Wanted! Lunatics (who create all the time)

Posted by the Scrap-tastic ME!

This challenge was put forth by scrap diva Jenn. Simply put - complete any unfinished project. For me, that would mean every other thing in my studio.

This little number wasn't too old. The pics were taken a few weekends ago at Nicole's. My apologies to Jenn, not pictured. She was too busy laughing.

I wanted to get this up the day after the crop as a surprise, but couldn't figure out what direction to go in. I used this cool paper I found ("Documentation"). I was trying to recreate an arrest warrant, but since I've never actually seen one, I had nothing to model it after.

Disappointed, I tossed it aside. However no matter where I put it, the unfinished layout kept resurfacing. I'd tuck it under a pile of this. Or shove it into a bundle of that. And it just kept popping up. Taunting me, with a New England accent "Loooosah". So after being at Nicole's once again last night I KNEW what had to be done.

...After pouring through the many layouts my diva friend had produced, I realized it was time to throw caution to the wind. I had to have a royal throw-down. Rub-ons, pens - the works - and just let the chips fall where they may. There was to be nothing pre-meditated about it.

I was just too calculated in my prior efforts. Take last night's project for example, where I spent a good quarter of the evening on a COVER. A cover, folks. Then after a returning from a break, hated it and dismantled the entire thing. Giving all my hand-me-downs to Jenn, who was seated next to me. She took each item without blinking, stuck it on whatever page she was working on, and just kept going, god bless her.

Now, the project pictured below is not what I was working on last night. I'll feature that another time. Below is a one page layout based on a crop a few weeks ago. You'll notice it's not at all typical of me. And I'm okay with that. I don't mind veering from my style if it gets me outside the box. For me, the layout expresses the feeling of lunacy we have when we're together. It almost has a "high school yearbook" feel to it. A bunch of adults that regress when they are together. Wanna sign my yearbook?

you are ANGELIC {sometimes}

This is my baby girl Easter afternoon. She was so tiered and we were at our second stop of the day at my in-laws house. I loved these pictures because I could see "the baby" in her face. It really is hitting a soft spot that she is getting big and is going to be three. I felt these pictures captured her beauty and baby side. My husband said, why out of all the pictures did you use these two and I told him. Men don't get scrapping, at least mine doesn't lol. When I explained to him why and with the title he got it! lol. I used my fav DCWV pocket full of daisy line which I have used on many products. I just went to the dream to buy more. I always have to have it in my stash! lol. I also used a strip of Heidi Grace pp that I have had forever. The flower rub ons on the bottom and the Easter rub on on the top are both Karen Foster rub ons. The Angel and the quote are Rusty Pickle rub ons. I used a whole assortment of brads from all different companies and sizes. The buttons are from CTMH. Pink bazzill is the cs used. I inked the sides with my Blue colorbox cats eye. One of the strips is I want to say part of the noteworthy collection I had left over from the doodle challenge. I love using my scraps! The little stickers at the bottom and the bunny circle and the sunshine sticker that is semi cut off are all doodlebug cs stickers. I doodled around them. I also doodled flowers around the buttons. The buttons on the picture were to hide my mother in laws arm. I just wanted to focus on Alicia in the pics and wanted every other element out. The giant flower was a BUILDING 19 1/2 lil davis flower which on every petal says, adorable, precious, cute. That I got for a buck and some change. Can I get an AMEN SISTAH FRIEND? lol. So this is one of many Easter layouts you will see from me. Happy Scrappin'. Nicole

EGGSTRA FUN

Eggstra, Eggstra Read all about it......

This was Miss Alicia Ava's second time coloring eggs. She loved it so much she just had to do it a second round. I used my new CS from CTMH. There CS is great for paper tearing and inks well. I used my old deco scissors to add the milk carton look to the matted pics. I bought those flowers in the dollar bin at TARGET! Can I get a HECK YEAH? LOL I doodled with the stencil I got at Michelle's store that I love with my new CTMH markers which I love. I am so excited to start selling the goods in MAY! WOOOOOOHOOOOO! The cute lil felt chicks are from the card decorating section at Michaels I bought years and years ago. They are so adorable and with Felt being the new "IN" scrappy thing these days it worked well. Used my new CTMH inks and inked the CS and there you have it, a cute lil Easter page. I started it late last night and so was feeling it, took it out this morning and gave it another go. xoxooxo

March Gettin' Sketchy

Alright. I finally have some scrapping juice back in my blood. I've been feeling a little sluggish the last few weeks. The only inspiration I have had it to buy stuff, not scrap stuff. I am back in action though! I've been wanting to work on the March Gettin' Sketchy sketch but just haven't had the motivation to get it going. Tonight that all changed... Because I am so addicted to doodling, I couldn't leave the page alone until I added a few doodles...

Altered BABY BOY paint can!

So Ladies, Happy Easter!!! Well, I am about 40 minutes late, so I guess I should be saying, "Happy Belated Easter!" Hope you had a fabulous one. I sure had a nice one. It is great that Alicia is at the age that she really gets into and enjoys the holidays. She gets it! I love it!

Well, below are pics of the Altered Paint Can I did for my cousin and his wife. They are expecting in May and the shower is this coming Sunday. Just so happens to be the Yard Sale at Michelle's too. I am so bummed I will be missing it! If it is extended then I will be heading there on Monday! OK, so back to my project here lol... I used the Bouncing Baby Boy pp by Cloud 9 Designs. I have had them forever because I loved the frogs so much, but I haven't had anything I could use them for till now. The other pp used is the Sparkle Baby Boy Dragonflies by Cloud 9 Designs. I am a big fan of Cloud 9 in case you have yet to see that! lol I went to the dream and got a bunch of different blue ribbons. It was so fun to step outside the box and scrap with blue's and greens. I am so into girlie colors as you can see from my bright pink walls of my scraproom that I forget that there are so many other colors out there! This was loads of fun to make. The letters are by creative Imaginations. They are chipboard and they are super cool! LOVE THEM. I will post the baby book I altered tomorrow. NIGHT NIGHT! Thanks for looking! xoxo Scraphappynicole signing off!

Made with Love...for real...a gift made with love!

Just what's in this gift? Read on to see the crafty goodness...

I'm proud to announce that my cousin Alicia is getting married this summer! Alicia was a bridesmaid in my wedding over a decade ago. She headed up the loveliest bunch of bridesmaids a wedding ever did see.

For a wedding gift, Alicia and her family gave me hand-made pottery (hand-made? Is there any other kind?) from Liz Vagoda - why, yes, related to actor Abe Vagoda of Godfather fame. My cousin has always been a mega-mover and shaker. She networks fearlessly across all genres. And this came in handy when buying pottery for her pottery-loving cousin's wedding! Also, it meant a lot to her, buying from her favorite artist. (foreshadow alert!)

So! Last weekend, my radio-producer-cousin (insert additional brags here) was in town for a conference. I had just repainted (read: funk-t-fied) my kitchen in shades of vintage grape. This just CALLED for the pottery Alicia had bought me! And I swore to her up and down I didn't have it on display just to kiss her radio-producer a*s. And for the record, I'm not at ALL jealous that she became a producer before me. I'm perfectly content to ride her coat tails as soon as she's syndicated.

Anyhow, this IS a craft blog. And by now, three paragraphs deep, you're wondering where the talk of craft comes in? Trust in me, young Jedi scrap warriors. It will all come together in due time.

Looking for the perfect and most meaningful engagement gift a cousin could find - I dug deep into my treasure trove of kits and came up with a splendid number from Angela Moen from The Button Farm. I met Ms. Moen when she was in town holding classes. I was awe-struck by the detail in the kits. And here's how it all ties in, folks:

For my cousin's wedding, I wanted to give a gift from a designer I admired. Just as she had done for me a decade ago.

Please...hold your applause...I'll be available for autographs after the post (hat tip to Lisa Botti for that one)

The one caveat however, was I had to put the kit together. On my own.

Super-size-gulp. Me scared. I want my Mommy.

The week prior to her visit, I was up until the wee-wee-wee hours of the morning trying desperately trying to finish it. A quarter of the way through, I admit, I had to give up on inking. My finger-tips took on the look of "suspicious brown stains". I was tired of explaining it to my "non-scrapbooking" friends. I mean really, there has to be a better way to ink.

But I navigated best as I could. The final pages had no instructions. As in - you're on your own, pal! It was scary at first, free-falling, but it was so late that I let my silliness get the best of me. Like with pages entitled 'Oy Vey' and 'You Call This Fun?' Knowing that, I'm positive I've ruined all chances of designing for Angela some day.

Below is the completed project (not all pages are included, I have a life you know).

33 by 34 - More "to do"

Nichole had posted a challenge a while ago about making goals before your next b-day. I did the challenge based on my turning 33 in a few weeks. Now that I am approaching my 33rd birthday, I've been thinking more of what I would like to do in the "long term".
Supplies: Li'l Davis Designs: Endless Summer Rte 66, Sand Dollar and Sand & Surf. CM Scalloped corner punch, Gelly Roll White Pen for the outlines on the title and around the Sizzix "swirl" decorative accent. Jasmine Cricut Cart for the title and the buttons are from Creative Cafe.


When I saw this paper last week, I immediately fell in love with it, but per usual had zero clue as to what I was going to do with it. I took it out of my shopping bag and stared at it as if it were going to tell me what to do! And it did! I suddenly decided that I could cut the big flowers out of the papers and put them onto one page and use the petals as a 'to do branch'. Then I was thinking about how corny it is that I am doing a page about the things I would like to accomplish in the next year, on paper that has flowers - like I am blooming! LOL
Anyway, my goals are as follows (in no particular order)
1. Take Curtis to play mini-golf (we didn't play at all last summer!)
2. See fireworks this year - missed them last summer!
3. Bring Curtis to see a football or baseball game
4. Friends - get together more than just once or twice
5. Write more - blog
6. Photos- make a DVD slideshoe
7. Home movies - edit onto DVD
8. Classes - Scrapping of course! LEARN more!!!
9. No procrastinating!
10. Continue with my WL program - goal - another 75 pounds GONE!
11. Workouts: stick with the treadmill and be able to do couch to 5k
12. Live! Enjoy every single day!
13. Date nights with Rich
14. Perfection: doesn't exist - learn it, know it!
15. No excuses!
16. Play!
17. Have confidence
18. Install a new back door
19. Install new kitchen floor
20. Clean/organize the attic
21. Get a dog
22. Camp at least once this summer
23. Go leaf peeping in VT
24. Crop for a whole weekend with the gals *hint, hint*
25. NYC - EXPLORE
26. See a play
27. Try (again) for baby #2
28. Go to Canada
29. Remember to see things through Curtis' eyes.
30. Plan and have a romantic get-away!
31. -33. I don't remember, but I assure you they are all there!

I didn't tack the flowers all the way down to the page. I left the petals loose so that I could look under for the 'hidden' goals that are on the bottom petals.
Oh, and the brown square is where my picture will go when I take it on my 33rd b-day!

Super Star

Thanks to Miss. Nichole, I decided to take on a little mosaic LO. I worked on this page for what seems like forever. Mainly because there were so many pictures to chose from! Here's the story.


The supplies: Basic Grey
The patterned paper is generic paper off the clearance rack :), Library Card is from 7 Gypsies (Love it!), Alphalicious Cricut Cart. CM Star punch, CM pens, cardstock, Making Memories shiny paper, Generic Stars, and from the Crafters Workshop "regal flourish" doodling template.

I am just addicted to doodling and want to do more and more with the templates I bought! Can't wait to try more out!!!

gettin' sketchy CT call

I don't know how many of you girls are trying for this, but as soon as I read Jenn's email I knew I had to give it the ol' college try. Gettin' Sketchy, a scrapbook challenge blog, is putting the call out for new Creative Team members. Yay! I've been popping in to see what's going on there every month, but only participated in one challenge so far. I love the concept of the challenges - a new original sketch every month is posted, and readers are prompted to give their best interpretation of it. Someone usually wins a prize, which is a sweet bonus. I love that, just like our blog here, Gettin' Sketchy is providing us with a jumping point, something to reference before diving in to our hoards of supplies.



Here is my take on their current sketch. Sharon might recognize these goodies, which I bought while with her at The Dream. Only just now getting around to using these papers and rub-ons by Imaginisce.



I rubbed the rub-ons onto a piece of brown paper then cut out the various flowers using my swivel knife, then adhered them to the page. All the talk about a doodling class made me want to doodle, so I used my white pen to add some flourishes around the rub-on accents.



I also used my white pen to add some dots around the main photo to make it pop better (brown on brown = blah), and also scribbled around my title.

Eleana is constantly climbing up on top of Daddy while he sleeps on the couch. He probably takes a nap once a day - his schedule is so wacky. I know why she loves cuddling him - for the same reason I do - he's a heat rock. Cuddling up to Joe is better than an electric blanket.

Doodle Class was SMOKIN'

First off thank you Jenn for finding the class and bringing it to our attention. Nichole P. You were missed very much. We did bring your name up a million times wishing you were with us. This was my first time at Michelle's place and my god, I was in HEAVEN. That is so my type of scrappy stuff!!! I loved the class the store had, the jars with the ribbons pre-cut were DIVINE. The martini glasses with the buttons and stickels in it were so ELEGANT! Michelle was so down to earth, so sweet, so outgoing, so fun! Thanks Michelle for having us. We had a blast. Kuddo's to the very talented teacher too. Please forgive me as I forgot her name, BUT I LOVED HER to pieces too. She was so fun, our group meshed well with them. The cube class looks like our next journey to The Paper Tree and I am so looking forward to it!

After leaving the store with our awesome doodling designs, we went to WENDYS! Can I get a HELL YEAH!?!? Man, there is nothing like scrapping with my scrappiest scrapbook Sistah's and then eating a SPICY CHICKEN SANDWICH WITH A EXTRA LARGE FOUNTAIN TONIC and fries. YUMMY! I think the only time I shut up last night was when I was stuffing my face full of delish food! hehehe

My Layout - This was oh so much fun. We doodled with a template and then colored the doodle in with the best markers I have ever used. The Stampin' Up markers. I am going to get my paws on a set of those if it is the last thing I do. I fell in LOVE! Then we inked the off white cs with a beautiful BG flourish stamp. We used Tim Holtz ink. Too make it have a soft look we stamped it on scrap paper first then we added it to our card stock. What a great technique. To make the adorable flowers we used two sets of punches and layered them and then added a ROBINS NEST pebble. I finished putting this all together this morning and added some bling to the hearts I layered as well as to the tips of the flourishes. After seeing the papers we I knew I was a TWO SCOOPS BG gal. I knew just which picture of Alicia I would use for this. I took this picture of Alicia. This was her FIRST DAY of dancing school she was 13 months old. I love this picture. Everyone in the family had to have a copy!

Sharon taught me to look at layouts through the art of photo. Taking pics from different angles shows the detail in the pages. Thanks SHAZAM for the inspiration! I am hooked on doing just this now! You can see I used a lot of pop dots and pop squares to raise the entire layout! Even the off white paper is raised.

Slits were cut in the doodled flourishes to give it a 3d feel and slide the picture in. I love how this came out. The two doodled flourishes in the corner were cut out after I traced them and placed on the corners. These were suppose to be for another project but I decided I wanted them on this layout! I will cut more out with my template we got as part of the class. I love it. Well there you have it. Looking forward to many more outings with my scrappy pals for cool classes and fun! xoxoxoxo Love to all, Scrap Happy Nicole. PS - see you gals Sunday for the Close to my Heart party! We are making a card as a make & take.