Bon Appetit

Slowly but surely, I'm working on scrapping pictures from my mom's visit back in May. :) And since most of the pictures are from trips to restaurants ;), this kit by Britt-ish Designs and SuzyQ Scraps is just perfect:

Here's my page (matching with the first LO here that used the same kit):

Credits:

Bon Appetit by Britt-ish Designs and Suzy Q Scraps
Black arrow strip from June 2010 Mega by the ScrapOrchard designers

Yellow arrow strip from Let's Be Friends by De Crow Designs

Font: CK mini

Unfortunately I don't have anything else to share - I haven't been scrapping lately and won't for over a week since I'm about to go on a business trip.

Something Different

Last night I scrapped, and I did something quite different from my usual style. I love it! :)
I used a gorgeous - and huge! - kit by By Becca and Designs by Helly:

Here's my art journal page:

Journaling:
Maybe one day we will win the lottery. We will have enough money to quit our jobs. We will travel to Hawaii, Yellowstone, Alaska, Japan, Egypt, Poland and the Loire. We will dine in the finest restaurants without having to check the price on the menu first. I will buy a ton of scrapbooking products and you will write your music. I will have plenty of time to read. We will build a family. We will go to the opera often. We will have a gardener and a maid. We will go to the spa. We will go to the movies and buy popcorn. I will become a really good photographer. Or maybe not. But for the moment, let's enjoy our life just the way it is. Mess, and work, and stress and all - because it's more than just that already. And then ... maybe one day ...

Credits: Ephemeral Soul - By Becca and Designs by Helly

Fonts: For the One Hundredth Time, My Own Topher

I really love scrapbooking. It can be so cathartic to put those thoughts into writing and art.
The other day I also made another page about my mom's visit and I love how it turned out!

Credits:

Grandma's Pressed Flowers full set by Gina Marie Huff, Heidi Williams and Patricia Christensen

Doodles from Second Spring by Gina Marie Huff

Celebrating Color alphas by Gina Marie Huff

Fonts: Pea Stacy's Doodle Script, CK mini

Photo actions by My Four Hens Photography

Hybrid Travel Journal

In this month's ScrapMatters newsletter I wrote a tutorial for a hybrid travel journal. I made my first travel journal back in March before my 5 day trip to DC and it's the best thing I could have done! The pictures from that trip still lay mostly unscrapped, so it was a great idea to jot down the journaling during the trip. Plus, I really enjoyed carrying around with me this pretty album! ;)

Credits:

Around the World by Britt-ish Designs and Sahlin Studio, monuments from History Lessons by Chelle's Creations

I laminated the front and back cover and the internal dividers for protection and my album held up perfectly!
Here's a look at a few of the internal pages:

Credits:

Around the World by Britt-ish Designs and Sahlin Studio

Credits:

Where the Heart Is by [wm] squared designs and simply scraps, alpha from Around the World by Britt-ish Designs and Sahlin Studio

I liked this project so much that I've been toying with the idea of making a December daily album to bring with me when we go visit our family for Christmas (we bought tickets on Sunday and I'm so excited!!)... We'll see how that goes! ;)

Waiting...

I am so excited and cannot wait for the next 3 weeks to go by: I ordered an electronic die cutting machine yesterday and cannot wait for it to be delivered!!! :D It's an early birthday present and DH was very supportive. Yay! I really cannot wait to cut out some goodies!

In the meantime, I have some digi pages to show. First off, I used a gorgeous kit by Lina of LDrag Designs (she joined the design team at ScrapMatters this month after guesting in June, but she was no stranger: she was a CT member way back when I first found my digi-home almost 2 years ago. :) ):

The colors of this kit are beautiful!! And perfect to match some pictures DH and I took last week. :)

Credits:

Butterfly's Whisper by LDrag Designs

Font: JH Kari - Designs by Jeni Hopewell

I only scrapped one page this weekend (been busy installing my CS5 ;) and getting the pictures for my P365 organized), but I quite love how it turned out:

Credits:

Walking on Sunshine by Jenn Barrette and Tracie Stroud

Other clouds from: Lavender morning by Tracie Stroud, Lindsey Riches and Megan Turnidge; Starry Nights by Faith True, Sherri JD, Designs by Sine, Molly DeCrow; May Mornings and All My Loving by Tracie Stroud

Font: CK Cursive

I did this page for a challenge at ScrapOrchard. And while I practically don't do challlenges anymore these days, it's so true that a good challenge pushes you to do a page you wouldn't have otherwise (in this case, use at least 7 different cloud elements and twine 3 elements on a string). I rarely take the time to intertwine elements, but I love the little cluster I made here. :)

Graduation Card

I have not been creating much lately... Busy with life, and with my photography assignments for the class I signed up for back in September - and I'm still on Week 5!! So that is my priority right now. :)

But of course I still do have a little something to show. :) I cannot be completely scrap-free for long. Here's a card I made for the It's in the Cards challenge at ScrapMatters - this template is gorgeous!

Credits:

Template by Simply J Studio

Cap from School's Out For Summer by Haynay Designs

Papers from Make a Wish by Sahlin Studio and Valorie Wibbens

Font: Pea Olson

I'm not sure you can tell from the picture that I used some Stickles on the tassel (that's my new word for today and it stands for the ribbon that is attached to the cap ;) ). This card was for a male so I kept the colors serious, but I think it turned out really well!

Christmas in July Sale!

I don't know about you, but I'm so fed up with the heat this year!! It's been really terrible compared to past years. :-/ I was able to work from home the past 2 days, but I had to come in the office today, and the humidity is killing me!
But there's a great way to beat the heat: a Christmas sale! :)

And check out the new products in the store today: there are come great Christmas kits that will also be 30% off for a week!

A Beautiful Life

Mari Koegelenberg has a new collab out today with Wendy Page, and it's 20% off today and tomorrow!

This kit is seriously HUGE and packed with gorgeous papers and elements!
I used it to scrap another page about my mom's visit (seriously, it's been 2 months now and I'm not even close to being done scrapping it?!? ;) ):

Credits:

A Beautiful Life by Mari Koegelenberg Creations and Wendy Page Designs

Font: CK mini

I love those doilies by Mari! :)

4th of July Pictures Anyone?

How was your 4th of July? Ours was great: the heat wasn't as bad as we feared and we spent a lovely day. First BBQ with friends, then fireworks. And my pictures of fireworks turned out better this year! Yaay!
Anyway, have you found the right 4th of July kit to scrap your pictures? I've fallen in love with this one:

which I used to make this tonight:

Credits:

Yankee Doodle Doo by Designs by Tater and Keepscrappin Designs

Font: My Own Topher

And the next kit I'll be downloading is this one:

Yay!

Showing Off a Couple Hybrid Projects with Red River Paper

Lately, I've been using exclusively Red River Paper for my projects. I was lucky to get a sample of their papers and they have a great variety of papers, all with excellent quality.

I made some hybrid coasters for the June newsletter at ScrapMatters and I love how they turned out!! I gave them to my DH for our 3rd wedding anniversary.

Credits:

All by Sahlin Studio

Foam Stamp Alpha Black

Est. Date

Papers from: Season of Giving, Vintage Worn & Torn Papers, So Grateful add on

I used a spray sealer to protect the papers. I used the Red River Linen paper for this project - I love the texture of it! Here's a closer look of the printed paper before I cut it out:

Don't you just love that texture? :) And the colors are so bright, too!

I am a big fan of matte papers for my hybrid projects. One of my favorite papers is the Polar Matte by Red River Paper. For this project, I tried the Premium Matte Plus paper (their second best matter paper after the Polar Matte) and was very happy with the results. I did this for the July Getting Hybrid challenge at ScrapMatters: bottle cap magnets! I asked DH what subject he wanted these magnets to be; he answered "something with bees", so Britt's kit was just the perfect one for me! ;)

And here are my magnets:

Credits:

Friendly by Britt-ish Designs

Glossy Accents

I used Glossy Accents and as you can see there is very little to no bleed at all (I LOVE Glossy Accents but they do tend to bleed colors, ugh) - the Red River paper did a great job. Aren't these magnets adorable? ;)
Have a good weekend! I'm hoping to get crafty this weekend, even though my top priority is photography.

July Daily Download

I know, I know, I haven't blogged in like forever! I've just been busy with life, getting back in track after spending one week at a conference, but I do have some exciting news to share and a few projects to show off. :)

First of all, the Daily Download is back at ScrapMatters, and it's a good one!!

Every day, head over to the forum and download one piece of a fabulous kit - I've seen it, and it's amazing!! By the end of July, you'll have a gorgeous kit, for free!

Next, let me see what I can show you... Let's start with few LOs!
I've been slowly but surely scrapping my mom's visit, so here's anothe page for that (this is day 3):

Credits:

Bon Appetit by Britt-ish Designs and Suzy Q Scraps

Photo action by My Four Hens Photography

Then I have a page for this month's I'll Pencil You In challenge at ScrapMatters: it's all about getting out calendars for 2011 ready in advance.

Credits:

Arabian Adventure and Alpha-Bitty by Britt-ish Designs

Get Real - Realistic Drop Shadow Styles by Jenn Barrette

This past weekend I finally got back in track with my photography course so I did a page about my passion for photography.

Credits:

Focus by Page Frocks, Sweet Tomato Designs and Heather Hess Designs

Bracket shape from Paper Shapers by Britt-ish Designs

Font: Old Typewriter

Isn't this the perfect kit for photography? I love it!

That's all for now - I have a couple of hybrid projects to post, but I will keep that for tomorrow. :)