Looking for the 52 week swap pics?

they are on the other blog http://www.scrapbooksandcows.blogspot.com

In the meantime - check out these beautiful cards that came with the swaps!  I so love receiving handmade notes - they always make my day.  And a huge plus - I tend to use the fronts on pages later on :P.  Anyone who has swapped with me for long has probably seen their card re-purposed as a page element of some type.  I save all the beautiful cards!

Tried something New

Needle felting!

First rule - be careful not to poke yourself.  This may be obvious, but the needles are sharp LOL.

I started with a pansy - nope, doesn't look too much like a pansy, but I figured out the movement with this project.

Next, I tried a bunny face - hmm - maybe I should have started with a dog face as that is what it looked most like.  It had bunny ears, but I felted them down so it looked more dog like.

 Finally - big time now- let's try a sheep!

Well, the ball for the body went fine.  The head was ok, but I forgot the neck.  However, I think the little guy is kind of cute, so, depending on who is looking, he is either a little bear or a sheep who woke up a bit strange.

While I have a long way to go with my technique, I sure did enjoy creating these projects.  Next up will be more work with flowers.  It may not look it, but the pansy was much more difficult than the above animal.  I guess maybe it is because little animals are often pretty cute.

Creativity is on vacation

Working on a class for my www.scrapbookingfun.biz site.  Well, when I posted, I had this wonderful idea.

Give it a shot - nothing is working as I had envisioned.  Set the mess aside and come back later.  Tried later - still nothing working out quite right.  However, I did figure one piece - whoo hoo - it is coming along!!    Boy did I think happy thoughts too soon.  The other pages - still not working.  I now have a rather large stack for recycling of stuff I don't like and that didn't work.  Sure glad Boy Scouts recycle paper for us.

So, my class will end up being more basic than I thought and not have anything completely original.  My mini's all are conglomerations of ideas I have seen all over the web and from books.  I only use patterns once, then alter to the size I want.  However, as the class is to be completed in about an hour, that is probably good.

No pictures of anything 'new', but here is a photo of a mini I will be putting into a store.  It isn't very big (as the lady wants things under $20) and has no embellishments other than scraps, but when I laid out some photos inside - it sure looks really cute with pictures.  Believe it or not, this small book can hold over 50 regular photos!

So, off to create - have a great day!

Peanut and Walnut Update

I was recently asked about Peanut and Walnut.  They are doing well.  Peanut tends to be a bit accident prone, but she has recovered from recent injuries (mainly to her horns).  She is not an exemplary example of a cow, but she is a wonderful help with petting zoos.  She loves kids and doesn't mind them playing with her horns.  We will get another photo of her later - my camera card filled, so I have to do some deleting/ordering of pictures before taking photos.

Walnut is now a steer and has been ridden (he doesn't mind, though most riding steers have horns) and learning how to pull a cart.

As you can see, both are doing well and pretty happy to have the rain let up for a few days.  I will be adding some recent layouts I finally completed as well.  I have been having fun playing with my gypsy and welding - I think I used Country life (maybe) and Alphalicious for the Peanut the Wonder Cow title.  Her horns were not very big at this petting zoo.

I love the look of mosaic layouts, but have a really tough time creating.  This one was made very fun by using a lot of the swaps I have for school themes!  The swaps are from both Scrapbookingfun.biz and the cricut board.

I used a martha punch for this layout, along with some fun techniques I have been wanting to try.  I clipped pieces for the story from some October Afternoon papers.  The leghorns are looking wonderful these days, however, I was not thrilled with the ones who jumped out of their box and were running around in the back of my vehicle!  The Thank You in the lower right corner of the bottom page is the front of a card I received - worked perfect on this layout as I love to repurpose anything I can!

A completed mini.

Mini album created for swap over at www.scrapbookingfun.biz.  The rest of the photos (I think there are at least 25 more) are over on my other blog - click on the side  - Scrapbooks and Cows II !

I really need to figure out how to combine these two blogs as I don't want two.

Tried a new swap

Making butterflies. They were interesting to make - glad to have done it, not sure I will do anymore. I just don't quite have the hang of making them. Maybe more practice

is the better alternative.

And now for something fun - at a crop a bit ago i made this fun title. I just cut out the words - the little monster frame (photo mat actually) was from a swap over at www.scrapbookingfun.biz! I cut the words using a cricut and my gypsy (love t

hat little gadget). Being able to weld three different fonts works out for me in this layout.

The most fun was the little nerf darts on the side. I made them on a challenge from my oldest son - from earbuds for ipods/mp3 players and kitchen scrubbers! Yes, my kids love to see what weird stuff I can incorporate.

Grunge Tag Swap

After the Halloween and Fall grunge tag swap success, I decided to have another grunge tag swap with a Christmas theme. One group of tags were Inspirational, the other were just Christmas. Love the results above! Over at scrapbookingfun.biz there are really some talented scrappers.

This one was so successful, I have started one for spring/summer. The basic theme choices are red/white/blue and spring/pastel. It will be interesting to see how these come out. If you are interested in joining the fun - check out the www.scrapbookingfun.biz swap section.

Back 'in' the saddle

Well, never really left - just overwhelmed with keeping up with regular things. Hopefully everything will be back to normal now. Why the saddle reference? Well, I am a bit excited - below is Annie (Jack is behind). They have come to live with us. With this wonderfully non-standard winter weather, I hope to be riding soon!



I have had some time for a few projects - First, a telescoping mini album I created for someone who was retiring to have fun playing with their grandkids. The mini is a Laura Dennison (following the paper trail) design, and was a blast to create. Definitely making a few more of these.





I counted, and with tags and spaces, I believe this mini can hold over 100 photos (102 to be precise).

A few other projects have included learning how to use my gypsy (the word page in the following album is a great example) and finishing up the Senior's matchbook albums (design inspired by KathyOrta). The album is a mix of envelopes and paper bags and also changes from the band type cover she had created (it was beautiful, just not appropriate for a bunch of hockey players) to one that has a magnet embedded in the bottom cover and another under the puck on the cover. That way, even when filled it will stay closed and fit on the guys shelves as they head off for wherever.




PS - Want to get in on the 52 Week Swap? Round One of this second year just started this past week. If you have swapped with me before, you can still jump in. If you haven't and want to join in round 2 for this year, head over to www.scrapbookingfun.biz and you can sign up!

52 Week Swap, Round 5

Whew!!! This is quite a feat and those ladies who have been participating since round one began - hats off to you!!! This swap is quite a challenge, but really keeps you going. Beautiful items this round, as always. I just love the way we all have the same theme, but nothing ever turns out the same :)

Star Theme (yes, the star that is not made from paper was ok'ed)

Bird Theme

Yellow Theme

Zoo Theme

Bo Bunny Paper line - two pieces

Summer ATC's

Flag Theme

Butterfly Tags (and a sneaky little gnome who was missed for the yellow theme pic :))

Wow is summer flying by

Camping, travel, events - I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted on my blog!!

Anyway - I have been having fun working on various layouts and trying new techniques with Alcohol Inks. I found a wonderful box that I am altering for a swap (sorry, no full pics just yet). Below is my first attempt. I messed up the instructions, but like how it looks a bit peeled/old. This is just my sample/trial one - the real one will be different colors and all. Since purple is my favorite, I figured that in case it works out - I want to have one I will enjoy!!


We also held a short and sweet tag class last week over at www.scrapbookingfun.biz. Below are the tags we created. Again - another pic from my cell phone as my camera was busy traveling!


Part two of this class of quickie tags will take place this week (Thursday). To attend the class, you just need to be a member of the site.

Starting in September, we will go to audio and visual and ability to ask questions of the instructor for our classes. Kind of a big step as we have had written instructions and video, but never together. I am really excited to make this step on my site.

A few of our upcoming classes include:
Post It Note holders
Tim Holtz Inspired tags
Spinner Album
Rolodex/Birthday reminder file
Ink and Water techniques
Alcohol Ink techniques

Challenges going on over at Scrapbooking Fun

Need a way to beat the heat? Got a/c and want to scrap. Over at www.scrapbookingfun.biz, we currently have 7 different challenges going on through either the end of July or the end of August (check dates for specific challenges).

Going Old School - got an old tool that hasn't been used in a while? Get it out and make it new again.

Stickers, Stickers, Stickers - alter and use - we all have a stash.

Altered Items - your choice of item, great ideas and prize

Photo background challenge - use some of those old photos to create a unique look

Tag Challenge - you have until July 20th to sign up for this one. We all start with identical supplies, then create!

Christmas Challenge - use Christmas paper for a layout that isn't! Push outside your regular box.

As always we have swaps and games going on as well. The last Disney swap round turned out really cute.

Have a great day and try to stay cool! Below is just a fun picture. The view out my window where I sit to 'surf the net' and check out scrappy blogs. Kind of neat watching the helicopters (or planes - depends on the field) doing their crop dusting. I do need to figure out a good title for the layout this will appear on soon.

While I know it won't last, I have enjoyed having the last few Sunday mornings to scrap. The boys are almost done CIT (councilor-in-training) for the summer, they do love it. Dh leaves to pick them up and I have a few hours to myself. It has been nice though really, really quiet in the house.

After the challenging mosaic technique last week, I was really happy to see the Lasting Memories Distress challenge this week. Though I have a long way to go, it is one of my favorite techniques. Maybe because it allows for hiding errors so well? Or maybe it is the core'dinations paper? Or maybe just because it is messy and fun!

Below is my example for this week's project. I had hoped to try some perfect pearls, but, I don't remember where I put them. I only have one set and seldom use them (due to lack of knowledge), but over at Lasting Memories there was a link on using them. Looked like fun! Maybe soon (once I remember where I put them) ROFL.

This layout will also go into the Use Your Stash Challenge over at www.ScrapbookingFun.Biz because all of the papers and elements used are over 6 months old. (Whoops, no it won't, the brown/red core'dinations is new - oh well, the rest of the elements are old - still used a lot of stash)

Distress Techniques used: Embossing by placing elements under the paper and sanding (along the bottom edge); stamping, embossing and sanding core'dinations papers; inking edges of photo; distressing the edge of cardstock (then inking some of them); using ink to edge around the inside of the clock; 'painting' a border with a cat's eye ink pad; using a mini-mister for a bit more copper on the background paper; doing a bit of sporadic sanding on the background paper as well.

Next shows the clock element. I used some of the core'dinations bling type paper (sorry, but I don't remember the actual name), stamped with brown stazon, added some more core'dinations paper behind and a flower. The stamp set with the clocks, hands and sayings is really nice however it is one of those stamp sets that drives me nuts. The acrylic doesn't seem strong enough for standard stamping, so it usually takes me approximately 3-4 tries with the text pieces to get one that is acceptable. I prefer my rubber stamps, but the acrylic are so much less expensive that I am trying some of these as well. I wish the learning curve was a bit shorter.

My vintage buttons are always fun to use as well. For this layout, they were kind of necessary - in the corner, above the head, was a really fun statue that looked like some sort of bizarre hat on the subject's head. I had to do something. Photos like this only come around every few years, it is the only one I have, so I am not going to toss it and don't have photo shop or anything like that, so vintage buttons to the rescue!