Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and enjoys their time with friends and family. I am a very lucky girl and have an amazing husband, wonderful son, and so many other great family and friends who care and love me. I am so blessed and fortunate to live this life!

One sketch, two layouts

Tonight I wanted to share two layouts that you have already seen, but I wanted to show you how I was able to take one sketch, and make the layouts very different.

First, the sketch: (Courtesy of Keri from Sweet Peach.)

Next, the first layout I did using it:

As you can see, instead of doing the vertical pictures because I didn't have any I wanted to use, I chose to use horizontal pictures. I also didn't use the 6 pictures that the sketch called for, instead using only 3 and incorporating my journaling into the other three picture boxes. Everything else I kept almost the same except for the circles on the top and I used more than 5 circles on the side.

Now, onto the second layout:

If you recall from my post with this sketch, I completed this at a scrapbook retreat for a sketch challenge. This is a hard sketch to do when you aren't prepared with the proper pictures. So if pictures of meat work for the sketch and that's how you earn tickets, well, then that's what you gotta do! I did use vertical pictures for this sketch, and used 5 pictures, but still left room in that last spot for some journaling. I also changed the top and side from the original layout.

I hope this post has showed you the different ways you can go with a layout all while using the same sketch. I often use a sketch only once and then forget about it, but it may not hurt to hang out to them and whip the same one back out when looking for some inspiration.

I'm off to go pack for a scrapbook day tomorrow, so I should be back Sunday or Monday with something to show you. Have a great weekend!

Swoon!

I finally finished a page that I had started at a scrapbook retreat I went to in October. It was part of a 1 page layout class and they provided the supplies and the general "gist" of the page, but it was up to you to play around with some of the key elements such as title, embellishment, etc... I have to say, I am so pleased with how the layout turned out. The picture was taken by Carey White. She did an amazing job with Liam's 6 month pictures and some family pictures. The picture is my favorite part of the whole layout. So without further ado, here ya go!

Thanks for looking and have a great night!

Oops

Please excuse the mess that is my blog while I work on it. I forgot that some of what I put on it was a custom designed image, so I went to change the background, but will need my husband to help with the other stuff. I know it is UGLY and very mismatched right now, but I'm working on it!

Sketchy Thursday

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I went and had Thanksgiving dinner with my family for the first time in 5 or 6 years. Josh has always been on call, so we haven't been able to get down there for Turkey Day. It was nice to spend it with them, and it was special to have our first Thanksgiving as a family of 3. Being in a bigger city for all of the Black Friday sales was nice too. ;-)

Anyway, here is my take on the latest Sketchy Thursday sketch. This sketch brought me way outside of my comfort zone! I had started it last week, and just couldn't get inspired so I tried waiting. Then I got back to it tonight, and actually stopped to look at other sketches to see if what I had started would work with any of them. Finally I sucked it up, kept playing around with different things, and actually came up with an endresult that I LOVE! Many of the products I used were from the November Boys Rule Scrapbook Kit. This is the other kit club that I was talking about in one of my last posts. Having a little boy to scrapbook can be hard, especially in a scrapbook world of flowers and other girly embellishments. I also am not into the typical "boy" products of transportation and sports. This is where Laura Lee comes in. She creates a kit each month filled with amazing boy products!

Thanks for looking!

Giveaway alert!

I know I don't have many readers...is anyone out there? But I did want to advertise a giveaway for my friend Sara over at Scrap Fit. All you have to do is go and comment on the post...easy enough, right? While you're over there, you should follow her blog too. They do great challenges and have a lot of fun!

Back to back posts?

Yes, blog readers, that's right. I'm back with another post. This is a layout that I finished this past week for the current sketch challenge at Sweet Peach. I have been loving them lately. Their sketches, their kits, everything. And Corrie from Sweet Peach is so friendly and so prompt about answering e-mails. When I made the decision to order from a kit club, I searched and searched for the right one, but kept coming back to Sweet Peach. I have found another kit club that I am loving and considering about subscribing to as well, but more on that in another post.

I used some Glimmer Mist to spray on the cardstock, and of course I had to distress a little bit using my Tim Holtz distress ink. All of the papers (and most of the embellishments) came from the Sweet Peach November kit. I fell in love with the Pebbles Masking Tape stickers. They are awesome! I really should take a close up picture of that corner because besides the stickers, I stamped a design on the yellow cardstock piece and pop dotted it. I also loved the pink woodgrain paper in this kit. I am not normally a wood grain or girly girl type person, but the instant I saw that paper I knew I had to use it. This picture of me being silly at the pumpkin farm was perfect. (And in case you are wondering what I am wearing, it's the Boba carrier for my son. He was teething and the next day spiked a fever so he was not having the carrier!)

Bad blogger!

I am really awful at this whole blogging this. First, it was because I wasn't scrapping much. I went through a phase where I didn't like anything I made and I was comparing everything I was creating against my friends. And I happen to scrap with some pretty awesome scrappers, so I was in a scrappin' funk! Then I was scrapping more, butI haven't had the time (read: too lazy) to take pictures or upload them.

I have also been adjusting to my new life of full time working momma. And it's hard! I am still trying to figure out how to balance work, a baby, a husband, and the house. I feel like I am usually behind in one or more areas of my life and am always playing catch up. But, I am learning that it's all about priorities. And I need to make myself, Liam, and Josh my priorities. So I am vowing to take more time for myself to scrap and update my blog. With that said, here we go:

This is based off of a sketch from Sweet Peach. It was for a sketch challenge at a retreat I went to back in the middle of October. All of my friends were teasing me that I was scrapping pictures of meat when I should be scrapping a baby, but this was a hard sketch! I didn't have any other pictures I could use for the sketch besides these. And sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do when presented with a challenge. I especially love the title. The border says delicious and then the sticker at the end says meat. I may not have won the challenge, but it still made for a funny afternoon!

This one is loosely based off of an October Afternoon sketch. I flipped it on its side and rearranged a little bit, but I LOVE it! I have really been into to distressed look lately so I used a file to go around the edges and then took some Distress Ink to it. I Glimmer Misted the raw chipboard and also pop dotted the three rectangles, but you can't really tell.

Thanks for looking and have a great night!

giveaway alert!

Go to Amy Cornwell's blog, for a chance to win one of 4 amazing prizes! I just love her jewelry...it is all so gorgeous!

Sweet Peach Sketch

I know it's been a while since I've blogged. Having a baby, working full time, and trying to redecorate your house (while being too cheap to buy decorations, etc I can make on my own) will do that to you. However, when I saw this sketch from Sweet Peach, I knew I had to try it. I used their fabulous July Sweet Featured Kit and came up with this layout about my son and one of my cats (or should I say his cat...) The journaling is a little hard to read, but it says "Although none of the cats seem to mind the new addition to the family, Mulligan has taken a definite interest in Liam. He always wants to cuddle with him, seems worried when he cries, and wanders around looking for him when he's not home. Whether he likes it or not, Liam has himself his first pet."

Thanks for looking!