A new challenge site...

So Ally from the Studio Calico boards has set up a new challenge site to use up some stash...and the first challenge is up and due on February 4th so get hoppin'! It's called Shop Your Stash Challenge and she has one heck of a first challenge for those who are ribbon impaired...aka me!  But I did manage to make 3 cards for the Valentine's Day card swap at Studio Calico.

Here are the "rules" for this challenge

1. Use a patterned paper that is either from your stash, or if you are a kit subscriber, from a kit that is more than 6 months old! 

2. Use a piece of patterned or printed chipboard (non-alpha). For example, the printed chipboard used on this card was from an OLD KI Memories collection. Love that black and white! 

3.Your goal is to submit to the Member Gallery Featured Layout Scraplift Challenge featuring a beautiful layout by Melissamann.

I used a MME paper pack dated 2007 and a small strip of old Pink Paislee, pink and white ribbon (and I used up the spool...woot), and some who knows what kind of chip that I found in my "holiday" blackhole box.

Thanks for the challenge Ally!

thanks long weekend!

I was able to get the laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, errands and 2 layouts done! That's almost unheard of in my neck of the woods.  I even took a trip to the mall with mags so she could get something new to wear to her birthday party next weekend.

My first LO is about the trip we took to my brother's house the day after thanksgiving...not something I was really looking forward to, but my dad was in town and my brother was stuck at home so 3 hours there and 3 hours back I drove...glad I did:)

This one is based on the Sunday sketch at Studio Calico and I finally broke into my January kit ...

I also used my January kit plus some BG Fiction on the next one...black paint and Mr. Huey gold splotches and I tried my hand at some messy thread too...

I finished another this evening and hope I can take a picture and share soon.

I'm in a card making state of mind.

I managed 2 cards this week for the CHA challenges and the Sunday sketch at Studio Calico.
The first is a birthday card made from SC Hey Day die cuts and the scraps from my last LO.  I embossed the SC veneer bird with some AC silver glitter ZING.

The second card was made from some more Echo Park everyday eclectic and a HI speech bubble I cut with my cameo.

Thanks for stopping by.  Hopefully, I will have a LO to share soon!

Goodbye sweet weekend.

The weekends go by way too fast.  Today, with the help of my sister, I painted the kitchen and the guest bathroom.  It makes me want to paint my whole house...fresh paint just makes a room look better.  Maybe by the end of summer I can get through them all.

Finished up a layout for the weekly member scraplift challenge and some of the CHA challenges going on at Studio Calico.  For this layout I used the Hey Day collection from Studio Calico.

 it met the criteria for the pocket or envelop challenge (I stuck my journaling tag in a little glassine bag), use patterned paper as your background, use 3 or more patterned papers, and use 5 or more of the same embellishment (sequins for me).

So happy to have a picture of my little family...it's not often that we are all in a picture together.

Studio Calico CHA challenges

Studio Calico is hosting a bunch of CHA challenges and I am definitely playing along...I can always use a little extra $$ for my monthly shopping! Today I managed 2 birthday cards for the 3 or more patterned paper challenge using some of my scraps of Echo Park everyday eclectic paper.

I sent this one in the mail today...

and this one will go into my card box to be used later...

seems I have a banner theme going on today...the twine is from The Twinery and the button and pearls are random items from my stash.

What's up Thursday post that I was going to post on Wednesday...

I made my first layout of 2013 this past Sunday using the member challenge layout at Studio Calico by Lilith E...you can find her awesome layout here.  I used some Echo Park everyday eclectic as it is the next on my action list.

Here is my layout of mags and some friends on new year's day...

and then I made a birthday card for a co-worker with the scraps...

so I used up the background pp and the blue and green grid like paper...also used some diecuts that were  hanging around and some MME butterflies sitting in a bowl on my desk.

Thanks for stopping by.

happy weekend!

I had a few action items on my list for the weekend...

• make reservations for mag's birthday party
• send out invitations for said party
• order and pick up paint for the kitchen
• paint kitchen if my darling husband had them patched and primed
• brainstorm ideas with mags for her science fair project

After everything had been checked off (except the painting because the priming didn't happen this weekend) I played with some Echo Park Springtime paper from my stash.  I needed a birthday card and a thank you card.  I came across the instructions for a folded card when I was throwing away some old magazines...

first the birthday card for a friend...there is a little tag on the right that when pulled out says "may your day be filled with sweet surprises.

and I tied it up with a piece of twine to make fitting it into the envelop a little easier.

The second card is for my ed assistant who makes my job so much easier and just makes being at work better.

That is it for my scrapping action this weekend so far.  

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous week!

Scrap Cards

I really wanted to play with the fun card sketch at Studio Calico this week and it gave me an opportunity to put my 5 things action plan into play...

first I made 4 of these cards

why 4? because that is how many joy to the world banners I had in my christmas paper box and also how many background pieces I could cut from my single piece of old MME paper...I added the last of my gold snaps to the banner and then added some fun gold twine...I also used 3 scraps of green cardstock as the bases for the cards.

then I to use the scraps of my scraps I made this card to give grandma

this used up the last little bit of MME striped paper and one of the pieces of green cardstock...but then I had a little piece of that polka dot Daisy D's paper left

so I made this card to send to nana

and now there is no more of the either piece of the Daisy D's paper in my stash.
So the total for the day...
3 pieces of pattern paper
3 pieces of cardstock
all of the gold snaps in my possession.

That's a pretty good day:)

life.camera.action 2013

Happy New Year!
I hope that 2013 is filled with happiness.
I had an epiphany about my OLW for 2013 today while I was out on a walk with my sweet little puppy.  I have never done a formal OLW ala Ali Edwards but have picked words over the last few years and have used them as a focus. So this year, my OLW is action and maybe even the yin/yang version action/reaction.

Here are some definitions...

1. The state or process of acting or doing 2. Something done or accomplished; a deed.  3. Organized activity to accomplish an objective 4. The causation of change by the exertion of power or a natural process 5. A movement or a series of movements. 6. Manner of movement. 7. Habitual or vigorous activity; energy.

Here are some synonyms... act - deed - operation - work - activity - doing - battle So for 2013 I will be looking at doing things that achieve a goal or have an effect on someone else. And I am starting today with these few action items for January: 1. throw away/use up/give away/sell 5 items a day for the month of January. 2. take the puppy for a walk every day...and I know that seems somewhat lofty to propose to do something every day, I don't ever have a problem finding time to drink a glass of wine:) 3. perform a random act of kindness at least once a week...I started today by placing a newspaper on someone's porch...it's cold and rainy here today and maybe they will enjoy not having to go out in it to get their paper.