More Layouts to come - and some News

I have this fun layout that I did of my parents 50th wedding anniversary. They were married on the 4th of July and for some reason I never take 4th of July pictures but love 4th of July paper with the red white and blue and the stars and all, its so fun! So will be posting that layout soon as well as the one that I did for the Prima Contest, I think I finally got a good pic of it to share.

Will probably be MIA most of the weekend, we will be going up to camp and we have tons of landscaping to do. The "workers" got all the top soil spread and the edgers in place so it's all ready for planting (yeah I'm spoiled I only have to do the fun part : ).

NEWS FLASH - the sunroom has been started today, they were there bright and early before I left for work, sooooo rumor has it it's going to take about 3 weeks to complete, well I think maybe a little more cause it seems we always add stuff once they start so hopefully in a month it will all be done. I already have my lounge chair that I want for the deck all picked out from Pottery Barn. That's my one special - expensive item that I'm going to get, as I've been wanting one forever!! and for some reason the pic of it that I posted, posted at the top of the page. Well that's what it looks like : ).

Pictures - Prom

Here is the whole group that met to get pics together

Here is my baby, not so little any more : (

Here is a pic of Elias and Kathrine (the ex girlfriend)

Here is a pic of the new girlfriend she's in the middle in the blue and green dress. She's really cute in person this pic is not the greatest!

Just Married - Layout

Here is a layout I did of Dan's newphew's wedding.

I found this little wooden fence in my craft stuff from a long long time ago and decided to try to use it as a mask. I really love how it turned out! I used tattered leather glimmer mist over it to get a nice brown look.

Prima felt stems and leaves and prima flowers of course. The centers of the flowers I did with pieces of jewlry that I found at a really cheap price. I stamped just married and since the whole stamp with the 2 people in the car was too big for the spot I wanted to put it I just cut out the part that I wanted to make it fit.

The butterflies are a Martha Stewart punch where you get 1 large butterfly and 2 tiny ones I just love it. I added bling to the centers of the butterflies from close to my heart. They have squares that I thought looked really cute turned sideways on the butterfly so they look like a diamond.

So much going on

Hi Everyone,

Had a super busy weekend and lots of pics to post but of course they are all still on my phone. No promises in getting it done tonight but I will sure try. My son had his junior prom this weekend on Saturday night. His school being small (he goes to Bishop Grimes for those of you who don't know) they do the Jr and Sr Prom together. He went with this Ex Girlfriend, they both looked great! He has a new girlfriend which was there and he said they danced a lot and then went to an after the prom party together. I have to admit I was very nervous all night praying that nothing would happen to him on prom night. But all was well and he was responsible and safe so I was pleased and happy about that!

They all met up at his friends grandparents house around the corner from us for pics in their beautiful backyard. They all looked so nice wait till you see the pics : )!!

Then Sunday we were up at 4am (I know after a very restless nights sleep while my son was at his prom and the after party) we were on the road by 5am to Dan's son Jeff's College Graduation. He graduated from Suny New Paltz which is about and hour past Albany. (3 1/2 hr drive one way) his graduation was at 10am and if Elias' prom hadn't been the night before I would have went and spend the night before but oh well. So we were back home by 5:30ish last night and I was exhausted!! His son graduated Summa Cumme Laude (I don't know if I spelled that correctly) his major was in English and he his continuing there to get his masters in teaching. He also beat out many candidates including current graduate students (there were only 2 spots open for this position) for a TA position at the colleges and he will get his own class in the fall and gets his tuition paid for for his masters. So we are very proud of him! Pics of him and his dad to follow as well.

Prima Contest

So I'm submitting a layout for the Prima page contest. Need to get outside and take pics of it today (the sun is shining) and it seems I get the best lighting outside. So will try to post later tonight! Had a lot of fun making it, and most of my products came from We B Scrappin. They have a whole bunch more Prima products in, and no I didn't clean them out of them lol : ). Happy Scrappin!

Going Crazy

Okay so I see that my posts on Sunday all got turned around and posted sideways, I have no idea what is up with that or why it happened. I tried to correct it a couple times here but no luck, so sorry for that! : )



This week has been hectic for me and I've got a couple new layouts I've been working on hopefully in the next couple day's I'll have time to take pics and post. I've been finding that with all the craziness the place I'm finding peace is when I'm down stairs with the pugs scrapbooking. Just zoning everyone and everything out it's been my sanctity lately.

I found this blog that I wanted to share, I just adore some of the projects on here and check out the doggie luau too cute!

http://vickichrisman.blogspot.com/

OMG Scratch and Sniff Stickers

Does anyone remember those scratch and sniff stickers they used to put on our papers when we got a really good grade in elementary school? Well check out this link because they are selling them again. My girlfriends and I used to save these when we'd get them in a sticker book. Haha he who dies with the most stickers wins (lol). I mean come on it's not like we were ever going to re-use them. Maybe that's how I started hording my scrapbooking supplies, it all stemmed from Elementary School.

http://www.simonsaysstamp.com/servlet/the-*All-New-Just-In%21/searchpath/31174/start/100/total/321/Categories

Brothers - Layout

Some Close ups

New Layout

Just wanted to post this layout quick. Will be back later to give details.

So In this Layout I started with this beautiful paper from We B Scrappin. It's a making memories patterned card stock. Loved the subtle pink color. The strip you see is the flip side of this paper that I cut a strip of from another sheet I had. I used this new Tim Holtz mask that I bought sprayed some glimmer mist over the mask. I originally tried a lavender clolor but it didn't stand out so I went with the walnut gold. I used some Prima lace ribbon around my photo. I took a left over piece of the paper and used the unpatterened side and stamped a background texture stamp on it. I love that aged/cracked effect! Used my CM corner scalloped corner rounder on the corners. Used some pink chalk ink to ink the edges. And punched on side with my Favorite Martha Stewart punch. I used a piece of plain cream cardstock to stamp the sentiment on and just distressed the edges. The title is a My Stickease sticker from CTMH and I chalk inked that to match my layout. I think the chalk ink I used was Angel Pink. The flowers I had weren't quite the right pink so I glimmer misted them with another pink to match better. Then I had all the wrong color leaves. The leaves I used were actually yellow. So I used vintage pink and walnut gold GM to change them to match. Then I used my acrylic paint dabber and put some Lettuce color paint on the edges of the leaves.

Catching up

Here is a close up of the butterflies that I stamped on the edge of the page. In the second Photo you can see the close up of the embossed ring

Here I used my Martha Stewart punch and then added some ribbon over it

Just playin around

In this photo I actually took the top of the acrylic paint and dipped it into some paint and then pressed on to the paper over sometimes re- dipping in the paint. The Blue-Green small dots I dipped an eraser on a pencil into some paint. And the random lines came from the old basting brush I dipped into paint.

In this photo you see some circles or rings. I made these by dipping an old shower curtain ring into some paint, then just randomly pressed the ring down. You can kind of see in the background I made kind of a grid pattern, well it didn't turn out how I expected, but it was from a piece of sand paper that is used in pole sanding on a wall and it has a kinda of grid. But it's a very fine grid so it didn't work as well as I had expected it too.

Scrappy Finds and Personal Challenge

Soooooo I was shopping a little this weekend, and I decided to stop out at Michael's on Erie Blvd cause sometimes they carry things that the one near me doesn't. Well low and behold I found more than I was looking for ha! When is that not true of any scrapbook/craft store I set foot in!! Anyways I was pleasantly surprised that they had many Prima items on sale and on CLEARANCE! - now I realize that they are probably older products but they are new to me so I bought them anyways : )! AND I couldn't believe that they had a whole line of TIM HOLTZ clear stamps. yup you heard me right Tim Holtlz stamps. I refrained from purchasing every single one and settled on just 2. They also had the acrylic paint dabbers which I love so much so bought a package of those in colors I didn't have. But I also found some neat items in the jewelry dept. Some charms and chains that I thought I could use on my pages on clearance so I picked up a few of those as well. I will try to get a good pic of some of the goodies I bought tonight to post it on here for you to see.

Now - on to other things - my personal challenge. I feel sometimes I get stuck in a rut when scrapbooking but looking thru some altered art and other art magazines seem to inspire me. So I'm challenging myself to go out of my comfort zone and do somethings that I would never normally do on a scrapbook page. Also I find myself looking around the house for something (s) to use that have just been lying around going unused and I don't even mean in my scrapbook/craft things, I mean everywhere. Like the other night I found an old basting brush that I had stored away, so I pulled that out and I'm experimenting with that to see how I can use it on my pages. If I get some time tonight I will take some pics of my experimenting.

Also I read in a blog not that long ago where someone was saying if you haven't used something in your crafts in a long time then you should let it go either give away or sell it. I don't really feel the same although I do know myself I tend to hoard items haha even paper. I mean yes there are things that you might want to part with things you know you'll just never use, but before you do that go into your stash and try to use it. I know for a long time I never wanted to cut or use my paper or even new embellishments but what a goofy thing right?! I mean who's seeing them on my self besides me? So that is my second challenge to myself and to all of you out there dig into your stash and use some old things and use the new ones too, go out and buy that special paper and create something with it. Cause if we don't then no one is getting the pleasure of it and we just wasted our money. Besides if we use up our products - what better excuse to have to go shopping : ) So happy crafting!!

Original - Layout

Here is the layout that I did with the close to my heart papers that we rec'd at our crop 2 weekends ago. The circle chip board I embossed with embossing powder - this is a long process lol as you have to continue to add and heat to get full coverage. I distressed the edges with vineyard berry which I though would add a little color that I was looking for. I also have a circle stamp that is stamped random over the background paper again in vineyard berry. The butterfly on here is embossed then cut out. Both the circle word stamp and the butterfly come from close to my heart sets that I think were at one time stamps of the month. I used a couple photo corners from the mystickease unforgettable pack and just inked them with the vineyard berry so they would match. The little journal block also was from that my stickease set and I inked that to match too. I will do some close ups of the details but need to do during the day I don't have a great place in my house to take photos at night. A fun detail of this layout is that the butterfly is embossed in the very first embossing powder I ever bought. I don't know how long it's been since I've used it, years I'm sure but it worked perfect for this layout. So get into your stash and use something you've had tucked away for years!

A new layout tonight

I have a fun layout that I whipped up last night using the close to my heart papers that we rec'd at the crop I went to 2 weekends ago. I didn't have a chance to take pics last night as I got tired, but will take some and post them tonight. Hope you will all like it : )

We B Scrappin Page Map Contest

I thought that I would post We B Scrappin's blog and page map contest. I won the contest in February and they are soooo generous with their prize. So if you have time to enter you should and also check out their blog. They are getting new stuff in almost daily.

http://www.webscrappin.blogspot.com/

May Page Map Contest
Here is the Page Map Contest Layout for May!! Please submit your layouts to: kcoogan@webscrappin.com All entries are due by June 5th. Happy Scrappin'

We Had Snow this Weekend : (

Well we had wanted to go to camp Friday night and stay over to Saturday. And although our camp has heat with the risk of a thunderstorm we decided not to as Pebbles freaks when there is thunder! Yup it's all about the pugs ; ). So we went Saturday during the day for awhile but it was cold and then started to storm really bad. Needless to say I was in side the whole time. But the good news is that the painter should be done this week, it's coming along really nicely!. So hopefully we will get a chance to go up this weekend for awhile and I will try to get some good pics that show the new colors to post.

Sunday I woke up to SNOW, OMG I thought we were done with this crap for the season! I mean there was actually snow stuck on the ground! Good thing the pugs haven't blown their winter coats yet lol.

Prima's May Product Pick - Check out these awesome products!

May's Prima Product Pick (and Winner) is:

Celebrate a month filled with gorgeous blooms with May's beautiful picks! You will find a huge assortment of Prima's top-notch flowers-all in lovely shades of lavender, as well as a few sparkly centers and gorgeous leaves to finish off any project with style.
Selections shown above include:
Symphony Flowers-gorgeous flowers which include 6 different sparkly flowers in the same package
Melange Flowers-check out the detail on these lovely blooms.
Calcutta Blooms in Pink-so much texture, so many uses!
Pearl Panache-sheer fabrics and glitter add so much to these tiny blossoms.
Winter Roses in Purple-fully-formed roses with glitter and crustal shavings on the curled edges.
Temple Leaves in Lavender- amazing bendable leaves that will add a stunning effect to your projects.
Love Story polka-dotted rose-sigh! Just so romantic.
Pearl Panache Purple flowers-each flower comes complete with a sweet pearl center.
Madrigal Blooms in purple-amazing fabric flowers that will be stunning on your layouts!
Fairytale Roses in Purple-sweet, tender small roses that come on our creative clear packaging.
Mini-Bouquet-lily in pink-a whole mini-bouquet that is perfect for altered projects or cards.
Dynasty Centers-these babies are fabulous! So rich and detailed. Use on the center of a flower or as an accent on your page.
Zazi flowers-soft, feminine flowers in fabric with sequins and sparkles that put a smile on your face.
Exotic Gardenia-tropical flowers that are perfect for vacation layouts!
Petite- Mums-multi-layered flowers with complete pearl centers. So amazing on a project!

Love to be a mom to my son

Here is a pic of Elias from last years prom. This morning I was greated with a mother's day Kiss and Hug from my baby. As well as a card that said I'm a "SuperMom" : ) he always knows how to make me smile! I also got a gift card to Gertrude Hawks so that I can get chocolate covered frozen banana's this summer which are my favorite : )

Love My Mom

This layout has both my Mom and Dad in it. They were pics taken on a cruise they went on. I realized after I uploaded these that you can't see the pics that great but my camera battery is currently charging (lol) . My mom has always been an inspiration to me and she is a very strong person both inside and out. I love her very much!

Had to share this Poem

Jacquie posted this in the Prone group and I absolutely love it. It's my pugs to a T. I swear that my pugs ribs could be sticking out and the vet would still say they should lose more weight, HA!

Every Pug is overweight,According to my vet.We're all too round, where are our ribs ?It's causing him to fret !

They're lovely at my vets, you know,But quite obsessed with fatness.It's quite a major thing to them,And bordering on madness !!

THE SCALES ! They're in the waiting room,Where everyone can gawp,My heart quite sinks at sight of them,I know there is no hope.

Sallie Ann, my vet nurse, says,"Come on, Monty my dear,bite the bullet, there's a Pug,There's not a thing to fear".

I climb upon the wretched thing,The waiting room is quiet -"You have not lost a single pound,What happened to your diet ?.

I'll let my Mum explain, I think,There's little I can do,I think a Pug looks betterWith an extra pound (or two).

We do not use the F word here,We think it rather rude.Perhaps not slim, but portly,This pug he likes his food.

I'm not a lazy pug, you know,I exercise each day,My Mum controls my meals you see,So healthy I will stay.

Now please dear vets, don't worry,I'll truly watch the pounds,And folks will point at me and sayHe's healthy, though quite round !!

This was published in The Pug Dog Club Bulletin in 2008.........I'm sure many of you can identify with it !!!! Thanks to Pat Bilton, Monty and Lolly xxx

One more fun layout

Here is a layout I did of Elias and his girlfriend at last years semi formal. I used lots of bling and prima flowers. I stamped in the 2 boxes at the bottom with close to my heart stamps and the center is from Tattered Angels, its really thick card stock and has the black design already on it, I glimmer misted it with 2 different colors let it dry then used pop dots to put it on the page to make it stand out a little. I need to remember to take the date stamp off my camera it's in the way on all the pics!

2nd Layout that goes with Family Layout

I tried to get a close up of the title but I'm not sure it really shows it here. Here I took some letters that I didn't really care for and chalk inked them to a color that I liked and that went with my layout. Then painted on some Ranger Crackle Paint - Rock Candy. I let it dry and you get a really shiny cracked surface. Looks so much better in person.

Here is a close up of one of the flowers I layered 2 flowers then added some rock candy stickles to the edges and some colored stickles to the center (I think they were called sequins)

Here you can see the distressed stickles I added to the edge of the paper

And here is the layout that goes with the first one I posted. In the one corner I took a really big swirl stamp and embossed it with clear embossing powder and then chalk inked around it. The top flower was white and is chalk inked and I layered 2 of them for more dimension. Added pearls to the centers to give it a more wedding look and added some Prima Velvet leaves, they are my favorite they are just so elegant!

Camp Update

So we picked the colors that the outside of the camp will be painted. We went with a green which is Dan's fav color (I got to pick the inside colors that I wanted). It's kind of an earthy green that's the only way I can really describe it it's not too dark or super bright just earthy. And we selected an accent color of like a honey brown, also very earthy. I didn't want it to look like a HOUSE even though I really is, I wanted it to have a more camp feel so tried to stick with the earth tones. And the trim around the windows will be an almond color to match the screen doors. I picked out a stain for the deck it was actually called butternut, it's a brown or tan with yellow undertones and I think will look really good with the colors of the camp. And the best part is that it's getting painted this week, YIPPEE!!!!

Our next project for camp is to do the landscaping. After putting the deck on last year the landscaping never really got done as it just got too much into the summer and it's really better to plant flowers and bushes in the spring or fall. So we will tackle that next. Which is something I love to do!! I love planting flowers and taking care of them I just wish I had more time to do it.

Oh and we decided to go ahead with the sun room and porch so that will be started in 2 weeks. Dogs are gonna just love having people pounding at the house all day while they are trying to sleep lol. I will have to just keep reminding them that they will have their own doggie door just like up to camp when they get finished : )

One More Layout

Here is a layout that I did awhile back that I wanted to share with all of you. This is of Dan's Nephew who was getting married and the top picture is of Dan, his sister, brother and his brother's wife. I will post the second layout tomorrow that goes with this page. My background page is a Bo Bunny from their valentines set. On top of that I used a cream piece of card stock that I ripped the edges of then distressed them with vintage photo (my fav distress ink color). I spayed the whole card stock with glimmer mist before I ripped it and used a glimmer screen in the one corner. Then colored that with some chalk ink I took some ribbon and layered it behind the photo, inked up some flowers to match with the chalk inks added some leaves and bling. I added some distress stickles to the corners of the pages to add some texture and some shine to it. Tomorrow I will tell you how I made the Title.

Have a good evening and pug Hugs to everyone : )

Pebbles My Baby

Here is another Layout I did at the Crop yeterday. This layout I stamped a hero arts flower stamp several times on the side of a piece of card stock, then colored the flowers in with my copic markers. The flower at the bottom I extended the stem with a black marker. I used an envelope from a card set that I had for the pocket to my tag and the buttons are on top of a decoration I punched out from one of the cards in the same set. The envelope, tag and photo mount were all distressed with distress inks. The envelope and tag were both spritzed with glimmer mist and the photo mount and envelope were both stamped on the edges with a flower stamp in the same distress inks. The 2 inks I used where the new ones Olive and Rusted hinge. They matched great with the stuffed animal Pebbles happened to be playing with.

National scrapbook day

I went to a crop this weekend with my friend Karen. We had a blast, it was 14 hours of scrapbooking for National Scrapbook Day! Below is one of the layouts I completed. I figured I'd start with a layout of Budha since I left you last with pics of her : )

Close up of the flowers and swirls

You can see the flowers close up here along with the swirls. The striped flowers are punched with a flower punch spritzed with glimmer mist and then crumpled. Some of the flower centers I added a gem and some I added the black soot distress stickles. You can see the back ground was spitzed with glimmer mist and a glimmer screen. The paper used is Prima. The title was cut out 2x in different sizes from my cricut and sprayed with glimmer mist as well to match the layout.