BOO!!

Did "eye" scare you??!
:)
Just wanted to wish you a very happy Halloween!

I made both this tag and card with scraps of paper from the Study Hall kit from Noel Mignon and characters from the "Too Cute to Spook" line from Bella Blvd.

Have a great day!!
Be safe!
And don't eat all your candy at once!
:)
gretchen

Noel Mignon SKETCH challenge

There is a new challenge up over at Noel Mignon!

And this is an easy one!

It's a sketch challenge!

Here's the sketch:

I stayed pretty close to the sketch when I made my layout, but I did change a couple of things.

I only used 1 picture instead of 3.

And I really tried to use stars but I couldn't make the stars look right on a "nature-y" layout!

But the sketch was a good jumping off point for me and this layout only ended up taking me about an hour.

{and that's really good for me!}

I used the Study Hall kit for this layout.

{once again, not just for school pages!}

Now come play along with us!
Make something using the sketch and share it with us in the challenge forum over at Noel Mignon.
:)
Have a great day!

gretchen

super NEW cards!

This week over on the Bella Blvd blog there is all kinds of inspiration being posted using the new "Winter Wonder" and "Spring Flings and Easter Things" lines!

And I've made a couple of things!
:)

Here is a very spring-y card using the "Spring Fling and Easter Things" line...

And here is one using the colorful "Winter Wonder" line...

I am a big fan of cute snowmen!!

:)

These lines are shipping now so go get you some!
:)
Happy Tuesday!
gretchen

Get yours now!!

The super new "Winter Wonder" and
"Spring Flings and Easter Things" lines

start shipping today!!

Tell your local store to order some!
It is fabulous stuff!!
:)

Noel Mignon BLOG HOP!!

Welcome to the Noel Mignon Spooktacular Blog Hop!

Each member of the design team has created a fabulous tag with a letter featured prominently on it.
Collect a letter from each blog and unscramble them to discover a word.

The first stop on the hop is the Noel Mignon LO/Project blog.
So if you are stopping here first, please head back over there and start over to be sure you collect all the letters.
(http://noelmignonlayouts.blogspot.com)

Be sure to leave comments along the way!

Once you've collected all the letters and think you've unscrambled the word, email Virginia at 2blackflipflops at gmail dot com with your entry.
We'll draw one random name from the correct entries for a fun My Mind's Eye Halloween prize pack!

{can you see my letter??}
:)

The Hudson Valley kit goes up for sale bright & early Tuesday morning!

Get your order in early, as this one has the lines that have been getting a lot of attention since they debuted at CHA, and it won't last long!

***
Now hop along to Britt's blog next!

Happy hopping yall!

:)
gretchen

Happenings

OK I feel like there are many things going on right now that you need to know about.

I do not want you to miss out!

***

Let's see...Pebbles has a giveaway going on on their blog.

Leave a comment on this blog post for a chance to win some Pebbles goodies!

***

We are doing a blog hop over at Noel Mignon this weekend as our Spooktacular Week comes to an end.

My stop along the hop is tomorrow but the hop starts today!
Get a jump on it and play along!

You know there is a prize involved!

Click here for your first stop along the hop!

***

Walgreens has a free 8x10 photo collage for free through today.

Enter CLG8x10 at checkout.

***

The super new stuff from Bella Blvd ("Winter Wonder" and "Spring Flings and Easter Things") starts shipping on Monday.
Check out the blog all week to see a crazy amount of projects using these awesome lines!!
***

The giveaway on the post below is still open
(and it is open thru the end of the month)
so go leave a comment!

***
I feel like I am still leaving something out!
Oh well, at my age I cannot be expected to remember everything.

:)
Have a great weekend!
And come back here for the Noel Mignon blog hop tomorrow!

:)
gretchen

Happy birthday Kristy!!

Do yall know Kristy??!
Kristy Dalman?!

Of course you do!
She is the owner and designer of Some Odd Girl Stamps!

Duh!

:)

Well she turned 30 this month and she has invited me to be a part of the month-long celebration on her blog.

How fun!!

So here is the deal...

I posted a bunch of birthday cards over on her blog today wishing her a very happy birthday.
Cards like this one...

{supplies: Bella Blvd}

And to add to the celebration, I am offering up a giveaway up too!
I am giving away to one lucky reader a bunch of the fun "Cupcake Love" line from Little Yellow Bicycle!

Want to win it??
Well go over to this post on Kristy's blog and leave a comment telling her happy birthday.

You can also link up a birthday card (or many) in the comments over there for additional chances to win.
AND because you are still reading this post, leave a comment here too

{you don't have to wish me a happy birthday...mine is not until January. and at my age i am trying to forget about my birthday all together anyway}

and I will give you an additional chance to win!

Happy birthday to YOU!

The winner will be picked October 31st so you have plenty of time to comment!

:)

and TGIF!!

Celebrating Fall

Yep, fall is pretty much my favorite season of the year.

Spring runs a close 2nd.
But with the cooler temps, football, changing colors, Thanksgiving, and Halloween, fall takes first place!

So I made a layout about it...

I made this one for the Pebbles blog where we are celebrating fall all week!
I used the Fresh Goods line from Pebbles to make this one.

Upon first glance, Fresh Goods looks like a great spring or summer line.
And it is.
But the kraft paper mixed into the line sure makes it great for fall pages & projects too!

Be sure to check out the Pebbles blog for some great fall layout and project ideas this week!

:)

and happy hump day!!

This week is going to be spooktacular!!

BOO!!
It's getting awfully spooky over at Noel Mignon!
:)

I've made some oh-so-creepy Halloween cards to share as part of Spooktacular Week 2011!
I pulled some of the papers from the Study Hall kit (not just for school stuff...for sure!!) and paired them up with the new Too Cute to Spook line from Bella Blvd.

Prepare to be spooked...

*****
out 

for 

publication
*****

Make sure to check out the "Spooktacular Week 2011" forum on the message board for many more great Halloween project ideas!!

And join us all week!
****
If you are looking for an awesome Halloween kit,
check out Noel's "Something Wicked" kit.She is offering free shipping as part of this week's festivities so go get one!
Happy Monday!
:)
gretchen

It's about to get spooky up in he-yah!!

Sketchy Saturdays

Happy Saturday!
And what a gorgeous day it is here in Alabama!

It was perfect weather for an early run this morning in an attempt to save 2nd base.

{aka Race for the Cure! get it?? 2nd base! ha! the shirt with that slogan was my favorite of the day}

****
Anybody doing any scrapping today?
If you need some inspiration to get you started, check out the post on the Bella Blvd blog today.
A couple Saturdays a month, Bella Blvd is going to feature a sketch and lots of projects using that sketch.
Today's sketch is actually a card sketch and this is the card I made...

I used the fabulous new Spring Flings & Easter Things line to make this card.

Check out the Bella Blvd blog to see the sketch and many more projects based on the sketch (including a great layout too!).

And have an awesome Saturday!!

:)
gretchen

more 3 Scrappy Boys + a giveaway!

I have a couple more things to share with the

October kit from 3 Scrappy boys!

*****

Here's a layout I made about our time in Cozumel during the cruise we took this past summer.

Oh that was a good time!

*****

And I made some cards too.

I used a couple of the Prima flowers from the kit to make 2 different "thank you" cards using the same basic design.

Easy!

*****

One more thing...

Remember this card I made last week?

*****
OUT

FOR

PUBLICATION
*****

Want to win a bunch of the toothpick flags like I used here?
Well head on over to the Pebbles blog and leave a comment on this post for a chance to win!

:)

And have a great weekend!!

:)
gretchen

Midnight Rooster OCTOBER reveal!!

The October kit from Midnight Rooster is live and up for sale!

This one is a fun one with mostly soft, shabby colors.

"The Cuckoo's Nest" it is called!
How fun!
It is full of Basic Grey, My Mind's Eye, & Studio Calico with a little Pebbles, Cosmo Cricket,& Crate Paper thrown in there too!

And of course it has some of the unique, handmade embellishments that you can only get in Midnight Rooster kits!

*****
Here are some of the things I made with "The Cuckoo's Nest"...

I pretty much fussy-cut that sheet of Basic Grey to death!
:)

And of course a card for good measure...

OK now go get your kit while some are still available!!

:)
Tomorrow is Friday, right??!!
yessssssssssssssss!!

:)

gretchen

Call me crazy...

...but this new "Winter Wonder" line from Bella Blvd sure does make for some fun birthday cards!

The fun colors in this line
+
the new miniatures stickers

=

perfect for birthdays!

Go figure!

;)

Happy day!
gretchen

New challenge at Noel Mignon + chance to win a kit!

There is a new challenge up at Noel Mignon!

And this is a fun, different one than some we have done in the past.

The challenge is to take one of the sneak peeks that Noel has posted for any of her kits and use it to inspire a layout.

Cool, huh!?!

OK so here is the sneak from the Study Hall kit I used...

{and I kind of used this one too}

And this is the layout I made!

I mean, I pretty much just wanted to use the uber-cool burlap.

:)
*****
Want a chance to win this kit from Noel Mignon??

Go here and see how you can win!
:)

That's all I've got...for now!

Happy Monday!
gretchen

3 Scrappy Boys

YAY!
I had the opportunity to guest design over at 3 Scrappy Boys this month!

This is a super cute kit club that comes out with a new kit every month and gives you a variety of ways to purchase the kit.

For instance, there is a main kit, an add on kit, and then a trio kit that combines a few mini kits with coordinating embellishments.

I got to play with October's trio kit!

This kit is full of fabulous Pink Paislee, Glitz, Studio Calico, Sassafras, Prima, Maya Road, and more!
*****
Here are a couple things I made with the kit...

{not to confuse you, but the folks in these pictures belong to my friend Lindsay. remember "a layout a day in May" from last year?? well Lindsay has had another baby so it is time for me to get a scrappin' for the new baby's album!}

*****

I will be back later with a few more things I made with this kit!

:)
gretchen

BOO-YAH!!

Bella Blvd has been introducing the new team over the past several days.

And I was included!
So it is official!
:)

{who would've thought i would ever have been a "card" girl?! oh how i used to struggle with them so!}

Here are the cards I made that were included as part of the intro post.

I used mostly the "Family Dynamix" line here along with a black border sticker from the new "Too Cute to Spook" line.
I used "Family Dynamix" again on this next card along with the striped paper from the new "Christmas Wishes" line.

I love how Bella's lines mix so well together!!

So this is just a couple of many cards that you will see from me over the next year using Bella Blvd's awesome products!
In fact I am in the process of making a couple right now with the new mid-releases just announced this week!

{don't hate}
:)
Happy Saturday friends!!
gretchen

It's a PARTY!!

It is a party-themed week over on the Pebbles blog!

So we were challenged to create party-themed layouts & projects using our favorite Pebbles goodies.
Easy!

The fun toothpick flags just scream "party" to me, so I knew I wanted to use them on my project!

I used several toothpick flags from the Fresh Goods & New Addition lines to embellish these cards/invitations.

I made 2 different cards here-one is girly with a pink/red color scheme and the other is more masculine (even though there are flowers on it!) with different shades of blue.
Two different cards, same basic design!

*****

OUT FOR

PUBLICATION
*****

Supplies:

Fresh Goods Flower Basket (751183)

Fresh Goods Rain Check (751184)

Fresh Goods Signage (751186)

Fresh Goods Front Desk (751187)

Fresh Goods Come Again (751191)

Fresh Goods Toothpick Flags (747153)

Fresh Goods Chips (744118)

New Addition Toothpick Flags (747122)

Other supplies:

Brads (American Crafts)

Cardstock (American Crafts)

Die cut alphabet (Quickutz)

Check out the Pebbles blog for so many more fabulous party projects!

:)

gretchen

Halloween stuff + some sneaks

Don't forget that there is a Halloween linky party going on over at Paper Issues.

So you if have made something crafty that is
Halloween-themed, link it up!!

(Supplies: KI Memories)

(Supplies: The Girls Paperie)

(Supplies: KI Memories)
*****
There is a fun giveaway going on too so make sure you enter for a chance to win!
(click here for the giveaway)
*****
FYI...

The October kit from Midnight Rooster goes on sale on Sunday.

And it is a good one!!

Here are a few sneaks of some of the things I made just to torture you!
:)

Check out the full reveal and get your kit on Sunday!
:)

Until then, go link up your Halloween projects at Paper Issues!