life needs more half days & happy hours.

I recently got an order from Unity Stamp Co & this was one of the stamps I ordered that I've been dying to use. How true is this?! 

I am not good at following sketches but I was inspired by this sketch at Sketch N Scrap for my card.

I used some older October Afternoon (Sugar Shack) label stickers & a Studio Calico mask with (Doris) Mister Huey's. I also grabbed a Freckled Fawn arrow wood veneer & used moss lawn Prima chalk ink on it. My sentiment is stamped with onyx Versafine ink.

what I'm looking forward to from CHA summer releases...

•  I'm not typically a huge Cosmo Cricket fan but the Creative Girl collection is so girlie & pretty. Especially loving these two patterned papers:

• Glitz Design can do no wrong in my eyes but they hit it out of the park with the Finnley collection. Love the color combinations & the designs are so modern.

• MME is introducing a chalkboard collection called Chalk Studio. I'm a fan of MME & I think this line is super modern but I also think the stickers & embellishments seem more usable than the full 12x12 chalkboard patterned papers.

 

• Pink Paislee's Sentiment Series will be a huge hit. Labels & icons are so "in" right now. I love this entire collection.

• Because everyday eclectic by Allison Kreft/Echo Park was my favorite collection to date, I think I will also love the Allison Kreft/Webster's Pages Recorded collection.

 

• Lastly, We R Memory Keepers is releasing their Chalkboard line. (Oddly enough, I think I like it better than the MME line) 

Stencil

Sketcbook

embossed stickers

Vday 2013 using 'love knots' Gelatins Stamps.

Valentine's day in July?! I'm only five months late! Well, I don't scrapbook in chronological order so it's ok with me.

For this layout, I used the SC Wildberry Court kit + the Love Knots stamps from Gelatins Stamps. I love this stamp SO much. I used tin can Prima chalk ink on black cardstock for a really striking, pretty stamp impression.

The focus of the layout is not a photo, but of the little card that my bf put in my flowers for Valentine's day this year.

I added a couple of Chic Tags "love note" mini tags + a wood arrow from Freckled Fawn (inked with raspberry pie Prima chalk ink) & the Potty People wood veneers from Studio Calico.  

I also added a couple of other stamps... the ampersand stamp & the "me + you" stamp are from the SC Wildberry Court kit. I used raspberry pie Prima chalk ink & Versafine onyx ink for those. The 'you & me..." is a Unity stamp, also stamped with the raspberry pie Prima chalk ink.

Home.

Our SC kits are shipping late this month & this is giving me some time to use up some stuff from my stash. I found a sketch on the Elle's Studio blog & I was inspired by the color challenge at Scrap Much? Here's what I came up with: 

 

The papers & enamel dots are My Mind's Eye & the labels are Elle'sStudio. Freckled Fawn makes the wood veneers. I used the Memories of Home Technique Tuesday stamp set with Prima chalk inks in farmer jeans (house) & tin can ("Home"). I used teal damask Prima chalk ink to color one of the wood veneer arrows & farmer jeans for the other.

Love to Scrap! also has an anything goes challenge going on right now - you can use any stamp on any project.

Sketch N Scrap winner!

I just saw on the Sketch N Scrap blog that I was the winner for the June sketch contest! 

Here was my layout...

Their July card sketch challenge has been posted &you can see the sketch HERE.

happy tails to you [Gelatins Stamps card].

I've used the Cosmo Pups Gelatins Stamps set this week.These doggies are so cute!

I used some papers from teh 6x6 Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm paper pad & a resistable chipboard heart from Pink Paislee. The sentiment is stamped with tin can Prima chalk ink onto a chalk label from American Crafts. The pups are stamped with Versafine onyx black ink which gives such a great, crisp impression.

JBZ. [LCOM sketch #27]

I used my June Studio Calico kit, Roundabout + an SC mask, Chalkboard Glimmer Mist (seven seas), & some Prima chalk inks (English ivy & garden grass). I also grabbed some Glitz tape from a previous SC kit. Here's the sketch we used:

& here's my layout:

Our July Prize

Our July prize is a 10$ gift certificate to the LCOM store and a copy of new Summer issue of Scrapbook and Card Today magazine!

How to Play Along: 

1. Make a newly created project using the provided sketch and upload it to your blog or online gallery.

2. Then leave a link to your project using the Inlinkz widget. Please use a direct link to your LCOM Sketch post and not just your blog address.
3. If you upload to online galleries, please also use tag/keyword LCOM27. LCOM products are NOT required to participate, and you can enter as many times as you want. If you don't have a particular shape indicated in the sketch, feel free to substitute.
4. There is no time limit - you can always play any week at any time, but the linking form will close on the last day of the month at 8:00pm (Atlantic Standard Time) to allow us to find a prize winner.

my brother bought a house | celebrating the 4th.

My brother bought a house last month & has gotten all his appliances & is getting settled in. Mom & I went over (with the dogs) today to celebrate Independence day with a little cook out & some curtain hanging. 

I made him get out in front of the house so we could take a good photo & make moving announcements to send to family. I always get texts from my aunt & my grandma asking what his address is round his birthday & Christmas.

I made the photo cards on Shutterfly & also ordered some prints. I cashed in my Coke rewards points for 25 free prints!

Stationery Card

View the entire collection of cards.

June running stats.

Run Distance: 21.18 miles

Run Time: 3:29:30 min 

Total Time: 3:29:30 min 

This was my second biggest running month of the year. In April I ran 27.24 miles so I'm getting back on track with where I was in April before my heel injury. I'm building back up to running 2 - 3 miles (hopefully at least) three days a week. I am feeling better running over two miles & once I hit the two mile marker, I get a second wind & want to run longer/further.

live*laugh*love*

Elle's Studio had a sale last week so I placed an order to grab some of their summer tags & pennants. Can't get enough of their cute tags.Then I saw this sketch & decided to play along.

Here's what I came up with using a photo from our Michigan trip in May...

I used the Studio Calico Wildberry Court kit (which is possibly my favorite kit to date!) + Glitz washi (yellow anchor) from another SC kit & the pink "today" card is Echo Park Everyday Eclectic. My Pink Paislee chipboard hearts are inked with Prima chalk ink in raspberry pie & coldsfoot petals.

The photo was taken at Window on the Waterfront (but there was no water) during the Tuliptime Festival at the beginning of May. It was our last day in town so we picked B up from boarding & headed back there to try to get a "family photo."

I woof you [card].

Hello! I'm sharing a cute little puppy card created with the Cosmo Pups stamps set from Gelatins Stamps. You can see this stamp set HERE.

This is the card I made:

Go. See. Do. [LCOM sketch challenge #25]

Time for LCOM sketch challenge #25! Also known as the time I volunteered as a teacher's assistant at CKC. Here's the sketch I used & since it was pretty simple, it left a lot of room for creativity. 

 Here's my layout, which I changed to 8.5x11 size.

I did 1 1/2 classes for Lickety Split Scrapbooks. The first class was finishing up Disney/Micky Mouse layouts & the second class made gifts (a dvd holder, a giftcard holder, etc). The second class I did was so much fun. Nicole Harper taught it & it a travel mini album. She was a really great teacher, so nice & funny too. Long story short, if you get the chance to volunteer, it was a fun time. Your "payment" is free admission to the exhibits & a $20 credit to use in the CK event booth.

Now you should go stop by the LCOM blog & see what the other girls did with the sketch!

welcome little one.

It's the season for babies! Kim Kardashian recently gave birth to her little girl & Kate Middleton is due next month. I have two friends due in September so I figure it's time to start making some cards for them! 

 This stamp set is Gelatins Little Buddies stamp set.

You cannot get more simple than this card. A couple of leftover pieces of paper + American Crafts ribbon. Plus is a neutral color scheme so it works for a baby boy or girl!

American Golden Eagle.

When we were in Michigan last month, we visited the zoo in Grand Rapids. We were there for several hours & it was 'feeding time' shortly before we left. We stumbled upon the American Golden Eagle kind of by mistake. There was construction in part of the zoo & so sections were closed. We didn't know the Eagle exhibit was down the path & was open until we literally walked into it. 

The Golden Eagle is not as majestic as the Bald Eagle but is still beautiful in its own way. What was not so beautiful was that they (there were two in the exhibit) were eating rats. At any rate, we stood & watched them for several minutes. I imagine their feathers are quite gorgeous when the sunlight hits them just right. 

This is based on a sketch from Sketch n Scrap HERE.

King's island 1995. [Gelatins Stamps + Xyron]

Hi! I'm sharing a layout today from a 1995 vacation to King's Island. My mom & grandma took my brother & I. The photos are not the best quality but I found a couple of all of us that were pretty good. I have been a fan of the Press A Penny machines since I was little & collect them wherever I go. I found one from our King's Island visit. It's actually a quarter, but the same idea.

I used the Happiness stamp set from Gelatins Stamps today. It's the dot border from the set, which I stamped multiple times & made a patterned paper. The ink is Prima chalk ink in English Ivy.

We (at Gelatins Stamps) have teamed up with Xyron this month & I have some awesome products to try! I haven't used any Xyron products before but this Create-a-Sticker machine is something I've had my eye on for a while. I didn't realize how inexpensive it was! & I got the zebra patterned one, which I love! Anyhow, I used it create a sticker out of the pressed quarter! How fun is that?!

Stop by the Gelatins blog to see other project using our stamps with Xyron products!

Other supplies are label stickers from Jillibean Soup, the quote sticker from Teresa Collins, the wood veneer tag from Amy Tangerine. The background paper is Basic Grey. From my June SC kit... the 'adventure' stamp & Simple Stories chipboard stickers.