Some new news, some awards and a new LO/challenge

Hello everyone!! I have missed all of you soooooooo much!! The past two weeks have been very crazy for me! It started off with a much needed 10 day vacation in Myrtle Beach, then we were home for one day and left again for Dallas to start our house hunting trip. While we were in Dallas (in fact it was 30 minutes before we were meeting with our realtor) we got a call from our Indiana realtor with an offer on our home that we finally accepted. (we were back and forth with the buyers since Monday night!!) Soooooo... the good news is, our house is sold.... the bad news is, we have not purchased a new home yet!! YIKES!!  But don't worry, we did find one we liked and are working on making an offer. My husband is back in Texas now and is getting some final paperwork completed!! I will keep you posted if we get it or not!! In the meantime, I am going to be very busy getting things ready to move here.... we have to be out of our house by Aug. 27th!! Boy is the month of August going to fly by for me!! So please forgive me if I am not as active in blog land as I have been in the past!! I am trying my best to balance EVERYTHING!!!!  LOL!!!

So..... I was so excited to return from vacation to 3 new awards!! How great is that?!! You guys really are too good to me!! I feel honored that these three lovely ladies thought enough of me to send them to me!! So now I would like to pass them on to some wonderful friends who continued to stop by my blog while I was away and leave me so many nice comments!!

The first award is the Versatile Blogger Award! I actually received this award from 2 different gals.... the first one was Brenda! I don't know if you have been over to her blog, Rose Blossom Legacies or not, but you must stop by and check it out!! She is on several design teams and once you see her work, you will know why!! Pretty amazing stuff!! Thank you so much Brenda!! And Brenda, I have to admit, I loved reading the 7 things about you... we have a lot in common!!! lol!!!

I also received this award from my friend Lisa!! Who of course is extremely talented as well!! One of the things I like best about visiting her blog, Lisa's Craft Room, is that she has plenty of fun creative ideas besides just layouts and cards!! Lisa... thank you for sharing your talent with us, and thanks for this award!! You are such a total sweetheart!!

Now this is what you have to do:

1. Thank the person who gave it to you.

2. Tell seven things about yourself.
3. Pass the award on to five bloggers whom you think are fantastic.

7 things about myself....

1. I am going to be living in Texas in less than a month!

2. I am one of those weird people who actually enjoy house hunting!!

3. I am definitely a pool person... have to have one!!

4. I am not organized at all and am totally freaking out about everything I have to get done in the next few weeks!

5. I am totally excited that the company is moving us and I don't have to do all the packing... I wouldn't even know where to start!! LOL!!

6. I am pretty excited about only seeing snow when I choose to... no more shoveling walks and driveways!! (If it snows in Texas, I will just wait 30 minutes and it will melt... no need to shovel!!)

7. Everyone keeps telling how hot Texas is... I guess they really don't know me at all or they would know that I LOVE hot weather!!

Now... for the 5 bloggers I am to pass this on to (x2 since I received it twice!!) I apologize if you have received this award already... since I haven't been hopping around blog land lately, I am not sure who has already received it and who hasn't!! 

Angi - Cokie Pop Paper

Li-bee-ti - Creations with Love

Sandi - Soft Side of Sandi

Beatriz - Amazing Grace

Fern - Fern's Creations

Lidia - Breaking Barriers

Kim - Memories In Thyme

Tanya - Random Acts of Krafting

Dawn -Dawn's Craft Place

Carri - Double Click Connections

I was also fortunate enough to receive the Cherry on Top Award from my Sassy scrappin' friend Sheila!!! Sheila runs the She's A Sassy Lady Blog where she allows me to be a guest designer once a month. The best thing about her blog is that you will learn something new each time you visit!! Sheila encourages her designers to give detailed, step by step directions for all of the projects that are presented!! I have learned so many new tips and tricks from reading the posts!! If you are not already a follower, you need to become one!! Click here to see her blog!! Thank you Sheila for this cheerful award!!

Here are the rules for this award:

1. Thank the person who gave this award to you.
2. Copy the award and put it on your blog.
3. List three things which you love about yourself.
4. Post a picture you love.
5. Tag five people you wish to pass this award on to.
Three things I love about myself:
1. I think I am a good wife, mother, sister, and daughter!
2. I have a tender heart... I try to help those in need and lighten the load of those around me when possible!
3. I am a Christian!

I love this picture of Greg and I in Maui... this is "our" place and love to "get away" here!! Looking at the sunset I bet you can see why!!

I would like to pass this award on to:

Leah - Beeing Creative and Feeling Cherry

Diana - All The Day's of our Lifes

Pat - A Scrappin' Nana

Joni - Joni's Stuff

Debbie - Love Life's Little Pleasures

Thanks again to Brenda, Lisa and Sheila for not only giving me these awards, but for your patience while I got them posted!!

Finally.... we have a new challenge for you!! This is my last official post as a design team member for Practical Scrappers!! I decided to step down from the team due to the big move!! I knew I couldn't keep up with all my projects but I will really miss working with the team! I guess now I can play along with everyone else!!

Practical Scrappers is celebrating their ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY this week!! Cogratulations PS!! So, this week is unique because they are doing a new challenge each day.. all having to do with the number one!! For today, the challenge is to use one photo!! That is so seriously simple that all of you should be playing along!! Be sure to link up your projects... we would love to see what you can do!!

This LO is of my daughter and her best friend Abby!! They are so much alike and can play hours together!! In fact, Abby had a sleep over at our house last night!! We are trying to get as much play time in before we leave in a few weeks!!  The LO was made with American Crafts Papers. This LO also qualifies for the challenge at Stuck On U Sketches - Summer Theme!!

Thank you for stopping by and reading this VERY long post!! I love your comments!!

Barb  :)

Legacy of Love

Boy do we have a challenge for you at Practical Scrappers this week!! We are asking you to use 7 different items on your card, layout, or project!!

These pictures are from my Grandma's 93rd birthday party. We gave her a tiara to wear and she was loving it!! The top photo is of my Grandma with me, my parents, sisters and brother! So... for the seven things....

1. Patterned Paper (American Crafts)

2. Thickers letter stickers

3. Butterfly

4. Prima flourish

5. Flowers (that I made all by myself!!)

6. Ribbon

7. Stick pin

Okay, I realize that I didn't count the cardstock but I decided that I didn't need to since that is a given on a LO!! heehee!!! It was amazing once I started working how quickly I was able to add 7 elements to my page!! Now, we would love to see what you can do!! Be sure to stop by the Practical Scrappers blog to see what the design team did and then link up a project of your own!! Have a great weekend!!

Barb  :)

Practical Scrappers sketch challenge!

It's Friday and I am halfway through my vacation! Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to stop by and visit my blog while I have been busy working on my tan!! I can't wait to get back and get caught up on all the things I have missed while I was gone!

We have a new sketch at Practical Scrappers! The sketch is from Lisa Hidy and was really fun to work with!! As you can see, I skipped the title (since this was another one for Myra's album) and added an extra photo!! Doesn't she have a beautiful family?!

We would love to see what you do with this sketch... and you could win a prize too!! Also be sure to stop over at Frosted Designs to find out more about the new challenge that was posted today!! I will be back Monday with a new Practical Scrappers challenge for you!!

I made a card!!

Happy Monday everyone!! I hope you had a great weekend and are ready to jump into a new challenge!! This week at Practical Scrappers we are asking you to use something that you have had in your stash for more than a year! Seriously... that is not a problem here!! I really need to start working through all of my supplies to make room for new stuff!!  LOL!!

And believe it or not, I actually tried a card this week!! I am still pretty new at these but I think it turned out pretty cute!!

The papers and stickers are from American Crafts - Blue Skies.... I LOVE this line!! The "old" on this card is the ribbon!  I think the ribbon on the sun has been in my stash for about 5 years now!! It felt great using it up!! Now, let's get busy and use up some of those supplies! Be sure to link up your project at Practical Scrappers for your chance to win a prize!!

Party Decorations & a new Challenge!

Hello everyone!! I hope you enjoyed your weekend!!  Mine, as you will see was VERY busy!! I went camping for 3 days with my family and got back Friday... then I turned around Saturday and hosted a surprise party for one of my best friends! And believe it or not, even with 70 people at the party, no one spilled the beans and she was surprised!! If you know Myra, you would realize what a major feat that was!! In fact, here is a picture of the birthday girl when everyone yelled surpise!!

She is going to kill me when she sees this on here!! Oh well... Love you Myra!!  :)  So, since I was kind of pressed for time, I decided to combine her party decorations with our new challenge at Practical Scrappers!! This week the challenge is EMBOSSING!! You can heat emboss (like I did) or use your Cuttlebug or any other machine you have to emboss!! Easy Peasy!!

As you can see on my birthday banner (the entire banner is in the picture at the top of the post!) I heat embossed the brown triangles with a clear ink and clear embossing powder. I thought that the brown by itself was too plain, but using patterned paper would be too busy! Doesn't it add a nice elegant look to the banner?! I used my Gypsy to design the banner and the font is Gypsy Wanderings.

And these were the centerpieces on all the tables. Since Myra's husband specifically requested that I stay away for black and all the negatives to having 40 signs hanging everywhere, I decided on the subtle brown with the green, purple and blue. Which, btw, whe LOVED the color scheme!! Yay!!

 Here is a close up of the butterfly on the candle. It doesn't show up really well in the photo, but the wings were also embossed with the same thing I embossed the banner with!!  The butterfly is from the Indie Art cart.

And here is a LO I did for her album using the sketch from A Crafty Little Place! The sketch was fun to play with... go over and check it out... you have until the 14th to submit your LO! And while you are there, be sure to check out the fabulous sale they are having to get ready for CHA... you can find it by clicking HERE!!

Well.... I love to throw a party but I have to admit, I am glad to have this one behind me!! Now maybe I can take the next few days to stop by all the blogs I neglected all last week!! And then, I might actually get some time to get my scrapbooking done!! LOL!!

Be sure to stop over at the Practical Scrappers blog to see what fabulous things the design team came up with!! They really are amazing!! And while you are there, please take a minute to answer the poll you will find in the sidebar!! Thanks for stopping by and as always, thank you for the wonderful comments you leave for me!! I really do appreciate them!! Have a great week!!

Barb  :)

Border Punch Challenge

Happy Monday Morning!!! Are you ready for a new challenge?! This week at Practical Scrappers, the challenge is to use decorative scissors and/or border punches!! We all have them laying around... so dust them off and put them to use!! We would love to see what you can do with them!!

These are some more pictures from me and Lauren's little get away last week!! Along with the zoo enterance, you get admission into the butterfly exhibit and botanical gardens next to the zoo. Lauren LOVES to walk around the gardens... in fact I almost couldn't get her to leave!! It truly is a beautiful place and we had fun taking some silly pictures!! On the top one she thought she would pose like the frog!! she is sooo silly!! Both border pumches were from Martha Stewart. The flowers were from Practical Scrappers June sponsor Squigglefly. Now you know I am VERY new to digis but I kind of had fun playing with these!! I got out my watercolor pencils and colored them in! But don't look too closely or you might just see where I got out of the lines!!  LOL!! I thought that they were a little plain on their own so I added a Prima paper flower to the centers along with a gemstone. And of course I had to bling them up with some Stickles!! The papers are from My Mind's Eye!!

And check it out!! I actually made a card!!! Me!! A card!! Who knew?!! I have decided that I am going to try to do a little more of this with scraps that are left over from LOs!! Now... that's my goal, we'll see how it works!! I did not add a sentiment to my card because I really do want to work on getting a stash of cards going. Once I have a little variety, I will start making some specific cards!!

Thanks for stopping by to visit!! As always, I love your comments!! Be sure to check out what the other Practical Scrappers Design Team girls created this week!!

My Girls

I have decided to do one of my "road trips" with Lauren!! We will be gone a couple of days, but I wanted to leave you with two new layouts before I left town.....

It is a new week and that means a new challenge at Practical Scrappers!! This week we are challenging you to use flowers on your card/layout/project!! Seriously... this one could not be any easier... especially this time of year!!!

A few weeks ago my niece got married in a beautiful park and we took advantage of having everyone dressed up to take some of our family pictures!! This is me with my 3 girls!! The picture was taken with my cell phone so the color is not that great... but I have plenty of color around it!! (Some of my other family members took this picture on their cameras so maybe one day I can get a better copy and replace this one!!!)

 Most of the flowers are Prima, but I did make the big orange one thanks to my friend Kim (Memories in Thyme) who posted a tutorial on her new challenge blog - Sketches in Thyme!! Once I saw the video, I wanted to give it a try and loved it!! You can find it by clicking HERE!! I chalked the petals and then sprayed them with some glimmer mist I made myself!!

The rest of the supplies are:
Papers - DCWV Mariposa Stack
Martha Stewart Border Punch
Title - EK Success stickers
Stamps - Kelly Panacci

Now be sure to check out the Practical Scrappers blog daily for new design team inspiration and link up your own project!!

This second LO was inspired by the sketch this week over at Sketches in Thyme. (The same one I mentioned above with the flower tutorial!)  If you have not seen this new challenge blog, please stop over and check it out!! Better yet, become a follower and play along!! Here is the sketch for this week....

This is my week off from the Sketches in Thyme design team, but I still couldn't help playing along!! These are pictures of Lauren at the zoo 2 summers ago!! They had this area where the kids could splash in the water and climb on the giant frogs! Lauren loved doing this everytime we went!! (sorry for the bad picture... the lighting is bad and I was out of time to get it done before my road trip!!) The words aren't showing up too well but it says... too cute for words!!

Supplies used on this LO:
Paper - We R Memory Keepers (Madame Royale)
Flowers - Prima and Recollections
Velvet Brads - Making Memories
Journal Tag - K & Company

Thank you for stopping by!! I will be sure to catch up with all the fun blog postings when I return!! Have a fabulous week and thank your for always leaving such kind comments!!
Barb  :)

You & Me

Good morning everyone!! I hope you are having a fantastic weekend!! I have a LO for you based on the Practical Scrappers sketch this week!! The sketch is from Ann Katrin and was wonderful to work with!! As most of you can tell by my LOs, me and my youngest daughter are pretty good buddies!! Her older siblings are all busy with their teenage lives and my husband travels a lot!! That means that Lauren and I have all kinds of time to hang out together!! For this LO I picked some random pictures of us together - cruise, dance recital, and a trip to Tennessee!! I used my yummy Paper Poppy Kit Co. June Kit for this LO! Aren't the papers and embellishments great?!! I love the rub ons that came with this kit... and I still have plenty more to use!! We would love to see you play along with this sketch.... hop on over to Practical Scrappers for some design team inspiration!! There is a great prize up for grabs!! Thanks for stopping by!!

Barb :)

Ice Skating!

It's a new week and that means there is a new challenge at Practical Scrappers!! This one is easy peasy.... are you ready for it?!! The challenge this week is to use loose glitter or flocking!! Now... I have to be honest... the glitter part was easy, but the flocking is something I have in my supplies but have NEVER used!! So... I am always up for a new challenge and this is what I did!!!

Yes... I do realize that it is summer and no one really wants to think about snow and ice skating.... but I HAD to use these pictures for this challenge!! Where I live we do not have very many exciting things, but ONE cool thing that we do have is a park with a pavillion that they turn into an ice rink each winter. So, on a day off from school, my sister and I took our kids ice skating and had so much fun!!

For the loose glitter AND the loose flocking, I used some double sided Martha Stewart snowflake stickers. At first I found them hard to work with and I didn't like that when I followed the directions on how I am supposed to use them that I ended up with random glitter all over my LO!! But... after a bit I figured out my own system and the process became easier!! I use clear, pink and blue glitter for some snow flakes and blue flocking for other snowflakes. I use them more as a subtle background sparkle and layered dimensional snowflakes I had in my stash on top!! I added a few Prima crystal flourishes and some silver ribbon from my stash. I chose not to put a title on this one.. I liked it just like it was and to put "ice skating" on the LO seemed insulting to those looking at it since that is clearly what we are doing!!  LOL!!

The sketch is from Stuck On U Sketches from a few weeks ago... I didn't have time to play with the layout that week but it worked perfectly for this challenge!! And since their challenge this week is embossing, I can submit it now!!  (If you look at the border of the pink paper it is embossed with little snowflakes!!) Paper used is from DCWV Holiday Collection and Old World Stack. I also used the Storybook cartridge. 

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look.... be sure to create something sparkly and glittery and you can actually link your project up to 2 challenges.... Frosted Designs and Practical Scrappers!! Both design teams have some amazing examples to share with you so be sure to check them out!!! Have a fabulous week and happy scrapping!!!

Rock Star!!

Happy Friday everyone!! I am so excited because we have another new challenge at Frosted Designs!! And this one might just be a little easier than the last one (if that is even possible!!)  LOL!! The challenge this week is to use GLITTER!! Any kind of glitter will do!! We all have it, and we all love to use it!! Get it out and show us what you can do!! Be sure to link up your project for a chance to earn our June Prize Package!! (You can check out the details in my side bar!!!)

The pictures are from Lauren's eigth birthday party and the theme was "Party Like A Rock Star"!! We had soooooo many girls spend the night but it was so much fun!! The papers are from Paper Studio's Peace, Love, Happiness stack. I used the Hannah Montana cartridge. Since the theme is glitter.... I went over the top with it!! I used as much Stickles as I thought the paper could hold. Added some glitter ribbon that Lauren picked out and insisted I add (personally I'm not sure I am a big fan of it but she likes it!!) and then of course I have some glitter paper on there!! Whew... that is a lot of glitter!!!! This one isn't a masterpiece... in fact I whipped it out while I was watching TV with my husband... but it is fun and Lauren likes it!! I used the sketch from Practical Scrappers. You can also win prizes by doing your own layout using the sketch!! Be sure to post your creations at Practical Scrappers!

Splash

Happy Monday everyone!! Sorry I am late getting this posted... blogger was not being nice last night or this morning!! But, it looks like everything is up and running fine now!! We have a new challenge for you over at Practical Scrappers!!! The challenge this week is to use eyelets!! I don't know about you, but it has been a while since I have used eyelets so I thought this was fun!! Be sure to check out what the design team did and then create something yourself!! We would love to have you link it up at Practical Scrappers!!

I used large blue eyelets and some small blue eyelet buttons to add a little design by the circles. I also used 2 large yellow eyelets to hold the title banner (which for some reason did not show up very well in the photo... but it looks much better IRL!!)

The papers are from Me & My Big Ideas. Thank you for stopping by to take a peek!! And while you are checking out blogs, be sure to head over to Frosted Designs to see the yummy June Prize Pack that is up for grabs!! It includes the brand new Cricut Cartridge FRESHLY PICKED!!!! You won't want to miss your chance to play along!!

Good Times

Happy Memorial Day everyone!! I hope all of your are enjoying time relaxing with family and friends! Even though it may be a holiday... Pracitical Scrappers is not taking the day off!! We have a new challenge for you.... But before I get to that... I have some exciting news for you!!!  I am now a Sassy Designer!! The lovely Sheila has invited me to be part of her team at She's a Sassy Lady and I am so flattered!! The thing I like best about her sassy blog is that she is the queen of giving detailed instructions for each of the things she makes!! I am certainly going to have to step up my game to be part of her team!!! LOL!! Sheila has an amazing team of women... all of which bring something different to share! I hope you take the time to stop over and meet everyone and follow along as we share new ideas daily!! You can get there by clicking HERE!! I will be sharing my first project later in June!!

Now onto the Practical Scrappers new challenge....The challenge this week is to use a transparency, vellum or acrylic accents on your layout/card/project!! So when you are done grilling out and you have soaked up enough sun... get out your scrappy supplies and play along with us!! Make sure you link up your project at Practical Scrappers for your chance to win!! Also be sure to check out all the amazing and creative ideas my DT sisters have for you!!

These pictures were taken one August day when I woke up and decided that Lauren and I needed a road trip. We got dressed, jumped in the car and off we went!! About 2 hours later we were walking through the doors of the Indianapolis Children's Museum!!! If you look at the picture in the middle, that is Lauren in front of the museum enterance!! In fact, all of these pictures were taken outside!! I love the bronze statues of children playing... and apparently, so did Lauren... she jumped right in there and played with them!!! LOL!!! If you ever have the opportunity to go to this museum, I highly recommend it! It is one of my favorite places to hang out with my kids!! (Yes, I did the same thing with my older kids when they were younger... we have been going there forever!!! )

I wanted to make this LO on the fun side to represent the fun we had.... so I did some doodling along the outside of the page and wrote the name of the museum and date across the top of the line of photos!! (I was just feeling brave the day I made this LO!!!) The flowers are actually pieces of pink transparency that I cut circles (with circle punches) out of. The circles were two different sizes. I "fringed" the larger circle and rolled the edges up. The inner circle was the same transparency, I just flipped it over to give it a different look! I then added my usual Stickles and some bling... a few pop dots and they were good to go!!! The title is an old vellum title I have had laying around for years. I chalked the edges and then used the brads to attach it to a blue background paper. My favorite part of the challenge was my vellum butterflies!! I used my Martha Stewart punch to cut out some green butterflies and vellum butterflies. I chalked both with blue ink and glued the vellum on top of the green cardstock. A few drops of Stickles and they were done!! I did pop dot them to attach them to the page!!

The papers on this one are a mixure of Basic Grey, We R Memory Keepers and K & Co. Thanks for stopping by and visiting wth me today!! I hope you and your family have a blessed holiday!! Enjoy that sunshine!!

Barb :)

Memories/Start Your Engines

IT"S FRIDAY!!! And to make it even better.... it's a 3 day weekend!!!!!!! Today, as we do every Friday, we have a new challenge for you at Frosted Designs. This challenge is something I have never done.... and boy was it a challenge!!! We were given a photo to use as inspiration! At first I thought this would be easy peasy... but then I started to pull out paper and couldn't really find any papers I liked for this challenge.... which is amazing if you saw the amount of paper stored in my office right now!!! But, the cool part was, I was able to pull out stuff that I have had for years!!! And I mean years!!!! I used up so many old products that have been sitting around and that made me happy!!! So.... here is the photo:

How beautiful is that?!! I love the colors and shape.... so bright and cheery! And this is what I did with it....

These are some more pictures from the trip to Dollywood with my parents and sister. The picture printed out darker than I wanted and I will replace it when I get a better copy, but at least you get the main idea!! I can't even begin to list the supplies used in the LO because they are really that old!!! My favorite paper is the one I used for the circle... it has a velvet print on it and when I chalked it with purple, it all blended together so nicely on my LO!! The Frosted Designs design team girls have done some pretty cool things with this photo.... be sure to stop over and see what they made. And then go through your supplies and make your own project!! We would love to see you link it up so we can all enjoy it!!!

I also have another LO for you this week.... it was made using the Friday sketch at Practical Scrappers this week. The sketch is from our very own Pia.... didn't she do a fabulous job?!!  These pictures are from the same trip to Tennessee. My sister and I took Brayden and Lauren go carting one afternoon!! And you will be proud to know that Lauren and I won!!! Whooo Hooo!!

This LO was fun today because I moved away from my normal girly looks and got messy!! I sprinkled red drops of paint on the background to add a little color (because clearly I have issues with too much white space!!!) LOL!! I also did a lot of hand doodling on this one!! The papers are from My Mind's Eye and We R Memory Keepers. The stamp is Fiskars - Away We Go Road Trip. The rest of the supplies are random things I had in my stash!! We would love to see what all of you can do with this sketch and be sure to link it up over at Practical Scrappers!!

 Enjoy your long holiday weekend and be safe!!

Barb  :)

Twinkle Toes

Yesterday, my youngest daughter had her dance recital!! I just love how sweet and adorable all the little dancers are... and of course, I wouldn't be a proud momma if I didn't show off a couple of pictures of my baby girl!!  We snapped a few pictures in front of our house before we left for the recital...

That last picture is of Lauren with her sisters (Kristin and Courtney) who came to see her recital... she was soo excited that they were there!! Just a side note, these are the same two who are featured in my LO today!!!

Well... it's Monday and that means that we have a new challenge over at Practical Scrappers!! Are you ready for this one?!! This week we are asking you to show us fabric, felt or Tulle!! I don't know about you but this challenge just screamed girly to me.... and so this is what I made....

This picture is of my oldest girls several years ago at a dance recital. It is sooooo hard to believe that they are now 20 and 19!!!! Where does the time go?!!! I used a mix of fabric and felt on this one. The flowers are from a Martha Stewart kit I got on clearance at Big Lots!! It was actually a hair accessory kit but I just used the flowers from the kit!! The big purple one and two small pink ones are from this. I added some paper flowers, stickles, gems, buttons and ribbon and I think they turned out adorable!! I also used a flower ribbon around my circle. The ruffle under the picture is embroidered with butterflies and topped off with felt ric-rac that I also added Stickles to.!! In fact, I think I put Stickles on just about everything!! Gotta have that bling!! I added some purple feathers because... what dance costume doesn't have feathers on it?!! LOL!!

The papers are We R Memory Keepers Madame Royale stack. I used the Forever Young cart for the circles. Flowers are a mix of Prima, Recollections, and Making Memories!!! The letters are Stickles that I painted and topped with Stickles!

Thanks for stopping over to see what I created.... now head on over to Practical Scrappers to check out what the other designers have made for inspiration this week!! Be sure to check it out everyday since new DT examples are revealed daily!! We would love to see what you create so be sure to link up your projects at Practical Scrapper!! Have a lovely week!!!!!!
Barb :)

Just Call Me Mom

Hello everyone!! How was your weekend?! Mine was busy and I am soooo glad it is over!! Lauren made it to all of her lessons, the garage sale was a success, the golf team lunch was a hit, my date with my husband was wonderful, the park got cleaned up and I survived our open house!! Whew... what a weekend!! But with a new week comes a new challenge at Practical Scrappers!! And this one is super easy because we all use it.... are you ready for it?!! This week we are challenging you to use patterned paper in your card/layout/ project!! Seriously, could there be an easier theme?!! We have some of our design team examples up today, and will show you new ones each day this week... so stop over today, and tomorrow, and the next day, and.... you get the idea!! There are some very creative projects over there so you will want to be sure to check them out!!

This is me with 3 of my babies on Mother's Day this year!! Aren't they just so sweet?! My layout was completed using the papers from the Paper Poppy Kit Co. May kit. I LOVE this kit!! The papers and embellies are so fun and easy to use!! You can pick up a kit of your own by clicking here!! The sketch I used is also from Paper Poppy! I used 6 different patterned papers on this LO. The butterflies are chipboard that I glued patterned paper to, sanded the edges, and then inked. I added a few rhinestones and the anteanna are made from twine. The papers at the top of the LO are actually the packaging from some Prima flowers I had used on another LO! See... I can recycle!!

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous week!!
Barb :)

Happy Monday & a new challenge!

Happy Monday everyone!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day and is well rested and pampered!! Well... are you ready for a new challenge?! At Practical Scrappers this week, our challenge is to use punches in a card/layout/project!!

Yes... this is another cruise picture!  I did not put a title on it since it is going in the cruise album... I figured I really didn't need one!! Besides, I couldn't make the one I wanted to use work... so I just left it off!!  heehee!! I used a Martha Stewart punch to create the border around the outside of the layout. I used the same corner punch for the frame around the photo. AND I used a Martha Stewart punch to make the butterflies!! I LOVE this punch!! It has to be my favorite and I find myself turning to it a lot lately!! Of course, it doesn't help that my Gypsy is off for repairs and I am just too lazy to start pulling out cartridges to use the cricut the regular way... I am too spoiled now!! I guess until I get my baby back, you may be seeing a lot of punches and premade embellies!! LOL!!

So... supplies used are:
Paper: K & Co. Lofty Nest
Border Punch: Martha Stewart
Butterfly Punch: Martha Stewart
Flowers: Prima
Music Paper: Paper Poppy Kit (April?)

AND.... I wanted to thank the lovely ladies over at Scrap it With A Song for picking my Paparazzi LO as a top 5 this week!! They have a new challenge posted for this week so get on over there and check it out!! Also be sure to stop by the Practical Scrappers site to check out all the wonderful projects the team of ladies have created there!! Check back each day as new design team projects are added daily!!

Thank you for taking the time to stop by and say hello!! Have a fabulous week!!
Barb :)

Love Ya Chicky

I have to admit... I am excited to be sharing my first official Practical Scrappers challenge with you as a design team member!! This week the challenge is to use stickers! How easy is that one?!! So... I guess there is no reason why all of you can't participate!! Get out that overflowing crate of stickers, use them on a project and be sure to share them with us at Practical Scrappers!! And also be sure to check back each day as new Design Team projects are revealed!!

These pictures were taken during a visit to the zoo in Aug. of 2006. Yes, the same zoo visit as the goat pictures... and there are still plenty more from that visit to scrap... guess I was in a snap happy kind of mood!! And can I help that I think they are all adorable and want to scrap them all?!! LOL!! So... we were in the farm area where (back then) we were allowed to pick up baby chicks! Lauren loved to do this and would squeal with delight every time one would try to escape her very tight grasp!! She must have given them 3000 kisses that day alone!! The papers and stickers I used in the title are from We R Memory Keepers Over the Rainbow pack. I LOVE this pack!! The papers are all so bright and cheerful and summer like!! Perfect for my zoo pictures!! The flowers are stickers I have had forever!! And yes... I really do mean forever!! I added a few stickers to the tops of buttons and even managed to add some stickles to the centers of a few!! I hand stitched some floss around the border of the marquee shape.

Thanks for stopping by... I love hearing from you... it really makes my day!! Have a great week and happy scrappin'!!
Barb :)

Lauren and the goats!

*This is my SECOND post for today... please scroll down to see my Frosted Design layout for this weeks challenge.... Thanks!

It's Friday and Practical Scrappers has a new sketch up for you!! Isn't it great?! These pictures are of Lauren from a visit to the zoo in the summer of '06. They have an area back in the farm area where you can feed and brush the goats. It took Lauren quite a while to warm up to these overly aggressive creatures! In the process of letting her get comfortable with them, I snapped all kinds of pictures of the various colorful expressions she had going!! The second photo is the one I like the best... she always used that face when she was unsure about something and was gettting ready to loudly complain about!! It cracks me up!! LOL!!

The papers are from We R Memory Keepers Over the Rainbow stack. The journaling flower was cut using Mini Monograms and the little flowers are Prima with some stickles and gems added!! (You know me and my bling!! Gotta have it!!) The top of the paper was done using a Martha Stewart punch and then I added in some brads in a rainbow of colors!! I added in some misc. ribbon and buttons... pop dotted the heart and there you have it!! Thank you for stopping by today.... now get off the computer and do your own LO with this sketch!! LOL!!

Barb  :)

Good News!!!!!!!!!!

I am just sooooo excited to let you all know that I have just joined the Practical Scrappers Design Team!! Wooo Hooo!! It is a wonderful challenge blog that encourages you to use the items you already have!! And boy do I have plenty that need to be used!! (Either that or my husband is going to need to build me a bigger office!!)  I am so honored to be part of this team of extrememly talented ladies!! Besides....  it will keep me scrappin' on a schedule!! My first LO will be displayed the first week of May!! If you haven't checked out Practical Scrappers, hop on over, take a look and welcome all the other new design team members!!  Have a fabulous week! 

Barb :)