Something's Missing

I had to dig back through some of my older photos to find these of Cameron's 1st lost tooth.

I decided that I'm really behind with organizing my pictures from my film camera days. I used to be really good about it. In fact, I was doing great until 2007. I don't know what happened, but I think I need to take a weekend and write on the backs and file them before I forget (even more) of what they are all about.

This layout is for a class I'm teaching at Porter's in March. It's pretty simple and uses the super cute Lil' Robots line from My Mind's Eye. I used lots of QuicKutz dies and border punches on this one. It came together pretty quickly and would be a great way to use up scraps of paper left over from other projects.


I love the little Robot guys...

There are die cut ones on cardstock weight paper:

and some chipboard pieces that are similar:


I blacked out a tooth on this little guy so his smile would match Cam's.

More October Afternoon

I finally finished this layout I had started a few weeks ago. Yay for me!!

I love this Report Card collection from October Afternoon. I could use it again and again!

This layout idea is a great way to use up scraps left over from other projects:

Love the tiny Tim Holtz paper clip!

Buttons are one of my favorite "go-to" embellishments. Notice I also used my new favorite "Upper Crest" border punch?

Here are some more "Report Card" layouts I blogged about last month.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Life Stories

It's official! I am totally in love with this collection! Life Stories by My Mind's Eye is all printed on kraft cardstock making for muted tones and an all around vintage look. There is a blue collection and a pink/red collection. I can't tell which is my favorite...I love them both!

Here's a story I've been wanting to document for a long time. When I was small I accidentally "stole" a spool of blue thread from a fabric store. After playing in a large bin filled with colorful spools, I didn't realize I still had it in my hand when we left. This is the story of the life lesson I learned from that experience.

Photo courtesy of lepiaf.geo on Flickr.

I got pretty messy with all of these layouts. For the title, I painted Tim Holtz grungeboard letters with crackle paint and then inked over them with dark brown.

I sponged blue and green distress inks onto the grungeboard butterflies, then finished them off with a spritz of Pearl Glimmer Mist.

I love making hidden journaling on a layout, especially if I have a lot to say. ;)

I saw the basic design for this next layout somewhere and now I can't figure out where it came from. (I think it was somewhere in the 2 Peas gallery). If anyone knows, please tell me so I can give them credit.

For my tree, I punched various sizes of circles from plain white tissue paper and sprayed them with Olive Vine Glimmer Mist. When I dried them with my heat gun, they kind of crinkled up, especially around the edges. Some of the circles were hit directly with the Glimmer Mist and show a gold shimmer. The colors soaked through to others when they were layered together which gave them a little different look. I think they turned out great! I attached each "leaf" with a tiny dab of Diamond Glaze.

The tree trunk was cut from a recycled piece of cardboard. I sprayed everything with an acid-neutralizer when I was all done.


This next project is a class I designed for Porter's.

These are a few of my girls who attend our scrapbook classes regularly. Some have been coming for as long as I've been teaching there (7-8 years?? I've lost count!). The idea for this layout was inspired by this video that I thought was way cool.

I've decided that Tim Holtz products work fabulously with this collection! The flowers were die cut from grunge paper. Then I colored them with a variety of alcohol inks, curled the edges, and added tiny beads to the centers. Check out Tim's beautiful grunge paper flowers here.

More Tim Holtz...grunge paper bird covered with crackle paint.

I tried cutting out paper dolls the old-fashioned way, but it was way too hard because they were so small. Then I discovered these cute little stamps by Autumn Leaves. Each girl is stamped individually onto patterned paper with...you guessed it...Tim Holtz Distress Inks. Then I cut around the entire row by hand.

Thanks for looking! I have another project I will post tomorrow.

Change in Schedule

Have you ever made plans and they didn't work out? So you made plans again...and they didn't work out? And...well you get the idea.

So I've been working with the new "Life Stories" collections from My Mind's Eye for over a month, and so far I've managed to complete just one layout. There are 3 others in progress, but other things seem to get in the way. In fact, it was my turn to do demos at Porter's Saturday and I was working with these very products. Guess how many layouts I got done in 3 hours? ZERO! It was very busy in the store (which is good) and I spent lots of time helping people at our die cutting center (everyone seemed to be cutting lots and lots of hearts that day) and showing products to customers. It was fine, since my job is to help customers and sell products, but it really interfered with my plan to scrap. ;)

I was going to finish all my projects and show them to you all at once, but since that's not happening, here's the one I did manage to complete (and it's a partial scraplift anyway). Hopefully someday, I will finish the rest! :)

So without further ado, introducing Life Stories by My Mind's Eye:

Papers and Die Cuts: My Mind's Eye; Alphabet Dies: QuicKutz; Stamps: Great Impressions; Embossing Powder: American Crafts

I am constantly amazed at how quickly my kids are growing up. So I decided to document Taylor's journey from a boy to a young man. Notice the picture of the hands? His is bigger than mine now. It's kind of sad!


I was browsing through the gallery at MME and loved how Amber Packer cut apart the "Trip Information" paper and used just the compass from it. I also used the journaling lines to write a letter to Taylor and enclosed it in the large envelope.

The brown lace is actually made with a stamp and then heat embossed with American Crafts Zing powder. It's the perfect way to use as much ribbon as you want without breaking the bank!

Here's some detail on the journaling envelope that was stamped with VersaMark ink and heat embossed with clear powder.

Maybe by next week I will have more to show you. Keep your fingers crossed!

October Afternoon Report Card

I love this school themed paper from October Afternoon and our scrapbooking store finally got some in! I've always been drawn to school and office supplies. School shopping at the end of summer is the best! So I especially love scrapping papers and embellies that look like that too. :)

I love how these papers can be used for non-school layouts and projects. Here's what I've been working on all week...

I've been wanting to make this layout for a long time but was waiting for the perfect product to come along. I hand stitched the red "emergency" lines in the center of the page with floss.

Papers: October Afternoon, Teresa Collins; Stickers: October Afternoon; Alphabet Stickers: Doodlebug, American Crafts; Dies: QuicKutz.

Click here for the journaling in case you want to know. :)

Here's my sweet niece who always seems to find trouble. She had been dressed for maybe 5 minutes before we found her looking like this:

Papers & Rub-ons: October Afternoon; Dies: QuicKutz; Border Punch: EK Success; Alphabet Stickers: American Crafts; Angel Wings: Heidi Swapp; Journaling Stamp: Autumn Leaves.


This is a layout I designed for an upcoming class at Porter's. I love how it turned out!

Papers: October Afternoon; Dies: Quickutz; Punches: Fiskars, EK Success, Martha Stewart.

By the way...here's one of my new favorite border punches. It's called "Upper Crest:"




And I love this one called "Diamond Lace." It makes large scallops:

Catching Up

I actually got to spend some time scrapping the last couple of nights, so I thought I would finish up some projects I started a few weeks ago. Here's the last layout I made using the new Bo Bunny collections, Persuasion and Love Bandit.

This is my niece. She and her husband are expecting their first baby, which they affectionately call Curbug...so cute!

I love the packaged buttons that Bo Bunny has been releasing with their latest collections. No more searching for the perfect colors to match your paper! I paired them up with one of my favorite QuicKutz dies to create a fun accent.

Well, I've actually completed 3 more layouts that I will post later. So stay tuned for a little Life Stories from My Mind's Eye and some October Afternoon.

White Space

My goal for my scrapbook classes this year is to challenge myself (and hopefully my students) to try some styles and techniques that they don't normally try. One of the things I personally struggle with the most is leaving a lot of "white space." I like the look of it when I see it done, but I seem to think I need to fill up the entire page with something. So here is my attempt at leaving some wide open spaces...


My biggest problems with this page were:

a.) it has to be a 2-page layout for class and
b.) I had lots of journaling but only one photo.

I solved the journaling problem by printing snippets of my story onto tags and slipping them inside pockets created from swatches of patterned paper. Then I mounted the photo onto a large matte and placed it on pop dots so it would receive the attention it deserves.

I still had to add some little elements here and there...I mean HAD to! (I really don't know how to leave a layout alone.) I'm not sure I'm 100% in love with this page, but it's done and I'm moving onto the next.

"Life Stories" by My Mind's Eye is coming up...I can't wait!