Round Robin for December

My dd took some great pictures as we decorated the Christmas tree. She has a great eye and I can't wait to scrap some more of her pictures. Here is one I scrapped for the Round Robin in December. The challenge was to scrap a Christmas tradition and journal about it. This is a picture of Roger and me decorating his tree which I hope is a new tradition for us.

I used G45 Christmas papers along with some Prima leaves and poinsettia. Other flowers are from past Swirlydoos kits. The DA ornaments were altered with Puffs embossing powder-all from past Swirlydoos kits, too. The pins, ribbon, and jingle bells are from my stash. I used MS punches. And, my new favorite is the brick Prima mask that was used on the white cs. tfl!



Layout of the Week x 2!!!

Thank you, Swirlydoos! The last two lo's I posted were chosen as LOTW- "Enjoy the Journey" in November and "Paris" this week. I am honored.



November Butterfly Challenge and Sketch Challenge

I was inspired at the eleventh hour to create a lo for the November Butterfly Challenge. I used the Beau Jardin sketch to get me going.

The flowers are from various Swirlydoo kits while all the papers are from the Beau Jardin kit. I added some leaves from my stash. The Eiffel Tower was embossed with white Puffs embossing powder and then inked with TH Frayed Burlap (my new favorite color). Prima tape was added to the Martha Stewart heart punched strip. The Prima resin corners were inked with TH Frayed Burlap. Prima SIIP was cut into pieces and scattered throughout the lo. Crocheted doily is from Joann's.

Journaling is actually a part of "Paris", a poem written by Alan Seeger.

First, London, for its myriads; for its height,
Manhattan heaped in towering stalagmite;
But Paris for the smoothness of the paths
That lead the heart unto the heart's delight. . . .

Fair loiterer on the threshold of those days
When there's no lovelier prize the world displays
Than, having beauty and your twenty years,
You have the means to conquer and the ways,

And coming where the crossroads separate
And down each vista glories and wonders wait,
Crowning each path with pinnacles so fair
You know not which to choose, and hesitate --

Oh, go to Paris. . . . In the midday gloom
Of some old quarter take a little room
That looks off over Paris and its towers
From Saint Gervais round to the Emperor's Tomb, --

So high that you can hear a mating dove
Croon down the chimney from the roof above,
See Notre Dame and know how sweet it is
To wake between Our Lady and our love.

And have a little balcony to bring
Fair plants to fill with verdure and blossoming,
That sparrows seek, to feed from pretty hands,
And swallows circle over in the Spring.

There of an evening you shall sit at ease
In the sweet month of flowering chestnut-trees,
There with your little darling in your arms,
Your pretty dark-eyed Manon or Louise.

And looking out over the domes and towers
That chime the fleeting quarters and the hours,
While the bright clouds banked eastward back of them
Blush in the sunset, pink as hawthorn flowers,

You cannot fail to think, as I have done,
Some of life's ends attained, so you be one
Who measures life's attainment by the hours
That Joy has rescued from oblivion.

tfl!



Round Robin for November

Well, it has been a looong time. I finally made my way to my scrapbook room and found enough mojo to create this lo for the Round Robin this month. As soon as my sister-in-law published this picture to facebook I knew I wanted to scrap it if she would let me. I asked her if I could have a copy of the picture and she shared the entire album from her photo shoot with her sons. Thank you, Gina!

I mixed some copper UTEE, TH Distress embossing powder in Vintage Photo and Black Soot which I then used to emboss the DA autumn circle. All the papers were from the "Rendezvous" kit from Swirlydoos. The flowers are Prima and Petaloo from various Swirlydoo kits. The leaves are Prima. I added some old buttons from Swirly Camp 2010. The burlap and hemp is from Joanne's. The RR twist was to use a transparency so I included the "Enjoy the Journey" transparency in my flower cluster. tfl!



Oh my!

Wow! I finally produced a lo! But, you have to wait until the reveal day for Round #1 of the November Round Robin!

Round Robin #6

Well, this is really bad. I still have 7 lo's and 3 projects that I have not posted from Swirly Camp in Colorado. But, it was my turn for the Round Robin challenge so I am posting my lift of Camilla now.

Three of the flowers are Color Me Crazy by Petaloo that I GM'd to match the lo. The pp is Timepieces by Bo Bunny. I added some DA, Prima pearls, and leaves from my stash. This is my ds's junior picture. He is now a senior. My how time flies! tfl.



My grandfather

Here's another Swirly Camp layout using the June Swirlydoos kit.

I scrapped this picture of my grandfather. He flew quite a few air missions during the war. I don't know how my grandmother lived with him being in constant danger. They are such strong Christian people and I am so proud they are my grandparents. Love you both!

The clock is a TH die. I added some TH filmstrip and a Michael's medal given to me by Peggy. (Thank you, Peg!) The large flower was handmade by using layers of pp cut with the Tattered Florals TH die. The long strip of black was punched with a MS punch. tfl!



Man at Work

Here is one of the lo's I created while at Swirly Camp in Colorado. Roger sent this picture to me as a joke but I told him I had to scrap it.

I had to print this one in b&w in order to make it work well with the pp. I used TH dies to make the gears and rosettes. All the pp is from the June Swirlydooes  kit. Actually, this lo used up all the scraps I had remaining. There is some misting and inking here as well. (And, just think, Rachel wanted this picture so she could throw darts at it.)



"Create" chipboard Prima Album

I promised to start posting all the things I made while in Colorado the first week of June, so here goes.

One of the classes we had this year was taught by our fearless leader, Krissy. It was a beautiful chipboard album decorated with all kinds of Prima goodies.

Here is the front cover:

This is the inside front cover:

And, here is the back cover:

Now, I need to decorated the 12 interior pages once I decide how I will be using this album.



Round Robin #5

Finally! I did some scrapping. Wow, it has been a long time. I wasn't even sure I would get to finish today as our electricity went out while I was trying to finish my lo.

I made the big flower using the Tattered Florals die by TH and then followed Lisa G's tutorial. The other flowers are Petaloo with a few Prima buds thrown in for fillers. The chicken wire stamp is Prima. All the pp is from the May Swirlydoos kit. The picture of Kayla and me was taken last Labor Day while we were at Lake of the Ozarks. (Btw, I drove there this weekend and somehow still managed to work 21 hours at my pharmacy.) tfl!



Dock Dogs

This one is so not my style but was done as a birthday gift by request.

The lo was framed in a 12x12 shadow box from HL. I used pp and embellishemnts from the LYB. The ribbons were the real deal from a Dock Dogs competition held earlier this year. tfl.

One more Deconstruction

I should have been studying for finals but this was so much fun! Here's another cb piece that I soaked for 15 minutes in water so I could tear it apart. This is a Dusty Attic (DA) piece. I noticed that the DA pieces are better quality cb so make sure you soak them for the full 15 minutes.

For this piece I only separated the wings and her hair. Again,  I covered the entire piece with gesso and sprinkled with Fairy Dust (how appropriate!). Then I used various colors of GM and Smooch on her wings. I inked the edges of her body with Chestnut Roan and the GM'd her body. The flower was painted with Smooch. I think that about covers it. tfl!



More Chipboard Deconstruction

As promised, here are the MR angel wings.

This one also separated into two pieces. I hit it with some gesso, several colors of GM and Smooch. Then sprinkled with Fairy Dust and added some TH distress stickles. I already have an idea for this piece. tfl!



Chipboard Alterations

I will do anything to avoid studying! You know, the house needs to be cleaned, floors swept and mopped, laundry needs to be done. Heck! I even need to wash the rugs and clean the bathrooms.

Well, I did all of that and actually did some studying. Thank goodness this is the last semester of finals because I am burnt out. Soooo, now the house is clean. What else can I do besides study? Leave it to me to step into paradise (a.k.a. my scrap room). Shona found this idea and shared it at Swirlydoos so I decided to give it a whirl today.

Here's the before and after:

What a great way to alter your cb and add some dimension to a lo! To make this flower I soaked the cb in water for 15 minutes then proceeded to separate the cb layers. I did two different cb pieces and they both separated into two pieces. Then I continued to peel apart  the layers of each piece. I dried the separate pieces with my heat gun which helped them to curl up a bit. Then I hit them with several colors of GM. I dabbed the edges with several colors of Smooch then used Zip Dry to put the layers back together. I alternated the petals as I glued the layers back together. I put some glitter glue in the center. I used my McGill Sunburst punch to punch five pieces that were layered to create the center. The Petaloo leaf was the finishing touch! I am working on a MR piece next and will post when I am done. tfl!



April Sketch Challenge

Here's my interpretation of the April Swirlydoos sketch challenge.

All the papers, butterflies, cb letters, and flowers are from the current month's kit. I used my Tattered Florals TH die and Sunburst McGill punch to make the two large flowers. Lisa G., aka Starsailor, has a tutorial for these flowers over at Swirlydoos. The bling is from my stash. The small butterflies and cb letters were embellished with Liquid Pearls included in the kit. These pictures were taken Labor Day weekend 2010 while Roger and I were goofing off. The pictures had horrible shadows so I used the Lullaby action on Florabella to improve the overall lighting. tfl!



Round Robin #4 for 2011

It is time for the monthly Round Robin Reveal. This week I followed QT and scrapped a picture of my dd on her 15th birthday. It is hard to believe that she is old enough for a driver's permit. Soon she will be driving off on her own just like my ds. Time goes by too quickly.

Everything is from the latest Swirlydoos kit except the small flowers scattered around the page. The two pp flowers were made with the Tattered Florals die by TH and the Sunburst punch by McGill. Lisa G. made these flowers and posted a tuturial at Swirlydoos. I lifted another DT member, Camilla, and fussycut the pp for part of the background. The DA was Glimmer Misted, then Smooched, and hit with various TH distress embossing powders. TH distress inks used on the cardstock. tfl!

Round Robin #3 for 2011

Ok, got mine photographed so I could upload. I did go with Pat's theme and I scrapped my granmother who passed away last January. She was a wonderful lady full of energy-- always. This is a pic of us in Mexico. We would go visit her in TX and then she would take us into Mexico, South Padre, or anywhere else we wanted to go. And, she could stay up playing cards longer than any of us! I included the 23rd Psalm because it was the Bible verses included on her funeral program.

Oh yeah, I did the twist which was to use three different kinds of ribbon, trim, or fiber. There are two different brown ribbons layered to create the strip along the left side of the lo. And, the green ribbon was from a Making Memories album. I just saved the ribbon from the packaging thinking it might come in handy one day. I also snipped the beads from the beaded ribbon we received in a past kit and used it for the butterfly bodies. tfl!

Ok, here's a repeat

I have already scrapped this picture but, Lisa N. did some photo editing that removed the background and enhanced the eyes. This is my favorite picture of us so I had to scrap it again with the awesome changes that she made. Thank you again, Lisa!



Charming

Another lo from the crop last month. My dd before Homecoming. She spent the afternoon at a friend's house so they could do their hair and make-up together.

Used the Mon Amour kit for this one, too.

February Butterfly Challenge

I was very excited to learn that the Swirly girls voted my lo as the winner for the Butterfly Challenge for the month of February. Thank you!

This is a picture of the girls who went to Swirly Camp in 2010. We had a blast and it was so fun to spend time with everyone. I cannot wait until camp this June! I used flowers and bling from my stash as well as the February kit to complete this one.



Homecoming 2010

Here's another lo from my last crop with my sis. It's a picture of my dd and her friends before Homecoming last year.

Used the Mon Amour  kit and added some tissue paper flowers and well as some leaves from my stash. The cb numbers were covered with TH Rock Candy. tfl.

Puppy Love

Here's one from my crop a month ago. We took the dogs and the girls to the lake one weekend and I had to get a shot of everyone. I tried to get in the picture but with this new camera I couldn't figure out how to set up the timer. I don't think it has one.

The papers and flowers are from a past Swirlydoos kit. I added some leaves from my stash. tfl!

The Ladies Garden Club

I am really behind on blog posts. I still have not posted the other seven lo's I did at the crop I went to a month ago! At least I finally took pictures of them so I can start adding them to my blog.

Here's one I just finished yesterday for the March Swirlydoos sketch challenge. I used flowers, leaves, and bling from my stash to complete this one.

My great-grandmother is in this pic with some of her fellow garden club ladies. They are all sporting their flower garden hats. tfl!

All Day Crop

My sis and I went to an all day crop the Saturday before last. It was a lot of fun and I even managed to get 8 lo's done. It was a wonderful 12 hour crop full of laughs and lots of good food. I think I gained a few pounds that day because they fed us well. We even had fresh-baked cookies still warm from the oven!

Anyway, the weather has been dreary so I was not able to take pictures until today. Here's the first lo I did. It is a picture that my mom found of my paternal grandfather with all of his classmates. He is in the second row the second boy from left. I think he just looks so stinkin' cute!

All the pp, cb key, and feathers are from the February Swirlydoos  kit. The flowers and bling are from my stash. tfl!



Layout of the Week!!!!

My latest lo, Broken Road, was honored as the Layout of the Week over at Swirlydoos. You can check it out here. Lisa always does such a wonderful job introducing the LOTW, too.

 Thank you, Swirlydoos!

Swirlydoos Monthly Sketch Challenge

Along with the lovely Swirlydoo  kit comes an amazing sketch by Begahunna each month. I just love her sketches. Typically my first lo is the sketch challenge. So, without further ado here is my interpretation of this month's sketch.

I added Petaloo flowers, Prima bling, and leaves from my stash. The Prima roses, flower centers and ribbon are from a past kit. The pp and mirrors are from the current kit. I used the Big Dog (aka Cricut Expression) to cut the swirlies. This is a picture of me and Roger at a Christmas dinner. tfl!

More Snow Day Fun

I did manage to do some more scrapping despite the fact that all my cancer notes were calling my name. I can only study so much! The kids had three snow days this week and I had two. This has been a crazy winter. I just had to help my ds get his car out of the snow. For some reason he parked on an ice packed parking lot and couldn't get out of the parking space. So, I went up with a bag of salt and a few shovels. We got the car out in no time. And, his comment to me: "Thanks, Mom. All your past transgressions are forgiven." Really? Kids these days.

Anyway, I have a few more lo's to share with you. This one is of my dn and just seemed to be a perfect color match for this month's Swirlydoos kit. I used flowers from Prima and Petaloo (from my stash and past kits), leaves from my stash and bling from a past kit. The sketch is one from PencilLines. In fact, it is the same sketch I used for my "Peace" lo. Can you tell?

I listen to country music while I scrap and that inspired the title for this one. (And, the next one! Not sharing that one with you until tomorrow though. ;P)

Round Robin #2

Yay! It is "Reveal Day" for the Round Robin Challenge. I used a PencilLines sketch for this one but once I finished the lo I realized it looks a lot like this month's kit sketch challenge. I used LYB feathers included in this month's kit as well as the pp. The flowers are Petaloo (from my stash) and Prima (from past kits). I added Prima bling and leaves from my stash. I tucked some of the mirrors included in this month's kit amongst the flowers. The pins are Maya Road and the transparency is old Hambly from my stash. Some of the flower centers were made with the Sunburst McGill punch-really love that punch! Thanks to Lisa G. for turning me on to it!

This is a picture of my Grandma and her classmates in 1938. I love scrapping these black and white photos that I scanned from her scrapbooks. The B&W's are easy to scrap with any of the Swirly kits!

A Sneak Peek

Snowpocalypse left us homebound for three days which left me plenty of time to clean, study, and even get a little scrapping done. So, here is a sneaky for the Round Robin this month. I will be posting the lo on reveal day-this Friday.

Love the McGill Starburst punch that I just bought with a 30% off coupon from Archivers. They have a group of punches that you can use to make your own flowers. I am hoping to add to my McGill punch collection so I can make my own roses. 

Round Robin #1 for 2011

Loved lifting Christy's lo for this month's Round Robin. She had a gorgeous design that used a photostrip so I stole one of my dd's photostrips! I used the Retro Tapestry kit for all the pp and the bling scattered around the page. The twist this month was to use three things on the lo that you have been "hoarding." I did use three things from my stash but, I wouldn't say I was really hoarding the items!

Here's my dd and some of her friends acting silly at the mall. They love to hit the photobooth each time they are at the mall. And, personally, I love scrapping these pics! I tore apart the large black flower and the large blue flower to make the multi-colored flower in this lo. The smaller black roses are from a past kit and the other flowers are Petaloo flowers that were from my stash. The Prima bling and bracket were from past Swirlydoo kits while the leaves were from my stash. tfl!

Fun

Here's my lo for our second Snow Day Long Distance Scrap. We used Pencil Lines sketch #209. Then we added some additional rules. Sheri said we had to use glitter and an embossing folder. Then I rolled the dice and we had to use two butterflies or snowflakes with the first roll and seven flowers, brads, buttons, or eyelets with the second roll. Go here to check out Sheri's lo.

All the pp are from a past Swirlydoos  kit. The small flowers are all new Petaloo while the large flower is Prima. I added some leaves from my stash. The Prima centers, cb swirly, and brads are all from a past kit. Btw, there is glitter on all the flowers and I embossed the cream strip across the top of the page. There are seven small flowers and two butterflies. tfl!

Snow Day!

Yes! Even StLCoP (St. Louis College of Pharmacy) canceled classes for the day! I have been told that has not happened in years! So...my sis and I are doing a long distance scrap until I go into work this evening.

The first challenge: Use Pencil Lines latest sketch, complete the lo, and post to your blog within one hour.

I used my latest Swirlydoos kit and some stuff from my stash to complete this one.

Go to my sister's blog to check out her intrepretation of the sketch.

btw, i {heart} u

Using the scraps from my latest Swirlydoos  kit I made this lo based on a sketch from PageMaps. Texting has led to a new language of communication especially for our children. I used the lingo of my dd's generation to convey my love. Again, another self-portrait she snapped in her quest for a fb profile pic.

The large yellow Petaloo flower was from the kit as well as all the pp. I added the large orange flower and smaller flowers, all Petaloo. tfl!

The odds are...

One of the Swirly Girl Challenges this month is being hosted by DT member, Robin. Her challenge is to use odd numbers of things on the lo. So, 1 of something, then 3, 5, 7, and 9 somethings. And, the twist is to use 11 of something on the lo.

I was able to go so far as the twist with another lo of my dd. The self-portraits she took are just perfect for this kit so I keep using them.

1 picture

3 pp strips & 3 leaves

5 butterflies & 5 tickets

7 gemstones

9 flowers

11 eyelets

I tore apart the big black flowers included in the kit so I could use them on several lo's. All the pp is from the current Swirlydoos  kit. The only thing I added from my stash are the small Petaloo flowers and Radiant Rain Shimmering Mist. tfl!

My Girl

Hey, what do you know! I was able to scrap another page! I used more of my dd's pictures to complete this lo. All the papers are from the latest Swirlydoos' kit.

A happy accident here: I ordered a 5x7 collage print so I would have smaller pictures for this lo. The collage was printed with a black border (which I didn't order) but it looks great with the red bg paper. I added some Prima bling, Petaloo flowers, leaves from my stash as well as a transparency from a past kit. tfl!



Reflection

Wow! I actually got to scrap a lo last night. Shocker! I used the new Swirlydoos kit which is filled with bright colors from the Melody Ross collection. Definitely makes me think of spring. I found some pictures on my computer that my dd had taken of herself. I am pretty sure she was trying to find a good profile pic for fb. When I saw the bright colors in this month's kit her profile pics immediately came to mind. So, here ya go.

Everything is from the kit except the extra Flora Doodle flowers and leaves. Well, I already worked out today and the house is clean so off to pick up some more prints from WAGS and do some more scrapping before I have to go back to WAGS for work. tfl!

It has been a looooong time...

since I have posted to my blog and that is because I have not been doing very much scrapping. *sigh* There has just been too much going on with finals, work, and the holidays. I had hoped to spend three lovely days just scrapping but I was called into work today. And, I know that I will probably get called in again tomorrow. So much for the mini scrap retreat I had planned.

Here is my latest project: an altered TH Configurations that I received from Swirlydoos as part of the technique add-on. The box was covered with Collections paper and TH tissue tape, then inked with TH distress inks. I added a lot of TH embellishments as well as items from the add-on kit. I even raided the game closet for a Monopoly piece, a die, and a Sorry game piece. Some muslin, burlap, and lace added texture to the boxes. An old family heritage photo was included to lend vintage charm.

Round Robin #10

I am finally getting around to posting the final lo for 2010's Round Robin Challenge. The twist for this challenge was to scrap a favorite Christmas memory. I remember as a young child sneaking around the house trying to find Christmas presents. I guess I am old enough to confess that one year we found them in our parents closet hidden on the top shelves behind clothes and boxes. Another year we were pretty sure they were in the trunk of the car but we could never figure out how to sneak out and look! Well, my parents got us good one year. They put the Christmas tree on what we thought was just a square, white platform. It turned out to be a Christmas present for my brothers. I would say they got the last laugh that year! So, I scrapped a picture of the Christmas tree on top of the platform (a.k.a. basketball goal).

A Sneaky Christmas