Lasting Memories #270 - Holidays at Home

Hello everyone! I hope that you have had a great weekend. Sadly, our nice long Thanksgiving weekend is about over, but I have truly enjoyed every minute of it. 

 

It is almost the start of a new month, and that means a new set of challenges over at Lasting Memories. Our theme for the month of December is Funny Holidays and our first challenge is, "National Roof Over Your Head Day".

 

Here's a little more about this fun holiday:

Date When celebrated : Always December 3
Today is  National Roof Over Your Head Day. It is a day of appreciation for the things we have, starting with the roof over our heads. For most of us, a roof over our head signifies living in a house that protects us from the elements, keeping us warm, dry, and cozy. Unfortunately, not everyone is as lucky as you and I. There are many homeless people right here in our country. Some people live in a cardboard box on the street...... literally. There are millions of people around the world who live in poverty or disaster areas, and do not have a home to keep them comfortable and safe. Spend a few minutes  being thankful that you are not homeless, and appreciating your roof and home today. Also make a contribution to a homeless shelter, so others can come in out of the rain.
Happy National Roof Over Your Head Day!

Now, our challenge to you is to scrap about your home or someone else's home in general, or switch it up and scrap about your home during the holidays.

I have chosen the latter - to scrap about our home during the holidays.

 

 

I knew from the start that I wanted to scrap about how our home was decorated, but then finding pictures of everything was hard! Apparently I don't take pictures of all of our decorations each year and we have yet to decorate this year, so I had to go back through my photos of the last few Christmas's to find everything I wanted to show. I guess this year I need to be sure to get a picture of everything!

 

My journaling is hidden behind the pictures, but it basically just says how decorating for the holidays is one of my favorite things to do. I love getting out the decorations and reminiscing about when and where we got them. My favorite thing to decorate is the tree. We only use ornaments that the kids have made over the years, or ornaments that we've received during our annual family ornament exchange. It's so fun to remember who got what ornament, or to see what grade the kids were in when they made one. It is a trip down memory lane every year!

 

Be sure to check out the Lasting Memories blog to see how the rest of the design team have scrapped about this fun holiday.

 

I am offering up the prize this month, so for each challenge that you play along with, you will have a chance to win this:

 



 

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed day!

Flashback Friday #184 @ Scrapbook Challenges

Hello everyone! Happy Black Friday to you! If you were one of the brave ones that headed out early for some Black Friday shopping - kudos to you! I guess I'm not much of a shopper, because I went a couple of years and decided it was not for me! Too many not so nice shoppers, and I rarely came home with what I wanted, so now I sleep in and almost always find what I was looking for, for a good price anyway.

Anyway, today is Flashback Friday at Scrapbook Challenges and we have a fun sketch that has been updated for you. If you want to see the original sketch, check out the Scrapbook Challenges blog. Here is a look at the updated sketch :

The great thing about this sketch is that it is great for scraps, or for a 6x6 paper pad, which is what I used. I wanted my layout to have bright, fun colors and the Simple Stories DIY Boutique was perfect for it.

These photos are of my daughter at her 20th birthday party. I can't believe that was 5 years ago! She was home from college for Labor Day weekend, and as you can see by the smile on her face, she loved that she got presents!

Check out the Scrapbook Challenges blog to see the layouts from the other design team members.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!

Try Stampin - Or Not - On Tuesday #246

Good Tuesday morning! Today is the last day of school for my boys before Thanksgiving break, and I am looking forward to a mini vacation - with no getting up early, and hopefully lots of crafty time!

The new sketch is up over on the Try Stampin On Tuesday blog today. Kaylin has created this fun sketch for us to work with:

The optional twist is to use Christmas colors/peace on earth.

I pulled out one of my all time favorite Christmas stamp sets to stamp that little tree on the tag. I have had this set for ages and I still don't use it often enough. I have several more Christmas cards that I need to make, so maybe I will keep it handy and use it again.

Check out the Try Stampin On Tuesday blog to see the gorgeous cards by the rest of the design team. You have 2 weeks to play along and you can enter either on the blog post, or the Facebook page.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day!

Scrapbook Challenges Sketch #460

Hello again! I am back with my second post of the day. If you are looking for my Use Your Stuff reveal, please scroll down or go here.

Scrapbook Challenges has a great new sketch up over on the blog today. Here is a look at the sketch:

I really like these starbursts on a page and I really liked that this was a partial one - something that I had not tried yet.

I used Simple Stories I Am collection for this layout of my daughter and my niece. These two were really close growing up, and they were more like sisters than cousins. Even though they live several hours from each other and have their own little families, when they do get together, it's just like old times.

Head on over to the Scrapbook Challenges blog to see the other design team members take on this fun sketch.

I hope you have some time to play along with us!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Use Your Stuff Challenge #201 - Lot's of Layers

Happy Monday, everyone! I am excited to get this week started, because Thursday is Thanksgiving, and I am looking forward to spending the day with family!

To get us going this week, I have the new challenge from Use Your Stuff to share with you. It's my turn to host the challenge and this week my challenge to you is to use lots of layers on your project.

I chose to make a card for this challenge. I had these - oh so pretty - papers from Fancy Pants' Flutter collection, and I just wanted to layer them up on a card.

I also used the latest sketch from Viva la Verve Sketches that was posted on Friday. (Be sure to check them out. They always have great sketches to work with!) I loved all of the layers on this sketch, and thought it would be great for this challenge.

 

Be sure to stop by the Use Your Stuff blog to see the projects from the other design team members. I hope you have time to play along! The challenge is open until Saturday, November 28.

 

Thanks for stopping by and I'll be back soon!



Sketch N Scrap Card Sketch #62

Happy Friday, everyone! I am looking forward to next week already. They boys will have a short week of school, which means lots of time to take it easy and relax.

I have the latest card sketch from Sketch N Scrap to share with you today. Lisa has created another great sketch for us and it's another one that I can see myself using again.

I decided to take a little break from the Christmas cards that I have been making and make just a general/everyday card. It's a little hard to see in the photo, but I love the bit of sparkle the glitter tape gives going across the middle of the card. Surely this will brighten someone's day this winter when the days are a bit dreary!

Be sure to check out the Sketch N Scrap blog to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the team. You have until November 30th to join in on any or all of our challenges this month.

Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you have a fantastic Friday!

Recycle It with Scrapbook Challenges

Hello again! I am back with my second post of the day. If you are looking for my Sketches In Thyme reveal, please scroll down or go here.

There is a new challenge up over on the Scrapbook Challenges blog today, and it is a fun one!

All you need to do is pick one of these sketches to make a greeting card with a "gratitude" theme. All of these sketches would make fun greeting cards, but I chose to use sketch #412 for my card.

I loved the grid background on the sketch and thought it would be a great way to use up some of my leftover scraps from all of the fall layouts that I have been making. This was a super quick and easy card, and I think I may just use it for a Christmas card as well!

Head on over to the Scrapbook Challenges blog and see which sketches the other design team members used for their cards. I hope that you are inspired to play along with us!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Together - Sketches In Thyme #173

Hi, everyone! Happy Hump Day! I am so happy that we have made it to the half way point of the week and are headed towards the weekend!

Today is the day that I am featured over on the Sketches In Thyme blog. The week 3 sketch for November is courtesy of Bev.

 

Kim, our fearless leader over at Sketches In Thyme, sent us some pretty products to play with for this sketch. I apologize because I forgot to take a photo before I had already started on my layout. It included all of the patterned paper you see on my layout and all of the embellishments that I used - the gold glitter tape (this is so pretty!), the resin flowers, the sequins, and the stickers/kraft piece. I just had a few vellum embellishments that didn't make it on the layout. The only things I used that wasn't in the kit she sent is the brown cardstock, the colonial white cardstock, and the alpha stickers.

I stuck pretty close to this sketch, because hey, that's what I like to do! I just made my paper strips longer, moved the embellishment cluster over, and added embellishments to the top right corner.

The prize for November is the Sangria paper pack - which is the pretty papers I used - so be sure to play along with any or all of our sketch challenges this month for your chance to win it!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Use Your Stuff Challenge #200 And A Blog Hop

Hello everyone! I hope your week is starting off to be a good one! It looks like it is going to be a rainy couple of days, and then we're in for sunshine!

Today is a special day over on the Use Your Stuff blog. We are celebrating our 200th challenge with a blog hop, and of course our challenge.

For our challenge we are using the theme CELEBRATE!

You can celebrate a special person, a milestone, a holiday or event! However the theme relates to you!

Now, on to the blog hop. You should have arrived here by way of Karrie's beautiful blog. If you get lost along the way, just head back over to the Use Your Stuff blog, or I have the complete blog lineup at the end of this post.

Here is my card that I made for this challenge:

I used Pebbles Seen and Noted 6x6 paper pad for this card and a stamp from Close To My Heart -  Perfect Fit Birthdays. We have a several birthdays coming up in the next couple of months so I thought I would get a head start on them!


Also, to help us CELEBRATE we are very excited to have Kim Evans the owner of Emerald Creek Crafts sponsor our Blog Hop.

She is offering up this fun prize to one lucky winner -
 

 

In order to have a chance to win this prize, you have to leave a comment on each DT member's blog/gallery. The lucky winner will be picked from one of the blogs but we're not telling you which one!
 

The hop goes from Monday November 16th until Saturday November 21st and the lucky winner will be announced on the 22nd!  


The next stop on the hop is Martha's beautiful blog. Be sure to stop by and say "Hi".

Thanks so much for stopping by today and don't forget to comment on each blog and link up your projects over on the Use Your Stuff blog.

Here is the complete lineup for the blog hop:

Julia

Majo

Shirley

Tammy

Renee

Karrie

Lori ========>You are here

Martha Lucia



 

Lasting Memories #268 - So Very Thankful

Hello again! I am back with my second post of the day. If you are looking for my Feeling Sketchy reveal, please scroll down or go here.

I am back with the latest challenge from Lasting Memories.  Our theme for November is "Thankful" and this week's challenge is an inspiration photo challenge. Here is the inspiration photo:

 

You can take inspiration from the quote, the colors, the flower...whatever inspires you to make a layout!

 

I took inspiration from the theme and the quote, because everyday I am thankful that I get the opportunity to take care of my granddaughter while her Mommy works.

 

 

She is such a joy to be around and just look at that little sleeping sweetie! I so love doing challenges like this because it makes me stop and realize, that with all the craziness of life, I am so very blessed.

 

I used the September sketch from Boys Rule Scrapbook kits for this layout.

 

 

Check out the Lasting Memories blog to see how the other design team members were inspired by the inspiration photo. I hope you have some time to play along with our challenges this month. You have until the 28th to link up!

 

Thanks again for stopping by and have a great day!



Feeling Sketchy #133

Hello everyone! Happy Sunday to you all! It is unreal to think that in less than two weeks we will be celebrating Thanksgiving here in the U.S.! I guess it's because we have had some really mild weather lately, but it sure doesn't seem like it should be time for the holidays to be starting.

It's the middle of the month, and I have a brand new sketch from Feeling Sketchy to share with you today.

Here is my take on the sketch:

Since I've been making a lot of Christmas cards lately, the hanging tags reminded me of hanging ornaments. I used Echo Parks - Tis The Season - collection for this. It had the perfect ornaments - and sentiment - for my card.

Head on over to the Feeling Sketchy blog to see the beautiful creations from the rest of the design team and to read more about our sponsor for this sketch, Bugaboo Stamps.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!

Sketches In Thyme PL Style - Week 2 Sketch

Hello again! This is my second post for the day, so if you're looking for my Sketch N Scrap Twistback Thursday post, please scroll down or go here.

I am super excited to be sharing with you my first reveal for Sketches In Thyme PL Style. I am working with the super talented Crystal's sketch this week. Here is the sketch that she created for us:

 

And here is my card:

 

 

 

 

And the layout that I used it in:

 

 

 

I have finally decided to make Ada's first year album! Yeah. I thought it was about time since she will turn 2 in just a couple of weeks! I am working with a 6x8 album, and I must say that working with the smaller size is a challenge! I'm tempted to change over to 12x12 - so I have all the space for pictures that I want, but I am really going to try to stick with this size.

 

I also used sketch #1 for the start of my album. So, I am going to back track just a little. Here is a reminder of what the sketch looked like:







and my card using it:

 

 

This is the first page in her album and tells the story of how Abby came to be admitted to the hospital on Thanksgiving night and Ada arriving a few short hours later - 23 days early.

 

I am so excited to start working on this album, and I am going to try to remember to post a new set of pages when I get them done, so you can follow along.

 

Now, here's how you can play along:

 

*  We will have 4 weekly sketches that you can join.

 

*  Each time you enter gives you a chance to win our randomly chosen monthly prize!

 

*  You will have until November 30, 2015 to add your entry to our links.

 

*  Please link back to Sketches In Thyme Project Life Style! 

 

November prize is this fabulous Instalife  Day-to-Day Roller Stamp!

 

I do hope you play along with us! Remember - you don't have to use your card in a pocket style page. It can be used on a traditional layout as a journal card/title card. Be sure to link up by the end of the month!

 

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Sketch N Scrap Twistback Thursday #11

Hello, hello! Happy Thursday to you! I hope that your week is going good for you.

Today is the second Thursday of the month and that means it's Twistback Thursday at Sketch N Scrap!  Heather posted this sketch for us to use, and the twist is to use only primary colors (red, blue, and yellow) on your layout.

I am finally getting around to scrapping these photos of our sweet little soccer lovin' Mr. Buggles. He loved playing soccer with the kids. He would chase that ball and take it in the opposite direction. He loved it when the kids would leave the ball outside, and we would often see him running across the yard chasing it. Sadly, Mr. Buggles is no longer with us, but he left us with so many fun memories.

Head on over to the Sketch N Scrap blog to see the layouts from the rest of the design team. You have until November 30th to play along with any or all of our challenges.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!

Try Stampin - Or Not - On Tuesday Challenge #244

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope you all are having a great day! We are having another beautiful fall day - sunshine and 60's - can't complain for November!

There's a brand new card sketch posted today over on the Try Stampin - Or Not - On Tuesday blog. This week's sketch is courtesy of the talented Kaylin, and our optional twist is to use glitter on your card.

And my card:

 

I love this sketch and I know I will be using it again and again! I kept my card pretty clean and simple. I cut my bow out of some silver glitter paper with my new favorite bow die from My Favorite Things. It took me a while to warm up to the bow craze, but now I can't get enough of them!

Be sure to visit the Try Stampin - Or Not - On Tuesday blog to see the beautiful cards from the other design team members. Remember, you can use just the sketch, just the challenge of glitter this week, or use them both. You have 2 weeks to link up your creation either on the blog or on the Facebook page. I do hope you play along!

Thanks for stopping by today and have a great day!

Monday Sketch at Scrapbook Challenges

Hello everyone! It's the start of a new week, and what better way to get it started than with a sketch!

The newest sketch has been posted over at Scrapbook Challenges, and it's another fun one with lots of possibilities!

So, I will admit that after I had made this layout I really wished I would have used the purple paper for the background. Maybe used the white in it's place or something else. But, that was the only piece of purple that I had and since it was already cut up...well I couldn't do a lot about it! Live and learn! Now that Ada is around, I think I need to invest in more pink and purple papers!

 I stuck pretty close to the sketch on this one, only changing out the 4x3 photo with a 4x4 and adding in a couple of embellishment clusters.

These are some of my favorite photos of Abby's little family - they are just such a cute little family!

Check out the Scrapbook Challenges blog to see the layouts from the rest of the design team. I hope you find some time to play along with us!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Scrapbook Challenges November Spelling Bee Challenge

Hello everyone! There is a fun new challenge up over on the Scrapbook Challenges blog. Our challenge today is a spelling bee challenge.

Here is how it works:

Each month we will give you a “subject” and accompanying ABC graphic. Using your subject word, find the coordinating list of things that must be included on your layout. There is a maximum of 10 letters, so if you had a really long job title it's ok!

Our subject for November is "First Job".

My first job was a cashier at a little gas station in the middle of nowhere. Looking back on that now, I can't believe my parents allowed me to work there! I was barely 18 years old, the station was along the interstate, with no other businesses around and the next closest town was about 10 miles away. I worked nights - we were only open until 8 - but I was by myself and closing up was pretty scary sometimes!

For my layout, I used - C - cork tab, A - acrylic paint - on the see through alphas, S - stitching - faux stitching around the layout, H - hexagons, I - inked edges, E - enamel dots, R - rhinestones.

Abby had posted these photos of Ada on Facebook back last year and said, "Some little girl woke up in a super happy mood this morning--maybe she knows she's a big 7 month old today!" Gotta love that great big smile!


I used this older sketch from Scrapbook Challenges:

Head on over to the Scrapbook Challenges blog to find out all of the details about the challenge and to see the layouts from the other design team members. I hope you play along!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Use Your Stuff Challenge #198

Good Monday morning! I hope you all are doing well! This time change is hard on me! I am waking up a 3 a.m. feeling like I am ready for the day, and that's way too early!

We have a new challenge up today on the Use Your Stuff blog. This week Karrie is challenging us to use our old stash! Goodness knows I have a ton of old stash and I have been working on using it up. It's a slow process because I do love new goodies, but I am making an effort to use the old as well.

I have created another Christmas card for my project this week.

I assure you the red strip is not that bright in real life! It was getting really late when I took the photo and for some reason it shows up super bright!

Anyway, the papers on this card are from a company that is no longer in business. They were called Sweetwater Paper Company and I loved all of their collections. The copyright on the reindeer paper said 2006 and I have hoarded a couple of pieces since that time! It was just so cute and I couldn't bear to cut into it!

Head on over to the Use Your Stuff blog to see the other projects by the rest of the design team. I hope you dig out some old stash and put it to use on a project. Be sure to share it with us when you are done!

Thanks for stopping by today and have a great day!

Sketch N Scrap #92 - Happy Girls...

I am back with my third post for the day. If you are looking for my Feeling Sketchy reveal or my Lasting Memories reveal, please scroll down.

The latest sketch is posted over on the Sketch N Scrap blog today. Lisa has created another great sketch for us to work with.

I used Bella Blvd's Molly collection on this layout of Miss Ada. These photos were taken just about a year ago. My goodness - how she has grown! I felt like there was too much white on white with the camera paper, so I dry brushed some paint on the edges to help it stand out. I also fussy cut the flowers and punched out the hearts from another one of the papers to use as embellishments.

Head on over to the Sketch N Scrap blog and see the beautiful creations from the rest of the design team. You have until November 30 to play along.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope the rest of your day is great!

Lasting Memories #266 - 5 Things I Am Thankful For

**This is my second post of the day. To see my Feeling Sketchy reveal, please scroll down or go here.**

Hello again! I am back to share the latest challenge from Lasting Memories! It's a new month and that means a new theme and a new set of challenges. For November our theme is "Thankful" and our first challenge is to list 5 things you are thankful for.

These are the 5 things I am thankful for right now:

• My Family - always!
• My Health
• A hobby that I love, and all the
• Friends that I have made along the way because of it
• Coffee - especially in the afternoon! It is what keeps me going after a long day!

Head on over to the Lasting Memories blog to see the layouts from the other design team members. I hope you get a chance to play along with us!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Feeling Sketchy #132

Hello everyone! Happy November 1st to all of you! With it being the first day of the month, I have lots of things to share with you today! First up I have the latest sketch from Feeling Sketchy. It's another great sketch that could easily be turned into a scrapbook layout.

And here is my card:

 



I had received these papers from a friend and I don't have any idea what company they are from, but I loved them the moment I saw them! I am sure you will be seeing them again before the holidays are over!

Polkadoodles  is the sponsor for this sketch, so be sure to check out the Feeling Sketchy blog to read more about them and to see the other beautiful creations from the design team.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!