a layout and a shout-out

WARNING: Somewhat-embarassing early-90s fashion ahead...you've been warned.

Hey there, y'all! While I have a big old backlog of projects I could/should be sharing with blogland, instead I have a brand-new one today -- I just made it yesterday, and the photos are hot off the camera! 

A bit of background: I've been taking the above online class from Shimelle Laine that's winding down now, and it's really helped me rethink where I put pages in my albums and where my blank spots are -- one of my biggest blank spots is my earlier (not-as-cute-as-a-baby-but-instead-rather-awkward-tween-and-teen-) years, so I've been finding favorite older photos to scrap lately. This one called to me from the old shoebox 'o photos:

Oh man, didn't I warn you? Here, you see me with four of my 9th-grade pals (I'm in the orange - shocking, I know), and we're all modeling stylish ensembles from my very own closet in my very own living room during one of my very own sleepovers. Note, please, the lace-trimmed bike shorts and leggings with those babydoll dresses, the floppy hat on my friend Becky, the bangs. Oh, the bangs. (you could also note the original Nintendo unit, which Andrew and I still have AND which still works, believe it or not!) How could I resist scrapping this photo? 

A photo like this called out for something funky and fun, so I turned to my Amy Tangerine Sketchbook collection, which I Lurve. Loaf. Love, and used it:

Quite minimal for me, really. I dig it, though. The Mister Huey splatters and inked edges grunge it up a bit. I could get hooked on using little skinny paper bits as a page border.

...and it wants those outfits back! I used the Bits from the line here and as embellishments around the photo. Thickers are also from the same line -- relatively un-messy glitter is a good thing. The cardstock is very nice white woodgrain stuff from Studio Calico.

The photo mat is a pocket that holds my typewritten journaling (on a grid index card -- yay for cool, cheap office supplies), and the thread I used here and elsewhere is actually neon pink, but neon just doesn't photograph well, does it? With a few exceptions, everything came from Scrappy Chic (as usual), but it's also at 2peas and stuff too if you aren't local.

And now for a shout-out for my scrappy friend Sue, who inspired this post by quite rightly noting that the card in my last post was rather Tangerine-esque in its watercoloriness. Thanks, Sue, and congrats on being named to the Get it Scrapped! Creative Team -- that's so awesome! You can read about it at her blog (linked above) and here.

I'll be back with another layout using this line -- one that's an absolute riot of color and pattern. Yay!

Enjoy your day!

SiSiS: Stuff I Scrapped in September, part two

Hiya and happy Friday!

Today I have three holiday layouts for you -- two Christmas, one Halloween. And since I don't have a ton of recent holiday photos (especially Halloween), I decided to make some more mini-me layouts with the three holiday lines that were part of my September kit from Scrappy Chic, which is where you can find all of my supplies. Check it:

as always, click a photo to see it bigger.

Halloween's up first. I know I have a shortage of Halloween photos for scrapping purposes, but I still went through five years' worth in one layout! These are my first five Halloween costumes -- all homemade, all well-loved (even the crazy-looking clown makeup!). My grandma can sew like crazy; she made all the clothes for her kids for years (that's five kids, people), and when I was little she made most of my special-occasion outfits, too -- Halloween, yes, but also Easter and Christmas dresses, first-day-of-school ensembles, etc. She can still sew, but these days readymade clothes cost quite a bit less than homemade for the most part -- plus she's moved on to (many) other hobbies. But I digress. The page uses Echo Park's Halloween line plus some ribbons from my stash. Aside from photo editing and printing, the whole thing took about 20 minutes. Works for me! Oh, and that princess costume in '81? cut down from a bridesmaid's dress from (I think) my aunt's wedding. And I thought modern bridesmaid's dresses could be crazy looking! Big floral flouncy border, anyone? Oy. Next:

A jolly old elf, indeed. What else could I use with that adorable elfin print (plus plaid, plus snowflakes) from American Crafts? The Thickers are a reflective shiny silver, which is why they look a little odd in the photo -- they sure gleam in person, though! In the 1981 Santa photo (on the left), you will see one of my favorite childhood fabrics: velour. Spiffy! On the right (1982), I'm wearing one of my home-sewn ensembles -- I loved that jumper. Another super-quick page, too. One more? Ok!:

I admit, this one's my favorite. The little photos are from '81, and the papers and die-cuts are all from the Teresa Collins Christmas line (except the big kraft snowflakes -- those are Maya Rd). The paper started out with a white background. Really white. Too white. Mists to the rescue! Some olive, some krafty tan, and I get shimmer, color, and less white. Since you can't see the photos, really, here's a closeup:

The same sewing grandma made me the stocking that year -- it would have lasted nearly forever, except one of my parents' dogs chewed it up pretty well when I was in college :(. On the right, you can see our family's extensive collection of macrame plant hangers in the front window, plus the toboggan that got a lot of use in Hines Park for years (Dead Man's Hill, anyone else?). Let's check out the cluster at the bottom:

More die-cuts (the cream phrase stickers are Cosmo Cricket's new Tiny Type words). That cluster is not hiding a mistake -- I hid my journaling behind it :).

Whoa -- that's a lot of photos! I do have a few more goodies to share with you (the boy pages). Last post, I'd mentioned that I hadn't scrapped much in October. In the past few days, I've made a half dozen layouts plus a couple cards! Whoa! The reason? Partly because I have a new kit to use, but mostly because of an online class I decided to sign up for from Shimelle Laine's website -- it's called Pretty Paper Party (how could I resist?), and it's really inspired me to break into my stash of new and old papers and create away! Thanks to Sue for recommending it -- it is pretty awesome.

All right then, have a lovely Friday!

My Counterfeit Kit -- and a blast from the past!

Hi folks -
There's a pretty new challenge blog called Counterfeit Kit Challenge, and it is perfect for those of us with a love of pretty scrap kits but no real need for even MORE new product than what's already in our ever-growing stash.
See, every month, the folks at the blog will choose a current club kit, and then we can go shopping...in our stash! The goal is to replicate the kit with what we already own! So smart. Then, all month long, there are little challenges to give that newly-counterfeited kit a purposeful existence. Last month, there were some awesome tutorials for making all kinds of embellishments. Anyway, go check it out!

This month's challenge kit is actually a true challenge for me: it's from Scraps of Darkness, and you can see a bunch of photos via the links in this post, but I'll just give you the main kit here:

 Lots of black and red and damask and florals and such. Definitely a love theme, but not a mushy one! If it's any help, the title of the kit is "The Telltale Heart." Of course, that Poe story is about a man who stalks and kills his neighbor and then goes (more) mad almost immediately, but I'll try not to scrap any of that! :)

Well, I shopped my stash and made my own version. Here you go:

My version of the main kit.

My version of the add-ons. I think I'll need to make a few embellishments to round things out, but I'm ready to try whatever challenges come along!

So, while I was going through some older supplies both for the kit and to purge/sell in the upcoming Scrapbook Yard Sale at Scrappy Chic (it's Sunday, 2/20 -- you should totally go!), I found one of my earliest stamping efforts. I believe I was testing out my new white inkpad (I bet it's the Memories white dye ink -- which I still have, thank you very much), and learning how to second-generation stamp. Wanna see it? Ok, for you, I'll embarrass myself a little:

This would be from late 2002 or early 2003 -- near the middle is the custom stamp I had made for our wedding invitations, and many of the other images are from my first couple of stamp purchases. It's a full 8.5x11" sheet of (very cheap) black cardstock. It makes me feel very sentimental, and very glad that I stuck with it! What's your earliest stamping project? I'd love to see it!