Want to be part of .....

....something amazing, innovative, and just plain ol' AWESOME??  Anam Stubbington of Sketches 2 Scrapbook, Sketches 4 Cards, and the world famous Twisted Sketches is having an OPEN CALL for you wonderful artists to be part of the next releases of Sketches 2 Scrapbook and Sketches 4 Cards!  This is an amazing app available on iTunes that allows for inspiration right at your fingertips without having to lug around magazines or laptops!

You can check out all of the details and requirements HERE!  She is soooo super awesome to work with and this app is kick ass!  You can also get to the information by clicking on the title of this post as well!

My Kick-Start!

Hopefully, this li'l dandy of a card is just what I needed to kick-start my lazy-@$$ mojo!  I am just loving this card!  I decided to work with color and this palette happened purely by accident.  I also used a Page Maps "Card Maps" sketch for this one too!  I love me some sketches!

I was digging through my scraps drawer and picking out papers to make 2 cards.  I chose Echo Park's "For the Record" and My Mind's Eye "Stella & Rose".  They were suppose to be used separately!  When I laid my chosen papers onto my table, the orange MME was on top of the teal EP and I had a stroke (almost literally) or genius!  These 2 papers were PERFECT together!

I decided to use Maya Road's new journaling tags with some Sassafras Lass turquoise lettering to tie my color scheme together.  The transparent floral embellishment is by Fancy Pants and I thought was the perfect li'l something this card needed.  The tiny black lettering is by Making Memories and I just love how it pops against the MME herringbone paper and just brings the black highlights together.

Here is the sketch I was inspired to use for this card.

I am just loving this card and can't wait for it's intended recipient to get it!  Let's see if I can keep the mojo going!

At the very top of my wishlist....

"DAILY JUNQUE!"

How gorgeous is this line?!  I just love all of the fun, eclectic, whimsical colors and patterns.  The fact that there are punches black just highlights the beauty of these papers!   I have so many ideas for projects, cards, pages!  The ideas are just flooding through my head!  

Just had to share this with you all!  I think I know what my next "treat myself" purchase will be. 

Timeless *Sketch 093*

This week's Twisted Sketch is up!  All I can say is, "Curse you circles!"  I have found that my new "arch nemesis" would be the circle!  I seem to have THE HARDEST time using them in my pages and the sketch I had to use this week had not one, but TWO of these bad boys!  Maybe I have a hard time because I NEVER use circles unless I have to!  However, this week's twist, "swirl", is a super-easy one to use!  We use them all the time on our pages!

I chose to use this amazing photo of my oldest daughter.  I had victorian-esque portraits done when she was about a year old.  I figured what better paper to use than Pink Paislee's "Sweetness"!  The color, styling, and just the name of the paper is perfect!

"Timeless" Sketch 093

Here are some close-ups of the detail work and layering.

The flowers are by Recollections.  For the life of me, I cannot remember who made all of the brads I used and the glittery leaves are from a floral spray from Michael's.

Thank you for taking a peek!  Don't forget to go over to Twisted Sketches and check the pages the rest of the Twisted Sisters did for your inspiration!

**LOST**

It seems my mojo has gone missing!  Has anyone seen it? 

Maybe it's sunning on tropical beach?

Maybe taking a ski vacation in Utah? 

Maybe just incognito somewhere around here?? 

I need some mojo magic and quick!

Luck O' The Irish, Lass!

Good morning, lassies and maybe even some lads!  Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Are you wearing green and feeling lucky today?  Do you know the history behind St. Patty's Day?  Believe it or not, it was actually a RELIGIOUS holiday in Ireland...and no it was to drink "religiously" *wink*.  You can read more here.

Have any of you made anything for the holiday?  I haven't.  Apparently, my mojo decided to skip off with a leprechaun to enjoy some corned beef and Jameson and it hasn't come back yet! 

Please leave a comment telling us about your St. Patrick's Day traditions or your plans for today!

My Sad, Sad Heart

I don't know about everyone else out there, but my heart is just crying for Japan...and has been since Friday.  I didn't watch the news at all this week because it just rips my heart out. 

My family and I have ties to the country because of the military.  Granted, most of those ties are south in Okinawa but there are some in the mainland.  Thankfully, everyone is ok, but that doesn't really ease the sadness and grief the people are feeling. 

The devastation is beyond words.  Please keep those people and the country in your prayers.  They truly need it right now in this dark hour. 

You all are in my prayers.

すべての私の祈りです。

 

Let's get "Twisted"!

Good morning!  That's right.  Today is Wednesday!  That means it's time to get TwIsTeD!  The latest sketch is live and hoppin' at Twisted Sketches.

This week's sketch was so much fun to work with  and the twist was super easy!  We all use it on most of our pages!  CHIPBOARD!   Another awesome note about this week...I got to play with my new My Mind's Eye stuff!  I've had it sitting over on my table since it all arrived in the mail a few weeks ago.  Between being super busy with The Tribe and several other deadlines, I never really got a chance to dive into it all!  And let me tell  you.  This line is AMAZING!  I just love the color schemes and how rustic it is.

Anyway, here's pics of my take on the new sketch.

This is my oldest and my son last summer.  I took them fishing for the first time and they just LOVED it!  I can't wait until the summer to take them again.

Thanks for stopping by and please go check out the other Twisted Sisters and let us all inspire you!

So AWESOME news about my friend DAWN!

So my friend Dawn is an up-and-comer in the scrapbooking world and she just got her FIRST featured artist spot!  And check this out.....IT'S ON AN INTERNATIONAL SITE!  How fuh-reaking cool is that??!!  I am totally excited for her.  She's also on the DT over at Paper Issues as well. 

She's being featured on the Artfull Crafts blog.  Artfull Crafts is a craft store in New Zealand.  They were so mesmerized by her work, they asked her they could feature her on their site.

Please show your love and your support and visit Artfull Crafts, Paper Issues, and her blog, Mojo Mayhem.  I am sure you will just love her whimsical and fun style.  Below is a sampling of some of her work.

Thanks for showing your support and love!

"Unlucky" is the ChALLeNgE!

Holy cow!  Two posts in one day??!!!  AMAZING!!!  You guys are getting spoiled!  ;)  This post is a bit.......unlucky.  That's right.  It's March and it's UNLUCKY!

The new challenges at A Cherry on Top are live and active.  And since I am now hosting the Theme Challenge, I figured what better way to get my feet wet than with the anti-thesis of St Patty's "luck o' the Irish" theme.  I decided to go with "unlucky".

This is a picture of my husband's "unluckiness".  This is his project car, Ashley.  It seems whenever he gets one thing fixed, another breaks.  In this case, his brake actually CAME APART while driving home one day.  My husband has said that he does have a sure-fire way to fix it.  A sledgehammer.  This car has been one headache after another for him.  Now this.  I'm just glad that he made it home safely.

Come on over to visit us at A Cherry on Top and give our awesome challenges a go!  I'm sure you will find something to inspire you. 

I Just Want to Say "FOR THE RECORD"....

That title should be the perfect hint as to what my VERY FIRST reveal at A Cherry on Top uses!  I was sooooo lucky to be able to play with Echo Park's "For the Record".  I cannot believe how beautiful this line is in person!  Pictures just don't do it justice.  This has got to be one of the most versatile lines I've used.  It really is adaptable to just about any style.

For the first page, I used a more "antiquey" style.  I love mixing the "formal" styles with silly photos.  I think it makes that particular style a lot less intimidating.  I really love how the colors in this line work so beautifully together.  You really can mix and match any two papers in the line!

Here are some close ups of the detail work on this one.  The doilies are from MME new "Stella Rose" line.  I stamped them onto the patterned paper instead of solid color cardstock to add some whimsy and visual interest.  I just LOVE how they turned out! 

For my second page, I decided to use a more simple and minimalistic approach.  I mixed the floral "old fashioned" style paper with some of the more artsy elements like the layered flower and the hot air balloon.  The yellow journaling card adds a nice punch of color.

For the last page I did, I used some large color blocking.  I mixed the colors in the line again and it really makes for a beautifully striking page.

I added the flourish cs sticker and did some red doodling around it to keep it cohesive.  To add an artsy feel to the page, I placed that wonderful bird sticker down in the corner.  For a final touch of balance, I used MME stamps from the "Stella Rose" set.  The little bird stick pin was sent to me from my friend, Dawn.  It was ordered from an Etsy store called Such Sweet Tierney.

For my final project, I decided to do a small piece of wall art.  My neighbors are so super awesome.  In fact, we do a lot together and they regard my kids as their own and vice versa.  Their son is my oldest daughter, Madison's, BFF.  They  included her in a family photo from a parents' lunch day at school.  Because they do so much are so EPICALLY AWESOME, I made this for them.

I used a page from a Melissa Frances "BINGO" book.  I kept this fairly simple and used ribbons and fibers from my stash.

The white "wiry" looking fiber is actually something I found in my mom's stash!  She had a lot of this kind of cool stuff from when I was a kid!  How cool is that??!!

I really enjoyed working with this line and it has quickly become a favorite of mine.  For more on this reveal, please check out the article over at A Cherry a Top.

My FIRST Reveal at ACOT **Sneak Peek**

Good morning everyone!  I'm sorry I haven't posted lately.  I've been feeling a bit under the weather for the last couple weeks.  Whatever this nastiness that is going around is, I HOPE NONE OF YOU GET IT!  Whatever happened to the good ol' days of a cold only lasting 3-4 days??  This week or two nonsense is straight up BS and I CALL SHENANIGANS!

Anyway, enough of my complaining.  Onto the business at hand!  MY FIRST REVEAL as a member of the awesome Creative Team over at A Cherry on Top.  This is only a sneak peek.  The full monty will go live tomorrow...so you'll have to check here and the ACOT website for the juicy li'l details!

And there you have your tease!  ;)