic blog...buttons! Below are two examples that I created for (yesterday's) Thursday Challenge blog post. Both pages are created with products from Scraptastic's Either Way kit and add-on for July.

On Beach or Bust, several buttons are sewn onto the page, adding to the embellishment cluster at the bottom of the layered papers. Ooops...ignore that rogue "a" letter sticker; where the heck did that come from?! Journaling recounts how frustrating it is to travel to the Florida beaches on a Saturday in summer. The photo was taken at the start of our journey...before everyone's nerves had been frayed!

For the buttons on this page, I threaded a needle with floss and ran it all the way through the layout. Another method would be to tied the floss through the centers and then use adhesive to anchor the buttons to the page. Whatever floats your boat!

My next example is a page titled Springtime in Paris. No, we've never been, but we HAVE been to Epcot's France pavilion! I love how the fleur-de-lis turned out, cut with my die-cutting machine from the gold glitter paper in Scraptastic's Either Way add-on kit. 

Here I used a trio of buttons to compliment the die-cut flowers clustered along the bottom. And in this case, I wasn't compelled to add centers to my buttons. A little dab of liquid adhesive and they weren't going anywhere.

For a chance to win a future kit, enter a project in the challenge on the Scraptastic blog, where you will find more ways to use buttons by my friend, Susan Stringfellow.

Some people always like to finish off their buttons with thread, but I like the plain look just as well! What about you...any preferences?

Surf's Up!

I know this blog has sat untouched for a couple of weeks now, but I have a good reason. We've been on vacation! And you know how that goes, with so much to do when you return...laundry, shopping, cleaning house, editing photos, etc. One week away and it takes several to catch up! Now I'm ready to get busy scrapping those beach pics. Here's one created with Scraptastic's June kit, Sail. 

Surfer Dudes features several extra large horizontal flags, layered from behind a colorful border strip. The strip on the left also anchors the photo of my son with two of his cousins at "Surf Camp". They were practicing dry-land surfing maneuvers before heading out on the water for the first time. 

All of the nautical-themed stickers, die-cuts and phrases in the Sail kit and add-on made embellishing the page a breeze! I love the contrast of the kraft-colored pieces against the red, white, and blue patterned papers. I dressed the pieces up with white stitching before using them as landing spots for my various embellishments. 

Surf's up...errr, I mean, next up, is a great all-purpose card created with products from the Sail kit. I began by attaching an image from the cut-apart sheet to the reverse/white side of one of the Fancy Pants frames, and then adhering all to the folded red cardstock card base. A couple of embellishments were added to finish it off, and now it's ready to celebrate a summer birthday or to carry a little note to a friend. 

Like the card says, "Enjoy your day!"

Can It Be?

Does the calendar really say July? How did that happen?! The days move way too fast during the summer. It's such a great time of year when school and its accompanying pressures can be forgotten; and I want to enjoy every moment of it. Here is what the first day of "summer" looks like for me and my teen:

Everything is from the Scraptastic Sail kit and add-on. Two of the Fancy Pants frames, mounted on dark blue cardstock, highlight photos of that first day by the pool: my son after his morning swim practice, and my spot in the shade, with sunglasses, a good book, and an ice cold drink. 

The frames were further embellished with stickers:

A nautical-like flag was pieced from squares, triangles and rectangles of the same striped paper which borders the top and bottom of the page, with a wood veneer anchor, anchoring one side:

I love these lazy days by the pool. Take your time July and stay away August!

Bye-bye To A Scrapbook Icon

It wasn't exactly unexpected, as they haven't restocked popular products or ordered much in the way of new product for several months now. There's been lots of speculation and now it is confirmed. Two Peas is closing! Official word went out last week (while I was at the beach) and just as fast, the discussion boards were shut down. Word is that the gallery will go away on or around July 10th. Uh-oh!

So...if you are like me, and have quite a few years worth of work in their gallery, you may be interested in this fabulous gallery import tool developed by Scrapbook.com. With your pea number and one click, all your photos, complete with descriptions, original date, and title are uploaded into a new album on Scrapbook.com's website. Awesome sauce!

Spread the word to all your Pea friends before the images are lost forever!

Here's a link to the tool:

http://www.scrapbook.com/twopeas/

(The only thing that would make this better is a tool for uploading my favorites gallery!)