Just under the wire this month on these! This is one of the craziest months I have had in a very long time. I know I've been a terrible blogger. I've also been a terrible crafter, creating maybe once a week if I'm lucky! But, things are looking up. November should be a much more craft crazy time! Thank you so much to all of you who have left comments. If I haven't gotten back to you, I promise that I will as soon as possible! With that in mind, here's what I whipped up with my October Design Team... Read more →

The challenge was to use as much ribbon as possible. So, here it is: Details... This layout was a labor of love. Here’s what I did: 1. I inked the edges of each of the photos. 2. To create the background: I glued brown, black and white ribbon to the background paper. Then I zig zag stitched between each row of ribbon. Then, I drew scallops on the back of the paper and used a pair of detail scissors to cut the scallops. 3. To create the swirl: I drew a swirl on cardstock and then cut it out. I... Read more →

Okay, so I've got a bunch of random stuff to share today... 1. I made it to the next round of The Effer's Last Scrapper Standing contest! Woo Hoo! We are posting our new layouts today (Wednesday) and then we have to wait a week...eek! 2. I've been working with my review team items for Serendipity Scrapbooks and it was lots of fun! I'm not allowed to post yet, but all the papers were Dream Street! Be sure to check out Serendipity's site on November 1 for the reveal! 3. Altered Pencil Lines will be shutting down. I'm sad to... Read more →

Okay, this is one of my favorite layouts that I've ever made. The black border is for viewing purposes only. It's for the Effer's Last Scrapper Standing Contest. The challenge was to scrap seven random facts. (I suspect the effers are counting down, the last challenge was to use eight transparent items and I assume the next dare will be something around the number six.) Anyway, I love this layout because it's so "me." Literally. Seven photos of me. But, also, it's essentially a piece of white cardstock that I stamped with stamps I carved myself (the rectangles and all... Read more →

I was "tagged" by Shirley Pando recently. What does this mean? 1) You link to your 'tagger' & post the rules: 2) Share 7 facts about yourself - random/weird 3) Tag 7 people & link to them 4) Leave comments on their blogs, so they know they've been tagged. I was tagged once before, and I gather that the people I tagged after that didn't appreciate being tagged. So, rather than tag anyone, I thought I'd simply point out the blogs of the last seven people to comment on my blog. 1. Mimi Leinbach, who I know from The Serendipity... Read more →

The Last Scrapper Standing is a very cool contest run by the Effer Dare Girlies. If you don't know, the Effers started the first scrapbooking challenge blog -- a concept that has taken off! There are so many of them out there now. I pointed out some of my favorites in a previous post. The Effers even published a book this year full of dares! This is the second year that the Effers have hosted their Survivor style scrapbooking contest: Last Scrapper Standing. I didn't participate last year, so when they announced the contest this year, I jumped on it... Read more →

I admit it. I'm a far more sophisticated scrapper today than I was when I started almost three years ago. I have a better grasp on formal design concepts: color, line, type, etc. My photographs are better -- more close ups, nicer backgrounds, better light. I am more computer savvy -- lots of hybrid work, creating elements in PhotoShop. I have a head full of techniques -- from photo transfers to inking. I know the products and manufacturers -- I can identify most on sight. I have better equipment -- paper cutters, scanners, etc. I leave white space. But am... Read more →

I wanted to share my most recent creations for Just Let Me Scrapbook. Can I tell you that this is such a *great* design team! I love being able to choose my own products and Mary Beth (the store owner) is so very warm and kind. Not to mention, her prices are FAB with lots of sales all the time and her taste is so very spot on to my own! So, without any further ado, here you go: I've started doing quite a bit of hybrid scrapbooking lately. I created the journaling block (well, the lines) in Microsoft Word,... Read more →