My Sketch World October Sneak Peek!

Just wanted to give you guys a quick sneak peek of my layout for the October 1st layout sketch over at My Sketch World.

I loved this sketch and can't wait for you to see the whole layout! :)I busted out the old school Crate Paper for this. That's the Sweet Branch line! :)

Scrapbook Expo, Here I Come!!!

I'm heading to the Scrapbook Expo this weekend! I'm so excited because I'm actually working in a booth and not just shopping. LOL!!!

So, if you're in the Portland area this weekend stop by and see me! I'll be at the Creative Imaginations booth on Saturday and either there or the Strictly Scrapbooking booth on Friday. I even get to go help set up on Thursday. This is going to be fun!!!

Hope to see you there!!!
Erica
:D

ABC Crop~Q,R,T,W & X

Hey there! Here are the last five projects I made for the My Sketch World ABC Crop. I hope you like them! :)



Q is for Quick & Qute. We had to make a card using a sketch that was provided.



R is for Ready. This was a layout challenge. Our layout had to have the word Ready in the title.




T is for Two Techniques. We had to pick two of the following techniques to use on a layout. Inking, tearing, crumpling, sanding, edge distressing...they were going for a distressing effect. :)

W is for Wish. We had to make a card using the word wish on it.

X is for X marks the spot.

Well, that's it! I think one of the reasons I got so much done was that I could use these with other challenges. I really enjoy challenges and having to think outside the box instead of being given free rein really gets my creative side going.

Thanks for checking these all out!

Erica

:D

ABC Crop~K,M,N,O & P

I realized that I hadn't shared the rest of my layouts and cards from the ABC Crop over at My Sketch World with you!

I loved this crop! I didn't get all of the challenges done but I did get enough done to get into the final drawing which was my goal. :)

Here are the first half of my unshared projects.

K-was for Kiss. This card challenge needed to have the word kiss on it. I love how this card turned out, it came out just like the image in my head. Love that! (I gave it to Andrew for his birthday, he loved it! LOL!)

M-is for More is Better. We had to make a card with at least five layers. I was working on this about the same time as Christine Middlecamp's Savvy Windows tutorial and so I used that technique as inspiration. Love her work!!!

N-was for Nekkid Chipboard. We had to make a layout using just plain chipboard. I had a really hard time with this one until I dug into my Pink Paislee Warehouse Box stash and found the Queen Bee line. It has great grey tones that work really well with nekkid chipboard.

O-is for Owl. We had to make a card with an owl on it.

P-is for pins and needles. It was a layout challenge where we had to use stitching on it. This one is also my layout from the one hour challenge over at Club CK. I stitched the buttons on using baker's twine. I have a serious addiction to the stuff and I totally blame Miss Joscie (rhymes with Bossy)! LOL!

I'll be back tomorrow with the rest of my ABC Crop projects.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :D

Two Toots and...Some Sheep???

Well, first up my biggest toot is that I got another card picked up by Paper Crafts magazine!!! (I don't think I told you guys this but I got one picked up a while ago for their Nov/Dec issue.) I'm so excited!!! I was afraid that the first one was just a fluke. LOL!

Now for something a little less exciting but still really fun for me. I like to participate in the one-hour challenges over at Club CK when I can. You have one hour to complete a layout based on a challenge and be entered in a random drawing. If you can't complete it in time, there's a second deadline and a second random drawing. But, with the little ones and just life in general, I've only done two.

This is the second one I did.


I didn't get it done in the allotted hour but made the second deadline and...I just found out that I got picked in the second drawing. Whee!!!

It's especially sweet because the CKMB was my first scrappy forum and I've never won a single CK contest. This is my first one. Yay!!! :)

And now, for something truly random, I bring you sheep!

These half a dozen lovely ladies decided to ditch their own fields and come check out their neighbors...namely, us!

I was getting ready to take a shower when I saw a sheep walk past our master slider. I grabbed some clothes and my camera and got some shots of these gals on our patio. LOL!

I did shoo them off the patio because they were eating my flowers and plants and I was a little worried that they might get sick. Mickey went out in the lawn and was trying to play with them. Too funny!

We finally got ahold of their owners and they actually went back home before their owner got back. They took advantage of a dried out creek to sneak under their fence and back.

Gotta love livin' in the country! :D

He's Officially a Preschooler!!!

Little Man had his first day of preschool on Tuesday. I didn't get very many pics at drop off and none at pick up but we did have a good first day of school photo shoot out front. :D

We got there a few minutes before it started and while he was a little nervous walking in and getting his name tag, once we walked over to the train table room he was ready to go.

He's one of the older kids in his class (he missed the cutoff for the 4 year old class by a month or two) and he is by far the tallest.

I tried to get him to wave at me as I left and he was waaaaay more interested in playing. :D This kid is a social butterfly and has been dying to go to school since he was old enough to start saying school bus.

I was a little blue when I left but right after we got home, I put Miss Thing down for her nap and then I had two glorious hours to myself! In the middle of the day!! I could scrap/clean/sleep without anyone bugging me!!! (I chose to scrap, big shock there! Heh!)

I'm thinking I need to make a schedule for this new found free time or I may end up puttering around and not taking full advantage of it. ;)

Miss Thing woke up about 10-15 minutes before we had to go pick him up. We zipped on over to the preschool (it's super close and if it wasn't for the unsafeness of the country road it's on, we'd probably walk!) and stood in line downstairs to pick him up.

He got to make another spinner plate (he made two at the open house) and he got a little school house that said he'd had a great day.

His report about his day isn't terribly understandable. We had to prompt him a bit and ask a ton of questions. He said that he played outside, played with the train table, had juice and a pink & black thing for a snack (????), they sang a song(s) and learned about the color red. One thing that was most definately clear, is that he had a blast!

Stampendous!!!

Hey all!

It's time for the second Featured Manufacturer reveal at A Walk Down Memory Lane. Our second FM is ... Stampendous!

The Stampendous stamp I ordered is called Agapanthus Cling.



I love it! I knew I had to use it for more than just cards. So, I decided a little fall decor was in order. (Hey, it is the middle of September!) :D


First up, a candle holder!



Now, this turned out to be much easier than I thought. I just grabbed my trusty Stazon ink pad and stamped one image on each side. A few tips....first, make sure your candle holder is on a no slip surface. Makes it much easier than trying to brace it on your craft desk with your knee. (Yeah.) Second, it takes a while to dry. Especially the bold flowers. I did two connecting sides, waited a while and then did the other two.

Since it worked so well on the holder, I decided to try my luck with just a candle.
While it looks pretty simple, this actually took more work than the candle holder! First, I wiped down the candle with a baby wipe as it had kind of an oily feel to it. Then, I tried to stamp it the same way I did the holder but with the rounded surface that totally didn't work. Rocking it back and forth didn't work either as it wouldn't line up. So, after wiping off the first two attempts, I started at one edge of the stamp and then rocked the stamp around the candle. Success!!!

Lastly, I decided to step away from the brown ink and get started on a Christmas present.

It's a mini book for my folks! I stamped the flower on kraft cardstock with navy ink and then used my Nestabilities to cut and emboss it. I added a few letter stickers for the title and used one of my favorite border punches to create the faux ruffles.


I'm working on a card using this stamp but you'll have to wait a bit to see it. :) I hope you enjoyed my creations and if you need some Stampendous product, check out the store as it's 25% off for the rest of the month! :D

Great Contest on the AWDML DT Blog!

Check this out folks!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To celebrate Graphic 45 as our Featured Manufacturer, Graphic 45 has decided to sponsor the September contest at A Walk Down Memory Lane!!! Some more great news?? Because Graphic 45 is our Featured Manufacturer...everything in the shop from Graphic 45 is 25% off ALL MONTH!

To participate, all you have to do is: Create a layout using 60% Graphic 45 products!!

Please make sure to specify in your upload description what you used for Graphic 45 products.
The theme or concept for your layout is all up to you!
The Winner will receive a bunch of goodies from Graphic 45!!!!

* Deadline: September 30th at Midnight PST
* A maximum of ONE entry may be submitted.
* The winner's project will be posted on the main website along with their name
* Your entry must be made specifically for this contest, and may not not be one that has already been shared on any other website or blog.

To submit your entry, link it to the AWDML DT Blog's post about the contest. You can find it here.
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So, are you gonna enter? I think you should!!!

Good luck!
Erica
:D

Inspiration from a Magazine Cover

Hey all! Just sharing a new layout with you. It's actually a lift of a cover of a magazine. To see the magazine that I used for inspiration, and two other projects inspired by that magazine, head on over to my post on the A Walk Down Memory Lane DT blog.

Products used~Patterned Paper-Lily Bee Designs, Chipboard-Lily Bee Designs & Jenni Bowlin, Letter Stickers-Adorn It & American Crafts, Plastic Butterflies-Maya Road, Leaf Pins-Maya Road, Button-Vintage, Flower-Prima, Punch-Marvy Uchida, Ribbon-Pink Paislee, Pens-American Crafts & Uniball

Journaling reads~Through these pictures we see the person you will be. And we love every little thing about you.

I had a lot of fun with this layout...I loved the colors!

Here are a few close ups. :)

I used one of my precious pink Jenni Bowlin chipboard butterflies on this layout. I've only got one left! :)

This black button is a vintage button I picked up at a garage sale at my Granny's retirement home. Oh, and I don't know if you've noticed but I've really started using those Maya Road pins a lot more. I've loved them since they came out but was a little intimidated by them. I finally realized that my trusty little wire cutters work on these and now I find them a lot easier to work with!

I love these little butterflies from Maya Road too. They add that perfect cute little touch and they come in fabulous colors! :)

I hope you liked my layout and I hope you'll head over here and see the rest of my projects and the magazine that inspired them all!

Thanks for stopping by!

Erica

:D

At 17 Months

Audrey is 17 months old today and we love her more than ever!

She says, Mom (not Mama), Dada, Bickey (Mickey), Aw-Gee (Audrey), Baby, Apple, Ball, Doggie, Book, Choo-choo, Voof (woof), Wee (Please), Dank You (thank you), Up, Look, Hi, Kah-ker (cracker), Bop (Bah-bon, my mom), Papa (Papa Maow, my dad), Add-ih (Addison), Luh-ler (Color, when she wants to color), Blankie, Poop, No (nose), No (No), Arm, Shoe and Shoes.


She can point to her eye, her mouth, her nose (well, she sticks her finger up there), her hair, her feet and her belly.


She signs, Eat, Bye-bye (opens & closes her hand with her palm facing up)


She loves her books and sleeps with one during nap time and at night. She still takes a nap at about 10:30 for 2-3 hours and if it's been a hard day she may sleep for another hour or so later in the afternoon. Her bedtime is eight and she wakes up around 5:30-6:00, we go in and snuggle/retuck her and she sleeps about another hour.


She eats like a champ. There's not much she doesn't like but she particularly likes ham, cheese, Goldfish crackers, Graham crackers, grapes, cucumbers, and olives. She can use her fork pretty well but doesn't all the time yet.


She's a lover. She gives kisses and can make the perfect smooch sound. She loves to give hugs and she'll wrap her arms around my neck and play with my hair as I carry her around.


She's very active. She runs around the house with Mickey and loves to get outside as much as she can. Unfortunately, we don't have a fenced backyard so she doesn't get free rein outside like her big brother. She will hold my hand while she walks now (she wouldn't before) and she loves to tackle her big brother with hugs.


She and Mickey play really well together. I come across them hanging out doing the same thing all the time. They do fight a little but it's pretty easy to stop and they really enjoy each other.


She is a tomboy fashionista. When she's outside, she's pouring dirt/sand/rocks over her hair and when she's inside, she's taking clothes out of the laundry basket to "wear" as shawls.


She is everything I've ever wanted in a daughter and more. I am so lucky to have Miss Audrey Rose in my life.


Love you, Baby Girl!

Graphic 45 at AWDML & My First My Sketch World Reveal!

Now, I'm not gonna lie, I was a little nervous when I found out that Graphic 45 was going to be one of our Featured Manufacturers for September. I don't know if you all have noticed but I'm not exactly the most collagy/ornate/vintagey scrapper around and it always has seemed to me that Graphic 45 screams those things.

It turns out, Graphic 45 is a heck of a lot easier to work with than I'd thought. Here's what I made with it.

For my first layout, Depot Bay, I decided to just roll with the vintage feel. I cut out the frame from one sheet of paper and distressed it with my distressing tool and some ink and then mounted it with pop dots. I tried to use a few repeating embellisments in three different places on the layout. First up, three pearls of staggering sizes to mimic the Maya Road pin I used.

I also used those cool, cork buttons from Pink Paislee...

and the cool journaling tags from Pink Paislee. I loved the pop that the orange provided and how it helps guide your eye through the layout.

I seriously love this ribbon from Webster's Pages and feel like it really goes well with the vibe of Graphic 45. Oh, and it's a pun. I can't shake my love for cards with puns. :)

Finally, I also wanted to make a page that was definitely my style using Graphic 45.

Here's a little close-up of the details. A little tip for you, if your element that you want to stretch across the page isn't quite 12" across, cut it up and hide the gap under something else on your page. You can also do this when you want to save as much of a product as you can. Like that scrumptious Webster's Pages ribbon! Mmmmmm! LOL!

Remeber, Graphic 45 and our other Featured Manufacturer, Stampendous are both 25% off for the month of September! Check out Stampendous's cool storage!

This next layout, I am so excited to share with you. It's the full reveal of my very first layout with My Sketch World. Squeal!!!

I'm on Team A, which has it's reveals on the first of every month. Team B has it's reveal on the 15th and the Inspiration Team will reveal on the 10th & 20th.

On to the sketch!

Here's Lucy's sketch. Isn't it cool? :)

And here's my layout! I flipped it around so that the big pic of Aud would be facing the center of the layout and I staggered the little pics a bit but for the most part I stuck to the sketch. I used mainly Pink Paislee for this layout and I sanded the edges of my photos so they had a tiny bit of white on the edges and outlined a lot of my elements with my white Uniball pen to coordinate. (LOVE that pen!! I've used two up completely and am on my 3rd right now!!)

You can see the rest of the reveals here at the My Sketch World blog!

Thank for stopping by!

Erica

:D

(Huh. I just realized that I've been on a bit of a journaling strip kick lately. Everything on this post, including the card, uses them. LOL! What do you find yourself using a lot of lately???)