10 Minute Craft Dash

This was the first time I had ever participated in a 10 Minute Craft Dash challenge, but I had so much fun with it!  I'll tell you what...when that timer is ticking away, it takes all of the second-guessing out of the equation.  You either do it or you don't.  And at 11:00pm, that's about all I could offer anyway.  :) 

Here are the supplies I threw together:

And here is the card I created:

The picture isn't great because I had to take it with my tablet at my craft table (hubby was on the computer at the time), but I'll retake it in the morning.  I love how this turned out.  I used a TON of Sweet Stamp Shop stamps to create the sentiment and papers from My Mind's Eye Adorbs collection (LOVE that line!!).  Threw on some embellishments and BAM!  Done!

Check out my time:    

Seriously.  And about half a second before this, my glue exploded all over the arrow wood veneer I was using.  ALL OVER.  I just smeared some off and placed it, then hit the timer to turn it off...glue still covering most of my finger tips.  It was MADNESS!  I audibly sighed when I was done and my husband thought something was wrong.  lol  I was just excited that it worked out right at the very. last. millisecond.  :)

Thanks for stopping by to see my creation!  Until next time...

It's Winner Time!

Happy Monday everyone!  Hope you all had a great weekend.  Mine was spent decompressing at the lake, but now it's definitely a Monday and I have a "to-do" list to prove it.  :)

I wanted to pop in to post the winner from the giveaway on my blog!  Congrats Amie Lamm-Griffin!  Your comment was randomly chosen to receive the ATC collection!  Email me at onescrappynovice at yahoo dot com with your address and I will get them in the mail to you ASAP!

Thank you for hopping with me this weekend!  Have a great week!

Scrapbook Steals Blog Hop Time!

Happy Friday!  Hope you're having fun while hopping along on the Scrapbooksteals.com blog hop!  You should have come to me via Abbey Colbert's blog, but if you didn't, head over to ScrapbookSteals' blog to get started!  Here's the blog roll if you get lost along the way:

Venetia Holbrook
Lisa Kitzke
Michelle Cunningham
Abbey Colbert
Cristine Redmond < - You are here!
Staci Jones

Today everyone on the hop is featuring 7 Gypsies Vintage ATCs.  These things are so versatile, as I am sure you are finding out from all of the talented ladies on the hop!  For my first project, I decided to use mine as a journaling section for a layout.  Here's the layout:

 

When I found this picture in my stash, I knew I wanted to tell the back story of it.  This picture was taken by my best friend, who had moved in with me while my husband was away on his first deployment to Iraq.  On the journaling card, I decided to write what I would have told the girl in the picture.  We were newly married with no kids, so it was hard to think past the deployment and imagine what our future together might look like.  Here's my journaling:

 

 

I also wanted to accent the page with some clouds because even though it was a very heavy time in our lives, it was filled with so much love.  Distance really did make the heart grow fonder in our case. 

For my second project, I decided to make a card, using one of the ATCs as part of the background.  This black ATC was perfect to do some chalkboard doodle art on and to make the washi pennants stand out a bit more.  

That is all for now!  Thank you for taking the time to stop by and check out my work!!  I would love to give away a sampling of the ATCs I used!  To enter, become a follower of my blog and leave me a comment telling me you did so.  This giveaway ends Sunday, August 4th at midnight CST.  I will draw a winner on Monday, August 5th! 

Now hop along over to the amazingly talented Staci Jones' blog! 

Until next time...


 

Happy Birthday, Scrapbook Steals!

I have made no secret of the fact that I have been gladly donating grocery funds to a loyal customer of Scrapbook Steals for a very long time.  I first came across their site in December of 2009 and never looked back.  I have made some great friends and met wonderful people who continue to inspire me in my craft through Scrapbook Steals and I will be forever grateful for that.

This is why I am excited to be a part of Scrapbook Steals' 4th birthday celebration by participating in this blog hop.  The ladies and I who are participating are showing you all our interpretations of the online crop challenges.  You should have come here from Cathy Caines' blog, but if not, follow the link below to go back to the beginning.

Cathy Caines

>>> Cristine Redmond <<<

Venetia Holbrook

Cyndee Kawa

Heather Conklin

Van Nguyen

Staci Jones

Charissa Miller

Brenda Smith

Erin Colby

Erica Bass

Kristy Lee

There will be prizes associated with each challenge on the blog and you have until Wednesday, July 17th at midnight (MT) to link up!

Now on to the fun stuff!  Here are the projects I created for the crop challenges...

Challenge 1 - Happy 4th Birthday (use 4 items):

 

This challenge was a lot harder than I thought it would be!  I never stop to count how many scrappy items I use when I create, so when it came time to pick letters for titles or basic embellishments, those numbers really started to add up fast!  I decided to use my Silhouette to cut the title, therefore eliminating the need for alpha stickers.  Here are the four things I used:  patterned paper, kraft paper, wood veneer and glitter glue.  I love how this turned out because even though I only used four things, it doesn't look like it needs anything else.

Challenge 2 - 2009:

My favorite part of 2009 was when we welcomed our daughter into our family, therefore completing our family.  I used Echo Park's Sunny Day collection as well as washi from My Mind's Eye and We R Memory keepers...all stolen from SS.  Of course.  :)

Challenge 3 - Favorite Vendor:

Scrapbook Steals always has amazing steals and the vendors used in this layout have all been offered on SS at one time or another.  Echo Park (this layout uses their Now and Then collection - LOVE!!), American Crafts (used Thickers and Amy Tangerine background paper here, varieties of both have been on SS), The Twinery (yep, been on SS before), My Mind's Eye (used enamel dots and washi on the layout... my love for MME started with SS) and Studio Calico (wood veneer).  The only other things I used on this layout that haven't been on SS are the button (Stampin' Up) and staples (Tim Holtz).  All I can say to that is WOW!

Challenge 4 - Washi Fever:

I have way too much washi to count.  Well, I lied.  I have counted them a time or two and let's just say I have a lot.  :)  So to narrow it down to only use four on this card was a challenge in and of itself, but I like what I chose to create this card.  It's for my younger brother who will be turning 30 next month.  He's a boy and boys don't always appreciate the time or effort put into crafty things, so I decided to go simple and just cut the sentiment into the card with my Silhouette, then back it with another layer of washi-covered cardstock.  Turned out kind of trippy with all of the patterns, but I like the effect.

I hope you had fun looking at all of my projects!  It's been a great three years and seven months as a Scrapbook Steals customer and I look forward to many, many more!  Enjoy the rest of the hop as you venture on to the seriously talented Venetia's blog!

Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge

Happy Tuesday!  Is anyone else starting to freak out from all of the back-to-school emails, supply lists and clothing store sales?!  Just me?  :)  This year my biggie is going to be in first grade...all day...  That is going to be SO strange!  And my little nut will be in pre-k three mornings a week!  I won't know what to do with all of that free time.  hehe

Anyway, back to the reason for this post.  This week's Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge is Designer Drafts. 

Here is the sketch:

And here is what I created:

While I was recovering from gallbladder surgery a couple weeks back, I happened to be in the right place at the right time on facebook and won a stamp set of my choice.  I picked the Crystal Clear set because I am loving the Ball Jar stamp trend right now and thought it would be fun to use on cards.

I wanted to make a rustic card with burlap and burlap twine and this is what I came up with.  I did something new (to me).  I used a pink glittered gel pen to make the flower more interesting.  The card turned out simple and textured and pretty.  And I would like someone to send it to me.  :)

(Side note added 7/15/13:  This card earned me a Featured Player nod!)

Thanks for stopping by today!  I'll be back soon with something fun this weekend!  Until then...
   

Bye Google Reader...

So I've never read blogs through Google Reader.  I just read the blogs I follow on my Blogger dashboard.  But I wanted to make sure that my readers (all three of you) can still read my blog after Google Reader is no more.

I have added a few other ways to read my blog on the right hand side of the page (over there somewhere-->).  The first way is to follow by email.  You'll get my latest posts sent directly to your email.  The second way is through Feedly.  Just click the widget in my sidebar to become a Feedly follower.  The third way is through Bloglovin, which has the same easy process to become a follower. 

I hope you will follow me though one of these avenues if you have not already!  I will be back tomorrow with a layout I created at 11:45pm last night.  :)  Until then...

Proof that I am healing...

I am one week and one day post-op after having my gallbladder removed last week.  When I got home I really, really, *really* wanted to play with some pretty scrappy papers and embellishments that I bought as a cheer-me-up present for having to have the surgery in the first place. But, given that I could barely get into/out of bed or into/out of a sitting position without help, it wasn't happening.  I have never felt the need to pace around my scrap room before, but I did it more than once last week.  :)  The cards I made in my last post were made while I stood up and one of my daughters had to hand me everything I needed.  I'll never take for granted again all of the muscles in my abdomen because this week has definitely taught me what almost every one is used for as I started to heal.

Wednesday was the day that I finally started to have more movement, energy and scrappy mojo, so as soon as the kids were put to bed I was off and running to my scrap room.  There was a layout offered as the free shape in the Silhouette store a while back that I had always wanted to try, so that was my starting point.  Here is the layout:

And here is the layout I created:

 

I used a mixture of Amy Tangerine's Yes, Please, Crate Paper's Maggie Holmes and Echo Park's Here and Now collections.  I thought they went well with the color scheme in my Instagram picture, which had a greenish-blue tint added to it.  I also used wood veneer and (not seen here) enamel dots.  I added the enamel dots as an after thought once I took this picture.  Everything needs some enamel dots on them, in my opinion.  :)

Man, this color scheme just makes me happy.  :)  I enjoyed not only how this turned out but also that I got to come out of my healing fog and make something that I love.

I hope you all have a great, inspiring weekend!  Until next time...