Please bear with me

I know I have not posted much lately. I have not forgotten to blog. I just wanted to let anyone who is reading this, that I am having some personal issues in my life right now. Finding the time, energy, and desire to scrap and blog has been very hard for me. I hope the New Year brings a renewed love for this craft so that I can continue to share with you. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers! I sure could use them!

i gotta need for speed...

Back in September me and my hubby scored free tickets to the Marlboro Hot Laps. A fun filled day of speed and racing. First we donned our race gear......not a fashion statement, nor a nice outfit for a hot day. Then we headed over to the road course at Portland International Raceway for 2 laps in a Panoz.......a VERY FAST CAR. After that adrenaline rush we were whisked over to the Mustangs for Drifting.....taking corners pretty much sideways.....

I had the time of my life that day, and can't wait to do it again. Anyway, I wanted to make a girlie racing layout......here is what I came up with!

Just a bit behind......

Hehe.......oh, well.

Here is last year's pic with Santa. I thought I should get this scrapped before we take this years pic. This layout is based on a sketch from PageMaps.

My first card sketch

So here it is, my first card.....enjoy!

a {maze} ing tradition

I finally dug my head out from where ever it has been and scrapped. Not only did I scrap, I did a two page layout......rare to say the least. Anyway, I really like how it turned out.......

November 16 sketch

I heart trains

Here is the Layout that I did using the paper piecing I made with the Cricut.

Train Paper Piecing using your Cricut

I was in need of a train for a layout that I am creating. So I got creative on this one. I Googled some train images and found one that I liked. I thought about just printing it, but wanted to something different. Here is the train that I found: I tried to draw it, but was unsuccessful. Then I started thinking about paper pieces that I saw in some magazines. Ok, I could do this. But what could I do to get the shapes just right? I knew that I could not free hand them, I'm just not that good. :)

So I was checking out my options with my Cricut Carts and everything I needed to make the train was right there are the cart that came with my machine.....George!

So here are the pieces that I cut to make my train: And here is the completed train: The pieces that you will need are:
A. 5 inch shift + "O"
B. 1.5 inch shift + "Q" (2)
C. 3 inch shift + "O" (2)
D. 1 inch shift +"G"
E. 2 inch shift + "T"
F. 1.5 inch shift + "W"
G. 1.5 inch shift + "F"
H. 1.5 inch shift + "T"

Please note that these pieces were assembled (black) then I cut again from patterned paper. This train is two layers. All of these pieces make up the base of the train.

Please share with me if you make your own! I would love to see what you come up with. Feel free to email me with any questions or with a completed project......you could just see your work here!

November 12 Sketch

Have fun!

Please help me.....

I would like your help! I have added a section to the bottom of each post. I am trying to find out if the things that I am posting are inspiring you. Comment if you like.....I like comments ;) But now you can just click a response to how you feel in regards to each post. When asked at the bottom if you would try it, please check: Definitely, Nope, or Maybe. Your feedback really helps!

Thanks!

Tag! You're it!

In general I love the look of a tag on a layout. But for me this is the hardest embellishment to actually put on a page. No matter where I place it, it just doesn't look right. Kinda like it's just hanging there in the middle of nowhere. Well, I worked on my fear of tags a little tonight. And I may have gotten a little more comfortable in my abilities to place my tags so they look purposeful. I think that using the acrylic tag made this a little easier, since it blends in with background. I will work on more with tags.......but for now here is what I got:

i'm lovin it

Yep, CJ loves his McOnalds (as he would say) Had my camera with me for a trip to the zoo, and snapped a few pics at his favorite eating establishment. I don't think the page needed much embellishing. The Basic Grey papers really work on their own.....what do you think?

Boo!

For some reason, holiday Layouts intimidate me. Just something about catching the spirit in just a couple of pages. I don't know. Anyway I took advantage of a couple challenges over at Have Your Way With Paper this month and came up with this:

October 30th sketch

One more to play with!

October 29th Sketch

Here's a new one!

My favorite subject........

My C.J. He is by far my favorite subject to scrap. He makes scrapping easy. Though always getting the perfect picture may not always be that easy. He is your average 2 year old. Never sits still. He is constantly running and playing. So I take the pics when I can. They are not always as I want them to be, but hey, that's life. And that's how I want to remember it. Here is my favorite subject, in a not so perfect picture, just lookin' cute.

Blocking

An easy way to lay out a page is to start with blocking. The rest just sort of falls into place. Blocking can be done with pics, or patterned paper, or groups of embellies. The choice is yours. Here is an example of a Layout I just completed using blocking.

Bittersweet Days

This page was very hard for me to do. I am glad it is done, but it has taken a toll on my emotions. I often find myself avoiding these types of pages. But I think that they are just as important to document as the happy times.

The journaling: Life. Death. You can't have one without the other. I sit here, with tears, writing what I have not been able to write for three years. A journey of new life, and the sadness of death. I received the dreaded call on September 22, 2005. The call came from Kelly letting me know that grandpa had passed. I cried. It was at that very moment that I knew the baby I was carrying was a boy. That was verified by ultrasound the very next day. I like to believe that my grandfather played a role in the decision of whether I had a boy or a girl. I think he must have spoke with God to grant me my wish. Thanks grandpa. I love you. I miss you. Love, Kathy

When all else fails....

Ok, I have been facing some serious scrappers block lately. I really wanted to scrap today, but I had zero ideas or inspiration running through my head. So I just grabbed a photo, three patterned papers and a coordinating piece of card stock. I took the three pieces of card stock and laid them on top of each other. I just started cutting. Then I separated the pieces and formed the puzzle like border on the left side of the page. The rest just sort of fell into place. I really like how this one turned out.

read

Altered Countdown Clipboard

With the holidays right around the corner, here are two clipboards to help you count down the days!


The first thing you want to do is alter the clipboard any way you want. Christmas, Halloween, Vacation, etc. After everything is down and sealed with Mod Podge, do the following.

I found very flat washers that I adhered to the clipboard where the numbers would go. I attached using Tacky Glue, and I think they held pretty well. Then I bought magnet strips to attach to the back of the numbers. Get the flat magnets, not the rolls, these seem to work better and lay flatter.

Here is a pic of the washer and magnet.


I thnk I will hang this close to the refrigerator so that I have easy storage for the rest of the numbers. I did numbers so that I could count down for a month. You will need
0 1 1 2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

You can always add a third washer and more numbers if you want to count from further away!

Have fun, and post here if you make one, I would love to see them!

By the way for those on a budget, this project is VERY inexpensive.

Washers (5) .94 @ Walmart
Magnets (5 Strips) .77 @ Walmart
Clipboard .97 @ Walmart
Paper~ Stash
Paint .44 @ Walmart.

Total cost for two projects, $5.85 w/tax

October 20 Sketch

Another one to play around with. Remember, if you complete the sketch please email me a copy of your completed Layout and I will added to my blog!

So besides not blogging......what have I been up to?

Well I have gotten some scrapping done. Though it is not some of my greatest work. I have been working from sketches that can be found at Page Maps. A few of the designs are my own. So here is what I have been working on lately:

Bedtime Story, based on a sketch from PageMaps

Big Boy Bed, designed by scrapnkitty

Beach Feet, designed by scrapnkitty

{Nature Boy} based on a sketch from PageMaps

As promised.....

Ok, so as you know I have been in a rut lately. I think I finally worked myself out of it. Here is the latest sketch. Please feel free to email me your completed LO and I will be more than happy to post it here!

I forgot to blog......

Wow, with the winter months setting in I think I lost track of time. I have been scrapping here and there. But sorry to say I have not created any more new sketches. I promise to get back on this soon.

I just wanted to drop in say to those that are listening, or reading that I am here and I have not forgotten you. I will be back with some more sketches soon!

Happy Scrapping!

Check it out!

Now you can subscribe to this blog to catch my latest sketches and posts.....and don't forget to sign up as a follower......Thanks!

See bottom of page for links!

Mojo....I don't know where've you been, but I'm glad you're back

Ah, how I love to scrap. And I mean I really love it. Not a hobby. Not an obsession, but a true passion. Many of you know what I mean. I just love the feeling I get after completing a page. There's nothing more satisfying. But, there has been a period lately that I did not even go near my desk, or supplies.....I hit a creative rut. But since the beginning of the month, I have been on a roll. Maybe it's because of all the great challenges this month at Have Your Way With Paper Check it out!

Or maybe it's because I got a free printer from work this past Friday......I don't know about you, but I rely on my printer for a lot of my scrapping. I have been without one since we moved. But now I have one again, even though I can just use black ink, I am in printer Heaven again!

So anyway, regardless of how my Mojo came back....it's back and I hope it sticks around.....I have lots of pics to scrap!

Here are some of my latest:

Strange Month

That's really all I can say. My heart has really not been into scrapping this month. I think I have done three layouts. Not my usual turn out. I have not been sketching either. But I managed to get one done today, and I really like it. I hope to get some scrapping done later, and maybe I will scrap this design.

August 3 Sketch

Here is a two photo sketch! Enjoy!

I think I figured it out

The reason I am not scrapping much these days that is.......

MY scrap space is so UNORGANIZED! I have been trying to get through it little by little. Last night I tackled my paper scraps. I purged quite a bit. But I still have a lot. I need to find a storage solution that I can use to keep my scraps within sight. Out of sight, out of mind, Right??? This is why I have so many right. I never see them! So if you have any ideas for storage of scraps.....post a comment here so that others may get some ideas as well.

I did take and use some of those scraps on a layout this afternoon. I really like the end result, and it went together very quickly. Except for the stitching. That always takes some time.

I heart U

Altering Your Photos

CJ's Race Cars - LO using an altered photo

An easy way to draw attention to a certain subject in a photo is to alter it some way. Blur the back ground. Select a certain object and leave that color while making the rest of the pic B&W. Get rid of a busy background, by blending or cloning another portion of the picture. The possibilities are endless. Here are just a few examples.

For the carousel, I wanted a dreamy effect, so I used the negative of this image.

The color of the towel was very distracting so I changed the photo to B&W and then color selected the items I wanted to stay color. And changed the color of the flowers in the chair.

For this next photo, I wanted to focus on the cars. So I cropped for a closer take, and then color selected the cars.

A quick crop can tell a story, and not miss the tiniest detail. These are the same photo, one is just cropped in very tight so you can see what he is pointing at.

July 25 Sketch

Finally got a new one done!

A few new Layouts

I have actually been scrapping! Here are a few of my latest!

Play doh fun (click to enlarge)


Time Well Spent


And here is a card!

I Won!!!

My good friend Erin presented me with this award today! I feel so darn special and it really brightened my day. So my job now is to pass it along so others may feel the same way I do.

Here's how it works:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.2. Link to the person you received your award from.3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.4. Put links to those blogs on yours.5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you have nominated.
Here are my 7 bloggers who I am sending the award to:

1. Jamie

2. Shanna

3. Paula

4. Sharon
5. Day
6. Emily
7. Krissy

July 13 sketch

Ok here is a couple new ones. I really like them, and can't wait to see what you do with them. If you do make either one please email it to me at scrapnkitty@aol.com and I will add your LO to my blog!