Guest Designer at Fancy Pants Blog

Good Saturday morning to y'all!  It may seem a bit strange, but I'm having such a great Saturday morning...slept in a bit, kitted little baggies for an upcoming class while watching some TV and am now in my office working on getting class for My Life's Journey Album class and Heaven Sent Card class info to my students.

Been a busy few weeks preparing for classes, but somehow I managed to get a blog post in to Fancy Pants Designs blog, after being invited as a Guest Designer.  Always a pleasure and honor to guest blog.  Hope you can drop on by to see the 3 projects I created with their super sweet Country Boutique Collection. 

The stars of my layout our my son, Jordan and his cute new wife Kellie.  Love these pictures of them...adorable!

I scrapbook...therefore I am

a scrapbooker.

Why, when anyone asks me if I scrapbook do I hem and haw about the answer. I think I really need to stop narrowly defining what a scrapbooker is and what a scrapbook is not.

A scrapbooker does not necessarily scrapbook every day, or every week, or even every month.
A scrapbooker does not need to have such amazing pages that a magazine would pay money to publish it.
A scrapbooker does not need to follow rules.
A scrapbooker does not need to have perfect pictures.
A scrapbooker does not have to feel guilty if she hasn't scrapbooked in months.

{This layout is of my oldest son, Avram. I took these pictures years ago and they are still my favorite. They truly capture his personality: sober, artistic, reflective.}

Occasionally. I mean, almost rarely, do I scrapbook. But I still do it and I have the pages to prove it! Thought I'd share a few with you. And it doesn't matter that the only time I scrapbook is when I'm commissioned to. In other words, I get paid. It's ok and I'm not going to feel guilty about it anymore!

{I took this pictures of my youngest daughter, Savannah about 10 years ago. I was playing around with using sepia film...yes was BEFORE digital!}

This Saturday, May 1st is National Scrapbooking Day! I'm getting all sorts of reminders from our friends at Creating Keepsakes and it got me thinking.

{This was for the Clearsnap catalog and got to play with some of their new embossing powder. I did a two-tone layering affect that I think worked well with the dandelion image. I chalked over it with pink to add to the wispy look.}

One day I will scrapbook for the pure pleasure of it. But until then, I am still a scrapbooker. Are you?

Write. Click. Scrapbook. Giveaway!

Happy to participate in Write. Click. Scrapbook's Giveaway this week! Please take a moment to visit their site and leave a comment for a chance to win.

And then stay tuned...I believe they are doing another one next week.

Scrap by Color

Have you seen this application? Someone had a really, really, good idea here and I wanted to share it with you.

It's called Scrap by Color!

You simply upload your photo and tons of options pop up to help you find the perfect colors and/or products for easy scrapbooking. It also gives simple design options as well.

Best thing...it's free! Even if you don't purchase product from Scrapbook.com, it can still be a valuable tool to help you choose color and design.

You can watch a 'walk through' here. Enjoy!

New friends, inspiration & fun!

After 3 years of teaching at Creating Keepsakes Conventions, this was the first time I've taught scrapbooking classes.

Know what? I LOVED it. Now, no worries, I will always, always, always be a card maker and paper crafter, but there was something really touching and significant about the classes I was teaching.

Scrapbooking truly reflects the beautiful uniqueness of each and everyone of us. We own our stories. Scrapbooking helps us to reflect, remember and awaken in us an appreciation for all that we have. That process is growth. I'm inspired ladies. You inspired me. Thanks.



Having said all that, the very best part of CKC is the people. Between the team of gorgeous ladies who run this show, the TAs' (thanks Melanie, Michelle, Carrie, Audrey etc...) my roomie, when we're at the same show, Marnie Flores, and the participants (Vanessa, Inetta, Keesha, Lauren are just a few who I actually remembered their names...small miracle there!) it's just a love fest.

Take care ya'll and until next time, smile.

Scrapbooking on-the-go!

Oh, I can hardly stand letting over a week go by without blogging...here's why.

Have you ever procrastinated something for so long it's almost unbearable to think about it?

Last year I offered to scrapbook a friends trip to Europe. I know, what was I thinking? Because at the time I really thought I could do it. And then, you know, life happens, things change and almost everything extra seems impossible.

I've had her precious photos since December!



Part of the problem is I'm NOT a good scrapbooker. I get so easily overwhelmed by it all. Cards are so much easier :). But a promise is a promise.

I took a trip with my husband through Montana last week. I knew he'd be busy working during the day, so I decided this was it! My opportunity to become GUILT-FREE! I gathered supplies I thought would go well with the pictures and theme in a large container, packed it all up and off we went.

It was interesting to a.) scrapbook in a hotel room and b.) not create in my comfort zone: my office with it's endless creative supplies.



I laid it all out on the bed and desk and just dug in. You know, scrapbooking isn't really that much of a stretch for a card-maker, it's just a much, much, much bigger project.

So, supplies nearby, trimmer in hand, I began. With each page my smile grew because I knew I was actually doing it. I'm happy to report I am almost done! Just a few more pages to go! The stack of pictures getting smaller and smaller. The day (hopefully soon) I can hand it all over to my friend will be a happy one for me and probably for her too.



Because we were so close to the Canadian border, we spent the weekend at my Mom's. I got to visit with her, my sister and my cute nephews and nieces.

Best of all, I got to spend a whole week with my husband traversing the great state of Montana. We took many bi-ways, scenic routes and saw uncomparable beauty. Here's a little sampling...



Chief Mountain and Mary's river in Cardston, Alberta.



Just outside of Great Falls, MT.



Unique Bear Grass in Glacier National Park.



I made my husband turn the car around for these beauties! A huge patch of stunning poppies just waiting for my camera! I making a card from one of these pictures for certain!



This little sweetie was so cute. He wasn't afraid of us at all, in fact, was quite curious and starting moving towards us.



A view of Goose Island in Glacier National Park. Stunning.



This Big Horned Sheep was just taking a stroll down the road.

So, what are the chances all these pictures will scrapbooked anytime soon? :)

4 down. 1 to go.

My 4th child/1st daughter graduated from high school last week. I was doing just fine until I saw her after the ceremony was over. It was truly a watershed moment in more than one way.

After pulling myself together, I got into photography mode. Not the easiest thing to do when you have thousands of people milling about. I can't tell you how wonderful it was for me to see how happy my Emma was that day. Here's a little collage...



Always one to multi-task if possible, I did a graduation themed segment for Studio 5 a few weeks ago and have gotten a few requests to post the invitation and album I made for Emma on my blog.



I started with the graduation pictures we took last summer. I always purchase the CD and the rights to use these pics, because I always do! I also dug out a few photos of her school journey and created a little filmstrip in black and white. This quote by e.e.cummings fit the theme perfectly. It really was a simple card to make. This paper is by American Crafts. I used black photo corners, die-cut "AF" and printed the other sentiments from my computer. The card measures 5" x 5".

I had a 6" x 8" storybook album by Fancy Pants on hand and decided to transpose the basic elements from the card to the cover. I added that amazing "open" die-cut (from the Cricut Graphically speaking cartridge), cut a slit in the paper and threaded my filmstrip through it, so it could be pulled out.

I printed out some simple sheets for guests to write down some of their thoughts on (and they were GOOD!) and made sure to take pictures of Emma with all her guests to print out later and put together. There should be enough room to add pictures from her graduation ceremony as well.

I'm always a better 'before-hand' scrapbooker than after the fact! If you need more details on how to re-create these projects, please let me know.

Box of Colors

Yup, that's what I got in the mail the other day. Scrumptious new Colorbox ink colors from Clearsnap. My dream job: getting to name new ink pad colors! jk.



Surf: Can't you just hear it?
Picante, Mango Tango, Lemon Grass and Razzberry: Makes me hungry!
Citrine and True blue: Let's go jewelry shopping!

...and Wild Hare, MY FAV! Grey, this season's black. Trends are pairing this color with everything from orange, lime, yellow and blue. Here's a little peek at some cards I created with the new colors. Look for them at your local craft store!