Design Your Life class and layouts

Have I told you I signed up for an online class? I did...it's called Design Your Life and it's via Big Picture Scrapbooking and is taught by Cathy Zielske. The class is a 12-week class and we do three projects a week...WOW!!! The nice thing is we get two projects on Thurs and I can do them over the weekend. Then a third comes a few days later (not sure how many...this is the first day). It's really cool, cuz there's a video and she shares design elements with us.

As you know, I'm a HUGE scrap lifter...I can lift just about anything. Some times it looks real similar and some times I just take a few elements from a few different layouts and combine them. The problem is, when I try to start from scratch, my layouts don't look very nice. So I am taking the class to try and LEARN about DESIGN so I can do my own layouts and not have to lift all the time.

OK, so here are the first two layouts from the class. The color scheme for the entire class is brown-green-red. All the layouts are based on Cathy's sketches. The 12x12 layout uses Granola alphas from Basic Grey and papers from the ACBailey May KOTM. The second layout is two-page 8-1/2 x 11 spread. It uses red CS from JoAnn's and stickers from a Disney kit I bought at Costco. I'm not quite sure why I'm into doodling, but both these layouts have doodling boxes around everything...
And I guess I should talk about the layouts...sorry. The first one I've blogged about already, it's the 2009 Alaska State Fair. The second one is the Go-Coaster at Disneyland in Jan 2009. I wrote about how Erica was really scared at first and we had to walk right thru the car the first time. But she finally gave in and eventually rode with everyone, including Grandma. The last part of the journaling talks about not letting Jeff fool ya...he doesn't like coasters and if you look closely you can see his white knuckles as he holds onto the bar.

Christmas Movie Layout Challenge

You all know how much I LOVE challenges. As soon as I read this blog post, I knew what move line I would use and what layout I would do. I played along with the "Christmas version of getting to know your friends" last week. In that email, one of the questions was "What was your favorite Christmas movie?" Mine is "A Christmas Story" and my favorite line is, "You'll shoot your eye out!"

So that's going to be the basis for my layout...and I have to have Erica take some pictures of me using my cute new S&W .38 revolver I got for Christmas...and it came with one of those red dot laser things (yes, I know what it's called...but saying "crimson trace" didn't really fit with calling it cute).

Check out the challenge and I hope it inspires you to scrap like it has me!!!

Happy Holidays...and some cute winter pix

Sorry I haven't been online much lately...it's been quite the busy holiday season for us! I guess I'll split the holidays and not only say Merry Christmas, but also Happy New Year! Be safe and enjoy the season!

I wanted to get family pictures taken, but we didn't get it coordinated in time (sorry Bryan). I still want to get them taken, though...and I think I found a good spot: Potter's Marsh in South Anchorage. We took a trip out there this weekend and brought along my new purse-sized camera to test it out and check out the scenery. Here are some cute pix of Erica (of course). I can't wait to get the new Bo Bunny winter line (the name has escaped me...Snowy something). You'll see the layout in January, I'm sure. And isn't that scarf the cutest thing? I made that for her and it seems to match her rosy cheeks perfectly :) Some of them are a bit blurry, I guess I need some more practice with this camera.

Some Christmas Cards

Well, I did it...Christmas Cards went out in the mail today. Jeff dropped them off at the Post Office for me (whew). He called and said he had a hard time finding a mail box that had enough room for them...and there were only 50. I joked and said, "Well, I guess I'm not the last one to send out cards this year...just the last one from THREE YEARS AGO." He had a good laugh over that one. But I've got news for him, one of my co-workers is working on FIFTEEN YEARS (although I think she was exaggerating a bit).

So here are some of the cards I sent out this year. I already posted the digital card...it looks better online than in person, I didn't use good paper for printing (sorry for everyone that gets one of those...I'm still learning).

This first card I *started* making three years ago. I used the Xyron Personal Cutting System to cut the letters and the ornament.

This next card is my favorite. I found it by googling "Handmade Christmas Cards." I'm sorry, I forgot what site it was on. It cracked me up when I saw it and just HAD to make some. I printed the sentiment onto cardstock, cut that out with a circle punch, doodled around the edge, put in an eyelet and small wire to make it look like an ornament (at least I HOPE it looks like an ornament). Hee, hee...I think it's cute. This one uses some We R Memory Keepers papers (I think...I can't remember for sure, sorry). The ribbon isn't tied very nice, sorry. I also made some with some bright Stampin' Up Christmas papers from a few years ago.

This card uses some We R Memory Keepers papers, a Stampin' Up! stamp and a snowflake cut from the Cricut with the Winter Woodland cartridge. I also found this idea from googling "Handmade Christmas Cards." Beautiful and easy! I also used this layout with a bright blue, red, and ivory color scheme...sounds odd, but I think it turned out great (the papers were Scenic Route).

And Erica got into some of the fun. I found this idea on a Family Fun website. These are cards for the teachers at her Day Care.

FREE SCRAPBOOK SHIPPING TODAY!!!

What a deal!!! Shop for all your scrapbooking needs at ACBailey today, get free shipping, and orders will be received by Christmas!!! Use coupon code "FREE" when you check out. No minimum order to take advantage of free shipping!!!

Here's the link

Happy Holidays!!!

Denali Road Lottery

Denali National Park (aka Mount McKinley National Park) is not open to private vehicle traffic...except the last weekend of the season. In order to get a pass, you apply for the lottery in June. Here is the link to the lottery info and some early details for 2010.

Yup, you guessed it...I was selected as a lottery winner this year. Unfortunately it was on the weekend Jeff was hunting and I didn't really want to drive all the way by myself. So I asked Nicole and her daughter Bella if they wanted to go us...we had a blast! There was morning fog that didn't lift until we got to Polychrome pass, which I'm sure prevented us from seeing alot of wild life. The really cool thing is we heard moose in the rut. We also saw a lone, lame, caribou. I joked that we should watch it for a while and we'd probably see some wolves or a bear...although I'm sure it wasn't much of a joke, which was why he was probably alone. And Erica and Bella got to know each other better...and that started a new friendship.

Anyway, here's the layout. I used Bazzill cardstock, American Crafts Thickers, and stickers from our local scrapbooking store (thank goodness for Alaskana products!!!).

Digital Christmas Cards

Well, I'm actually gonna send out Christmas cards this year...I hope. I say that because I haven't gotten them out for the past three years. I try, I really do. I just don't know why I never get them out. This year should be different...I hope. Last year I finished making cards I started the year before, but I counted them and I don't have enough. Sooooo...since I've been playing with Photo Shop, I decided to try and make some digitally. Here's what I made (the only recent pix I have of the three of us).The template is another download from Scrapbooks Etc, the papers and tag were free downloads from the Holidays in Hand class I took at jessicasprague.com, the fonts are on my computer, and the swirl is from the Playground Digital Scrapbooking CD available at ACBailey.

If you are interested in learning more about digital scrapbooking (or just in learning how to use your software) you really should check out jessicasprague.com. I've taken a few free classes and am having a blast...that Christmas card is nice, right??? See, that should be proof enough!

Thank you card set

Well, last year I made a card set for Erica's teacher. Guess what I made her teacher this year? Yup, a card set. I found an article I cut out of the Paper Crafts magazine back in 2004 and have made a few of these sets now. This one is NOT the one for Erica's teacher, but it's very similar...OK, now I need to go take a picture of it and post it, don't I? I actually need to decide on a sentiment first, so it's not quite done...

I didn't initially choose these papers for a set, but this week's ACBailey Freaky Friday Challenge is to do a layout or project using red and green. I found some old Stampin Up papers that worked pretty nicely (except the flower looks too red...I'm gonna have to change that!). The set I made for Erica's teacher uses the DCWV Grade School Stack. It's really neat, but the papers were hard to work with cuz they were heavy weight.

True Love...already???

Going away from the Monstrosity kit, going back to Erica's birthday party...this is a layout from when she was opening presents. I have to give you some background, cuz it really makes the story:

Cecile is Erica's God Mother. She and I were pregnant together...her son is about 6 weeks younger than Erica. Before we found out the sex of our kids, Jeff used to joke with Cecile that "My son will do things to your daughter..." THEN we found out we were having a girl and she was having a boy...Boy did Cecile have fun with THAT!!! She STILL has fun with turning Jeff's statement around on him!!! So Ian and Erica aren't joined at the hip, but they definitely get along together (recall the layout I did last month about Erica getting her ears pierced? She almost backed out and Ian helped her pick out earrings and helped convince her to do it...and I'll have another football story one of these days, too).

Anyway, Dustin and Cecile are raising Ian very well! He is quite a gentleman and is learning early how to treat women properly! Ian likes to buy jewelry for Cecile...and asked to buy Erica a ring for her birthday. Cecile said OK and he even picked it out. It's soooo cute!! And Erica loves it! I thought Jeff wouldn't be very happy about her getting jewelry so soon, but he was good with it.
I used a T!m Holtz mask, smooch glitter spray, and Basic Grey patterned paper from the Feb ACBailey Kit of the Month (no longer available, sorry). I can't remember where the rubons are from, but the flowers are from the Stampin' Up! Pretties Kit as well as some Primas.

Scary Coaster

Here's another layout from the Sassafras Lass Monstrosity Kit. I posted some random pictures from the Alaska State Fair a few weeks ago. These are the roller coaster pictures where you can see (up close) that Erica is not quite sure about the coaster, then she's OK with it, and finally she's having a blast and not even holding on. She really enjoyed the coasters at Disneyland, so it surprised me that she was a little scared at first...

Aren't those alphas the cutest thing?!? Some of them have little monsters in the centers. I also added a cute monster feltie to the layout.

That's how I roll

When I first saw the Sassafras Lass Monstrosity paper kit, I thought it was too wild and crazy. Then I saw some cute layouts with it, and thought about my daughter, Erica. I knew I had to use it!!! So you're going to see a few layouts in the next few days with this paper kit (by the way, it includes, (2) sheets each of (6) papers, an alpha sticker sheet, a cardstock sticker sheet, and some journaling tags). This kit is a DEAL!!!

For Erica's 6th Birthday party she had a Rollerskating Party. This kids were having such a good time that after we ate pizza, ice cream, and cake, they wanted to go skate more instead of open presents...so that's what we did. Erica opened presents later with some neighborhood kids that came to the party. So here's the layout of the actual party...Erica's face was nearly the color of her red/pink tie-dyed shirt...what a hoot!!!

Sierra - Freaky Friday Challenge

This week's Freaky Friday Challenge at ACBailey is to scrap someone or something you miss. I scrapped my favorite memory of my Granny at Christmas last year with one of the ACB challenges. I wish I could've scrapped my Grandfather this year, but I just couldn't seem to find the right inspiration to do him justice...I guess I still miss him too much.

So I picked a fairly easy subject...or so I thought. I adopted a retired racing greyhound in 1995 and had her until 2003. I have three series of pictures of her. One when I first adopted her, the second was our first Christmas together, and the third was our last Christmas. I didn't even realize that until I started posting the layout...and that's when it hit me. She was my "girly girl" and I miss her so!!!I have to to share my favorite story about her. She had her own couch, and was not allowed on "our" furniture. When we were around, she never broke those rules. However, we'd come home from work in the evenings to find our throw pillows on the floor, so we knew she was breaking the rules. To see if we were right, we set up a video camera on our mantle facing the couch. It recorded 1 or 2 seconds every 30 seconds. It showed us leaving in the morning with her at the top of the stairs watching us leave. As soon as the garage door closed (or so it seemed), she was up on the couch making herself comfy. She got up, ate (presumably), came back, and slept most of the day...on the couch. Then, as it was getting close to us coming home, she positioned herself where her head was on the arm of the couch watching down the stairs. As the garage door opened, she jumped off the couch and ran to the top of the stairs, eagerly greeting us at the door as if she had done nothing wrong. What a hoot!!!

And supplies for the page: Papers, button, and brads from the ACBailey Dec 2008 KOTM (Wassail papers from Basic Gray), alphas from Pink Paisley, journaling spot from Sweetwater, and unknown misc ribbon.

Dec Daily

Wow, another post today. I just realized I've been slacking (already) on my Dec Daily project. BUT, I got some good stuff today!!! Erica's PTA hosted a pancake breakfast with Santa...and Mrs Claus was there, too...I've never met her in person before...how cool is that?!?!? So here's a pix of Erica with Santa.She said she didn't know what she wanted for Christmas. I said, "Erica, you've been telling me ALL YEAR that you want a Nintendo DS." And she said, "Oh, yeah...I would like a DS." Santa responded, "Hmmm...those have been pretty popular, I'll have to check and see if I have any left." Have you ever heard of Santa not having enough toys??? I bet for the right child who was good ALL YEAR, he'll be able to find enough to go around (wink, wink).

Ooooh, ooooh, ooooh...and I almost forgot. I got a beautiful picture of the sun coming up behind the Chugach mountains this morning at the school. It shows up a little more red than pink and purple...I was about 2 min late in getting the perfect PINK highlights. Oh, well, this is nice anyway!

Layout/Project of the Week at ACBailey!!!

Woo Hoo...I just saw that my altered clipboard got picked for the layout (project) of the week. Check it out in lights here in the gallery. Woo Hoo.

I can't tell you how inspiring the ACBailey Design Team is...I have been picked for three layouts of the week and the Freaky Friday Challenge TWICE. The FF Challenge winners get $10 Gift Certificates...is that not cool or what?!?!? If you are not participating in their challenges, you're crazy!!!

By the way, you should check out this week's Freaky Friday Challenge...it's not only inspiring, it's therapeutic! I have completed my layout and will post it tomorrow. Remember, you can get a $10 Gift Certificate if your layout is picked!!!

Dec Daily...Dec 1

Well, I didn't get to post this yesterday so I'm a bit late, sorry. I'm going to try and keep track of my Dec Daily on my blog. I think it's going to me melded a bit with the Holidays in Hand class I took from Jessica Sprague.

So Dec 1 I was supposed to take a "Welcome to Dec" pix of everyone in the family...didn't do that. Jeff shoots in a trap league on Tues and Erica had girl scouts. So I'll do this on the weekend. But the GS meeting had a WONDERFUL thing for me to put in the Dec Daily mini album:

A friend of mine is battling breast cancer. She's a very busy, involved, and sweet woman. One of the things she's been involved with is a partnership with a local Army platoon at Ft Richardson that is deployed. She was considering letting go of her partnership due to the time and effort involved, but ended up keeping it when they reached out to her...it was a VERY touching story for me to read on Veteran's Day. Anyway, she asked her friends and family who have been following her journey to send letters, cards, care packages, etc to them as a special thank you for their support to her.

Mixed in with this timing, our GS troop has been looking for a service project. Well, when I heard this, I knew it was the perfect project for our girls. Juliette Gordon Low is the founder of Girl Scouts America. She was born on Oct 31. Oct is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Juliette Gordon Low lost her battle to breast cancer. My friend had a double mastectomy on Oct 31. Wow...it was meant to be.

Sooooo...last night was a meeting night and the girls made Christmas postcards, homemade Christmas ornaments, and brought extra goodies like a mini tree (for the ornaments), chap stick, individual drink mixes, hard candy, jerky, mini hand lotions, etc. We will be sending a BIG care package to the platoon this weekend.

What a great service project for the girls!!! And it had a good holiday foundation...so that's my Dec Daily for Dec 1. Now, I just need to figure out how to capture all that in a mini album...ugh!

HUGE Crab Legs...and Featured Layout!!!

As you have seen, I've been participating in the ACBailey Freaky Friday Challenge each Friday in the month of November. I JUST realized I haven't posted the Nov 27 layout, so here ya go. Oh, and I just got a notice from Memory Makers Magazine that this layout is featured this week online (WOO HOO!!!). Here's the link!!!

This week's challenge is to do a layout about a holiday meal or recipe (Thanksgiving or Christmas). Well, our favorite recipe is "Sweet Potato Goo" also known as Sweet Potato Casserole...not the kind with marshmallows, it has crumble on the top (ha, now you know why it's our favorite). Anyway, I made TWO casseroles this year and wouldn't you know I forgot to get pictures. But, I do have pictures of last year's Christmas (or was it Christmas Eve? I'm not sure) dinner. These crab legs were soooo big (how big were they?). They were soooo big we had to break them in half just to get them in the pot to cook. I can usually eat 4 or 5 crab legs (yes, I'm a piggy), but I think I only ate 2 of these puppies. YUM!!!


These products are from the ACBailey Nov Kit of the Month (SEI papers, misc buttons, flowers, chipboard), Pebbles Inc ribbon from the Aug Kit of the Month, and Maya Rd chipboard from the Dec 2008 Kit of the Month.

Oh, and here's a funny sweet potato goo story: I went scrapping all day on Friday and Saturday. I called Jeff to say hi and to talk to Erica. On one of the calls he says, "That goo tastes different today." I asked him if it was the goo in the left over tub or the one in the casserole dish. He confirmed it was the one in the casserole dish. I replied, "That's because that one hasn't been cooked yet." Ha...

Crop for Cancer announcements coming soon

For those of you in the Anchorage area (or close enough to come visit), Dec 15 will be the "Big Reveal" on Crop for Cancer 2010. I can tell you this much for now:

Date: Apr 10, 2010
Time: 10am - 10pm
Location: ConocoPhillips Atrium

This is an American Cancer Society Relay for Life fund raising event. Our goal this year is $30,000. We have been the top team in Anchorage for four years running, and then slipped to second in 2008 and third in 2009. I'm hoping this year we can really get some momentum going and get back into first place.

Altered Clipboard for Holidays in Hand...

Wow, it's been almost a week since I last posted, sorry! The good news is I was at a crop on Fri and Sat and got LOTS of stuff done!!!

Today's post is a project for the Jessica Sprague Holidays in Hand class that I took earlier this month. The goal of the class is to end up with an album about Christmas...either memories from the past, today's holiday season, or a combination of the two. There are daily prompts (for journaling, pictures, and activities) that need to be displayed...this clipboard will be the display for my daily prompts. And it was inspired by two people...a gal that sat next to me at this weekend's crop, and one of the Design Team members from ACBailey, Dee. The gal at the crop did a beautiful 8x8 Layout with flowers and a hat pin...I loved it sooooo much I had to use it as my clipboard inspiration. This clipboard is a project for the ACBailey Jingle Bells Blog Hop that was held the weekend before Thanksgiving...and it was Dee's project.I used papers from the ACBailey 2008 Dec Kit of the Month and a hat pin decoration from a Stampin' Up! kit. There are a few kits left and they are on sale, so check them out...and remember, shipping is free on the first of every month with a $35 order.

Snow thanks???

I am thankful for snow. Ha...this sounds odd, but there's a story behind it. If you live or have lived in Alaska, you can probably appreciate this. We are almost in winter (Dec 21 is the Winter Solstice). But for Alaska, it's already cold and D-A-R-K. Unfortunately I live in a part of the neighborhood with no street lights. People have complained to the association, but they say it's not cost effective to put a light near our house. HRUMPH. It's a good thing we have snow, though. When it's dark and there's snow on the ground, any little bit of light there is gets reflected off the snow and it doesn't seem that dark. And guess what...on a really clear day when the moon is out, there are really cool moon shadows in the snow.

One other nice thing about WHEN it snows...it has to be at least in the teens, so the temperature isn't toooooo bad. It's weird, but it never snows when it's in single digit temperatures or negative. I'm sure there's a technical meteorological thing...

So, for this week's ACBailey Challenge, I scrapped about being thankful for snow (dorky, sorry). Part of the challenge said we couldn't scrap anything with fall colors. Well, these are Alaskan fall colors (ha), but I don't think this is what they meant.

I used papers and swirl from the ACBailey Aug Kit of the Month (papers from Upsy Daisy, Prima swirl). The alphas are Pink Paisley from the Captivating sticker book. Oh, and the felt ribbon was adhered with Zip Dry...this stuff is AWESOME!!! As far as I'm concerned, it's a must have item for every paper crafter!!! It dries fast and doesn't warp papers like other liquid glues.

Disneyland Autopia - Inspriation

WOW...can I tell you how much fun it is to do layout challenges? I'm having a blast. I have been uploading layouts to several scrapbooking sites to promote ACBailey and *forgot* I used to upload to Scrapjazz waaay back when. I played around in their forum and found a challenge very inspiring...their alphabet challenge. The "Always Believe" post was the letter "J" for journaling strips. Now I'm getting ready to post for the letter "I" which is for inspiration. They sent us to a site and told us to look around and find some inspiration, then do a layout based on that inspiration.

We have been to Disneyland two years in a row the first week in January (we'll be breaking that streak this year...but will be at Disney World over spring break...YEAH!!!). Anyway, the first year we went, Autopia was the first ride we went on and it ended up being Erica's favorite. Lucky for us the lines were never very long, so we spent alot of time at Autopia. And lucky for me, we got Autopia Driver Licenses for me to scrap (woo hoo).

OK, no more stalling...Here's my inspiration...and here's my layout.

I used Prima Marketing Youth papers (they kinds look road-ish, right?) and American Crafts Poolside Thickers (up close they look leathery...almost like car tires). To try an mimic the vintage/distressed look of the frames, I used an edge distresser on the photos and then inked them.

Always Believe...and Track Santa

Did you know that NORAD tracks santa every year? There's a website you can go to starting Dec 1. I have only been there on Dec 24, so I'm intrigued to see what it has starting Dec 1. The only thing I know for sure is that there are games kids can play online...and many are educational (THANK YOU, NORAD!). I hope you'll add this to your activities with the family this year...have fun!

And speaking of Santa, here's a layout I lifted from Scrapbook Trends (it was an OLD issue). I used Scenic Route papers, the Wishblade to cut the title, Making Memories alpha stickers and Journaling box, Pebbles Inc chipboard, and Stampin up mini clip. The journaling is part of a conversation Erica had with Santa at ConocoPhillips in 2006...the words are below in case you can't read them.Erica: Santa, where are your reindeer?

Mamma: They're probably on the roof, we can't see them.

Santa: Actually, they are still at home

Erica: Why?

Santa: They're only magical one day a year.

"We..." Digital Layout

As I was surfing Jessica Sprague's website, I found a cool free digi-class. It included a free template download and an online video tutorial. I already knew many of the starter techniques, but it was fun anyway. And (as I'm sure the class is designed), I'm intrigued with the follow-on classes. I may invest in them after the new year (since the holiday class will keep me busy thru Dec if I stick with it).

Here's the layout I did...the hardest part was figuring out what to journal (hee, hee). Wednesdays she also has digi elements for a buck. I'm thinking about downloading another template...

My Holiday Values and Goals

I signed up for a Holidays In Hand class with Jessica Sprague Online...hopefully you can see that link since it's from my classes. Anyway, the gist of the class is to help us tell the stories of our holidays (past and present). Our first assignment is to make a list of our holiday values and then create specific goals associated with each one. As I look thru mine, they really seem to be pretty superficial. Hopefully these will "morph" thru the years and grow into something more...for now, I think this is the best I've got:

• family – minimize individual activities in Dec (scrapbooking, shooting, etc) and focus on family activities (cookies, movies, crafts, reading, game night, etc).
• tradition – establish a solid family tradition (ex: open presents from family on Christmas Eve and from each other/Santa on Christmas Day...we still waffle on this)
• friends –invite friends without family to join in our celebrations
• magic – take Erica for pix with Santa and have her write a letter to ensure the Christmas magic continues
• food – make a big enough turkey for left overs! If no turkey on Christmas, make a turkey *some* time in Dec!
• sweets – make holiday cookies/sweets every weekend (you're welcome, Jeff!!!)
• stockings – decorate the house before the first weekend in Dec...make a stocking with Erica's name (Jeff & I have them already)
• ornaments – make ornaments with Erica
• appreciating – make thank you cards and mail them before New Year’s Day
• connecting – send out Christmas cards to friends and family this year!!!
• memorable – document *something* about the holidays in a mini album/journal everyday from Black Friday thru Christmas...also follows with this class by doing 20 minutes of something every day

Cinderella Look-a-Like!!!

Look what I found the other day. As I was preparing for our Girl Scout camping trip and printing pictures for the scrapbook they'll make (not my idea...really!!) I found this picture from our Disney trip...it put a BIG smile on my face.Grandma enjoys making Erica costumes (mostly princess dresses). This one looked VERY much like Cinderella's dress. And of course, when we went to Disneyland, we HAD to go to lunch with the Princesses. We got sooo lucky that Cinderella was one of the princesses to come visit and I got LOTS of great pictures. I think I'll have to do a layout of the pictures I got with Cinderella at the lunch...they're precious!!!

Kinder-Perp...Freaky Friday Challenge

Yeah, I did a layout with that pagemap I posted last time. This is for the ACBailey Freaky Friday Challenge (I just love those challenges). This week we are to document the Holiday Prep that goes on. Well, there's not much prep at our house...it mostly marks the day before Black Friday for me (ha!). And that also means celebrating the 29th Anniversary of the birthday of a good friend of mine (she's on the 3rd anniversary now, I think...wink, wink). We have gone shopping at 5am on Black Friday for the past 3 or 4 years now.

So this layout is Erica's Kindergarten class preparing for the holidays by making crafts and decorating cookies. I had a BLAST volunteering that day, and the kids had a great time. Mrs Wollrich did a great job putting it all together for us!

The papers, stickers, and journaling cards are Sassafrass Lass from the ACBailey Sep KOTM. I also added a Jenni Bowlin Mini School Bingo Card (love those!!!) that was from the KOTM, too. And of course, the layout is from http://www.pagemaps.com/ and is the Nov 2-pg 12x12 map. FUN!!!

Page Maps!!!

Have you heard of page maps? They are exactly what they sound like...a roadmap for doing layouts. And you KNOW how I LOVE sketches, blue prints, and ideas. Page Maps are AWESOME! They have maps for 12x12 layouts, 8-1/2 x 11, 1-page layouts, 2-page layouts, cards, half pages, etc. And with every map is an example. They are sooooo inspriational!!!

Take a look at the November maps and see if you can find some inspiration. I think you'll see a layout or two from me based on a "map" REAL soon!! I just LOVE this one, for example...

What's the Deal with Facebook???

Do you Facebook? I don't. I'm scared of it...I'm scared it's gonna consume my world. I feel bad enough that I'm blogging and chatting online in forums. Someone please help me with this...I think I'm on the verge, but I need a push. Here's my nightmare of a story:

A friend of mine (at least I think she's a friend...I don't feel like a very good friend today, though) moved out of town in January. I found out she was pregnant, and in my mind I thought it was in the May time frame. I ask another mutual friend today when she's due and she says, "Oh, Michelle, she had the baby in September...you need to get on Facebook." I call another mutual friend and ask her why she didn't tell me and she laughed and said, "You need to get on Facebook."

I have no iphone, no blackberry, no DS, no Wii, no nothing. I didn't even know what "the Nook" was and had to ask. I might as well drive a car and break with my heels...UGH!!! Can you even believe I'm in the blogging world? I can't...

So, I guess I've answered myself...I really DO need to be on Facebook, don't I?!?

Freaky Friday Challenge - "OW"

Thanks for coming back and checking out my finished layout for the AC Bailey Freaky Friday Challenge. As I mentioned, this uses two of the Scrapbook Etc Free Collage templates...I had to change the first page cuz I had too much journaling (go figure...me with too many words? Ha!).

The layout is lifted from a Scrapbook Etc Nov/Dec issue and uses some left over papers from Close to My Heart, Creative Imaginations, My Mind's Eye, and Reminisce. I also added some Pebbles Inc and Maya Rd Embellishments along with Stampin Up ribbons and covered chipboard from an unknown source (sorry). I had a blast with this challenge and I'm looking forward to the next several weeks...I hope you'll join me!

Freaky Friday Challenge and Free Collage Templates

Early in the year I blogged about being inspired by challenges...I am going to super charge my scrapping this month by participating in the Freaky Friday Challenge at AC Bailey EVERY Friday in November. The first one is using left over scraps (in honor of left overs around the holidays). I created the photo collages tonight for the pages and will print and complete the layout tomorrow. Here are the two collages for the layout...I used free templates from Scrapbooks Etc. The blank boxes on the first page will have a journaling block instead of photos...cuz getting Erica's ears pierced has such a great story with it (story below)! I hope you'll come back tomorrow for the finished layout...and check out the challenge at AC Bailey each Friday, too!

Cecile is Erica's God Mother and has asked for a year to be the one to take Erica to get her ears pierced. Erica has been scared and hasn't wanted to...so Cecile has patiently waited. This year, one of Erica's birthday presents was a Tiara dress-up set for four. With it was some cheap clip-on earrings. Of course Erica had to play with them, but she always complained that they hurt. I told her that clip-ons hurt ALL the time and pierced ears only hurt for a second when you first get them. After hearing that she decided she was ready to have her ears pierce.

We waited for 20-30 minutes for Erica's turn at the store. While waiting, Erica watched a girl who flinched (she didn't cry or gasp or anything...just flinched) and that was enough to scare her out of it. So I told her, "OK, you can keep wearing clip-ons that hurt all the time." She was initially OK with that...and then Cecile told her she'd buy her two more earrings of her choice if she got her ears pierced that day. Ian (Cecile's son who's just a few weeks younger than Erica) picked out one pair and Erica picked out a set with several pairs. Whew...SAVE!!! She was still scared, but wanted to get them done. I was a bit nervous that they weren't going to pierce them both at the same time...I thought we'd end up walking out with one pierced ear (ha!). When it came time for the actual piercing, all Erica said was "OW" in a very matter-of-fact voice...not a loud voice, not a whiny voice, just very neutral.

And of course, within a minute of having them done, she was all smiles and the pain was gone. We celebrated with Dairy Queen afterward...what a great day!!!

Mini Album Challenge...Prepare NOW!!!

I get a weekly email newsletter from a local scrapbook store that I frequent. It has great ideas, classes, crops, and products. This week's newsletter had a WONDERFUL idea that I wanted to share with everyone...and challenge you to do. I'm posting it now to give you some time to think about it and be ready to execute it. I'm gonna do it, so hopefully we can inspire each other to complete it...

It's called a December Daily. What is the December Daily? Here's an excerpt from Ali Edward's Blog: "December Daily is an album that documents the month of December leading up to Christmas day (and sometimes beyond - that's completely up to you). it is a chance to reflect, to share, to celebrate the season in a manageable, in-the-moment way."

Great idea, right? I hope you'll join me. Here's a link to an example one of the Designers at the store put together in 2007. Pretty cool!

Misc pix...

I promised some pictures for family out of the area...and since I didn't get to scrap these this weekend, here they are. I'll get them scrapped SOON!!!

These are from the Alaska State Fair. We took some time off from work, picked Erica up right after school, and got lucky with a beautiful day (and buddy rides...buy one get one...woo hoo!). Erica is definitely turning out to be like her mama: a thrill seeker. YEAH!!! Finally someone to ride with me.When we first got on the coaster, Erica wasn't quite sure...

It didn't take long for her to settle into the ride...

By the time it was over, she was waving hervarms in the air!

We also rode the kite ride for the first time...it ended up being her favorite ride (so she said). It was a really cool feeling, I have to admit I liked it, too.

And just to prove that Dad was there, too, here's a pix of all of us...on the Tilt-o-Whirl...the only ride Jeff will go on. Not sure why he can handle that one and not any other one. I can barely ride it with the twisting motion. Oh, well, we'll take what we can get.

Wow...I have scrapped alot in 2009!

I just looked thru my posts for the year and I have posted 49 layouts this year. I wanted to do 5 pages a month and 49 layouts doesn't break down the single vs double page layouts. YEAH...I'm meeting at least one of my scrapping resolution/goals for the year.


Looking back at the other goals, they are hit and miss:

I did make an acrylic album (bought a kit from ACBailey)...but I haven't put pictures in it yet...so does that count? Probably not. I'll try to get that finished before the end of the year so I can count it.

I did clean my scrap room, but it hasn't really been KEPT clean. I can walk in it and find stuff, but I can't really work at either of the two large tables...they're full of stuff. In fact, last weekend for the Midnight Madness Challenge, I scrapped at the dinner table...partly because everyone was upstairs, partly because it's cold down in my craft room, but mostly because it would have taken too long to clean it. HRUMPH!!!

I haven't attended a weekend retreat yet, but I am going to an all day crop on Black Friday and Black Saturday. I'll come home to sleep and shower. Can I call that a weekend retreat since I'm away from the family and not doing anything but scrapping for the weekend? I know...I'm home on Sunday, so does it REALLY count?!? I'm gonna say yes...two full days away is a weekend, so there!

The last thing I didn't even come close to doing...host a fourth Friday get together at my house every month. Ha...I think the last time I did that was in March or April. I can't even remember when I last did it. Oh, well...I wanted to do it for ME to be productive, and given the number of layouts I've completed so far this year, I have been. I will definitely go back and count the total pages I've completed by year end. Inquiring minds want to know...

So how have you done on your goals/resolutions?

Free Digital Breast Cancer Stamps

Bummer...I would have liked to have been able to post this in Oct since it's Breast Cancer Awareness month. I just saw this posted in the ACBailey Forum this morning, sorry.

Oh, well...it's still a great project idea. If you're interested, here's the download. Enjoy!

Got Candy?

Erica went Trick-or-Treating with her friend Jenna. She and Jenna have developed quite the friendship starting this summer...they are even calling each other and leaving messages on the answering machine (ugh...she's only six and the phone thing is already starting). Jenna has an older sister and Erica is an only child so they were destined to Trick-or-Treat with mom or with and older sibling...fun, right?! I coordinated a "play date" for them to go together and it was a BIG HIT! I froze by behind off, but they didn't even notice the cold. They were running around from house to house having a good ole' time. I'm soooo glad they are friends!!!

And I've already scrapping the fun...can you believe it? Well, I wouldn't have, except the ACBailey Midnight Madness Challenge got me digging into my layouts. One of the challenges was to find layouts (old or new) that had specific words in the title, as an embellishment, or as the main focus. They had words like leaf, candy, corn, vampire, moon, umbrella, and apple. I dug thru my stash of layouts and found a few. This layout was actually completed YEARS ago when I went to Creaking Keepsake University (CKU). I totally forgot all about it until I found it...and since I really only got two pictures (one that was VERY blurry), it was perfect to use for this year. Voila'...instant layout!!!

Midnight Maddness Blogging...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! I totally forgot to post this week about Midnight Madness at ACBailey, I'm sorry!!! What else am I gonna do on Halloween night after Trick-or-Treating is over? I'm so lame, I don't party...sorry!

So one of the challenges was a progressive layout. That's where the Design Team gives you one clue every few minutes and you are supposed to create a layout as they give you the clue. Yeah, right...I'm a bit too freaky about my scrapping to do that. So I waited until all the clues were out and did my layout. The clues were: Black cardstock background, add white, add pumpkins, add ribbon, add brads, add bling.

We had such a blast with Aaron and Ryan making cookies this year. Ryan was much better at being focused than Aaron and Erica...probably because Aaron and Erica have known each other since Erica was 3 months old (day care buddies). This year the kids all rolled out their own dough and cut the cookies all by themselves. Most of them turned out pretty good...Ryan sure liked to layer on and layer on and layer on the icing (mountains of icing!!!).

For my white patterned paper, I stamped images using the cookies cutters we used to make the cookies. The pattern papers are left over from last Aug KOTM plus Doodlebug (orange). I also have Doodlebug brads, BoBunny ribbon, and American Crafts Thickers (the bling). The pumpkins are made from misc buttons from my stash.

Who needs snow when we have leaves?!?

I don't know where Erica got the idea, maybe a neighbor friend, but she sure likes to make Leaf Angels. It cracks me up to watch her...she finds an area that has lots of leaves, or she makes a big pile. Then she plops down in them and just goes to town. And she's soooo careful when she gets up not to disturb any leaves. And there you have it...a leaf angel. So if you don't get snow like we do in Alaska, maybe you can make leaf angels, too.

For the layout, a friend of mine showed me this GREAT color blocked layout from a 4x6 idea book magazine for simple layouts (I think it was from Simple Scrapbooks, but I can't remember, sorry)...it was perfect! I changed it up to use pattern paper instead of just cardstock, and added some embellishments. The papers are from the AC Bailey Nov Kit of the Month last year (I can't remember exactly what line...I'll see if I can find out and update the post later). The metal embellishments are from one of the Stampin' Up! metal kits...I just love those!!! I also added some homemade leaves made from coffee filters (an idea from Scrapbooks Etc) and Making Memories dyes from their distressing kit. Check out the Freaky Friday Challenge at the ACBailey's blog...there's a new one every week. They're very inspiring!!! I can't believe I finally completed one on time.

Free Photo Collage Templates

I had my crop tonight and mentioned the photo collage templates available from Scrapbooks Etc. I was going to just email the link to a few ladies and they suggested I put it on my blog...so here it is. You need photo editing software (like Photo Shop). The site has some tips on how to use the templates. I used a template on Erica's first Day of School layout...you can see it here.

As with any scrapbooking technique, you can make this your own: put all photos in the boxes, put journaling in some, put digital pattern paper, or leave it blank. There's one layout example that left a box or two blank and after it was printed, they used regular pattern paper and it went off the template onto a layout...I loved it (and you know I'll be doing that one day, right???).

Have fun...and let me see what you do with these!!!

Boo!

So this is totally a layout out of context...do you ever scrap out of context? Let me tell you how much fun it is...I totally let myself go. I used pattern paper for the background (I may have two or three others) and adhered the photos off center (ugh...very hard for me to do). If you haven't noticed, my scrapping style is very linear. I think that's from being a math major in school. I lifted the layout from a very talented lady, Becky (I've blogged about her before, and her link is on my faves list "One Scrappin Mama")...you can see her layout here. It was so inspiring I had to do it.

Erica's nickname is Boo. We gave it to her when she was a baby...it was the first word/sound she made..."Ah, Boo." Then, when she was a toddler, I put her in those cute little piggies at the top of her head like the character on Disney Pixar's Monster's Inc: Boo, was her name. It was so fitting...and it has stuck. So I knew I wanted to use Halloween papers (perfect, cuz I have the ACBailey Oct Kit of the Month with the Pink Paisley papers!). I just didn't know what pictures I was going to use. As I was cleaning on Friday (in between scrapping), I found Erica's school pictures from last month. I looked at it and said to myself, "Wow...it's scary how grown up she looks." PERFECT! I pulled two pictures from Kindergarten and voila'...some of it got cut off from the scanner, sorry...

Are You Ready for Halloween???

I'm lucky, I don't have a job at Halloween...all I have to do is have fun! Jeff doesn't let me even THINK about candy. He always says, "Warren Buffet gives out the big half pound Hershey bars." And that inspires him. He buys the big packs of big Hershey Bars from Costco and hands those out...he's all about being the hero (and you know what I mean if you know him).

I also don't ever have to think about Erica's costume...Grandma has always made a costume for her. In past years she's been a princess. This year she's into Tinkerbell. So guess, what she's gonna be??? Yup, a fairy. And what's her favorite color? Pink and purple. Oh, my...this costume is awesome. I have one picture (which isn't really that great), so you'll have to wait to see the finished product. But here's the layout for inspiration (the white paper is a holding place for two photos). We're going to Trick or Treat Town next weekend, so I'll be able to add photos then.
The papers and clear sticker border are Pink Paisley, as is the little journaling card. The flare is from American Crafts. All the supplies are from the ACBailey October Kit of the Month (and Exclusive Add-On kits). You can save shipping and money with a 6-month or 12-month subscription. Plus, subscriptions also get you an exclusive idea package with how-to instructions for all kinds of layouts, cards, and paper crafting projects.

Exclusive Kits

In addition to the on-line kits, ACBailey will also have exclusive kits from Quick Quotes. These kits are 2-pg layouts and come with all the supplies necessary to complete them. You can only get them thru me (or another consultant...but I hope you choose me). Here is the October Exclusive Kit. Please let me know by the end of October if you want one of these kits. I will order them all at once. This kit is perfect for the upcoming holiday season!!! Just like the on-line class, this 2-page kit is $12.

On-Line Class

Yes, I'm still alive...but I haven't scrapped in a while (since the end of Sep...ugh!). So, to give you some inspiration, I wanted to let you know about a new program at ACBailey...on-line classes. Click here to purchase the October on-line class kit. Orders for the kits will be taken thru the end of Oct and shipped just in time for the class. This elegant 2-pg layout class is $12.

Denali Shades of Summer

OK, that title is deceiving! AC Bailey did a Shades of Summer fun thing...we sent a funky pair of shades around the country and everyone took pictures of themselves and then did a layout with the pix. As you know, I rarely scrap myself...there are MUCH more fun subjects than me, but what a great opportunity for me to do it!!!

Oh, and for the rest of the deceiving title...once a year, Denali National Park opens up and allows private vehicles to drive thru the park. You apply for the lottery in July and two weekends after Labor Day you get to do the drive (Thur - Sun...THEY pick the day, but you prioritize your request). Well, we got drawn...YEAH!!! So we went last weekend. And we totally got lucky. The Alaskans reading the blog know how few days a year Mt McKinley (the tallest mountain in North America) can be seen...and we saw it! The morning started out VERY foggy, but it cleared by the time we got to polychrome pass (ugh...I was soooo nervous driving the pass!!!). We kept going and got some really good pix. Here's the layout:I did this for a the A is for Apple challenge at ACBailey. I think I got all the elements in it: design it according to a sketch provided, use only pattern paper or only cardstock (I used pattern paper), stamp, punch, and cut something, use red, buttons, ribbon, and hand journal. Whew...

Rock Out!!!

Ha...I finally have some inspiration coming for the on-line crop...yeah!!! I got another layout done this morning. I'm hoping to get ONE more done before Jeff comes home...or maybe tonight after dinner. I'm itchin' to do the progressive layout and the A is for Apple Scrapquest layout (after all, I worked so hard on finding all those clues!!!).

This is from Challenge #6. They provided a sketch and we are to do an everyday event. Well, the guitar is a gift Erica got for her birthday, but what she does is an everyday event: She's a HAM!!! I tell you, there's not a day that goes by that this girl doesn't crack me up in some way. She loves to show off and entertain. And you should see her when I pull the camera out...SHE starts directing the poses...really!!!These papers are some old left over My Minds Eye papers from a Costco pack about two or three years ago. I added some bling from the Sep KOTM, Doodlebug rub-on letters, and outlined papers using an American Crafts glitter pen (FUN!).

First Day Of School Scrapped...

Anyone scrapping during the ACBailey On-Line crop? With Jeff gone, it's hard to get some dedicated time. However, here it is past midnight and I'm up scrapping (ssshhhhh, don't tell him!). I'll go to bed after this post so I can be somewhat coherent when Erica wakes up tomorrow.

I haven't been feeling very inspired lately, even with the online crop...and that's odd for me. I think it's because I'm home by myself and not with friends. Anyway, I did manage to get this layout done. I downloaded a free template from scrapbooksetc.com and used it to create the photo collage. It was fun. I think I'm getting the hang of it and you may see more of that technique (Doesn't it look alot like color blocking? Yes, that's why I like it so much!).

I posted several weeks ago about Erica's first day. Here are the photos and the final layout. Erica loves the outfit and calls it her "grown up outfit." She had it picked out WEEKS before school started. And she wanted me to french braid her hair. This is the first time I've done it...I need more practice.

The paper is from the Sep KOTM as is the chipboard. I used some left over Bo Bunny ribbon and American Crafts Thickers. Here's hoping I can get more inspiration tomorrow before Jeff comes back...wish me luck!