Sketch Challenge

It's time for another sketch challenge over at SCRaPDANGo! I've been messing around with circles quite a bit lately, so I incorporated them once again into this month's sketch. Here it is...

For my version, I rotated the sketch once counter-clockwise. I've been so excited to scrap these pics of J and his first lost tooth. He was sooo excited! The journaling talks about how he had been waiting and was sure he was the last of his kindergarten class to lose one. Here's the LO...

I just love the other LOs from the rest of the DT too. I hope you're inspired! Leave a comment with a link if you happen to use this sketch. I'd love to see what you do with it!

I've recently downloaded the Sketchabilities sketches for both October and November. They are just gorgeous! I can't wait to put all sorts of fun elements on them and show off all the detail Karan includes! Can't reveal anything else until October 15th though, so make sure you stop by then!

That's all for now... Too many other things to get done right now!
~Til next time <3

Life's Moving Fast... Again...

Yep, that's how we roll around here. Get a bit of a break, then head in full-force. We're a busy crew around here these days. The hubby and I are working full time (and then some). J is in school full days, has started going to the after school care program, begun cross country at school, AND is playing soccer. Miss A's dance class started up last week, but fortunately, she doesn't start preschool for another couple of weeks. Starting up the year is just really tough around here... {sigh}...

I do have some exciting scrappy news to share though! I have been chosen to be on the design team for sketchabilites! Karan has just gorgeous, inspiring sketches, and I absolutely can't wait to get started on them for real! She has reveals twice a month and also has sponsors, so make sure you head over there! They are also celebrating a birthday with a fun blog hop with a YUMMY prize! ( I do need to ask if I'm eligible to win, because it is VERY yummy indeed!)

In other scrappy news, it's also reveal day at SCRaPDANGo. I had fun playing with Sassafrass Lass in the Sugar kit this month. Check it out...

Cute Shoes (using the current sketchy thursdays sketch)

You Go Girl (sketch 78 from The Scrappiest)

And a couple of cards...

A Pagemaps sketch

Sassy Lil' Sketches sketch

I also got a wonderful new toy in the mail a few days ago... I ordered a brand spankin' new pink ATG gun! I AM IN HEAVEN! It is so unbelievably light and easy to use! I've been wanting on for quite some time, but I found an amazing price over at Your Scrapbook Stash! The adhesive is on back order, but I got a personal email from Erica apologizing and letting me know a bit more about when I might receive it! Gotta love amazing customer service! Made me smile!

Well, I think I've done enough work avoiding for the night. Better get my book out and start reading!

~Til next time <3

ps. I haven't forgotten about my giveaway! My pile keeps getting bigger! You'll need to be a follower to be in the running though!

Scrapping In Between Back to School Madness...

Yep, it's that time of year again... I've headed back to school. Kids aren't back until Thursday, but I've been busy preparing the room and all my materials for my lovelies to join me in a year of serious learning! :)  As always, there's something new I need to get a handle on, and this time it's in the literacy area. A few of us at school are taking a new strategy on, so there's been a bit of pressure with that. Wish us all luck as we work to figure it out!

Luckily, I've had a bit of time to get a little crafty. Lynn designed the sketch for the SCRaPDANGo newsletter and I created this LO for it...

And here's Lynn's original sketch...

I was just dying to try out some rolled paper accents, but WOW! I need to see if there is a simpler way to do it. I'm also wanting to make a card or two with this sketch. Just inspiring for me there, I guess. :)

I have another project or two at my table, so I hope to get back to those before too long. All depends on how much I can get ready at school though... *sigh*

One last thing before I go... I am putting together a great pile of scrappy goodies for a wonderful back to school giveaway! I have to get a pic of it all (and make sure I can afford the shipping!) then post it up officially! Be sure to check back VERY soon!

~Til next time <3

August Dango Reveal

Can't quite believe that August is half over... Several friends at church were asking me how long til school started. I just covered my ears and did my little, "Lalalalala... I'm not listening to you!!" dance. So, no, I'm totally not ready to go back. But the sad truth is that I'll have to go back, and probably this week at least for a day... *sigh*...

At least I was finally able to get some scrapping done. I'm also proud of myself because I think, if I counted right, I can double up 3 of my projects for other contests and calls! Wahoo! It's not often that it works out that well!

This month I got to work with the Sugar kit with Echo Park. They are a pretty new company and so far I am very impressed with their papers. Lots of great colors and designs. They are definitely a new fav manufacturer! :) I was also able to get some of my Disney pics in as well! So here we go...

Chasing Characters (using the current Sketchy Thursdays sketch)

Blessed (a PageMaps sketch)

Picture box (using this for all my pics I'm currently going through for projects!)

Thinking of You butterflies card (using the current Sassy Lil' Sketches card sketch)

Plenty more I'd like to take care of before the month's over, but we'll see how I do. Apparently, I have a full-time job that is about to resume! :)

Hope to see you again shortly!

~Til next time  <3

Gotta Try and Win!

Yeah, I know... I really should be blogging my own stuff. We had a whirlwind vacation that I'm still recouping from, but HELLOOOO!! Wouldn't you want to try to win these fabulous goodies?? Well, you can't, 'cause they're MINE! Ok, fine... go over to Scrap the Boys and try, just try to win! (see if I'm your friend anymore!)

I'll head back later to give some updates. I'm busy blog surfing and TOTALLY need to get some scrapping done!

A Couple of Sketches and a Couple of Layouts...

Well, I'm gonna treat those of you who stop by to an early release!. One of these is already posted, but Lynn will be putting the other up on the forum tomorrow (or is that today?) for the sketch challenge. I designed both of these sketches and am happy to say that I'm feeling better and better about it as I complete them.

This sketch will be on the idea sheet with the SCRaPDANGo kits.

Here's my LO... Just need to get better at taking pics of my two-pagers!

This sketch is for the July sketch challenge. Might be my favorite sketch to date!

And my version of the layout...

I snapped that pic just tonight outside. Normally A isn't into posing or anything like that, so how tickled was I when she was so willing?! Gotta love those beautiful smiles! :)

~Til next time <3

July SCRaPDANGo Reveal

This month's kit at SCRaPDANGo was just perfect for the pics from our ocean adventure! I need to do a bit of Photoshopping to a few to get a couple more layouts finished, but I'm totally excited about what I have so far!

Here's this month's beautiful July Sugar Kit ~ Featuring Fancy Pants Rusted Sun




Tons of fun with this kit...  :)

I used the Sketchy Thursdays 7.8 sketch for this one (dangit that I couldn't get in on the prize this week!)

I've had this KaiserCraft clock around since last summer. I was so proud of myself for figuring the whole clock workings out. Only problem is that I ended up with a bad clock! Off to Michael's later this week to replace the mechanism, I guess!

Hooray! My proud Goondocks pics! I'm still on the hunt for that stinkin' movie though...

And here are a couple of cards. The first is another rendition of the most recent card sketch from Sassy Lil' Sketches. For the second, I actually designed the paper piecing from a pic on the patterned paper itself.

I still need to get a 2-pager done as well as the layout for the July sketch challenge for the 20th. That'll keep me busy for a bit along with a couple of other scrappy ventures I've got in the fire right now.

~Til next time <3

Sassy Reveal... Sassy Sadness...

Here it is... My final card as a Sassy designer. :(  After much thought, I figured I needed to spend a bit more time with the family this summer, so I did not re-up my time at Sassy Lil' Sketches. Cherie always gives the best inspiration for me for cards, so it was a tough decision to make. I'm hoping to play along over the summer with the cards and LO sketches. Thanks so much Cherie and Katie for the awesome opportunity to design for you! You ladies rock!

Everything but the ribbon is from another gorgeous Personal Scrapper kit. I almost never use ribbon slides, but I thought this was a perfect spot for it. Hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for stopping by! Make sure you keep Sassy Lil' Sketches bookmarked- better yet, become a follower if you aren't already!

~Til next time <3

Fun-Filled Ocean Adventure

We are finally home... *sigh*  It was an amazing trip, that's for sure. We truly do have a fabulous time whenever we are out camping, and this was nothing different from that. So, combine the love of camping along with our love of the Oregon Coast, what more could you ask for? It's a heckuva long trip each way by car, so when you add the trailer to it (and the 3 gas stops along the way) I think it was somewhere around 10 hours each way. YIKES!

I am super stoked to get scrappy with the pics I took. Even sent them off, and have already picked them up from Costco - so proud of myself! I'll share a few of those with you and hopefully get to some scrapping soon!

These first couple are from pre-fireworks festivites. My town isn't really a small town, so we have a pretty big event for the 4th, but we've never really gone all-out for it. This was another story! WOW! What an experience!

Here's the best sunset shot I could get. Paul was sooo disappointed that we didn't get to watch the sun sink all the way to the ocean, but I think this one wasn't too terrible of an exchange! History buffs would know that the next pic is with the grand duo of Lewis and Clark. (Even they dress up for the 4th!)

I didn't get as many beach shots as I'd have liked. It was super bright, and I still need some work on my photog skills for this. The kids had a blast in the water and the sand, and they still gave me plenty of scrapping inspiration!

Way excited to get my BIL to take this shot of the fam--in front of the sign leading up the drive to the actual house from the Goonies! I know I have a copy of that movie somewhere, but can I find it?? Of course not!! I just can't even envision how they made the it look like a whole city block, because it so TOTALLY isn't! There wasn't even enough room to get a wider shot (and cause I only brought my zoom with me).

Most of the summer on the Oregon Coast, it's probably in the mid 60s. If you're lucky, you might get a spell that's a bit warmer. Well, for us, it was A LOT warmer! I never did see what the official high was, but I believe it was near 100 by afternoon... I'm sweating thinking about it! Everywhere we went that day, all the local folks were telling everyone else that it just NEVER gets that hot. Craziest thing though, by evening, it literally dropped 20+ degrees in just a couple of hours. We ended up cooling off in a little lake on the grounds of where we camped. Again, the kids had a blast!

Well, totally hoping (and needing) to get seriously crafty tomorrow. I'll be back later to post up what I get! I'm also still thinking about that little giveaway idea from a bit ago. Be on the lookout for that!

~Til next time <3

Ready to Head Out... almost :)

It's a bit of craziness around here once again. We've finally wrapped up all of the birthday festivities just in time to shut down and pack up to head to the coast! This will be our first major trip in the trailer. Prior to this, the longest we'd been out for was an extended weekend (maybe 4 days, I think). We'll be gone or traveling for 7 days! It just makes me so happy!

The Oregon coast is absolutely one of my very favorite places to visit. We went several times to camp when I was growing up and have been there as a family, but never to camp with the kids. This will be a really exciting adventure for us-doubly so being as we'll also be there for the 4th! It's quite the drive from us, but we should be able to make it in about 9 hours since we're pulling the trailer too! (Not to mention all the potty breaks we'll need!)

On the scrappy front, I finally finished one page using some more Crate - Paper Doll papers. I had misplaced my sticker and border sheets I got with it, so now I'm planning one more project for A's room with what I have left. I'm almost positive this is from a PageMaps sketch (I'll need to go check!). My bobbin ran out right in the middle of this, so that totally freaked me out! I'm learning to breathe a little better when that happens though, and not get quite so stressed about it... :)

Well, I've probably procrastinated enough now... Time to gather some more laundry and see how the shopping list is shaping up! See you in a week or so with some beautiful ocean pics (and I'll even through in a Tillamook Cheese Factory one too!)

~Til next time <3