Scrap A Moment

Back in the saddle again....

2011-04-01T21:12:00.000-07:00

It's me again! Have you forgotten about me? Once again, I apologize profusely for my inability to keep up with my blog. But, I am hoping that I will be able to make regular visits again and keep you posted on new projects. And since it has been so incredibly long since I have posted anything, I would love to show you a project that I made for my anniversary trip to Disneyland this past November. Check it out....

I made the journal from a precut chiboard album, so it already came with the holes punched and the ring. I just covered the chipboard with Disney themed paper and embellishments. What I loved was that there were fireworks on some of the paper, so I enhanced them with glitter! I made the book days before actually going on our trip, and then each night when we got back to our hotel, I would write out what we did and stuff the little pockets with memorabilia like Fast Passes, napkins, that kind of thing. I guess I should take pics of the finished album!

AAAA...this is so bad!

2010-08-26T10:43:00.000-07:00

My goodness guys, I am soo sorry! It's been forever and then some since I've posted last, and even with this post I don't have a new project or anything. It's been a busy couple of months, what with the computer crashing, working at Michaels teaching classes, plus a barrage of other things. I haven't really been on here. so, just letting you all know that I am still avidly scrapbooking and teaching it and enjoying it! Classes for September are signing up now, so if you or anyone you know is in my area, come sign up! Anyway, sorry again everyone....hopefully you will hear from me sooner next time!!

Scrapbook Class Schedules

2010-07-10T09:07:00.000-07:00

For anyone in my area, just a reminder that scrapbook classes will begin in August at the Michaels on Sisk Rd. I will be instructing them and it is a four week course. There is lots to learn and it's going to be a lot of fun. Here's the days and times....

Scrapbook Basics
Wednesday Aug 4th 3:30-5:30
Friday Aug. 6th 6:30-8:30
or Saturday Aug. 7th 12:30-2:30

Building Blocks of Design
Wed. Aug. 11th 3:30-5:30
Fri Aug. 13th 6:30-8:30
Sat. Aug 14th 12:30-2:30

Power of the Pen
Wed. Aug. 18th 3:30-5:30
Frid. Aug. 20th 6:30-8:30
Sat. Aug. 21st 12:30-2:30

The Final Touch
Wed. Aug. 25th 3:30-5:30
Fri Aug. 27th 2:30-4:30 (crop night following from 5 to 8:45)
Sat. Aug 28 12:30-2:30

Come into the store to sign up, registration is very inexpensive. If the times for August don't work, let me know what times and days do work and I will be doing my best to accommodate for September classes. Please come and sign up!!!

Where have I been? Computer crash....

2010-07-03T11:10:00.000-07:00

Terribly sorry to all of you out there that like to pop in and check out my blog. My computer took a dive...a big one! We couldn't get it past the start up page, the screen went completely blank. I finally had to do a system recovery and in doing so, lost ALL of my pictures that were saved to the hardrive. Luckily, a lot of those photos were also saved in numerous online photo galleries, facebook and this here blog.
Now that that rant is over, once again I do apologize for being absent and in that time....something amazingly awesome happened! I got my own car {which in itself is pretty cool}, but I went job hunting as well. I took a sampling of my work into Michaels and just wanted to see if I could get a job on the retail floor. I love Michaels...it's like a home away from home for me. The manager asked if I wanted to instruct scrapbook classes. I said that would be awesome. So I applied for that position and now ladies, I am currently a certified SDU scrapbook instructor here at the Michaels in my town. I teach the basics in scrapbooking in a four week course. The curriculum covers everything from photo storage to using color to journaling and penmanship and embellishing. So much fun stuff and it's great for beginners and for advanced scrappers! My classes will start in August and I am offering three different time slots and days. Wednesdays from 3:30-5:30. Fridays from 6:30-8:30 and Saturdays 12:30-2:30. So classes will start August 4th, August 6th and August 7th. If you live in my area, go to the Michaels on Sisk Rd. and get yourself registered. It's very inexpensive too!! I hope to see you there. I am sooo excited to teach this class...so tell all of your friends and come on by!

Pavé and Decoupage

2010-06-15T08:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Tuesday everyone! I had the chance yesterday to experiment with a new medium...tile grout. I have been wanting to make a pavé box for quite some time now and while I was out and about, I came across some mosiac tile grout to do the job. I think these boxes are so cute and though they can be time consuming, they are actually quite easy as well. All it is, is a wooden box, some paint, left over scrapbook paper, clear gem accent beads, glue and tile grout. Take a look...

I used some very light colors of scrapbook paper. Soft blues, and greens. It reminds me after it was all grouted together of the ocean.

It's a combination of some of the accent beads with paper under them and some that I left clear. I love this box, and will be willing to teach how to make them or make them for others! They are so fun and can have a variety of different results. At the dollar store (where I bought the beads), they also had little bags of sea glass and other really pretty pieces that I want to try as well.

The second thing I did was go decoupage crazy! This is the season of everyone being pregnant and getting ready to have babies {so it seems anyway!}, so I wanted to come up with a creative gift box for a baby shower gift. I happened to have a left over box from the journal box activity and thought about how long it had been since I had done a decent decoupage. So, that's just what I did. I decoupaged the box in different shades of pinks and I am going to find a little pair of pink booties to stick inside the box as well. I am also making one in different shades of blue. I am debating whether or not I want to put on "It's a Girl or It's a boy". or anything relating to that. But you can let me know what you think...

So that's what I have been up to. Tomorrow night I am teaching some of the teenage girls from my church

Explosion Boxes. It will be fun! Thanks for coming in and hope you enjoyed yourself. If you want instructions or for me to make you the

pavé box, let me know! I would be happy to.

Activity Day +The Importance of Journal Writing=Journal Boxes

2010-06-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

I promise I am not averaging a week between posts...I have my own car now and I have been enjoying getting out of the house lately!
Yesterday the little girls from my church (ages 10 and 11) came to my house like they do twice a month for what's called Activity Day. I am the leader for this age group and I wanted to teach the girls the importance of keeping a journal to record their thoughts and dreams for future generations. I know that sometimes for me it is hard to constantly thing of something new to write, so we made journal boxes. It's a box that the girl got to decorate any way they wanted and then they filled it with prompts and ideas to pull out when they are having a block. I had seen something similar before in a glass jar, but while I was at the dollar store, I found these cute, plain little boxes. Perfect for a Thursday craft project. So, I threw different colored pom-pom puff balls, colored glue paint, glitter glue, ribbons, decorative scissors and a whole big file folder of my scrapbook paper scraps and let the girls go to town. Here's what the results were...

One box filled with the prompts...

The girls had so much fun decorating their boxes but they used soooo much of the colored glue that I kept the boxes at my house over night to dry so that they wouldn't ruin their parents cars!

Oh yeah, I made one too....just for fun....

Thanks for coming by!!!

Finally another {premade} scrapbook page!

2010-06-04T10:05:00.000-07:00

I have done it! I have been working hard towards my upcoming MemoryWorks party tomorrow and decided that some of the giveaways I plan to do should be homemade. So I have completed my very first premade layout to giveaway. I made it somewhat simple, but still cute and fun. I love the colors, this particular piece of paper always kind of scared me when I would see it in my scrap closet. I have only done one other layout with it and that was a cowgirl theme. I just happened as well to have the multicolored ric-rac that matched perfectly to the paper. Have a look...

I'm the winner!

2010-06-02T09:55:00.000-07:00

The other day I was taking a stroll through a variety of the different blogs that I follow. I happened across the word "Giveaway" on Candy Shoppe Designs and of course, this peaked my interest! Anytime I see the word giveaway, I become interested. So off I scampered to the blog {which is such a CUTE blog full of challenges and ideas and beautiful papers and kits} to check out what was being offered. I saw that Lynnette Davis, the founder of the blog was doing a giveaway for the blog reaching a certain amount of Sweethearts {followers}. And then I saw something strange....the name Aubrey in bold black standing out against the bright pink background. Must be some other Aubrey...right? Well, of course the temptation to see just who this Aubrey was was overwhelming and so I clicked the link and then another strange thing happened....I was suddenly at my OWN blog. Must be a mistake, because you see, I NEVER win anything! So, I tried again. Sure enough, I was directed back here. Whoa! I was super excited, and still had no idea what I had even won! That was my next step. Turns out I did pretty well, I won a kit from Generation Crafting and two big paper packs from Lynnette's stash. I haven't received them yet, they are in the mail. But I thought that I would share with you that as of currently, I am a giveaway winner! Hurray!

Making a Change....

2010-05-26T18:31:00.000-07:00

I love Wednesdays...I'm not sure why...but I do! So happy Wednesday! I do want to apologize to all of you out there that know that I usually am posting project after project on my blog. The last few weeks {obviously}, there has been a lack of them. I have been busy with my vacation, coming home, getting my MemroyWorks party organized and planned...so much stuff. I also am hard up on transportation to get me to Michaels to get the supplies I need to try my new gem box project. But....the creativity is all there. I am currently making some fun giveaways for the upcoming party, as well as tinkering around with renovating this little blog. I will be changing the appearance over the next few days/weeks/months..however long I feel it needs to take. As you can see, I have already changed my signature. I think it turned out pretty darn cute. I am a little sad that I got rid of my old one since it was my actual handwriting, but I need change! So bear with me here as I start changing the appearance. Thanks for popping in and have a super fantastic night!

Open House Party!!

2010-05-23T20:25:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to put it out there that my friend and I will be hosting an open house for MemoryWorks products as well as Scentsy products. It will be on June 5th from 11-4 and everyone in the area is welcome to come in and check it out. If you need the address, send me an email and I can give it to you. I will be sure to get some fun pictures since this is my first official MemoryWorks gathering. Wish me luck!!

Santa wears a brown uniform and drives a big brown truck

2010-05-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

It's just another manic Thursday! Actually, that would have been more precise for yesterday...crazy things happened then. One spot of of sheer delight{ment} was another knock at the front door and another package for me...yay! This one contained the reapings of my online splurge at MemoryWorks. I did a sampling of different products and designers to get a feel for what it would be that I was selling.

Do you think that it's a big enough sampling? I purposefully bought some boyish paper because I know that I am more prone to making girly things and was told by more than one person that if I would make some more boy things, they would love to buy them. So, I am going to challenge myself and try a few boy layouts. I also bought my first set of Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels. I got it in the Garden Bouquet colors. I have seen this stuff used before and really want to try my hand at it, and who can resist the pinks, purples and greens? I can't! I also purchased the Simple Stories Life Documented kit that is exclusive to MemoryWorks. It is made to make all of your scrapbooking simplified and easy to piece together.

I am so excited to dive into all of my new stuff! Scrapbook shopping, shoe shopping, and clothes shopping....I don't know which one is more fun!

I have also come up with a to do list. I realized when I came home from my vacation that I had so many ideas racing through my head that I needed to wrangle them together and put them on paper. So, my very first major project that I am DYING to try is a gem box. That's all I will say about it, in case it fails miserably. :)

Well, it's time for me to sign off for the day....oh....just a little something to chew on, I will be hosting a MemoryWorks party in June. It will be with a good friend of mine, and we are still tossing times around, but have pretty much decided on the 5th which is a Saturday. Times will follow, but if you are in my area, stop by. It will be an open house style, so you will have a block of time to come and go as you please. Keep looking here on the blog and especially on facebook for more info. I will get all the details hammered out in the next couple of days.

As always ladies, thanks for taking the time to drop by my blog and read. I appreciate all of you that do!

The kit has arrived!! {Excitement is iminent!}

2010-05-18T12:29:00.000-07:00

The doorbell rang today and I knew exactly who it was. Mr. UPS man with my brand new consultant kit from MemoryWorks! I was so excited to open it and see all of the fun goodies that I was going to get. It came with a beautiful tote bag with the MemoryWorks logo, a pin on button, pack of pens, start up folder, 5 catalogs to show customers plus a bonus catalog with hot new items!! YAY! Now that I have what I need to start, I am going to be planning my first party for sometime next month. If you are interested in purchasing any of these products, you can check out MemoryWorks and email me with what you want, or if you are in my area, come to the party. I will keep you updated!

A {like three} new project{s}

2010-05-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

It's a gorgeous Sunday friends and I am ready to get back on the scrap horse. I've been a little out of it since returning home from family, I have had to play catch up on house work {though my husband did do a great job of keeping it pretty clean while I was away.}. I've had a mountain of laundry that I can't seem to get out from under, but I am slowly making progress. Thoughts have been racing around my head, a sure sign that creative juices are starting to flow, and that crafting itch is back, so I went up to my scrapbook room and started a new project. I enjoyed making the altered book for my mom so much that I started another altered book. This one is smaller and I used an entirely different technique. Instead of painting the cover, I decoupaged it. I am still in the beginning stages of the book, but I did take pictures.I have most of the decoupage done, I am starting to work on how I want to bind the spine {I've pretty much narrowed it down to two locking rings} and then I will continue on with it later. Here are the pictures of the book in the current beginning {rough} stages.

This is the book layed down flat. I've drilled in two holes for the rings and I am going use the ribbon to help bind the spine.

Just some of the decoupage. You can see that it is not completely finished. I do love the soft greens and blues though.

This is my project right now. I have no real reason for it, I am just experimenting with altered books. I am thinking of turning it into an address book or planner for myself, though I am undecided as of now. I

Moving along, I do have more projects that will be spilling out in the coming weeks, and I can give you a bit of teaser right now. While I was with family, my mom and I went digging into some boxes in the closets that were chalk full of pretty little treasures. My mom had stashed away hundreds of old black and white photos of her parents, her dad at war and so on. They are priceless photos, most of which were taken by my grandfather who was an amateur photographer. He would also develop the film and thereby made priceless works of art. Through out the week that I was there, we managed to separate and organize the photos, from photos dating all the way to the late 1800's early 1900's, to photos taken during my grandpa's service overseas in WWII {which he got an article in the paper about for the types of photos he took}, and on up past my grandparents wedding and into the birth of my mom and my aunt. My main interest was in the black and whites. I set aside all of the war photos for a very special scrapbook about my grandpa. My dad is currently scanning in the photos and retouching them for me and then saving them onto a disk to send to me. I am so excited to get all the photos and even more excited to start my first heritage album. I was able to leave my parents house with a copy of the article about my grandpa during the war, a copy of his discharge papers, and lovely little photo of him in uniform and two letters from his jacket when he played foot ball in highschool in the 30's. I will be keeping you all informed of this project as it moves along.

During my visit my mom also gave me another trinket. She gave me an opal ring that is a family heirloom. The way the story goes is that the ring is passed among the women born in October in my family on my mom's side. My mom got the ring when she was younger from an aunt who got it from the original owner who got it in 1919. My mom was told to pass the ring on to the next girl born in October {preferably a daughter} and sure enough, I was born in October. My mom gave me the ring, and while we were looking throught the old photos we stumbled across one of the original owner of the ring. The date was around 1919-20 and sure enough, she is wearing the opal ring on her finger. When I get the ring fixed {it's missing an opal} I will take a picture of it and make a scrapbook page of the ring Aunt Vronie {the original owner} wearing the ring. I do have some pictures of the ring in it's current state that I can share with you.

The opals in the ring aren't done any justice by this photo. They are beautiful and full of fire, even after 92 years. I am so lucky to be part of this tradition and be the new owner of the family heirloom.

I have said a lot today and will now leave you all to your crafts and projects and continue on with mine. Thanks again for stopping in to read today and stop by again soon for more updates on my projects, fun tips and more!!

A Few Points of Interest...

2010-05-15T08:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday to everyone! Today is the end of the challenge that I posted on making a layout that was mainly journaling. It seems that I didn't have any takers on it, so I will try another challenge later. If you have any ideas for a challenge, let me know! Something else has happened too that is very exciting. I am now an Independent Scrapbook Consultant for MemoryWorks! I will be having scrapbook parties and everyone will be able to get their scrapbooking supplies through me. MemoryWorks sells all the top brands and trends for scrapbooking too. Their product line is great. I am so excited to be doing this, it's like a dream come true for me. Scrapbooking is a huge part of my life and now I can share it with others while making a little money on the side!! Let me know if you want anything and we can talk!

The next point of interest in this blog is about that little ABC book that I made. Remember that? Well, I have pictures of my niece getting it that I wanted to share with you. She was so excited to get it and would read it over and over again. She loved to feel the little objects and say what they were. So, here you go...my cute little niece Anya, and her ABC book....

I also have pictures of my mom getting her Mother's Day book. It was a very special moment. I haven't been with my mom on Mother's Day in nearly 7 years and this year I got to be. I actually gave her the book two days early since I knew we would have a house full of curious little kids running around on Mother's Day. I wanted her to take her time with the book and enjoy it and then be able to put it away before little hands found it.

Handing the book to my mom. I wrapped it in pink tissue paper.

She loved it from page one!

It kind of turned it to a family affair. My dad was taking the pictures, my little brother was watching as well as my little sister. And then when my older brother came with his wife and the rest of the family, my mom showed them too. :)

My mom is an amazing woman! I love her so much!

That's all I have for this episode ladies {and gentlemen}. I may be posting again today if I am able to get another challenge up. Until next time though, happy scrapping, bring your friends along and keep in touch!

And the giveaway winner is....

2010-05-13T05:49:00.000-07:00

Lori Edwards! Congrats to her and she will be receiving her paper pack in the mail shortly. Thanks to everyone who went to the facebook page and participated in this giveaway. Remember to try the challenge I posted up. you have till the 15th to try it before I put something new up. Have a great morning to you all!!

Mother's Day Present

2010-05-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

Hey there everyone! I am back from my visit with family and I had a great time seeing them all again. I was able to be with them during Mother's Day and I had made a project for my mom that I can now share pictures of. This was one of those projects that I couldn't post up yet, but that I was working on. Now that my mom has it, you can all see what it is I did.
This was my first attempt at making an altered book, and I think that it turned out really well. What I did was take a hard cover book and completely gut of all the pages and binding. Then I painted the cover with a white acrylic paint using a large bristled brush to give the cover an aged whitewashed wood appearance. Next I took double sided scrapbook paper and cut it to fit in the book, wove a tea dyed ribbon into the spine and the pages and then decorated the book with pictures of my mom, her kids, quotes on mothers and artwork. Have a look at the final product here. If you have questions on how to make your own, contact me. Or if you would like me to make you one, contact me as well. I will be making a tutorial for this project in the near future, so keep checking in on the Fun Projects page here on this blog. Enjoy the pictures!

Thanks for stopping in and come back often for new projects and updates!!

Going on vacation!

2010-05-02T08:11:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!! I haven't been posting regularly, I know, I'm sorry. I'm getting ready to go out of town for a week and have been pretty occupied with that. I was also completing a Mother's Day project, which I can't post up until after I get home, otherwise she may see it! I will be leaving Tuesday and then coming home on the 11th. Should something extremely exciting happen while I am gone, sure, I will find the nearest computer and post it up for all you to see. But I will be off for a bit, though I promise to start up all my projects just as soon as I am home. Remember to enter the giveaway on Facebook and try the challenge here on the blog. See ya guys really soon and have fun!!

May We have a Challenge?

2010-04-30T09:54:00.000-07:00

Ladies....I have come to you now with a challenge! You know what I'm talking about....I want to see your scrapbook pages, BUT, there are guidelines....I want to see scrapbook pages based mainly on journaling. It's a strange request, yes I know, but journaling is such an important part of a scrapbook page. This idea was sparked by a page I did a year ago that was for my husband. The main focus was the journaling.

So use these as inspiration, and here is what you do next...after you complete your page, click on Mr. Linky below to add a link to your image, then leave a comment on this post {even if you don't have an account with this blogger, you can still leave an anonymous comment, just put your name under it}. Then what will happen, I will host your image and display it on my page here as well as facebook {giving you all the credit of course!} so that others can see your beautiful work as well. I am most likely going to start implementing challenges into this blog, so this is a good run through to see who really wants to challenge themselves. So, lets get this started, pull out your scrapbooking supplies {or you can make a card, altered item etc.} and get going, link it up and lets see what we get! I will leave the challenge open until May 15th. Have fun and happy scrapping!!

**also remember to swing by Scrap A Moment's fan page in facebook to enter the giveaway! It ends on the 13th**

My Very First GIVEAWAY!

2010-04-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

Hey there everyone! I have decided that I am going to do a giveaway. I've seen them done before on other sites, and I want to do one here. Actually, from the Scrap A moment facebook page. In order to enter the giveaway and see all the details, press the little thumbs up sign in the side bar of this site to become a fan of Scrap A Moment. Then head on over to the page to see what's being given away and all the details! Have a super night guys!

Sore Feet and an Admirable Applause, Please!

2010-04-26T10:06:00.000-07:00

Happy, Happy Monday friends! I tried very hard to get on last night, but I only had energy to sort through the party pictures. Sorry! But I am here now, and Nonno and Nona's 63rd wedding anniversary party went beautifully. I know this is not your typical "Scrapbook Blog" post like I usually do, but for the amount of creativity, planning and projects that went into this party between my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, cousin-in-law and myself, it deserves a spot on this site! And of course, just for the fact that they have been married for 63 years is reason enough!
The party planning had been going on for weeks, there were talks of color schemes and what pattern for the plates and napkins. Getting just the right shade of red for the roses, the perfect dish...all of that. The last couple days were a frenzy of activity. Samantha {my sis-in-law} came home from school for the weekend, and her, myself and Alida {my mom-in-law} did last minute errands and then Alida and I did the all important arranging of the table preview. Yesterday I went over early to help, and was in charge of setting the tables as we had previously determined, lighting candles and cooking pasta. It was definantly an Italian kitchen with all of us running around tasting dishes and reaching over eachother to stir sauces and pasta, toss salads and chop tomatoes. But we had so much fun. I'm just going to roll the pictures now!

Alida and me putting Italian bread sticks in paper cones

The Main Table

The Small Table {notice the shadow box in the background? ;)}

Menu for the evening {Sooooo gooood!}

My place setting, we each had a rose tucked in the napkins on our plates

{I did the folding and the tucking under the direction of Alida}

Alida had collected these classic jug jars and turned them into candle holders

They looked authentic once the candle wax began melting down the sides!

My framed scrapbook page for them was on display at the buffet table accented

with this beautiful spray of red roses and the two little vases with the "L" and the "M"

on them. {Loredana and Mario}

I was told that it wasn't an Italian table unless there was a bowl of nuts

in front of Nonno's plate.

The girls {Laura, myself, and Samantha} taking time from cooking

and decorating. We each gave a gift, I gave the scrapbook page, Laura

drew a beautiful portrait and Samantha sang an Italian opera piece.

Samantha also conjured up her Italian cooking genes and

made {from scratch} this bowl of pasta with red sauce. MMMM!

Dessert was fabulous! Nonno and Nona in front of their lemon cake or Dolce Torte al Limone

So sweet! Nonno fed Nona one of the white chocolate hearts.

Three layers of delicious goodness!

Presenting Nona with the scrapbook page.

Nona and her gift.

That's all the pictures folks! Thanks for coming in and remember to check back regularly, I may be doing something new with this blog after I do some brainstorming! Until then, keep on scrapping!!

A small hiatus

2010-04-23T12:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome back my fellow scrappers and loyal blog readers! I am dropping in to say that for the next couple days {though I really can't say for certain} I won't be posting as much. However, that is not saying that I'm not working on projects, because quite frankly, I found a BUNCH of projects I will be doing. I just can't post them up here due to them being gifts of people who may come in and read. Darn it all, huh? I have one large project for a certain mother of mine that I am trying to make and it is giving me some problems, but I am sure I can regain control. I will be posting up some pictures for sure either Sunday evening or Monday morning of the anniversary dinner that I made the "A Taste of the Old Country" layout for. My mother-in-law puts together beautiful parties and my sister-in-law is coming home for the weekend and we are going to decorate and do some cooking. I'm excited to see everything put together! So, until either a random layout get completed in between projects here, plan on seeing me Sunday or Monday! Thanks much!

It's All About Me

2010-04-22T08:04:00.000-07:00

I took on another challenge yesterday that I found at Scrapbooks Etc. . The challenge was to do a layout about "YOU". How funny that that should be a challenge, oh but it was! I don't scrapbook myself {I mean about myself}, unless I happen to be at the event, with the birthday person, on that vacation...you get the drift. But to actually sit down and come up with a layout about ME was difficult. When it came to me, it took about an hour to finally decide on what paper to use...that was just the beginning! I will say, that after I did a small sketch of what I thought would be nice, the page did come together a lot easier.

This is the finished layout...I love the pale greens.

There was no way that I could make a layout about me and not include the lyrics to the song I am named after.

I added subtle detail around the border of the picture listing all the things that I am.

{Sorry about the flash here} At the bottom of the page, I put in random pictures of me, and squeezed in a couple different lists about me...My Likes, My Dreams, and My Hobbies.

I'm really happy that I took this challenge. I didn't realize that making a layout about me would be this difficult. It's hard to sit there and try to think of all things that you are, all things that you want to be and all the great and wonderful things about you. Funny thing is, there is usually way more good things than we give ourselves credit for! Take this challenge everyone!! Go to the link at the beginning of this post and submit your own "Me" layouts!

thanks for popping in!

Done Already...

2010-04-21T10:05:00.000-07:00

Well, what can I say? I finished my challenge layout already. I was up late last night sketching it out, and then this morning {more against my own will than anything} woke up super early. The dogs wanted to get up, so after letting them play outside, I brought my bowl of cereal upstairs to my scrapbook room and got to work. I wanted the page to be fun but at the same time look like it has some organization to it. I chose some brighter colors and this is the end result...

I found another picture of my brother in me changing ranks with eachother and thought that would be funny to put on the page as well. I wrote my captions around the edge of the circles "It wasn't just a card game anymore...It was a battle for the crown!" and "Changing Ranks". I cut out a big crown from my "Paper Pups" Cricut cartridge and then cut out my letters with my "Designer Calendar" cartridge. I've submitted it in to the challenge forum, so we will see how it did!

A " Great Dalmuti" of a Challenge

2010-04-20T22:53:00.000-07:00

Evening everyone! I have been thinking a lot today about what I wanted to do next for a project. I ended up deciding to join a scrapbook challenge forum and try one of their ideas. I found one that immediately sparked up memories of a HILARIOUS photo from a few years ago of myself, my brother, my sister in law and a couple of cousins. We played a card game called The Great Dalmuti that we took rather seriously.

L to R: my little brother Ricky, Me, sister-in-law Emily, cousin Susan, and cousin Bill.

As you can see, we even took it to the level of wearing costumes. {And yes, that IS me with a soda bottle strapped to my head and wearing my little brother's pants} There are different players in the game ranging from a Peon, to a Merchant to the coveted role of Great Dalmuti {my cousin here in the purple and the crown seemed to always be The Great Dalmuti}. Anyway, we made hats to go along with the different roles and we had to trade them up if we should advance or get booted down a level.

The scrapbook challenge is to make a layout of something that you do for fun with friends or family. It seems fairly simple enough, but I can assure you, this picture may just steal any limelight away from my actual scrapbooking techniques...I think there in lies MY challenge! I will keep you all posted and of course unveil the finished product! Wish me luck and have a great night....

And now I know my ABC's!

2010-04-19T23:18:00.000-07:00

Here it is everyone! I managed to pull together my 2nd project this week! The ABC book is now completed and ready to give to my niece. I finished the final pages today, and then worked on mounting the cover onto chipboard, put two ring fasteners on and then embellished with some pretty ribbons. I didn't expect to get both my major projects done so quickly {let alone back to back}, and now my "Scrapping To Do" list is kind of empty. I do have some lovely little flower shaped chipboard hanging around my scrap closet...just enough to make a Number Book to go along with the ABC's....hmmmm.....{perhaps my list has a box that still needs to be checked off after all}

The finished product {yay!}

Some of the pages {these one's make me kind of sleepy}

I love ribbons and they ended up really pulling the whole book together.

Thanks for having a peek every one!

A bit of the Old Country

2010-04-18T19:29:00.000-07:00

I've been listening to Italian music all day. I have finished my project for my husband's grandparent's anniversary dinner. I had to listen to the Italian music to keep me inspired and to keep the mood of the page going. I have a few moments when I scrapbook where I feel like I've put so much of myself into the page that it's sad to know that I'm giving it away, and not just that, but I always worry that I will think it looks good, and someone else will think it looks terrible. All I can say is I am happy with how it turned out, and I hope that Nona and Nonno like it!

Framed in the shadow box.

arrivederci e grazie i miei amici,

This one's for you Ari

2010-04-17T08:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was talking to my husband about this blog and how much fun I was having making new things for it and getting comments. But there has been one thing that I haven't quite figured out how to do and that has been creating my own digital scrapped background. I have never really done much digi-scrapping {who am I kidding, I've have NEVER done any}but I have learned bits and pieces since creating this blog and have designed some of my own little logos and stuff. Anyway, I digress, as I was telling my husband this, he gave me the idea to just piece together a layout from my own scrapbook paper and scan it in to the computer. I actually thought that that was a decent idea, I even kind of knew what measurements needed to be where on the page. So, last night I sat down at my desk after finding some paper that I thought would make a cute background. As I was piecing it together, I thought that it was actually turning into a really cute scrapbook page. I ended up totally forgetting about creating a blog background and started scrapping a page for my sister's album. I'm not entirely sure if I have completed it or not {there's a bit of space at the top that I don't if I want filled or not, I think the pattern itself might be enough to fill the negative space}. But all in all, I feel that it turned out pretty decent. Strange what things can turn out when you are trying to accomplish something entirely different!

I love this picture of my sister and me and I call her AriBug, so I thought the butterflies were a nice touch! Let me know what you think...

This post is brought to you by the letter "O" no!

2010-04-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

{A small blurb just for your amusement}
Things have been going steady enough with both of my current projects. I have trying to work both the ABC album and the anniversary page back to back. I'm at a spot on the anniversary page that involves more supplies {yay! Another trip to Michael's!} so I went back to the ABC album. As I was cutting out letters on my cricut, I noticed my cutting mat was starting to wear down and become less sticky. I of course kept thinking, "Just a few more letters, just a few more letters!". I got to the letter "O" and the whole piece of paper started sliding around and the "O" turned into a squiggly hole! I guess the only reason I post this up here is for the lesson in it. Don't assume that when your mat is not as tacky as it should be that what your cutting out will turn out nicely.Time to put another item on the shopping list!

Anyone for a Spot of Tea Dye?

2010-04-14T13:17:00.000-07:00

Project "Nona and Nonno's Anniversary" has officially started. I made my run yesterday to Michael's to pick up supplies. They were having a sale on shadow boxes, so I got a nice one for nothing! I spent last night piecing together flowers and papers and brads, but still have not actually glued anything yet. I had a paper drama that left me reeling last night. I purchased a pack of neutral colored cardstock. On the cover it showed creams, taupes, whites and blacks. I thought "Perfect!" because those were all the colors that I needed. When I got home and started layering and matting the photo, it turned out that the black didn't exist, only a gross brown. So, I tried to see if it could be usable, but it was not. The piece of paper that my mother-in-law gave me had black in it, as well as the shadow box. Needless to say the brown clashed horribly. Luckily my mother-in-law came to my rescue and she will be giving me black cardstock!
The other part of the drama actually happened at Michael's. Usually they have these beautiful vintage style embellishments all over the place. They've been there every other time I've gone in. But yesterday, the day that I actually needed them, there wasn't any! Not even cream colored flowers or any distressed tags! So, I had to get creative. I ended up buying some of their silk flowers that matched the color that I needed,

and also, some tea dye so that I could make and distress my own tags. I did manage to find some fantastic little antique square brads that I absolutely DIED for. They make wonderful little accents...

So, when I arrived home with my bounty, and after solving the paper fiasco, I began tea dying. I wanted to make a small tag with Nona and Nonno's wedding anniversary. I created the text box and print in Microsoft Word, and then printed it off on a cream colored cardstock. I made it look older by using a typewriter font and also wrote it in Italian. After it was cut out I took a water bottle and lightly misted the tag, then I took a small paintbrush and dabbed that onto the ink pad and then put small dots of the dye directly onto the paper. I brushed over them to blend and then during the drying process would go back over to add slightly darker splotches.

I also very lightly bent it in different places to give it a that tattered look. I am thinking that tea dye may be one of my new favorite tools! I used chalking techniques so often before, and still love the results, but I really think that the tea dye effect is perfect for this project. Let me know what you think!

My new project

2010-04-12T09:24:00.000-07:00

Good morning! Yesterday was a rainy and cold day and a very inactive one as far as any projects go for me. I had to (begrudgingly) hold off on working on any projects due to a pinched nerve in my back. I was also pretty busy yesterday as far as getting to church and then going to my in-laws house to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday. Today though I am feeling a tightness in my back but it's not going to keep from my new project at hand. The ABC book is nearly completed. I only have a few more pages to go through and then the actually binding together and finishing touches. However, that project doesn't need to be done until the beginning of May, so I can put it aside for a couple days. I have a new project that I am so excited and honored to do. My husband's grandparents, Nona and Nonno, are celebrating their 63rd wedding anniversary. They came to the United states from Italy and we are throwing an Old World Italian dinner themed party for them. I am creating a framed page in tones of cream, sepia and black (the colors of the dinner) from a gorgeous old photo of the two of them in 1947 in front of the Collosseum in Rome. I saw the picture once upon a time at their house, and when I thought of the idea of creating a page for them to be on display at the dinner, I called my mother-in-law hoping and praying that she could get a copy. It turned out she had the same idea to have me make a page but she was afraid that we would have to go with a different picture since she didn't think she could get or had a copy of it. I, of course was pretty upset about that. But then, two nights ago, Alida (my mother-in-law) called me to say she had found a copy! Yesterday when I went over there, she showed it to me. It was smaller copy of the one at Nona's house, but it was beautiful. We gently took it out of the album and as I looked at the picture, I got a bonus surprise on the back. Scrolled in Nona's hand in Italian was the date and a caption. I passed it to Alida for her to translate. We managed to decipher that it said something along the lines of "With my dear Mario...." and then two words we couldn't make out and then "Loredonna" which is Nona's name. I knew I had to get a copy of the back of the picture too!
So, this morning I have spent scanning the picture, front and back, into my computer and trying to restore it. I love that it has that sepia tone, because I have a beautiful piece of paper to back the photo with **thank you Alida for having a brilliant eye when it comes to matching colors** given to me by my mother-in-law. I am so excited to get started on this! I just have to make a run to the store today and pick up a few things.

If anyone knows what the last couple words are, please let me know!

Thanks for checking in!

The Halfway Point

2010-04-10T19:28:00.000-07:00

Well, everyone, I spent the day today tackling the ABC album. I have come to the halfway point and my back is killing me from sitting at my desk all day! But, with the pain comes some pages that I would like to submit for your approval.

This is the album cover. I will be gluing it down to chipboard once I am able to get over to Michaels. I will also be adding two metal rings to go through the holes that will bind the book together.

These are just a few of the actual pages. I kept them fairly simple since I don't want my niece to be overwhelmed with what's on the page. I would rather her concentrate on the letters and the object.

I did add little bits of detail to pop everything a bit. That was more for me than for anyone else. :)

I will continue to keep you all updated as I move along with this project.

A New Look

2010-04-08T12:51:00.000-07:00

For those of you that visited my site yesterday, you will notice that it looks different today. I changed a couple of things (like my fonts). I went to a site to figure out how to change my post title fonts, and manage to confuse myself. It wasn't even the instructions fault, it was mine. But somehow through trial and error, I managed. I got the code to change my font from here, and the post fonts from this site. I combined the code I found with the fonts I found as well as ones saved to my computer and this page is the result! **Whew!**Seriously though, don't do it my way. Go to www.kevinandamanda.com and she has a tutorial for it. There's a lot of steps to it, but I'm sure, if you are smarter than me, you will manage must easier than I did! She has a lot of amazing ideas and fonts there as well! Check it out.
Anyway, on to what I love talking about...my current scrapbook project. I did get back to it today. My creative juices were replenished yesterday after spending the day with my husband. I did have one set back, (it was actually a pretty upsetting set back). My puppy, Quigley, ate my letter N nest. He is taller than I thought and reached up to the shelf I had it on, smelling the sticks that it was made with, and I found him and Baci later devouring it. I let out a loud distressing "No no no no!" and my husband came running. He thought my reaction was too much, but he didn't spend the time making that nest either! I guess in the end, I can make another. :) So that is on my to do list, and the project is all on track. So until later....

So this is Spring!

2010-04-07T15:33:00.000-07:00

Oh what a beautiful day it has been! I woke up to a blue sky and sunny day today. It finally felt like Spring. We had a teaser of what Spring was going to be the last couple weeks of March, and then once April hit, it turned cold again. I plan to enjoy it while it lasts, because, after all April Showers bring May Flowers!
**UPDATE** I have finished all my little objects for the ABC album, and then, I had a complete scrapping block! I spent an hour going through all of my paper to co-ordinate colors and themes to start putting this book together. Needless to say, I think I worked too hard on this and other projects that my creative juices need to replenish. *sigh* So, for today, I am taking a break and will enjoy this gorgeous day! Don't worry, tomorrow I will get right back to it!

ABC Album continues!!

2010-04-06T17:30:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to get all of my little object for the alphabet album done. Just two more! I struggled with what to do for the letter "V", but my husband gave me the idea of "vegetables". After I have everything completed, I can finally start scrapping together the pages. As promised though, I do have a few pictures of some of the objects, so scroll on down and have a peek!

D is for Dog

E is for Elephant

N is for Nest

So those are just a couple of the things I have done. I will post more pics once I get more done!

It's as easy as ABC...

2010-04-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I have finally settled in to my scrapbook room, and I have it organized. It's sad that it took me nearly 6 months from the time we moved in to now to get it that way! ;)
I have started a new project for my little niece, Anya. She is just at the age to learn her alphabet, so I have begun work on an ABC book for her. I am nearly done with making all the objects that the letters will represent. I will have pictures to follow in a later post. I am so excited to start putting it together!