Sketch 202

Hello everyone!!! Happy Memorial Day to those in the US! I am so proud that our nation takes time to remember and recognize those that serve and especially those who have given their lives for our country!

Well it's time for a new sketch! Here it is:

And I have a whole bunch of samples for you today...

Dani--

Jackie--

Jowilna--

Karen--

Lydia--

Rene'--

Sarah E.--

Sarah S.--

Sookie--

And this one comes from our guest designer this month, Jana Eubank--

And for those of you who like two pagers...

Deb--

Catherine--

If you do the sketch, let us know so we can see it! Or better yet, upload it to the Scrapbook Challenges gallery for a chance to win the monthly sponsorship prize (if you post it today it quailifies for the May prize but all layouts for this sketch will also count towards the June prize--deadline June 30th). :)

Have a fantastic Monday!

Scrap and Stamp Catch Up

Sorry, with the blog hop and everything I didn't get this posted until now. If you are here for the OWH blog hop, scroll down! :)

The new challenge at Scrap and Stamp is up! The challenge is to create a scrapbook layout that uses stamps and has flowers! Here's what I made for the challenge.

And here are some close up's...

Those are canvas flowers from Jillibean Soup. I layered them and added some gems from Prima.

I stamped on those letters to make them a bit more unique. :)

The stamps are used are from Unity Stamp Company and the papers, die cuts and chipboard letters are all from Basic Grey.

My sketch post in the morning might go up a bit later then usual...we'll see, I am hoping to sleep in! Like I said...we'll see! :)

Have an awesome day!

OWH Memorial Day Weekend Blog Hop!!!

Hi everyone! Welcome to the OWH Memorial Day Weekend blog hop! If you are just popping in, you can start the hop here or just continue on from here until the end and then start at the beginning! This is my first time ever participating in this! :) In case you don't know what OWH is...Operation Write Home began in 2007 with just a few cards made by friends on a message board; what began as an outlet for a hobby has become a much larger mission to help heroes keep in touch with home - and the effort has been joined by thousands of cardmakers! OWH receives handmade cards donated by crafters across America (and beyond!). And then the cards are sent to heroes deployed abroad (Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, National Guard). What an awesome service this is!

So for this blog hop we are all making a red, white, and blue card, with a "Missing You" theme. Here's my card:

And I thought I would also share this project with you. Me and my boys were making decorations for this weekend. I made a banner saying "Thanks" that I now have strung across my front porch. Here's a picture of that (not on my porch but strung across our shed):

I know it is hard to see that. You can click on it to view it larger. And here are a couple close up's to help you see a little better:

I want to shout a thank you to American families who have given the ultimate sacrifice...to those who have served or are serving...to those that sit at home and wait and pray for their loved ones that are working to protect our great nation. We cannot say thank you enough. Even as I write this, tears are welling up in my eyes. I know several of you wives, and I just don't know how you do it...you too are very brave!

Well I thought I would offer up some blog candy for leaving a comment on this post (btw...I also have blog candy in my post below this!). Here's what one lucky winner will get (I know...it's not patriotic, but it is still fun!):

It is the "Flying High" collection from My Little Shoebox. :) All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and I will draw one random winner after this weekend.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Your next stop on the blog hop is the lovely Linda!

(My son and the flag he made yesterday! It's four sheets of paper that he taped together...thus the wide cross in the middle.)

Supplies for Miss You card:

Cardstock--Bazzill, Paper--Basic Grey, Chipboard--Rusty Pickle (heart) and My Little Shoebox ("u"), Flower and Gems--Prima, Stamp and ink--Stampin' Up!, Trim--Rusty Pickle, Glimmer Mist--Tattered Angels, Pen--Sakura.

Supplies for Thanks banner:

Wooden Houses--Say It With Letters, Chipboard--Rusty Pickle, Papers--Basic Grey, Reminisce and Scenic Route, Cardstock--Bazzill, Fabric Trim--Rusty Pickle, Flowers--Prima Marketing, Glimmer Mist--Tattered Angels, Paint--Making Memories, Wire--Stampin' Up!.

"Away We Go" Giveaway

Ok, I've got one last thing to show you that uses the "Away We Go" line from My Little Shoebox. This time, a card. :) (In case you missed them, you can click here to see a mini album using this line, or here to see a layout that I made using this line).

As you can see, I also used a bit of Glimmer Mist with a Glimmer Screen on my background. :)

And now it is your turn to play with "Away We Go". One lucky person will win this line:

All you need to do is leave a comment on this post by Midnight May 31st. I will draw a winner from the comments. :) Simple as that!

Have a fantastic day!!!

MLS + Punky Sprouts and Tattered Angels

Man, I meant to get this up yesterday, but for the past two days I have been sick! I feel so icky! I hate being sick too, I always have so much to accomplish! So instead of getting much done, I spent the majority of the past two days laying around the house, reading when I could. Course, since I am a SAHM that is pretty difficult, but hubby did help out as much as he could. :)

So My Little Shoebox has teamed up with Punky Sprouts and Tattered Angels and I am so excited to share this mini book with you. It is my first ever Punky Sprouts book...and I love it! The book is called the Punky Love album. I used the "Away We Go" line from My Little Shoebox. And you will see a bit of Tattered Angels thrown in there, including Glimmer Mist, a Glimmer Screen, and some fabulous Bingo cards and labels.

Here it is (there are a lot of pics!):

(ALL pics will return later)

You can always click on any of the images to make them bigger. Well Austin has only two days left of school...today and tomorrow! I can't believe summer is almost here!

Oh btw...I booked my flight for CHA in Chicago!!! :)

Have a fantastic day!

Sketch 201

Hello everyone! Time for a new sketch. :) This one may be a little intimidating for some. I even had a hard time making the sketch...I had this vision in my head and I am not sure that the sketch really ever got there. :) But here it is:

And here are some samples from the fabulous SC girls...

Catherine--

Deb--

Jackie--

Jamie--

Jenn--
Jowilna--

Rene'--

And for those of you who prefer two pagers...

If you use the sketch, let us know, leave a link here in this thread OR for a chance to win our monthly sponsorship prize upload it to the Scrapbook Challenges gallery (deadline May 31st).

Have a fantastic Monday!!!

Scrap and Stamp Saturday

Hello everyone! The challenge over at Scrap and Stamp is up. The challenge is to create a birthday page that includes stamping. This week is sponsored by Meljen's Designs and she gave us a couple of digital stamps to play with. You will see them both on my layout. Here it is...

Everything is from Prima except those two digital stamps. Here are some close up's:

Hope you play along with us. You will find all the details and other samples for the challenge here.

Have a great day!!!

Off we go!!!

So we have been really busy lately...running from one place to another. It reminded me of this magnet that my mom used to have on our refrigerator, it said "If a mother's place is in the home, then why am I always in the car." Isn't that so true? Sometimes we get so busy it seems like we are hardly ever at home. So I thought I would make a page with that saying.

This layout uses the "Away We Go" line from My Little Shoebox. You will see plenty more of this line from me soon. :) I sprayed some "Spring Rain" Glimmer Mist over some of my elements...which I love because it just gives it a light shine and makes it look just a tiny bit "messy". I popped up several things with Helmar Zapdots. I used a Helmar Quick Fix Adhesive Runner to adhere the rest. Here are some close up's:

Seriously, even now I am looking at this and thinking "that is so true!" LOL. Ok, well I am off again!

Have a fantastic Friday!!!

Helmar and Micro Beads

Hello everyone! Today I am going to share a fun, easy technique with you to give your chipboard a one-of-a-kind look (it's what I shared on the Helmar blog yesterday).

What you need:

* Chipboard Piece(s)

* Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive

* Micro Beads

* Paint

Now let's get started:

Take your chipboard piece, and paint it the color of your choice.

After your paint is dry, cover your piece with Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive.

Then cover with micro beads. These should be available at any craft store. Make sure you get the area pretty well covered, and don't be afraid to pour out more then you need because you can always pour the excess back into the container (just make sure that you have a piece of paper behind your chipboard to catch the extra micro beads).

Now just let it dry. Go ahead and walk away and come back later. :) Although this adhesive does dry really quickly. When the adhesive is dry, pick up your piece and tap off all the excess beads onto your piece of paper. Then pour the extra back into the container.

Your piece should look kinda like this:

You can take a sharp object like your craft knife and run it along the edges to knock off any pieces hanging over the side.

Here's a card that I made with my chipboard pieces:

I adhered both the chipboard and the flower to my card with Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive. The paper is adhered using the Helmar Quick-Fix Adhesive Runner and then my little "Thankful for You" piece is actually adhered with a Helmar Zapdot.

People have asked me where to buy these fabulous Helmar products...you can find them here.

Hope you like this technique! Have a fantastic Wednesday! :)

Supplies for "Thankful for YOU" card:

Cardstock--Bazzill, Paper--Jillibean Soup, Chipboard--Magistical Memories, Flower--Prima Marketing, Paint--Making Memories, Adhesive--Helmar, Micro Beads--Stampin' Up!, Ribbon--Rusty Pickle, Computer Program--Adobe Photoshop CS2, Digital Frame and Brush-K. Pertiet, Computer font--Handwriting Dakota.