(Erin) "Today" C'est Magnifique reveal!

Hi there! It's actually Friday night here but I'm setting this to auto-post in a couple of hours- should be in bed right now as I'm leaving early in the morning with my mom to go spend the day/night with Kelly before she has her baby! Yay! But I wanted to make sure I posted another one of my layouts using the April 2012 kit from C'est Magnifique! I actually created 5 projects using this kit- this being only the second one you've seen. I decided I'm going to post them here randomly throughout the next couple of weeks- so keep checking back!
This layout titled "Today" is for my oldest, Wyatt. We recently got him his first 4-wheeler and it was such a proud day for me as a mom to be able to make that dream come true for him. He just loves it- and is such a natural!
Here's a look at my layout, using the April sketch by Nadia Cannizzo- be sure to check out the blog and play along!I just love how versatile the "My Private Happiness" line is from The Scrap Cake- you can go very feminine or quite masculine- and being a mother of two boys, I definitely need to be able to make some of my projects more masculine. The greens and blues accomplished that quite well I think!

And, of course, some closeups for you:I'm just still SO in love with this kit- you definitely need to check out this stuff! Leslie puts together the most beautiful, coordinating pieces- and with a flower add-on and embellishment add-on in addition to the main kit- your scrappy possibilities are endless! So get on over there and have a look around- you won't be disappointed, I promise! :)
But I should get to bed now- hope you all have an amazing weekend- I know I will!
Thanks for stopping by,
xErin

(Kelly)

Good morning!! I can't believe it's been nearly a week since I've had something to post...I've been quite busy cleaning/organizing/getting ready for baby, and I've also become a little bit obsessed with sewing!! I have made a few quilts, and lots of burp cloths and bibs. I finally made some time to scrap, just to make sure I hadn't forgotten how!!
So here's a layout I made for the sketch challenge over at Let's Get Sketchy!  What I love about this layout is, I pretty much forced myself to use only what I had sitting out on my extremely messy desk. I had tons of scraps from recent projects, little flowers and embellishments strewn everywhere...So I challenged myself to use what I had sitting out, instead of making more of a mess! The whole time I was putting this together...I kept thinking, "this is all wrong...everything clashes!" But in the end, I think I was quite successful in  pulling all the colors together. It's quite the accomplishment, to me, to make Jillibean Soup, My Mind's Eye, and Echo Park all "work" on one layout!
Now, I have a question...I have noticed my tendency to really stray from sketches, and make them my own. While, in my opinion, I think this is a great thing to do, I often wonder if maybe the challenge sites don't like you to do this so much? Or is it perfectly ok? I think this layout is a pretty good example of that, the sketch really left a lot of "play" in it, being as it was a pretty simple sketch. And while I can still see the basics of the sketch in my layout, I definitely moved things around a bit and did my own thing.
What do you think? Is this perfectly ok to do, or do you think that sketch challenge participants should try to stick closer to the sketches? I'd appreciate any feedback :)
Anyway...here's my layout!! Another older photo of my Lilah, at about 3 months old. She looks so sweet...looks to me like she's thinking "I'm adorable and I know it!!"

Sketch from Let's Get Sketchy!

(Erin) "Just Kids" OUAS March 15th

Good morning :)- I truly hope you are all having a much better day than myself- struggling with a migraine yet again! Man, the are nasty things...but I will make it through eventually! :)~
I am here today to share with you my entry for the current challenge over @ Once Upon A...Sketch- bet you thought I was going to sit this one out, eh? ;)- nope! I never miss one of their challenges- just getting to it a little later than usual- been rather busy of late!
The journaling prompt this time is "I Miss..."~ and naturally, I thought of my dad (Papa) who I lost at the age of 13. But since I've done a few layouts about him and the subject of his death- and also because my sister did her page on him for this same challenge-, I decided to go in another direction.
I chose to focus on my childhood. Even though times were not always good or happy, I miss the innocence and simplicity that go along with being a kid. The photo I chose to scrap is of myself and my two very best friends, Desi & Carrie. We were 12 years old and I remember this special day as if it were yesterday. My journaling reads as follows:
I miss days like this one- August 1996- Carrie's 12th b-day. I remember years later, Carrie referring to this day as the best day of her life. I'm sure that now, being married & having had a couple of children, she would no longer refer to this day as "the best"- but perhaps one of the best. And I'd agree.
We were just a few carefree, silly girls. I love that Carrie has here Walkman on here! If I recall, an Alanis Morissette tape was in it. Her totally awesome mom Darnell trucked us around all day long & we just had a blast. We thought we were so cool & couldn't wait to grow up.
And then we did.
Yet often I find myself wanting those innocent days back again. It's sad how incredibly short childhood is compared to the rest of our lives. It makes me want even more to keep my kids little for longer, and remind them that- soon enough- they'll be grown. And they themselves will look back on their own memories & say, "I wish I could go back- Mom was right."-
Just as I do.
Here is my layout, using the Prima "Sun Kiss" collection:Based on yet another fabulous sketch from Nadia:A closeup of the amazing flowers, most touched up with gesso:I documented my journaling on a cluster of handmade tags and partially hid them behind my photo:While painting my cardboard pieces, I got the idea to, while still wet, press it into my pile of the tiny bits and pieces from my border punching. It acted as a glue to create this fun confetti look:Thank-you so much for stopping by and taking the time to have a read. I'm hoping to get the time today to get around to all of your blogs and leave you some love...this mirgraine business really takes me out of the loop when it strikes- sorry I haven't been around much!
Take care :),
xErin

(Erin) Creative Scrappers #201 Reveal!

Good evening! Coming to you a day late (Kristine was having a bit of computer trouble), I am here to share with you my layout for Creative Scrappers sketch reveal #201! I have my hands full of children, so this will have to be a quick post- SO here goes!
Here is my layout (using GORGEOUS papers from The Scrap Cake!):Based on this amazing sketch:I really hope you get the chance to play along with us- you could be the winner of the FABULOUS prize sponsored by Manor House Creations!! You have until March 31st!

(Kelly) "Kids at Play"

Good morning! And happy Friday!! I hope everyone has a fun weekend planned...me, I have to work, but I'm counting down now, I have only one week of work left, yippeee!!!! Anyway...I have another layout I made from the Artful Delight March Scrapbook Kit, I am so in love with this wonderful kit!!! I do believe there are still some left, follow the link above! Today is also the last day to play along with the March Sketch Challenge, for a chance to win the April kit!

I used a wonderful sketch from Melenia over at Get Creative.

A little close up, here, I did lots of layering of the OA label stickers, fussy cut flowers from one of the MME papers, and I cut one of the Dear Lizzy pinwheels in half and used half here, half up top. Then I topped  it off with some of the pretty buttons and twine...

(Kelly) "Happy Day"

Good Morning!! All that beautiful weather we've been bragging about?? Has turned into rain and gloom the past two days..*sigh* makes me a little tired and slow, lol...or maybe it has something to do with being 9 months pregnant? Not quite sure. But, I have managed to get a lot of scrapbooking done, and I have even been doing some sewing!! I am teaching myself to sew, and last night i made my very first quilt, for the baby!!! I'm so excited about this, mostly because it was self taught, I'd been scared to try forever, and it turned out great!! I'll have to share photos later.
Anyway...down to business! I have a layout to share that I made for the My Mind's Eye Blog Challenge #33. I used mostly the "Fiddlesticks" collection. One thing I love the most about MME is that their products, for me, make a page so easy to put together. Everything coordinates so nicely, even if you mix and match lines a little bit! Here's my layout, photos are from our very first "Springy" day we had here, Lilah was absolutely thrilled to go for a walk and check out all the melting snow, and mud, too!  I switched up the sketch a bit, too, I added a second photo, and some extra clusters, to make it more "me".
I also would like to enter this one for the A-Z challenge at Scrapbooker's Anonymous, using the letter "H." I used "H" for  my title "Happy Day."

 

(Erin) "Fish Face" Get Creative March 15th

Well good morning! It looks like it's going to be another beautiful day here (I'm still amazed at the way spring came to us a couple months early!) and there's much to do outside- but I wanted to share with you a layout I created yesterday using the March 15th layout challenge sketch from over at Get Creative. Since it's been so nice out lately, the kids are almost ALWAYS outside, which is so great- and I've been able to stalk them like that crazy photo-taking mom I am and get just a ton of awesome pictures!! :)
This particular one of Gunner and his "fish face" I just fell in love with! I love this little guy SO much, I cannot even relay it to you properly...he is such a joy to me. He has the funniest and most quirky personality...I do not know what on earth I would do without him!! And even though he's proving his stubborn ability to almost NEVER look at the camera here, I still love being able to capture his sweet little face...
Here is my project, using the GORGEOUS Pink Paislee "Spring Jubliee" papers:Based on this sketch created by the fabulous Melenia for Get Creative:And, of course, some closeups. Here I wanted to show you the little bundle of sticks I nabbed from the porch after Gunner left them there. I just broke them down, painted them with gesso, and tied them up with some twine and lace remnants:Here's a closeup of the layers beneath the photo. I have fallen back in love with cardboard. It's SO versatile and adds that perfect amount of texture. Oh, and fabric too- love it.:Here I wanted to show you a couple of things. I used gesso and a Studio Calico mask to create the white painted design. Also, I stitched my paper circle and then tore the edges afterwards. Finally, I'm totally digging the confetti trend I've been seeing EVERYWHERE- it's fabulous. I punched some hearts from scraps and used a plain hole punch as well to create my confetti, and lastly added some bling and pearls:But I'd better get busy. The kiddos are already outside playing (and fighting, of course!)- so I should probably go play ref. I hope your day is beautiful :)~ take care,
xErin

(Erin) "Cutie" Prima BAP

**This is our second post of the day. Please scroll down to see Kelly's layout**

Happy Sunday afternoon! It's beautiful, but muggy here today- and the majority of my day has been spent inside, working on this page lol. It's been a while since I've been able to create a page for a challenge as I've been quite busy with design team work. But through the last several hours between feeding kids and the usual, I did manage to complete this layout for the Prima March Build a Page challenge. I chose to use the gorgeous Meadow Lark collection, a new line from Prima. And of course a nice variety of gorgeous Prima flowers to go with it.
Here is my project:Based on this sketch:Some closeups:
I created my banner by first painting some cardboard with gesso and cutting banner shapes from it. Then I used my Martha Stewart "Garden Rail" border punch on some strips of Meadow Lark scraps, inked them with a Prima "Old Rose" fluid chalk ink, and sewed them onto the tops of the cardboard banner pieces. Finally I strung them together with some pink jute cord. I love the rustic texture I ended up with:For my hidden journaling, I created my own tag using some more Meadow Lark scraps:
I do hope you all had a really great weekend. We spent our St. Patrick's Day on our 4-wheelers. We hauled Wyatt's 4-wheeler to the gravel pit where he had the greatest time racing through the mud, getting stuck, and climbing hills. It's so fun watching him!
Today, my husband is working on putting up the pine paneling in our new living room addition- after several months of doing NOTHING! It's so nice to see a little progress...getting anxious to actually have a scrap space!
Thanks so much for stopping by. I appreciate your company :)~
xErin

(Kelly) "Signs of Spring"

Good afternoon, everyone!! I really hope you all had a nice weekend, I sure did...the weather has been just gorgeous for the past few days, in the 70's...that's pretty unusual for March in Minnesota!! I really hope mother nature isn't just toying with us, only to send snow next week or something.. because if that is the case I just jumped the gun on doing a "spring" layout, lol!
I made this one for the awesome dual challenge going on over at The Paper Variety and ScrapFIT. TPV provided a wonderful sketch, and ScrapFIT's challenge is to do your journaling in a list style. I chose to title/journal about the signs of spring...which around here, mostly involves lots of mud, and dirty, melty snow. Lilah has definitely been enjoying every bit of it, especially jumping in the mud puddles and making a huge mess!!
I used Bo Bunny's Ambrosia collection, I've been staring at it for over a week now, and was unsure what to do with it. The colors are so gorgeous and rich and bold, but they are also kind of difficult. I think I pulled them together nicely on this one, so glad I just tackled it!
Thanks so much TPV and ScrapFIT for a wonderful challenge!

 

Scrap FX Design Team!!

Scrap FX, an Australian chipboard manufacturer, just announced their VERY FIRST design team, and much to my surprise, I made it!! Honestly, when I applied for this team quite some time ago, I did not at all think I would make it. But I figured "what the heck", you never know unless you TRY...
I'm totally shocked. Did not expect to see my name on their list at all!! I am definitely going to be ONE BUSY LADY, lol...but it's a good thing. I like to be busy. I like to be challenged. And it seems I create really good stuff when I'm under pressure...so I accept this new challenge.
I know very little at this moment other than what was posted on the blog:

Announcing the Scrap FX 2012 Design Team

First of all, thanks go to all the ladies who applied for the Scrap FX Design Team 2012. We were overwhelmed by the response, with so many amazing layouts, cards and other projects, from artists around the world.

The first Design Team members for Scrap FX are……..

• Michelle Hernandez USA
• Kristine Henanger Norway
• Misty Russell USA
• Rachelle Sigurdson Canada
• Yuka Hino Japan
• Agnieszka Manu Canada
• Scarlet Salamone USA
• Sharryn Thomson Australia
• Erin Blegen USA

Congratulations to all these talented girls. We look forward to some wonderful creations!

We are currently negotiating Guest Design Team Members…….to be announced soon, and we’ll be introducing the new Design Team over the next week……..

SO I will be sure to fill you all in on the details as they come!

(Kelly) "I Miss You." OUAS entry

Happy Saturday!! And Happy St. Patrick's Day! I hope everyone is having a great day..possibly drinking some green beverages..? (I'm not...lol)  Anyways...I made some time to scrap today (even though I'd plan on cleaning..oh well) and tackled the March 15th challenge at Once Upon A...Sketch. I've said it before, I'll say it again, there is just something about the challenges over there, that really bring something out in me..the journaling part always makes me really think about what I'm creating, and really put thought into my layout. I always tend to have lengthy journaling on these layouts.
The challenge was to finish this sentence: "I Miss.." I decided to finally create a layout about my dad (Papa), it is the first one I've done, partially because I have very few photos of him, and also because I prefer to scrapbook happy things, and this story really isn't a happy one. Papa took his own life almost 15 years ago, when I was 10 years old.. I won't go into details, but I miss him all the time. I found these two pictures, and I think  he just looks so handsome and happy, winking and smiling. I have no idea when they were taken, but this is the face I remember.

Thanks for looking! And thanks to OUAS, once again, for making me go outside of my comfort zone a little and do some real, honest journaling.

 

(Erin) Guest Designer @ Scrap Africa

Happy Friday afternoon :). After the week I've had, I must say I am SO glad the weekend is here. Just have a doctor appointment for Aspen in about an hour here and then my schedule is pretty much clear for the next couple of days! Really hoping to put in some scrappy time!
So today I wanted to share a layout with you that I created for my guest designer spot @ Scrap Africa. I was one of the winners of their very first challenge and was asked to guest design using one of their fabulous sketches. Here is what I came up with:Based on this sketch:And one quick closeup for you:
So head on over to Scrap Africa and play along! They offer two challenges a month, one sketch challenge and one other challenge. There are some great prizes to be won and international participants are welcome!!

(Kelly) "Cutest. Baby. Ever."

Good Morning!! I just crawled out of bed, so I'm pretty groggy, lol...

I want to share my latest creation using the March Scrapbook Kit from Artful Delight....I love that I was able to dig into my pile of pictures and use three random photos that have been just sitting there, and pull them together into a layout!! I'm all about scrapping my "old" photos lately.

This kit is awesome, I find it particularly wonderful for scrapping "baby" photos, but that's definitely not all it works for, I can see it being very versatile. Check out the Artful Delight Blog for more inspiration!

I cut out a few of the squares on the MME paper, and put my photos behind them to create little frames. Cute, huh?

Have a wonderful Friday!!!!

(Erin) C'est Magnifique Reveal!

I'm very excited to be able to share with you my very first layout as a designer for C'est Magnifique! Today they are previewing the beautiful April 2012 kit with a sneak peek that includes the gorgeous "My Private Happiness" papers from The Scrap Cake, as well as the flower and embellishment add-ons. If you act quickly, you can get your hands on one of the remaining kits, as well as the add-ons.
Here are the stunning TSC "My Private Happiness" papers:And here's a look at the flower-add on:And the embellishment add-on (as of the time of this post, there was ONE of these left!):Finally, without further ado, my very first layout for C'est Magnifique using the April 2012 kit and add-ons:I just adore the bursts of amazing color in this kit. I've been having the greatest time creating my design team projects with it over the past week and can't wait to continue to share them with you! For more details on how I went about creating this project and how you can get your hands on these amazing products yourself, head on over to the C'est Magnifique blog today!!

ScrapFIT Workout #64!!

Good morning! Today is the 15th of the month so that means it's time for a new Workout over at ScrapFIT! Here are the details:

We have a special Workout for you today! ScrapFIT has teamed up with The Paper Variety to offer you 2 challenges in one!
ScrapFIT has offered up a jounaling challenge and The Paper Variety has created a sketch challenge. Put them together and you will get an awesome layout and a chance to WIN a prize from both places!
Workout #64- Its Easy as 1, 2, 3...

The 'Its Easy as 1, 2, 3..' Workout is here and all you have to do is list out numerically your journaling on your layout! This could be a list of your Top 10 favorite moments from last year, a list of goals for the new year or the countless reason you love ScrapFIT (Just kidding!). Show us your numbered list!
Be sure to incorporate this journaling workout with the Sketch below from The Paper Variety so you can enter you layout at both places!Here is my take on the challenge:

Sponsoring again is Paper Quirks:
Offering up this prize!:
And as an added bonus, ScrapFIT is sponsoring this prize!:
So please head on over to ScrapFIT and play along!! Can't wait to see what you create!