What's New in the Blogosphere?

Well, I'm frustrated with computers. I just don't know enough to know what to do when things go wrong. My airport card isn't working on my Mac Book Pro. It went to the shop where they kept it for 10 days only to send it home without replacing the airport card! So, now, my baby is being sent back to Apple for the repair. Oh how I miss our son!

The temperatures have risen. It's been over 100°. Yesterday, we went to the grocery store in the early morning just to beat the heat. I hate summer. It is so much better to spend summer in Utah than it was in Las Vegas even though we had a pool in the back yard. It was just too hot to go outside. The pool felt like a bathtub by July.

I've been busy scrapbooking and making cards. I had a lovely card making class last week. The gals left with some nice cards to use for weddings. I should post them for you to see. I've decided to get some Magnolia stamps for my card making. I think I've ordered about 20 or 25 of them. I can't wait for them to get here! Magnolia stamps are like a stamper's version of Hummels! Each character is adorable and with a personality of its own.

Oh, I got a third LO accepted in the Basic Grey gallery! I was so surprised! I feel so blessed for so many reasons!

Here are some of the LOs I've been working on:

I fell in love with the Basic Grey Archaic line only to fall in love with the Cupcake line! I know the Cupcake line was intended for birthdays, but I had to use it for this clown photo. Bobo the Clown came to DS's fifth birthday. When I saw the papers, I knew what photos to include. What do you think?


Bobo the Clown

This photo is of DS in clown clothes. I thought this LO just looked so happy and cheerful! I used the Fiskar's embossing border punch and love the effect! The "dots" are rub ons. I chose to color the centers to make the LO look more festive. Sometimes, I think of things which surprise myself!


Just Clowin' Around

If you haven't seen the bicycle paper in this line, you are missing something! Again, the minute I saw the bicycles, I knew which photos had to go with the paper! Each year, the schools in Las Vegas have a bicycle rodeo to emphasize bicycle safety. This is DS in 2nd grade. He was focusing so hard! Look at those skinny legs! LOL


Bicycle Rodeo

I also got to play with the new Jenni Bowlin papers. I just love the brown line. I want more! I did a photo of my sweet better half. I added lime green to add some interest and break up the color. I added lots of layering so that I could use all of the papers, LOL.


HE...

The last layout is of DS in fifth grade. I just love, love, love this line of Dream Street papers. It's called Birdie bits. I have more and want to play with them as soon as I can.

Would someone please tell me how to use a border punch around corners? I centered the punch and went from side to side. Then, when I tried to work around the corners, the flowers just wouldn't line up. Messy, messy, messy. It was so frustrating as I kept trying really hard.


A Little Birdie Told Me

I hope each of you had a wonderful Mother's Day. I was given tons of scrapbooking supplies (as if I needed more). I have such wonderful guys!

Thank you so much for stopping by! I'd love it if you left a comment! Oh, anyone need a Fastenator?

XO
Chris

It's May!!!

How was your National Scrapbook Day? I was busy all day helping scrappers work their little tushies off! We had a lot of fun! I've included some photos below of the challenges we did.

Nothing much is new. I did have two layouts accepted into the Basic Grey Gallery. I don't know if I've shared that before. I am sooooooooo excited that they've selected two! I'm still playing with the Archaic line. It was made for this dinosaur freak! I love everything about it! I picked up some Boxer, Sultry, and Sugared to play with as well. After my card making class, I'll get busy playing with those.

I have a lot of LOs to share. I hope you don't mind my sharing them. If my son is reading this, yes, that is your father modeling the bra! It was HIS idea to put on the chain!

Here are the layouts:

The first photo is of a bra we had to alter for a NSD challenge. We had so much fun doing this challenge! Even DH got into it - Literally!!!!


Altered Bra

The next LO was my take on another challenge recipe. I used navy blue as the background color. I just loved the colors on the PP. They are my colors - bright, warm, and happy!


FLY

The next LO was based on a sketch given to our site by Becky Fleck for NSD. The yellow color just looks yucky! It is such a soft yellow. You'd never know it, though! This is DS when he thought it would be cute to crawl into the lower basket of his changing table. LOL Silly goose! Am I a trendsetter? I punched a border along the three photos using the Fiskars Threaded Water Punch. Maybe I've cone up with a new idea!


PEEK-A-BOO!

I wanted to use the new Boxer line. I loved the colors of the PP with this photo. I do NOT like how the green alphas look. They are just lost in the photo while IRL they look fine because they have a glittered surface. This is my dream home. If I could build one just like it, I would in a heartbeat! I think DH would also go along with me on this one. This lovely home is located in the West Hills area of Portland, OR. It is what I've always called, "My Hobbit House." The round windows are clear glass, but segmented like stained glass. Embedded in the cuts is a huge spider web. Everything is just so special about this home. Look at the lines of the roof.


MY DREAM HOME

Thank you so much for stopping by. I am always delighted to have visitors!

Have a good one,

Chris

Happy Friday!

Without further ado, the winner of my RAK is KerryS. Kerry, would you please e-mail your address to me? Kerry has won the much coveted Fiskars Threading Water Border Punch! I'll have another RAK in the near future so come back again!

Things here have been hectic. I've been working on four major projects - two are alteration projects, the third is planning National Scrapbook Day activities, and the last is preparing for my monthly card making class! I have to tell you about my alteration projects. One is a little carrier that I'm doing using the Basic Grey Archaic Line. I love my dinosaurs!

The second project is altering a bra! Yes, you read that right. I'm altering a bright red bra! This is for a challenge, LOL. My sweet husband was at Wal-Mart to get some things. He knew I needed a bra for the challenge, so he, without my asking, picked one up. He called me to tell me what he had done and was laughing his head off. I said, "I bet you bought a 36 D!" DH looked at the bra and was just roaring - he HAD BOUGHT THE 36 D!!! What is it with men and boobs? LOL Well, I told him how much I appreciated what he had done and then asked if he might go back and exchange it for a B cup because it would take a lot more embellishments to cover a D cup than a B cup!!! LOL I just love my husband!

The third project is preparing cards for my card making class which is quickly approaching. Shhhh - don't tell the gals in the class, but we're making cards that will work for a wedding (June is a high volume month) as well as graduation. We'll use nice black, white, cream, and grey as the colors. I hope it goes well.

I had a very sad thing happen - nothing serious, but still sad to me. My e-mail program was acting up. We only have Apple computers. The ISP companies generally do NOT know a lot about Apple computers. To make a long, sad story a short, sad story, in the process of establishing a new connection with my e-mail address, I lost 183 messages that were in my In box and 37 messages that were in my drafts box. I was sick, physically sick. In my in box were all the e-mails with photos that our DS had sent from his adventures in the Pacific Northwest. I kept them there because I could quickly review them and then scrapbook them. They are gone. In my drafts box were all messages I wanted to keep safe. That wasn't very safe since they, too, are now gone! Let's see, that was on Tuesday afternoon. Today, Friday, is the first day the black cloud isn't hanging over my head. They are gone and there is no way of retrieving them. Oh well.....

Here are the photos for one of my projects. I called this my Quiet Carrier for Church. Little boys tend to get restless at times during services. So, using the Basic Grey Archaic line (fibers, paper, stickers, rub ons, chipboard stickers, Grime rub ons), I created this little carrier. It holds 4 mini containers that are compartmentalized. Perfect for tucking some Cheerios, little toys, or other little goodies to help keep a little man quiet as long as possible. I hope you like them!



Quiet Carrier for Church - FRONT



Quiet Carrier for Church - BACK

Once again, congratulations to Kerry S. Thank you - ALL of you for stopping by my blog. I do so appreciate your visits. I love your comments even more.

Have a good one,

Chris

Happy Tax Day!!! (only if you get a refund)

Happy National Procrastination Day!!!!!!!!!!Enjoy your tax refunds! I'll be thinking of you as you hold that check in your hot little hands. *grumble*

For about 15 years, I worked as a writer for an international educational publisher, The Education Center located in Greensboro, NC. Oh, the thrill of walking into a teacher store and seeing books that you had helped write (with your name on the title), seeing your activities and units published in their bimonthly publications (with your name on the masthead). I loved writing!

Well, on a lark, I submitted to Basic Grey. I received an e-mail yesterday that my LO was accepted! I was just so surprised! Thank you Basic Grey! I am thrilled!!!!!!!!!!!

How would you like some blog candy? Just leave a comment for today's post. I'll draw a name on April 25! Those of you who have received my RAKs know that I send good ones!!!

I have some layouts to share with you. I hope you like them.

The photo on this LO has much meaning to it. We love it so much. The original photo has huge tears in it as well as scrapes and creases. I had to do a lot of restorative work in order to rescue it! I printed it using sepia tones so that it would contrast nicely with the PP as well as reflect the time of the photo (1920). Gram and Granddad always dressed perfectly as shown in this photo. We miss them very much.



Cherish

The next photo is of DS wearing a Stegosaurus costume I made for him when he was in kindergarten. It is stuffed with cotton batting and has a long tale with the back plates getting smaller as they go toward the tail tip. I made it in an olive green with cream colored plates. LOL The PP is the new Archaic Line from Basic Grey. To make the frame around the photo, I took a piece of BG paper and soaked it so that I could easily scrunch it up. I let it dry and inserted the photo after applying it to the LO.



What is a Nicholasaurus rex?

I came across this photo the other night and just knew what PP I would use. Keeping with the thief theme, I used the new Sassafrass Lass Whale of a Tale PP. I love that line! There is a companion line for little girls. It is sooo cute and so workable!



Thief of Our Hearts

I hope you had a nice visit. Thank you so very much for stopping by!

TGIF!!!

The wind is blowing again today. We've got the house all closed up to keep out any pollens that always affect DH and myself. It is supposed to hit 80° over the weekend. The dreaded summer is all too quickly approaching. Yuk!

We had a lovely visit w/ DS & DDIL. DDIL passed her orals and now has a Masters in English! We're so proud of her! I wish they were closer. It is so darn hard when they leave. I know it'll be months before we see them again. I don't know how families with members in the military services tough it out! Blessings to them!

I haven't been up to much. I've been working on design team layouts all week. I did have time to squeeze in two just for fun! LOL It feels good to do one just because... This LO is of DS when he was 4, I think. DH and I haven't looked closely at it yet to determine DS's age. This was in June or July on the Oregon Coast. We always loved the Oregon Coast and spent every summer there until a couple of years ago. I got to playing with my star punches. It was nice to use them again. I've had them in my punch basket for quite some time. I think they were one of the very first punches I bought. I think a set of circles was first, and my set of stars came second. Here it is:



I Am Reminded

I forgot I had another LO completed. This one journals how our sweet son got his name. Being educators, it was really hard to pick a name! DH or I would pick a name and one of us would say, "No, I had a kid once named that and he talked all day," or something similar. So we named our son after a child on TV who later grew up to be on drugs. Go figure. Maybe we should have stuck with Gunnar!



How You Got Your Name

I hope to do more layouts over the weekend. I hope I get to work on them. I'll post when they are done. I want to try a couple of new techniques. If they turn out decently, I'll be sure to share.

Are you doing anything special for National Scrapbook Day on May 3rd? That day is just a couple of weeks away!

Thank you for stopping by!

Chris

The Treasure Called Family

It is just so wonderful having our son and daughter in law with us. I hate to see them go tomorrow. They were such sweeties by helping with a huge project that my sweet husband couldn't do alone. I love them so much! I wasn't raised in a very affectionate family nor was my husband. We knew we wanted to make sure that our child would know the love of a mom and dad the best we could do. I think we've achieved that goal. He is solid in his knowledge of how much we love him. It's funny how we take things from our childhood and modify them to better meet the needs of our little family.

I have a couple of LOs to share with you. I did these as part of my design team projects at Four Scrappy Sisters. This is the April Petite Kit. The pattern paper is just amazing! It sparkles! It's nice and heavy! It is simply gorgeous! I hope you like what I've created! Leave a comment if you wish! I love when comments are left!



He Rawks!

This layout was fun because of the triangular area I decided to use. I wanted to keep it boyish. I painted the backs of the ghost shaped stars, added some matching photo corners and a bit of bling! Love this!



My Two Boys

For this LO, I decided to use staggered blocks for the alphas which make the title. Can you see the shine n the black and green strips? It looks so rich. There is even a hint of a sparkle showing in the turquoise strip next to the black. These PPs are on a white CS background. You have to look at the mouths on my two boys. They both look like a turtle! LOL The square buttons in the kit prompted me to make the title in squares. It was a nice repetition.

The last creation is a card I thought would be fun to make. It's simple, but looks so rich with that PP!



Cheers Card

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. They always seem to fly by!

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you will come back again! I so enjoy having sweet visitors such as yourself!

Have a good one,

Chris

Happiness is....

Having your son and daughter-in-law fly in for an extended weekend! Oh, how I have missed them! We haven't seen our son since November. It is a mother's joy! It is so hard seeing your child grow up and move away! He will always be my baby regardless of how old he is. I really love the children's book, "I'll Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch. Whenever I would read it to my students, I always had to fight back the tears! I think it is one of the sweetest books ever. If you haven't read it, please do!

I'd like to invite you to Happy Scrappin' Scrapbooking's card of the month and layout of the month contests! The prizes are gift certificates to the store! I think the amounts are pretty good, too! Stop by the forum and read about the card and layout of the month contests! I know some of you are expert card makers as well as gorgeous LO creators! Think of the new goodies you could buy w/ the gift certificate! Come on over and play!

Spring is in full bloom as are our allergies! Yuk! The good side is that it is truly a beautiful time of the year. I dread the heat that is looming just around the corner!

Do you ever wonder if things that happen do so by coincidence or if your paths were meant to cross? I've recently had several experiences that just amaze me. These were situations where a perfect stranger was giving, caring, and willing to help! Those of you who did this, know who you are. I am so grateful for your kindness. Thank you so much for your sweet help! It's been like that for the past couple of weeks! I am so humbled!

I've been scrapping lately - having fun! I have part of my DT work done for one site and am waiting for materials from my other DT site. Of course, I can't post their LOs as much as I would like to! LOL However, I have some to share with you. The photos aren't that hot, but you'll get the idea! Here is the first:



Talks With Dad

In this layout, I felt that the trees were pretty bare. I used Hambly rub ons to add some birds to the branches. I also added a large brown bird transparency, some copper colored rub ons on the ribbon to make the title. The LO was quite a change from my usual heavily embellished LOs.

The next LO is hard to see. White just doesn't photograph well for me. The background CS is textured like a dotted swiss fabric. All of the little dots are raised. I used blue dotted PP inside the large circle to carry the dot theme another step. I like the colors. Just before the plastic letters are four little tags. Each has a word to complete the full title.



What is it Like to Be You?

The last LO I have to share is another one that is very simple. The brown cardstock is a very pale taupe. It looks so brown in the photo. It is a true pinky tan, LOL. I had forgotten just how much I love taupe and black or navy together. I used to have a couple of outfits in those colors when I was teaching. We fell in love with this steam clock. I thought the photo could have been better, but still like the composition. Because it was night, it was hard to capture all of the textures.



Vancouver Steam clock

Thanks for stopping by! I am just delighted to share my work with you. I hope I have inspired you in one way or another. Please feel free to leave a comment! I just might send a RAK your way!

Have a good one,

Chris