Sketch Friday!!!

I'm really excited about my newest sketch. I actually just did this yesterday afternoon while my sickly 3 year old was napping.
Once I had it done I was wishing I could go ahead and scrap with it, but she did not sleep long enough for that...I am a pretty slow scrapper. I do have plans to use it ASAP! Hopefully I can squeeze in a little "me time" tonight or tomorrow.
I actually wish I had a specific event or series of photos in mind, but I haven't sorted through them lately and I have a BUNCH that have never seen the light of day (they're still on my laptop)!

I hope you are inspired and if you scrap with it, please link back here with a comment or on SCS, I would LOVE to see what you do!

My Valentine!

I spent a few minutes this afternoon working on this card for my dad! It's not real masculine, but I like the colors and that little mouse with the GREAT BIG heart is just so darned cute!!! I'm thinking if I get it in the mail today he'll have it by Thursday! My dad went through a knee replacement a few months back, and over all he's doing GREAT! He is incredibly resilient for a man of his age, and since he was the "first man" in my life, he deserves something special!

Last Friday I got to run off and leave my family behind to spend time with my friend and upline Debbie! She had her monthly stamper's club meeting and even though I'm not really a member, my sister and I are always welcome to drop in. We had a good time stamping together...it had been a while, and it's always nice to sit back and do someone else's projects for a change...aren't these cute???
The candybar wrapper, uses the set "Simply Said" and was a fun project. It was quick and really easy to do!
The card involved masking off the word "hi" and sponging on Old Olive at the bottom. If you haven't tried this technique before, it's a simple way to make a BIG difference and I'll be focusing on that again in more detail soon! It also features a stamp from "So Many Scallops" available FREE in the Sale-a-bration mini. It's really cool to stamp an image and then punch it out with a coordinating punch! Another fun item from the mini is the "Love & Happiness" rub-ons, isn't this little candle ADORABLE!? I think Old Olive is one of my favorite colors!

Itichin' for Stitchin'

If you are following my sketch challenges, you've already seen this one from last Friday, but I was pretty impressed with myself for getting it done. YAY me!

I've had computer issues since the end of May 2007...SOMEONE put scrap paper in my CD drive and I hadn't taken the time to make an appointment and have a Mac Genius evaluate the situation. Well now it's come back to bite me. Somesort of system glitch is causing a problem with some of my applications. I need to upgrade my system software (or just reinstall), and in the meantime, I cannot use Photoshop, Illustrator, or any Microsoft applications.


With this issue came another, my inability to create sketches! Oh NO!!!! Well, I couldn't let that stop me, and since I had a pretty simple idea in my head, I decided to try MS Word as a sub. I use it at work for letters, and my desk isn't so demanding that I couldn't spend a few minutes a day tweaking my creation until Fridays post! So there it is above.

Over the weekend my WONDERFUL husband Gabe managed to get the paper out, and my CD drive is operational again. *YIPPEE* Can you believe there were FIVE small pieces of card stock in there!? I don't think I have to worry about a repeat incident. When I first discovered the paper in there, the girls were pretty bummed because we were on a road trip and they couldn't watch DVD's .

Here is a page I did Sunday using the sketch. The "innocent" child you see there is VERY LIKELY the cause of all my laptop grief! Can't sell her in a garage sale, heck look at that smile, how could I? She sure makes me appreciate her sisters a bit more, and I guess payback is hell...right Dad? LOL!!!

The page itself came together really fast. I just drew a heart on the backside of this patterned paper I had and trimmed it out. After taping it down, I ran it through my sewing machine. I adore using machine stitching on my layouts, if you haven't tried it you should. There are LOTS of ways to play with stitches and faux stitches are ALMOST as fun!

Basically Blue

I don't normally do photoless layouts, but I did this one for my friend Darcy and wanted her to use it as she wishes. I gave them to her at her bachelorette party last Friday night, so they are no longer "top secret."
Also, since she is one of my cyber sisters, I figured it would be appropriate to share them with you here! Hi Darcy, hope you are having a FABULOUS time on your honeymoon!!!

I used one of my sketches (see below) as the initial inspiration, but I decided to change it up a little. The truth is, after I created that section on the bottom left, I didn't have the heart to cover it up! What? you say, that's not patterned paper? No it is not, I stamped that part using my own crazy version of emboss resist. I guess we could call it "Silly Sally's Sloppy Emboss Resist!"

I used VersaMark clear pigment ink and stamped an image from Brocade Basics. Then, taking my sweet time about it, I sprinkled clear embossing powder over the image. I was NOT careful to cover the stamped images completely before I heated it with my heat tool. Then I brayered over the top with Classic ink and the brayer picked up and ghosted some areas that weren't fully embossed. I was really pleased with the distressed/aged look I achieved, and will certainly be experimenting with this again!

The right side of my layout has some freestyle paper piercing. I lightly drew a swirling design with a pencil and "traced" back over it with the piercing tool before erasing any residual pencil marks, and went back over it with my white get pen. I love the texture this creates! No page would be complete without some smudges of craft ink, so of course I did that too!

I really like the effects of blocks on a page. Blocks of color, blocked photos, blocked papers with photos overlapping...
I'm hoping to get some more mileage out of this sketch. I would also LOVE to see what you can do with it!

Use it or LOSE it!

I scrapped last night, I scrapped last night!!! My first pages of the new year, and I used my sketches from Friday's challenge. It's a miracle! ;)


I thought I was going to do the reverse masking technique to create the circles, but I decided to dig into my stash of patterned paper and use something I had. It's all about satisfying my 2008 scrapping goal, and I really need to use the old before I can buy NEW!

The pictures I used are from my daughters 10th birthday. It was her actual birthday, not a party, but I feel strongly about singing "Happy Birthday" and celebrating on the DAY even if your party can't be on the day. I intended for it to be a little hokey. We used baby shower napkins and the cupcakes included a fabulous "must have" fashion accessory...My Little Pony rings! hee hee
Here are my pages:

For the second page I decided to hide some pictures in a "waterfall" style, and I rotated the sketch to make it work with my landscape photos. I used my round tab punch to create hinges for attaching the matted photos with. A super easy way to get extra photos on your page...and I hid my journaling too! It's not that I really dislike my handwriting, but the page seems less "messy" to me.

For a complete recipe of the papers and products I used, visit my gallery!

Whew...Christmas IS Over!

I am sad/glad the holidays are over. I no longer have house guests. There is no pressure to keep the house super clean, or cook a big feast. It is actually a BIG relief!

I guess it's time to pack away my paper ornaments and Christmas layouts...
My craft table is surprisingly clean at the moment. I guess that's what happens when you don't USE it for a while. *yikes*

I had a pretty uneventful New Years Eve. I actually spent the evening painting a shared bedroom for my two youngest daughters. We are in the midst of a MAJOR overhaul, and I have girly stuff deposited in every spare corner of the house at the moment! Yet ANOTHER reason to be thankful the holidays are over! ;)

While we're on the subject of the new year, I meant to share a picture of one of these 2008-2009 planners. I altered the covers and I made several with different stamp sets, but basically the same colors. Unfortunately the photo doesn't really do it justice, but if you click on it you can see a closer view. This was done with the technique I shared over a month ago, Emerging Color, or Joseph's Coat Inside Out (as Jan Tink calls it). I am pretty pleased with the results, this is one I kept for myself - isn't it gorgeous!?

GOALS
I decided to set a scrapping goal for the year, and owe the idea to Lela on SCS. Several of us have set goals for ourselves, and the catch is, we can't spend money on new stuff unless we meet the goal! I plan to do 100 pages this year, so I set a goal of 8 pages this month which will allow me to spend $24 on new goodies....whoops, I haven't scrapped a thing yet, and I spent a $1 in the Target spot the other day. Ain't these cute!? They are self adhesive chipboard pieces. My 6 year-old is DYING for me to use them, because she knows she gets the leftovers. She is such a scrapper in the making!!!


EXCITEMENT BUILDS!!!!

The NEW Stampin' Up! catalog is HERE!!!!!
I'll be giving them away FREE to anyone who:

• joins my mailing list
• places an order
• signs up for my monthly club
• hosts a PARTY!

Contact me to get your copy while supplies last! In the meantime, enjoy the online version!

Got The Bug!

...the Cuttlebug that is!

I actually bought one quite a while back, but I haven't used it much because of my limited collection of embossing folders and dies.
Well, Tuesday night I decided I just HAD to bust out with my new Christmas stamps from the Holiday mini...it would be a total shame to put them away until next year! So I knew I wanted to use the tree stamp, and I liked the word block, but hmmm colors, and maybe use up some of this mega HUGE mat stack of Christmas paper I bought on sale in 2005! Well, let me tell you after I chose Stampin' Up!'s Gable Green as my card base, and picked the pretty striped paper I knew embossing it with the Cuttlebug was MANDATORY! I used my latest JoAnn coupon and ran out to get the D-Vine Swirls embossing folder everyone but me has been using for ages, and these cute little cards practically created themselves!

Friday's Sketch

I have a new DPS up for this week on SplitCoast!!! I'm posting them here too, simply because I want to share. I sincerely hope you like them and will put them to good use. I haven't scrapped them yet myself, and have big plans for last weeks sketch. I'm just waiting for the pictures to come in. I really need to finish up my Christmas cards though, so depending on how this weekend goes, there's a small chance I'll get a little scrapping in! TTFN!!!

Where Has This Month Gone???

You might remember I'm having an open house this weekend. I have been like a crazy woman with my head cut off!!! Holiday decorations...shopping...housework...kiddos -- CALGON TAKE ME AWAY! hahaha J/K
This little 6x6 is one of the make and take options this week end. It uses a mix of old and new. The background was stamped with a hostess set that will be featured in the new catalog, and the patterned paper is currently available. It's called Designer Prints and comes in several pretty patterns and colors. Other projects we'll be doing include a fun holiday card that features a retiring set, and a little candle!
I made several paper ornaments and decorated this "Charlie Brown" tree, these are my giveaways for attendees!

I didn't get a chance to snap a pic of the doorprises...I'm headless, remember? Anyway, it's going to be fun!!!

Friendly Friday!!!

Happy, happy Friday everyone!



I posted a new sketch challenge today, and here it is for your delight and amazement! *tee hee* But seriously, I'm pretty excited about it. I also posted a little twist this week....I would like you to scrap about friendship and use a quote or a poem on your page!


I found a couple of websites to assist with quotes about friendship. You can use one of them, or feel free to use one of your own!!! Scrap pictures of someone truly dear to you, and either upload on SCS, or post a link to your page in my comments. I love to see the variety of creations that result from one idea! I'll be scrapping my own version this weekend, so watch for it!

Friendship Quotes
Friendship Poems

December News

I decided not to create an "actual" newsletter this month. But, there are always things to share!

The retired list is available!
There are items in the Holiday mini still available until 12/15/2007! Read about this promotion. - See the Tags for All Stamp set!
~AND~ If you are a local stamper/crafter, don't miss my OPEN HOUSE!!!

Friday December 14th 6:00 - 9:00 PM
or
Saturday December 15th 2:00 - 5:00 PM

Door prizes - Bring a friend/get a gift - make and take activities - RSVP and receive a gift!

Use this link to email me and let me know which day you'd like to come!

Wednesday Wonders

If only I could quit my day job! It is a goal of mine, but I need to be patient and wait for the right time...
I was trying to work on some projects during lunch today, and my craft table is so buried it is pathetic!!! I have Almond Joys from Halloween stashed in my top drawer with the double stick tape, but I've been strong and I haven't touched them since Sunday! Maybe I should send them to Jan Tink!? She is such an awesome scrapper/crafter and she was my inspiration for a "new" technique I tried last night. She calls it Joseph's Coat Inside-Out. If you've heard of Emerging Color, it's basically the same, she just uses a background stamp.
Her tutorial is MORE than informative...it's entertaining, and you should give it a try! I can't share what I made because it is a top secret crafty thing I'm sending to a friend today, but let me tell ya, it's GORGEOUS!!!

Gobble Gobble

Turkey day is a commin' and I know you'll be taking pictures of your bloated loved ones during the holiday! ;) Well whenever you get around to scrapping them here is a compiled list of page title ideas I found on various websites, including The Perfect Title. Also, I found this page with links to several sites where you can create interesting ways to print off titles for your pages: CLICK ME!

• A Bountiful Harvest
• A Bunch of Turkeys
• A Day Of Thanks
• A Happy Heart Is A Thankful Heart
• A Harvest Of Memories
• A Hunting We Will Go
  
• A Time For Giving Thanks
• A Time To Give Thanks
• American Pie
• Be Thankful Always
  
• Be Thankful For What You’ve Got
• Be Ye Thankful Bountiful Blessings
• Bless This Food
  
• Bunch Of Turkey
• Bushel Of Blessings
  
• Canning Our Bounty
  
• Carving Memories
• Come, Ye Thankful People, Come
• Cornucopia Of Blessings
  
• Cornucopia Of Bounty
  
• Count Each Day As A Blessing
• Count Your Blessings
  
• Dinner Time
• Don't Call Me Late For Dinner
• Don't Worry, Be Thankful
• Eat Drink And Be Merry For Tomorrow We Will Diet
• Family & Turkey & Football...Oh My!
  
• Family And Food
  
• Family Traditions
  
• Feast With The Pilgrims
• Feast Your Eyes On This
• Friends, Family, Food And FOOTBALL!
• Gather Together With Thankful Hearts
  
• Give Thanks
  
• Give Thanks With A Grateful Heart
• Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
  
• Giving Thanks
• Giving Thanks For The Simple Things In Life
• Gobble, Gobble
• Gobble ‘Till You Wobble!
• God Is Good, God Is Great
• Happy Harvest
• Happy Turkey Day
• Harvest Delight
  
• Have a good fall, y'all
• Horn of Plenty
• I Am Thankful
  
• I LOVE a Parade!
• I Can't Believe I Ate The Whole Thing
  
• I'm Thankful For...
  
• In Everything Give Thanks
  
• It's Turkey Time!
• Let Us Give Thanks
  
• Let's Get Stuffed
  
• Let's Give Thanks
• Let's Talk Turkey
• Little Turkeys
• Live Thankfully
• Look At This Feast, Now Let's Eat This Beast
• Lovin' in the Oven
  
• May The Bounty Of The Season Fill Your Heart And Your Home
• My Little Turkey
• Nap Time
• O, The Lord's Been Good To Me
• Our Table Runneth Over!
• Over The River And Through The Woods
• Parade Paradise
• Pilgrims And Indians Remembered
• Pilgrim's Pride
  
• Pilgrim's Progress
  
• Pumpkin Pie
  
• Save A Turkey, Send Out For Pizza
  
• Sharing The Food
  
• Sharing The Harvest
  
• Share Your Blessings
  
• Share Your Bountiful Harvest
  
• So Much To Be Thankful For
  
• Stuffed!
  
• Stuffed With Stuffing!
  
• Strutting Her Stuff-ing
  
• Take Time To Be Thankful
  
• Thankful For Elastic Waistbands!
  
• Thankful Hearts
  
• Thankful Hearts, Helpful Hands
  
• Thanks for the Giving
  
• Thanksgiving
  
• Thanksgiving Bounty
  
• Thanksgiving Day
• Thanksgiving Is For All Creatures Great And Small
• Thanksgiving Is Not A Time Of The Year, But An Attitude Of The Heart
• Thanksgiving, Send Out For Pizza
• Thanksgiving Time
• Thanksgiving Traditions
  
• The Dressing Of A Turkey
  
• The Feast
  
• The Turkeys Play On Thanksgiving Day
  
• There Shall Be Showers Of Blessings
  
• Tons Of Turkey
  
• True Family Gathering
  
• Turkey And Dressing
  
• Turkey And Family Trimmings
  
• Turkey Day
  
• Turkey, Dressing And Pumpkin Pie
  
• Turkey In The Straw
  
• Turkey Talk
  
• Turkey Time!
  
• Turkey Tribute
  
• Turkey Tunes And Holiday Wishes
  
• We Are Gathered Here...
  
• We Are Thankful
  
• We Are Thankful For...
  
• We Gather Together
  
• We Gather Together To Ask The Lord's Blessing
  
• We Give Thanks
  
• What A Bunch Of Turkeys!
  
• What A Feast!
  
• What A Little Turkey
  
• What We Are Thankful For:

Things Are Getting a Bit Sketchy

I want to announce my continued involvement with the weekly SplitCoastStampers scrapbooking challenges!!!

Last Friday was my debut as the lead sketch challenge hostess, I'm super excited to have been asked, and I plan to provide mostly original sketches of my own design, and on occasion a sketch from a guest hostess - it's going to be SUPER!

I kicked off with this DPS and hadn't had time to use it myself until Wednesday.



You are the first to see what I did with it...


I had a disagreement with the scanner today, so I had to use my camera to get these pages uploaded. I wish I'd had better photos for the layout, but these are all I have from my sweet girls birthday at school. Notice the hair in her face? Yeah, that's what remains from when she practically scalped herself with the scissors. That's my Sydney!

Tomorrow is FRIDAY, and lots of GREAT things are coming our way! Are you excited? I am!!!

Ask Sally

I recently discovered I actually have readers! So I guess I'm not always talking to myself!!! tee hee Well I decided to share some email correspondence I received (hope that's OK Alison) and feel free to put in your two cents if you have additional advice to share, just post in my comments. Also, if you have a question of your own, email me!

Dear Sally,
I really enjoy your blog and scrapbook layouts. I would really like to start scrapbooking, but feel a little overwhelmed. I never have enough pictures to make an entire book. Sometimes I don't even have enough to make a 2 page by page layout.
I have a friend who just bought a 3 ring binder and when she would ever have one page done she would add it. When you would open the book, the 2 pages had nothing to do with each other. Even if I did start a small book, what is your first page normally about? Does it have a picture or just something about the theme? I would love it if you had any ideas or suggestions for me.
Thanks,
Alison

Alison,
Wow, thanks for the compliment! I guess one thing you should do is start taking more pictures! *wink*
Well if you know my style, you know I like to use a TON of pictures, but every once in a while, I do a layout with just one. It's a nice change with the right photo. You can even get larger prints and mix it up!
When I have too many pictures for one page and not enough for 2 (or I'm trying to avoid a 3rd page) I sometimes hide some in a little flip out or pull out element. I just did that yesterday with a page as a matter of fact. I folded a strip of patterned paper in thirds and attached it to the page with one picture on top. I put a little folded piece of ribbon at the bottom so you can tell it opens and when you lift the top piece there are two more photos...then you can fold down the inside and you see the journaling. Super easy!
If you do this just cut a slit in the page protector to provide access to the hidden elements! Another thought is to alter the size of your album, you could do a 6x6 or 8x8 instead of 8 1/2 x 11 or 12x12. As far as having pages that compliment each other inside your book, a sure way to accomplish that is to do themed albums. Some people do an album for vacations, one for birthdays, a Christmas album...etc. This is perfect for someone who doesn't want to scrap EVERYTHING. I personally prefer to just scrap chronologically....but I'm on a mission to scrap EVERYTHING! hee hee I was actually in a rut for a long time because I was stuck in the late 90's, but one day I decided to do some current events and I was liberated. I got on a roll that hasn't stopped yet! I have about 5 albums going at the same time, but it helps me stay interested and continue to scrap. Do whatever makes you happy! If I didn't answer this right or I missed something, let me know! You are welcome to call me too. I never get bored of talking about scrapping!
Sally Saenz

Something that I realize now that I did not address is an intro page when you first open the album. I have one book with a page in the cover that conveys what you'll find inside, but I don't usually do a page in the front just to "announce" the rest of the book. It can be frustrating if you find that you want to begin with a DPS, so in that instance an intro page would be appropriate...it could be something as simple as "Saenz Family 2006 - 2007" or if you are doing a themed album, "Christmas with the Saenz' 1995 - 2000" you get the idea!

Here's a few examples of hidden elements:

These were just done Saturday during VSBN, and this is the page I was describing to Alison in my email response. The photo on the upper right of the page has a little loop of ribbon and you can flip it up to see more pictures.
I didn't take another photo of the bottom photo flipped down, but the journaling is under there.

This next page just has a pull out where the journaling is. It probably could have used a little tab of ribbon as well, but if you slit your page protector and leave it sticking out, that should be a clear indicator to give it a tug!

Hmmmmm

If you were something I could buy at the LSS (local scrapbook store), what would you be??? Take this quiz and leave me a comment, I'd love to know what YOU are! Quiz me!

Here's what I am:

You are Brads!

Your life is all about the details! You like to embellish your life like you embellish your scrapbook - with lots of details! You tend to be a perfectionist and like everything just so. You make time to stop and smell the flowers and try to fill your life with things to make you happy. You don't like to take a back seat in life - you like to stand out and are often in leadership roles. People love you because you always seem to have it all together. But Brads Beware - Your life can be overdone with details and can find yourself with too many projects on your plate to finish them all. Try to stay focused and prioritize more.

335 other people got this result!
This quiz has been taken 42010 times.
2% of people had this result.

November News

Do you get email notifications when I post new entries here? If not, use the subscribe feature on the right!
That way, every time I post something new, you'll get an email to let you know!

I have posted my November Newsletter with upcoming Stampin' Up! events and promotions...patterned paper is on sale!

You can use the "Newsletters" link under my profile or simply click on this:

NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER

A Nifty Little Coaster Book!

I told you about VSBN which started yesterday, and one of the challenges was a mini accordion book made from square coasters. I didn't have square coasters so I cut some cardboard that came in a paper pack to 4x4 square and rounded the corners on 2 sides!
The complete tutorial is on Nicole Heady's Blog, Capture the Moment, and it's a pretty fun little project. I wanted to use the last of some patterned card stock from an old Simply Scrappin' Kit, so I made mine with a vintage look and dug out some old school pictures of my friends in 8th grade!
Here's the front:


I considered additional embellishments, but really wanted to keep this one simple...not to mention the constant interruptions from my three year-old - it's been one of those days!
The inside contains two mini accordion style "booklets" that fold out to reveal pictures and journaling. This was really easy, and with the right pictures, it has gift potential!