Thursday, March 28

A busy week ...

Hope you are all having a great week! Mine has been a busy work week and I'm looking forward to working in the studio on Saturday and then Easter Sunday with the family!


 My Gram's service was wonderful - it was truely a celebration of her amazing life. The choir was incredible and the memorial garden was lovely. I have plans to go to Virginia with my Mom the end of May to finalize my Gram's memorial service with my Southern family.


I finally finished a fourth layout for my Gram's Album. I seriously struggled with this one ... not sure why. I kept tweaking it and finally finished it ...



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I used Viva Colour Glitter Pen in several places, including the canvas alpha ...



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And what's a layout without twine ... here's a new color from the Twinery called Copper Shimmer ... Love how this blended with the glitter pen ...



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Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the week. I see some wine at the end of mine!!!!!


 



Thursday, March 21

Lovin' some Graphic 45

OK - three posts in a row ... are you impressed!! That's because I had a productive (for me) weekend at Crop on the Cape!! No, I didn't get 20 layouts done but 10 ATC's and 3.5 layouts is pretty good for me! More important was the reconnect with some great friends! My goal was to finish some pages for my Gram's album and here is page three - and my FAV! It's my fav because it's bright and has lots of orange. I used Graphic 45's bright and gorgeous Tropical Travelogue collection. Here's my layout ...



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I used coordinating chipboard from the collection and some Petaloo vines and a fun orange Candies flower ...



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I added some cute birds including this pair and added some orange splatters and, of course, some twine ... 



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I love this pic of my Gram and her friends at the beach - love those bathing suits!! My Gram is on the right. Well, I have one other layout but I'm not loving it so I'm still trying to tweek it LOL! Have a great Thursday and save time to be creative!



Wednesday, March 20

Two days in a row ...

Good Wednesday Morning!! I'm back again (two days in a row ...) with another page for my Gram's album. I'm so glad I had this past weekend to finish a few pages for her album, which will be at her service this Saturday. I used Creative Scrappers logo as a base for my layout! Check out the previous link and you'll see the logo in the upper right corner of the blog! After my Gram passed, I spent alot of time going through old photos of her and her friends and our family! I love most things vintage. I would say my scrapbooking style leans to the vintage side. I adore older photos. They have always been dear to me, even before my Gram's passing. On this layout I incorporated modeling paste through a stencil as part of the background. My circle base is an 8.0" doily which I then built on. I did tons of distressing and added gesso to the distressed edges ...



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Here's a close-up of the stenciled background ...



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I love the subtle texture this technique gives to a project. I also used more gorgeous Petaloo flowers which I added some gesso to ...



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I have a few more layout to share - one using Graphic 45 papers. I'll be back to share those as soon as they're photographed. I have to say ...photographing projects in New England is the most challenging part of scrapbooking!!! Thanks for all your lovely thoughts about my Gram - she was truely amazing!



Tuesday, March 19

Bloglovin'

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Back to the routine ...

I'm getting back into the swing of the "routine" after a nice weekend at Crop on the Cape! It's always great to reunite with friends and be creative all weekend!! I wanted to create some pages to complete my Gram's scrapbook which will be at the service this Saturday. I used a sketch from the new Creative Scrappers~Creating with Sketches Volume 2 sketchbook which is available to order. It is loaded with great inspiration and tons of sketches!! Here's one page using some older Bo Bunny papers and some gorgeous Petaloo flowers. The picture is my Mom and Gram together ...



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Here's some closeups of the flowers...



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 I'll be back with more pages using these awesome sketches throughout the week! Thanks for stopping by!


 



Tuesday, March 12

A Trio of ATC's

I can say I'm finally getting more comfortable creating ATC's. At first I was so intimidated ... how do I create something on a 2.5 x 3.5 piece of paper? I'm used to layouts and larger canvases! Yet, like everything, the more I played ... the easier it got! I even joined an ATC Swap group at my LSS Right at Home Scrapbooking... such a great group of talented ladies and the group is growing! The variety of tiny masterpieces the group creates amazes me!


So here are a few of my latest ATC's I created for Splash of Color!! I used three recently released collections from CHA Winter 2013. These cards are all a bit different but each one was fun AND I did them all in one day!!! For all the details on these cards head on over to the Splash of Color blog ...



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Finally .. a holiday ATC just in time for Easter ...



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Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!!



Wednesday, March 6

Ready for Spring?

I don't know about you but I'm so ready for Spring. With another storm approaching tomorrow I'm about done with winter!! The time change this weekend is so welcomed - even thought it means losing sleep - that's nothing new to me anyway!!


So, how about a fun, Spring Canvas to help with the winter doldrums. I hope you can join me at Right at Home Scrapbooking for the third in a series of seasonal girl canvases. The class will be April 6,2013 at 12 noon!! Here's a peek at the canvas ...



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She is so ready for the Spring! We will be using Echo Park's For the Record 2 collection and creating some raindrops and puddles with Glossy accents. I hope you can join me. Please stop on over to RAH blog or call the store to reserve your spot ... 508-695-9290.



Tuesday, March 5

So Excited!!!!!

Happy Tuesday Everyone! I wanted to share my excitement with you! I am so honored to have a layout in the latest Creative Scrappers Creating with Sketches Volume 2 sketchbook created by the talented Kristine Davidson! Here's a peek at the cover...



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There is a TON of inspiration packed in this book ... 125 brand new sketches and some absolutely gorgeous projects!!!! Here is my layout based on one of the many sketches ...



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I used Authentique's "Fresh" collection - perfect for summer photos! Here's a close-up of the banner ...



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I had so much fun creating this layout and I want to personally thank Kristine for allowing me to be a part of this inspiring sketchbook. Now, how do you get your hands on this book you ask ... well, head on over to the Creative Scrappers store site ... www.creative-scrappers.com/store and you can save $2.00 OFF a digital copy by using this code: CWS2Discount The printed version of the sketchbook is currently at the printers and will be available by March 15th.


Thanks for letting me share this with you and thanks again Kristine for the wonderful opportunity to be a part of this exciting new sketchbook!!


 


 



Sunday, March 3

A week of Reflection ...

This has been a refelctive week for me. My Gram's passing was hard but I am so relieved that she is no longer uncomfortable and in pain. She was so active until June of last year when she hurt her back and then it has been a gradual decline since then. I am still amazed that she was only in a nursing home the past few months and the credit for that goes to my Mother. She has been the most incredible care giver I have met - even when it was challenging, she never gave up! My Mom gave my Gram the best care anyone could ask for and it wasn't easy. My Gram was a determined, strong willed person - great qualities, but also challenging qualities! My family knows what I mean! I have spent the weekdays with my family planning the memorial service, going through photos and then retreating home at night. I scrapped a few layouts of my Gram this week which I found quite therapeutic. I'm also working on a photo wreath with only vintage photos and an open frame with photos hung on wires - I'll share when finished! We will also have her scrapbooks out at the service - one of them has pages I did years ago when I first started scrapbooking and boy are they hysterical to reflect on - so simple, plain and lacking design.


My week wrapped up with an AMAZNG, messy, fun and much needed class at my LSS Right at Home Scrapbooking with the talented Julie Fei-Fan Balzer, who was one of the first in store designers at Right at Home. So it was cool to have her back again! I remember being at one of my first crops with her but didn't know her well at the time. She is so down to earth, has a great attitude and is an excellent teacher. We worked with sprays, stencils, stamps, inks, acrylic paints and my new love - watercolor paper! I learned alot about combining colors - something that doesn't come easy to me yet and mixed media design. I'm trying to add more color to my art journal pages - I tend to be too monochromatic - and she helped ALOT! If anyone is interested in mixed media has an opportunity to attend one of Julie's classes, I highly recommend it!! Thanks Right at Home for bringing Julie close to Home!!


I also have some exciting news - I have a layout in Kristine Davidson's new Sketchbook Creative Scrappers-Creating with Sketches to be released this week!



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I will share my page on Tuesday as well as info. on purchasing the Sketchbook - digital and printed copies! I have seen a preview and the sketches and layouts are gorgeous!


Well, I have one more day before I'm back to a routine. I will be fine as long as I stay busy and keep in touch with friends.The Memorial service will be a challenge to get through, as it is for anyone suffering a loss. I'm having brunch with my parents today and then home to chill and work on my Gram's photo wreath. Have a good week and I'll be back soon!



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