Super Secret Surprise Revealed!!!

Surprise! See over there --->

On the right where I list my creative teams?  There's a new blinkie there!  For the month of October, I was part of a super team of ladies working to create the sample layouts for the 2012 Log Your Memory Challenge book, and today we get to spill the beans on our involvement.

I have been a part of LYM for the past year, and discovered the Logbook, challenges, and sight in about July 2009.  I can't even remember how I found my way to the website, but I loved the idea of capturing real, everyday moments.  That's ultimately why I scrapbook...to remember the everyday!

I can't reveal the pages I made for the Logbook yet, but I do have a page I made for next week's challenge (Week 46).  I won't mention that I scrambled to put it together Saturday night, thinking I was late posting it as they are due on Thursdays, only to find that week 46 is NEXT week, not this week.  Not sure how I pulled that off, since the calendar I write all my scrap deadlines in was published by LYM and has the weeks number.  But in the end it worked out! I was ahead of schedule this week, and get to share a page with this fantastic announcement!

Kit: Snapshots by Karen Lewis
Stamped Alpha: Block Stamp Alpha by Geek Chic Scraps
Template: Just Journaling Vol 2 by Jen C Designs

If you have been thinking about joining in on the LYM challenges next year, or using a Logbook to record your everyday memories and activities, now is the perfect time to pick one up, with a special 15% off discount! This discount expires 11/14, so use the code while it's still good!

Image is linked to the LYM shop

Project July

I could kick myself. It's now a little after 4, and I am just now sitting down to write this blog post. Why am I kicking myself, you ask? My 18 month old takes 2-3 hour naps everyday. The perfect time to write blog posts, create a page, pick up the living room. Really, it's the perfect time to get anything done that requires little hands to be somewhere else.  And I wait until 20 minutes AFTER he wakes up to sit down to write.  So I am going to keep this short, because otherwise, it isn't going to get done!

Crisdam Designs has a new kit out today, Project July. I love looking forward to each new Project installment each month, and this is no exception.

Project July Kit

Project July Alphas

Project July Bits & Pieces

This kit is perfect for events and themes in July and all year. I used it for a non-July themed page, inspired by the Week 27 Challenge at Log Your Memory. It was a perfect fit for the photo, and the quote bubbles matched the theme to a T.

Crazy things are wrapping up at Gotta Pixel.  It was Gotta Grab It weekend, which means the designers all used the same color palette to whip up some delicious coordinating paper and elements packs. Isabel and Danyale both came up with some gorgeousness to play with, and they are on sale for a few more hours only!

Here are some pages I made with these packs:

Sweet Dreams
All supplies by Etc by Danyale
Summer Sherbert Paper Pack
Summer Sherbert Gumball Alpha

 I kept this page simple because I loved this picture. She has just a touch of a smile, though I don't know what she is thinking of. I have a hard time getting pictures of her where she is looking happy, let alone showing a bit of a smile, so this is a nice one for me. I love the sweetness of the alpha, and that gumball machine was too cute not to use!

Easter Haul
All supplies by Crisdam Designs
Project June Paper Pack
Project June Element Pack

 I had been meaning to scrap with these pictures I took at Easter this year, and these colors were a perfect match for the candy-hued (and filled) baskets that arrived on Easter morning. Journaling reads: The Easter Bunny brought a whole lot of fun Spring toys this year. Maggie got a garden themed basket, with gardening tools and a strawberry plant, in addition to candy and an iTunes gift card. John got a car track, and a summer outfit. You two got quite a haul!

When You Were 1
Layout inspired by Week 24 Challenge at Log Your Memory
Kit: You Make Me Happy by Nikki Epperson
Alpha: Time 4 Presents (recolored) by Etc by Danyale

This challenge was to compare the people in my life. It is super easy to compare these two sweeties, as there are so many things that are opposites! I listed some of the things I remember Maggie doing when she was one, and compared (or contrasted) the same things with John. These are two of my favorite pictures of each of them at about a year old. I can't believe how fast time flies!  Just this week, John has had his first visit to a swimming pool, and Maggie has shown her grandma how to use an iPad. A lot has changed in such a short time!

Crisdam Designs

Yes, it may have been a quite six weeks on the ol' blog, but it was a busy time at home and in Photoshop. I was inspired by Crisdam Designs' kits to make these pages:

Books: An Interview with Myself

Project February Kit

Project February Bits & Pieces

Project February Cardstock

Project February Alphas

 This one came together pretty quickly, and was inspired by a challenge from the logbook from Log Your Memory. It was also noticed by the ladies at the Gallery Standouts blog, which blew me away. I don't know. I expect to see my pages on the designer's blogs, but when they are noticed elsewhere it gives me warm fuzzies.

Not A Puppy
Fluffy Kit

 I'll be honest. I have been waiting for this kit to be featured on Pixel Tuesdays pretty much since I started on Isabel's team. I have several other sets of pictures with John inside Stella's crate, and was just waiting for the chance to use this kit to show some of them off. I could easily make a righthand page to coordinate with all the photos I have!

Mama
Mom's Kitchen Kit

 This page was also inspired by a Log Your Memory challenge, to describe myself with one word. I took Isabel's retro kitchen kit, Mom's Kitchen, and made a very non-kitchen page with it. I think it is an important story to tell, and was reminded once again why I love this hobby so much, because these are the things I want to remember to share with my kids. Without my scrapbooks and the chance to record the memories as they come to me, I wouldn't remember the details (or the story at all, 'cuz let's face it, my memory is faulty!).

Waiting for Spring

Project May Kit

Project May Alphas

Project May Shabby Papers

 I love the look on John's face in this photo and the title says it all. Well, actually, if we could see through the window, he's watching Maggie and the dog play in the backyard...but he couldn't play because it was too cold.  So sure, he's waiting for Spring. Making the photo B&W against all that bright color really reinforced the longing to me. (And the color of his shirt just wasn't working.) These are my favorite colors, and I think the Project May kit is my favorite so far of the Project 2011 series.

Spring Ride
Spring Dream Kit
Spring Dream Alphas

Yes, the date on the photos is February, but it felt like a Spring Day. The weather has been so strange here this year that I could have a page called Winter Delight and the photos could be from May. But I had to take the chance to photograph Maggie doing what she loves, riding her bike, especially after a long winter without riding.

I *think* that catches me up on pages. I'm sure I'll find something missing in the coming days, but you get the idea of what went on creatively over the last 6 weeks.

I'll have a new post up later today directing you to my new side-blog-project-adventure-whoknowswhat. I took Jessica Sprague's Art of Digital Design class this Spring (also part of why I neglected my blog so badly), and some of my classmates put together a collab kit to raise money for the earthquake relief in Japan. Since we are all new designers, it took a little time to get the ball rolling and get pieces made (as evidenced by the fact that I didn't even have time to put anything together for it!), but it is now available in the store at jessicapsrague.com. There will be a blog hop starting tonight, and while I didn't contribute to the kit, I did get to make a quickpage from the pieces that were submitted. I will be hosting my portion of the hop at my new blog: www.foosamoon.blogspot.com. There is already some teaser information over there if you want to check it out.

As always, happy scrapping!

Again with the Challenges.

So most of my scrapping this month has been based on completing the LYM challenges.  It was a longer month than I had anticipated, and it feels great to finally be able to come up for air!

The Log Your Memory Forum and Gallery are closed at the moment, pending a server move, so I've linked these pages to other galleries where they are posted for credit purposes.  All materials used are listed and linked in the galleries. (Read: I'm still recovering from the last three weeks, and an up and back drive to Cheyenne, and don't have the energy to post individual links to each product...sorry!)

Week 10

Image is linked to Gotta Pixel gallery for credits

Week 11

Image is linked to DST gallery for credits

Challenge Love

These are my most recent challenge layouts completed for the challenges at Log Your Memory.

Week 8:

Kit: Cold by Jen C Designs
Word Art (at the bottom) by Etc by Danyale
Fonts: Everyday Ghost, Freebooter Script and Pea C-Squared

Week 9 (which isn't until next week)...I'm ahead!:

Kit: Carefree by Crisdam Designs
Stitching by Crisdam Designs

The kit I used in the Week 9 layout is NEW today from Crisdam Designs.  I love the teal and block combo with pops of orange.  I'm hoping to use this kit again a couple times this week...but we'll see how much scrapping time I really get.

As part of the Challenge Team at LYM, I have to complete two challenges per month from the Memory Log Book. But in some aspects of my life, I am a bit of an overachiever.  This is one of those aspects.  I have been working hard to keep up with the challenges, completing all of them, in order.  Somehow last week, I forgot.  Completely. To complete the challenge.  I'm still trying to figure out how, but I missed week 7.  At some point I plan to make it up, but for now I am continuing to push forward and keep up.  Missing one is not a big deal unless I make is so, right?

Also on the Big News front, I've had my first layouts published.  As in, IN PRINT! Log Your Memory has just published their 2010 Real Life Scrapbooking Yearbook with inspiration for each day of the year gleaned from their gallery all last year.  I am so excited, and I need to go order my copy so I can see them.  My contributions are this layout and this one. The first layout is one that I lost in my computer crash, so sad because I love it so much!  But now I can see it in print, even if I can't print it out myself.  It's all good!

A Tale of a Tuesday

I've been dealing with a pain in my neck (literally) for the last few days, so will keep this post short, in the interest of my pain tolerance.  Not much new scrapping this weekend, once my neck really started acting up, but luckily I have a few things I put together last week that I can share.

To start with, Isabel's stores are on sale for the entire month of February!

She has a new release today, Project February.  Part of a yearlong project, these kits are perfect for P365/52 or everyday memory keeping.  I made this month's desktop calendar with the February kit.  (And only after saving it, realized it's the same picture I used for January.  Guess I need to take more pictures with both kids!)

All supplies from the Project February line by Crisdam Designs (Isabel Mendez)

Kit: Always by Crisdam Designs (Isabel Mendez)
Flowers: Crocheted Flowers by Crisdam Designs (Isabel Mendez)

Part of the Dollar Pixel sale today at GottaPixel, Isabel's Always kit and Crocheted flowers were a perfect combo to put a page together with wedding pictures of my parents and grandparents.

Connie Prince also has a new release collaboration today: Pocket Finds with Victoria Feemster.

Kit: Pocket Finds Collab by Connie Prince and Victoria Feemster

These colors are my favorites, and I'm hoping to have time to play with this kit again later this week, I have a few more ideas swimming in my head.

I also put together two layouts for challenges at Log Your Memory.

Everything except red alpha by Crisdam Designs (Isabel Mendez) (pieces from Project 2011, and Project January)
Red Alpha by Etc by Danyale (Burning Love)

 Week 4 had to do with a project, and while I have a lot of those laying around, I don't have many completed at this point. This idea popped in to my head, and I have used many of these excuses on many occasions, especially if there is no due date for a particular project.  What can I say...I am a procrastinator at heart!

Papers by Orchard & Broome, and Queen of Quirk
Elements by Geek Chic, Latz Designs, Crisdam Designs (Isabel Mendez) and Kitschy Digitals
Alpha by Etc by Danyale
Template by Trixie Scraps Designs

Week 5's page was to tell a fairy tale.  With my current struggle to prioritize, leave work at work, and leave a little time for play, I couldn't come up with a regular fairy tale, and just wasn't feeling a love story, so I turned my struggle into a fairy tale.  I am hoping the end is happily ever after, but I know it takes work, and I know I am on my way in the right direction!

Sorry for no links in todays post, I'm trying to keep this as quick as I can while still giving credit where it's due!  Now I'm off to rest my head and gear up for another day in the classroom!

Coming up for Air

It's been a busy two weeks, but I think I am finally finding a rhythm of work and family and fun. At least, I hope I've found a rhythm!  I have a calendar planned out with responsibilities and daily activities planned out, including time for scrapping and perusing the galleries and forums.  Last night, my calendar included Craft Night at a friend's house.  Always a fun time, I was able to get a lot of my upcoming scrapping assignments completed, including some that were a little more overdue that I would have liked!  This morning, I was able to get up and post 4 new pages to my galleries.  That's a lot of scrapping.  (Not to mention the bits and pieces I've managed to get done over the last couple weeks.)

I have four pages that I made with goodies from My Life and Scrap, with a little bit of Danyale's gorgeous alphas thrown in too. :)

SAHM
Kit: A Day in My Life by Jen C Designs (at My Life and Scrap)

 This page has a coordinating left hand page also, but I have to wait to post it in my galleries because it's out for publication!  I'm very excited to see it "in print," even if I have to wait to post it around.  I really loved this challenge at Log Your Memory (week 3) and love the pages that were inspired by it.

Kit: Cold by Jen C Designs

 The blues in this kit just screamed skiing to me.  It has been a few years since we've been out, but the memories are great and we're hoping to hit the slopes again sometime soon!

Happy Boy:
Kit: Denim by ScrapElf
Alpha: Backyard Life by Etc by Danyale

 I love this photo.  John was so thrilled to bounce on the pile of rolled up blankets in the store, I think it's the only way we survived the last 20 minutes or so of that last Christmas shopping trip!  The picture isn't great, I only have my cell phone camera, and he wouldn't sit still long enough to get a crisp shot, but that's part of what makes it such an energetic photo, I think.

Kit: All I Want For Christmas by ScrapElf
Alpha: Backyard Life Alpha by Etc by Danyale

I haven't done much with my photos from this Christmas.  In fact, I think they were only taken off my camera's memory card about a week ago.  Long enough to decide that I needed at least ONE page this year, before next Christmas comes around!

And some older pages that have been sitting around here:

Kit: Chugging Along by Colie's Corner
Word Art: Chugging Along Word Art by Etc by Danyale and Colie's Corner

 Danyale had a new word art set out that coordinates with a release by Colie's Corner.  The train theme was perfect for using with this picture of John testing out his new ride-on train he got for Christmas.

And this is Danyale's newest solo release.  Loving the quilted alpha still!  This title is part of the word art set, and the hearts are all part of the alpha deco pack, but were so much fun to work with!  Making this page even made me kind of like this picture (which I have always disliked, even though my favorite pint-sized photographer snapped it)...I'm not sure which part makes me like it more, the pretties that I decorated the page with, or the Photoshop work that took away all the acne that had been on my forehead.  Turned it in to a half decent photo!

Kit, predecorated paper, and template: Sweetest Thing by Connie Prince

 I put this page together on the night my baby turned 1.  This is still my favorite infant photo of him, and one of the few I have of him actually sleeping those first few weeks.  The best part of this layout, is that it went together so fast.  The background is actually a pre-decorated page, and I piled a focal cluster from a template over the paper, clipped papers and elements into the template pieces and voila!  Super easy, super fast, and super cute!

Kit: Make a Wish by Isabel Mendez
Alpha (number 7): Time 4 Presents by Etc by Danyale (recolored)

This is the page I put together late on the night of my last blog post, but never got back to post!  It was another template page, so went together pretty quickly, all things considered.  I did recolor the 7 (it was originally a very Christmas-y green, but wanted the outlined number, and love the final look!

Here's to another week beginning, and hopefully a slightly more organized calendar, and more timely blog posts!