Happy Birthday, Judy!

Judy and I have been friends since 1st grade! This card uses the new Spiced Curry and Rich Razzleberry in-colors and the Razzleberry Lemonade DSP. I really like how it turned out and love the new butterfly and modern label punches!

A Big Thanks!

A big thanks to everyone for their kind words and encouragement! After I completed three surgeries in three months for my eye--and was unable to salvage the vision in it, my husband ended up in the hospital for 19 days and had two surgeries of his own.

He was diagnosed with Grave's Disease and Myasthenia Gravis. He has been home from the hospital for several weeks and is finally able to go back to work part time. He's still being fed from a tube in his stomach, but he is also able to swallow some things, and the list of foods he can swallow is growing.

I couldn't have made it without his family's willingess to take over with his 24/7 care and give me some rest.

Now I'm back at work full time and enjoying being in my new classroom with my students. We're getting geared up to start making the items for our craft fairs, and I can't wait to post some of them here on my blog.

Flower Fantasia!

This was the option I gave those who wanted more "girly" pages! I'll probably use them to scrap the multitude of pictures my husband took of our Crepe Myrtles since they are different shades of pink. With all the extra rain this summer, their blooms really took off!

Once again I used Basic Black for the background paper. The photo mats are Whisper White and Rose Red. The large flowers are Regal Rose.

I just love how the Basic Black background makes everything pop! And the flower punches add just enough embellishment without being overwhelming. I can't wait to finally put my pictures on these pages!

Out of This World!

These are pages I made at a workshop in May! I finally got my digital camera charged up so I could share the pictures!

The hostess knew some of her friends weren't big stampers (imagine that!), so I focused on the quality of our cardstock and our fun punches.

I'm planning to use these pages for a field trip my 7th graders took to the Planetarium, but I offered them as an option for those with little boys. I used Basic Black for my background paper, Summer Sun and Pumpkin Pie for my photo mats, and Pacific Point for the planets.

These pages would look really sharp with our new in-colors: Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, and Bermuda Bay!

More Razzleberry Lemonade

This card uses two of my favorite prints from the Razzleberry Lemonade DSP. I just love purples and pinks together, and I think the addition of Crushed Curry really made the flowered pattern pop! I used Crushed Curry cardstock for my base, the strip of eyelet, and the sentiment. I really had fun with my punches on this card, too. I used the ticket corner punch on the DSP, the eyelet border punch, and our new modern label punch for the sentiment. Isn't it a cool shape? The ink for the sentiment is Melon Mambo. I'm already in love with that color!

Just a Little Thanks!

Thanks to those who sent such kind responses after my last post! My third surgery was yesterday, and at the follow-up appointment today, the surgeon told me things went "as expected." The main purpose of this surgery was to remove the cataract that had developed after the second surgery and prepare my eye for the final surgery later this month.

I'm so excited about the new catalog launching today! Don't you just love the new in-colors? Since purple is my favorite color, I was very happy for the Rich Razzleberry cardstock that I used as the base for this card. I also stamped the sentiment in Rich Razzleberry on Whisper White cardstock and matted it on the new, Crushed Curry cardstock.

The DSP on the card comes from the Razzleberry Lemonade pack and also showcases the new in-colors Melon Mambo and Dusty Durango. I love the variety of patterns in this DSP pack, so you'll definitely be seeing more of it!

New Catalog

Can't wait for the new catalog to go online next Wednesday!

I've made several cards using the new products and can't wait to share them with you. Most of them are thank you cards since that's what I've needed.

For those of you who don't know, I've been off-line since the end of March due to health issues. I had surgery in April and again in May to try to preserve the vision in my left eye. I have another surgery scheduled next Tuesday and one more in July. After that, we will have done all we can do.

I was worried about how the loss in vision would affect my crafting, but so far, I've been able to focus on small projects. I haven't tackled a double-page spread, yet, but the new in-colors and DSPs are already inspiring me to try.

I look forward to sharing my creations with you!

Last Christmas Layout--for Awhile!

This is another Christmas layout I made at the retreat. It's also based on a sketch I used for one of my birthday layouts.

The layout uses some of the DSP from the holiday mini catalog, and I borrowed my friend's Cricut to cut the title again.

I haven't journaled, yet, because I have a lot I want to say and need to type my feelings to fit them all in the box on this page. I like the way this layout uses the Ticket Corner punch to give it a different look. I need to use that punch more often!

Christmas Album Cover Page

This is the cover page for my Christmas album. It's yet another variation of the page I made with the Raspberry Tart DSP for my goddaughter's photo and with the Candy Lane paper for my birthday pictures. I'm just in love with this page map! I used papers from the Holiday Mini for this page and layered some Felt Flurries for my embellishment. I'm also beginning to wonder how I ever survived without my lace border punch. I hope we get more border punches like this when the new catalog comes out this summer. Like all my pages, this one is 12 x 12, but this page map could easily be scaled down to fit a smaller page--especially since the Felt Flurries came in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Holiday Treasures Layout #2

This is the second layout I made with the Holiday Treasures DSP. I left room for a title and subtitle as well as a little journaling.

I love the way the poinsettia DSP goes with the plaid, and I just had to use some of the Chocolate Chip 1/4 in. grosgrain ribbon instead of matting the poinsettia paper for a little extra shine.

I also added round tabs in the plaid paper and centered each tab with a circle fire brad for more "blingability." Now I just need to find the perfect Christmas pictures for the pages!

Holiday Treasures Layout #1

Everyone loved the patterned poinsettia paper that came in the Holiday Treasures DSP. It was so much fun to make pages with that I tried to make it go as far as possible. The photo mats on this layout were perfect for the out takes I found when sorting my pictures.

The left-hand page was originally designed for the poinsettia DSP to go on the left side with room at the top for a title. But since I had two vertical shots, I flipped the page, numbered my photos, and plan to journal in the blank spot to the right.

I used a friend's Cricut to cut my title and numbers out of Pink Pirouette card stock. I really like the way it looks with the flowers and lightens the feel of the layout.

Christmas in March?

I can't believe my spring break is almost "sprung"! It started off at a scrapbooking retreat in Dixon, Texas. This was our first time to go there, and we had a blast! There was a lot more cropping space than our previous location, plus each bedroom had its own private bath. Wow!

Believe it or not, but this was the first time the people who ordered my 20 page Christmas kit had a chance to get together and make their pages! This is another double-page spread I created from the I Wish Simply Scrappin' Kit. These kits are definitely the best bargain around.

The left-hand side uses the I wish . . . title from the kit.
The right-hand side uses the stickers from the kit that tells what I wish for!

Pink Flamingo Layout #1

My best friend and her husband just got back from a cruise to the Bahamas, so I ordered the Pink Flamingo DSP to use in her scrapbook. All I can say is "Wow!" Some of the patterns look like they were cut from the back of Tom Selleck's shirts when he starred on Magnum P.I. !

The flower embellishments are the new Sizzix Embosslits dies. I love how they both emboss and cut out the image for you. So-o-o-o-o simple to use! The three dies that are shown here are SU! exclusive. I layered the SU! Real Red Cherry Blossom die-cuts on top of the Summer Sun Simple Flower ones and alternated them with Tempting Turquoise Flower Burst images. The borders still didn't look "finished" to me, so I punched holes with my retired 1/4 in. circle punch and added them for a little extra pop!

I'm not sure how I ever scrapped without the Stampin' Up Sizzix Top Note die! I added parts of it to each border in Tempting Turquoise so I can add a title when I get Judy's pictures, and she can do a little journaling. I hope she likes the completed pages!

Celebrate You Candy Lane Layout

I liked the layout I made for my goddaughter so much that I decided to use the sketch again to make more birthday pages with the Candy Lane DSP. I replaced the flower embellishment with the circular Celebrate You stamp from the Party Hearty set and put a pink rhinestone brad in its center. I also added three small pink rhinestone brads under the photo mats.

Since this isn't going to be framed to stand alone, I made this page to go on the right-hand side with more leftover DSP scraps. I also tore the papers at the bottom of the journaling block to mimic the torn paper on the opposite side, and I punched two small circles to continue the circular theme.

This is how the pages look when they're put together. The colors are more striking in real life. The flash bleached out the DSP on the left-hand side. I can't wait to get use these pages at the scrapbooking retreat I'm going to next weekend.

Embellished Raspberry Tart Layout with Photo

Right after I finished making this page, my goddaughter, Kayla, sent me this black and white photo for my birthday. It was perfect for this layout. I added her name with a Sizzix alphabet, made two more flowers with the fire red circle brads, and added stitching with my white gel pen. When it was done, I framed it in a glossy black frame. She'll be so excited when she sees it, and I'll get to enjoy looking at it every day!

Raspberry Tart Single Layout

Last weekend I took an online class with this page map. I used the patterns of Raspberry Tart DSP I hadn't tried, yet. This shabby chic type page isn't my normal style, but I liked the way it worked. Tomorrow I'll post the finished page with my god daughter's picture.

Birthday Blasts

You may have noticed recently that I've made quite a few birthday pages. As soon as my pictures are ready, I'll be using them and making even more!

My birthday was last Saturday, so two of my classes threw me birthday parties on Friday, and one of them threw a party on Monday. There was so much good food I almost feel like auditioning for a Rolaids commercial!

While everything was wonderful, my favorites were the home-made flan Angelica brought to the first party (I'm a flan addict!), the sliced barbecue soft tacos with cilantro and green sauce Yesenia brought to the second party (I'm a BIG fan of green sauce), and the cake and ice cream Tucker brought to the third party that also included a petite cake for me to take home and share with my husband. Isn't it cute?

Raspberry Tart Layout #3

Putting this layout together was so much fun! I challenged myself to use the DSP and Rose Red cardstock scraps from my previous layouts, and this is what I came up with.

Textured Kiwi Kiss cardstock became my base, and although you can't tell it in these photos, the strips made from the new Lace Border punch are actually DSP in Rose Red with a light pattern on it.

I love the way the scraps made me leave my comfort zone and try something different! Even my photo mats are odd sizes for me, and I've tried not to crop and fix all my photos before I print them so I can experiment. To finish it off (before I add pictures, a title, and journaling), I used my Round Tab punch to make embellishments from the other side of the DSP. After this experience, I definitely think scraps rock!

Raspberry Tart Layout #2

I'm still in love with the Raspberry Tart DSP and the SU! exclusive Sizzix Sweetest Stem Embosslit die. The die was made to match the Raspberry Tart paper and really embellishes it well.

While this page may look like it has strips of the DSP on it, I actually used strips of the Real Red textured cardstock to divide the DSP because I happened to have them left over from another project. This particular DSP has white in it so I decided to use Whisper White as my photo mats. I also used Stampin' Dimensionals to pop the die-cut flowers.

I left room on the right-hand side to put my title, and I may do my journaling with the awesome SU! white gel pen. I think it would look really good written on the red cardstock strips on both pages. Tomorrow I'll post the pages I made from the scraps of the first two layouts!

Raspberry Tart Layout #1

After working with the peaceful tranquility of the SAB Designer Series Papers, I decided I was ready for something different! The new Raspberry Tart DSP is bursting with juicy colors: Kiwi Kiss, Real Red, Rose Red, Cameo Coral, and Pretty in Pink. I'd already been warned by fellow demos at SCS that a little goes a l-o-n-g way, so for my first layout I chose one of the more subtle Kiwi Kiss designs and threw in one of the brighter DSPs for embellishment.

The DSP I used for embellishment also gave me a chance to use my new SU! exclusive Sizzix embosslit, Sweetest Stem. If you've never used an embosslit, they are amazing! They cut and emboss at the same time! How easy is that?

And to add a finishing touch, I used my build-a-brads and punched one of the little flowers out of the DSP to accent inbetween the embossed stems. Voila! What an easy accent to make to tie everything together.

SAB Layout #4

I saw a magazine layout that used 2 x 2 squares and thought I'd try it, but the pattern didn't work for my pictures, so I came up with this instead.

I put a title strip on the left and made the mat large enough to hold two photos. I also used the new SU! lace border punch and like how the lace edge compliments the old-timey feel of the quilt squares. I also used my 3/4 in. circle punch to make buttons and put them on Stampin' Dimensionsals so they wouldn't interfere with photo placement later.

I didn't get the idea to use the new lace border punch until I'd already glued the mats down on this page, but I didn't let that stop me! I just made lace edges to attach to the photo mats and used the Bashful Blue cardstock to cover where the two pieces of Whisper White came together. I liked the look so much that I used it on the other page as well. I hope you're enjoying the pages I'm making with the SAB paper; it is so versatile!

Good Morning Sunshine Layout #1

When I received my Good Morning Sunshine paper in my order last week, I'd planned on making a layout with the retro-flowered paper first. Even though green is one of my favorite colors, the Kiwi Kiss and Summer Sun used in this DSP were a bit over powering for me!


Then I got the idea of matting with Pacific Point, and it all came together. Especially when I realized I could replace the centers of the pears with 1/4 in. Pacific Point circles! That gave me the excuse to use my favorite SU! white gel pen to make the seeds and also add a little Whisper White card stock for contrast. I love how the blue and white pop on the page! I even used Stampin' Dimensionals so my punched pear would stand out.

The mat on this page holds two 4 x 6 photos. I included two more punched pears on Stampin' Dimensionals for embellishments and half of the SU! exclusive Sizzix Top Note die for my title box. My new SU! exclusive Sizzix Billboard alphabet strip has really been getting a work out since it came in. I used it to make my title letters.

SAB Layout #3

This layout is based on a Becky Fleck page map in the January/February issue of Memory Makers magazine. It's definitely more labor intensive than my previous layouts, but I love how it show cases so many SU! products.

This side uses the new lace border punch, Sizzix Scallop #2, the Boho Blossoms punch, the SU! exclusive Little Leaves Sizzix die, and the SU! exclusive Billboard Alphabet Sizzix strip die. I also used the retired SU! 1/4 in. circle punch and wish I'd ordered extras since it makes the perfect faux brads around the right-hand side of the scallop.

This side also uses the Little Leaves Sizzix die to create the vine image, the Boho Blossoms punch, the 1/4 in. circle punch for the flower centers, the lace border punch, the Billboard Alphabet strip die, and the beautiful SAB So Saffron ribbon. I really love how the blue-patterned SAB Designer Series Paper makes the flower centers pop. Now I can't wait for spring to get here so our yellow roses will start blooming and I can add their pictures to these pages!