Elementary School Graduation

In May of 2006, DS graduated from Elementary School. Here he is in his black suit and new tennis shoes. We made a special shopping trip to the mall to get him his first suit. The tie was one his principal gave him.

There were several sources of inspiration for this layout. The first was the National Scrapbooking Day Inspiration Extravaganza on SCS this past Friday & Saturday. Jennipher challenged us to scraplift from 1HapEMomE . I do not think I scraplifted anything, but I was inspired by all the distressing on her scrapbook pages.

This is new to me. I’d never thought I’d have so much fun tearing designer paper and wadding it up! That was fun! You ought to try it! Sketch was from 52 Sketches…52 Weeks …check out Veronica Goh’s page! I was shoved outside my comfort zone and am finding I like it here!

I added the Graduation Brentwood Owl from JessicaLynnOriginal. Here he is…peeking over the top of the distressed DP. He was colored with SU! Stampin Write Markers.

Here’s a close up of the Flourishes. These are Tim Holtz’s grungeboard pieces. I scattered some Primas and SU! Filligree Brads on the flourish.

Here’s the right hand page of this two page spread. The big “sign” was actually the opening slide of the slide show they showed at the graduation. I printed that on HP inkjet printer paper.


Most all of the supplies were from my stash, which means I’ve had them a while. I did have to make a special trip to Michaels for the red primas. I didn’t have ANY red primas! Other colors, but no red that was the shade I was looking for. The black paper on the left page is actually “pinstriped”. The picture of DS is under a black frame. The “06” are stickers from Top Line Creations Outerwear Monograms Salt and Pepper. The big flourish is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals; the other flourishes were run through Xyron. After crumpling my paper, I ran the brayer over it to smooth it out a bit. I only used one strip of sticky strip to attach to the distressed DP to the base.

This was definitely a stroll down the memory lane. DS graduates from Middle School on May 30. My baby is gonna be a High School Freshman next year! Wow.

SUPPLIES:
Paper: Michaels – Congrats was single sheet; other DP was from a Provo Craft stack; SU! Going GrayInk: SU! Basic Black Craft, HP inkjet printer paper
Stamps: JessicaLynnOriginal Graduation Brentwood Owl
Accessories: Tim Holtz grungeboard, Stampin Dimensionals, Xyron, Stampin’ Write Markers, Primas, SU! Filligree Brads, Black Frame, sticky strip, tearing edge, brayer, TLC Outerwear Monograms Salt and Pepper

Derby Inspired Layout

The 135th Kentucky Derby…the Run for the Roses. There really is a blanket of roses they drape on the winning horse! I think the blanket of roses is so cool and amazing…all that beautiful handiwork and craftsmanship.

I love roses. During the summer, DH will go cut some roses and bring them in for me. He will stick them in empty Coca Cola cans, vases…or he’ll just pop in the office and whip out a rose from behind his back. He’s a keeper.

Last summer, I took some pictures of these roses. I used these pictures and created simple photo cards. I used rub-ons to say “Thinking of You”…”Thank You”….things like that. That’s Mom’s Mother’s Day present. (wink)

I love these pictures…so I decided to enjoy them more by scrapping them!

So here’s my Derby Inspired project…

I haven’t decided on a title yet, but when I do…it’s gotta fit in that blank So Saffron space. I love the effect of rub-ons on photos.

Here’s close up of Brentwood…I used white gel pen to highlight the letters on his shirt. He is popped up on dimensionals.

I really do like this striped paper from a retired SU! Simply Scrappin’ Kit named Friends and Flowers. I finally get to use some So Saffron Twill I purchased during SAB.


I added a hat pin from the SU! Pretties Kit to the knot in the ribbon. I love the hat pins…another Derby inspiration item.

This was the unexpected part of the layout…I was planning to use a rose I had die cut. I saw the negative sitting on my desk and it looked so striking against that striped paper. That is popped up with dimensionals.

There was definitely a crafsplosion during the creation of this layout!

Supply List
Paper: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, PTI White, Designer Paper is from SU! Friends & Flowers Simply Scrappin’ Kit
Stamps: JLO Brentwood Digi Stamp
Accessories: Sticky Die Cuts from Friends & Flowers Simply Scrappin’ Kit, So Saffron Twill, Certainly Celery Twill, Staples, Sizzix, Sizzix Rose Die, SU! Scallop Border Punch, SU! Pretties Kit, Glue Dots, SU! Stampin Write Markers (Pumpkin Pie, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, Bordering Blue); Stampin’ Dimensionals, Paper Snips, Love & Happiness Rub-Ons, Basic Grey Rub-On tool, Sticky Strip

JLO Inspiration Challenge #1

As I mentioned yesterday, it’s DERBY WEEKEND. Today is Oaks Day, tomorrow is Derby Day.

Do you want to learn more about the 135th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville? Check it out! There is also this neat quiz…where you can test your horse lingo. I scored 8/10.

So what’s the KY Derby all about? Well…obviously, there’s the horses. How about all the television stars, movie stars, country music stars, hats, flowers, fashion, royalty, food…I wouldn’t knowWHERE to start with the food…Derby Pie, Mint Juleps, buffet…

I’m really likin’ the big flowery hats. Yep…you read Mollymoo right…big flowery hats. Check ’em out! Aren’t they fun?

Back to the horses, Jess has this cute pony in her store. Check out this guy…Future Rodeo Star…but he’s still young…maybe he’s to be a future winner of the Run for the Roses!

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to play along with the JLO DT and create something with JLO stamps inspired by the 135th Kentucky Derby. There’s no time limit. If you don’t have any JLO stamps, why not check out the FREE Brentwood digi stamp?

If you upload your project to SplitCoastStampers, use keywords JLOIC01 (JessicaLynnOriginal Inspiration Challenge 01). Additional keywords for this project could be Brentwood and/or JessicaLynnOriginal.

I’m looking forward to seeing your creations!

Open that starting gate and let those creative juices flow.

Run…baby…run!

The Run for the Water

Saturday is the annual Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs in Louisville!

This…is my cattle making a Run for the Water! GANGWAY!

I had to change the title to “Water Run” because I couldn’t get my prefered title to fit in the upper right side space after I had attached my pictures.

Start with the picture at the bottom and it goes clockwise in sequence as the herd of steers and heifers make their way down the hill to the pond.

I used paper from the Stampin’ Flybabies Spring 2009 Craft kit. I’m workin’ on using up those buttons. I attached the buttons with glue dots. I didn’t have any ink or CS that matched that soft mauvy pink of the Making Memories Flower Patch shaped paper. So I decided to stamp the title on SU! Very Vanilla CS using SU! Regal Rose ink. I love the alpha…not sure on the color of the ink. I cut out each letter and ran them through my Xyron…aka “sticker machine”.

So, whacha think of the title?

Supplies:
Stamps – Wild West Alpha
Paper – Making Memories Flower Patch
Ink – Regal Rose
Accessories – Xyron machine, buttons, glue dots

This is a collage featuring some of the cattle in the Run for the Water. This page is also the page behind the Run for the Water; the cutout is accented against the Very Vanilla backdrop.

Accessories are from the Stampin’ Flybabies Spring 2009 Craft Kit.

Supplies:
Paper – SU! Very Vanilla
Accessories – Making Memories die cut, buttons, glue dots, sticky strip.

Tulip Collage

After yesterday’s embellished page, I decided to let the pictures be the star of this page. These pictures were taken in April of 2006…tulips were early that year.


The paper is from Making Memories Flower Patch. It’s a soft yellow, almost matching SU! Barely Banana. The paper was in the Stampin’ Flybabies 2009 Craft Kit. The ribbon is most likely a May Arts grosgrain that matches SU! Barely Banana.

It was a farily simple page to put together. Simple, striking and beautiful…just like tulips.

Supplies:
Paper – Making Memories Flower Patch
Accessories – Grosgrain Ribbon (matches SU! Barely Banana), Sticky strip

Brentwood Spottings

Brentwood has been spotted wearing a t-shirt that says “I LOVE MUSIC!”

If you download and use the free JLO Brentwood Digital Image, post a comment below and link your project! I can’t wait to check it out.

My Brentwood is still in the works…stay tuned!

Bloom

Not in a million years would I have ever thought I would use the word “BLOOM” on a scrapbook page! But here it is!

I took these pictures of my strawberry plants back in 2006. Ain’t they pretty?

I used the strawberry from SU! Tart and Tangy, stamping in Real Red Craft ink. I think the strawberry is the only stamp in that set of four that I have used. Then I stamped green strawberries in old olive. I capped them, saving two for green strawberries. I ran those through Xyron and attached.

The strawberry blooms are created from SU! Felt Flowers, flowers from SU! Pretties kit and Summer Sun colored brads.


Here you can see the white rub-on from (I think) 2008 SAB Love & Happiness. I have a ton of those. That was the year all my SAB “sets” was rub-ons. Did I mention, I have a ton of Love & Happiness rub-ons? After peeling off the backing, I went back over the rub-on with the paddle end of the Basic Grey Rub-On tool, to make sure the rub-on was attached to my paper and wouldn’t attach itself to my page protector. It might eventually attach to the page protector, but not for a while anyway, I hope.

Here’s that word I never thought I’d use. I used Big Deal Alpha and stamped on PTI White in Old Olive craft ink, embossed with Crystal Clear EP. The white flowers and flat back pearls are from SU! Pretties Kit. The primas are from a Prima Share I was in a few years ago. The flowers were put together using gue dots. The letters are mounted on pop dots.

Supplies:
Stamps – Tart & Tangy, Big Deal Alpha
Paper – Making Memories Flower Patch, PTI White
Ink – Real Red Craft, Old Olive Craft
Accessories – SU! felt flowers, SU! pretties kit, Summer Sun colored brads, glue dots, SU! Scallop Edge Punch, Making Memories tool kit and mat, Xyron, sticky strip, Love & Happiness Rub-ons, Basic Grey Rub-on tool, Stampin’ Emboss Cyrstal Clear, SU! Heat Gun, pop dots

Meet Suzy Q

Or should I say…Suzy Qute! What a doll. She’s a sweetheart…she loves her admirers and loves to ham it up for the camera. I’ve not had a little calf with such an outgoing personality like Suzy Q before. The Cub Scouts were over on Friday night for a Raingutter Regatta. DH took them to see the calves. Suzy Q & EB in the barm. EB was bashful, Suzy Q was hammin’ it up. Suzy Q has beautiful markings on her face.

Here’s me using that Groovy Guave again. I remember when that SU! In Color came out…I hated it. YUCK! I even expressed that opinion to my upline and my sideline. Now…it’s my favorite. Note to self…never say YUCK to any color…if ya do, it’s guaranteed to become your favorite and I have to eat my words. Good thing these words are tasty. 😀

I combined several different elements to create this page. Guess I was in a really creative mood.

1. Like my layout? I can’t take all the credit. The sketch was from the Weekly Card Sketch on SCS…SC225. I just love taking a card sketch and making a page.

2. See the scrolly stuff under the picture at the bottom? That’s printed acetate. I found this 12 x 12 sheet of printed acetate in my Stampin’ Flybabies Spring 2009 Craft Kit. I wanted to find creative ways to use this. This is way number 1. This paper is from the new Making Memories Flower Patch collection.

3. See the threaded buttons? This is another first. I love the look of threaded buttons. I found this roll of Groovy Guava stitched ribbon…never been opened yet! The buttons were in the Stampin’ Flybabies Spring 2009 Craft Kit. (There must be a serious shortage of buttons somewhere…cuz this kit was chock full of buttons. OY!)

4. See the chipboard letters. I wanted something quick to fix. Hahahahaha! I think I spent several HOURS on those things! Let’s see if I can remember WHAT I did. These are chipboard letters from SU! First I put Groovy Guava reinker on the letters…yeah yeah…I own every thing in Groovy Guava…so much for not liking that color. Anyway, wiped that off. Still looks like cardboard…so I put on some Gesso…then I mixed reinker in Gesso and painted that on. Then I dumped on embossing poweder and heated. Nah…decided to smear Versamark on the letters and re-heat. Still not happy, so I sanded letters. Kind of dull looking. Rubbed the Groovy Guava ink pad on the letters…decided to hit it with the heat gun…the letters not the ink pad. I learned something…you can’t sand off embossing powder. Hahaha. The letters got shiny again. I left it at that and attached them with Stampin’ Dimensionals. So much for a quick fix.

5. SU! has really spoiled me with these die cut stamps. I pulled out Embrace Life and sat there trying to push the bamboo image through…dang thing was stuck good. Then…doh…I realized this stamp set was not die cut. Oh brother. It should’ve been a clue.

6. The solid panels are textured Groovy Guava…I stamped bamboo images on one panel with Groovy Guava ink. Then flipped them over to attach with sticky strip. DOH! I stamped on the back of the textured cardstock. Kind of beats the purpose of using textured cardstock if you’re gonna hide the texture.

Supplies:

Sketch – SC225

Stamps – Embrace Life

Paper – SU! Whisper White, Groovy Guave, Making Memories Flower Patch

Ink – Groovy Guava

Accessories – Groovy Guava Stitched Ribbon, Groovy Guava reinker, Versamark, SU! Clear Embossing Powder, Gesso, paintbrush, SU! heat gun, sticky strip, glue dots, buttons, tape

JLO Design Team News

WOW! I wondered why I had more followers. So I check them out…leave some comments…hop over to JLO Design Team Blog…browse around there…check out the DT name list and HOLY COW! Jess picked to be the DT Lead for the next six months.

(thud)

Yep…fell out of my chair. I climbed back in…I just HAD to make sure I read that right. Yep. Off to check my work email. THERE IT IS! HOLY COW!

Now that the initial shock has subsided…I’m very flattered Jess likes my work. I’ve always been flattered Jess likes my work. Heck…she must know me better than me…she sent me that tree stamp…Relaxation Tree for All Seasons.

Who wud’ve thunk I would fall in love with a tree stamp, but as the name says…it truly is for all seasons! You can make it winter, spring, summer, fall. I even did winter with snow. Wanna go fishing with Riley this summer? I’m just amazed as how much I go to “that tree stamp”.

Now…where was I…was dusting…no…went to check on DS who is digging a four foot trench with a backhoe…no…got a cup of coffee…no…I see this string on my finger…hmmmm….

I know! How about we celebrate with a BLOG HOP?! Featuring…BRENTWOOD!

Stay tuned…gotta iron out some details with Jess. In the meantime, check out the new FREE Brentwood digi stamp!

I best get back to my dusting. I have bedsheets to change, floors to sweep and laundry to do.

And..oh yeah…a Brentwood stamp to ink up.

Flower Pot Card

Mollymoo made a card.

Not just any card…a flower pot card. These have to be the cutest things I have ever seen!

Isn’t this just the cutest thing? The hardest thing was arranging the flowers so the insert fit in the pot. The insert really looks top heavy. It makes me want to yell…TIMBERRRRRR!

The flowers are SU! Die Cut Blooms that I’ve had laying around for a while. They are attached and popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals. The sentiment is from Cheery Chat. This was a set I received in my SU! Demonstrator Kit. This WAS going to be Mom’s Mother’s Day Card. Would you believe I DO NOT have a Mother’s Day sentiment? Of course, I only looked at my SU! sets…cuz I wanted this to be a SUO card (SU! Only).

The cardstock for the pot is Really Rust. I sponged Really Rust Classic ink along the edges and lip of the pot. I used SU! Scallop Border punch on the lip. You can really see the sponging…I think it gives it dimension.

Mom will love this!

Supplies:
TLC215
SUO
Stamps: Cheery Chat
Paper: Really Rust, Whisper White
Ink: Really Rust
Accessories: Die Cut Blooms, Sticky Strip, SU! Stampin’ Dimensionals