Thinking of you

Happy Thursday.

I love today because (a) only two more days before I can sleep in. This time change is killing me! (b) no preschool today. They had a field trip and Maddie and I decided to skip it since we've done it before (c) did yoga this morning. Aaahhhh! Lovin the feeling of being stretched all through out. and (d) I get to blog about some schtuff today. Can't get better than that.

Ok so this will be somewhat of a random post. Let's start with this one....

Thinking of You card

got my Piggy tales products a few days back and decided to play with them. I mean, c'mon have you seen the new releases? They're just calling to be created with.
Anyways this quick card was made with the latest CPS sketch in mind. I love the simplicity of the sketch, it helped me bring some focus on the wonderful floral paper in the Goergie Porgie line.


I added a simple sticker sentiment from SRM stickers.

Speaking of SRM stickers, remember tomorrow is the start of the Get Sketchy blog hop where we are showing a new sketch, my card take on the sketch and the sponsor is SRM stickers and Scrap N Art magazine.

Over at Crazy Daisy kit blog I posted my mini for the March kit. Sweet, simple and the mini is to die for! I'm diggin the flocked design on that MME Luscious mini.

Have you checked out the Clear Scraps blog lately? Gosh too many inspirations to mention. I got my projects all done and I'll be sharing them here and in the CS blog soon so watch out for that.

And finally, last Saturday after (I would say years) of not stopping by a thrift store, I finally got the chance to visit my local Goodwill store and look what I scored....

I have big "altering" plans for these babies. Everything ran me less than $10. Don't worry, I'll show the transformations on this blog when I start bringing new life to these items.

So that's it for now. Now go check those links above and Have a great day.

Till next time,
Grace

Enthusiasm

"Nothing great was ever achieved without Enthusiasm"- Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Such a wonderful quote, don't you think? It makes me just jump right into positivity.

I was so inspired with that quote that I used it on an altered item that I made using some of the new Vogue papers from Upsy Daisy.

Enthusiasm Wall Art
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Part of our DT assignment this month was to make something with a handmade flower included. Flower power is definitely a trend in the scrapbooking world today and trying to figure out a new twist on this hot trend didn't come easy to me, but after a couple of days of solely thinking of flowers, I grabbed my 1" circle punch and came up with this....

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it's very easy. If you guys want a tutorial, comment and if there's some interest I'll make one here on my blog. :)

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I love that the scene that I created in the wall art is primarily made out of paper. The grass, flower, stem and butterflies- all made from the Vogue paper line. The quote also came from that line.

The Get Sketchy blog is up to something really fun starting on Friday. Make sure you mark your calendars.


Thanks for stopping by.

Till next time,
Grace

You make me smile

Friday is finally here. Woohoo!!! Plus the sun shining versus wet rain just makes things a ton better, don't you think?

Anyways did you remember my 29 things to do post? Well I'm venturing on getting some finished off. I've decided that I will probably not be able to finish it all (like visiting 3 states, going to sea world or meeting 5 of my scrap idols) but I can do something about those things that I have control on (loose the 10 extra pounds, get a camera lens) so I'm starting with this one....


I borrowed it from the library last week and can you believe that I'm 3/4 into the book. When I was reading the introduction to the book, it got me worried that I won't like it but then as I started reading the first chapter, Jane Austen truly has a hold on my romantic heart because she got me engaged and I haven't stopped reading since then.

What have you read recently that's worth sharing?

and I leave you with another card (since like it's the trend in this blog recently). My first card as a design team member at Get Sketchy is up.

You make me smile

The sponsor was Stamping Boutique and I got to play with a digi stamp. I've never tried this before so I was afraid (to say the least) about this card but I think my first try was not that bad. What do you think?


I used some Scenic Route papers here. It's so cheery, they just make me smile and makes me look forward that spring is just around the corner.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.

Till next time,
Grace

Finally it's done!!!

Have you ever had the best intentions to make something cute? Something that you thought would "at least" look somewhat like the picture you are copying it from? Something that you would be proud to show off and tell the whole world that you, yes you, the "creative" you, made it!

Well that's what I thought I'd accomplish with my crochet scarf....but sadly after close to three months of laboring on it, it didn't come out as I expected it to be. It's not even EVEN! I've thought of quitting on it many times but I figured I'd started it already might as well finish the "pathetic" scarf that it was becoming.

It might sound harsh but I was really disappointed at myself on it. But don't you crochet ladies worry, my failure had nothing to do with my tool, my yarn or even my pattern. I'm the only one to be blamed. My biggest mistake- not counting! I was too lazy in the beginning and when I thought I can still get away without it, there was no turning back!

So you might be wondering how it turned out...... here's a couple of pics....

I was trying to take a picture of it myself and so that's why it's not the greatest picture, but you can see it.


I finished it last Sunday and for a moment was proud of my accomplishment but then after showing it to dear hubby and he made this comment "well you are the only one that can appreciate it because you made it" my hopes of it being "good enough" went way out the door.

lesson learned- (1) count, count, count; (2) attempt a smaller project from now on; and (3) my adventures with crocheting can be redeemed with a new, smaller project and a newly purchased yarn. *wink*

So to leave you guys on a much better note, here's a spring themed card.

"berry" sweet card


used up scraps here. I love that lime and strawberries paper a lot!


thank you for bearing with my odd post.

Till next time,
Grace

*I just noticed that my watermarks still says 2009. How did I not catch that, it's already March! Yikes!

Crazy Daisy March kit layouts (photo heavy)

Happy Midweek to you guys. Hope your week is cruising well.

So to say that the Crazy Daisy March kit is luscious and wonderful is an understatement so I thought I'd just share with all of you the five layouts that I made with it. I'm sure after you see how I used the wonderful (and newly released products from CHA Winter) included in the main kit, you'd want one too.....

1. Bookworm
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In this layout, I was talking about my son's new found interest in stories on tape. So to emphasize the theme/story of the page, I grabbed one of the chipboard shaped page from the MME minibook and used that as a template to cut out my pattern papers. I adhered the papers over each other as to mimic book pages.
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I also added the part of the Prima rhinestone swirls here, the MME kraft tag and the yellow ribbon. I added a button on the ribbon for interest, having the paper thread go under the ribbon so when I tied the button, it created a cool crease on the ribbon as well.
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2. A dreamer

I love this page because (a) I was able to play with some new actions I got online and dressed up my picture. I love that this new photoshop action made a cool distressed look for my picture and (b) I was able to add a lot of pattern papers into this layout without overwhelming the photo.
Remember, if you are combining lots of pattern papers, make sure you pick designs and elements in there that doesn't distract with each other. Pick at least one dots, one stripe, one floral, one solid, etc. This way you have all the designs represented and yet it's doesn't overwhelm the page. Also make sure you do them in moderation. Size matters.




3. Happy Reunion

The lovely Basic Grey papers in the kit really makes a page pop with color. I emphasized two of them here.

I also added a border and journaling sticker from the Crate paper sheet and cut out a flower from one of the Crate paper pattern papers to add as an embellishment.

Another thing that made this page so fast to make are the transparent word and shamrock embellishment.

4. Lucky Gold

With this page, I wanted the focus to go to my pictures so I chose a more neutral colored patterned paper for background and added a few smaller strips of the other papers as a border in the middle.

I also added the canvas letters here from Little Yellow Bicycle and the calendar embellishment as well.

To highlight the dates, I grabbed two small circle stickers from the Crate Paper sticker sheet, hand cut out the centers and stuck it on the specific dates.

5. San Onofre Beach

Here's my two page spread for this month. I can't say it enough that this kit can give me so much product to make 4 pages PLUS one two page layout. That for me is really awesome.

I used one of the Crate paper stickers for my flower and to cover the lines (for journaling) I added another flower and a button.

There were some pictures that I didn't feel good showing off, but I still wanted them to be included in this page. These are pictures that I only want my family to see, so to overcome my little dilemma, I added a small folded album on the right edge with pattern paper. I cut a piece that's just a bit bigger than my pictures, folded it and tucked the pictures inside.

thank you for looking and to learn more about the March kit or any other kits that Crazy Daisy offers, check them out here.

Oh and I also posted an article at the CD blog today. It's a good one. *wink*

Till next time,
Grace

Piggy tales + Mr. Personality

Happy Sunday.

You're probably getting tired of me announcing some great news around here. LOL. I still can't believe that they all came in one week. I guess it's really true when they've said that "when it rains, it pours".

I'm still in cloud 9 because Piggy Tales have picked me to be part of their Piggy Tales Academy Design team. I'm so honored to be a part of a wonderful and talented bunch. Check out the announcement here.

I was going to hit "publish" on here but then decided to add a page. I mean what's a post without a project, right?!

This is not Piggy Tales but one of my most recent ones.

Mister Personality

Remember this page that I made about Maddie? Well thought I'd even it out and make one of Marcus too.


I played with glimmer mist here. I grabbed some circles and adhered them (with re positionable adhesive) onto the white cardstock, then sprayed the mist. I then took it off and added a smaller circle of pattern papers onto the white circle spots. I also added a button for more layering.


I cut out the titles from Cricut and added a lot of sewing.

Thanks for stopping by.

Till next time,
Grace

Precious Memories

Don't you think that sketches can be considered as a scrapbook tool? I mean, they are a great springboard for creative projects. They can spark up something that you never really thought about. They make designing pages/project easier but still gives you room to put you own "spin" on it. Once you start working with sketches, it'll be something that you will always grab everytime you create.

Well if you definitely, undeniably agree with me.... then I have a challenge to share with you.....the Upsy Daisy design blog has started a monthly sketch challenge . These sketches are made by one of our own team member (Kim). She does a wonderful job with creating clean sketches that you can start your creativity with.

and lucky me, I get to play and show you an example of what I did with her sketch....

Precious Memories

I used two small pictures instead of one large one. I also expanded some of the elements to fill my 12x12 page.


I used the wonderful Blossom line. Love the sweetness of these papers.


I'm into adding dimensional adhesive to my elements right now to make them look like epoxy items. I did that to the pink tree. Like it?

So that's my take on the sketch. Hope you play along. Here's where you can find all the info about the challenge. Can't wait to see your interpretation on it.

Till next time,
Grace

Life continues to happen

Happy Friday.

Gosh, I've been all over the place this week and I'm soooo glad that weekend is just around the corner. My scrap space is needing some love. *smile*

Life happens card

this card was made for the pagemaps card challenge. I love sketches (we all know that) and I could not pass up the chance to play.


this card is so simple (even for my style) but I loved the Pink Paislee sentiment that I want all the attention on it.
All products used are from Pink Paislee except the rhinestones and pearl.

Thank you for looking.

Till next time,
Grace

a Get Sketchy opportunity

Hi all.
First off, thanks for all the wonderful comments about my great Clear Scraps news. Your wishes touched my heart. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU.

But wait.......the great news has just began.....today I'm very happy and honored to have been selected to be a part of the Get Sketchy team.



If you've been a blog reader of mine, you know how much I adore their sketches and when time permits, I always participate in the challenges. Well know I get to do them all and work with some great sponsors. I can't wait to get started and be inspired by all of the artists (design team members and participants).

So for now I'll leave you with a card I made over the weekend based on GS #27 sketch.

A dinner invitation


in the sketch, the middle elements were put in a row, I decided since it's butterflies that I will make them look like their in motion a bit.


used up scraps here. Gotta love being able to rummage through my ever growing scrap bag for goodies to put together.

Thank you for looking.

Till next time,
Grace

Am I dreaming???

So to update you....I cleaned my scrap space right after I posted my horrible mess photo but sadly after a weekend of crafting, it pretty much looks the same or even worse! Now if only we can invent a scrapbook item that can clean up all of the rest of the paper mess when were all done!

I got a wonderful news to share today....... I am now an official Clear Scraps DT member. Woohoo!!! I love mini albums and Clear Scraps offer a wide variety of acrylic and chipboard minis. I am truly honored for this opportunity.

Check out the rest of the team here.

Thanks for letting me share and have a great day.

Till next time,
Grace