Lotus Paperie challenge #135

This week's challenge at Lotus Paperie is to fingerpaint.
Fun!

So this layout my little fingerpainting experiment.

It's the return of the beach feet picture!
{recent trip to the beach=new picture}
I got a pedicure for my not-so-pretty running feet right before going on this trip-Lee swears I did it only to be able to take this picture.
:)

Supplies: Paint (Making Memories), Chipboard embellishments (KI Memories), Brads (American Crafts-jeweled, KI Memories-pink), twine, staples

Thanks for looking!

Check out all the fun stuff the rest of the team did with fingerpaint here!
TGIF!
:)
gretchen

Twilighter

This is my latest addition to the KI gallery.

All supplies are KI: Pop Culture patterned paper, alphabet Sheer Delight, chipboard alphabet, brads, chipboard embellishment, ribbon, and digi stuff!

It is based on Celeste Smith's challenge to scrap a hybrid layout.
I thought this would be good practice for me since my digi skills are soooo lacking!

And since KI has some fun new digital stuff, I thought I should definitely give it a whirl.

If I counted from the time I started playing/printing some of the digi stuff to the time I actually completed the layout, I am pretty sure this layout would set my record for time it took to complete a layout.

It had to have been hours!
And I printed out so much stuff!
I printed papers and tags and embellishments.

I printed stuff in their original colors and then changed the colors and printed them again.

I printed stuff in different sizes, etc., etc.

And all I ended up using was that round scalloped embellishment and those strips of scribbly paper near the bottom there.

But, hey, it is still officially a hybrid layout.

And I got lots of good practice.
:)
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In addition to printing out a bunch of KI digi stuff this weekend, I also worked on my layout class for the Sweet Memories Birthday Bash in August.
{if you are in the area, sign up and come scrap with us for the weekend!}
Here are some sneak peeks of a few of the layouts we will be making.

Hope your Monday was a good one!
:)
gretchen

Dear Dale Earnhardt Jr.,

Well, another Sunday has passed. And once again I am heart-broken. You know it was a good day for you, running in the top 10 for most of it. Then ~40 laps to go and your engine goes. That rarely happens to Hendrick engines, yet still you do not complain. And I want to thank you for that.

Thank you for showing up with a good attitude each and every week even though this one has been maybe your toughest year yet.
Thank you for taking in stride all the pressure that has been put upon you.
Thank you for not making as a** of yourself when you are not winning the way some people (coughcoughfreakingKyleBuschcoughcough) do even when they are winning.
Thank you for taking the blame.
Thank you for not over and over again ratting out someone else when you get caught up in a bit of bad luck.
Thank you for not whining.
Thank you for just showing up.

I will continue to cheer you on every weekend.
I will continue to schedule my activities around the race so I can watch the entire thing.
I will continue to yell {and maybe cuss} at anyone who wrecks you.
I will continue to cheer against {and maybe cuss} anyone who has wrecked you in the past.
And I will be looking forward to next year.

Because this year, heart cannot take too much more of this.

Your {still} loyal fan,
Gretchen

{its an older layout but I figured it was appropriate in light of the post}

Lotus Paperie challenge #134

It's a sketch!

And I dig the sketches.
Especially cool ones like this one.

So this is what I made with it.
Supplies: Patterned paper (KI Memories-pink, American Crafts-scallops), Glitter chipboard numbers (American Crafts), Glitter number stickers (KI Memories), Rub-ons (American Crafts), Brads (American Crafts), Chipboard embellishments (KI Memories), Metal photo corners (American Crafts)

Now go check out what the rest of the girls did with this sketch!
And check out their new site also while you are at it!

Happy Friday!
:)
gretchen

Want some free stuff or at least some good deals & a cool class??

Then go to the My Little Shoebox blog and leave a comment for a chance to win some of the new products.

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And check out the HUGE sale in the Scrap in Style Boutique!
Everything in stock is marked down 20-75%! _____________________________________________________________

And be sure to check out Virginia's newest class at Noel Mignon!
It's a day planner/organizer/memory keeper project with a great new kit from Noel Mignon + the new planner from Hampton Arts/Creative Cafe.

Plus Virginia will wow you with her creativeness and mad skills throughout the class!

You are welcome.

:)
gretchen

I've got some explaining to do

So I made this layout for this week's challenge on the American Crafts blog.
The challenge is to scrap something inspired by music.
These old polaroids that Lee & I took one night back in college are not the best pictures {you see the double chin, don't you??!}.
However, I have been wanting to scrap them and this challenge was just what I needed.

Supplies: Patterned paper, brads, pen, & alphabet stickers (all American Crafts)

But as I wrote out the line about "sitting in Lee's car down by the tennis courts" I thought to myself, "If I post this, everybody is going to think we were down there making out."
Well let me explain a few things to you dirty-minded people.
Samford is a small Baptist university and there are some silly rules.
I mean, there are no curfews or dress codes, but there are a few rules that some people would probably think pretty strict for college kids.
One such rule involves "closed dorms".
That means no boys in the girls dorms and no girls in the boys dorms.
In light of this rule, what are a cute little boy and sweet little girl to do after they get back from a night on the town but don't want to go their separate ways quite yet??
Well many nights it meant walking around campus or sitting on the quad or in the bleachers at the baseball field or hanging out in the 24 hour computer lab {we were sooo crazy!} or, when temperatures were extreme outside, sitting in the car down by the tennis courts which were actually right in front of my dorm room.
So there, my conscience is clear.
:)
gretchen

Go figure

I just ran 4 1/2 miles.

And felt great.

Probably could have gone farther. Probably should have.

I ate crappy leftovers for lunch and drank a Dr. Pepper when I got back to work.

Then I ate a bag of peanut M&Ms about 3:00.

Yesterday, on the other hand, I ate a sandwich, a little popcorn, a few pickles slices, and a handful of baby carrots.

And drank water all day.

I struggled to do 3 miles.

Go figure.

Anybody got an explanation for this?

Because I am starting to think this healthy eating crap is for the birds.

:)
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Anybody out there doing Running with Scissors??

I know there are a few of you burning up the road!!{coughcoughJannacoughPamcoughcoughNubiacoughcough}
And I am proud of you!
So if you are doing it, let me know how it is going!
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It only seems fitting to leave you with a running layout.
This one is one I did awhile back about last year's Disney marathon.

Supplies: Patterned paper (Scenic Route, KI Memories), Brads & number stickers (American Crafts)

Happy day!
:)
gretchen

KI prize winner...

...goes to Laura J/carpedium who said that flourish and good tidings were her favs {I swear that it is exactly how she spelled it...go look at the comments for yourself}.

Laura, you have good taste and you are an excellent speller!
{please reference this post about how I like to spell the shortened version of "favorite"}

:)
Now send me your address and I will get your loot to you!
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Anybody have a case of the Mondays today??

Whoo! I did.
Craziness was happening at work all day!
Early this morning there was supposedly some guy in blue scrubs carrying a gun out around the campus that my clinic is on.
They put our building on lock down.
Nothing happened.
But that was just enough to make the rest of the day go weird.

Is it a full moon??
Apparently they caught the guy but I am going to call somebody's bluff and say that there was never such a guy carrying any kind of gun.

But thank you so much for making this Monday crazier than most.

Bring on Tuesday!
:)
gretchen

KI sneak peek {+ giveaway} **CLOSED**

Check it out!
KI has put up sneak peeks of their new stuff coming out at CHA!

There are 6 new collections coming out and I am going to go ahead and predict that these 2 are going to be my favorites.

Oh but the 4 other collections are soooo fun too!
Check them out on the KI Memories blog.
I can't wait to get my hands on this stuff!!
Go check out all the collections on the KI blog and tell me which one is your favorite.
{OK you can pick your 2 favorites}
Tell me what your favorites are and then I will draw a winner Monday night & send some KI goodies out to you.
Good stuff!
and good night!
:)
gretchen

Lotus Paperie Challenge #133

The challenge for this week at Lotus Paperie is to "scrap a blurry or crappy photo".

Easy! I have lots of these!
:)

As I was looking through pictures on my computer, I came across this picture of my Grams & I.
This picture was taken on the day of my grandfather's funeral.
And I remember exactly what I was thinking when I handed the camera off and asked my cousin to take our picture.

After I learned that Daddy Bill had died, I started looking through the few old family pictures I have at my house.
I found no pictures of Daddy Bill and I together.
After the funeral I sat in my grandparents' house looking through albums & albums of pictures that Daddy Bill had taken over the years.

Still I found no pictures of Daddy Bill and I.

And I was very disappointed.
So I wanted to make sure that I got a picture of Grams & I together.
I do not want to look back later and wish I had more pictures of her also.
It was spur of the moment, it's a bit yellow, and Grams isn't even looking at the camera but at least I have a recent picture of us together.

And a little editing can salvage almost any picture!
I used a little free action from the Pioneer Woman and changed the pic to black & white.
{which does make a crummy picture look a lot better!}

And then I made this layout.
No formal title on this one but I think I will just call it "Me & Grams".

:)

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OOPSY!
I'VE BEEN REMOVED BECAUSE I AM

BEING PUBLISHED!

BE BACK SOON!
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Supplies: Cardstock (My Mind's Eye-blue, Wausau-tan), Patterned papers (October Afternoon), Brad & Journaling pen (American Crafts)

Thanks for looking!
Check out the Lotus Paperie blog to see what amazing layouts the girls made with their crappy pictures.
:)
Have a great weekend!
gretchen

Ketchup

Wow.

Where has July gone?

I am so behind!

:)
We spent a long weekend in Gulf Shores.

And a good weekend it was.

The original purpose of the trip was for the guys to go deep sea fishing.

It was Lee's first time and he is already planning his next trip.
They didn't catch as much tuna as they were hoping but they caught a bunch of red snapper, amberjack, and barracuda.
Lee has dinner duty for the next month!
{yahoo!!}

And while they were out gallavanting on the deep blue sea, the girls stayed behind to make sure everything was OK back on the beach.

{my favorite pic...hehehe}

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And in scrapbooking news...
I made this layout for last Friday's Focus On Glitter Lace Cardstock over on the KI blog.

{this little cutie is Kylie and she belongs to Brad who is in that top picture with Lee and Erica who is now solidly hooked on the Twilight books after our weeked at the beach}

Check out this post on the KI blog, check out the other layouts with the glitter lace cardstock, and then leave a comment for a chance to win some for yourself.

And be watching for sneak peeks of KI's new releases coming out at CHA this month! _____________________________________________________________

I mentioned a little while ago that I am going to be teaching
at the Sweet Memories Birthday Bash the weekend of Aug. 15-16 in Villa Rica, GA.
The website is now up and registration is open.

Check it out here.

It looks like you get alot for your money!
I am teaching 2 classes.
The first will be a 6x12 album class {using an American Crafts album and lots & lots of October Afternoon products}.

That class is actually included in the price of the event so everybody takes it!

The second class is a layout class.

What can I say? I love teaching the layouts!

The layout class is 20 bucks and I already have stuff from American Crafts, My Little Shoebox, & My Little Yellow Bicycle to use!

So check it out and let me know if you are coming!

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I made this card for last week's challenge over on the American Crafts blog.
The challenge is actually to make a layout using 2 of their new baby papers.
Well I needed a card for a baby shower for a girl at work so I cheated and made a card instead.

OK I think that makes me caught up.
Have a great day and TGIF {almost}!
:)
gretchen

Lotus Paperie Challenge #132

Happy Friday!
Challenge #132 over at Lotus Paperie is to make something based on this sketch by Tania Lennox.

Here is my take on Tania's cool sketch.
{I had to turn the 6x12 sketch into a 12x12 layout because I am no longer going to pretend that I scrap anything besides 12x12. I too much like all my albums to be uniform.}

Supplies: Cardstock (Prism), Patterned paper (My Mind's Eye, October Afternoon), Journaling page (Fancy Pants), Alphabet & brads (American Crafts), Butterfly punch (Martha Stewart), Journaling circle sticker (October Afternoon)

Thanks for looking!
Now go make something with that sketch!
And have a great weekend while you are at it!
I will-I am at the beach.
:)
gretchen

One more

One more My Little Shoebox project for CHA, that is!
This is a little mini album based on questions from this book by Kobi Yamada.

{I totally got this idea from the fabulous Fabi who has already made a book like this and you can see her better version here. Thanks for the inspiration Fabi!}

Everything in this book is from the new Whooo Loves You? line from My Little Shoebox.
{everything except the actual album and the cool ribbon & jewels that are all from Maya Road, that is}
So here is my version of Fabi's book...

{click on the pictures if you want a bigger version}

That's all folks!
:)
gretchen

More My Little Shoebox sneek peeks!

I have been playing like crazy with the new Whoo Loves You? line from My Little Shoebox.

This is cuuuute stuff!

I love the new font for the chipboard alphas!
I am very much addicted to this particular piece of pink paper and I always love the die cuts!
{can you tell that I am totally a "B" side of the paper kind of girl??!}

{yeah, yeah, so I have used these pictures on layouts recently; but they just go so well with the papers and these layouts are going to CHA, not into my albums so back off!}

Be sure to check out the My Little Shoebox blog as new projects with the new products will be posted often!
Thanks for looking at mine!
:)
gretchen

Lotus Paperie Challenge #131

How fun!
I get to be the guest designer this month over on the Lotus Paperie challenge blog!

This week's challenge is this: Hand cut the pattern out of paper.
Easy!
I love doing that anyway!

I made a little card set using my leftovers from the June Scripts kit.

The flowers were cut out of a sheet of KI Memories patterned paper.
I also cut the sentiments out of a sheet of Jenni Bowlin patterned paper I had in my stash.
Voila!

Supplies: Cardstock (Prism), Patterned paper (Cosmo Cricket-red, Jenni Bowlin-words, KI Memories-all other), Brads (American Crafts), Bling (Heidi Swapp)
All supplies (except Jenni Bowlin paper & bling) are from the June Scripts kit!

There is a new challenge every Friday so play along with us!
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Hope you are having a great weekend!
gretchen

Happy 4th!

I hope you have a great day celebrating our freedom!
Thank you to all the men and women who serve in our armed forces so we can enjoy that freedom!
Here is a layout about last year's July 4th.

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**BE BACK SOON**
**I'M BEING PUBLISHED**
**YIPPEE**

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Supplies: Patterned paper (KI Memories, Creative Imaginations), Lace cardstock (KI Memories), Acrylic letters (KI Memories), Brads (American Crafts), random ribbon

Looks like this year's celebration is shaping up to be much of the same.
Except Isaiah and Preston won't be there {boo!} because they are in TX and we won't be having catfish because the boys were unsuccessful on their fishing trip.
But never fear! With a new grill/smoker there will be plenty of other meat to be eaten!
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I will be finishing Breaking Dawn today.
Yes, sireeee.
And I think I am going to like the ending after all.
I was struggling there for the first half of the book.
But I think I may get my warm fuzzies after all.
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I got a box of fun, super new {as in you can't have it yet} stuff from My Little Shoebox yesterday.
{I do not mean to rub it in}
And I could not resist diving in to it!
I got the Whoo Loves You? line to work with.
And I started off by making a few cards.

{that rick rack is from Maya Road & all the brads are KI}

There will be more to come!
And be sure to check out the My Little Shoebox blog for more projects with all the new product that you will be able to get really soon {so don't feel bad}.
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Also, head over to the KI blog, take a peek at Kelly Noel's cute July 4th layout, and then leave a comment for a chance to win a prize!
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Happy Independence Day!
:)
gretchen

My Little Shoebox + Becky Fleck

For the month of July, the My Little Shoebox team had the chance to make some stuff for Becky Fleck with her monthly PageMaps.

Since I love sketches I was pretty excited about this opportunity!
Here is the fun PageMap that I got to work with.

And here is my layout!
These are my friends Kali and Kam who are actually getting married on Saturday in Jamaica.
And they humored me by letting me take some engagement pictures of them.
:)
Supplies: Patterned papers, die cuts, photo corners (My Little Shoebox), rick rack (Basic Grey), bookplates (Junkitz), brads (KI Memories)
Check out what the rest of the team did with the PageMaps they were given here.
Thanks for looking at mine!
:)
gretchen

Freehand Scraps!

Sweet Heidi from Freehand Scraps asked me to play with her July kit.
And play I did!
This is such a fun kit full of Cosmo Cricket, Sassafras Lass, Pink Paislee, and a variety of fun embellishments & extras.
And this is what I made...
This is my Grams {she is my dad's mother}.
She is about 4 feet tall {ok she is a bit taller than that} and sweet as she can be.
I took these pictures of her on the day of Daddy Bill's funeral {that's her husband}.
She was giving away to her great grandkids some of the wooden animals that Daddy Bill was famous for making.
Journaling reads:
To the rest of us they were just silly wooden animals and bad Christmas presents.
To Grams they are little souvenirs of his handiwork.
Her perspective is better.

{insert lump in throat}

This next one is a layout about the Misner side of my family.
It's a little update on everybody right now.
This is another picture from Daddy Bill's funeral and the quote in the bottom right corner was taken from the program at his funeral.

Have I mentioned before that we have fish?
Yep, Lee takes great pride in his saltwater aquarium & the kids in the neighborhood love our little Nemos {who apparently may be immortal}!

Here's one of my crazy brothers in New York City.
{who would have thought this Sassafras paper would have worked so well with a picture of Times Square!??}

And a quickie card!
Be sure to check out what the rest of the team has done with this kit here and go get one for yourself!
Have a great day!
:)
gretchen