Why HELLO there!

Hi. (achew!) It sure is dusty here on my blog. I know I haven't been here for many moons but I'm back and  blogsessed once again. I got caught up on my growing toddler & 5-year-old, my new premium channels and an app on my phone called Instagram (along with Words with Friends and Hanging with Friends). What's the iPhone version of crackberry? I got my iphone at around the time of my last post, coincidence? Probably not.

I wanted to assure my 6 followers, HI LADIES!, that this blog did not enter the deep, dark world of forever lost blogs. I also wanted to welcome any curious bystanders to my work and my very active blog (from today on). Speaking of active, I wanted to share a LO that I made for a challenge for The Paper Variety.*

*Ok yeah, I made the LO and went to their blog 2 hours too late. Doh! But anywho, I had so much fun creating it and I love how it turned out. The challenge was to include any forest animals into your piece. Can you spot the ones I put in?

This is my show & tell for today. I can't wait to catch up with my faves and find my next challenge. It feels good to be back and I kind of want to end this post with an "I love you". A bit much though, right? You're right. You're right.

I like you...bye for now.

OooOh...sparkly!

Guurrrrrrrl, the Glitter & Glam challenge over at ScrapFIT channeled my fabulousness this week. We were asked to sparkle it up and that I did. My fave girly girl was the inspiration for this layout, she's very "fanchee" (fancy). She is definitely here to live it out loud...this I know for sure.

 I was scrapbooking responsibly this time around and made another list! Woot! I wasn't able to make one the last time because I was using a lot of old supplies and was absolutely clueless.

lips, hearts & ice cream cone- Thickers tiara accent in glitter black
patterned paper: sparkling pink & blue background- DCWV "The Mademoiselle stack", pink script- Echo Park Paper Co. "Be Mine"
epoxy stickers- DCWV "All Dressed Up"
distress inks: worn lipstick, pumice stone, victorian velvet and I love tumbled glass 
glimmer mist: Patina
glossy accents
pink bling- Making Memories
black script stamp- Prima #536305
butterfly- Recollections "Boutique Fleur"
flowers- Prima & Recollections
ribbon & feather from a broken headband
Hello Kitty ring
some bling!

I'm going to be brave today and move around a lot of things in my scrap studio. The last time I did this, I ended up not remembering where I creatively put things. Until next time...have a scrappy weekend!

27 Flowers

The fabulous ladies over at Scrapbookers Anonymous challenged us to put the flowers that we haven't touched in quite some time into our layout. When I first learned of this challenge from Lea's blog, I immediately thought of my poor drawer of flowers that I have long abandoned in favor of newer, fancier flowers that I have recently started to buy.

I used to buy the bunches of flowers from Michaels when they were on sale and pull them apart to put on my layouts. I would even pull apart the fake Hawaiian leis that I got from a party and use those flowers. Ever since my first splurge on a 40% off canister of fancy flowers, Prima have been my go-to's and my drawer flowers have been my go-nots.

The challenge was to use at least seven flowers, store bought and not handmade. I had such a fun time going through my drawer picking flowers to use. DCWV's The Grade School patterned paper is so fun and colorful and called for lots of flowers. I folded flowers over and adhered them to chipboard pieces for this project. The end result: a colorful LO about my darling preschooler, some much needed love for my long-forgotten flowers, and inspiration for my next mini album. Thanks SA!

You don't need gas to shop online

So last weekend, I made my first online scrapbooking purchase. I know...it's nothing new to most crafters out there but for to me, it was a first and it was FUN! I have been waiting for my LSS to bring in Graphic 45's Curtain Call. I just couldn't wait anymore and headed over to BlueMoonScrapbooking.com. That website was the first one to pop in my head since it is so prominently featured in many of the haul videos that I obsessively watch on youtube. I just enjoyed walking down the virtual aisles and throwing things into my cart. And you will not believe how much I was thinking about our letter carrier this week...crazy. I totally cleaned up my scrap desk so that my new scrappy products would be impressed when I took them out of the box and welcomed them to their new home. Ooooh...I love my new paper collection and I can't wait to get altering.

While I was down at the online store, I noticed that they have a blog. On this blog, they have challenges! I love challenges because they give you new ideas to work with. It's pretty exciting creating on a deadline and it's fun to see how other people interpret the challenge.

For the month of March, they are featuring Julie Bonner's first sketch challenge:

and here's my layout:

 Her sketch is super cute and it was fun to put together.

Oh! And....I actually made a list of everything (almost everything) that I used on this layout. I've started taking notice of these lists when I visit blogs and I'm trying to get into the habit myself. I am a mixer and matcher of products, I just love the look of different collections brought together. I have fun matching things up in my own way.

Ok, the list already:

patterned paper: K&Co Addison Blue Garden Swirls, PinkPaislee-House of Tree-Parisian Anthology, DCWV Be Mine, October Afternoon-The Thrift Shop-Good Junk
scalloped circle: Lily Bee French Couture
stickers: Webster's Pages Hollywood, Prima
ribbon: May Arts
die-cuts: K&Co Cut N Paste (mason jar & yellow button)
Tim Holtz film strip & tissue tape
paper ribbon: Creative Imaginations
heart locket: Prima Marion Smith collection (love her!)
flowers: Prima & Recollections (aren't they the same thing...kinda?)
Distress Inks: tumbled glass (my fave), walnut stain (of course), pumice stone, vintage photo and peeled paint
heart stamp- Making Memories Love Struck
metal butterfly- Recollections
and a tiny, itty, bitty, sliver of G45 paper

I don't know if I did that right. I left out the adhesives to make the list appear shorter. Have a scrappy weekend!

I'm so in love with Graphic 45, sorry hubby

My love for Graphic 45 has driven me to audition for their design team call. Their vintage-style papers are beautiful and have changed my scrapbooking life forever. My world turned upside down when I purchased my first two sheets of Graphic 45 paper at the 2010 ScrapExpo. I had never done vintage before, never thought about it...but my eyes were drawn to and mesmerized by the images on the Domestic Goddess sheets. I was drawn in and permanently hooked onto their gorgeous vintage images from the 1920's and 30's.

Graphic 45 papers are so inspirational and fun to work with. I heart them so much. My kids and husband are aware with my infatuation with Graphic 45 and are fully supportive and encouraging of my love for all G45. Take a look at some of my Graphic 45 creations...I had a blast putting them together.

That's all I've got for now. Thank you so much for checking me out. Graphic 45, call me! Loveyou.

What have I been up to?

So, I've been scrapping a lot this past month but I haven't gotten to posting anything on this blog. Instead, I've been spending my computer time oooh'ing and aaaaah'ing over all my favorites from the delicious new releases of Winter CHA 2011. Now that CHA is over, I've been spending my online time constantly checking out my LSS sites to see if my faves are arriving in their stores. Obsessed...I tell you.

I've also been cleaning up my studio lately. Actually, I had to..my scrap desk was buried under piles and piles of other piles. I knew I had to clean up when I found myself sticking my tongue out to the side, trying to balance things on top of my sewing machine. ummmm....not the sturdiest of places....umkay? Tip: If you need some motivation to clean up your studio, just watch an episode of Hoarders. It really works!

In between trying to balance various boxes on top of my sewing machine, I've been scrapbooking like I've got thousands of pictures to scrapbook! (I do, I really do.) Here are some of my finished projects:

I've got another group of projects to share at the end of this month. Time to get some ink of my fingers...until next time!

ScrapFIT Workout #36 Lets Strip

Happy New Year! One of my scrap goals this year is to ulitize my scraps. My scrap mojo has been stronger than ever, so when I came across this challenge from ScrapFIT, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I tend to gravitate towards the color baby blue. Upon finishing this layout, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I love how the colors came together. Most of all, I enjoyed working with these pictures of my little girl. She never fails to amaze and entertain me with her unpredictable personality. I simply told her to stand near the door so I can take her picture and proceeded to count out loud, "one........two......" and on "three" she turned around and flashed me a behind-the-shoulder smile!! I love how scrapbooking invites me to spend time with my memories and document these special moments for my kids to look back on in the future.