Scrapcetera

Our 2011...

2012-01-25T21:09:00.000-06:00

Here's a little look at our 2011 Bo Bunny style! I brought out all my favorite Bo Bunny goodies for this one! I used Snowfall and Blizten for winter, Welcome Home for Spring, Barefoot and Bliss for summer and Forever Fall for Fall.

Thanks for visiting! Next week I am going to be having a few giveaways on this blog so please come back to check it out! Have a great night.

Nikki Sivils Sneak Peeks are up!

2012-01-18T20:57:00.000-06:00

One of my goals this year is to blog a little more and....... oppps it's only Jan. 18th and I am behind already!

I had to pop on tonight though to share with you the amazing release from Nikki Sivils! I got my hands on a few sheets of the Audrey line and I have to say it is even better in person. Of course I may be biased because I have two little girls that are perfect for this line. If you don't believe me you can judge for yourself.....

You can see the whole Audrey collection, the other three collections and work from the other DT members on Nikki's Blog. And the best part- leave a comment on Nikki's blog and you may win one of her new collections. Good Luck!

And I can't end without sending out a HUGE congrats to the new 2012 Nikki Sivils team! I can't wait to work with these talented girls this year! Check my sidebar for all their blog addresses and visit their blogs.

1. Julie Tucker-Wolek (Blog Coordinator)

2. Sarah Eclavea (Social Media Coordinator)

3. Deana Boston (Retailer Program Coordinator)

4. Stacy Rodriguez

5. Jodi Wilton (who is re-joining us from my original team 3 years ago)

6. Jennie McGarvey

7. Laurel Seabrook

8. Melissa Pablo

9. Melanie Jarocki

10. Marielle LeBlanc

and Katrina Hunt is the Design Team Leader

Thanks for coming by!

Bo Bunny Card Sketch Challenge

2011-12-28T19:58:00.000-06:00

There's a card sketch challenge on the Bo Bunny blog! To enter create a card based on this sketch by DT member Debbie Sherman and then upload your card to the Bo Bunny blog. You could win some Bo Bunny goodies if your card is randomly chosen. Good Luck!

I used the sketch to create this Valentine's Day card...

Miss Art's "Vinnie's" Vignette Kit

2011-12-26T09:15:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone. I hope you had a great, great, very merry Christmas! It was crazy here, but what else is new? We have a ton of new toys and a lot less space in our family room!

I have a project to share from the Miss Art's Vinnie's Vignette kit. I created this layout of baby Isabel's birth announcement from the kit. Visit Miss Art's for information on the latest class offerings and kits available HERE. There are details about how I created this layout on the Miss Art's blog.

Bo Bunny Snowfall and Trinkets

2011-12-21T21:04:00.000-06:00

I paired the new Bo Bunny snowfall papers with the new snowfall trinkets to make a couple of "snowy" cards. Since we won't be having a white Christmas here this is all the snow I will see this week!

That's it for today. A short and sweet post. Good night!

Nikki Sivils Challenge

2011-12-20T12:56:00.000-06:00

There's still time to join in on the Nikki Sivils monthly challenge. The challenge is to scrapbook photos taken on your mobile phone. There's some goodies at stake for the winner too!

I created this layout of Frances last Halloween using the My Lil' Monster collection.

You can find all the details for the challenge on Nikki's blog HERE.

Merry Christmas with some Nikki Sivils Gingerbread Land!!

2011-12-19T20:05:00.000-06:00

Opps! It's been almost one whole month since I last blogged! I was surprised to see I have a few new followers despite my absence (insert blushing smilie here). Let's see.... what have I been doing in my absence?

I celebrated my birthday, I celebrated Isabel's 1st birthday and I celebrated Frances's 3rd birthday. Whew... November and December are such busy months!

So before I dive right into my new projects I have a few pictures to share. I took the whole family to get some photos taken. I love how they turned out! All photos are from Shannon Range of Shannon Range photography in Oswego, IL. Aren't these girls precious?

And now on to my FAVORITE christmas collection...

Nikki Sivils Gingerbread Land!

Thanks for coming by! I will have another project to share tomorrow ;)

a Bo Bunny card sketch

2011-11-26T13:34:00.000-06:00

I created a card sketch for the Bo Bunny card sketch challenge.

And here's the card I created from it...

There's still a few days to play along with the challenge. All the info can be found HERE.

A Nikki Sivils Design Team Call!

2011-11-18T20:47:00.000-06:00

Here's all the details!

Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker

Design Team Call Announcement

Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker is excited to announce that we are having a Design Team Call!

We are looking for enthusiastic scrapbookers, cardmakers, and people that love to do altered projects of all types. We know there are some amazing designers out there and we would love to see you submit your best creations and possibly be a part of the Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker team. We are looking for all styles.

We are looking at selecting ten designers. We are limiting this call to applicants residing in the United States or Canada only.

The Term Details:

The term is for 6 months. The term will start mid-January (Jan. 10^th 2011) and end in May (May 30^th 2011).

The Requirement Details:

You may not be on any more than THREE manufacturer teams or kit clubs. This is a combined total of both.

You will need to create FOUR projects each month during your six-month term. These can be layouts, cards, altered or a combination of all of these. We want to showcase what you do best!

You will need to create one tutorial/step by step project during your term that will be

posted on the company blog for our readers. This will count toward two of your projects for the month that it is posted.

You may also be asked to create projects for trade shows, samples for stores etc.

You must have an active blog that is updated regularly. Good photography skills for your projects are a must. We want our readers and fans to see the projects in detail, because chances are they may want to recreate them!

Ability to meet deadlines in a timely and professional manner is an important aspect of being a design team member.

You will be expected to promote Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker through your blog, social media sites, online galleries that you may be a part of, etc. This also includes uploading projects onto the Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker website.

We are accepting applications starting immediately

thru December 28th, 2011 at 11:59 pm CST

The Application Details: Submit all of the below to nikki.sivils@gmail.com

**Your Name, Email Address, and Phone Number

**Projects to Submit: Three Total

Please submit TWO projects using Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker collections. These do not have to be new projects and we don’t care what collections, but we want to see how you work with Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker products.

**Please submit ONE project that is your favorite project that you feel showcases your style the best. This can be using any manufacturer that you like.

**Please provide a link to your blog. We would also like to see how you feature Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker projects in a blog post, so please provide us a direct link to the post featuring one of the Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker projects that you submit.

**We’ll need a link to ONE online gallery that you post your projects in. If you have more, great, please send them too. We’d also like your username to any forums that you may be a part of, such as TwoPeas, Scrapbook.com, Split Coast Stampers, etc.

**Please attach a list of Design Teams that you are currently on or have been on in the past. Design team experience is NOT a requirement at all, but if you have it we would love to see your work for your current/previous teams.

**Let us know if you have been published in any print publications. Again, this is not a requirement, we would just like you to shout it out if you have.

The announcement of the Design Team will be made around the first week in January 2012.

If you are accepted to the Design Team, you can expect the following:

Promotion of you, your blog, and projects on any Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker website, Facebook, Twitter, and any other sites that we may partner with.

Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker is very generous with product for you to work with and will provide plenty for you to complete your assignments. From time to time, we also partner with companies and you may receive other manufactures products also.

Compensation for trade show work, publications, etc will be provided in contract upon acceptance.

If you have any additional questions, please email nikki.sivils@gmail.com and we will answer them promptly.

A Bo Bunny Christmas

2011-11-16T20:22:00.000-06:00

My sweet girls almost a year ago. They are growing so fast!

Bo Bunny Blitzen supplies.

It's a steal!

2011-11-11T21:23:00.000-06:00

Hint, hint.... There will be a special scrapbook "steal" up tomorrow at the scrabpook steals. I promised not to tell what the steal is, but I will say it's a good one! :)

Check there tomorrow morning! Have a great night!

Nikki Sivils Gingerbread Land

2011-11-08T20:00:00.000-06:00

How about some Gingerbread land projects today? I am in love with this new line!

It's perfect for non-Christmas layouts.....

And Christmas layouts alike!

Thanks for visiting!

Bo Bunny + Scor Pal + a Sketch

2011-11-04T20:22:00.000-05:00

Hi there! Happy belated Halloween to everyone!

Here is my super cute little skunk-

And of course I this is the cutest Minnie Mouse I have ever seen :)

I also have a sketch to share that I created for the Bo Bunny and Scor Pal team up week.

And my layout that I created using Bo Bunny "Sweet Tooth". I used the scor pal to create my cupcake wrapper :)

Thanks so much to the Scor Buddy folks for sending me the scor pal!

You can win a scor pal too! Visit the Bo Bunny blog and then hop on over to the Scor-Pal blog and leave a comment therel! By doing so, you have the chance of winning a fabulous prize package from Bo Bunny and Scor-Pal!!!

Thankls for coming by today!

A free class and coming soon to Miss Art's Paper Crafting School...

2011-11-03T06:00:00.003-05:00

Coming soon to Miss Art's Paper Crafting School....

Many believe climbing Himalayan peaks or swimming the English Channel to be near impossible feats. Those of us with children know however, that they pale in comparison to capturing that iconic photo of a newborn’s first visit with Santa or getting your pre-teen to wear those home spun matching pajamas on Christmas morning for just one more year. If you braved the mayhem of the mall for that moment with Kris Kringle or agreed to give your 12 year old a cell phone in exchange for the flannel footed sleeper, showcase your Christmas coups in Sarah Eclavea’s 101 Merry Moments class. In three easy-to-follow videos Sarah shares her album making know how and uses our Virginia’s Letter Kit to create pocket pages, custom tabbed pages, paper pieced banners, and holiday embellishments. Miss Art’s Papercrafting School begins preserving Yuletide victories on 11/10/11.

And...

Join us this weekend for a FREE class!

Has Halloween left you covered in sweet wrappers, partially duct tapped to your child's abandoned costume with a bank account balance that's more trick than treat? If your feeling more hallow than happy let Miss Art's headmaster treat you to a fantastic, but time sensitive offer. For this weekend only, (November 4 - 6th) enjoy a tuition free class designed to renew your creativity, and go easy on your wallet. You can even snack on the candy "taxes" you've stolen from the kiddos while taking the class. Beginning on Friday, November 4th, you will have 3 days to check out one of our most popular classes for free, no subscription needed. In “Layered Layouts”, you will accompany our inspired resident architect, Julie Winks, as she explains the essential underpinnings of daringly designed layouts. We hope to see you in the class room and if you enjoy our class that you'll be kind enough to leave an apple or a comment for the teacher.

This free class starts this weekend at: http://missartspapercrafting.com/classes

Happy Fall with Bo Bunny Forever Fall

2011-10-18T21:19:00.000-05:00

I have a tutorial up on the Bo Bunny blog to create this layout using their new Forever Fall collection. This collection quickly became my new favorite!

You can see the tutorial on the Bo Bunny blog- http://bobunny.blogspot.com/

a few new layouts featuring HELMAR!

2011-10-10T14:27:00.000-05:00

Hi there! I have a few things to share today. First, I am featured on the Helmar blog today! Here is one of teh layouts featured on the blog. I used lots of Helmar goodies!

supplies: Helmar tape runner, 450 quick dry, gemstone glue; Bo Bunny Welcome Home papers and embellishments.

I also created this layout using Nikki Sivils "School is Cool" with my Helmar goodies. Here is me and my sweet Isabel. She is always smiling!

supplies: Helmar tape runner, zapdots, and 450 quick dry; Nikki Sivils School is cool paper and embellishments, burlap buttons.

Thanks for visiting! I have a few more projects to share so I will be back soon!

October's ScrapRoom Kit

2011-10-03T19:40:00.000-05:00

Hi there! I hope you are having a great fall!

Today the October ScrapRoom Kit goes on sale. It is full of fun fall colors and lots of fall papers and embellishments. I created this layout from the October Double Shot kit and October embellishment kit.

You can see the complete kit on the ScrapRoom's website!

Quick Hair Clips and party favors!

2011-09-20T21:24:00.000-05:00

EEEKKKK! And not because Halloween is coming before I know it! I can't believe it has been so so so long since I last updated this blog! Time has gotten away from me and I have to admit I have not created any projects in weeks!

At last things are finally starting to settle down and I created three layouts and two cards this last weekend. It felt good to break out my paper trimmer and punches again- hehe! I will share these projects with you soon, I promise!

So today I have some quick (very quick) hairclips I created with some of my leftover supplies. I cleaned out my scraproom and had a box of stuff waiting to be donated. Before dropping it off I thought- can I do anything with this? And so these clips were born. I made clips like this before with flowers and brads, but I am loving how the cute little felties look!

I used some plain metal clips I bought at Hobby Lobby. The ribbon is left over scraps of Bo Bunny ribbon and the embellishments American Crafts Flair. To create them trim the ribbon just slightly larger than the top of the metal clip. Apply a thin line of strong liquid adhesive (I used Beacon 3 in 1) to the back of the ribbon. Then adhere the ribbon to the metal clip folding the left over edges down underneath the clip. Then you can decorate the clips with more folded ribbon and the flair using the liquid adhesive.

To make cute party favors add a clip to a cellophane bag filled with candy and tie with a twist tie. Glue a paper flower to the front.

Thanks for coming by!

Bo Bunny Welcome Home

2011-09-06T19:37:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! I hope you are all having a great start to your September. I couldn't let September go by without some apple picking! The orchard opened this weekend and I was there with two little girls in tow picking lots of apples and of course eating lots of apple doughnuts. I love everything about fall!! I am so excited this time of year!

So before I break out my fall papers and photos, I decided to scrapbook some photos of my dear Frances this summer at the lake. She looks so grown up these photos!!! Aaahhhhh!!! I can't believe how fast she is growing! It amazes me, but at the same time makes me a little sad. I feel like everything is passing me by. So I wrote a little note to her on this layout telling her how much she means to me and how much I love her.

supplies: Bo Bunny Welcome Home papers and embellishments, Etcetera embellishments; American Crafts stickers

My assignment for the blog was to create a simple version of this layout and then to step it up with a more embellished version. You can see my simple version on the Bo Bunny blog HERE.

That's it for today! Have a great week!

The September ScrapRoom Kit

2011-09-03T12:17:00.000-05:00

The September ScrapRoom Kit is now available! It is full of bright colors and very FUN embellishments.

I worked with the Double Shot October Afternoon kit this month. I have to say I don't have many travel pictures, but this kit was fun to work with. I love using papers and embellishments to tell the story behind my layouts and this map paper did just that!

supplies: The ScrapRoom Double Shot Kit (October Afternoon Boarding Pass papers, buttons and stickers) and Embellishment kit (American Crafts Amy Tangerine letters; Jillibean Soup Dutch Mustard Soup stickers); Other: American Crafts twine, Bo Bunny ribbon, Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker Stamp

Thanks for coming by!

Busy Little Bee

2011-09-01T19:29:00.000-05:00

That's me the last couple weeks, a busy little bee! After 10 months of staying home with my two sweet girls on August 15th I had to return to work. It is has been go, go, go ever since! I love being a teacher, but I love being a mommy more and I was heartbroken to leave them at daycare on my first day back. We are all slowly gettting used to our new routine- waking at 5am, getting ready for work, warming bottles, dressing two little girls, and getting our the door hopefully by 6:15am.

I try to update the blog a few times a week, but it just wasn't happening these last two weeks! I am hoping now to get back on track. So to start I have a new layout to share using the Pebbles "Every After" line.

I mean how could I resist using this princess paper for my little princess?

supplies: Pebbles paper, stickers and buttons; American Crafts stickers and twine; Cosmo Cricket stickers

Thanks so much for coming by and bearing with me during these busy times! Have a great Friday!

Winner, winner!

2011-08-18T20:29:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, no new project tonight I am afraid, but I do have a winner. Thank you so much to everyone who left comments on my Bo Bunny blog post here and on the Bo Bunny blog. Your comments made my day. I was reading them at work on my first day back after a 9 month maternity leave. So I really needed something to cheer my up that day!

Twenty-nine people left comments so I entered 1-29 into the random number generator at random.org and the lucky winner was number 5.

The fifth person to leave a comment was:

Sue D said...

Very sweet mini album and love the zebra layout!
slrdowney at hotmail dot com

August 15, 2011 11:49 AM

Congrats Sue! Email your mailing address to scrapcetera@aol.com and I will get your Bo Bunny goodies out to you!

There is still the prize to win from the Bo Bunny blog. Bo Bunny will be picking a winner for each designer on each day this month. All the winners will be posted on the Bo Bunny blog at the end of the month. So keep leaving comments and check back at the end of August to see the list of winners. Good luck and as always thanks for visiting my blog!

More new Nikki Sivils!!

2011-08-16T21:26:00.000-05:00

Hi, hi, hi! It's a late post tonight because boy have I been busy! School starts tomorrow and there is so much to do and prepare. I am definitely missing the carefree summer days and spending time with my girls. But I do love fall and it is exciting to start a new year with new students too.

Yesterday Nikki Sivils started shipping all her new lines to stores. I was lucky enough to design with her papers over the summer and I love them all. I really can't pick a favorite line! They are each cute in their own unique way. So which one to show today? Decisions, decisions..... Hmmmm......how about this one?

This is Frances playing with her favorite little friend Curious George. She loves getting into the band aids and covering all her dolls with them! She has a little doctor's bag too with all her instruments. She says "I am making George feel better mommy". She is seriously the sweetest thing when she's not causing all sorts of trouble. It's kind of hard to stay mad at her.

supplies: Nikki Sivils Get Well Soon collection

There's also a new guest designer on Nikki's blog today- the extremely talented Allison Davis! You can read all about her on the BLOG. She created the cutest projects. You don't want to miss them!

Thanks for coming by today!

I love Bo Bunny

2011-08-15T07:02:00.001-05:00

Hello to all! If you are coming from the Bo Bunny blog welcome to my blog! I am so happy you came over! If you just happened to pop in today I will let you know what is going on :)

Today is my day on the Bo Bunny blog! Each design team member got a day in August to write a blog post introducing themselves and sharing some work. My post is HERE. If you visit and leave a comment you will be entered to win a Bo Bunny prize package too!

I promised a brand new layout to share and another giveaway on my blog! So leave a comment on this post and I will pick one person to win some Bo Bunny goodies. So there are TWO giveaways- one on the Bo Bunny blog (leave a comment there) and one on my blog (leave a comment here).

Here is my layout of little Isabel dressed up in her zebra bathing suit- too cute!

supplies: Bo Bunny Zoology papers, noteworthy,12x12 chipboard, 12x12 stickers, ribbon and jewels; Bo Bunny double dot cardstock; American Crafts Thickers; Cricut Expression; Cricut Create A Critter Cartridge.

I also created this mini album to share on the Bo Bo Bunny blog today. I knew this "Garden Girl" mini edgy album wasperfect for the photos of my girls and me on Mother's Day.

I chose the saying "Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful" after one of "those days". Frances wanted a cookie for lunch and I told her no, she had to eat her lunch first. The plate of chicken nuggets, fruit and carrots was thrown all over the floor while she yelled "Mommy I dont want you anymore!" I turned around for a minute and Isabel crawled over to the dogs' water bowl, flipped it over and proceeded to splash around. I still don't know how she crawls that fast! When she tried to start crawling away and her wet knees kept slipping on the floor I couldn't help but laugh. They may not always behave like perfect little angels, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Frances will not take pictures with Isabel so I made a section for each of the girls. Here is Frances's section. I punched holes in one of the noteworthy tags and included it to journal on.

This is Isabel's section. I included another noteworthy tag to put my journaling on for her.

supplies

mini album: Garden Girl mini edgy album

patterned paper: Garden Girl, Magical, Dot, Ivy, Cut Outs, 6x6 paper pad/ Garden Girl

jewels: Garden Girl

stickers: 12x12 Garden Girl, 12x12 ETC, Friendship

noteworthy: Garden Girl

chipboard: 12 x 12 Garden Girl

ribbon: Bo Bunny Double Dot Chiffon

rubons: Garden Girl

Thanks for coming by today and visiting me!

An exciting new position!

2011-08-11T08:47:00.001-05:00

Good Thursday morning! I have some exciting news I have been waiting to share with everyone.

I was asked to take over the Social Media Coordinator position for Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker! I am so excited and have been easing my way into the last few days. You will be seeing lots of me on the Nikki Sivils facebook page, twitter account and over on Scrapbook.com. Please come on over to the facebook page and "like" us if you haven't already. I can't wait to have fun with all of you!

I will end with a project using Nikki Sivils cute, cute, cute new paper line "My Little Monster". This is my little monster at 6 months old. Hard to imagine this was over 2 years ago!

Have a great day!

A few quick cards!

2011-08-10T15:55:00.000-05:00

Hi there! I hope everyone's weather is as nice as ours! Finally it is GORGEOUS out and I have to go back to work next week. I am just trying to enjoy it while I can!

Today I have a post up on the ScrapRoom blog. It is about making quick cards from your scraps. Here are the two cards I created using only scraps from the August Double Shot kit.

You can read my tips and tricks HERE on the ScrapRoom blog.

Have a great day!

The ScrapRoom August Sketch Challenge

2011-08-09T07:00:00.001-05:00

Hi there! How about sketch today to get you going? The monthly sketch challenge from The ScrapRoom is up on the blog. This month's sketch was provided by DT member Aphra Boyler.

And here is my layout based on the sketch. I used the Basic Grey "Out of Print" papers from the Double Shot kit.

All supplies from the August Double Shot kit and August embellishment kit except- pink letters (American Crafts), stamps (Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker) and ink (TPC studios Clearly Better Ink pad)

If you want to play along check out the blog and there ARE prizes involved!

Have a great day!

Nikki Sivils and Unity!

2011-08-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

It's a new week and I have some new projects for you! At CHA last month I was given a few of the new Nikki Sivils stamp sets. They are so cute I couldn't wait to play with them! Thank you Unity! So here's a few cards I whipped up with Nikki's paper and the Unity stamps.

On this one I stamped the Monster, tag and sentiment using the Unity stamps.

On this one I stamped the ticket.

This one doesn't have any stamps, but I love the little monsters!

Supplies: Nikki Sivils Get Well Soon and My Little Monster collections, Unity stamps, Ink from TPC studios.

I also have to give out a BIG THANK YOU to TPC Studios who so generously gave me a few ink pads to try out. The ink was awesome! I used the Clearly Better ink pad for my projects above and love how smooth it stamped on my papers.

Thanks for coming by! Have a great Monday!

My little ray of sunshine

2011-08-03T17:03:00.000-05:00

Here she is- my little ray of sunshine. I couldn't have asked for a happier, more content baby. She is always laughing and smiling and of course bringing sunshine whereever she goes. It only seemed fitting that I used American Crafts "Hello Sunshine" line for this sweet girl.

supplies: American Crafts -Hello Sunshine paper, Dear Lizzy chipboard, Thickers and twine; Pebbles Inc. - buttons

Thanks for visiting today and letting me share my new favorite layout with you.

The August ScrapRoom Kits are UP!

2011-08-02T08:19:00.000-05:00

Hi girls! I am excited to say that the August ScrapRoom kits are up on the blog. I love the summer themed pages and embellishents in this month's kits. I am just trying to hold to every last inch of summer I can! Now don't get me wrong, fall is my favorite season and I love everything about it, but I don't want to go back to school and leave my babies :(

One of my favorite lines is in the Flavors of the Month kit- American Crafts Campy Trails. I am an outdoors girl and this collections FUN!

I used the kit to create this layout of my little girlie Frances last summer on one of our hikes. This girl loves to play in the dirt and here she is playing and "tasting" the dirt, LOL!

supplies: American Crafts Campy Trails papers and embellishments (from the August ScrapRoom Kit), twine, flowers and letters- American Crafts, small letters- Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker (from my stash)

I also used Jenny's super cute banner tutorial that can be found on The ScrapRoom blog HERE.

Thanks for stopping by and I have lots of other projects with the Double Shot kit to share latter this month so please come back!

Have you visited Pencil Lines?

2011-08-01T06:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday to all and I hope this week will be great for everyone!

I want to share that I am the Guest Designer over at Pencil Lines. I first found the site a few years ago when I discovered online scrapbooking and love, love, love the sketches! They have had several DT calls over the years, but I was always too afraid to try out so I was shocked, surprised and elated when I found an email in my inbox asking me to guest design with this sketch:

I used the sketch to create this layout about my Isabel's cute little pout. This is her pouty face and I just can't resist it. I melt everytime. Boy, oh boy, is she going to use this face against me when she is older- lol!

Supplies: Crate Paper Neighborhood collection paper, stickers, chipboard, and buttons; American Crafts stickers (thickers) and twine

Please head on over to the Pencil Lines blog to see the design team's amazing layouts.

See you soon!

Bo Bunny card sketch

2011-07-27T08:00:00.002-05:00

There's a card sketch challenge on the Bo Bunny blog today! Here's the sketch-

And here's my card-

paper, chipboard, jewels, and stickers Bo Bunny Liberty

If you would like to play along check out the Bo Bunny blog and share your card with us!

Another new card

2011-07-26T08:00:00.002-05:00

It's Tuesday and the weather outside is beautiful! I am lucky enough to spend the day with my two favorite girls and we are having so much fun! I hope everyone is having a great day too.

I have another card to share with you today made from American Crafts stash. The Dear Lizzy spring line was one of my favorites and I can't manage to throw any of my scraps away! The fun paper just makes me smile :)

paper, chipboard, rubons and ribbon American Crafts Dear Lizzy

Thanks so much for coming by today! I hope your day is great!

Using some of my AC scraps

2011-07-25T07:50:00.000-05:00

Hi there! I am back from CHA, well it was in my hometown so I really didn't have to go far :), and ready to scrap! After looking at all the projects and new product from the show I am inspired to scrap, scrap, scrap.

One of my favorite new lines that is a MUST HAVE for me is the American Crafts Amy Tangerine line. Swoon! When I saw it on their blog I was like it's OK...... But in real life, oh my, it is cute! I even got to meet the super cute Amy Tan herself. Here is a pic of (from left to right) Amy Tan, Katrina Hunt, and myself at the American Crafts booth.

This weekend I just had to break out my American Crafts stuff and create a few cards. I think I have used up just about every inch of this paper line now! Who says scraps can't make cute stuff? I made these two cards from my scraps.

supplies: american crafts Dear Lizzy "spring" papers, ribbon, thickers and rubons, american crafts "everyday" paper (card base), american crafts twine, pebbles buttons, bo bunny jewels

Thanks for coming by today and letting me share! Have a fun Monday!

Hello from CHA and a BIG giveaway!

2011-07-20T20:59:00.001-05:00

Hi y'all! I spent the whole day at CHA summer today and saw lots and lots of amazing products! When I came home my children had left destruction in every room of the house, but it was well worth it! The most common question I was asked by people- "How do you have time to scrapbook with a 8 month old and 2 1/2 year old?" Hmmm good question everyone. The answer is naps. I have been blessed with two little girls who love their naps. So it's been very easy to get them on the same schedule.

I was able to take a few pictures of the Nikki Sivils Booth where I was working the make n' take table today. Like what you see? Well you can win all five of her new collections. Just hop on over to the Nikki Sivils Blog and leave a comment. Good Luck!

And here is one of my new favorite layouts that was up in Nikki's booth. Can you see it above? Yes, it's up there hehe! I used Nikki's new "School is Cool" line. I just want to point out that the journaling says my 2 1/2 year old wants to be a Scarlet Macaw rescuer when she grows up. Yes she actually said that. The girl is watching a little too much "Go Diego Go"!

Thanks for coming by today! It makes my day to have some visitors! See you soon!

Nikki Sivils My Lil' Monster Sneak Peek

2011-07-15T15:49:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday! I hope everyone is keeping cool. It is a HOT one here! Speaking of hot weather, I dressed my little Isabel up in her yellow summer dress and took her 8 month pictures yesterday. Isn't she just a little ray of sunshine?

And here is a sneak peek of Nikki Sivil's new line My Lil' Monster that is debuting at CHA just next week! Isabel was only three months in these photos, but just as cute :)

The complete My Lil' Monster line is up on Nikki's Blog. You can see all the super cute paper and embellishments from this line there.

I will be at CHA next week working at Nikki's Make N' Take table. If you are at the show stop by and say hi!

Have a great weekend!

More than four

2011-07-14T08:00:00.001-05:00

Do you have lots and lots and lots of photos to scrap? If you do then the post on the Bo Bunny blog today is for you. There is a new regular feature debuting on the blog today titled "More than 4".

Now I love to scrap lots of photos, but unfortunately my little girlies are not always the most cooperative bunch. So I am lucky if I have one good photo from an outing much less more than four. But when I was given this assignment I knew exactly which photos I would choose to work with. I just couldn't decide which of these sweet photos to scrap so I choose them all! I know, I know they all look pretty similar, but mom's notice all the little subtleties and I can tell you each of these expressions is very different. So you can use my layout design to scrap 5 pretty similar photos or 5 very different photos. That is up to you!

For my layout I cropped all my photos to 3"x4.5" so they fit better on the layout.

Thanks for visiting me today! I hope to see you soon!

I promised a sneak!!

2011-07-13T08:50:00.000-05:00

And here it is...

Some brand new not even in stores yet Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker!

I created this using Nikki's new line "Gingerbread Land".

Thanks for looking!

How about a sketch today?

2011-07-12T09:25:00.000-05:00

Every month there is a sketch challenge over on the ScrapRoom's blog. This month's sketch is from the every so talented Jenny Moore. Don't you just love it?

And here is my layout based on the sketch. I thought these papers were perfect for these pictures of my little Isabel. I don't know why the photos look dark in the picture, but they aren't in real life. Just wanted to let you know ;)

Everything was from the Double Shot kit and embellishment kit except the yellow letters. I also used some of my new dies that the kind folks at spellbinders sent out to me. Thank you Spellbinders for being so generous!

If you want play along please visit The ScrapRoom blog for details!

Thanks for visiting today!

How about a card today?

2011-07-11T10:11:00.000-05:00

I have another card to share today from the July ScrapRoom kit! This paper is so fun and sunny it makes me happy just looking at it!

Supplies from the July Double Shot kit except sentiment sticker (June Double Shot kit), twine, jewels and button.

Thanks for looking! I have one more project to share tomorrow. Hope to see you then!

Postage Stamp Cards

2011-07-08T13:45:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday! I am back with another project from The ScrapRoom's July Kit.

I am loving the look of these postage stamp cards I keep seeing everywhere so I had to try one myself. I am not sure how people make them, but this is how I created mine-

First I trimmed my cardstock to make my card base then scored and folded it into a card. I then used a small circle punch (1 inch) to punch half a circle through both sheets of cardstock at the same time in the middle of the card on all four sides. Next I punched holes next to the middle ones. I think I may have added one too many holes on each side because it looks a little cramped, but overall it turned out great and was very easy to do!

Everything on the card is from the ScrapRoom July kit except the sentiment, button and twine.

Thanks for coming by!!

I'm back!

2011-07-07T22:02:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! I am back from vacation! It was great. I really, really, really wish I was still there. I am back to laundry, dishes, diapers and on and on. No more nightly strolls on the pier and ice cream cones after dinner :(

But..... I did come back to lots of scrappy supplies that will be debuting at CHA this summer! I also had an email in my inbox that a card I submitted to CARDS magazine was accepted for publication! Yay!! I have been sending stuff to magazines for over two years now and nothing. The only thing that was published in print was the layout in the Big Book of Scrapbook Layouts. So to say I have been discouraged is an understatement. Everyone said don't give up so I didn't and yay! My first put with CARDS magazine!

While I was gone the July kit from The ScrapRoom was revealed as well. Today I will show you one of my new fave layouts. It is totally not my style at all, but I like to try new things every once in a while ;) If you know my work then you know I am all about straight lines and lining everything up just so. I love the grid! Circles are so not my friend and they never look right when I try to use them. So... I decided to jump right in and create a layout that is all circles. If you are going to do it then go all the way right?

Here is my finished project using the ScrapRoom's July Double Shot Kit-

Everything is from the kit and embellishment kit except the yellow letters. The photo is of my sweet Frances and I on Mother's Day. Isn't she the sweetest? I chose the title "Two of a Kind" because although she doesn't look like me, we are exactly alike in personality.

Thanks for coming by and I will have more ScrapRoom projects to show in the next few days! Plus next week I show what I have been working on for Nikki Sivils' booth at CHA!! I can't wait!

Nikki Sivils and Helmar!

2011-07-03T08:21:00.000-05:00

Two great companies have teamed up to bring you some great projects- Nikki Sivils and Helmar! Helmar was nice enough to send me a bunch of their supplies to use with my Nikki Sivils paper and embellishments. And nothing goes better with Nikki's products than Helmar of course!

I have been creating all my projects with my Helmar adhesives, but I saved one to share with you today!

I thought Nikki's "It's Raining, It's Pouring" collection was perfect for these photos of Isabel all wrapped up in her towel after her bath. Taking a bath is one of her favorite activites so it wasn't hard to get some smiles from her! I added the little ducky to go with the squeaky clean title. I cut him from my Cricut Expression using the Wild Card cartridge (It is actually a chain of ducks, but I cut one out). Then I punched a bunch of circles for my bubbles. To finish it off I added some glossy accents to look like water splashes.

The Helmar products I used on this layout are: tape runner, liquid scrap dots, zap dots and quick dry 450.

Thank you Helmar!

You can see some more Helmar and Nikki Sivils creations on Nikki's Blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Some new sketches

2011-06-23T08:00:00.002-05:00

Hi there!

Last month I volunteered to make the montly sketch for The ScrapRoom. I am always nervous that my work might dissappoint so I created three sketches just in case! Here's the two that didn't "make the cut"- lol!

I hope they inspire you in some way! Please be sure to share them too!

Focus on: Chipboard Stickers

2011-06-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hi there! Today on the Bo Bunny blog they are focusing on chipboard stickers. I was so happy to get this assignment because I LOVE me some chipboard stickers! They are easy to use (just peel and stick) and so super cute what's not to love, right? On my layout I used Barefoot and Bliss papers and embellishments and mixed up some of the 12 x 12 chipboard and Icandy chipboard.

The chipboard waves were actually one big sticker, but I cut it into three pieces to better frame my layout. I also layered the chipboard (the flower on the pail) and used foam tape on my turtle chipboard piece to pop him up a bit. It looks like he's swimming in the waves! How cute is that?

Thanks for visiting me today and I hope everyone is having as good a summer as that little girl in the photo!

Nikki Sivils Day!

2011-06-21T10:00:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! I am featured on the Nikki Sivils blog today! I have two fun projects to share that I absolutely loved making!

First up is this little mini album I made of my little girl's first b-day party using Nikki's "It's Your Day" papers and embellishments. To create the album I used the Nikki Sivils scalloped chipboard album for the pages and one page from the North Pole lights chipboard album for the cover. I painted the edges of all my pages a fun bright pink to coordinate with the papers.

I was pretty proud of this Curious George cupcakes I made, They must have looked realistic because Frances was talking to them!

The little girlie was so tired at the end of the day she could not even keep her eyes open!

Next up I have a layout of my sweet Frances doing something she loves to do when it rains- Hippo Hunting! Not sure where she got this from, but whenever it rains she says we need to go hippo hunting. She grabs her flashlight and I put on her rain coat and we go walking around the neighborhood looking for hippos. She even says "there's one mommy" and points them all out to me! This girl has some imagination!

On this layout I used Nikki Sivils "It's Raining, It's Pouring" paper and embellishments and my cricut Create a Critter cartridge to cut the little Hippo. I can't believe how much older my little girl looks in these pictures compared to her birthday album! They grow so, so fast!

Please stop by Nikki's blog to see the rest of the DT's work and some peeks at the new CHA lines coming out next month! And there is a contest to win some of the new releases before you buy them. Check out Nikki's blog for details! Here's a little sneak for you:

Thanks for coming by today!

The Big Book of Scrapbook Pages

2011-06-20T22:36:00.000-05:00

Yay!! I finally received my copy of this book! And it is a big book indeed. Lots and lots of amazing layotus to look at!

Here's my layout on page 201:

It's been so long I almost forgot about this layout! Especially since they have had it all this time too. If you want a copy you can order it from Amazon.com and I have heard Hobby Lobby is selling it too!

Thanks for coming by. Tomorrow I will have two new Nikki Sivils projects up so please come on back. Good night!

It's your day!

2011-06-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

Good morning all! I have to say that I have now created a total of three mini-albums. At first I hated them and alwas gave up before I finished. But I guess I was just using the wrong papers because when I use the Nikki Sivils papers I LOVE them!

I can only show you a peak of this mini I created of my Frances's first b-day using "It's Your Day". The whole project will be posted next week. I do hope you will come back to see the rest of it!

Have a great day!

A Bo Bunny Sneak

2011-06-16T09:00:00.001-05:00

I can't show you the whole thing yet, but here is what I have been working on....

Have a great day!

Some new Nikki Sivils!

2011-06-15T09:00:00.001-05:00

Nikki is busy working her magic for CHA summer! I for one cannot wait to use some of those goodies! I guess just need some patience! I feel like my 2 year old waiting though!

So how about a sneak while we wait? Nikki just debuted this new line on her blog. Here is.....

I am loving all the new additions to Nikki's lines! There are more patterned papers, a 12x12 stickers sheet, a die cut sheet and a 12x12 sticker sheet that is just all images! How fun is that???? And she is also going to be coming out collection packs too.

Thanks for coming by and checking out one of Nikki's new lines!

a baby and a wedding

2011-06-14T15:42:00.000-05:00

Hello! I hope everyone is having a great day!

First I would love to share these pictures of my sweet little Isabel with you! She turned 7 months old yesterday and she is just the cutest little thing. I can't believe this little princess is already 7 months old! It seems like just yesterday I couldn't wait to meet her.

And now for the wedding! My friend is getting married so I made her this card for her wedding shower. I used all my "extras" on it and I am really happy about how it turned out. Almost too happy to give it to her! Just kidding! Hehe!

The background papers are SEI Corrine from The ScrapRoom June Kit, the chipboard is Crate Paper Portrait from The ScrapRoom May Kit, the ribbon and rubons are American Crafts and the pink paper the butterflies are punched from is Pink Paislee. That Pink Paislee paper is my favorite from the Valentine's line two years ago. I am down to just a a quarter of a 12x12 sheet, but I won't throw it away!

Thanks for coming by today! I have lots of projects just waiting to be posted so I would love it if you would come back soon!

Elmer's Craft and Tell!

2011-06-10T05:00:00.000-05:00

Hi all! A few weeks ago I was asked to participate in this year's Elmer's Craft and Tell and now I can show you my project made with Elmer's and Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker products.

What is the Craft and Tell you ask? Well Elmer's so generously sent me this box of goodies to create a project with (and to the rest of the Nikki Sivils DT that is participating)! Thanks Elmer's!!! And keep reading to learn how you can win some Elmer's goodies for yourself. The giveaway info is at the bottom of the post :)

Now I can show all of you my project. So I am "crafting" and "telling" so to speak! There will be two teams of Nikki's girls "crafting and telling" this weekend. One team on Friday and one team on Saturday.

Now for my project! As soon as I saw the foam board I had this idea to make my daughter a little house for her toy animals. And the Nikki Sivils "We are Family" collection was perfect to decorate my house. I used the craft knife and mat to cut the shape of my house (I just did it free hand by first sketching on the foam board in pencil, cutting and erasing my pencil marks). Then I used the scissors to cut out my paper to match and the craft bond glue (which is AWESOME) to adhere everything. There were also some paint markers included that I forgot to add to the photo above. I used the brown one to color the white edges of the foam board. Those are markers are great! The are just like acrylic paint, but soooooo much easier and less messy!

Here are some pictures of the house:

Front
(my favorite is the little curtins!)

Back

Side

Since this was for my daughter I decided to make it a family project. I decorated the outside and she decorated the inside. The glue stick was perfect for her :) She picked out the stickers and paper for the inside, but I decorated the little shelves :)

My daughter loves the tv shows Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go. She wanted to make this a house for Dora and Diego and the animals they rescue. That's why there's animal stickers inside. We call it the rescue center. She puts her little Dora figure in the winder to look out. It is sooo cute!

Here are some of the animals she "rescued"....

And her playing with it!

So, I bet you are wondering what YOU need to do to win some fun Elmer's

products? Well, just visit EACH of the girls' projects on their blogs and leave

a comment.

Today's Team includes:

Delaina Burns

Linda Beeson

Jennifer Yates

Sarah Eclavea (that's me!)

Katrina Hunt (will be posted on Saturday)

After visiting all the blogs go to the Nikki Sivils blog and leave a comment for a chance to win a prize. You will have until June 12th at midnight CST to leave comments. There will be a prize given both Friday and Saturday so check Nikki's blog on Saturday to find out who is on the team for that day. The winners will be announced on the evening of June 13th.

Also here are some fun links for you! Go to their Facebook pages and tell them

that the Divas from Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker sent you over!!!!

Elmer's Website

http://www.elmers.com/

Elmer's on Facebook

www.facebook.com/elmers

Elmer's on Twitter

www.twitter.com/elmers

X-ACTO Facebook Page

www.facebook.com/xacto

Thanks for coming by and enjoy the projects!

More ScrapRoom Goodness

2011-06-09T10:15:00.001-05:00

I am just loving the June Kit from The ScrapRoom! I used up every last piece of paper from my Double Shot kit and now I am moving on to my Flavors of the Month kit!

If you aren't familiar with the ScrapRoom kits let me tell you a little about them. There are two choices of kits the Double Shot Kit and The Flavors of the Month kit. The Double Shot kit (which I mainly design with) consists of two paper collections that you can use to make several pages. The Flavors of the Month consists of four paper collections that are different than the ones in the Double Shot kit. So you can order one kit or both and you will gets lots of goodies from different manufacturers. I love that each kit is really a combination of smaller kits! That way I have lots of variety. With most kits I usually have lots left over because there is so much of each collection.

For this layout I used the Pebbles collection from the Flavors of the Month Kit. I also mixed in a few embellishments from my Double Shot Kit that I had left over :)

This is my little girlie last summer. This is her "say cheese" smile! It is soooo cute!

I also created this sketch to go with my layout to give you all some inspiration too. Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by!

TSR sketch challenge

2011-06-07T14:20:00.000-05:00

It's time for the monthly ScrapRoom sketch challenge and this month's sketch was provided by me!

Here is the sketch I created just for the ScrapRoom:

And here is my layout based on the sketch. I mixed up the two lines in this month's Double Shot kit- Basic Grey Sweet Threads and Jillibean Soup Blossom Soup. Tammy did such a great job putting this kit together. The two lines just look like they go together. And sorry for the glare! I was having photography troubles that day!

Thanks for coming by and please hop on over to the ScrapRoom blog where the rest of the DT has a take on the sketch. We would also love to see your layouts too. There is a prize up for grabs from the ScrapRoom store.

Barefoot and Bliss

2011-06-03T09:08:00.000-05:00

Have you seen Bo Bunny's new release "Barefoot and Bliss"? I have been very patiently waiting for summer so looking at this paper makes me HAPPY! I have to admit that the girls have lots of summer outfits with these prints and colors and it matches the swimsuits they got in their Easter baskets too. So I will be using a lot of this collection!

These are photos of my little Frances last summer on her very first trip to the beach. She had never been on sand before and loved squishing it through her toes. When I saw the chipboard "Barefoot and Bliss" piece I knew it would be perfect for these photos! The papers also give the photos a little brightness since it was an overcast day :)

supplies: Bo Bunny Barefoot and Bliss papers, noteworthy, dimensional stickers, 12x12 chipboard, 12x12 combo stickers, jewels, 6x6 minipad

There are lots of other great projects on the Bo Bunny blog today for 'Free for All Friday' so please stop by there if you get a chance!

A few things...

2011-06-02T21:47:00.001-05:00

Hi there, I have a few things for you today!

First up- a few cards I created with the ScrapRoom's June Double Shot Kit.

And second- if you haven't already heard the always so sweet Nikki Sivils is coordinating a scrapbooking drive to benefit victims of the Joplin Missouri tornado. She is just the sweetest and I feel lucky to work for such an amazingly kind and generous woman. I already have a big box of supplies to ship of to here!

All the details can be found on Nikki's BLOG and on the flier below (click for a larger image).

ScrapRoom June Blog Hop!

2011-06-01T00:01:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone!! It is June 1st, and you know what that means...KIT REVEAL!! And it is a good one!

In celebration of our JUNE kit, we are having another BLOG HOP!! You know the way this works, right? Here is a list of the places you will be visiting...

Lan Amphone
Melanie Call
Sarah Eclavea
Jenny Moore
Aphra Bolyer
Kim Arledge
Frances Sylvia
The ScrapRoom Blog

The hop begins at Lan's blog, but all of the blogs are linked in case you get lost along the way. Just follow along the blog path, and keep hopping until you reach your last destination which is The ScrapRoom Blog!! Make sure you become a follower and leave a comment at each blog telling our wonderful designers what you liked about their project! When you reach The ScrapRoom Blog, leave a comment letting us know that you finished the hop.

One blog hop participant who follows the rules, will be chosen at random to win a $5 gift certificate to The ScrapRoom Store! Whoot! Whoot! Check out the blog Tuesday, June 7th for our winner!

Today I have a layout to share that I created using the Basic Grey Sweet Threads in the Double Shot kit. The colors reminded me of Easter so I got out my Easter photos. Sure enough the colors match her Easter Eggs perfectly!

Everything on my layout is included in the kit except for the title, chipboard buttons (which are from the March Double Shot kit) and twine; and the brads and stickers are from June's embellishment kit. I also have another layout and two cards to share in The ScrapRoom gallery.

Thanks for coming by! Next you are going to Jenny's blog!

Bo Bunny Layout Challenge

2011-05-27T09:37:00.000-05:00

I need more hours in the day! If only I didn't need to go to sleep then maybe there would be enough time to get everything done that I want to get done. But then again, maybe not because there's lots of things I need to get done :)

I did manage to get a new layout done this week for the Bo Bunny layout challenge- yay! The challenge is to use fabric as the inspiration for a layout. For my inspiration I used this pillow. The pattern reminded me of the Bo Bunny Olivia papers so I pulled those out to use. This was my favorite line from Bo Bunny's release last summer and I can't believe I haven't used them more often. I think I kept waiting for the "perfect" photos to use with them. I also used the yellows, greens and blues from the fabric.

And if this isn't the perfect photo, then I don't know what is! When I went to pick it up at Wal-Mart they actually asked me for a photo release because they thought it was a professional photo! Now my photography skills kind of stink so I thought that was hilarious ;) My little Isabel just looks so darn cute in this photo! She is a happy girl for sure and keeps everyone smiling for sure.

supplies: Bo Bunny Olivia papers, 12x12 chipboard, Icandy chipboard, stickers, notweworthy and wraps; Bo Bunny Ad Lib jewels; Bo Bunny Timepiece 12x12 combo stickers.

Thanks for coming by today and stop by the Bo Bunny blog to see some more layouts inspired by fabric!

cards, cards, cards!

2011-05-18T09:06:00.000-05:00

Hello there! I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day! Sorry just a tad late with those wishes! Mine was absolutely fantastic! I love spending time with my little ladies. Here are some pic of me getting some time with both of them. Frances refuses to take a picture with Isabel so I had to settle for separate pics!

Today the Nikki Sivils Design Team Divas have some work up on the blog. Come on over to check it out!

I have these four cards featured. Please forgive my photos as I currently have a 6 month old taking up residence in the scrapbooking room! I wonder how she likes sleeping surrounded by scrapbooking supplies- hehe! It is a temporary arrangment until she stops waking up her sister. Then they will share a room. So hopefully it will be soon!

Thanks for coming by today!

Two Page Layout Day

2011-05-13T20:01:00.000-05:00

It's one of my favorite days on the Bo Bunny blog- two page layout day! I love two pagers, but sometimes get stuck on how to arrange my photos. I love looking at lots of two pagers to get ideas.

I created this layout of my girlie Frances at the river park by our house checking out the rock selection. The girl is obssessed with rocks! Every where we go she has to pick out rocks. She even asks me if she can take her wagon on walks so she has someplace to put them. It's so cute how she inspects each one too. In the middle right photo you can see her tongue out as she is concentrating!

I have to admit this is one of my go to photo arrangments for two page layouts. If it works why not use it again?

I used the Bo Bunny Ad Lib papers and embellishments for my layout. I knew when I saw the paper at the bottom that I would use it for these pictures. It reminds me of a colorful rock pathway!

Thanks for coming by and check out the Bo Bunny blog for some more two page ideas!

The Bo Bunny blog hop!

2011-05-11T08:19:00.000-05:00

Welcome to day one of the Bo Bunny blog hop. Yes you read that right. There will be not one, but three blog hops this May! There will be fun, prizes and lots and lots of inspiration along the way.

The Bo Bunny designers have put together some amazing work to share on their blogs. Today we have eight featured designers to inspire you to create. Their work is simply gorgeous and I was in awe by each and every project.

Today's designers include:

Agniezska

Sarah - that's me!

Christiane

Michele

Frances

Mahlin

Janis

Irene

You should have come here from Agniezska's blog, but if you are just joining us you can start at the Bo Bunny Blog.
If you would like to play along, just follow along the blog path. Agnieska is linking to Sarah and she is linking to the next and so on. Just keep hopping until you reach the end! All the blogs are linked above just in case too.

Here is the project I created for the hop using the Bo Bunny Gabrielle line. This is my sweet girl Frances playing on the beach last summer. I can just watch her playing all day long. She is just the cutest!

(Supplies: Gabrielle papers, 12 x 12 chipboard, stickers, dimensional stickers, Icandy chipboard, jewels)

And now for the Blog Hop prizes! Leave a comment on each designer's blog. A commet will be chosen on one designer's blog. You don't know who's blog that is so leave a comment on each one to be eligible! To be eligible for the second prize leave a comment on the Bo Bunny blog after hopping through all the blogs and one will be chosen at random.

The winners will be announced next Wenesday on Bo Bunny blog.

The ScrapRoom Challenges

2011-05-10T20:23:00.000-05:00

Hi there! A few things to share tonight before I go to bed. I am exhausted and it is only 8:15!

First- I have a winner for the Pink Paislee rubons and stickers. Congrats to Shirley who said-

Shirley said...

What a beautiful layout, and your little girl is so precious...what a smile!!! I would love to know what white gel pen you used to journal around the page. It is so vivid!

Thanks for stopping by my blog Shirley! Email your address to scrapcetera@aol.com and I will send those out to you.

Second- there are some fun challenges going on at the ScrapRoom right now!

There is a word challenge and the secret word is "party". Well I guess it isn't so secret because then you wouldn't know what the challenge is! For this challenge you have to use the word "party" on your layout somewhere. I chose to use it in the title on my "First Tea Party" layout. I used The ScrapRoom May Double Shot Daily Junque kit for my layout. I tried to do something a little different so I used some inks and mists on my layout. I think it looks a little funky and cool! All my pages were looking exactly alike so I thought it was time to experiment. Everything is included in the kit except the thickers I used in the title.

There is also a sketch challenge going on too. Here is the sketch from The ScrapRoom's very own Frances Syliva:

If you want to play along with the challengs you can find all the details HERE on The ScrapRoom blog. Both are due by May 30th.

Third- There is a Bo Bunny blog hop tomorrow! The action all starts at the Bo Bunny blog. I can't show my project just yet, but here is a sneak peak of what you will see tomorrow:

Spread the word about the blog hop! There will be prizes and lots of great projects!

Have a great night!

Bind your own books!

2011-05-07T12:06:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday and Happy Mother's Day to all the moms! I hope everyone has a great day!

I was the blogger on the Bo Bunny blog yesterday and posted a very easy tutorial to bind your own books. It is so fun! I can't wait to make more. Since mother's day is coming up I felt a little sentimental and wanted to create something special for the pictures of Isabel on the day she is born. I can't believe she is almost 6 months old now - sniff, sniff. I chose to make a glue bound book because I have 30 pictures of her that I want to include in the book. I knew chipboard wouldn't work and since it was going to be so big I wanted it to be really sturdy. And sturdy it is! I flipped through that thing so many times and pressed on the pages while decorating the inside pages and the pages didn't even budge! The cover is little flimsy because I just used pattern paper. Next time I think I will used chipboard for the covers and pattered paper for the inside pages.

I have so many ideas for books I want to make now though. I want to bind all Frances's artwork from school, a book with blank pages inside for Frances to draw in (then I won't have to bind the artwork- hehe!) and an abc book, and on and on and on.

Here is the book I created and the spine is actually glue bound like an actual book.

Here are some of the inside pages. Since the spine doesn't give at all (unlike rings or other chipboard albums) I had to to keep the pages relatively flat. I think this was the first time I haven't used foam tape on a layout- lol! I didn't mind keeping the pages plain though because I really wanted the focus on these pictures of Isabel on the day she was born. Plus I had a ton of photos so plain was fast!

I used the Bo Bunny Gabrielle, Olivia and Timepiece collections for this project. You can check out the tutorial HERE and create some of your own books!

Thanks for coming by!

Be a guest designer for Nikki Sivils!

2011-05-03T16:40:00.000-05:00

That's right! There's a guest designer call going on right now. You can design with the newest Nikki Sivils products and be featured on her blog. Nikki is the absolute best and the nicest so it would be tons of fun.

If you are interested all the details can be found HERE on her blog.

The Scraproom Blog Hop!

2011-05-02T00:01:00.002-05:00

It's May!! I am in such a good mood looking at all this green grass and the spring flowers! And today is reveal day at The ScrapRoom. The May kit is filled with lots and lots of fun papers and embellishments that are perfect for spring.

In celebration of our May kit, we are having another BLOG HOP!! You know the way this works, right? Here is a list of the places you will be visiting...

Lan Amphone

Melanie Call

Sarah Eclavea -that's me!

Jenny Moore

Aphra Bolyer

Kim Arledge

Frances Sylvia

TSR Facebook Page

The hop begins at Lan's blog, but all of the blogs are linked in case you get lost along the way. Just follow along the blog path, and keep hopping until you reach your last destination which is The ScrapRoom Facebook Fan Page!! Make sure you become a follower and leave a comment at each blog telling our wonderful designers what you liked about their project! When you reach The ScrapRoom Facebook Fan Page, leave a comment letting us know that you finished the hop.

One blog hop participant who follows the rules, will be chosen at random to win a $5 gift certificate to The ScrapRoom Store! Whoot! Whoot! Check out the blog Wednesday, April 6th for our winner!

As the double shot designer I worked with May Pink Paislee Daily Junque Double Shot kit. Whoo, that's a mouth full!

Here is just one of the projects I created with that great kit.

This is my amazing little girlie Frances. I got the idea for the title from the tag in the upper left that says "be amazing". I saw that little tag and thought instantly of my little Frannie and the amazing girl she is. I love her so much and am just darn proud of her everyday. She is seriously the sweetest and it makes me so proud how nice and caring she is to everyone. All the supplies for this layout came from the kit except for the thickers I used for the title.

And speaking of Pink Paislee- I was cleaning up my scrap space yesterday and found some Pink Paislee in my stash that I had never used! So I will do a little give away for some pink paislee stickers and rubons (they are older, from their first collection, but still way cute!) to one random comment left on this post.

Thanks for coming by and enjoy the hop! Now you are will be visiting the ever so talented Jenny Moore!

Flash Back Friday

2011-04-30T11:58:00.001-05:00

Things have gotten a little away from me this week. Posting a flash back Friday post on a Saturday is just one of the many things I am behind on! It always happens when the husband goes out of town, but he's back now and things are back to normal!

Yesterday it was flash back Friday on the Bo Bunny blog. I chose to create a page about my sweet, sweet dear Bacon who passed away last August. We adopted Bacon when he was 5 from dachshund rescue. He cme to us in very poor shape and the worst thing was that his foster mom said he was much better from when they first found him. Him and lots of other dogs were confiscated from a bad breeder and the dachshunds in the bunch were given to the doxie rescue. He was a little guy (just about 7 pounds) and loved to sit in any lap he could find. He had such a cute personality and he would keep us laughing with all his funny behaviors. When he finally passed in August he was almost 18 years old. It's kind of amazing that he lived that long after such a bad start in life. It was our goal to make sure he always had a happy life after having such a bad one for so long so he just may have been the world's most spoiled dachshund!

I used the Bo Bunny Timepiece for this layout and the sizzix Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die.

I still volunteer for dauschund rescue and unfortunately there are lots more dogs like Bacon who just need someone to love them. You can visit the rescue's site HERE.

You can also see more flash back layouts created using Timepiece on the Bo Bunny blog HERE.

I'll be back Monday with The ScrapRoom blog hop and a little giveaway. Hope to see you then!

Quick Pages and some Easter Pictures

2011-04-25T08:15:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday morning. I hope everyone had a great Easter! Mine was great. I cooked a great big dinner and my whole family came over. It is so nice to have us all together. My girls were dressed up like little princesses and they looked so cute. No one could help but going "awwww" when they saw them. I tried very unsuccessfully to take pictures of them so I am a little disappointed about that. They looked so cute matching though! Here's a few of my favorites all thouh they are straight from the camera and still need some editing...

The girls' Easter baskets

Isabel with her basket. Frances wouldn't sit for a picture. She just wanted to rip everything right out of it.

Isabel in her Easter dress.

The only picture of the two girls wthere they are both looking at the camera.

The cake I decorated. I got the idea from a Rachael Ray magazine, but that cake looked very different.

Frances on her egg hunt. She would not look at the camera!!

And now for some Bo Bunny! Blast Off is one of my new favorite lines. I just can't get enough of it. This is the second layout I created with it and I still have two more planned. It is just sooo fun! And who said Blast Off is for boys only? I couldn't resist using it for this picture of Frances meeting George at the children's museum. She was so excited I was only able to get one picture that wasn't blurry due to her moving and jumping around!

The focus on the Bo Bunny blog is quick and easy scrapbook pages today. To make this "George" page fast I used all premade embellishements, chipboard and stickers. So once I had my papers and photo glued down, I could just peel and stick to add embellishments. The dimensional stickers and Icandy chipboard are perfect for quick pages because they already come glittered and jeweled up. I then added some doodling and hand written journaling to save some more time.

You can check out the Bo Bunny blog for some more quick and easy scrapbooking tips. Thanks for coming by today!

Paper Flower Tutorial

2011-04-19T18:48:00.000-05:00

Hello, hello! It seems more like winter here then spring right now. Only 37 degrees today! Brrrrr!

To make it start feeling a little more like spring here is a spring card that I created with the April Double Shot Kit from The ScrapRoom.

And if you like the flower I made there is a tutorial on the ScrapRoom blog HERE.

Have a great night!

Some new Nikki Sivils projects

2011-04-18T12:43:00.000-05:00

Hi all! I hope everyone is having a great day and great start to the week!

I am so slow to everything. Last to get a cell phone, DVD player, DVR, etc. I actually still have one of those big bulky tv's in my family room. Everyone always asks when I am getting the flat screen! So it didn't surprise anyone that I just discovered the Twilight books! Yes, I know they have been out for sooo long now. The advantage to waiting though is that I can read all four with no waiting. I bought the first book when it first came out and it just sat on my shelf. Last week I was looking for something easy to read. Something I could read with Dora on the backgroung (hehe) so I dusted it off and started reading. My sister has the whole set and she told me she would bring the other three on Easter. Well..... I am now starting the 4th book!I couldn't wait so I bundled up the girls (yes, it's April, but still only 38 degrees in Chicago) and went straight to the library to check out all the books. I have been neglecting all my responsibilities to read these books! So as soon as I am done with this post off to start reading again- lol!

Besides reading, I did manage to get a few Nikki Sivils layouts done for her blog today. You can see the rest of the DT's work HERE.

I used "Beatrice" for this layout of Frances picking apples two falls ago.

This one was created with "Summer". Look how chunky my girl was!

And a birthday card using "It's your day".

Thanks for coming by!

A little preview

2011-04-15T09:06:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! Happy Friday to all! As I mentioned before I will be teaching a class for Miss Art's Papercrafting School, yay!! My class starts on May 1st and I would love to "see" everyone there!

Here's the info on how to subscribe to my class- On May 1st, head to http://www.missartspapercrafting.com/ and subscribe to the 101 class program. Here is some info about the 101 classes:

$10 101 Subscription: Miss Art's 101 classes are posted every 10 days, and are designed for the crafter who loves having a constant flow of new ideas, fun tips, and techniques. These classes are video based, and range in length from 2-6 videos. As a 101 student, you will have access to live online chats with some of your favorite designers and teachers, as well as personal email responses every time you have a question.

And here's some specific info about my class:

We all know that “a picture is worth 1,000 words,” but did you know capturing the perfect scene in paper is priceless? Grab your scissors, a mouse, and select a piece of wall that is screaming to be beautified, because Sarah Eclavea is going to walk you through planting a piece of paper perfection. In this 101 class, Sarah will use a variety of techniques in 2 videos showcasing paper piecing, word art, and hand stitching to teach you how to master dimension, perspective, and detail in an altered 8x10 frame.

And of course I have to give a little sneak of the class too!

How would you like to win a free subscription? Head on over to Alyssa's blog for your chance.

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you on May 1st!

Nursery Decor

2011-04-14T09:59:00.001-05:00

Hi all! I hope everyone is having a great week and has some fun planned for this weekend! It was too nice to be on the computer yesterday so I decided to save this post for today.

This is an idea for nursery decor or decor for a young child's room. My idea for this came to me while shopping in Land of Nod. If you haven't been to that store before I'll describe it as really, really cute nursery decor, but really, really expensive nursery decor. I was actually shopping at the outlet store, but unfortunately the outlet is just really expensive, instead of really, really. So I saw a framed poster similiar to this, but in blues and greens, probably suitable or a boy or girl's room. I fell in love with it. I had to have it for the girls' room. But it was ripped a little (that's why it was at the outlet store I assume) and still just about $100! Well, I wasn't about to spend $100 for a ripped poster in a cheap looking frame. So here is my version. Mine is smaller (8x10) so I only did the numbers 1-5. The original was poster sized and included 1-10. I am going to do another with 6-10 and hang them next to each other. I used mostly pink colors too because that matches the girls' bedroom. So here it is....

I used only a few sheets of My Little Shoebox patterned paper and white cardstock for this. I cut the numbers with my cricut and everything else was cut out of the patterned paper. The walls in the girls' bedroom are pink so it looks really cute against the pink background. Including the frame my version cost about $6.00.

Thanks for coming by today! Have a great day!

New card challenge

2011-04-12T14:12:00.000-05:00

Hello on this sunny Tuesday afternoon. It's finally sunny today! Frances and I made some kites out of construction paper this morning and she is all excited to "fly" them in the park this afternoon. I use the term "fly" loosely because I don't think they are really going anywhere! Mine at least looks like a kite (a very pathetic kit - lol), but she just taped some string to the back of a piece of construction paper for hers. I kept asking her is she wanted me to cut it for her, but she said no she liked it as is. I love how two year olds are satisfied by the simple things. If only us adults could be that happy about things :) I will try to take some pictures of our kite flying adventure and post them. I have some Nikki Sivils "We are Family" paper that would be perfect for them!

Now for the card challenge - Tuesdays are challenge day on the Bo Bunny blog and today's challenge is to use the new Bo Bunny wraps and trinkets on a card. I love the wraps and trinkets so much I hadn't even opened mine yet! I am "saving" them for this special layout, but alas no layout or project is ever special enough so I am glad this challenge forced me to open up my stash! It felt great to use them and they are just so pretty. Here's my card for the challenge:

I used the Timpiece card kit for this and I have to say I am falling IN LOVE with the card kits! They speed up my card making so much. I have never made a card from the directions (although those are fabulous) and still my cards come together in no time. Since the bases are all cut and prescored in the kit all I have to do is pick out the shape I want and start adding stuff. I cut the the flowers with my sizzix Tim Holtz die (Tattered Florals) and then added some paper from the mini 6 x 6 paper pads and chipboard, diecuts, and rubons from the card kit. And then of course I had to add the wraps and trinket for the challenge. I used the wraps behind my flower (the brown and twin) and for the center of my flowers (black and white). I even tried misting for the first time too! I think I got a little too excited and sprayed a little too much, but now I know for next time right?

If you want to play along you just may win some Bo Bunny goods! Go to this POST for details.

Have a great day!

Bo Bunny Sketch Challenge

2011-04-08T09:34:00.000-05:00

It's time for a sketch challenge and this is a good one! Juliana Michaels created this fantastic sketch for the Bo Bunny sketch challenge this month.

I had so much fun creating with this sketch. I decided to stray from my normal style and use lots of flowers in this layout. Now I am not as good as clustering all the flowers as some girls, but I really like how it turned out. I handcut most of the flowers from the Vicki B patterned papers and the rest are from the chipobard and Bo Bunny petals. I also handcut around swirls. I have to say I love it, but it took a LONG time!

I used mostly the Vicki B collection and some Gabrielle trinkets and Timepieces stickers. The photos are of my sweet Frances walking on the beach in Door County, Wisconsin. It was her first time on the beach and walking through sand. I love the thoughtful look on her face.

If you would like to create with this sketch too check out the Bo Bunny blog HERE. You can win some Bo Bunny goodies too! Good luck!

A new layout and a winner

2011-04-06T13:04:00.002-05:00

I guess I should announce the winner of the Sassafras goods first huh? You would probably just scroll down to see the winner anyway - hehe.

Thanks so much for everyone's comments. I really appreciate everyone taking time to stop by my blog, especially the regulars :) It really makes my day to read your comments.

Now congrats to.....

Nati Tristan said...
Congrats on that very deserving invitation! The sneak peeks look fab! Thank you so much for the opportunity to win. One of the things I would like to learn is how in the world does your stitching come out so perfect?

Now how does my stitching come out so perfect? I will just say that is one of the things covered in my class, wink, wink ;) Congrats Nati Tristan! Send your mailing address to Scrapcetera@aol.com. If you getit to me by tomorrow morning I will ship your prize out tomorrow afternoon.

Also I was Soup Spotted again today!! My "Things You Say" layout is featured on their blog today. You can see it HERE.

Soooo, now on to the layout. I try to create a layout of my girls every month until their first birthday. Then I start doing it every few months. I have been pretty good about getting Isabel's done. I still have to go back and finish some of Frances's though (ooppps!). Here is the cute, cute little girl at three months. I did add journaling to it at the bottom right. I think I was just in such a rush to take a picture of it that I forgot all about it until after I took the pic. Then I said-hey where's the journaling? I used the Lovey Dovey collection from Bella Blvd. for this one. Isn't it CA-UTE? I love the little critters. They were the inspiration for my title :)

Thanks for coming by!

Hello, hello, happy Tuesday

2011-04-05T16:13:00.000-05:00

I keep thinking it is Wednesday today! I usually take Frances to music class on Wednesdays, but for this session I switched to Tuesdays and today was our first day. So now all day long it's Wednesday in my mind. Weird how we get so used to things and how hard it is to change. My little guy Bacon (our beloved mini-dachshund) passed away last August and I still call him for dinner or wait for him to come to the door when I get home. It happens much less frequently now and I can imagine it will go away all together one day, but I do it enough that I find Frances reminding me that, as she says it, "Bacon doesn't live hear anymore Mommy, he lives at the doctor now." She is such a little sweetie. Anyway I am remembering Bacon because I am in the middle of creatinng a layout about him that I have been putting off. I want something to remember him by and want it to be special so it is taking me a little longer than anticipated. I will share it soon though.

In the meantime, I have a card that I created with the April Double Shot Kit from The ScrapRoom. It is a little mixture of Prima Madeline and Cosmo Cricket Upcycle. All supplies are from the kit except the twine. It's very spring like and I will take all the spring I can get right now!

Thanks for coming by today and have a Happy Day!

Oh summer...

2011-04-04T21:19:00.000-05:00

Where are you? Just when the weather starts to get warm it gets cold again. It's like a mean trick. Yesterday we were out all day playing and having fun in our t-shirts and today it was freezing. I just can't wait for warm weather!

So speaking of summer...

Here is another layout I created for the My Little Shoebox DT call. It is my sweet Frances doing what she loves best- going down the slide. Boy she can go up and down that slide a hundred times and isn't even the slightest bit tired. I love these photos because the smile on her face shows exactly how she feels about sliding.

There's still time to enter the Sassafras giveaway too. Just scroll down to yesterday's post and leave a comment.

Have a great night!

a new adventure (and a giveaway)

2011-04-03T19:35:00.002-05:00

Today I am very excited to share a secret that I have been keeping! I was invited to teach a class for Miss Art's Papercrafting School (formerly stash to treasure). So what is Miss Art's do you ask? Here is all the info from the website and facebook page....

Have you ever wished there was a school which only taught your favorite classes, that had the best teachers and where tuition was so affordable it left you plenty to buy the most stylish school supplies? Miss Art's Papercrafting School is a virtual academy for every student who wants to learn the latest techniques from the paper crafting industry's leading experts and it is opening its doors for the first time in 30 days.

Subscriptions to our monthly classes start at $5.00 and include live online chats and personal email responses from your favorite designers. Consisting of 2 - 12 videos with unlimited monthly access each class is the perfect blend of individualized crafting and supportive learning. You may purchase our reasonable kits to compliment your course or pull items from your own stash using our detailed supply lists.

I was so honored and flattered when I was invited to teach a class for Miss Art's. Here is a little preview of my class:

Now that's all I can show you for now... but there are some more sneaks of my class and other classes on the Miss Art's Facebook page. There's also lots of fun and giveaways that you don't want to miss. Please go on over and "like" the page.

To countdown to the grand opening select teachers and staff will be participating in a month long blog celebration starting tomorrow. Be sure to check out Alyssa's blog as she will be sharing information about the hop and Miss Art’s classes with you.

Here are the stops on our Blog Tour:

Monday: Bethany Kartchner
Bethany is the current teacher at Stash to Treasure, and her class (and your subscription if you are already an STT subscriber) will transfer to Miss Arts, so you'll be able to continue viewing her class after Miss Art's opens!)

Tuesday: Heidi Kelley
Heidi is our Program Director and is also one of our talented teachers. One of her classes is available at Stash to Treasure and will continue to be available at Miss Arts.

Wednesday: CarrieAnne Deloach
CarrieAnne is the Miss Art's Marketing Director. She is a fantastic addition to the team, and we are thrilled to have her on board.

Thursday: Stacy Cohen
Stacy will be teaching a class in May at Miss Art's. It's called "The Secret Garden" and is a gorgeous layout class. Keep your eye on her blog every Thursday in April for sneaks!

Friday: Alyssa McGrew

Also- Each week day (Monday-Friday) in the month of April Miss Art's will be giving away one free monthly all access Extra Credit (we'll be explaining what that means soon!) subscription to a lucky winner who leaves a comment on the staff member of the day’s post and posts our count down blinkie in their sidebar (see Alyssa's blog for details or snag it from my sidebar)! The winner will have access to Bethany Kartchner's class NOW at Stash to Treasure, and ALL 6 of the classes coming to Miss Art's in May!

Now if the giveways above weren't enough, I also have my own BIG giveaway to share with you! Just leave a comment on this post telling me a technique you would like to learn (because Miss Art's is all about learning something new!) and I will pick one comment at random to win ALL OF THIS....

A box of Sassafras including over 48 sheets of patterned paper, diecut sheets, chipboard, 12x12 and small sticker sheets, rubons, and 6x6 wee bundle.

(The winner of my Sassafras giveaway will be announced next week on Wednesdy)

And I can't end without sending a big Birthday shout out to the sweet, sweet Nikki Sivils. Happy Birthday Nikki! To celebrate her special day the DT divas created some bday cards for her that are on her blog HERE. You can't have a birthday without presents so there is also a special giveaway.

Thanks for coming by!

The ScrapRoom April Blog Hop

2011-04-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the April ScrapRoom blog hop!

Hello everyone!! It is April 1st, and you know what that means...KIT REVEAL!! And it is a good one. Take a look...

As the double shot designer I got to work with the double shot kit that is filled with the new Prima Madeline. It was perfect for this sweet picture of my dear Frances. She is growing up into such a beautiful girl. I think all the traces of baby are gone now- sniff, sniff.
In celebration of our April kit, we are having another BLOG HOP!! You know the way this works, right? Here is a list of the places you will be visiting...

Lan Amphone
Melanie Call
Sarah Eclavea - that's me!
Jenny Moore
Aphra Bolyer
Frances Sylvia
TSR Facebook Page

The hop begins at Lan's blog, but all of the blogs are linked in case you get lost along the way. Just follow along the blog path, and keep hopping until you reach your last destination which is The ScrapRoom Facebook Fan Page!! Make sure you become a follower and leave a comment at each blog telling our wonderful designers what you liked about their project! When you reach The ScrapRoom Facebook Fan Page, leave a comment letting us know that you finished the hop.

One blog hop participant who follows the rules, will be chosen at random to win a $5 gift certificate to The ScrapRoom Store! Whoot! Whoot! Check out the blog Wednesday, April 6th for our winner!

Good Luck!

My Little Dinosaur Layout

2011-03-31T12:40:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone. Today is the day that the My Little Shoebox team is being announced. So I guess since I didn't make the team I can go ahead and post some of my projects. My husband said my projects were cute, but boring, and I guess he was right.

Anyway, this is my favorite of the bunch so I will share this one today. I may be a little biased because of how cute Isabel looks!

Thanks for coming by. Tomorrow is reveal day for The ScrapRoom and as always we will have the reveal blog hop. I would love to see you hoppin' along!

Card Challenge Tuesday

2011-03-29T14:36:00.000-05:00

It's card challenge Tuesday on the Bo Bunny blog. This week's challenge is to create a card usig this great sketdch by Bo Bunny's very own Frances Sylvia.

I used the sketch to create this card-

All the supplies came from the Vicki B card kit. If you haven't seen the Bo Bunny card kits they are great! There is everything you need to create several cards including pre-scored bases, envelopes, rubons, chipboard, diecuts, jewels, etc. They even come with a set of directions so if you don't feel creative you can make one of the preset cards. I chose to make my own card and not follow any of the directions. It took less than 15 minutes to make this card since all the supplies were right there in one handy package! Plus all the faux stitching and doodling were done for me. Definite time saver! I did add some jewels to finish my card off, but everything else came from the kit.

You can play along with the challenge too on THIS POST. Good Luck!

Days are long, Years are short

2011-03-28T11:53:00.002-05:00

Hello, hello. I have two sick little girls here today. It is no fun being sick so I feel so bad for them. Especially little Isabel who can't even blow her tiny little nose! It is cold again so we are not missing much outside anyway.

I have a new layout to share that I created using some Jillibean Soup Pasta Fagioli. I had this idea for a while. Last summer I created a similar layout about all the words Frances mispronounces. I wanted to to do an updated version of all the funny things she says now almost a year later.

Here is the original in which I used Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker "My Friend Birdie" line. This is one of my all time favorite layouts.

Here is version two using the Jillibean Soup papers. I wanted to keep the same title and some of the same design elements. So on this layout I made the "YOU" in a bigger font as in the original, took the photo of Frances looking down at her, used two birds in the lower right corner and stitched on my three hearts. I also created a border using the journaling sprouts and tied a bow around the bottom like my original layout. Although in my original the border is a little smaller.

I can't believe how fast my little girl is growing up! I am reading the book "The Happiness Project" and in the book the author says- "Days are long, but years are short." That is so true. As these long winter days drag on and on 2 1/2 years have passed in a heartbeat. I can't imagine my little girls not hanging off my legs anymore, but it will be here sooner than I would like. I have used this reason to put off doing laundry, the dishes, cleaning up toys and I think that is ok. I have take all the time I can get with them.

Have a great day!

What's in your purse?

2011-03-25T08:00:00.001-05:00

There's a fun challenge on the Bo Bunny blog today to scrapbook what's in your purse. I had an idea as soon as I saw this challenge!

Here's my bag contents and all! I took a picture of all the stuff spilling out to show how disorganized it is. I didn't stage that. I just put a hand in pulled some stuff out. I didn't mention everything I had in my purse and now that I look back at the journaling I wrote diapers, but no wipes. Wipes are like my number one mom esssential! How did I forget those?

Everything on this layout is from the Bo Bunny Ad Lib collection except the twine and staples. I even tried out some fun faux stitching on here, a technique I learned from fellow Bo Bunny DT girls.

You can play along with the challenge and win some Bo Bunny scrap goodies. Just check out the Bo Bunny blog for details. While you are there check out the rest of the DT's layouts too. It's fun to see what they have in their bags!

More Crate Paper Emma's Shoppe

2011-03-24T09:55:00.000-05:00

Hello, Hello! I am so excited to say that I was "Soup Spotted" yesterday! My Hearts on Feet layout was featured on the Jillibean blog. That was a fun layout to make.

I have one more layout from the March My Scrapbook Nook kit. I wanted to use this photo of my girls to tell a story about something Frances says. I have a necklace with two charms on it. One says Frances and one says Isabel. One day she looked at it and asked "What does this say"? I told her what the words were and she asked "why"? I answered because you are my babies. So now whenever I wear the necklace she says that "That says Frances and Isabel because we're your babies". It is so sweet!

I still have lots of stuff left from my kit so you haven't seen the last of it yet!

Have a great day!

Birthday Card Day

2011-03-23T09:00:00.000-05:00

It is birthday day card on the Bo Bunny blog and it the post was written up yours truly! There's lots of ideas from the DT for all ages and genders.

Here is my card using the super cute Blast Off collection-

Have a great day everyone!

Another Nook Layout.

2011-03-22T16:15:00.000-05:00

Here's another layout I created for my guest design month at My Scrapbook Nook. I am loving the Emma's Shoppe kit! Perfect for little girls- of course.

This page I have had in my head for a while now. Well for the last couple months since her terrible two's phase started at least! I guess it just seems longer than it's actually been- lol! I love this age because she is so sweet and fun and learning so many new things, but boy. oh. boy.

She is into EVERYTHING! And I mean everything. Anything I am doing she comes right over and says "Mommy I want to ___________________ too". Insert cook, scrapbook, clean, wash dishes, feed Isabel, take a shower, etc. etc. etc. It is nice having such a great little shadow though.

I have a few more projects with this great kit so please come back!

Happy Monday!

2011-03-21T16:56:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday! I hope everyone is having a great start to their week!

I am excited to say that I am the guest designer this month at My Scrapbook Nook. I received the March Crate Paper Emma's Shoppe kit last week and have been scrapping away! I couldn't have been given a better kit to work with seeing as I have my two sweet girls. This kit is perfect for girls, but the Nook DT have created some great boy pages with it too. The message board is currently under construction, but you can check out all the DT's work on the facebook page.

Here is one of my layouts that I created with the kit- my sweet little Frannie playing mommy to a doll. It is so sweet how she takes care of her dolls. She is so caring and gentle with them.

I have some more work to share with this kit and will have a class when the message board is back up.

Thanks for coming by and have a great week!

Photo Shoot Friday and a layout

2011-03-20T12:58:00.001-05:00

Since the only four month picture I had of Isabel was a just a quick shot in her bouncy chair on Friday I decided we needed another photo shoot. I dressed her up in this little dress I bought at baby gap and the pink hat her grandmother made her. We took tons and tons of pictures until she decided she had enough. Here are some of my favorites:

At her four month doctor's appt. the doctor said she was healthy and just a bit chunky- hehe! I love all her rolls! At four months she already wears 6 months clothing and is more than double her birth weight (which doctor said doesn't usually happen until after 6 months). We can't believe how cute she is and feel so blessed to have her in our lives.

Here she is a few months ago sleeping sweetly. I walked into the room and the first thing I saw were those hearts on her feet. The were too sweet so I had to take a picture.

Most of the supplies on this layout is Jillibean Soup.I used a mixture of Pasta Fagioli and some of the Christmas papers. The small blue letters are Bella Blvd and the heart brads are Creative Imaginations.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

Check out the NS blog

2011-03-18T08:45:00.000-05:00

Good morning! I am up and ready bright and early today because we are taking Isabel for her four month doctor's appt. When I say "we" I mean Frances and I so I don't know how this is going to go! I told Frances she had to be a good helper today and that Isabel would need lots of hugs and kisses after her shots :) I can't believe how big and how fast my little Isabel has grown! She is almost sitting up now and loves to spit and blow bubbles all over everything. She just gets cuter everyday! And I think she will have curly like me. Look at how it stands up all over!

There's lots of inspiration from Nikki Sivils DT on her blog today. I am still loving the new lines! I created this card using my cricut wild card cartridge and the "It's Raining, It's Pouring" line. It reminds me spring!

I also have this "older" layout that I never posted for some reason. I used a mash up of October Afternoon and Nikki Sivils "Tree Love".

Have a great weekend everyone!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T14:40:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! Hope you are having a great day! It is almost 70 in chicago and I have the back door wide open. So it is a great day here!

Here is a little card to wish everyone a great day, week, month, year ....... filled with luck and happiness!

I used some of my My Little Shoebox scraps I had out on my desk for this one. They are having a challege right now on their facebook page to create a St. Patrick's Day card.

Now I am off to run on the treadmill so I can gorge myself with soda bread, corned beef, cabbage, green rivers and cupcakes tonight!

Have a great St. Patrick's Day!

3, 2, 1- Blast Off!

2011-03-16T15:00:00.001-05:00

Today Bo Bunny is featuring their new Blast Off line on their blog. It is so stinking adorable I just had to use it for a picture of Frances. I love monkeys and she has inherited my love of them too. I actually found some monkey clings that were meant for a boys room before she was born. I knew I had to use them in her room so I thought how can I make brown monkeys fit in a girl's room? Paint it pink! She has pink walls with brown monkeys on them. It is sooo cute!

When I saw the blast off line I thought - how can I make this work for Frances? I thought about using pink (this is usually what I do with boy papers that I like), but didnt' think pink cardstock would really "work" with this paper. So I decided to use it as is. This title works with boys and girls so here it is.....

I used the Blast Off paper, stickers, chipboard, embellished chipboard, buttons, wraps and dimensional stickers. I also used some of the Ad Lib stickers too. I love that I can mix and match the collections!

More super cute layouts by the DT can be found on the Bo Bunny blog.

Have a great night!

My Little Shoebox Sketch Challenge

2011-03-15T19:43:00.001-05:00

Hello all,

Did you know that My Little Shoebox is having a sketch challenge? Here is this month's sketch-

And here is my take on the sketch-

I had a lot of fun creating this layout. I have been "saving" this picture of my husband and daughter and I finally found the perfect paper and sketch!

If you want to play along you can find the details on their blog HERE.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Bo Bunny Ad Lib

2011-03-11T17:23:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone is having a great Friday! I am happy for the weekend to be here and spending time with family.

Here is a fun layout I created using Bo Bunny's Ad Lib line. This is my favorite of the new lines that just came out at CHA winter. I love them all, but this line is so fun and bright it makes me happy just looking at it!

This is my little artist at work. She loves anything crafty. Everyday she asks to paint, color, draw, scrapbook, etc. I chose this background paper because it looked artistic and fun. I thought about splattering some paint on the page too, but I am not that brave yet!

There's lots of little details on this one that are hard to see in the photo so here are some close ups:

Thanks for coming by and have a great weekend!

Card Challenge Wednesday

2011-03-09T16:04:00.000-06:00

It's card challenge Wednesday at My Scrapbook Nook! The challenge this week is to create cards with chipboard. I have to say that Danni has blown me away. Again. Her cards are oh, so adorable as always. I am so grateful for her inspiration because well, my cards always kind of stink! But as you can tell I have been practicing a lot lately. I think they are getting better, but I still have some work to do- lol.

Actually the Nook's message board is currently "under construction" so all the action is taking place on their facebook page. You can see the challenge and Danni's cute cards HERE. Just scroll down a bit.

Here is the card I created for the challenge. The little chipboard bird, paper, and stickers are Crate Paper Snow Day.

It seems like all I have been posting lately is cards, but I have done lots of layouts recently too! I just can't show any of them yet. They will be up soon though.

thanks for coming by today!

I Love the Simple Life

2011-03-08T14:57:00.000-06:00

I created this card using My Little Shoebox "Simple Life" Papers (and a few Green papers too). I think those little sheeps are sooo cute! Frances does too because when she saw it she said "Mommy, that's a sheep. I want that." I am loving this line and have my farm pictures out and ready to scrap with it.

Also it's Mardi Gras today! Is anyone celebrating? I bought Frances a cupcake to eat after dinner, but that's as crazy as it gets in this house! She is loving this book right now- "Penguin and the cupcake". It is such a cute book.

We took it out of the library last week and have read it about a thousand times already. So I bought her a pink cupcake just like penguin wants in the book. Of course I bought one for myself too (hehe).

Happy Mardi Gras everyone!

Lots and lots of cards...

2011-03-07T19:25:00.000-06:00

that you won't be seeing in Paper Crafts magazine that is.

Last week was the submission deadline for Paper Crafts Go to Sketches for Card Makers. Can you believe they received almost 2760 cards? Can you believe out of those cards they only publish 288? That is a huge cut and a lot of amazing cards that won't make it into the magazine. I submitted 7 and unfortunately none of them made it :(

Since I wasn't alone someone had the great idea to link up all the cards that didn't make it. How fun is that? I have loved seeing eveyone's cards and they were definitely good enough to be in that issue! It all starts on Dr. Amber's Blog HERE.

And here are two of my cards that I submitted-

Now for an update on the giveaway I mentioned last week. I am still sorting through stuff in my scrapbook room. So far I have a huge stack of 12 x 12 papers, rubons, stickers, brads and ribbons that I will be giving away this week. Just a few more things to sort through and I'll post all the details!

Thanks for coming by today!

Hello weekend! (and a giveaway)

2011-03-04T15:30:00.001-06:00

Did the giveaway get your attention? I hope it did! The giveaway information is at the bottom of this post :)

I am so happy it's Friday! I have had a loooong week. Lots of appointments for the girls and other stuff going on. I think I reached my breaking point yesterday when I took Frances, with Isabel in tow, to the ear doctor to check on her ear tubes. It usually takes about 5 minutes total. We check in, the nurse calls us, the doctor checks both of her ears and we are good to go. In fact sometimes it is too fast for Frances because there is this little table with coloring books and crayons and she just sits down to color and it our turn. Of course then the crying comes. Well yesterday it took us over an hour- just in the waiting room.

They kept telling me just a few more minutes and you know when you've waited for so long you hate to leave because you've already waited that long? So I stuck it out. And Frances was great just coloring away and amusing all the patients in the waiting room with the funny things she says. But... I was ready to take two kids home and get dinner ready.

To say hello to the weekend I have a hello card to share. I created this card with the March Double Shot kit and embellishment kit from The ScrapRoom.

Also today is the first day the ScrapRoom facebook page is up and running! To celebrate they are having a giveaway! You can check all the details out on this post HERE.

Good luck and have a great weekend!

The ScrapRoom March sketch

2011-03-03T10:05:00.000-06:00

Here is the March sketch from the ScrapRoom. Frances did such a great job with this sketch! I love the butterflies around the page.

Each DT member did their own version of the sketch and all the layouts are so fun! I used the Basic Grey Marjolaine page layout kit from the double shot kit to complete my take on the sketch. This is Frances as a wee little baby. I can't believe these were taken almost two years ago! Time sure does fly by. She was so funny even back them. Always making faces and smiling at everyone. Those chubby cheeks sure helped in the cuteness department too. Isabel reminds me a lot of her right now. She is always smiling and laughing too.

Please stop by the The ScrapRoom and check out the DT's take on the sketch too. Happy Day!

Card Challenge and a {BIG} give away

2011-03-02T14:21:00.001-06:00

Hello, hello and happy day! It is a bright and sunny day here so we are enjoying that. It is only 33 degrees, but to see the sun is amazing!

Today I have some cards that I made for the random wednesday card challenge at My Scrapbook Nook. The challenge this week is "Lovin' Some Stash". You can use whatever embellies you want, but your card must have two patterned papers that debuted before CHA 2010 summer.

For my cards I chose Lily Bee Hello sunshine, American Crafts Dear Lizzy, and Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday. These are three of my favorite lines so it was so fun to get them out again. Plus they remind me that spring is almost here which is always a good feeling.

Supplies: American Crafts Dear Lizzy, Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday,

My Little Shoebox (line unknown), Dear Lizzy stamps

Supplies: Lily bee Hello sunshine, American Crafts Dear Lizzy and

Hampton Arts Stamps, Nikki Sivils Buttons

And now for the big give away! Nikki Sivils has partnered with Provo Craft and she has lots of goodies to give away. If you like the cuttlebug or cricut you have to check this out! All the details are on her blog HERE.

Speaking of giveaways, I am in the middle of cleaning out my scrap space and I have a BIG give away pile with lots of patterned papers, stickers, rubons, flowers, etc. Keep checking back for details on that.

Have a great {sunny} day!

Welcome to the ScrapRoom blog hop!

2011-03-01T00:01:00.004-06:00

The first of the month is reveal day at The ScrapRoom and I have to say I am so excited to be a part of this team and can't wait to share the projects I have created with my first kit!

This layout I created about my little Isabel. I have wanted to use this title on a layout for while now and when I saw this picture I knew it would be perfect.

I got the inspiration for my design from the Basic Grey Marjolaine papers in the double shot kit. The papers I used below reminded me of a quilt so I went with that and you need some stitching on a quilt right? I chose hearts because they went with the title and I love them. There is a heart on every single one of my layouts. They may be big hearts or they may be small so that you have to look for them, but they are always there! I have also used the letter stickers and chipboard from the March embellishment kit and some letters from my stash. The pink gingham paper was also a small piece of paper I had in my stash.

As you know we have lots of NEW things planned this month at The ScrapRoom Blog. And today will not disappoint! In celebration of our March kit, we are having our 1st ever BLOG HOP!! You know the way this works, right? Here is a list of the places you will be visiting...

Lan Amphone

Melanie Call

Sarah Eclavea (that's me!)

The hop begins at Lan's blog, but all of the blogs are linked in case you get lost along the way. Just follow along the blog path, and keep hopping until you reach your last destination which is where the hop began....The ScrapRoom Blog!! Make sure you become a follower and leave a comment at each blog telling our wonderful designers what you liked about their project! When you reach The ScrapRoom Blog, leave a comment letting us know that you finished the hop.

One blog hop participant who leaves a comment at each designer's blog, will be chosen at random to win a $5 gift certificate to The ScrapRoom Store! Whoot! Whoot! Check out the blog Friday, March 4th for our winner!

Good luck and thanks for hopping by today! 

Pure Sweetness

2011-02-26T14:29:00.001-06:00

Wow! I can't believe a whole week has gone by since I last updated this blog. I really didn't have any projects to show until today so there wasn't much to say anyway!

Let's see.... What's been going on here?

Isabel's baptism was last Sunday. She was the perfect little angel as usual. Never cried, just sat on my lap looking around. I have to say she looked adorable in her little outfit too :) I took this picture right before we got to church.

And here is my new favorite picture of Frances. She looks so sweet in this photo. Who would guess that most of the time she is a naughty little two year old?

While looking on line the other day I found this that I am absolutely in love with. I jumped up to get my credit card, then saw the price tag. $400 is a little out of my league. If I can find an old globe I may try to make my own version one day. You can find this one HERE.

Last update for today is this "Sweet" page I created of my little Isabel. I made this one just for fun. I haven't done a layout in a long time that wasn't for a DT assignment. I used Bella Blvd's Lovey Dovey collection.

Have a great weekend!