First 2 from the Nov kit!

I honestly think that the November kit is my most favorite ever.  That Domestic Goddess line from 7 Dots Studio is da bomb, lol!!  The colors are just divine and the graphics are superb.

For my first layout I went very simple.  It's titled "My Son" and obviously it's of Kevin.  This is one of those 10 minute jobs and I realize it's pretty obvious, but it works for me.

This second layout is named "Moments".  I really love the colors of this paper - they are soft, yet bold and they just call to me like no other paper ever has.

For both layouts I used the new Inkadinkado Stamping Gear.  That thing is the coolest.

Anyway, this is myself with my DGS again at the Botanical Gardens.

Isn't he just the cutest thing?  The most precious little boy ever!!

Playing with Prima

I am so in love with the new Firefly collection from Prima.  When I reordered some for the store I just had to keep some for me, lol.

So I created 2 layouts so far.  The first is called "On the Bridge" and it is of my DD and my DGS.  We recently went to the Botanical Gardens in San Antonio and I took a TON of photos.  The colors are just perfect for these papers.

For this layout, I had found a wooden frame at Michael's and inked it up for that natural wood look.  As you can see, this really is a simple layout.  Frame, a couple of vines, some interspersed flowers and some lovely butterflies from the new Pink Paislee Artisan collection.  I then just used a punch in a few areas around the edges and that's it.

This next layout is of me.  I've been trying to do one layout per year of myself so I can remember what I looked like at that time.  Since I am now 47 years old (gasp - how in the heck did that happen?!!!) I thought this photo was a good one to use.  It's kinda far off enough not to really show my age, lol.

So on this one, I used my cherry blossoms stencil and some stencil paste.  I love the effect it gave and have to say it is much prettier in real life.

After I let the paste dry, I just added my photo, a couple of chipboard pieces and tons of flowers.  Can you tell I REALLY LOVE these papers?

Last Month's Kit at CM!

I got to scrap with last month's kit and with everything going on, just flat out forgot to upload the layouts anywhere!  Here they are:

Wish

This first layout is of my daughter and her family.  She wished for a family for so many years - she wanted kids for so long - and she finally found someone and made her wishes come true.

Lake Mead

The second layout is of me and my friend, Moe at Lake Mead.  I used the Prima packaging to create the background for this photo.

Sorry this post in not very talkative, lol.  I have bunches of things to get done today, but wanted to quickly post these.

More Prima

A week or so ago I couldn't resist playing with some more of the new Prima lines. The first layout is some old school photos of my sister, Dawn. They were just so perfect to go with the new Tea Thyme collection. I used all Manor House Creations flowers on this layout, but lots of Prima embellies.



This next layout is a little grungy. I couldn't resist using a bold photo to go with the more colorful "Zephyr" line. This one features a lot of the older Corine flowers from Prima. Some of the girls on CM had me order them and they have been selling like mad. I snagged some the last time I ordered and it looks like I'll have to order some more as I used quite a few up.

The photo is just some wildflowers that were blooming in the field at Christian's daycare.

C'est Magnifique's September Reveal

I truly love having a kit club. Yes - it is way more work than I need, but I love working with all these international papers every month and that was the whole purpose to my creating C'est Magnifique.

So this month we featured Riddersholm Designs again. This is their Huntington Garden collection and it was stunning. I didn't have a lot of time this month, but I did manage to eke out 2 layouts.

This first one is titled "Celebrate Life". This is my family and another while we were at a gala inducting both of our 'boys' into the Wounded Warrior Hall of Fame. Both my Kevin and our friend Joel were both very critically injured more than four years ago. Neither will ever be 'normal' again, but we have learned to celebrate what we do have as you never know when it could all be gone.



This second layout is a photo of Kevin walking with my mom at a little resort in Ruskin, FL last month. You could see how much they were enjoying the stroll through the gardens.



This layout was created using the sketch that will be the challenge on our blog for the month of September. Hop over and take part - you just might win!

Some New Prima

I created this layout a week or so ago, but haven't had time to upload it. I have to say that I try really hard not to buy a lot of paper because I don't have much time to scrap anymore, but as soon as I lay eyes on the new Prima Romance Novel and Tea Thyme - I snagged them both!!

This layout was created to give a formal feel to a photo of my nephew in a tuxedo. Michael is trying to break into the modeling industry and was at a photo shoot recently wearing his tux and I knew I had to snap some photos.

To the paper, I added a Dusty Attic chipboard frame and a ScrapFX chipboard word. I also added TONS of Prima flowers, but the small brown ones are some of my favorites from Manor House Creations.



I still have the Tea Thyme collection on my desk and hopefully I will get to use it this weekend.

A New Look!

How do you like the look of my new blog? Kristine from Creative Scrappers designed it for me - gotta love all that purple, right?

So here are the rest of my layouts from C'est Magnifique. I am so late getting these up here.

This first one was done using a sketch over at Creative Scrappers. I had so much fun doing it and hope to use more of Kristine's sketches on a regular basis.





Sorry, but this is a short & sweet post, lol.

Before I Head to Bed...

I wanted to quickly come on and share another layout from the August kit at C'est Magnifique Kits! This really is one of my favorite kits because these papers are utterly gorgeous!

So this one is completely different from my last one. This is Christian all messy and gooey from eating his first chocolate covered strawberry. I wanted the papers to be just as messy so I dripped and splattered some gesso, red paint and brown mists all over the place.

I added some cheese cloth behind the photo to add some texture and added the Petaloo Berry Picks to go with my 'berry' theme. This is a very simple layout, but sometimes they just need to be, lol.

First Layout from the C'est Magnifique Aug Kit!!

Oh wow - I LOVE this kit! The Maja Designs papers from Sweden are honestly some of the most beautiful papers I have ever touched. Even the quality is superb and you can be sure we will be using them again!

Since I am on vacation - I am going to just upload the layout and I'll catch y'all in a few days with the rest of them! This one is of my daughter, Brianna.

New Glitz!!

I am so in love with the new Glitz Design's collections! As soon as I unpacked them and put them into the store I knew I had to at least start with one of them! I did choose the "Hello Friend" collection because I just love the peach color with some pinks and teals in there.

I also added the brand new GORGEOUS Winter's Song flower from Manor House Creations based in Australia! I can't say enough about the beauty of these flowers - they are probably the most prettiest I have ever seen!!

Anyway, here it is! The photos are of my daughter when she was out playing in the yard with my grandson. They were having a blast and it made me smile to see them having so much fun.

New Art Journal

The other day I got a mass email from Donna Downey (my hero - her blog link is on the right) stating that she was coming to San Antonio for some classes. Man, I was on that phone so damn fast paying my fee because this woman truly rocks my world! I wish so bad I could think like her - be as 'free' with my attitude as she is. I really love her 'f%ck it - it is what it is and it will be what it'll be' attitude! I can't wait until Sept 28 when maybe she'll bump me accidentally and some of it will transfer over, lol. (I so wish she was teaching her Big 40 class though! I wonder if she'd do a private class, lol)

So anyway, I also spent hours that day/night watching a bunch of her inspiration videos. She truly did inspire me to start an art journal so I talked on the phone with Valerie (my DT coordinator at C'est Magnifique Kits) to really get some good info on how to start.

(and I do remember I started one a couple of years ago, but I think that was when Kevin's head plate got MRSA and he was inpatient at Brooke Army Med Center for months again. My how far he has come since being hit by a suicide bomber 4 years ago!)

Man...I get so off track sometimes, lol

So anyway, I ran out and got a journal and I found a beautiful cherry blossoms stencil and came home and got right down to business.

Here's what I came up with. I know it's simple, I expect that with my first, but I am still pleased with it:


Here are the steps taken to create this page:

I cut some foil and crinkled it slightly. I then applied it to the page with gel medium (I saw this done on Donna Downey's blog) and covered it with gesso. Notice how it didn't quite fit the page? It was SO HARD for me to still use it because I am one of those perfectionist types, lol. BUT - I just forced myself thinking that was what Donna would do!!

Next I sprayed it with Patina and Vintage Pink Glimmer Mist and also Dark Chocolate Truffle Lindy's Starburst. I also dripped some of the Patina into the pink giving it a more subtle splattered effect.

After this I used a cherry blossom stencil and sprayed just a small part of it in the top and bottom using Burnt Umber Moon Shadow Mist from Lindy's.

After it dried, I took some of the En Francais Prima alphabet and started my title, enlarging the word LIFE with a really old Scenic Route alphabet.

I also added some tiny little ribbon flowers and then splattered the whole thing with Mr Huey's Opaque White (yep, Valerie - I found it!!).

To finish off I first touched up the Prima Resin Bird with black ink, but it was too dark so I then covered that with some of the brown. I think the brown just toned down the black a bit and I like the more natural effect.

So that's it! How fun this was and I am working on pages 2 and 3 next! I got a start last night, but had my grandson here all day so I didn't get to play any. Hopefully tomorrow.

A huge thank you to Donna! I can't wait to see you create!! (and Beverly from my DT is coming from Florida to go with me - we are planning on staying in the hotel even though I only live like 10 minutes from there!!) Wooohooo!!

That Look

My grandson has this look in his eyes so often that just melts my heart. He is so dang cute and so many of my layouts feature him, lol.

So this one was created using 1891 from the Maja Designs Vintage Summer Basics line. (Click on this sentence to go to my store - but know that the images don't do these papers justice.) I absolutely LOVE this whole line of paper and can guarantee you will be seeing more layouts using them.

Oh - and before I show it to you I must tell you that this layout was inspired by Lene Bjornerud. I stumbled across her blog the other night and was caught there for hours! This woman is soooo talented and I can clearly see why she made the Prima team! Yay, Lene!!



This one was actually a very simple layout. I just splattered some paint, used 2 pop up foam dots on top of each other for height on the photo and used various flowers around the photo. I did use an older vine from Prima (as well as some of the small roses too), the larger red flowers are older Petaloo and just one, one medium sized golden flower is from Manor House Creations. I also used some olive bloomers from Webster's to fill in the space below the photo.

Once I got all of the flowers in place, I just put a chippie frame on top and wrapped some rope around it. I almost went with a red title, but at the last minute chose a golden one to keep your eye on the photo. Voila! That's it. Took maybe 30 minutes tops!

It's Been A While

I know...I know...I am such a slacker, right? LOL.

Honestly, I haven't blogged in months and it really is unacceptable - especially when you own a scrapbooking business! BUT - I'm here today and ready to show my July C'est Magnifique layouts. I really enjoyed this kit!

So this is the kit:



The papers are from Inkido in Sweden. These are really pretty!

Here is my first layout. It's of myself from May of this year when we went to the Grand Canyon. I am planning to try to go back and do a layout of what I looked like every year of my life. Here's hoping I can find all those pics, lol.



This next one is of my beautiful daughter and her guy. It was taken about 2 years ago when she first found out she was pregnant.



My third is of my Kevin. I can't remember how old he is in this picture, but I am guessing around 5? He was just so cute, lol. I have to admit that I really love the green papers - very masculine, even with the flowers on it.



And my last layout is of my friend, Aggie, who came to visit last week. We had so much fun and we decided then and there to do a layout of each other. This photo was taken at the Tea Garden here in San Antonio - such a beautiful place.



I will try so hard to be better at writing. I promise...

March C'est Magnifique Kit Layouts

I am so far behind in posting, but finally have the time to sit down and upload my March layouts. Gosh, I love Pion Designs! I wish I had more time to scrap, but as business grows it gets harder and harder. Not to mention we are still traveling for Kevin and his needs.

So anyway, here they are: This first is my adorable grandson, Christian. I keep joking that he is going to get a complex as all his layouts lately have tons of flowers on them, lol.

This one is my daughter at the Tea Gardens in San Antonio. It was such a beautiful day and my whole family had a great time.

And this last one is my daughter at the Riverwalk in SA. I was so disappointed when I got these photos in the mail and they were all so dark. I used it anyway, but I probably shouldn't have.

Memories

This is my third and final layout using the February kit at C'est Magnifique. I really loved this kit, but just didn't have the time to create more than 3 - which already sets my goal back. Yikes!



This is my son and daughter on Christmas Eve of this past year. Photos like this just reinforce how lucky we are and how much love abounds in our home. My kids have always been each others' best friends and I am so glad that Kevin is still able to be here with us AND he is able to laugh and joke and pose for pictures with his sister!


So for this layout, I did re-purpose the blue backing in the alphabet from the kit. It's behind the tags and is just the perfect shade of blue for these papers. I also used the negative of the small frame from Dusty Attic to go behind the main focus, just pulling in a little bit more dark brown.


Add-Ons:
Prima Fluer De Lys
Prima Leaves
Dusty Attic Garden Frame Set


From My Stash:
Doilie
Tag
ColorBox Chalk Ink - Dark Brown
Encore Ink - Metallic Gold

Bits and Pieces Giveaway at C'est Magnifique

Head over to the CM blog to see about a new giveaway we are just getting started. You could win this beautiful bunch of goodies!



Here's a direct link:

http://cestmagnifiquekits.blogspot.com/2012/02/february-bits-and-pieces.html

Sketch Challenge at C'est Magnifique

We have a new sketch over at C'est Magnifique Kits! Nadia Cannizzo designed this fabulous sketch and the contest runs through the month of February so hurry over to the forums and check it out:



And here is my project using the sketch. This is also my One Little Word layout. My OLW is TRUE this year because I am determined to be TRUE to what I can and cannot accomplish and not put unrealistic tasks on my head this year. I am forever saying "I'm gonna..." and "I know I'll..." and NOT doing it - whether I don't have time or am just not feeling it! So this year I am going to stop myself each time I say I'm going to do something and ask myself "are you really?".



For this layout I mostly didn't use any patterned paper at all. I did put a tiny border using it behind the pink cardstock, but it's barely noticeable. I took the negative from the large Dusty Attic frame that was in the add-on and glimmer misted it creating that unique background layer. I absolutely LOVE how it turned out.

The only thing I really need to do on this layout is journal what the word means. I will probably put it on the back side.

Add-ons Used:
Kaisercraft Bird Cage
Wild Orchid Pink Beehive Flowers
Negative of the Dusty Attic Garden Frame Set
Prima Baroque Plum Flowers

From My Stash:
Doilie
Haunted Shadow Glimmer Mist
Pink Cardstock

Love

Here is my first layout using the February C'est Magnifique kit! I so love the purples, pinks and blues that were in this one!

So this is my niece at her wedding, which Kevin and I attended via Skype. They literally put the monitor on the alter and I got to see her walk down the aisle and everything. Kevin was very sick and didn't have a plate in his head so we couldn't make it to Florida. We even 'went' to the reception and people would sit down and chat with us. Kinda cool, but still disappointing that we couldn't be there.

I have to say that I love the stickles included in the kit. It adds the perfect touch to the frame and the butterflies and I even just put a dot in the center of the small flowers that were in the kit.



I wish you could truly see how glittery this one is. That frame really sets that photo off!

Us

Kevin and I had to spend some time in Pittsburgh last spring and while we were there we jumped in the car and headed first to NYC and then to NJ to see an old friend. It was the first time I had seen my best friend, Bernice, in many years - like 11 maybe?

So this layout features some KaiserCraft papers. Bern and I have both always loved butterflies so it was a given for me to use this line. I also love the soft colors and dreamy designs.

2011 Layout Names

This is just a post listing all of the names of the layouts I did last year.

60 layouts
1 project
32 cards

1. Charlie Daniels
2. Open
3. Christmas Presents
4. Snow Angel
5. True Love
6. Beach Babe
7. Relaxation
8. Blessings
9. Because I'm Cute
10. Happiness...Mom
11. Quality Time
12. Day Care Photo
13. Mother & Daughter
14. Tub Time
15. Whatever You Do
16. Strong
17. Poser
18. If Money
19. Toes
20. Happy Days
21. Welcome Home
22. Delight
23. Baby Toes
24. Friends
25. A Grandma's Love
26. Big World
27. Girl
28. Smirk
29. Smiles
30. Bloom
31. Zip Lining
32. Dream
33. Moments
34. My Family
35. Shhh...
36. Soar
37. Relax
38. Peace
39. Boy
40. Messy
41. Corn Maize
42. Family Photo
43. Delight
44. Those Eyes
45. Home
46. All Girl
47. Dream
48. Beach Bum
49. Davies & Starr
50. Thankful
51. An Enchanting Day
52. Wonder
53. My Heroes
54. Love
55. New Baby
56. Joy to the World
57. Lisette
58. Funny Girl
59. Air
60. Aunt Vicki

C'est Magnifique January Layouts

I have to admit to being a little intimidated by the 7 Dots Studio Dreamer Collection at first. Once I started though - I fell in LOVE!

Here are my last few layouts of the year. I am so pleased to have actually reached my goal - the first time ever!!

So this first layout is actually of my niece back in the 80's. It's hard to tell in the photo, but she is actually sticking her tongue out with this cute little devilish grin on her face.

And I finally pulled out some molding paste that I have had forever and used it with the Prima Gate template. I almost colored the paste, but at the last minute I changed my mind and left it white. I like it that way - it's very subtle but still draws your eye in to the photo.



This next layout is my son back when he was still healthy and whole. I think this picture makes it pretty obvious how much he put me through, lol. We were at the hospital so often that they all knew us by name.

Anyway, he tells me he wiped out pretty bad on the landing here. I believe it!



This last one is of my Aunt Vicki back when she was in school! I found this photo in my mom's stash of pictures that somehow ended up at my house. Finder's keepers, eh? LOL.