Teacher Gifts

It's been a long time since my last post, but it's been crazy busy here. I want to thank all my clients for the holiday orders and I hope you like your creations. A few custom scrapbooks and oodles of cards were created over the last couple of months.

With the holidays approaching fast, I've been creating some extra special gifts. One of my friends, wanted to have something special for her children's teachers. She decided that the teachers had enough trinkets with the standard "A+ apple" on them, so she found a great idea after searching on-line. Each teacher will now be the recipient of something made personally for them. It's a great idea and not costly to make.

After tracing the letter on a 12x12 piece of cardstock, crayons were super-glued to it. The teacher's name was placed on the page using Making Memories rub-on letters. The shadow boxes are from Michael's Arts and Crafts.

Online Crop!!!

The Life Preserver's Scrapbook Club is having another online crop in October. If you haven't participated in one yet, now is the time. There's a great group of ladies and a talented Design Team who keep the place rockin' so it's sure to be a good time! If you're not a member yet, log-in and sign up to join in the fun!

Come dance to Thriller and the Monster Mash,
Crawl on over to our Halloween Costume Bash.
Ghosts, witches and monsters too,
They’re all invited, and so are you!

...and they are finished. 50 party invitations for my friend Julie, who is hosting for her children's friends and classmates. It's been a busy couple of weeks and now I'm starting to put layout kits together to be sold with custom sketches and instructions.

A Shaker Box Kit

I just love the papers and embellies that Linda puts into her kits at The Shaker Box. Honestly, they are so pretty, I hate to use them. But I've been sitting on these two pictures for awhile now and thought I could work with them. Actually, I couldn't resist. These are two of my favorite subjects, Gabriella and Hayden. Here's what I came up with yesterday afternoon.

I did spend most of the day playing with some markers and stamps. I am experimenting with blending colors and found some great tutorials on YouTube. It's amazing what you can do with markers and ink. After I get my chores done around the house today, I might go play some more!

A New Sketch

I haven't created any new sketches in quite some time. So tonight while relaxing in front of the television, I thought I would put those creative juices to work. Granted, I have a bunch of other projects that I should be working on right now, but it's just not happening.

Here's the newest addition to the Restless Sketches library.

Layouts for Friends

Seems I spend most of my scrapping time working on projects for other people. It's actually becoming a great little business for me. In addition to my own scrapbooks, currently I am working on four albums for three clients. On top of that I have orders for stamped image note cards and also an collect of assorted cards.

Here's one of the latest layouts that I put together this weekend. It's a shot of my friend Julie's son, Preston, during a trip to Hawaii.

Busy Week of Altered Art

After spending some time this weekend working on getting my own scrap layouts caught up, I started working on creating party hats. My friend Brooke has a daughter who is turning one in a few weeks and I found some great party ideas on-line. I do love scrap-blogs!!! Now I've got to make 25 party hats and water bottle tags, and that's just a start.

Here's a sample of what I'm making. This was a test run and the actual finished hat will be pink and green with a "1" bulls-eye on the front.

Weekend Online Crop and Design Team Call

Come one, come all to the Shakin' Sizzlin' Summer crop going on right now at http://www.theshakerbox.com/. Lot's of fun and prizes! Also, if you are a card maker and/or scrapbooker and think you have what it takes to design for The Shaker Box, we are having a Design Team call during our crop. Details are under the Shakin' Sizzlin' Summer Crop area of our community forum. The crop starts now through Sunday, August 23rd midnight EST. Winners of prizes will be announced on Monday. Everyone who participates is eligible to win the raffle drawing. You must complete at least one challenge and sign in under the raffle drawing area and also the sign in crop seat area. Hope to see you there!!!!

The Photo Shoot

My 4 year old niece, Addyson, went to have her picture made and my sister went hog wild when purchasing the package. I can completely understand though because all the shots were adorable. Honestly I've had trouble deciding which ones to scrap, so I will eventually get to all of them. What I found hysterical was the fact that Addyson insisted on calling it "a photo shoot" and not just getting her pictures made.

Here is a couple of the layouts that I've done. I used some wonderful kits from Life Preserver's Club for all of these. Von's kit are to die for!!!

The Kits are Juicy...

...and you will want a monthly subscription. I just finished uploading my Guest Designer creations in the gallery at The Shaker Box. If you haven't already joined, sign up for a free account and join the fun on the message board. Here's one of the projects I put together with the August scrapbook kit.

Claire

I just finished another scrapbook for my friend Brooke. Claire, her youngest, will be turning one soon and it took two albums to get her first year scrapbooked. Here are a few of the layouts that are included. Now it's time to start working on Kennedy's album!

Mark you calendars...

... it's that time of the year. Linda at The Shaker Box is hosting another on-line crop! The last one was a blast with challenges, game and penty of prizes. Hope to see you there!

August Guest Designer

As you can see by the posts on my blog, it's been a busy summer. I find it hard to keep myself locked in my scraproom when the weather is so beautiful. Even so, I have had some time to work on a few projects, cards and to make some custom scrapbooks for a friend.

The month of August brings me another opportunity to be a Guest Designer for The Shaker Box kit club. Linda, the owner, put beautiful kits together and loads them with tons of goodies. As a subscriber you get some great project sheets too! Stay tuned to see what layouts and other items I create with the delicious August kit.

Revealing Day!

I'm so excited and pleased to be able to share my Life Preserver's Club kit creations. While I still have some projects in the works, I did finish three layouts and posted them in the Design Team gallery on the site. The June alternate kit is beautiful and I've had a great time playing with it.

Take a few minutes and join the club so you too can start enjoying the spectacular kits and active message board. The sneak peek is already out there for July and there's lots to chose from!

Doing a Happy Dance!

I found out today that I've been selected to be a guest designer for the month of June for an amazing kit club, Life Preserver's Club. Each month, an individual is selected to receive one of the delicious kits that Von puts together. The design team at LPS is so talented that I am honored to be able to participate. I will be stalking my mailbox for the next couple of days, waiting for that Priority Mail box. Here's the kit that I will be using for my projects. Did I tell you that I was excited???

I've been working on an album for my friend Brooke. It will be for her youngest daughter, Claire. This photo was stunning and I had to make the page special. The coordinating page contains a couple more photographs and a pocket that holds the sonigram shots of the baby. I think I may go ahead and cover the polka dotted circle with some glossy accents, but am still thinking about it.

Amazing Kit

Today was a happy, scrappy mail day! My The Shaker Box monthly kit arrived and is jam packed with beautiful papers from Webster's Pages. Linda has out-done herself this time selecting the perfect embellishments too. If you haven't visited the site and the gallery, you are missing some great work.

While you are there, check out the project kit she currently has available in her store!

It's adorable!!!

My friend Pinky did a great job putting this together.

May Sketch

It's been a busy month with jury duty, teaching and vacation. I haven't had much time to scrap, but was able to get a few cards made for Mother's Day. Hopefully, I can spend some time in my scraproom over the next few days. Rainy days are good for my creativity.

One item I did put together was this sketch. My friend Von, at Life Preserver's Club wanted something she could use on the site this month. I typically like to make sketches with a 5x7, but thought this was a little different. Hopefully they like it on the site and I can't wait to check out their gallery!

It's a Sale!!!

The Shaker Box is having a sale for National Scrapbook Day! Here's the info and while you are there, check out the message board for some great challenges, games and prizes.

In honor of National Scrapbook Day, we will celebrate with a great sale of 20% off your order. I am sorry, but all memberships and kits are excluded from this sale. To receive your discount, please put H7TTVA in the coupon section at checkout. Enjoy!

Happy Monday

It was a wonderful weekend with beautiful weather! It's hard to stay in and create when it's so nice outside. I did however get a few creative projects completed. I had an order for some end of the school year teacher's gifts and I finished those. Also I had an order for some cards and baby shower invitations. The cards are finished and the baby shower invites are "in progress". I want to work on those today, but have to babysit this afternoon while a friend takes care of some appointments. Allison is four and completely adorable. I wonder if she likes to color? Maybe I will get something creative done today.

Scrappy Weekend

Well, I think I've recovered from a busy scrappy weekend. Everything was fantastic and it was great to be able to meet so many of my E-friends in person. Honestly, I don't think we got much sleep though and are all glad to be home and getting back into the swing of things in our day to day lives.

The bed and breakfast was amazing! We stayed at The Narrow Way in Lucas, Kentucky and were spoiled rotten by the owners, Roger and Karan. Every meal was fresh and home-made with delicious desserts. The morning cinnamon rolls were to die for and made the entire trip extra special. The accomodations were spectacular. I really need to get Rob down there for a long weekend.

As for the scrapbooking, we had a great group of girls providing ideas and inspiration. I personally got a couple dozen layouts and several cards completed. Here's one of my favorites. It's a double layout of Addyson during a trip to Doe Run Inn on Easter Sunday using some of the new Prima flowers and bling.

Easter Weekend

It was such a great holiday weekend. Mom, Pam and Addyson came down for a relaxing weekend in the country. It ended up being non-stop! Besides the normal activities, we dyed Easter eggs, made crafts, had an egg hunt and enjoyed a trip to Doe Run Inn for Easter dinner. Of course I took hundreds of pictures and then spent yesterday editting them and deciding which ones to order.

Now it's time to get ready for my scrap weekend. Von will be here on Wednesday and then Friday we are off to the Bed & Breakfast to meet up with everyone else. I usually hesitate to travel and scrap, because I always forget something, but this time I think I will put together some kits to take with me.

New Sketch

It's been a creative day here! I completed making a dozen recipe cards for a swap. I started working on Claire's scrapbook for Brooke and threw together a new sketch. Now I need to start putting together some kits to take with me when I go out of town for the Life Preserver's crop. Last year I was able to get over twenty layouts completed during that weekend and I would love to do that again.

Anyway, more about that later. For now, here's the newest sketch.

Beautiful Day

Ok, so today is not so beautiful outside. It's snowing and cold. So I decided to head to my scraproom and start working on some challenge layouts. Gabrielle at Life Preservers Scrap Club challenged us to use up some old kits. So that's what I started doing. This layout uses papers from a LPS mini kit that I received a couple months ago. I added some Prima flowers and butterflies from my stash. Looking at the picture reminded me of the beautiful day I spend with my nieces and nephew, and how much fun we had playing outside.

It's been a busy weekend here! I finished my Shaker Box creations and got them uploaded into the gallery. I was able to finish the mini album, make two layouts and a card, and still had stuff left over in the kit. There's actually enough for a couple more layouts. Here's one of the layouts that I made for my friend Julie.

In addition to finishing my design team work, I was able to complete the order for the wedding. It is ready to ship! Now I can focus on creating some layouts for Addyson, Gabriella and Hayden. I found some adorable Heidi Grace papers and can't wait to use them I've got some great shots of Addyson in her "Barbie Make-up". I think I may head to my scraproom and work on those pictures right now.

Ready to Create

It has been a long week! I've been out of town and running around, babysitting and playing with kids. Now I'm home and ready to relax and create! I have some projects that I need to upload to The Shaker Box gallery. The April kit is loaded with the new line from Marks Paper Company and it rocks! As a Guest Designer, it will be the first of three uploads throughout the month. I can't wait to reveal the final altered project that comes with the kit too!

After that, I need to get back to work on the Etsy order that needs to be in California by the end of April. The products arrived here at the house while I was gone, so now I can get started with the alterations. The altered clips are going to be used on the tables at a wedding reception to hold name cards and such. Here's an example of what I will be making. The new creations will be in burgundys, blues, greens and have a shabby chic theme.

Register and Win

I am so excited about the wonderful things happening at The Shaker Box. I've been creating with my monthly kit today and just love all the goodies in the April package. If you haven't seen their kits, you need to head on over there and sign up for access to the site. There is a new challenge posted every day too! It helps keep that mojo going strong.

To celebrate the re-opening of the message board associated with the kit club, I've decided to sponsor a contest. Each new member will be entered into a drawing in which one lucky person will win a complete monthly kit. The drawing will be held on April 20th and the winner will be able to select an available kit of their choice. Keep in mind there are some awesome paper kits, amazing digi kits, and adorable card kits.

Sign up today at theshakerbox.com then come back to my blog and leave a comment. Tell Linda, the owner, that Mindy sent you to the site. After you leave your comment, your name will be entered to win a monthly kit from The Shaker Box. It's the place where creativity and friendship meet!

Production has started...

I've had a very productive day, receiving an order for table decorations for a wedding in California. The products I need were ordered this morning and as soon as they arrive I can start the alterations. In the mean time I've started putting together the design I will be using for them. Beyond that, I finished Conner's scrapbook and it's ready for delivery. Here's one of the final layouts.

I've already got an order for another scrapbook and will be starting that soon. But first I think I will focus on finishing the table decorations and getting them shipped. Also, on April 1st I will be revealing my design team project.

Guest Designer

I will be the Guest Designer in April for The Shaker Box. If you haven't checked out this fantastic kit club, come take a peek. Signing up is easy and tell Linda that I sent you. After you make your welcome post, come back here and make a comment. One lucky person will be selected to win the same April Kit that I will be using for my creations! Don't forget, you have until April 5th to comment.

Album Progress

I've got about 22 pages complete for Connor's album and still many, many pictures to work with right now. I would venture to say that before I am finished it will be close to 40 pages. Here are a couple of the latest pages that I've finished and hopefully I will get back into my scraproom today and start another few. Don't worry Brooke, it will be finished before his birthday!

Class Time and Prizes

It's been a long week, but I did manage to make some progress on Connor's scrapbook. It's nearly finished, but I need to pick up a few things for some special pages. I plan on taking some pictures today and then will get them uploaded to my gallery.

Saturday is always a good day around The Shaker Box. There are a week of challenges posted and today is class day! Vicki is hosting a Tattered Angels class and will be working with Glimmer Mist. I can't wait! There are also some weekend contests and a new layout of the month program that you need to check out. Over the last couple of months, the site has really grown and we have a great group of women that I am glad to call my friends. If you have time today, check out all the activities going on there!

Also, I will be announcing the winner of the Making Memories album kit RAK tomorrow evening. You still have a little time to get your entry posted. I have seen a lot of great layouts and cards. Also tomorrow, I will be posting the latest Restless Sketch. Check it out and tell your friends!

Sunday Clean-up

Wow, it's been a great weekend. I personally finished a dozen layouts and finished my night last night helping Jill get her ribbon basket organized. She said her cat had been in the ribbon, but let me tell you, it was chaos. Karrie, was the most productive and completed a mini album and nearly a dozen layouts too. Brenda managed to get a lot of detail work completed using stamps and paints. She has some patience!

Let's finish the weekend with some clean-up. Your challenge today is to make at least one card using nothing but your scraps from this weekend. It can be any type of card, for anyone. Remember to upload your creation to a gallery. You have until 6pm tonight. The winner of the Making Memories album kit will be posted by 9pm. Good luck and have fun!

Challenge #2

Good Saturday morning! After a late night scrapping here, I'm trying to get my day started while watching the rain. All is quiet in the house and everyone else is still sleeping. I thought this would be a good time to post the second challenge for the weekend. This should be an easy one to get you started.

Challenge #2 ~ Scraplift This
Scraplift the blocking pattern of this quick layout. Use what ever embellishments you choose. Remember, have your creation uploaded to a gallery and linked back here by 6pm on Sunday in order to be eligible for the Making Memories kit. More importantly, have fun!

Series Challenge!!!

Ladies, my week-end has started and I hope you are ready to do some scrapping with me. I am going to run a "Series Challenge" through Sunday. You have until 6pm to finish your projects and upload them to a gallery. Don't forget to put your link on my blog in the comment section.

Layout #1...

Create a spread related to a song. I selected "I Melt" by Rascal Flatts. On your layout, I want to see three different styles of lettering. Good luck and have fun with this!

Get Ready...

One more day and the fun begins! The girls should be here tomorrow afternoon and the scrapping will start shortly thereafter. We don't want to forget about our friends who couldn't make the trip, so I plan on posting a few challenges this weekend on my blog and at The Shaker Box. Jump right in and play along. I have a great prize kit that was donated by Making Memories and I would like to give it away to one lucky person. It includes a mini album, a paper pack and some embellishments. Here's what you have a chance to win. Now just post a link on my blog or in the gallery at TSB and let us now that it's out there.

2 More Days!

Friday will be here before you know it! It marks the beginning of the first annual Restless Creativity Crop and a much anticipated package has arrived and will be delivered tomorrow by FedEx. Mark your calendars and get ready to participate in some fun on-line challenges. We are setting a goal for everyone to create at least six cards during the weekend, which will be donated to cards for our military personnel through the website http://www.cardsforheroes.org/donatecards.html. Won't you help us help those who are stationed away from home and their families. Check back in here Friday for more details!

Design Team Announcement

Linda at The Shaker Box has made her decisions and posted the new Design Team. There are so many talented gals out there and I want to congratulate the following:

Introducing the NEW DT for TSB:
DT Coordinator - June, July, and August : Jennifer F
DT Coordinator - September, October, and November: Mindy

Guest Scrapkit designers:
May: Howdee (Ellen)
June: Leslie
July: Mindy
August:ScrappeeDiane
September:Margo
October: Lisa Marie

Guest Card Kit designers:
May:Margo
June:Amy

Project Kit Designers:
May:Pinky
June: Vicki
July: Amy

Digi Designer:
March, April, May, and June - Leslie


Visit the gallery and check out the great kits available!

Great Weekend...

What a great weekend it was, an on-line crop at The Shaker Box. There were tons of challenges, games and even a Design Team search. Linda should be announcing her choices for the DT tonight or tomorrow. Here's one of the layouts I did for a crop challenge from Saturday. It was a special sketch by Allison Cope that she created just for the crop.

I was selected last week to be the Guest Designer for April and started working with my kit last night. I will just say right now that the papers are amazing! If you haven't seen The Shaker Box kits that Linda puts together, I encourage you to visit her site and take a peek.

Somthing Fun

I finally had a chance to dig into my February alternative kit from Life Preservers Scrapbook Club. The papers were perfect for this set of photos. Addyson had her pink boots and Hannah Montana scarf on with her Mardi Gras beads and wanted to have an Easter egg hunt. It was July! She rode that 4-wheeler all over, at full speed, looking for the plastic eggs that I hid.

On-line Crop

The Shaker Box "Shakin' It Up Again Crop" and Guest DT call Friday March 6th at 6:00 pm EST through Sunday, March 8th Midnight As part of our grand re-opening celebration, we are hosting a fabulous online weekend crop with something for everyone. Whether you are a paper scrapper, digi/hybrid scrapper, or card maker you are sure to find something that sparks your creativity here.

We are also looking for a few Guest Designers to work with our monthly scrap, project, and card kits. For more information, please register with our site before the crop if possible at http://www.theshakerbox.com/ . The DT call specifics will be announced at the crop on Friday. Check us out, I am sure if nothing else, you'll have fun! For further information, please contact us at kits@theshakerbox.com

Paying It Forward

A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Fiskar's Fun Day in Cave City, Kentucky. Besides having a great time and meeting some great people, I was able to help the Lead Fiskateers organize the materials for the classes. They were so busy! Again, a great job Rebecca and Stephenie!

Well today I received a package in the mail. Wasn't I surprised when I opened it and it had Fiskar punches and a thank you note from Rebecca! What a wonderful gesture. In the spirit of Fiskars, I have decided to use these new tools, along with the products and tools I received at the event, to "Pay It Forward" to our troops overseas. You can join me in this effort. Visit Cards for Heroes at http://www.cardsforheroes.org/donatecards.html for more information.

Fun Layout

Since I finished Kennedy's album a couple days ago, I decided yesterday to work on some of my own family pictures. I was able to get a couple layouts complete and got my work area cleaned up a bit. I had some fun making this layout of Addyson and Marbles, using some Heidi Grace papers I received during my Fiskars weekend. I love these "love bug" papers.

It's a Crop!

If you like to scrapbook and socialize, then join us for an on-line crop at The Shaker Box. This is a great community of gals and they are hosting some great challenges and games this coming weekend. There will be prizes, RAKS and some great conversation. It all starts Friday the 6th and runs all weekend. Hope to meet some new friends there!

Pubbed On-line

Finally March 1st has arrived and the first thing I did when I woke up was get online at Scrapbooking.com to check out the March magazine. The baby album that I made during my tenure on the Design Team at Keep In Touch Card Shoppe was published. The chipboard album was a gift for my friend Julie, who had just given birth to her third child. Check out the links and let me know what you think!

Another Scrap Day

Despite my sore back, I was able to sit at my crafting table in my scraproom and get six layouts completed today. All of them are for Kennedy's scrapbook. Hopefully I will finish it this week and will be able to give it to Brooke on Friday or Saturday. So far things are looking great. The album is already 24 pages and I still have Christmas and birthday pictures to work with which will give me at least another six or eight layouts.

I'm getting excited for the new month! I am going to have a project published at scrapbooking.com in their on-line magazine. Then later in the month, I am hosting a crop party with several gals during a long weekend. During that weekend I will be posting a couple of challenge contests so our friends who cannot join us can play along. Ironically our crop is the same weekend as the annual "MS Crop for a Cure" here in Elizabethtown. We might be popping in there to say hello to familiar faces. The weekend should be a lot of fun!

It's a Week-end Crop

Okay, so a few of us are gathering for a week-end scrapping event in March. March 13 - 15 specifically. It will be the first annual "Restless Creativity Crop". This also coordinates with two other events in the area, the annual E'town MS Fundraiser Crop and the Kelly Panacci visit at Scrapbook Village in Glasgow. This is going to be a fun-filled weekend full of cropping, shopping and relaxing. In order to include those who cannot attend, we will be posting challenges throughout that weekend. There will be a layout contest where one winner will be selected for a special "RAK". Check back later for more details!

Fiskars Fun Day ~ Cave City

It was a great day for scrapping in Kentucky. Over 200 people gathered at the convention center in Cave City for a "Fiskars Fun Day" hosted by Scrapbook Village and other independent scrapbook stores in this region. Each shop set up tables with items for sale and had demonstrations of different Fiskars tools. The day consisted of four classes with some great "make and takes". Rebecca and Stephenie were just two of the teachers for the day.

One of the highlights of the day was getting to meet Pinky. I have known her for over a year, in the on-line world, and ended up spending the day with her. We had a blast and spent more time socializing than we did scrapping. We did get a few things accomplished, made a few cards and put together a couple of charity layouts. I'm already looking forward to next month. We are planning on getting together with a couple other gals and having a "week-end crop".

Challenge with a RAK

It's a new week and it's kicking off with a sketch challenge at The Shaker Box. Each week I post a sketch challenge on the message board, then each day another challenge is posted. It offers technique challenges, card challenges and more. If you haven't seen the site, sign up today and tell them I sent you! Here's the challenge posted today.

For the Willaert Family

I was heartbroken this morning when I learned that little Ellie passed away last night. Her short life here touched so many lives. The internet is an amazing thing. One of my friends, Pinky, is spearheading another campaign to help the family. Please visit her blog, Much Ado About Nothing, to read Ellie's story and to join in the donation she is working on for the family.

Progress Report

Well I've been working fast and furious on Kennedy's scrapbook. Brooke needs it at the beginning of March to display during Kennedy's birthday party. I've completed about ten layouts and hopefully will get a couple more done today. I decided to go with a "clean, simple" style and keep it traditional. So far, so good. Take a peek at my gallery to see more of Kennedy's album.

It's a New Look

Well, I think it's finished. I've "remodeled" my blog and am still trying to decide it I like it or not. I wanted something simple, but with a touch of flair. I really love the flourish and the Tiffany blue colors mixed with the brown. I think I will give it a few days and see if it's something that I can live with for a bit. Let me know what you think!

Under Construction

Can I say it? Crap! I was updating my blog, during a thunderstorm and my computer went wacko. Yes, you got it, my blog got hosed and now I have to redo it. I had a lot of the stuff saved, but have to relink my favorites and stuff. Oh well, it will give me something to do tonight while I'm watching television.

It's time to remodel...

Scrapbook Room

The room is organized and I'm ready to head down to do some scrapping! While the actual room is not completely finished, it's functional. My darling husband still needs to finish the ceiling, hang doors and do some trim work, but since the room is in the basement I'm in no rush.

I've got a table set up as a work area for my sewing machine, Cricut and printer. There is storage for magazines, my Bind-It-All and suppplies, Cricut cartridges and more. On the other side of the room I've put together storage for stamps, inks, paints, ribbon, chipboard, letter, flowers and other embellishments. The Making Memories wall unit was perfect for adding storage while not taking up floor space. At the end of my work tables, two 4' folding tables, I've put a bookcase to hold scrapbooks and items I plan on altering.

I continue to dream of having a studio built off the back of the house, something with a lot of windows for natural light and beautiful cabinetry to hold my collections of art supplies. Until that happens though, I can be very happy in my basement scraproom. I've got everything there I need.