Weekly Challenge #31

This week's challenge was based on a one page sketch.  Since I had so many pictures from our day in Chicago, I had to stretch it into a two pager.  The paper is bright and colorful and just makes me happy, since it's dreary, cold and snowy for the umpteenth day in a row here.

It's hard to believe I'm already doing my 31st Scrapbook Steals  layout!  I am so happy that I started joining the weekly competition.  I've managed to get way more pages done than I'd ever imagined and it keeps me motivated.  The people I've met through this site have been so great and really have become friends to me.  I used to scrap at weekend crops and show my work to a few scrappy friends, but now that I'm putting them out there for all to see (gasp!) I am way more into detail and the quality of my work has grown significantly.  I just wish I had found these girls sooner, or that they lived closer to Indiana!  As always, thanks for looking and supporting my scrappy habit!

On-line crop challenges

Scrapbook Steals issued three bonus challenges this week for their on-line crop/chat with chances to win some great product.  Since I was home all weekend with a sickly little one, I managed to complete all three challenges, but just barely.  Challenge #1 was the same as MWM #30, which is featured here.

Challenge #2 was to do a "secret" page, sharing something about yourself.  This one was especially difficult, since I have very few pictures of myself, and even fewer that I'm willing to put on a layout.  I also struggle with doing "girly" pages, since I'm always scrapping boy stuff.  I pulled out some fancy papers and started blindly assembling my layout, with no plan in mind.  This is where it got dangerous.  I wanted to try out my new i-rock tool and add some bling, but I kind of got carried away.  The final product is very busy, and is nothing like my "typical" layouts, but I'm just proud that I pulled it off.

Challenge #3 is to do a page about something you're LUCKY to have.  The layout also had to include 3 pictures and the color green.  This layout was an easy one for me.  I am blessed in so many ways, but being a mom has to be my greatest joy.  I used favorite papers from Fancy Pants Like Father, Like Son collection.

Challenge #4 was by far the most time consuming.  Melodee at Scrapbook Steals challenged us with a countdown of sorts.  For this layout we had to use the following:

10 Metal Embellishments (brads, eyelets, paperclips etc)

9 Inches of Ribbon

8 Letters (chipboard, stickers etc)
7 Non Metal Embellishment (buttons, die cuts etc)
6 Sentences in your journaling
5 Patterned Paper Pieces
4 Solid Paper Pieces
3 Photos
2 Rub On Images
1 Stamped Image

This is what I managed to put together, although I'm ashamed to admit it took me nearly 3 hours to complete this layout:

Now I'm crossing my fingers, hoping that I'll be randomly chosen as a winner.  Winning scrappy prizes always justifies me spending more time and $$ doing what I love!

Scrapbook Steals Ruby Club

Here are my layouts #21-30, (with two sketches for week #22) making me a member of the Ruby Club! 

Scrapbook Steals Emerald Club

Here are entries 11-20 for Scrapbook Steals, making me a member of the Emerald Club!

Scrapbook Steals Diamond Club

These are my first ten layouts for Scrapbook Steals, making me a member of the "Diamond Club"
                                     

Weekly Challenge #30

I love the way this week's Scrapbook Steals sketch turned out.  What a fun way to use some of my favorite paper from Bo Bunny's Roughin' It line.   Since I predominantly do boy pages, this paper compliments our many outdoor pictures.  I love doing "rugged" pages but struggle with embellishments.  Thanks to my scrappy friends I've learned that I can still include the occasional flower or "bling" on my boy stuff.  I stitched the denim flower myself and love the way it turned out.  This layout is a big deal, because it's the 30th weekly challenge from Scrapbook Steals.  At the end of each series of 10, scrappers who have completed all 10 have a chance at winning a great prize pack.  And if you've completed all 30 sketches, you get three chances to win.  I'm proud to say that I've completed all 30, with 25 of them being done the week they were due.  I didn't discover Scrapbook Steals until they were on week #5 and I've gone back and caught up with the layouts I missed at the beginning.   I can't tell you how much Scrapbook Steals has motivated me.  With the chance to win great prizes, show off our weekly creativity, and to learn from and inspire others, it has been nothing short of wonderful.  I've "met" sooo many new friends through Scrapbook Steals and love seeing what they create each week.  We're all so different, spread all over the United States and Canada, yet have so much in common.  Everyone gives great feedback and compliments and these girls have become near and dear to me!  Thanks for motivating me to find crafty time each week and helping me learn new techniques!

My Mind's Eye Blog Challenge #20

With just a few hours to spare, and with a load of neglected housework piling up, I decided to put together an entry for the My Mind's Eye challenge.  This challenge required the page to be inspired by their sketch and the theme to be "I love everything about...."   I found some great pieces of their Lush collection that I decided to pair with a fav sepia print of my sons.  The brown paper is flocked and full of velvety goodness!  I made a frame around my photo using velvet Lush ribbon and added some bling with some Lush brown rhinestones.  My title was made with Lush chipboard letters.  Thanks for looking!

Sketchy Thursdays challenge

I had a lot of fun creating this week's layout for the Sketchy Thursdays 2.10 challenge.  I've had these photos sitting around for a while, just not sure what to do with them.   It turns out they fit this week's sketch perfectly:

Lovin' from the oven!

To celebrate Valentine's day I broke out my trusty cookie press and made two batches of my famous butter cookies.   This is seriously the easiest cookie recipe I've ever come across.  It's so simple that people never believe me when I tell them it is only three ingredients.  Flour, butter, and a dry cake mix.  That's it!  I always make lots of these at Christmas time and try to make others throughout the year to make use of the little shape discs that never get used.   Here's the cast of characters for this sinfully simple recipe:

For each batch, I soften one pound of butter (that's right, nothing says lovin' like a pound of butter!) in the microwave for a minute and a half.  Then mix in 2 and 3/4 cups of flour and one dry cake mix.  This is where you can get all creative.  I usually use a white cake mix for the standard cookie, but the strawberry cake mix makes very yummy valentine treats.  You can use whatever flavor you prefer, or you can add food coloring to the dough that you make with the white mix.  For today's recipe, I made one batch with strawberry and one with white. 

Once all of the ingredients are incorporated, fill a cookie press and start pressing out these buttery blobs of goodness.   For those who don't know, a cookie press is much like a caulking gun, but filled with dough, and presses out shapes through little discs.  I think my Pampered Chef press came with 16 different shape discs. I much prefer this method of getting shaped cookies, since I hate to roll out dough for cut-out cookies.  And these cookies are great because you don't have to fuss with icing.  Before you put them in the oven, you can add sprinkles or jimmies.  This where my little guys like to help.  They say there can never be too many sprinkles!

Then you bake them in a 350* oven for 10-12 minutes.  Since the butter content is so high, these little guys burn very easily, so make sure to pull them out before the edges get brown.  Let them cool on the cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes so they don't break when you try to remove them.  Or if you want a good excuse to sample a few, go ahead and remove them and eat the ones that break.  It depends on what shape you're using, but one batch of this heart shape made 95 cookies.  That's a whole lot of lovin'!  We boxed up a mixture of the pink and white ones for the boys' teachers and I had plenty extras so that hubby and I can share with co-workers tomorrow! 

Weekly Challenge #29

I can't believe we are already on week #29 of the Scrapbook Steals sketches!  I must say that I look forward to them every week and was super excited to see my scrappy friend Brenda with the honor of "Guest Sketcher"!  She did a great job.  So great that I can't do the sketch justice.  But here's what I settled on:

I used some silly pics that were taken one night when Caleb decided to give himself a "makeover".  He finished his bath and we heard him in the bathroom just cracking himself up.  I had to go see what he was up to.  He had combed spikes in his hair and thought he was just the coolest thing!  So even though I'm not thrilled with this layout, it still makes me smile because it bring back great memories of an ordinary night.  And that is what scrapbooking is all about...memories and the joy they bring! 

Sketchy Thursdays challenge

Since I don't give two hoots about the teams playing in this year's Super Bowl, I decided to use this time to complete the Sketchy Thursday challenge for this week.  The 2.3 sketch is supposed to be inspired by this sketch:

I used some papers from my Fancy Pants stash and found some great pics of Caleb on the playground.  I cut out the argyle strip on the Cricut and added a homemade denim flower and a little bit o' bling.  Thanks for looking!

Weekly Challenge #28

What a great day for a snow day!  And perfect timing that it happens to be Wednesday, when the latest Scrapbook Steals mid-week mojo challenge is revealed.  This week's sketch was a one page layout, but I have too many pics to limit myself to one page, so I modified it to fit lots of pics on two pages.  I used my Rusted Sun collection from Fancy Pants, which almost made me forget we have a blizzard outside.  I cut out the clothes and flip flops from a piece of patterned paper and made my own clothesline with marker.  And how could I resist doing a little stitching with the Sew Easy?!  I made waves and stitched them with varigated blue floss.  I added a little spray ink around the edges, but not sure I like how it made my papers buckle.  I can't believe this is my 28th challenge.  When we complete 30, the amazing gals at Scrapbook Steals are promising a chance at a big prize.  I can't wait!