featured, new blog, moving slow.......

We have been hit by the allergy season BIG time here! The last two weeks have been a total blur of sick people at my house....so I am behind!

A few things I missed......

I got an AWESOME new custom blog, done by Amanda May Designs.  I won a free basic blog makeover on Giveaway Corner, and paid a little extra to get a deluxe redo :) I ♥ my new blog. Amanda did an amazing job designing graphics that are perfect for me (with just a bunch of jumbled ideas I gave her) This girl totally rocks, she is very fast, professional and TALENTED! I would recommend Amanda May Designs to anyone who wants to customize their blog. Amanda also does pre-made blog templates, business branding and has an esty store that sells graphic art, custom invites, and custom business cards.

Next on the list of things I missed....

I was featured on Practical Scrappers for Mother/Daughter Layouts.

Its an honor to be featured on their blog, wish I had been on here sooner to post about it. 

I still feel completely behind with life in general right now. My son ended up in the ER with pneumonia and asthma, then the next week had a horrible allergic reaction to something (maybe my mother's day flowers)  My husband has bronchitis and double ear infections. So I am running on fumes trying to take care of everything and the sickies.... hopefully I don't get sick from being run down :( The allergens in the air right now are brutal, and we are all living on double doses of allergy meds.   Hoping to get some creative time soon.... 

A couple challenges

Just a few challenges real quick....(from MyScraps) 

This is a sketch {or my version of said sketch :) } 

Is it just me, or does this LO remind you of the sun setting over the ocean???

Okay so maybe I'm crazy, but thats what I am seeing 8}

This is a quote challenge, I had to use "Simple Pleasures are Priceless Treasures" 

My Scraps DT Call

Just finished up my entry for the MyScraps DT call.

The LO was based on this recipe:

M…use products from your favorite Manufacturer
Y…yellow - got to have a little of the color somewhere on your layout
S…sewing - either with a machine or hand stitching, get that needle going!
C…circles – include at least one on your layout
R…ribbon – pull some out of your stash and use it here
A… All About You!
P…punch – use at least one on your page
S…style – make a layout that shows yours!

Lets see....M: my fave manufacturers... Well I have lots :), here we have some Sassafrass Lass, Jeni Bowlin, a little Hambly, even some October Afternoon and Cosmo Cricket. 

Y: Yellow...yep got some yellow :) 

R: ribbon....a bit of cream color ball trim/ribbon

S: sewing, decided I didn't want a machine sewed look on this, so I did some hand sewing. I sewed on the two black buttons with silver thread, and I sewed down the corners of the photo strip. 

A: all about you...check!

P: Punch, you can see the treading water punch peaking out above. 

C: circles..... a few small circles peeking out, from the notebook paper, the toad stool below is also on a circle.  {the toad stool is coated in glossy accents, so its raised in person} 

and S: style...... well, Its hard to do one LO that encompasses my style, as it really depends on the paper. So I did some of my favorite things....... fussy cutting, layering, mixing designers, hand sewing. 

{as always, you can click on the pictures to make them bigger} 

the one that didn't make it.....

Working on a DT call....this is the LO that I started to make for the call...but it just wasn't what I wanted. I still like it, just not the right one :)

Its Official! Eye Candy! & Loot♥

Okay, its official....I am calling my crafty Hiatus to an end! Its been a long few months getting the kids school into a great routine {we made some HUGE changes this year to our homeschooling} And I can no longer stand not being crafty! I miss the glitter all over my clothes, the paint on my fingers, and the deadlines of design teams {yes, I know....crazy lady misses deadlines.....they give me a push♥}

So here is a kick off to the end of the break...... I finally get to share the LOs that I created for Sketches2scrapbook {and awesome ipad app created by the talented Anam Stubbington}

You will have to check out the app to get all the yummy sketches :) I did take a sneaky little break from all craftiness in January..... I had the honor of working with Anam again and making a card for the newest version of her app, Sketches4cards 

To help get my mojo going again, I scored a rawkin giveaway {can't find a link to the blog that hosted this giveaway...so sorry, if you are out there, please let us know} from the Nicole Lombardo Esty Shop

Tried to get some pics of my loot, but my black table was not the best backdrop....trust me its awesome! I got a huge assortment of  diecuts, some as big as 12x12...at least $50 worth of product, even some fun rhinestone scrolls. Can't wait to get scrappy with these! 

September Elite kit preview

Drum roll please................................

the September 2010 Scrapbookheaven Elite Kit

these amazing kits are on pre-sell and are almost sold out! 

The kit is designed to be a minibook kit, but I did layouts using the beautiful chipboard.

{cardstock is from my stash, not the kit}

this page was inspired by one of my hubby's books, you never know were you will find inspiration :)

I stamped the kraft paper with several different stamps and inks.

you can see a pic of the books cover HERE 

This LO is the sample for my challenge this month.... each month every DT member posts a challenge in the forum. This month I am challenging you to use the same picture on your LO more than one time. I will have several examples up on the boards, hopefully tomorrow :)

My sketch

Just posted my sketch at the crop, the DT will be posting new sketches all weekend :)

                                       

My last ES blog hop :(

EverythingScrappn

Going out of Business Sale - Everything is 40% off.  This will run until July 31st.  If your order does not fit into one Priority Mail box, I will contact you about additional shipping charges; but as much as I can stuff into one box I will happily ship to you for my regular $5.50 charge. Orders may not be processed as fast as usual, as I am expecting a large number of orders to come in at once.  Orders that come in July 28th through July 31st will not be processed until my return from vacation on Aug 5th.  Feel free to forward this newsletter to your scrappy friends to let them know about the sale.

I am sad to see another online store go out of business :(  I great enjoyed my time on the ES design team, and will miss Heather and Suz {although I hope to still see them online, all the time}  Here are a few of my favorite projects from the last year working with ES.

There will be one more monthly challenge for the ES design team that you can play along with, on the 28th we will post a sketch challenge with a prize. 

July kit reveal

This was my first month working with a kit from Scrapbook Heaven, and it totally rocked! I worked with the elite kit this month, perfect for 4th of July or Canada Day pictures, it also works for summer photos. There are a few more kits available for presell, so don't wait!

I still have tons of kit to work with and a few more LOs to post, so check back in a few days for some more inspiration! 

Inspiration Day

Its the 14th and that means inspiration day for Everythingscrappn :)

This month I worked with the awesome new company Echo Park and their first release Sweet Summertime 

the paper pack that I worked with is already sold out but the papers and stickers are still available individually...Hurry before they are gone as well! . Below is the 12x12 card-stock sticker sheet from the line   

Okay, I finally gave in and did my first LO with a banner (or bunting) and I have to say that these stickers made it SOOOooooo easy! I added a little stickles and a few buttons to the banner for some quick dimension 

these bright summery colors are perfect for outdoors photos.

I also used some of the new Tiny Type letter stickers from Cosmo Cricket. Love these! They are perfect for subtitles, and even small enough to use for journaling. ES is carrying them in 6 fun colors. 

Thanks so much for stopping by....be sure to leave a comment, you never know if there will be a bloghop prize :) 

Twisted #53 :)

Boy I have been crazy busy lately and not blogging much, but I am scrapping :)
this weeks twisted sketch was a fun one to work with, and the twist is "acrylic" I used a small acrylic bird colored with gold alcohol inks. Be sure to head over to Twisted Sketches to get your copy of the sketch!

I haven't played with my inks in a while, gotta get those out more often! 

while I was digging through my stash I found one lonely piece of grunge board....so it had to go on the page :)

Be sure to check out what all the awesomely twisted sisters did with the sketch ♥