The end of summer . . . not really . . . but it is and I know it. I think that each year the end arrives earlier and earlier.


Ten signs that summer is ending:

1) Back to school sales
2) The bottle of aloe is empty
3) No more ice cream truck music
4) Its getting darker earlier
5) My skin is starting to dry out
6) The evenings are getting crisp and cool (unless you live in Texas).
7) Sweet corn is everywhere
8) and I just realized this one . . . the mall, the movie theater, and just public places in general have all changed. All those pesky, ill mannered teenagers whose parents dump them off (as if public places are a daycare for hormonal teenagers) are gone because school has started.
9) Summer items are seriously discounted
10) My flip-flops from Old Navy are paper thin

Creative road blocks happen to the best of us. You want to scrap but that design you have in your head is looking pretty boring.  I’ve found that there is nothing like a great sketch to get my mojo flowing. At My Sketch World you’ll find not only a stimulating monthly sketch on the blog, but access to past sketches that are sure to inspire you.

I used these sketches by Lucy Chesna (MSW) to get my mojo flowing:

My take on the sketch:

My take on the sketch:

My take on the sketch:

My take on the sketch and my first canvas work . . . and I love the way it turned out!







Woot Woot!  I just found out that I got picked to be a layout designer at My Sketch World.  I am so honored to be a part of this amazing design team!  Can I say I'm beyond excited!!!

August Sketch:

My take on the sketch:

I have to confess . . . I have had a long love affair with manipulating paper.


Whether it’s completing a layout for a scrapbook, working on an altered art project or making an ATC, I never underestimate what the creative imagination can bring to reality.
Every once in awhile I complete a project that really excites me! And although this cake was easy to make (but time consuming), I think it has a certain WOW factor because of all the little details.

I used my Cricut machine to cut the cake and the flowers and my Cuttlebug machine for the embossing. The more I play with my Cricut machine the more I discover what it can do
. . . amazing!

Each piece of cake is an individual box which can be filled with sweet treats and/or little goodies.

Well I did it . . . I applied for two Design Teams within the last two weeks.  Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed . . . and saying a few prayers.

Here are three layouts I completed this past week using sketches from My Sketch World.

Hello Sunshine

pp - Simple Stories, My Minds Eye, Cosmo Cricket &amp, Pink Paislee

cs - Bazzill

ink - Ranger

string - Hardware

button - Notions

butterfly - Jenni Bowlin

brads and photo turn - ?

I flipped this sketch to make my pictures work for it.

cs - The Paper Co.

pp - BoBunny and Reminisce

die cut stickers - Reminisce

ink - Ranger

ribbon - Notions

letters - Thickers

Machine Stitching

pp - Melissa Frances

die cuts - Melissa Frances

cs - Bazzill

Flowers - Imaginisce

felt - Imaginations

chipboard - Maya Road

bling - Prima

paint - Making Memories

. . . and I completed my first layout on a canvas and I just LOVE how it turned out!  I can only give you a sneak peek now . . .

Today's project was a card for challenge #201 on the Mojo Monday Blog.

Supplies:
PP - Cosmo Cricket & October Afternoon
Chipboard -Maya Rd.
Ink - Ranger
Seam Binding - Hug Snug
Glimmer Mist
Stick Pins - Swap

Today's project was a card for the Crop Stop Challenge #30, which was to use lace.
cs - The Paper Co.
pp - Jenni Bowlin
lace & flowers - Notions
seam binding ribbon - Hug Snug and Glimmer Mist
ink - Ranger
bling - Basic Grey
leaves & letter stickers - Making Memories

The new sketch has been posted at Pencil Lines
Sketch 247

My take on the sketch:

All supplies are from the BoBunny Zoology Collection.

Sometimes when I’m making cards or working on a scrapbook layout I need a little inspiration. I love working with sketches and have found a few sketch sites that are not only inspiring but have gotten my mojo flowing!




Pencil Lines
Sketch 246

My take on the sketch:

Card stock - The Paper Co.
Patterned Paper - My Mind’s eye; American Made
Brads - Making memories and Basic Grey
String - Office supply
Letter stickers - Cosmo Cricket
Pin Wheels - hand made



Once Upon A Sketch
July 15th Sketch

My take on the sketch:

Card stock - The Paper Co.
Patterned Paper - My Mind’s Eye; American made
Brads - making memories & Basic Grey
Letter sticker - Cosmo Cricket
Pin Wheels - hand made



My Sketch World
July Card Sketch

Card Stock - The Paper Co.
Patterned Paper - October Afternoon
Seam Binding Ribbon - dyed with Glimmer Mist
Ink - Ranger
Button - notions
Chipboard - Maya Rd.
Floss - Iris
Paint - making Memories



Mojo Monday

Patterned Paper - October Afternoon & Cosmo Cricket
Seam Binding Ribbon - dyed with Glimmer Mist
Ink - Ranger
Floss - Iris
Chipboard - Maya Rd.
Letter stickers - Sassafras

Today is one of those days when my mind is cluttered with “stuff”.


It’s hard to find time to relax when you’re trying to juggle the demands of everyday life. At the end of the day the list of “to dos” is never done. And yet, despite the long list of tasks and the daily challenges of job and family . . . I seem to make it work.
To some people relaxing means doing nothing. Relaxing to me means making time to go to the gym, baking, scrapbooking and/or paper crafting.
I hope you find some time to relax this week . . . however you choose.

. . . and since I'm going to be relaxing a little tonight . . . I'll be scrapping :)

A couple of projects from the weekend.
First a card for the card sketch #227 at CPS
A co-worker wanted me to make a card for her father's birthday.  The outside reads "If it's too loud . . .
and the inside of the card reads "then you're too old."  Happy Birtheay!

I also did another layout for Jennie's Water Challenge at My Sketch World.

50% off . . . even 80% off sometimes. Who doesn’t LOVE a great deal?!

I love buying scrappy supplies at a big discount. Having said that, I try only to buy what I really love and know I’ll use (at some point).

Check out these sites for some super daily/weekly deals.  The ones with an asterisk behind them are my favorites.  I have ordered from these sites and have never been disappointed in the products or the shipping time.

Crafty Catch

Crafty Steals  *
 
CrazyScraps

Crop Chocolate  *

Flowers to Flourishes  *

Kindred Creations

Molly's Square

Peachy Cheap  *

ScrapAce

Scrapbook Steals  *

Scrapbooking For Less

Scrappin Deals 'n Steals  

Stamping Scrapping

Stuff 4 Scrapbooking

Most people I know have had a bad contractor experience to share. These experiences come in a variety of sizes, from bad workmanship, to unfinished jobs, to unforeseen cost over runs or in the worst case scenarios the contractor skips out with your money and does no work at all.


We have done several remodeling jobs in the house over the last few years and I can’t believe the bad luck we’ve had with hiring contractors and getting the work done!

The first home project involved putting in a new kitchen and redoing the upstairs bathroom. The contractor that we hired for that job ended up having to have surgery just before he was scheduled to start the job and sub-contracted the job out. What was supposed to take 3 days ended up taking over 3 months. Parts of the job were so botched up that the original contractor had to sub-contract the job out a second time to tear out and redo the mess that was left behind by the first guy.

The next project was to have (4) new doors installed upstairs. The contractor we hired for this job came highly recommended. He even told us we would never even know he was here. I should have known better. The work that was done was armature at best and he had to come back several times to redo it until it was right. We won’t even get into the cleaning bills for the bedding and/or the total mess he made not only upstairs but throughout the whole house . . . even the basement???

This year we decided to put in new sidewalks. Arrangements were made to have the old walks tore out and the new ones put in while we were on vacation the first part of June. When the house sitter called and told us no one had shown up to work on the walks we got a little worried and started making phone calls. After numerous phone calls we finally reached the contractor and were promised the job would be completed by the time we got home. The nightmare . . . it’s now July 13th (30 days later) and we still do not have walks put in. The yard is torn up, the grass is dying where the workers left their equipment and tools, and there are dangerous metal stakes holding the forms in place. If you are having any remodeling done . . . contact me and I’ll give you the names of the contractors we used so you don’t!