The girls

Alright - my last post for today. I still have more, but am getting tired, so will save more for another day! :) The quest for using up older papers and supplies continues.
The first LO I used Harley Davidson paper and stickers along with scraps of ribbon.


The paper here is Adorn It - I love this paper because you really can just have a throw down and be done with it. I used the Cricut Happily Ever After cart. for the title, Noteworthy paper for the journaling, and stitching rub-ons which didn't work too well, so are now in the bucket! :)

All about the gardens

I am so behind in my posting. Good thing I have some 'themes' going on here. First was the back to school stuff, and now I am all about the gardens. :)
These 3 lo's are about using up stash. I have so much stuff that is just sitting around (who doesn't), and I've been feeling guilty about buying new stuff...well, here are 3 LO's that I just used what I had on hand!
This first one is a picture of my Dad's fish pond in the backyard. I wish I had used a bigger picture, but too late now! :) All the papers were left overs/scraps from other projects. I did use my trusty Cricut for the lettering, the frog and fish.
The papers on this one are all Cloud 9 Design - Max's backyard Collection "wide grass stripe", "dragonfly Shadows" and "luster Golden leaves" Again, I used the Cricut for the lettering. The chipboard letters were leftovers.
This last one is of C picking corn and peaches from his Great Uncle's garden. I used paper that I bought from the bus tour many moons ago....paper is My Mind's Eye - Bohemia - "my journey stripe" and "sunny days" The letter is KI Memories hip chip and Creative Imaginations felt. I used my Crayola Cutter to cut the flowers out.

Pre School

Here we are, nearing the end of October...getting ready for Halloween. :) I am just getting around to posting my little man's first day of preschool and his love of the show and tell bag.
This LO, I used just Stemma paper - Pre-K and the matching rub-ons. For the lettering? Um, yeah, they were leftovers from another project, so I can't give props to those.
Again, I used the Stemma, Pre-K paper (the words), the main paper though? I am sorry to say that I neglected to save the paper strip, but I LOVE the paper! Has a little glitter on it, the whole line was so adorable! I wished he was in Kindergarten so I could have used more of the line - oh well, hopefully they will come out with something better for next year! :)

First Day of School & Dance Class layouts!

Well, can you believe Halloween is a week from today! Woohoo!!!! I know each of us will have a ton to scrap between Halloween bashes and stuff. Looking forward to seeing everyones creations. I wanted to share a few layouts I did over the past few weeks. Well my baby started preschool on October 2nd. The following layouts are of my daughters worksheet and my daughters first day of school.

I am going to copy and paste the discription I used on my Scrapbook.com site gallery!

My dd's worksheet she did at school. I loved this scenic route paper for this because of the ruler and stuff. I used pop dots to pop up the Super and corner chipboard things to look like an arrow. I popped up the circles which are also chipboard. The number 3 I wanted highlighted on the ruler so I used a chipboard number 3 square and popped that up as well. Used Stickles to add a bunch of 3s in multi colors to add more. Used a noteworthy journaling sheet for the journaling and cut it in half. I used stickles to outline some of the dots on the paper as well as the 3s. inked the paper scollop line

The second is of my daughters first day of school. Again is the discription I copy'd from my gallery.

My daughter on her first day of preschool. She is like me and when she is nervous she doesn't want you to talk to her or look at her and forget taking her picture. lol. These two were the only two I could snap before she was going to have a fit! She is 3 and wanted to pick out her clothes for school. The journaling reads - Where does the time go?? My baby is officially a big girl and started her first day of preschool. She was nerous but put on her brave face and headed in. Mom was also nervous and cried in the hallway after kissing her good bye. 10/2/08

I used creative imaginations paper which I cut up. I used two different pps by the same creative imaginations line and used a generic piece of yellow cardstock in the back. I used pop dots to pop up the clouds that I cut from the paper. I also popped up the bird which was also cut from the paper. I used a cool thing I got at the LSS for the sun its a calendar turner by maya road. It has the date on it and says - A day to remember. Used a rub on from Daisy D's for the Milstone cloud. I used Scenic Route chipboard school pieces. for the First day of school and the green brackets and used my white signo pen for the journaling. Used foam squares on the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL and doodled around it! Trees and corner things also popped up with foam squares.

The last layout is my daughter before heading to dance class and at dance class. I will copy and paste the discription from my gallery at Scrapbook.com.

My daughter takes dance every Wednesday. I have her pose before we head to dance class each week. Sometimes I can sneak in a picture while we are there. Those are the pics at the bottom. The pics at the top where before we went to dance class in the yard. I used a lot of scraps I had. The chipboard flowers are layered and are by Junkitz. The brackets also chipboard from Junkitz as are the Be You. I used Rusty Pickle Girly Girl Stickers for the quote which I love and thought went perfect with the layout! I used stickles to outline the ballerina that was on the paper and the flouris that was on the paper. Cut around my daughter on the bottom and the scalloped paper is a scrap I had! The pp is scrappin' sports #444 live love dance.

Hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween!!!!

My Cupcake Loves Cookies

So, I had another throw down. I used a lot of scraps I had left over from the BOO Letters I did. All papers are Creative Imaginisce Halloween Line 2008. I did some distressing with ink along the edges. I doodled what I thought would look like cross bones (X's) around the pictures. Added some ribbon I thought could pass for Frankenstein's stitches and some bottle caps. To create the title I used Stickles for the word Cookie, Thickers Felt Letters for My and Love and Chipboard word Cupcake. I created this for a doodle challenge on SB.com. Thanks for looking! Until tomorrow. (((HUGS))) Nicole

Well, how is everyone? I needed to release some stress this past week and decided to get my scrap on. Since finding out I was pregnant a few months ago, I have been extremely tired and haven't had the energy to scrap. I have come to learn through the years that scrapping is therapeutic and really helps relieve stress and relax me. The following are the two pages I did yesterday. The Happy Harvest page was done using a lot of my old stash. The tree paper that I love is last years line, the Basic Grey paper that I used for the circle to look like a harvest moon is from like 2 years ago! lol. I used a chipboard H that I got at the Dream yard sale (one of the first ones ever), the sticker letters for Happy were all scraps! I didn't have a brown Y so I made one out of a L and a line of some sort all left over sticker letters. The bottom Harvest word is BG letters that are left over from two years ago as well. I used the Mellow line from last year by BG for the chipboard shapes and covers. And we are all aware of my STICKLES ADDICTION, the dots around the circle were created with Orange stickles that I have had for some time.


















The next layout was made using a few newer things. I just adored this new MM Halloween paper because it is like a die cut and has a boarder as well as cool looking words throughout the paper which is the hot thing these days. I bought the glitter pumpkins at the Dream as well as the glitter cats. The title was created using all old letter stickers in fall colors, perfect for the layout. The Happy Halloween ribbon also purchased at the dream many moons ago, fit well in the blank space to the right of the pictures. The circle is an old scrap of chipboard that I had from Junkitz. The felt pumpkin boarder is from Queen & Co. Gotta love FELT! Hope to scrap more today. Stay Tuned! Nicole

BOO - Altered Wood Decoration for the house

Finally something other than a word book! lol.

I bought these giant letters that are made of fake wood at the Dream last year for about 19 bucks. Well, this summer I spotted them in my craft closet and knew I wanted to get into the "FALL" mood and alter them. I bought the Halloween papers from the Imaginisce line and used them to cover the wooden letters. I used Making Memories black scrapbook colors paint to outline the letters and get inside the holes. I also used a messy brush stroke to create a black painted goth look. For the middle "o" I used purple making memories scrapbook paint and my daughters thick paintbrush. This morning when I woke up they were dry and I added the embellies. I bought the spiders at the dream which I used SMALL DOTZ to adhere them to the letter. I first used foam dots but I could see them and it didn't sit right with me so I ripped them all off and re stuck them with the glue dots. I bought the Halloween bottle cap at Building 19 1/2 last summer. The Happy Halloween Glitter words are from the dream, as are the Boo, trick or treat and pumpkins. Cloud 9 was used for the cool little bat people, ghosts and the non glitter Boo word. Added some ribbon and called it a day. A really easy project and fun to do. A REAL THROW DOWN! In the first picture you can see the spider that fell off in all the other pictures. After I took the pictures I added another glue dot. Alicia found it hysterical that one spider would not stick. lol. Thanks for looking!

Happy 30th Birthday Kristie Rose

So, all of you must be scratching your heads saying, ANOTHER WORD BOOK! Good God, I know, I have been doing that myself. You see, it is an easy project for me to throw together for a gift. I made this one for my brothers wife. My sister in law turned 3o this month. While they were in Vegas celebrating, I decided to throw this down for when she got back. I left the last two pages open for her to add pictures from her actual birthday while they were in Vegas. The other pages are full with pictures I had and some I got from her Myspace page of her and her close friends and family! I used the junkitz papers from back in the day that I have had and loved for so long. I never wanted to part with them, but they are prefect for a 3o year old because it says, just be you, be true to yourself. I used a lot of scraps and stickers, letters and numbers I have had. I only had a few hours to get this done because I was heading to Hampton Beach and they were coming home from Vegas the same day. I left her gift on my kitchen table as I knew they would be over cause they were going to be watching my dog. She loved it! Junktz papers, fancy pants rub ons, Making Memories tiny lil aphas, numbers, birthday rub ons and much more. In one of the pictures my husband was being NAUGHTY so I had to black out what he was doing! =) MEN!!!!!!!!

Design Team Project

I have no idea why this pic is sideways......

Today I had to turn in my DT project at The Dream. Great minds think alike - because no sooner had I arrived than my design pals, L and J were in the door as well. Everyone had come to turn in their latest and greatest.

Every single one of us were chosen for distinct talents. One gal for her Quick cuts and her masterful ability to work with the smallest of details. Another for her clean lines and use of paper in her layouts.

L of course is the layout DIVA - as she proved once again by coordinating yellows with pinks and browns. And when given the challenge of making her page "interactive" she used a chord, traditionally used for shoe laces, to hang three chipboard cupcakes which could be flipped over for journaling. WHO THINKS LIKE THAT? asked Laurie.

Next in the door is J, who brings an incredible acrylic book she's entering into the Zutter DT contest. Along with her mini album - every page simple and clean. The pictures are the clear stand-outs. Hers is the kind of work you look at and then want to scoop up all the product to try it at home. Minimal journaling. It's all about the pictures.

So, there were three of the team-member's projects I got to feast my eyes on today. I had to pick Shay up so I didn't stick around for the love-fest over my project (ha ha). But I included pics for you below. Let me warn you. It's a throw down unlike anything you've seen before. In fact, I don't think the pics convey all the throw-down-ness.

I was given a 6 page acrylic album (12 pages front and back). TWELVE - as opposed to the 2 page layouts a few of my team mates had. What-EV!!!

I was also given a stencil, two galaxy markers - blue/silver and white. Some white jumbo buttons. Two pages with a winter scene and two diff. colors of bling card stock. No WAY could I make 12 pages out of that alone. That was like giving a starving person a cup of chicken broth for dinner.

So I figuratively put on a mask and snorkel gear and went scuba-diving through my goods.
Fished out every monochromatic bit my little fingers could find. Ribbons, acrylic tags and embellishments, bling of course, inks in the whole range of winter blue and white. And of course, my sense of humor.

Where would I be without that?????????

I had to be resourceful when putting this together because I had NOTHING, I repeat NOTHING to print out for a winter album.

Gulp.

No snowmen/women, no sledding, no snowball fights?

Double gulp.

No pristine pics of snow falling even? Not even deer tracks on my back porch or the dog leaving his fresh, yellow imprint in the snow?

Triple gulp.

I went through my catalogue of winter-y pics. Until finally settling on a singular moment. One moment I took pictures of over and over again because it made me laugh. The subject: my husband. Every year, on his birthday, it snows. Some years, worse than others. This particular year, he was plowing the driveway and not making much progress when he notices our neighbors bring in this super jaxxed up snow removal truck. Poor Rick. And so the theme took on a life of it's own.

Initially, you'd look at the cover and think the book will be about all things white and fluffy and sweet about winter. But it's about my poor husband struggling in the snow. On his birthday. While Shayna and Caesar look on from the warm comfort of their home.

Now, I'm trying an experiment. Because Blogger keeps booting me anytime I upload more than 4 pics, I've started a shutterfly web thingy. Click on it and let me know what you think. Yes, I noticed that some pics uploaded sideways. I'm just not savvy enough to correct it at the moment.

Hopefully, this will work. The name of this is titled "Insomniac Studio" because it's my reserved name on Etsy, should/when I open my online store. So, Click on this linky and tell me what you thinky:

http://insomniacstudio.shutterfly.com/

Door Hanger and Word Book

Here is one of the Christmas Presents that I was working on for this holiday season. Because I will be having a baby around that time, I thought I had best get with the shopping and the making of things now. Needless to say, I am well on my way - all the in-laws out of state are done! This number here is for my Grandmother. She lives in a retirement community and loves to post notes on her door when she heads out so people don't worry or wonder where she is. I thought that this would be a better alternative than the scraps of paper that she writes her love notes on. :)
The door hanger is from Creative Imaginations? I think. I know that's terrible, but in the process of re-doing my scrap space, my information for this number was, well, tossed. AHHH!! Anyway, I covered it with some pretty flowered paper and then used an assortment of ribbons to decorate the top of it.

The first picture is of the back side...I found these little round dry erase magnetic boards for lockers in Target and thought that it would be a great solution for this project! I just went around the sides with stickles to decorate it up a bit. The front says "Welcome Friends" I stamped the letters using CTMH stamps and inks, then I drew around the letters in pink just to make them stand out a little more. I then used CTMH liquid glass to fill in the letters, then cut them out using my trusty Crayola cutter. The flowers are from K&Company.

OK - Now, onto the FINALLY FINISHED word book!!! Just to note that I blacked out the kids that I don't have permission to post on line. I am really happy with the way the book turned out. If you remember, I used the Cricut Design Center to do this book. It's the first one I cute out, and all in all, I am really pleased with the way it turned out. I learned a lot by playing with the software, and am now working on a few more word book ideas. I am, however, waiting for the new blades to come out so I can cut on thicker paper to make this process easier...






oops, that airplane shouldn't be on this page, I will have to correct that, must've gotten stuck when I was turning pages. I wish I could have found better embellishments for this project, but this is what I was dealing with. I am happy I did it and can't wait to try another one. Someday, I hope to make these babies beauties like Miss. Nicole's! LOL