Another of the little Monster

Just wanted to share another Swirly camp layout with you. Here's one using that lovely burlap paper and some paper I bought at the LSS we invaded in Lafayette. The flowers are from past Swirlydoo kits, the leaves are from my stash, and the chippie is from Creative Embellishments.

Wet distressing

Well, the June Swirlydoos kit arrived at my door a few days ago. So, I've been working on some new layouts to share as soon as we have our big reveal at Swirlydoos. But, in the meantime, here is another layout I made while at camp in Lafayette. My dd, Allison, with her namesakes, Grandma and Grandpa Allison in 1996. I used the wet distressing technique to really work the edges of this paper that we received at camp. Then, I used my heat gun to dry it-I even allowed some of the edges to burn for a more distressed look.

June 2015 Round Robin

Round #2 of the June Round Robin. Following Andie's page of her sweet son with one of my son.

I used papers from an old Swirlydoos kit. The flowers are from past kits, the Swirly store, and my stash. The twist was to use chipboard and metal on our "Boys to Men" layout. I used several metal pieces on this and added the the wooden bird cage and wooden flowers like Andie did on her layout. I used the last of my white corrugated piece from the May Swirlydoos kit. The butterfly was a Finnabair stamp that we got at Swirly camp this year. tfl!

Time for some Grandma love

These two layouts were created at Swirly camp this year. They are pictures of my loving grandmothers. Whenever I scrap my parents or grandparents it reminds me of how wonderful they are. I have a wonderful life, a great childhood, and I attribute that to my grandparents. They raised their kids to be strong Christians and gave me amazing parents.

So, the first one is a rare time when I saw my grandparents from my father's and mother's side of the family together. They used to spend a lot of time together when my parents were young. In fact, that is how my parents got to know one another.

The lamp post in both layouts was created with the die of the month for May. The wooden Prima pieces were from the main kit. Flowers and leaves were from my stash while the papers were from our Swirly camp goody bag. I fussy cut the Victorian lady from one of the patterned papers for the second layout of me with Grams.

Announcements, Announcements!

This announcement was made in the Swirlydoo forums today by Kim Heard, social media coordinator:

By now most of you, if not all of you should have your May kits. The June kits have been ordered and most of the products are in. We aren’t sure about WHEN reveal is going to be but we should have it figured out soon! I will keep you informed regarding a blog hop this month.
I have 2 announcements to make as well.
The first is, we are saying farewell to 2 amazingly wonderful designers. Paulien and Maja have decided they need to take some time off from the demands of designing. That doesn’t mean they are leaving Swirlydoos. They will still be around sharing their wonderful talents with us just not every month. Paulien and Maja have been such an inspiration to so many and have selflessly shared their knowledge with others. It has been a true honor to work with them.
Next, we would like to welcome our very own Jan Penny to the Swirlydoos design team! Jan was a guest designer back in April and will be joining the team as of June. Jan has a way of working a kit down to the bare bones that will inspire you to use up those scraps in ways that you never thought. Congrats Jan!


I am super excited and deeply honored. This is a dream come true for me!

Another of my fluff ball

Little Jax is such a character. This little man has such a personality. Here he is posing at the groomers. Doesn't he look ready for a dog show?

He is a ham. 

I took some pictures when we got back from the groomers. He was more than happy to pose for me! I used bits from the May Swirlydoos kit, a Prima mask that we got at Swirly camp, some flowers and leaves from my stash, random stamping with a Prima stamp we got in an older Swirlydoos kit, and a piece of pp that I bought when we raided the LSS in Louisiana. I don't think that LSS knew what hit them when the Swirly Savages showed up!

What a cutie!

Used some pp and ephemera from the May Swirlydoos kit for this simple layout of my little cutie pie.

I used the newspaper technique on the chipboard piece. tfl!

At the crop with Mom

My dd went to an all day crop with me-ONCE! Maybe when she is older she will want to scrap with me again. Right now, it is not her cup of tea. I used the May Swirlydoos kit for this one.

A fun summer layout

Used the May 2015 Swirlydoos kit for this layout featuring a rare picture of me enjoying the beach in Texas for spring break circa 2000.

Just Wow!

Finally got to see him in person after three years. Being the scrapper I am, we had to have pictures! My ds and dd in May of 2015.

Used the May kit.

For the May sketch Challenge.

Another one of baby Jax

Used a sketch posted to the Facebook group, Jan and Sheri's scrappy challenge.

My new baby boy.

Little Jax after he got a haircut.

Swirly Girl Challenge for May

The May Swirly Girl Challenge revolved around May flowers and mothers. We could scrap about our mothers or ourselves as mothers. I chose to scrap a picture of my mom and I taken as our passport photo to go to the Philippines. I used the frame pp from the June kit and some pp that we received at Swirly camp this year as the base. Then I added some pops of pink using the pp from the June kit as well as some flowers from my stash. And, no layout of mine seems to be complete without a banner of some sort! tfl.

A Mother's Love

2014 Layout of the Year

We are pleased to announce that Jan is the winner of Layout of the Year for 2014! 

Each week, our design team picks a layout form our online gallery to showcase, and each month those layouts are voted on to receive the title as Layout of the Month. Then, at the end of the year, we vote on all of the layouts of the month for a layout of the year, and THIS is it:

This layout is just perfect in every way! From the layers, to the misting, the banners and all of the small details, not to mention the stunning picture, this project is so stunning! Congrats, Jan!

Jan will receive a gift certificate to the Swirlydoos store and will be our guest designer for the month of March! We can't wait to see what she designs with that amazing kit!

Guest Designer for Swirlydoos

Here's the blog post for Swirlydoos for my Guest Design month.

Hi, my name is Jan. I am married to my best friend and am the mother to two college students, Brandon and Allison. I live in a house overlooking Lake of the Ozarks. My scrappy room is nothing but windows facing the lake. Gorgeous! We moved to the lake for my job where I work as the Pharmacist in Charge of a Walgreens pharmacy about 35 miles from our new home (three hours away from what was home for over 20 years). As a single mother of two teenagers I decided to go back to school and earn a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. After six hard years I graduated with my degree and many unused Swirlydoo kits! 

Now, I have a lot more time to scrap as I am no longer studying and we do not have any children at home. Our babies consist of  Jax, a 10 month old Bichon Frise, Brenner, a six year old Yorkie, and Missy, a two year old rescue. Jax loves to help me“distress” my flowers and chippies. He also likes to recycle my scraps and fray my burlap and other fabric pieces. 

I started scrapping in 2002 when I was talked into a second Creative Memories party. I refused to participate in the first one-instead I babysat my good friend's newborn so she could scrap. So, of course, she had to get me to another one and make me scrap. I just did not want to start because I knew it would be expensive. Even then, I knew I would be a “Savage”! Well, I was hooked after that. But, I cringed at spending 50¢ on a piece of paper! I used Croppy Cats and scrap magazines to get ideas. But, I got bored with the little bit I could find at Joann's, Michael's and the locally owned scrap stores. Soooo, I started searching the internet for a kit club. I searched off and on for over a year before I found the one and only kit club I ever joined. Yes, Swirlydoos was it for me. I joined in July 2009 and have been a Swirly girl ever since.

The thing that attracted me to Swirlydoos in the beginning was the gorgeous kits with all the coordinating papers and embellishments. I would spend forever trying to pick out papers and embellishments for a layout. With the kits from Krissy, I don't have to worry about what goes with what. It all goes together beautifully and the kits made me use papers and embellishments that I would never have thought to put together. I have certainly grown with my scrapping thanks to the Swirlydoo kits. But, once I joined the club, I began stalking the forums and finally started to chat with the other ladies. Everyone is so nice in the forums. There is never any negativity, ever. And, I have found out first hand that these ladies are even more fun in person! Swirly camp is one of the highlights of my year. I have only missed one camp. Although I must say that first year was a little nerve-wracking considering I had never met anyone in person until we all showed up in the cabin in Colorado!

Once I get my gorgeous kit, I look at all the papers. I pull out all the surprise embellies that Krissy adds and do a little “ooooing” and “aaahhhing.” Then, I look at the sketch. From there I go back to the papers and pick out the favorite side of each and stack them with my favorite side up. Now, I can go back and start deciding which ones I will use for the sketch challenge. I almost always do the sketch challenge first. If I don't do it first, I put the papers aside that I want to use for the sketch challenge. Next, I start pulling the embellies together that I want to use. Then, its off to start cutting, inking, and distressing! I usually have bits from last month's kit on my desk so I will add them in to the new layouts when I can. That is another great thing about Swirlydoos, previous kits work well with one another all the time.

After the sketch challenge, I move on to the Round Robin, All that Flutters and the SGC challenges. My sister and I post a challenge on our Facebook page every week so I try to work that in with one of the other challenges at Swirlydoos. I scrap and scrap until I have used all the bits I can. I punch butterflies out of the bits left over and put them and the scraps (if any) into a folder for card making as needed. (I am the resident card marker for all events with my local CMA chapter.)

So far as my style, I would say it is shabby chic with a little grunge mixed in. I like to do clean and simple once I get to the scraps of a kit. I like to do grungy with unexpected papers. I love adding mixed media to my layouts as well as random bits and bobs from my stash. Flowers and metal are found together a lot on my layouts. I like the contrast.

As far as my scrappy process, I just start with the sketch challenge and work my way through all of the challenges. I use sketches for inspiration. Sometimes my work looks just like the sketch and sometimes the sketch is just a jumping off point. Once I get started I can go all day. When I finally go to bed my head will be full of ideas for the next day. I don't worry about being perfect with my cuts, splatters, stenciling, inking, etc. I just embrace the mess! My sister and I scrap a lot together even if it's long distance. So, we challenge each other to try different things or use something we haven't used in awhile. That always makes it fun. I am terrible about scrapping a layout and not even having a picture in mind. I just love the process of creating the background and embellies to frame the photo. Many times I am almost done creating the layout before I know what photo I am going to use. Because of that, the photo is usually not printed until I am ready to adhere everything to the page. This is a great idea for me since I have ruined many photos by splatting them with inks or paints inadvertently. I love having a photo printer at home so I can customize the photo size. I typically don't scrap 4x6 photos, I love to crop my pictures and print them in sizes that fit the layout. My sister and I used to competitive scrap when would attend all day crops. In other words, who could get the most 12x12 layouts done in the 12 to 14 hours we were at the crop. We could average one per hour back then! I think the key to being fast for me now is just not stressing about it being perfect. If something doesn't turn out like I had planned, I just make it work. Sometimes that is how I discover a new technique or look. For me, creating and getting messy is relaxing. 

So, on to the sketch challenge. I went through the process and picked the papers I wanted to use. Then, started adding the embellies. Some of the flowers were from a past kit. Next, it was on the cutting, inking, stickles, and distressing. Of course, the strips of paper were cut into banners for me. Then, I added some texture with Ferro and a Prima stencil. Once I had the feel for how the page would turn out, I printed the picture of baby Jax. Then, it was just a matter of gluing it all down.

Next, I worked on the Metal Mania challenge. I don't follow directions well because I forgot to use a Swirlydoos tut. I do have some old metal pieces from my stash though. This layout was based on a sketch that I had pinned. I love how the texture of the picture is followed on the layout.

Next, I went to the All that Flutters challenge. I swear, just about everything I do can go in this challenge. I love flowers and butterflies on my pages. I used part of the FedEx box my kit came in for the background. I mixed some of the Blenders Mermaid Sands into my Crackle Texture Paste for the bricks. I added some Perfect Pearls from a past kit to the butterfly chippies.

Next, I scrapped a heritage photo that my mom just sent to me that morning. This one includes flowers from a much older Swirly kit. The purples were perfect here.

Now, my husband asked me to scrap a photo of his best friend, Brian, and his then girlfriend, Iris. They took this selfie while on our dock last summer. Now, they are getting married so this will be a wedding gift from us. Papers, butterfly, metal fence, and LOVE letters from the kit. The leaves and pearls are from a past kit.

Now, to use that chippie. I used the Blenders on the chippie after a coat of gesso. Then some various embossing powders along with Perfect Pearls. Doilies from a past kit. Some flowers and leaves from my stash. I like to use the chippies in unexpected ways, meaning I like to cut them apart or use them where you wouldn't expect.

Now, on to more clean and simple as I am getting down to scraps. I like to do grungy and girlie together. The purples in this scrap of paper were perfect for the sunset photo at our wedding. The sky has the same purple so here we go. A little grunge, TH rub-ons and tissue tape, and some flowers. The black gothic fence is a die cut that I saved from Swirly camp two years ago. Thank you, Rae!

More scraps with this one. My first puppy love, Cody. His first Halloween dressed as a cheerleader. I just took the Build-a-Bear outfit off of my bear and put it on him. The flowers are from last month's kit and my stash.

Ok, now to make a card with this pretty piece of paper. I found this card technique on Pinterest. It is very easy but looks complicated. Here's a link https://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=3LEU7Hzgb2I

Using up my scraps now. I thought I knew what I was doing here but I was getting tired. So, I went to bed and while I was laying there I thought of doing some paper weaving with the scraps. I couldn't wait to get started. I wanted a little grunge with the weaving and some flowers. There you go. The kit is now gone.

I hope you enjoy your Swirlydoos kit as much as I did. Always so much gorgeousness packed into that box! Tfl!