I was recently going through my giles and found several layouts that I haven't shared with you guys. So ... prepare for a bombardment!

I did this one in April. My two kids enjoying their time together and doing funny poses for me. They're so cute!

I used several 52 Inspirations kits (Week 16 - paper, frames, staple, Week 15 - metal swirl and ribbon, Week 12 - butterfly) and some Sue Cummings word art.

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

Little Shop of Sketches - Sketch #72

This time we have a sketch from the lovely Kim. Tanya should be back next time ...

Here is Sketch # 72:

And here is my take on it:

This is my sisters and I at a rehearsal dinner for our good friend. Three of us were in the wedding and the last one was the special pianist ... good times :)

I used a retired kit from Kim DeSmet, word art from Sue Cummings and the title is from Danielle Young.

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

Templates Repurposed

In my last post, I showed you the album that I had made using Danielle Young's Bloom and Grow Layered Album Templates. I made very few changes and basically used the templates as they were. However, there are so many ways to use templates.

One way is to use the template for a single layout as I did here:
This is from a wedding I went to recently. I was in the bridal party, so I didn't get any pictures of the ceremony ... but I really liked this picture I took from my reception table while they cut the cupcake. The flowers above are the centerpiece and the flowers below were my bouquet.

This layout used page 14 from the templates. I added a few elements to complete the layout - word strips and a date tab from Danielle Young's Blessed Blooms (the same kit that the templates were made with) and the title is from Danielle Young's 'I Do' kit.

*~*~*

You also don't have to be limited by the original templates. Yes, the album came with beautiful papers and some embellishments, but you could completely make them your own.

I'm so proud of my daughter and her desire to learn to read and write. She's only 4 and has quite a ways to go, but she really tries very hard. I also chose the title because it's a semi-inside joke with my husband (he says 'brilliant' quite a bit).

For this layout, I used page 8, but changed the background paper, recolored the circle mat (included in the template) and added new elements (everything is from Danielle Young's Creative Chick kit).


As you can see, there are several ways to use templates. I hope that you have found some inspiration to go out and create something beautiful for yourself!

*~*~*

Bloom and Grow Template Album

Danielle Young has created a new template album called Bloom and Grow. It features her Blessed Blooms kit. It's also on sale now for 33% off!



I used it to create an anniversary album for my Aunt and Uncle. They are celebrating 25 wonderful years of marital bliss. I love them and I'm so excited to be able to create this for them:

Click here to view this photo book larger

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1Dct3DZmyfk

The wonderful thing about this template album is that you can customize it! I duplicated a few of the pages and moved a few around ... and created exactly what I needed.

You too can create something special ... head on over to Oscraps to get it!

Also, you should head on over to Danielle Young's blog. She's having a giveaway for a FREE printed album! You can enter before October 15th.

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

Too Cute! Speed Scrap layout

This past Saturday was another Speed Scrap at Sugar Hill Co.

It featured an awesome FREE template from Miss Tiina (available on her blog)

Here's my layout:

I used Danielle Young's Blessed Blooms kit (paper, flowers, paint splat, swirls, labels, words, staples and circle mat), Danielle Young's Freestlye Alpha set ...

I love it ... I hope you do, too!

*~*~*

The Daily Digi

Have you heard the news? The Daily Digi is starting a subscription program.

If you haven't heard of The Daily Digi ... you should really take a look. Every month they put a package together with several different, wonderful kits from wonderful designers and bundle it together for only $5! That's right ... $5.00!!!

This huge collab kit was offered during Ali Edwards 'A Week in the Life' back in April. It is now available as the first exclusive collab kit available to the monthly subscribers and beyond. Danielle Young let us CT members use her part of the kit back then and I've been waiting to show you this:

The kids are so cute :) They're helping Grandma water the flowers ...

So, if you're interested in subscribing, or just checking it out, head on over HERE!

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

Just Me - Speed Scrap

Last weekend I participated in another Speed Scrap at Sugar Hill Co. and complete another layout! Woohoo! Once again, I would like it to be a bit different and had some challenges, but once again, I'm happy that it's done :)

I had been at a Bridal Shower up until a few hours before the Speed Scrap. I'm one of the bridesmaids, so I was very involved and it was very intense, but it was marvelous :) My sister-in-law took these pictures of me (with my camera) at the shower. It was actually kind of nice to have pictures of me from an event and especially nice to have pictures that I didn't have to ask to have taken. It feels even more special and more natural ... and even though I don't love the way I look in the photos, the fact that I need a haircut or that I look tired, they are still who I am and represent me at this time.

For this layout, I used the Sugar Hill Blog Train collaboration kit that I got for free about a week ago. It is no longer available, but pieces of it will start showing up in their store soon. I also used Danielle Young's Pink Striped alpha available at Oscraps :)

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

Little Shop of Sketches - Sketch #71 & New Danielle Young kit!

Forgive me - I forgot to tell you about our latest Little Shop of Sketches post ... only three days late :)

Since Tanya is still out of her house due to earthquakes in New Zealand. Keep her and her family in your prayers.

The wonderful Mieke drew Sketch #71 by hand:

Here is my layout ...These are my kids 'helping' me rake leaves last autumn. The change of weather here in the Northeast, USA, has brought out that Fall feeling ... I'm loving the colors of Danielle Young's new collab kit with Aja Abney, New Day:
It was just released today and is currently on sale! Woohoo!

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

Oh! And be sure to check out the other girls' layouts at Little Shop of Sketches. They're marvelous!

Coffee House Paintings

Let's take a break from digital scrapbooking and talk about PAINTING!!!

That's right - I am now a painter! A true artiste! I have impressed even myself :)

Backstory: We were throwing a 'coffee house' themed bridal shower for our coffee loving friend. The location already had a relatively mod feel with pumpkin and eggplant colored walls and black trim. We were throwing around decoration ideas for how to create the coffee house ambiance ... and I very quickly thought of artwork. A local shop has very cheap canvasses and I had enough experience with using paint in various projects that I knew I could pull off some simple pieces. My original plan was to paint the background to match the accent wall and then do a coffee cup and other objects in black silhouette. Very simple. Very graphic. Very nice :)

Execution: As usual, the end result was not the same as the original vision. We couldn't find the left-over wall color paint, so I had to create my own by blending orange, peach, reddish, yellow and white paint (use what you have). Because I was blending, it created these awesome streaks and swirly patterns. I chose to go with it instead of trying to make it one uniform color.

I had a coffee cup image in my mind that was a very graphic black and white. That was one image.

I thought of the tall coffee mug (love those), but I needed three.

So, I did an online search for some inspiration and saw this colorblocked idea. That became my centerpiece.

By using the two colors in that center painting, I opened the door up to use purple and it became an accent for the graphics ... I just kind of winged it. The brushes were out, the paint was wet, and I just did what seemed right - adding color and flourishes here and there.

I really like the way it turned out. Sure, there are several things that I wish were better. I wish I had planned and thought out my highlights and shadow a bit more instead of just winging it. Some of them are completely wrong. The proportions, perspective and symmetry are off in several places. The cheap canvases still need frames. I could go on ... but I'm still happy.

You know what the biggest surprise of all is for me? Everybody loved them. They didn't just like them, they were impressed. I don't know whether to be happy or sad that people seem to be so surprised that I pulled it off. I'll choose to take it in a good way. The shower was a complete success (thanks to a HUGE collaborative effort and a brilliant florist :) ) and the church is very happy to have the new decorations.

I hope you like them too!

*~*~*

Ice-Pop layout and FREE template

Remember that awesome Blog Train freebie kit from Sugar Hill Co? What a lot of goodies! And I created a layout using it ... my kids eating popsicles ... they call them 'ice-pops'. They love ice-pops and have one every time they're at Grandma's! Thank God for the sugar-free variety!


I used a template from the fabulous Katharyn Brine ... it is FREE over at Danielle Young Designs blog. SkrappyKathy is a fellow Creative Team member and is extroidinarily talented! I love her template and the layout she did with it. I hope you get a chance to download and use it too!

*~*~*

Sugar Hill Co. Blog Train! FREEBIES!

I just thought I'd pass on the wonderful opportunity to hop on board the Sugar Hill Co. Blog Train!

14 talented designers are giving away freebies on their blogs in order to give you this:

You can start here at the the SHCO blog.

Enjoy!

*~*~*

Party Princess

Danielle Young has a new kit, Party Princess, available at Oscraps!

When I saw it, I of course thought of my daughter ... she is my little princess :) Even though pink is her favorite color, the purple accents her ballerina dress perfectly. I have so many cute pictures of her dancing that I'm so glad to be able to do a layout:

Isn't she the cutest thing?! I just loved watching her prance around ... my little princess :)

And ... if you act now, all three coordinating Party Princess items are on sale individually and together! Woohoo!

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

Little Shop of Sketches - Sketch #70

Hello everyone! I hope you were able to pick up some fabulous cards on Sue Cumming's Blog Train ... I know I did :)

Today it's time for a sketch from Little Shop of Sketches!
Tanya lives in New Zealand and has been hit hard by earthquakes and aftershocks. She and her boys are just fine, but please pray for them as they go through this hard time.

Here is Sketch #70:

And here is my take on it:

I used the new Oscrabs collab (so many talented designers got together to create this) RetrO ...

And, in honor of the 'retro' theme, I chose photos from before the kids and even before the wedding ... the summer my honey and I were engaged. Back then, we had a digital camera, but it wasn't that good, so these photos are super low resolution, but they work :)

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

Blog Train!!! Free Card Download!

Did you know that the Oscraps Designer Spotlight this week (September 1-7th)
is featuring Designs by Sue Cummings!!!

She has a fabulous challenge to create a digital or hybrid greeting card!
If you enter the challenge...you could win a shoppings spree at her shop!
Click here to go to the challenge

And guess what!
I am so excited to share the greeting card I designed with you!
Credits: Sketchbook Artistry No. 1 by Sue Cummings

Download LINK for My Card

But wait!!!! My Friends and I created more cards to share with
you. Visit OUR BLOG PARTY today and you can download more FREE
cards that were all created using Sue's Products!

Here's the list of who is having a BLOG PARTY today!
http://mychalkboard.typepad.com/designsbysuecummings/
http://val-unepausecafe.blogspot.com/
http://creatiesbyveer.blogspot.com/
http://alookintonanasworld.blogspot.com/
http://www.falstaff-folly.blogspot.com/
http://craftiejessie.blogspot.com/
http://lifewith4cats.blogspot.com/
http://nadiasfotoblog.blogspot.com/
http://elina-designs.blogspot.com/
http://busybostyn.blogspot.com/
http://beszteri.blogspot.com/
http://zizazzi.fr/?p=3625
http://blog.through-my-eyes.org/
http://suddenlyartistic.blogspot.com/
http://lauriewe.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/sue-is-in-the-…he-party-begin/
http://traderfam.blogspot.com/

*TOU's: All card designs are copyrighted and cannot be redistributed without permission.
Note: Feel free to post the links to these greeting cards on your blog...but do not
share the actual downloads. Kindly send them to the blogs of my friends and please
leave comments along the way.

We would love to hear how you are going
to use these cards. Thanks for stopping by for the blog party!

*~*~*

Beach Fun

It's a record! We went to the beach TWICE this year! Sure, we go to local lakes and visit Maine once or twice ... but this was the actual, coastal beach with waves! Woohoo! The kids loved showing Daddy how good they were at body surfind and Samantha took on the waves like a champ! The girl is fearless!

I used Danielle Young's Top Reef mini kit (paper, frames, seaweed, fish, yellow splat, bubbles) available at Sugar Hill and her High Tide kit (starfish, alpha) and Back-To-School letters (from School Chips quickpage. They were numbers and I erased the number and put my own letters) available at Oscraps.

I hope you like it! Go out and enjoy the rest of your summer!

*~*~*

Little Shop of Sketches - Sketch #69

Time for another awesome sketch from Little Shop of Sketches!

Here is sketch #69:

And here is my take on it:

Credits:
Danielle Young - Bubble Frames, Blessed Blooms (paper, stitches, not currently available), Alley-Oop (ribbon, paint, metal frame) available at Oscraps.
Danielle Young - Chalkboard#1 ('August 2010') available at Sugar Hill.
Sue Cummings - Bits & Pieces #6 (summer word art) available at Oscraps.

Softball has been a big part of our lives for years ... my husband has played since before the kids were born and even though he took a military break for a year (being overseas kind of cramps the softball style), he played up until the day he left and then 3 days after he came back. The kids love to watch him play. It just wouldn't be summer without softball!

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

So ... head on over to Little Shop of Sketches and check out the fabulous layouts done by the gals! The inspiration will hit you!

*~*~*

And ... two other wonderful bits of info:

Little Shop of Sketches will be giving away monthly prizes starting in September! To enter, just submit a layout from one of the sketches that month. I believe that each layout will give you one chance, so if you use a sketch twice, or do a layout from each sketch or do multiple layouts, you'll get entered once for each layout for tons of chances to win! So use the sketches for inspiration and start creating!

And ... Here's a great opportunity for all of you wonderful crafters out there - Little Shop of Sketches will be expanding the design team and is accepting application starting NOW! So, head on over to Little Shop of Sketches for details ... I'd love to see you on the team!

*~*~*

52 Inspirations Video!

Hello All!

You may not be able to tell because I'm not very good about keeping up with it, but I subscribe to the 52 Inspirations kit at Oscraps. It's a wonderful little thing ... the gift that keeps on giving! You sign up once and then you get a mini-kit every week! 52 weeks in a year, 52 kits overall, plus bonuses!!! That's HUGE!!!

Every week is a different challenge, a different inspiration. This week, Sue Cummings brings us not only a fabulous kit for Week 34, but two FREE quickpages if you are a subscriber ($1.95 otherwise) AND a Youtube instructional video!!!



So ... I highly encourage you to check it out, get some inspiration and start scrapping!!!

*~*~*

Little Shop of Sketches - Sketch #68

It's time for Little Shop of Sketches!!!

(Yes, yours truly did the re-designed blog banner and blinkie)

This time we have a wonderful sketch from Tanya done with a digital scrapping kit:

And here's my take on it:

It's a layout from when my parents took the kids and I to Mystic Aquarium. It was a wonderful time of discovery and exploration and I think we all loved the adventure.

I used Sue Cummings NEW kit, Sail Away, for everything except for Danielle Young's Sea Glass Alpha.

This layout stayed true to the sketch with the circular element, but I also tried out a sail boat and I liked the look of that:

Credits remain the same.

I hope you like them!

*~*~*

We have two new designers at Little Shop of Sketches, so be sure to head on over to the blog to check out their beautiful layouts!!!

In September, we will start giving out a prize to one person who does a layout using the sketch! Be sure to keep checking back and start using these fabulous sketches for inspiration!!!

*~*~*

SALE!!!

Oh! Did I mention? Everything in Danielle Young's NEW Sugar Hill Co. store is on SALE!!!

Not just this page kit, but EVERYTHING!!! Check it out :)

*~*~*

Danielle Young at Sugar Hill Co.

Hello everybody! Is your summer just flying by? Mine is ... but it's a good one!!!

My husband has recently returned from his deployment overseas and we are just thrilled to have him home!!! The kids are practically jumping up and down!

*~*~*

Even with all of the the excitement around here, there are lots of other fun things happening ... especially in the world of digital scrapbooking! Oscraps has recovered from their server problems and their gallery is finally back up! They didn't lose any of mine ... so I'm happy :)

*~*~*

In non-Oscraps news ... Danielle Young (who has a fabulous shop at Oscraps) has opened up a new shop at an up and coming little place called SugarHillCo.com. Her products there are all new and exclusive! Check them out:

*~*~*

Such great stuff!

Here's a layout I did using the Metro Chic papers and the Lipstick Letters:

I also used elements (ribbon, ric-rac, swirl, buttons, flowers) from Danielle Young's Game of Love kit at Oscraps.

This was made for a speed-scrap challenge, so it's not quite as finished or as polished as I'd normally like, but no matter what, I'm happy to have another page scrapped!

So ... head on over to Danielle's new store!

I hope you like it!

*~*~*