Don't leave....I've only just met you...

Inspired Blueprints, one of my favorite scrapbook sketch websites has temporarily closed. In my search for a new site to fill the gap, I came across Sassy Lil' Sketches. Now they are also saying farewell. I hope this isn't a sign of something going wrong in the scrap world.... Before they leave, I have one last contribution to a website I was just starting to get to know and love....This is for the Scrappy Lil Sendoff Sketch #1 on Sassy Lil' Sketches. The photo of this LO doesn't do the glitter or foil paper justice. I switched it up by rotating the layout 90 degrees, increasing the size of my photo, and switching up the circles and embellies a bit.

So I will say farewell to Inspired Blueprints and Sassy Lil' Sketches the way I said farewell to my maiden name.....with the hopes and excitement for what is to come under something new.

Croptoberfest 2011 (Part II)

After about 12 hours of scrapping at Croptoberfest 2011, I came away with 4 completed layouts. That was my goal for the day, so I should be happy about that. I noticed some ladies are able to do an entire album in a day because of their pre-planning. That would be nice to feel that more was accomplished after a full day, but I'm okay with continuing as I have been since I enjoy the relaxation, fun, and randomness of scrapping with the approach I take on it.

The page above was my take on a sketch for Challenge #103 for Scrap Whispers. Compared to the sketch, my photo looks large because of my 8x8 page size. I tend to use a lot of bright colors & sparkle in my scrapping, so this page was an interesting change for me as I tried to make it more masculine. This page goes along with a series of other pages for a trip to the Oregon Coast with friends years ago.

Croptoberfest 2011

What a great day I had yesterday! My first ever big crop event. I had joined small groups for a day or afternoon of cropping, but never such a large event. What fun to be surrounded by energy and enthusiasm for one of my favorite hobbies. There were about 60 ladies who attended, and it was put on by a few Close to My Heart reps in the Tricities area. I snapped a photo of the scene:

(That's my space where the tan sweater is slumped over the back of the chair.)

My first work of creativity was inspired by Challenge #102 from Scrap Whispers. The challenge was to scraplift the layout shown below.

And here's what I came up with.

The main concepts I focused on keeping were the 2 photos in circles on the outside, a large circle connecting the two, the center titled, busy embellishing through the center, and journaling around the edge. This is such a beautiful layout by Scrap Whisper's Rosey, and I'm glad such an interesting layout was chosen for the challenge.

Mountain Biking-Mt St Helens

Justin & I were so busy with wedding preparations at the beginning of the summer, and after that special day in May, we were ready to go go go with activities for summer fun. One adventure we embarked on was camping & mountain biking at Mt St Helen's. We knew this would be more adventurous than our usual more flat, desert biking, but we had no idea just how intense this riding would be! The bike path was less than 2 feet wide with STEEP edges to either side of us. If something were to go wrong, broken bones would be the minimum result of sliding off the edge! The heat became very intense as the 1980's eruption of Mt St Helens took out the forest that used to surround it. Next time, we'll bring more water and lunch so we can do the full 30 mi loop rather than the short out & back that we did bike (but took a long time because of challenging terrain).

Scrapwhispers Challenge #101 provided a great color scheme to use for my "On the Edge" layout, and I used old sketch from Inspired Blueprints (Sketch #10). Sadly, IB has temporarily closed their website. The owner said she is taking a break, but the goodbye is not permanent.

Spokane Falls

I had some fun with sketch challenge #66 on Inspired Blueprints and a great color scheme challenge called "Minty Fresh" on Scrapwhispers.

I threw in a lot of enhancements with acrylic paint and distress ink. Proudly, the hobby title "scrapping" was really taken to heart, as all the patterned paper was leftover scraps.....and they both happened to be 2 sided so I used the reverse of what was used on previous layouts.

I have a pack of random quotes on vellum about family and friends. The quote I found in the pack couldn't be more perfect to describe my fiance!

4th of July in 3D

It's a few too many months early to talk about 4th of July, but I was inspired by a challenge on Scrapwhispers to create a page which uses something recycled..... And I had been saving just the perfect thing for inspiration like this..... The first 4th of July that Justin and I enjoyed together was spent in Portland. As we approached the river for the light show that night, 3D glasses were handed out. The glasses made for an interesting twist on an event that's becoming somewhat ordinary. (Who could call fireworks displays just downright ordinary or dull with all that boom and sparkle!)

Anyway, the awesome challenge was "Go Green & Recycle" by Scrapwhispers, and I caught up on another past sketch (#13) from Inspired Blueprints. The 3D glasses were a nice touch for the layout.

No Bites - No Worries

Free Fishing Weekend 2010 in Washington was June 12-13. We spent that time camping at Bumping Lake near Mt. Rainier. Picked up a cheap pole+tackle package for the trip, and we did cast a line a couple times at the lake, but didn't even have a nibble. Regardless, there was so much to enjoy about the perfect campsite with good friends.

Scrap Whispers' Challenge #88 was to dive to the bottom of the scrap stash and see what old unused items were down there. I found a whole package of old tags for "Outdoor Fun" and "Summer Fun" that just never seemed to work...until now! I also have a bottle of felt flowers that just never seemed to have the right place. Fortunately, the 2 coordinate very nicely and worked perfectly to bring out the essence of the camping trip. Also, back in 2004/05 my sister and I posed for an "old tyme" photo. The photo came with a mat that I had hidden away in my scrap stash but pulled out for the background on this layout.

Even the sketch used for this layout was dug up from the old stashes.... I've been meaning to go back and use some of the old sketches from Inspired Blueprints. Sketch #1 was just right to incorporate all these old items into the layout.

Unforgettable photo

One of the blogs I try to keep up with is by a very talented photographer and scrapper who created the perfect sketch to inspire this fun little Thanksgiving page.

Jill's blog also has fun stories and other great recommendations such as good reads. Just one example of her creativity - some time ago she wrote about a friend's wedding she did the photos for. She put some unforgettable examples on her blog entry. In particular, she took an extraordinary photo of the wedding rings - the reflection in one of the rings was the bride and groom!

Shhh....another Whispers Challenge!

It's been a long streak of working days, and today will be another to add to that streak. This morning I thought I'd take some time for myself and finish this layout for Scrap Whispers Challenge #64-even though I should be at work already :-\ No matter how much stress I'm feeling or what's on my mind, when I hear Justin's voice, I'm all eyes and ears. So appropriately for this movie challenge, He has me at Hello...each and everytime.

Another participant in this week's challenge, Kelly, is giving away some scrap goodies on her blog. Check it out here!

And have a wonderful week! Next weekend is Memorial Weekend! California here we come :-)

Wild - Superman giggles karaoke

This is one of those times when you print the photos and wait for the right inspiration to scrap them. A sketch challenge from Pagemaps was just the thing for this collage of photos I had printed months ago! I had debated separating all the photos but the sketch challenge inspired me to keep it as a collage - good thing. The photo layout worked really well, and the little embellies add fun and memories to the set of photos.

My Scrap Passion

The Scrap Whispers Challenge #62 is to scrap "Change" and change an element used on the page. This is "Through the Years We'll Change" based on Sketch #47 from Inspired Blueprints.

Title/word blocks were changed with brads, rub-ons, & the ever-trustworthy Sharpies . The chipboard elements were changed with gemstones & cardstock.

Ah those neices - neverending sources of adorable photos :-)

Back to the Tape runner :-)

The Holidays really make for a remarkable time of year but also distract from everyday life. I've missed scrapping :-) Since it was an in & out of the scrap room kind of day, thought I'd do a quick and easy page-8x8 for an album for Justin & I. In this album, there's already a page to commemorate Justin's birthday celebration in Seattle from February 2009, but during that trip we came across an unforgettable street performer in Pike's Place Market. He is now the "Rockstar".

This layout is for Challenge #50 on Scrap Whispers. The challenge is to make a layout inspired by the phrase "Stars and Spikes". For me, it turned more into how can I incorporate something to do with Stars and/or Spikes into some photos I have laying around. My printer isn't working quite right with my new computer, so I have to make do with what photos I have around for now. On the positive side, this was the first chance I had to use my new Cropadile Big Bite for the eyelet arrows. The Cropadile is awesome! Other than that, it's a very simplistic layout with paper, stickers, and metallic pen.

Love to scrap such adorable faces :-)

Inspired Blueprints comes up with some great, foolproof sketches. "Foolproof" because even a beginner scrapper like myself can put out a good layout from one of their sketches. Combine a good sketch with a great subject, and you get a page to be happy with! Here's Sketch #28 from Inspired Blueprints:

And my page inspired by this sketch:

The photos include my neices enjoying licorice (upper left), playing & exploring in the woods (lower left), beautiful WI scenery near campsite (upper right), and my goddaughter-Naomi with her mom, my oldest sister (lower right). Poor Naomi had bumped her head then got a mosquito bite, so her forehead was a big bulge with unusual wrinkles during their 4th of July camping trip. I'm keeping a scrapbook for my goddaughter, which I will give to her someday a long ways down the road. I do my best to capture her growth and adventures, but it's tough from 1600+ miles away.
The photos of their trip really take me back to camping as a kid. It's full of adventures, exploring nature, fishing with dad..... Then you go to highschool & secondary school and don't camp nearly as often. Now I'm going more and more, but it has changed. Now it's adult camping - cooking a good meal, hiking, sharing drinks & stories by the fire.... Each style of camping bringing pleasures in its own way.