Great weekend away!

Myself and 3 of my scrappy friends had a great weekend away last weekend! We went to a bed and breakfast out in the middle of nowhere called The Shack! The atmosphere is so relaxing, all our meals were prepared for us and we all met our scrappy goals for the weekend.

I had bought a Gypsy for the Cricut 2 weeks before our weekend away. My friend Sara bought one a few days before. We spent a lot of time figuring out the ins and outs. I LOVE MY GYPSY!!!! I laughed when Lynne sent me a text not even 12 hours after our weekend ended and she had bought one. We definitely enable each other when it comes to scrappy purchases.

I always try and focus on a specific album at weekend retreats. I worked on pictures from our Smokey Mountain vacation last July. I now have 30 pages out of 56 completed. I was hoping to have it done by the end of March, but that hasn't happened. Imagine that. LOL!

The pages I managed to get done.... Yes, 2 full days of scrapbooking and this is it....

















When planning for a crop or weekend getaway, I find it very helpful to put "page kits" together. I put 2 or 3 patterned papers, 2 or 3 colors of cardstock and the pictures in a bag. I also try and pick a sketch online or from one of the CTMH idea books for each layout. This makes it so much easier.... then I don't have to spend "thinking" about what to do. I can spend my time talking, eating and putting the page together.

Of course, I still bring way more then I will ever get done, pack more then I need and rarely accomplish all I want to get done. But, we always have a great time!!!

Extra Special Picture......

 

This LO is using a couple techniques from the CTMH Magic idea book (9034). I like to include some hidden elements on my pages from time to time. This idea book has a lot of great ways to add moving / hidden parts on your pages. Since the picture of Tyler didn't really match the papers, I decided to make it a pull out. Plus, it adds a little surprise and interest when looking through an album.
The banner title was stamped using the Pennant Alphabet stamp set (E1018). Love it!!!! Banners are all the rage right now. You can make a banner across your page with just about anything. Stars, circles, rectangles, sports balls, etc.....

 

The first hidden element is a pull out picture of Tyler. I used the CTMH canvas buttons for "the handle". These pictures are extra special for many reasons. I never knew what I looked like as a baby until I was 25. All or our baby pictures were burned by my moms lovely ex-husband. Nice huh! My Aunt found this picture in her stash of pictures and mailed it to me. I stared at it over and over when I received it. Then when I compared it to Tyler and Emily's baby pictures, I could not believe how much Tyler and I looked alike as newborns. Hmmmmm....... A little self psychology here.... maybe this is why I take so many pictures of my kids. LOL.

 

 

The second pull out is for some extra special journaling. I really wanted the page to focus on the pictures, so decided to tuck the sentimental journaling away.

The papers are from Graphic 45 Once upon a springtime line. Vanessa at The Scrapbook Nook in Ludington asked me to work with them. At first I had a hard time deciding what pictures to use, as soon as I came across my baby picture, the gears started turning. All you need is a little inspiration for a great creative day!

A Game stamp set

 

This little set really gives you a lot of bang for your buck! When I first look at a stamp set I tend to look at the "theme" of the set. Then once I start playing with it, the gears start turning. At first glance, I thought this set would be so cute for making little magnetic tic tac toe boards. After thinking a bit more, the individual images inspired me to stamp some border strips in various colors with each of the images.

 

I then curled the edges of each strip and layered them on top of the pattern paper, sponged a little ink on them, and voila a fun accent!

 

My absolute favorite stamp in this set is the single straight line! I used it to stamp lines on the title block. Usually I draw them with a ruler and black pen. LOVE IT!

 

These little gems above are the placemarkers I have been working on for the Krueger benefit crop on February 12th. I am always losing my raffle tickets when I go to crops. I thought the clothespin would work great to clip each persons namebadge into, then they can clip their raffle tickets in there as well. No more stray raffle tickets among the scraps of paper.

How about a little wings!

 

I have had so much fun working with these papers and the stamp of the month set this month. Sometimes when I create, I find it hard to figure out what I am going to use with the pictures. This month I let the papers and stamp set guide me along. I had to dig deep in my boxes of photos to find these pictures of Kylee and Emily playing dress up. Oh.... how I miss these days, the two of them giggling, playing dress up, wearing their crowns and actually asking me to take their picture. Now, I have to hunt them down and beg to take some pictures. I usually find them still giggling, and "makeovers" is the term they use now. All my make-up has found its way to Emilys room, half the time I am happy if my blow dryer and deodarent are where I left them. I am so glad Emily and Kylee have remained good friends through all these years. They "break-up" often, cut accross the neighbors yard to return each others items, only to be hanging out again in an hour or two.

 

 

I still need to add a shoe stamped image to the left side of the page, but I think the butterfly with 2 shades of ink looks great! I seen the pleated paper skirt on a card a fellow CTMH consultant did and thought it was a great idea! Adds a little extra touch to the image.

3rd post of the day!

I must be making of for missed weekly posts.... Not really, just a lot of planning going on. January is an awesome month so far! I have started the New Year with good solid plans for a happy positive year ahead. I am looking forward to embracing each day with whatever challenges I may face with a smile and positive attitude.

First and foremost, I will take the time each day to give my kids and husband all of my attention they desire. It won't be long before Tyler and Emily are to busy with their friends to hang out with mom. It is already happening, Tyler in his room, listening to music, making plans with his friends, etc. I remember these days as a teenager. So, I will take every minute I can get with them. Even if that means I am updating the blog, doing scrapbooking projects at 11:00 pm while everyone is sleeping.

Some fun scrappy inspiration for this week....

I pulled out these pictures of Emily and was imediately taken back to 2006. Emily 7 years on Easter day, so cute and giggly. She still has most of her baby teeth, all excited to be wearing a pretty dress and have her hair curled. I haven't figured out the journaling yet. I am trying to convince Zane to write something. He keeps looking at the page and making comments about remember this, remember that.... I told him he should write a little note to Emily, we will see..

The papers are from a So Sophie line by MME. I really love how the flowers turned out. They are from the Flower Pot set (D1409) on Desert Sand Cardstock, then colored in with Copics. The shading on the Desert Sand Cardstock gives such a nice vintage look. I love them. I have been playing with this set a lot this week. Lots of fun with all the little flower pots and flower choices. I think some flower soft on the images would turn out wonderful as well.


The title is stamped on some of the So Sophie patterned paper with the Posterboard stamp set (E1014) then cut out. This stamp set is one of my go to favorites for alphabets. I love the versatility of it. I was thinking about it, and threw together this little example of a few ways to alter the look quickly. Hard to believe these are all from one letter E stamp.

I love that this set is an outline of the letter, and easy to cut out. I used some stitching, stamped on cardstock, stamped on pattern paper, filled it in with a sentiment stamp, added some brads, used it as a mask. plus several other quick techniques to change it up. The border at the bottom is from just stamping the "legs" of the E in a row. Even with all the Cricut and Quikutz alphabets I have, I find myself using this set quite often.



While browsing through the new CTMH Idea book that goes live on February 1st, I keep seeing this little technique. I had to try it out. A little homemade faux ribbon. just fold a 1/2" strip of paper or cardstock, adhere, and voila! Instant texture and dimension on the page without looking for that perfect shade of ribbon. Of course I had to add a little extra detail with some hand stitching.

A little sneak peak at a tutorial I am working on.... I am learning how to make some quick and easy homemade flowers.


Come back next week for the full details on each one.

Benefit Crop February 12th

A couple co-workers and I are putting on a scrapbooking crop on February 12th at a VFW hall in Muskegon. A huge thank you to the VFW for the use of the hall that day to help this family in need!

This is my first attempt at organizing a crop, and we are hoping for a great turnout. We have a lot of fun things planned and are working on some great raffle prizes.

All proceeds to go to Mike Krueger and his family.

Mike krueger was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis August, 2009. Mike has always been a hard working, devoted father and husband. Often working 2 jobs to provide for his family. Not only has the rapid progression of the M.S. left Mike unable to return to work, but short term disability has run out. Mike and Kim have 3 children under the age of 9 plus a lot of extra medical bills, copays, and prescription expenses that need to be paid each month in order for Mike to receive the injections and IV steroids he needs to try and slow the disease. The Krueger family could really use our support in helping them through the next months while waiting on insurance and disability appeals.

If you do not get my monthly newsletter and are interested in joining for a day of fun let me know and I will email you the flyer!

January CTMH special

Sneak a peek at great Spring/Summer 2011 Idea Book products—including amazing deals on new stamp sets and the January Stamp of the Month when you buy the new Wings Workshops on the Go™ kit! All of our Workshops on the Go kits come with paper, accessories, and an exclusive stamp set designed specifically for the workshop projects. A new workshop kit is available each month at a discount off of the full retail value. During the month of January, when you purchase a Wings Workshops on the Go kit, you can get:

* The stamp sets featured in the Inspirations Brochure at a deep discount
* The January Stamp of the Month set at a substantial discount or even FREE!

To view the Inspirations Catalog you can visit my CTMH website at wwww.angiehighland.myctmh.com

The Stamp of the Month set this month has so many possiblities! Mine will be here Friday and I CANNOT wait to play with it at a Crop on Saturday!