Sassafras Lass Amplify!!!

This month I have the opportunity to work with a really fun and different kit at LPS! Sassafras Lass Amplify is bold, colorful, and unexpected! I have four kids ranging in age from seven to fourteen, and this kit is perfect for all phases of childhood, or anything that screams just plain old F.U.N.!

Here is what I did:

Merry Christmas!!

I wish all of you a Merry Christmas! I hope each of you can spend time with family and enjoy all the gifts of the season!

Do you want a chance to win some Prima??????

Check out the Prima blog to find out how! http://prima.typepad.com/prima/2009/12/my-entry.html

More Cards

I'm attempting to make all my Christmas cards this year, and have been slowly plugging away at the project. I may have them all finished by Christmas!!

On a recent trip to Michael's I found a pretty stack of paper by Brenda Walton (K & Co). They were so pretty with a few sheets of sentiment cards, and some really charming looking Victorian Santas! That helped get me into the mood to do these cards. I'm using ribbons and embellishments from my stash, too!


Here is another batch I did yesterday when it was pouring rain! I managed to use up almost all of the Cosmo Cricket paper I had left over from last year, and some of the Basic Grey, as well! The only problem is the cards got more and more simple as the day wore on!

Now, I just pray they all make it through the mail!

The kids at the tree farm

Last Saturday, we managed to go to the tree farm, and pick out our tree. It's been so busy with Joey's soccer tournaments every weekend day! Our tree looks like all of our trees, It's wider than it is tall. Anton talked us into getting a blue spruce, because he's wanted one for a few years. If we don't end up with major irritation from the extremely sharp bristles, it will be a miracle!!

I did manage to get a few decent photos of the kids, which may end up in our Christmas cards this year!

A few Christmas projects!

Here are a few Christmas projects I've been working on! I'm attempting not to purchase any holiday themed products this year, because I have so much left over from prior years. I did several projects using scraps from last year's Cosmo Cricket holiday line. It feels good to use up old stuff!

They are having an awesome blog hop at Scrapfit, which Jodi told me about! I decided to join in on the fun by creating a card with the sentiment "Wishing you a Christmas full of sparkle and a New Year full of cheer". Here is my Scrapfit Blog Hop Entry.


I also made this card for the LPS Black Friday mini crop. Von posted a challenge to do a project with non-traditional Christmas colors.

Here is a little birdhouse ornament, which I did for the Black Friday mini crop at LPS.

My entry for the LPS Blog Card Sketch Contest

Here is my entry for the LPS Blog Card Sketch Contest. I'm so excited about this latest contest on the LPS blog! There are actually two chances to win! Find out more here http://lifepreserversclub.blogspot.com/. I hope to see you there!

The November Kits are Arriving!!!

I received my gorgeous Featured kit from Life Preservers!! This stunning kit features products from SEI Moravia collection! Each of the patterned papers is very special with either foiling, flocking, or die cut edges!! They are spectacular! The patterned papers are double sided, as well. They are so versatile, and are appropriate for both masculine or feminine pages!

I thought the papers really lent themselves to vintage photos, as well as modern ones. This photo is one of my favorites, of my beautiful mother as a teenage girl. I ordered some Primas to use with this kit, but they haven't arrived yet. I made ribbon flowers using the ribbon that came with the kit, and am pretty happy with the result!


Here is a plaque I made for Thanksgiving.


I did this layout for the challenge of the week. My challenge was to scrap about something you are grateful for. I chose to do a layout about our dog, Violet.

My MInd's Eye Sketch Contest!!

Rhonda at LPS, shared about this awesome contest, and I decided to give it a shot! Check out the details here. http://mymindseye.typepad.com/

One of my goals for the next year is to try and enter more contests, so this was the perfect chance!

My Card Making Breakthrough!!!

I'm always talking about what a reluctant card maker I am!! I never really enjoyed it, usually because I would wait until the last minute, then rush and scramble trying to create a beautiful card in a big hurry. That method really stinks!! I had an epiphany of sorts today, because I realized there were three big birthdays I missed out of flakiness and not being prepared. I decided I was going to spend today just working on cards! I actually made FIVE!!! I am so proud of myself! I also learned a few valuable things about card making, and here they are.

1. You can make all your cards in the same design. It makes it so much easier to make a bunch at once. You can change the sentiment on each one, but the basic design can be the same. HUGE BREAKTHROUGH! I thought they all had to be unique!

2. Card making is wonderful for using up your random stuff you've had forever. I'm talking about rub-ons, flowers, chipboard pieces, you name it! What an eye opener! You mean I can put all this crap to use?!!

3. Card making is perfect for using up those random lengths of cardstock you have piled up after other projects! I'm talking about that 2" X 8" length you have left over from cutting down card bases. I realized you can cut them up with your punches, Cricut, or put rub-ons on them!

Here are some of the cards I made! I already sent two of them out.

The Crop was a blast!!!

I had so much fun at the LPS Dare To Be Inspired Crop this past weekend! We had a fabulous playlist, with a ton of fun Halloween tunes! The challenges and games were so fun and inspiring, as well! Sadly, I got no scrapping done during the crop. I think I was a little tired preparing for it. I do plan on getting as many of the challenges done this week as I can. We have until November 1st to get our layouts uploaded to the gallery!

Here are a few of the projects I did for my challenges.

Ghosts of Halloween Past Challenge:

Spray Ink and Leaf Masking Challenge:

Coffee Sleeve Make and Take:

Sandra's Early Bird Sketch Challenge:


Sandra's Color Inspiration Challenge:

Laura-Lee's Recipe Challenge:

Melissa's Interview Challenge:

October LPS Kit Designs

I had the opportunity to work with a really fun kit this month! The Alternate kit featured papers and products from My Minds Eye Abbey Road Line. The Kit Addition was mostly items from MME Stomp! This line is perfect for little boys! I was able to scrap some older photos I've been holding onto.

New Design Team at Life Preserver's Club!

This month at LPS, our new Design Team is strutting their stuff! Von picked four new DT members! Welcome Rhonda, Sharon, Jodi, and Krista! We now have eight members all together, including returning designers Laura-Lee, Melissa, myself, and our fabulous DT coordinator Sandra. DT gallery is packed full of gorgeous projects! Come check it out here Life Preservers Scrapbook Club!

Catching Up

I have so many beautiful papers that I need to use!! I got a chance to do some scrapping before my LPS kits arrived. I decided to use some of the Scrap Within Reach Industrial Park paper I've had for a month or so. For some strange reason, I did not take advantage of this kit while it was available at LPS, and had to order it later. The papers are so fun to work with!

The Next LPS Crop "Dare to be Inspired"!!!

The Design Team at Life Preservers Club is already hard at work coming up with some awesome challenges and games for the upcoming fall crop! Save the dates October 23 - 25th! There will be many fun fall surprises and spooky goodness! Don't miss it!

Copy Cat Challenge of the Week!

Is there another scrapper whose style you love? This weeks challenge is for the copy cat in all of us! I'm not telling you to go out and scraplift another person's layout. Instead, try to emulate the style or signature element of one of your favorite scrappers!

At LPS, one of my favorites is Sharon S! I just love her vintage style, and use of embellishments on her pages. I took inspiration from a few of her recent layouts to do this one of my parents as newlyweds.

I'm in love with this kit!!!

For the past few days, I've been wallowing in scrappy goodness, playing with the LPS Featured kit, which features papers from both Cosmo Cricket Early Bird and October Afternoon Cherry Hill lines. Each of them is amazing in their own right, but together, they are almost more than I can bear!

Von describes the kits as appealing the the "Domestic Goddess" in all of us! The kit is kitschy and nostalgic, without being corny. I'm loving it! Here are a few things I've made, so far.

Some of this and that

I really wanted to scrap this weekend! I have some adorable photos, and goodness knows I've got plenty of beautiful product to play around with. For some reason, I just could not get motivated to scrap!

I decided to work on some flowers and cards, to try and get my mojo back! Some awesome tutorials have been posted recently at LPS, so I decided to start there. Sandra posted a link to a tutorial on some really pretty cardstock roses. Here are my attempts.

Angela posted a link to a video tutorial on making flowers with the Papertrunk Socialite papers. I have that line from the August LPS project kit, so I gave it a try, and added it to a card.



Lastly, I made some cards with the leftovers from the LPS August Alternate kit by Crate Orbit. I just love these whimsical papers! They make the cutest boy's cards!

Chinese Take Out Boxes!

Last week at LPS, it was my turn to come up with a challenge. I've been wanting to make a chinese take out box, ever since Nancy brought over Thai food a few weeks ago. I snagged the box from a small order of rice, and used that as my template. You can see complete instructions on how to make these boxes here http://lifepclub.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=8523 Here are my examples.

I am definitely going to make some more of these for Halloween! What an adorable treat box!