Road Trip Layout

Here is the layout I did, based on my earlier blog post about our road trip to Tahoe. I still laugh every time I read it!

My Little Water Baby

I think this is now my favorite page, I had so much fun putting it together. This came from Week 11 sketch challenge at 52sketches52weeks, you can see it here And this is my take on it.
I also used this as a bonus challenge layout for scrapbook swap n crop for the "circles challenge" The wire florishes were originally attached to paper stars, but they just didnt go with the page, so removed those and added the smaller shiny stars. The splish splash borders are from Making Memories and the circles paper is Martha Stewart.
Have a great day,
Margie

"Down by the Station"

This layout was for a challenge using no people/animals. I have wanted to do a layout about this for a long time, and this challenge was just the inspiration I needed to get it done. This is the first page I have done with "hidden journaling" I was following a sketch, and wanted to include the song lyrics (the musical notes are not correct, I just found a dingbat font to give it the effect) an the story behind the "du-bi-da-shun" so decided to tuck it behind the picture. It worked out great.

Here is the journaling that is hidden

Thanks for looking,

Margie

Tag Swap

These are the tags I did for a 12 months of tags swap. These are for August. I attempted heat embossing for the first time. It was so easy, and I really like the effect it gives. On these tags I used cream card stock and cut into the tag shape. For the sand and the water, I tore paper to try and give it more of a rough effect. The stamps are by Studio G (The sun originally had a face in it, but thought it would look better without it, so I cut it out). The dolphin, and starfish were just misc. embellies. Then I just punched a hole at the top and added the ribbon.

These are the December tags, (just in case you weren't sure) LOL !I didn't put nearly as much time into these, but I think they came out okay. I cut the Merry Christmas paper to fit on the tag, added a variety of Holly/Pointsettia embellies, and finished them off with the green fiber.
Thanks for looking!
Margie

Fun Q&A

I was tagged by Christine

Step 1: respond and rework—answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.
Step 2: tag—eight other un-tagged people.

1. What were you doing before you started this post? Eating Lunch
2. What is the last thing you read/are currently reading? Other than e-mail or blogs, my son's bedtime stories!
3. Do you nap a lot? I wish I had the time! It's been years.
4. Who was the last person you hugged? Jacob
5. What is your favorite TV series? ER
6. What was the last thing you said out loud? Thank You
7. What websites do you always visit when you go online? my email, Scrapbook Swap-n-crop, and my fav blogs
8. What was the last item you bought? Hair products
9. What is your most challenging goal? To stop procrastinating
10. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished- anywhere in the world, where would it be? Right here where I am now in Northern California
11. Favorite Vacation spot? The Bahamas
12. Say something to the person who tagged you: Thanks Christine, this was fun. I was reading your blog, and noticed I was tagged. I am so inspired by your organizational skills!
13. Name one thing you just can't resist no matter how bad it is for you: Lately it's been Pepsi
14. What is your favorite item of clothing? Do flip flops count as clothing?
15. Whis is your favorite beauty product? My Clinique make-up
16. Name one thing you can not live with out: My husband and my son.
17. Has a celebrity's haircut ever influenced you on your own hairstyle? Not sure that it would be considered a celebrity, but a local news anchor
18.What is your drink of choice? Pepsi, Diet coke, or Ice Tea
19. What is something you do every day? Tell my son and husband I love them.
20. What are you wearing right now? Black pants and a black/white shirt.
21. What's your favorite room in your house? My craft room.
22. What is your favorite color? Purple

OK, I am tagging :
Christina S
Eva
Sandy
Kryslyn
Valerie
Mary Beth
Leslie
Debbie

Have fun!
Margie

Road Trip!

Saturday March 7, 2009
Lake Tahoe/Carson City
Traveling in the car with a five-year old, is almost guaranteed to be filled with questions wondering how long it’s going take to reach your destination. I always have the intention of writing it down, just to see how many times it is really asked. “Are we there yet?” Here are Jacob’s questions! 11:34am we pull out of our driveway
11:40 are we almost there yet? (Petaluma Hill Rd)
11:45 are we still in California? Are we almost there? (Adobe Rd.)
11:51 are we almost there, because my back is getting sweaty.
1:57 Hey, is there a shortcut?
12:08 is there anywhere we can stop and rest?
12:17 when are we going to get off the Highway/Freeway?
12:24 are we in Tahoe yet? (No, we are only in Fairfield)
12:45 are we almost there yet?
1:00 when are we going to be there?
1:45 are we almost to Grandpa’s? Do we have to get on another highway?
1:59 Where is Grandpa Arnolds house?
2:12 are we almost there yet?
2:43 are we there yet?
2:45 When are we at Grandpa Arnolds house?
2:47 are we almost to the snow place?
2:51 are we there yet?
3:00 when are we going to get our snow stuff on?
3:01 Are we almost to that mountain?
3:09 When are we at the big mountain?









So, we arrived about 3:15 at the snow park, and had so much sledding, and throwing snowballs. We played for about an hour, then headed over to Carson City, and within two minutes of getting in the car, it started all over again... ... ... Are we almost there yet?

Have a great day!
Margie

Digi Scrapping

I have not done much digital scrapping, but I gave it a shot so that I could "meet the deadline" for two challenges (Sketch 107 & "Something You Love" over at Scrapbook Swap & Crop and I kind of enjoyed it. It seemed as though I could get these lo's done a whole lot faster than if I did them paper and scissors. (because I change my mind too many times, and can'd settle on what paper etc. to use) I am still a paper & scissors gal for sure, but I am not ruling out digi. One of the nice things about the digi, is I am not adding more mess to my scrap space! Right now it is somewhat chacotic, and really needs to be cleaned up and re organized.
Thanks for looking,
Margie

Happy Valentines Day!

These are the Valentine treats I made for Jacob's preschool teacher, and our neighbors. This had to be the easiest project ever. I found the candy canes on clearance and used the hot glue gun to attach them. Just added valentine ribbon, and made up the little cards, with the following saying: Roses are red, Violets are blue, Candy is sweet, and so are you.

Like Father, Like Son

This is from the week 4 sketch over at 52 sketches 52 weeks. The journaling is "Take me out to the Ball Game" which is one of Jacob's favorites!

TFL

Margie

So many birthdays!

It seems as though through the end of January and most of February, a lot of Jacob's pre school classmates are celebrating birthdays. He has been invited to a birthday party every weekend. With his being on Jan 20th that is the beginning of the "preschool birthday season" . This was the card I made for last weekend's party. I used the Happy Birthday folder, and just matted the rocket picture and star and stamped Happy Birthday on there. It was such a fast and easy card to do.
Margie

Cricut Expression Give Away!!

Danielle over at Life One Layout at a Time has a Cricut Expression to give away!
Stop by and leave a comment and tell your friends to go by and leave comments. She is looking to reach 600 comments. The last day is February 20th.

Some new cards

So, hubby had his knee surgery yesterday, and all went well. I did bring my Cuttlebug, and folders, and a whole mess of paper scraps. There is a little patio type waiting area, so I unloaded all my goodies, and embossed away! It was so fun, I now have a stash of all different colors and patterns of embossed items, that I can't wait to use on cards or layouts. I did manage to get three cards done last night. I had to do a get well card for hubby, so here is the first one:

I used the Swiss Dots on this one and the threading water punch on the patterend paper. I think it came from a kit that I got at Michaels. I punched two tags and layered them, and stamped it with feel better soon from the Inkadinkado clear stamp "just sayings" pack.







On this card I used the "Stylized flowers" folder for the embossed background. I also tried a technique I saw in a magazine; rather than using a stamp pad, I used markers to color the different parts of the flower. For the stem, I used Hunter green Zig writer, the petals are also from the Zig in pure pink. The center, although you can't really see in the picture is glittery, using a gelly roll pen in goldenstar. I was happy how it came out. One of the tips they gave in the magazine, was that if the ink starts to dry before you are ready to stamp, just breathe on it, and the warmth from your breath will "re-activate" it. It worked for me! The stamp used was "Daisy stem" from Rubberstampede.


This is the Divine Swirls folder, I used the fiskars scallop tear edger as a template, and cut with scissors. I used the threading water punch on the bottom portion of the card, and the layered buttons are "Chloe's Closet" line from Making Memories

Blog Candy Alert!!

Christina over at Been There, Done That, is offering blog candy! Looks like a great card making kit, so go on over and check her blog, It is wonderful!

New Cuttlebug Folders

I am so excited, a package was on my doorstep when I got home today!! I ordered some embossing folders from Joann's online that were on sale for $2.99 which is much better than what I paid for them at Michael's when I bought the Cuddlebug. (Happy Birthday, Spots & Dots, Divine Swirl, and Fancy Corners)
So, these are the new ones I got: Swiss Dots, Argyle, Stylized Flowers, Heart Blocks, Leafy Branch, Perfectly Paisley, and Birds and Swirls.
I also got Beautifully Boxed combo die/emboss for 10.19 and Disney Celebrations combo die/emboss for 10.99
I can't wait to try them all out, this probably sounds really bad, but hubby is having knee surgery tomorrow, (nothing real serious). I think I need to take my new toys with me. Hey, rather sitting in the waiting room reading or doing nothing, I can create, and be productive while I wait!
Margie

52 sketches 52 weeks

I think part of my problem with not getting as many pages done as I'd like is because, I would look through magazines and get great ideas, but then I would struggle with the paper selections to use. I would spend way too much time trying to find just the right colors/patterns to match what was in the magazine. I came across this link to 52 sketches 52 weeks I think from one of the girls at Srapbook Swap & Crop and decided to give it a try. I figure if I can keep up with the challenge of one sketch a week, I can get at least more pages done this year than last. I am having such better luck already creating pages, and working from a non-color sketch versus the color layouts, I get less distracted on "what it should look like" I think sketches are my way to go now! I am at least getting the feeling of accomplishment!

Here are the first three pages I have completed:

Slide Show Added

So, originally when I started this blog thing, I was going to go back and post pictures of the stuff I have done in the past, well time got the better of me, and I decided, hey why not just add a "gadget" that shows some of my work, and voila! I figured out how to link up a photobucket slide show. So if your interested, you can take a peek at the bottom of my blog for a slide show of my creations. It is in no specific order.
TFL!
Margie

Altered Cookie Sheets

This is the first altered cookie sheet I did. It was a birthday gift for one of my good friends. I also made these for Christmas gifts, however, being the procastinator that I am, I didn't give myself enough time to do the added touch of the calendars. The calendar pages were time consuming, but so worth it. Each one was decorated according to theme or holiday for the month, and each one had a quote.

January 2009

Cheers to a new year, and another chance for us to get it right. ~Oprah Winfrey

February 2009

A life without love is no life at all. From the movie "Everafter"

March 2009

If a man who cannot count finds a four-leaf clover, is he lucky? ~Stanislaw J. Lec

April 2009

Sweet April showers do spring May flowers. ~ Thomas Tusser

May 2009

"Where flowers bloom, so does hope." ~ Lady Bird Johnson

June 2009

"Bar-be-que (bar*bi*q) n. You bought the groceries, washed the lettuce, chopped the tomatoes, diced the onions, marinated the meat and cleaned everything up, but, he, "made the dinner."" ~ From A Women's Dictionary

July 2009

""America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand."" ~ H.S. Truman


August 2009

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away." ~ Author: Unknown

September 2009

Education is that which remains when one has forgotten everything learned in school." ~ Albert Einstein

October 2009

I'll bet living in a nudist colony takes all the fun out of Halloween.

November 2009
"Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way." ~Author: Unknown

December 2009

The best of all gifts around any tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other."" ~ Burton Hillis

Cuttlebug!!

WooHoo! I got myself a Cuttlebug! I have been thinking about getting one for a while, and yesterday I did it. (So technically, it wasn't an impulse buy!) I played around with it for a little bit last night, and I love it! It is so easy and quick. And, I like that the dies and embossing folders are so reasonably priced. I have the Cricut and love it, but those cartridges get pricey! Here is a card I made while playing around. I can't wait to play this weekend!

TFL,

Margie

Thank You Christina!

Wow, Thank You Christina! for this award! I am so happy, and never expected anything like this on my little blog. What a nice surprise!

This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

It is hard to pick only eight other bloggers, as I have loved visiting and reading so many more than that. So in no paticular order, here is my list. Take a look, and I am sure you will find some new ideas/inspiration.

Kristie

Heather

Fran

Leah

Wanda

Sandy

Julia

Linda