CP4U - Motherhood

This week at Creative Prompts for You, our prompt was to combine the topic of mothers with the image of this quilt: I so need to learn how to photograph my layouts. The scan of my page just doesn't do all the sparkle and texture and pretty colors justice. I used an old Urban Anthology kit from last summer and a bunch of elements from my stash to make this page. The scalloped border at the top is mounted with pop dots.

Layout inspired by Creative Scrappers Sketch #65

Here are a few detail shots. That leafy branch is stamped and embossed with distress embossing powder.


I wasn't sure if that butterfly would stay adhered with glue, so I sewed him on.
I love those BasciGrey microchip letters. So perfect for my 8 x 8 pages. I sure wish they'd make some more colors and styles.

Something Exciting Is About to Happen!

We're keeping it under wraps while we're getting ready, but something very exciting will be launching on June 3, so stay tuned!

If I Could Turn Back Time...

That's our prompt this week at Scrap Yourself. Oh, if only I could turn back time. There are so many moments to which I would rewind the clock. The moment I chose for this challenge is recorded on the back of my layout.

I loved those crazy pink pants. They were my favorites, and I think I might even still have them hiding in one of my closets. I haven't looked for them in a long time, but I think I did keep them in hopes that I would one day fit into them again. So funny because they're way out of style, but when I reach my goal weight again, I swear I'm going to put them on and parade around town in them!

Layout inspired by sketch 58 at Creative Scrappers

My journaling reads: If I could turn back time, I would re-set the clock to the 1980's when this picture was taken. It was shortly after I first reached lifetime status at Weight Watchers. I was at my goal weight and knew the exhilaration of accomplishing a hard-earned goal. I wish I would have stuck with the program and not gained all that weight back because over the years more and more crept on. I wouldn't have spent the last two-plus decades overweight and unhappy with the image I saw in the mirror. I wouldn't have shied away from the camera so much. I would've had more energy and enjoyed my youth more. I wouldn't have spent most of my twenties and all of my my thirties and more than half of my forties fat and feeling old and tired. And I'm finding that now it's so much harder to lose the weight. If I could turn back time, I would set that clock back and maintain the habits I had learned when I'd only had 35 pounds to lose and not over one hundred. {Journaled May 2010...lost 56.2 pounds}

Design Team Call at How Much Is Too Much!

We're looking to add a few members to our team at How Much Is Too Much! If you'd like to try out, you can find the details on the HMITM blog.

I always have fun trying to come up with a clever challenge for HMITM. This week, I posed this challenge:

Did you know that May is National Smile Month? And that it takes 43 muscles to frown but only 17 to smile? Let's use those numbers in our scrapping:

* Use 43 things on your layout (yes, that can include your photos and the letters in your title)
* Use 17 words or sentences in your journaling or 17 letters in your title

Here's my layout. That's my best friend, Michele, and me. Kind of a goofy picture, but that's what we look like when we're together. Always laughing. (That fluffy thing in front of her is cotton candy.)

I was a little worried about my own challenge when I sat down to pick out 43 things, but I found a 17-letter title, so that took me almost almost half-way. I actually went over by one item when I counted at the end. I kept losing count!




To see what the rest of the team made, take a peek at the blog.

Framed!

This week at Creative Prompts for You, our prompt was based on the inspiration piece below. The team made some really awesome and creative stuff with this prompt!

I really liked all those different frames, and I knew I wanted to use some of those old K & Co. metal frames that have been languishing in my stash for years. I was stumped for a while about how I could use the frames to tell a story, when it came to me that I would use them to document my current favorite photo. Since I've lost 55 pounds in the past fifteen months, I'm starting to like seeing myself in photos again. Here's the page I made:

I really need to learn how to photograph my layouts since my scanner absolutely hates metals and glittery things. My scanner also doesn't show the dimension on these pretty gold Martha Stewart butterflies, so I photographed a detail from my layout. The photo also shows how I mounted the flowers, cut from Webster's Pages paper, with pop dots:

Last week, I made this layout for How Much Is Too Much. Our challenge, based on the ages of Elizabeth's children, was to use: 9 circles, 7 brads, 6 photo corners, and 2 stamps. The photo corners stumped me for a while because I had planned on using all those circles in my design, and how do you put photo corners on circles? I'm adding this page to my Book of Silly.

Wishes DO Come True!

One of my biggest, scrappiest wishes has been to be on a design team for a monthly kit club. I love the whole idea of scrapping with stuff someone else picks out for me. What a fun challenge! I love the excitement of the build up to kits being revealed with all the sneaks. And I have an eclectic approach to scrapping, so I love seeing all the different layouts I can make out of one cool kit.

Well, imagine my delight when I got an e-mail from Trish Turay inviting me to join the team at Work in Progress Kits. I was thrilled to be her guest designer back in March, and I must say, she puts together some awesome kits! I will begin with the July kit. I can't wait to get started! Thank you so much, Trish, for believing in me and for making my scrappy wish come true!

Colour Me Brightly {Creative Prompts for You}

I've just joined the team at Creative Prompts for You, a really cool challenge blog that presents all sorts of different challenges, from sketches to color combos to interesting inspiration pieces. The current challenge, my first, is called "Colour Me Brightly." Nicole Nowosad, one of the creative crew members, challenged us to use this color scheme:


Such bright, fun colors! I wish I'd had some beach photos to use. Instead, I used a photo from childhood to scrap a random memory:


[Partially hidden journaling reads: When I was a little girl, I had my tonsils and adenoids removed, and I remember being in the hospital and getting to eat lots and lots of ice cream, and Gram brought me little ceramic statues as presents. I was miserable with my throat all packed with gauze, but I do remember that I loved all the attention I got.]
Check out what the other team members made by clicking the link above, and if you play along, you have a chance at winning a gift certificate to your favorite online store (see details on the Creative Prompts for You blog).

Scrap Yourself - My First Layout Revealed

As I shared in my last post, I've joined the team at Scrap Yourself, a challenge blog dedicated to, well, scrapping yourself.

For my first challenge, Kristine asked the team to scrap about three everyday essentials. I had to ponder a bit about what I was going to document because there are so many essential things I use in my various routines every day. I thought about scrapping some things related to my beauty ritual or things that help me do my job well. I considered documenting some of the essential foods I have every day to make a layout for my weight-loss album.

In the end, I decided to record three things I must have everyday during my "alone" time. Here's my layout:


My partially hidden journaling reads: I relish my alone time. I look forward to Farzad coming home each night, but those few solitary hours before he walks through the door are precious to me. These are three things I need each day when I'm by myself: A cup of coffee wakes me up in the morning, but it's tea that soothes my soul in the Afternoon. My playlists keep me company, whether I'm blaring Black Eyed Peas in my car or rocking out to Aerosmith while I'm checking e-mail. And no day is complete without the company of a good book.

I love being on challenge blog teams because it's so neat to see how all the different people interpreted the challenge. I hope you'll go take a peek at Scrap Yourself to see what everyone else made and that you'll take a stab at this fun challenge!