Scrapbook layout

Today I'm going to post something a bit different. I was at a crop this weekend and we had a scrapbook contest. Each of us was given the same items and had to use at least part of each item. I have never done a scrapbook page on my own so this was a definite challenge for me, but I did manage to finish it, and although it certainly wasn't the best there, at least I wasn't ashamed of it; so I will post pictures of the two page layout. You won't be able to see it full size so the pictures are a little difficult to see clearly but here goes! LOL The subject is our nine year old granddaughter, and I looked at various roles for her. I tried to be funny so the picture of her learning to ride her 2 wheel bicycle is "Student Driver" and the picture of her dressed like the Bristish dog trainer for Halloween last year is just that "Dog Trainer". The picture of her just before the Father Daughter Valentine Dance is "Party Girl". Unfortunately you can't see the expression on her face as her mother is cutting the face on the Jack-O-Lantern. That earned that picture the title "Supervisor" as she looked very stern and uncompromising in that picture. You also aren't able to see that in picture 8 she has a large ball under her shirt making her look pregnant so that picture is "Comedian".

Happy St Patrick's Day

Hope you are having a Happy St Patrick's Day!! We are having wonderful weather in northern Ohio. Today we did our 3 mile walk outside. I was a little tired since there are hills in the park and strangely enough no hills in the mall. ;-) It was great to be outside. DH took the John Deere riding mower out today to see if it would start. He bought it used last summer and it quit working; so he's been tinkering with it ever since. He decided to wait until St Patrick's Day to see if it would start. He figured a green mower might be more willing to start today. LOL Miracle of miracles it started, and he's out riding around checking on the property. Now the next question is ...will it mow?? I sure hope so since he's put a lot of time into it. His next project will be to put the tractor back together. It needed a new radiator. Hope all goes well with that project also since he needs it for the heavier mowing along the field.

I'm getting my supplies together for a weekend crop with some of my online friends so I probably won't post a card today. I have a couple more finished but I need to finish the scrapbook layout for our contest at the Crop. I'm really crazy to have entered the contest since I don't scrapbook. We were given a kit and we need to use something of everything in the kit, and we can't add anything. I have most of the pictures figured out, but I'm having a little trouble deciding what I want to do with some of the paper. I know I should just go to some of the sites that have sketches for scrapbook layouts, but I have an idea in my mind how I want my pictures on the page, and none of the sketches I've seen are going to match my criteria. Do I have myself in a pickle?? LOL If I manage to get this layout done, I'll post it.

Have a great day and happy spring!

St Patrick's Day cards

Since St Patrick's Day is next week and I'm Irish, naturally I had to do some green cards. LOL The first one is done with Inkadinkado Celtic Collection stamps and Stampin Up Green Galore and Garden Green cardstock with Garden Green ink. I love the Celtic Knots. The inside verse reads, "Think where glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was I had such friends. WB Yeats

The second card is done using a heart punch (Company unknown) and my Cricut Expression using the Doodlecharms cartridge. Cardstock is Stampin Up Glorious Green and Whisper White, ink is SU Wild Wasabi, and ribbon is Michael's St Patrick's Collection. The inside verse is a My Sentiments Exactly stamp and is stamped with VersaMark watermark stamp pad and heat embossed with Judi Kins Detail Black embossing powder. I think the Irish Blessings are so nice. I suppose I'm just a tiny bit prejudice though. ;-)

TJ One On One card from Kathy Brown

Kathy Brown is my partner this month on the TJ 1 on 1 swap and I received this lovely card which she made using Technique Junkies Two-tone Crunch technique from the Technique Junkies Dec 2008/ Jan 2009 newsletter.

The products are all Stampin Up and I just love the springy colors: Barely Banana, Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie, and Wild Wasabi. The stamp is Embrace Life and Kathy stamped the main image and cut out the flowers and added a little glitter in the center of each flower and "popped up" each little one on the main image. It's such a cheery card! Hope it chases away any of your winter blahs. It sure helped mine!

TJ Faux Felt Red Hat Card

I wanted to have a card to share with my Red Hat group so I did this card yesterday and asked them if they would be interested in making this card at a meeting some time. The Queen Mother thought it would be a good idea to have a craft; so I will get the paper cut and ready to take to a meeting. The card uses Stampin Up products except for the white background paper which is Hollo's Paper cardstock and the VersaFine Onyx Black ink which was used to ink the stamps from the retired Going Out of Style stamp set. The Riding Hood Red layer is done using the Technique Junkies Faux Felt technique from the Feb/Mar 2009 Newsletter and it and the white layer are cut with Spellbinders Nestabilities Large Classic Scalloped Squares dies. I think it's a cheerful card and cheerful is good in the middle of March! LOL

We're having typical March weather. It was warmer earlier in the week but windy and now it's in the 20s again. I have flowers beginning to peek up in front of the house so hope it really starts warming up. The last couple years the daffodils haven't done very well since it's been too cold. Had plenty of buds but they all whithered since there was no sun. At least we haven't had a blizzard like a friend in South Dakota. I'm very thankful for that. Hope spring comes soon.

Thinking Of You

My sister asked for some thinking of you cards so here's one I did. She may or may not receive the card. LOL I haven't decided that just yet. Paper is Stampin Up cardstock So Saffron and Certainly Celery and Certainly Celery patterned paper from retired Simply Scappin' Just Delightful and Hollo's Paper white, purple and pink cardstock. Stamps are Stampin Up Eastern Blooms and Sincere Salutations. Ink is VersaFine Onyx Black and Stampin Up marker Regal Rose. Cricut cartridge Accent Essentials was used to cut the flowers on the left of the card and were cut 1 1/2 in.

Echoes Of Kindness

I started working on a scrapbook layout for a contest today, but I'm not making much progress on it. I did finish two cards though. One of the cards I was in a hurry to mail and forgot to get a picture of it. I'll have to try making another like it as it was done using dry embossing which I don't very often do.

This card uses the Stampin Up Echoes of Kindness set for the main image. I really like the flowers in the set. Cardstock is Stampin Up and Hollo's Paper. Patterned paper is DCWV The All Occasion Ultimate Stack. Ovals are cut using Cricut cartridge Plantin Schoolbook and were cut at 3 and 3 1/4 inches. Stamps are Stampin Up. Ink is VersaFine and Ranger Archival Ink. Image is colored with PrismaColor Pencils and Gamsol odorless mineral spirits. I really enjoy coloring images with that technique. EK Success corner rounder punch was used on the lower image.

Thanks for visiting my blog. I'm hoping for warmer weather today and would like to try walking in the park instead of inside at the mall.

This is the card I started working on yesterday. I want to do another one with the same pattern and change it just a little, but I'm pretty happy with this one. Technique is Splitcoast Stampers Scallop Edge Medallion. The card is made with all Stampin Up products. Cardstock is Almost Amethyst and Whisper White. Stamps are all from the Eastern Blooms set. Ink pads are Classic Stampin' Pads Pumpkin Pie and Rose Red and Stampin' Write Markers are Always Artichoke, Almost Amethyst, Pumpkin Pie, and Rose Red. Medallion is made using Stampin Up Scallop Edge Punch. The edges of the medallion are sponged using a cosmetic sponge and Classic Stampin' Pad Pumpkin Pie.

I found that using the markers direct to rubber worked great for the middle flower on the three flower stamp, and to color the small blossoms and branch on the longer top stamp that is mostly covered with the medallion. Using markers direct to rubber gives you all kinds of new options I find. ;-)

Time to call it a night. Did anyone else notice that March really came in like a lion this year? It's cold here in Ohio again and it snowed off and on today. Hope we aren't going to get much accumulation.