It's all ele.ment.ary

I have mentioned Simple Stories before. And I am going to mention it again. I LOVE this system.
They have new collections coming out. In fact, I just purchased Baby Steps...can't wait to get it. I am going to get Josh's baby album done just like that {snapping fingers}.
In the meantime, I have been working on a school album for Joey. I plan on doing the same for Jake and Josh too. The ele.ment.ary collection is perfect for this!! Just perfect.
The Kinder Year....


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From 2011-07-27

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From 2011-07-27

I had so much fun doing this. I am absolutely obsessed with sewing on my layouts. It gives me something to do while watching tivo'd shows (I am also obsessed with multi-tasking).

Project Ingredients:

Simple Stories Ele.ment.ary Collection

WRMK Page Protectors

WRMK Sew Easy and Floss (I have the whole kit n kaboodle and absolutely love it!)

AC Coordinating Cardstock Pack

Color Box: Fluid Chalk Cats Eye - Dark Brown

WRMK Heart Attack Distressing Tool


All of the Simple Stories collections and tools used are available through me. Please let me know if you are interested in purchasing anything or have questions! You can view everything by clicking on my Memory-Works consultant badge at the top right of the page.

Thanks for looking!

Been There, Done That...Map LO

This is my Travel/Vacation Layout for the March CropChocolate Chocolatier's Monthly Challenge.

From Been There

It incorporates both travel and vacation. I wanted to document where we (as a family) have gone together in the USA. I have started with trips my husband and I have taken and added trips that have included our boys. I really love how it turned out. I have been wanting to do something like this for a while. I even started cutting a map out by hand using a template...uh...yeah...got 4 states done. Then I got a Silhouette! One of the first images I bought with my newly acquired download card was the puzzle map.
Supplies used:
BasicGrey Wander CollectionBrown Ink
TONS of White Thread
Two Pieces of Kraft Cardstock
i-rock by Imaginisce and crystals
Arrow Photo Turn (pretty sure it is 7gypsies)
Thickers Remarks Shoebox Chipboard Letters
How to:
Cut out the puzzle map several times using different pieces of Wander cardstock. Piece it back together on a sheet of kraft cardstock alternating the patterns.
Stitch a border(hand stitched thanks to a lost bobbin).
Cover plain chipboard letters with an additional piece of patterned cardstock.
Adhere letters to kraft cardstock.
Stitch arrows to point the "there" and "that".
Marked places visited with crystals.
Using an additional sheet of kraft cardstock construct a little book to use as a key.
Decorate with Wander chipboard stickers.
Use photo turn to keep it closed.
Ta Da....you have a map that you can use to track all your adventures!!
Additional Photos:

From Been There

From Been There

From Been There

From Been There

Love Our Boys.

Got a chance to scrap over the long weekend. I absolutely love how this came out.
I used Basic Grey's Wander Collection that I got on CropChocolate (LOVE this site!!).

From love our boys

How I made it:
Firstly....it is scraplifted (view original layout here).

To make the black lines, I used crafting thread. Then I cut out a 1 1/4 inch square out of some clear packaging to use as a template for selecting photos. If the face fit in the square...I used it.

From love our boys

I then placed them on my completed grid...along with square I cut out from the cover sheet of the collection pack (no need to waste a 12 x 12 piece of paper for a little square).

From love our boys

From love our boys

The cardstock sticker sheet had tons of small images to use.

From love our boys

Next, I light wrote in where I wanted the words to go.

From love our boys

Had originally intended on using some black Thickers for the words, but I really like the font of the letters that came with the collection (plus they ended up matching the solid paper I used for matting).

From love our boys

I cut out mats using the solid side of the GPS paper. Then I inked all those edges as well as the patterned papers from the collection cover sheet.

From love our boys

I think this will be a layout for one of those 12 x 12 scrapbook frames.
Thanks for looking!!!

Scraplifting, Scrapping and Scrap Happy!

Since getting my Scrap Cave cleaned and reorganized, I have been able to get four layouts done. Wow, amazing what a clean space can do for your mojo! The first three layouts are for a Scraplift Me Challenge I am hosting on facebook.

This layout was scraplifted from one I saw on Technique Tuesday. I used Fancy Pants Designs It's Your Day Collection. Love these pictures of Josh ever so daintily eating his birthday cake. I was really expecting a mess. Nope.

From 2011-01-08

The next two, I scraplifted from layouts I found on scrapbook.com (which I can not find again to give proper credit).

From 2011-01-08

I used Echo Park Little Boy Collection for this layout. And a stamp by Unity.

From 2011-01-08

I used a variety of papers by Making Memories.

This last one was inspired by a layout created by Ingvild Bolme (because I could never hope to actually have the talent to scraplift her amazing work). You can view her layout here. She does truly stunning work.
My humble version.
I can never make that cluttered embellishment look work for me...I tend to lean towards the simpler look. I did stitch around the dotted page. Most edges have been distressed and inked. I absolutely love this photo of Josh. I used Basic Grey Basics for this layout.

From 2011-01-08

Thanks for looking. And there is still time to leave a comment over HERE for a chance to win a scrap kit.

Happy New Year!!!

I am not a huge fan of New Year's Resolutions...but I am going to set a goal for myself. In this New Year, I am going to:

• post a blog at least once a week
• create something new at least once a month
• keep my Scrap Cave under control

I guess I have the first of those goals accomplished for this week anyway. In order to get on the second one, I am going to have to do the third.

YIKES!!! (how did this happen?)


I will say that I have started re-organizing. I know, it is very hard to tell. I actually have accumulated a box of things I am going to post on www.craigslist.com.

Once I do get this space under control...I would like to get to work on my 2010 Family album. So far I have the title page done:




(using Fancy Pants Designs My Family Collection)
But since I am using the Simple Stories approach it should not take that long to do the whole year....yeah right! Well, not as long as it would normally take.

Trick or Treat

I am not sure if I will get to go trick or treating with the boys this year. We are still waiting to find out when I will go in to have Joshua Baby. There is a possibility I may go at 38 weeks...in which case Halloween will not involve me. Boo Hoo. But I have made my husband promise to take them AND get good pictures. I started this 8 x 8 book for the Halloween pics. Thinking of doing it this way every year... I have never really been one to do layouts without the pictures. But I am happy with how these came out. Plus I finally got to use the papers from the MME Night Light Collection.

Firsts and Candy Winner!!

I have wanted to get a craft sewing machine for a while. FINALLY...after two attempts (both had awful reviews)...I got a Janome Sew Mini. I had no idea we even had a Hancock Fabrics out here in Vegas. Practiced with it for a bit and then decided to take it for a spin on a layout.

I did my FIRST layout for Joshua. I used some paper that I have been saving for just this occasion...Baby Bee Collection by Crate Paper. Love it...it has a slight texture. I also used my stamps I got over at Papertrey Ink...finally!!! These Everyday Button Bits are so fricken cute. And how much easier is it to add stitching to your layout when you don't have to do it by hand??!! Can't wait to use it more!

This layout is also part of a challenge I am hosting over at Cafemom. I challenged everyone to do a Strip "tease". All of the paper used (besides the foundation piece and any mats) had to be in strips. I feel very productive!!

BTW...the Candy winner is ANGIE!! So congrats to you! I will get it in the mail to you as soon as I can. Thanks for all the comments ladies!!

Mini LO and Paper Daisy

I actually snuck off to my scrap cave for a few last night. AND I actually got a couple of things done!

I am hosting a Mini Dare Challenge in my scrap group. The challenge is to create a layout that is no bigger than 5 x 5. I got one done. Found a little picture of my husband as a baby, what a chunk!! And Oh My Goodness how Joey looks like him!! I used papers and embellishments from Fancy Pants The Daily Grind. Love this line. It measures 4.5 x 4.5. It is hard to see in the photo but I also used my Scor-pal to create lines in the paisley and then sanded them..wanted to make the paper a bit more masculine.

And then I am also hosting a Paper Daisy Swap. These are so cute. I found them on the Kaiser Craft website. A great way to use up scraps. And they are quick and easy!! I used the scraps I had leftover from making my mini LO.

in your EYES

This is my latest LO. I did it for a challenge I am taking part in on Cafemom. We had to scraplift a favorite LO. This one was hard for me. While I love to get inspiration from other people's work...only on rare occasion do I copy it exactly. Usually it turns into something of it's own. But I have to say I really love this one. I used MME paper for this. I LOVE their papers....all of them. Sometimes I find it difficult to cut them. This picture was taken at a place called Springs Preserve here in Vegas. Jake was looking at the bunnies hopping around. I used paint.net to make it black and white, and then I brought the color back to the background and his eyes. If it weren't for this cute little face...this child would make me absolutely insane. This was a rare moment of stillness for him.