Guest blogging on ScrapbookSteals!

Wow -- it has been a long time since I've blogged! A lot has changed in recent months, and I feel very honored to now be the buyer for ScrapbookSteals.com! As you may know, I've had a long time love affair with all of the Steal Network's daily deal sites, but never in my wildest dreams when I first found them did I think I'd ever be buying all those amazing products that come up for sale on my favorite website! It's been a few months now, and I feel like I'm finally in a groove.

That was when Kristy asked me if I'd guest blog. :) How could I say no?

Bo Bunny's Blast Off collection is so cute! It was perfect for Brock's Halloween pictures when he dressed as an astronaut monkey. The papers have all these cute little monkeys floating around in space. It also has so many cute layered and chipboard stickers that are prefect for adding dimension. This layout may be a little busy (much like Brock), but I really like it!

Then, I saw this picture from a few years ago at Lagoon (our local amusement park) with Jack and Brock on one of their favorite rides. The colors and the space ship could not have gone better with this collection. I love when after years of searching, I finally find the prefect collection to scrapbook a favorite photo!

The take note journaling tags are such a fun part of the kit. I love the torn edges and the cute shapes. And it forced me to hand write some journaling, which I'm not always good at doing, but I think it will be a special memory for my kids down the road.

I really fell more and more in love with Blast Off the more I worked with it. Thanks Kristy - it was my pleasure! This collection can be purchased today on scrapbooksteals.com!

Time for cards! (Monday Card Madness)

My dear friend and co-worker at Steal Network, Krisy, asked me if I'd like to do the sketch for Monday Card Madness for this week! Creating sketches for others to follow is always nerve wracking - but I like how this one came together! The kit I used was Pebbles Mr. & Mrs., and I was a little worried that with such straight lines and the stripes, it might seem too informal for a wedding themed kit. I think it worked out well, though!

Here is the sketch I came up with:

There were so many cute embellishments in the kit that I had a hard time deciding which to use - so, I made several cards and used a little bit of everything! :)

I made one other, but forgot to take a picture of it before I sent it off! I hope it brings my friend a little joy for her upcoming wedding!

Just add Water (Topaz #3)

I love guest sketcher week at ScrapbookSteals! It's always so exciting to find out who the next guest will be and see what their sketch looks like! And having become pretty good friends with most of the girls makes it that much more fun!

Here's the sketch Kristina came up with for Topaz #3:

I immediately found these pictures from one of our visits to the pool this summer and wanted to use them! What better papers than Echo Park's Splash collection! I finished the left hand page, and decided I wanted to make it a two page layout, so I made some slight changes and added the right side page. It feels a little flat and I wish I could think of a way to add more dimension. I love the colors though and am happy with it!

A day with the animals (SS Topaz #2)

 This is the second ScrapbookSteals layout of year 2!

As I was flipping through my pictures, deciding what to scrap, I found these pictures from a couple of months ago and had the exact right number of pictures - so I decided to go for it based on that! The papers seemed obvious for a zoo layout, but I still had a hard time deciding which of the My Mind's Eye Alphabet Soup papers to use. It feels a little plain, and isn't my favorite page ever, but I'm happy to have another completed layout!

Happy Together (SS Topaz #1)

The start of a new year of scrapbooking as begun! And what a gorgeous layout to begin with!

I just picked up the My Mind's Eye Stella & Roze Hazel collection off ScrapbookSteals and couldnt' wait to use it! I love this picture of my mom and daughter and have been wanting to scrap it for quite a while. It went beautifully with these papers, and it all flowed and came together so easily! The most difficult part of this layout was coming up with the right thickers to use! 

I've seen these beautiful zipper trim flowers on Maya Road's facebook page and watched their youtube tutorials several times - and was completely delighted with I realized that some zipper trim was included with this kit! I knew immediate that I wanted to make a zipper trim flower with it - and I love how it came out! I am in love with this collection and with this layout!

we love Swoop! (MWM 52)

I can't believe it's been a year of ScrapbookSteals' Midweek Mojo! I've completed all 52 layouts (and then some)! I love that they started this weekly sketch challenge, and am so happy about the amount of finished pages I have becuase of the inspiration!

This sketch was done by Erin Colby! Her layout was so so cute!

Here's my take on it! I used a mix of Echo Park Country Drive, Echo Park Playground, & Echo Park For the Record! And I found those Thickers with "stitching" around the edges of them a couple months ago and am in love with them! So much fun!

It's my party! (mwm 51)

I wasn't sure how I felt about this sketch at first (sorry Kristy!)... but I'm so glad I did it! I changed a couple of things, and really like how my layout turned out.

A friend was talking about Echo Park's Life is Good, and I mentioned that I have the collection, but hadn't ever touched any of it! At that point, I decided I was going to use it - even though it isn't normally what I would use. I really like how it all came together! And I don't think it looks that different from my normal style! I really do like these papers! (How could I not, after all - they are Echo Park!!)

Ride, beautiful

So, I'm really not in love with the title on this page... but nothing was coming to me. I was in a crafty mood and this sketch layout sitting on my table. I don't remember where I got it, but I decided to use it! I've had these Three Bugs in a Rug papers for quite some time and had not touched a single one of the papers. I still think this feels like it is missing something, but for the life of me, I can't figure out any way to make it look better. I love the pictures and this memory!

celebrating our independence (MWM 49)

Here is yet another awesome Kristy Lee sketch. I love small pictures! I can't believe I used to be afraid to cut my pictures! Sometimes it just needs to be done! lol

We had such a fun 4th of July this year - it made doing this layout that much more fun! I mixed some Echo Park Metro Dots & Stripes with Piggy Tales Yankee Doodle papers, and love how well the worked together! I think I've used bakers twine on nearly every layout since I first got it - and I love it every time!

Take time to smell the flowers

A friend posted this sketch on her blog - and I decided to do it! You can check out Carrie's blog here: http://carrieoncrafts.com/

Such a cute sketch! I used a mix of Echo Park Little Girl & My Mind's Eye Fine & Dandy/Tickled Pink. Those two are definitely my favorite paper manufacturers! I have a hard time resiting any of their stuff!

Watch Out.. for that car (MWM 47)

I've had a little bit of catching up to do since I started working and have significantly less crafting time! This is a few weeks late, and several months after the accident happened!

Brock was at our neighbor's birthday party, and was running from their car into their house. He didn't notice the car in front of him had an open door, and he ran full speed into the edge, gashing his head open. We had a plastic surgeon stitch him up, and I'm so glad we insited! He told us that Brock had severed a muscle in his forehead, and if it hadn't been fixed correctly, he would have had a permanent dent in his forehead. Brock was mostly afraid of getting the shot to numb his head - but he didn't even know when it was done! :)

I used My Mind's Eye Alphabet Soup (boy) papers, thickers (with their own stitching), and the star border is cut from my circut!

Another day in Paradise - MWM 50

Here is ScrapbookSteals' mid week mojo 50. Such a great sketch (as usual!)

I used some kraft cardstock, Echo Park Splash papers & stickers, along with some Thickers and pebbles chips! It isn't my favorite finished layout - but at least it's another page done!

Look WHOO graduated!

I didn't follow a sketch for this layout - which is probably why is pretty plain and simple. But I adore this picture of Brock! And my darling ScrapbookSteals friend Heather came up with the idea to use "whoo" in the title! Such a brilliant idea!

The paper is My Mind's Eye: Fine and Dandy/True Blue. I used thickers for the "whoo" in the title, and Authentique tiny type letters for "look" & "graduated."

Cheese! mwm 48

Here is the mid week mojo 48 sketch! Another fabulous creation by Kristy Lee! Every layout I've seen done from this sketch is totally amazing! It speaks to what a great sketch it is!

I had just gotten the My Mind's Eye: Fine and Dandy/Tickled Pink collection from ScrapbookSteals, and couldn't wait to use it! This background paper normally really scares me, but it was perfect for this sketch! And it took so much work out of creating an amazing layout! I couldn't be more happy with how it turned out! This picture was taken the day of June's third birthday party (just a couple of days after her birthday). I love her smile! :)

My Love (MWM 46)

I know I say this all the time, but I really love this Mid week Mojo! I ended up straying from the sketch a little more than I would have liked to, but I'm okay with how it turned out!

I used My Mind's Eye Union Square papers - which I almost passed up buying. I'm SO glad I got them! They are really gorgeous papers! I wouldn't have chosen "my LOVE" for my title if the "LOVE" wasn't already in the bottom corner - but I'm okay with that too! These papers are so pretty that I had a hard time cutting into them! But I'm so glad I did! What good are papers sitting in a big plastic envelope, after all?

Your Smile [makes me smile] - ScrapbookSteals MWM 45

It was guest sketcher week again at ScrapbookSteals! This time, the sketch was from Lisa Zubritsky, who has only been scrapbooking for about a year! All of her layouts are gorgeous! I love how different this sketch is!

These papers are technically part of a girl kit from My Mind's Eye (Delightful), but I think they're great for boys too! Sure, there is a little bit of pink, but that doesn't bother me! This picture is from 2006, and every time I see it, it brings a smile to my face! I knew I wanted to scrap it, and was so happy when I found that I already had it printed so I could get to work right away! I've been loving all of the pinwheels lately, and thought they'd be a great alternative to stars and buttons for boy layouts (since cute embellishments for boy pages are so hard to come by) - they were SO easy to make! You just cut a square (my biggest is 3x3, the medium is 2.5x2.5, and the small is 2x2), then cut from each corner diagonally toward the center (but not all the way to the center), and then fold one side of each cut in to the middle and glue the middles down! I used some of my Twinery twine, some thickers with distressing crackle paint on them, & my We R Memory Keepers heart attack distressing tool on all of the paper pieces! I really love how this layout turned out! Thanks for such a fun sketch, Lisa!

(A little late) 3rd time... a charm? - mwm 41

I can't remember now what was going on the week of mid week mojo 41 - I think maybe training for work? Anyway, I was finally able to finish this layout! The sketch was provided by fellow ScrapbookSteals friend Sheryl Kloke!

I bought these 3 bugs in a rug papers a few months ago when my local scrapbook store (Robert's) was closing, and they were on clearance. I initially thought I'd use them for some zoo pictures most likely, but I loved the colors with these pictures of my oldest getting his 3rd (and not last) set of tubes. I used thickers for the title, and added some glimmer mist to the smaller set to turn them a slightly orange color. Not sure I'm in love with how the title came out. How with so many thickers do I have a hard time finding just the right ones for a layout? Anyway, I'm happy to finally have these pictures from 2008 scrapped!

Sweet Spring - Pencil Lines sketch 240

I was in a scrappy mood this weekend! I love this sketch from Pencil Lines, and decided to scrap this picture of June that is almost 2 years old!

I love Echo Park Springtime! The colors are so cheery, and matched so well with this picture! I used my Rock Princess cricut cartridge for the first time to make the butterfly - so glad I finally broke it out (although I think I over-iRock'd the butterfly a little bit... :))! This was a fun and quick sketch to follow!

Eight is Great (MWM 44)

ScrapbookSteals' midweek mojo #44 is a two page sketch this week! I thought I'd take this opportunity to scrap some of the birthday party pictures I've been wanting to do for a while now!

I finally found a good use for my My Mind's Eye Alphabet Soup (boy) collection! Plus, I got my baker's twine from a twine swap I participated in with some friends I met through ScrapbookSteals, and I was so excited to get to use it! I used some Basic Grey buttons and some thickers of my title! The "great" thickers have been in my stash for along time, and I wasn't sure I'd ever find a use for them - so glad I did! I'm happy with the finished layout!

Swing, batter batter batter... (MWM 43)

 Here is ScrapbookSteals' Midweek mojo sketch #42!

  

These pictures were taken at the Copper Hills Cal Ripkin baseball fund raiser last weekend - and they came out so well (loving my new camera!)! I could hardly wait to scrap them! I used Echo Park Little Boy papers and cut the bat, mit, and ball with my cricut, and I used Thickers for the title! This layout came together so quickly and with such little effort!