Finally Done

I've had this layout on my desk for quite a while...finally it is done! Per Cathy's request...here is the journaling:
4th of July weekend we went to the Niabi Zoo. I was a little leary...We come from the Chicago area with Brookfield and Lincoln Park zoos. But, Niabi was absolutely wonderful! Kelly had a blast and I took a ton of photos.

Most materials are Pebbles. The dimensional stickers are K&Company. Letter stickers are Doodlebug and CosmoCricket. Dies are Spellbinders nestabilities. The background was glimmer misted...that is way it is kinda curly. I stitched a border.

The layout is based on an Audrey Yeager sketch and sample posted at Challenge Masters. Although to be honest...It is almost a direct lift of her sample! I loved the dark background she used and I thought it would work for these photos and pps!

Bye-Bye Ribbon Bowl

Ok...my friend Cathy, who is my organizational consultant, is not going to be happy! LOL!!! I originally kept my ribbon on floss cards in an artbin floss holder. I quickly grew out of that system. Cathy convinced me to roll all the ribbon and keep it in a big hurricane jar. It would be pretty.

So, after she promised to do all the rolling, I tried it. The jar is pretty...and I could find ribbon I was looking for. But, I out grew the jar, didn't feel like rolling the ribbon myself, and felt I wasn't using ribbon as much as I could. Note: I should have taken a before photo of the jar. The jar was WAY more overflowing than this before I dumped it! LOL!!!

So on Sunday I did dump the jar! I had purchased additional holders from Menards...2 for $5. I thought I could get all the ribbon in the 2 containers and my art bin...NOPE. I ran out to Menards and got 2 more. Now all my ribbon is sorted by color. Theme and multicolor ribbons are in a separate container. I'm soo excited. I feel I can use the ribbon more now that I can see what I have!

Now I need to figure out what to do with the hurricane! It is pretty!

1 Hour Challenge!!!

Check this out.....I did a layout in....1.5 hours! LOL!!! For those of you that know me...you know that is incredible. I am such a slow scrapper! Last night at Challenge Masters we had a 1 hour contest. We were told to pick photos and "stuff" to create a layout. Then we all showed up at the site at 9pm central time to find out our task. Audrey created a layout for us to lift...the catch...we had just an hour to complete it!!!

WOW...we all had a BLAST! I had a couple of groups of photos picked out...but no papers or embellies. So, I lost some time picking papers and yes...I can still hear Stacy tell me..."I told you so!" LOL!! But it was worth it...these are the perfect papers for those photos! And I had a great time scrapping!

Woohoo!!! I'm desinging for....

Sketchabilities!!! http://www.sketchabilities.blogspot.com/

How cool is that! I'm sooo excited. Check out the blog and meet all the rest of the wonderful designers. Then come back on April 15th to see the new team's first reveal!!!!

One year ago today...

...we met Max for the first time! Our lives have forever since changed!

One hour contest

You just gotta come and check out Challenge Master's "One hour" Contest this Saturday, March 20th 9pm central time. Check out what Audrey is doing....

Ladies, are you ready for some FUN???????

This Saturday, March 20, we are going to have our very first ONE HOUR Layout Contest!

The contest will start at 9 pm CST (10 pm EST). At that time, I will post the criteria for your LO. It might be a sketch, it might be a recipe, who knows??? (Well, I know...but I'll tell you on Saturday!)
You will have until 10:20 pm CST (11:20 pm EST) to get your LO uploaded into the gallery AND make sure you have it tagged correctly.

At 10:21 CST I will choose one random winner for a RAK from me! In addition, the DT members will choose one of the entries, and that selected person will be a GUEST DESIGNER FOR THE GROUP OF THEIR CHOICE FOR APRIL!! How fun is THAT????

If you have never done one of these before, please come and try it out! They are so much fun! If you have any questions please post here. I will be offering more hints throughout the week.

Current Designers, you are eligible, too! If you are chosen as our winner, you can guest design for another group!!

A Dad's love

So pagemaps does it again. Becky's sketches are soo inspirational. I created "A Dad's Love" from one of her sketches to highlight how I appreciate the way Mike loves Kelly. Papers are Pebbles, lots of machine stitching...I was having way too much fun doing that. In order to get the white thickers to match the color I wanted, I colored with a copic marker and then smooched with luscious lime. I also used markers and smooch on the chipboard hearts. Rain drops are from Robin's Nest and scallop punch from Stampin Up! And viola...A Dad's Love. Journalling reads: I totally appreciate how you love Kelly! I think she does too!

Challenge Master's DT call

Hey all my scrappy friends. Check out this DT call. Challenge Masters is an awesome challenge blog and they are looking for new designers. You gotta check it out:

Ch{all}enge Masters is looking for new group leaders! We are filling all our groups:
Altered
Ad/Art
Blade Masters
Blog
Book of Me
Calendar
Cards
Color
Go Green
Hybrid/Digital
Journalling
Kitchen Keepsakes
Photography
Recipe
Scraplift
Sketches
Stamping
Technique


We are looking for individuals that are passionate about scrapping and paper crafts, love to have fun with fellow crafters, and want to share their passion of their hobby (obsession) with others! Come check out Challenge Master's at www.challengemasters.ning.com

Group Leader Requirements:
*Post 1 new challenge on assigned date each month along with a project sample to your challenge group. The DT term will be April through September...6 months.
*Make sure you leave a comment in the gallery on each of your category's submissions.
*Be as active as possible on the forums and in your group. We focus on having fun while providing inspiration for our members.
*Check the Design Team group daily for posts containing important information or requiring your response.
*If you have stuff going on in your life, you're going on vacation or whatever & you can't be around...no problem, just contact a member from the site's ADMIN and let us know.
*Since there is no compensation for your design duties, you are eligible to participate in all of our challenges to win the prize each month!!! Please play along as much as you'd like!

To apply, please:

1. Send a link to your blog and/or main gallery to: challengemasters@gmail.com. Please send a .jpg of 1 {only 1 please!} layout/project that best represents your style.

2. Please provide your full name & email address.

3. List current design team/site commitments.

4. And a brief statement as to why you'd like to be on the team.

Submissions will be accepted until Saturday March 26th. Don't forget to let us know which positions you would like to fill.

The new team will be announced on March 28th!

We look forward to receiving your application! This is going to be fun!

Happy Birthday!

Yep...today is Mike's 43rd birthday! So...I made this Bird-day card for him! I tried to make it look like the bird is singing Happy Bird-day to you. Not sure you can see that in the photo... It is also based on a pagemaps card sketch!
Happy Birthday!!!!!

Challenge Master's March Sponsor is...

...SCRAPDANGO!!! Woohoo! Check out the kit they have donated to Challenge Master's March winner...Well....technology at its finest...I cannot seem to upload a photo today. I'll try later, but you can still win...Just come and play at ChallengeMasters to get entered into the random draw. The more challenges you complete, the better the chance you have of winning!

And don't forget to visit Scrapdango --> well...maybe I should just start over...I can't even insert a link!!!! GRRR!!!