the fort

This week marked the beginning of a new series of sketch challenges at Scrapbook Steals.  I love their challenges for lots of reasons, but mostly because it allows me to work with any products I have on  hand.  Lots of manufacturers have challenges, but you are required to use specific products, which I don't always have.  Scrapbook Steals also gives out a wonderful prize package each and every week to a participant picked at random.  I love that everyone has the same chance to win.  I've been playing along with their challenges, every single week, for 10 different gemstone series and for 50 weeks before that when they were numbered MWM sketches.  If my math is correct, that puts me at over 150 weeks of participation.  Every single week I've played along, looking forward to Wednesday when the new sketch is revealed.  I have even managed to get the challenge completed while we've been vacationing, camping, etc.  This challenge serves as my weekly motivation and reminds me that I don't have to be caught up or scrap my photos in order.  I just need to scrap whatever moves me. 

This week I was inspired to use this photo of my kids and their cousins and the "fort" they built in the woods.  Without even knowing they were doing work, they picked up sticks for Uncle Russ and stacked them up against the wood pile to create their very own fort, with a seat for each of them.  They had a blast and I love that they had fun with no toys, no electronics, just imagination.  My cousins and I spent hours in these same woods, building "forts" and playing house and building imaginary houses amongst hay bales, woodpiles, or whatever we could find.  Thanks to the random mishmash of colors the kids were wearing, I had to keep things rather neutral.  For this layout I combined lots of "earthy" elements from my stash, including papers from Imaginisce, American Crafts, Studio Calico, and Authentique.

My Heart is Full

This week I pulled out a photo of my favorite boys and got to work on this week's sketch challenge for ScrapbookSteals.com

 

I went through my paper stash and pulled out pieces from several different collections.  Most of the elements on this page are from American Crafts/Pebbles, with bits and pieces from Simple Stories, Imaginisce, EK Success, October Afternoon, and Studio Calico thrown in for good measure.  I tend to get all "matchy matchy" when I do a layout, so I pushed myself to use a variety of colors and patterns.   Thanks for looking!

Back in the Saddle

In the midst of all of the holiday hubbub, I forgot to post the page I made for the Jade series.  This layout took three days to complete, although I only worked on it 10-15 minutes each day.  Between preparing for Christmas, hosting family gatherings, and traveling to visit relatives, we had a few very busy weeks.  But now things are slowly returning to normal, the tree is down, decorations stashed away until next year, and I've gone back to work.  Even though I had 11 days off work, this layout is the only one I managed to complete.

To see the original sketch and to get details about the challenge, check out the Scrapbook Steals blog.

Out on a limb

This week's sketch challenge at Scrapbook Steals was perfect for some photos from our summer adventures.  I combined some of my favorite papers from American Crafts and Imaginisce and added a journaling spot from Simple Stories.

These pictures were taken during one of our camping trips.  We were on a family hike when the boys saw a big tree that had recently fallen in a storm.  The boys wanted to walk out on the fallen tree that extended out over a drop-off.  Against my better judgement, I told them they could, but cautioned them to be careful.  Jacob was doing great until it was time to turn around and walk back.  In what seemed like slow motion, we watched him lose his footing and fall to the ground 5-6 feet below.  Caleb immediately burst into tears, thinking his brother was seriously hurt. I immediately regretted letting Jacob go out on the log, but was relieved to see him pop right up and proclaim "That was awesome!"  He landed on his rump and somehow managed to avoid all of the other logs and brush that were on the ground. 

This is the sketch by Brittany Allred that inspired my layout:

Scrapbook Steals Design Team

Today is my first feature as a member of the fall design team at Scrapbook Steals! My fellow design team members, Liz Qualman and Amy Coose, have set the bar high and I'm thrilled that it's finally my turn to create!  This cute little guy is a peek at one of my projects. 

You'll have to check out the Scrapbook Steals blog to see the completed projects I made using today's steal, the Chromatix markers by American Crafts and stop by the Scrapbook Steals site to buy some for yourself! 

If you're stopping by my blog for the first time, I'm glad you found me.  Feel free to become a follower so you can be eligible for a random drawing I'm doing at the end of the month.  I'll be sending a prize package to one lucky follower!

the bean

This week's layout for Scrapbook Steals came together very quickly.  I featured a couple pictures from Chicago and loved the memories these pictures brought back!  The boys and I traveled by Amtrak from Elkhart, IN to Milwaukee, WI where hubby was training for work.  We had a three hour layover in Chicago so we ventured out from Union Station and found Millenium Park.  The boys had such a great time playing around the Cloud Gate sculpture (a.k.a. the Bean) and I had a blast taking pictures.

 

 

For this layout, I combined pieces from several different manufactures.  If you look closely, you'll see papers and embellishments from American Crafts, Authentique, and My Mind's Eye!  Here's the sketch by Kerys Sharrock that inspired it all: