Does it change anything?

Oh, I think it does.

What in the world am I talking about? The Cricut Imagine of course. It changes EVERYTHING. I no longer have to search for the perfect embellishment, I just print and cut it. Need a particular color card stock? Yep, I just print it right out. With patterns and colors that coordinate completely, and the fact that I can add those colors and patterns to any one of the 1000's of images and fonts on other Cricut cartridges, the possibilities are nearly endless.

Will I scrap like this all the time? As much of a time saver it is, the answer would still be no. I still like the "hunt" for the perfect page finisher. I still LOVE to shop. There are still plenty of lines out there to love, and until I can download them to my Imagine, I will forever be buying.

(this layout was design from a sketch from pagemaps.com)

Both of the above layouts have great dimension to them, but achieved in different ways. One of the reasons I love the Imagine is the fact that the layers can be broken down and printed and cut seperately. In the first layout above I layered the individual pieces with pop dots for dimension. In the bottom layout I used items that already had dimension, such as the Thickers, Chipboard, and the felt border.

So yes, the Imagine does change everything. For me though, everything is never enough!

Happy Scrapping!

Sketchy Thursdays --- A new-to-me Sketch Challenge Blog

So today, I log on to Facebook, and I have an invite to join a group. Most of these I just delete as they are pointless, like, "I hate tomatoes, but love ketchup." IGNORE, IGNORE, IGNORE!!! But this one was from a fellow scrapper, blogger and friend, Jenny. You can visit her blog here. The site that she introduced me to is called Sketchy Thursdays. You guessed it every Thursday there is a new challenge sketch. I immediately fell in love with this weeks, and got right to work.

My take on the sketch:
The layout is done on a transparent overlay from KI Memories. The black background is just there for photographing purposes. I used Basic Grey "Lemonade" papers, Prima flowers. and the journaling block is a transparency from Hambly.

This has been a very productive week for me. But I should mention that I have so many new goodies to play with that this has been a very easy week to be creative. CKC Portland was last week, and I got some great deals on paper and embellishments, not to mention THICKERS! I love them! The day before I found out that Tuesday Morning sells scrapbook stuff, and bought a TON there. Then to top my week off, our Tax Return came yesterday, and my hubby treated me to the Cricut Expression for Valentine's Day. Love you sweetie!

So you want to see what else I have been up too? Here ya go!
Happy Valentine's Day!
Go Junior, Have a great day at Daytona!!! #88
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Let's start over!

Yep, that's my motto for 2010! Let's Start Over. I am starting a lot of things over. First I am healthier in 2010. I quit smoking!! Yay me!!! I am working out. I finally kicked depression's ass, and found meds that really work. I have never been happier! I have started scrapping for others, and actually making money at it!

I am actually scrapping again. In the first 21 days of the new year, I have completed 11 layouts for me, 3 for a client, and one card. It feels AWESOME! I am learning some new techniques. I am using a lot of sketches. I am participating in challenges. I almost feel like the old me.

I am still unemployed, but not beating myself over it....I kinda like it. And it gives me more time with my favorite little person, CJ.

So, you want to see what I have accomplished in the last 3 weeks? Here ya go!

Layouts:

Card:
Thanks for stopping by!

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A New Sketch for You!

Here is the sketch that I made for the August 15th sketch over at HYWWP!

And here is my take on the sketch!

I would love to see what you can come up with. Please respond to this post with a link to your creation!

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Once Upon A Time, and a Freebie!

Happy Thursday! The weekend is almost here..........

I love having all of these wonderful stamps to play with! This week I decided to play with one of Lindsay's Collections. The Pretty Princess Collection is available for only $4.00 and you get four stamps. I used three in this layout. Purchase the collection and you will also get the castle! And remember, spend $5, and you can choose any other stamp for free!

So on to the layout.......Storytime
I swear, my older sister is providing me with some of the best material to work with for my pages. Not that I don't love scrapping my son, but c'mon, what girl doesn't like to use PINK???? So when she sent me this pics I knew just what stamps I wanted to use to embellish this page.

Again I love digital stamps for their versatility. The scroll at the top was originally about the same size as the frog and the princess. But just by cropping and resizing I was able to make it large enough for my title. I then colored all three stamps with my Bic Mark-its. Not wanting to take away from the pics, I let the embellishments tell the story and left the frilly stuff to a minimum. Just added a hand stitched boarder and some glittery brads.

As usual don't forget to check out the other DT's blog. Leave these ladies some love while you are searching for this week's FREEBIE!
Melissa

Janet

Kim

Lisa

Margie

Tracey

Tamara

Row

Olena

Melissa C.

Leanne

Diana, August Guest DT

and

Lindsay

*** "Storytime" was cut form the Mini Monograms Cricut Cartridge


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A Cherry on Top

Hey there! I just wanted to share my first creation as part of the new Design Team for Lindsay's Stamp Stuff. I used this super-duper adorable cupcake, A Cherry on Top. You can buy it here for only $1!
For this layout I printed the cupcake twice, colored both copies with colored pencils. Then I added Stickles to the top one and used pop dots to raise it off the page. Please click to enlarge and see more detail!*** Title was cut from the Cuttin' Up Cricut Cartridge

Here is another layout I finished last night. The butterfly is dry embossed. I then went over it with ink, using a Q-tip and finished the wings off with Stickles. Tell me this girl is not way too cute?!?!?
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HYWWP April Sketch Challenge #3

Here is my take on Sketch #3 for this month's sketch challenges at Have Your Way With Paper. This is based on a sketch from PageMaps

Head on over to Have Your Way With Paper for this month's challenges. Guaranteed to inspire!
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Just had to Play!!

So I got my new Cricut Cart on Tuesday! Yipee! I got the Graphically Speaking Cartridge. If you have not see this cartridge, I think it is a must have. You can find a link to all the Cricut Cartridge Manuals here. There is so much more than just phrases, there are shapes and graphics as well! Ckeck it out! I am so glad I did.

And so I decided to play with it last night. I knew exactly which cut I wanted to use before the cartridge even arrived on my doorstep. There is this really cool cut out that you will see on the left side of my layout. It is a block of threes that are all connected together. This was a little bit if a challenge to work with once it was cut out, but I think I handled it well. The cut is very fragile. I used my large Xyron for adhesive. Getting it off the sticky paper was a challenge. I will have to find another method to stick these down the next time.

So anyway no more waiting, here is my completed layout.

-3- CJ's 3rd Birthday*** 3's and the center white and navy circles were cut with the Cricut Graphically Speaking Cartridge.
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gracie's angel

I am so excited about this layout! It has been awhile since I have felt this good about something I have created. My older sister posted these pics to another forum, and I saved them to my computer, had them printed, and went right to work!

I never got any pics of CJ making a snow angel this year, so here was my chance to scrap the scene! And I got to use pink! Haha!

I had fun just playing with this. I bought new alpha stamps that I was eager to try out, so I used those. I love the snowflakes from the Home Accents Cricut Cartridge, so I used those. I love hand stitching, so I added a bit of that. Add some bling with crystals and stickles, a few brads and some buttons and voila, one of my personal favorites ever!

gracie's angel***Snowflakes cut from the Home Accents Cricut Cartridge.

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The tiniest things

It really can be the smallest things that make a layout standout above the rest. A small flower, the perfect embellishment in just the right spot, or doodles. One or all of these things can take an otherwise boring layout and make it perfect.

I like the look of stitching. I just think it makes the layout look "finished." But, I don't have a machine, and cannot always stitch by hand. Though I do a lot of stitching on my pages. Two other techniques can be used for the effect of stitching. The first is rub-ons. Though these can get expensive, and can only be used once.

My favorite technique is a good ol' white gel pen or a black pen depending on what color you are working on. It is so easy, and cheap to create your own stitching on your layouts. Just mimic the stitch that you want on your layout with your pen.

Here are few examples of stitching with a pen.

The first is a brand new layout:
Genius @ Play
The second is an older layout. I used pen stitching to make the stars. (you may need to click on the picture to enlarge.)
Play-doh Fun

So go and get your pens out and "stitch" up a storm!

***"Genius" was cut using the Mini Monograms Cricut Cartridge

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

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:

I'm Back..........Did ya miss me??

Ok, ok, I know it's been three months. Bad kitty! But Let me just say that I have been very busy. It's not easy moving across the country. But we are here, and thus far, LOVING IT. The weather has been out of sorts for out here. Which is Ok with me. I much prefer the sun anyway. I found a job almost as soon as I got here. Chase is working as well. Which means CJ has started daycare. We are still adjusting to that.

Scrapping?!?!?! Yes, I have done a few things. I got my bug for Christmas. But I am still waiting to get into my own space where I can spread out. Right now I am scrapping on a card table. After scrapping for the last 4 years on a 6 foot table, you can only imagine how boxed in I must feel. Oh, to spread out again. I already have my next table picked out. I am getting it from IKEA. Love that place. I am doing one of the build your own table. I have chosen a red double oval top, with book case storage legs in white. Love it for only $129!!!! And now that I have IKEA only minutes from me I can't wait.

So with all that said, I have scrapped some, and I am very happy with what I have done with the limited time, space, and supplies that I have had.