Inspiration Elevator Guest Designer Post

Hi Everyone!  I'm thrilled to be the guest this month at Inspiration Elevator.  It's a fabulous group with an even more fantabulous group of ladies to work with.  Here's the scoop on what they're all about:

Our main purpose here at IE is to challenge ourselves, each other and YOU to take the creative process to the next level;  to inspire growth and change in our scrapbooking beyond the mundane.
You can catch us on Facebook  and share your creations there; we'd love to see how we have inspired you!

This month's challenge is issued by the talented Wendi Robinson. Her first time to issue a challenge for IE and it's a great one! Here is her challenge in her own words:

LOSS... One thing we as scrapbookers do is post about lots of happy things, wonderful moments, things that make us smile, and things we want to remember. Too many times we avoid scrapping the not so memorable, or sad times. Most of us have experienced a loss of some kind, whether is be a loved one- sometimes it's expected, sometimes the loss comes too soon and unexpected. Other times we lose a pet, a job, feel like we've failed at a situation, or loss of a friendship. This time, let's scrap those harder moments that come into our lives. Scrap about a LOSS of some kind.

So yeah, wow, quite the challege because we don't often scrap about loss, right?  At first I thought whelp I'll do a memory page about one of the many beloved pets we've lost over the years.  Then tragedy struck our house and we actually one of those beloved pets quite unexpectedly. :(  My sweet Bella girl went far too soon and we're not quite sure why, but she passed peacefully in my arms at home.

Here she is:

She was a family dog, but ultimately my sweetheart.  I miss her dearly and knew I wouldn't be able to scrap anything about losing a pet.  So on to plan B which was to scrap something a little more raw and real.

This is how my page started - heavy journaling about my chronic illnesses and how they essentially made me feel when I learned I could no longer work outside the home as a teacher/administrator, coach my daughter's soccer team, teach Sunday school, or do the things I normally was able to do with ease.  I'm diagnosed with lupus, gastroparesis, fibromyalgia, chronic daily migraines, Raynaud's Syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, and so much more that comes with all those but I won't bore you.  To say I was devastated would be a major understatement.  I fell in to a depression and I didn't even really know it.  I kept plugging forward with a half smile on my face trying to the best I could for my family, hanging on to my faith the best I could, and trying to trust there was some type of reason for all this.

Seriously though?  I just felt lost.  My loss was of myself.  I didn't know who I was anymore.  My identity had become so wrapped in being a teacher, a mom that could do it all, a Sunday school teacher, a wife that was able to meet all her husband's needs and keep house, a friend that could do things, etc., etc., etc.  That was all gone! Gone!  I was sad, frustrated, confused, and yes angry.  But the sadness is probably what took over most.  I cried alone...... alot.  No one knew how much.

I worried how we'd pay bills going from a two income household down to one.  I worried about ever being able to function as a 'normal' person again.  None of illnesses have cures and the fact is one of them doctors don't even know how to deal with or adequately treat. :-/  I worried about being able to see my children grow up and still do on some days. The worry consumed me and as it did I found I had less and less people to turn to.  It's funny how you discover the peeps who will truly be in your corner when the chips are down.  When you can't kick it like you used to you'll know who your trues are, believe me.

So while I never thought I'd share this snapshot I took when I felt at one of my lowest points and turned my eyes up to God and literally cried out, I felt compelled to do so for this challenge.  The above photo I think sums it up pretty well.  I was shattered, depressed, and lost.  I felt I couldn't really tell anyone because everyone I knew knew me as such a happy being.  It finally took one of my doctor's nurses to say it was okay to be depressed in my situation.  Her exact words were "who wouldn't be?"  But even if someone isn't in my situation, it's still okay to be depressed. It's beyond a persons control when this happens, when this lost feeling takes over, and help needs to arrive in some shape or form.  I'm thankful for the day I received some kind words and the guidance to seek some help.  I have no shame in that.  

If you are in need of help or kind words, please know there is no shame and help is out there for you too!

Thank you for taking the time to read through my post, I know it's a bit heavier then what I typically put up and my LO isn't quite as whimsy, but the challenge called for this I think.  I'm also glad to say this photo was taken about 4 years ago now and life is much better.  I'm not going to say living with a heap of chronic illnesses is a bed of roses but I've learned how to adjust.

Now off you go to visit the rest of the lovely ladies to their amazing creations!

   Wendi Robinson

Katherine Sutton

Lisa Moen

Lisa Speigel

Ann Jobes

Jayne Morgan
Michelle Hernandez 

Guest Designer: Scarlett Salamone (happy you're here!)

Precious - Let's Scrap

It's that time again!  Another spectacular Let's Scrap sketch has been posted and you have the opportunity to play along for your chance to win a fun prize from this week's sponsor.

Having one teen graduated from high school (how is that even possible?? pfft! I'm far too young for that...LOL!) and the other a freshmen this year (double pfft!! for that) it has become increasingly more difficult to get pictures of them.  So what's a mama to do?  Take pictures of her goat babies of course!

This is Twilight, one of my loves around here on the farm, and I was super elated she actually stood still for this shot!  You don't even know how incredibly hard it is to get goats to cooperate for photoshoots until you have them trying to nuzzle your face while doing so.  I don't mind the nuzzles just wish I wasn't deleting so many photos after. ;)

The sketch this week was perfect for me to use to highlight her precious beauty on a gorgeous Fall day.

For the background I used on the newest ScrapFX stencils, Hash (2014290) to create a bit of country texture with some paste.  I also added bits of glitter glue to this when it was dry but you can't see the sparkle in my photo - bummer.  I really struggle capturing glitter at times.  I then stamped some subtle chicken wire patterning in a greyish tone around the background using my ScrapFX Chicken Wire Stamp (2013382).  In real life this is a really great touch - photo not so much against the mustard background. Of course there are the chippies and then the leaves were also stamped using a ScrapFX stamp onto some patterned paper.  

Here is this week's sketch I used:

My take is from the left side and I adjusted the photos to suit my needs.  I love being able to make sketches meet needs in this way.  Whether you use both sides and make a double page spread (you go with your bad self!), pick a side, adjust it to meet your needs, or follow along precisely, I do hope you play along! 

You can see the rest of this week's DT takes and link at Let's Scrap, here.

Take care and I'll see you soon as I have so much to share my to blog folder is bursting. O.o

Life's Tough

Hey There!  It's been busy, busy around here since Fall weather has decided to make an appearance a tad earlier than normal.  The chill in the air and and just under 40 degree mornings means we've been kicking it in to high gear to make sure the farm is prepared.  It makes for long days and a tired body at night that is for sure.  But I still have managed creative time and have back logged projects to share, so let's get to that shall we?

This page was created for ScrapFX and documents my baby girl's concussion she received playing softball, much to her dismay - ha!  The release of medical stuff from ScrapFX was perfect for my family sadly - yeesh.  We are a bit of an accident waiting to happen with two very active teens, a hubby that works with police dogs, and well you get the idea. ;)

I'm pretty smitten with the newer Ripples Stencil (2014155) and used it here to start off my background with some paste.  I thought it'd give the feeling of being dizzy you know??  Once it was dry I went over it with some paint and then added some stamping with the Spiral Spots Stamps (2014153)  to further the feeling.  The Life's Tough (2014183) wordlet was painted black and then splattered with some colored string gel.  I think it's definitely symbolic of all the chaos we were feeling at the time.  The string gel is also used throughout the page in other spots.

Here you can see one of those medical pieces in action.  This piece is from the ironically titled Ouch Pack (2014165).  I think it's kind of adorable for an ouch piece and would be perfect for little booboos on toddler type pages, etc.  But my big girl deserved it too. ;) 

Another piece from the Ouch pack and lots and lots of stars to compliment the ones on the other ouch piece.  I'm so glad I picked up a bunch of those mini stars ions ago when they were on clearance at Ms.  They're terrific to splatter on a page every now and then, a big mess to do so, but worth it. :D

So yeah life can be tough when you're a teen and catch a concussion playing the sport you love, but you live through it, your mom scraps it, and then you die a thousands deaths because gasp! the whole world is going to see the picture you already posted on FB.  LOL.  Ahh well, what'cha going to do??

I hope you all have beautiful days!  I'm off to do more chores on the farm and delight in the fact that the sun is at least shining.  Take care and remember ScrapFX is still having their DT call!!

1st Car

Hey Sweetie Peeps!  Here today to share up a LO I recently created for ScrapFX featuring my oldest and his new to him car. ;)  Yes, we roll like that.  There are no brand spankin' hot rods round here, but to say he was thrilled with getting my car, as I got a new to me car to fit my goatees and hay in, would be an understatement.

This page started off with a sheet of the new Basic Grey Highline (well I guess it's not that new anymore - ha!) and some gesso.  From there I splashed on some mist with a paintbrush and added my texture with paste using the Tyre Track Stencil (2014177) from ScrapFX.  While I waited for that to dry I layered up my photos with some others papers from the collection's 6x6 pad, outline my title chippie, and cut out my transparency piece (a new item to ScrapFX).

Once my paste was dry I went over it some mist in metallic colors to add a bit of color and then sprinkled that randomly with silver embossing powder while still wet.  A little blast with the heat gun and some additional funky texture was created.

To finish off the page I added in some stamping.  I'm totally hooked on it these days and can't seem to complete a project without it.  Here I used the ScrapFX Gear (2014176) and Hash (2014137) Stamps.  The Hash stamps were used first as a background stamp providing a little interest and breakup to the misted background.  I love these little stamps and know I'll be using them a lot on my mixed media creations.  The Gear stamps were stamped using VersaMark, sprinkled with silver embossing powder, and heat set.  The last touch on the page some outlining with Liquitex fluid ink around the edges of the photo layers and the page itself.  

When I got done with this page I looked at it and thought of the Blues Brothers, LOL.  Don't know why, just did. I was ultimately just glad to have scrapped a page though.  This was the first one done in a long stretch of time.  I'll be back to full mojo soon I think. ;)

Until then thanks for hanging in there with me. :)

Crop Projects

Well, the Totally Tubular crop at A Walk Down Memory Lane wrapped up and I am kind of bummed because I just couldn't squeeze in any of the challenges. That's what life as a sports mama does, I guess, and I am happy to sit and watch my kiddos play sports they love! The announcement of the Queen of the Crop will come today!

I did post 2 challenges for the crop based on a couple of my favorite TV shows for others to participate in.

First up was my Sesame Street challenge. I don't think I'll ever outgrow watching an occasional Sesame Street episode here and there, LOL! I was so amazed the last time DD decided she would watch it that the theme song had changed a bit. Very hip, I must say.

So my challenge was to create a LO with numbers, letters, and at least 1 monster.... bonus kudos if you could make it fuzzy.

He Calls Him Melmo

I just love this picture of my DS when he was just a toddler. He adored everything Elmo, but couldn't quite say Elmo and always called him Melmo! I adored how he would say it and don't ever want to forget this sweet memory.

I made my red monster fuzzy by adding some flock to it with glittering glue and of course what's a monster without some googly eyes, so that was a must as well!

I used up lots of scraps and bits of this and that for this project including stuff from Basic Grey, Sassfras Lass, Studio Calico, bella Boulevard, and October Afternoon.

Next up was my Extreme Home Make Over Challenge. This is the only show I make sure to watch on a weekly basis and we do it as a family. My challenge was to include something you would buy at a Hardware store on your LO.

Geared Up

This was DH getting ready to head into the batting cages one day this summer. I thought it was a perfect photo for grunging up a bit and playing with some Hardware Store finds.


The gray mesh like stuff is some sort of tape and the black strip with holes is too. That became black after I actually used it as a stencil with some paint for a different project. I grunged up the photo just a bit by using some distressing ink and the papers are We R Memory Keepers.

Thanks for stopping by today and remember to head on over to A Walk Down Memory Lane to take advantage of 25% off this month's featured manufacturers: Studio calico and Woodware Stamps!

God Bless and Happy Scrappin' ~ Scarlett

Some Creations to Share

Well, my hope of keeping up daily with the ABC crop at My Sketch World has been blown out of the water LOL!!! With DSs football practices and DDs soccer and softball practices, I am an under paid taxi driver at the moment!! I do love they are soo active and will be happier when games start. Even though that means more running, I love watching my kiddos play their sports! It's ok to be a bit behind in the crop though since there is still LOTS of time to scrap and that will be my plan for this weekend! We are up to 60+ NEW members playing along with the oldies, but goodies! WOW! And another WOW goes to the new DT teams Lucy just announced the other day! YAHOO, I still get to be a card diva! Love Lucy's sketches and I am sure you will too, so make sure you check them out! Ok, enough gabbin' on to the projects.

Here is what I created for G and H:

G is for Girly (use girly green color on a card) - Happy 'Bird' Day

I have been working REALLY hard to use up my ginormous stash of patterned papers and other items lately. These papers are from an older K&Co. line and so is the glittery flower and bird.

H is for Hot (use colors red, yellow, and orange on a LO) - Corny Cousins

I used my stash again and was able to use almost all the last little bits of my Lime Rickey stuff from Basic Grey. What I have left now will go to some cheery cards or DD!
Close Ups:




Thanks so much for visiting me! Hope your evening is wonderful!
Happy Scrappin' ~ Scarlett

D is for Dots!

I just love polka dots! For whatever reason they make me happy and I really enjoy creating with them. So the D challenge was only a challenge in trying to narrow down what polka dot papers I was going to use LOL!

On The Daily


This is DD and our old lady Tika. Tika will be 10 in just a couple days. She absolutely has to wait by DDs side every morning before school. They are always so cute waiting for the bus together. The Max and Whiskers line by Basic Grey was perfect for this page!

Some Close Ups:




Remember there is still lots of time to come and join us at My Sketch World for the ABC crop. If you are looking to get A LOT of projects done in a month, then this is where it's at! You have the entire month to work on all the challenges.

B is for Border Punches!

Happy Wednesday Everyone! I am so excited to really be getting my scrap on again! The mojo has been flowing and it feels good to participate again at some of my favorite places to be like My Sketch World and Let's Scrap!

Hopefully I will be coming to you daily with each challenge I complete for the ABC crop currently going on at MSW. See yesterday's post for more details! Challenge D is already posted, but maybe

I can knock C and D out today to get current!
For the B challenge I used the fabulous sketch posted this week at Let's Scrap!

Here is the sketch:


My take using just the left side:

Ma & Pa

I used a lot of different manufacturers on this one: Studio Calico, October Afternoon, Basic Grey, K&Co., Martha Stewart, Cosmo Cricket, and punches from Fiskars and EK Success.

Some Close Ups:


I have been wanting to use this cow from Cosmo Cricket for soo long! I just {heart} cows! Really happy to have my Cosmo Cricket Unity stamp set from A Walk Down Memory Lane as well! That is where the stamped sentiments on the cardstock stickers came from.

This bee is from the Unity stamp set as well. I was really pleased with how my banner came out and plan on layering up banners more often, it really adds a lot of character, don't cha think?

These little chairs from Studio Calico kind of threw me for a loop, but I loved them and thought they were so stinkin' cute.

Thanks for stopping by today!
Happy Scrappin' ~ Scarlett

More Cards Using Stampavie Stamps

Stampavie stamps are so wonderfully detailed and cute; they just make me smile! A Walk Down Memory Lane has a lovely collection of these super stamps and this month they are 25% off along with all Jenni Bowlin Studios products.

Here are a couple more cards I created using the Stampavie stamps:

Celebrate

For this card I used Basic Grey Nook & Pantry papers from the 6x6 paper pad available in the store. I really love this line of papers and am not sure why I waited so long to pick it up. I had been drawn to it, but was never quite sure what I would do with it. Now I am reaching for it all the time!

Happy Birthday

For this one, I used Cosmo Cricket The Boyfriend papers from the mini deck available in the store. I just love that companies offer you a big version of papers and a little one for cards. I also love the bonus patterns you get in the Cosmo mini decks!

Have wonderful evenings!
Scarlett

It's a Reveal Day!!

Happy Saturday to you! We finally have a sunny day here and I am super excited about that! I am also excited today because I get to share with some projects I have been working on for My Sketch World and A Walk Down Memory Lane.

Lucy, the owner of My Sketch World, posts amazing sketches, for both LOs and cards on the 1st and 15th of every month. So, with today being the 15th I have a lovely new card to share with you.



I totally wish I could sew so I have been really relishing in all the new tailored and sewing theme products that are available now. The stamp I used is from The Girls' Paperie and so is the patterned paper. I attached the eyelet skirt using the Tim Holtz Idea-ology tiny attacher... I am in love with this tool and it is available in the A Walk Down Memory Lane store!

The pleat shown here and the flower were both made using the yummy fabric paper from American Crafts from the Dear Lizzy line.

I have been sharing projects from AWDML using Jenni Bowlin so far this month and now it's time for me to share a project from the other featured manufacturer this month, Stampavie. The stamps they offer are full of wonderful detail and I enjoyed working with them.

Hi



Isn't that a cutie stamp?? You can get one for yourself for 25% off in the store. I used Basic Grey Nook and Pantry for my papers and those are also available there.

Thanks for stopping by; hope you all have lovely days!

Sketch-A-Thon Happenings

The February Sketch-A-Thon at My Sketch World is going strong!! It is amazing to see all the different creations being made using the same sketches. More than half the sketches are posted and we still have 9 more to go!!! WOW! I must say Lucy is doing an outstanding job coming up with a variety of sketches! You have until the 3rd of March to participate, so don't hesitate to get on over there and start printing out sketches!!

I have been able to get through a total of 3 so far. I already posted my LO for sketch 1. Sketch 2 was a card sketch.

My card: Love Nest



I just love this fun line of paper from My Mind's Eye!!! The colors are fab and the birdies are just soo cute!!

Close Up:



I used a Prima flower, button from Foof-a-la, ribbon from MM, and the chipboard hearts are from Basic Grey covered with Martha Stewart glitter.

Sketch #3 is a LO sketch!! I am LOVIN' all the circles Lucy is using!

My LO: 1st Chick



Hehe!!! I am soo glad my DS has such an awesome sense of humor, he cracked up when he saw this title!!! I used a mix of BG papers and I'm not sure where the circle die is from.

Here's some close ups:



I love that little recipe card from October Afternoon! It worked perfectly for this country LO!



The butterflies are from K&Co. and I cut the trees from Bella Blvd. paper. The tall flower is from Basic Grey, so is teh border sticker down the side of the picture. The lower border is K&Co.



I really love the country feel I was able to get for this LO and the softness there is for a boy's page, yet I don't feel like it is too frilly!

Hope to see you at MSW!!

New Sketch Wednesday at Let's Scrap!!

Its that time again.... a new sketch just went up on Let's Scrap and it's another good one! Cheri has really been rockin' the sketches over there lately!! Fabulous 2 pagers that can easily be done as 1 pagers for those of use that prefer to scrap that way! I really do love 2 pagers, I just never have enough photos that are great of the same event! LOL!

I had a lot of fun with this sketch and wound up being able to make DH a Valentine present in the process!

Blip, Bleep, Wwhhiiirrrrr!



This is DH and I during the summer. We rarely get pictures together and I made him take this one while the kids were swimming. I just love having my picture with him!!

Close Up Shots:


To create the swirled mat for my photo I used grunge board, colored it with reinker, then added some Perfect Pearls, finally sanding away some of the Pearls for the red and pattern to shoe through.




I just loved these cutie lil' robots when I saw them!!!
Supplies: Cardstock: Recollections; Patterned Papers: K&Co (robots), Me & My Big Ideas, Sassafras Lass, Basic Grey; Letters: Thickers, Basic Grey, Heidi Swapp, AdornIt; Embellishments: Elle's Studio, K&Co., Fancy Pants, Basic Grey, Recollections, Me & My Big Ideas; Inks: Tsukineko reinker, VersaMark, Perfect Pearls, Ranger Distress Ink, Colorbox; Paints: Aleene's Paper glaze; Pens: Sakura; Tools: sandpaper; Other: Martha Stewart glitter, Recollections pom pom ribbon

Be sure to head on over to Let's Scrap to see the new sketch and what the other DT has in store for you! Don't forget to check out my challenge while you're there too!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

One of this month's featured manufacturers at A Walk Down Memory Lane is Fancy Pants. I just love their stuff and you have to check out the DT blog as well as the gallery to see what the new DT has done with all their great products. Here are a few boy LOs I created featuring the Rough and Tough line:

Just Plane Cute



Right Now



On a Jet Plane



You can find the Fancy pants papers I used for these LOs in the AWDML store. The store also has a number of other products I used on these LOs as well, such as Thickers, Basic Grey chipboard pieces, fancy pants chipboard pieces, and more! Be sure to head on over to get your 25% off Fancy Pants and Hero Arts. I will be showcasing some projects using their stamps later in the month!

Scrapdango Crowned Contest - Week 1

WooHoo, I finally made it over and actually participated in one of Scrapdango's fun contests! Week 1 was the evening gown competition. There was a yummy recipe posted and I just couldn't resist especially since my girl Lisa from MSW was hosting it right along with Heather!

Here's what I came up with:


I used Basic Grey adn October Afternoon papers. The flowers are made out of fabric, which was a requirement. I also used rhinestones and pearls..... both requirements. Along with ink for the edges and 3D dots. It will be exciting to see who gets sashed!

Some Close Up Shots:



The minute I ran across this picture, this idea popped into my head. I really want the photo to be focused on my DD, but there was no good way to crop the picture. This idea worked out perfectly!



These are the first flowers I have ever made out of fabric!! I soo love what people can do with fabric, but haven't really found my nitch in it just yet!!! A big thanks to Kristie over at Let's Scrap for the super tutorial on how to make these cutie lil' flowers!! You can find it in the forum under tricks and tips!



I glittered up the crown before I added the rhinestones, but its hard to tell. Loved this challenge!!

Look What I did in an Hour....

The MSW monthly 1 hour crop was this past Sunday. It's such a rush to try and get a full page or 6 cards done in an hour!! This time around it was a LO challenge. The sketch of Lucy's was tremendous to work with and I actually finished and uploaded before the full hour was up!! That was a record for me.

Here is the LO I created:



This LO has such special meaning to me. The picture is of some flowers I received from Lucy, the owner of MSW, during this past month.

With the tag out:



The back of the tag is where I placed my journaling. This is what it reads:

I received these flowers from my friend and fearless leader Lucy at MSW (My Sketch World). They were to represent the cyber friends praying and loving me from afar in the midst of some serious health struggles. Life with lupus is not ever easy, but seeing these petals reminds me I have an army to lean and I will not fall!

Thanks to all my MSW girlies out there and my Let's Scrap peeps too!! Love ya' all and can't ever tell you how much your prayers and love mean.

The patterned papers I used are from DreamStreet, the tag is from Elle's Studio, and the FAITH card is from Jenni Bowlin. All of these items can be found in the A Walk Down Memory Lane store. Just click on the name to get there.

And how about a card to end the evening with. This is another creation using some goodies from the A Walk Down Memory Lane store.

LOVE



This card was created using the MSW January 15th card sketch. I turned it a bit to suit what I had in mind. Aren't those birdies cute??! I just had to put this DreamStreet paper in my cart while shopping at AWDML.

Close Up



I used a Martha Stewart punch to create the squares, the letters are Basic Grey, Fiskars border punch for the top, and Queen Ann & Co pearls.