A Script for Scrappin'

Round Robin #1 for 2012!!!

2012-01-15T21:45:00.001-06:00

It's time for Round Robin and this time I went first. This is still my favorite Swirlydoos Challenge.

The twist this month was to use the song "Old Lang Syne" as the theme for the lo. First, I copied the words to the song on white cs and this is the strip used behind the title. Second, the song is about old acquantainces so I scrapped a picture of me and Roger. We have known each other for 14 years now. He knows me better than anyone (sometimes I don't like that about him!). My dd should be credited for taking this picture.

So, I used pp from the December kit as well as flowers from the December Swirlydoos and past kits. The pinecones were made from cs using a TH die.I used a Prima mask to create the brick pattern on the cs. The green letters are from a past kit and the black letters were from my stash of Thickers. I used a sketch from Got Sketch as my inspiration. tfl!

Round Robin for December

2011-12-14T15:49:00.000-06:00

My dd took some great pictures as we decorated the Christmas tree. She has a great eye and I can't wait to scrap some more of her pictures. Here is one I scrapped for the Round Robin in December. The challenge was to scrap a Christmas tradition and journal about it. This is a picture of Roger and me decorating his tree which I hope is a new tradition for us.

I used G45 Christmas papers along with some Prima leaves and poinsettia. Other flowers are from past Swirlydoos kits. The DA ornaments were altered with Puffs embossing powder-all from past Swirlydoos kits, too. The pins, ribbon, and jingle bells are from my stash. I used MS punches. And, my new favorite is the brick Prima mask that was used on the white cs. tfl!

Layout of the Week x 2!!!

2011-12-14T15:39:00.002-06:00

Thank you, Swirlydoos! The last two lo's I posted were chosen as LOTW- "Enjoy the Journey" in November and "Paris" this week. I am honored.

November Butterfly Challenge and Sketch Challenge

2011-12-01T23:09:00.000-06:00

I was inspired at the eleventh hour to create a lo for the November Butterfly Challenge. I used the Beau Jardin sketch to get me going.

The flowers are from various Swirlydoo kits while all the papers are from the Beau Jardin kit. I added some leaves from my stash. The Eiffel Tower was embossed with white Puffs embossing powder and then inked with TH Frayed Burlap (my new favorite color). Prima tape was added to the Martha Stewart heart punched strip. The Prima resin corners were inked with TH Frayed Burlap. Prima SIIP was cut into pieces and scattered throughout the lo. Crocheted doily is from Joann's.

Journaling is actually a part of "Paris", a poem written by Alan Seeger.

First, London, for its myriads; for its height,
Manhattan heaped in towering stalagmite;
But Paris for the smoothness of the paths
That lead the heart unto the heart's delight. . . .

Fair loiterer on the threshold of those days
When there's no lovelier prize the world displays
Than, having beauty and your twenty years,
You have the means to conquer and the ways,

And coming where the crossroads separate
And down each vista glories and wonders wait,
Crowning each path with pinnacles so fair
You know not which to choose, and hesitate --

Oh, go to Paris. . . . In the midday gloom
Of some old quarter take a little room
That looks off over Paris and its towers
From Saint Gervais round to the Emperor's Tomb, --

So high that you can hear a mating dove
Croon down the chimney from the roof above,
See Notre Dame and know how sweet it is
To wake between Our Lady and our love.

And have a little balcony to bring
Fair plants to fill with verdure and blossoming,
That sparrows seek, to feed from pretty hands,
And swallows circle over in the Spring.

There of an evening you shall sit at ease
In the sweet month of flowering chestnut-trees,
There with your little darling in your arms,
Your pretty dark-eyed Manon or Louise.

And looking out over the domes and towers
That chime the fleeting quarters and the hours,
While the bright clouds banked eastward back of them
Blush in the sunset, pink as hawthorn flowers,

You cannot fail to think, as I have done,
Some of life's ends attained, so you be one
Who measures life's attainment by the hours
That Joy has rescued from oblivion.

tfl!

Round Robin for November

2011-11-14T19:46:00.000-06:00

Well, it has been a looong time. I finally made my way to my scrapbook room and found enough mojo to create this lo for the Round Robin this month. As soon as my sister-in-law published this picture to facebook I knew I wanted to scrap it if she would let me. I asked her if I could have a copy of the picture and she shared the entire album from her photo shoot with her sons. Thank you, Gina!

I mixed some copper UTEE, TH Distress embossing powder in Vintage Photo and Black Soot which I then used to emboss the DA autumn circle. All the papers were from the "Rendezvous" kit from Swirlydoos. The flowers are Prima and Petaloo from various Swirlydoo kits. The leaves are Prima. I added some old buttons from Swirly Camp 2010. The burlap and hemp is from Joanne's. The RR twist was to use a transparency so I included the "Enjoy the Journey" transparency in my flower cluster. tfl!

Oh my!

2011-11-05T19:50:00.000-05:00

Wow! I finally produced a lo! But, you have to wait until the reveal day for Round #1 of the November Round Robin!

Round Robin #6

2011-06-26T12:33:00.000-05:00

Well, this is really bad. I still have 7 lo's and 3 projects that I have not posted from Swirly Camp in Colorado. But, it was my turn for the Round Robin challenge so I am posting my lift of Camilla now.

Three of the flowers are Color Me Crazy by Petaloo that I GM'd to match the lo. The pp is Timepieces by Bo Bunny. I added some DA, Prima pearls, and leaves from my stash. This is my ds's junior picture. He is now a senior. My how time flies! tfl.

My grandfather

2011-06-16T13:16:00.000-05:00

Here's another Swirly Camp layout using the June Swirlydoos kit.

I scrapped this picture of my grandfather. He flew quite a few air missions during the war. I don't know how my grandmother lived with him being in constant danger. They are such strong Christian people and I am so proud they are my grandparents. Love you both!

The clock is a TH die. I added some TH filmstrip and a Michael's medal given to me by Peggy. (Thank you, Peg!) The large flower was handmade by using layers of pp cut with the Tattered Florals TH die. The long strip of black was punched with a MS punch. tfl!

Man at Work

2011-06-16T13:04:00.000-05:00

Here is one of the lo's I created while at Swirly Camp in Colorado. Roger sent this picture to me as a joke but I told him I had to scrap it.

I had to print this one in b&w in order to make it work well with the pp. I used TH dies to make the gears and rosettes. All the pp is from the June Swirlydooes kit. Actually, this lo used up all the scraps I had remaining. There is some misting and inking here as well. (And, just think, Rachel wanted this picture so she could throw darts at it.)

"Create" chipboard Prima Album

2011-06-16T12:58:00.000-05:00

I promised to start posting all the things I made while in Colorado the first week of June, so here goes.

One of the classes we had this year was taught by our fearless leader, Krissy. It was a beautiful chipboard album decorated with all kinds of Prima goodies.

Here is the front cover:

This is the inside front cover:

And, here is the back cover:

Now, I need to decorated the 12 interior pages once I decide how I will be using this album.

Round Robin #5

2011-05-23T17:21:00.000-05:00

Finally! I did some scrapping. Wow, it has been a long time. I wasn't even sure I would get to finish today as our electricity went out while I was trying to finish my lo.

I made the big flower using the Tattered Florals die by TH and then followed Lisa G's tutorial. The other flowers are Petaloo with a few Prima buds thrown in for fillers. The chicken wire stamp is Prima. All the pp is from the May Swirlydoos kit. The picture of Kayla and me was taken last Labor Day while we were at Lake of the Ozarks. (Btw, I drove there this weekend and somehow still managed to work 21 hours at my pharmacy.) tfl!

Dock Dogs

2011-05-05T10:18:00.000-05:00

This one is so not my style but was done as a birthday gift by request.

The lo was framed in a 12x12 shadow box from HL. I used pp and embellishemnts from the LYB. The ribbons were the real deal from a Dock Dogs competition held earlier this year. tfl.

One more Deconstruction

2011-05-05T10:03:00.001-05:00

I should have been studying for finals but this was so much fun! Here's another cb piece that I soaked for 15 minutes in water so I could tear it apart. This is a Dusty Attic (DA) piece. I noticed that the DA pieces are better quality cb so make sure you soak them for the full 15 minutes.

For this piece I only separated the wings and her hair. Again, I covered the entire piece with gesso and sprinkled with Fairy Dust (how appropriate!). Then I used various colors of GM and Smooch on her wings. I inked the edges of her body with Chestnut Roan and the GM'd her body. The flower was painted with Smooch. I think that about covers it. tfl!

More Chipboard Deconstruction

2011-05-05T09:44:00.001-05:00

As promised, here are the MR angel wings.

This one also separated into two pieces. I hit it with some gesso, several colors of GM and Smooch. Then sprinkled with Fairy Dust and added some TH distress stickles. I already have an idea for this piece. tfl!

Chipboard Alterations

2011-05-04T14:32:00.001-05:00

I will do anything to avoid studying! You know, the house needs to be cleaned, floors swept and mopped, laundry needs to be done. Heck! I even need to wash the rugs and clean the bathrooms.

Well, I did all of that and actually did some studying. Thank goodness this is the last semester of finals because I am burnt out. Soooo, now the house is clean. What else can I do besides study? Leave it to me to step into paradise (a.k.a. my scrap room). Shona found this idea and shared it at Swirlydoos so I decided to give it a whirl today.

Here's the before and after:

What a great way to alter your cb and add some dimension to a lo! To make this flower I soaked the cb in water for 15 minutes then proceeded to separate the cb layers. I did two different cb pieces and they both separated into two pieces. Then I continued to peel apart the layers of each piece. I dried the separate pieces with my heat gun which helped them to curl up a bit. Then I hit them with several colors of GM. I dabbed the edges with several colors of Smooch then used Zip Dry to put the layers back together. I alternated the petals as I glued the layers back together. I put some glitter glue in the center. I used my McGill Sunburst punch to punch five pieces that were layered to create the center. The Petaloo leaf was the finishing touch! I am working on a MR piece next and will post when I am done. tfl!

April Sketch Challenge

2011-04-27T20:13:00.002-05:00

Here's my interpretation of the April Swirlydoos sketch challenge.

All the papers, butterflies, cb letters, and flowers are from the current month's kit. I used my Tattered Florals TH die and Sunburst McGill punch to make the two large flowers. Lisa G., aka Starsailor, has a tutorial for these flowers over at Swirlydoos. The bling is from my stash. The small butterflies and cb letters were embellished with Liquid Pearls included in the kit. These pictures were taken Labor Day weekend 2010 while Roger and I were goofing off. The pictures had horrible shadows so I used the Lullaby action on Florabella to improve the overall lighting. tfl!

Round Robin #4 for 2011

2011-04-15T07:50:00.000-05:00

It is time for the monthly Round Robin Reveal. This week I followed QT and scrapped a picture of my dd on her 15th birthday. It is hard to believe that she is old enough for a driver's permit. Soon she will be driving off on her own just like my ds. Time goes by too quickly.

Everything is from the latest Swirlydoos kit except the small flowers scattered around the page. The two pp flowers were made with the Tattered Florals die by TH and the Sunburst punch by McGill. Lisa G. made these flowers and posted a tuturial at Swirlydoos. I lifted another DT member, Camilla, and fussycut the pp for part of the background. The DA was Glimmer Misted, then Smooched, and hit with various TH distress embossing powders. TH distress inks used on the cardstock. tfl!

Round Robin #3 for 2011

2011-03-21T11:23:00.000-05:00

Ok, got mine photographed so I could upload. I did go with Pat's theme and I scrapped my granmother who passed away last January. She was a wonderful lady full of energy-- always. This is a pic of us in Mexico. We would go visit her in TX and then she would take us into Mexico, South Padre, or anywhere else we wanted to go. And, she could stay up playing cards longer than any of us! I included the 23rd Psalm because it was the Bible verses included on her funeral program.

Oh yeah, I did the twist which was to use three different kinds of ribbon, trim, or fiber. There are two different brown ribbons layered to create the strip along the left side of the lo. And, the green ribbon was from a Making Memories album. I just saved the ribbon from the packaging thinking it might come in handy one day. I also snipped the beads from the beaded ribbon we received in a past kit and used it for the butterfly bodies. tfl!

Ok, here's a repeat

2011-03-17T10:03:00.003-05:00

I have already scrapped this picture but, Lisa N. did some photo editing that removed the background and enhanced the eyes. This is my favorite picture of us so I had to scrap it again with the awesome changes that she made. Thank you again, Lisa!

Charming

2011-03-17T09:53:00.000-05:00

Another lo from the crop last month. My dd before Homecoming. She spent the afternoon at a friend's house so they could do their hair and make-up together.

Used the Mon Amour kit for this one, too.

February Butterfly Challenge

2011-03-17T09:45:00.000-05:00

I was very excited to learn that the Swirly girls voted my lo as the winner for the Butterfly Challenge for the month of February. Thank you!

This is a picture of the girls who went to Swirly Camp in 2010. We had a blast and it was so fun to spend time with everyone. I cannot wait until camp this June! I used flowers and bling from my stash as well as the February kit to complete this one.

Homecoming 2010

2011-03-17T09:42:00.000-05:00

Here's another lo from my last crop with my sis. It's a picture of my dd and her friends before Homecoming last year.

Used the Mon Amour kit and added some tissue paper flowers and well as some leaves from my stash. The cb numbers were covered with TH Rock Candy. tfl.

Puppy Love

2011-03-17T09:29:00.000-05:00

Here's one from my crop a month ago. We took the dogs and the girls to the lake one weekend and I had to get a shot of everyone. I tried to get in the picture but with this new camera I couldn't figure out how to set up the timer. I don't think it has one.

The papers and flowers are from a past Swirlydoos kit. I added some leaves from my stash. tfl!

The Ladies Garden Club

2011-03-17T09:26:00.001-05:00

I am really behind on blog posts. I still have not posted the other seven lo's I did at the crop I went to a month ago! At least I finally took pictures of them so I can start adding them to my blog.

Here's one I just finished yesterday for the March Swirlydoos sketch challenge. I used flowers, leaves, and bling from my stash to complete this one.

My great-grandmother is in this pic with some of her fellow garden club ladies. They are all sporting their flower garden hats. tfl!

All Day Crop

2011-02-28T15:02:00.000-06:00

My sis and I went to an all day crop the Saturday before last. It was a lot of fun and I even managed to get 8 lo's done. It was a wonderful 12 hour crop full of laughs and lots of good food. I think I gained a few pounds that day because they fed us well. We even had fresh-baked cookies still warm from the oven!

Anyway, the weather has been dreary so I was not able to take pictures until today. Here's the first lo I did. It is a picture that my mom found of my paternal grandfather with all of his classmates. He is in the second row the second boy from left. I think he just looks so stinkin' cute!

All the pp, cb key, and feathers are from the February Swirlydoos kit. The flowers and bling are from my stash. tfl!

Layout of the Week!!!!

2011-02-09T20:33:00.000-06:00

My latest lo, Broken Road, was honored as the Layout of the Week over at Swirlydoos. You can check it out here. Lisa always does such a wonderful job introducing the LOTW, too.

Thank you, Swirlydoos!

Swirlydoos Monthly Sketch Challenge

2011-02-05T22:27:00.000-06:00

Along with the lovely Swirlydoo kit comes an amazing sketch by Begahunna each month. I just love her sketches. Typically my first lo is the sketch challenge. So, without further ado here is my interpretation of this month's sketch.

I added Petaloo flowers, Prima bling, and leaves from my stash. The Prima roses, flower centers and ribbon are from a past kit. The pp and mirrors are from the current kit. I used the Big Dog (aka Cricut Expression) to cut the swirlies. This is a picture of me and Roger at a Christmas dinner. tfl!

More Snow Day Fun

2011-02-04T18:58:00.001-06:00

I did manage to do some more scrapping despite the fact that all my cancer notes were calling my name. I can only study so much! The kids had three snow days this week and I had two. This has been a crazy winter. I just had to help my ds get his car out of the snow. For some reason he parked on an ice packed parking lot and couldn't get out of the parking space. So, I went up with a bag of salt and a few shovels. We got the car out in no time. And, his comment to me: "Thanks, Mom. All your past transgressions are forgiven." Really? Kids these days.

Anyway, I have a few more lo's to share with you. This one is of my dn and just seemed to be a perfect color match for this month's Swirlydoos kit. I used flowers from Prima and Petaloo (from my stash and past kits), leaves from my stash and bling from a past kit. The sketch is one from PencilLines. In fact, it is the same sketch I used for my "Peace" lo. Can you tell?

I listen to country music while I scrap and that inspired the title for this one. (And, the next one! Not sharing that one with you until tomorrow though. ;P)

Round Robin #2

2011-02-04T08:47:00.000-06:00

Yay! It is "Reveal Day" for the Round Robin Challenge. I used a PencilLines sketch for this one but once I finished the lo I realized it looks a lot like this month's kit sketch challenge. I used LYB feathers included in this month's kit as well as the pp. The flowers are Petaloo (from my stash) and Prima (from past kits). I added Prima bling and leaves from my stash. I tucked some of the mirrors included in this month's kit amongst the flowers. The pins are Maya Road and the transparency is old Hambly from my stash. Some of the flower centers were made with the Sunburst McGill punch-really love that punch! Thanks to Lisa G. for turning me on to it!

This is a picture of my Grandma and her classmates in 1938. I love scrapping these black and white photos that I scanned from her scrapbooks. The B&W's are easy to scrap with any of the Swirly kits!

A Sneak Peek

2011-02-03T09:29:00.001-06:00

Snowpocalypse left us homebound for three days which left me plenty of time to clean, study, and even get a little scrapping done. So, here is a sneaky for the Round Robin this month. I will be posting the lo on reveal day-this Friday.

Love the McGill Starburst punch that I just bought with a 30% off coupon from Archivers. They have a group of punches that you can use to make your own flowers. I am hoping to add to my McGill punch collection so I can make my own roses.

Round Robin #1 for 2011

2011-01-21T07:48:00.001-06:00

Loved lifting Christy's lo for this month's Round Robin. She had a gorgeous design that used a photostrip so I stole one of my dd's photostrips! I used the Retro Tapestry kit for all the pp and the bling scattered around the page. The twist this month was to use three things on the lo that you have been "hoarding." I did use three things from my stash but, I wouldn't say I was really hoarding the items!

Here's my dd and some of her friends acting silly at the mall. They love to hit the photobooth each time they are at the mall. And, personally, I love scrapping these pics! I tore apart the large black flower and the large blue flower to make the multi-colored flower in this lo. The smaller black roses are from a past kit and the other flowers are Petaloo flowers that were from my stash. The Prima bling and bracket were from past Swirlydoo kits while the leaves were from my stash. tfl!

Fun

2011-01-20T15:24:00.004-06:00

Here's my lo for our second Snow Day Long Distance Scrap. We used Pencil Lines sketch #209. Then we added some additional rules. Sheri said we had to use glitter and an embossing folder. Then I rolled the dice and we had to use two butterflies or snowflakes with the first roll and seven flowers, brads, buttons, or eyelets with the second roll. Go here to check out Sheri's lo.

All the pp are from a past Swirlydoos kit. The small flowers are all new Petaloo while the large flower is Prima. I added some leaves from my stash. The Prima centers, cb swirly, and brads are all from a past kit. Btw, there is glitter on all the flowers and I embossed the cream strip across the top of the page. There are seven small flowers and two butterflies. tfl!

Snow Day!

2011-01-20T11:55:00.002-06:00

Yes! Even StLCoP (St. Louis College of Pharmacy) canceled classes for the day! I have been told that has not happened in years! So...my sis and I are doing a long distance scrap until I go into work this evening.

The first challenge: Use Pencil Lines latest sketch, complete the lo, and post to your blog within one hour.

I used my latest Swirlydoos kit and some stuff from my stash to complete this one.

Go to my sister's blog to check out her intrepretation of the sketch.

btw, i {heart} u

2011-01-16T22:57:00.000-06:00

Using the scraps from my latest Swirlydoos kit I made this lo based on a sketch from PageMaps. Texting has led to a new language of communication especially for our children. I used the lingo of my dd's generation to convey my love. Again, another self-portrait she snapped in her quest for a fb profile pic.

The large yellow Petaloo flower was from the kit as well as all the pp. I added the large orange flower and smaller flowers, all Petaloo. tfl!

The odds are...

2011-01-15T15:07:00.000-06:00

One of the Swirly Girl Challenges this month is being hosted by DT member, Robin. Her challenge is to use odd numbers of things on the lo. So, 1 of something, then 3, 5, 7, and 9 somethings. And, the twist is to use 11 of something on the lo.

I was able to go so far as the twist with another lo of my dd. The self-portraits she took are just perfect for this kit so I keep using them.

1 picture

3 pp strips & 3 leaves

5 butterflies & 5 tickets

7 gemstones

9 flowers

11 eyelets

I tore apart the big black flowers included in the kit so I could use them on several lo's. All the pp is from the current Swirlydoos kit. The only thing I added from my stash are the small Petaloo flowers and Radiant Rain Shimmering Mist. tfl!

My Girl

2011-01-10T07:56:00.000-06:00

Hey, what do you know! I was able to scrap another page! I used more of my dd's pictures to complete this lo. All the papers are from the latest Swirlydoos' kit.

A happy accident here: I ordered a 5x7 collage print so I would have smaller pictures for this lo. The collage was printed with a black border (which I didn't order) but it looks great with the red bg paper. I added some Prima bling, Petaloo flowers, leaves from my stash as well as a transparency from a past kit. tfl!

Reflection

2011-01-07T10:23:00.000-06:00

Wow! I actually got to scrap a lo last night. Shocker! I used the new Swirlydoos kit which is filled with bright colors from the Melody Ross collection. Definitely makes me think of spring. I found some pictures on my computer that my dd had taken of herself. I am pretty sure she was trying to find a good profile pic for fb. When I saw the bright colors in this month's kit her profile pics immediately came to mind. So, here ya go.

Everything is from the kit except the extra Flora Doodle flowers and leaves. Well, I already worked out today and the house is clean so off to pick up some more prints from WAGS and do some more scrapping before I have to go back to WAGS for work. tfl!

It has been a looooong time...

2011-01-04T21:40:00.000-06:00

since I have posted to my blog and that is because I have not been doing very much scrapping. *sigh* There has just been too much going on with finals, work, and the holidays. I had hoped to spend three lovely days just scrapping but I was called into work today. And, I know that I will probably get called in again tomorrow. So much for the mini scrap retreat I had planned.

Here is my latest project: an altered TH Configurations that I received from Swirlydoos as part of the technique add-on. The box was covered with Collections paper and TH tissue tape, then inked with TH distress inks. I added a lot of TH embellishments as well as items from the add-on kit. I even raided the game closet for a Monopoly piece, a die, and a Sorry game piece. Some muslin, burlap, and lace added texture to the boxes. An old family heritage photo was included to lend vintage charm.

Round Robin #10

2011-01-04T21:33:00.000-06:00

I am finally getting around to posting the final lo for 2010's Round Robin Challenge. The twist for this challenge was to scrap a favorite Christmas memory. I remember as a young child sneaking around the house trying to find Christmas presents. I guess I am old enough to confess that one year we found them in our parents closet hidden on the top shelves behind clothes and boxes. Another year we were pretty sure they were in the trunk of the car but we could never figure out how to sneak out and look! Well, my parents got us good one year. They put the Christmas tree on what we thought was just a square, white platform. It turned out to be a Christmas present for my brothers. I would say they got the last laugh that year! So, I scrapped a picture of the Christmas tree on top of the platform (a.k.a. basketball goal).

A Sneaky Christmas

Round Robin #9

2010-11-29T07:44:00.000-06:00

It's that time of month again! Time to post my scrappy lift of my Swirly Sisters' great work. School is really keeping me busy so this will probably be the only scrapping I do again for the entire month. That just really stinks! I am really looking forward to December because I will have some time off from classes.

Anyway, the twist for the RR this month was to scrap something you are thankful for. My brother-in-law took this picture at Thanksgiving and it was perfect for the Lavender Escape kit from Swirlydoos. This is what I am thankful for: a relationship with my bff that has lasted for 12 years and turned into something more. I am thankful that he has been around all these years for me and that he loves me like he does. It is a wonderful thing to be treasured every day by a strong Christian man.

The resist paper was inked with various TH distress inks. The Pink Paislee ring was painted with TA Glam. The flowers are from the Lavender Escape kit and past Sdoos kits. The chipboard letters were painted with TH Rock Candy then dipped in diamond dust. All other embellies are from Sdoos kits.

Round Robin #8

2010-10-22T11:17:00.000-05:00

Wow! School and work are just too much right now! I am not getting in my scrap room near enough. Thank goodness for the Round Robin challenge this month which forced me to scrap a page. My lo was due this morning but I did not even start working on it until two hours ago! I had two papers to write before I could even think about scrapping. Anyway, here is my submission for October.

I was lucky to follow Tina and Sherri for this awesome RR. Thank you for the great work! I used the Lavender Escape kit from Swirlydoos and some Prima and bling from past kits to put this one together. The leaves are from my stash. I used Robin's water distressing technique to put this one together. This is my dd's freshmen school picture. tfl!

Steampunk

2010-10-13T17:43:00.001-05:00

Here's my first project using the Steampunk kit from Swirlydoos. I altered an 8x8 canvas that I received in a past kit. All the papers are from the G45 Steampunk paper pack. I added some ZVA bling, a Prima flower, and tulle from past kits. The 7G bling gears were a RAK from Robin. I altered the DA dress form by using Smooch Spritz in gold then embossing with TH black embossing powder. The body was then covered in one of the papers. Modge Podge was used to adhere all papers to the canvas.

The saying is, "Woman was taken out of man; not out of his head to top him, nor out of his feet to be trampled underfoot; but out of his side to be equal to him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be loved.”

Altered Canvas

2010-10-08T08:24:00.002-05:00

I picked up this 12x12 canvas in the clearance aisle at Michaels. It was calling my name last night so I altered it for a challenge over at Swirlydoos. The canvas was pretty loose on the frame and I was worried that I would have to pull the staples and stretch it. ugh! But, some of my Swirly sisters were talking about using Gesso to prime canvas so I used it on my canvas. It actually pulled the canvas tight around the frame and made a perfect background for stamping and inking.

One of the challenges this month is to use at least two pieces of Dusty Attic (DA) on your layout. I used the lamppost and the word "inspire" to complete this challenge. The lamppost was painted with metallic gold paint and then embossed with black embossing powder. Some of the embossed powder was rubbed off for a distressed look. Then I added vellum underneath the lamps and filled the lamps with Glossy Accents (GA) to make them look like glass. The "inspire" was painted with Tim Holtz (TH) crackle paint.

All of the papers and TH bookplate were from Robin as a prize for winning the Round Robin (RR) Challenge last month. Thank you again, Robin. The RAK was gorgeous! I added some lace and ribbon from my stash as well as past Swirlydoos kits. The Prima flowers and bling were from my stash and Robin as well as past Sdoos kits. The Prima leaves were from my stash. The key is a Tattered Angels (TA) embellie from a Sdoos kit. The canvas was inked with various TH distress inks and then stamped with a Prima stamp. I added the fence from Joanne's after painting it with TH crackle paint. So, here ya go!

I had been saving this canvas knowing I wanted to use a Bible verse on it but I was having a hard time deciding which verse to use. There were just too many that I liked! Anyway, this verse has been popping up a lot in my life lately so it only seemed fitting to use it. I hope it inspires you!

oops! I just noticed I cropped the poor bird's head off in the upper left corner of the picture.

Just because...

2010-09-10T12:56:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted to my blog as often since classes started here's a sneak peek at my entry for the Round Robin in September. heehee.

You can visit the Swirlydoos gallery to see the full lo. The papers you see are from the Mon Amour kit. This is a beautiful kit! Thank you, Krissy!

Wow!

2010-09-10T11:28:00.000-05:00

I am so surprised and excited! Over Labor Day weekend I went to the Lake and really enjoyed relaxing. When I got back home on Monday I logged into the Swirlydoos forums to find that I had won the Round Robin Challenge for August! Thank you, Swirly Sisters! Here's the lo again:

Thanks to Lisa aka StarSailor for the inspiration for this one!

Well, then I started tooling around the forums to see what I had missed only to find that the DT voted my "Boys of Fall" lo as the grungiest lo for the grunge contest! Yippee! Here's the lo:

And, the prize for this one is $80 worth of Yellow Bicycle products from the Generation Z line. In fact, it's every product from that line. Wow! Thank you, Swirlydoos!

Embrace

2010-08-14T10:53:00.000-05:00

Here's another lo created from the Shabby Ambition kit from Swirlydoos. This is an adorable picture of my dn and dn while they were in NM this summer.

A blast from the past

2010-08-13T14:40:00.001-05:00

Well, it has been awhile since I have posted so here's another one for today. My sister came out again last weekend and you know what that means-we scrap. Here's one that I finished while I was waiting for her to show up.

I used Shabby Ambition from Swirlydoos to complete this lo. The lo is based on Beggahuna's August sketch. I used the Tattered Florals TH die for the large flower. Yes, you heard me right. I got my grubby little hands on that hard to find TH die. The other flowers are all Prima from a current or past Swirlydoos kit.

These pictures were taken back in 2000 when "The Three Musketeers" were together. Dauvida, Roger, and I had some wonderful times together with and without our kids. This Easter I invited everyone to come to an early Easter egg hunt before we headed off to church. My dd is wearing a dress that I made for her. Check out the hair! I did not realize how much our hairstyles and clothing had changed in just the last ten years.

Round Robin #7

2010-08-13T14:22:00.001-05:00

I can't believe we have been doing this Swirlydoos challenge for seven months now! It is still my favorite challenge and I thank Meg and Robin for hosting this one every month. Here's my entry for August. I followed our talented DT member, Lisa.

This lo was created with pp, chipboard, and Prima from the current Swirlydoos kit. The cb was inked and stamped with a script background stamp. There is some sewing and distressing on this lo to add to the vintage flair. The MS punch adds a decorative edge below the photo of me. I used a Stampin' Up! stamp and fussy cut around it to create the frame behind "Beloved." Some leaves, pearls, Prima flowers, and a metal trinket are from my stash. I copied Lisa's idea to add handwriting around the outer edge of the large photo mat. tfl!

SGC August Challenge

2010-08-08T17:18:00.001-05:00

Here's my entry for the Swirly Girls Challenge for the month of August. I used the Zutter to distress all the edges, then I used Robin's wet distressing technique but I used GM as suggested by another Swirly sister (Angelica, I think), then I used Lisa's rusted chipboard technique on the chipboard butterfly. I followed her technique and painted the chipboard first, then embossed with Puffs rather than distress embossing powder for my twist. Then I used my finger to rub off some of the Puffs to let the paint show through. All papers, bling and flower are from the latest Swirlydoos kit.

This is a photo of my Dad and me while we lived in the Philippines.

Another Grunge Challenge

2010-08-07T09:07:00.000-05:00

There is another grunge contest at Swirlydoos. This contest is open to anyone so go check it out here. For this contest I scrapped one of my ds's football pictures. That is him, #14, diving for a tackle during last season. I used the Fragmented Frames to highlight this photo. The background is a 12 x 12 piece of cardboard that has been painted, GM'ed, and embossed with bronze embossing powder.

I took the title from a country music song about high school football and used it as my title, "The Boys of Fall." I added some TH grungeboard (the skull), TH linen tape, TH fragments, TH distress stickles, and some eyelets mounted backwards to finish the grunge look. tfl!

Long Distance Scrap Challenge #2

2010-07-31T21:53:00.003-05:00

Ok, we had fun with the first challenge so we decided to do it again! I think we said, "Now what?" at the same time! lol! So, my challenge this time was to use ribbon and an embossing folder. I hope the lace counts. I used it to frame the picture. Then, I used the CB butterfly die and embossing folder.

The pp and floral vine are from the latest Swirly kit. One of our very own Swirly sisters made the floral vine. You can check out her etsy shop here. I added some other Prima's to the vine and then Prima's SIIP. That's about it since my one hour was about over and it was time to post! This is a picture of me on Easter way back in 2000! Don't miss the hair but would like to be that thin again (workin' on it).

In such a hurry to post I forgot to reveal my challenge to Sheri. She had to use alcohol inks and three things from her Clip It Up. See what she did here.

Let Us Love One Another

2010-07-31T20:42:00.003-05:00

Quick! We had one hour and two challenges to include on a new 12 x 12 lo. Sheri and I couldn't scrap together in the same room so we scrapped long distance. She gave me two challenges and I gave her two challenges. Then we had one hour to complete a lo. Well, the pizza delivery guy came and then Cody ran out the door. My dd and her friend caught Cody and we ate pizza. THEN, I got to finish the challenge (a little late). Ok, my challenge was to use my Cricut and one of my 12" Quikutz strips.

I used the latest Swirlydoos kit for this pic of my niece and nephew. The crackle paint is not quite dry on the cb bird yet! The other bird was cut with the Cricut and the swirly was cut with the E6 using a QK strip.

Now, I challenged her to use a stamp that she hadn't used in awhile and she had to make her own flowers. Go check out her challenge lo here.

Jan-Jan

2010-07-22T19:48:00.000-05:00

Here's another lo created with Summer Serenity from Swirlydoos. It was for a challenge being hosted by Robin and is called "I'm a little bit vintage." The idea of the challenge is to scrap a baby picture of yourself and include what you were called as a baby.

When I was little people apparently thought my name was too short. My name is Jan. But people would call me Janet, Jane, or Janice when I first introduced myself. yuk! I was called Jan-Jan or Miss Jan by my family. Those names stuck and I liked them because that's what my Dad would call me. I am still a Daddy's girl; so Jan-Jan it is.

So, here's my take on it. I used pp from the kit and the Kaiser flowers. I layered the flat Kaiser flowers to make the pink buds. I used the TH pen to alter the color of bling so it matched the lo. Then I used TH crackle paint to alter the picket fence that I picked up at Joanne's. The Prima butterfly vine (minus the butterflies) was from a past kit. The doilie, vintage tag, and TH bookplate were from my stash.

It's official, I am now a "city girl"

2010-07-20T18:58:00.002-05:00

To do List:

Housecleaning.....done

Laundry.....done

Walk dogs.....done

Pay bills.....done

So, then it's time to scrap! Yay! I was working on my third lo when the neighbor rang my doorbell. I thought little Brenner must have gotten out but she didn't have him when I answered the door. hmmmm.... She was a little upset and shaking. What is up? She told me "my boys" (a 9 lb. Bichon and 5 lb. Yorkie) were in the back yard killing a bunny. I pretty much shut the door in her face to run out the back door.

Sure enough! They were playing with a tiny bunny. The poor thing was squeaking. I grabbed him up and half the fur on his back was gone. My boys were trying to remove his squeaker, which is what they do to all of their toys. I wrapped the poor guy in a towel and ran over to another neighbor's house because she volunteers at the Wildlife Rescue Center. We took the little guy to the Rescue Center and I hoped he would be alright.

I got a tour of the place and by the time we were ready to leave I found out they were putting the poor little guy to sleep. Too much of his skin was missing and they said he wouldn't make it. ***sniff, sniff*** Poor guy. I guess I am no longer a country girl because growing up in the country we would never have considered rushing a bunny to the Rescue Center. He would have been put out of his misery on the spot curtesy of one of my brother's rifles. I am still sorry the little guy didn't make it.

Another heritage layout

2010-07-20T08:35:00.001-05:00

Here's another lo using pictures from my Grandma's scrapbook.

I used papers from the July Swirlydoos kit for this. The doily that was included in the kit was used as a mask around the outer edge of the cardstock. I added a 7G card from a past kit as well as some Prima buds and other flowers. The large flower is made from the tissue paper of a shirt pattern. I added some Prima leaves from my stash. The BG journaling block was included in the kit. This is Graham Bishop playing with Grandpa and Grandpa Bishop's dog, Butch.

Wedding Day - 1914

2010-07-19T17:13:00.000-05:00

This is a total lift of MandaK's lo in the Round Robin Challenge for this month. Her "Egghead" layout was a great design so I used it for this lo as well. This is the wedding day photo of my great-grandparents, Harry and Alvia Bishop. The photo was taken on January 27, 1914.

All papers are from the Summer Serenity Swirlydoos kit. The DA was spritzed with Smooch Spritz. The large Prima flowers and ZVA were from the kit as well. I added some smaller Prima flowers, leaves, and pearls from my stash. tfl!

Round Robin #6

2010-07-17T20:25:00.000-05:00

It was my turn to post my lo for the Round Robin challenge at Swirlydoos. This is still my favorite challenge. This time I followed Tammy and she gave me a great lo to "lift"! I have had these pictures of my "littles" for over ten years now. Grandma Ali gave them these teddy bears and took these pictures of them because she thought they were so cute just sitting there cuddling with their new teddies.

The busy background has always made me put these pictures back in the stack. Nothing ever seemed to really look good with that background. Kwim? And, to make matters worse, I used my Creative Memories oval cutter to cut these pictures in oval shapes. ***gasp*** Yes, at one time I thought that would be really cool. Now? Not so much. Luckily I was able to "re-crop" them back to squares and use them on this lo.

All the paper is from the July Swirlydoos kit as well as the largest Prima flowers. The bling and stamp are Prima. The flowers are from my stash. I altered the DA with paint and TH distressed embossing powder. I used the TH alcohol ink pens that were included in the July kit to alter the color of the pearls added to the flowers and stamped image. And, of course, used my Zutter Distrezz It All to distress the edges of everything.

The chipboard letters were inked, smeared with TH Rocky Candy and then dipped in Diamond Dust to get the "sugared" effect. This is a technique that my Swirly sister, Lisa, shared on her blog. Go check it out.

Project 365: Weeks 7, 8, 9

2010-07-04T16:35:00.002-05:00

We just got done painting Allison's room. While we wait for the first coat to dry I will post some more pages from the Project 365 album.

journaling: I got bored this weekend and gave Brenner a haircut. It turned out okay. More snow...but the kids still had school. I made the Dean's List again. Used mainly Swirlydoos pp and embellies for this two-pager.

journaling: This was an awesome week for me because my latest Swirlydoos kit came! I also went to a make-n-take at Archivers. Then, I got to buy some nice jeans for myself. LOVE 'em. Brandon is finally done taking Accutane so I snapped him tossing it up for the last pill. Allison went to Smoothie King to celebrate her good grades. Her friends had her all tricked out after school one day so I took some pics. The pics were great for the "grunge" challenge hosted over at Swirlydoos. Used pp and flowers from Swirlydoos kit for this one.

journaling: Sheri came up for the weekend so we could scrap together. Her kids like to come up so they can play with my dogs. Allison broke her skateboard. I started preparing for our Spring Break trip to the Grand Canyon. The new tent came this week! I was so busy that I didn't even change the calendar to March until the third or fourth of the month!

Basic Grey pp here, PageMap sketch, and used my melting pot to coat the punched pp flowers (based on a tutorial found on the web.)

Project 365: Weeks 4, 5, and 6

2010-07-03T22:21:00.003-05:00

I finally worked on my Project 365. You know, that album that I started on January 1st. A picture a day throughout the year. One double page layout per week to capture our lives throughout the year. I was really behind on it.

disclaimer: These are not "Swirly worthy" by any means.

Week #4 was the start of my classes at StLCoP, an all day crop at Jonesburg Elementary, the kids getting

back in the groove of school, Snickerdoodles, cold temperatures, studying for classes, and free hoodies from the StLCoP bookstore. (They were just giving away all the smalls and extra-smalls!)

And, on to Week #5:

I am sporting my new haircolor (back to my natural color), we celebrated my dn's birthday, even Cody got a new do, Brenner found a way to get up in the dining room chairs, Brandon doing homework as I bribe him with hot sandwiches. And, let's not forget the laundry!

And, then...

Week #6 brought lots of snow. We lost power one evening. Luckily it was only out for several hours. I was worried that the electricity might be out over night. If that happened my fish would not make it very long. We could always put on extra layers but not my poor fishies! Ok, I was worried that we would get cold, too! Sunday was Super Bowl XLIV. We rooted for the Saints because the city of New Orleans deserved to bring home a win after Hurricane Katrina. The hurricane hit in 2005 but it was one of the five deadliest hurricanes in America and the most costly American natural disaster. The Saints triumphed over the Colts. The final score was 31-17. I was able to do a little scrapping this week. Brandon ended up with some of my cardstock rings. He wore them around the house for two days like necklaces. Ah well, I guess any type of appreciation of my scrapping is alright with me!

Ok, there are quite a few more pages but that is all for now.

I am missing...

2010-07-03T16:23:00.001-05:00

my Swirlydoos forums. Some @%#* hacked into the website and removed everything. All the forums are gone. All the challenges are gone. All the galleries are gone. So, now poor Krissy has to rebuild everything. Many of us are missing the forums where we would go every morning to catch up with one another, share news, post our layouts, and just encourage one another. The Swirly Sisters are all amazingly talented and very sweet. I miss talking with everyone. After going to Denver at the end of April and scrapping with eleven of these awesome women I can say that this is a group of genuine women. What you see in the forums is what you get in person: great scrappin' ladies willing to share their talents and encourage one another. I hope Krissy gets things up and running again soon. Until then I guess I will just keep on scrappin'.

Without further ado here is another layout using one of the past kits. I was not able to do much with some of the past kits due to classes and exams. Here is the sketch challenge from a few months ago. I knew what pictures I was going to use but never had the time to finish it. Then, along came the June kit which was just amazing so I never finished this one. This is a layout commemorating my grandfather's 90th birthday. Just think how many changes he has seen throughout his years. All the technology that has been introduced during his lifetime is just amazing. He grew up during the Great Depression, fought in World War II, watched the Cold War. Then came The Sixties and the assasination of President Kennedy, Martin Luther King's famous speech, and Woodstock. The list goes on.

I love you Grandpa!

Grand Canyon Album 2010

2010-07-02T18:07:00.002-05:00

Ok, here's a hybrid photo/scrap album that I put together in only a day and a half. It contains 267 photos, all the funny stories, and memorabilia from our trip in March. We went to the Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, and Grand Canyon. It was quite a trip from beginning to end.

The entire album is in a slide show to the left. I will just post the pages with the stories here. Keep in mind that many of the pages are in page protectors so there is some glare. I apologize for that but I can not photograph some of the pages outside the page protectors. Check out the slide show if you don't understand what I mean.

So, here's the beginning:

Journaling: We packed the truck so we could take off on Friday, March 12th. We didn’t get everything done until evening. Brandon warned me the truck wouldn’t shift or go over 50 mph. We loaded it up anyway then had to buy a tarp because it started raining. We put the tarp on and left the Wal-Mart parking lot. We had to stop four or five times to adjust the tarp. Obviously we are not pros at this! Sure enough, the truck is messed up. Two hours later and only 15 miles down the road we turned around and headed for home. Rental in the morning!

Journaling: Well, here’s the story of the Toot ‘n Totem. It was Saturday March 13th and we had been driving twelve or thirteen hours when we decided it was time for another pit stop. I used the trusty GPS to locate a gas station. I was looking for something I thought would be safe. You know- a Shell, Phillips 66 or even a BP. Well, that silly GPS came up with the Toot ‘n Totem. What the heck is that?! We were NOT going to the Toot ‘n Totem! I mean, it had to be some sleazy little hole in the wall, right? So, I chose one of those well-known gas stations and punched the button to add it to our trip. Easey, Peasey. Oh no! The GPS took us to the Toot ‘n Totem! Brandon was asleep in the back seat so we didn’t wake him. Allison and I both hit the restroom (no tootin’ for us, thank you very much!) and filled up the tank. Not five minutes later we noticed this awful smell in the vehicle. It was a nasty poo smell. Ok, we are just driving by a cow pasture. No problem, the smell will pass. Nope! It was still there ten minutes later. Okaaay, are we following a livestock truck? Nope. See any cows on the side of the road? Nope. All right, Allison did you step in poop back at the Toot ‘n Totem? Nope. Then I handed her my shoes to check them. She actually sniffed them to see if they stunk! Still no source for the nasty poo smell. Then, I suggested Allison check Brandon’s pulse. Maybe he isn’t alive and he messed his breeches! I was just joking but she really did crawl back and make sure he was breathing. By this time we are laughing hysterically and have resorted to “shirtkerchiefs.” We never did figure out where that awful smell was coming from. It lasted for over thirty minutes. Good thing it was dark because we were both riding along with our noses stuck in our shirts for the entire time. Somebody sure was a tootin’! That darn Toot ‘n Totem!

Allison reminded me that I forgot to mention that Sheri called during this part of the trip and asked where we were. We responded with Poopville and Turd Town.

Journaling: I was able to get this picture because there was a huge tractor-trailer accident that shut down the highway up ahead. We sat here for about an hour and really wished we could have made a pit stop. Brandon and I enjoyed listening to Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" repeatedly. Allison can't stand her, so it was unfortunate for her that every radio station seemed to be playing that song every half hour. Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah! Roma-roma-ma-ah! Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!

Journaling: Are you kidding me? Is that really frost on the propane tank for that sorry heater that did not keep us warm at night? Yep. Can I just say that we froze our butts off in that tent? Oh my! It was chilly when we crawled into the tent to watch a DVD together. I had hoped the little ProCat heater would keep us warm but it failed miserably. I don't think we got more than two hours of sleep. I had finally fallen asleep only to be frantically poked in the back by Brandon because he thought someone was creeping around our tent. Just some animal though. Later I heard on the radio that the temperature dropped to 23 degrees-a record low for March in Arizona! Nice to know we were there for that!

Journaling: I paid for 2 nights at the KOA campground but we packed up & left after hiking the Painted Desert & Petrified Forest. No way were we spending another night in the cold! I had reserved 3 nights at the Mather Campground near the Grand Canyon. I told the kids if we saw snow on the ground there was no way we were camping. I would just find a hotel room!

Sure enough, there was snow on the ground near Mather Campground so we got a room. We started unloading all of our stuff. I left the driver’s side door open with my purse sitting on the seat. Brandon was being helpful & shut the door; inadvertently locking the keys in the car. Sooooo, I spent the next 45 minutes trying to find someone to come unlock it. By this time it’s dark & apparently we are staying in some out of the way place. Lovely! Finally found someone that could come over. It took him an hour to get the door unlocked. Brandon & I stood outside in the freezing weather the entire time. Isn’t this Spring Break?

With keys in hand we decide to find McDonald’s. I told the kids I would take them out to eat since they never complained about the freezing night in the tent, the cold or even the keys getting locked in the car. I had gone on line to find the Mickey D’s but MapQuest kept taking me on a 45 mile trip despite the fact that the hotel information stated there was one nearby. Whatever! We decided to hop in the car and just drive out on the main street-surely we would see it soon. As soon as we pulled out of the parking spot there was the Mickey D’s! Right across the street! Are you kidding me?! So, we parked the car and just walked across the street. All that research and all I had to do was turn around while we were freezing our butts off waiting for the locksmith to do his job! Such fun! Grand Canyon here we come!

Journaling: Hiking the Grand Canyon

We enjoyed hiking the trails once we got out of the snow at the higher altitudes. As we traveled down to the Arizona River the snow disappeared and the temperatures rose. We wore layers so we were comfortable. We packed a lot of water with us. The trail guides recommended allowing twice as long to hike back up the Canyon. But, we were able to hike back up as fast as we hiked down. If we had known that to begin with we might have hiked down farther to catch a glimpse of the river. We did pass some people that hiked all the way to the river and spent the night. Now, that is hard-core.

The picture on the left is the agave plant. Agave nectar is used to make sugar. The flower shoot is cut out and the sap collected and subsequently fermented. By distillation, a spirit called mezcal is prepared; one of the best-known forms of mezcal is tequila.

Journaling: Brandon? Angel Wings?

I know, right? Well, I felt he deserves the distinction because he offered to carry my heavy backpack up the trail. I was doing pretty good but I had to stop more often than the kids due to the back-pack. I think the altitude had something to do with it, too. I was just out of breath but my legs weren’t tired. What a good son to just carry it for me! It sure made a difference.

Journaling: Ok, you remember that we decided not to camp despite the fact that we brought the tent, bbq grill, pots, pans, and a cooler full of food, right? Even though it was spring break we were so far above sea level that the temperatures really dropped at night. And, there was still snow on the ground. The website for Mather Campground was advising everyone to bring shovels so they could clear their own camp sites. Forget that noise! So, we checked into the Red Feather Inn just outside the entrance to the Grand Canyon. What I didn’t tell you is that the same night that the keys got locked in the car the toilet clogged. I called housekeeping and they fixed it. Well, it clogged again the next morning so we had to call again. Then, it happened again that night. This time I made Brandon call since he used it last. Then I left. I was too embarrassed to stick around for the third time! Housekeeping decided there was a problem with the toilet. Well, duh! So, they moved us to another room. The new room smelled nice-guess we had gotten used to the slight odor of poo in the old room. The kids enjoyed relaxing and reading after our day hikes.

I cooked most of our meals in the room since we had packed a lot of food with the assumption that we would be camping. We only ate out twice. The second time was over at the Wendy’s. You know we had to eat there since we can no longer get Wendy’s back in St. Louis. I didn’t want to take my purse so I just put $25 in my pocket. Certainly that would be enough money to buy meals for three people. We all ordered burgers, fries, and drinks. *gasp* The total was a few dollars over $25! I told them to make my meal a small so that we had enough money to pay. That didn’t work. So, then I told them to just nix my drink. That still didn’t work. By this time my face is red and the kids are embarrassed. The poor cashier was having a hard time redoing my order so he called a manager over twice. Finally, the manager just gave us his employee discount to get rid of us. (I ended up with change from my $25) Per Brandon: always carry your purse, Mom.

Journaling: On Thursday I wanted to go back to the Grand Canyon but the kids were done. We hiked one day through the trails at the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. Then we hiked two days at the Grand Canyon. The hikes at the Grand Canyon were more challenging. So, they talked me into just relaxing in our room. We read books and Facebooked all day. Very relaxing.

Then Friday morning we packed everything and headed for home. I was prepared for fourteen hours of driving but Brandon kept bugging me to stop once it started getting dark. He couldn’t read his book anymore so he wanted a hotel room. I kept going until I got tired of his complaining. We stopped in Yukon, Oklahoma, the hometown of Garth Brooks. It was a very nice hotel but around 10 pm I started hearing sleet hitting the roof. My first inclination was to immediately check-out of the hotel and hit the road. We needed to get home for Grandpa Art’s 90th birthday party on Sunday.

But, I decided to wait and see what morning would bring. I turned on the news in the morning to find that Oklahoma was in the middle of a blizzard! wth! Is this not our Spring Break? What is up with the sleet and snow? Crap! Well, the hotel had a free, hot breakfast so we all showered and chowed. Then we packed our bags and headed outside. It was very windy and very cold. The sleet was still coming down and the locals said it was not a good idea to be out driving now. But, we had to get home so all I could do is be alert and drive verrry slow.

As soon as we entered the highway there was a jack-knifed tractor-trailer. No traffic jam yet as it had just happened. We inched past and continued on our way only to be about run over by another tractor-trailer that was sliding over into our lane. All in all we counted 49 accidents traveling through the sleet and snow, many involved tractor-trailers and some involved multiple vehicles. Of course we had to make a pit stop along the way. We were able to make it to the Tulsa exit with the Hard Rock. Yay! I collect shirts from the Hard Rock so Allison and I braved the elements to buy souvenir shirts. It took eight hours to get through that storm because I never went over 30 mph. It was very scary. By the time we hit the Missouri state line the sleet had turned to a light drizzle.

Now, I was under a time crunch. The dogs were being boarded at PetSmart which closed at 9 p.m. I had to be there by 8:45 or pay another night for them. I really wanted Cody home with me and not in the kennel for another night. I know. I am a sap. Somehow we made it to the kennel by 8:30 even though we had to stop for gas one last time. What a relief! We made it through the blizzard without a scratch and we picked up the dogs on time. It was good to get back home again but the trip was amazing! The next day was Grandpa Art’s party so we were able to make it on time.

Strike a Pose

2010-06-22T12:19:00.000-05:00

I did another lo of my grandparents! Used the latest Swirlydoos kit for this one, too.

Inked and distressed the edges on everthing, added some GM. Used another old stamp that I haven't played with in awhile. Made some more carnations using the Stampin' Up scallop punch then added some Prima leaves and hydrangeas. Added some bling. Small mulberry buds, silver buttons, and silver jewelry to fill in the spaces.

Family Portrait

2010-06-20T15:34:00.000-05:00

Here's another page using the Antebellum Beauty kit from Swirlydoos. An old family portrait that I received from my mom. The papers are all from the kit. I added my own Prima hydrangeas, leaves, bling, Dusty Attic cb, and Smooch Spritz.

The three large flowers were made using the Stamping Up scallop punch. Here's the tutorial. Super easy to make so I am sure I will be making more of them really soon! An Artisan Elements frame by Pink Paislee was spritzed and inked then placed under the flower cluster. I used TH alcohol ink to change the color of the crystal haning from the chandelier. I used an old stamp that used to be a fave. You know-you love it so you use it all the time. Then you realize you use it all the time so you stop. And, then you just forget you even have it. Well, I am trying to use some of those "loved but forgotten" tools and techniques.

Highly Respected Citizen Dies of Strychnine Poisoning

2010-06-13T20:22:00.003-05:00

Did I get your attention? Here's the newspaper article that explains:

September 5, 1901

Mr. John M. Lemasters, an aged and highly respected citizen living 3 miles north of Middletown, the edge of Pike County, died at 9 o'clock last Friday morning, from the effects of a dose of strychnine. Whether the drug was taken with suicidal intent or was the work of some other persons is not known and perhaps never will be.

It had been Mr. Lemasters' custom to keep whiskey in the house, and to take a dram each morning before breakfast. This custom was inaugurated as a cure for a stomach trouble, and his liquor was bought in the gallon quantities, put up in quart bottles. On last Friday morning he took his usual dram, but remarked after swallowing it, that the whiskey was as bitter as quinine. He took his seat on the front porch to await breakfast, and started to read a paper. A few minutes afterwards, however, he was seen to fall forward in a convulsion, and these continued from that time until his death some two or three hours afterward. Doctor's Hollingsworth and Regg were both summoned, and at the suggestion that he be given whiskey, he said not to get it out of the old bottle, as he was poisoned from that bottle. That was near as he ever came to whether it had been taken on purpose or otherwise, and it is to be regretted that he failed to leave no doubt about it.

After his death his 'old' whiskey bottle - the one from which he did not wish to drink - was found, empty, but with many grains of undissolved strychnine sticking to the sides of the bottle, from the very bottom there of to the mouth.

John is the older gentleman seated in the front row with his wife to the right. He is surrounded by his children. This picture was taken in 1900 which is the year prior to his death.

I used the current Swirlydoos kit to complete this lo. The circle in the background is the one I made to demonstrate how to use your edge punches around a circle. All the flowers are from the current kit except the hand-made tissue flower. The bling, tag, and cb numbers are from my stash.

Love is...

2010-06-13T16:13:00.001-05:00

Well, these are all starting to look the same to me! I used one of the sketches from TCR for this one. Another pic of my grandparents. This one just reminds me of mobster days--I guess it is the car in the background and how Grandpa is dressed. lol! He definitely was not in the mob.

I added some Prima flowers from my stash. All the pp and the rub on are from this month's kit. The Prima pearls are from a past kit (I think), the stick pin is from my stash, and I added another tissue flower. They just go so well with these papers and pictures! tfl!

A new way to use your edge punches

2010-06-13T15:42:00.003-05:00

Wanna use your edge punches to create a border around a circle or oval like this?

Well, here's a trick I learned at the 2010 CKC. It works best with the punches that have a lot of paper "missing." I have found the best punch is the Apron Lace punch by Fiskars. The Threading Water by Fiskars works almost as well. Martha Stewart's Double Ring punch works great, too. You need an edge punch that allows for some overlap when placing it on your desired shape. So, let's get started!

Gather up your desired papers for the edge punching and your shape, adhesive, scissors, inks, and distressing tools (if desired).

First, cut your strips of paper that you will be using to edge the shape. I cut my strips 7/8 inch wide and needed three 12 inch strips to complete the edge around this 9 inch circle. Then, edge punch your strips.

Now, ink the punched edges if you like. Ink the edges of the circle.

I ran my circle through the Zutter after I inked it. I think it makes the whole process a lot more forgiving. No one will notice if you were off a little here or there because the edges are all distressed and uneven to begin with. kwim?

Now, here's the secret. Are you ready for this? If you have ever sewn you will be kicking yourself for not thinking of this sooner! You need to use your scissors to snip up to the edge of the punched design in between the scallops.

Do this for all of your strips so they look like this.

Now, run your adhesive along the back of your circle right along the very edge of the paper.

Now, you can begin attaching the punched strip of paper to the circle. The snipped paper allows you to overlap the cut edges in the back so the strip will fit around your desired shape (just like when you are sewing). It should look like this on the back.

Just keeping going with it.

Just add on another strip and keep going. Here's the finished product.

Hope you enjoyed my first tutorial! Show me what you come up with! Thanks for stopping by!

The "Cut it Out" Challenge

2010-06-13T09:52:00.001-05:00

It's off to church we go but right now I am waiting on the kids to get ready. So, here's another lo with the June Swirlydoos kit. For this challenge you had to cut something out and use it on the page. I cut out the huge swirly thingy to add to the layers of distressed paper on this one.

This is my grandma and Darlene Bowers at Seyfried's house. They were wearing matching outfits and my grandma had titled this "Twins" in her scrapbook so I kept the same title here. Not much to this one: just added a doily, some Prima flowers and pearls, a little lace and some punched paper. The "friendship" paper stamp has rock candy added to it. The cb letters are Basic Grey. The vintage book page is from Glitz.

Wanna Ride Bikes?

2010-06-12T15:50:00.001-05:00

Ok, here's my butterfly page. Punched some butterflies from the June pp. I used Mandy's sketch for this one. tfs, Mandy! Another picture of my grandmother while she stayed with family in Denver. She and Richard "Dickie" Bowers are on Uncle Frank Bowers farm here. As I was working on this lo I started laughing when I thought of the title. This is for all of us ADD Swirly sisters! You know what I mean!

I used my Fiskars "threading water" punch to add a border around the circle, another tissue flower, used Robin's water distressing technique and lifted the idea from her to use the bicycle pendant as an embellie.

My goofy Grandpa

2010-06-11T06:49:00.001-05:00

Another lo using the latest kit. Love it! I used Robin's distress technique and one of Robin S.'s older sketches. I added some flowers from past kits as well as some MM quotes. This is a picture of my Grandpa acting goofy! From this picture I can see that he didn't change as he got older either! My great-grandmother, his mom, is trying to get him to stand up straight.

Grandpa Art loved to tease little Marilyn Driskell. His mom, Lurena Allison, is trying to get him to behave. You would think she would know better by now! Evelyn Driskell and my Grandpa Art's father, Earl, are in the back row. My Grandma is holding my mom. Isn't she a cutie?

Time for another June vintage lo

2010-06-09T18:23:00.002-05:00

This is an old photo that was published in the local newspaper after the county fair. This picture of the Samuel Calvin Bishop family was taken at the Montgomery County Fair in 1898. His family won the prize for having the most sons-nine to be exact. Most of the sons had a middle name in honor of an outstanding person. Harry Stanley got his name from Stanley of the David Livingston story. Howell was named for a lawyer family friend. Samuel is seated with his wife, Alice Hayden Bishop.

I used the June kit for this one. I added some Prima flowers and leaves from my stash. The big rose is a grungepaper flower made following TH's tutorial. I added a Fancy Pants rub on and used SCAL and my Cricut to cut the title. This lo is also based on this month's sketch.

I used my Fiskars "apron lace" edge punch to created the edge around the circle. I have used this for several of my lo's now and love the look.

As promised...

2010-06-08T18:51:00.003-05:00

here's another lo with the June Swirlydoo's kit. This kit is perfect for all the old photos I scanned from my grandmother's scrapbooks. So, I scrapped this cute picture of relatives, Graham Bishop (on trike) and Gary Frost (in car).

All the pp is from the current kit. Some of the flowers are from the current kit while the rest are from a past kit or my stash. The Prima leaves, small clothespins, and cb letters are also from my stash. This lo is based on a sketch by Robin S. You can check her out here.

More June Swirlydoos

2010-06-07T16:34:00.004-05:00

Here's another lo created with the June Swirlydoos kit. I think this is my favorite kit so far! This one was for a challenge over at Swirlydoos called "Buttons, Ribbons, and Stamps (oh my!)". This meant at least 5 buttons, one stamped image, and 3 ribbons had to be used on the lo. I used some more pictures from my Grandma's scrapbooks. These pictures are so cute!

All papers are from the current kit. The ribbons are from current and past kits while the flowers are from a past kit, my stash, and hand made.

I will post more tomorrow because I have already finished 8 lo's with this kit and am working on another one right now for the butterfly challenge.

Round Robin #5- June

2010-06-04T18:46:00.004-05:00

It's time for Round Robin again! Here is my lo for the challenge. I had four layouts for the challenge and couldn't decide which one to use so I asked my dd and my scrappin' sis. Both of them voted for this one.

This is another picture of my grandmother. I scanned a copy from her scrapbook. The pp and blue flowers are from the June Swirlydoos kit. I made the postcard with the TA stamps from the May kit. The Prima hydrangeas and leaves are from my stash while the Prima pearls are from a past kit. The doilie was added to the lo because I like the colors. I had been using the doilie as a mask on other lo's so it was covered in various TH inks. I added some GM and then just scrunched it up on the page and covered portions of it with gesso. Some TH crackle paint was added for some texture. The big flower was made from the tissue paper of an old pattern I had in my sewing box. I got the idea for this from the Let's Get Shabby blog.

Vintage lo

2010-06-01T20:04:00.002-05:00

Vintage! lol! My dad may not appreciate my choice of words here!

This is a new lo I did this past weekend. It is a picture of my dad and Lloyd Hartman, his cousin (many moons ago!). See, he doesn't follow my blog so I should be safe! heehee.

I used papers from the latest Swirlydoos kit and an old Beggahuna sketch. The diecut was distressed with the Zutter then covered with TH rock candy paint. The clock parts were also included in my Swirlydoos this month. The swirly is cut from the velvet paper included in the kit. I added some flowers from my stash and cut up the Prima felt diecut from an old kit to disperse throughout the flowers.

Originally, this was made for the Round Robin Challenge that starts again this week. But, I made some other lo's after this and had a family vote. This one did not make it to the finale. (oops, AI is over isn't it.)

Grrrr...

2010-05-30T21:28:00.001-05:00

Well, I knew I would have to replace the kitchen faucet one day. Just didn't want to do it yet! I went to turn off the water on Thursday and it would not turn off. Wonderful. Finally jiggled the handle around enough that it shut off. That lasted about a day. So, went to Lowe's with my sis to buy a new faucet. Now, why do they have those faucets on display at 5 feet and above. Sheesh! I got a neck ache just looking up at 'em for so long! I also had to buy a leaf blower and weed trimmer since what I have does not work. (THAT is another story.) Once I got home with my purchases my sister had to leave so I started putting together the lawn equipment with my dd's help. We got it done pretty quick. Soooo...she decided we should just put the faucet in, too. Okaaaay. I don't really want to do it but on the plus side, my dd wants to help. How can you say no to that? We got the old one out pretty quick only to realize the new faucet's pipes would not reach the connection under the sink. Now, it's off to Sears to buy extensions (I am sure there are better, more technically correct words to use here but, I am a scrapper not a plumber.) After that little glitch we got the new faucet on with no problems-no leaks. I think we are good to go.

An added bonus: once we turned the main water line back on the icemaker started working again. Yes, I did put in a new motor about 6 months ago and it worked fine for about 5 months. It just quit working for some unknown reason. So, now I am thinking what a productive day it has been, right?

Oh, not so! For now the dishwasher does not work. I may have ruined it by running it right after we put in the new faucet. At the time, I am not sure if the water supply to the dishwasher was on or off. Whatever the case, it will not fill with water. At least that is my original complaint. So, now to look at new dishwashers. Ok, I knew I needed one of those too. But, come on! Not today!

Remember, I said the original complaint was no water, right?

Well, this is what I find after church today.

The entire kitchen is covered in water. wth! Luckily, I had just bought a Mr. Clean mop at the local Targe' because prior to today I did not have a real mop. Just that sorry Swiffer mop piece of crap. Now, I tell you what! That Mr. Clean mop works awesome-it is just one giant Magic Eraser on a stick! My floors have never been so clean. (See, I am looking at the bright side here!) So, the problem is the dishwasher is full of water even though I have not turned it on. What to do, what to do? I shut off the water supply to it but it is still dribbling. Just lovely.

And, here are all of the dishes I had to wash by hand.

Ok, new dishwasher in 8 days. We are eating off of plastic 'til then. What a fiasco!

More of the May Swirlydoos kit

2010-05-24T20:47:00.000-05:00

My daughter. Christmas 2009.

Everything is from this month's kit except the Prima flowers, 7G transparency, and some of the smaller flowers that we received in our goodie bag at Swirly Camp. I used the distressing technique that Robin taught us while we were at camp. Ink and distress the edges of your paper then you just hold the edges's of the paper under running water and get all the edges wet. Then, lay the paper on the counter and start scurnching and forming the edges how you want them. Use your heat embossing gun to dry the paper. Swipe ink around the folds and edges to get more definition and distressing.

This is my dd's Christmas 2009 choir concert. Everything is from this month's kit except the Prima leaves.

This is an old photo of my grandparents seeing us off on our first day of school sometime in the 1970's. My grandparents would drive their fifth wheel trailer around the country visiting with all of the family. It was always a great time when they came because we got homemade doughnuts! yum!

Sketch Challenge

2010-05-22T23:17:00.002-05:00

Here's my interpretation of the sketch challenge for the June Swirlydoos kit. This is a photo of my grandmother back when she first married my grandfather. He was a pilot during the war and he took this photo of her with him on each mission that he flew during World War II. He placed her picture among all the dials and controls of the plane so she was with him.

I originally had this on a piece of the cs that came with the kit but realized how bulky it would be in a page protector so I ripped it up and placed it on this 12 x 12 acrylic piece that I bought at the CK convention. I spray painted the piece with white paint around the edges. The only other items not from the kit are the blue Prima rosebuds and BoBunny rub on. I used my Fiskars apron lace punch to create the punched edge around the big circle.

Another Challenge

2010-05-22T09:01:00.001-05:00

I completed another challenge for Swirlydoos. This one is hosted by Tina and continues until the end of the month. Her challenge is to use at least six layers of distressed paper to create your layout. An added twist is to make your own rose for the layout. So I followed her rose tutorial to make the blue rose that I added to this page. All the papers are Webster's from the April Swirlydoos kit. The picture is of my daughter in the third grade. Now she is finishing her last week as a middle schooler. Then I will have two high school children! Wow!

The smaller yellow flowers were made by gluing and scrunching layers of Prima hydrangeas together.

Round Robin #4

2010-05-21T07:40:00.002-05:00

It's Friday! Time to post my lift for Round #4 of the Round Robin Challenge.

I used some papers by Kaiser to put this one together. Everything is from Swirlydoos kits except the small blue Primas and the Fancy Pants rub on. The Kaiser papers were from the clock technique add-on kit.

This picture was taken around 1891. It is my great-great-great-grandfather Joshua Martin Morris's brother James Henry Morris (age 57) and his second wife Mary Molly (Miser) Morris (age 40) and children: back row; Oscar Noland, age 16; Everett Allan 14; front row: Senie, Garrett G., Malcolm and Artie.

Mary Molly Miser was his second wife. His first wife was Mary's sister Hannah Miser. [the baby Garrett was born July 1891, Everett would have been 15 in Jan. 1892, so maybe this is a Christmas family picture]. Genealogy provided by my Mom.

Go here to check out the challenge and the layout that I "lifted."

A look back at the Eighties

2010-05-20T22:10:00.001-05:00

Well, how 'bout a look back over twenty years ago to the high school prom? It is that time of year again so let's revisit the 1988 Prom! I pulled out these old pictures to scrap because they were perfect for the May Swirlydoos kit-red and black. I was a freshman in college and went back to my high school for my then boyfriend's senior prom. I made my prom dress on my own. Yep, sewed it myself in my college dorm room. I still have it hanging in my closet--too bad I can't fit into it anymore! We double-dated with my younger brother and a mutual friend. At the time I had a black "Knight Rider" trans-am. You know, the one with the gold eagle on the scooped hood, t-tops, and five speed manual transmission. Loved that car!

Kaiser 9 drawer Storage

2010-05-19T14:23:00.002-05:00

Here's another altered item that I did while at my sister's last weekend. It is a Kaiser Craft 9 drawer storage system. I decorated this one with Webster's Paper as well. This is the paper we received in our April Swirlydoos kit. First, I found some white spray paint on clearance at HL and painted the drawers and all the wooden pieces white (matches all the shelves in my scraproom). After adding the Webster's to the fronts I used the Tombow metal glue to add wooden feet that I bought at HL and the metal bookplates to all of the drawers. I am using the drawers to store some of my Prima stash. So, I just stuck a flower or two into the bookplate to "label" each drawer's contents. When I run out of those flowers all I have to do is pull out the flowers and stick in the new ones. TADA! The drawer has a new "label".

Just an fyi, the est. 2002 represents the year I started scrapbooking. I have scrapbooks from my middle and high school days but they are nothing like what we consider scrapbooking now.

TH feet

2010-05-19T14:03:00.000-05:00

Guess it is time to reveal the $2 wooden box that I altered. I used Webster's Papers to decorated all sides. Added Prima flowers and leaves and some Prima pearls. The bookplate and feet are Tim Holtz. The rub-on is an old daisyd item. I used the Tombow metal glue to attach all the TH metal and it worked great.

Now I Know...

2010-05-16T21:54:00.003-05:00

where I got my love for scrapbooking! My mom and I went to visit with my grandparents on Friday. I wanted Grandma to teach me how to knit. I tried to teach myself and gave up-could never get past the first row! Anyway, before we got to the knitting lesson (which was a hoot!) we looked at some more of her scrapbook albums. Yes, you heard me! She has scrapbook albums from her high school days up to the present. That is a lot of albums. And, I never knew she had them until a few years ago when I wanted to make a heritage album. Here Mom and Grandma are looking at one of her scrapbooks.

So, it is something I was born with-I can't help it!

Sneak Peek

2010-05-11T20:16:00.001-05:00

Ok, first of all-WOOHOO!!!

I had to get that out of the way! Finals are over until next semester. I can officially say that I am a fifth year Doctor of Pharmacy student! Just 2 more years left! So, after my last final today I came home and started playing in ... you guessed it! I went to my scrap room.

As you know, I went to Swirly Camp at the end of April and had a blast. It was a much needed break right before I geared up for all of my finals. While at camp we received an enormous amount of scrap supplies. After all, it was National Scrapbooking Weekend! I had to buy another bag to bring to pack all of the extra goodies! Some of the scrapbook manufacturers provided supplies for us and requested that we share our projects with them so they could post them to their websites. How exciting is that?! I was able to start on some of my projects today and here is a sneak peek for you.

I used my favorite manufacturers for this: Prima, Webster's Pages, and Tim Holtz. Tombow provided the metal glue that I used for the TH feet and frame. Let me tell ya, the glue works great!

Just 2 more days...

2010-05-08T19:58:00.001-05:00

and I will be able to scrap! My last final is on Tuesday, then I will be able to post my layouts from Swirly Camp last weekend. There are a few challenges in the forums at Swirlydoos as well that I hope to start on Tuesday. If you are looking for some inspiration or just lost your mojo the challenges are a great way to get you started. Check them out here. I took a break from studying today just to clean my scrap room. That is as close as I will get to scrappin' until Tuesday.

I will also post pictures from our scrappin' retreat up in the Rocky Mountains last weekend. It was an amazingly good time with some great friends.

Hope everyone has a Happy Mother's Day tomorrow!

Round Robin #3

2010-04-23T10:49:00.001-05:00

Well, round #3 is going on over at Swirlydoos and I just finished mine about 15 minutes ago (never mind that I am supposed to have it posted first thing this morning!). Since it is the end of the semester I haven't really had time to scrap. I tried last night and just couldn't make it come together. I told my son he better take me to the hospital because something must be seriously wrong with me if I can't scrap.

Anyway, it all came together this morning. yay! I used the cardboard as well. Turns out, I had the exact same shape as Lisa because I bought a 12x12 acrylic piece that shape at CK convention a few weeks back. I actually sewed on the cardboard itself, used gesso, crackle paint, and UTEE on the cardboard after I inked all the edges. Crap! I forgot to ink and distress the edges of the background paper!

I used the flower technique that was shared in the forums using the "Got Flowers" and squishing layers of those little flowers to make rosebuds. The paper behind the photo is from the April kit, used some tulle behind the flowers which is an idea I got from Anne here: http://annespaperfun-aksh.blogspot.com/. I think all the hydrangeas are from a past kit. To explain the picture: my Grams died in January but we did not have her memorial service until April 16th which would have been her 93rd birthday. It was a wonderful time with family sharing our favorite memories of her. There were some tears but also a lot of laughter.

I know the twist was to include the journaling on the page but my journaling will be in the envelope tucked behind the picture. We all shared our favorite memories of Grams and I plan to include them in the journaling. The title reads, "Smile, even though your heart is breaking." We did a lot of laughing through our tears that day as we remembered her.

We had a wonderful time visiting with family, many that we had not seen in years. We played card games just as Grams would have if she were still with us. We are very blessed to have the family that we do and I thank my parents and my grandparents for that.

Swirlydoos' Grunge Challenge

2010-04-05T20:56:00.000-05:00

Ok, Mandy (aka CraftySprinkles) is hosting a "Grunge" challenge and I could not sleep last night because of all the ideas I had swirlying around in my head. Seriously! I was awake until 2 am and had to get up for class at 6 am. So, between class and work I had to get some of these ideas on paper. Here's what I came up with for the challenge.

I used bubblewrap and paint for the big dots on the background paper. Then, I just splattered more paint all over the paper, sanded the pictures and painted them as well. Took some TH grunge and heat embossed with black, topped with Rock Candy and Stickles, added some 7G gaffer's tape, flowers, and Prima felt and crystals, RockStar pp, Glitz pp, and my daughter's latest non-working earbuds to complete the "grunginess."

I ended up with paint all over my scrap table, my cell phone and

all over me! My dd had to take my picture because I even had red paint on my nose!

Thank you for a great challenge, Mandy. You can visit her blog here.

What a surprise!

2010-04-03T19:15:00.000-05:00

I was pleasantly surprised to find that not one but two of my Swirly sisters gave me a blogger award this week. It took me some time to post since I am in the midst of studying for Therapeutics II exam, finishing a Personal Finance project, and writing a Literature Evaluation on a drug study for etidronate. Sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it?

Thank you, Darien and Tina, for passing this Sweet Blogger award on to me. Please visit Darien here and Tina here to check out their beautiful work.

As I accept this award I need to do a few things:

1. Give a list of ten things that make me happy.

2. A trivia of five things about me.

3. Share the award with only 5 people and ask them to do the same.

4. Link the blogs I choose and the blog of the ones who gave me the award.

So, here goes:

10 Things that make me happy are sunshine, smiles, laughter, scrapbooking, finding a great buy, ice-cold Mountain Dew, my kids, my family, my puppy, and reading a good book.

5 things about me: I am pursuing a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, I only drive one speed--fast!, I love to watch American Idol and Biggest Loser, Mountain Dew is my weakness and I was kidnapped in the Philippines as a baby.

So now that you know all of that I will share this award with Sheri (my sister and scrappin' partner), Cheryl, Diana, Robin, and Manda K, my Swirly sisters.

Round Robin Round #2: Wishing for Spring

2010-03-26T09:09:00.002-05:00

Doing some house cleaning today and thinking of spring. I can't wait to start a garden and plant flowers in my flower beds and flower pots. The sunshine is making me think that spring weather will be here soon. I can not wait! So, here is a scrap page that expresses my thoughts today. I did this for the Round Robin challenge at Swirlydoos. Part of the challenge was to scrap something I have never scrapped before so I scrapped a wish of mine and used a picture of a butterfly to express this. I have never scrapped a photo of a butterfly either. This is a lift of Angelica's layout which was the Layout of the Week in March. I just added the paper weaving in the background and lifted her idea for all the butterflies and flowers. Here ya go!

Have a great day!

Spring is almost here!

2010-03-07T14:06:00.000-06:00

Wow, the weather is amazing today. It is currently 60 degrees outside! Love it. This is making me feel a little better about our spring break trip to the Grand Canyon. Only 5 more days until we leave for a 9 day camping trip across America with the main stop being 4 days at the Grand Canyon. I am a little worried about the cool night air but really look forward to all the beautiful sights as we hike the Grand Canyon. I foresee a huge scrap album after this trip!

Round Robin Challenge #2

2010-03-06T11:42:00.000-06:00

Speaking of the Round Robin Challenge, it is now the beginning of round two and I go first. No pressure! I guess I better start thinking about what to do. An added twist this time is to scrap something you have never scrapped before. So, I woke up this morning with all these ideas and now I need to figure out which one I can do successfully.

Round Robin Challenge

2010-03-06T11:38:00.001-06:00

Over at Swirlydoos there was a Round Robin Challenge. It is the scrapper's version of the children's game "Telephone." The first person in the group creates a layout and the second person has a week to "lift" this layout. Then, the third person must "lift" the second person and so on. I was the third person in my group and here is my "lift." Go to Swirlydoos and check out the other layouts.

This is my little niece a few years ago during one of the many weekends my sis spent with me scrappin'. Have I ever mentioned how much I love scrappin' weekends with my sis? So glad she got me into this obsession! What better way to spend time together!

Prima has a secret!

2010-02-27T17:42:00.002-06:00

Prima has something really big coming your way…. click here to find out!

Archivers make-n-take weekend

2010-02-21T19:23:00.000-06:00

Here's why I didn't dig into my Swirlydoos until Saturday.

I went to the free make-n-take at Archivers and, of course, I had to do the mini-album class, too! This is a cute little album. The word "dream" is actually diecut foil letters. A real PITA to separate from the rest of the foil and the backing. Most of the ladies in class were not happy with how crumpled up the letters were by the time they separated them from the rest of the foil. I decided to wait until I got home and had my own tools so I could get those letters off. It does work better to use scissors to start and then separate the letter along with the backing. The backing helps stabilize the foil letter until you have it separated from the rest of the foil. Remove the backing last and then apply the letter-smooth out with your fingernail or a rub-on tool. But, I know I will NOT buy those letters-ever! I am thinking about using this litte album to record my dreams/goals.

Love those Archiver's make-n-takes. I always seem to make new friends or meet old ones there. It was good to see an old friend that I had not seen face to face for over 18 months. I almost didn't recognize her because she had lost well over 100 pounds! Wow! I was so happy for her that I had a hard time not just jumping up out of my seat and giving her a big ol' hug right there!

Meeting Allison

2010-02-21T17:43:00.000-06:00

The March Swirlydoos kit arrived this Thursday much to my surprise! Of course, I had to oooo and aaahhh over it all! Thursday was the end of a very long week for me because I had three exams and worked four days in a row. Then, add to that another snowstorm on Monday-lovely driving conditions for an 8:30 a.m. exam. But, I was off to a jewelry party at a neighbor's house so no playing Thursday night. Finally got to sit down and play on Saturday. So, here is my take on the sketch for this month. I used the last of the pictures from the day my dd was born fourteen years ago. Everything is from the kit except the Prima "Say it in Pearls" and Prima leaves. I even used the Prima packaging as a photo mat and the packaging from some Making Memories as a journal tag. The chipboard swirls were painted with TH crackle paint and the chipboard letters were inked then covered with TH Rock Candy.

These are the last photos of my dd. Here my nephew was meeting her for the first time. My mom and dad brought him up to visit in the hospital. Wonder what he was thinking!

I am off to play again. We have a Round Robin challenge over at Swirlydoos. The first week someone posts a layout and then each week a different person will lift the layout and post their version. So it is kind of like playing telephone. The first layout may look nothing like the last one or they may look very similar. It will be interesting to see what everyone comes up with. It is my week to post a lift so I better get to it! Have a great week and thanks for stopping by!

Sweet!

2010-02-09T18:00:00.000-06:00

My cute kids! They got into some chocolate and were so proud of themselves because they used the microwave to melt it! Chocolate smiles! Used Websters Pages and Prima flowers and lace.

Project 365 Week 3

2010-02-09T17:57:00.000-06:00

Week three: continued my workout routine by doing elliptical machine and BL workouts with Jillian Michaels. Yes, she is tough! On the 15th we had a "nice" surprise- the garage door broke. Brandon and I tried to figure it out on our own. I finally realized it was a broken spring so Brandon hopped on the internet to try and figure out how to fix it and where to get the parts. But, once I realized that we should have had two springs, not one, I decided we better call a professional.

More of our typical week includes B-man on the 'puter and our Yorkie begging for attention. The highlight of my week was receiving my February Swirlydoos kit! Yes, I took a picture of my kit and scrapped it with the very same kit! Love my Swirlydoos!

Altered Art

2010-02-09T17:43:00.000-06:00

This is a wooden plaque that I altered with 7G paper, gaffer's tape, Prima flower and pearls. Used some acrylic paint to distress the paper a little, added a few tags, and a photo frame. That's all! Made this for my grandparents for Christmas. Now, I want one for me!

Christmas 2006

2010-02-09T17:40:00.000-06:00

All the grandkids by the tree before we let them tear into the gifts. It was hard to get a decent shot of everyone at the same time. Used the January Swirlydoos for this and lifted a layout by Design Team member Robin.

Project 365-Week 2

2010-02-09T17:32:00.001-06:00

Brandon went sledding with some friends, I got some scrapping done (which reminds me, I don't think I have posted that layout yet!), Allison made brownies. I caught her showing off her one-handed egg cracking. I can't even do that! And, she is multi-tasking here-got the ipod going as well.

Another typical school night-homework. We celebrated Allison's fourteenth birthday, got one of my scrapping mags so sat down with a cup of Swiss Mocha to read it. And, my fave of the week, Brandon helping Allison with her homework. Ha! She doesn't like my help because I get too impatient. I could not be a teacher because I would expect the kids to understand after only explaining one time!