shh...a little birdie told me

Enjoy the Season

2011-12-20T20:36:00.002-06:00

Hello again. I have been away for some time. I have not been finding much time to blog nor craft. I was able to finish AND SEND out my Christmas cards this year, something that I typically do not do well.

I have been struggling quite a bit in the last few months. Probably in the midst of applying for, getting and having to turn down my dream job at a transplant center, I got thrown into a tailspin and probably into a little depression. DH and I found out just how poor the housing market was and we were not prepared to take such a hit on our home. In this economy, being financially stable is a good thing, and risking everything for virtually a lateral move, was not in our family's best interests. Every day, I am more all right with the decision, and there is less thought about what might have been.

Which brings me to my struggle. I am a happy person. I do well in my job, and with my kids. Lately, I have not found a lot of centeredness. I have not wanted to craft, go out, watch tv, or much of anything. The only thing I have been able to keep my focus on is cooking dinner and cleaning the house. The house is by far NOT spotless, but I am keeping it up. It is mindless. I do not think it is depression, but could be if I let it get worse. I know I must watch it.

This struggle has caused me to really reflect. I am not alone. I have my wonderful kids who I enjoy time with, while they grow, and a wonderful husband who is always interested in talking with me and being with me.

SO what is the struggle? I do not know. There are so many people out there who are really alone, who have little or no one by their side. SO I vowed this Christmas, that I was going to soak up the season. Soak up the process. It was NOT a chore, or a hurry up and get it done decorating session.

I baked Christmas cookies and fudge and almond bark (that is not really baking but so what). I cannot remember the last time I took the time to bake for Christmas. It was always a chore before. We made cookie press butter cookies, and some of them turned out kind of ugly, but they tasted oh, so yummy!

We decorated over a period of two days, and enjoyed the process. I made my Christmas cards, and sat down and hand wrote all of them, and mailed them this past Sunday. Historically, I have gotten caught up in making the cards, and forget to send them out, and end up giving them away to my mother-in-law, so this was a huge accomplishment for me.

My shopping is done. I focused on thoughtful gifts for those that I love and not so much on the $$ value.

I invited my brother over for Christmas Eve. He is truly alone, although that man has more friends than I can comprehend. We have not always seen eye to eye, but I will have him over, and enjoy having him with us at Christmas. we plan on eating yummy food, playing games, and maybe Texas Hold'Em.

Our parents now winter in Texas, and usually leave for there in November and spend the Christmas holiday with my sister and her husband in Austin, so we will not see them this year. I will miss them, and hope that one day, we can all get together for Christmas again, because I miss holidays with family. I always miss my sister, and hopefully we will be able to spend a Christmas together again someday too. But for right now, I will enjoy my brother and my little family on the holiday.

These two probably give me the most joy out of anyone. Fun and funky, goofy and silly, loving and smart and smart-alex, all wrapped up in the bright, wonderful almost grownup kids that they are! That describes DH also (he's almost gronwup also...teehee), but we rarely photograph together.

Well that is it. I hope and plan for time to blog. More time to enjoy doing it. It may not always be crafting, or lots of pictures, but hopefully it will be a place for me to put my thoughts down and in the right order.

Merry Christmas to you all! Love and Hugs, Lara

6 months away

2011-09-11T09:06:00.002-05:00

CHANGE.....

Hello. I am not sure anyone missed me but I am back. This spring and summer have been so busy with Graduating number one and adjusting to have an 18 yr old in the house, as well as hanging with my daughter as she adjusts to not having her older brother around as much. Family comes first in our house, so keeping her happy is important to me. DD is sometimes lonely. Having Aspergers makes it harder for her to make and keep friends and so she gets lonely and mom and dad have to step in and be there for her.

I have been crafting some, mostly cards and that keeps me a little sane. Just a little. Keeping my budget down too. Scrappiness comes at a price, and that is that if I am not using what I have, I should not be buying new stuff. I have made some card kits and I did do a mini smash book the other day in preparation for the news below:

Other news. Have applied for a job in Madison, WI. I found out on Friday that I will get an interview, so waiting on that. It will be a great opportunity for me professionally, and a HUGE move for all of us. Moving a house in the fall/winter, with a hubby with a bad back and waiting surgery, after being in this house for 17 &1/2 years, will be probably one of the biggest undertakings we have ever done in the 18+ years that we have been married. Everyone is on board with this and I am so itching to start packing and hubby is telling me to slow down, I do not have the job yet. So I am doing little things. Purging closets, marking stuff for giveaway/donation. I have to go, the linen closet is calling my name. Back later with a cool little card kit that I did craft. Love and Hugs, Lara

Challenge for My Mind's Eye

2011-03-22T11:00:00.000-05:00

Challenge 21 for My Mind's Eye.
I got to play with some Stella and Rose. Need I say more? The colors of this line are so amazing that I could not stop finding more patterns and combos that I wanted to put together. Sometimes you get a line where you like either the A or B side of a paper or just a few sheets, but there is not ONE paper that I do not like. The 6x6 pads are golden to me also, perfect for making cards and super easy to store!
This Card sketch:

Yielded this pretty card:

Supplies used: Patterned paper: My Mind's Eye (Gertie); Stickers: October Afternoon and Cosmo Cricket, Ribbon: craft supply; Punches: FiskarsThis Layout Sketch:

Yielded this fun layout (IF I do say so myself)...

Supplies used: Cardstock: Craft supply; Patterned paper, chipboard and dimensional stickers: My Mind's Eye; Stickers: October Afternoon, American Crafts; Rubons: K&Co, Creative Imaginations; buttons: Craft Supply

While I am almost certain that little old me did not win the prize, I loved working with the awesome papers. I seldom will buy something twice...usually I work with something once and then am so over it, but on my list is the 6x6 paper pads for MME for Hazel and Gertie AGAIN, as I have exhausted the stash quite a bit. I also made a wonderful "quilted" card for my mom's upcoming birthday using the scraps, so I am in the running for the 6x6 papers again! Have a great week! Love and Hugs! Lara

I'm Not Ready

2011-03-18T06:30:00.002-05:00

June is bearing down on me. I feel the anxiety in my heart. I am so proud of my son, but realize, as a mom, that my initial job as a teacher and mentor and booboo-kisser and conscience-raiser is coming to a close and soon I will assume the role of consultant, looker-on, while he moves on toward adulthood and total independence. I realize he will be living at home, at least through the first year of college, but again realize that he will be an adult.

I am panicking a little bit here and there. What if I did not teach him enough? What if the life we gave him, did not give him enough reality? What if he really is not ready? My heart is so full of pride for the man he is becoming before my very eyes, and I see some of the choices he is making and I realize that most of what we taught him, he learned well. He said to me the other day...Mom, you raised me to think better than that...so maybe we did ok, but I am still anxious.

I know that growing up is an independent thing, that each of us have to learn for ourselves. I did, but as a parent, the anxiety is still there. I am sure this is a inner struggle for most parents, and letting go is so hard, but just yesterday, he was this little blond-headed rascal that giggled like there was no tomorrow and ran up to me to hug my legs and almost bowl me over with his force.

He is running towards his independent life just like that, and I pray that he does not run into an obstacle that hurts him or that he cannot handle. I pray that his adult life, will be filled with as much joy as we had, having him all these years so far. I know he is not going away, it's just that I look forward to seeing him every day, and I know that he will move on, and I will miss him. I do not want to be one of those moms that criticize his adult choices and meddle in his business either, so I will quietly look on, offering any support and encouragement that I can, while he becomes independent.

I truly am not ready for the day when he leaves our home for his own, and even now, knowing that graduation is just a couple months away, I recognize I am not ready for him to graduate and be ALL GROWN UP! I pray for his success and happiness, even now!
Love and hugs, Lara

The Luck of the Irish

2011-03-13T16:58:00.003-05:00

I am not Irish. I am married to a Irish-Scotsman though and my kids are part Irish. We celebrate St. Patrick's Day like everyone else. We usually make Reubans--because NONE of us care for corned beef and hash. We always wear green and my son usually wears his green "Kiss me I'm Irish" tuxedo shirt for kicks, and I imagine, to see how many kisses he will get at school. My daughter will use her practiced Irish Brogue all day long, until we tell her to stop. I would love to say I am Irish, and they say, everyone is a little Irish on St. Patty's Day.

I sell some of my cards at a little gift shop down the street from me for a very modest fee. The ladies that run the shop, asked me for some St. Patrick's Day cards, as they pointed out that St. Paul is very Irish and they would be a hit. So I made a few a couple of weekends ago that I took to them. If they do not sell, I will send them to my favorite family members.

I am a simple person who makes cards for certain occasions and this was one of them that I struggled with a bit. I am not in to theme-y cards much, but I sure had fun pulling my green out and using my Irish-ness (HA! Who knew I had any?!) to make this little cards. I was pretty happy with the effect of all the green.

The adorable little pictures were a download from Vintage Scrapbooking blog. They did not print very well, and no matter how I adjusted the images, they came out slightly pixel-y (sure that is NOT a word) and a bit blurry but I wanted to use the adorable images so I did and found that even with less than great image, they turned out so adorable.

I find card-making so much fun, and while scrapbooking is my first love, cardmaking gives me a quick creative release. I sell my cards, not to make money, but what else am I going to do with them after I make them? There are only so many occasions to send people things but I need to keep making them, so I may as well spread my creativeness. While Hallmark I am not, I love getting a handmade card, so if there are people out there that would rather give a unique handmade card, then I plan to keep supplying them and that is NO BLARNEY! Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all. Love and hugs, Lara

Neutral Challenge, by Moxie Fab World

2011-01-24T21:26:00.004-06:00

Hey there, back with the final challenge in the 6 part color challenge at Moxie Fab World, Color Challenge for Color Inspiration for Card Makers Week. This time, it was Neutrals and while I felt that the color combo that I chose did not exactly match the challenge colors, I worked with what I had and enjoyed making a "boy" baby card...to match my previous "girl" card.

The colors:

Happy New Baby Card:

I stamped background baby bottles with versa ink and then embossed them with clear embossing powder. I used an embossing folder for the vanilla scalloped circle and then stamped on a smaller circle for a layered look. This was by far, the simplest card in this 6 part challenge, but I was happy with the result.

Supplies used: Cardstock: Stampin' Up, Bazzill; Ribbon: Craft supply; Embossing Folder: Sizzix; Die Cut Machine: Slice by Making Memories; Stamps: Stampin' Up and Rubber Stampede; Ink: Stampin' Up, Versa Mark; Embossing powder: EK Success; Eyelets: Making Memories

This is the final challenge in the series. I enjoyed it immensely, and hope to continue doing challenges at MFW. You should check them out, play along, this particular challenge goes until 1/31/11, so there is still time! They have a lot going on there all the time and it is so inspiring! TFL. Love and hugs, Lara

Moxie Fab World's Monochromatic challenge

2011-01-24T21:08:00.004-06:00

Back again, for part 5 of the Color Challenge for Color Inspiration for Card Makers Week going on atMoxie Fab World. The challenge is Monochromatics.

Pinks are not my strong suit. I have a little in my stash, but mostly in the form of cardstock...which worked out for this challenge, but was hard for me, since I do not use cardstock on cardstock very often. I had to improvise with some stamps, which in an essence, got my to go outside my creative box a bit.

The colors:

Welcome Baby Card:

I was pretty proud of how this turned out. I used a Christmas crib stamp from Autumn Leaves, and cut out the little baby, and hand-drew a little bassinette and improvised a bit. I added stamped background to the bassinette for a little color. The netting is again, from Webster's Pages, and looks a little "peach" in the photo, but it adds a softness to the baby in the bassinette.

Supplies used: Cardstock: Bazzill; Stickers: Making Memories, Sassafras; Stamp: Label Tulip, Autumn Leaves; Netting: Webster's Pages; Die Cut: Top Note die from Stampin' Up; Ribbon: craft supply; Button: craft supply

Well, almost done. One more in the challenge to post. I am surprised that I finished this in enough time. Usually, I get the challenges done, and then do not get to the computer to post before a deadline. It was fun to do. TFL. Love and hugs, Lara

Moxie Fab World's Metallics challenge

2011-01-24T20:57:00.004-06:00

Hey folks, back with part 4 of the Color Challenge for Color Inspiration for Card Makers Week at Moxie Fab World . This time it was the Metallics. I struggled with this a bit, because not a lot in my stash is "metallic", but the color combo was fun to put together!

The colors:

Happy Anniversary card:

I loved this card the most out of all the ones that I did for this challenge. I love the soft pink, coupled with the shiny metallic feel to the card. The Webster's netting is something that I got for Christmas and have been itching to use since then and I was waiting for the right time to use it. (Note to self: Use your stash, don't save it or you will never use it)...

Supplies used: Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper: Chatterbox, Pink Paislee; Pearls: Kaiser Craft; Die cuts: Girl's Paperie, K&Co.; Sticker sentiment: Cloud 9 Design; Netting: Webster's Pages

TFL. Lve and hugs, Lara

Moxie Fab World Challenge: Jewel tones

2011-01-24T20:43:00.004-06:00

On to part 3 of the Color Challenge for Color Inspiration for Card Makers Week going on at Moxie Fab World. The Jewel tones are the next stop on this color challenge.

Here is the color pallette:

My "You Make Me Happy" Card:

My determination to make this color pallette match took me a bit longer to find just the right supplies, but fruition paid off, because I felt like this matched the colors so well.

Supplies used: Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper: Sassafras; Stickers--letters/words: American Crafts, The Girl's paperie; Flower Sticker: Making Memories; Rubons: Basic Grey and K&Co.; buttons: Craft supply; Ribbon: Craft supply; embossing folder: Sizzix

The flower sticker, was in the wrong color pallette and so I used my gel pens to color the leaves and flower petals to match my palette. TFL. Be back with the rest of the challenge. Love and Hugs, Lara

Pretty Pastels challenge by Moxie Fab World

2011-01-24T20:33:00.004-06:00

SO this is part two of the Color Challenge for Color Inspiration for Card Makers Week at Moxie Fab World. This time, pretty pastels were the order in the challenge. I had a bit tougher time with this, because I felt like I was having a hard time matching the colors just right, but creative license is creative license, right? So here goes.

The color palette:

The challenge card:

Supplies used: Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned Paper: Making Memories; stickers: American crafts, October Afternoon, Class Appeals; Die cut: K & Co.; Chipboard: KI Memories; Ribbon Craft supply; Embossing Folder: Sizzix

So there is my second part of the challenge. You should check it out. It is a great place to visit with many great challenges and inspiration. TFL. Love and hugs, Lara

The bright and bold challenge by Moxie Fab World

2011-01-24T20:15:00.005-06:00

Yep, I decided to play along. Moxie Fab World has a 6 part challenge going on, Color Challenge for Color Inspiration for Card Makers Week, and I decided that I should play along. The first challenge was to use bright and bold colors by Moxie Fab World. Here are the colors:

And here is my take on the challenge:

Supplies used: cardstock: Bazzill, craft supply; Patterned paper: Sassafras, Webster's Pages, Hambly; journaling spot: Sassafras; Doily: Martha Stewart; Sentiment: Karen FOster Designs; Embossing folders: Sissix; Ribbon: Maya Road; Pearls: Kaiser Craft; gel pen: Sakura

I sanded the embossed images on my pink cardstock to give in dimension, and used GOLD SHADOW gel pens for the pink in the butterfly. TFL. Love and hugs, Lara

Valentines Galore, New Echo Park

2011-01-20T17:07:00.006-06:00

Hello again. Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Always important to make a Valentine or two for a loved one or just to have on hand to brighten someone's day.

I went Valentine crazy last week after picking up the new Valentine line, Be Mine, by Echo Park Paper It is chock full of pretty patterns and colors, pink, white, black, hot pink...with musical notes, scripts, romantic Parisian icons and so forth. I usually only make a few Valentine's a year, but this year I went out and made a bunch. These Valentines were warmly accepted at a little gift shop down the street from me where we hope to sell them to people who want handmade Valentines.

This is such lovely stuff, that I might end up making a whole bunch more Valentines and I only give out 3 at most. These Valentine's make me so happy, so I guess I will just keep on making them!

Supplies used: Patterned paper: Echo Park; Ribbon: Making Memories, craft supply; Ribbon slide: Paper Studio; Stickers: Echo Park, Martha Stewart, Recollections by Michaels; Rhinestones: craft supply

Thank you for stopping by. Have a great week. It is cold here in MN, so we are all cuddled up inside, and what better time to be crafty...when the weather keeps us from getting out much. Have I mentioned that I hate being cold yet? My husband says that I say that way too much. The bright side...when Valentine's Day comes, we will be about 6-8 wks from spring. I can hold on! Happy crafting! Love and Hugs, Lara

Circa 1934--Cosmo Cricket

2011-01-14T07:00:00.002-06:00

This is one of my favorite lines of the last year. Very Vintage and very classy! The blacks and teal/reds along with the cream make for pretty stuff!

I made these layouts from a goodie pack I won on Wednesday Winner's/Scrapgrlz! Shell McKay is the owner of Scrapgrlz, and she hosts a weekly giveaway on her blog. She has a store packed with scrappy goodies and the site also lists scrap getaways for us when we need to get away. I was very excited to get this paper before I could find it in stores. Worth it to check it out. It is late in getting posted because I was slow in loading these. Thanks Shell for the goodies! I bring you Circa 1934 by Cosmo Cricket!

This layout makes my heart hurt just a little. This was a picture of the last crop at the Scrapbook Shop of St. Paul. This was my home LSS, my home away from home, a place where many of my friends congregated. I have not set foot in another store since it closed the end of October and it made me pretty jaded and depressed about scrapping and it took me time to get going on any crafts after this.

Nobody can really explain all the goodness that happened and was displayed in this store. It was the kind of LSS that when you walk in, you want to stay and absorb it all and then buy stuff and drive really fast home to take all the goodness in the store and turn it into craftiness. I miss it so much! Life is not the same without it! Rhonda, you are the best and I will not ever forget your beautiful creativeness and love that made this into a store of wonder and delight. Eventhough the store is gone, I am glad to keep your friendship! Love and HUGS! Lara

cards

2011-01-10T08:00:00.000-06:00

I never thought of a hot air balloon as something that I would like on a card, but it seemed right for a cute pick-me-up card. Webster's Pages has it going on with their pretty lines.

Here I included another embossing folder, the music notes one. Love this look!

Here I used a recently aquired music note stamp. Love this look too, so vintage!

A long time ago, I got a lace garter stamp. It does not show up well in the photo, but it is cute in real life!

Crate Paper's Restoration, is quite possibly the best paper line I obtained in 2010. Love the vintage look to it!

Supplies Used: Patterned paper: Basic Grey, Crate Paper, and Webster's Pages; Ribbon: The Twinery and Basic Grey; Embossin Folders: Cuttlebug and Tim Holtz by Sizzix;

Embossing

2011-01-07T05:00:00.000-06:00

Recently I aquired a little machine called the Texture boutique. I love the look of embossing and have never enjoyed dry embossing using a light box. The sounds of the stilette on the paper on the lightbox makes my teeth hurt. So this texture boutique is something that gives me great joy!

I first aquired a couple cuttlebug embossing strips for borders, while I was in search of the ones that I really wanted. My fist ones that I got are the Dotted Swiss and the Flower one that come as a pair.

My favorite one is the Tim Holtz' Wood Grain one. Oh my, I love this. And I especially love the embossing look on Velvet paper! SO gorgeous.

Supplies used: Basic Grey Patterned Paper and ribbon; Tim Holtz for Stamper's Anonymous stamps; Basic Grey and Class Appeal Stickers, Emobbsing folders by Cuttlebug and Sissix

THat is what I have for you today. See you later in the week! Love and Hugs, Lara

New Year, New Resolutions

2011-01-02T12:19:00.005-06:00

Supplies used: Patterned Paper: Webster's Pages, Jenni Bowlin; Flower: Prima; Vintage Flower tag, Vintage Scrapbooking (free download); Sticker sentiment: Class Appeals; Pins: Maya Road; Lace: craft supply

When I signed on to this blog today, I knew that I had neglected it for quite some time, but when I saw that it has been since October, I knew that this is one thing I need to pay more attention to. I really enjoy blogging and posting my crafts, but I realized what my barrier was. It was the picture taking and editing that was making me not want to do it. You see, in MN, in the winter, I leave before it is light out and return after it gets dark. So then it leaves the weekends for doing this in broad daylight. And everyone knows how busy Saturdays and Sundays are when you are a fulltime RN and mom. So I am going to cut myself some slack and just try and post as much as I can.

Supplies used: Patterned Paper: Girl's Paperie, Basic Grey; Pins: Little Yellow Bicycle; Vintage flower tag: Vintage Scrapbooking (free download); Ribbon: Craft supply

That being said, Happy New Year everyone. I have some great things to put up today. I have been in card making mode for some time. I love making cards and realized this last week that my card stash at work has dwindled and I needed to add some goodies to that stash!

Supplies used: Patterned Paper: American Crafts; Stickers: Recollections by Michaels, Class Appeals

I just LOVE this line from American Crafts. It is adorable...surely it is the teal and red pink and the gorgeous flowers and the lace doily hearts that make me so happy! And the craft paper, well it makes for some pretty fun cards!

Supplies used: Patterned Paper: Webster's Pages; Vintage Flower Tag: Vintage Scrapbooking (free download); Stickers: Class Appeals

So that is my first post of 2011. Hopefully many more. Thanks for stopping by! Love and Hugs! Lara

My Christmas card craze has started

2010-10-19T11:00:00.000-05:00

When I start making Christmas cards...I cannot stop. It usually starts off slowly with the cards...and then I get into a groove and can't stop making them. I made 8 the other night and will keep going until they are done. I blame it on the wonderful paper and embellishments out there.

This year, I fell in love with the Bo Bunny Christmas line and the new Basic Grey and that is what I started with. I love the vintage look and these papers seem to be my colors. Here is what I have come up with so far:

These are my first attempts. I will get in the groove and they will come along nicely! I have been conscious of the bulkiness of cards for mailing so have been TRYING to make my cards more mail-friendly. I hope to make more later this week. Thanks for stopping by. Love and hugs, Lara

What a rollercoaster 6 weeks

2010-10-17T14:31:00.003-05:00

I fully intended to update sooner but things got out of hand for me...or foot, I should say. Ever since my surgery, life has been kind of out of control. On 9/10, I fell and hurt my leg. It was a freak accident really, I missed a step...long story short: ER visit, Crutches, pain and swelling, and then cellulitus...so everynight for the last few weeks, after work, I have had to stay off it...so I did a lot of tv watching...I think I am on the mend but the ankle is still sore and swells sometimes, so I have had to slow down.

Have been trying to scrap all the while...I made afew things, but never got around to putting them up! Finally now, I have a few spare minutes before the game at 3 (GO VIKINGS!!!!!) to update.

This is a layout I did with an addon from Studio Calico that my sis sent me as a pick-me-up! I added some papers from the Girls' Paperie line to make it more, well, pink. My DD is a tomboy at heart and so well, as Moms go, one must mark the rare occasion when they get to be all girly-girl with their tomboys...LOL

Crate Paper Restoration! This is possibly one of my all time favorite lines ever. I am trying not to hoard it...because my experience is that the longer you hold on to it, the harder it is to use later.

Cosmo Cricket has got some awesome color/paper designers. I was not prepared to love the Pixilicious, but the colors are wonderful and whimsical and well, it is lavender, and I LOVE any lavenders!

Finally, A little layout about my DS who is a senior. I had to scrap a few of his senior pics. We have not decided which ones we will print for giving out yet, but I picked out a few mom-favorites for me to use exclusively! Again, Crate Paper was just right for this!

Well that is all for now. Just so you are aware, my Christmas card making frenzy has started and I will be back later in the week to post the first ones...I made 8 on Friday night! This is the time of year I just love...I can never stop at the required 40 though...I get in a Christmas card making phase and it is hard to stop, so stay tuned! Love and Hugs, Lara

...Oh, and GO VIKINGS!!!!!!!!!!...(just had to say that again)

August scrappiness (better late than never)

2010-09-09T11:00:00.000-05:00

Just getting around to posting some layouts that I did do during August.

Some Studio Calico Anthology (and yes, it is a 2pager...not my forte, but gave it a try):

A little more Indie Girl by Sassafras:

And some goodness by Echo Park...Sweet Summertime and A Walk in the Park:

I did a bit more lately, mostly cards, so may post them later on. Thanks for stopping by. Love and Hugs, Lara

Getting back to scrapping

2010-09-05T17:39:00.003-05:00

Been kind of on the low this last month. Busy with kids and life and such. Had surgery last week, and honestly, yesterday was the first day that I felt much like doing anything. I took the time to be crafty instead of cleaning my house. I cleaned the house today instead and feel like life is much more in control. It is amazing how righting your house, cleaning (really cleaning) up your kitchen puts a person back in the right way.

I am not the best housekeeper, but I like things clean and tidy...I could not help putting up with the way the others in the house do it for the past week. There was a great deal of satisfaction today, when I put things together, cleaned the kitchen, swept, mopped, and washed cabinets/stove, etc. I have a bit of dishwater hands today, but that is ok...now I can craft the night away, and tomorrow, get things ready for the first day of school and feel in control again.

My sister sent me a care package this week. Some pretty YUMMY goodies in there. I have a fabulous sister who loves to send me stuff to inspire me to craft. She recognizes my need to craft and loves to send me things, especially when I am on the low side, or not very inspired, to help boost my creative mojo! She sent me some Crate Paper Restoration and some GCD Ava this time, along with some well together goodies from her stash...kind of like getting a scrappy kit.

I would have to say that Crate Paper was my ultimate want this year from summer CHA...Restoration is SO gorgeous, and I loved the prettiness of the patterns...very much my cup of tea. I was so happy to get this, and eventhough I only have a few sheets of it, I plan to covet every scrap.

Supplies used: Cardstock: Archivers; Patterned Papper: Crate Paper; Journaling spot: making Memories; Letter stickers: American Crafts, Sassafas, Adornit; Stick Pins: Little Yellow Bicycle; Die Cut: Crate Paper; Glitter Glue: Stickles; Ribbon: Craft Supply; Stamp (Get well) Cloud 9

Supplies used: Patterned Paper: GCD; Chipboard Frame: Little Yellow Bicycle; Journaling spot: Creative Imaginations; Rubons: Karen Neuburger/Paper Salon; Letter Stickers: Doodlebug; Ribbon: Basic Grey, Craft supply

I was not ready to LOVE this GCD line, but it is gorgeous!...it is MUCH prettier in real life and I was so impressed. I love the colors and patterns and believe me, the little POP of eggplant (purple) in some of the paper made me SO happy. I love purple and find very little that I can scrap with it...it is a great color but so hard to work with. SO when I can ad little pops of it in my layouts, I do so...because lavender and purple hues are one of my weaknesses.

Well, this was a longer post than I had imagined it would be, so I need to go pop my King Ranch Chicken (wonderful recipe from my sister) in the oven, and then I plan to scrap the night away. Thanks for stopping by! Love and Hugs, Lara

Sassafras Indie Girl

2010-08-07T13:44:00.003-05:00

Last week my sis sent me some scrappy goodies. It ws such a nice surprise and a wonderful pick-me-up! The RAK included parts of Echo Park, Studio Calico and Sassafras, oh, and some wonderful Raspberry Thickers, cause a girl can NEVER have too many...I think! I love the Indie Girl, it is an amazing line and I could not wait to cut into it. These are pics of us with our DD, who is in AF JROTC in High School. She is very proud to be part of that and we are very proud of her. She takes this very seriously and is working very hard to do well with it.

Supplies: Cardstock: Stampin' Up, 7 Gypsies; Patterned Paper: Sassafras; Fabrips by Studio Calico; Die Cuts: Sassafras; Chipboard: Scenic Route; Stickers: Sticko (phrases), Cosmo Cricket (letters); ink: Tim Holtz Distress Inks; Glossy Accents: Ranger

So I am off to play in my little room. My craft room. A place of solace and peace...where I feel good and happy. A place that I have not been able to visit often. I find that I spend way too much time on the internet, and it cuts into my craty time...and my crafty time relaxes me, relieves tension, and makes me happy! See you soon. Love and Hugs! Lara

My version of a printer's tray

2010-08-01T01:00:00.001-05:00

This is my version of a printer's tray. I wanted one for a long time, and love the vintage inspired way they look. I came across this wall hanging at a garage sale and knew that I wanted to work with it. I bought it for $2.00. I repainted it, covered some damaged areas with black card stock and added some Vintage Poppy paper from Lily Bee.

Because it does not have any glass, I was fearful of the photos getting dusty, so after I added them, I precut some regular transparency to fit in the openings over the pictures. Then I added the goodies--emphemera, ribbon, chipboard, and journaling spots. I cannot wait to hang this up in our home. It makes me so happy.

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill, DCWV; Patterned Paper: Lily Bee; Ribbon: Making Memories, Creative Cafe, Craft supply; Rubons: Lily Bee; Chipboard: K & Co, Chatterbox, Scenic Route; Diecuts: The Girl's Paperie, K & Co, Cosmo Cricket, Chatterbox, craft supply; Flowers: Prima; Gems: Prima; Sentiment sticker: Cloud 9 Design; Mini clipboard: unknown

So Happy August to you!!!! Love and Hugs, Lara

End of July, OH MY

2010-07-31T08:42:00.001-05:00

Well, today is the end of July! I never have enough time anymore, and now summer has been going too fast. I feel like I have not been to the scrap table in weeks but I have knocked out a few projects. I have a version of a printer's tray (something I got at a garage sale for pennies), that I will post later today. These are the most recent layouts I got going on! TFL

Supplies: the best of Lily Bee, and some Pink Paislee

Supplies: LILY BEE and GCD and embellies.

Hand cut "Y"...this was a stretch for me...because I have so many letters, but I wanted the BIG letter and did not have it...when in doubt, make it yourself! LOL
Heading for the shower now, and then to the table...Love and Hugs, Lara

CHA LOVE

2010-07-28T07:30:00.004-05:00

Ok, so CHA is upon us. I love all that is coming out and my list is getting bigger and bigger. And I foresee my wallet getting emptier and emptier. But that is ok, a hobby is a hobby. Here are some goodies that I found today on the Sassafras blog that are must haves:

I also found some pretty cool glitter alphas (in lavender just for me)by them that I will be in search of as soon as can be:

a layout and a card

2010-07-07T10:24:00.001-05:00

Or should I say, a card and a layout. Recently, I won some goodies from Cosmo Cricket's blog--some Couture Cardstock and some Delovely. I made this card to say thank you and sent it to them. Doesn't Delovely have the most scrumptious colors ever? They are HAPPY colors to me...make me think of Sweet-tart jelly beans, pretty flowers, sherbet, and candy necklaces. Guess I kind of like sweets, huh?

I have an obsession with Butterflies...noticing them quite a bit on my layouts. This layout is made with GCD goodies from a recent Melody Ross line. I know that other animals/birds are more popular now, but butterflies are so light and cheery creatures, so I like the look of them for my projects!

That is all for now. Hope you all had a safe 4th of July weekend and wish you the best in July. I am gettng off this computer, so that I can do some creating! Love and Hugs, Lara

Best Project EVER!

2010-07-05T12:06:00.006-05:00

Ok, So here is the finished product...I mean project. I followed a tutorial from Christine Middlecamp that has taken well over a month to complete. Her tiny doily flowers are works of art. I was hooked after the first one.

I had an 8 1/2x11 shadow box that I had wanted to use so I made all 16 of the flowers and wanted to showcase the ones that would not fit in the box so I had bought a wooden frame from Michaels on clearance, and fashioned a little wall hanging for the remaining 4 flowers. That is currently hanging in my scrap room. I have not hung the otherone up yet, but plan to fine exactly the right place in our home for it.

Most of my flowers are very similiar to Christine's choices but some are quite a bit different. I did not want to go out and buy stuff when I have such an offering to choose from in my stash already. Good thing I had some of the same items though, because it made me happy to be able to produce something like hers, but it also forced me to look at my supplies in a different way, and I am telling you, my stash has brought a light to my creativity! Instead of going out and buying something, I am looking at what I have and thinking outside the box on how I can get a look without heading to the store.

I want to do this again. I love the little mini-creations, and they were so much fun to work on. I am almost sad that it is over but loved this project so much! Thank you Christine for producing such a wonderful project for us to follow along with! Be back later with other projects! Love and Hugs, Lara

More Craft Fair items: Shadow boxes

2010-06-21T13:03:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I am almost done getting ready for this thing. I have amassed so many little things that I make and do not use...or I buy, thinking I will decorate them and then they sit, stored while I make cards and layouts. Some of these things I do make for gifts and some for me to display in our home, but a lot of times, it is all about deocrating them. So I decided to add these to my sale next Saturday. I really like them, how they turned out. I know, that if I do not sell them, I will probably hang them up in our home, but now also, since I know that I can do these, I can make another one just like it for us too! Thanks for stopping by. We are heading to the "Facebook" wedding today...don't ask...I won't share anyway, but I will be back later this week. Love and Hugs, Lara

Manly cards

2010-06-18T10:52:00.002-05:00

As I was getting ready for my craft fair, I realized that I have some really pretty feminine cards but not a lot for male population so I determined that I needed to break out something manly...I made some cards with Tim Holtz's Lost and Found...which by the way is such wonderful stuff that I believe that I will be buying the paper pack again. Love the colors, so rich and vibrant. I tell you, this stuff, looks better in person than on the website....I was so right in getting this, and cannot get enough of it! Love the pages, some are 12x12, some 6x6 and even smaller sizes and borders too. It is all double-sided to boot...love this stuff! So here are some of the cards that I made last night, just for the men! Love and Hugs, Lara

I create to....CREATE

2010-06-15T10:43:00.002-05:00

It is something that I do...I make stuff...from paper and flowers and stickers. Rarely do I make it for me...usually as gifts. I have to create, it is something I do. I decided that I make all these things for me, but I do not keep them. I usually send them on their way to someone else.

Recently, I got a wild hair to enter a craft fair in St. Paul. I am going to try and sell these things...not so much to make money, but to send them to a new home, where my creative-ness will brighten someone elses day. So in a little over 2 weeks, I will be selling my crafts at a little craft fair in my neighborhood.

These are the altered birdhouses that I have made in the past few months that I am going to put out there, along with cards, mini-books and frames. I will be posting the frames later on. So here is to creating! That is what I do.... Have a wonderful week! (off to get a mammogram) =) Love and Hugs, Lara

Following a doily flower tutorial

2010-06-01T12:00:00.003-05:00

Well, so I am a sucker for altered items and I stumbled across this on Christine MiddleCamp's Blog, Retrospection.

This is an amazing tutorial and eventhough I am varying my flowers slightly and my project too, I am finding that I am having quite a bit of fun with her layering techniques and it is helping me to be thoughtful about my selections for my products used, as well as revisiting many items that I forgot about or would never have thought of using. She is a wonder when it comes to layering and I love the ideas that she presents in her tutorial. I have been using variations of her products used, and to boot, I have been using a 8.5x10 shadow box frame that I already had as I think it is important to use one's own creative process and, I have so much stuff in my stash already, there is no need to add to it, by buying everything that she speaks of...it could cost a small fortune. But I digress, I am simply saying that this kind of project can reflect your individuality by using items that you bought for some good reason...like that you LIKED them.

I encourage you to check it out! She speaks that each flower takes about 3-4 hours for her to create(she is designing it, remember), but if you are in tune with your stash, you can make one in about 30-60minutes. The individual flowers are tiny works of art, and when it is completed I guarantee that you will not be dissatisfied with your own flowers, even if they do not look exactly like Christine's. It is turning out to be one of my most favorite projects ever! Thank you Christine! Anyway, must move on, flower # 7 & 8 await.

My work so far:

What to do with old photos

2010-05-31T14:20:00.005-05:00

I recently came across several old (and I mean OLD) rolls of film in my china cabinet. As you can see, they are old, and some did not turn out so well.

In the interest of keeping these safe, I made a mini book for my DD (who is turning 15 in a few weeks)---yeah, did I say that these are OLD...I think the roll must be close to 10 years old, as she was in preschool at the time of these photos.

Supplies from Cosmo Cricket's Material Girl...which I love dearly. Other supplies: chipboard album, Cosmo Cricket; letter stickers, American Crafts, Making Memories and Jillibean Soup; Ribbon, craft supply.

I would have to say that Material Girl is one of my most favorite lines from Cosmo Cricket recently, but then again, I have not met a CC line that I have not liked yet. Thanks for visiting. Have a great week! Love and hugs, Lara

Vintage Scrapbooking

2010-05-27T11:44:00.003-05:00

Hey, here is site that I have been checking out more and more...

Vintage Scrapbooking.blogspot.com It has free downloads sometimes. I have yet to print any yet, but it is intriguing and I am going to try it this weekend. I love the vintage things and I can't seem to "get" the structure yet, but I am going to keep playing until I am satisfied. So if there is anyone out there that wants to try this site out, check it out! (BTW, I am NOT posting it in attempt to win anything or get something, I just like the site)!Maybe be back later. Love and hugs! Lara

Recent work

2010-05-11T05:00:00.001-05:00

Just a little layout about our 17th anniversary time in March. We were out the week before checking out the flooding waters in the Twin cities. October Afternoon goodies were definitely something I loved playing with!

Pink Paislee has it going on! I absolutely love the 3 new lines that they came up with. This is using BayBerry Cottage. I loved this...and those new frames/swirls of the Artizen elements are wonderful. I was surprised that they were the consistency of puffy Thickers...I thought they would be hard like acrylic. I did not figure out how to do much with them. I inked them, but the ink never really dried all that well. Next time, I will use paint or Staz-on.

A little more October Afternoon goodness! THis is my DD as she modeled her JROTC uniform. And I know, for all of you that are knowledgeable about JROTC/ROTC...she is supposed to have her hair up, and on Thursday mornings, her daddy gets up and puts in a tight bun for her...It was at night and we did not want to mess with her good mood. She has a very sensitive scalp. =)

Finally, a little fun layout with some Jillibean Soup. DD is getting to be a skateboard fanatic and she wanted me to do a photo shoot with her doing some simple jumps. I was able to get some "air" in a few of the shots. She is so tall, OMG, she is as tall as me...so pretty soon...the time will come where I am the shortest in the house, besides the cats...LOL

One would think that as your children grow, into teens, there are more moments to yourself. I feel that is not the case. I have more teens than my two in the house most days. Most of them call me mom, and I suppose that is a good thing. I like having good, kind friends for my kids...they deserve to have that, when there are so many cruel things in this world. SO here is to all the goodness in our life and our household! Love and hugs, Lara

April Scrappy Flower Class

2010-04-25T17:27:00.003-05:00

So this weekend, I worked with a class of 14 making paper flowers that I had found in various areas on the net and Utube. Pretty fun stuff. This is the class board of the flowers that I created for the class.

The ladies were all so fun, and even though, I was apprehensive about teaching such a big class, we got done on time and made some pretty flowers. The key to this class, was that it was using your scraps, and I know for most paper crafters, what to do with the scraps is always the thing that we wonder about so I used a ton of my OWN scraps and the LSS provided scraps too. The class was about technique and quite a bargain, for $5. We are doing it again in 3 weeks, since there was such an overwhelming response and unfortunately, Rhonda, The owner, did have to limit the class size, so we are coming back for another time on May 15th. It is going to be fun!

I recently got some October Afternoon in the mail. I love this stuff and I am sure that these two lines are ones that I will buy again and again. It is almost too pretty to cut into and I have to force myself to cut into it. This is one of the 4 cards I made for our secretaries at work for Administrative Professionals week. They usually ask me to make the cards to pass around. I made the cards and organized the flowers, gifts, and the Friday salad bar for them. It turned out great. (The other 3 cards' pictures did not turn out well, so I cannot post them.) Must get back to scrapping. Have a great week! Love and Hugs, Lara

Trying Vintage

2010-04-06T19:59:00.005-05:00

So I love the vintage look. Maybe it is because of my love for old, antique-y things, my old house, my love for family and heritage, or maybe it is just the look. I know I have a long way to go but these are my first tries, with cards...

Supplies Patterned paper: Pink Paislee; Die cuts: K & Co; Metallic Flowers: Prima; Bingo Card: October Afternoon; Stamps: The Girl's Paperie; Ink: Stampin' Up; Letter stickers: Making Memories, Adornit by Carolee, Rose Moka; Punch: Martha Stewart; Ribbon: craft supply

Other news: Celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary on the 27th and we were able to get away for dinner, wine, and a hotel room to ourselves for the night. Very nice, relaxing and lovely to be together by ourselves. Don't get me wrong, being with the kids are nice, and I love them beyond reason, but mommy and daddy time is important, especially when the kids are getting so old and developing their own lives...in a few short years, we will be alone in this Ol' house and we need to still remember who we are as a couple.

We had a nice Easter too. Just the 4 of us. We made lasagna, green bean casserole and garlic cheese toast. MMMMMM...Banana cream pie for dessert. And help with dishes and dinner and no fights or arguements...think it was a winner of a day! We finished off the week with a nice, but short visit from DH's parents who were passing through and stayed the night! Lovely week so far! Love and hugs! Lara

ARRGGHHH

2010-04-06T18:57:00.002-05:00

I had a full post done and it went away...I hate computers sometimes. Back with a full post.

Inspired by a sketch from Studio Calico Blog

2010-03-26T13:52:00.003-05:00

Supplies: cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper, rubons: Fancy Pants; Chipboard letters: American Crafts; Stamp: Studio Calico; Baker's Twine: Martha Stewart; ink: Stampin' Up

I have not had much time lately to scrap and that alone disappoints me and then on top of it, I have not been too inspired lately. So when I stumbled across this little sketch challenge posted on the Studio Calico blog, I had to play along. I mean, I have wanted to try a banner for quite some time and so here is my rendition of the sketch by the fabulously talented Nicole.

I have been busy the past few days, also, researching flower tutorials and making up some awesome ones for a Spring Flower Technique class that I am teaching at my LSS, the Scrapbook Shop of St. Paul, this next month. Got to get to work on the display board for it, so be back soon! Love and hugs, Lara

Puddin Cat and Friends

2010-03-03T12:37:00.001-06:00

My kids call me the crazy Cat lady but I know that they are softies for these guys too. Love all three. All three have very distinct personalities. There is Puddin'--our big old guy who is such a beautiful Part Himalayan cat, all fluff and no gruff; and then there is Sadie(the black {Mommy's} princess)--some gruff, and snottiness about her, but she is also very much the mother cat...to me and the other humans in the house; and then there is little Torrie, who walks around with the tiniest meow, with every step she takes, but she can be a little stinker too!

Well, we are having a food war at our house. Because two thirds of the cat population at our home is overweight (which contrasts with the one fourth of the human population in said home-->that would be me (LOL)), we have been trying different foods for them that is "diet" food...OMG, what a nightmare...and I must say, these are HIGH END foods like IAMS, Purina One, Nutromax, you name it...well, one they will not eat at all...and pretty much just hairball around on every surface known to man so that one is out...but we are currently on a Purina One and a Nutromax for weight control...and they are p'o'd. One of the 3 will not like them at all...and ironically, the one who is NOT overweight, Torrie, will eat anything...

so it is just Puddin' and Sadie that are on a rampage...so here is how it goes...get up the morning...meow,meow, meow, feed me, feed me, feed me...and then they stick their nose up the in the air and walk away...until I put the other (or the other) in the dish (and same again at night)...I cannot tell which one either of them likes because they won't eat either until I dig into the other...are you confused? Well, so am I. I know you would think it is easy but it is not...so I just started feeding them one, 1/4 cup for the day (each)of one food and when they start to meow a second time, I add the 1/4 cup of the other...but does this mean I will have to buy 2 more bags of food in the future to mix? OMG...it is dry cat food...it cannot taste that much different...can it (ack...is what I say but hey, they are cats)?

Another thing is that Sadie has decided that in order to butter me up in the morning, she needs to lay on my head and give my hair a bath in the morning. This is what I call "mothering"...she licks my hair/forehead(which can be quite painful...cats have strong rough tongues) until I wake up and bury my head in the covers, and sometimes, puts her paw on my head and flexes her claws...until I wake up with a shriek to pain...OMG, most annoying but cats will be cats...and they truly are a sweet part of my life...and I would not change a one of their purrsonalities...just would like to get the food right!

Becoming the Coupon Queen

2010-02-27T07:35:00.001-06:00

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned papers, tag: Cosmo Cricket; brad: Doodlebug; Baker's twine: Martha Stewart; letter stickers: Making Memories; library pocket: L'il Davis; Punch: Stampin' Up; Envelopes: Wells Fargo (LOL)

I am trying to be economical...saving money is important to me and my family...so I clip coupons. The most I have saved is about 28% of my grocery bill. That is a lot. I have signed up for several websites for coupons and buy a paper every Sunday. That helps so much. The key for me, is clipping coupons for things I know we will use and occasionally, I will try different items that we would not normally buy, ONLY, if I think that it is a good buy and will be used! I hate waste and will not buy something that will sit in my cupboard and only be useful for the food shelf donations.

In my creative being, I had to make something pretty to put my coupons in. I have been using it and even had a great comment from a fellow shopper who thought I was incredibly organized. She said "ooh, that is so cute, where did you get it? It looks so organized." Of course I had to show her all the compartments in it.

So, here is how I did it...I found 6 envelopes...garnered from bills that I pay on line and those are my compartments.

Cover: I cut cardstock to from a 12 x12 sheet...a little bigger than the envelopes (no measurements here since old bill envelopes vary slightly in size)...but I would say, about 7 x 12. I embossed 2 lines 1 inch apart at 3 inches on the short side on one end and then again at 1 1/2 inches for the top. I covered it with my favorite papers from Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird paper and embellished it with borders and tags/letters.

I used a big brad and button (button is stitched on) to make the closure and used baker's twine for the closing tie.

Inside: cardstock cut to same size, made into an accordian fold for the six compartments. I glued one end into the inside of the folded cover and an envelope into each fold. After all the envelopes are in place, I glued the other folded edge to the inside front cover.

Inside front cover: I glued a library pocket in the center so that I could tuck my list in the front with my planned list for the trip.

I embellished the envelopes on the inside and added little labels of the categories...for me, and my grocery store, I lined them up according to route I shop at my Cub Grocery store...Produce, Meat, Dairy, Frozen, Grocery, and paper products...I organize my coupons this way and before each trip to the grocery store, I go through them and am aware of what I have.

My grocery habits are pretty predictable. I go to the grocery store every two weeks on Sunday mornings. I plan our meals for the two weeks in advance and buy what is needed for them. Our grocery budget is about $150 for two weeks and we try to stick pretty closely to that budget. Coupons help immensely and with 2 growing teens in our house, as well as tons of teen friends filtering through throughout the week, it is pretty hard to keep the coffers full, but we do it!

Weekend challenges

2010-02-10T20:47:00.007-06:00

Weekend challenges. My sister, Jacquie--(just click on her name to see her beautiful efforts), and I scrap together frequently. She in Texas and I in MN. Lately, neither of us have been getting much scrappy time because of, well, life. I try but it seems that the time is not there. So this past weekend, we challenged each other to scrap and made up challenges for each other.

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill, craft supply; Patterned paper, chipboard, stickers: Creative Imaginations; Chipboard swirl: Basic Grey; Flowers: Imaginesce, Prima; Gems: craft supply; Brads: Pink Paislee; Punch: Martha Stewart; Die Cutting Machine: Slice, font from Design card #2
Our First challenge was to make a layout with paper older than a year. Here, I used some old, beautiful paper by Creative Imaginations, that I have been saving. I loved it then but for a time, I bought things and stashed it and well, I still love it and don't know what I am saving it for....and it is a layout of my hubby, just in time for Valentines Day!

Supplies: Tags: office supply; Medium: Glimmer mist, Smooch Inks; Chipboard: Scenic Route; Scalloped Edge: Jillibean Soup; Patterned paper: Websters Pages; Baker's twine: Martha stewart; Stamps: Pink Paislee; Ribbon and buttons: Craft supply
Our second challenge was to make 2 tags. I am somewhat befuddled by tags. I have a hard time with something so small, and for me, it has to be usable, so I have to make it for SOMETHING...a gift, a card, or on a layout...never just BECAUSE.

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper and dimensional stickers: Basic Grey; Scalloped circles: Archiver's; Letter Stickers: American Crafts, Adornit; Bling Kaiser Crafts; Journaling Card: Jillibean Soup; Punch: EK Success
And finally, color combo that we rarely use. For me it was hot pink and brown. So I went for the Basic Grey. These are photos of my two cousins, Kristy and Tara at Kristy's baby shower this December. Tara put on a great and fun baby shower for her! There is always lots of laughs when these two are around!

So there are my projects. I encourage you to challenge yourself, find a sketch, play with paint, mist, glitter, or just start cutting. You will find that after awhile you get down to business and actually create something that makes you want more time to scrap!

There was one more challenge that I need to post (a layout with a banner on it), but alas, I ran out of time, but hope to finish it this weekend! TFL. Love and Hugs, Lara

Cosmo Cricket Sketch #4

2010-02-10T20:29:00.004-06:00

Supplies: Patterned paper, journaling tags, Chipboard, stickers: Cosmo Cricket; Alphabet stickers: American Crafts; Punch: Fiskars

Ok, so I am really getting into these sketches. I love to do something fun and a lot of times I run out of ideas or time and a sketch is a great way to get started. Cosmo Cricket has been posting sketches lately and I love to use them. They may not get viewed but it is still fun to be creative. I used "The Boyfriend" for this...and it is only fitting as the pictures are of DS and his lovely, sweet Girlfriend. So here is my take on the sketch. See you later this week. My dear sis challenged me to some good challenges this past weekend and I was able to get a few of them done. Love and Hugs, Lara

He's Good stuff

2010-02-03T16:00:00.000-06:00

Supplies: Patterned paper: October Afternoon, Pink Paislee; Carstock: C'ordinations; Rubons: Pink Paislee; Chipboard: Basic Grey, KI Memories; Flowers: Maya Road; Chipboard letters: American Crafts; Epoxy quote: Cloud 9 Design; Punch: Martha Stewart

This man is amazing--my Dad, Bob. Such a sweet honest smile...makes you want to hug him and hang with him. I know that when we get together with my parents, sometimes he sits in the background while mom and I talk quilts, scrapping, cardmaking and cooking. I recently got my HAM radio license and that is something that he and I have in common now. SO I need to get more proficient at it so that we can maybe talk over the radio waves together. So far, my radio does not reach to Arkansas but maybe we will be able to get me rigged up a little better one day and we can HAM it up together. He's the best! He and my mom are currently in Texas staying warm for the winter...lucky dogs! They will be back up to MN for a visit in the spring.

Getting Around to Christmas Layouts

2010-02-02T16:00:00.000-06:00

Supplies: Patterned paper, journaling spot, label diecut: Collage Press; Letter stickers: American Crafts; Ribbon: Michaels; Punch: Fiskars

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill; Pattern Paper, Chipboard, stickers, October Afternoon; Ribbon: Craft supply; Punch: Martha Stewart

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill Bling; Patterned paper, stickers, journaling card: October Afternoon

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned Paper, stickers: Bella Blvd; Pearl gems: Kaiser Craft; Journal label: Jenni Bowlin

Finally. I have quite a few pictures from Christmas and I am not really a chronological scrapper, so it is not unusual for me to scrap a Christmas layout in the summer or summer photos in the deep dark of December. I scrap what inspires me at the time, sometimes it is in the right order, and sometimes it is not. I just want to scrap what I like, with what I like. I might scrap a 4th of July layout in the middle of winter and heaven knows that I have only made a small dent in my kids younger years' photos. It's all creative to me.

I am sharing some Christmas photos/layouts that I did do right after Christmas. I got some Christmas goodies that excited me and I just had to play with them. I got some new stuff from Collage Press, October Afternoon and Bella BLVD that I just love and so of course, I had to dig out supplies to make something with them right off the bat.

That is all for now. More to come later in the week. I need to scrap too, instead of sit on the computer. Love and Hugs! Lara

Cosmo Sketch #3

2010-02-01T05:00:00.000-06:00

Sketches are a scrappers helper. Especially if your mojo is down and you just want to scrap but no real bright ideas are in your head...a sketch helps you with some place to start. I decided to play along with Cosmo's Sketch 3 this week and I was pleased the sketch and the results. I had a fair amount of goodies from COsmo, from their Nutmeg line, so I gave it a go. Not my best work, but I love the colors and if it is all about the picture, I just love one of my daghter who is just becoming such a sweet, kind, young adult! Thanks Cosmo for the little help and the big bright patterns of Nutmeg that just sparked my mojo! Love and hugs, Lara

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010

2010-01-31T15:41:00.004-06:00

It has been a busy January and believe me, busy is not the only word--cold is another and also fraught with many papers to proof-read for my kids as they had projects that needed to be fine-tuned after winter break and since mom has a college education, they think that I must know it all--I do not, but I am learning a bunch of things that I did not know before learning from all their research!

It has been cold so that takes a bunch out of me right there and then there was the Vikings...who put us on a whirlwind run for the big bowl, and alas, we were not able to pull it off. SO I sit here on a Sunday, with no more football to watch and that gives me a little more Sunday time to do something constructive. SO I am going to try and blog a bit more, scrap a whole lot more and try find things that make me to do until this forsaken winter gets over. On Tuesday, it is Groundhog Day so hopefully he sees his shadow or not...but believe me, I am looking for only 6 more weeks until spring...please let that be so.

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper, flowers, chipboard shape: SEI; Journaling spot: Webster's Pages; Letter stickers: American Crafts, Making Memories; Ribbon: Prima; Sticker quote: Cloud 9 Design; Metal Word Plate: Making Memories

Above is a layout I did right around January first. One of the few I have made since Christmas. I wanted to put down some reasonable goals for myself. I think they are do-able. I used some papers that I have been saving for some time now. The bright vibrant colors energize me and make me think of hot summer nights and sunny days. {More to come in the next few days} Love and Hugs. Lara

Hello 2010

2010-01-13T12:06:00.003-06:00

Ok, so here is 2010! I am so bad a blogging lately. Perhaps I can find some time this year! I just wanted to post about the new Shimmerz that are coming out this year! They are fun and happy colors from what I can tell and you can use them on anything to add the shine! Love them!

Have you been checking out the sneaks? Some pretty amazing color combos are coming out! I cannot wait to see more. Love and Hugs. Lara

Christmas card craze

2009-12-03T21:08:00.005-06:00

So I am still in a Christmas card-making frenzy. I made a whole bunch of cards this past weekend. Love making them but it is almost like a disease...when I get going I cannot stop. I even found about 20 cards that were not used from last year. When I was with my mom the week before Thanksgiving, she bought a sweet paper pack from K and Co and split it with me. Let me tell you, the paper is so inspiring that I could not stop making them. I love the feel of a big solid card so I matted and double matted some of the cards. Nothing flimsy about them. I used up a bunch of my stash.

I also had some old(er) Cosmo Cricket that is the browns and maroons and I used that for some really pretty up at the cabin/woodsy feel cards. Oh, and during a Christmas past, I had to have all of the Sandylion Kelly Pannaci stuff and all of it, especially the chipboard and stickers came in handy.

Sorry for the pictures being somewhat fuzzy. It is dark at night when I get home and I was trying to load these. My mom is making her cards and we use each other for inspiration. She turned me on to some fun stuff...12x12 grunge board. Can you believe that I had not seen it. Well, while she was here, we spent a bit of time at our LSS using one of her Christmas tree dies. I inked it and glittered and flocked it. I picked up some doilies at the dollar store...80 of them for $1. What a bargain. We used those on some of our cards. Love the delicate look of those. The cards above have the doilies and the cool grunge tree on it.

My final card pic is using the sweet paper that my sis sent me, just because last Friday. It is by Collage Press, Joyride. sorry for the fuzzy picture but I think it highlights the sweetness of the colors. It is awesome. The colors are fabulous. I made this card for this month's card swap. The colors make me think of Christmas candy and chocolate mint...love this stuff. Got to go. Love and hugs. Lara

I'm lovin'

2009-11-18T12:13:00.002-06:00

Randy from Say Yes to the Dress
...a few things today. (No layouts to post but it is so dark when I get home that I have not been able to photograph anything I have gotten done...which is not much).

My parents have been here since last Friday and staying to Sunday. On Saturday, my mom and I made the rounds of M's, J's, and A's and had so much fun looking at stuff and buying goodies. This Friday I took off so that we can spend it together.

My mom is a great cardmaker and we are going to get some goodies from a local spice shop (Penzey's--going to have to look for the D---weed that Cathy Z posted a few months ago from there--LOL) and then I am taking her to the Scrapbook Shop of St. Paul (see link on the side)...where I know she will love it...the decor, the ideas and inspiration are abound and the owner, Rhonda, my dear friend is so much fun to be around.

So here is my today list of "loves":

That my son organized and put on a blood drive at his school today all by himself, and he just texted me that he donated (he had my permission at 16) and felt good doing it physically and emotionally/mentally--I mean, those needles are huge and can scare the bejezes out of people.

I won on the October Afternoon Blog this week...some of their cards...So happy about that, I have NEVER won on a blog before so that was cool.

I love to watch "Say Yes to the Dress'. Am totally addicted and since I have been married almost 16 years, my husband (and myself) are wondering what I would want to spend my time watching it...but I cannot help myself...I think when we turn 25 yrs, maybe I will buy a prettier wedding gown than my 200$ Sears special I bought all those years ago.

I am so lovin' that my parents are here. Hanging with my mom and dad is awesome and I better get my fill this weekend before they head to Texas for 3 months...to see my sister and be where it is warm. My dad hung a HAM radio antenna in my backyard and they are coming over for dinner friday and dinner saturday and a whole lot of shopping/visiting during the day. We are having our family Christmas together Saturday...so lots to love!

Got to get to work. Love and hugs. Lara

Webster's Pages Christmas

2009-11-10T11:00:00.001-06:00

I visited the Southern Scrapbooking Expo this weekend in Owatanna MN. I actually did not "visit" it as much as work it with my friend Rhonda, who owns "The Scrapbook Shop" in Circle Pines, MN, on Friday and Saturday. It was quite an event. I met some seriously fun and creative ladies this weekend, and eventhough I am wiped out from it, I was glad that I helped her work it.

Rhonda brought tons of goodies from her store. She brought a paper line that I just loved and have been coveting since she got it in. It was the new Christmas line from Wenster's Pages. It is seriously gorgeous stuff. I could not help myself so I got 2 sheets of it, and inspired not only by the paper, but also by the creative groove at the convention, I went home and created 2 layouts on Friday night, to display at the booth on Saturday.

This layout, includes a hand cut tree from the opposite sheet of the background, of the 2 that I bought. I glittered it up with Stickles and hand cut out the little deer on the background paper so that the deer could be "on top" of the glittered tree.

This layout was with the leftovers of the sheet that I cut the tree out of. Not too much to work with, but somehow, in handcutting the tree, I was able to save the big cream block with the light "Magical" lettering on it. I was able to increase the visibility of it by adding a little Stickles to that too. I made the presents with the back side of the tree paper and put some rubons over the ribbon for a little dimension and to add a Christmas feel to it.

So I know, it is not Christmas, but when one finds such beautiful, inspiring papers, one has to work with them right away. There is no stopping me when I see something and have an idea. I get bit by the creative bug and have to go with it when it happens. Have a great week. Love and Hugs, Lara

Making something out of nothing

2009-11-08T15:29:00.000-06:00

the subtitle of this post could also be toilet paper roll stealer. Just a little post about being green (er). See below:

Recently, I have been in the "covering" mood. I want to cover everything. I could chalk it up to being just tired of storing my scraps or just because I like making everything pretty. I got this idea from a label printer at work. One of our secretaries was refilling the label printer and had this nice sturdy cardboard roll. She was just going to throw it away and I had this bright idea to keep it and make something of it.

The cardboard roll posed a bit of a problem though. One could cover it all you want but you could not have a bottom in it. Well, I fashioned a circle about 1/4 inch bigger than the diameter of the base with card stock, cut little slits in the circle, all the way around and then glued the slits to the inner side of the roll. Then I thought, that card stock will not hold up to office tools, such as pens, scissors, and other pointy stuff. So I made a circle with transparency just slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the roll and put messy clear glue all over it and pressed it into the bottom of the roll.

I still was not happy with the inside so I then sprayed the heck out of it with glimmer mist to cover the word advertising that is in the inside of the roll. You can still see the outline, and I suppose one could paint the inside but I chose not to. The whole idea for me is to make it look re-purposed.

I then picked out some pretty papers that I have some of, with embellies, that I thought might look nice, and better yet, be able to use the scraps for something besides cards. The first one I made is the one with Bo-Bunny "No place like home one".

I have since branched out. The short squat one is a duct tape roll, that I found empty under my son's bed when I cleaned his room last week. I thought this was more shallow and could be used on a desk, holding paper clips or something like that.

The final one is the key to the toilet paper roll hint above--the one with the Daisy D's Paper and the 2 Prima flowers on it. At my LSS, they have these large TP dispensers in the restroom and when the roll is empty, it yields a nice large roll to make this project. I did ask the owner, my good friend Rhonda, if I could just take it, and after she looked at me funny, she said yes. {I think she will be the FIRST person to get one of my "green" projects--after all, she paid for the TP, roll and all}...LOL

The best part of it was that when I visited the store yesterday afternoon was at the right time, and the roll was empty again. I took that roll, which she said of course "by all means"...and made a comment about how she went through so much TP when she has Friday night crops. Not so good for her, but good for me. He-he!

So that is my rendition of making something out of nothing. I would like to put a disclaimer in here though, I will NOT be visiting many restrooms, taking paper rolls out, UNLESS they are empty. The whole idea is to be aware of your surroundings and if there is a good opportunity, take it. I hope I get beyond the covering everything phase, and move on to scrapping something once in awhile, but until then, keep your eyes peeled for empty rolls for me! LOL Love and Hugs, Lara

Over-The-Top Cards

2009-11-06T05:00:00.002-06:00

I have wanted to do a post about over the top cards for quite some time. I have viewed some pretty amazing cards over time, online and in magazines and I would love to be that creative but alas, everytime I try to make them over the top and amazing, it falls short, in my opinion. I have tried to just put it out there but never quite get to the amazing card, but I gave it a shot with these 3. TFL.

Cardstock: Stampin' Up; Patterned Paper: Cosmo Cricket; Letter stickers: American Crafts; Metal Charm: Making Memories; Paper lace: Doodlebug Design; Glimmer Mist: Tattered Angels; Jewels: Heidi Swapp; ribbon: craft supply

So there is my rendition of the Over the Top cards...pretty simple, but the best I have got. I wish I could put them out there, but I guess I just have to think, would all that stuff actually fit in an envelope anyway?!! LOL! Love and Hugs, Lara

recent layouts

2009-11-03T11:45:00.000-06:00

Just a little layout marking my daughter's first Homecoming dance. She was all excited to go and it proved to be a good time for her.
Patterned paper: Lily Bee; Prima: Flowers; Stamp: Stampin' Up; Letters: American Crafts; Flower center stickers: Making Memories, Michaels; Brads: unknown; Butterfly sticker: K and Company; Date sticker: American Crafts; Rubons: Creative Cafe; Ribbon: LSS.

Just a little Cosmo Cricket goodness and most importantly, some precious pictures scrapped of my son with his Great Grandparents.

Patterned paper, chipboard, journaling spot: Cosmo Cricket; Ribbon: craft supply; Liquid glass: Close to My Heart

This is just a layout of my dear daughter, showcasing how special she is!
Patterned paper: Lily Bee; Chipboard: Pink Paislee; Sticker, Foam letters: American Crafts; Rubons: Creative Cafe, Making Memories; Lace: Joann's.

Hello November--Goodbye Halloween for this year!

2009-11-01T13:53:00.003-06:00

Everyone is recovering in this house from the past week. I, in my post-cleaning craze and putting on a Halloween party to teenagers, to having more teens sleep over in one weekend than ever before, am shot. DD had 5 kids over for the party, after having a friend stay over the night before and DS had 3 boys come over yesterday, go to a Halloween party at his girlfriend's house and then Hubby went and picked them all up at 1am and those boys stayed over. I am shot.

I have ONLY got groceries and picked up from last night's party, dealt with DD breaking up with her boyfriend and just being worn out. I think it will be fun to get back to work tomorrow. This past week of staying at home has got me tuckered out.

I always guage my stay-at-home vacations on what I accomplish as I know it is hard to get it all done during the week when there are other things I need to do like eat, sleep and work. SO for this week: grocery shopped several times, cleaned (gutted) 2 teens' rooms, cleaned my entire house, did oodles of laundry, made a calendar for a class at the LSS, made many cards, made 4 layouts and drove teens here, there and everywhere, oh, and handed out candy to the masses last night while hosting said Halloween party. I would say that I got a lot accomplished and tonight, supper is hot roast beef sandwiches, and I am going to kick back and watch the Vikings game--got to see them kick the Pack's bootie. SO I am signing off.

The pictures are of the many costumed teens we had over last night. Teens...hmmmm, such interesing costumes.

I really liked blogging more this week and hope to catch it several times every week. Love and HUGS, Lara

Day 4-the last of the card saga

2009-10-29T18:27:00.002-05:00

I made it 4 days this week blogging. I skipped a day secondary to being a kind soul who performed magic on my two teens' room this week. Six bags of junk/garbage and lots of dirty laundry and mismatched socks later, they can see their floors. I know most moms do not clean their teens' rooms but I just had to do it. I could not stand it anymore. I am sure if the "Clean Sweep" ladies or the other 'bless this mess' reality shows would have had a hayday in there but it is done and NOW, if I EVER have to do it again, I have told them in no uncertain terms that I would sell their Xbox and Wii and keep the money. HAAAA to them.

So here are some cards that I made. Nothing too flashy. I just love the little critters I got in a stamp set by American Crafts and had to put them on a friends card. The "thinking of you" card is one I have made variations of for years. I know it is nothing new to most who make cards but I would have to say that I love the look and somehow, the lighthouse is very serene and sedate and suits a sympathy card just fine. The sunshine card is a happy card for me. I love the Sassafras paper and again, I used a 6x6 pad to make this card.

Tomorrow, I hope to blog again. I hope to show some recent layouts that I have done as that is my true passion, scrapbooking. Cards are a fun fast creative fix for me, but there is nothing as creatively satisfying as a good layout to make me sleep well tonight.

Lastly, the reason I missed blogging earlier, I went to a "Donate Life Symposium", because, for those that know me, I am a liver transplant coordinator. Did you know that there are over 104,000 people on the US Transplant waiting list, and more are being added every day. On average, about 12,000 people are transplanted each year, so you can imagine the importance of considering becoming an organ donor. Sadly, too, only about 1% of ALL organ donors (designated on their driver's license or registered donors) have viable organs. THat is sad. In Minnesota, only 56% of all persons over the age of 18 are designated donors. If we brought that to 75%, we could make a HUGE impact on that list. So for all of you who are considering donating, giving the GIFT of LIFE could be the last great thing you could do for someone else. I made a promise to myself personally and professionally today to spread the word, so I am starting tonight! God Bless! Love and Hugs. Lara

Day 3--Christmas Cards on a budget

2009-10-27T11:00:00.001-05:00

And now, for the next line that I thought was adorable, Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses. I think that it was the little houses and deer on this line (not shown in these cards) that got me.

We are all on a budget right?...of some sort and I have been trying to limit my paper craft items because, frankly, I could just buy and buy and never be able to use it all. I tried to be wise about my spending and what I need. I believe that I said yesterday, with all the Christmas lines being so incredible, I could buy it all and never use it all

For these 3 cards I used for these items: 1 12x12 piece of cardstock, 3 6x6 pieces of paper, 3 buttons, supply floss (leftover from my wedding flowers), 1 8.5 x11 white cardstock (which was for the punched sentiment journaling spot), stamps and ink. How important is this? Well, for someone on a budget, one could definitely do well by buying some cardstock, a 6x6 pad and using craft supply items to make a bunch of cards. The 6x6 pad alone, with 36 sheets could make a bundle of cards.

I won't go into the math because, well frankly, I hate math (LOL) but one could pretty much make 36 cards (or more) for 10-15 dollars depending on what/where you bought your items. I know that does not rival buying a cheapo box of premade cards at Target or Walmart, but these are handcrafted, special gifts that your loved ones will appreciate. I love to card make and scrap but I also love to be spendythrifty too! Love and Hugs. Lara

Day 2--Jump on Christmas Cards

2009-10-26T12:00:00.002-05:00

There are some really lovely Christmas lines out there lately and I want so many of them that I could go broke buying all of them.

I tried to be choosy. I was drawn to the classic beauty of the Making Memories "Mistletoe", and the cardinals were a clincher for me.

Every year, my husband's family exchanges ornaments for Christmas. It is a game that we play when we are together for Christmas. My inlaws live up in northern Minnesota where there are beautiful cardinals visiting their bird feeders while we eat dinner, so that cardinal ornaments are ALWAYS hits. So naturally, the MM cardinal paper draws me in.

For my second selection, I chose with my love of color and cute factor. First up we have Cosmo Cricket's Holly Jolly. Who could NOT love this cute sweet line. I fell in love with it when I took their Winter minibook class here in MN, at the ScrapBook Shop of St. Paul in September, and I knew that I would be including this in my card making mania that I get into every Christmas. I love the cute whimsical patterns and then the song paper is something that I love for any card.

Every year, when I get started Christmas cards, I get stuck (on) making them and I have to break the cycle with a layout or two but I just love making them and sending them out....so worth the time and energy to do it! So tomorrow, I wanted to talk about cardmaking on a budget. Love and hugs! Lara

Day 1--Cards

2009-10-25T15:40:00.003-05:00

Ok everyone, I am trying to challenge myself to blogging more so I am going to try and do it 4 times this week, if possible/if not more. So here goes.

So my obsession lately is cards. I recently started entering a card swap at my local LSS and it has gotten me into making cards, assembly line style, so that I can share with the others that join in the swap. It has boosted my talent for finding a design that I have enough supplies for, as well as a card that I can easily assemble more than one at a time. It seems hard sometimes, but I have found that I use more scraps, from the same paper and that I will use what I cut up.

I also find that I am using my punches more and that alone, is nice for me, since I bought these things and there is no sense in having them sit on the shelf. My favorites right now are the scallop one from Stampin' Up and the Upper Crest from Fiskars. I am also using my Slice more and more. I mean, who has enough of the same (or similar) journaling spots? I got rid of my circle and square punches at a LSS garage sale, so I am using the slice for that too. The nice thing about the Slice is that it makes designs in 1/2 inch increments, which makes for easy layering/matting of objects that I want to emphasize.

Patterned paper: Cosmo Cricket; rickrack: FancyPants; Button: American Crafts; Cardstock: Die Cuts With a View.

Patterned paper: K and Company, Foof-a-la; Journaling spot: K and Company; Stamps: Stampin' Up; Ribbon: craft supply; Gel Pens: Target; Ink: Stampin' Up.

So here I am on a card making binge. Tomorrow I will show you why I get stuck making cards. Once I start Christmas cards,(and I HAVE started them) I cannot stop. See you then. Love and Hugs! Lara

Cosmo Cricket loved it!

2009-09-19T20:02:00.006-05:00

It was a fluke really. I have been in love with everything Cosmo Cricket lately...see one of my earlier posts. I even signed up for a minibook class at the Scrapbook Shop this last week, taught by the one and only Julie and Lindsay from Cosmo Cricket. The mini book was just adorable and Jolly By Golly is such an adorable line that screams...HELLO, I am here, come and get me! Such cute stuff.

So on to my title! As a favor to my dear, sweet friend, Rhonda, who happens to be the owner of the Scrapbook Shop, I brought in some layouts and a minibook made up in my favorite muse...Cosmo Cricket. I did not make these layouts JUST for the store or just because they were coming...I frequently bring new layouts in to the store for displays of newer products.

Well, the minibook, seen below (and the cover, above), is the book I did with Cosmo's Earth Love. While I was taking the class, Rhonda showed it to Lindsay and Julie and they loved it. Lindsay wanted to take it with him, and Julie, wise and sweet, said no, but asked to photograph it. They want to post it on their blog. I said of course they could post it. I did not want to let it go...I really love it and want it to stay with me...well, after it gets its share of viewing at the Shop. So here it is. I just have to say...that I love this little thing and that Going Up North is the best!

So, needless to say, I am super excited about it. TFL. Love and Hugs! Lara

Where has the summer gone?

2009-08-09T20:46:00.000-05:00

Whoa! I looked at the calendar today while I was getting groceries and I was just amazed...August is almost 1/2 gone. Even though my kids do not start school until the day after Labor Day, it seems like the summer has just spun away from me. I look back and it has been so fun so far...but going too fast...only too soon I will be coming home in the dark and ready to crawl in my flannel jammies at 5pm. But it should be a great rest of the summer and the fall is always pretty nice in MN.

We are going up north next weekend. I am taking both kids and Holli's friend and Ian's girlfriend up for the weekend. Wonder how that will be hanging out with a bunch of teenagers for the weekend? They are all behaved well though so I do not have much to worry about there...I hope to take them all to Lake Itasca to see the beginnings of the Mississippi River...Neither friend coming along has been there!
(On a Scrappy note, I found some NEW Earth Love by Cosmo Cricket at a local LSS and I snapped up a few goodies from them and made a CUTE chipboard mini album with it, about--you guessed it--Up North, that I will share after the weekend up North!)

Dave is staying home because he is not sure if his back can tolerate the 4 hr drive. I feel for him! His bulging discs are a real concern and he is on bed rest for 2 more weeks. He said the doctor said that if he has no improvement in 2 weeks on Steriods, then they are looking at surgery. I am like, what? I totally asked him if I could come to the next doctor appt. I need to know what the next steps are as Dave has a hard time with all the medical speak...or maybe he is just making it sound not-so-bad for my sake. Not sure. I will definitely be there though so I can hear things with my own ears.

As for my layouts...I went through the longest scrappy drought in a long time...almost a month without doing ANYTHING. I went to a crop and put together some good little layouts that fueled my scrappy happiness. I pulled out some older October Afternoon for 2 of them and some Collage Press for the Sweetie Pie one...along with my favorite little Sassafras paper...I only have a little snippet of that deer/groundhog paper left and I love it so much, I will be looking for a little bit more! TFL! Have a great week! Love and Hugs! Lara

heel-toe-heel-toe and CHA CHA CHA!!!!!!

2009-07-31T12:17:00.000-05:00

JUST A PICTURE OF "ME LIKEY"---because, well, ME Likey! LOL

Ok, so it is a corny title...but I wanted to put the CHA CHA CHA in there...OMGoodness, have you seen what is coming out for this summer's CHA?! WOWSER, there is a list that is getting longer by the minute for me...my pocketbook is already saying {OUCH}. I would like to mention my picks for what I really like from this season:

There is Sassafras with the NEW felties, the pretty fun paper lines, and OMGoodness...chipboard to match...I am in heaven--maybe even Hog's Heaven (you see I might just go home and get in the Sassafras spirit by playing with a little Hog Heaven--of which I only have a little left, and may be able to Squeak out a layout and a card).

Next on my list: Basic Grey. Well I have NEVER met a BG line that I did not like and this season is no exception...loving that Eskimo Christmas/winter line, and Indian Summer, and gosh, they are even putting out a Halloween line this year...WOW, cannot wait to touch and see the patterns in person!

Ok, So lately, Cosmo Cricket
is my number one go to products...I am not sure what the look is that I like so much but I know that it is a cross between the color combos and the kind of almost 70's/old kitschy look that I like the most. I love the new lines coming out and have already set aside some cha-ching for those lines--Earth Love and hte Boyfriend for sure!

To continue with my list: Lilybee Designs
has 2 new lines, Audrey and Vintage Poppy and I am loving the color combos so I just, well, just want them because of the colors! I will find them somewhere and get them for sure!

Last for today's list: Pink Paislee.I really like the stuff that PP has put out this season and I cannotw ait to see it in person. I think that these lines are very vintage-y and that is what is drawing my attention! I have been just drooling over some of the projects I have seen on line!

that is NOT all on my list, but after awhile, I think if you click on too many links, you get overkill and glazed over. I might some more goodies for my wishlist/must haves later in the week.

For all that have worked with me at SAS, today was my official last day as a DT member. It has been a good run and I really enjoyed the creativity of being on the team and being an unoffical leader for the website. I want to wish luck to the oncoming DT, from the changes that are happening with the website and the reorganization and additions in the creative challenges, it promises to be an exciting time at Scrap Attack!

Got to get to work so that I can get home and be SCRAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!Love and Hugs, Lara

Crazy for Sassafras!

2009-07-28T09:04:00.000-05:00

I am just loading up on Sassafras lately. I cannot get enough of this in my stash. I used to not like it as much...seemed too kid like...but it is so playful and bright and VERY versatile. I just wanted to share a little goody that I adore...and it is my DD on her birthday and she was hugging me so tight, as you can see...what more can a mother ask for, right?! Just sharing my little bits and pieces of goodness in my life and she is one of them. How blessed can a girl be?! TFL. Love and hugs. Lara

Bo Bunny "Calypso"--Be still my heart

2009-07-13T18:16:00.000-05:00

Be Still My Heart...Yes, that is true. For July, and my final month as a SAS DT member, Some little goodies from Bo Bunny graced my doorstep. The colors of the CALYPSO line are amazing and super fun, especially for summer fun photos. I also really liked the Double Dot Cardstock from Bo Bunny that comes in all sorts of colors...the ones that worked so well for this line were the Brilliant Blue, Wasabi, and the Wild Berry Red, but they come in all sorts of colors. The cardstock is of thicker weight, and even though it is slightly textured, it has dots on it, making it look very textured on one side and on the other, it looks stone-washed. Let me tell you, the colors of this make my heart happy. I had so much fun with this paper line and I would like to think I wrapped up my final assignments using what I do best, color and texture! Be sure to check this line out and all the other little goodies that are in the Scrap Attack Scrapbooking online store. CHA is coming so it is promising that there will be lots of goodies and treasures showing up in the store!

So here are my little layouts.

I think that the colors reflect my happiness in my first design team gig and my love of color and I will always enjoy having the experience. TFL. Love and Hugs, Lara

Happy July

2009-07-06T17:56:00.000-05:00

Well, the 4th of July is over. Hope everyone had a safe and happy weekend. I always look forward to the 4th. It is our Independence Day and a day to recognize how lucky we are that we have freedom and prosperity. I know our economy is not so good right now, but for the most part, we should be thankful that it is not worse than it is. I also want to say thank you to all of our service men and women who have and are fighting for our freedom! Without your sacrifice, we would not know the freedoms that we enjoy every day!

NOt sure how to switch gears from that. I spent the weekend enjoying a little crafty freedom. I was very productive. I was able to make some layouts for my last month at SAS and also just some crafty little treats just for me. I am going to tease you a bit about the DT layouts and make you wait, as I will need to finish up before I put the big reveal up. But here is a little taste of a few of the layouts that I did just for me with my own stash.

Just some goodness from Cosmo Cricket, Sassafras, Collage Press and some goodies from a SAS February kit. TFL. LOVE and Hugs! Lara

Last chance on my blog RAK

2009-06-30T11:52:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone. I just wanted to update once more in June. Whew, June flew by. And enter July and once the 4th of July hits, the summer zooms by. I know because I will blink the day after the 4th and it will be mid-September and getting cold. I need to get outside more and enjoy the great outdoors because winter starts earlier and earlier. this weekend for sure, yardwork and possibly a picnic are in our future!

About the Scrap Attack Blog hop RAK...I noticed that nobody has taken my challenge to make a little layout or card with lots of bling and linked it back to my blog so I might have to try the RAK again at another time. BUmmer on that. I thought my little bling-ature was kind of cute to send off to someone that played along. Oh well, maybe someone is holding out for midnight, when the challenge closes--tonight 6/30 at midnight--don't forget to link it to the 6/18/09 blog post!

Just a little layout about when I was a teeny-tiny baby. I loved this layout so much. I loved the soft baby colors that I got to play with...not something that happens often when you have teens I guess. Well I must move on for today. Have a good one and see you in July (teehee)! Love and hugs, Lara

WOW...and my June Design team reveals from SAS

2009-06-24T19:04:00.000-05:00

Hello all, and if there are any people still stopping by my blog, thanks to all the wonderful fun comments left on my last post during the SASsy blog hop. I have not seen any links from anyone completing my bling change yet, so will keep that open until June 30th.

June is a fun and busy month for most, I would imagine, with end of the school year, graduations, weddings, and allover summer fun! I feel like I started my scrappy June off with a bang. Lauri from SAS sent me some pretty amazing papers from Collage Press Knave of Hearts and WRMK MVP Collection to work with and I was was so joyful in getting this fantastic kit to work with. I really liked the Knave of Hearts the most, but the MVP has some pretty rich colors that go well with sports, and non-sports, pages. Here is my reveal:

That is all I got for this month. TFL! Have a great week. Love and hugs! Lara

{SAS}sy Blog Hop

2009-06-17T07:47:00.000-05:00

Good Morning to all. Welcome to the {SAS}sy Blog Hop!

If you my blog is the first place you visited, you might want to start at the beginning at Scrap Attack Scrapbooking so that you don't miss out on ALL the fun! The beginning will have a list of places to visit! If you found your way from Cassie Lu then you are right on track!

I made these cards and layout with LOTS of bling! I love my sparkle and shine! I made the flower card using Basic Grey Bling It and Ranger Stickles, and the butterfly card with KI glitter and Stickles. The layouts have a bit more bling on them. For the "Sweet" one, I used Stickles, Basic Grey Bling it and large rhinestone brads from the February {SAS}sy kit. I added a little bit of extra sparkle with tHE Sakura Jelly Roll Stardust pen, outlining some key areas.

They can all be found at the Scrap Attack Online Store....so check it out! and my challenge to you, is to make a layout or card with lots of bling and link it back to this post in the comments. Anyone that posts a layout link will be entered into a drawing for a tiny little RAK from me and if you HOP through all 16 {SAS}sy blogs, you will be entered into a random drawing for COOL prizes from Scrap Attack!

Hopefully you're enjoying the Scrap Attack Scrapbooking {Blog Hop} today! There's definitely a lot of inspiration showing up on everyone’s blogs. Your next stop on the hop is Janis There are 16 total blogs so make sure you hit them all!

Scrap Attack Scrapbooking will be donating prizes from all comments left on all 16 blogs so make sure and comment so you are eligible to win! Love and Hugs and Happy Blog Hopping! Lara

Hippity HOP (and it isn't even Easter)

2009-06-12T12:10:00.000-05:00

Hey, it is time for a fun little thing called a blog HOP...through the Scrap Attack Scrapbooking online store. It is on June 18th ALL DAY...there are 18 blogs to visit and it will start with the SASblog first. If you want to tune in...there are going to be fun challenges, prizes and some pretty amazing projects posted on there sprinkled with a few tutorials and wondrous Scrappy EYE CANDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So don't miss out. Join us. Everyone that leaves comments on the featured blogs will be put in a drawing for some pretty fun RAKs and Gift Cards From Scrap Attack. Hope you can tune in! It is a good time to surf around other's blogs and not only see what others are doing but to get your name out there too! Love and hugs! Lara

Oh, so a hint on my part in this little shindig....just so you have it on hand...better make sure you have shiny stuff available for my little challenge/tutorial...BLING is necessary!

Thanks everyone

2009-06-03T11:56:00.000-05:00

I really like that all of you took the time to read my blog and comment! Thank you for the kind comments and support. Leaving the DT was a difficult thing to decide but I feel like I want to move on. Someone once said to me, nobody really ever leaves comments but you better blog anyway. I say, why bother? It is funny, those same people never leave comments so I never know if they are coming around. I am a little ticked off about that but perhaps it works better that way!

I plan on really trying to keep up on my blog after my DT course is over, might even do a makeover with some fun little add-ons. I think that I will try and focus on it more. Many say that I have a knack for writing insightful stuff...Someday I will post some of my past diet blog...for an example. I do know that my life is pretty full right now...and I know myself...in order to do any few things well...I cannot be overscheduled. I know that I feel a lot of pressure from work and being on the MB makes it hard to be everywhere. And part of the other issue is that the pictures I post sometimes do not post right so I tend to ignore it (the blog) as it frustrates me.

I believe that I have been an exemplary DT member and MB member at SASover the past year and I really like the people that I have gotten to know. I won't pepper my post with links, as you can find them all in the last post. I have found that being on a DT is a lot more than making layouts with somebody else's stuff. I feel like I stepped up to the plate and did well with that, being an active member on the MB, talking to people, answering their posts, starting conversations, as well as being active during the crops and fun activities throughout the year, as well as being a positive person! NOT TO MENTION the almost 7000 (YES 7000) posts that I accumulated in the past 11 months. I am proud of that accomplishment and when I leave, I will leave with my head held high, that I was a proud member of the SAS DT, and did so with pride, kindness and encouragement for my fellow MB and DT members! Oh, and I am not leaving the SAS board either...I will still hang out, but maybe not as much time per day...giggle...giggle! So my friends, my little post-reflection, reflection is over. Love and HUGS to all my real friends! Lara

**********UPDATE--I finally figured out how to fix those @#$% pictures in my posts...I just adjust the text code to a pixel width that shows up on my screen...I do not know how I figured it out but I figured that it couldn't hurt to try! WAAAHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOw I shall blgo more often, I promise! =O)

Reflections on being on a Design Team

2009-06-01T12:04:00.000-05:00

Well, here I am again, with good intentions about keeping up on my blog. There are so many other good things to do that I just cannot seriously be interested in sitting on the computer too much but it is good to put down my thoughts over the last year while being on the Scrap Attack Scrapbooking DT.

It has been a long, but fun-filled year. I say long in the fact that there are tons of things I am doing for tons of others, as well as working...I have my hands in quite a few pots at work alone. Sometimes, I feel like they are grooming me for something much bigger than I ever expected.

So last spring, I tried out for the SAS, of which there is another call going on right now. The first time I tried out, I did not get picked but shortly after that, there was another call and I re-submitted again. I remember this because my first entry was completed in Texas with awesome directions from my sister, Jacquie. She really helped me see scrapbooking and layouts in a whole new light. So when I did not get picked, I re-submitted, armed with a little bit more knowledge about making publishable layouts. I was much less confident though as I did not have her approval on these layouts, but I felt that they were some of the best ones I had ever done.

When I got picked, I was elated. I really thought I had sent in my best work and in my heart, it felt SOOOO good to have someone recognize it for as good as I felt it was.

So in the coming months, I started getting the monthly kits from SAS. These were handpicked by Lauri, the owner. Most of the time, it was really new product and pretty awesome things too. On occasion, I would get some products that I would not usually scrap with but I made them work. I think the best thing about being on a DT is that besides the free product kit, that I get to design MY OWN LAYOUTS and keep them in MY albums, it was the challenge of working with a certain amount of products and nothing else except a few essential scrappy staples. I really think just working with a set of products that someone else picks out for me keeps me from being in a rut...I HAVE to be creative. Truthfully, it has been one of the best experiences I have had in the scrapper/creative world, and ranks right up there with teaching a full class at my local LSS. I loved it and would do it again in a heartbeat. I have very little difficulty in putting together a kit, just a grab and go now, as I have gotten very good at working with what I have instead of getting sidetracked by all the possibities in my scrap haven.

I had never really gotten involved in an online message board before either. I lurked here and there, made some comments but not really too many. I think I have less than 200 posts on 2peas in 6 years...and less than 500 on Studio Calico (where at least SC people know of me). SAS MB is pretty fun. There are some pretty amazing scrappers that hang out there, and everyone is so nice, supportive, nonjudgemental and kind, not to mention funny...oh boy, well, I won't go there today. It is easy to fit in and be part of the crowd.

So that brings me to my final news, I am not reapplying for this upcoming DT call at SAS. If you are asking why, please see the reference to my life's work as a nurse for the answer to as why. I do want to encourage your to apply. If you are a seasoned scrapper or DT member, or if you are ready for a little jump, this is a great place to start! Give it a whirl!Here's the link again: SAS DT CALL. THe call closes JUNE 30, 2009 so there is still time to put something together! GO for it!

A little mention of the layout I posted. I was going to post one from the gallery at SAS from my initial entry to the DT but the one I want is missing in the gallery, not sure why, so I guess I will share something newerr. LOVE and hugs! Lara

Scrap Attack Scrapbooking May DT layouts

2009-05-16T07:42:00.000-05:00

This month, I was fortunate enough to work with some pretty awesome paper from Pebbles, Inc. Linnie Bell that Lauri sent me from Scrap Attack Scrapbooking. I also love these little chipboard shapes called Pebbles Chips. The package alone is so cute...love the little descriptions in the ingredients. You must check them out.

Scrap Attack Scrapbooking Online store is pretty amazing...the amount of goodies in this store makes my mouth water. Check it out...there are some pretty good deals, awesome monthly kits and the shipping time is amazing...You can order on a monday and have your goodies by Wednesday...without fail!

I did it!

2009-05-04T12:35:00.000-05:00

I hung out over at Scrap Attack Scrapbooking for National Scrapbooking Day on Saturday. I got a lot done. I completed ALL the challenges during the crop. I was so proud to be a master scrapper this weekend. I just wanted to share some of my more favorite ones. I am still trying to figure out the size thing but do not worry, it should all be fixed soon. Hope you enjoy. Love and hugs, Lara

WOW, the month got away from me

2009-04-29T13:02:00.000-05:00

How on earth did the month of April slip by so fast? I guess it has been full of work, my Hospital-wide project and presentation, Organ Donor Awareness Month (and I am a transplant coordinator), and multiple business that is being the mother of 2 very active teenagers.

Before the end of the month, I wanted to share my DT layouts from Scrap Attack Scrapbooking.

I was so fortunate to get to work with the paper line from Mark's Paper Company. The line is called "August Indian Summer" and it is amazing. The paper is double sided and has a 3D look of texture, along the lines of a canvas feel to it. The colors are luscious and just right up my alley! Check them out.

Oh, and be sure to check out National Scrapbook Day on May 2, 2009. I am heading over to a crop at Scrap Attack Scrapbooking!
Thanks for looking!

Happy Good Friday, Everyone

2009-04-10T12:44:00.000-05:00

Well Today is Good Friday...the only day in the Catholic religion where Mass is not celebrated. IT is a very somber day. DD and I are going to church tonight though...they will read the Passion and clear the alter and that is very somber and eye opening to the sacrifice that Jesus made for our sins all those years ago.

I confess to not being a very good Catholic for many years, but recently, I feel the need to return and make myself a better one...so we are going to church tonight, as I went last week and we will go again Sunday and hopefully every other one after that. I need the strength and peace that I get from going to church. Please do not judge me for my recitence in the past about church but I believe that God will take me back after straying away for awhile. I will just work harder to become more like him.

SO for anyone that read this, please may the peace and strength be with you on this beautiful day in April, on the eve of the sacrifice that Jesus made for all mankind, with his life for our sins. God Bless and Take Care. Love and hugs. Lara

Happy April 1st!

2009-04-01T08:34:00.000-05:00

Well it is April 1st today. I would like to say spring has sprung but it is cold, dreary, snowing/sleeting...and did I mention cold? It is Minnesota, ya know! But nevertheless, it is springtime. I noticed the buds coming out slightly on the trees outside my craft room. I would like to share a couple layouts I did this past week. The colors are pretty and very spring-like.

I am on vacation this week. Doing some spring cleaning and organizing. I love that. My kids are on spring break too and eventhough they do not need supervision, I took this week off to hang with them...and they in turn, are helping me out around the house a bit. No, I am not being a mean mom and making them work the whole weekend, but just enough to help me out. Have a great April 1st! Love and hugs! Lara

Happy Sunday

2009-03-29T08:18:00.000-05:00

And I am on vacation! I love it. I will be hanging out and spring cleaning this week, hanging with the kids...(which really means trucking them around to their friends') and hopefully putting some scrap projects up! It is Sunday morning...do you know where your pets are? Well, I can tell you that I have my babies hanging with me while I surf the internet, read blogs and gain inspiration! I have one kitty that has been chasing my mouse and now she has moved on and my lil' sweetie, Sadie is laying in my arms, trying desparately to get me to pet her instead of typing! Teehee...think she needs some lovin'? Maybe, but it is more likely that she wants me to feed her! Guess I will! Have a lovely spring day. Love and hugs! Lara

Prima is Primalicious!

2009-03-15T10:34:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone, I just wanted to share my March DT projects with you from Scrap Attack Scrapbooking Online Store. This month, I was extremely fortunate to work with some of the new Prima papers, LIFE IN COLORS. I love the rich purples and golds in this. As all kinds of purple are my favorite colors, this was right up my alley! And there is something else that I absolutely love. It is this ribbon by Prima--it is called Velvet Glitter Ribbon, and it comes in four colors, gold, silver, turquoise and fuschia! I love this stuff so much, I am going to collect them all!

Last but not least, I am totally in love with the shiny, Metallic Cardstock from Prism Papers, and of course, Bazzill has some too. I want all the colors...it adds so much vibrancy to the pages!

Well, thanks for looking! Have a great weekend! Love and hugs! Lara

Check it out!

2009-03-14T08:43:00.001-05:00

GCD Studios! They have a new blog! Looking good and you should check out the papers. They are awesome! The colors are so vibrant and the patterns are pretty amazing! You can find them HERE, so hop on over and check it out. They are having a giveaway also...so double the reason to check it out!

At the end of the day

2009-02-23T20:19:00.000-06:00

This is how I feel about my darling hubby. We just had a talk about what is important in our life and we both agree that at the end of the day...there is nothing more important than us 4. Us and our two wonderful kids. We both agree that it is because of them we go to work every day, get up in the morning and laugh and joke. We are living our life together and at the end of the day, that is all we truly need. I am so blessed by God for having these wonderful people as my family! Have a great week! Love and hugs! Lara

PS. If the layout doesn't show up right, sorry, having issues still, just click on it to see it in its entirety. I love the journaling,even if I do say so!

It has started

2009-02-15T07:48:00.000-06:00

Fun is on its way! Hey everyone, there is a fun MONTH ahead over at Scrap Attack Scrapbooking.

There are challenges, games and posting. All you can do on the site and a lot of chatting and having FUN! So go on over and sign up, and come play with us! It will be a lot of fun and cool prizes! Be sure to check out the Scrap Attack Scrapbooking for lots of goodies that are coming in from CHA! Hope to see you there! Love and hugs. Lara

The best I have ever looked...

2009-02-13T12:17:00.000-06:00

...in a bikini, EVER!

Just wanted to share this sweet gesture from my dad yesterday. Both my sister and I got an email with a short note "good morning girls". and this adorable picture of my sis and I, pops up. I am sure I have never seen that picture of us. Evidently, he is taking old slides and making them into computer/photos for us. I absolutely love the gorgeous head of hair that my darling sister has and how sweet it was that she was holding my hand. I guess I was barely walking and it is evident from the photo that my sis was holding me up and I kind of think of her to this day like that, my supporter and champion! I think I look incredibly sexy, schmexy in that cute little yellow, ruffled bikini with that completely, one hundred % fashionable bandaid on my nose! LOL!!!!Totally love this! And you can bet that I will scrap this in the near future, so stay tuned!

IT is Wednesday

2009-02-11T12:40:00.000-06:00

Today is an ok day. Having a little issue that I will not discuss, that kind of made my day not so bright, but it will pass and I will move on and learn from it. I sometimes think these types of things happen because some people in my work, just do not want to say what they really mean. But I digress.

I promised more layouts as these really do make me happy...All the colors and the textures truly lift my spirit. I think you should check out the Lovebirds by SEI from Scrap Attack Scrapbooking that I got with my Design Team Supplies. I truly love this line, the colors are so vibrant. I was showing my layouts to my friend at my local LSS and she was truly envious of the colors and design and said she had wished she had gotten that line in her store. I am soooo glad I got to work with it! Colors move me and make things all ok!

Anyway, Happy Wednesday {HUMP} day...Teehee...Love and hugs. Lara

February Scrap Attack DT reveals

2009-02-10T12:02:00.000-06:00

Greetings. Just got to finishing all my February DT and thought that I should reveal it the whomoever comes across my blog. Through Scrap Attack Scrapbooking online Store I get a box of goodies from Lauri every month. This month I was fortunate to work with the SEI lines, Jolie Chocolat and Lovebirds and that was a treat. Such scrumptious colors and textures, and the shinies...the glitter and glimmer were awesome too.

On a side note, I am really trying to work on the layout images...I think I have it figured out but have not fixed it yet...so please just continue clicking on the layouts to see the whole image. Have a lovely day! Love and Hugs! Lara

PS...stay tuned for the rest to be revealed tomorrow! ;)

In a Friday mood today

2009-02-06T12:10:00.000-06:00

Ok, so blogging is a tough one...I get on the net and tend to surf more than post...there are some many amzing things out there to look at that inspire me to create. This is a layout I did that made me happy. It was meant to be kind of a spoof-y type layout that was fun and did not really make fun of the time and topic but just instead of walking around all regal about that time in my life, I thought that making it fun would be the way to go...I am so much more than I was back then...even if I was a "beauty queen". I love the title...it seems really fun.

The first layout {heart} was one I did after a make-n-take. The pink paper was used to cut out a heart to cover a particle board heart from CI. I thought the paper was so cute as it was that I needed to use it to for a layout aobut my sweetie. Love the way it turned out. I just mounted the pink pp on black CS and added lots of rubons. Seemed like a fun way to use something one might not use after it's been cut into!

Have a great day. Love and hugs! Lara

Word for 2009-LEAD

2009-01-07T10:28:00.000-06:00

That is my word...not like the metal of course, but the word that rhymes with bead...LEAD. I did some soul-searching. Lead: to guide, take charge of, to tend toward...I want to lead myself and my family into a better place...taking control and assisting others to take control in our lives, ie organizing, budgeting time and money, setting goals and setting a plan to attain those goals...that is what I am all about in 2009.

I am involved in a program at work right now that inspired me to choose this word. Ironically, it is called the LEAD program (it stands for Leadership blah-blah-blah)--you know government acronyms--anyway, it is aspiring us to find a need, make a plan, set a project and see it through, enough to evaluate the outcome at the end of the year. SO I am going to take charge and follow through on things at home and at work! Have a beautiful day! Love and hugs! Lara

Let's talk primary colors

2009-01-05T12:36:00.000-06:00

I know I am not a primary color person...I might use red or blue or green in small amounts but when it comes to graphic primary colors or monotones, I am not one of those that can get it to appeal to me. I am drawn to color and the more types, the better. This month, I got a mostly red and black DT product (Jenni Bowlin Red/Black Line) from Scrap Attack Scrapbooking
and I was worried that all my layouts looked the same. But they did not, and here are 4 of MY favorites to prove it. I have a full gallery with all of them this month, if you want to check it out I had plenty of variety and with a few of the products holding blue and tan and brown, I was able to squeeze out some pretty cool layouts, if I do say so myself. Kind of like the end results...not just in the variety, but the designs too. TFL Love and hugs, Lara

Happiness from color

2008-12-14T14:03:00.001-06:00

If there any things that make me happy, besides my family, friends and life...it would have to be color, texture and music. I love music for how it lifts my mood. I love how my kitty Sadie is soft and furry, but yet her fur is cool and calming while she is warm and cuddly.

Colors lift my mood a lot. If I am not feeling so hot, I might put on an outfit that is lavendar (my favorite color), or something with a cozy color. I tend to go for the nonprimary colors first, then the pastels, and finally the primary colors. The colors I chose for these layouts are considered warm to me even if they might be in the cool pallate. The richness of them make me settle and relax.

The first layout was inspired by a layout my sister did awhile back. Thanks Jacquie! Thanks for looking

Cheers to my DD on her 2008-2009 wrestling debut!

2008-12-04T11:43:00.000-06:00

I bring to you a sweet layout that I did of my Dear Daughter when she was a wee babe. I made this with some Artic Frog that I was given free rein to create with over at Scrap Attack Scrapbooking Online store

Special cheer out to my DD who is having her first wrestling match tonight of the season. She is such a little thing, but she is strong and determined. I have seen her on the mat with the team...she goes for it! I just want her to win...even ONE match this year!

I wonder sometimes about blogging. Sometimes it feels like something I have to do instead of something to do. I do it at work a lot and that is not always the best idea. It is always on my break or lunch hour. Right now I am chomping on popcorn and drinking tea (already had my soup).

Going to participate in the 12 Days OF Christmas Crop Over at Scrap Attack Scrapbooking. It is already going on. It started on 12/1/08, goes through 12/12/08, with a deadline for submissions of 12/15, and consists of a lot of fun challenges and cool prizes from a random drawing after the 15th of December.

Thursday's post

2008-11-20T12:18:00.000-06:00

Ok, so may be I cannot post more than a couple times a week. I get that. I should just be happy I put a few things out there. Getting ready for my parents to come from Arkansas for the week...so excited...for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and just spending time with them. They are going to help me Sun and Mon with some small items around my house...they like doing that and I love just being with them in any capacity.

I thought I would post my layout for my ad challenge over at Scrap Attack. I will see if I can get the ad to load in another post. If you get a chance to come over and play, the challenges are fun, and sometimes out of the ordinary. Love and hugs.

Happy Thursday--that means Tomorrow is...

2008-11-13T12:20:00.000-06:00

OK so NOT SURE WHY you only see 1/2 the image but the rest is seen if you click on the layout...I have to figure out my blog settings. THanks for looking anyway!

...Friday...YAY. I love the weekends, especially since I gave up my weekend job. Love it. Get scrappy on Friday night and Saturday after housework. I have such a life...DH likes to lay low and the kids do whatever, so in between running them or hosting kids over, I just scrap. SUITS ME JUST FINE!!!!!!!!

Just a couple fun layouts I did this past week. My favorite is the SF Trolley car one...I like the way it turned out. TFL.

Love and hugs.

Lara

Trying to get back to blogging

2008-11-12T12:08:00.000-06:00

Well all the traveling is out of the way so I am finally getting back in the swing of things. Got my suitcase unpacked, all the clothes washed and finished my November DT things...I worked with a multitude of great products from the Scrap Attack Scrapbooking Store...products like Pink Paislee, KI Memories, and Fancy Pants Happy Holidays line...Love that stuff.

My favorite project for this month at SAS is "MY Angel" layout, of DD when she was little. She is the sweetest, and has the sweetest look on her face. The rest of the work is my other Design Team projects, but My Angel one was the sweetest one I did. Thanks for visiting and looking!

Love and hugs,

Lara

my take on the ad in the above post

2008-10-25T16:40:00.000-05:00

So here is my take on the ad. I had fun with it. And my baby-honey is a star! On his 40th no doubt. He rocks. He was such a good sport...he has told me since we got married that he did NOT want a bday party when he turns 40 but I just invited a few people out to dinner and he told me later that that the most he'd laughed in a long time. He enjoyed it and I am certainly glad he did, or I would not hear the end of it.

Well, I am off to start my next ad challenge. If you want to play along, come on over to Scrap Attack and sign up. Love and hugs. Lara

Ad Challenged!

2008-10-23T08:53:00.000-05:00

I would have to say that this is the hardest thing for me. Duplicating or creating layouts, using ads. I am running this challenge over at Scrap Attack and so far so good. I will post my take on the challenge later.
If you are interested in completing any of these challenges, all you have to do is sign up for the Scrap Attack Message Board. They are a great group of fun people over there. Check it out!

Oh Hap-py Hump day!

2008-10-22T12:00:00.000-05:00

Here I am again, blogging shortly because I ran out of time on my lunch hour. Eating always gets in the way of it. Busy night tonight, DD has her Science Fair meeting and then the therapy after that. Will have to let DH do the cooking tonight cause otherwise it is NOT fair when I get home at 7pm to have to MAKE supper yet too.

Looking forwarded to going to CKC-St. Paul this weekend. Just to look, I am NOT taking any classes. I thought a morning visit there would spark some scrappy mojo for the afternoon. I will see what they have to offer anyway. I am not in the mood to shop as I am getting my DT stuff this week from Scrap Attack Scrapbooking and my last kit from Label Tulip.

Yeah, I cut out a kit for now, we are going into the holidays and I am overwhelmed with products and just needed a break. The kit is awesome, just wanted to take a break from it, and since I am having a hard time breaking into these kits when they come, I thought, I might as well hold off for a couple months on the product that will surely just sit there. I will surely see you again"Label Tulip".

I guess I will leave you with one layout from my 7 LO scraptacular weekend. THe layout was of the old Fort in downtown Nashville, that originated when the settlers first came to the Nashville area. Enjoy. Have a great day. Love and Hugs,

Lara

Up to my old tricks again

2008-10-20T12:07:00.000-05:00

Yeah, ignoring the blog. I could've blogged last week while in Nashville. Didn't. Sometimes, I think it is because I spend so much time on the computer for my work. Oh well, short and sweet will do for today.

Good News though: The Scrap Attack Scrapbooking store has its Mystery Boxes in again and from what I hear, they are quite the bargain. I am vascillating between the American Crafts one and the Mini Embellie one. Not sure yet...Check it out!

I wanted to share a couple layouts with you today. I got 7 done this weekend. 7!!!!!! Love that...I am showing you the 2 that I liked the most.

Hope you have a lovely Monday (no, that was NOT a snicker--cause we all know that Mondays are rarely lovely). =O) Love and hugs Lara.

Off to Nashville

2008-10-14T12:52:00.000-05:00

Being a government worker means that I get 3day weekends once in awhile for holidays. Yesterday was Columbus Day. SO that means NO bank, NO post office and NO work for Lara. YAY. I truthfully needed a day off though. My MIL came down for the weekend and SHE HELPED ME with some major tasks in our house.

We cleaned and arranged and sorted and got SO much done. I got closets cleaned, pantry and cupboards organized, bathroom organized, all furniture cleaned and cleaned under. We threw away loads of things, recycled a bunch. I love my house again. NOW I have to try and keep it that way.

I am off to Nashville in the morning for a 3 day Transplant Nursing conference at Vanderbilt University. I am looking forward to a bit of time to relax. I am bringing a little of scrappy stuff, in case the weather is rainy and I can make stuff from my hotel room. I will try and get out and see the sights as much as I can but a lot of the museums are closed by the time I get out of class.

I know the last time I brought scrappy stuff on a business trip, I did not use it and it was wasted space in my suitcase but maybe not this time. We'll see. I am bringing my laptop though so I can at least post and put pictures up.

The layout is from Last month's DT supplies at Scrap Attack Scrapbookingand I posted it because I packed last night and my sweet Sadie decided that she was going to nap on the closed suitcase on the living room floor. She hates it when I leave on a trip. I think she was trying to tell me "Mom, I am going to miss you...and you ARE NOT putting anything more in this suitcase...". Gotta love cats!

Have a great week! Love and Hugs, Lara

Fun Friday--News

2008-10-10T11:49:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday everyone. I was greeted with some fun news this morning when I got to work. My October Design Team work was featured on the Scrap Attack Scrapbooking Blog yesterday. That is super special to me. Thanks Lauri for being so sweet to put my stuff up there. The gallery at SAS is pretty awesome and I am honored to be part of such fun, and talented site with SO MANY talented scrappers. They are so friendly over there, and eventhough I have only been a member for a few months, they have all made me feel at home there. Come and stop on by if you have time. It is a fun place to be!

Just one more layout from SAS October DT. I like this one, it seemed fun to me, Thus the title, LOL. Love and hugs. Lara

October DT layouts are completed--super fun stuff!

2008-10-09T12:40:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to post a few of the layouts that I did for the Scrap Attack Scrapbooking Online Store this week. I had a lot of awesome items to work with. I will not post them all but you can see my whole gallery here if you want to stop by. The previous gallery is for the store. I have a whole other gallery that is affiliated with the awesome message board. Most of these layouts are in there plus a few others.

The fun thing about the DT product that Lauri sent me, was that it was chock full of Dream Street Papers and let me tell you that they have some good stuff. The line I worked with was "Mairzy Doats". I fumbled with that for a few days, until I looked it up on line. "Mairzy Doats" is an old nursery rhyme/childhood song...SOme of the papers are named after the song...check it out-->ie Mares eat oats and lambs eat ivy (Lamzy Divy). so there you go. The fun thing was that when I was making the layouts and logging the products, I started singing a song. I think it made me connect to the line a little bit more. Funny I know, but it did! Have a great day! Love and Hugs. Lara

October 8, 1966

2008-10-08T12:16:00.000-05:00

That is the day that my parents got married. 42 years ago. Wow, they are surely an inspiration to me. I made a layout the other night and I plan on posting it with this post later this evening that showcases them now. I love my parents and even though they live in Arkansas (which is 10.5 hours from MN), I feel really close to them. I think cell phones help. Heck I have even talked to them while they are out garage sale-ing on Saturdays and it almost made me feel like I was with them like so many times on Saturdays when they still live in MN. Dad driving, old-time music on the background, them looking for garage sale signs, turing around in driveways to go back the "other" way, talk about the finds, loaning each other a quarter or a dollar to get this or that. Listening to their affectionate banter that has been perfected over the past 42 year. Congratulations Mom and Dad, you truly are an inspiration to me and my marriage! Love you! Love and Hugs, Lara

Not going to write much, just more often

2008-10-07T11:46:00.000-05:00

I think the thing about blogging is that I write too much. It should be brief and to the point. Scrapped 9 layouts this week, made a bunch of cards for National Cardmaking Day and attended a fun cyber crop at Scrap Attack Scrapbooking, making cards all weekend.

I am posting 2 of the cards that I made from the Achromatic challenge. They turned out really nice, and while I knew what achromatic was, I have never made anything with this "color" theme. I am going to work on a layout like this soon, just for a challenge, since I love color variations SO MUCH. Have a good day. Love and hugs. Lara

Trying to not neglect the blog

2008-09-02T12:21:00.000-05:00

I need to be better at blogging. I can't seem to update it though, every day and sometimes, every week. I should put a goal in to blog 3 days a week. Going to try. Now that School has started, won't be carting kids around AS much on a daily basis.

Went to Arkansas 2 wks ago, and visited with my parents, and then also my SIS, Jacquie came up and we went on a scrapbook shop hunt. Visited (twice...but don't tell MOM--teehee) the store in her area which is fabulous "Signed, Sealed, and Delivered" in Bentonville, Ar. Love that store. She had some really nice, new things in there.

We did not get much time to scrap but I did make this one layout and I felt like it centered me. Made it the night before we went home and I liked how it turned out. Just a pic of my dear parents who Grandparents to MY kids! I do not want to lose my mojo, so I have been dabbling every night for a bit, while life is busy, and when it slows, watch out world!

1st day of school for the kids. Whooooo...8th and 10th grade. I was on my way to work when they got off to school. A lot different than in the past. They are SO grown up now. I will post pictures later. I hope they are excited and have a great day and a great year! I am shaking my head right now, how DID I GET TO BE A MOM OF these 2 AWESOME, WONDERFUL AND FUN kids? I am blessed and truly thankful! And even on top of that, wow, I am not EVEN 40, and here I have kids in Senior high school. Seems like it was yesterday that I was walking them each into Kindergarten for the first time, and I do not know who was more scared...them or me.

So my advice: spend as much time with them, they grow up WAY TOO FAST!

On my own advice, I gave up my weekend job. I am just too tired and I feel like my time is NEVER my own. I think it was good but as of 10/10/08, it will be no more. I need to spend more time with my kids--yikes, only 3 and 5 years left before I pack them off to college. Life is too short to go through it tired and missing out on the things that really count like your kids lives! So here is to another month of weekends and then, DONE! Love and hugs, Lara