Return of the Mad Scrapper...

After a year off and thanks to a few friends, I may get my creativity flowing.   The old LP Scrap group is reconvening and I think it will result in the marriage of paper and double-sided tape.  I have even started thinking about some new projects I want to start, including some altered items.  But first, I have a few scrapbooks to "catch up", most importantly I must finish a book for a friend.

Shellye, thank you for reorganizing the old group, which is pushing, inspiring and shaming me into getting things done!

Oh Sweet Summertime!

My biggest downfall this time of year is not spending enough time in my scraproom. I love being outside in the sunshine and working in the yard. But, it's also a time for some great pictures that will make for work later in the year. All my "special projects" around the house are complete however, so I am going to start spending a couple hours a day creating. The Etsy orders are coming in on a regular basis, and I think I might even start making more tags and cards to list. Also, I really need to get motivated to finish a couple of scrapbook orders that need to be complete by October.

Unconventional Easter

Easter is just a couple of weeks away and I have been filling orders for my Etsy Shop. I was tasked to think outside the box a bit when designing an order for one client. Of course she wanted some classic Easter embellishments; you know those with bunnies and colored eggs, crosses and lillies. But she also told me about her "Good Friday" special event a crawfish boil and she wanted embellishment tags for her scrapbook pages. Here is what I came up with, and thankfully she loved them!

It's been a relaxing week at my house and I was able to spend time in my studio, playing with paper and finishing pending orders. After getting the orders finished, I spent some time creating a couple of items for my Etsy shop. I found these cute ClearScraps acrylic tags in my stash and decided to make a small bi-fold frame with them. I used some alcohol inks in a mustard color, some metal embellishments and a few pearl accents to finish off the distressed look.

Hopefully I will get time to visit my scraproom again over the next few days and create some other items. During the CKC event in Louisville, I found some great stash items. I need to put together some cards to replenish what's been purchased from my items.

CKC Weekend

It's been a busy couple of weeks here, getting Etsy orders finished and out the door. But work is finished and now it's time to play!!! Friends will be arriving tomorrow night for an extended weekend. We will all be heading to Louisville for the CKC Convention, where I will be hosting a make-and-take in the Nicole Petersen booth. I'm so excited! If you are at the show, stop and see me. To add to the fun, I get to spend down time with my friend "Pinky", the craftiest chick I know.

Scrappy Weekend

It's been a great weekend and I was able to finish a few projects. I am especially excited about the "artwork albums" that I am creating for an Etsy client. This is the first one that I've finished for her and it is for her daughter's school work. Measuring 12x15, I used chipboard for the cover and Bristol art paper for the pages. Using my Bind-it-All, I was able to finish the book with a 1" spiral coil. Each page has a three inch journaling card, so that the client can label the artwork on the page or write a special memory. Now, I've got to get the next one put together for her son, Nicholas. Sounds like another weekend project!

Fun at Tally Scrappers

Looking for some excitement to liven up 2011. Tally Scrappers has a great site that offers friendship, fun and fantastic opportunities for expanding your scrapbooking talents. We've just started a new contest, "Survivor Challenge" and I can't wait to see what new challenges are introduced each week. The shop has some great items and the monthly kits are delicious. There's a great blog that offers new techniques and also the latest buzz about what's happening in the creative world. Come on over, it's free to join. Don't forget to tell Pinky that I sent you!

SVG files

I am so pumped today! I just downloaded some cool software that allows me to convert viturally anything to an .svg file. This really opens up the things that I will be able to create on my Cricut. I've been playing around all morning, just practicing on different pictures and images. WooooHooooo!!! (Yes, I'm a geek.)

Crafty Days...

During these cold, yucky days it's hard to get motivated to do anything much less head to the basement scraproom to create. But, I managed to get some inspiration and was able to get a few projects started and another finished. Since getting the SCAL software, I am really having fun with my Cricut. I spent today making some "jewelry envelope/boxes" for a lady looking for a way to present her home-made jewelry designs. This is so quick and easy, and can be dressed up with pattern papers and fancy ribbon.

Sale...Sale....Sale...

Visit my Etsy store and during the month of January receive 10% off your total order. Just use coupon code JAN11SALE when you check out. Customer orders welcome!

Happy New Year!!!

It's a new year and one of my resolutions I plan on keeping is this...
I will spend more time in my scraproom, playing and experimenting, enjoying the art of crafting that fulfilled many hours of my week in the past.

I have already been keeping that resolution and have opened an Etsy store and joined an new message board with a lot of old friends, "Tally Scrapper". I look forward to many projects and activities. Check out my Etsy store for some of my latest creations!

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!!!