Ele-Fun

Hi all, today I'm going to show you a layout I made with Scrappin' Daisies new kit called Ele-Fun and I love this kit. Of course I love elephants, and this kit has some fun elephant elements in it. I only did one layout with it so far, but I'm betting I use it a lot in the future.

You should head over to Brownie Scraps and pick up Ele-Fun this week because it is on sale for 25% off this week only. I'll be back later to show you more layouts...also make sure you check out Scrappin Daisies Design's Blog she has a freebie from the kit there today and I'll be posting one for you there on Thursday.

What's Happening

So do you have anything interesting going on in your scrap world these days? Well I know of a couple of exciting things. First Scraps by Andrea is having a sale...a really nice one (40% off). Her flier below is linked to her store, so click on it and go shopping.

Also if you've not signed up for Scrapzilla before now you really should. It is happening over at Polka Dot Plum and there are some great prizes being offered. All you have to do to register is to send an email to the address listed on the ad below.. And if you have not signed up with Polka Dot Plum before when you do, tell them that tomosia recommended you to them (that's me....hehehe). Here is a list of the prizes...

1st place:
Bamboo Craft Tablet from Wacom
Art Rage Studio Pro
1 year free Mozy Home Unlimited Account
$25 gift certificate to Persnickety Prints
Green Bulb Gang - Gold Membership Package - Good for 30 Day Membership
Scrapbook MAX! 2.0 digital scrapbooking software + mega expansion bonus pack called "Life Is Beautiful"
$25 gift certificate to Polka Dot Plum

2nd place:
Art Rage Studio
1 year free Mozy Home Unlimited Account
$10 gift certificate to Persnickety Prints
My Memories Suite Software Package
$15 gift certificate to Polka Dot Plum

3rd place:
1 year free Mozy Home Unlimited Account
$5 gift certificate to Persnickety Prints
FontDiner.Com Font Set of your choice
$10 gift certificate to Polka Dot Plum

Individual Weekly Winners: Gift Certificate from a Polka Dot Plum Designer


That's all I've got for today. I still have a backlog of layouts to show you, but I'm just not in the mood. It has been a sad week, the world lost a real gem this week and she will be missed. So I'm going keep it short and simple today. I'm sure I'll be back and raring to go by this weekend.

Another Catch Up Day

Ok today I'm going to show you some pages I've been creating for Victoria Feemster. She has so many great kits out right now. She is currently selling at Gotta Pixel, Scrapbook Bytes and SugarHill Co. and creating great things.

My first layout is using her kit called Eternally and features Sharla and Zoey. I love the colors in this kit, and although is might be a "love" type kit, it can be used for so much more.

Next is a photo of Tina, Liz, Gail, Linda and I on Tina's wedding day. It was so much fun catching up with old friends, although we didn't get to spend much time with Tina...she was just a little busy (hehehehe). The kit I used is called Friends Forever and I also used one of her Monthly Frames.

Victoria has the cutest kit called Lullaby that is just precious. I used it to create a layout featuring Cole. He was just learning to crawl and we decided to give him some incentive. He was such a cute baby.

I've worked with some fun kits, but I have to say that Slurpy Facials and the matching Slurpy Facials Word Art have been some of the funniest. There is just something silly about them that makes me smile. Since you won't find cheerleader photos of me anywhere, I used some of Angela taken a couple of years ago when she cheered for Upwards.

The next kit I'm going to show is called Sweet Serenity and is a great mix of green, blue and orange. I used Cole making a silly face...I know you're shocked that I have a photo of him doing something like that, but I got lucky and caught it...hehehehe.

Ok we're close to the end, next is a layout that features no one...yeah it has a photo on it, but not of people. The layout is called Gotta Have and it features thing I carry around with me every day. The kit was called Unordinary Girl, but she has not released it since moving stores. I loved the colors in it.

And last for today, but by no means least is her latest kit which is available at Scrapbook Bytes called Sweet Treats and is a bright cheerful kit. I used a photo of the boys getting their favorite summer treat, ice cream.

Well that's it for today. I've got a million things to do today, but you should head over to one of Victoria's stores and check out all of her cool kits.

Another Big Post

I counted and I have 29 layouts that I've completed and haven't shown you yet. So I'm going to do another big post day to get some of them out of my to blog pile. Don't worry, I'm not going to do all 29, some are ones I've done for kits that have not been released yet, so I can't show them yet. And also I don't want to make the post too long. Today is going to be another Polka Dot Plum Day, with layouts I've created for designers at PDP or for challenges in the forum there. If you've not checked out the challenges you really should they are lots of fun and you can win gift cards and earn discounts.

My first layout is Angela and the newest addition to her family Molly. For some reason Tina (Angela's mom) calls that sweet little baby dog a monster, but when she brought her to see me, Molly was a perfect angel. She gave me puppy kisses and even fell asleep laying on my desk. I didn't see any monster tendencies at all. But of course get a girl and a puppy together and you definitely have trouble...which leads to the layout I made using Utski's kit Love the Piglet.

The next layout is one I did for the recipe challenge last week. I used the kit Sweet Summertime by Polka Dot Plum Designs. The photo is Callie, Cole and Mecca taken on Mother's Day this year. I'm not sure Mecca was ready to be the short one in the family (I think it has been a long time since that was the case for her).

I did a template challenge last week at PDP as well (in fact I think I did 5 or 6 challenges...I was on a roll). The template was really fun, and I used a kit called Anna Mae's Closet by Scraps by Ellay. I love the purple in that kit and just wanted to play with it over and over. The photo is Callie and friends at a birthday party (Callie is in green) and she made her mask, such a talented girl.

Now for my layout for the font challenge...the font is Sketch Block and is a great font, because is can be used for so many things. The kit is Love the Piglet by Utski Designs. The photo is Cole and Danni when they were over for dinner a couple of weeks ago. I'm sure he is going to hate that I posted this, but I think they are just too cute.

The color challenge from last week had a great mix of blue, green, orange and cream and I found the perfect kit to use call I Wuff You by Connie Prince and Bella Gypsy. The subjects are Tucker and Cooper just before they got a treat of ice cream. They were quite excited because they love ice cream.

The hardest challenge I've done in a while was the paper to digital challenge last week. I tried three times before I got a layout I liked. The paper layout had lots of roughed up paper and I just could duplicate that in digital. I also really struggled with the dimensions. I used a kit called Ambience by Digi Designs by Nicole because it had some worn papers in it that worked well. Cooper was willing to pose, as long has he got his snuggle time as well.

Next I did the lyric challenge and I used a photo of Cole in the pool from several years ago. The song had a line about big pool partys and it just reminded me of the times we got to use my old bosses pool while he was on vacation. The I used is Nolan by Sweet Tomato Designs. I love the blues in this kit they work for so many different things.

The all about me challenge this week was to scrap your house (current or past), so I dug out some of the photos we took when the house was being built. We visited every day, and took tons of photos. I wanted to show just a few of the changes we saw during the process. The kit I used is Housewarming by Bella Gypsy.

Ok we're getting close to the end for today. This layout was for the font challenge I did this week. The font is Pea Lauren America and is a great hand writing font. I used photos we took the day we brought Tucker and Cooper home. They were camera shy, so it was hard to get good photos, but these aren't too bad. This kit used is Nolan by Sweet Tomato Designs.

The last layout for today (and I reduced my to blog list by 1/3) is one of the easiest layouts I have ever done and you'd never tell by looking at it. I used a bundled kit called Swirly Bundle by NBK Designs. The kit comes with paper and elements like all other kits, but also includes glitters, word packs and something called "toppers". The toppers are FANTASTIC!!!! The clusters that look like they took me hours to create are just one of the toppers. Yep all I had to do was size them the way I want, place them and add the photos. It was even easier than templates and more fun than a quick page (because I controlled where they went). The photos are Trey, Callie and Cole, doing that they do so well...mugging for the camera.

I hope you've enjoyed my walk through the challenges of Polka Dot Plum and I hope you visit the forum soon and join in on the challenges you find there. Also check out the links to the kits I've given you, they are all great kits and you'll have fun using them I'm sure.

In My Backyard and Freebie

Right now there are probably dogs running around in my backyard barking at anything that moves...they like to be outside in the mornings because it is too hot in the afternoon. And Cooper is just glad the fence is fixed and he doesn't have to go outside on a leash all of the time anymore (Thanks Clay, Brian and Cole!!!!). But that is not what I'm here to talk with you about today, no I'm going to show you a bright new kit by Scraps by Andrea called In My Backyard and it is perfect for all those outdoors photos. I had fun using this kit, and I'm sure you would too.

My first layout is Callie and Cole at their old house posing by their tire swing. They had the perfect tree in the front yard for a tire swing. When I saw the tire swing element I remembered these photos and knew they would be perfect to use together.

My second layout is my Aunt Sallie when she was visiting several years ago. She and her grandchildren were at the park across the street and she decided to swing and Sharla decide it was photo worthy. I love this picture because I want to be that active when I'm her age.

Now for you freebie, I created a word art for you using the alpha from the kit. I love this alpha because it is bright and cheery and really pops on the page. I hope you enjoy the word art, just click on the preview to download and I'm always happy to hear from my fellow scrappers, so don't hesitate to leave me a note.

In My Backyard is on sale this week for 37% off, so make sure you head over to the Stuff to Scrap store and buy it. Also check out Andrea's Blog to see what other freebies her CT has created.

Polka Dot Plum Layouts

Happy Wednesday all, I hope your week is going well. I'm going to show you a lot of digital scrapbook layouts today that I have created for the Polka Dot Plum Site. Some are ones I've done for designers since I'm on the store's CT and others are ones I've done for the forum challenges. If you've never done any of the forum challenges at Polka Dot Plum, you really should head over and check on them. They change weekly and for each one you do you earn a chance to win a gift card and % off coupons. I won last month and got a great gift card to Polka Dot Pixels' store and a 30% off coupon.

My first layout is Mecca and Cole taken at a balloon show years ago. This was for a template challenge and the kit used is Rocky Top Sweetheart by Polka Dot Plum Designs.

Next is a layout I did for an AAM (All About Me) challenge. The challenge was to scrap your favorite food or beverage. Well for those that know me, you know I had to do my Frappucino. I normally only get one a week, but boy do I look forward to it each week. The kit used is Fern by Polka Dot Pixels.

I selected Call Me Kristin Designs last month as one of my designers of choice and got to used her Vintage Vinyl kit. It is a mix of red, blue and black and I had lots of fun with it. In this layout I have Callie performing at a choir concert. She was and is such a great performer, she just lights up a stage.

My second layout with Vintage Vinyl is Callie again, this time the photo is her and two friends before a disco roller skating party. The girl can rock the disco look (IMHO).

Now for a layout of Sharla and Tucker, the photo was taken in the backyard and the kit I used is With All My Heart by Brandy Designs. I selected this kit because I love the soft purples and great elements. I used this as the example in the font challenge I led earlier this month.

My second designer for July was Berry Sweet Designs and she has beautiful kits and templates. I got to use her Twitter Goodies templates and In My Heart kit for this layout. It is Callie and a teeny tiny Cole. It was taken in the hospital the day Cole was born.

I also used the kit In My Heart for a template challenge. The photo is Callie posing by where she wrote Psalms 62:2 on the step of our garage as the house was being built.

I used the kit Collabracadabra Granny’s Attic which was a free blog train the first week of the month, but is available in the store now. Don't forget to always check out Polka Dot Plum Blog the first week of every month for their blog train. The layout was created for a font challenge and the photo is my grandfather, grandmother, mother and uncle.

I also did another AAM (All About Me) challenge where you were supposed to show your family. So I have Tom, Mecca, Callie and Cole in one photo, Mom and Zoey in another, Sharla and Cooper in the third and of course Tucker in the last, my family. The kit I used was It’s Not Easy… by Sir Scrapalot Designs.

Ok the last digital scrapbook layout for today is one I created using a template pack by BTA Designs called Tempting Templates Vol. 6 and the kit is Chocolate Truffle by Polka Dot Pixels. The layout was done for a one word challenge, and I had to have the word "you" in the title. I really love how this one looks.

Ok that is 10 layouts, and I think that is enough for one day. Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow or Friday with more. I have a back log of layouts to show you, so make sure you come back soon. And don't forget to check out the challenges in the forum at Polka Dot Plum.

My 4 Sons

Nope I've not adopted 4 boys, but I am going to show you layouts made with a new kit by Scrappin' Daisies called My 4 Sons. It is a wonderful boys kit, but really so much more. Rich colors and great elements make this kit useful for all kinds of layouts.

Both of my layouts feature Cole today...who else would I use for a boy kit, ok knowing me it could have been anyone, but I did use Cole. This first one is Daddy try to measure how tall Cole was. The photo wasn't dated, but I'm guessing he was about three or four. Daddy was still flexible enough to get down on the floor and still get up again...hehehe. I love the orange/teal/brown colors in this kit.

My second layout is a couple of years later. Sharla snapped this one when he looked over his shoulder and flashed her his big smile. I love that even though it is a boys kit, it has flowers.

So head over to Brownie Scraps this week and pick up My 4 Sons because it is 25% off this week.

Shine On

Shine on, shine on harvest moon....you should be glad you're reading this and not having to listen to me sing...because I am a really bad singer. But back to the point of this post...I'm going to show you some layouts I made with Modern June's new template pack called Shine On and it is available at DSM. It is a fun set and it is CU/PU/S4H/S4O, and you can flip it, flop it, do anything you want to make it your own.

My first layout is of Cole and Danni, they were over for dinner, and he started picking on her and she wasn't taking any of his trash. It was so fun to watch because she was polite and poised and just kept tickling him and pushing him off the couch when he pushed her buttons. The kit I used is Happiness is... also by Modern June.

My second layout is Ms. Callie. The pictures were taken a couple of years ago, but I really love them. She has such a great smile, it just makes me smile. I used the kit Dusty Rose also my Kathy of Modern June.

So head over to DSM and pick up Shine On, it will be a great addition to your stash.

Anna Mae's Closet

No, I've not raided an aunt's closet, I'm here to tell you about a wonderful new kit by Scraps of Ellay and it is called Anna Mae’s Closet and it has a matching Cardstock pack as well. This kit is just too much fun, great colors and wonderful elements and it just screams girlie!!!!

My first layout is not a dress up layout, but I loved the colors so much I found my self wanting to use the kit for everything. I did this layout for the Motto challenge in the Stuff to Scrap forum. The motto this month is "Don't Leave Home Without It", so of course what do I always try to carry with me...at least one camera...bet you thought it was going to be a credit card...ha fooled ya.

My second layout is a picture of Callie and it fits the kit to a tee. She loved her dress up kit and played with it often. As you can see, even back then she had style, she had grace, she was one of a kind!!!! Today she is more beautiful, but no less stylish.

If you have little girls or grand girls, and even if you don't, head over to Stuff to Scrap and pick up Anna Mae’s Closet and Anna Mae’s Closet Cardstock soon, because you will have such fun using it!!!!!

Sweet Sadie

Happy Sunday all, today I'm going to show you a layout I made with a wonderful new kit by Digi-designs by Nicole and it is called Sweet Sadie. It is the perfect kit for scrapping baby pictures as well as pregnancy pictures. I love the soft color scheme and fun elements.

My layout is Callie Yvon while still in the hospital after being born. Tom is holding her and she was just sleeping so peacefully. She was precious from the moment she was born. The word art I used is being offered free on Nicole's Blog.

So make sure you head over to Stuff to Scrap and pickup Sweet Sadie and then head over to Nicole's blog and get the free word art. Also this week only if you purchase the Sweet Sadie kit and use coupon code SweetSadieSavings you can get the scalloped cardstocks for FREE, or you can get the coordinating quick pages for only $1.00.

Rookie Behind The Wheel

Ok today you get to see some layouts made with a kit called Rookie Behind the Wheel and it's matching Cardstock both created by Scrap N Pieces. This kit is perfect for those teenage driver pictures as well as road trip photos. It has great colors and fun elements.

My first layout is Mr. Cole in his new truck...well new to him at the time. I used the lyrics for Life is a Highway by Rascal Flats because I love that song and it just fit my mood. I love the frames in this kit because they are so cute, like this stop sign frame.

My second layout is Callie standing next to the mustang. It was her first car and she was thrilled with it...when it ran. Unfortunately it needed (and still does) work, so they had to get her a different car. She was so cool in her "stang".

You should head over to Stuff to Scrap and pick up Rookie Behind the Wheel and it's matching Cardstock soon, because they are great fun to use.

More Layouts

Ok, I have lots to show you today, and it is a mixed bag of things, but I'm trying really hard to get caught up on showing ya'll everything I've done. It has been a slow couple of weeks, the heat is taking a toll and by the time I get home, I'm just not good for nothing. But I have a stock pile that I need to get through.

I'll start with the four challenges I did for the DSM Summer Getaway. I didn't win....poor poor me...but I did win a prize for one of the workshops I showed you a couple of weeks ago. So that was fun. The first challenge had to be about vacation, your favorite from the past, your favorite place to go, etc. I chose our vacation from 2000 where we all went to Nags Head. The pictures were taken from the top of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. In the photos are Sharla, Mecca, Callie, Cole, Kathy, Hazelene and me. It was a hard climb, but the view was worth it.

The second challenge was to do a layout about ice cream, it could be anything about ice cream. Sharla and I decide to get pictures of the babies eating ice cream. And boy do they like ice cream. I had totally completed my page when I realized it looked almost exactly like the page I had done for the previous challenge, so I redid it totally. I like both, so I thought I would show you both.
First Pass

Second Try

The next challenge was to do a layout based on summer song. I really struggled with this one, because I just couldn't pick a song. If I liked the song, I couldn't come up with photos to use with it. I finally decided on my current favorite song, which is American Honey by Lady Antebellum. And I picked Callie to be the subject. I really like this layout.

The last challenge was very hard because they gave you no direction except to use as many of the skills you learned in the workshops as possible. I chose a series of photos of Cole. I got to use selective coloring, extraction, clustering, white space, shadows, and journaling.

So that completes my layouts for the Summer Getaway. I also did a scraplift challenge for July at DSM. I used CT Appreciate Week 2010 collaboration kit and a photo of Cole and Danni. They had come over for dinner and he was messing with her and she was giving as good as she got (you go Danni!!!!). It was so much fun just watching them horse around.

Ok next up is a layout I did for the Use It or Lose It challenge at Stuff to Scrap. Digi-designs by Nicole created this mini kit and it was a lot of fun to use. I found an old picture of Callie and thought it matched the kit perfectly.

Next is one I did for the Color Challenge at Stuff to Scrap. You can pick lots of mini kits and use them or you can use any kit that matches the colors chosen for that month. I used several of the minis to create this layout of Tucker. I really love the color combination and this photo.

During CT Appreciation Week, they had lots of challenges and speed scraps and games. I did a speed scrap lead by Mandy of Mandy Made Digi Bits and created a fun layout of Mr. Cooper Bob. It was hard for me because it had been a while since I did a speed scrap and getting it done in time was a lot of pressure, but I liked the results. I used Stars and Stripes by Scrappin' Daisies Designs.

Ok the last one for today was my entry into the White Space Challenge at CT Appreciation Week. The photo is Sharla and I taken in 2006 and the kit is the collab given away during the week. The kit is just amazing and is just packed with great stuff.

Ten layouts, that helps reduce the backlog quite a bit, but I still have more. So hopefully I'll be back soon with more.