Randomness - Is that even a word?

So the girls are off at church camp and the hubby is working so I have been catching up on my blog reading.  To be specific I have been buried in Donna Downey's blog and all of her beautiful creations.  She is awesome to say the least and I have been so inspired to get out my paints, brushes and canvas and create something.  I have also jumped on the art journal bandwagon.  I just couldn't help myself...like I need another craft in my life.  Oh well!  So here are the two projects I have completed so far:

As far as my art journal I made it using a pad of Canson watercolor paper (simply because of how thick it is) and chipboard covers covered in white cardstock.  I used some large eyelets in the ring holes because I figured they would need some extra stability with all the use.  The flower things are hand painted.  The word "journal"  I cut using my Cricut, I handwrote "Art" and the butterflies are a Martha punch.

I also completed the first page in my journal.  It turned out ok I guess.  The birds and branch are Cricut cuts, the words, bubble phrase and swirls are stamps and "family" is handwritten.

Well it's late and I have to go to work tomorrow.  Oh, I almost forgot to mention the newest addition to my scrap space...

My new Cricut Expression replace my Cricut Create and of course my new bug needed a cover so I stitched this one up on my little blue sewing machine.

Good Night and Happy Scrapping!

Update!

In my previous post I stated that I couldnt find my most wanted cartridge on sale. Guess what?!?!?! I found it at a Wal-Mart near where I work for an AWESOME clearance price. Watch my YouTube video below to see the great stuff I got!

New Cartridge

In case you Cricut users out there havent noticed, Wal-Mart is clearing out its Cricut Cartridges.  I got the Graphically Speaking Cartridge for $23!  I really wanted the Storybook but alas...they were all gone.  Anyways, here is a layout I did for a DT submission using my new bargain priced catridge and the Walk in My Garden cartridge.

Thanks for looking!

Sketch Challenge 204

This weeks sketch challenge #204 at Scrapbook Challenges took me a while to complete.  Here is the sketch:

I ended up doing it simple and I think it turned out pretty good.  With the simple elements it puts the focus where it should be...on the photo.  This photo of my youngest daughter is one of my favorites.  She loves anything with a peace sign on it and when I found these cool earrings at Target they quickly became her favorite.  With her dark hair I have always thought she looked great in red so I decided to use red as an accent color with the black and white.  Of course I need some flourish and flowers so I used some Prima bling and a big Prima flower.   Here is my completed layout:

Color Challenge

The color challenge is to use red, blue and yellow but not cardstock.  You have to use patterned papers.  Here is what I came up with:

I used my Liscense Plate stamp set by Autumn Leaves, the frame and leaves are by K&Co and the flower is Prima.

Sketch Challenge

So this weeks sketch looked something like this:

And my version of it looks like this:

Bryce's softball team is the Lady Dodgers this year and their colors are orange and grey.  I used the Cricut San Serif cartridge to do the lettering and the rest is just cardstock and ink.

All Day!

I worked all day on this one page!  Of course I went to church, went to the grocery store, layed in the pool, took daughter to practice, grilled burgers...but still!  Anyways, this one started out with a plain sheet of white cardstock.  I distressed it with Ranger Distress ink in Old Paper and also added in a little black.  I stamped and heat embossed the butterflies and flourishes.  The butterfly stamps are by Martha Stewart.  The word "imagine" is from Michaels and was bare chipboard then I painted red it and distressed it with black ink.  I even went to the sewing machine and stitched on the strip of green striped paper under the title with black thread.  Last I added some flowers, a decorative tag cut down, a jeweled brad and some hand lettering and finally it was done!

Hoping you had a great weekend and was able to get a little crafting done, I sure did!!!

FUN!

This layout is fun.  I love the bright colors.  I also used some diecut felt pieces for extra texture.  The trees are made using a cuttlebug die with graduated wonky circles and handcut trunks.  The clouds are a sizzix original die.  The sun, heart and grass are felt.

Another Challenge

Well the challenge board seems to be helping.  I have done more scrapbooking in the past few days than I have in the past 2 years!  Here is another sketch challenge that I worked on today:

And here is another layout I did - no challenge, just me!

This Makes Me HAPPY!

Dont you just love it when you find scrapbooking supplies for a great price.  This week I have gotten several good deals on supplies.  First I went by our local Dollar Tree to pick up some cups and plates and found extra fine packets of glitter like those they sell at M's for $5!  I got all the colors they had.  Each pack had 6 colors.

I also found out the Wal-Mart in a town near here is closing their fabric department so I got some great trims for 50% off!  I just love pom-pom fringe ribbon and lace. 

Today my baby girl and I went shopping and I got two sets of grungeboard for $4 each.  I got the alphabet set and the elements set.  I found these at Tuesday Morning.  I also got a set of 18 6x6 printed transparencies by Anna Griffin at Ross for $3!

Challenges!

I recently joined a scrapbooking challenge group in hopes that it would inspire me to do some scrapbooking and guess what?!?!?!  It worked.  I did 3 challenges in 2 days!

The first one was to use paint on a layout.  Here is what I came up with:

This was Bryce's 10th birthday party.

The next challenge was to use black and white and one other color.  I chose yellow:

And last was a sketch challenge.  Here is the sketch and my attempt:

Well I'm off to find some more challenges to keep me scrapping!

A Moment...

I want to take a moment today to honor the memory of the greatest man I ever knew.  My grandfather passed away last week in a small town in southern Arkansas.  I called him Papaw all my life.  He was born in a small house in the hills of Pike County and lived 80 years on this earth until he was called home.  He loved one woman till the day he died, and was the perfect example to his 4 children, 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.  He worked hard for what he had and I can't remember ever hearing him say anything bad about anyone in my 34 years.  As I drove home from work today I heard the song "Small Town Southern Man" by Alan Jackson on the radio and as I listened to the words of the song I thought to myself...that song is about my papaw.  I will miss you, Papaw, till the day that I get to heaven where I know you are waiting for me.

And he bowed his head to Jesus
And he stood for Uncle Sam
And he only loved one woman
(He) was always proud of what he had
He said his greatest contribution
Is the ones you leave behind
Raised on the ways and gentle kindness
Of a small town Southern man

Callous hands told the story
For this small town Southern man
He gave it all to keep it all together
And keep his family on his land
Like his daddy, years wore out his body
Made it hard just to walk and stand
You can break the back
But you can't break the spirit
Of a small town Southern man

Finally death came callin'
For this small town Southern man
He said it's alright 'cause I see angels
And they got me by the hand
Don't you cry, and don't you worry
I'm blessed, and I know I am
'Cause God has a place in Heaven
For a small town Southern man

Zoo...again!

Zoo photos are like Christmas photos in my life.  There is a set every year and all of pretty much the same thing.  The only thing that is different is the size of the kids in the pictures so they are always a challenge for me.  So...putting away the cutsie zoo stickers and papers I went in a different direction.  Yes, I know flowers have nothing to do with zoo animals, but they sure are cute!

How Do You Play Marbles, Mom?

Its amazing the things that kids these days are missing out on.  Simple things that we overlook.  Things that we need to be sure to pass on.  For example...marbles.  My girls found marbles that I used to play with as a kid while we were visiting my grandmother one day.  I never even thought about the fact that they never learned how to play.  In a world where kids learn to use a computer and a have their own cell phone by the time they are 5 we should all make it a priority to pass on the simple things that we learned as a child, so pull out the sidewalk chalk and play hopscotch, jump rope, play jacks and of course marbles!

Mouse Pad - Too Cute!

I got this idea from an issue of Lowe's Creative Inspiration magazine.  It is soooo cute I couldn't resist and so easy to make.  All you need is a wooden mouse trap, needle nose pliers, and some paint.  This one is acually a rat trap but I am going to try with mouse traps next. 

Thanks for looking.  Leave a comment!

Softball Mini

This weekend has been a very productive weekend.  I hope the creative juices continue to flow because I feel a sense of accomplishment...finally!  This softball album I started a LONG time ago.  I can't even remember when.  The covers were already done so all I had to do was the inside.  Here is what the end result looks like:

Thanks for looking.  Leave a comment!

Canoe Trip Mini

Finally got hit by some creative inspiration.  You will notice the pictures are from 2007 which is how far behind I am.  It's sad I know but what can I say.  So here it is.  I used chipboard for the pages and my

Bind-It-All to bind it together.

New Page!

I just made a new page on my blog with pics of my scrapbook room.  Check it out!

Whew!

Hoping to do a few posts to my neglected blog soon!  Stay tuned...