3.26.2012

I took this photo this past October. It is one of those photos that I love. Just looking at it brings me happiness. I had so much fun on this day in Utah with two dear friends. Even taking the photo was fun. So, of course, I've been hesitant to scrap it. Sometimes I shy away from scrapping those really important photos, fearing that I won't do them justice. However, considering how happy it makes me, I decided to scrap it. Kristy (in the center : ) created a perfect sketch for this week's Mid-Week Mojo at scrapbooksteals.com. 

 I used a variety of supplies, including my very first scrapbooksteals.com purchase! Some Pink Paislee, American Crafts & Basic Grey to name a few. The flower I created using a Gluber from Cosmo Cricket. It was kind of fun. I will definitely have to do that again! I plan to hang this up on my display board in my kitchen so that I can look at it often...and smile some more. I love those girls!

It was fun first day of spring break with my kiddos today. Unfortunately my sweet girl ended up with a quadruple whammy of ear, sinus and tonsil infections along with pink eye but she is on the mend! We made ran some fun errands today, which I am hoping to tell you about tomorrow or at least soon! So excited! Thank you for stopping by! 

Scrap Happy~Melissa

Rules of Laundry & Projects

I believe that I've discovered the holy grail of laundry. Well, according to my kids anyway. In no particular order, these are the rules:

1) If clothing touches your body for more than 4.2 seconds, it is contaminated and must be thrown down the clothes chute. 

2) It is acceptable to walk to the clothes chute but leave said laundry just outside of chute door. 

3) If laundry does get into the chute, be sure that the layers of clothing worn remain intertwined with one another. 

4) If there is a lot of clothing, jam it all into the chute at one time so that the laundry remains in the upper portion of the chute so as to necessitate a heavy shoe or long pole to remove it.

5) If all else fails, leave laundry on bedroom floor until it becomes a permanent part of the decor.

I bet you think that I am kidding. I am not.

Laundry and I will always be arch enemies. If I am being honest, I guess I have a lot of enemies then...clutter, windows, dust, etc. Perhaps I need to channel my inner Mrs. Incredible. That will be the plan for tackling laundry...tomorrow. 

I had the opportunity to do some creating today so I have several projects to share with you. I will start with my layout for the Basic Grey sketch of the week. 

I stayed pretty true to the sketch and just changed out the size of the photos a bit. I typically group pictures together on my layout more so this sketch was a little bit different from my typical layouts. I really liked it though. I may have to use it again. I also had the chance to use my Life of the Party collection that I've been hanging onto. The bottom photo is just a bit of silhouette of my mom and my sweet little niece and I fell in love with it. One year old baby girls are so much fun. Speaking of which...that brings me to my next layout. Another one year old baby girl! (It is so fun having twin nieces!)

Clearly, I wandered pretty far from the sketch with this one! I loved Kristy's sketch for the Scrapbook Steals Mid-Week Mojo but for some reason, I just couldn't get it to work exactly as I wanted so I strayed a bit. I ended up using Echo Park's Little Girl collection and Basic Grey's little monkey from the Oliver collection. I made little tags at the top instead of big ones and added a few more elements. The top left is Martha Stewart washi tape that I got on clearance. Once I got it working for me, it came together quickly. She is such a cute little monkey! 

 Lastly, I actually participated in the Monday Card Madness at Scrapbook Steals this week as well. (I told you I got some crafting done today!) My sweet and wonderful friend Jana just had a baby girl so I wanted to send her a card to celebrate her little one. Authentique paper is divine. That is all I have to say about that. I used their Blissful collection to made the perfect card to welcome the little cutie.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today. I am close to 60 followers! I remember when I was excited about getting to five! I appreciate you taking the time to check in with my little corner of the world. Have a great day and check back soon for some info on my birthday month!

Scrap Happy~Melissa

Lawn Fawn Fun & a Winner!

It's the 12th of the month! That means that I was due to take twelve photos today. Today was not the most interesting of days so I get the feeling it won't be the most exciting of layouts. For those of you that don't know, I've been taking 12 photos on the 12th of each month and will continue to do so for the rest of the 2012. (12/12/12 should be really exciting!) I got the idea from ella publishing through my friend Van. I love the idea and I hope to be able to keep up with it! 

Also, Lawn Fawn has a fun Lawnscaping challenge that I thought I'd try. I do not consider myself a stamper but gave it a go anyway. I am happy with how it turned out. The sketch was simple but one that I think I could easily go back to again and again!

How sweet is that little bird? I have a special someone that I plan to send this card out to who could use a smile right about now! I really want to get my hands on some more Lawn Fawn fun. I think that a trip to the "local" scrapbook store (1.5 hours away) is due soon! 

I was so excited to see so many people stop by my blog after being featured as the Guest Designer on scrapbook steals! I had the most comments I've ever had! I really love to read them so always feel free to leave one if you have the chance. This little Xyron X is needing a home so I turned to random.org to choose a winner and the winner was....Heather! 

HeatherMar 7, 2012 08:50 AM

Love all of your projects!! Great sketches! Hopefully I will be able to get to them soon! I actually don't have an X yet! Thanks for the chance to win!!

Heather, I will be sending you an email! Congrats on winning and since you don't have an X yet, I hope that you enjoy this one! Thank you to everyone for leaving a comment to enter. 

Hoping for more giveaways soon so please stop back again! I am currently working on a gorgeous sketch from the folks at Authentique! Can't wait to show you when I'm done! 

Scrap Happy~Melissa 

March Happiness & a Giveaway!

The month of March pretty much rocks!
First off, it is my birthday month. Which I celebrate all month. Honestly.
I like to make a big deal out of it. I am just always so grateful to be on this earth for another year. Why not celebrate?!? I try to do little things throughout the month that are special. A new candle that I've tucked away, breaking open a new bath soap, taking a leisurely bath instead of a quick shower, etc. are just some of the things that make my March a little more special.

This year is a big one. A really big one. A new decade. Somewhere between the 30th and 50th decades; ) I can honestly say that my feeling toward this one is, "Bring it on baby"!  I am lucky to have some friends that are older than I am and they have done a wonderful job of preparing me well! Most of all, I am so grateful to be in the best shape of my life. Not being dramatic either people. I have never worked this hard on me...ever! And I am so glad that I have. I can go into this decade with a healthier lifestyle as well as a more fit self. (Side note: I am thinking that perhaps I should post a before and after photo as some point. Not sure if I am ready for that yet. Let me know if you want to see. That may be a little outside of my comfort zone, lol!) But, I am hoping to bring in this decade with a deeper appreciation for all of the things I have as well as an even more positive outlook than I currently have. Some days are just a drag, I just need to recover more quickly from them sometimes. At any rate, I am ready!

Hopefully you have found my blog today via Scrapbook Steals! If you have WELCOME! So happy to have you stop by. And to my three, new, recent followers...HI! I truly get a little bit of giddiness when I see my follower number increase. I know my blog isn't the most exciting thing ever but I do love sharing what I make and hopefully make even just one of you more inspired, or cheerier or hungrier (see some of my baking posts!)

Anyway, you know when something happens that just makes you so happy that you have to share it? That's how I feel today! I am honored to be the guest designer on the Scrapbook Steals Blog today. Kristy Lee was kind enough to ask me to design and I got to do so with It's the Little Things by Fancy Pants. What a gorgeous kit! I won't do a rewrite of what I said on the Scrapbook Steals blog but let's just say that crafting with this kit was so fun! I love the colors and the tones. Here are the projects that I made for the blog:

It was so fun to be able to do this! It is really fun to create for others and for a bigger audience. I hope to get the chance to do it again sometime!

Well, since it is my birthday month I want to give away a gift to ONE OF YOU! Hooray! I've been wanting to do a giveaway for a while and these seems like the perfect opportunity.

Would you like to win this?

Hopefully you know what it is but if not, check out this link (<<---click there) 

Essentially it is a handy-dandy little tool that easily adds adhesive to the back of pretty much anything for you to stick on to your crafts. I love mine and I want you to love one too! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post along with a contact email address and I will pick a random winner! Please leave your comment no later than 11:59CST on Sunday, March 11th. I'd wait all the way until my birthday (on the 27th) but that is just too long to wait! If there is room in the shipping envelope, I may add some other goodies as well! I will see what I can fit! 

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I am truly grateful to anyone who takes the time to read all of my exciting, interesting, really cool, infrequent blog posts! Good luck on the give away as well! Please do check back soon. I have some fun ideas that I will be sharing this month and hope that you can be a part of it.

Scrap Happy~Melissa