Scarlett's Scrapoirs

Getting Punky!

2012-01-27T11:32:00.000-08:00

Hey there! How's it goin'? Fantabulous here - the sun is shining and its 40 degrees - ??! - yes you read that right - 40 degrees on a WI January day. My DD went on a tubing field trip today and I can't think of any better weather.

So my title says I'm getting punky and that sure as heck is on. I discovered a new challenge site called Punky Scraps via Michelle's blog and couldn't be more thrilled because the challenges there are right up my alley. Lots of messy fun going on for reals!

While peeking around the site I saw this sketch:

Pretty sweet, huh? With a little rotation of orientation this is what I came up with:

I swear this is prolly the quickest LO I've turned out eva'! Everything fell into place the moment I knew what photos I wanted to use. That never happens people!!

Here's some deets for you to check out:

I loaded a stamp with paint for the border, attached the twine with a glue pen, and added some mist droplets. The clouds were stenciled on using a mix of Pan Pastels. My favorite part I must admit tho' is the title. I really like how the placement turned out and since I wasn't sure about it in the 1st place that's a really good thing.


This is one of my favorite iPhone photos. I'm sure I've already scrapped it and that's okay. Here you can see a bit of the journaling I added to the banner strips and the texture added to the chipboard frame. I did tat by using some Coarse Texture paste, let it dry, then dabbed on some Creative Inspirations paint.

Well that's all from me for today. Make sure you check out the Punky Scraps blog, there are lots of other challenges posted besides the sketch and you've got until the 31st to play along. Have fun!

Valentine ATC Tutorial

2012-01-23T13:31:00.000-08:00

Hey Friends, Happy Monday to you! Its been rather busy around my homestead these days. Nothing exciting, just lots of chores around the kennel now that Winter finally arrived in WI. Not that I'm pleased with that at all, but hey it is WI. I also took a slight break due to a nasty burn on my inner arm. Our cats:

Culprit #1

Culprit #2

They look sweet enough during the daytime, huh? All curled up snoozin'. But lemme tell ya' by night its a whole nother story. They love to romp, play, and chase each other - Okay, no biggie. They love to find little snibbles of stuff in my space and bat it around - Eh, not as okay but I guess. They often knock completed projects I've got on a drying rack down and each project somehow makes it behind our pellet burner - TOTALLY not happy about this at all. So it was on one of my ventures behind the ol' pellet burner that I nailed my arm ever so quickly on the back pipe. Not cool. Pain, swelling, and redness instantly. Blisters came very quickly after that. My story does end happily as I'm just fine thanks to some good tips from friends, but I'm still ticked off at the cats, LOL!

Alrighty moving right along to the tut! This is what I'm going to show you how to make:

The supplies you need are as follows:

Cardboard, mini buttons, chipboard and metal numbers, glitter (two different types if you have it), glass beads (regular beads would work fine too), paint, coarse pumice gel (any texture paste could be used), heart shaped cookie cutter

Step One: Mix pumice gel and paint together. Spread on cardboard base.

Step Two: Press cookie cutter onto wet pumice gel. This will serve as a shape holder.

Step Three: Pour glass beads inside of cookie cutter. Gently press down to help them stick. Sprinkle glitter around the outside edges of the cookie cutter.

Step Four: Remove cookie cutter and place mini buttons along the impression to create a heart. Using tweezers, add the numbers to the middle of the heart. Sprinkle extra glass beads on any bare areas.

There you have a quick and easy Valentine ATC, but wait you might be asking yourself what good does this do me? I don't make ATCs. Well I challenge you to think about how any of these techniques could transfer to your cards or LOs. Using pastes and gels to embed things on LOs and cards is just as cool. ;0)

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial and find something useful from it. I originally did this tutorial for Scrapbook News and Review Magazine last year. I'll be back again soon, until next time - take care and be blessed and a blessing to others.

A LO Just For Me

2012-01-14T13:41:00.000-08:00

Hey! Hey! Hey! It's Saturday and sunny gorgeous here, too cold, but pretty to view from inside. LOL.

I was working on some assignments this week and after I had started one I realized I'd used the picture before and abandoned the page. I don't really like using the same pictures over and over for DT assignments... gotta keep it fresh ; ). So after I finished off my tasks the page was staring me down and since it had a fav photo of mine on it I decided to finish it off.

Best Friends by Scarlett Salamone Supplies Cardstock: American Crafts; Patterned Paper: Crate Paper, October Afternoon; Doilies: The Chip Chop Shop; Rhinestones: Recollections; Stickers: Crate Paper, October Afternoon; Die-cuts: October Afternoon; Twine: Martha Stewart; Brad: Crate Paper; Pins, Ruler, Bead: Maya Road; Word Sticker; The Girls' Paperie; Gesso: Liquitex; Mists; Tattered Angels; Shimmerz; Paint: Plaid; Dies: My Favorite Things, The Cat's Pajamas; Stencil: The Crafter's Workshop; Other: Paper doily, felt lips

I had such a blast painting up the background and adding my favorite element - clouds - to the page. Lots of my fav bellies tucked here and there and I was one happy scrapper.

This page will go in my Book of Me I'm working on. I never understood how people just LOVED their dogs so much until I had two of my own that are oh so special. I can't explain how I feel when I hang out with them and play. So free of worry and care. Delightful bliss.

Here's a few of my favorite deets:

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend. Be blessed and bless others.

10 Things on the 10th

2012-01-10T20:12:00.000-08:00

Hey sweet peeps! I was browsing the internet today and I happened upon Shimelle Laine's blog. She had a post for today called 10 Things. The idea is to create a post on the 10th of every month sharing 10 Things. I thought that might be something fun to try and what's fab-u-lous is it doesn't have to be scrappy related.... any ten things go. I don't share a whole lot of stuff here other than my creations, but I am hoping to get a wee bit better about that in the New Year. This may be a fun way to incorporate and share other aspects of my life here with all you.

So here's my ten for today. I decided to do my last top creation recap and share my favorite mixed media heavy projects from 2011.

Reach High for the Stars - This is a canvas created for Scrapbook News and Review Magazine. Each month (just about) last year I made a step-by-step piece for a tutorial article.

Art Doll - This sweet little doll is hanging out on a shelf in my creative space. I loved using all the bits and pieces that brought her together.

You Are Loved - This tag holds some journaling on the back as part of my Attitude of Gratitude mini album I created in November while following along with Tessa's Attitude of Gratitude posts at Perfectly Precocious and Art Everyday Month at the Creative Everyday blog. I love this stamp and have had fun decking this girl out in many different ways. Mists, watercolors, and paints are my best friends for coloring stamps these days - add in a touch of paper piecing and I'm a happy girl!

Right Now - This is prolly my most favorite art journal page eva'!! Well up to this point at least, LOL. It all came together after a not so fab start - so great when that happens, right?

A Home - Another canvas piece for my article series. The texture on this one makes me giddy and I have a hard time not putting my hands on it! Good thing its hung higher up on the wall, hehe.

Enjoy the Journey - This is a necklace my sweet friend's gorgeous daughter wears from time to time. Her bedroom theme is Curious George so I always have a blast finding little things with monkeys I can make for them. I know a lot of people smoosh their bottlecaps before using them but I really love to keep them in tact and fill them up. They make terrific embellishments.

Always in my Heart - I had to include this page because its so dear to me for many reasons. This precious, beautiful young lady will always hold a place in my heart as a daughter of sorts. The story of our journey is well documented on this page and looking at it I'm amazed at how much I wrote - so not typically me. I also have a soft spot for this page because its the first background I ever created to build a LO up on. I'd use goops and such to add elements, but never the base.

I have no good clue what I titled this - but I adore it. I made the little dresses out of clay and delighted in hanging them up on the little clothesline.

To the Moon & Back - Since my son was little we've always said love you to the moon and back so it seemed fitting to make him a wall hanging - at 15 we don't say it quite as much ; ) - every once in awhile though and it warms this mama's heart. Lots of fun layers here and gotta love a paper towel roll rocket!!

I Think I Can - A simple ATC showing off my new favorite chipboard (and doilies - I seriously canNOT get enough of LeeAnn's doilies) from The Chip Chop Shop , a love of clouds and all things shimmery. Oh and don't forget the tar gel edge - LOVE that stuff!!!

So that's my 10 things. Here's to hoping I remember to do this next month, LOL. What 10 things can you share today?

Top 12 Cards

2012-01-09T04:21:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday All! I figured since I was a total creating lunatic this past year (I'm seriously embarrassed I prolly have more pictures of projects than kids/family at this point) I thought I'd share my top cards. I really got more into making cards this past year and fell in love with stamps, layering, and all the little details you can add to make a special little gift in itself.

January

Thank You - This was a card I created for my design term at A Walk down Memory Lane. The featured manufacturer was Imaginisce and this Fall line was right up my alley with all those fantabulous apples. Wanna know what made it even better?? This card was also featured on the Imaginisce blog thanks to my scrappy friend Kim. What I like about this card: the rich fall colors, the paper piercing and punches, the cutie lil' apple stamp, and the stamped sentiment on the twill ribbon.

February


Hello - Ahh, I love me some Sassafras Lass! I will so miss them, especially the old school stuff. ;0) What I like: The ribbon - ooo la la, I made it myself! Love that I found rayon seam binding at a local thrift store - speaking of I have to get back there - anyways, I misted the binding and then dried it, all crinkled up, in my microwave. Easy peasy and fast - no dry time waiting!!! I also made the somewhat clear bauble myself with UTEE and some glitter.

March

Welcome to the World - This is my most favorite baby card made - EVA'!! For real. I actually found the template online (sorry I don't have the link but will seek to give proper credit) and created the first version for a baby shower card order I had. This was a one-of-a-kind card for the mother of the expecting mother - make sense? LOL. Anyways I adored it so much I re-created the card for a call at SNR. What I like: the shape. I adore creating different shaped cards and this bootie just makes me smile. The rolled roses. These were done without dies or anything jazzy like that - just good ol' fashioned scissors. Although I must say I do love my dies!!

April

My Heart is Happy - This card makes me happy, happy. I think its all the bright colors, the textures, and the crepe paper flower. I totally need to get crackin' at making some more of those. I forgot how pretty they were.

May

Simply Put - This is the card I gave my hubbie for our anniversary in 2011. I was so pleased with myself because our anniversary wasn't until August I couldn't believe I was actually that far ahead of the game for once LOL. What I like about this card is the stenciled top. I used colored goop (molding paste I believe) over the top of a Tattered Angels mask. Then added some Gold Mica Flakes (I really got into using this stuff this year. So fab-u-lous! Then of course there's lots of fussy cut pieces and plenty of word stickers (<--- swoon!)

June

Hi - This card came together so quickly I distinctly remember being shocked. I usually gruel over every project I make no matter how big or small. I love that this card has plenty of cloud lovin' going on paired with a great big ol' sun courtesy of a Jenni Bowlin stamp. I used Echo Park and Lily Bee Designs on this card and using Lily Bee was a first.

July

Hey You - Some more OA lovin' going on with this card. I had a blast cutting apart all the paper doll pieces and putting them together in a scene. I also can't believe my eyes that I actually used my distressing tool to rough up the paper some. That's a rare occurrence these days.

August

Back 2 School - Not my son's favorite card of the year to receive but hands down its my fav of the year for shiggity! I had a blast adding paint, inks, stamps, and stencils to the background papers and building up with lots of fun embellishments. I also finally used that little boy and dog stamp from Sassafras. I had been waiting for a project to call for it.

September

Down on the Farm - I love country life and this card is so sweet to me. In fact I'll have a hard time parting with and may end up attaching some type of twine to make it home decor... maybe a frame? Hmmm.... anyhoo, this is a fav because I love all the farm related items on it including some of the OA fabric. I got it for a steal of a deal on Stitch Steals and boy was I happy!

October

Why Hello There - This card is created on a paper bag and made completely from scraps - love that! I also got down with my sewing machine (actually my hubbie's but he lets me use it now - YAY!) to give the card a patchwork feel and added the flower on top.

November

Give Thanks - I love Fall and creating any type of Fall card is right up my alley! I love the cluster on this and the background. Gesso has become a creative go to for me this year and I love how it can be used to slightly mask patterned papers so you can go over them with other mediums.

December


Merry Christmas - I didn't get the chance to stop by here to wish you all a Merry Christmas. I hope you and your family had a lovely day. What I like about this card: the mist and chunky glitter sprinkled about. The punched edges of the cardstock. the simple design and classic Christmas colors.

Well there you have it, my top 12 cards of 2011 - all chunky with lots of layers and embellishments - just the was I like it!

Hope you have a super start to the week. Be sure to leave me a link if you have any top 12 (or whatever number) posts. I'd love to stop on by and check it out. I'll be back tomorrow with one last top 12 post to cover the mixed media and altered items I made this past year.

New Year, Fresh Look, Top 12 LOs

2012-01-08T05:46:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Friends! Its so hard to believe a week has already gone by in 2012. I'm blowing the dust off this bliggity blog ( <---- my husband's phrase, LOL) of mine and decided it was time for a fresh look. What'cha think? I was ELATED to find a cloud background and I actually was able to edit my own header!! That's huge for anyone who knows me and my tech challenges. So grab a cuppa' your favorite beverage and sit back. This is a doozie of a post.

A new year brings out so much hope for what's to come. Many look to creating resolutions - I've never been a person to do this, not sure why but glad because I've never been let down by not fulfilling them. LMBO. Some are choosing a word to live by for the year - this is more appealing to me and I pondered choosing one last year although I never did commit to one. This year I've indeed chosen a word and will share that with you all soon. I thought about joining up with the Ali Edwards class and maybe that will be in the budget for next year. Other projects get kick started as well - Project Life seems to be a biggie this year. Are you jumping on this train? I'll admit I'm intrigued and have loved seeing many different examples of how people are going about it, but I don't think it's in the cards. My anal self needed to start this the first week of the New Year and since that's already passed......LOL....I'll be getting down with some of the numerous photo prompts that can be found out there. I figure the prompts will help me document things I may otherwise not think about. I'll be sure to share prompts here as I find them. If you know of any good ones do share. =)

Speaking of sharing, I adored looking at people's top 10 (or whatever #) lists of fav projects last year and this year as well. I never did get around to posting one last year and since I can't share the crazy amount of projects I've created over the last few months I figured this would be a fun way to get some projects posted and look back on my scrappy style and how it's changed over the year. Today I'll share my top 12 LOs from 2011 - one for each month (well kinda).

January

Waiting for Me - This LO definitely shows off my love of fussy cutting and layering, as well as mixing manufacturers up. I used Echo Park, Crate Paper, and Sassafras (miss them lots). This was published in a past issue of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine. This page is also dear to my heart because of the picture - its of me and my biological grandpa after meeting for the 1st time.

February

Ultimate Feast Throwdown - The kraft background (from My Mind's Eye) was perfect for this page. I loved working within all the gridded areas and had a blast creating my own embellishments and using stamps. I also used a ton of rub-ons on this page which is very rare. So this is a fav because not only does it show off my handsome fellas, but I also used up a ton-o-stash. That's always a good thing! This LO was also pubbed in SNR.

March

A Tinkerer's Dream - This is probably about the time I really made the connection of how to mesh my love for what I had been learning and doing with mixed media with my scrapbooking. I used lots of gel medium, Pearl Ex, mists, found items, and more to create this page, publised in SNR. It felt so good to create something I knew was uniquely mine and really tells a story about my son without even having to have words. He loves this page and has it hanging in his room.

April

Art Is... - This LO decks the wall of my scrappy space. I love it for many reasons - the grid design hooked together with jump rings, the fabric paper background I created myself, all the embellishments I either made or jazzed up, the different quotes and words - all little bits of what makes up me and brings me joy. Another page created for a past issue of SNR.

May

Imagine - May was a REALLY tough month for our family. My husband was severely injured and we were left wondering if he'd ever be able to function the same again. Praise God he is just fine and made a miraculous recovery. His therapists and doctors were amazed, as I was.
Scrapping time was at a minimum for me but deadlines for the magazine still called and this page was created for one of them. I think it really speaks of what I was longing for at the time - better, brighter, more colorful days. Lots of different mediums were used on this page along with stamps and stencils. I remember thinking the tide had turned after I did this page. My style had definitely shifted and using various mediums, along with my scrappy supplies, in a collage type manner was making me happy, happy!

June

Stuck Like Glue - Okay so here's where it gets hard for me to choose. At this point I'd abandoned what I felt my pages should look like per what I saw on online galleries, manufacturer blogs, etc. I made a very clear choice that I'm going to do what pleases me - most of the time that means loading up a page like this. I created this page for a DT assignment at MSW using a fabulous My Sketch World sketch by my chica Lucy and I must say by the time I was done with it the basics of the sketch were there but I made it mine for shiggity. I love doing that.

July

In Full Bloom - I love paint!!! - and at this point in th eyear no longer had any type of fears what so ever in using it! I had a TON of fun creating this page. Lots of collaged bits and pieces covered with layers of paint and stamps, glitter and goop LOL! I also went nuts with photos this month because I got an iPhone (love - like prolly too much, LOL)!

August

Campin' Cuties - I adore October Afternoon and could use their stuff all day long without needing anything .....okay let me not get carried away now haha..... seriously though I really do love working with OA stuff. This is a fav because of the photos, the stitching (yes I taught MYSELF how to sew this year - go me, go me!), the goops, and various items used. This month also kicked off the start of manufacturer events at Scrapbook News and Review Magazine. Boy oh boy did I create an insane amount of items!, sadly I can't share them here so the rest of my year's projects are slim pickings to share. LOL.

September

Treasure - Wasn't created in September but its favorite for sure. I love the pictures from my iPhone (I print at home, but am dying to try out one Postal Pix). I also love all the texture, stamping, and colors.

October

Too Pooped - What can I say, this is my lil' pumpkin (now just about 12!) and I adore this little 6x6 page. This also shows off my love for hacking the daylights out of some photos. I've been very inspired by Brit from Brits Scrappe Vegg. You should really go check her work out - totally cool for reals. Without cutting this photo apart, I never would have scrapped it. Now look at my cutie all nestled on some leaves, LMBO.

November

New Tryke - Another flashback LO cuz' I've got nothing shareable from Nov. yet. Super fun, colorful, and whimsical - just the way I like it and another photo I wouldn't have scrapped if i didn't cut my boy out.

December
was a time for family. I created to finish up deadlines needing to be met and to make some family gifts and had a bit of fun creating all sorts of packaging before things got too hectic. ;0) Anyhoo, rather than share a fav (cuz' frankly I've got nuttin') I thought I'd share some sneaks of what's to come:

I love Picnik!This collage was created there. So easy to use.

Quite the year for me scrappy wise. All of the above creations were published, at some point in time, in past issues of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine. I worked with numerous manufacturers and created many LOs, cards, altered items, MM projects, and more for events and articles pubbed and yet to come. I continue on as the Mixed Media Director for the magazine and look forward to a New Year filled with exciting adventures. You want to miss it. As far as my style goes some things I notice: I love clouds, color, and mixing it up. I have a freedom to my pages yet its organized. Organized chaos I guess. I am very much a freestyle scrapper, and really delight in bringing collage to my pages. I LOVE me some goops and all that training I had in high school, along with the knowledge I've gained from friends at SNR, has FINALLY made it to my pages. I struggled for a good long while at how to do so in a way that was mine. Not that I haven't been inspired by others but I like to take bits and pieces and do my own thing. I think for too long I didn't do that. I look back to those pages and can't wait to redo them. ;0) someday, right? LOL I've got many hopes for the New Year and I so look forward to sharing them with you. You lovely readers are such a large part of my journey and I feel blessed for having each of you be a part of it.

If you're still with me at this point, a HUGE thank you. I really do appreciate your visiting and love when you share what you think. It makes me feel all warm when I know I'm not talking to myself, LOL!

I hope 2012 is good to you and yours and filled with God's blessings.

Attitude of Gratitude - Day 11

2011-11-11T15:35:00.000-08:00

Hi again. How's your day been since I last was here? Just dandy over here.

Today I am grateful for this:

A new day. Very simple I know, but isn't it amazing how God gives a new day filled with endless possibilities? I look at this picture and I am filled with hope and faith that with every turn there is a new day waiting on the horizon.

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself," The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." Lamentations 3: 22-24

AOG/AED - Days 9 & 10

2011-11-11T09:35:00.000-08:00

What's shakin' friends? I've missed being here! My phone got froze up by a little someone I know using it to text her BFF so I was without for a couple days.....both phone and net. I have to tether my internet through my phone because of living in a dead zone, so it was a little rough. LOL!

I can't wait to see what everyone has been up to!

Attitude of Gratitude

I've been plugging along with my thoughts on gratitude and am making sure I let those I am grateful for know.

On the 9th I was grateful for the strength and energy to get chores done for our kennels. There are so many things to accomplish in order to be set for winter and since we had rain, cold, wind, and blech starting - I needed to get the girls set up. I'm grateful my kiddos had willing hearts to help me finish off what I wanted to get done when they arrived home from school. Don't get me wrong, they had no choice LOL, but they did so willingly.

Yesterday, the 10th, I was grateful for my crock pot and food to fill it with. I had forgotten how lovely crock pot cooking was. I made teriyaki chicken to go along with some sesame ginger noodles. Yum! I decided to play with some lenses and films with my iPhone in Hipstamatic (<----LOVE!) so here's a peek at the chicken cooking:

It made the house smell so, so good! I was grateful for crossing tasks off my lists and adding new ones. I was grateful for my hubbie being able to pick up our DD from basketball practice on his way home from work. I really was dreading having to go back out in the cold. Too bitter for this chickie. I was grateful for finding a couple of books I am ready to dive in to.

Art Every Day

On the creative front, I spent Wednesday and Thursday working away at some projects for upcoming deadlines and chipping away at a sketch. I've been determined to play along with my friend Heidi's sketch site, Sketchy Thursdays, for a LONG time, but always let something take its place of priority. So in celebrating art every day month I decided it was high time I get at one of those sketches in between the artsy tasks I had to get done.

Here's the sketch I used:

to create this LO:

Give Thanks 2 God

Tessa, from Perfectly Precocious, is sponsoring this challenge and in following along with her Attitude of Gratitude project the LOs have to have a theme of thanks in some way. I couldn't think of anything better to scrap than my vow to give thanks to God in the storms and sunny days of life.

Here are a few close-ups for you to enjoy:

I know this one looks almost exactly like the first and it basically is, only cropped to bring the bulk of the page a bit closer for viewing.

I played with papers, mists, paints, gesso, and beeswax to create this page and I love it! Thanks for the fabulous sketch Sketchy Thursday gals and I'm going to triple dip with this one and post it for an MSW challenge and send it off for the Crate Paper monthly color challenge. Fun, fun.

Hope your days have been creative and filled with joy. See you later with today's actual post. ;0) No more catch up, YAY!

AOG/AED - Day 8

2011-11-08T19:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Tuesday! What's shakin'? I had a really productive day here and am soo pleased. It was cold, really wet, and dreary so I really had no desire to do anything, but alas things were calling and I must say between the Attitude of Gratitude and Art Every Day project my heart is really in the right place. I feel open to many things and am ready for what's next on my path.

I'm grateful for getting much needed paperwork and mail items off to where they needed to be. I have still some things to take, but they can wait til' later in the week. I'm grateful for a husband who is supporting me fully in a new life adventure. Taking the time out to plan, research, and create for opening up my shop is no easy feat. I really want to have all aspects covered, but I also really want to launch this thing, LOL. Patience is a virtue I'll ever be working on. All I know is no matter how it all plays out, my love is right there by my side. I'm grateful for the vacuum working and remembering to take meat out of the freezer for dinner tonight. Seriously, this type of stuff really makes my day. When I can clip along humming to myself or chatting with whoever is around, its a good day. Today was good.

Art Every Day

The art was definitely going on for today as well. I clipped through 2 cards and 4 tags with barely a blink. YAY! I'm going to share my tags tonight. They will go in my Attitude of Gratitude album - check 'em out:

This one will go in the album. I already journaled on the back and its set to go.

A fun and funky stenciled, stamped, painted tag that I had no clue what to put on. There were no images speaking to me and then I say this stamp. Aha! That'll work beautifully.

Stamps, stencils, and scraps on this one.

This one will end up with some thoughts for my daughter on it. I love this sweet stamp from Unity Stamp Co and had the best time making her my own.

What have you been creating? Anything inspired you lately? I've been super inspired by all particpating in AED. Amazing, amazing work. I am so ready to go paint after seeing a beautiful quilt tonight. Ahh...its lovely to have so many ideas!

Blessings to you and yours tonight.

AOG/AED - Day 7

2011-11-07T18:33:00.000-08:00

Real short and sweet tonight friends because I am so very grateful that my whole lil' family is together again this evening. We're chattering away and enjoying each other so much. I'm so blessed. I even got to spend the entire afternoon alone with hubby. We went to run some errands and then had lunch together. It had been a really long time since we'd done this so it was such a treat!

Art Every Day

My art for today focused on some gratitude as well. I made a quick card using the Sunday sketch from 365 cards and my friend Bev's challenge from My Sketch World.

Here's my creation:

Give Thanks - outer

and the inner:

Bev's challenge was to make a peek-a-boo card. This meant create a window with something from the inside of the card showing through. It went perfectly with this sketch from yet another scrappy friend Pam at 365 cards:

Be sure to stop by both 365 cards and My Sketch World to play along.

Have super evenings!

AOG/AED - Day 6

2011-11-06T17:21:00.001-08:00

It's evening time and all is quiet here. Guess the weekend wore everyone out - how was your Sunday?

Today I was grateful for today. To have had nothing lined up on the agenda was nice. I hung out with my lil' lady - she's grown too quickly into a tween and is ready to take on the world. Of course I can't remember a point in her life when she wasn't. I'm grateful for my hubby and one of our dogs doing so well at a competition today...so well in fact they took 1st and qualified for a National level of competition. Too cool especially considering what he's been through over the past number of months. I'm constantly amazed. I'm grateful for my boy bringing home some fun pictures of cousins from Auntie's house. They are adorable and I can't wait to do something fun with one of them for her. A creative lil' present is in order I think.

Speaking of creative, I took today to work on a number of things while hanging out with my peanut, who of course was doing her own thing. I should grab some pictures of her stuff and post here soon too... anyways, I decided, after doing some other little finishing touch type work on some pieces, that I's make Sundays the day to work in my gratitude journal. Here's what I got done today, along with one more photo of the card from yesterday. I added some gold paint and like how it brightened the background.

I still have a couple pictures to add here. I want to some tiny, tiny prints.

And here's the updated picture of the card:

Now I feel like this is set to upload for Lisa's challenge. WooHoo! I haven't done a challenge for fun (beyond AED, LOL) in a LONG time. So happy.

Thanks for stopping by.

AED/AOG - Day 5

2011-11-05T17:32:00.001-07:00

Hey there. How was your Saturday? Pretty good over here. It was a really pretty day and I was able to get lots accomplished. Wanted to be sure posting here was one of those things.

Attitude of Gratitude

Today I was grateful for getting things accomplished. Everything I did throughout the day was something small in scale, but we know all those little things add up. ; )

I'm grateful for my DDs BFFs mom/coach (<---did you follow that?! LOL!). She has been so good to my peanut in many ways and to me as well. I love when I'm able to grab a chance to chat with her - always such good conversation. I really need to make an effort to plan something with her and I and the girls. I think it would be a blast....and I mean outside of a sporting event, LOL.

Art Every Day

I accomplished finishing off the second LO I had started yesterday. Its crazy because both the LOs I've completed since AED started have been 12x12. I haven't scrapped that size in a bit and it felt good to do that size again. One of them even had 4 pictures on it!!! My oh my.

I've also made a point to do things unrelated to deadlines, like this hand decorated piece of muslin fabric:

I started off with a scrap of muslin on my table and sprayed it up with some Shimmerz mists. Then I used some Ranger Archival ink to stamp some leaves onto the piece. You can vaguely see them. I really didn't have any good idea what I was going to do with this piece until I saw my friend Lisa's card challenge at My Sketch World. The challenge is to create a card with layers and the theme of thanks. I got to it and this is what I came up with:

Lots of paper, fabric, and paint layers going on. I think the background is still a bit too dark for my liking so maybe a bit of gold paint will be in order. We shall see. I always walk past a project a number of times before I decide its truly done, but for now I'm happy with this one.

What did you make today?

Attitude of Gratitude - Day 4

2011-11-04T19:34:00.000-07:00

One more time for today friends and I'll make it short and sweet.

Today I was grateful for hanging out with my boy. Its rare that we get time together one on one anymore, so being able to have dinner together was oh so delightful. He's growing up and in to such a fine young man. He's always a smile on his face (unless he's dealing with his little sister, LOL and sigh....), helps out willingly, and is to a place where he understands things more fully and on a different level. Its really rather cool to have conversations with him and hear all the haps in his life. Here's a picture of him:

He's the cutie with his hands raised in the air. As his team went by he threw his hands up and shouted, " WOOOO, that's my mom with the iPhone!" I was beaming with pride I tell ya', LOL! The fact my 15 year old still acknowledges me in public, around his friends, happily makes for a blessed mama right here.

I'm grateful to all of you stopping by to read these posts. Thanks for sharing in my slice of life. Its really rather different posting these posts instead all craft, all the time.

Night.

Art Every Day - Day 4

2011-11-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

Hey again. I love how AED is really pushing me to get something accomplished that I'm willing to share, LOL! Instead of just pushing things around on my table or walking back and forth, I'm completely focused and have so many ideas its insane..... the good kind of insane. ; )

Today began with working on a LO background for an upcoming deadline, putting the finishing touches on another, using leftover goops and paints from said LOs to create some AJ backgrounds, and finally (or at least for now) some tag bases (<--- These are what I'm sharing).

I really want to be prepared for Christmas this year with some homespun goodness, so I decided there's no time like the present to get started. I want to create a surplus of tags and other items for gift wrapping so I can grab and go. If I make enough then I'll put some in the shop I hope to open soon. But enough blabber. Here's the first shot of my tag bases:

I used some Avery tags and gave them a good misting. Then I stamped with some snowflakes and heat embossed them. Next came the really fun part. I got out two little tubes of rub n buff and rubbed and buffed to my heart's content, LOL. I really like the effect it gave the misted background.

I totally didn't want to cover these bases up, but I love to add all sorts of little details to stuff as well so I got to that part. Here's where the tags are currently at:

Maybe I should have shot at least one of these by themselves, huh? I could do that. Anyhoo, I punched some circles out of patterned paper, dry embossed them, and then coated them with some clear embossing powder....it looks really pretty, but you totally can't tell. I love doilies so I had to add them and an equal love is burlap so a little of that went on as well. I had some bits and pieces of trims on my table from my earlier projects and added those scraps to the bottom.

The tags are drying now with the addition of a punched blue scalloped circle and over that is some White Opaque Flakes gel. It really looks like snowflakes and I'm diggin' it.

I'm off to post my link at Creative Every Day and check out some others Day 4 projects. It is so amazing the variety of art being done so far this month. Definitely a cool thing to be a part of.

Until later, Happy Creating!

Attitude of Gratitude - Day 3

2011-11-04T04:11:00.000-07:00

Morning Friends! I didn't get a chance to come here last night, but wanted to be sure to pop in bright and early this morning to stay on track and accountable for getting my posts here.

There were lots of little things I was grateful for yesterday, but out of all the things I lifted up two stood out.

First I was grateful for God's strength and companionship. I really needed His presence yesterday and He was by my side, led me to some fabulous scripture that was just right for the time, and kept my heart filled with the positive as opposed to the negative.

I was oh so grateful for all of us being at home together for an evening. Typically someone (my husband most of the time) is out of the mix. Everyone has lots going on so having all of us together for dinner and hanging out was fantastic. Even when we were done hanging out as a foursome, it was fabulous to know everyone was at home.

Here's the quote from yesterday that Tessa posted:

She also has a great LO and other info posted on how you can play along with a challenge and take a free class. Be sure you go here and check it out.

I'll be back later today with some art and another gratitude post. Hope you have a fantabulous start to your day. Be joyful in all you do and make some time to make art!

Art Every Day - Day 3

2011-11-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

WooHoo! I am on top of it today boy! I didn't sleep well and the best thing to do when that happens is create. I got to it in the wee hours this morning and finished up my Attitude of Gratitude album cover. It started like this:

and now looks like this:

I used lots of stencils and stamps along with paint, gesso, mists, and my NeoColor crayons. The addition of some chipboard pieces and letters finished it off.

It felt really good to get something finished up so early, and I mean early LOL, in the day. I've got some chores calling my name, but after that I plan on getting back in my space. I think this time I'll be focusing on some stuff for the store I want to start. Maybe I'll be back later with some more art, as well as, my Attitude of Gratitude post.

Happy AED!

Attitude of Gratitude/Art Every Day Month - Day 2

2011-11-02T19:02:00.001-07:00

Today was hard. It was one of those days where any calamity that could go wrong just kept coming. What made it turn around was this quote from Tessa's blog:

That's a whole lotta seconds, isn't it? Although I hadn't gotten through all of them I knew I hadn't taken any of them up to the point where I was in my day to thank Him for anything. So I went about changing my attitude for the day. These are the things that really resonated with me today:

I'm grateful for having time during my day to sit and be alone with God. After I read this quote that's just what I did. I have a teen and a pre-teen and what they're faced with daily is unbelievable. I'm grateful they know Him and that He watches over them. The fact He has entrusted their care to me in amazing and I'm ever grateful and know I need to be doing more to help them know Him better. I'm grateful to have a husband that knew and loved God long before I did and still does today. He is an honorable, loving, kind, gentle man - perfectly designed for me. Wow. I feel so blessed to be with him.

I struggle a lot with inner issues and people pleasing. I'm grateful God has brought this clearly to the forefront of my life at this point right now. It is something I can no longer ignore because its destroying the person I could and want to be. I'm grateful for other brave women like, Virginia, that have realized this about themselves, been brave enough to share it, and do something about it. Check out this post to see what I'm talking about. The book she refers to is getting ordered from Amazon by me today.

Finally, I'm grateful for friends that 'get' me. I don't have many women I'd call true friends. I've had lots that could be considered acquaintances and even pals, but my true friends can be counted on one hand. They are the ones I know for sure in my gut I can trust with anything. I had the chance to talk for some time with one of those friends today and I'm grateful for that.

With an attitude change, the calamities of my day didn't stop coming, but they certainly were easier to take in stride.

Art Every Day stuff

I've been wanting to take some time to get some pictures of stuff around or house whether it be animals, buildings, or some of the fall colors - but it just wasn't happening. I decided today was the day, grabbed a dog and my phone, and off we went. Sadly, it started raining (ooo, was that cold!) and we had to head back sooner than I'd hoped for. I did get some pictures of some cows I'd been wanting to capture, so playing with the Hipstamatic app on my iPhone was my art for today. These 2 are my fav of what I took:

I love the one cow looking at me in this picture. I had been there for a bit with my dog and I think it finally wondered what in the world I was doing. I was the clarity of the cows was a bit better, but I still really like it.

I love the grainy, vintage look this one came out with.

I haven't decided if I'm going to scrap these photos, use them in my AJ, or both yet - super happy I have them now though. YAY for art every day!

Are you participating in either of these projects? If so, do tell. If not you should check them out. There is a TON of blogs and inspiration to be found at Creative Every Day, along with Leah's personal posts there, and the posts Tessa has done at Precocious Paper are really wonderful and heart warming.

Have good nights and see you tomorrow!

Off to a Good Start - Art Every Day Month/Attitude of Gratitude - Day 1

2011-11-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

Hey there, I'm back..... that's a totally good sign, LOL! I'm off to a good start and in fact I couldn't get these projects off my mind today. I was busy bustling along doing what needed to be done and thinking about all the things, big and small, that make my life amazing - even when I'm thinking otherwise.

Today I'm grateful for being able to watch beautiful sunrises from my living room window while the kids and hubby get ready for their days.

I'm grateful for my husband who gets up everyday (most weeks 7 days a week) to work and provide for our family.

I'm grateful for friends who make me laugh and not feel so alone in being a crazy lady at times, LOL.

I'm grateful for a new pup to the kennel settling in and knowing our home is now hers as well.

I'm grateful for this project.

I pondered throughout the day how I was going to best capture all of what I'm grateful for each day, along with some photos, and some contributions from my family. I decided I'd put together a journal with some Maya Road canvas pieces and a bunch of scraps. This is where the Art Every Day part comes in!

Today's art (so far) has consisted of a LO I can't show you yet, putting together my Gratitude journal, and painting/misting up the cover.

Here's the journal:

I'm not quite skilled yet on the best ways to photo journals so please bear with me. You can get the idea though, right? It has lots of canvas pieces and then paper cut mostly into 5x5 squares. Some papers are rectangles, there are tags, and I also busted out some journaling cards from Crate Paper. There are 30 pages so a front/back per day? I don't know, I'm not sweatin' it either.

Here's a couple peeks inside to see what makes it up better:

I started on the cover and can't wait to get back at it.
Here's what I have so far:

I'm not worried about getting it done tonight, but I would like to log Day 1's grateful entry while all is fresh in my head.

I'm off to post my link for Art Every Day. Until tomorrow I'll leave you with the quote Tessa posted on her blog for today:

Night!

Art Every day Month!!

2011-11-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends! Guess what?! Today marks the start of Art Every Day Month!

I found this happening on the Creative Every Day Blog. What's fabulous is this is a no pressure event. While the badge might say art every day month your interpretation of what art and creativity for the day is is up to you. This is the direct link to learn how to play along. Are you going to? Do share by leaving me a comment if you're playing along. I'd love to come visit you!

I'll see you later this afternoon/evening for my first posts relating to Attitude of Gratitude and Art Every Day Month. Happy Creating!

Attitude of Gratitude - 2011

2011-10-31T07:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday. Popping in quick to share that I found the monthly gratitude post I referred to yesterday. The full details are blogged about by Tessa on her blog Perfectly Precocious. The run down is basically to blog about your gratitude daily (or as frequently as you can) for the month of Nov. . Then you'll take those thoughts, writings, pictures and compile them into a mini album, journal, LO, etc. Here's the badge if you want to join in the fun:

Tessa has put together a really fantabulous kit to go along with this. I'm going to create my own little quirky journal for this today, but am seriously thinking about getting the kit for a later project. Head on over to her blog to check it out and join in with us! Do let me know if you're participating so I can pop by and share in this with you.

Until tomorrow then - have great days and be blessed!
Scarlett

Online Haps, a Few Projects, and a Bloggy Break

2011-10-30T09:06:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends. Its been awhile. How's it going in your neck of the woods? Fall has certainly arrived around here and its cold! Totally bummin' that the transition from Fall like pleasant weather went to cold so quickly. But Mother Nature has a mind of her own so we'll go with it LOL.

Alright so let's get at the list of things from the title of this post.

Online Haps

Here are some fun things I thought I'd share so you can check them out too!

Miss Wally, owner of The Chip Chop Shop, is having a giveaway!!! You may remember my post about receiving a parcel of goodies from her shop here. Well lemme tell you I'm ready to go back and shop because I've used almost all of the items I picked up! I can't share them here just yet, but can't wait until I can. Her items add such a perfect touch to various projects. So head on over to her blog and/or shop to see what all the fuss is about!

Scrapbook News and Review has a couple new events that went live this past week. Gauche Alchemy and EK Success Halloween. You don't wanna miss the inspiration/tutorials from either as they'll be gone before you know it. So head over there to check it and be sure to leave some lovin' if you stop by.

Here's a sneak of a project I have up:

Spooky, huh? LOL

Speaking of projects, that's next on the list. Here a few past projects, all published in Scrapbook News and Review Magazine:

Hey

Lots of Crate Paper used on this along with some inking, rock candy crackle paint, and some glitter glue.

New Grade

Its sad to say my son started 10th grade this year and I'm just now sharing this card. Oh boy. I've got a lot of back projects, LOL. I used some My Mind's Eye and The Girls' Paperie (I'll miss them and can't wait to try out Authentique). Lots of layering of patterned papers, a bit of hand-stitching to secure the banner in place, and some button love.

Rippin' Good Time

This is one of my all time fav LOs showing off some Cosmo Cricket lovin'. I loved this beach line and still have some left to play with (apparently I bought a bit too much ROFL). Anyhoo, the picture, stickers, layers of paper, bellies, oh all of it came together just the way I pictured. Believe me, that doesn't happen often.

Alrighty so last on the list is a bloggy break. Yeah I think I need one. I feel like I could be doing so much more here on my blog and I want to do more. I have lots of ideas, but rarely the time to really flesh them out and make them happen. So I've decided I'm going to take some time to do so.

Throughout November I'll be here to update with events going on and hoping to participate in a month of gratitude. I have to find the blog where I saw this and go back, but I really don't need any guidelines to know I should really be making an effort to be thankful for all the wonderful things God does in my and my family's lives on a daily basis. I also know there is a Create Art Everyday for Month going on somewhere too and I'd like to get at that. I need to get back to doing a tad bit of creating just for the fun and play of it.

The last thing I'll be working on is setting up my online store....yes, an online store!! I've wanted to have one for a very long time and I feel the nudge that now is just as good a time as any. I'll be stocking my store with handmade embellishements, tags, cards, canvases, journals, and more! I do hope you'll share in the excitement with me when I open.

If you've gotten this far, first lemme say WOW! This was LONG post and I appreciate you sticking with me. I'll see you throughout November and will be working away at creating a better bloggy spot for you to visit!

Have a fantabulous Sunday and God Bless!
Scarlett

Plain Crazy

2011-10-05T05:30:00.000-07:00

It makes me feel old every time I think how quickly time goes by. Do you know what I mean? Like when I was younger I listened to 'older' people say this all the time, "time goes by so fast." Me, being the youngster, thought time couldn't go quickly enough (mind you I was a rather awkward teen, LOL). Anyways, it's plain crazy to me we're already into October, where did the year go? It's plain crazy to me my son is going on his first real date this coming Friday. What happened to this mama being the only gal he needed? It's plain crazy to me my daughter has almost the same size foot as me and can share some of my clothes. What does she think is going to happen when I find out she snuck some of my clothes out of the dryer into her room (oh yeah, it's bad. LMBO)? Time goes by....quicker than we think.....I blinked and all this stuff happened, plain crazy I tell ya'. What's plain crazy in your world these days? Do share.... I need to know I'm not the only one. ;0)

Alrighty, so the theme of this post is plain crazy. Let's see what projects I have stashed away to share that might fit the bill.

Oh the Things You Can Think

This was a totally fun ATC to make. I started with a shredded paper base and built up with an image transfer, staples, beads, mini confetti, and text. The image is from Graphic 45s Steampunk collection; I love how well patterned paper works for transfers.

Seek It Out

This is a quirky lil' canvas I made. If I remember correctly it's 5x5, by I'm not completely sure on that. I had a great time mixing bold colors and patterns. I'm also pretty pleased with all the scraps I've been using up on canvases like this one. Does my heart good knowing I saved ALL those snibbles for good reason, ROFL.

BBQ at Claw's

I created this LO on a paper bag. I covered it with some geso first and then went to town layering paints, papers, stamps, ink.... you name it and it's probably on there somewhere. What I think is cool is how there's a lot of dimension to this LO, but not a lot of bulk. Very new concept for me, LOL. I even used machine stitching!!!!...... also very new to me.

So there you go some crazy projects and info from me for today. All the above projects were previously published in Scrapbook News and Review Magazine. Have you been to the site lately? There are new events live and ready for your viewing pleasure. Serendipity stamps, Technique Tuesday, and Jenni Bowlin are all going strong and loaded with tutorials, classes, and inspiration.

I've got some stuff posted for Jenni Bowlin, including a tutorial on how to layer papers, mediums, and textures. Go check it out; I think you'll like it.... at least I hope you do.

Hope the day treats you well, it is what we make of it, right? It's supposed to be gorgeous here today so I'm going to make sure I enjoy it while I can....I'll be doing chores, but at least it'll be warm and sunny.
~Scarlett

A Quickie

2011-09-29T06:42:00.000-07:00

Hey, hey, hey. Just poppin' in quick to share a couple projects.

Simply Put

This was my uber fabulous hubbie's anniversary card this year. I started with a circle card base, adhered patterned paper to the bottom, and used a mask with colored molding paste at the top. I'll whip up a tutorial for how to do this technique soon. In the meantime I do have a step x step card published in Scrapbook News and Review Magazine right now to show you how to do it. Once the paste dried I added some gold mica flakes. Again this had to be set aside to dry. Gold mica flakes go quick though. After dry time I went to town embellishing with fussy cut images, sequins, cardstock stickers (love), pearls, and pins.

Confidence

I've tried and tried my best to get this photo to edit out right and the colors still look off to me, aww well, what'cha going to do, right?

This is a LO of my daughter pitching her 1st game of softball. Her coach had been asking and asking if she wanted to pitch and told her she was more than ready. She could only take the mound when she found the confidence in herself. I'm so glad I caught this moment of her first pitch.

I surprised myself by going real girly and less sporty with this page, but I think it works to really focus the page on the topic, which is confidence, rather than the act of pitching a softball.

Alrighty, moving right along. How about one more and then it's a done one for today.

Casting Crowns

This is a collage LO I created on my favorite band, Casting Crowns. It's a Christian band that rocks my soul. I did an image transfer from the insert that comes with a CD to have the image of the band in the corner and the silhouette to the right of it. I layered on tons of different elements and mediums to create this and I'll work on some breakdown photos if anyone would like to see that. Let me know, K?

All of the above projects were previously published in Scrapbook News and Review Magazine. Speaking of which, another event went live my friends. The Serendipity Stamps mini event is available on the forum. Lots of really cool ideas on how to use stamps by my fellow staffers.

Here's to wishing you a beautiful day. I'm enjoying the fact we have a couple hour window here with no rain. Gotta scoot my boot out and take care of chores before it pours, LOL.

Blessings ~ Scarlett

Saturday Night Plans

2011-09-24T19:59:00.000-07:00

No I don't have any, LOL, how about you? Well..... if you're looking for something to get into and aren't feelin' the mojo at the moment, head on over to SNR. There are two spectacular events going on right now. The Studio Calico Team did an outstanding job; the inspiration, classes, and tutorials just keep coming and coming! Shimmerz went live tonight and it's jam packed as well. I had the pleasure of working on this team and let me tell you you won't be disappointed. If you;re looking for techniques to use with mists and the little pots of shimmer, look no further.

I have soo many projects I'm in love with this time around, so I struggled choosing a schnibble to share. I finally decided on this:

Is your interest peaked? This project has layers and layers of fabulous stuff going on and I've got tips posted for you to learn how to recreate some of what's going on. Check it out and be sure to leave love for the Studio calico team, as well as, my wonderful team members.

Hope you've had a wonderful day and are enjoying your evening or vice versa if you're a friend from a different time zone. = )

Blessings to you and yours.
~Scarlett

T.G.I.F.

2011-09-16T07:33:00.000-07:00

For real! It's been a long, crazy, hectic week around here. Boy oh boy. Lots of running around, kiddos getting sick and banged up from sports, big people trying to hold it together, LOL! So anyhoo, I'm really thankful for today and the fact I don't have to set an alarm tonight!

Thought I'd pop in and share a couple projects and tell you about some haps upcoming for the weekend.

I must say my love for paints and all things messy just keeps growing and growing. I can't help but get giddy every time I open a jar of goop or reach for a new stamp/stencil. In fact I'm anxiously stalking the mail today because my new Crafter's Workshop stencils should be here.... well part of them anyways.... a couple sold out and will be shipped later, I couldn't wait! LMBO, it's bad. But, I ramble so on to the projects.

God Given Treasure

Lots of messy goodness going on here and I loved every second of creating it! I used a random ripped piece of cardboard for my base and began adding layers of paints, stamps, and other mediums to create a background. Then I built up from there with all my embellies and pictures.

Here's some deets:

The frames for the pictures are from Maya Road and I jazzed them up by adding some homemade glitter glue. The deer is stamped on Ranger sticky back canvas and then painted with some watercolors. The cloud is chipboard, if I remember correctly, that I painted and then added some molding paste to through a stencil.

This is probably my favorite portion of the LO. I love all the drippy paint, shimmer from mists, and how the bird turned out, although I wasn't sold with how it looked at first.

Aren't those little duckies adorable?! They're Sass Lass stamps stamped onto sticky back canvas and then watercolored. The letters were made using raw Maya Road chipboard and decking them out. I've got a tutorial in the magazine if you'd like to learn how to make them and if you don't have a subscription, you really should consider it.

Tree Tag

A quickly made tag with a painted background, some book paper, a decked out Maya Road chipboard tree, and some stamps.

All my shares today were pubbed in the June or July issue of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine. Be sure you make your way over there to see the Scor-Pal event that's live right now and be on the lookout for The Cat's Pajamas and Shimmerz this weekend! I'll have sneaks of my projects and some more full projects to share as well. You won't wanna miss it.

There's also the My Sketch World ABC crop going on. Sadly, I don't think I'm going to get to play this year, but if you're looking for a fun place to hang, be inspired, and crop....it's the place to be for shiggity.

Thanks for stopping by today, and a big Hey Gurl! to my new followers: Chantal, Heidi, Barb, Natasha, Veronica, and Dawn. I hope you find yourself getting creative at some point and if you don't think you have the time, make it. (insert a big cheesy grin here please).
~Scarlett

Check It Out

2011-09-14T19:44:00.000-07:00

Say what, say what. Check it out, say what. LOL....sorry 'bout that. I've been watching a lot of high school football and this year DS has cheerleaders so I digress... anyhoo you SHOULD check out the Scor-Pal event that just went live at Scrapbook News and Review tonight!

My fellow staffers and I had a great time coming up with inspiration, classes, and tutorials for you so be sure to take a peek.

Speaking of peeks, here's one of something I created for the event:

This is a snippet from one of my class projects. Head on over to see the full step by step instructions.

That's it for tonight, off to go create. I've got a zillion ideas running through my brain so I'd better do something with them, huh?

Hope you had good days, catch you all later.
~Scarlett

Look What Came Today and Some Painted Papers

2011-09-12T19:14:00.000-07:00

Hey there Peeps! Happy Monday to ya'. Did you have a good one? The day flew by here and left me with feeling I hadn't gotten nearly enough done. Alas, the night is young and my nap was hefty, LOL!

So I am totally JACKED up about what came to my house in the mail today! Check it out:

Oooo-la-la, right? This fabulous stash of chipboard and dyed doilies came from Leeann Pearce's Etsy shop, The Chip Chop Shop. She is based in Australia and I seriously can't say how excited(overly) and pleased(extremely) I am with my purchase. The only problem is I wish I would have gotten more right from the jump. LOL. Anyhoo, check out her blog, she is fantabulously talented and her shop, I can't wait to alter these bad boys up!

So, over the weekend I was working on some assignments and decided to paint up some papers to use for backgrounds, collage, whateva'. I used Canson Mixed Media paper for all the squares. This is what I've got going on so far:

On this one, I brushed on a layer of gesso and then used a homemade stamp to leave an impression. The stamp is made out of nuts or bolts (always get them mixed up, LOL) and I'll share a tut on how to make your own sometime this week. After that dried, I brushed on some Lumiere paint and then stamped with Ranger Archival ink to create the pattern. The last thing I did was add some Diamond Glaze to the hearts. I want to go back over this with some more paints to have the resist effect show through.

Here you can see the texture a bit better:

For this one I brushed on some gesso, scratched into it in certain areas, and painted. Then I stamped some hearts using a sponge stamp, outlined them, used a stencil to get the yellow hearts down with paint, and drizzled some fluid acrylics. To get my splotches, I had fun playing with an eye dropper and blowing bubbles.

Here's the last one:

This is my fav of the bunch. Love, love the greens and hints of blue. This one was created by brushing on gesso, stamping into it with a sentiment stamp (you can vaguely tell, but the imprint is there), painting over it with fluid acrylic paints, and then using a patterned paper towel to lift up some of the color. I love the effect it left. I continued on by outlining the heart imprint left from the sentiment stamp with my Zig marker (pen? never sure what to call it) and then I painted that in with a magenta fluid acrylic. The last thing I did was to mix up my own embossing powder to use on another sentiment stamp, which I stamped over the hearts.

Here's a close up:

You can really see the shimmer of the embossing powder in this shot, as well as the imprints of the letters 'I' and 'U'. Can you see them?

Alrighty that's it for tonight. Lots of fun stuff coming up this week at SNR so be sure to check back to see the haps.

Thanks for stopping by, hope your day was filled with smiles.
~Scarlett

Friday Haps

2011-09-09T16:12:00.000-07:00

What's shakin' blog friends? Not much here. We survived the first week back to school, have had quite a few football games to attend at the high school, and DD is at her first official dance tonight. It's amazing she actually got out the door with all the clothes changing that was going on, LOL! Oh I remember the days well.

So let's see, I just posted my second Donna Salazar class over at Scrapbook News and Review on the front page. Here's a snibble of what's in store for you:

Sorry for the blur, but I had to crop close. You can check out the entire workshop by heading here.

In other scrappy news, the ABC crop is in full swing over at My Sketch World. The first week deadline is the Sunday night at midnight Eastern time. I haven't even started yet, but that's okay because this weekend is free of new challenges. Perfect time to catch up or join on in if you haven't yet.

Finally some projects to share. These are from last year toward the beginning of the school year. I don't think I've shared them here so now seemed like a good time. =)

Favorite Teacher

Lots of October Afternoon goodness on this LO. I mixed some Cherry Hill with Report card and threw in some Jillibean Bean as a background. I had a blast digging through my stash to find all sorts of school related embellies to include on this page and then I layered away.

10 Cool Things About You

This Lo is a mix of Sassafras Lass and Jillibean Soup, along with some Cosmo Cricket rub-ons and Sass chipboard. I was thrilled with how this page came together and since 2 years have passed since I did a page like this about my son, I guess I better get at it again, huh?

And since our county fair just wrapped up over Labor Day weekend, how about a set of county fair inchies to end the day with.

Very simple, but will certainly be a cute accent to a project with our fair pictures or maybe an art journal page with these on it and some journaling about the tradition we've started since moving to our town.

All of the above projects were previously published in past issues of SNR.

Hope you have a fabulous start to your weekend, thanks for stopping by.
~Scarlett

Extra! Extra!

2011-09-03T15:51:00.000-07:00

Read all about it over at Scrapbook News and Review. The Donna Salazar event is up and it's HUGE, lemme tell ya'! There are numerous classes, tutorials, and tons of inspiration posted for you to delight in.

I had the pleasure of being a part of this team along with many other SNR Staffers. I've got one class posted and another coming, along with some eye candy pieces.

Here's a sneak of one of my projects:

Head on over to SNR and discover what thread this is in and have a blast checking out what other projects are there!

At Last.....Flower Tut for You!

2011-09-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends! Well I did have this all drafted and then a few things took me away from blogging for a minute so I decided to start all over. New month, fresh post, right?

So without anymore chatter here's the Felt Flower Tutorial I promised (albeit late... :( sorry)

This is the ATC I shared in a previous post showcasing a tiny version of the flower we're going to make:

Let's get started!

Step One: Cut a piece of felt 9" long by 1.5" wide. Run a line of adhesive along one edge and fold the other edge over to meet it. Secure the edges together making sure not to squish the loop formed too much.

Step Two: Cut fringe into the loop edge of the folded felt. In this picture I cut the yellow piece in half so you can see it's the same process no matter what length of felt you're using.

Step Three: Begin rolling the fringed felt. Start from one end and roll until you reach the other end. Secure the end with adhesive.

Step Four: Fluff up the flower loops by using a chop stick or other tool. Adhere to your project for a fun custom made flower.

Easy enough, right? I'd love to see if you do anything with these flowers so be sure to leave me a link if you do.

I'll be back again soon with some more projects from SNR to share. In the meantime if you're looking for something fun to do head on over to My Sketch World. There's an ABC crop going on right now and you won't want to miss all the fun in store this month!

Hope you have a fabulous day!
Scarlett

Drive-by Post

2011-08-24T17:28:00.000-07:00

I'll be back later with my promised tutorial for you all, but I had to pop in to tell you to get your tail feathers on over to Scrapbook News and Review to check out the Rubbernecker stamps event. The stamps are amazing and so are the projects! There's also a $30.00 prize pack up for grabs....wink, wink, nudge, nudge! But seriously there are some really amazing projects, classes, and tutorials all ready for you to enjoy.

Here's a teeny peek at my favorite piece from the event:

Please do head on over and see this in full! If you do, be sure to check out all the other threads, as well as enter yourself to win some fab Rubbernecker stamps of your own.

See you at SNR!

Monday Madness

2011-08-22T15:21:00.000-07:00

So I've got the pictures all taken for the tutorial I wanted to share here. I've got to edit the pictures and get the tut written up, so hopefully I'll have a tutorial Tuesday for you tomorrow! YAY!

In the meantime, I'll share some projects published in past issues of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine.

Bless This House

This card was created and pubbed for an arrow shaped card call. I started off with an arrow base and when I saw it laying on my table pointing up I instantly thought of a house. Go figure.... I've got a slight obsession in including them in my creations. LOL

Wander ATC

This is probably one of my favorite ATCs. I created the background by painting a paper towl, then stamped here and there. I added the foil butterflies, colored with alcohol inks, and then the image transfer. To complete the gypsy feel, I made some charms and inked up a word charm from Tim Holtz.

Freshman

Wow, I can't believe how fast 2011 has gone. I made this LO last Fall to document my son starting high school. It's tough to swallow he'll be a sophomore this year! I had fun with some masking on this LO and now that I look at it a year later, I think I need to go back and hit those letters up with a black pen or some NeoColors. The tag sticking out is covered in chalkboard paint and the journaling is done in chalk that I sprayed with a fixative after. In hind sight I think I would have rather used white pen or paint. The writing would have looked nicer and I could've gotten more on it. I'm all about the journaling these days..... shocking I know! LMBO

Alright one more because I couldn't resist it.

Laundry Line

Hands down this is my favorite tag EVA'!! It was a labor of love for shiggity, but oh so worth it. The dresses are created out of polymer clay. I baled them up and then painted, stamped, and embellished them. The background is real simple, paint and some stamps/drywall tape. The grass was made out of some specialty paper. I've been really trying hard to work through my stash of things and I'm pleasantly surprised at how many uses I've found for this paper stash. I think I might punch out a butterfly (or 2 or 3 LOL) and add them to the clothespins. They look a little nekkid, don'tcha' think?

Hope you've had a wonderful Monday. See you soon.

Something for Saturday

2011-08-20T19:57:00.000-07:00

Even though the day's wrapping up, I thought I'd come here and remind you of the haps going on RIGHT NOW at Scrapbook News and Review. There are three, count 'em three forums full of inspiration, tutorials, and classes. Prickley Pear Stamps, Nikki Sivils, and SRM are all up.

Here's a teeny sneak of one of my Prickley Pear projects:

I know it's just a tiny peek, but head on over and check out the Prickley Pear thread to see the full project. And if you need a nudge, there are so really FABULOUS prizes to be won people! LOL

Alright, so I have yet to share here I recently became the proud owner of an iPhone. I must say I'm giddy with it, other than a few snags we've had along the way with having to switch carriers. Anyhoo, that's a whole other blog post...... what you should not do when switching phone carriers!

I was so jacked up to get one because of all the cool photo apps. Never did I think I could become hooked on apps, but me oh my! I have. Here are a few photos I've taken using Hipstamatic so far:

This is my fav. I love everything about it, but mostly the subjects, my DD and her BFF.

Hope you've had wonderful Saturdays. I'm off to create!

ATCs for Friday

2011-08-19T05:40:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends! Happy Friday! Do you have big plans for the weekend? My DS has his first football game tonight and DD has some softball stuff, but other than that it'll be a relaxing weekend.

I have a bunch of ATCs, previously published in Scrapbook News and Review Magazine, I've not yet shared here so I thought that would be fun for today.

Spring is Here

Spring has been here and is gone, just like summer's about to be. YIKES! How did it go by so quickly?? To create this ATC, I started off by painting the base with some spring colors. Then I stamped over it with a script stamp and then again with a flower. After that I added the papers, flowers, and trim. I love those little felt flowers and will work on a quick tutorial for those today to share this weekend. I really want to get at giving you all some more tutorials and fun stuff throughout the week! WooHoo!

Dare to Be You

I must say when I made this ATC never did I imagine I'd love how the shades of purple looked. I do however and it's becoming a more used color in my world thanks to my BFFs hubbie. To create this ATC, I painted the entire base with shades of blue and magenta. This mixed into all the purple shades you see. Then I spread some light molding paste through a negative punch of a butterfly and some faux punchinella I created with a hole punch. Then I went over with paints again. Next I added lots of glitz and shimmer with some Perfect Pearls. My BFF hooked me up with some amazing colors and they are outta this world! I dusted the PP on the butterflies as well as little dabs here and there over the whole piece. To adhere the star confetti, beads, and the bling, I used some gel medium.

Rock Star

This was such a quickie! I brushed on some red paint, went over with white paint on bubble wrap, attached the corrugated cardboard with gel medium, added black paint and embellies and I was done.

Fly Away

This one emerged from some playing I was doing with light molding paste. I wanted to try out carving into it and creating a background. First I laid down a generous layer of light molding paste and then carved my cloud shapes in it. I set this aside and let it dry overnight (24 full hours to be exact) then I went back in and added paint and some Diamond Dust with gel medium. The last touches were the butterfly and writing the words fly away. I love Sakura pens! I was amazed at how well it wrote over the painted paste.

Well before I leave today, I have a few questions for you. I really want to beef up my blog and have this be a place where you can come for inspiration, how tos, and more. In order to do that, I'd love some input from you all! =)

What would you like to see more of on this blog? Scrappy stuff, tutorials, mixed media stuff....

How many times per week would you like to see new posts?

Tell me something about yourself. I'd really like to get to know who stops by.

If you can take just a few moments and share what you're thinking I'd be beyond elated. Like I said I really want my blog to become more interactive and less just eye candy posts. I have lots of ideas (some in the works already) and would love yours!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by. Have beautiful days with much laughter!
~Scarlett

New Issue Available, Some Projects, and Weekend Haps

2011-08-18T05:45:00.000-07:00

Hey Everybody! Well it was a little longer than a day, huh? BUT at least it didn't take more than a week for me to get back here. LOL

I've got lots to share and don't want to keep you reading on forever so let's get started with the new issue of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine that is available for your viewing pleasure. Each issue is chock full of eye candy and inspiration, tutorials and article, and more! There are all types of projects from scrappy pages to cards to mixed media delights. Here's this month's cover:

You get all of the above for only $4.99 a month and what's great is you can view the last 3 months of issues as well. If you're worried about being able to save your fav articles or tuts, have no fear! You can right click and save anything you'd like. So what are you waiting for?? Head on over to Scrapbook News and Review Magazine and pick up your subscription today!

Now some projects!

I've really fallen head over heels in love with doing canvas work. In fact each month in the second issue (yep that's right, 2 issues per month!) I do a step by step breakdown of one so you can try it at home! Let me know if you check it out. The canvas I'm sharing today however was for a call using deco scissors. Deco what? you say. Yeah, deco scissors. I had to blow the dust off mine, but am soo happy I did. Check out the project:

Say a Little Prayer

All the patterned papers I used on this piece were cut with some type of deco scissor, with the exception of the fringe at the top. That was done with the Martha Stewart fringing scissors. Are those consider deco? Hmmm... anyways, I made this canvas for my DD. It has special meaning to us and she was elated when she saw the outcome. Now to get her room revamped so we can hang it up.

Close up:

I had to share a close up of the birdie's legs. They're my favorite part of the piece, LOL. I made them by taking some beading pins and putting beads on them. I created a loop at the bottom to hold the beads in place and attached a jump ring. From the jump ring hangs two tear drop shaped gems from Maya Road though they're hard to see in the picture. For me this was the perfect touch of whimsy to make this project special.

Up next a LO:

In My Life

This LO was created for a fussy cut call. The October Afternoon 5 and Dime papers worked perfectly for this. I love all the little farm paper dolls and animals. I used lots of paints, pastes, gesso, and other textural elements. In my life I've had all the animals in the pictures as pets. What makes it hilarious is that it's only been within the last years I've actually lived on a farm!

Here are a couple close ups:

And finally a card:

Much Thanks

Much thanks first and foremost to all my friends that stop by here. Your comments make my day and I love knowing when someone's visited. So thank you all for stopping when you do.

I created this card based off the card sketch for SNR (yep there's sketches in every month's issue) and while my take always seems to go a stray from the sketch I love it anyhoo. Used lots of paint, gesso, light molding paste, stamps, tapes, and more to put it all together.

Now on to some upcoming haps at Scrapbook News and Review. I don't know if you know, but there is some majorly cool stuff going on over there! SNR has hooked up with a number of manufacturers and every Wednesday and Saturday there are events going on to showcase inspiration, classes, and tutorials. It is awesome to say the least. This weekend Prickley Pear Stamps and Nikki Sivils will be featured and last night SRM stickers went up. You can also view We R Memory Keepers until Saturday when it'll be taken down. Oh and did I mention there are a TON of prizes you could be entered to win?? They're good too, on the real. So be sure you make your way to SNR you won't want to miss out.

Phew, a little long winded huh? Thanks for sticking with me. Hope you have beautiful days!
~Scarlett

New Projects to Share

2011-08-12T05:23:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends! So sorry my blog has had tumbleweeds blowing through it, but summer days are busy and I've been planning some fun changes. Until all that gets underway though, I thought I should share some recent projects I've made for Scrapbook News and Review Magazine. Have you been to the site lately? If not, you totally should get there ASAP. SNR has paired up with a number of manufacturers and there is inspiration, classes, and tutorials galore available for you to view on the forum and front page. Crate Paper and TaDa are being featured right now, but again, hurry because Crate Paper will only be up for a little while longer.

Okay on to some projects. All of the following were published in the June issue of SNR.

New Doll

This is a picture of my daughter on Christmas a couple years ago opening an "American Girl" doll. She has one real one and the rest she gets are faux. I love that she adores the faux ones just as much as the real ones.

The idea to create a house shaped LO seemed fitting and I'll admit it was totally fun to create a little dollhouse LO with furniture and everything LOL!

Here are some close ups for you to peep out:

I'm so glad I finally found a use for that clock from October Afternoon's Modern Homemaker chipboard. I grew up with a clock exactly like that in my house.

My daughter even gave up one of her prized American Girl doll stickers so I could include it on this LO. That's saying something because she treasures them like gold! LOL

Next up Rainbows

The full quote on this LO says Rainbows without rain are gifts from God. One of my favorite quotes and so true.

I had a blast painting up the background paper from Crate using watered down acrylic and fluid acrylic paints. Then I used a stencil to dab on the pearl circles. Next, I stamped the letters, border, and title using black acrylic paint and a mix of foam and clear stamps. Once all that was dry, I laid out my papers to create the grid, placed the photo on top, add butterflies, and some letters and called it a done one. This was featured on the front page of SNR so if you'd like to see step by step's head on over there.

Let's see one last project I think (mainly because I always have good intentions of coming back here "tomorrow", but sometimes tomorrow takes a while in blog land. LOL).

Love You

This card was published for a using mists call in the June issue of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine. I wish the picture could really show of it's glitzy glam look. This card sparkles! A couple quick notes on the card: I used coarse texture gel on the heart and then sprayed over it HEAVILY with mist. Love the two tone look this created. I created the lollipop flower out of misted muslin cloth and then used Studio Calico stamps over it. The animal printed heart was created out sticky back canvas made by Ranger. It was misted all yellow first then I placed a stencil over to get the animal print. The wings are chipboard covered on modeling paste by Liquitex. To get the texture I used a toothpick. The other things done on the card are more obvious, I think, but if you have any questions feel free to drop me a line. I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks for stopping by today. It felt really, really good to blog. I need to do this way more often!

Don't forget about all the exciting happenings going on at SNR. You don't want to miss a beat and as a bonus there are going to be some amazing giveaways. Have you gotten your subscription to the mag itself? Oh me oh my, it's an amazing resource in soo many ways! I've learned so much. The new issue comes out Sunday so when you're there checking out the forum, be sure to get your subscription. At $4.99 a month, you can't beat the price!

Have lovely days friends. Blessings.
Scarlett

On a Roll...

2011-07-09T09:04:00.000-07:00

with my posts! I feel like I may just be getting my bloggin' groove back.....giggle......

I have more projects to share from past issues of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine. I feel like I could probably post like 6 projects a day for the next year and still not be caught up.....I need an Oh My! face here.....laugh..... so I hope you enjoy another hodge podge post of projects..... smile.....

A Tinkerers Dream

I have to see this will probable forever be a favorite LO of mine. I worked really hard on this and am so elated with how it turned out. I made this LO for a Steampunk call and it was inspired by the work of Finnabair. She has a very distinct style and I'm drawn to the way she uses unusual items on her pages and blends them in to the whole. I'm looking forward to experimenting with this in a brighter more whimsical fashion..... suits my style better..... wink......

Now I know I said yesterday I wasn't going to do this..... you know post a ton of extra pictures......sigh.... I couldn't control myself on this one.....LOL.....

I used a lot of heavy gel and Lumiere paint to create all the texture on the background, which BTW is cardboard. Then I dug through a jar I had full of nuts, bolts, and others odd items. These were embellished and added to the LO along with the papers from G45's Steampunk collection.

The idea for this LO was in my head and idea notebook for so long. Really shows my son's daydreamer side. And believe me this is exactly the type of stuff he envisions. He truly is a tinkerer.

I Love Lucy Inchies

Some funky inchies made on muslin sharing my love for Lucy...... the woman makes me laugh and I adore watching reruns.
I did an image transfer onto the muslin and then added paper bits all along the edges. I used a wtaer/lue mixture to adhere the bits onto the fabric. I added some machine stitching....aww, yeah that's right....I taught myself how to sew!!..... go me..... I don't use it a lot, but I'm just glad I can say I can do it now and use it if I want to..... wink.... To finish them off I added the text with a paint marker, added jump rings with beads along the bottom, and coated with gel so I could sprinkle some Diamond Dust on them.

How 'bout a card to finish off with for today:

Welcome Baby

Love this sweet lil' baby bootie. This is a card I've made for commissioned baby shower invites as well as for the baby cards call at SNR.

Have a super day and thanks for stopping by!

Projects to Share

2011-07-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

I love being a part of the Scrapbook News and Review staff. I have been pushed creatively and love every minute of it. I create like a lunatic each month and have so many wonderful projects I'm always dying to share here and before I can I'm all caught up in creating more.....giggling......so I thought I'd try and get some of those posted today to share. I'm not going to do detail shots, but if you'd like to know more about any of the projects I share feel free to email me. I'm going to add a contact link on my sidebar. I think this will help me feel like I can share more because I won't be going back to old projects and trying to edit out new pictures. So let me know what you think. Do you want to see deet shots and bit of explanation here or would you rather just see some projects and ask questions if they pop up?

Phew, chatty today aren't I?! On to the creative business at hand.

Discover

This is a wordless LO I created for a one word title call. It's made on sticky back canvas and basically the only things I used to create this were: paint, buttons, UTEE (the letters), glitter, and a few rhinestones.

Fly Away

This is an ATC created for he Strut Your Stuff call. This was such a fun project to work on. The background is molding paste I carved into with a chopstick I believe. The sprinkled some glass glitter on it and let it dry. Once it was dry I painted over certain areas and added the butterfly with some heavy gel.

Debutante

This card was created for a sketch call. I think by the time I was done, my card may not have looked much like the sketch any longer, but the basic design is there. I wish the pictures of this card could show all the additional mediums that were used to change up the papers and add texture and glitz. I used pearl ex on the papers to highlight certain areas, my own glitter glue mixture for the wings, embossing powder, and Sakura glaze pen for the crow. It's really gorgeous in person.

And how about a set of inchies to end with. They're so cute and fun to do!

Birds and Bees

These were done for a fabric background call. I used felt and stamped on it with a stamp I carved myself along with paint. Then I outlined the squares with faux stitching using a puff paint. The flower is made with yarn on a cardstock circle base. Add a few birds and bees along with a button and called it a day for these. I think they're totally adorable.

Alright, well there you go. Some new projects to check out. Hope you enjoy looking at them, let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you. Be sure to head on over to SNR. There's a great forum to join in on, fabulous front page projects, and of course the magazine itself is off the chain!!! For real. If you don't have a subscription, I have no idea what you're waiting for!!!!

Have a great day!

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

To all my American friends. Hope you've had a wonderful day with family and friends. We had a lovely day filled with a bit of relaxation, some grilled food along with salads, and of course fireworks! I still love them as much as I did when I was a kid.....laugh....

So anyhoo, thought I'd pop back and post some art journal pages I've done. These have all been shared over at Scrapbook News and Review on the front page, so if you're looking for any details on how these pages were put together, head on over there for some step x step instructions.

Be Happy

A Glance at My Week

Note to Self

Have you started an art journal? have you thought about it? What are you waiting for? It's such a great way to get in a little shot of creativity and to try out some new techniques. If you give it a try, please share a link where I can find your pages. I'd love to stop by.

Finally

2011-07-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

a post! WooHoo! My poor neglected blog. My intentions are always good, just not always seen through...wink.... So thank you for bearing with me and dropping by when you do. I have some exciting things planned ahead and I am hoping life will align to make it all happen so I can share with all of you! In the meantime, what I can share is my 2 creations for My Sketch World's July card and LO sketch.

First up the card sketch. Here it is:

Fun sketch, right? Here's my take on it (an ATC of course....cheesy grin):

Hug Your Kids

I really am diggin' these new papers (Odds and Ends) by Cosmo Cricket. My favorite are all the little girls and the words. The background for this ATC is a crinkled cardstock background with some Perfect Pearls dusted on. Love how the patterned paper picked up some of the texture, but not all. I put my Cuttlebug to work with some dies for the burlap and felt.
Here's a different angle:

Next up the LO sketch:

Another good one, huh? Miss Lucy rocks out the sketches that's for shiggity!

Here's my take on it:

No More Waiting

I rotated the sketch to the left and love, love, love how this turned out! I really think I have finally found my mixed media mojo when it come to adding it into my LOs. I had so much fun creating this it's insane! I used lots of different manufacturer's items to create this freestyle whimsical page.
Here are some close ups:

Lots of bellies both store bought and hand made. For the tree I created the leaves with a die and then added texture paste to the chipboard trunk. I used Shimmerz on the clouds and sewing paper, and love how the twine circle on the photo turned out.

My molding paste butterfly with some glass glitter. I used a Tattered Angels glimmer screen and spread the paste through. Thought this was a fun replacement for the circle on the sketch.
One more funky angle for ya':

Be sure to hop on over to MSW so you can play along with the sketch challenges and all the other challenges the DT have posted right now. Lots of great ones!

Until next time (which is hopefully sooner than this was), have a beautiful evening, hug your kids, hug your hubbie, and be blessed.

ATC Challenge

2011-06-08T09:11:00.000-07:00

Is it hot by you??!!! It is crazy hot here and I am glad to have a day to stay inside (mostly) and scrap. Hope you're finding plenty of "cool" things to do.

It's my month at My Sketch World to host a challenge and I'm all about havin' my gurls there try new things so I went with an ATC challenge. I did this the last time I hosted a challenge and it was seriously cool how many friends played along and how amazing their creations were! So I know they're going to blow my mind again.

My challenge is to create an ATC with the word BLISS as your inspiration. You can use the word, be inspired by the word, share an ATC that shows what brings you bliss, whatever......just make an ATC about it! Here's what I came up with:

I haven't decided what to title this yet....hmmm....if any of my fabulous blog friends are reading this and have a good idea, let me know! Smile.

It's pretty cool how this came about. I created my background and then while I was looking at it to figure out the next step, I started seeing all these shapes and picture formed. Kinda like those wonky posters and wall hangings that you stare it.....ooo they make me sick and I can never see the picture! Sorry, back on track. So this picture came into play and I outlined it all with a black pen. Then I started painting in the shapes with some fluid acrylics and outlined with my blac pen again for dimension and definition. I am thinking I may do a tutorial on this.

Here's a different angle to show you the glitz and texture it has from some Sparkle Mod Podge.... I don't use Mod Podge that much any more since finding other mediums, but let me tell you..... this stuff is fun! If you like sparkle you need to try this stuff out.

This picture really doesn't even show the beauty of the sparkle. Gotta work on getting better shots.

I hope you pop on over to MSW and play along. I'd love to see you there!

And here's a little FYI, if you're interested. You can check out some of my art journal pages I've been sharing at Scrapbook News and Review Magazine. I show step x steps and talk you through getting started in your journal. Let me know what you think if you pop over. Big Smile!

Hope you have a beautiful day wherever you are and wherever you may go.

Long time....

2011-06-06T19:06:00.000-07:00

no blog. No need to get into all the deets of things, let's just say I have had my fair share of busy, full days. Thank goodness that has meant some scrappy time as well here and there or I'd be nuts!

So onto the scrappy haps at hand!

Check this out, k? I've been a staffer at Scrapbook News and Review Magazine for over a year and let me tell you it's amazing. I love every minute of what I do there. Anyhoo, we all have been working so hard to really get some new things going and let me tell you......they're fresh! (2 jam packed issues per month for only $4.99!!!!!!!! Are you kidding me? Not only that, but once you sign up you'll get access to back issues as well. The 1st issue is jam packed with a TON (we're talking like 4-500 projects people!) of eye candy and articles for you to sink you're teeth into. As if that's not enough 2 weeks later the 2nd issue is comin' at'cha and you will find dozens of tutorials at your fingertips! This month alone there are tutorials from myself and others on these topics:

Scrapbooking Tutorials
Anglaise Pretties
Coloring Trim
Fabric Butterfly
Fabric Paper
Twisted Fabric Blooms
Adding a 3-D Effect to a Photo
Adding Text to Fabric
Coloring Black-and-White Photos with Chalk
Coloring Black-and-White Photos with Copic Markers
Curly Fabric
DIY Photo Overlays
Fibers Fabric Paper
Fabric Shapes
Ribbon Curling
Twisted Fabric Flowers
Using Dryer Sheets to Make Embellishments & Create Interest

Cards & Stamping Tutorials
Faux Stitching
Fork Bows
Heat Embossing on Fabric
Heat Embossing on Photos
How Do I Attach That? - Ribbon
Stamping on Velvet

Mixed Media Tutorials
An Introduction to Gels, Mediums & Pastes
Adding Cardboard to Your Project
Baby Wipe Background
Canvas Breakdown: A Home
Crinkled Cardstock Background
Gels, Mediums & Pastes Primer
Paper Towel Background

Shut the front door, right?! You know your jaw just dropped. LMBO! You really need to get yourself a subscription because we've got more awesome things to come and you will NOT want to miss out!

Moving right along......

My Sketch World is gearing up for summertime!!! WooHoo! That means lots of chatter on the board, fun challenges, sketches, and crops going on. Lucy is doing it up big this year and I canNOT wait! But before the crop starts in July......we have to get through June. The best way to do that is with some great sketches!

This month I did both the card and LO sketch for my DT duties. Here's the ATC I came up with:

I have really been working on creating my backgrounds myself by building up with patterned papers, paints, goops, stamps.....basically taking more of a collaged, mixed media approach. On this background I used patterned paper and misted dictionary paper. I tore the papers and adhered them with some gel medium. Next came some paint dabbed on lightly (I still wanted the bottom layer to show....*wink*), then some molding paste spread on with my finger, stamps with paint, and the rest of the embellishments.

All that came together using this sketch:

Here's more picture of it cuz' I think it shows off the sparkle better and I love me some sparkle!

Purr-ty, huh? Lots of pearl paint, PearlEx, and glitter!

Next up my LO for June. Can I just say it felt so super good to be scrapping with one of Lucy's LOs sketches. It's been a while. Here's what I came up with:

Stuck Like Glue

I really don't know why DH is so red in the larger picture, but such is life. I love this LO anyway! I used this sketch in creating it:

Fab, isn't it? I didn't get a chance to do any close up editing, maybe for the next post. There are a lot of fun little things going on on the page. I do have a challenge posted as well so be sure to head on over to MSW to check that out. I'll be blogging about it tomorrow? Well, that's the plan.

Well enough for tonight. I sure thank you for coming by and visiting me.

~Scarlett~

Today's the Day!

2011-05-18T19:17:00.001-07:00

As you can see by the date of this post, I had all intentions of being timely on announcing the winner of my blog candy. Then I got a little caught up with stuff going on, sorry about that. But, today is for sure the day! I know had a few (3 to be exact) friend's comments fall off when blogger went down. No worries, I know who you are. So without anymore lolly gaggin' the winner of my blog candy is.............

Comment #2 - Angele!!!!

Yay Angele! Please send me your info to scarlettsalamone@mac.com so I can get this out to you!

A big HUGE thank you to all my friends who stopped by and left me some lovin' and became new followers. It really makes my day seeing comments from you. I am going to look forward to doing this more often as I have plenty of things I could be sharing.

On to some other stuff......

My delightful friend Bev, honored me with an award quite some time back. I am horribly embarrassed it's taken me this long to share.

Cool award, huh? Part of receiving this award is to share 7 things about myself with you, so here goes:

1. I am a faithful woman and put all my trust in God. Without His presence in my life I would not be the person I am.

2. I have a pet rooster....yes I said pet rooster, LOL! he follows me all around my yard all whenever I am outside and is quite the handsome fellow.

3. I have been a paper fiend for as long as I can remember. Although I had no idea what scrapbooking was a kidlet, I was throwing down with the paper and art supplies.

4. I love bacon! I mean who doesn't?! But I seriously could eat a pound of it by myself in a heartbeat.

5. I am loyal and would do anything for those I love.

6. One of my biggest desires is to go to Africa on a missions trip to teach in orphanages.

7. I would someday like to start an organization for inner city kids dealing with issues of abuse, neglect, self-esteem, etc.

There you go. 7 new tidbits about me. the other part of this award is to pass it on to 15 other blogs I love. I'll be working on that part of this today and posting those soon.

In the meantime I'll end with some Scrapbook News and Review stuff.

The latest issue is available and it is amazing! There are over 500 projects in it and you are sure to find something to inspire you. Not only that, but the second part of it will be coming in just a few short weeks and you absolutely won't want to miss it. It is all tutorial based and there are soo many learning opportunities in it! I have certainly picked up some new techniques from my fellow staffers in it.

Be sure to head on over to SNR's call area. There are just a few more days to submit your fabulous projects for potential publication.

How about a project to end for today? Sounds good to me!

Blended With Love

To create this project I used a mix of October Afternoon Modern Homemaker, Thrift Shop, and Cosmo Cricket Early Bird papers along with elements from October Afternoon, The Girls' Paperie, Maya Road, and Cosmo.

I love clustering and am super pleased I found a way to use these blenders, LOL! The fresh milk bellie was created by stamping my Maya Road milk cap stamp into some heavy gesso and then painting it after it dried. Stamping into goops is a totally cool way to create your own embellishments!

Here's my journaling. I feel really blessed to have a family blended with lots of love!

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope your day is blessed with all things wonderful!

Blog Candy Time!!!

2011-05-10T18:18:00.001-07:00

YAY! First I want to say big huge thank you to everyone who has joined in following along with me on my scrappy adventures. I was so excited to see I had reached over 100 Followers I wanted to do a cartwheel! It was raining outside or I would have, LOL!!

To celebrate I want to give away some blog candy. As the days go by, I am going to add some more stuff, but here's what I have gathered to start with:

It's all about fun embellishments and bringing a bit of mixed media into your creations!

The Contents (so far):

Kraft Recycled Journal (inside pages are blank)
Hand Dipped UTEE Butterflies
Martha Stewart Doily Tags
Aleene's Tacky Glue Gluestick
Liquitex Coarse Texture Gel (mix it up with paint for awesome texture)
One Step Crackle Medium
Puffy Paint
ATC bases (some plain from 7Gypsies and some made by me with Sass Lass paper)
Specialty Papers (great for art journals, collage, tags, ATCs)
Carolee's AdornIt Mini Alphas
Clothespins
Vintage BINGO cards and markers (truly vintage)
Stick Pins

Like I said I plan on adding some more handmade items, papers, and other items as the week goes on, but this is what's going to start it off. Be on the lookout for new posts sharing some more goodies and projects too of course. ;0)

So what do you have to do for a chance at this? Just let me know you were here by leaving a comment. If you're not a follower, I would love for you to become one because the faster I get to 200 the faster I can do this again! But, I will say you don't have to become a follower to win. I want you here because you want to be here, KWIM? Share this with your friends. I'd love for more people to be able to have a chance to win...and I'll be honest I LOVE knowing people have come here to visit! If you share it, let me know and I'll enter your name twice. Easy peasy!

Let's see how about we end the entering a week from today on the 17th and I'll announce the winner on the 18th. Sound good? Sounds good.

Hope you all have lovely evenings!

Didn't Quite Happen

2011-05-09T20:16:00.000-07:00

Okay, so yesterday I said I would have some blog candy gathered together and posted here today in celebration of having over 100 followers. Well.... like my post title says it didn't quite happen. I do have some of the things I'd like to give away gathered, but not everything. I am working at creating a Mixed Media kit filled with goops, papers, and bellies to get you started on an adventure in MM. WoHOO! In the meantime, I'll share a LO pubbed in Scrapbook News and Review Magazine's March issue. It features 2 of my favorite guys besides my DH and DS.

Couzins

This LO was created on some Ranger Sticky Back canvas. I painted the background with some dabbers and used a bit of mist for some splotches. A few odds and ends of Crate Paper papers and some Hambly transparency and I was good to go.

The handsome guy on the left is my baby brother and the other handsome guy to my right is my cousin. I feel so blessed to have them in my life. I met my brother for the first time this past summer and my cousin at Thanksgiving. Just amazing. They are such sweet guys and crack me up. My kids adore them to pieces and so do I.

The lollipop flower was made out of some sticky back canvas that I stamped and misted. The mesh is some type of material you can get at the hardware store. I'm not sure what it is for exactly, all I know is it works great on LOs. LOL!

Alrighty, short and sweet post tonight because I am pooped and really want to go create something. It's been over a week since I have been in my space and that is just WAY too long!

Have great evenings and I promise to be back yet again tomorrow with some blog candy for you!

Happy Mother's Day!!

2011-05-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

Hope all of the mamas out there are having a terrific day. I feel really blessed this year for so many reasons. One of them being for the first time in my life I got to text my bio mom Happy Mother's Day. I am so thankful for having met her IRL last summer and since then so many family members, including my Grandma. This is the first time in my life I've had a real Grandma. It's an amazing feeling and I am elated my daughter gets to have a Great Grandma. How amazing is that?! Well, it might not be that amazing for some, but for me it surely is.

Today I have a LO to share that shows off my new family. It's 4 generations of girls, all biologically connected. That's still a surreal feeling for me.

Generation

This LO was published in the March issue of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine for a LO on a cardboard base call. I ripped away some of the cardboard to expose the corrugation. To do this add some water and soak the part you want to reveal before trying peel. It makes it oh so much easier. I laid down some patterned papers, my photo, and a photo frame mat then went to town with some goops and embellishments!

Clustering is one of my all time favorite things to do. I love mixing and matching a variety of embellishments to get the just right look I am going for. I made the two larger tissue paper flowers myself. Be on the lookout for a tutorial on those here soon. It's been awhile since I've shared any tuts, so I'm anxious to get crackin' with that. The butterfly was punched from a vintage check. I picked up a bag of these at an antique shop and I love using them. After I punched it I dipped it into UTEE to get a glass like finish. The other odds and ends are Maya Road chipboard flourish decked out with glitter. My new love for doing this is using spray adhesive. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner, LOL! Some Prima flowers I've had for ages, a MM metal piece from a Noel Mignon kit, and some buttons.

Here's a better look at some of the texture I created. I used some ceramic stucco to achieve this. I applied it to my base with a palette knife and to achieve the peaks, I simply patted my palette on top of it pulling up slightly. Does that make sense? Hope so. Then I went to town with PearlEx and Lumiere paints to get it all sparkly and gorgeous. I wish that would come across in photos....sigh. the letter stickers are from My Mind's Eye. I applied them first and then strung the pearl string across the top.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you enjoyed a peek at this project. It's one of my favs and was a blast to create for so many reasons. Be sure to check back tomorrow because I am going to be giving away some blog candy as a thank you for reaching over 100 followers!!!! WAHOO! Thanks so much to everyone who takes time to follow along with me!

Have a blessed rest of your day and I'll catch you all tomorrow. ~ Scarlett

Hodge Podge

2011-05-04T21:26:00.000-07:00

Hey there! It was one of those days today where when it's all said and done, you just need a way to decompress. I thought and thought about what I could do and it struck me....I haven't blogged on way to long......again....so I'll do that and then hit the hay.

I have a hodge podge of projects I have created for Scrapbook News and Review Magazine. Let's roll!

ATC

Change

This ATC is among the first few I did where I really got messy and explored with a variety of mediums. I used gesso for the background to get a bit of texture going. Then I painted over it and adding some molding paste through a stencil. I sprayed the molding paste with some mists to give them color and to alter the color of the background some. The last step was adding a quote and some bling.

Layout

Isn't All That

This LO was created for a call about your little secrets. While it's no secret I'm a skinny minnie, the reason why isn't all that glamorous at all. I mixed and matched manufcaturers to my heart's content on this page. October Afternoon Thrift Shop, Crate Paper Restoration, Sassafras Lass Indie Girl, Maya Road goodies galore, a few Prima flowers, and a few other things from my stash.

Inchies

What's not love about these fun little creations?!

The background for these is some dictionary paper covered with PearlEx paint I mixed up. The bird stamp is from Unity on October Afternoon Fly a Kite scraps...love this line and am still using scraps of it here and there. The little button brads re Making Memories.

A Card

I must say this is one of my favorite cards I have created lately!

It's Owl Good

For this card I used some October Afternoon Campfire papers along with Crate paper's woodgrain from restoration. I used my Sissix Tim Holtz embossing folders to get texture for the tree. The chipboard is is October Afternoon and Basic Grey. My favorite part is the stamped owl and sentiment. They are Studio G.....you know from the dollar bin at Ms?! The owl is stamped on some sticky back canvas and then I used paints to highlight it.

Finally an art journal page

Right Now

A few posts back I posted the base for this page. To see all the knitty gritty details, you can head on over to the SNR front page, look under Mixed Media tags, and it'll be there.

Alrighty, this was a long post so thanks for hanging in there with me. I so appreciate each time you come to visit and love reading your comments.

God Bless you and yours.

Projects to Share

2011-04-18T20:51:00.000-07:00

Hey Blog Friends! Happy Wednesday to you! I never know what to title my posts. Do you ever have that problem? I always try to think of something catchy, but there are more times than not it escapes me, so I went the easy route....projects to share. LOL!

I have a variety for you today, all are projects previously created for and published in Scrapboook News and Review Magazine. My file of things to share from there is unbelievably huge! I'm not sure I'll ever get caught up, but it'll be fun trying. The April issue will be available soon, you should head over to get your subscription!! You won't be disappointed at all.

First up a LO. I'm not sure what call I did this LO for. I have a feeling it was for a sketch call and I changed up the size to make a 6x12. I really like 6x12 LOs and now that I can work the sewing machine, YAY!, I can actually modify my page protectors!!

U and I

This is a picture of my hubbie and I. These pictures are so special because they are few and far between. I wish I had more of us together. I used some cardboard for my base because I knew I was going to be adding some goops to my LO and that makes your pages a bit heavier. All the patterned papers I used are Cosmo Cricket from the Circa line.

In this close up, you can see the texture of the background a bit better. All around the photo and bellies I used some glass bead gel mixed with some metallic paint. I really love not only how this looks, but how it feels. I am such a sensory driven person. I feel the need to touch everything!

This is another shot where you can see the texture of the background. This area really highlights the tissue paper I laid down with some gel medium and then painted over with metallic paint. The frame holding the journaling is from K&Co, I believe, and I went over it with some alcohol inks.

Moving on to a card now.

You Hold the Key

For this card I cut, embossed, tore my patterned papers (Crate Paper), and then wrapped it with the hemp cord. I tied on the key and some little beaded charms I made. I am all about the beads these days! I have a huge stash of them and am having a blast creating all sorts of charms, stick pins, etc.. Next, I adhered my patterned paper to the base of my card. Then I went around the edges with some blended fibers gel. I let the card dry overnight and added some metallic paint to the gel the next day. The heart circle was stamped and then I used some paint markers to color the heart in and write around the edge.

And last for today an ATC

I.R.L.

This ATC was done for a movie themed ATC call. I had to go with Scarlett O'Hara because after all, my full name is Scarlett O'Hara. Yeah, you read it right, LOL! My middle name is O'Hara, my mom totally loved the movie. It seemed appropriate for me to do this ATC sharing with the world I am the in real life Scarlett O'Hara. No big screen for me, just a regular gal living a blessed life.

The base of my ATC is made with beeswax that I colored. I laid the image I pulled from he internet down into it, along with the stars. Then I added a little more wax so I could get the picture of myself on. To finish it off I added some gold mica flakes, my letters, and some bling.

That's it for today, are you still with me?! LOL! This was along one. Thanks for hanging in there with me. I love knowing you stopped by and hope you have a blessed day.

Inchie Love

2011-04-06T21:46:00.001-07:00

Inchies are miniature works of art created on a 1", 1.5", or 2" base. They can be square or round, if they are round they are called rinchies. I have been racking up quite a few of these little gems and am currently working on sewing some onto a canvas bag. It's a slow process since they are so stinkin' small, but I know I am going to love the bag when it's finished.

Scrapbook News and Review Magazine has calls for these every month and I would love to see some of my blog friends send them in for possible publication. The call for the month of May is Canvas. That means your inchies need to be created on a canvas background. Here is a set I created for SNR on some mini canvases I picked up awhile ago:

Butterfly Inchies

To make these, I misted up some dictionary paper and let it dry while I adhered some chipboard butterflies I cut out with a Spellbinders die. I used gel medium as my adhesive for this. The gel also acted as the glue for the paper when I layered it on top. The tape is from 7 Gypsies and I drizzled some tar gel over each piece just for fun. My final touches were some bling and glitter to the butterflies. I love glitz! These are hung up in my scrappy space and since I don't have a big one, they're perfect.

Here's a set of rinchies:

Joy Rinchies

Aren't they too stinkin' cute?! I think I put these together in all of about 10-15 minutes. It could have been less, but I decided to use some UTEE and paint with my embossing folder. After that it was lickity split.

Even if you don't submit any inchies or rinchies for publication, I REALLY hope you do though, you should give them a whirl. They are so easy to create, use up some scraps, and can be used in a variety of ways.

Hope you've had a good Wednesday.

Hoping This Works

2011-04-05T16:37:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! I seriously hope I can get some bloggin' going on tonight. I haven't tried since my last post, but since I have the option of centering my text back I am hopeful.

The 1st of April came and went already, crazy!!!, and I have a new ATC to share. I created this ATC based on the April card sketch at My Sketch World. Lucy creates such fabulous sketches and I love how easily they can be used for ATCs.

Sisters

I really love how this turned out, even if my image transfer got a little messed up. My favorite part of this ATC is the background. I used some Lumiere paints, SWOON, and just delight in looking at all the sparkle these add.

Here is the sketch I used to create with:

April is also my month for doing a challenge at MSW, so in sticking with my ATC obsession, I went with an ATC challenge. the only requirement for this challenge is to make sure your creation is the accurate ATC size of 2.5" x 3.5".

This is the sample I posted:

For this background I used some October Afternoon patterned paper first and then covered that with a piece of a sewing pattern. From there I stamped some Maya Road doily stamps onto it, dressed up my Maya Road dress form chipboard, added some 7 Gypsies decorative tape, and an October Afternoon label sticker. Easy peasy and I again used up a ton of scraps.

I'd love for you to play along so be sure to head on over to MSW and check out this challenge along with all the other great ones posted.

I am super happy I was able to post today and plan on going back to my earlier saved post to share a few SNR creations with you as well.

Hope you have had a great Tuesday and your evening is peaceful.

Really Frustrating!!!!

2011-03-30T08:37:00.000-07:00

So I have been trying to blog here for days and for some reason I can't get pictures to load at all! They come up in the little window pop up thingy, but they only appear as a big code in my post. GGGGRRRRR! I am also missing the option to be able to center text, so that irks me too, but not nearly as much as not being able to get pictures up. Sigh.... Hopefully I'll get it working soon. Until then, I hope all is well in your creative worlds.

Some People I Love

2011-03-28T07:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday! I am a bit thrown off, I can't center my post text, LOL! Not sure what's up with Blogger, but the option isn't here so on we go.

I totally didn't get as many posts done as I had hoped to since the last time, but I am creating up a storm all the time and will be content to share when I can.

I have some LOs today featuring pictures of me and some people who have a special place in my heart. These were both done for the January issue of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine. Speaking of the mag, I'll have some news to share about that at the end of the post.

For now, on to the LOs!

First up is a LO using a picture of me and my bio Grandpa. I just met him for this first time this past Fall and it was a really tremendous experience.

He's Been Waiting For Me

The call for this LO was to use only patterned paper. I had such a great time combining Echo Park, Crate Paper, and even a bit of Sass Lass to create this. Lots of fussy cutting went into this page, right along with a heapin' load of pop dots.

I love this little girl from Sass Lass. She was perfect for this page. The flower centers have a bit of puffy paint added to them. I have so much puffy paint it's ridiculous!

Title work. Love that deer!

Isn't my grandpa adorable? He has the softest skin ever and one of the kindest hearts.

This next LO was based off one of the SNR sketches for staffers to use and I decided to play with some paints on this one.

Always in my Heart

This is a LO of me and one of my past students. She stayed with our family for some time during her 8th grade year and my love for her just grew even more. She will always be close to my heart and I will ever think of her as a daughter.

I used some Ranger and Claudine paints, along with some Liquitex Fluid Acrylic Inks.
I used Jillibean Soup and October Afternoon goodies on this page. I love that I used all scraps and odds and ends of stuff.

These artisan elements by Pink Paislee are a fav of mine. At the moment I am pretty selective about what projects I use them on. I am enjoying hoarding them, LOL! I added some alcohol inks to it.

I am so glad I was finally able to share these with you! I also said I would share some exciting news about Scrapbook News and Review magazine with you. The big news is now you can enjoy issues 2x per month! Yep, you read that right. You pay one low monthly charge of 4.99 and you get 2 additions. The first issue is primarily eye candy and articles, the second is jam packed with tutorials and more articles. You don't want to miss it so be sure to get your subscription today!

ATC Lovin'

2011-03-19T07:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday! It is a gorgeous day here and I am hoping the temps will get a bit higher so we could actually get outside and enjoy it!

I am totally hooked on ATCs and enjoy the creative freedom you have when making them. I love using all sorts of goop on them and figuring out how to place everything I want on them. They become tiny little pieces of art and my collection is growing rapidly!

Here are a few I have done recently:

House of Blues

This one was created for the January issue of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine. The call was for music themed ATCs and I went with a Blues theme. The chipboard piece is from Maya Road. I stamped it with a music stamp from The Girls' Paperie and painted it with some Luminiere.

The background was made using Black Lava texture paste. Then I used a stamp from Glitz with some paint on it to get the small dots and a recycled tape roll for the larger circles. The rubon is from Hambly and I was super happy it went on so well over the Black Lava.

Soul Sistah

This is another one for the music call at Scrapbook News and Review Magazine's January issue. I love all sorts of music and thought it would be fun to represent that I am truly a soul sistah when it comes to my choices.

The background is a sticky back canvas ATC base made by Ranger. I used some paint on it and then stamped some of my fav genres onto it. I drew the silhouette onto some watercolor paper, painted it, adhered it to the base with some gel medium, and then outlined it with a silver paint marker. The edges were created with silver UTEE.

Pray

Luck has nothing to do with it, Pray! I love this saying and happened upon it when I was blog surfing. I wish I could remember where I saw it to give credit back, but the only thing that stuck with me was the saying, LOL! I just find this saying to be so true. We often depend on luck or wish we were lucky like so and so, but the truth is nothing in life is brought about by luck. If we want or need something we should turn to our good Lord and pray on it.

I have a tutorial up on the SNR front page blog on how to create the background you see. It's so quick and easy, but opens a ton of possibilities for all your crafty projects. I used a 7 Gypsies flashcard and cut of the Y for the word luck, misted it, and added the border with some markers. The letters are some really old Making Memories ones that I love so I was happy to use them.

Thanks for stopping by today!! I am hoping to be back tomorrow with some LOs I have had in my stash to share for awhile. Enjoy your day and may God Bless you with Happiness today!

One Heavy Layout!

2011-03-16T06:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Wednesday! I have a ton of projects to share with you and never seem to get all the time I would like to do so. Therefore I am going to try and make a real conscious effort to begin sharing them. All of these projects are ones I have had published in Scrapbook News and Review Magazine. I always get soo excited about what I create for them as a staffer and think about how I can't wait until I can share them with you all here. Then I lose track of time and here I sit with many things to get blogged.

The layout I am sharing with you today was for a use stash call. We had to create LOs using our chipboard stash. I had NO problem at all meeting this challenge, LOL! I have a ton of chipboard and I put some goop and mixed media techniques to work to create this:

This Face

That's a whole lotta chipboard, huh?!!! I can safely say I barely made a dent in my stash tho', LOL!!! I created this LO on some recycled packaging from a frozen pizza box. I applied a layer of super heavy gesso by Golden onto the base and then worked at placing all the papers, chipboard, and picture on top of it. Once everything was set in I had to leave the LO to dry overnight. I created a glaze with paint and glazing medium, then washed it over the entire LO.

Once the glaze was dry, I was able to write over it to get my journaling on. It talks about how grown up my little girl's face looks these days and how time has gone so quickly since she was born. The butterflies were added after the glaze and are covered in PearlEx that I turned into a paint. I then covered these with a bit of Diamond Glaze. The colored letters are all letters in my daughter's name. Kind of fun, but was such a long process finding every one, LOL!! You can also see in this picture the other letters have light hints of color. I used some Perfect Pearls and dusted them over the entire LO. I seriously wish you could see how sparkly and gorgeous this LO is IRL!

This pictures is rather small, so you can't really see the texture added to the bird's wing with some more gesso and then painted over with my PearlEx mixture.

And here's my little apple tree. I used some Luminiere metallic paints on this (these paints are to die for!!! I am seriously hooked on them!) and then added texture to the apples with one of my texture pastes. I honestly can't remember which one, but I am thinking maybe it's some glass bead gel. You can also see the Perfect Pearls dusting a bit better in this picture.

This LO is seriously heavy and could be considered a weapon in the wrong person's hands, LMBO!! I adore it though and had a super fabulous time creating it. My mind is all over trying to figure out ways to change up my LOs using mixed media techniques and supplies and I am having a blast learning so many new things.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope your day is filled with sunshine and happiness!! It's what we make out of whatever is given to us for today that counts, so make it a great one!

Right Now....

2011-03-11T18:41:00.001-08:00

I am totally into art journaling. I could sit and do it for hours on end and never tire. I love that my journal is a place where I can play with ideas and techniques and not have to worry about anything being perfect or just right. It's also a great place for me to get thoughts and feelings out. When I am done with a page I always feel so free and ready to tackle whatever comes my way next.

Here's a background I created this week for my art journaling group at Scrapbook News and Review:

I love circles and paint drips so you will probably be seeing both on a lot of my future pages. You wouldn't believe how this page started out. I was pretty much ready to just turn the page, LOL, and start a new one. But I pushed through anyway and the ending result is one I really am pleased with.

To see the end product of this page and to get some step by step instructions on how this page came about, head on over to SNR. There is a post on the front page blog with all those deets for you to check out and if you're interested in getting started in art journaling join us in the art journaling group.

Hope the start to wekend is a great one! I plan on getting lots of artistic juices out and flowing! God Bless ~ Scarlett

Welcome March

2011-03-01T21:03:00.000-08:00

I love when March rolls in. It holds the promise of Spring coming, is my birthday month, and for me feels like it's time to get a fresh start on things. I know that may seem odd since a lot of people look at fresh starts happening in January with the New Year, but I just can't do it then. Must be Winter, LOL!

One of the things I am really focusing on in my crafty adventures for a fresh start is Mixed Media. I so loved art classes when I was younger and really got into it in high school thanks to a tremendously great art teacher. I participated in shows, learned about all sorts of mediums, and really found my artistic self. When I became college bound all that seemed to be put on the back burner. I have really been enjoying discovering this side of myself again lately and will look forward to sharing more and more projects with a mixed media spin on them with you all.

One way I plan on doing this consistently is by using Lucy's card sketches from My Sketch World to create ATCs for my DT assignments. I love using Lucy's sketches to begin and they translate really well into ATCs.

Here is the 1st one I made:

Butterflies Are....

I used Sassfras Lass papers and some cut portions of a Hambly transparency for the base. Then I added some glass bead gel I colored with paint to the edges. The butterflies were dipped in UTEE and then I added a glass bead to the larger one. The bottle cap is from Maya Road and filled with some more Sass papers along with a Maya Road chipboard word. The edges of the bottle cap and the writing were done with a paint marker. I must say they are like my new fav go to!

Here is the sketch I used to create it from:

There is a fabulous new 2 pager sketch up for March at MSW so be sure to check that out along with all the DT creations. Lucy has created a special gallery for ATCs now so if you happen to feel the urge to try something new, or to share ATCs you've already done, we'd love to see what you've created!

Art Journal Cover

2011-02-26T07:47:00.000-08:00

Happy Saturday Everyone! Hope you are feeling good and ready to enjoy a fabulous weekend, whatever you may be up to. I know I have big plans to get creative and pump out some projects this weekend!

I showed you the beginnings of my art journal cover and I had to come back to share the finished result. I am so looking forward to filling this up and just being creatively free in it.

Here's my cover:

I had a lot of fun creating this. You will find, as I share more of my art journal journey with you, I will have lots of these little afro puff girls popping up. This was totally what I looked like when I was little. My hair was always in puffs someway and there are times I wish I could still pull it off, LOL!

Anyways, if you have ever thought about art journaling, are art journaling, or want to get started in it, you should head on over to Scrapbook News and Review. I have weekly posts about art journaling on Fridays and their is a group set up for us to hang out and chat in. I'd love to see you there.

Hope your day is delightful! God bless!
Scarlett

Bottle Cap Art

2011-02-23T16:36:00.000-08:00

Do you love bottle caps as much as I do?? I have no idea when I became obsessed with them, but I do know it was a while ago because I have been collecting them for years. So when Maya Road came out with the honkin' huge ones last year, I was in love for real!!

Over at Scrapbook News and Review it's Workshop Wednesday. For my project I chose to create some bottle cap art using a 3" Maya Road bottle cap as my base. I need to order some more of these soon because I am really diggin' making this little works of art. It's quite therapeutic for me and a great way to showcase some of my favorite photos.

Here's the bottle cap I created:

There are complete step x step instructions over at SNR if you'd like to see how to create one of these for yourself. After walking away from it for awhile, I think I may go back and add one more row of trim. I;m not sure I like the space between the words and trim. We'll see. Until then, this is on a little easel in my scrappy space bringing a big ol' cheesy grin to my face. I love my dawgie!!

Hope your Wednesday's been a good one!

Getting My Art Journal On

2011-02-20T20:08:00.000-08:00

Hey Everybody! It's been longer than I would have liked since I shared, but much has been going on. My family was bombarded with strep and it pretty much knocked everyone off kilter. I am happy to say I managed to avoid getting it myself, thank goodness and fingers crossed, and just cared for everyone while getting my craft on.

I have created much and I wish I could share, but alas I can't just yet. What I can share is my newest art journal I started. I have been art journaling for over a year now and I love it. Up until this point, I have kept my journals private because I really put every aspect of my life into them, the good, the bad, the ugly...it's all in there.

Well, over at Scrapbook New and Review Magazine, we have a new blog going. There are daily posts with sketches, tips, techniques, tutorials, and so much more. What I most excited about though are my art journaling posts. Each Friday I will be posting different things relating to working in and starting on an art journal. There will be a group created for us to share what we are doing and challenges presented to keep you moving forward.

On Friday, I posted my cover challenges. You can see all the details of the challenges by heading over to SNR, but I really wanted to share the start of my cover here. It is nowhere near being complete and I have a lot of big plans for the rest of it, but it's not about getting it all done in a jiffy. It's about enjoying the journey.

Here's my cover so far:

I really like my journals to be something I want to get to each day so I always create covers that make me happy. These are some of my happy colors right now along with my happy shape, circles. I created the circles by using some drywall tape we had here at the house.

So what about you? Do you art journal? Are you intrigued by it, terrified of it? Do share. I would also love to see you over at SNR each Friday when I post some new tidbits relating to art journaling.

Hope you have a delightful start to your week! God Bless.
Scarlett

Friday Inspiration

2011-02-04T21:07:00.001-08:00

Hey, Hey, Hey! Hope your Friday is going well! Over at A Walk Down Memory Lane, it was my turn to post some Friday inspiration. I had a challenge up for the end of January to use paint in some way on a LO or card, so I decided to inspire by sharing a couple projects I created using a bit of paint.

Celebratin'

This LO was published in Scrapbook News and Review Magazine a couple months ago. I used a lot of Sassafras Lass paper and embellishments. I just love their felties! My background paper is from the Basic Grey Basics collection and worked out wonderfully for adding a bit of paint. I used my Ranger dabbers and just sporadically dotted paint here and there. Nothing major, just enough to give a little punch of color.

Be You

This is another project pubbed in SNR and I must say this is a favorite card of mine. I used October Afternoon papers and a recycled glue dot center to paint the circles. To do this, squirt some paint onto your craft mat or a plate, dunk your recycled tape center into it, and then stamp it onto your cardstock. Easy peasy. I like how the circles didn't turn out exactly perfect. I think it gives the background a unique look.

So, I hope these projects inspire you to get a little messy with your next project. Not only does it add a little somethin', somethin'; it's fun too!

Be sure you scroll down and check out my last post where I talk about Paying It Forward. I would love to do this and hope maybe you are inclined to do so as well.

Blessings ~ Scarlett

Mixed Media

2011-02-02T20:20:00.001-08:00

Hey All! Hope you are staying warm and safe in this crazy weather hitting a lot of throughout the states.

So I have been talking a lot about mixed media in the past months and my plan is to do this more and more. It has quickly become a love and passion for me, reigniting things I loved about creating from when I was younger and learning how to mesh that back into what I do with my scrapping and card making. It also has given me the freedom to create art, just for the sake of creating art. No matter how big or small.

My latest little art piece is an ATC I created for Scrapbook News and Review Magazine's front page. It was part of my Workshop Wednesday post and you can find a step x step tutorial HERE. If you stop by to see I would love for you to leave a comment for me there too.

Home is Where My Heart Is

This little creation took me about 35 minutes to create and that was including dry time. can't beat that!! What I really love about creating ATCs is you can easily do one every day to just get some art play in. I am seriously going to start trying to do one a day. How cool would that be to have this collection at the end of the year reflecting different things going on, feelings I had, and just what was in my creative thoughts at the time.

With all this passion in me, I have started seeking out mixed media blogs to visit and be inspired by. One of the blogs I found was Mandy's. She has a fantabulous little spot going on and I just love looking at her creations. While there I found this delightful idea and decided I wanted to be a part of it too!

Here are the rules: I promise something handmade to the FIRST five people who leave a comment on this post. To be eligible, you must repost this, offering something handmade or handcrafted to five other people. The rules are that it be handmade by you and it must be sent to your five people sometime in 2011.

Super fun, right? I hope you think it is and decide to pay it forward as well. Wouldn't the world be a nicer place if we all started doing these types of things more often? I think it would. So leave me a comment because I would love to pay it forward to some of my wonderful peeps that visit!

Have a super day! Find something to smile about and do something to make someone else smile! ~ Scarlett

Imaginisce is being featured....

2011-02-01T20:29:00.000-08:00

at A Walk Down Memory Lane this month! For the entire month of February you can take advantage of 25% off all their fabulous products and yes, that includes all their great tools!

I am still working on a few creations, but wanted to share one I was able to get a decent shot of. The weather certainly hasn't cooperated at all!

Pumpkins Come

This is my DS this past Fall with his carved up pumpkin. He wasn't all that thrilled about the trip to the pumpkin farm, but once we got home and he was able to carve it up he was glad we did! The Apple Cider line was perfect for this photo I had waiting to be scrapped.

Instead of doing a big and bold title, I decided to go with a cutie lil' rhyme. It fit better in my design than a bigger title would have.

To add a little extra something to this LO, I decided to outline the edges with some Gold Mica Flakes made by Golden. These are just fabulous to work with and the sparkle is off the hook! It also gives really great texture. I also added some puffy paint to the dots already a part of the patterned paper. It gave it that extra little touch to make it feel complete to me.

I will be back soon with more Imaginisce creations to share, but in the mean time be sure to head on over to A Walk Down Memory Lane and get your goods while they are still there for the getting!

Hope you have a had a wonderful start to February. It sure came in by us with a bang and just under 2 feet of snow, OY!

Until next time, happy scrappin' and blessings to you!

Some Haps and Some Crafts

2011-01-31T20:24:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends! I have been busy, busy. There are a lot of new things happening at Scrapbook News and Review Magazine and I am proud to be a big part of it. Along with my title of Mixed Media Director, I will be taking on the task of coordinating the new and fabulous front page!! Have you seen it? It has a more blog like feel to it and there are soo many sneak peeks of CHA stuff all on one site for your drooling pleasure, LOL!! So far I would have to say I am going to go broke thanks to Sassafras Lass and Crate Paper. I adore every little bit of Sassafras and NEED it all and I am a sucker for Crate chipboard pieces. I would love for you to stop over at SNR and let me know what you think of all that's changed.

Speaking of SNR, the latest calls for publication are posted and you can find them HERE. Be sure to check them out and submit, submit, submit! I LOVE seeing my friends pubbed in the magazine.

So on to some crafts. There are soo many times I create a monsterous amount of projects for the magazine and I never get back here to post them all, so until I can share with you some of my latest scrappy ventures, I thought I would share some creations that have been pubbed in SNR over the last few months.

My baby girl's birthday is coming right on up so I thought I'd share this funny LO about her antics at last year's celebration.

This Lil' Piggy

Yep that's my ever so dainty and lady like little girl....OY!... her and her friends thought it would be fun to eat their cake like they were a bride being given the cake by their groom. Not her most shining moment, but it made for a fun LO anyways, LOL!!

I used mostly Sassafras Lass papers and bellies for this LO. They worked out so perfectly! For the hat, I used some crepe paper paper made by Martha Stewart. The bottle cap is from Maya Road and I anchored the numbers in it by using some Diamond Glaze. the banner is chipboard from Maya Road. I love how the beads look on this! Am I the only one who loves dressing up banners?

And how about a birthday card to round out tonight's post, sound good? Sounds good.

Happy Birthday

This card was created with some of my old school Sassafras Lass papers in my stash. I just love the paper whimsies they make and it was a fabulous base for my sentiment.

Well, I will be back at some point tomorrow to post my reveal for A Walk Down Memory Lane. I also plan on visiting some of you and seeing what's been up in your scrappy world!!

Blessings to you and yours!
Scarlett

Some More Announcements and a Couple Projects

2011-01-20T22:16:00.000-08:00

Hi there friends! Lots going on in the scrappy world. What better way to beat the winter blahs than to get your scrap on! So why not join me this weekend for the Baby It's Cold Outside crop at A Walk Down Memory Lane?

Jan 21st to Jan 23rd

We will be starting on Jan 21st posting challenges and all weekend the DT will be posting games. You have till the 23rd to upload your creations.

We will have RAK's to give a way and one person will win a prize from AWDML by random drawing.

So the more you do , the more entries you get for the prize

While you're there be sure to check out the store where you can take 25% off this month's featured stamp manufacturer, Lawn Fawn. Here's a card I made using the January 17th sketch from My Sketch World and some Lawn Fawn stamps:

Isn't that sewing machine cute? This stamp, along with the sentiment, and row of flowers all came from the Sew Lovely Set.

Speaking of My Skecth World there is a fun crop coming right on up there too! It's MSW 5th Anniversary Sketch-A-Thon crop. Woot! Woot! Miss Lucy will be giving us a new fantabulous sketch each day throughout. You won't want to miss it!

I also wanted to let you know the 1st issue of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine of the New Year is available!! It is loaded and I mean loaded with a ton of fabulous projects, articles, tutorials, and more. You surely won't want to miss out, so be sure to head to the site to subscribe if you don't already.

Here's a little sneaky peek of a card I have in the magazine:

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for bearing with me I had a lot to share! Hope to see you at some of the events coming up!

God Bless!
Scarlett

HUGE Announcement!!!!

2011-01-17T00:51:00.000-08:00

This is soo exciting to share! Scrapbook News and Review Magazine is holding its 1st ever staffer call!!! Here are all the deets:

Please read the following in its entirety:

It’s important to note that this is not a design team call. We are seeking paper crafters who will become an ongoing staff member with no predetermined term and with an at-will relationship.

Early submissions are encouraged and we strongly suggest that applicants not wait until the last minute to turn in their applications. Of course, all applications will be painstakingly considered and waiting until the deadline, or near the deadline, will not harm your chances of becoming a staffer.

We have chosen not to disclose how many people we’re seeking for staff members as it will depend on the quality of the artwork and the enthusiasm of the applicants that will ultimately affect our decision.

For this call, we’re searching for scrapbookers (paper and digital), stampers, card makers, altered art and mixed media artists as well as article writers and reporters/reviewers.

We’re looking for a variety of styles, skills and personalities, and you do not have to have advanced paper crafting skills. Rather, we’re looking for artists that complement our existing staffers and magazine artwork.

Please do not try to guess what we’re looking for and tailor your application to your thinking as you may end up trying to put a square peg in a round hole. Instead, tell us about yourself and go ahead and sing your own praises. Be true to whom you are and that will shine through more than putting on a good show. We also strongly encourage you not to check boxes that do not apply to you, your style, or your skills.

Our goal is to make this a win/win relationship and putting your best foot forward is a must, but projecting a false image or a style that isn’t true to you will only hurt you and SNR in the long run. Since it is an at-will relationship, we will evaluate new staffers based on their applications as well as their attitude and willingness to participate once a part of our staff. If they do not live up to the standards they expressed in their application, SNR will end their position.

We also ask that you do not contact any current staffers for information about SNR unless you already know them and they would be receptive to your questions. Otherwise, please feel free to ask them about the integrity and professionalism of our company.

We will be accepting submissions from January 14, 2011 to February 4, 2011. Staffers will be announced within two weeks after the deadline.

Exact details of the position will be provided upon invitation only to become a SNR staffer. While we encourage questions regarding the application, we will not answer any questions that have not been addressed in the call.

Staffer Requirements:

A minimum of 5-7 projects per month, depending upon your position with SNR.
Provide artwork content for the front page as well as in the magazine (this is a part of the minimum projects per month).
Actively and enthusiastically participate on our board, promote SNR, and contribute to SNR events.
Be willing to use a variety of products and work with manufacturers you’ve never worked with or that may not be your preferred style.
Have an appetite to learn and be willing to try new products and techniques; self-education is a plus.
Work well with others in a team environment as well as work independently on your own projects.
The most important attribute is the ability to meet all deadlines and turn in quality artwork that is worthy of your own approval.

About SNR:

We have been in business since April 2008.
We have passionately created a fun, friendly, encouraging and educational atmosphere.
We help staffers to carve out their own niches and look at new opportunities when it comes to learning new things and techniques.
We appreciate valuable input from our staffers and respect their ideas, opinions and suggestions.
We communicate with staffers on a daily basis so they always know what’s going on.
We ensure that all staffers feel good about working with SNR and have their best interests at heart.
We have almost 10,000 registered users on the SNR site, and over 8,000 registered users on our sub-site the Card Universe. The Card Universe will be soon moving over to the SNR site to maximize staff exposure.
We have working relationships with almost 100 scrapbook, stamping and art supply manufacturers.
We have thousands of visitors and subscribers per day, which you can check out on our front page on the Users Online counter.
Our motto is to check the diva at the door. All staffers are created equal and no one is put above another.

I enjoy being a staffer, the Mixed Media Director, and soon to start Front Page Coordinator beyond belief! I really hope some of you will take the time out to apply fr a position! Good Luck to all those that do. To submit your application, go to Scrapbook News and Review and click on the staff call button at the top of the page.

More Echo Park

2011-01-06T00:50:00.000-08:00

I just really love all the different lines Echo Park has put out. In fact, I have them all (can we say obsessed?! LOL!) and can't wait to get my hands on the new Little Girl line. Remember A Walk Down Memory Lane has all the lines in the store and they are all 25% off for the month. Don't wait to shop, I know they will go quickly!

For today I am going to share a LO made with A Walk in the Park. I adore the colors of this line and my favorite thing about it has to be the little trees! This line worked perfectly for a Fall picture I had of my DD when we went to the Apple Orchard to pick apples and pumpkins.

Perfect Match

The deal for picking pumpkins this year was you had to be able to carry your own. If you could carry it, you could have it. It was so cute watching DD trying to find the biggest pumpkin she get her hands on, knowing she was going to have carry it all the way. in the end her big brother was there to save the day and carried it half way. He's so good to her!

Close Ups:

These banner and alpha stickers were perfect for placing my title on and since I love twine, I just had to use some Twinery for it to hang on. Twine from the Twinery is also available in the store.

I got the idea to create this pumpkin using circle punches from my wonderful friend Lucy. I thought it was just a brilliant idea, so easy and looks darn cute if I do say so myself! Thanks Lucy!

Well, that's it for today. I have one more Echo Park project to share with you so be on the look out for that coming soon.

Hope all is well in your world. God bless!
Scarlett

New Year, New Sketch

2011-01-05T14:42:00.000-08:00

My Sketch World has the 1st sketches of 2011 up and available for your scrappin' pleasure. Both the card and LO sketch are excellent and the DT did an amazing job. Be sure to head on over to the site to check out all the inspiration waiting for you there.

Here is the card sketch:

My take on it:

Sew Lovely

I used up some more of my Cosmo Cricket Material Girl stash on this along with some felt flowers using my Sissix Tim Holtz die. The stamped sentiment is from Lawn Fawn.

Close Up

I added some Blended Fibers Gel from Liquitex mixed with Lumiere paint and added it to a tag I had in my stash to create the texture on the oval. While it was still wet, I embedded the sequins and sentiment into it.

Thanks for dropping by. Hope you have had a delightful Wednesday!!
~Scarlett

New Year, New Projects

2011-01-04T12:58:00.000-08:00

I am late in saying Happy New Year, but Happy New Year!! At least it's still the 1st week in January, right? LOL!! I had all these grand plans of doing my Top 10 lists, setting my eye on some projects of a larger magnitude, you know all that jazzy stuff when you do when a new year rolls around. Just haven't gotten there yet. I think I may still do it, if I can find the time and energy.

I did, however, have the time and energy to play with some delightful Echo Park products since they are the featured manufacturer this month at A Walk Down Memory Lane. You know what that means, right? You receive 25% off all Echo Park products in the store!! can I get a Woo to the Hoo?!!!! Lawn Fawn stamps are also being featured this month and I'll have some cards to share using teh cute set I picked up later in the month. For now, let's get on to a couple Echo Park projects using the Little Boy line.

First up an encouragement card:

Keep on Chuggin'

I love all the means of transportation in this collection. Trains, planes, and automobiles is what it's all about.

And a LO featuring my little girl. Yep, you read that right, the Little Boy line is not just for Little Boys so don't let the name stop you from getting it to scrap your girls.

Ready 2 Roll

I just adore all the primary colors in the collection. This paper was perfect for a trip to the Go Kart track and DDs 1st time being able to drive on her own. It was quite the experience since she is soo tiny. They really had to boost her up in the seat and it wound up taking 2 people to get her set to go, LOL!

Some close ups

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope your New Year is starting off wonderfully!
~Scarlett

Merry Christmas Friends!

2010-12-25T19:25:00.000-08:00

Hope your day has been filled with lots of love, joy, and laughter!!! May blessings be bestowed upon you and your family in the New Year!

This tag tutorial was created for Scrapbook News and Review Magazine's 12 Days of Christmas Tags. Hope you enjoy!

Joy by Scarlett Salamone Supplies Patterned Paper: Echo Park; Mix Media Paper: Canson; Cardstock Stickers: Echo Park; Snowflake Buttons: All Dressed Up; Pearls: Recollections; Extra Heavy Gel: Golden; Matte Gel: Liquitex; White Opaque Flakes: Golden; Light Molding Paste: Golden; Glitter: Martha Stewart; Paint: Tulip; Punches: Marvy, Martha Stewart; Tool: Crop-A-Dile: We R Memory Keppers; Other: Sequins; chipboard, trim

Step 1:

Gather supplies together.

Step 2:

Cut Mixed Media paper to 6 1/4 x 3 1/8. Adhere Mix Media paper to chipboard using Matte Gel.

Step 3:

Cover paper with a coat of gesso. Set aside to dry.

Step 4:

Punch a strip of patterned paper with border punch. This strip should be about twice as long as the width of your tag base.

Step 5:

Cut punched strip in half and adhere to top and bottom of tag base with matte gel. Set aside to dry.

Step 6:

Punch 3 circles, in varying sizes, out of patterned paper.

Step 7:

Cut circles in half and trim edges to fit onto tag, creating hills. Using Extra Heavy Gel, adhere the hills to the tag. Set aside to dry.

Tip: To achieve some dimension, vary each layer of gel's thickness. The thicker the layer of gel you apply, the longer you will need to allow time to dry.

Step 8:

Cover tag with White Opaque Flakes. I used a flat brush to apply. Set aside to dry.

Step 9:

Adhere snowman and tree to tag using Matte Gel. The thicker layer of gel you use, the more dimension you will achieve. Remember a thick layer of gel will take a longer time to dry. My layer required 24 hours to dry completely.

Step 10:

Add a thick layer of Light Molding Paste to the base of the snowman, tree, and hills with a popsicle stick or your choice of tool. To apply a dusting of molding paste to your hills and tree, use your finger to dab on. While molding paste is still wet, sprinkle some glitter on to it.

Step 11:

Adhere the last of your embellishments (bird, joy sticker, and snowflakes) to the tag using Matte Gel.

Step 12:

Use your Crop-A-Dile, or other tool, to punch a hole in center of tag at the top. Add trim.

Step 13:

Enjoy your completed tag!

Some New Cards to Share

2010-12-17T17:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday!! I have been waiting to share these cards with you and today I was finally able to get some decent shots of them. Gotta love winter, right? I so wish I knew how to better use the photo editing on my computer. It's nothing fancy, but it's there, LOL!

The cards I am going to share were created using Just Rite stamps, the stamping featured manufacturer of the month at A Walk Down Memory Lane. Right now you can pick up a set or two of these for yourself for 25% off, along with the same discount for all The Girls' Paperie products.

Just Because

I used some of the fabulous Modern Homemaker line from October Afternoon for this card. It just arrived in the store and it's a must have if I do say so myself. I love the patterns and colors. Did you notice how the stamp has the sentiment in the middle and then a stamped border around the edge? Well, that's a super feature of the stamps from Just Rite, they have interchangeable borders to go with each sentiment.

My 2nd card was created using the Sunday sketch from the 365 Cards blog. It's been so long since I played along!!

Thank You

Again I used the Modern Homemaker line and a Just Rite stamped sentiment and border.

I had to do a close up of the flowers so you could see they appear a bit fuzzy. I used some Flower Soft, available in the AWDML store, to create this look. I have had this stuff for a long time and am just finally getting around to use it.

Well, that's it for tonight. Hope your day was really wonderful and filled with something joyful. My daughter had her last Holiday program as an elementary student. Kind of sad to know she'll be off to middle school before I know it, but it was a great concert and I was soo proud.

Thanks for stopping by to visit me! Blessings to you!

Scrapbook News and Review Issue #12....

2010-12-13T15:44:00.000-08:00

Is now available!!! It's the Holiday Sampler and you are going to LOVE it!!! It is full of so much inspiration to help you get those LOs from last year scrapped (if you're anything like me, LOL!), finish up all those cards, create beautiful gifts, and so much more!!! Be sure to head on over to Scrapbook News and Review Magazine to sign up for your subscription.

Here's a peek at a project I have in this issue:

Jolly Old? by Scarlett Salamone Supplies Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned Paper: Cosmo Cricket, Echo Park, October Afternoon; Letter Stickers, Embossing Powder: American Crafts; Trim: My Mind's Eye, The Girls' Paperie; Journal Spots: Jillibean Soup; Stickers: October Afternoon; Buttons: All Dressed Up; Ink: Martha Stewart; UTEE, Pigment Powder: Ranger; Markers: Martha Stewart; Punch: EK Success; Other: Rhinestones

I love this picture of my baby who is now 14!! He was just a gigglin' away and having a jolly old time at Nana's House a few days before his first Christmas.

Hope you are having some jolly days and taking time to enjoy the little things this Christmas season.

Christmas Home Decor Inspiration

2010-12-09T13:40:00.001-08:00

Happy Thursday my friends! Don't you just LOVE Christmas time!! I know I do. It's my favorite holiday and creating things using all the fabulous winter and Christmas stuff out there is just a joy to me. Today I want to share with a bit of inspiration to create a tree to deck your own halls! I have been wanting to do up a Christmas tree since last year when I bought the styrofoam bases. I just ran out of time last year, but this year when I saw the trees Lolly Chessie created for Crate Paper's summer CHA release, an idea was born and I knew I was going to finally do up a tree when I could get my hands on the Snow Day line! So that's what I did.

Snow Day Christmas Tree

I started the tree by painting the styrofoam base green, just in case it peeked through in any areas. Then I cut a TON of paper strips, looped them in half, and pinned them to the base.

Next, I went through my ginormous drawer full of ribbons and trims and picked out some I thought would be fun to add for garland. I used hot glue to hold it in place at the top and just began winding it around, tucking it here and there.

I knew I wanted a star up top, but wasn't exactly sure how I was going to do it at first. Then I remembered I had just gotten some Tim Holtz Memo Pins and found my Sissix star die. Perfect fit! I sprayed the star with some Tsukineko Psst! Shimmer Spritz. I wish you could see just how sparkly this stuff is. If you haven't tried it, you should. It is amazing and blows away all other mists.

The last thing I did was to create all the little ornaments for my tree. I used a lot of Crate Paper Snow Day diecuts along with some sequins. It is truly amazing how many sequins I have! So glad to finally have used some up.
I am just really thrilled at how this turned out and told my wonderful hubbie we should use this as our tree this year! LOL! We have a couple mischievous kittens that seem to think our tree is their jungle gym.
I am going to leave you with a few more pictures of the tree so you can see some of the ornaments up close. Sorry if it's overkill, but I just really had a lot of fun with this.

Thanks for stopping by today!
God's Blessings to you!

Tutorial for Tuesday

2010-12-07T18:26:00.000-08:00

I shared this tutorial on the A Walk Down Memory Lane DT blog for the 12 Days of Christmas going on over there and I thought it would be a grand idea to share it here for all my bloggy friend too! I will put out a little disclaimer that I am still working on perfecting this lil' poinsettia, but you will get the idea of how to try and perfect one of your own! Sorry in advance for the dark photos. It's so hard to get good shots in winter isn't it? I have to talk DH into helping me out on that front. So enough blabber and on to the tutorial!

Here is the flower we will be making:

I used October Afternoon's Good Cheer papers for this.

Step 1:

Cut 12 strips of paper to 3"x.5". You will use 6 now and 6 later in the tutorial.

Step 2:

Fold strip in half.

Step 3:

Fold strip in a diagonal, creating a flat bottom V.

Step 4:

Fold strip diagonal again in the opposite direction.

Step 5:

Push in sides of strip at the folds you created.

Step 6:

Fold strip in half to look like above picture and place a glue dot at the end to hold in place.

Step 7:

Crease folded piece lengthwise and then fold over edges.

Step 8:

Pinch ends together and place glue dot to hold in place. You may have to play with the shape of you petal a bit to get it the way you would like it to look.

Step 9:

Repeat steps 1-6 with remaining 6 strips. Punch out circle for base of flower. Adhere folded pieces to circle. This is what it will look like when all pieces are placed:

Step 10:

Adhere the first 6 petals you created onto the circle in between base petals. You are ready to embellish the center.

Step 11:

Embellish the center to finish off your flower.

So there you have it. I must say this does take a little bit of time to create, but I am looking forward to trying out another real soon. I'll come back and share when I do because I am hoping it will be even better!

Hope you have had a beautiful Tuesday! Please scroll down to see the address to send a recovering American soldier a card this Christmas.

Gettin' Down with Some Fussy Cuttin'!!!!

2010-12-06T19:24:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday! I have been doing lots of thinking lately about what brings me joy. There are so many things: a wonderful husband who adores me and would do anything in the world to make me happy, two great kids who are doing great in school and learning how to be more and more responsible everyday, fantabulous friends both IRL and online, and oh so much more! As far as scrappy joy goes, well I don't even know where to begin with all that, but off the top of my head I would have to say fussy cutting brings me lots of joy. I love being able to take a piece of paper, cut it all up, and then use it to create whatever my lil' heart desires. So I was elated when one of the assignments I signed up for at Scrapbook News and Review Magazine was for fussy cutting! This LO debuted in the June 2010 issue and I am finally getting around to sharing it.

Playin' House

I absolutely adore Sassafras Lass papers for fussy cutting! The possibilities are always endless and really make this whimsy at times scrapper happy! I used papers from the Apple Jack and Nerdy Bird collections, along with some other Sass scraps.

I had a lot of fun dressing up certain fussy cut items to give them a unique look and to add a bit of additional dimension.

I am so thankful my daughter went to preschool #1 where I worked and #2 where people loved her soo much and took so many pictures of her throughout the years we were there. It means so much to have these moments captured.

A peek at the dimension the LO has.

So there you have it a great example showing my love for fussy cutting. If you like this LO, you should see all the other ones that were published for this call in Scrapbook News and Review Magazine! Awesome for shiggity!! If you don't have a subscription yet, I'm not sure what you are waiting for. You can access all the way back to a year's worth of information and projects. The new Holiday Sampler mini issue will debut on the 12th and you surely won't want to miss out on all the great projects there are in store! Be sure you get yours today.

Hope you have had a beautiful Monday! Please scroll down to see the address and post I have about Making a Difference. It's an easy peasy way to brighten up someone's day.

Make a Difference This Season

2010-12-05T18:26:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday blog friends! This time of year always brings such joy to my heart. I love all the sights, hearing the Christmas songs, and gearing up to celebrate our Savior's birthday. I feel really blessed as I have a home that's nice and warm, food to go in the bellies of all living here, health could be better but could be oh so much worse as well, so I am just really blessed. Then I stop to think of those who may not have a home this year that's warm, or are lacking in the food department, and are struggling to deal with getting healthy and it makes me want to do what I can to help brighten days of those around me or not so close to me. So when my friend Niki from MSW posted an address to send cards to, I knew I was going to do it! What about you?

Here's all the information you need to send a card to a recovering soldier:

Take one Christmas card, just one will make a difference, and send it to A Recovering American Soldier, c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20307-5001
These brave men and women have given the ultimate sacrifice so you and I can enjoy all that we do each and everyday. They are recovering from protecting us and making this a great country to live in, so please take some time this year and address one card to a recovering American soldier. Think of the joy they will receive when stuck in a hospital bed this season. I know I am going to do at least one, what about you?

And I am pretty sure I am going to start with this ornament card I created for A Walk Down Memory Lane's 12 Days of Christmas and it is also my monthly card challenge at My Sketch World.

This is a card that can be transformed into an ornament for a tree. I wanted to do this because there are so many times people throw out things made for them because they just don't know what to do with it after displaying it for awhile, so I thought making a card that could double as an ornament would be great! I like that whoever gets my card could keep it for as long as they like and hang it up wherever they could find a spot in their room.

If you want to see the inside details you could head over to the A Walk Down Memory Lane DT blog to see them there. It's so easy, why wouldn't you try it on out! Let me know if you do and be sure to go to My Sketch World and load it on up in my challenge thread and the gallery. You will be entered to win a fabulous prize Lucy is offering this month.

Well that's it for now. Hope you have a really delightful day and remember you can make a difference daily somehow as long as you are willing to find the way.

God's Blessings to you and yours.
Scarlett

The Girls' Paperie is on Sale!

2010-12-03T16:25:00.000-08:00

At A Walk Down Memory Lane you can take advantage of 25% off The Girls' Paperie products this month since they are one of the featured manufacturers! The stamping featured manufacturer this month is Just Rite Stamps AND we have the 12 days of Christmas going on! So many ways to save, one fantabulous store!!

Here are a couple of my projects I created for this month's reveal:

The Best Gift

This LO was created using a sketch by my great friend and skecth artist Lucy Chesna. You can find daily sketch inspiration in the forum at A Walk Down Memory Lane. Just think, if you visited everyday you would have 365 new sketches at your fingertips!

Couple of Close Ups

I used the Tinsel and Twig line for this page and really love the traditional colors and feel to this paper. I punched the snowflakes using my Martha Stewart punches and added some elegant buttons. I also really have been loving using the same patterned paper to just pop up with dimension. My girl Sasha rocks this out!

The twine I used is from the Twinery and the trim at the bottom is The Girls' Paperie, so are the letters.

Here is a card I made featuring the Paper Girl line from The Girls' Paperie:

Thanks

Love the fun mix of papers this line has and the colors are some of my favs together, especially that green!

Here's a close up of the flower so you can see all the sparkle it has:

Remember you can go to A Walk Down Memory Lane to get yourself some of the fabulous products I used on these creations all at 25% off.

Thanks for stopping by tonight. Hope you have had a really wonderful day
~Scarlett

It's December!

2010-12-02T07:04:00.000-08:00

The beginning of a new month always brings lots of scrappy stuff I get to share with you all. Today I have my card creation for My Sketch World. I LOVED the sketch Lucy had for this month and I decided to continue forth with my adventures in mixed media to create a card that I adore! Not sure I will be able to part with it!

Here is the sketch for the month of December:

My take on it:

Joyful

I used Crate Paper's Snow day line to create this card along with all sorts of goopy goodness to jazz it up. Some of the things I used are: White Opaque Flakes, Luminiere paints, Perfect Pearls, and Molding Paste.

Here are some close ups:

I know this is not the best of pictures, but it shows how the Perfect Pearls really sparkle and shine on my patterned papers where I added them.

My little scene.

Here you can see where I layered up some molding paste. You can't tell from the picture but it is sparkly fabulous in real life!

If you love this Crate Paper line as much as I do, be sure to head on over to A Walk Down Memory Lane where you can purchase all these goodies. It's also the 12 days of Christmas over there so you can find spectacular deals for the next 12 days waiting for you as well.

Hope all is wonderful in your world on this day we have been given! Be blessed and enjoy every minute of it!

~ Scarlett