I thought I'd share....

.... a few sneak peeks of the February kit:









I love how versatile and easy to work with this kit is. I brought it along to a crop a couple of weekends ago and got six layouts done with it in one evening.

Random Thoughts

I often find that it's easy to document the events in our lives: birthdays, Christmas, vacations, etc. What isn't easy, and what doesn't seem to come naturally to us as scrapbookers is documenting the everyday. The stuff that's part of our routine and what makes our family a family. I know that sometimes I'll think these things are irrelevant and silly to scrap about: how dh always has to clean the house from top to bottom every Friday, how anal I am about having to put everything away before I go to sleep, how our cats wake us up at 2 am for food by stepping all over us until we give in....you get the point. What we're even worse at is documenting ourselves. What we're like as an individual. Not just as a mom, or a wife, or a daughter.

With everything going on in the world today, and all the tragedies that seem to occur daily, I started thinking - what kind of picture am I leaving about myself and my family? If someone was to flip through my scrapbooks, would they get an accurate picture of my life? Or would they just see the landmarks and the happy moments?

So my goal this year is to be more intentional about documenting those moments - happy or sad, about myself or about my family and what makes us tick. Life isn't always happy! So why should our scrapbooks pretend that they are? Our lives are filled with stories daily - no matter how mundane they seem to be - but I'm sure our scrapbooks don't always show it.

Just a little note...

that I won't be in the shoppe much this week...
I'll be placing CHA orders instead (you'll thank me later). ;)

Two for one

It's no secret that I'm pretty cheap, I mean frugal. I don't mind spending money on scrappy supplies and will splurge on pricier items, but if I do, then I want to get the most bang for my buck.

I love diecut papers and often prefer using them as the backgrounds for my layouts.

I snatched this Little Yellow Bicycle diecut patterned paper this past summer and finally made a layout with it:



And because I like to get my money's worth, and because I struggle with how to store these layouts in my albums, I used the back of the paper to created this layout:



Supplies used: Cosmo Cricket patterned paper (green), Little Yellow Bicycle patterned paper journaling card and stickers and Pink Paislee chipboard letters, all from the Shoppe.

To see other layouts that I've made using both sides of a piece of diecut paper, click here.

*By the way, I picked the winner from last week's challenge and the winner is...... Val! (I'll leave it for you the next time I stop at the Shoppe.) Thanks to everyone who participated!

I get bored easily.  It's true.  It's not something I'm proud of, but again, it's true. 

I get bored of doing one thing all the time.  That's why I go through stages when I will do a lot of sewing or a lot of scrapping or a lot of crocheting or a lot of cooking/baking. 

So, this week, I tried my hand at something new.

Instead of using paper, I used fabric!
The background and the white that the photo is on, are both fabric.

It was a challenge, because I couldn't use any glue (it just sinks into the fabric, and I didn't have any fabric glue on hand) so I pretty much sewed everything on.  The little circle tag is sewn on by a line of stitches (hand stitched) and so are the red fibres at the bottom. 

My journalling is tucked in behind the photo on a little strip of white cardstock. 

I'm incredibly happy with how this turned out.  It's simple, but mostly, it was really fun to make!

I'm thinking it might be really neat to buy some of that printable iron on transfer stuff  (do you know what I mean?) and make a layout with all fabric materials, and maybe make it into a pillow!  I think they would make cute Valentine's day gifts for the grandparents!

Happy Thursday everyone!

Mid-Month Challenge - This Year...

I don't know about you, but I was never a New Years Resolution type of person. In fact, I kind of hate goal-setting in general. Maybe it's because I'm so A-type that if I know I'm going to fail something, I don't even try to do it in the first place. Ha!

But this month's mid-month challenge (that's a mouthful) made me realize that not all goals had to be super specific, like having to lose 20 lbs in a month, or not eating sweets (yeah...right!). Instead, I focused on more relational things for the most part, which really don't have a definitive 'done' point to them. Does that even make sense? In other words, I chose goals that weren't necessarily quantifiable. Wow, did I really just use that word on a scrapbooking blog? Yikes. That must mean it's time to shut up and show the pics already!

The book was made entirely out of Maya Road Kraft Envelopes. For the cover, I cut the largest size envelope along the folded seams so I could fit lots inside, and so that it still looked like an envelope when closed. Studio Calico Homefront pp and alphas, October Afternoon Wild Cards, Sassafras paper whimsies, Maya Mist and Collage Press journaling labels completed the book. It took me 3 hours to get it all done, which is a record for me. All of the journaling, or my goals for the year, are hidden inside each envelope.

Journaling: This year, I want to spend more quality time with Kent

Journaling: This year, I hope to restore lost and broken relationships with friends + family.

[I have no idea why this is yellow tinted, I couldn't fix it!]
Journaling: This year, I want to learn how to sew! No more paying for hemming pants!
Journaling: This year, I want to take more pictures and capture more of our everyday moments so I can scrapbook them.
Journaling: This year, I hope to be finished with all the house renovations and just enjoy this house.
Journaling: This year, Kent turns 30 and I want to surprise him with a vacation somewhere warm this winter.

Like every other month, post your layouts for this challenge to this thread and we'll draw a winner at random to win a RAK! Happy goal setting!

A random burst of energy....

so i've had these photos since last June.
and yesterday i decided i HAD to get a mini book
done.. and done it got!!!
i ended up using only 2 sheets of patterned
paper and a sheet of cream cardstock..
some alpha, some chipboard, and voila!!!


..I have this mini-album almost done. I have to go over the journalling with
black marker. maybe add a little extra detail or two. I did the cover so the book can stand and the photo on top can be displayed.


...the page on the right has a pocket with the letter Jolie wrote to her
teachers.

...the opposite page has the letter that the principal wrote to Jolie.


...if you click on the pictures i think they will open a window bigger, and
then you can read the journalling.


...the clear page has the newspaper article Jolie was in..i used the packaging
from some embellishment i had.




...another page...


...and another.


...i love the little doggy on the back.


...and i just wanted to let everyone know that this is my last
monday blog till April. i am taking a little break, i am not
quitting the DT, but i just some time to refuel my energy and
find some creativity again. I hope to continue posting los..

so thanks for your understanding!!
later gaters!!

Jen

Journaling cards

I love to used journaling cards on my layouts/cards and October Afternoon's journaling cards are some of my favourites.

The other day, when I was making a layout, I thought I'd use the top right hand card from this sheet:



But, then I felt the yellow polkadots weren't the right colour and with my white cardstock background the off-white of the card didn't work as well. So, I decided to make my own.

I opened up a text box in word and made it the same size as the OA journaling card. With some more text boxes, I made a title ("Take note:"), some red journaling lines by using the "shift+-" key and then added some computer journaling, adjusting my line spacing so that it would fit perfectly. I then printed it out on white cardstock, added a strip of red polka-dotted OA pp and adhered it to my layout.

Here's what it looks like:



And how it looks on my layout:



So here's my challenge to you.... I challenge you to make your own journaling card this weekend with the online crop. It can be with the computer like I explained or you could do it by hand-- it's up to you. Post it in the MSS gallery before midnight on Sunday, January 17th and I'll give a RAK to the person who's name I pick.

Can't wait to see what you come up with!

And the winner is...

LEIGH!

My darling hubby picked your name out of the hat.  Congrats! I know how much you like Pink Paislee...does the line that's now in the Shoppe appeal to you at all? Check it out here.  You have won one of everything from the Cupid line.  Or, if you've already bought it, the equivalent in other Shoppe product! PM me for details.

Thanks to all of you ladies who participated!  I really enjoyed offering a challenge, and if you guys like it, maybe I'll do it once a month. 

I'd like to show you what the ladies did with the challenge, because they are all such great layouts!

From Sherri:

From Julia:

From Susi:

and finally from Leigh:

Thanks again everyone for participating!

Happy Thursday!

It's the most wonderful time of the year

Know how they say Christmas is the best time of year? Well, they lied. The best time of year actually happens twice a year - once in the winter, and once in the summer. Because that's when the new scrapbooking lines come out! Lame, I know, but I always get excited to see all the new product out there. Here's a few sneaks I've come across, and some things I'm personally excited about:

American Crafts - AC announced its new line by Elizabeth Kartchner and I'm definitely liking what I see! I mean, come on - those fabric flowers are adorable!
Basic Grey - They have 2 new lines, Sugar Rush and Origins. The bloomers are to die for!

Crate Paper - They're releasing 3 collections this time around: Brooke, Pink Plum and Paper Doll. I'm loving the pattern on Ripple and the circles on Sunshine.


Jillibean Soup - I don't know what it is about the numbers, but I just love them. They'd work great on a mini.
Making Memories - These glitter tickets are so cute!

My Mind's Eye - 3 new collections, Quite Contrary, Lush and Lil Robots. Appropriately, the paper I like the most is called Sooo Cute - because it really is!

Pink Paislee - They have 3 new collections and some sneaks here. The colours of the Queen Bee collection are calling me!

Sassafras - They've been playing a game with their sneaks, giving away a letter a day and a new 'puzzle' until the full reveal. Is that bingo card paper I spy?? Sigh.


Studio Calico - MSS just got their first line not too long ago and I fell in love with it! Here's a sneak of their newest release. That tree paper on the far left? I'm in heaven!!
So what's your favourite sneak you've seen so far? Stay tuned to the message boards for more peeks!

today...

Just wanted to pop in and let you know I will not be in the shop today. I have a sick kid at home. I'll pop in tomorrow afternoon to pack kits and mail them out though.

Distracted....

...with this



but i am planning to have
some challenges ready for
this weekend..

still wondering how to fill
my monday blog...

this week i also hope to finish
a mini book...and do a coupla
"just because" los..

what are your scrappy plans this
week???

g'nite!
Jen

Photoless moments

I find with all the busyness of the Christmas season, there are often moments I miss out on taking a picture of, but I still want to remember. So, I created this layout, using a photo of top of my piano to record them.



With so much journaling (because I missed a lot of moments!), I decided to make a pocket and hide the journaling in it, so the layout wouldn't seem too busy.



Supplies used: Bazzill cardstock, Fancy Pants patterned paper, Scenic Route letter stickers (red) and October Afternoon letter stickers (green), all from the Shoppe.

Guessing game...

Well, I said that I would announce the winner today of the challenge that I put forth a few weeks ago (see the original post here), however there was a request to extend the deadline, which I have done, by one week.  So, next week will be the absolute final deadline, and I will pull a name then!

For today though, I have a little sneak.  We're holding our monthly online crop next weekend, and each of us design team members come up with 2 challenges, so that you all have lots to do over the course of the weekend!

I've finished my layout for one of the challenges I'll be posting. 
Here's the catch though...I'm going to show you the layout, but I'm not telling you what the challenge will be.  So all you know is that my layout fulfills the challenge!

You have a whole week to guess what the challenge might be...happy guessing!!

January Kit

As previously mentioned, I love the January kit. It's the first kit I've gotten to work with as part of the DT, and it definitely didn't disappoint. And I don't know if it was the kit, or the fact that I had so much spare time over the holidays, but I was a scrapping machine! I'm lucky if I can do two layouts in one week. Well, with this kit I managed to not only pump out four layouts, but also a bunch of Christmas tags and I used some scraps for a mini (you'll have to wait to see this one). All in one week. Crazy, I know!

Here's what the DT made with this kit:

Marcy

Leigh

Jen
Nicole

Flo