My Bluff Was Called Monday

So apparently viruses don't listen to me any more than my kids do.  I tried ignoring it, working around it and through it, but it didn't work.  If I didn't know better I'd think it was my version of morning sickness. . .but I know better and it's not.  Whatever it is, though, it sucks and I want it gone.  Soon.  I had big plans for this four-day weekend and sitting the majority of the time, sitting that doesn't involve scrapbooking, wasn't one of them.

Feeling well or not I had things to do - my son's games - one winner and Consolation Round Champs, WOOHOO - Way to go Tom!  And the first loss for the other, by one point, moves them to play for third next weekend.  

Check out February Guest Designer, Deanna's final layout for the month.  She used the October Afternoon Modern Homemaker line in the Smaller than a Breadbox kit and the February sketch from Becky Fleck at PageMaps.  Deanna used the line to highlight a Chinese dinner on a cruise she took.  It's adorable and totally out of the "Homemaker" box.  Thanks, Deanna, for a fantastic month.  You can keeping getting great inspiration from Deanna on her blog HERE.

Deanna's Tips:  I used a Bazzill Stitching Template for the circle. Added Doodlebug Alphas, Black Floss and Ink, Black CS for my matte, and Jillibean Soup Journal Spot to the kit.

Drawing from Deanna's layout for inspiration, kick off the week, Monday's challenge is use stitching on your layout - real would be great, but rub-ons or pen work fine too.  Upload by Sunday evening.

A little housecleaning:  Cookie Jar Treats will be heading to Nitasha (Week of Jan 31st) and Patchi (Week of February 7th) and Carolina Girl (Share the Shame-Stamps).  Congrats ladies.

I'm off to see where my energy is for today and work with it while I can!

DONE! and Monday Do-Dads

Welcome to Monday!  I hope your weekend was a good one.  We had one win and one loss over the weekend, one birthday girl, two friends and one bummed out boy over the loss of the Steelers.  Two cheesecakes, 40 cake pops and take-out Chinese.  One more layout, eight filler-photos and one completed December Daily album for 2010!  The layout above used the LOAD challenge, Lain's own version of 5 on Friday - sweet.  I'll have to play catch up on challenges five and six; falling asleep way too early on Saturday killed getting that one done and then the birthday girl's party and the subsequent cleaning afterwards has left me with no time for day six.  Back on track with it tomorrow.

Here we have February's Guest Designer, Deanna's layout for this week using the My Mind's Eye Alphabet Soup pack in the February Smaller than a Breadbox kit.  Isn't it the cutest?  If you like this one, check out her blog HERE for more.


Deanna's Tips:

• I added a bit of a white edge around my photos by using a sanding tool.
• Use border punches to create decorative edges to your layout.
• I used the backside of the 'Zoofari' paper for my curvy journaling tag.
• Don't forget to mix your kits too. I used the dark grey cardstock from the Echo Park kit for my photo matte.
• Everything from the kit except for the American Craft Foam Thickers, VersaMagic Black Ink.

Hmmm. . .challenge, challenge.  Something for Monday.  AH!  Use something on your layout today that you've been putting off.  Like. . .oh. . .stamps.  Say you have a ton of stamps that just sit, pull them out and use them.  Oooorrr. . .punches.  You know the ones sitting and collecting dust.  Whatever it is - find it, get it, use it.

Off to get my week off to a good start so I can play later ;)

Monday - More looks at January's Kit

First off check out this totally adorable layout by Patchi.  She used the Bella Blvd Socialite line.  I'm loving all the circles.  And that is one big pizza.

Looking for challenges?  As if the ones here weren't enough. . .well, when I get back on schedule they will be.  They have been a tad thin these past few weeks.  Anyway, you can find Apron Strings sponsoring all month long over at Challenge Masters.  A great little site with lots to do.  Find the challenges this month that'll qualify you for entry into the drawing.  Check HERE and then head to the forums for the challenges.

AND, this week Apron Strings is sponsoring over at Sketch Inspirations.  Check out this week's sketch, enter your layout for a chance to win, and while you're there get inspiration from the Sous Chefs and what they did with the sketch.  Check it all out HERE.

If that isn't enough, I'll draw some more inspiration from Por. . ah. . .Pottery Barn.  This time with a nod to boys.  What will you take from the photo below; from http://www.pbteen.com/ and their Oceanside suite.

So if you're ready to get started on those 2011 scrapbooking goals, rustle up a layout and add the link by Sunday evening to be eligible for Cookie Jar Treats.

Kids are off today, many things to do.  Have a great Monday.



Monday Challenge

Where to start today - weekend recap?  Our 10 y.o.'s basketball team took 2nd place (nowadays called "Consolation Champions"   What is that?  Just call it 2nd place!)

DH and I attended the Booster Club's Crystal Ball.  It was a chance to dress up and act like grown-ups.  We could have won the $10,000 reverse raffle if they hadn't called us out in the first round.  We had a very nice time nonetheless.  It's always an interesting place to people watch.  These are the parents you stand around with waiting for school to let out, have your mommy-chats with and watch parents or couple interact with their kids rather than each other.  To see some of them . . . ah . . . cut-loose shall we say, is always fun.

Last week's winner for the weekly challenges is:  Kristin Perez!!  Congrats Kristin, I'll get something out to you.

Now on to today's challenge - we're gonna build a Sundae.  Yum.  Here's how it works.  Below you'll find ingredients to build a Sundae.  Select at least 4 items to build your Sundae from the list, leave a comment on your selections and tomorrow I'll post the "key" to what each of the ingredients is in scrapbook supply terms:

• Chocolate Ice Cream
• Vanilla Ice Cream
• Hot Fudge
• Caramel Sauce
• Strawberry Syrup
• Pineapple Syrup
• Cherry Syrup
• Bananas
• Marshmallow Cream
• Whipped Cream
• Cherries
• Chopped Nuts
• Sprinkles

So, for today, simply pick four or five of the items and tune in tomorrow to find out how those items translate into what you'll need to use on your layout. 

Dang, that made me hungry.  Have a great Monday.

Monday's Post on Tuesday

So, yeah, I missed the Monday post on Monday.  It was just one of those days where time seemed to be someplace else.


It was a long and busy weekend, most of which was spent outdoors.  The soccer tournament for my 2nd son was Saturday and Sunday, and outside of sleeping that's where we spent our weekend - at the soccer fields.  No, wait, I did sleep at the soccer fields.  I was trying to get the toddler to nap and I was the one who fell asleep.  My 2nd son and his team lost all three games.  When I looked at the standings Sunday morning to see what our chances were, I can't say I was too sorry to see we would not be moving into the semi-rounds; one of the great soccer-mom dilemmas - the desire to see your child win vs. your own deep desire to leave the fields and baking hot sun.  My daughter also started her volleyball season on Sunday, with a double-header.  They also lost both matches.  But it's early for her and their team has not played together as a team.  A not-so-great weekend from a game stand point, but what's a soccer/volleyball mom to do.  You just rally everyone for the next weekend - which both games are home, at the same fields at the same time.  The jumping and celebrating may be heard in far away states.  Funny how something so small can bring such pleasure.


Speaking of small and pleasurable, we have today's challenge - the first for October, which I'm thinking of playing a little "Croptoberfest" again this year.  Nothing too intense, just some fun stuff here and there.  A grand prize.  That little witch will come back and draw some names.  I have some great My Mind's Eye Halloween paper packs that I'm sure someone out there would enjoy.  Anyone?  Anyone?


Today, a little "Inspired by. . ."  I was watching my toddler wandering around in his dinosaur pajamas the other day, all baggy and saggy and, frankly, very comfy looking and thought that would make a good challenge.  So in honor of my son's dinosaur pajamas, create a layout that's inspired by them - the colors are browns, creams and greens (both moss and evergreen) and a touch of golds, with little dinosaurs all over them.  They are long-sleeved and soft cotton.  And if I was a good challenge-issuer, I'd have a photo, but the description will have to work. So, based on that, what will inspire you?  Step out of the box, instead of the colors will something about the long sleeves inspire you?  A boy theme?  A comfy theme?  I can't wait to see.


Layouts for this are due by Sunday, October 10th.


Now, for the winner from last week:  Briel!  You know the drill ;)  Speaking of Briel, you need to go check out her blog HERE and the "School Book" she's creating.  Her's is not the typical view, from the Parent of the Student, or the Student's perspective, but from the Educator's perspective.  She has a great layout planned, that can certainly be adapted to any view.  But it would also make a meaningful gift for the teachers in your children's lives - just leave out the photos.  Her layouts are clean and the memorabilia she's including is fun and with her plan in place it's a quick and easy project.  Nice job, Briel and thanks for sharing it.


There's some fun stuff  posted from last week.  If you haven't looked, go check out the thumbnails and then be sure to play along yourself for this week's goodies, which will also enter you into the Octoberfest drawings. 

Monday Challenge

So first, must deal with this, Key West Cupcakes.  That is the link for the cupcakes I posted a photo of last week.  Apparently, there are some out there that are miffed because I didn't include the recipe.  So there you go.  One note, the "filling" shouldn't be spread on the top, you should inject it into the cupcake, otherwise your frosting will just slide off.

Sorry about the one-post last week, time got away from me and before I knew it we were at Sunday.  Between the regular chaos we celebrated two birthdays (and Jack will turn 10 this Wednesday), I can't believe Matthew is 2!  DH and Kallene took a road trip out to Kansas to celebrate his brother's 50th birthday over the weekend.  The boys and I stayed home to have a quiet celebration of birthdays and soccer on Saturday (1 win, 1 loss).

Saturday night two of my sisters and I enjoyed a little crop time!  I'm taking another Big Picture Scrapbook class Adventures in Scrapbooking:  Use Your Stash.  Some good ideas and I've created some goals to try to reach for the remainder of the class.  Outside of using older kits and trying to wrap up 2004 photos, I didn't meet the other goals.  But I got two layouts done this weekend and one last.

The above layout is the one I spoke of last week.  It's definitely not a favorite, but I can't figure out, other than starting over, where to fix it.  But it's done.  The class is reminding me trying to achieve perfect is just gonna weigh me down and keep me from plugging away.  So, whatever it's missing, will stay missing and I'll call it done.  Older kit, 2004 photos - good.



So I've been working - plan to do some more at some point this week; more 2004 photos and try to incorporate some of my other "stash" goals like use my Cricut, work with more paper and use embellishments (a difficult area for me), and make us of the many stamps I have.  We'll see how it goes.

But it's Monday and besides my own challenges, it's time for you to have one of your very own.  Too bad I'm in a challenge-issuing block at the moment, so I go to Elizabeth Kartchner's "52 More Scrapbooking Challenges" book:  today create a layout and let song lyrics inspire you.  Is it the theme of the song that inspires the layout?  The title?  Journaling the lyrics to fit the theme?  Have your layout uploaded by Sunday evening to be eligible for Fall Cookies.

Speaking of Cookies - last week's winner is Deanna!  Congrats!  Now ladies, while I'm sure Kristin and Deanna would prefer to have their 50/50 shot at winning intact, let's face it, it's more-the-merrier when cropping.  So come and play and win!

I've had a productive day, I'm off to enjoy it a little longer before I get the monkeys.  Have a great Monday yourself!

  

Monday Challenge

How was everyone's weekend? Any special plans for Father's Day? My husband took our two older boys fishing - caught three, kept one - a salmon. So while it sits in my 'fridge I'm trying to figure out what to do with it tonight. My younger sister also hosted a nice dinner for our dad - yummy Mahi and salads. Delish. I enjoyed a little crop-time at Archiver's on Saturday, meeting up with Designer-Jennifer, her SIL and another club owner here in Colorado. It was semi-productive for me, completing two 2-pagers. Then it's back to the grind on Monday. Ick. It's hot, I'm sweaty and the house needs cleaning, but not gonna happen in this heat. Uh-uh, not gonna happen. So after this post I'm heading for cooler temps in the basement. I got in the mail last week a nice supplement to my challenges, because frankly there are times I sit down to post and it's just crickets - not a thing happenin' in the brain. It's CK's "52 More Scrapbooking Challenges" by Elizabeth Kartchner, of Dear Lizzy fame. Looks fun. Looks off the page. I think you will enjoy when I post challenges from it. Like today :) - don't tell me you're surprised. Today's challenge is to be inspired by an outfit; its color, texture, pattern, shape, whatever. For instance, I have a great black a-line skirt with white embroidery along the bottom with crocheted trim. If, IF, I were a sew-er on layouts, I might choose black cardstock and sew some flowers and flourishes that mimicked the look on my skirt. I also love the shade lime green, so I might draw inspiration from any number of shirts I have in this color and create a layout using that lovely lime. So, go dig through your closet, or look down at what you're wearing now and draw inspiration from it for today's challenge. This, along with any others from this week, will be due Saturday evening. Finally, for today (I'm melting, seriously, I'm like the witch on Wizard of Oz - only I'm not as nice.) "My Croppy Summer" will be starting up - I just need to pick the date. Right now it's looking good to start next Monday and running through mid-August. Lots of challenges, lots of prizes and hopefully, for you, lots of completed pages. So, "Get your motor runnin', head out on the highway . . ." Why Steppen Wolf is playing in my head, not a clue. The song makes me think of summer road trips though.

Much Ado About Monday

Oh, it's Monday and even though there's no school (insert happy dance here), there's a plate full of things to do. None of which I am currently doing, mind you, but the list is there nonetheless. I'm blaming the heat and humidity for my lack of productivity. I was productive in the scrapping department last week - completing my Basic Grey June calendar page, finishing one 2-pager that I started my last "session" and then doing four more 2-pagers. And. . .drum roll. . .my December Daily photos are now happily in their mini album! And the Bonus. . .I started printing off the remaining photos for my Project 365 '09. It felt so nice to get to those things! This weekend will be a repeat, after I get shipping done. And Kristin, I don't know. . .the laundry sitting and waiting for washing certain smells worse than fish, so it's entirely possible the boys were sent home. Though not before capturing six delish White Bass. I hear they cooked up nicely. The fish, not the boys. :) Now, let's see:

• Check out Jennifer's blog here, for the cake that goes with her pink poodle invites. How cute is that! I think cake might be on order for dinner tonight. White cake with Cherry frosting.
• On June 18th, wander on over to Bella Blvd's blog to win an Apron Strings kit and see some layouts from some gals you may know. Don't worry, I'll remind you. :)
• This week over at Sketch Inspiration, you can grab this week's sketch challenge, a sneak peek of Apron Strings' Sous Chef layouts based on that sketch (a couple anyway, I said "sneak"), but there's a shot at winning an Apron Strings kit there too.f
• Have you been following along with Kristi's June Journal on her blog? It's a great way to snapshot the end of school and summer break for this year. Once a day photo and a quick layout make a nice way to remember this summer.

Let's see oh, winners from last week. Shoot, no, two weeks worth. What the heck? How did I miss that one? Okay, well here you go:

• 5/24- 5/28 - Winner is Molly! Your goodie will be in your next shipment.
• 6/1 - 6/4 - Winner is Deanna! Your goodie will ship with your order; I think you have another prize, too.

And finally - today's challenge; I can just get it in. I'm sweltering here in the heat and humidity, so work with something "cool." Create your layout using cool tones: blues, greens, crisp white, purple. I'll give you a bonus toss in the drawing if you scrapbook something cool. This will be due, linked, by Saturday evening.

Hopefully, it's cooler where you are. Happy Monday.

Mon. . Tues. . Wed? Challenge

Monday. Holiday. Tuesday. Slipped by. Wednesday. Sketch as usual. First - soccer. Both boys, in two separate tournaments, did not make it to the championship brackets, though both played well and their teams did a great job. Now, we push on to tryouts this Thursday and Friday and we can call it quits until July. I refuse to think about how short a time that sounds. Second, join Kristi Bergin-Smith (designer, student, mom, wife extraordinaire) is hosting her annual June Journal on her blog. It's another fantastic opportunity to document your daily life. If you haven't had a chance to take part in this type of activity, I highly recommend it! Next, if you participated in Melanie's blog hop, did you check in to see if you won any of her great prizes - one of which was a goodie from Apron Strings :) Okay, so onward to today's challenge, so I can move on to tomorrow's. Create a layout using papers you keep passing time and again when searching through your stash. No passing those papers by this time!! Link up your layout by Saturday evening to be eligible for Treats. Hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday and that your short week has started off nicely.

Monday's Challenge

It was an odd weekend here - DH was in Kansas City for our nephew's graduation, or rather his graduation party. With the actual graduation on Sunday night he couldn't stay for that, but he went and celebrated. Then there were no sports - none whatsoever. A very odd thing for me, because since mid-February we've been dealing with soccer, and a little later, volleyball. But, as predicted, this weekend's tournaments are all conflicts, all the time! We'll have to divide and conquer so that DH and I can both enjoy the boys' separate games, separately. Today, more wind. Ick. Of all the weather, it's wind I hate the most. But there's also this week's first challenge (I will try to get the winners of the last two weeks challenges posted later today), so at least there's something to do inside, if your weather is less than perfect. Today, using the sketch below from 52 Sketches 52 Weeks, create a layout that incorporates a nice apple green and alter the sketch to include more than the one photo shown, or make your layout a 2-pager.

Back to chores and work and maybe time to get some lunch. Have a wonderful Monday.

Kick-off the week Monday Challenge

Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Here, we had gorgeous weather, well on Sunday anyway. Saturday we enjoyed clouds and cool weather and rain that held off until after the soccer game. My 9 y.o.'s last regular season game was a 3-0 win! Hurray! Now we continue to have practices until the Memorial Day tournaments begin. We only have one bracket set, so it should be fun to see how the other schedule fits in and what kind of chaos will be created.

My daughter's volleyball team had their championship game up in Longmont (45 minutes north of us) where they fought hard, but ultimately took 2nd place in the City, with the closest games they played all season, loosing by only a couple points on both their matches. The photo below shows smiling faces and red, watery eyes.

I also enjoyed a Saturday night of scrapbooking where I completed seven, yes SEVEN, pages! They didn't photo graph well, and then they didn't edit well, but you'll get the idea. I must have had my camera settings off from taking photos at the volleyball game. I also tried to get the Slide function to work, but no go on that too - it must be Monday!

So, on to the first challenge of the week. Bessie's gonna take a break while she deals with the icky effects of early pregnancy and an upcoming move to Florida. She's had great Monday challenges (which I will miss) and I'm sure mine will pale in comparison, but I'll give it a shot anyway. Today, create a layout using your most recent photos with your most recent kit/purchase. Your sketch of the day is from Nuts About Sketches and when I saved it I already had one by this name, but not sure if I actually used it - if I did, well, you're getting it again. :)

Challenges for this week are due, linked up, by Saturday evening.

Hope your day and week is off to a great start!