Home again, home again, jiggety jog

I'm back from vacation. I'm in that weird frame of mind where you're reluctant to return to normal boring everyday life, yet eager to return to normal. Does that make sense?

While I was away, the mods at Splitcoast Stampers deemed my humble monthly demo scrapbook challenge worthy of its very own 'room' in the demo challenge forum! I'm very excited! Now all my challenges can be found in one spot! If you have access to the demo forums at SCS, you can check it out here: Monthly Stampalooza Scrapbook Challenge. Be sure to check out the other demo challenges while you're there!

I've been meaning to participate in more demo challenges, but now that I'm back from vacation, I'm gonna buckle down and commit to doing them (i.e, more than just my own!). I've added a line to my SCS signature that keeps track of how many I've done this year, so you can see how I'm doing.

Now... I guess I'd better excavate my craft table so I can make something wonderful to post here on my blog to make up for this pictureless ramble.

Orlando Budget, Baby!

Isn't this great?! I'm so pleased with how this turned out.

This is an expense record book for our upcoming trip. Each page is a pocket for holding money and/or receipts. Printed on each pocket is space to record budgeted and actual expenses, with six different categories (Meals, Snacks, Fuel, Lodging, Entertainment, and Vehicle Maintenance).

Again, I thoroughly expect this to be abused on the trip, kicked around the floorboards, stuffed into the center console or glove compartment, etc. So I didn't use my good cardstock. I used the el-cheap-o stuff from a mega-pack I bought for my daughter to use (which is so flimsy, I had to use two layers for the front and back covers). The map was printed on plain printer paper from Google. License plate and letters were cut with a Coluzzle template. Ink and markers are SU!

Here's a pic of the inside:

Travel Game!

So we're planning a trip to Florida this summer... and we're driving... and I'm trying to come up with some activities to keep the kiddos busy that don't take up a lot of space. This is one such endeavor. Two games in one tin--> Tic-Tac-Toe and Tac-Tix (very addictive online version found here.) Each game piece consists of two circles of kraft CS, one circle of the stamped colored CS, and one circle of self-adhesive magnetic backing, all stacked up to give them some thickness. I fully expect the games to be abused during the 40+ hours we'll be on the road, so I purposely kept it REALLY basic and easily replaceable. The game boards were printed from Photoshop on plain printer paper, cut out, with dried two-way glue on the backs. Both are stored on a single piece of acetate. Here's another pic:


I plan to make another version when we get home, with the game boards painted/decoupaged onto the outside of the tin, with better game pieces...

Say What? (June 15 Challenge)

I've been in a beach-minded mood this month (preparing for a vacation in Florida this summer), so that's what inspired this page--the colors anyway. I don't have a stamp set that I thought really fit with the photos I intend to put on the page, but "Life's a Breeze" is going on my next order. I thought about making it a Father's Day theme with Loads of Love, but decided against that idea. TITLE ADDED DIGITALLY in Photoshop. Font is 'Bud Easy'. I also didn't have any SU DSP that fit with my color scheme, so I made my own (WW paper, markers, and an acrylic grid). Probably will fade over time, I know.

Ingredients: Sahara Sand base, Brocade Blue, Ballet Blue, Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Certainly Celery, and Kraft cardstock, SU Markers, 1" Circle punch, 1¼" Circle Punch, Photo Corners Punch, Small Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Five-Petal Flower Punch, brads, circle scissor, Celery and retired Bluebird quarter-inch grosgrain ribbon.
Techniques: Faux chipboard, DIY designer paper

Some detail shots below. Click to see larger version.

Loopy Flower

Chunky 'Button'

Blurry (sorry!) corner detail

Proof (kinda) that I striped the paper myself. If you look closely, you can see the green smudges.

Last, but not least, is the sketch I did for this challenge!

Thanks for looking!

Quick Change

I dunno. The original layout just didn't seem to mesh with my artistic verve, so I pulled up the photo mats and started fresh. This one still seems a bit plain, but I'm chewing on it (Sheesh, not literally!).

Play It, Sistah!

Didn't I say that my brain is more in scrapbook mode than card mode lately? And isn't this page fun?! This is the first single-page layout I've done in a very long time. Uses scraps of Bali Breeze paper, SAB rubons, assorted punches, cuttlebug dies, chipboard, bling, and a prima flower. Title was printed from Photoshop at the same time that I printed the photos (font is Badonk-a-donk). I had some creative fun assembling the various flowers.

Particularly Challenging

This month's challenge was quite a challenge for me, too. I'll explain. I'm part of a group of ladies who do a monthly scrapbook class. My friend Carole (who is my downline) generally puts together two 2-page layouts using one package of designer paper per person. My job is to make the cutting guides for those pages, and I have also been teaching card-making with various stamping techniques. Lately my brain has been more in scrapbook mode than card mode, so this month we're trying something different. Instead of cards, I plan to do two additional layouts. Now the challenge is that the only DSP I can use is whatever's leftover from Carole's layouts, and the cost of the non-DSP supplies for both additional layouts can't be more $5.00 or take too much time to assemble.

Add in a boatload of end-of-year school activities, PTA meetings, and a class to teach at UTA, and play-time to come up with wonderful cheap ideas has been non-existent.

DSP: Bali Breeze
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Vellum, Purely Pomegranate, Old Olive
Ink: Creamy Caramel (for distressing), Old Olive
Stamp: Sanded
Punches: Horizontal Slot, Boho Blossoms, Five-Petal Flower
Misc: On Board Blossoms & Basics, Purely Pomegranate Satin Ribbon (from the winter mini), pewter brads

This is a close-up of the chipboard flower (in honor of the chipboard sale!). I cut a square of Old Olive, and stamped it with the Sanded BG in Olive. Traced the chipboard piece on the back of the square.

Quick tips for covering chipboard with paper: Put your paper face down on your workspace, then your chipboard piece face down on the paper. Trace around with a pencil, and say if it's a flower, put a dot on the back of one petal of your chipboard flower, and a matching dot on that traced petal on your paper--to help you line it up correctly later. Cut out your shape, glue to chipboard, trim, sand edges.

I've been eyeing my vellum for a while, so I thought this might be a good use for it. Elegant and subdued, but still fun.


This is a close-up of one of the ribbons at the top of the Sahara Sand pieces. I used the Horizontal Slot punch, then threaded 5" pieces of Pomegranate satin ribbon through each. Stapled in place (I used a long-arm stapler to come up from the bottom and staple). Then I put a strip of DSP over the staple.


And here's the sketch I did (and largely ignored!) in the making of this layout:

THANKS FOR VISITING MY BLOG!