Time To Take In The Plants!

Geesh, I had just put them back out after a couple of weeks inside. But here we go again, with a freeze warning...sleet and freezing rain expected, possibly a few flakes. Flakes? Oh I wish! Snow is such a rarity around here. The last time it snowed, I ran outside and took a picture of the dusting. 

Below is a colorful page that I created for Winter Week on the American Crafts blog:

Sparkly snowflake stickers embellish the page, added to polka dots and tags:

A second page featured on the American Crafts blog includes a quote (found on Pinterest) that expresses my true feelings about cold weather:

Time to fly south little birdie!

And take me with you! It's still January, but I am SO ready for spring.

Let's Roll

It happens every December. While I am preparing the house for the holidays, shopping for presents, and celebrating with family, my photos are piling up! Then when the seasonal madness subsides, I find myself a bit overwhelmed. Returning to my scrap desk, I need a way to roll through some pages. That's when I return to some favorite all-purpose designs, such as the one used below. Scraptastic's Baby It's Cold Outside kit and add-on make it a breeze. 

A simple grid is defined by stitched lines surrounding punched squares of patterned paper. A title, a banner, and a bit of ephemera (ticket stubs) finish off this simple page. Done. Not every page needs to be complicated! Now back to that pile of pictures...

Do you have a favorite go-to design?

The Annual Christmas Pic

The kids have learned to tolerate it...the annual Christmas "photo shoot". It only takes a few minutes, but you'd think we were subjecting them to excruciating torture. All they have to do is stand there and smile, while my sisters and I snap away, hoping to get at least one photo where everyone has their eyes open. We do a photo of each family, and then gather up the cousins for one big group shot. As the kids get older, land jobs, move away, and even have families of their own, it's not so easy to have everyone in the same place at the same time. Last year was pretty successful, with all but my youngest sister's child present. 13 out of 14 is not too shabby!

The layout above was based on a sketch by Becky Fleck, and can be seen with the January PageMaps. Each member of the Scraptastic Design Team was given a different sketch to interpret and use with our kits. Here is the sketch on which I based my page:

A few changes were made and I had my page all laid out. Three photos were reduced to one, my title moved to the doily, and the tag/banner became a major design element. Here's a closeup:

I love all the gold embossed accents in Scraptastic's Home for the Holidays kit. The gold doily and gold vellum die-cuts were some of my favorites, along with the wood veneers.

Do you get many opportunities to take pictures of your extended family? I'm lucky in that most of us live in the New Orleans area. It becomes pretty special when the "outliers" return to spend Christmas with us! :)

I got a J.O.B.!

After 14 years as a stay-at-home mom, I ventured out and got a job. Yes, a J.O.B. It's not full time. I can hardly even call it part time! It's just perfect. I create my own hours, do the work when it fits my schedule, and get a little extra dough each month. Oh yeah...it will come in handy when Kevin begins his orthodontic treatment this month!

So that's what's been going on with me. Although the work itself is not extremely time consuming, the training was a bit intense, involving four days, five nights in Chicago. CHICAGO! In January! The week after that infamous polar vortex! Needless to say, I spent two weeks getting ready...buying long undergarments, gloves, a hat...things that I never have a need for in south Louisiana. Try finding a long coat in January. Not going to happen. I guess they are already making way for the swim suits. Macy's had a few leftovers along a short wall at the back of the store. Even Burlington COAT Factory had only rack after empty rack. So I had to do with what I already owned, a less than ideal situation.

Luckily, the weather cooperated, the polar vortex spun its way north, and temps were manageable. Here are a couple of pictures. The first is from the plane as we were about to land, downtown Chicago in the background:

and another through the window of the hotel shuttle, just a pretty snow covered neighborhood:

Sigh. That's all I saw of Chicago. One day, when the weather is warm, I'll have to go back and play tourist.

About that job: Sorry to be so mysterious about what I do, but it's kind of proprietary information that I cannot share, since it involves quality assurance assessments. Anyway, I think I'm going to like it. :)

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!