~ Painting ~

Well we had a big overhaul last weekend as far as bedrooms go. Mike and I finally have the large bedroom with two closets back, and Erin is moved into the "yellow" room. The one that was originally the family/tv room before she was born. The one Mike and I took over as our bedroom for a while.

I think this is my favorite photo of her "helping" dad prime the room for a coat of paint. She really was a big help :)

And here they are together. That's my scrap porch out there. Can you see Evan's head there through the left window working on the computer. Lego club I am sure :) The reason Mike and I took over that room as our bedroom when she was younger was because of my scrap room there that you have to walk through the room to get to. So yes, I am going to walk through her bedroom to get to that porch, but I think it's ok now that she's older. Here it is 11pm at night and I am out here even though she is sleeping. The light is on it's lowest setting and I haven't bothered her at all. Although I am not sure how much scrapping I can do at night. My paper cutter is a little noisy!

Here she is trying out her new "big girl" bunk beds. Yes, she wanted bunk beds because her best friend down the street (whom she adores) has bunk beds. And we need the extra sleeping space for guests or sleepovers. We really don't have any. She slept on the top that night because we didn't have the lower mattress yet. It was coming the next day. But the rule is she sleeps on the bottom for now.
I love seeing her heart pillow, and Shaggy doll, and baby with the crazy kid haircut all snuggling in with her. She was so excited. The bottom mattress has the super cute sheets and pillows with the butterflies from PB Kids. The colors are purple, green, and yellow :)

As for Evan, his room got a paint job, too. Yes, that is orange on his walls. His favorite color and the one he chose. Isn't he lucky to have such open-minded parents :)
And yes, he is still into Legos big time. I love those display shelves Mike put up on his wall. They are perfect!
So there you have it! Lots of changes here in the month of February. And I have a feeling there will be lots more in the months ahead with all this remodeling and organizing we will be doing!

My Last Challenge for the Crop :)

The on-line crop at Scrapgal is over. I posted my first two challenge layouts in the post under this one. My last challenge, since the theme was Crop Your Heart Out, was to use the phrases on Valentine candy conversation hearts as inspiration for your title on a layout or card. I found a great site here with lots of great examples if you didn't have a box left over from Valentine's day :)

My first layout I actually used some white Studio Calico mist behind the photo as kind of a mat. Still using up that Documentary kit from so long ago. I literally have gotten a dozen layouts and cards out of that kit :)

And here is my card example.
Thanks to everyone who hung out at the crop this weekend! It was a lot of fun :)

Challenge Layouts!

Been hanging out at the message boards off and on over at Scrapgal today for the on-line crop which goes through tomorrow night. The theme is "Crop Your Heart Out!"
So far I've contributed two challenges and a game.

This was my 2pm challenge. Scrap a layout using at least 14 hearts :) Had lots of fun with this one!

This was the 10am journal challenge. Scrap a layout that tells a story about hearts. Whether it literally be about a physical heart (exercise, surgery etc...) or love :) I decided to share some of my thoughts and feeling regarding my dad's quadruple bypass surgery he had almost 20 years ago!
This is the first layout I ever created to talk about it.
And it's actually a scrap lift of Jenn Olsen. It was just the right design for this story. I know the letters in my title are a little crooked, but let's just say I am letting go of total perfection with my scrapbooking. :)

Just a Reminder!

Crop Your Heart Out Come join us on February 18 &19th at ScrapGal.com
Let us  celebrate what we really love scrapbooking!
You're invited to ScrapGals "Crop your heart out" crop where you will fall in love with challenges that will inspire you to create and take your scrapbooking to another level!!
So grab your favorite snacks & come over chat with the gals, you know you want to!!!
This crop is being sponsored by Lifestyle/QuicKutz! We will be giving away lots of prizes including TWO LetterPress Combo kits! One in the store and one online! You don't want to miss this!!! 


I personally am doing three challenges on Friday at 10am, 1pm and 1:30.
So I would love to see you over there! :)

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Layouts from Valentine's Day in 2009 :)

We are going to do something similar this morning. Heart shaped pancakes for breakfast :)

And she really is a daddy's girl :)
Hope you all have a very happy v-day!

Scrapgal Tutorial: Misting with Border Stickers as a Mask

I love using office supplies on my layouts and this large envelope was no exception.
But was a little to plain for me. So I grabbed a bottle of Tattered Angels glimmer mist, some Doodlebug border stickers and went to work!

Being approximately 8" x 5 1/2 inches, the envelope was just a little to big for my layout which was 9x9 inches. I am creating an on-going 9x9 album for my husband. Each page is a photo of him and a list of some kind. The first layout in the album is "Five U2 songs that make me think of you." This layout is 5 reasons I loved seeing Ireland with you" :)

Ultimately, I decided the envelope would make a good pocket to contain the giant tag that would hold my journaling. So I cut it down.

Then I placed my Doodlebug border stickers on the envelope pocket. I chose the heart ones because of my title, and a few scallops and loops.

I didn't measure exactly. Just eyeballed it. Didn't feel the need for them to be perfectly lined up.

Grabbing my mess tray, bottle of glimmer mist, and some paper towels for blotting, I was ready. This is just a recycled cardboard tray. I've also used a few layers of newspaper. Especially for bigger projects! Make sure you shake that glimmer mist well and try to spray even, sweeping strokes across the surface. Try not to saturate the stickers. When I am done, I like to blot the access mist with paper towels.

Once it was dry, I slowly peeled back my border stickers. You can use this technique with any sticker or chipboard item. Even American Crafts Thickers which I love!

And here is my finished layout!
Products used:
patterned paper - Graphic 45
tiny alphabet stickers - October Afternoon 
ribbon - Graphic 45 
book turn arrow - 7 gypsies 
number sticker and chipboard heart - American Crafts (similar style in store)
manila envelope and large tag - Melissa Frances
border stickers - Doodlebug (similar styles in store)

All items or similar items in the Scrapgal store :)

Mark Your Calendar!

From the Scrapgal message board here.
"Crop your heart out" February 18 & 19th at ScrapGal.com starting at 9am CST
In a month that's all about love let us join together and celebrate what we really love scrapbooking!
A matrimonious occasion!!! You're invited to ScrapGals "Crop your heart out" crop where you will fall in love with challenges that will inspire you to create and take your scrapbooking to another level!!

So grab your favorite snacks & come over chat with the gals, you know you want to!!!

This crop is being sponsored by QuicKutz! We will be giving away lots of prizes including TWO LetterPress Combo kits! One in the store and one online! You don't want to miss this!!!

*If you you are a local you are welcome to come to the store and join the Gals for a crop in real life!
Feb 18 & 19th- contact the store for details!
Scrap Gal is located on
68 North Main in Cedar City Utah
435-867-1910

Also if you post a blinkie to your blog, you will be entered to win a prize.
Check out the post here!


Hope you will join us over at the boards to Crop Your Heart Out :)

My February Design Team Layouts and Project for Scrapgal!

For the month of February, each Design Team member was given a different line from Graphic 45 to work with. My line was "A Proper Gentleman".

My first layout used patterned papers from Graphic 45, especially this one. The frame you see on my layout is actually hand cut from that particular paper. When I saw that frame on the paper, I knew exactly what I was going to do with it. I also really loved the die-cut tags and borders. They are featured prominently on this layout and actually inspired the design. In addition, I used an envelope tag by Graphic 45, a sticker as an embellishment from Rusty Pickle, large Thickers alphabet by American Crafts, and tiny alpha stickers by My Little Shoebox. All available in some style and color in the store at Scrapgal

My next layout is also the journaling challenge over at Scrapgal this month. You can see it and all the challenges for the month here under monthly contests. My challenge is to use similar photos from different times to tell a story. Now to be eligible for the contest prizes, which is a cyber gift card to Scrapgal, you must use 50% Graphic 45 product from any of their lines on your project. Except for the sketch and color challenges. Those layouts you can use any product you want this month!!! But if you don't have Graphic 45, there are so many lines available at Scrapgal. And Jenn always has an automatic 10% off anything in her shop.
But even if you don't have Graphic 45, I would love to see your take on my challenge. You can post me a link here or over in the Scrapgal gallery!
Product used: patterned paper and chipboard buttons - Graphic 45, die-cut journal cards - Jenni Bowlin, large thicker alphabet stickers - American Crafts, square alphabet stickers - Rusty Pickle

For my altered project, I used this chipboard mini album from Maya Road and turned it into a banner! I have been wanting to make a "home sweet home" banner for awhile to hang on our bulletin board. I took the album off it's key chain and painted the end pieces white using this paint dabber from Ranger Industries. I covered the middle three pieces with the B side of this paper by Grapic 45. Then just added the white alphabet Thickers by American Crafts. Jenn has a ton of American Crafts Thickers in all fonts, colors and styles in the shop! :) I used green glimmer mist by Tattered Angels to make the hills. I actually made a reverse mask to do the spraying. The chipboard houses are also by Maya Road. And the little trees were cut from a piece of patterned paper by Ki Memories.

If you look closely, you can see that the chipboard houses are covered by another patterned paper by Graphic 45 that worked perfectly for this project. I used this one!

So those are my projects for this month! I hope you will come over to Scrapgal and check out the rest of the Design Teams projects and challenges. And for the chance to win a cyber gift card :)
Thanks for looking!