be back soon

i have a

bachelorette party

to attend...

The Hangover style.

{ok not really}

{there won't be any tigers!}

:)
happy weekend all!

gretchen

new challenge

There is a new challenge up at Noel Mignon!
It is the "It Takes Two" challenge.

That means that everything on your layout has to be done in twos.

If you use one of something, you have to use two.

And you can't use more than two of anything.

Now I present to you the layout that took me a full week to complete...

2 pictures
2 pieces of cardstock (red & kraft)

2 patterned papers (that scalloped border came off the striped piece of Sassafras)

2 chipboard stars

2 alphabets (red & silver)

2 brads

2 photo corners

2 pieces of masking tape (overlapping each other on top of the big picture)

2 staples

2 types of journaling (written & typed)

{i didn't plan that but it works!}

This was officially the hardest {scrapbooking} challenge I have ever completed!
I dare you to play along with us!

You can see everybody else's layout here.

And, seriously, I dare ya!

:)
gretchen

new PR

Just added a new layout to my half marathon album.

Supplies: Patterned paper (Pink Paislee, Sassafras); Alphabets (American Crafts, Sassafras); Bling (My Mind's Eye), Sticker (Sassafras), Stars (Heidi Swapp)

Everything except the stars are from the Truly Scrumptious kit from Noel Mignon

And a happy Tuesday to ya!
:)
gretchen

Sketchy

It's my day to put up a sketch on the Midnight Rooster blog.
Well that should be easy since I doodled out this basic sketch when I started working with my February kit!

My goal with the sketch was to try to use some of the busier patterned papers in the kit as full sheets rather than just cutting them up like I usually do.

Now, I've shared these layouts already but now you can see how I used the sketch to come up with all 3 of these pages.

1 sketch, 3 ways!
ha!

And I successfully used some busy patterned papers without cutting them up into smaller pieces!

YAY!
{you can see my post at Midnight Rooster here}
:)
Happy Monday to ya!
gretchen

Who cares about the gift card...

I'll take the gift card holder!!

:)
OK has anybody bought a gift card from Anthropologie lately?
Well the gift card holder they throw in with it is just the cutest thing ever!

So I gave the gift card away.

And kept the card holder for myself.

Surely I can decorate it a little bit & get some use out of it!
{i confess that i was afraid it might go unappreciated & thrown away otherwise!!}
:)
TGIF!
gretchen

silly Shada

I have decided that I need to take more pictures of our dog.

I feel like I use the same ones over & over again when I want to document some stuff about her.

Maybe if she would sit still for 0.5 seconds I could get a good picture.

We think she is about 10 years old (yeah, we don't know for sure), but we know that she still thinks she is a puppy!

Supplies: Patterned paper (Pebbles, Inc), Alphabets (Bella Blvd), Brads (American Crafts), baker's twine

P.S.
I made this one for Scrapbook Mania.
If you are looking for some of these cute pet papers, India still has some!

P.P.S.
I think I might be addicted to baker's twine.
It was probably not necessary on this layout.

However, I could not resist.

You can find a good selection of it at Scrapbook Mania also!

And a happy hump day to you!
:)
gretchen

Shame on me!!

I forgot to pick the winner of the app giveaway last night!!

OK here goes...

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

1 

Timestamp: 2011-02-16 01:04:16 UTC

which means that Virginia is the winner!!

Virginia said...

Pick me! Pick me! :)

February 12, 2011 10:57 AM

Whoop whoop!!
Congrats friend!
:)
And happy Tuesday yall!
gretchen

Noel sketch challenge

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a great weekend!

And happy Valentine's Day too!!
*****

There's a little sketch challenge going on over at Noel Mignon right now.
The girls at Noel Mignon teamed up with Sketch Inspiration for this one.

Here is the cool sketch they provided for us...

And here is the layout I made with it...

(Supplies: I used mostly the Truly Scrumptious kit from Noel Mignon with a couple of pieces from Very Virginia thrown in)

*****
P.S.

I'll be back later tonight with the winner of the sketch app giveaway!
{see below}

You can still leave a comment if you want a chance at the app!
:)
gretchen

Weekend giveaway!

OK how about a fun little weekend giveaway??!

Remember this layout that I made for the new winter release of the Sketches 2 Scrapbook app??

Well I have a code for a free app that I get to give away!!

There are 66 sketches with example layouts on the app!
The winter release is full of themed layouts from Christmas to Valentine's Day and all the snow in between!
{stole that line from the site}
How fun!!
Scrapping on the go!
So you want the app??
Just leave a comment here & I will pick a random winner on Monday (Valentine's Day!!)!
Now you have to have an iPad, iTouch, or iPhone for this app to work!
{so if you can't use the app, let's let someone who can use it win...thanks!!}
______________________________________
P.S.
There is a new app just for cardmakers that went on sale TODAY!!
It's called Sketches 4 Cards!!

And I made this card based on one of the sketches on the app...

Supplies: Patterned paper (My Mind's Eye), Chipboard sentiment (Bella Blvd), Brads (American Crafts), Flowers (Fancy Pants)
_________________________________
:)
Have a great weekend!!
gretchen

Sharing the Love

Valentine's Day is coming & KI Memories wants to *share the love* with you!

Wanna know how to win??

To enter:
1. "Like" KI Memories on Facebook.
2. Invite your Friends to "Like" KI Memories on Facebook.
3. Follow KI Memories on Twitter.
4. Retweet the '*share the love* tweet to your Followers.
5. Leave us a comment on this post over on the KI blog telling us you completed the above.

The powers-that-be at KI will randomly select a winner.
Then that winner will tell them the name of the person who shared the '*share the love* contest with them.
AND THEY BOTH WIN!!
That means both you and a friend can win!!
And the more people you share with, the greater your chances of winning!
How sweet is that?!

The (two) winners will each win 5 FREE PACKAGES OF OUR NEW PUFFIES^TM (your choice)!

Contest ends at 5:00 pm CST on Valentine's Day (that's Monday, February 14th, 2011). Winner will be announced later that evening. No current or former KI Memories employees, design team members or sales reps are eligible to win. Contiguous US entries only please.

Happy Valentine's Day from KI Memories!
*******
:)
gretchen

One more

One more layout with the February kit from Midnight Rooster!

Totally forgot to share this one yesterday!

I actually cut those bigger flowers out of a sheet of October Afternoon paper I had left from the January MR kit.

How fun (and convenient) that the kits coordinate so well!

*****
Oh yeah, and a card too!
Duh!

:)
gretchen

Midnight Rooster REVEAL

It's reveal time!
The February kit from Midnight Rooster is now up for sale!
And it's a good one!

It's full of My Mind's Eye, The Girl's Paperie, Crate Paper, Jenni Bowlin, October Afternoon, & more!
And here is some stuff that I made...

{those Mickey ears are a punch from EK Success}

And a 2-pager with those collages that I am lovin'!

Thanks for looking!
Now go get you one!
:)

gretchen

Send a Valentine!

Yesterday was my day to put up a challenge on the KI blog.

Well yesterday was 1 week until Valentine's Day.
So the challenge seems like an obvious one!

The challenge??

Send a Valentine!

Make a gift.

Send a card.

Buy some candy.

Leave a note.
Whatever!

Just do something to make someone's Valentine's Day great!

I made little happys (how do you spell that??) for my girls at work.
I used my KI supplies to make tags to put on some treats.

The lips lollipops came from Wal-mart...fabulous!!
:)
So that's the challenge!

If you make something, link it up to the KI blog and make sure you comment

here too!

You have 6 days...hop to it!
:)

gretchen

Croppin'

There is a Valentine's crop going on at Noel Mignon all week long!

{do join us!}

Things got kicked off today with projects, contests, challenges, and prizes!!

And I posted a little V-day inspiration in the form of cards.

Cards for grandparents to be more specific!

One of my grandmothers used to send my brothers & I each a card with $10 in it every Valentine's Day.

Hey, $10 was a lot of money for a kid!

And I loved it!

So ever since I have been making cards, I have tried to at least send her a card on Valentine's Day to return the favor.

Now I have a couple of cards to choose from!

I wonder which one she will like best??

I used the same basic design on these cards and just changed the products up a bit.
That makes for 2 cards in very little time!

Supplies: Everything (except the baker's twine) is from the Truly Scrumptious kit from Noel Mignon

Happy Monday yall!
:)
gretchen

Don't forget!!

This is starting tomorrow!!

Come play along with us over at Noel Mignon!!

It's going to be fun!
{and did you see there will be prizes??!!}

:)
gretchen

Valentine's Day

It's coming up!

Do you have your cards ready??

Supplies: Patterned paper (KI Memories), Alphas (Making Memories), Chipboard (KI Memories), Brads (American Crafts)

Supplies: Cardstock (Co'ordinations), Patterned paper (KI Memories), Alphas (Making Memories), Chipboard (KI Memories), Die cut photo corners (Sizzix)

Supplies: classic, not old...hehehe...My Mind's Eye patterned paper; Chipboard heart (Heidi Swapp), Tiny alphas (Making Memories), Ribbon (now that is old stuff!)

And if you want some inspiration for Valentine's Day and a chance to win prizes {along with games, chatting, etc.) join us at Noel Mignon next week!

TGIF!!
Have a great weekend!
:)
P.S.

Does anybody care who wins the Super Bowl??
I think I am going to pull for the Packers...just because I like to pull for somebody!
And I like green.
:)
gretchen

Bomb Diggity

This one's for you, Charlie Brown.

Anyone who can put up with my jibberish, long stories, and whining about how cold/hot it is for miles & miles deserves his own layout.

***
uh oh

the bomb diggity

is going to be

in

print!!

***

OUT

FOR

PUBLICATION
***
Supplies: Patterned paper (Basic Grey, Fancy Pants, Sassafras), Star & alpha stickers (Sassafras), Bling (My Mind's Eye)

So there you go CB...forever documented in the McElveen family album!
Your life is complete now!
:)
The Gazelle

Eat cake

Happy hump day people!!

And happy February!

{where did January go? didn't i just put up my Christmas decorations??}

****
There was a sketch challenge over at Little Yellow Bicycle in January.
I loved the sketch!

And since I had a bunch of Cupcake Love that I had not used yet, I decided to play along!

I know I have already scrapped my birthday but I really felt the cake deserved a layout all its own!
It was really hard to not add a banner to that page...since I want to add them to everything lately!
I am quite proud of myself for breaking away from the sketch & resisting this time!
{it probably won't happen again!}
****
And since it is a new month, that means a new Midnight Rooster kit is about to make its debut!
I have been a scrappin' fool with it too!
:)

The full reveal will be next week!
Stay tuned!
****
Have a good one!
:)

P.S.
Is anyone excited that it is national signing day today?
The way my husband has been talking about it I thought it might be a federal holiday.
I even checked my schedule to see if I had to go to work.
I do.
:)

gretchen

Card crazy

I went a little card crazy with the Truly Scrumptious kit from Noel Mignon!

I have several birthdays (not mine but friends and family! ha!) and wedding showers coming up.

So I am in need of birthday and lovey-dovey cards!

Here is what I've done so far...

Supplies: Patterned paper (Basic Grey, Sassafras), Sticker (Sassafras), Brads (American Crafts)

Supplies: Patterned paper (We R Memory Keepers), Sticker (Sassafras), Bling (My Mind's Eye)

Supplies: Patterned paper (Sassafras), Stickers (Sassafras), Bling (My Mind's Eye)
{do not ask me why i cannot get a crisp picture of that card! so strange!}

*****
And one more...

Supplies: Patterned paper (Sassafras), Flower sticker (Sassafras), Die cut (My Mind's Eye), Bling (My Mind's Eye)

I added a KI pocket from my stash to the inside of the card.

It is the perfect size for a gift card!
*****
OK bless you if you made it to the end of this one.
That was alot of cards!

But thanks for looking!
:)
gretchen