Happy Halloween

My sister in law, Patty, and I had our yearly trip to Linvilla Orchards today. This is one of my favorite traditions. We started the year Ryan was born and have gone every autumn since. We took our boys and had a great time. Taking pictures is one of our favorite things to do there, but picking out decorations, getting fresh apples and cider donuts and playing in the maze are also really fun.

I thought I'd share a few pictures. This is Ryan and me. We sit in this spot every year. I love having the photos of us from over the years.



And here is Patty and me. I'm so lucky to have such a great sister in law. She's truly the sister I never had. :)



And here is my favorite shot of the day. :)



I have a quick project to share with you today. I made this little brag book for the photos I'm going to take on Halloween. It was so easy to make. I used Jenni Bowlin bingo cards as the pages. The covers are chipboard from a Melissa Frances banner kit. I added die cuts from My Mind's Eye, some Bo Bunny Gems and Basic Grey paper. The stickers are Little Yellow Bicycle.





Thanks for stopping by! Happy Halloween!!!

Prima Necklace Bags

Have you seen the new scrapbook jewelry that Prima has put out? They are cute necklaces and they are definitely for more than just wearing.

We were challenged to see what we could come up with using the necklaces and I decided to use them as gift wraps. Wrapping bags, specifically.

This first bag uses some Annalee paper and a Malachite necklace. I just decorated the bag and when it was closed, I wrapped the necklace around it, like a ribbon! I thought it dressed the bag up nicely. Plus it could be used by the recipient once given.




My next project is a gift bag that I made for a friend's wedding. You may remember this card that I made a while back for the Moxie Fab World blog.




Well, I decided to make a bag that matched it. I used white cardstock, embossing a smaller panel of it. Then I added lace doilies and topped it off with Sugar Necklace.





Definitely check out THIS POST on the Prima blog for some more inspiring ideas. These necklaces can be used to make headbands, shirts, home decor projects and layouts!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day. :)

Happy Anniversary!

Twenty five years ago today, my dear brother and sister in law got married. Now, I wasn't at the wedding, as I didn't meet Fran until more than ten years later, but I must have been there in spirit!

We celebrated their big day this past weekend with a lovely lunch. It was so nice to celebrate such a special couple who I love so dearly! Here is the card that I made for them. Patty loves Webster's Pages, so I knew she'd like a card made with the new Hollywood Vogue line.




I fan folded the paper at the top. Then, I stitched a piece of the netting and added it to the little fan with a sparkler. The silver trim and bookplate all add to the 'Silver Anniversary' theme.

I created another something for them, but I can't post it quite yet. So, I'll share another anniversary card.

This one appeared in Paper Crafts' Card Style in the Shabby Chic section. I love all of the antique goodness on here.




I used some vintage buttons, lace and sheet music on here. I love using those on my cards!

So, Happy Anniversary, Fred and Patty! Love you guys! :)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Got Sketch

Just wanted to pop in and share a card. I was excited to be asked to contribute to the Got Sketch blog this week. It's a gorgeous sketch!

Here's my interpretation. I pulled out my new Glitz papers. Loved playing with them. I think this line was one of my favorites at CHA. I added some My Mind's Eye stickers.




I love the mix of colors and the added black in there. Can't wait to do something else with these papers.

Be sure to stop by the Got Sketch blog to see what the other girls did. There are some awesome cards over there!

That's it for today. Thanks for stopping by!

More Spooky Treats

Well, I got a couple of mums out on the steps. Maybe the yard will be decorated by Thanksgiving! I'm bound and determined to get our Jack O Lantern carved by Friday, too. Time is just so elusive around here.

I have a couple of projects to share with you today. Hopefully, these will get you in the mood for Halloween...

This first one is a project I did a while ago, can't remember if I posted it, but I think it's so cute, so I figured I'd go ahead and post it anyway. I made it with a Crafty Secrets kit. LOVE their vintage images.




I added some glitter to it and made it into a little wallhanging. I attached the smaller piece of chipboard with a gem bead.

This next card is my project for Emma's this week. The harlequin paper and tag are My Mind's Eye. I added some Basic Grey Eerie paper and Zva gems. It was quick and easy, but I like how elegant it turned out.




Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!

Webster's Blog Hop

Just hopping on to announce the winner of my prize package for the blog hop.
Congrats to....

curlyqmosaics

Please email me your name and address so I can forward it to Webster's and you can get your goodies!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the blog hop. Be sure to check the other girls' blogs to see if you are a winner there. :)

Halloween is Coming!

I think Fall is definitely here to stay! Ryan is so excited and couldn't wait to bring out our tub of decorations. We are trying to get the yard decorated. Since we were on the run all weekend, not much of that happened. But, I did manage to decorate our fireplace mantle.

Oh, sidenote here...speaking of the fireplace...we came home last night and lit a fire so we could enjoy it while the Phillies game was on. All of a sudden we look over and Pulu is sitting INSIDE the fireplace, curled up cozy as can be. Now, it wasn't a roaring fire, but there WAS flames and he's sitting there about 2 inches away from them. Fran jumped up and shooed him out. I wanted to grab my camera for a picture, but there wasn't enough time. Have you ever heard of such a silly cat??? Guess that's why they say they have nine lives!!!

So, back to decorating...


I made this banner for the Emma's blog last week. I used a Melissa Frances banner kit and added a bunch of Halloween goodies to it. The supply list is HERE.


I love Halloween projects. They are always so much fun to make!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by for the blog hop. Remember the chat at

Inspire Me, tonight - Monday, October 18 at 8 om Eastern time. We will be announcing

the blog hop winners!

Have a great day. :)

Webster's Pages WONDERFALL Blog Hop!

Yay! Today's the day for the Webster's Wonderfall Blog Hop! Are you ready to win some fun prizes and be totally inspired by the amazing team? If so, you have to join us.

Today we are highlighting the awesome Wonderfall line. It's perfect for those back to school, hayride and fall fun photos, but it's versatile enough for your everyday pictures, too!

Some of you may be coming from Karola's blog. If so, this is your last stop!
Speaking of Karola, here is my page using a darling photo of her adorable little girl, Rose. It was such a treat to scrap a girl for a change.




I used a white piece of cardstock as the base and adhered a piece of the Wonderfall vellum to it. I love the bright yellow look it gives the page. I stitched the edges to secure it even more.

Next, I added lots of handcut flowers from the patterned paper as well as some Bloomers and stickers.



I tucked an envelope behind the main photo so that Karola can write some journaling and tuck it in there. A sparkler was the perfect touch on the closure. And, because it was a girly page, I created a ruffled border from the fabric ribbon and placed it along the bottom of the picture.




So, would you like to win a bit of WonderFALL for yourself? Each design team member is giving away a set of WonderFALL journaling cards and a set of our scalloped sparklers! All you have to do is leave a comment on my blog to be entered for a chance to win. (You can comment on every blog for lots of chances.) I'd love to know what your favorite fall recipe is. I'm always on the lookout for anything with apples, butternut squash or pumpkins. You can even link me up to your favorite recipe, if you'd like!

All comments should be received by midnight on Sunday, October 17. AND, don't forget our live chat at Inspire Me on Monday, October 18 at 6pm PST/9pm EST. We'll be wrapping up this fun event and announcing the winners!

Thanks so much for stopping by. If you've visited the rest of the ladies' blogs, then head on back to Inspire Me for even more inspiration. The gallery there is always awesome, and there is an album filled with Wonderfall projects!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Prima October Build A Page

The new Prima Build a Page sketch is up! I just love this one. (I think I say that every month, but they really are my favorite sketches!)

I decided to use some of the new journaling notecards layered behind the large artisan shape. Here's my page:




As you can see from the side bar, this is my current favorite family photo. I added some flowers and a vine to round out the tropical feel.

Check out the Prima Blog for the sketch and the rest of the DT pages. They are amazing as always!

Finally, be sure to stop back on Friday. I'll be joining in on the Webster's Pages blog hop. We scrapped each other's photos using the Wonderfall collection. It's going to be so fun seeing what the team comes up with. I can't WAIT to see what my partner did with the photos of Ryan I sent her. I'm sure it's going to be FABULOUS!!!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day. :)

Feeling Like Fall

The mornings and evenings are so much cooler right now. It's definitely starting to feel like fall! I hate saying goodybe to the summer, but the crisp days are nice, too.

I just wanted to point out that cute blinkie on the side of my blog. We are having a Webster's Pages blog hop on October 15-17. Be sure to stop by, as there will be prizes!

The color challenge this month at Emma's uses this lovely photo.




The card I made uses a lot of Cosmo Cricket goodies.

I used Mr. Campy papers and chipboard. The flower was punched and crumpled and I punched a smaller flower from some 7 Gypsies paper.




A Maya Road envelope serves as the backdrop. And I shabbied it up with lots of paint and some vintage trim.




Not much else to share today, since I've been spending a lot of time cleaning and organizing my scraproom! I've been purging and finding lots of goodies that I forgot I had. That always gets my mojo flowing!

Thanks for stopping by. :)

Notecards

I just recently received another box of awesome Prima goodies and the new Notecards were in there. They are beautiful! You can use them in so many ways. I started off with a couple of cards and a layout. Can't share the layout just yet, but here are the cards.

This first one is uses one of the Fairy Flora notecards. I turned it on it's side and added an Annalee chipboard label.




I stamped the sentiment using one of the frames from the Insectae set and cut it out. The flowers are Shabby Chic.

This next one uses an Annalee note card. I made the little banner and the rest of the card from Annalee papers. The flowers are from the Annalee collection, too. Banners are so trendy right now, and I just LOVE them.



You can see all of the notecards on the Prima Blog. The possibilities are really endles.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

First Photo

At first glance this page isn't about Ryan. But, it really is! It's the first shot of him and my dear friend's daughter, Jordan. They have been friends since birth! Can you see them there in our bellies? This is the only shot I have of Dorothea and I when we were pregnant and it's not even a good one. We both cringe when we look at our 8 year ago selves. But it holds so much sentiment. Sometimes the imperfect photos are the ones that hold the best stories.

I used a mix of Webter's new Hollywood Vogue and Life's Portrait papers. The transparencies are Heidi Swapp and Hambly.




I made the flower by cutting a strip of the Hollywood Vogue fabric, stitching it along one edges and pulling the thread tight. I topped it with one of the new sparklers. Love them!

So, I guess my advice for you today is to go ahead and scrap those imperfect photos. They are the memories you'll want to keep!

Thanks for stopping by!