Back from the retreat

Excuses, excuses!

Do you want to hear them?

• I was exhausted after the retreat.
• I'm having major scanner issues.
• I'm suffering from big time moving stress.

These are some of the reasons I haven't blogged in A MONTH!

I think I have finally recovered from the retreat and I gave up with my scanner and just took some photos of my layouts instead.

Here's a few of the pages I have done lately. Nothing special, but I wanted to show some proof that I'm still a scrapper;)

I will be back soon with a nice giveaway...

Basic Grey giveaway

 I'm so sorry that I once again have been missing in action.

I've had family visiting from Sweden and we were trying to see and do everything on Okinawa in two weeks.

Now everything is back to normal again. The kids are doing school and I'm back on Weight Watchers;)

(I have to look hot and skinny when my hubby comes back next month, you see.)

I want to show you some layouts I made a few weeks ago. It's with Basic Grey's line called "Lauderdale".  It has to be one of my all time favorite from Basic Grey. I LOVE bright colors!

 It's perfect for all those summer and beach photos.

Now you can make the same layouts with this Basic Grey kit:

One lucky winner will receive this!

All you need to do is leave a comment to this post and why don't you tell me about the best memory you have from Summer 2011.

My best memory has to be going to Sweden and see my family. We had such a great time for a whole month.

I will draw one random winner next week.See you then:)

Is it just me?

Have you noticed that when you finally have some spare time to scrap, you are totally lacking inspiration?

And when you are swamped and can only dream about scrapping, your mojo is overflowing.

That's the case for me at least.

I hardly have any time to scrap anymore. With hubby being gone and me homeschooling, I'm exhausted at night and rather sleep than be creative.

WHEN I do find some time to scrap, I don't have time to mess around. That's when I use my sketches. I don't have to come up with a design that works; just grab some photos and hopefully find some matching papers.

Here's three examples of my latest layouts. Nothing really good, but hey, I scrapped:)

What's the case for you?

Are you lacking time to scrap or inspiration to scrap?

Maybe you are a lucky one and have plenty of both (I wish).



Leave a comment to this post and I will draw a random winner who will get this gorgeous paper pack from SEI.

What's new?

When I started this blog, I promised myself to only blog about scrapping.
Sometimes that's hard when there's not a whole lotta scrapping going on in my life.
I'm not part of any design teams.
I'm not trying to promote the latest kit from a club.
I can't show off my latest layout that got published in a glossy magazine.
It's just me and all those family photos that I'm trying to get scrapped into an album.

If I hadn't promised myself to keep this blog strictly scrappy, I could tell you about:

1. how I joined Weight Watchers online a month ago, and  how I have lost lbs 10 by doing basically nothing else but counting points (and how fabulous I feel and so much more energetic)

2. or I could go on about homeschooling and what I like and don't like about the curriculum I chose ( and how I'm so happy I made this decision, because I love teaching my kids)

3. or I could go on (and on) about how to survive when your husband is gone ( in a frickin' war) for 7 months and we have just done half of it (and how the only way not to go totally nuts, is to stay busy. See #1 and # 2)


BUT this is a strictly scrapbooking blog, so I will only talk about that.

Many of you have asked if I will have a new design team or new guest designers for my sketches. The truth is that I haven't made up my mind yet. I have only two guest designer left on my list and after that I don't know what I will do.
One thing is for sure. I will keep on doing sketches and if I want someone to help me create with those sketches, I will let you all know here on the blog.


I want to show you my latest layout. I really, really like how it turned out.

I stamped, misted, stitched and used the Cricut.

All the flowers are cut out with a new Cricut cartridge from Close To My Heart (CTMH). And then, they were so smart to make matching stamps to go on top of the flowers.

This "Art Philosophy"  cartridge has 700 shapes, many of which coordinate with the CTMH stamp sets. There are circles, flowers, snowflakes, leaves, tags, cards, 3-D images, ornaments, frames, hearts, acorns, brackets, borders, birds, trees, Christmas trees, flourishes, decorative corners and tabs, arrows, keys, lace images, and a font with a font layer.

When you get this cartridge you also get 3 matching stamp sets and 3 sheets of dimensional elements.
The price for all this is $ 99 and you can only get it from a Close To My Heart consultant. Not from EBay, not from Provocraft or any other website you'd normally buy your Cricut stuff from. 


If you are smart (like me) you will host a CTMH party and you will get it HALF-OFF! Click here to contact my friend who sells CTMH.


That's it for today.
I'll be back soon with a giveaway.
Take care!

My Top Ten list # 9

Another thing I can't scrap without...

# 9 Scrapbook.com

I joined scrapbook.com (Sb.com) in 2006 and that's when I started with scrapbooking.
Back then I didn't know what a layout was, nor patterned paper or embellishments.
I have come a long way since then.
It's thanks to Sb.com that my scrap style has developed into what it is today. That place is just bursting with inspiration, ideas and positive atmosphere!

I have also met so many awesome people there from all over the world and some of them I have met in real life and consider close friends.

Scrapbook.com is not only filled with TONS of inspiration and wonderful people. They have challenges, tips, classes, forum, videos and of course they have the superstore.
Sb.com has decent prices on a huuuge selection of scrapbook brands. Their costumer service is outstanding and the best part is- they ship international!!

I used to hang out at sb.com for hours every day just to look and comment on other peoples creations. Plus I would host monthly challenges.
Today I will pop in there once in a while to see what I'm missing;).

I still use the gallery, mostly as a "storage". Every time I make a new layout I will post it there.
At first I wanted people to comment on my scrapbook pages and give me feedback. Nowadays, I really don't care if others do or do not like my work. Know what I mean? I scrap only for me and my family and that's all that matters.
But hey, if I can inspire someone on the way, of course that's a bonus.

Here's some of my earliest layouts from 2006. Not all that bad, but not all that good either.

If you've never been to scrapbook.com you are truly missing out. It's free to join and I know you will not regret it:
www.scrapbook.com

My top ten list # 8

I'm finally getting around to blogging and I want to start with finishing off my top ten list. "Things I can't scrap without".

I only have a few left and here is:

#8 (My) sketches

I'm not saying that my sketches are better than anybody elses, but I  do like them and there is still so many of them I haven't tried yet.

I print all of my sketches and put them in a soft binder.

I always have them close by and bring them to every crop and retreat.

When your mojo is gone and you haven't scrapped for a while, sketches are a must-have. They give you inspiration and a jump start to your layout.

Here's a few layouts that I made this last week:

The good thing with sketches are that you can use them over and over again. Just twist and turn them and you will have a new version.

My sketches can be found here

and there is plenty of awesome sketch blogs/websites that you can find by using google.

So if you haven't tried it before- scrap with a sketch today-they are all free!

Sketch # 50 /guest designer Kristie Coleman

A month or so late, here is a new sketch and my latest guest designer. Her name is Kristie Coleman and this is what she has to say:

Shortly after the first of my five beautiful children was born, I began my foray in the wide world of scrapbooking. That was back 14 years ago when it was all decorative scissors and stickers. I still love my early scrapbooks but I do fight off the desire to tear them apart to "update" them. I just remind myself that their style is a reflection of that time, and that too, deserves preservation.

 In the last couple of years, scrapbooking has moved from a hobby to a consuming passion for me. Now I happily design my pages in my very own scrap room overlooking my somewhat neglected back garden while my children frolic in our forest. I enjoy designing clean and graphic layouts as well as shabby layouts filled with flowers, inking and distressing. So I guess my style is eclectic. I find inspiration everywhere: photos, family, magazines, menus, photography web sites and in beautiful products. I have been crafty for as long as I can remember but scrapbooking gives me that soul sustaining creative outlet while enabling me to create something of real value for my beloved family.

 

 
 
Here is sketch # 50 that Kristie worked with

 and her fun take on it:

 Here are 4 more fabulous layouts from Kristie's gallery.

Sketch # 49

 Sketch # 29

Sketch # 5

Sketch # 30

I asked Kristie to send me her all time favorite scrapbook

page and I can see why she couldn't choose between these two. They are both so beautifully decorated:

Besides being an awesome scrapper I know Kristie is an awesome mother! I just love how here layouts are filled with love for her family. And I'm amazed that she can ever get any scrapping done with 5 children. I'm thinking that she is one of those super women.

Thanks Kristie for sharing your talent with us. I'm sure we will see more of you in the future:)

Grab blinkie- giveaway!

How are you all doing?

It's a gloomy day here; it's pouring rain ( rain season has started) and my dear husband left this morning ( and will be gone for the rest of the year) so, yes, it's a pretty miserable day:(

Last weekend was good  though, when I went scrapping with my girlfriends. We stayed in a cabin overlooking the ocean and I don't think I went outside once. We scrapped, chatted, ate and watched movies non-stop.

Here's some of the layouts I made:

~

I thought it was time for a new giveaway!

This is for everyone of you that has a blog.

To be in the random drawing you have to do the following:

1.Look for "Grab my blinkie" in the right sidebar.

Copy the text under the blinkie.(Highlight and Ctrl C )

2. Go to dashboard on your blog and click "design".

3.Click "add a gadget" and then scroll down to "HTML/JavaScript".Click +

4.Paste by right clicking.

5. Now you should have a Scrap A Little blinkie on your blog.

6. Come back here and tell me your blog address.

I will show you a photo of the prize shortly:)

~

I just wanted to let you know that I have pulled my kids out of school and started homeschooling. That means I have absolutely NO TIME to myself whatsoever.

Gone are the days when I could scrap,blog and facebook all day long.

If I don't keep up my blog with tutorials and sketches as before, you know that I'm pulling my hair out over some 4th grade mathproblem. Wish me luck on this new adventure...

~

I'll be back soon to show you the giveaway:)

May sketch-Guest designer Sharon Knopic

Welcome to May and the international scrapbook month!
I want to share a new sketch and a new guest designer with you. The latest talented designer is Sharon Knopic and here's a little bit about her:



My name is Sharon Knopic, and I live in Pennsylvania USA - just outside of Hershey (yes, where they make the candy!) I live alone with my two Siamese cats and a dachshund, but am the mother of a wonderful grown son, Joe. I have been scrapbooking for almost two decades now - I began when my mother passed away, and I was "just going to learn enough to put the photos in scrapbooks for my siblings." All the photos still aren't scrapped, because I decided I LOVE this hobby, and have been playing with every technique out there, and made up some of my own which I've taught at several conventions (Great American Scrapbook, Memories Expo). Playing with Helen's sketches and flowers were a wonderful change, and I plan on using them in the future. So I hope you enjoy them as much I did making them.



Incidentally, I did a few pages of current events, season, and even a few "Twilight/Harry Potter" layouts. I am a firm believer we need to stick to the scrapbook idea, and not just make our layouts photo albums. We need to document how we felt when events happen to us that are universal. I truly believe that these are the layouts that generations from now are going to be the most valuable - not so much the picture of "Aunt Mary" or the kids in the sandbox. I try to think how I'd feel if I had the photos I have in my possession taken aboard the Titanic of my uncle scrapped by someone who could write how they felt when it went down. Please keep this as a little thought as you do your pages.


And again - I'm so honored for you to view them, and Helen to have allowed me to post my pages!




And here is sketch # 49...

and Sharon's two creative takes on it:

Here's a few layouts from Sharon, based on my sketches.

This first one from a very recent event-the British royal wedding. Fabulous indeed!

Sharon made my ribbon rose and the layered lace flower as you can see.

Sketch # 41

Sketch # 37

Sketch # 35

In this pretty layout she made my vellum flowers.

 

Sketch # 21

And in this last page Sharon made my origami flowers.

Sketch # 8

Wow! I feel so flattered that she uses so many of my sketches and flower tutorials.

Thanks Sharon for sharing your work with us! It's truly inspiring and I love how you scrap more than just friends and family.