Happy Halloween!

I love halloween. I know that a lot of people think of it as a holiday full of witchcraft and superstitions- but, I think of it as a creative holiday where kids find out that monsters aren't so scary- they are just you friend in a bed sheet.

This year halloween is kind of sad at our house... neither of the boys have any plans and they have pretty much aged out of trick or treating. To make matters worse last year we didn't have a single trick or treater. I am kinda sorta hoping that when Jake comes home from school that he is all excited about some last minute event and that we will get to scramble to put a costume together. I even have dinner in the crockpot so that I can devote myself to costume making if need be.

In the spirit of halloween I am posting some of my past halloween scrapping ideas.
The tags are really detailed- but, were a blast to make. I used small brads to attach the arms and legs so that they still move.
The layout was a fun one to do. I really like the ribbons along the side. I just set eyelets evenly in the orange cardstock and tied a piece of 5 different ribbons in them.

I hope everyone has a terrific halloween.

Halloween

Altered CD's for pumpkin carving and costume awards for cub scouts! I thought they turned out pretty cute and the scouts really seemed to like wearing them. They'd make cute cards or page embellishments too!

Which reminds me- use your scrapping skills for things besides traditional scrapping!

Good Intentions

Well today was frustrating. We got up and headed downtown to Ikea early to purchase the legs for my new work surfaces. The plan was to buy the legs and then spend the rest of the day staining them and assembling. Well- we got there only to find that they were out of stock. Very disappointing considering it's an hour and a half drive and that their website was showing them in stock before we left the house. Total bummer.
Hubby to the rescue! He said- "I can build these easily" and stopped at Home Depot to purchase the lumber. This is good and bad. Good because he has the best intentions and his building skills are superior- the bad is who knows when he will actually get around to building them. It's a catch 22- bug him and he may never build them, don't bug him and he may completely forget about them. :::sigh::::
Yesterday however, was a good day! I stopped at a garage sale and found some major loot. I purchased an overhead projector (it needs a bulb) an old fashioned stapler( I can't resist them) and 4 hole punches for $5.00! While paying there was a coffee can filled to the top with wooden rings sitting by the cash box. No one knew what they were for or what they had been. I started rattling off things someone could do with them and the next thing I knew they gave them to me. I am sure I can use them for something cool. I too have good intentions- but, who knows when I will get to them.

Exciting News!

I have exciting news. At least it's exciting to me! About 6 months ago I was able to purchase 5 antique doors. The idea being that I would turn them into desk tops for my scrapping room. The doors all have their original glass knob door knobs and hinges and are painted a creamy off white. Anyway- I've been stumped as to what to do about legs. I've thought and pondered and priced. Then last night I stumbled onto exactly what I was looking for on Ikea.com! Better news yet- we have an Ikea downtown! I also found plexiglass for the tops at Home Depot. It's pretty pricey- so today I am headed to a place nearby that cuts glass to see what they charge. So maybe, just maybe by the end of next week I will have my scrapping room redone and organized. I'm positively giddy!

The reason that it's taken me so long to get hopping on my room redo is because each year I am camp director for a large cubscout weekend long camping event. I plan and purchase supplies for all the activities. Line up all the staff. Design the patches. etc. etc. etc. This year we had 1300 people in attendance! I LOVE doing it -but, it takes up all my creative energy and time and everything else winds up on hold. This years trip was last weekend.

I'm happy to report it was a huge success! Here's a picture of my very tired family Saturday night after the campfire. Yep, that's me- no make-up, hair pulled back- exhausted and happy! Can't wait to do it again next year! Can someone please tell me when my boys got so big?

Outside the Box

I made this Christmas card for a challenge that had me thinking outside the box. Can you guess what it's made from? The Greeting is stamped the regular way- but, everything else was made from nonconventional scrapping items.
Give up?
The xmas trees were cut out of wrapping paper.
The snow was cut from dryer sheets.
The snowflakes are made out of rice!!

I call these Oh, Crap Challenges. If anyone is interested I will post 3 items commonly found in all homes and your challenge will be to use them on a layout.

If this sounds like fun and something you'd like to do- leave a comment below and we'll do it!!

Freebee!

Okay- Thrifty tip. You know how when you look at upholstery fabric how they always have free swatches available? Well I was interested in this gorgeous black fabric that was embroidered with gorgeous flowers for my Master Bedroom. I brought the swatches home and decided against the $38.00 a yard price tag. But, I did use the swatches to cover clipboard letters for this layout!

I covered the letters with Zip Dry glue, added a square of fabric on top, then weighted it down with a book to dry. Once completely dried I trimmed away the excess fabric and then went away the edges with Freycheck to make sure it didn't unravel.

Texture

Here's a fun and quick way to add exciting texture to a page. The white on this recipe page was quick fun and easy to create. I simply applied white acrylic paint to the back of a strip of burlap and then turned it paint side down on the cardstock and went over it with a brayer. If you don't have a brayer the side of a can would do the same trick! I love the random pattern it created and the texture is terrific.
This technique would easily work with anything that would create a pattern. Give it a try!!

Mark Your Calendars

For those of you who don't know I'm the Design Team Coordinator at www.RockyMountainHobbies.com and I wanted to let everyone know that we will be holding a Holiday Cybercrop on November 10th. Super exciting. There will be fun and games and all sorts of Free holiday project ideas with step by step instructions!!

*More information coming soon!

Going where no man has gone before...

Look at what you have in a different light! This mini album about a trip to Kennedy Space Center has a unique size and style. The space shuttle on the cover was cut from a brochure about the Space Center. The white stars were added with a white paint pen.

The inside pages use all sorts of things from out trip. Snippets from ads and brochures, mini photos sold at the gift shop and actual photographs we took on our trip. Notice the ticket stub used at the bottom of the right page.

My tip for today is when traveling keep all sorts of memorablia and then USE IT when scrapping! What could bring back more memories than actual items from the event?

Try a new size and style when scrapping! This album was inspired by a friend of mine's fabulous mini-album about going to a concert. I love how the style makes it
feel as if you are reading a storybook not just looking at photographs.

The Name of This Blog

I had an email the other day that asked me why my Blog had it's name. It's actually the name of a cartoon strip my Dad used to clip out of the newspaper for me when I was little. If "Our Girl Amy" did or said anything that reminded my Father of his Amy he would clip it. I still have some of the clippings and cherish them... does anyone remember this comic?

This reminds me- you don't always have to use photos on your layouts!! Here is a Circle Journal entry I did using a scanned then printed amusement park characture of my boys. I love the way it turned out. So unexpected and funny!

Woah, that's alot of pattern!

A scrapping friend asked me the other day what to do with patterned paper that is covered in a strong bold pattern. She liked it- but, stayed away from buying it because she found it overwhelming.
For the layout above I cut the circles from the patterned paper and just used as many as I felt the layout could handle. This works well for almost all large patterns!
The effect is just as bold, except it compliments instead of competes with the photograph and the look is unique!

I'm back!! (Kinda -Sorta)

Okay quick update and then on to fun scrapping stuff.

1). My old DSL is suddenly running up to snuff.
2). I picked up the system for the new DSL - only snag is that it hooks up to the
cable TV jack which of course is on the other side of the room. I just haven't
had the time to rearrange my entire scrapping area yet. ::sigh:: it's never
easy.
3). Now that I can actually load and post- I am planning on making up for lost time
so keep checking!


Hints of the day!! Ink is your friend so are markers! For the oh so Groovy ATC card
the colors in the ribbons were perfect- but, the ribbon's white background wasn't. What is a scrapper to do?
If you said run to the store and look for something else. Shame on you! You've probably got an entire arsenal of inks and markers. Find the right shade and color that background! For ink just turn the ribbon face down onto the ink pad, apply a little pressure to the ribbon with your finger and then with your other hand pull the rest of the ribbon along the pad. If it isn't dark enough, repeat! Voila- ribbon the exact right shade and color!

Customer Service

Is it just me or does customer service seem to be going extinct? My DSL has been awful for over a month- sometimes (like last week) I can't get online at all. It's so frustrating when I call and the only explanation I get is "we are aware of the problem and are working as quickly as possible to correct it" so two weeks ago out of utter frustration I decided to take action and sign up with another company who was to send me my new modem arriving in "7 working days". So here we are 15 days later still waiting. Ugh. This may not be a solution just the same problem with a new address. We'll see.
Then my husband comes home with a new pair of pants and when I take them out of the bag I notice that the anti-theft dye tag is still attached. I call the store and they tell me that there is no way to remove it at home without ruining the pants and that I would have to bring them back to the store. No apology. Trouble is the store is 30 minutes from the house and I just didn't have an hour of free time for tag removal. Not to mention the waste of pricey gas. Finally, on Friday I was heading that way and stopped in to get the tag removed. The girl at the register was busy talking to another girl who also worked there about a new TV show and I had to after 5 minutes of standing in plain view interrupt their conversation to get assistance.
The girl removes the tag and then says in this tone of voice - "good as new" and walks away without as much as an I'm sorry you had to make a special trip - heck she didn't even put them back in the bag.
It's no wonder that people seem grumpier to me than ever... I think we are all tired and frustrated and wanting to scream. Why oh why is it so hard to do what you are being paid to do? Afterall, they expect my payment on time. I wonder what would happen if I just didn't pay them and said " I am aware of the problem and am working to correct it as soon as possible" and nothing else.
I am sorry to those who have been checking my blog to find nothing new- It's not my fault- but, I feel awful.

Finally Fall!

This morning when I went outside- it definately felt like fall had arrived. Thank heavens! I don't think I could take much more of the heat that seemed so unrelenting this summer. In celebration of fall I am posting these leaf tags!

They were fun to do and easy! Cut the tag shape of your choice. Using scraps of paper make 1/2 inch squares. Coat the tag in adhesive and begin placing them as if you were tiling a floor. Trim the excess from the edges and then apply a die cut
on top!

A great way to use up scraps! I also like to use this technique with paper that has
patterns I just can't seem to work with. Sometimes the pattern is to big or the colors aren't quite right- this techique solves those problems!

He Did It!!

This weekend my oldest son stood before a Board of Review and became an Eagle Scout!
We are so proud of him! The photo is of him after winning a trophy at his very first Pinewood Derby. Amazing how it doesn't seem that long ago.

I'll be busy over the next couple of weeks making decorations and plans for his Eagle Ceremony. I'll be sure to post the things I come up with as I am sure most
will be able to be used with different themes and celebrations! Anyone who knows of
any Boy Scout related rubber stamps- please let me know!!