100 Patterned Paper Challenge

Hello everyone! Happy Thursday! Our week of family vacation is almost over - and I am so sad about that! We don't ever go far, but I'm going to miss sleeping in and having no schedule! We are headed to the pool today - if the weather cooperates. Right now we have storm warnings out - so we will see...

As some of you may know I am always looking for ways to keep myself motivated to use up my stash. I have this enormous amount of patterned paper, and I just keep adding to it. Just last week I bought four 12x12 paper pads at Tuesday Morning (who can pass up that $6.99 price?!) and I "may" have ordered two more paper pads that should be here some time this week. I readily admit that I am addicted to patterned paper, but I do want to get in and get some of my older stuff used up.

A couple of weeks ago I was looking through my paper stash for a certain piece of paper. Of course I got side tracked by all the pretty papers that I had forgotten I even had! So, I started pulling out a few papers - "this" paper would be cute for "this" layout, here is red, white, and blue papers - it's almost the fourth, "this" paper could be used for "those" photos, more red, white, and blue...well, you get the idea. This is what my floor looked like:

Some papers were pulled with the purpose of using them for project life style cards, some were pulled with a specific layout in mind, but my soul purpose was to pull these old papers and pair them up with some new papers to get them used up - maybe make some of my own kits along the way.

Then I came across a post in a Facebook group that I am in, where one of the members was challenging themselves to use up 100 patterned papers - or get rid of them. I thought, "I can do that - I just pulled a whole stack of old papers!" Just a little more incentive for me to get my stash used up!

Now my stack is more than 100 sheets. I counted out 100 sheets to "measure' my stack, and it's more like 4 -500 sheets, but they are now sitting in my scrap room, and I have already been using on them!

Some of the red, white, and blue papers that I pulled.

Old American Crafts collections.

Some solids - I have lots and lots of solids!

Old Chatterbox - Scrapbook Walls collections - does anyone even remember them? It's a good thing they have solid colors on the back side - maybe I'll get them used up!

Here is the stack - all ready to be used up:

I've not set a time limit yet for trying to work through this stack. I hope to see a big difference in the size by the end of summer, but I am a slow scrapper, so I know it might take a while! When I measured this stack it was 5 inches tall...maybe by the end of the year it will look a little smaller!

I am going to try to remember to take photos of the papers I pull before I start on a project to help me keep track of what I am getting used up.

I am excited on getting started with this challenge to myself, and heck, sometimes that is half the battle!

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a fantastic day!

Try Stampin' - Or Not - On Tuesday #278

Hello again! I am back with my second post of the day!

We have a new sketch up over at Try Stampin' - Or Not - On Tuesday.  This sketch is courtesy of Kaylin, and the optional theme for this week is blue and white.

Here's the sketch:

I tried to stick to the blue and white theme, but there is just a touch of pink on my card. I had this 6x6 paper pad from Little Yellow Bicycle that had a border strip page in it, and I thought this strip that said, "Just Be You" would be perfect for this sketch. The only thing I changed about the sketch was not adding in the sentiment since it was not needed. I chose to add in a flower in that spot instead. 

Be sure to stop by the Try Stampin' blog to see what the rest of the team did with this sketch. You have 2 weeks to play along with this sketch, and you can link up on the blog or on our Facebook page.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a great one!

Sketch N Scrap Card Sketch #77

Hello, hello! Happy Tuesday to you! I hope all of those that celebrated Independence Day here in the US had a good, long weekend! I know we enjoyed it!

We have the first card sketch of the month up today over at Sketch N Scrap for you. This fun sketch is courtesy of Mandy.

I decided to turn the sketch for my card to accommodate the stamp set that I wanted to use. This is one of those sketches that I am sure I will be using again! I also think it would make a great project life style card as well!

Be sure to stop by Sketch N Scrap to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. You have all month long to play along with our sketches. I can't wait to see what you create!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I will be back soon with another project to share with you.

Lasting Memories 300th Challenge Blog Hop

Hello everyone! Welcome to Lasting Memories 300th challenge blog hop!

Several of our design team members are playing along and offering up some blog candy, so be sure to stop by each of their blogs. You should have arrived here by way of Michele's blog. If you get lost along the way, or just want to start from the beginning, you can find the complete list on the Lasting Memories blog.

Our theme for July is "Childhood Games". Each week you will make your layout based on the photo/game provided. Our first challenge is "Marbles". Here is your inspiration photo:

For my layout I was inspired by the circles and the bright colors. I still need to add my journaling in above the photos on the right hand side of the layout. I just need to figure out how I can fit all that I want to say in that little space!

Here is a closer look at each page:

This layout is about a fund raiser that our little elementary school has that is near and dear to my heart. Every year, for the past six years, they hold a fun walk/run called "Conway Bears Step Up For Autism". The students get donations or pledges, then they get to spend one afternoon out on the track, running or walking a mile, and then cooling off with a treat.

This year it was held on May 11th. Since Abby is the Special Education teacher for K-4th graders, she got to walk with us, and even Matthew came along for it since he was already out of school. Even though it was pretty hot that day, and all Ada wanted to do was play at the "park" (playground) - we still had a lot of fun!

I based my layout on a sketch from the brand new sketch book by Scrapbook Generation called, The Whole Picture. I just picked this book up on Thursday, and I seriously love it! I am pretty sure that I will be using every single sketch in that book!

I do have some blog candy to give away here on my blog! All you have to do for a chance to win these goodies from Elle's Studio, is leave a comment on this post by next Saturday, July 9th. Of course I would love it if you would become a follower, but it's not necessary to win my blog candy, just leave me a comment. I will draw a winner next Sunday, July 10th.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Next up on the hop is Haven.

Here is the order of the hop in case you get lost along the way!

Lauren

Michele

Lori ----- You Are Here

Haven

Tina

Sandy

Barbara

Lasting Memories

Sketch N Scrap #108 - Recharging

Hello everyone! Happy Friday and Happy July 1st! Can you believe that we are already half way through 2016?! This year is going by fast! We are headed into the big holiday weekend, and my husband is officially on vacation, so hopefully the weather will cooperate and we can go do some fun things!

The first of the month means a new sketch is up over at Sketch N Scrap. This fun sketch is courtesy of Lisa!

A couple of weeks ago I was going through some of my {really} old papers looking for a particular sheet. I came across this old collection from Sweetwater -does anyone even remember them?!- and I had this photo of Shane when he was little guy - it's probably as old as the paper! - and I thought - what a perfect pairing! A great way to get some old stash used up and a sweet older photo of Shane scrapped!

Once again I used some blue and green paint splatters on my background paper to give it a little extra something. I added in some wood veneer stars and enamel dots to finish it off. I feel like my title says everything there is to say about this photo. Shane is definitely "recharging" here - getting ready for - or recovering from a fun day!

Be sure to stop by Sketch N Scrap to see the beautiful layouts from the rest of the team. I am offering up the prize for July. Play along with any or all of our sketches and link up by the end of the month for your chance to win this:

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

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #166 & A Design Team Call

Hello everyone! Happy Tuesday to you! I hope that you are having a good start to your week.

There's a new sketch up over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge, and I am sharing my card with you today.

Here's a look at the sketch:

I used Fancy Pants - Life Is Beautiful - 6x6 paper pad. This collection has so many beautiful papers in it. I fussy cut the flowers from another piece of Fancy Pants paper from a different collection (Summer Sun). They were a perfect match to the flowers in this new collection. For my sentiment I used Close To My Hearts - Share the love stamp set (CC1060).

Be sure to stop by the Atlantic Hearts blog for another look at the sketch. We also have a Design Team call going on right now. If you would like to be a part of this awesome design team, please go here to read all about it!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a wonderful day!

Scrapbook Challenges #488

Hello everyone! Happy Monday to you! I hope that you had a great weekend! This is my third reveal of the day, so if you are looking for my Stick It Down card reveal, please scroll down or go here. If you are looking for my Use Your Stuff reveal, scroll down or go here.

We have a new sketch up over at Scrapbook Challenges today. It's another fun one to work with.

I kept my embellishing to a minimum on this layout. The different patterned papers were already pretty busy for me, and I wanted to keep the focus on my sweet Ada! She is growing up so fast! I included some hidden journaling on a tag behind the photo.

I snapped this picture of her when we went to Silver Dollar City a couple of weeks ago. She wasn't quite tall enough for most of the rides, so we hung out together most of the day. She never complained about how hot it was, or how long we had to wait for the others to get done on the rides, she was just happy and content to hang out with me!

Stop by Scrapbook Challenges to see the layouts from the rest of the design team. There are a lot of beautiful layouts to be seen!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I will be back soon with another project to share with you!

Use Your Stuff #227 - Problem Solver

Hello again! I am back again with my second project of the day. If you are looking for my Stick It Down card reveal, please scroll down or go here.

We have a new challenge up today over at Use Your Stuff. This week Karrie's challenge is - "Good things in 3's".  You must use the following:

3 photos (or 3 phrases if you are a card maker)
3 colors (black and white are free colors)
3 embellishments (use as many of each that you want, but there needs to be 3 different types of embellishments on your project).

I used the three photos, red, blue, and yellow for my colors, star die cuts, star wood veneer, and enamel dots as my embellishments. I may have inadvertently cheated just a bit here. I do have a tag on there for my hidden journaling. It was kind of an after thought, but I didn't want to write directly on my layout this time.

Our youngest son loved to explore all of the nooks and crannies of our house when we first moved in. He especially loved to crawl through the kitchen cabinets and just lay in there. Sometimes he would forget the easy way to get back out, but he always figured it out pretty quickly (and maybe after a few tears!)

I used an older sketch from Scrap the Boys that I had pinned on my Pinterest board. It was perfect for these photos.

Be sure to check out the Use Your Stuff blog to see how the rest of the design team interpreted this challenge. I hope you play along with us this week. I would love to see your creations!

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

Let Freedom Ring with Stick It Down

Hello everyone!

Today is your lucky day! The July sketches at Stick It Down are being posted a little early! I am the featured card designer for July, so I get to share my card with you today as well!

July's sketch is courtesy of the talented Laura Rumble. I absolutely love this sketch and can see myself using it again!

Since it is so close to the 4th of July I had to go with a patriotic card! I splattered the background with some red paint, got a little crazy with the navy, red, and silver messy thread, and I had to add in some sparkle with the red, silver, and blue sequins. 

Be sure to stop by Stick It Down to see the reveal of the single and double page sketches as well. I hope that you join in our challenges for July!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I will be back soon with another reveal!

Lasting Memories #299 - #buddies

Hello everyone! Happy Sunday to you! I hope that you are having a good weekend! Our weekend seems to be going by way too fast!

We have a new challenge up today at Lasting Memories. This is the last challenge for our "All About Me" theme this month, and it is "I Love To...". This can be about absolutely anything that you love to do.

One of my favorite things to do is spend time with my granddaughter. Let me tell you, this summer has been hard on this Nana! I'm used to seeing my girly every day during the week, and now I only see her a couple of times a week. I miss her! So, of course my layout is about spending time with her!

I used the - oh so pretty - Simple Stories Carpe Diem papers and embellishments for this layout. I had a really light grey card stock that matched the background to the dot paper perfectly, so I used that instead of plain white.

I based my layout on the June - Week 1 sketch from Let's Get Sketchy. Here's a look at that sketch:

Be sure to stop by the Lasting Memories blog to see the layouts from the rest of the design team. I hope you've enjoyed our challenges this month! You have until July 1 to enter any or all of our June challenges.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a great day!