Three Challenges in One LO

It has been a whirlwind two and a half weeks.  On October 10, I left for DC for the SGK 3-Day.  I was able to hang with my friends Michelle and Joe (who had just gotten engaged), then met a whole bunch of new friends over the weekend, and then Sunday night I got to have dinner with Nicole, Craig, their kids and Kathy and Craig (some friends from college who I don't get to see very often).  It was quite the fun and exhausting weekend, and Monday proved to be exhausting as well as I spent 10 hours in the Newark airport even though time-wise I could have driven home and back again in that time.  I was just toooooooo tired to trust myself to do so.

Then when I got back, it took me an entire week to recuperate.  I slept so well, even through some of my DD's fussing, which I don't normally do.   I got nothing done that week crafting wise or other.  Then what did we do, well we proceeded to jump in the car and drive to Lehigh for our first football game of the season (in person).  We did this even though we knew we had to drive back right after the game in order to get DS back for his First Communion Class on Sunday morning.  So during the drive home, what proceeded to happen -- we hit a buck going 65mph!!!!!  ARGH!!!  That was quite the juggling of things trying to figure out the logistics of how to get home.  Luckily we were able to ask for and get an extended cab flat bed truck so we could fit all four of us (with car seats) in the truck.  Luckily we have AAA Plus - which gives us 100 free miles of towing.  We ended up paying for only 5 miles!!!  Whew!!!  Of course at least 2 of that was because we asked the tow truck driver to take a detour past our house so we could get our other car so we could get home from the car dealership.  Well worth it!!!

So this week I've been dealing with the insurance company and everything.  Luckily we have a rental rider on our policy (learned that one the hard way from another accident), so we have at least had two cars this week (and will for next week also).  They ended up totaling the car (which was mine - CRV), so today we are going to look for a new one.  Not really what I wanted to do right now, but we got a good settlement considering the car was 7 years old.  So I think we'll do okay and be able to get a car/SUV that I want.  I would like to get another CRV, as I'm convinced that it was the car that made sure we were as safe as we were - any other car the same size or smaller would have had the windshield blown in with what happened.

Anyway, this past week, even with all that going on, I did manage to get some crafting in (thanks to the fact that I'm not working).  However, this one LO took forever to do - much longer than usual.

So the three challenges that I combined were my monthly Focus Group for CC (we had to create something that Pinterest inspired), the weekly challenge on CC (use a neutral and 3 brights), and the weekly challenge for the Paper Girls Challenge Blog (this one was picture inspired).  The one LO I did was about my DS's swimming lessons last summer.  With this LO, I could have used many different themes, but chose this one because those were the first of the many pictures already printed that I picked up.

So the inspiration from Pinterest was a one page LO that I found by Jessica Sprague.  I loved the large circles for the main photo.  And it went with the circles on the picture inspiration from Paper Girls.  As for the neutral, I instantly thought of the Kraft Funday paper from MME, and knew that would work with this theme.  However, when I looked at it, I knew it would have to be used as a supporting paper, not the main paper, like I was originally thinking.  Mainly because I didn't have two pages that matched, and I am anal about my main papers matching on 2-page LO's.  So here is the inspiration LO:

And here is the LO I created from it:

My focus picture was smaller then her's, so I double matted it.  I used orange, blue and yellow as my bright colors for CC, and pulled the circles and orange from the picture for PGB.  The only issue I have with the LO is that I think I made the background a little busy for the title.  But the basic cardstock was too plain.

So the products used were:  Bazzill yellow cardstock, Bazzill blue cardstock, Bazzill orange cardstock, MME Kraft Funday paper, MME Kraft Funday Happy Days twine, MME Kraft Funday Everyday wood banner, MM circle cutter, Sassafras cameo brads, AC thickers regards, MM creative letters DOTS, SU Brilliant Blue ink, SU Circle Circus stamps, 1.5inch circle punch, 1inch square punch and SU scalloped border punch.

Transparencies - Paper Girls

This week's Paper Girls Challenge was to use a transparency - you know, those clear sheets that have designs on them that we rarely use.  Well, again they hit on a page that I had put supplies together for and never did.  It was the day my DS was born.

I had found this transparency awhile ago, and it was just sitting around waiting to be used.  I loved the saying for this particular moment - the one where he was born.  So again, since I had put the supplies together so long ago, I don't remember where any of them came from.  I can tell that most of them are scraps I put together.  Enjoy.

OWH Blog Hop Challenges

Starting last weekend, the design team at Crop Chocolate has held a blog hop spurred on my National Cardmaking Day as well as Operation Write Home.  A couple months ago, on CC's message board, there was talk of making cards for OWH, which is an organization that collects homemade cards to send to the troops so that they can in turn write to their friends and families.  Everyone there thought this was such a great idea, and so the DT decided to host a blog hop for it, which they made coincide with National Cardmaking Day (which was this past weekend - Oct. 6).  And of course, as with most of CC's blog hops, their were challenges involved.

Usually I attempt to make something for all challenges, but I had challenges myself in my schedule.  The weekend that the hop started, I was sitting in a booth at a craft fair trying to sell my wares.  Then this past week was my DD's 4th birthday so I was busy cleaning the house and getting ready for my parents to visit and for the party.  I also had to work on a special order I received at the craft fair (more on that later).

All that being said, I was able to fit in some crafty time and made some cards.  Also, some of the cards that I made within the last couple of weeks in order to add to my inventory for the fair fit a couple of the challenges.  So I am going to enter them also, as my thought was to send whatever didn't sell to OWH anyway.

So enough talk, and now to show off what I did get to make.

First off, for Amber's challenge, she asked us to follow a sketch and use embossed solid paper, two different patterned papers, and some sort of twine, ribbon or trim.  And to make as many as we could.  The sketch she gave us was very simple and easy to use.  I didn't mix it up much LO wise, but did use different colors.  I managed to make 16 of them. 

Products used:  EP Victoria Gardens 6x6, EP Times and Seasons 6x6, MM celery ribbon, Bazzil blue cs, SU always artichoke, crushed curry, naturals ivory and ballet blue cardstock, Cuttlebug embossing folders, SU tag time stamp set, SU cranberry crisp and buckaroo blue inks.

Next up was Michelle (by belle)'s challenge.  She also picked an OWH sketch for us to use, and she wanted us to make as many as we could.  I ended up with 12.  I also combined this with CC's weekly challenge last week (to make a project and put step-by-step instructions on instructagram.com).

Products used:  Teresa Collins giving thanks paper, EP Be Mine 6x6, MME Ooh La La For Her 6x6, SU regal rose, naturals white, crushed curry, sage shadow wild wasabi and ballet blue cardstock, MM embossed metal silver hearts, MM embossed copper butterflies.

Next I did Brit's challenge - to use up those scraps.  All of the scraps I used for this one were from one pack of paper - EP's Happy Days 6x6.  I made some thank you's and some happy birthday cards.  One of them actually uses EP Springtime (can you guess which one?). 

Products used:  EP Happy Days 6x6, EP Springtime 6x6, SU regal rose, naturals white cardstock, MM vellum tags, Recollections adhesive embellishments, Recollections adhesives shapes, Deja View Wonderful words rubons, MM eyelets.

I also did Miwa's challenge, which was also to use up scraps.  She gave us some sketches she used as examples, but I decided to not use them and used others.  So I used EP's Springtime 6x6 pack for hers.  Also a combination of birthday and thank you.

Products used:  EP Springtime 6x6, SU regal rose, naturals white, and sage shadow cardstock, Sassafrass blossoms - modpods, Recollections adhesive embellishments, SRM sentiment stickers, Mrs. Grossman's sentiment stickers, mm vellum tag, MM embossed metal heart, BG fabric flowers bloomers.

Between the two challenges, I made 20 cards (10 of each paper pack).

I also managed to do Nina's challenge.  She asked us to pick out one paper pack and use it up.  For this one I chose EP's For the Record.  When I first bought it, I wasn't sure about it, but it has really grown on me.  I made thinking of you, Happy Hello's, congratulations, get well, and sympathy cards.

Products used:  EP For the Record 6x6, SU crushed curry, naturals ivory, and wild wasabi cardstock, misc cardstock, Mrs. Grossman's sentiment stickers, sassfrass blossoms, MM vellum tags, MM eyelets, MM Chloe's Closet brads, SU circle circus stamp, Sassafrass paper whimsies.

I managed to make a total of 23 cards from this pack.  I still have some scraps left and could probably squeeze a couple more out.

Finally I made a few that fit Kathy's one challenge.  She asked us to use "something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue".  I only got 6 done for this one, but I really like them.  They are get well and sympathy cards.

I used MME's Ooh La La For Her 6x6 pack, Imaginisce bitty blossoms and itty bitty blossoms, MM mini pewter circle brads, Sassafrass blossoms, SRM sentiment stickers.

I hope you enjoyed looking at what I made.

Babies - Paper Girls Challenge

This week's Paper Girls Challenge was to create a project about babies.  And since I am so behind on scrapping my two babies (well, they aren't really babies anymore), I grabbed the chance to at least get one LO done.  I chose to do the day that my DS and I came home from the hospital.  It was a very vulnerable moment for us as new parents.

Since a few years ago, I had planned out all these pages in advance (to save time later picking out supplies), I unfortunately don't remember most of the products I used.  I do know that I used SU's Nursery Letters stamping wheel, and SU's garden green ink.  As for the rest, I'm not really sure.

I had fun reminiscing about those days 7.5 years ago, that it might just give me the inspiration I need to finish some more of his pages, and maybe some of my DD's pages (that was only 4 years ago).  LOL

So thanks Paper Girls for the push I needed.

GO BIG - Paper Girls

This week's Paper Girls Challenge was to GO BIG!!!  We were supposed to use a larger size photo - 5x7 or bigger.  So I decided to use one of the many photos from my first 3-day walk.  It happened to be one of the port-o-potty lines!!!  At every pit stop, there was a line of port-o-potties for us to use, and we found it humorous, as it is rare to see so many at once.

Walking as far as we do also starts to get to your emotions and patience.  So one of the ways we tried to make ourselves laugh, was when we saw a sign announcing a pit stop, we would start saying that we needed to "go potty", which one time got us to "the loo".  You kind of had to be there to fully appreciate the humor in it.

Anyway, here is the LO:






The products I used were: SU In Color blue cs, and Pink Passion Ink; OT BC stamps and button; MAMBI paper; MM cheeky shimmer stickers - pink; cs scraps; MM glitter clears - flowers; lattice border punch.

I had fun making this LO.  Hope you have fun looking at it.

Getting Messy, Summer and Scraplift

So this week, I decided to try to combine three challenges!!!  And I have to admit, it was a little daunting at first figuring out exactly how to do it.  I had many ideas floating around in my head, but they all seemed too complicated.  And of course, I waited til the last minute for one of the challenges to finish it. 

The Paper Girls challenge was to get messy - that was pretty easy to figure out, it was just what shape I was going to mask. 

The Crop Chocolate challenge was to celebrate summer, and it had to incorporate water - that was easy, I had pictures of my DS from swim lessons last year to scrap. 

The third was a challenge from two of the ladies at Crop Chocolate - to scraplift a LO they did on a retreat they went to.  The LO included a large heart made up of different size circles of different colors and patterns.  You can see the LO and the story behind the challenge here.  This was the hard part.  I didn't really want a heart on a swim page, so what shape could I use????  At first I was thinking wave, but I got scared off by the sharpness of the wave end (yes I'm a wuss sometimes).  Then since I picked pictures of my DS going down the water slide, I thought: what about a splash shape? 

So I went into my Silhouette library and found a perfect splash shape and cut two different sizes.  The large one I used as is, and added the word SPLASH on it.  The smaller one I used as a mask, and then added also to balance the LO.  Within the masked area, I added buttons, and punched circles to create the splash.  At first I didn't really like how it turned out, but then I decided that maybe adding some depth to some of the circles might help.  So I added some glossy accents to some of the smaller circles.  Here is a close up of the "splash".    I still not thrilled with it, and I'm wondering if it's because I tried mixing the buttons and the paper.

I also used the ink and sponge on the edges of the argyle paper to diffuse it a little bit against the rest of the patterns - it was standing out a little too much for my liking without it.

Here is the finished project.  I think overall, I like it.  I just need to practice more on using circles to make other shapes (and some shapes are harder than others to do). 

Products used:  Silhouette, EP Sweet Summertime 12x12, Bazzill blue cardstock, TH distress stain - chipped sapphire, BG buttons, SU brilliant blue ink, circle punches, AC thickers - patchwork, Glossy accents.

Paper Girls #13 - Birthdays

So after a tough challenge last time, Paper Girls decided to go easy on us (well at least me) this time.  They are at #13, and they went with a theme of Birthdays!!!  Now who doesn't need to create a birthday card or LO.  I know I have quite a few cards I need to make.

So I decided to make 2 cards.  However, these two are going to be another part of the raffle I mentioned last time to support my Pink United team.  So because of the cause, I had to incorporate pink in them.

The first card uses the following products:
Recollections white cs, EP Be Mine 6x6, velum, Deja View Wonderful Words rubons-birthday, Imaginisce to love and cherish flowers, Tattered Angels sunflower glimmer mist, BoBunny All stuck up brad, Bazzill paisley chips, TH iced spruce distressink, TH adirondack raspberry alcohol ink.

The second card (which I happen to like better) uses the following:
Recollections cream cs, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, MME OohLaLa for her 6x6, SU corner punch - ticket, MM celery ribbon, Deja View Wonderdul Words friends and birthday, vellum.

Well, I hope you enjoyed looking.  Come back soon for more items for the raffle.

Mesh for Paper Girls

So the Paper Girls Challenge this week (#12) was to create a project using mesh.  Well, this one stumped me a little bit.  I had never thought about doing something like this before, but I couldn't ruin my streak with their challenges now.  So, as I looked at their DT's examples, I got inspired by one of them - Amber - she used the mesh as a mask for misting.  So I tried this to.  I don't think mine turned out quite as well as hers did, partly because I think I was using a finer mesh than she did.

We had just finished a bag of clementines, so I snagged the mesh bag, cut it open and sprayed my glimmer mist over it onto my card stock.  You can see where the remainder of the glue from the label was, but I knew I would be covering that part, so I wasn't upset.

After I let that dry overnight, I started stamping different sentiments that lend themselves to the SGK 3-Day banners that are carried throughout the walks.  The intent of this project is to put it into a frame and use it as a raffle prize to raise money for my team's (Pink United) participation in the 60 mile walk through DC this year.

Then I cut out a couple sentiments using my Slice and adhered them using pop-dots.  Then I stamped the words "everyone deserves a lifetime" (one of SGK's phrases), fussy cut them, and mounted them on darker paper, and used pop-dots to adhere it to the cardstock.  Then I added some pink ribbon brads and some clear flowers to add some interest.  I still feel like something is missing, but I'm sure that will come about as I look at it and think about it.  I just needed to step away at this point.

Products used:  SU Naturals white cs, Slice, Think Pink design card, Expressions Family design card, FP Doodles and Things stamps, SU pink passion ink, SU regal rose ink, Tattered Angels sunflower glimmer mist, Clearly Wordsworth Happy stamps, MME Stella and Rose Hazel "memories" stamps, Recollections Doodle birthday stamps, brush markers, MM Fa La La stamps, OT BC stamps, OT BC brads, MM flowers bright glitter clears.

Paper Girls Challenge #11

Wow, I can't believe The Paper Girls are at #11 already.  I feels like they just started these.  They have been so much fun that I haven't missed one of them.  This week's challenge was to use some of those rub-ons we've had laying around collecting dust (well, maybe your's haven't, but mine have).  So I decided to use some of them to create some thank you cards.  These cards actually fulfill an order my chiropractor placed from me.  There are nine cards here, and only one of them does not use a rub-on (can you guess which one that is?).

 For these four cards, I used the following products:  SU crushed curry cs, BG offbeat 6x6, MM vellum tags, Deja View Wonderful Words rubons, MM Chloe's Closet burtton brad, 3/4inch square punch, star brad, corner punch, MM wedding mettalic epoxy alpha.

Then for these five cards, I used these products (some of which are the same):  SU crushed curry cs, BG offbeat 6x6, MM vellum tag, Deja View Wonderful words rubons, MM celery ribbon and slide, EP For the Record 6x6, AC mini marks accent rubons, misc cs scraps, MM mini silver circle brads, SU ballet blue cs, maaschino cherry baker's twine, SU brilliant blue ink, EP Times and Seasons 6x6, MM fresh anthology picot daffodil ribbon, K&Co fresh paint chipboard frame, SU naturals white cs, Sizzix - TH Alterations - embossing folder - swirl, Cuttlebug, pop-up dots.

Left Behind Blog Hop WINNER!!!

After a hectic, hot, and long weekend at Knoebel's Amusement Park this past couple of days, I return to reality and need to clean up after such a wonderful blog hop.  The challenges were awesome, I got so much done (I actually did them ALL!!!), and made it through without feeling stumped (that's an amazing feat in itself lately).  I thank all the ladies who participated either by organizing, hosting, creating a challenge or doing the challenges and entering.

Without further ado, I will announce the winner of my blog candy!!  Drum roll please.....

The winner is Chris of http://thriftysisters-chris.blogspot.com/.  This is kind of ironic since her challenge and my challenge were so similar.  Here is the card she made for it: 

I love how she used the stars.

If you could email me with your address I will get your goodies straight to you.

Thanks again to one and all for joining us on this wonderful blog hop.

Left Behind Blog Hop Challenge Entries

I was surprised, even with all we had to do this past weekend, and the fact that my BIL was in town for four days, I managed to find the time to complete ALL the challenges from the blog hop.  Of course, I combined two challenges for every project.  Why would I not?!?!?!?

It was a lot of fun to do these projects, and some of them took me out of my norm.

Without further ado, here they are:

For Kathy's challenge (clayton528 – http://www.upinthenightwithkat.blogspot.com/) - something reminding me of spring - and for Karen's challenge (Karey2005 – http://www.karey2005.blogspot.com/) - something found in nature, I created a birthday card.  I was also able to submit this for the weekly CC challenge (dark background with 3 different patterned papers and a ribbon).

CC products I used:  EP Victoria Gardens 6x6, MM celery ribbon, Imaginisce Bitty Blossoms, Chloe's Closet button brad.  Non-CC products:  Bazzill swiss dot cardstock, martha Stewart butterfly punch, Deja Views Wonderful Words birthday rubons.

The next project I did was to finish my challenge - a project inspired by the American flag (yes there really are 50 stars on here), and Christina's challenge (Christina - http://www.thriftysisters-chris.blogspot.com/) - celebrating July 4th.  I used sketch #22 from a 28 days of sketches class I took for this LO.

CC products:  EP Playground (hopscotch, simon says border strips, slide/swing cs), MM alphabet map stickers - travel, Quick Kutz License Plate Mini Alpha, EP A Boy's Life 6x6.

Non-CC products: star brads, SU soft suede ink, star punches, Recollections white cs.

Next, I decided to whip out an easy birthday card in less than 30 minutes.  This one is for Karen's challenge (Scrappy Canuck – http://scrappycanuck.wordpress.com/) - complete a card in less than 30 minutes, and for Laura's challenge (scrapaddict-laura - http://scrapaddict4life.blogspot.com/) - use a journal box and bling to make a card.

I thought making a card in less than 30 minutes would be tough because sometimes it takes me 30 minutes to decide on a layout.  But I went a little simple with it, and I think it looks really neat.

CC products: MME confetti Party "birthday girl" journal card, MME Ooh La La For Her 6x6, Prima - e. designer pearls, BG bling it designer rhinestones, MM celery ribbon.

Non-CC products:  Deja Views wonderful words birthday card rubons, SU crushed curry cardstock.

Next I took on Rachel's challenge (raebae – http://kitchentablescrapper.blogspot.com/) - create a LO that celebrates the everyday, and Nina's challenge (NinaN - http://ninastimeout.blogspot.ca/) - use a pinwheel.  This one was pretty simple to figure out my topic, but I struggled with a LO at first.  Then I looked at this week's sketch # 327 on Sketch Inspiration and knew it would be perfect (so I'm entering it there also).

The topic was of my DS eating oreo's when he was about 3.  He had just learned to dunk them, and got the chocolate all over his face.  He looks silly, but had SOOOO much fun doing it, that I had to take pictures.  I had never had the chance to scrap them, but I knew this was the time.  I also decided to use FP's To The Moon collection for it, because I love the patterns and colors, but I had bought it for all the back's of the pages (my DS just isn't into robots, and space).

CC products: FP To The Moon (asteroid, cards, sticerks, borders, chipboard), EP A Boy's Life 6x6, MM watercolor brites snaps.

Non-CC products: AC Thickers - Dolce.

Then I took on Darlene's challenge (mom2tayandbay – http://www.talesoftayandbay.blogspot.com/) - create a LO with the theme "Are we there yet" or just the actual travel part of a vacation, and Lucy's challenge on Brenda's blog (http://centralnyscrapper.blogspot.com/) - use 3 different alphas.  I am also entering this one on Paper Girls Challenge that was a mosaic picture inspiration.  I took the bright colors and swirling effect and used them on this LO.  The LO was based on sketch #222 from Sketch Inspiration.

This one was really a challenge for me because we have only ever taken the car on trips/vacations, and that's just not exciting.  But then I remembered a picture I had taken on a mini-vacation of the kids in their car seats, and used a slight twist on it.

CC products: EP Summer Days 12x12 (scene, die cut, banners, red/green cs, stickers, journal cards), EP Summer Days 6x6, Making Memories Circle cutter, MM alphabet map stickers - travel, sassfras chipboard alpha - token pink.

Non-CC products: 2.5, 2, 1.5, 1 circle punches, MM red puffy alpha.

And finally, last but not least, I took on Michelle's challenge (by belle - http://stuffbybelle.blogspot.com/) - include a handmade non-paper embellishment, and Char's challenge (NanCDru-Char - http://craftychicchar.blogspot.com/) - use alcohol inks to create a birthday card. 

Please don't laught at my attempt to make a twine dragonfly.  I used alcohol ink to color the chipboard oval frame.

CC products: Tattered Angels Raspberry alcohol ink, MME Ooh La La For Her 6x6, BG bling it designer rhinestones, Bazzill brad jackets.

Non-CC products:  K&Co fresh paint die cut chipboard frame, SU wild wasabi cs, lemondrop yellow twine, Deja Views Wonderful Words birthday rubons.

Well, I hope you enjoyed looking at all the projects I made for these challenges.  I certainly had fun doing them.

"For Those Who are Left Behind" Blog Hop

Welcome!!!  This weekend my absolute favorite online scrapbook store, Crop Chocolate, is having an onsite crop retreat called The Spring Thing.  However, since they are located in Utah, and I'm in central NY, there was no way I could afford to go, sniff, sniff.  I will miss the opportunity to meet some of the most wonderful scrappers and crafters in person, but maybe they will have another one next year.

So while the lucky ones are in Utah, some of us who couldn't make it decided to have a blog hop so that we could get our scrappy on also.  Each stop along this blog hop will have a challenge for you to work on.  Some of them will have blog candy for you to try to win.  So hopefully you came from Michelle's blog, if not you should really start at the beginning, which is Kathy's blog.

My challenge for you today, since it is also almost July 4th, is to create a project using the American Flag as your inspiration.  For example, use the colors (red, white and blue), use the 50 stars, use the 13 stripes, use a repeating patterned paper (or create your own with stamps), or any combination of these.  The project can be a card, a layout, home decor, altered art, anything you want.

The project, however, must include at least 50% products bought at CC.

Good luck and have fun. 

Here is the project that I have started for this challenge (I have not finished it yet - there are only 35 stars on it so far and nothing is attached yet).  It is from the July 4th when my DS was 1.

Please link your project(s) (whether from your blog, a post on FB, or an uploaded photo on CC) by commenting on this post and including the URL for your project.

All projects are due by 11am EST Thursday, July 5.  Deadline has been extended until 11 AM EST Friday, July 5.  Projects may be combined for up to 3 different challenges within the hop, but you must post on each blog.

To one lucky participant, drawn at random, I will be sending some blog candy (that has yet to be picked out).  The winner will be announced on Monday, July 9.

Other prizes are also being donated by CC ($10 crop credit, EP Homemade mini theme kit, Doodlebug Blue Jeans paper and distress inks).  You must upload at least one project to any blog along the hop to be eligible for these prizes.  Winners will be announced on Monday, July 9 on CC.

Now on to your next stop and challenge at Laura's blog. 

And in case you have gotten lost or missed someone's blog, here is the list for the hop:

clayton528 – http://www.upinthenightwithkat.blogspot.com/
Scrappy Canuck – http://scrappycanuck.wordpress.com/
Karey2005 – http://www.karey2005.blogspot.com/
by belle - http://stuffbybelle.blogspot.com/
bethd488 - http://engineeringmemories.blogspot.com/
scrapaddict-laura - http://scrapaddict4life.blogspot.com/
mom2tayandbay – http://www.talesoftayandbay.blogspot.com/
raebae – http://kitchentablescrapper.blogspot.com/
NinaN - http://ninastimeout.blogspot.ca/
Christina - http://www.thriftysisters-chris.blogspot.com/
Haf2scrap – (guest of centralnyscrapper) http://centralnyscrapper.blogspot.com/
NanCDru-Char - http://craftychicchar.blogspot.com/

Subway Art and 3-D elements

So this past week's challenge at Crop Chocolate was to create a project with a 3-D element, using a mix of masculine and feminine patterned papers.  And for challenge #9, Paper Girls Challenge Blog wanted us to use Subway Art on a project.  Since I had never used subway art, I had to look it up and then decided to combine the two challenges (yes, again).

I also decided to use my new Cameo, as they had subway art files.  I chose one for dad's since it's almost father's day (and I needed a card for my CH anyway).  Here is the final project (I think it's kind of simple, so I might add something, but I'm not sure yet):

Besides my Cameo, I also used my EP Happy Days 6x6 paper, SU crushed curry cardstock, and MM crystal brad.  I'm not happy that the cut out is crooked, but it is what it is (my mantra is "If it was perfect, it wouldn't be homemade").  The 3-D element is the pinwheel, which is also cut by my Cameo.  I think I scaled the file a little too much, but I did get it to work.

Hope you enjoy (and I hope my DH does too).

Scrappy Space Blog Hop Winners

First of all, I want to thank everyone who stopped by my blog during this past weekend's hop, and to those who left comments and became followers, mwah, mwah, mwah!!!

I hope you all had lots of fun visiting all our scrap spaces, I know I did.  It amazed me (and put me to shame) the quality of work that comes out of some of the smallest spaces!!!  I wish we could continue the experience of being the DT for CC a little longer (just because I had so much fun with it, and learned so much while doing it), but it is indeed time to say Adieu - so stay tuned in the next day or so for my finale.

In the meantime, and as promised, I would like to announce the winners from the hop.  Since I received well over the 30 comments, and got about 25 new followers, I have decided to increase the number of winners to three (that's right - 3)!!!

The first winner is comment number 46:

PatriciaJune 8, 2012 10:59 PM

Love your huge workspace! I'm a new follower!

The second winner is comment number 15:

wendie mitchellJune 8, 2012 10:51 AM

Love the cubes nice work area.

And the third winner is comment number 26:

croppinmamaJune 8, 2012 12:33 PM

I am in stamp envy! Thanks for sharing!
thecutandcluckclub@yahoo.com

Congrats to all!!!  Please email me with your addresses so I can send you your winnings!!!  I will give you a week to send me your info.  If I don't hear from you by Monday, June 18, I will pick another number.

Also, for some reason I could not reply to comments given, but someone had a question regarding the table top.  We made it out of 3/4inch MDF.  My DH took the router to the top edges and rounded it so that it wouldn't be so rough (and to make it look more professional).  Eventually I think I would like to paint it, but like it the way it is right now.

I also wanted to tell you all that I was smiling every time someone mentioned how wonderful my DH is - he certainly is wonderful and supportive!!  Sometimes I think he cringes inside when he sees me doing something crafty (because I spend more time there some weekends than anywhere else), and he certainly rolls his eyes every time a new box of chocolate arrives, but lately he has been more interested in what I'm making.  He is not one for compliments (one of the only times I've heard him say I look pretty/beautiful was on our wedding day - at least he said it then), but he actually said he likes my finale project - so it must be good LOL!!!

CC Scrap Room Blog Hop

Welcome to the farewell blog hop of the current Crop Chocolate design team (sniff, sniff)!!!  For this hop we decided that we would share our scrappy spaces (be they rooms, corners of rooms, or tables), and some organizational tidbits for you.  If you did not come from ScrapAddictsAttic (Paula M), or just happened upon this blog, please go to the start of the hop at Ambaju (Amber - our fearless leader).

For a long time, I used a collapsible 6foot table (the kind you see at churches for dinners and such) as my craft table, while sitting in a folding chair.  I did my scrapbooking and card making on it, while my sewing machine was constantly taking up valuable work space.  The table ended up so cluttered most of the time that I would actually carry my stuff over to the coffee table (where my kids would craft) instead.  Then I amassed so many supplies from Crop Chocolate and other places, that I needed more storage space also.  And I had a drafting chair just sitting collecting dust.  So shortly before Christmas I got this bright idea that maybe my DH would help me create a better work space, and he could do it while home with the kids for Christmas break.

So I told him my plan and ideas (which were fairly simple), and he went off and did one better.  Yay hubby!!!  The top of the table is now about 8feet long and 3feet deep.  The base is made up of the 14inch square cubes that you can get from various places (M's and ACM being two of them).  I had about six before, but had to buy more to fill in the space underneath (darn, while snapping fingers), and now have 12 of them of various arrangements.  The only problem is that the corner of the room is now a little crowded, but I can deal with that.

The dimensions were in my favor, as when we put the cubes in place we had left a space in the middle for cords and such to pass through (like when I use my sewing machine), but that space ended up being exactly perfect for my sewing machine to fit and sit on the base he made.  Luck was on my side that day.  I then used the space above my sewing machine to store my Cuttlebug dies and folders (they are in the blue cases - these are made by Cuttlebug and have pages that fit various sizes of dies and folders).

I also have a smaller table in the corner that I use for sorting pictures and storing smaller items like inks, extra adhesive, some ribbon and my clear stamps (as well as my overflow of paper).  The table is one I bought when I was in grad school, and has served us many purposes (dining room table, sewing table, etc) over the years.  I love baskets and try to use them to store these small things to make help it look nice.  They also allow for easy access to things.  The only problem is that they often don't stack well, so over the years, I've moved to some of the squarer baskets.

Under the table (and they ended up pushing the table up a little) are two filing cabinets I procured when my the company I work for moved to a different office (we were getting all new furniture and they were giving away the old stuff).  In the one cabinet, I have all the paraphenalia from trips and events that I need to scrap (I've got my work cut out for me).

In the other cabinet, I am storing the majority of my wood mounted stamps (a few of the smaller ones I felt would get lost are in the blue basket on top of the table).  I have them on end for easy access, and to read the label.  In the back of one of the drawers I have my 8.5x11inch cardstock.  I was hoping that I might be able to store my 12x12 in here, but they don't quite fit.  It would have been awesome though if it had.  In between the filing cabinets, there was enough room to store my extra cutting mats, scoring board, and t-square.

To help me remember which stamp sets I own (I think I need more though, LOL) and some examples of how the company has used them, I saved the catalog pages (most of them are from SU) and stored them in page protectors in a 3-ring binder (the red binder to the left of the table).  For those that you don't have a catalog page for, you can either photo copy the top images, or you could stamp the images onto a sheet of paper, making your own "catalog page".

For my 12x12 paper, I have various ways of storing it.  One of the cubes I got (which I think is fairly new) is a sliding drawer with hanging files.  In this cube, I have stored a lot of the kits I have bought for easy access - I feel they fit better in here with all the accessories they sometimes have.  I also have the slotted cubes (some I have in the vertical position, and some in the horizontal position - just for variety really).  In those I have the paper sorted by topic - Christmas, baby, boy, girl, seasons, etc.  I also have my stickers and other accessories sorted that way in the square drawers.

For my overflow paper (I have a lot, and it doesn't all fit in the cubes partly because I allowed two of the drawers to be stuff for my kids), I bought a few of the plastic 12x12 storage bins.  In those, I have sorted the paper by manufacturer (one bin for EP, one for MME, etc).  I also have those for projects I have started but haven't finished.

I don't know if you can make it out behind my big table, but I also have access to a two-shelf book shelf, which is where I store my idea books and magazines.  There are also some baskets, which is where I store my punches for now.  Eventually I would like to get some rods for the wall and hang them so that I can see them and remember which ones I have.  The other idea I have would be to use some cardstock and punch the images, and then store those similar to my stamp images.

I think that's all for now.  I hope you enjoyed reading about where I do my work, I certainly enjoy creating in this space (especially now that I have room to really spread out - I certainly love that I can keep my newly acquired Cameo on top of the table all the time and have plenty of room around it).  I also hope you learned something to help you store or sort your supplies.

If you leave me a comment and follow my blog (if you don't already), I will put your name in a hat for some blog candy.  Unfortunately, I didn't have time to actually figure out all that I'm giving away, but I can say that it will involve some alphas, some paper, and some other goodies.  If I receive more than 30 comments, I will give away two blog candies.  All comments received by midnight June 10 will be eligible.  I will draw the names on Monday, June 11, and will post the winner(s) then also.

I hope you have also enjoyed seeing my work over the last eight or so months, and have learned something from me.  I certainly enjoyed being on the DT and creating and learning new things.  I will miss the experience immensely, but will be looking forward to what the new DT has in store for us.

Now please join our next DT member Little Miss Crafter (Jamie) and enjoy her scrappy space.  I can't wait to see where she does her work.