Pick and Choose!

I’m continuing with my vacation photos.  Surprise, surprise!  But what I’ve found is that while I take a lot of photos, I only want to scrap a few.  With the ease and price (free!) of many of the online photo sharing sites, I find that I quickly get the photos posted once I’m back home so that my fellow travelers can view and print them.  Then, I’m free to decide what I want to do with them.  For some trips, I’ve created and printed out online generated photo albums.  I recently did an 8x8 album of a Girlfriends Trip to Savannah with two of my BFFs. It was perfect as it captured the fun of the trip and I have a fun memento, but I didn’t feel I needed to scrap each and everything we did.  And for other trips, I’ll do a few layouts here and there.  

For a recent quick trip to San Antonio, I just grabbed a few representative photos and used those in a layout that captures the spirit of the trip - A little sightseeing and lots of good food!  I have other photos of this trip, and if I get to them, fine.  If not, that’s fine as well.  No pressure!   

San Antonio by Moanica Caston.  Patterned Paper, Journaling Card: October Afternoon; Cardstock: American Crafts; Buttons: My Mind’s Eye; Layered flower: Basic Grey; Paper flowers: Prima Essentials;  Bling Centers: American Crafts;  Alphas; American Crafts Thickers and October Afternoon Mini Market.

 

Snap away and take as many pictures as you can.  But don’t feel guilty about scrapping every single photo.  Let technology help you manage it all.

Happy Scrapping!

Moanica

Happy We Have Each Other.

Hello to all my wonderful SOC Sistah's and Brothers. Sharette here with you for this week's Inspiration. I am going to make this a really Short post, as I have not been feeling very well. I have had what seems to be a really bad Eye infection. It has affected my ability to color my images as I am sued to.. So today I have a very "Clean and Simple card to share with you. As we are on the onset of Summer with the upcoming "Memorial Holiday"  I saw Clean and Simple because it did not take a whole lot o

I started with this very cute "rubber stamp set" from Unity Stamp Co. Using several color ink pad from "Paper Trey Ink". I stamped the flip flop in Pink and Blue, and then used a nice "orange to stamp the Sentiment.  I make a frame using my "Martha Stewart ultra fine black marker and just drew some lines and a little doodling, starting with the sentiment.

 My card base is 5 x 51/2 I used "Kraft Card stock form PTI and the paper and embellishment is from Echo Park "Hello Summer". As you see you really do NOT need a whole lot of supplies to make a nice card. I used One 6x6 piece of Design Paper and a few stickers to finish with. I told you "Very Simple".  If any of you are New to card making, I think just stamping with different inks  is a Great way to create some Beautiful Cards and Layout. >>>>> Reminder>>>> if you saw my post last month,  I showed  how make some wonderful and gorgeous "paper piecing" with your rubber stamp, so if you don't have the color ink you want, then just use some DP  "Their you Have it".. Another great way to add layers and a different look to your creations.

Here is a close up of my images,  my stamping and doodling is not up to par, so please forgive me for the poor quality.

and of course I still had to add a little something to the inside of my card, again just using the same paper and another sticker embellishment.

I hope you enjoy my little card today, and that I have inspired you to give it a try. 

Hugs and Blessings,

Sistah Retreat 12 - Photos!

Hello!

I am recuperating from Sistah Retreat 12 and thought I'd share some photos. Right now...I have NO scrapbooking photos from this event.   Well this is the 12th time we've done this. The photos keep changing.  Keeping our books interesting and fun.  LOL!

Anyway we have some that stay until Monday.  We always go out for dinner on Sunday night.  And this year after dinner we stopped at a carnival..not planned...but such fun!

On Monday, some of us continue the fun by finding a spot somewhere around town to take photos and just have way too much fun!  Here are 4 of my favorites from our fun day.

Scrapbooking brings together so many wonderful women and we have cultivated some really GREAT friendships!  And the fun doesn't stop at scrapbooking.

I hope this makes you smile...like it makes me smile.  BIG!!!

Have a GREAT week!

Classygirl!

Spring Showers...Bring MAY Flowers

Who doesn't like to see, touch or smell beautiful flowers?  Naturally, we all do.  In a crafty sense, flowers can enhance and excite our projects as well.  I love to create handcrafted flowers because they can be a very affordable and useful embellishment.  I use punches as well as electronic cutters and manual diecutters to create these.  I like to create not only with paper but fabric also.  The old adage, "diamonds are a girls' best friend" can also apply to flowers.  What girl doesn't like to receive a bouquet of a dozen stemmed roses or any bouquet of flowers for that matter.

Flowers can come in so many styles in crafting as well.  I just received a shipment of them from one well-known distributor.
And when I can't get my hands on these types, then....well I just make my own.  So expand your crafting horizon by creating and adding flowers to your projects.  Why not create a bouquet of handmade flowers or even a handmade flower garden.

Here's a short tutorial for one type of flower I love to create.
Using a die, I cut several layers of the flowers.  The more layers you cut, the fuller your flower will be.

Next...... Using a stylus or petal roller, curl each petal toward you by dragging the stylus toward the center.

 Then stack and stagger all of the flowers on top of each other. Group same sizes together.

Glue in place

Voila!  Your very own handcrafted flower.

Mother's Day Tea

Hey Everybody, Barb here. With Mother's Day behind us now, I thought I would put together a layout with a few of the photos from our Mother's Day Tea. This post goes right along with my post from last month, showcasing digital scrap booking. To view that post click HERE.

I used a template by The Paper Iris to create my layout. It started off looking like this:

I love using templates. The design work has already been done for me. And I can concentrate on selecting the perfect papers and embellishments to complement my photos. Don't shy away from templates, because you feel like 'you are cheating'. Think of using a template as a starting point...flip it, omit things, move things around, re-size things, make it your own.


Here is the layout I created using a digital kit from Shabby Princess, called Sprout:

click to enlarge

When you compare my project with the template you can see the changes I made...I omitted the text layer, I re-sized my teapot, I opted not to use the top dots and I moved the tea cup to a spot that suited me. Creating my layout was fun, quick and easy. I selected a digital kit from my collection and just dragged and dropped my paper and pictures into place.

If you have never used a template, I encourage you to give them a try. I don't use them for every layout, but when I have a lot of 'everyday' scrapping to do, I delve into my Template file every time. So how about you, do you use templates? Leave a link to your blog or online photo gallery in the comments section below, showcasing your layout using a template...I would love to see it! Come on, share with us!

Mother's Day Red or White Rose Tradition

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day! For me Mother's Day is always bittersweet. My mom is no longer with us but I have so many great memories of her and I'm so blessed to be able to share them with my daughter.


For Mother's Day, at least in the south, it's traditional to wear a red rose to signify a living mother and a white rose to honor a mother who's deceased. I'm not sure how long this has been going on or even when and where this tradition first started. I do know that growing up and going to church on Mother's Day was always sad for me seeing so many white roses. So in honor of this tradition I created the layout below.

Tradition by Tena Ellison. Supplies - Cardstock: Bazzill Basic; Patterned Paper: Teresa Collins;

Punch: Martha Stewart; Alphas: American Crafts; Die Cut Leaves: Spellbinders; Ink: Colorbox; Brads: My Mind's Eye.

I would love to know if you practice this tradition or have any other traditions of your own that you celebrate on Mother's Day. If so please leave a comment and share them with us.

Happy Mother's Day!!

What an honor it is to be able to wish all of you a Happy Mother's Day!  Our mothers, grandmothers, and aunts are such blessings to us.  I have always loved spending time with my family.  However, this year has been rough on my family and so many of my friends' families.  Losing loved ones has given me a renewed appreciation for the precious moments that I get to share with family.  None more special than those spent with my Mother and Grandmother.    

In honor of Mother's Day, I created a bit of word art.  You can right-click it, save it and use it as a digi-stamp or print it out and use it as an embellishment on a layout or card.  Enjoy!

Win a FREE Weekend, Scrapbook Retreat - Temple, GA May 18-21, 2012!

Here is your chance to join your sistahs for a fun, scrapping weekend for FREE!  

One of our sistahs is unable to attend and would like to DONATE her spot!  How absolutely wonderful and generous!  Woohoo!  Don't YOU want to win that spot?  

Here are a few fun photos from our last retreat, October 2011.

The ladies who attended Sunday night dinner!

A bit of fun with props!

Our annual shopping trip!

Your “scrappin” experience begins Friday, May 18 at 3pm and ends Monday, May 21, 2012 at 11am .

Your all inclusive retreat includes:

• 3 nights lodging (Friday, Saturday, Sunday(although you don't have to stay Sunday night, if not possible)
• Over 55 hours of cropping time 
• Meals provided : dinner Friday, Continental Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner on Saturday, breakfast and lunch on Sunday (if you decide to stay Sunday night, we go out for dinner on Sunday night, many of us also go out for breakfast on Monday at checkout.  Snacks and beverages throughout the entire weekend are also provided.
• 4 ft cropping space for the entire weekend
• Page Kit for each attendee
• Prizes/Giveaways/Games
• Fun challenges
• Unlimited use of Tool Center (Cricut, Sizzix, cutting tools, inks, stamps, idea books etc) 
• Use of 2 PC/Printers for printing titles or journaling (High Speed Internet Access included)
• Access to the on-site Camp Crop-a-Lot Scrapbook Store for basic supplies needed (Bazzill cardstock, adhesive, basic embellishments)
• Fun time with your sistahs

This is a BIG FUN affair, lots of laughter, conversation, music, dancing, movies and some scrappin' too!  And we get loud!!! All weekend long!  LOL!  

This event is hosted by Tiare aka Classygirl

How can you win?  It's easy.  Just tell me in 300 words or less, why YOU deserve this FREE retreat spot.  Also, attach a photo of YOUR CREATIVE THANK YOU to our generous donor.  Only those who are serious and are able to attend need apply.  Please send your submission to me at classygirl at mac dot com.  Submissions are due no later than Sunday, May 13, 2012 11:59pm est.  Winner will be announced and contacted, Monday, May 14, 2012.

Please email me if you have questions.

Good Luck!

Monochromatic Mood

I went into a Monochromatic Mood when I received the news that I would be an Auntie!  I started to reminisce the beautiful wedding a couple of years ago.  My brother found and married a lovely young lady that just happens to be my soror.  Now I’m going to have a sweet baby niece or nephew.   I pulled out a Jesse James Dress it Up pacifier from my stash and dressed it up with a little tulle & pearls.  Colorbok Nocturne pearlescent cardstock paper pad caught my eye and I went straight for my Cuttlebug embossing folders to bring in a little dimension.   I silhouetted the folder label and stamped the sentiment which is from Our Daily Bread stamps Scripture 1 Collection.  The Martha Stewart dove punch is attached with a pop dot and I placed the white edge punch above the embossing folder at the top.  The silver pearls, flourish bling and Jesse James ‘Bundle of Love’ embellie were just a few additions to bring it all together.  I can’t wait to mail this card to them.   

Bundle of Love

If you were to create a card or layout using one color, what color would you use to put you in a Monochromatic Mood?  Hope you are inspired to create.    

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother’s Day is May 13^th. It will be here before we know it. Mother's Day is such a wonderful day to honor the Mothers in our lives. I decided to share with you a card that I created for my Mother. I wanted to use an all time favorite, so I chose a stamp from my PSX collection. The company made so many pretties back in the day. There is nothing like using a favorite stamp to create a special card, especially for Mom…This particular card was made with an emphasis on coloring and creating texture. I used my copics to color the stamped image and layered it onto a Spellbinders die cut. The grid pattern background was created with my Scorpal. It added that subtle texture to the card that I love. The last touches were to add some symbolic embellishments, a vintage button and pearl pins.

Mother’s Day by Karen Jiles Supplies Cardstock: Copic, Close To my Heart; Stamp: PSX; Pins: Maya Road; Button: Advantus; Ink: Copic, Momento; Die: Spellbinders; Ribbon: Other

I really enjoyed creating this Mother’s Day card. I got a chance to play with one of my favorite stamps and some of my favorite products. So tell me, what will you create for Mother’s Day this year? Will you be using some of your Fav’s?

Enjoy your Mother's Day!

Karen

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