Whole lotta Zoo

Hello again! More scrapping for you today! 
A few years ago, we took our kids to the zoo for the first time in over a decade. First time for the youngest. 

I think we got a photo of every single animal we saw. It's not a huge zoo, but it does take most of the day to see it all... And that doesn't include all the other photos we took. For some reason that utterly escapes me, lol, a few months later, I printed a STACK of photos of this day. And I printed three sets so each child gets it in their book. That is a dumb lot of photos for one day...! Sooo these photos have all sat in their little shoeboxes of photos, making me feel overwhelmed and uninterested in scrapping them. ha. 
Until last week when I decided it was time to put them to paper for at least one of my kiddos! I had selected the DP within a year of printing the photos, and then used pretty much all the zoo animals my mom and I have.
(We won't talk about how many days it took me to put these NINE pages together. ahem. But we will talk about not printing that many photos of a single event that isn't Christmas, ever, ever again. And we'll question printing that many for Christmas too!) 

Supplies:
Stamps: Wild About You (2006), Noah (1996), Zoofari (2007), Gorgeous Grunge -all retired

Ink: wild: Flirty Flamingo, zebra: Memento Black, giraffe: Delightful Dijon, lion: More Mustard, elephant: Pebbled Path, Penguin: Balmy Blue, snake: Parakeet Party, camel; Cinnamon Cider, deer: Moody Mauve, alligator: Cucumber Crush, sheep: Chocolate Chip, birds: Melon Mambo, rhino: Pebbled Path, monkey: Pecan Pie, leopard: Mango Melody, splash: Soft Sky, bear: Seaside Spray - many retired

Paper: Cucumber Crush, Basic White card stocks, 2015-17 in color envelope paper -retired

Accessories: Alphabet a La Mode dies, Glue Dots, big shot

And at least that set is done! 
(and no, I didn't use every photo I printed. A few went into her photo album, which is where not scrapped photos go, lol!)

Guardians Of The Galaxy Ride

Today I have a different style of scrapbook layout for you. Still Disneyland tho! On many of the Disney pages, I have asked my family what kinds of colors they think fit the ride, and gotten their opinions of stamps and fonts, and a lot of input on the journaling. I think I did a decent job capturing the look and feel of this ride with just the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set, which is one of my favorites ever. 

What used to be the Tower of Terror is now a ride based on Guardians of the Galaxy. I do not like this style of ride, but I was determined to give everything a try, and stick together, haha... My youngest started off scared of the first drop but ended up LOVING this ride and still talks about how fun it was and how everyone should go on it. We did it twice, and I am still not a fan, lol. But that's okay! The pictures turned out really nice, especially considering how dark it got.

Supplies:
Stamps: Gorgeous Grunge (retired) 
Ink: Real Red, Crushed Curry, Memento Black, Gold Delicata (retired)
Paper: Basic Gray
Journaling Font: Castellar

Retired Scrapping!

The newest thing on this page is the photos, which are from Halloween 2018, haha! Oh, the inks are all current...
After reading, and then watching, The Outsiders in her English class, my daughter wanted to be a greaser for Halloween. Trouble was, she's tall, she was probably a bit "too old" for trick or treating, and she sure didn't look dressed up! lol.... Oh well. I picked some "edgy-er" looking things for this layout, rather than just using Halloween supplies. She's excited and that is the part that matters. 

Supplies:

Stamps: Sparkly Seasons (retired), Gorgeous Grunge (retired) 
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Smoky Slate, Gray Granite, Granny Apple Green, Memento Black
Paper: Smoky Slate & Basic Black card stocks, Halloween Night DP (retired), Sweet DP (retired!)

Journaling Font: Chiller

Working hard!

Today I have a fun page for your Friday!
This time I used a tic-tac-toe challenge and picked the row with orange, chevrons and a tag. I made the tag with layers of card stock, and I used the circle dies to cut out part of it with a different ink. For the chevrons, I used the long retired Chevron Punch on typing paper, then sponged the shapes with shades of orange and gray. I love how that turned out. Then I used the much loved, long retired, Gorgeous Grunge stamp set to mess the page up. His job is cleaning up a bakery and he comes home a MESS, haha! The splatters and streaks and all the things reflect it pretty accurately! I am very happy with how this page turned out!

Supplies:
Stamps; Gorgeous Grunge, Adventure Awaits
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Memento Black, Smoky Slate, Gray Granite, Peekaboo Peach (retired), Peach Parfait (retired)
Paper: Smoky Slate, Basic Black, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie &  Peekaboo Peach (retired) card stocks
Accessories: Circle Dies, Big Shot, Black Grosgrain Ribbon (retired), Chevron Punch (retired), Stamping Sponges, Stapler
Font: Ink Free

Mixing old with new...

This is not a great picture, but it was a fun card to put together, so I'm sharing it. Also, the story behind it.

A friend from elementary school that I've connected with on facebook is going thru a very difficult year. Last night she posted asking if there was anyone who might send her son a birthday card since she couldn't be with him later this week and it's going to be a lousy day for him. I have never met him, but his mother is very proud of him and posts various accomplishments and good things he does. He's a few months older than my own son, and he's into tinkering and machines and building things that work, and he just recently got his drivers license. I went looking for a car stamp I owned, which is retired, and pulled out this great "guy" paper from the new Occasions Mini. I used the latest sketch from the TGIF Challenge blog and this is what I made for him!

Supplies:
Stamps; Beautiful Ride, Gorgeous Grunge
Ink: Memento Black, Gray Granite, Crushed Curry, Dark Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Blends, Dark & Light Basic Black Stampin' Blends
Paper: Crushed Curry, Basic Black & Very Vanilla card stock, Classic Garage DP

The picture is lousy because I shouldn't have used the Crushed Curry card stock for the background as well as the card, and also because the photo was taken about 7am before I rushed out the door and stuck it in the mail! BUT. I think it will be something fun for him to get in the mail for his birthday anyway! And that is exactly why we do what we do!

Blop Hop: Birthday Stepping Over

I can hardly believe it has been an entire month since I have stamped! I never even got to create a second project for last month! We've had colds going around, and allergies and a bit of a stomach bug just to keep us on our toes, on top of all the other normal things. I *am working on a creative project that I can't share yet, but that's helped give me a bit of an artsy outlet. But today, I have two stamp-paper-ink projects for you!! YEAY!

I discovered I was in need of some children's birthday cards, so here was a quick, one-layer (super mailable) "girl" birthday card...

Supplies:

Stamps: Sprinkles of Life, Gorgeous Grunge

Ink: Crumb Cake, Melon Mambo

Paper: Blushing Bride, Whisper White card stocks, Pop of Pink DP

Accessories: Tree Builder Punch, Dimensionals

and a very slightly stepped up version...
(however, next time I need to outline the frosting with a pink marker so it shows up against the white cardstock background)

Supplies:

Stamps: Sprinkles of Life, Gorgeous Grunge

Ink: Crumb Cake, Melon Mambo

Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White card stocks, Pop of Pink DP

Accessories: Tree Builder Punch, Dimensionals

and a "boy" birthday card!

Supplies:

Stamps: Sprinkles of Life, Gorgeous Grunge

Ink: Cucumber Crush, Peek-A-Boo Peach, Early Espresso

Paper: Peek-A-Boo Peach, Whisper White card stocks

Accessories: Tree Builder Punch, Dimensionals

Simple and straight-forward, but cute! And I managed to get THREE cards made! I'm pretty excited!

Now hop on over to Cheryl's blog and see what fun creations she has today! Then hop on through to everyone's blogs, and leave us your thoughts! We all love to hear what you think of our work!

Cards in the Mail!

Let's switch gears for just a minute. This is my last installment of these cards for the year. Many of today's cards use supplies from the Holiday Mini. That catalog ends January 3, and some items are discounted. Be sure and check out the list HERE and HERE and place your orders ASAP!

Flirty Flamingo Thanks!

Happy Monday to you!
I have a surprise for you, haha... I have a post scheduled for every day this week!!! I am pretty excited that I got so much stamping done this weekend after um...forever....
I realized this weekend was the first stamping I've done the entire month! But not only did I need a short stack of Fathers Day cards, I also needed a whole bunch of thank you's! Many friends and neighbors came and pitched in to help us move and clean our house. They were life-savers because my husband ended up getting pretty sick (pneumonia) and I, obviously, couldn't lift much, and even some cleaning was too much for me. A ton of work fell to our kids, which is okay, but wow, help was so appreciated! So I needed to mail out ten thank you's.
Of course I had some in my stash, but I had surprisingly few (I blame teacher gifts...haha!) so darn it, I just had to fit in some time to stamp!

And I really wanted to play with new colors!! So today is a double dose of Flirty Flamingo and a double dose of the same sketch, courtesy of Freshly Made Sketches!

This was the first card I made Saturday. When I very first saw the Swirly Bird/Swirly Scribbles bundle, I didn't love the stamp set, but I did love the dies, so I ordered that part. Annnnd then realized that the stamp set would really come in handy...! So I finally got to play with them together, haha!
The splatters on the first card come from the Swirly Bird set, and they were stamped off for a paler shade of Flamingo. I like it!
*Also, I adore the font in the Paper Pumpkin stamps from I think March, so I used it several times Saturday, haha....!

Supplies
Stamps: Swirly Bird, March 2016 Paper Pumpkin
Ink: Flirty Flamingo, Mint Macaron
Paper: Whisper White, Flirty Flamingo card stocks
Accessories: Swirly Scribbles Dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals

And this was the last card I made Saturday, haha! I decided I liked the sketch so much, I may as well use it twice! I switched out the bottom strip for a card base, and used a different die. I also used Gorgeous Grunge for these splatters, but I'm not sure it made that much of a difference, haha!

Supplies:
Stamps: Gorgeous Grunge, March 2016 Paper Pumpkin
Ink: Flirty Flamingo
Paper: Flirty Flamingo, Whisper White card stocks, Pop of Pink DP
Accessories: Butterflies Thinlits, Big Shot, Dimensionals

So there you have it, two similar thank you cards, ready to be sent out today! Yeay!!!

Scrapbooking!

I have been missing scrapbooking, so today I decided to work specifically on that! However....maybe because it has been so long, it was a challenge to get going. None of the pictures were really speaking to me. I looked for some challenges as a jumping off point and decided the color combination from Nacho Average Challenges would work with these photos pretty well....then I had to figure out what else to do...haha! I ended up picking THIS Stashbusters Challenge (meaning I used old stuff, haha) to add to the page, and I picked #3 brads, #4 3D item, #6 stamp something and #8 ribbon.
And here's how it turned out:

Supplies:
Stamps: Gorgeous Grunge, ABC123 Sketch (retired)
Ink: Garden Green, Tangerine Tango, Cucumber Crush marker
Paper: Marina Mist, Tangerine Tango, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Brads (retired), Marina Mist polka dot ribbon (retired) and fabric leaves (unknown), Piercing Mat, Glue Dots, stapler

I started another layout...maybe it will be done tomorrow! *grin

Blog Hop: Step It Up Spooky Style!

Oh my goodness, another month has come and gone! And that means it's time for another fun blog hop!

Since today is the 1st of October, I thought I'd milk it for all it's worth and play with some Halloween ideas! I know most people don't send Halloween cards, but my grandmother and her sister always did, and my mom is carrying on the tradition. It's a fun excuse to send mail to the grandkids! I'm offering a Halloween card class this year and even supplying a twist- if you don't mail Halloween cards, they fit in lunchboxes! And if you don't send lunches- the card fronts would make a fun addition to a Halloween scrapbook page with your cuties all dressed up!!

Today's card is shown three different ways, from the "very simple" to the "plenty of extras"! And I used the current Freshly Made Sketch for the layout. Let's get to it!

Admittedly, this first one might be too plain, but I was going for the "spooky" theme and anything else seemed to take away from that. Also, aside from the cutting out tools, it sticks with the Stamps-Ink-Paper theme I mentioned last week.

Supplies:
Stamps: Among The Branches
Ink: Smoky Slate, Memento Black
Paper: Smoky Slate
Accessories: Big Shot, Seasonal Frame thinlit dies, Oval Punch, 1 3/8 inch circle punch, Dimensionals

This one adds a bit more stamping, and some quick embossing, and I think is totally cool for a spooky Halloween greeting.

Supplies:
Stamps: Among The Branches
Ink: Smoky Slate, Memento Black
Paper: Smoky Slate
Accessories: Big Shot, Woodland embossing folder, Seasonal Frame thinlit dies, Oval Punch, 1 3/8 inch circle punch, Dimensionals

And finally, a card I seriously love! This added another stamp set, another ink, a bit of ribbon, and threw on one more color. Oh, and the "spooky" circle is heat embossed, which adds richness to the color and shine!

Supplies:
Stamps: Among The Branches, Gorgeous Grunge
Ink: Smoky Slate, Memento Black, Whisper White
Paper: Smoky Slate, Tangelo Twist
Accessories: White Jute Ribbon, Big Shot, Woodland embossing folder, Seasonal Frame thinlit dies, Oval Punch, 1 3/8 inch circle punch, Dimensionals, Black embossing powder, Heat Tool, scotch tape

*and if you remember THIS post, I used the edge of the white Stampin' Spot that was included in the Paper Pumpkin kit to color on the trees. Literally, lightly scrubbed the ink pad right onto the trees.

What do you think?! Now hop on over to Cheryl and see how she shows off stepping it up! Then hop thru to see everyone's creations, and leave us some comments!

Project Life on cards!

This week marks my 16th wedding anniversary! We're stretching out the celebration, haha... On the actual day, we got to be parents, lol! Our daughter had a soccer game that evening, and all the other things that go with life. However, that day, my sweet husband sent me this:

And in his lunch that same day, he found his favorite candy bar, and this card that I made him!

Supplies:
Stamps: Words of Truth, Gorgeous Grunge
Ink: Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Soft Sky, Memento Black
Paper: Whisper White card stock, Project Life Lets Get Away Card Collection
Accessories: Hexagon Punch (flagged ends), Dimensionals

It didn't work out quite the way I had pictured it in my head but I like how it turned out! I stamped three of the Gorgeous Grunge images around the edge of the card base. Then I stamped the two splotches to fill up the heart. I added the stripey, heart card from the Project Life card kit as the card front, mounted on Dimensionals. Then I mostly randomly glued down the black statement words, and the big REMEMBER. And here's the seriously understated inside:

Cute, sweet and simple! Plus I love this set!

PS- Another night we took these pics:

Cards In The Mail

I promise to start posting again! But before that, I'm going to share these beautiful cards I've received from other demonstrators, in the mail. All are credited to the creator. Enjoy!

Blog Hop: Step It Up!

Happy new month to you! It's August...?!! Yikes! Summer is almost over!

Well, a new month means a new blog hop!! This time my blogging friends and I are going to try a little something new. We're going to each create a pretty card, and then step it up to show you just how much adding a bit more can do for your creations!

Personally, I used the latest from Freshly Made Sketches as my starting point. I kept it very simple this time, but I still think it's pretty. Also, it took probably less than five minutes to make! Gotta love that!

Supplies:
Stamps: Butterfly Basics
Ink: Blackberry Bliss
Paper: Mossy Meadow, Crumb Cake, Blackberry Bliss, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Hexagon Punch (pennant end), Big Shot, Butterflies Thinlits

However, if I make the base less plain with some embossing, and a bit of distressing via stamps and ink, then pop the butterfly up, and add a pretty little pearl accent, it can look even better!

Supplies:
Stamps: Butterfly Basics, Gorgeous Grunge
Ink: Blackberry Bliss, Crumb Cake, Tip Top Taupe, Versamark
Paper: Mossy Meadow, Crumb Cake, Blackberry Bliss, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Basic Pearls, Hexagon Punch (pennant end), Big Shot, Butterflies Thinlits, Woodgrain Embossing Folder, Dimensionals

What do you think? Of course the second one requires more time, and more supplies on hand, but it also adds so much to the fun of the card!

Now click the hand on to get to Cheryl's blog, then hop on thru to see what everyone has ready to inspire your crafting!

Blog Hop: It's SUMMER!

Oh my goodness HOW is it July already?? I have no idea other than...it IS hot enough.....but wow, this summer is flying past! And since it's a new month, it's time for a new blog hop!!

This time we chose the theme of SUMMER, which really, all of my posts the last week or so feel like summer...and I keep mentioning that it really is HOT, haha! So let's continue that theme!

This card uses some bright, summer shades, a splash of watery blue and a good dirty brown shade! (actually, I got the color combo from the Nacho Average Challenge blog, but I thought it totally fit the summer theme!) I have never used this big butterfly before, so that was fun. Also stamping on the DP is a really fun thing for me, kinda takes 'coloring outside the lines' to a whole new level to color on the lines! haha!
This card proved nearly impossible to capture with a camera so you get several shots to see the details!

Supplies:
Stamps: Six Sided Sampler, Gorgeous Grunge
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Tip Top Taupe
Paper: Watermelon Wonder card stock, In Color Envelope Paper
Accessories: In Color Blossom Accents, Butterflys Thinlits, Big Shot, Hexagon Punch (flagged end), Glue Dots

And this second card uses the latest sketch from Mojo Monday. This time the color scheme is much cooler. And apparently I think of butterflies when I think of summer because um........

Supplies:
Stamps: Kinda Eclectic
Ink: Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Tip Top Taupe, Soft Sky
Paper: Old Olive, Soft Sky & Whisper White card stock, In Color Envelope Paper
Accessories: Subtles Candy Dots, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Dimensionals

Also, can I just mention the In Color Envelope Paper that I used on both cards? It's thinner than our other DP, which means you don't add weight or bulk to your creations, but you still get the fun prints! And at only $6.00 a package, it's a steal!

Now, go check out Cheryl's blog and hop all the way thru to see some awesome SUMMER inspiration!! And leave us your thoughts- we all love comments! *grin

New Toys!!!

Yep, that's right- today I am featuring fun new things, never before seen on this blog! haha! Demonstrators get to order a few supplies before the new catalog is officially released (wanna join now??) and my order came last Monday evening. Yesterday was the first time I finally got to play with my stuff!!! Yeah it was pretty much killing me, haha! I decided to start by using one new stamp set, and one sketch, to make two completely different cards!

Have you ever noticed that Stampin' Up! has a stamp set in every catalog designed to collect donations to go towards the Ronald McDonald House Charities? That means that every time you or I buy that set, $3 goes to the charity! I absolutely love that fact! And this year, I really, truly love the stamp set! Bonus- it coordinates with a brand new punch too! (of course I got that too!)

Anyway, here's what you came to see! Two different interpretations of the stack of cups in the current Retro Sketch!

I love these rain clouds and I love the little phrase. I added some Dazzling Details to a few of the rain drops and to a couple lines on the clouds themselves. The punch is a Builder Punch, which means there are lots of little bits you can punch out, but the front of it is the cloud (or frosting, or ice cream!) image, so there's no waste if you only want, say, the cloud!

Supplies:
Stamps: Sprinkles of Life
Ink: Memento Black
Paper: Soft Sky, Lost Lagoon & Smoky Slate card stocks
Accessories: Silver 1/8" Ribbon, Tree Builder Punch, Hexagon Punch (flag), Dimensionals

And here is a very sweet little birthday card, or really, any time you need a good-luck-ish card! This card also features two of the new In Colors, and a brand new ribbon!

Supplies:
Stamps: Sprinkles of Life, Gorgeous Grunge
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Mint Macaron, Watermelon Wonder, Crumb Cake, Versamark, Soft Suede
Paper: Blushing Bride, Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip & Mint Macaron card stock
Accessories: Mint Macaron Dotted Lace Trim, Dimensionals

What do you think? I have lots more ideas for this stamp set! And I'm loving the new In Colors too, so be sure and come back to see what else I've got!

Messy boy, Messy page!

Hello again! Today I have the last page from my scrappy night I mentioned yesterday. This one needed it's own post, haha!

These pictures are from when my son was 5. I was in the house, packing all four of us for a weekend trip with my parents and family, planning to leave as soon as my husband got home from work. My friend was out back keeping an eye on our kids. She came to the door, with him, totally mortified at what my son had done... He was BLUE. He had colored all over himself with chalk and rubbed it in reeeally well. His hair, cheeks, nose, forehead, chin, arms, hands, feet and clothes were covered! And the dust reminded me of Pig-Pen from Peanuts! It was absolutely one of those times when I had to laugh to keep from crying! And before I made him get in the tub I took these pics, hahaha...
My very favorite part? Click on the pic to make it bigger and check out my daughter's face- she cannot believe he did that either! hahahaaa!! And yes, he's showing off the bottoms of his feet which were also totally blue...
I used THIS sketch, and tipped it sideways for this page. And since the photos are messy, I felt getting the whole page good and grunged up was a good way to coordinate them!

Supplies:
Stamps: Skinny Mini ABC, Gorgeous Grunge, Work of Art
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Coastal Cabana, Soft Sky
Paper: Soft Sky, Very Vanilla, Tempting Turquoise & Pumpkin Pie card stocks, Sweet Taffy DP
Accessories: Big Shot, Stars Framelits

What have your kids done that made you laugh and cry at the same time? Have you scrapped any of those moments? This is not this child's first page like this...............! KIDS! hahaha....

What is retiring from today's project?

• Skinny Mini ABC
• Coastal Cabana ink
• Sweet Taffy DP

A Scrappy Night!

Confession: I have three shoe boxes full of photos, specifically printed for scrapbooking...collecting dust.
Something about the shoemakers children going barefoot comes to mind here.... haha!

Last week I decided to spend one of our tv evenings paper scrapping, instead of digi scrapping, which is a common thing around here. I dragged all my supplies out and chose my son's box of pictures. I realized I have a bunch of photos that need 8x11 pages, which is how I started scrapping for him. I switched him to 12x12 books in 2010....if that tells you anything. Yikes! I cranked out four pages that night, but today I'm just going to show three.
Again, this is a great way for me to feature retiring products- and time is almost up! Check the updated list HERE and hurry and place your order!

First up, I finally did this page of him with his 1st grade teacher, on the last day of school that year. Yes, I know that was ages ago....! I found the layout on Pinterest and used colors he still likes. And I thought this phrase from Adventure Awaits worked well for a school-ish photo!

Supplies:
Stamps: Adventure Awaits
Ink: Coastal Cabana, Calypso Coral (marker)
Paper: Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, Calypso Coral card stocks
Accessories: Epic Day Washi Tape, Retro Fresh Washi Tape, In Color Sequins

Next, I made this layout of our "beach" which is really just a sandy wall of a small, local reservoir. In August I did the layout for my daughter's books of the same thing, and I only just pulled that up to link it, and had to laugh at how similar the supply list is! I guess if it isn't broken, don't fix it!
...that's two cliche's in one day...weird....

Supplies:
Stamps: The Open Sea, Skinny Mini ABC
Ink: Night of Navy, Crumb Cake
Paper: Whisper White & Coastal Cabana card stock, Maritime DP
Accessories: Wide Oval Punch, Dimensionals

So that's it for today, come back tomorrow to see the last page!

What is retiring from today's projects?

• Adventure Awaits
• Skinny Mini ABC
• Coastal Cabana ink
• Coastal Cabana card stock
• Maritime DP
• Epic Day Washi Tape
• Retro Fresh Washi Tape
• In Color Sequins