End of the Year Post:)

So i made it through 2008.

i am happy that we all got through it in one piece.

My DH still has his job, we are still above water financially, the girls are thriving and i am happy.

This year we have been through hospital stays, loss of family members, scary medical moments, scary financial moments and the one thing that had held it all together has been our family bond.

i love this crazy bunch of individuals and wouldn't want to be anywhere else but with them!

Next year we are looking forward to an ACTUAL vacation, a wedding (WOOOOHOOOOO) and lots more of the same craziness that makes our lives so COOL:)

SO here's to the new year. It will most definitely be better AND worse that 2008.....and i welcome it with open arms!

Stampin' Up Only:)

Sketch from www.thescrappingspot.com

Supplies: Paper, Cardstock, embossing powder and stamps: Stampin' Up.

Sketch from the January Ck Insert.

Supplies: Cardstock, paper and hardware: Stampin' Up

Letters: Misc.
Sorry for the wonky scan....i haven;t had time to take pics so i had to scan...BLEH!

Supplies: Cardstock, paper and stamps: Stampin' Up.

Embossing folder: Cuttlebug.

All cards used supplies from Stampin' Up.

I am on a mission to ink up all the stamps, use up all the paper and fill in as many blanks in my scrapbook as i can!

Sketches from the Scrapping Spot:)

Snow pics from last year:) 

Supplies: Pattern Paper: BG Mistletoe and Pear.

Letters and Journal spots: HS

Stamp: Fontwerks

Ink: Versacolor

Ribbon: American Crafts

Chipboard: K&Co.

I do a Tree and Ornament page (or five) every year:)

Supplies:

Pattern Paper: BG MIstle Toe and Pear

Ribbon: American Crafts

Hardware: Stampin' Up

Ink: Versafine

Stamp: Studio G

Finally Christmas, reverse images!

............and then they sit back and enjoy. An actual spontaneous quiet moment caught between Zoe and Devyn. Makes it ALL worthwhile.
The finished product:) Zoe made me add more "colored" lights because the tree is pre-lit with white lights. Ours is not the most coordinated or designer tree, but it is full of wonderful memories that we get to re-live every year:) i LOVE that!
Our precious tree top angel. I is the heart of our tree and though it is OLD and not very fashionable, we LOVE it and would never, ever trade it for another.
The decorating frenzy begins. i TRIED to organize, but the usual chaos kicked in.
so this was the start of the tree. we set it up and were too tired to put up the ornaments:)

Tis the Season:)

.....to be running around like a chicken without a head.

This week we have had so many doctors appointments and errands to run that it has totally thrown off my schedule.

soooooo...though there is no scrappy-ness NOW, there will be soon.

cause i have some AWESOME pictures to scrap!!!!

Card Bonus!

After i was done with my last few projects i finished off the paper scraps with these two very simple cards.

supplies: chloe's closet paper

                 ribbon from the dollar store

                 Studio G dollar stamp.
and i am done for the day:)))))

My scrapping process Part Two:)

4. I add a little of the pattern paper for interest. The way the stamp is designed left a gap in the embossing pattern, so i wanted to cover it up a bit.
5. I added pictures plus embellishments at the end. i used a big title cut out of white cardstock with my cricut to coordinate with the white embossing and to cover up the dead space in the bottom picture. The title also ties all the pictures together visually. I also added a subtitle with a HS word and a little more inking around the edges.
6. The final product. I added a few corners cut with a paper shaper (my favorite tool) and a sticky spot from American crafts at the top to journal. EASY PEASY!
This is what my table looked like after i was done:)

Thanxs for looking and i hope that this even a little bit helpful!

My scrapping process Part One:)

I wanted to share my scrapping process with you. Hope you enjoy a little peek inside my head, so to speak:)

1. I am what i like to call a "backwards" scrapper. i never chose pictures first. weird huh?

i first pull my materials. These just happen to be leftovers from yesterday's scrapping.  Stamping has become a staple on my pages so i make sure i pull EVERYTHING! Sometimes i will work around a particular element, but usually it is just paper and ink at this point.

2. I decide to emboss the edge of the cardstock and since it was pretty light, i chose white embossing powder.
3. After embossing, i inked the edges of the cardstock and my background is finished:)

I LOVE Scrapping Christmas:)

There is something about actually getting Christmas pictures scrapped that is very satisfying. Don't know why...i can be weird like that:)

Supplies: SU Cardstock and ink.

                 Chloe's Closet Cider Day Pattern papers

                 Misc. flowers and  fasteners.

                 Thickers Letters.

                 Stamp: Hampton Art.

 
Look at the little cookie and her proud daddy! This is our oldest on her first Christmas....hard to imagine she is already TWELVE.

Supplies: SU Cardstock

                  CTMH ink

                  Stamps Hero Arts and Studio G

                  MM Label

                  HS tape

                  Paper Bliss embellishment (old,old, OLD!)

                  misc. button and fasteners.  
i saw this challenge somewhere, make a card using just one two inch strip of pattern paper:)

Supplies: SU cardtock

                  BG Stamp and ink CTMH

                  Sentiment Studio G

                  Chloe's Closet P.P.

                   
another SUPER easy card! Just trying to use stuff up.

Supplies: BG stamp and ink CTMH

                  Paper Bliss embellishment

                  Sentiment Studio G

                  Thicker letters.

Thanxs for looking!!!!!!!! Last night was very productive:)

why i am LOVING this color combo:)

I used to be really good at picking and combining colors. a LONG time ago. Things started getting more and more coordinated as far as supplies went, and i started to rely on that more and more. Color Challenges and sketches are TRULY a papercrafter's best friend.

This is my third card with the color challenge from kwerner's blog. LOVESIT!
...and this my friends, is the FOURTH in this series. I am still using mostly SU? kind of?

What a CRAP-tastic day.

It is a dreary, horrid, rainy day here in the NYC.

i am waiting for the last kiddo to get home so i can finish up my color challenge cards.

Everyone who knows me understands how HARD it is for me to leave leftover paper, so i will work those scraps until there is nothing left. 

On the neat-o side though, i finally busted in on the SU cardstock. 

No more hoarding for sure.

I like the colors.

Now i am trying to justify the money i will most likely be spending on the SU spots. 

...cause i need all the colors, you know.

and there's free shipping until the 23rd.

Yup. 

So i did a Kwerner color challenge:)

for this card i used the swiss dots cuttlebug folder, trimtastic SU stamp set, martha stewart binding as ribbon and some BG paper. SUPEREASY! i embossed the stamp image with clear powder.
same BG paper and Kwerner color scheme, plus i embossed the stamp image with white embossing paper.

Think i may do more of these...plus that trimtastic set was UNINKED!!!!

Til the end of the year:)

it will be an ALL SU all the time Blog around here:)

ok, so i have a box of stamp sets, most retired, that i havent inked yet. the time is NOW!

i vow to ink them all UP:)

yup.

that's right.

i am off to start RIGHT NOW!

be back soon!!!!

reduce.reuse.recycle

This is one of my favorite old stuff pages. i used older than my mother chatterbox paper and scenic route letters and even some older foofala letter stickers.
ok.....so i am getting the paper addict jitters.

i want new stuff.

i dont care if i use it or if it is cheap or expensive or even if i have the money:)

but then again, i have to remind myself that i am broke. and that all the stuff i have in my stash was new once. and that given the right pictures, it will all work.

yeah.

it will:)

but SU had free shipping....and i need the stampin spots and some kraft paper.....merry Christmas to MEEEEEEEEEE:)

Twilight...and why some books......

should never, EVER be made into movies. unless Peter Jackson is directing or the late Stanley Kubrick or Tim Burton. and you would film all the movies in a row. and you would get a casting director who knows what they are doing.

seriously.

This movie was B-A-D. with a capital B.A.D.

Robert Pattinson has a lazy eye.  Peter Facinelli looked like a fluorescent light bulb. The love scenes had about as much chemistry as my box of bottled water. Kristen Stewart must have been on xanax throughout the filming because ALL her lines were delivered in the same annoying, monotonous tones. Nikki Reed was horribly miscast...it was just a trainwreck. and the cheesefest that were the flashbacks? UGH. I could go on and on.

SIGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

i had such high hopes for the movie. They were dashed the moment i realized i want them to fall off the tree in the 'let's admire the awesome view from where only a vampire can get you" scene.

but i will say........i REALLY REALLLY want the lipstick shade they used on "Edward". Now that was awesome!

It's all about the KI baby:)

I LOVE fall pictures, but this year we didn't take as many for some reason.  
i have a HUGE pile of KI stuff and i mean HUGE! most of it predates the dinosaurs ( i mean, the color theory lines, LOL). I just finished off these lines over the weekend. 
ahhhhhhhhhh.... i surely DIG the use it up:))))

Last view:)

i have had this Billy bookcase from ikea for YEARSS!!! it holds most of my embellies and stamps in boxes and cd cases. the big wooden box holds all my inkpads so i can just carry it all to the table. The clear plastic boxes are from costco (the cinnamon buns, LOL)...my contribution to keep the Earth GREEN:)
my plastic envelopes for stickers....not pretty, but it works:)
my wood stamps are in this wire thingie and the acrylics are in the album. i am very careful with what i buy and i make sure it is something i can reuse over and over:)

More of my ScrapSpace:)

ok....so my space isn't gorgeous, but it sure gets the job done. i am fortunate enough to have a DH who is very handy. We finished the basement together. the color on the walls is horrible and we are getting it re-painted in the summer. My desk is against the wall so i can prop stuff up. It is just one of those costco tables:) i have my color drawers next to it and my pattern papers in the cropper hopper holders.
I really cut down on the pattern paper during my last purge and kept only the stuff i REALLY loved. I have also used a LOT of it the last few months, cause that's how i roll:)
the holders on my desk are for punches, pens, adhesives finished pages and tools...things i want to make sure don't get lost! i like having the basic supplies on hand.

My Scrap Space:)

this is my cutting area. i repurposed a kitchen island from upstairs and used it for my cricut and sizzix. I don't have many dies or cartridges, but having them all in one spot comes in handy:) I have a few trays containing my 12x12 papers and all the dies live happily in the top drawer.

The First Noel:)

ok....so i used REALLY old stuff on this page....both paper and pictures.

i used pattern paper from K&Co. and Autumn Leaves, plus stickers (YES, i said stickers) from autumn leaves. stamp from hero arts and ink from ctmh.

Lately i have found myself getting reacquainted with older tools....especially my square punches. i am trying to fit as man pics in one page as i can, so it sure does come in handy.

Plus i have been breaking out the old stamps and inkpads....makes me happy for some reason:)

keeping the use it up going.

about 6 months ago i decided to not pursue design teams or getting published. it was the best thing i ever did:)

so now i am scrapping fully from my stash and the little odds and ends i pick up from michaels and other local stores with 40% coupons. 

i have also come to LOVE sketches and use lots of them from different places...cause you don't always have tons of inspo. and things need to get done.

another thing that has helped me a LOT is implementing the Library of Memories system into my scrapbooking and not going back and forth from 8.5x11 to 12x12. i am dong strictly smaller sizes.

....and doing old pictures? the best thing EVAH! i am rediscovering things i had forgotten a LOOOONGG time ago!

Christmas is around the corner:)

and i am busy scrapping the holidays:)