Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Halloween. Unfortunently I have to work, but I will be dressed as a butterfly passing out candy to kids at work so I should have some fun. I have been working on a ton of new craft projects.....new layouts, christmas cards, chipboard owls, polymer clay, and tag snowmen just to name a few. I still haven't taken pics of all of them but I'm working on it. 

Here's a picture of a chipboard owl I made. Chipboard is from Maya Road and the paper is from Pink Paislee's Vintage Moon Collection.

I got a ton of emails about Martha??? How was it?? Is she nice??? What did she say?? All I can say is she lived up to every expectation that I had. Complete perfection and class. She was incredibly nice, greeted me with a huge hello. I gave her a snowman that I made, she thanked me, and said it was cute, then put it next to her cell phone. I told her that I can't cook a thing and I hope this book helps. She said, "oh it will be perfect for you." Here is a pic of me (actually the back of me) meeting Martha. I have so say she looks pretty happy to see me don't you think? lol.

There are no words............

All I can say is she is just as wonderful in person as she is on TV. Incredibly nice, beautiful and perfect! Love ya Martha!!!

Martha, Martha, Martha

In about 12 hours I am leaving to go meet Martha Stewart!!! Yes I said that right MARTHA STEWART. She is having a book signing at a local book store so I'm going to go and check it out and say "hello" to the queen of all things crafty. Check back later tomorrow for updates and hopefully some pictures if all goes well.

I have also been working on a TON of new stuff I just have to take some pictures of it. So check back soon and have a great day.

Pink Sketch #11

I had a great time with Sketch #11. I found this great paper line called Lemongrass by Crate Paper. It's an adorable line filled with whimsical birds, squirrels, and dill blossoms. Head over to Pink Sketches and participate in Sketch #11, and you will be entered into a drawing for a great prize!!!

Crafty Weekend

Yesterday I had a pretty busy day. In the morning I went to a craft show, The Scrapbook Zone (A LSS), Joann's and Archivers. I got a ton of great stuff. And also a ton of great ideas. So I got home and started creating!!!!

#1 And Owl Blanket for Ella (Fleece 3.99 yrd at Joanns) I think she likes it.     

 

                               

#2 Started to get ready for the craft show!!!!

#3 Finished up the skirt on my dress form. Just have to embellish now.

T.G.I.F.

The week is finally coming to an end. Whew. And I actually have the ENTIRE weekend off of work. I am so excited. Hopefully I can get some scrapping done and need to start making things for my craft show in December. I have some great ideas for some clay trees, and a ton of other cute Christmas stuff I just have to take the time to sit down and try to make some stuff.

Have you all signed up for Jessica Sprague's free class?? I did. I just have to get my supplies for the class. It is only a few things. I'm excited to see what we will create. I am always up for a challenge and some great inspiration.

Have you seen these adorable owl stamps by Kelly Panacci??? Oh my gosh could they be any more adorable? I think these would be great for making cards or on an adorable layout. I don't know what my obsession is with owls. But it seems like I want everyone that I lay my eyes on. You can get them over at Two Peas.

Have a wonderful Friday. Hopefully I will have some updates over the weekend with some new creations!

Scrapbooks Etc. Magazine

My scrappy friend Donna was nice enough to send me an email telling me that my must have/must want line Good Cheer by October Afternoon is featured on the cover of Scrapbooks Etc. magazine this month. I must get my hands on this magazine and this paper!!! lol. 

Christmas Scrapbooking Must Haves

Christmas is literally around the corner. I know it's hard to believe! This is my first Christmas as a scrapbooker and I am literally dying looking at these amazing Christmas lines that are coming out. I can not wait to get all of them!

I just heard that my LSS got the new Basic Grey Wassail line in. This line is not your typical red and green Christmas tree and presents line. It has a more of a vintage theme to it, and I am absolutely in love with it. You can get it at Two Peas.

Another amazing line is by October Afternoon. They are probably my favorite manufacturer. All of their stuff is amazing! I think I may just freak out when I get my hands on their Good Cheer Line! It is my absolute favorite line of this season. I'm a sucker for pink and teal. And this line has it all. Another kind of vintage theme this line is darling. You can check out October Afternoons entire catalog here. If anyone knows when and where I can get my hands on this please let me know!!!

I also went scrapbooking the other day and got 2 layouts done. One is for Pink Sketches next week and the other I will post later in the week. I just have to take the time and take some pictures of both of them.

Have a great day! Hope you enjoyed my ramblings! What are your Christmas scrapbook must haves?

Pink Sketch #10

Another new sketch over at Pink Sketches. I really took a very simple approach to this one and had a lot of fun! It's also our first week with a guest designer!

I have not had much time to blog or scrap in the past few days because my work schedule got all crazy, but things are back to normal now I am heading to scrap at my LSS tomorrow! I hope to get a lot done. I need to take the time to go through my stash tonight and get organized. I always get there and have no idea what I am going to do and then end up buying a ton of stuff I really don't need. So I am going to try and get my ideas together tonight. 

Also don't forget tonight at midnight EST is the start for registration for Jessica Sprague's Stories In Hand Class. Don't miss out it's FREE!!!

Today...

I took inspiration from Ali Edwards Document a Day in Your Life Series and made this with Photoshop. If you haven't checked out Ali's blog yet make sure you check out the series, it is amazing!

Stories In Hand

I am so incredibly excited for this free class. I love Jessica's work, and am always looking for new ideas and creative motivation. And did I mention it's Free???? Make sure to register on October 20th. I know I will! Head over to JessicaSprague.com for all the info.

This Sunday....

I am off to go to work for the day. If you haven't been over to Pink Sketches make sure you check it out. A great new sketch and the guest designer winners have been announced. Here is my layout for Sketch #9

I also took the time the other day to start decorating the dress forms I got at a local scrapbook store a few months ago. I am using acrylic medium and 2 inch paper strips. I am loving how it is coming out so far. I just can't decide how I want to do the skirt yet. Don't mind my messy desk.

Sketch #9 Preview

I finished my layout for Pink Sketch #9 yesterday. I usually don't scrap at home, but it was different and a good thing because it forced me to use my own supplies. It's a very simple layout, but I like it a lot. Here is a sneak peek. Make sure you check out Pink Sketches tomorrow for the launch of Sketch #9 and the announcement of the Guest Designer Contest.

Today.....

.......

Feeling tired today. Wanting to find time to scrap. But unfortunently the schedule is work eat sleep, work eat sleep, repeat. Looking forward to a day off on Friday. Even the pups are tired. 

Flickr

it's an obsession. Flickr that is. If enyou don't have one get one. I can sit on there for hours. Too many hours. Looking through all the photos. Photography fascinates me. Getting to see so many things from so many perspectives. It is stunning. The best part of Flickr are the differt groups. There are thousands of them. So many different subjects. You can find a group for just about anything you could ever imagine. Each group has their own topic and then everyone uploads their pictures relating to that subject to share with everyone.

A few of my favorite groups are

• Canon Powershot A560 - this is the camera I have. It's fun to see all the different pictures people have taken with the same camera as me. Just do a search for your camera. I'm sure there is a group for it!
• Craft Rooms - Oh my this groups is amazing! Seeing all the different craft rooms/art sudios! It makes me very jealous!
• Scrapbook - Share all of your scrapbook creations!
• My Chihuahua Is Cuter Than Your Chihuahua - So much cuteness here!
• Document A Week in The Life - This is Ali Edwards group following her series A Week In the Life. Check out her blog, it is an amazing project. I am thinking of starting one.
• Chicago - Since going there I have become slightly obsessed. 

I am in the process of redoing my flickr page with just photography. Check it out and add me to your flickr friends. I would love to see your flickr pages! Leave them in the comment section! 

Pink Sketch #8

Pink Sketch #8 is up over at Pink Sketches I had a great time working on this layout using pictures that I took from a trip to the cider mill last week. I used Cosmo Crickets Mr. Campy Line which is actually camping paper, but looks great in a fall layout because of the wonderful colors. The chipboard owl is from Maya Road. I covered it with Mr. Campy paper and then made my own eyes and mouth. I might add some journaling to it later, but for now I think it looks great.

Tips on Taking Pictures of Your Layouts

One of the first things I learned when I started posting my layouts on the internet is..... a horrible picture can ruin a beautiful layout. I quickly learned how easy it is to make a picture of your layout look just as good as the real thing, without using a $500.00 camera or a fancy scanner!

I take all my pictures with a simple point and shoot Canon A560 camera. I got it for around $150.00 at Target about a year ago, and it is one of the best cameras I have ever owned. 

Here are some simple steps to get a great picture of a layout using your own point and shoot camera.

1. Go outside. Natural sunlight is the best place to take your picture. Even if the sun isn't out the natural light outside really helps.

2. I usually alway leave my camera on the auto setting, but one thing I do change when I take pictures of my layouts is the macro setting. It usually looks like a little flower on your camera settings. Just hit the button and it should turn macro on. I find it to be great for really showing detail work in a layout.

3. Set your layout on the ground. I usually put a scrap sheet of 12 x 12 paper under it just to keep it protected from any dampness, dirt etc.

4. Stand directly over and about 6 inches away from the bottom of your layout (so your feet aren't in the picture), hold your camera directly over the layout pointing at the ground. Now usually I don't zoom in that much because I use photoshop to crop my pictures, but if you don't want a lot of surrounding background in your picture make sure to zoom in and crop the layout using your camera zoom.

5. All that's left to do is snap! Instantly you should have a better than average picture of your layout.

Here is a layout I took a picture of yesterday morning. 

Supplies: 

Patterned Paper: Fancy Pants All Fall Collection

Rub Ons: Scenic Route

I hope this little tutorial helps some of you out. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment and I will get back to you A.S.A.P.

Fresh Start

I took some time and cleaned up the blog. Nothing drastic, Im still working on it. I took a lot of stuff off moved some things around and made a new header. I'm not sure how long it will last I liked it a lot better when I was making it, now I'm not sure. Anyway I'm starting fresh with new layouts, pictures, everything. I'll add things more throughout the week, I just don't want it to be too crowded.

Now in Scrappy news..........

I never posted my layout for Pink Sketch #7. So if you haven't seen it get over to Pink Sketches and check it out. Tomorrow will launch another sketch!

I have quite a few new layouts to post, I just have to take some pictures of them when the sun is out today. Hopefully. 

So since I didn't take any new pictures of the new layouts I decided to give the whole digital scrapbook thing a try again. I actually really like how it turned out. I used a Harvest Spice digital kit from ShabbyPrincess.com. They have some great free digital kits to download. If you haven't visited them yet make sure to check it out. So here is the layout I created using Photoshop Elements for Mac and the ShabbyPrincess Kit.

Just something quick and fun. I enjoyed making it. Something out of the box that I haven't done in awhile and it's always good to have a challenge. Hope everyone has a great Saturday, I have to work unfortunently. See ya tomorrow with some new layouts.

Relaunch

I am getting ready for a relaunch of pink chihuahua art this weekend. New layout. New content. New everything. So expect some construction over the next few days and check back soon.