Ten For Ten!

     I am happy to report that I have participated in creating all ten layouts that were sketched by Kristy Lee over at scrapbooksteals.com! Wednesdays have never been brighter with a new sketch to look forward to each week. Here are all ten of my layouts. The first is the layout for this week's sketch and the rest you've seen if you've been here before! 

     This weeks layout was just slightly off season but I have been wanting to use my American Crafts Night Fall collection for a while and decided to break it open. For the title, I used my heat embossing gun to create the word "spooky" in the color and texture that I was hoping for. Painting around the edges gave the layout just a bit of that ethereal look. Halloween in April is always fun! Now if only I could get my hands on some of those snack size Butterfinger...

Here is the sketch that I based the layout on from Kristy.

The remainder of the Mid-Week Mojo's for the Amethyst Collection (in no particular order):

(Why can't this one play nice and line up with the others?!?^^) 

     Thank you so much for stopping by today. I am off to mark even more things for the neighborhood rummage sale. How I can loathe and love the next week is beyond me. I hate the clutter, the time, the weather challenges, etc. But seriously, that "paycheck" at the end makes it worth it. I consider it my "job" for spring. If you have any rummage sale tips, post them...PLEASE! I need all the help I can get! Until next time...

Scrap Happy~Melissa

Banners, Pennants & October Afternoon

     I wanted to share a layout that I made recently which showcased a photo of me as a little girl. I don't often scrap those "vintage" photos but love looking at them. I decided that rather than look at it, I was going to scrap it! This particular photo of my Uncle and I makes me smile every time! I am laughing so hard in the picture and just look so happy. 

     October Afternoon is such a great company to scrapbook these childhood photos with. Many collections just have that vintage vibe. I used Sidewalks and Fly a Kite papers and embellishments on this layout. Banner and pennants are all the rage right now so I thought I'd made a bunch of them on this layout. It turned out just how I was hoping it would. Fun, carefree and cheerful! 

     On a side note, can you see those cute little red Mary Jane shoes that I am wearing? I love those shoes. I'd like a grown up version of them for myself right now! I've been looking for the perfect red shoes for years (I am not exaggerating either)! I don't know exactly what I am looking for but I will know them when I see them. 

  One of my favorite things about this layout is that when I showed it to my youngest, he examined it carefully and asked what I was doing outside of Granny & Papa's house when I was a little girl. (The photo is taken outside of my Grandparent's house.) I love the fact that not only do I have childhood memories of my Grandparents and their home, but he does too! What a blessing! 

     Feel free to share a childhood memory in the comments! About shoes, grandparents...anything! I love to read your comments! Oh, and if you know of red shoes that you think I'd love, let me know that too : ) Thanks for stopping by!

Scrap Happy~Melissa

Card-a-licious Part II & Mid-Week Mojo

***IF YOU ARE A FAMILY MEMBER PLEASE STOP READING NOW : )***

Okay, now that I have that taken care of, I am happy to share with you a few more cards that I have made recently. Most of which are for family members, hence the warning at the top! 

Anniversary card for my grandparents 64th anniversary. That is a long time! I can only hope for that longevity and the ability to still live in my own home with the one I love! 

Supplies used: Echo Park's Summertime 6x6 papers, My Little Shoebox Mini Alphas, & Twinery Twine.

Birthday card for my Aunt's birthday (I won't share her number with you)! I absolutely love the happy & cheerful tone that this card has. Love this layout as well. This is my second card made with this layout and it really works well. The banners needed a little something more so I embossed them and I really liked how they complimented the shape of the flower.

Supplies used: Jillibean Blossom 6x6 pad, Basic Grey ribbon, American Crafts brad & rub-on, random pink & white cardstock 

Anniversary card for my sister and BIL. Those little man and woman icons have been showing up in many of my projects lately. I just love them! This is the Authentique paper collection that I have been coveting and found at a really great price! So excited to create with it. This was also the Monday Card Madness sketch from Scrapbook Steals a couple of weeks ago.

Supplies used: Authentique Celebrate 6x6 pad, Twinery Twine, Silhouette machine, Stamp from Joann's (I can't recall the brand), Colorbox ink 

A happy and sweet Mother's Day card. I've used this card layout before and I love the use of the doily with this one. Supplies used: Jillibean Blossom Soup 6x6 pad, Wilton doily, AC ribbon, MLS Mini Alphas, Martha Stewart ink

Mid-Week Mojo Layout #A9

And last, but not least, here is my weekly layout that uses the fantastic sketches that Kristy Lee comes up with over at Scrapbooksteals.com. I got away from the original sketch but was inspired to use many photos on one page rather than make it into a two-pager. Blurred out some faces since I didn't ask permission to put them on my blog...your eye sight is fine : ) Here is the sketch...

Thank you for stopping by today! I hope you have a great weekend!

Scrap Happy~Melissa

Two Birds, One Stone

I got lucky this month when Scrapbook Steals decided to team up with Authentique and feature their sketch for the Mid-Week Mojo. Since I typically scrap both sketches, I was able to create one sketch for both places! I have had this hexagon punch forever from Creative Memories and hexagons are huge right now in the scrapbook world so it was nice to get a chance to use it.

Not only that, but I found these sweet photos of my now fourteen year old when he was about 18 months. Time flies. For any of my readers that have young children or babies, I know you hear it all the time but truly...enjoy those moments. There is definitely more fun to be had but sometimes I'd love to go back and let him sit on my lap and snuggle just one more time...and fit! Authentique's Journey was the collection I used for this layout along with WRMK sew easy thread.

On a different note, I have started a new house cleaning regimen along with a new perspective. I put myself on a Facebook vacation for a while and it turns out that I get more done that I realized when I am not logging on to check Facebook. I am loving all of the "stuff" I am getting done but the biggest downside is I miss my friends. Texting just doesn't cut it sometimes. On the flip side, all laundry is done, everything is picked up around the house and the main rooms are vacuumed. I guess there is always a trade off. Not sure how long my "vacation" will last but tomorrow is bathroom day so it may end sooner than I think: ) 

Thank you for stopping by today! Have a great one!

Scrap Happy~Melissa

Card-a-licicious & Some Happy news!

April, May and June are pretty full of birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions around here. I didn't want to be scrambling at the last minute to create a card so I went on a card making spree! Below are the results of my crafty time. This is only part one...I have a bunch more that I made as well. 

I made this card for my husband's birthday. It is a trifold "gate" type card that opens in the center. I was SO ecstatic to find Authentique's Celebrate for an amazing deal on mycraftchannel.com recently. That is the one collection that I allowed myself to purchase since I have so much paper to begin with. Red and aqua are just so divine together. I cut the little man & woman on my Silhouette. Inside, is a quote from Martin Luther that says, "Let the wife make her husband glad to come home and let him make her sorry to see him leave." I loved it when I read it and wanted to include it on my hubby's card! 

Next up is a card that I made for my Grandma's 83rd birthday. I used the Fancy Pants collection, It's the Little Things for this one. She likes pretty things so I thought that this card would be a good one for her. More elegant that I typically make anyway! 

This cheery card was made to send to a friend to brighten her day. I heard back from her and was told that it helped so...mission accomplished!

My "big" sister has a birthday in April and I really wanted to create a vintage feel card for her to remind her a bit of our childhood. Although it didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it to, I did like the look of it and she said that she liked it as well! I wasn't sure if there were too many blues on it or not. I used October Afternoon for this one. 

With Mother's Day around the corner, I wanted to get a jump start on my Mother's Day cards. I just have to add the sentiment to this one and it will be complete for my Grandma! This is a Pebbles collection that I've had forever. Lots of flowers, brads and papers so it is good to use for card making. 

I do want to say that the design for many of the cards was inspired by Pinterest. It is just so fun to go on there and see what others make and get inspired. 

Lastly, my good news! I was contacted recently to ask if one of the scrapbook magazines I've been a reader of for years could publish one of my layouts! This is my second layout to be published so I am really excited. I also just got the check for the first layout that I had published (it comes out next issue!!!). I honestly did not know that they actually PAID YOU to publish your layout. Naive, I know but to get paid for something that I LOVE to do is just surreal! I can't wait to see my pages in print! 

Thank you for stopping by today. Check back soon for Card-a-licicious Part 2!

Scrap Happy~Melissa

Two More...

Good morning! As I write, it is the day before Easter. I like the fact that there is the anticipation of something exciting happening tomorrow...a resurrection! Just the thought of it makes me happy. Two days after Easter happens to be my husband's birthday. We are exactly two weeks (and one year) apart! I decided to go through some photos that I've had waiting to be scrapped and found last years birthday pics. A perfect topic to scrap as the next birthday approaches! The sketch that I used this week is the scrapbooksteals.com Mid-Week Mojo sketch that featured my friend Kyla as the guest sketcher. She did an awesome job thinking of a couple of fun sketches! Here is my interpretation of the sketch.  

And the sketch itself.

And here are a couple of close-ups.

Last week, I didn't have time to complete the Mid-Week Mojo on time but I still wanted to post it here. Let's just say that a new birthday gift from my husband kept me away from my scraproom for a while. The new ipad is so fun and addicting! Kristy's sketch was wonderful as usual but for some reason, chevrons just weren't working for me with these photos. So, I used doily shapes instead to create the same effect.  

This layout is special to me since it features photos of some of our best friends, Lee and Allan, dear people who have been there through thick and thin. Aren't friends like that just a joy? I am lucky to have some amazing local friends as well as cyber friends spread throughout the US and Canada! I am blessed and really want to try to document these friendships through scrapbooking. 

Here is the journaling as well as some close-ups. 

I'm so glad that you were able to stop by today. Have a blessed Easter and/or Happy Spring!

Scrap Happy~Melissa

P.S. I just wanted to say thank you to so many of you who wrote such positive, kind, and thoughtful comments on my last post about my birthday month. I read all of the comments and it just made me smile. You were the icing on my birthday month cake : )

Spreading Birthday Joy (& my continued love of Authentique)

I recently took photos of my daughter for a layout that I was working on. The layout was complete and then I looked through the other photos that I didn't use. I found one and my thoughts immediately started going to what I would say if I were to journal this photo. I love it when journaling comes so effortlessly. Since I already had the journaling in mind, I decided to scrapbook the photo.

I used the gorgeous Authentique paper for my layout. This "Gathering" collection is one of my favorites! I have used it for so many layouts and cards already, my collection is getting low! Here are a few closeups: 

 And the journaling: 

Such lovely papers and a fun and easy to adapt sketch for this month's sketch challenge over at Authentique!

SWITCHING GEARS (hang on!)...

As I've mentioned in past posts, March was my birthday month. What a month it was! Typically, I like to treat myself to special little things throughout the month. This year, since it was a milestone year for me, I decided to change things up a bit. I came across a blog a while back called "What a Ride". The blogger mom explained how, on the day of her birthday, she decided to do random(ish) acts of kindness. I loved the idea and decided to adopt it for my birthday month. All that I can say is...what a way to fill your soul! It was so much fun thinking of different ways to bring other people joy. A few of you have asked what kinds of things I did so I thought I'd put them here. Along with the following list of things, I also made a big effort to: 

• Let others in front of me in line.
• Be a friendly driver & wave others on at a stop sign, etc.
• Smile and say hello to strangers.
• Organize & return wayward carts in the parking lot. 

I also documented a few more things that I did to make this month one that was filled with joy! 

1-There was an extremely helpful woman at my local Sears that went out of her way to help me when others could not. She truly restored my faith in retail. So, I wrote a letter to the manager of the store letting her know what a great employee she had! I am hoping that the manager shared with the employee too!

2-I love to bake! Sharing the goodness is my way of saying I love you with sugar! Banana bread was shared with my grandfolks as well as a neighbor who was kind enough to help me out in a pinch. 

3-My sweet little a.m. carpool girlie had never tried Quaker Dinosaur Oatmeal (the travesty, I know!) so we wrapped up a few packages with ribbon for her to try since my kids love it so much. 

4-I left random big $ off coupons by the diapers and other HABA items.

5-We donated items to the local Humane Society. There, we met Roscoe and he enjoyed one of our little chew toy donations. 

 6-We donated food to our local food pantry as well.

7-Sent out some paper crafting happiness to several people to let them know how very loved they are!

8-I got some money from my aunt (who did not need to send me a thing) so I used the money and had pretty bouquets made. We then brought them to one of the local hospitals. We delivered them to the geriatric/extended stay floor along with pictures that my kids colored. They were very appreciative at the nurses station and said that we'd make the day for a few patients!

9-We then headed down to the cafeteria to hang a baggie with change in it on the vending machine with a note that said, "Enjoy this random act of kindness".

10-I surprised the kids and took them to a coffee shop that my dad and I usually go to on the occasional Wednesday. They each got a cookie and I got chocolate raspberry flavored coffee (yum!). We also asked the cashier to charge one more coffee to our order and then tell the next person that their coffee was free. (I actually got to overhear her tell the gentleman that his coffee was free. He was happy : )

11-At the dollar store, we left a dollar peeking out from behind some toys with the RAK note on it.

 12-Made dinner for my family and then made an extra for a friend & her family. It is freezable so she didn't have to eat it that night. It was delicious. Here's the recipe if you are interested: Cajun Chicken Pasta Bake.

 13-Made Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies and then delivered them to a couple of friends and my grandpa who loves cookies! (I will admit that some of this one was self serving since I love cookies too and really needed to get them out of the house)!

 14-Created two Easter baskets, one boy & one girl, to deliver to the other local hospital's pediatric floor. When my daughter was hospitalized five years ago around this time, they gave her a donated basket as well so this is something we try to do each year in return.

15-We left a box of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies for our kind mail carrier with a note of gratitude on it. He wrote a quick but sweet thank you in return. 

So, that comes out to about one random act of kindness every other day for my birthday month! I honestly don't think that I could have thought of a better way to celebrate this month. Letting my kids in on the fun of spreading the joy was particularly fulfilling. We had a good time trying to think of different ways to spread the joy! I didn't get to everything on my list so I am keeping it in my vehicle to refer to. Then, as I am out and about, I am hoping that I will be able to cross a few more things off of it. 

Thank you to those of you who wished me well on my birthday! Kindness and love make the world go 'round! Happy April everyone!

Scrap Happy~Melissa