Sketch 218 - Santa Cruz, CA

Howdy everyone! I hope everyone has been enjoying their Monday, if that's possible! ;) The worst part of my Mondays are that DH is always grouchy in the mornings because he has to get up so early after sleeping in on the weekend. And even then, he's still not SO bad, so I don't really mind Mondays.

Another thing about Monday is that it's sketch day at Scrapbook Challenges! Who doesn't love a good sketch, right?! This week's is an awesome one!!

Sketch 218:And here's what I did with it:

I used mostly scraps on this one. I hardly ever do that, but I've been trying harder lately. I hate being wasteful. I also flipped the sketch because that worked best for me. :)

Don't forget to stop by Scrapbook Challenges and post this sketch to the thread if you try it! You could win an awesome prize!

-Dani

Scrap that Baby... and the Grandparents!

There's a new prompt up at Scrap That Baby! This time, Sarah is asking us to scrap the baby and the grandparents in honor of Grandparent's Day. When I saw this prompt on the list waaayyy back in April, I was excited! I knew that I'd have the opportunity to have the perfect pictures for it because my parents were coming all the way out here to California to visit. And I got some good ones. The one I used on this layout is one of my favorites! Jonah loves his Paw Paw!
Isn't it just the sweetest?! And how about those hot air balloons? Sassafras rocks my world!

Well, what are you waiting for?? Head on over to Scrap That Baby and play with us!!
-Dani

Crackle medium, marry me please!

So lately, I've been watching technique videos and live shows. I think I've decided to challenge myself to try a new technique every week. Well yesterday, I tried crackle medium for the first time. I've used crackle paint before, but never crackle medium. And boy, was it awesome!! I did all of the steps and when it came down to just watching it crack, I stared at it for a good 15 minutes just in awe. It's really awesome stuff!

Anyways, to the project. You know those thick piece of cardboard that come in kits sometimes or maybe on the backs of paper pads? Well I've decided that I need to use them. Usually I used them to cover my work space when I paint, but I've recently turned a box lid into my go to paint and misting area. I figured it would be perfect to try out crackle medium though!

I started out with this (after I cut the original piece in half):


I used quite a few different paint techniques on this project. In addition to the crackle medium, I also used texture builder on the house, I used my Tim Holtz mask that I got yesterday to spell out 'Happy Halloween' in the back sprayed with orange acrylic paint and water in a mini mister, I used tissue paper to 'stamp' purple paint on the house, and also stamped 'Trick or Treat' with foam stamps and paint. So lots and lots of paint.. just like I like it!

And for the things that needed adhesive, of course I used my Glue Dots®! I used the Pop-up dots do give my project dimension! I love them soo much! I also used the Craft Dots to hold down the glitter frame.

Supply List --- Patterned Paper: Momenta, frame: Fancy Pants, Adhesive: Glue Dots®,
mask: Tim Holtz, rubber stamps: unknown, house (from chipboard album): Mary Engelbreit,
paint: Apple Barrel, crackle medium: Delta, texture builder: Delta, ribbon: Offray.

Thanks for looking! Everyone enjoy their Tuesday!
-Dani

I wrote this blog post while participating on the Glue Dots design team.

I am one frustrated crafter today....

I've just got to vent. I set out today to find some Fancy Pants paper, possibly some Halloween paper and embellishments, and some black Thickers. That was all in the world I needed. While I know that finding scrapbook supplies in countries other than the US is very hard (and I promise that I am grateful to even have the opportunity to shop in actual stores for supplies), but I must live in the black hole of the US. I have been to many, many Michael's stores in my day, but I have never seen such a horrible one than my local one. No one knows anything about the products they carry, nor about their store events. And get this... I didn't find any black Thickers. What?!!

So I decided to head to Beverly's, which is the only other craft store anywhere near here. I figured, if anything, I could find some Fancy Pants. They're usually really good about carrying manufacturers that I normally use. Nope. No FP. And hardly any Halloween stuff. I did find some black Thickers, but they only had 3 different sets and I didn't REALLY like any of them. Oh well.

On the bright side, Michaels is having a 50% off sale on their punches!! WOOO!!! And get this... (Are you guys sitting down? You may faint....) I finally bought a circle punch!! I've never, ever had a circle punch in the many years that I've been scrapbooking. Oh, and that circle punch brings my grand total of punches to a whopping FOUR. LOL! Insane, I know.

On a side note, I haven't actually bought any supplies (other than the $30 I spent at the Scrapbook Expo) since May *GASP*. After glancing around 2 whole stores, all I could find that I just couldn't live without was a circle punch, 2 sets of CC Tiny Type, a Tim Holtz mask (which was on clearance for $1.99 at Michaels), 1 set of Thickers, and 3 bottles of acrylic paint. That's it. Out of 2 whole, entire stores that's all I bought. Sad. Sooo I gave up and spent the rest of my money on McDonalds.. hahaha! =)

SC Sketch 217

Hellllooo Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. We most certainly did! All is good in our house when Alabama wins on Saturday! =) It's all about college football around here in the fall.

Anyways, since it's Monday, that means there's a new sketch up at Scrapbook Challenges! I can't believe Pamela has posted 217 sketches since SC first started! WOW!
Sketch 217:

My layout based on the sketch:

It's a simple one, and yes, I'm STILL scrapbooking the pictures from when Daniel came home from Iraq.. lol! At first, I was a little worried about the one little square that moved while I was misting, but I just chalked it up to art. I'm ok with it. =)

Remember, if you do the sketch, please upload it to the gallery and thread at Scrapbook Challenges because we would love to see it! Also, you would have a chance to win this month's sponsor prize from... My Little Shoebox!!!

-Dani

Me = EXCITED!!

I'm excited to say... I'm a Glue Dots Dottie!!! I submitted my application back in May I believe, and got a follow up email about a month or 2 ago. But then I just forgot about it. And boy was I surprised to see the DT e-mail today!! =) I'm so excited!! (Have I said that yet???? LOL) So be looking forward to seeing lots of awesome projects all stuck together using some fabulous Glue Dots!! =)

-Dani

I wrote this blog post while participating on the Glue Dots design team.

Seasons of Change winner.. and some Momenta projects.

Oh my gosh, wasn't the Seasons of Change blog hop SOOOO much fun?!!? It went off flawlessly! A lot of the winners have been announced now, but there are still winners from members and DT blogs that haven't been announced. To check to see if you have won, check Winner's Circle!

As for my RAK, which turned into a mysetery RAK because I completely forgot to update my post (Sorry y'all!!)........


And the winner is.......


Ginny, send your info to tdsmith22@gmail.com. =)

Recently, I decided to use the Sweet Talk digital line from Momenta to do some candles. It was very easy to do, and I was happy with how they turned out.


I also make a 'Welcome' sign with the Flutter paper, some stickers, and some of their FABULOUS rub-ons. Seriously.. these rub-ons are awesome!! I love the quality. =)



That's all for today! Hope you all have a great Wednesday! =)

It's my birthday.. and I'll scrap if I want to...

It's my birthday today.. and I'm a big, fat 36 years old. Not really.. I'm 22, but I feel 36.. lol! Let's just hope that when I'm 36, I feel 22! =) I'm not scrapping today though. I'm lounging on the couch listening to some country music and missing home. Annnd letting DH clean house. Sounds like a good day to me! We're going to head to the fair a little later.. and I'm hoping for some king cake. We'll see.

Anyways, to the point of this post. Sketch 216 was posted at Scrapbook Challenges today! I've been working on September's sketches for about a week now, and I'm telling you.. it's killing me not being able to share them yet!!! I'm excited to share this one today though.
Sketch 216:

And here's my take:

I've had these pictures for a while now, and I knew what title I wanted to use with them. I've just been looking for the perfect papers to match. Well, at the Scrapbook Expo last month, I had a coupon for the SEI booth... and what do I see?! This amazing paper collection! I knew instantly that it'd be perfect for these pictures. See.. waiting around does pay off. =)

The 'purple carpet' in Pacific Grove is absolutely beautiful. It's definitely one of the things I was excited about when I found out we were moving here. I try to really not complain about where we live because it is amazing really. I've been to the Grand Canyon, and I much prefer the coastline of Big Sur. It's THAT beautiful here. But, it's still not home.. and I'm homesick. I'm glad I got to scrap that. =)

Hope everyone has a fun and safe Labor Day! =)
-Dani

Whaaat? I did a layout FOR FUN??

If you are looking for the Scrapbook Challenges Seasons of Change blog hop, click here or scroll down.

It really has been a while since I've done a page just for fun. I'm always doing sketches or prompts for my DT commitments. Last night, my hubbs had CQ, which is a 24 hour shift. I was bored and couldn't sleep, so I decided to scrap. That's weird in itself, because normally I am a morning scrapper. Well, I was browsing the blog world and saw this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch. As soon as I saw it, I knew this Crate Paper line would be perfect for it! And any excuse to play with some Crate Paper is a good enough excuse for me! =)

The sketch:


My take:


I also paired this with a couple of the challenges from Scrapbook Challenges. Awesome right?? THREE birds with one stone! =)

SC's Season of Change Blog Hop

Welcome to the Scrapbook Challenges Seasons of Change blog hop! I hope you all arrived here safe and sound from Pamela's blog. If you just happened to have stumbled upon my blog and didn't realize there was a blog hop happening, you can start the hop on Pamela's blog.

A new design team term is starting at Scrapbook Challenges! On the course of this hop, you will meet some new faces and say goodbye to some of the ones that you have been seeing around. What about me? Well I'm proud to say that I will be sticking around for another term! I love it so much, how could I just stop at one term?? =) For those of you that are new to Scrapbook Challenges, I'd like to tell you a little about myself. First off, I've been a member of SC since its Myspace days. I believe when I joined, there were only about 60 members. I wasn't active then, but it sure was a good place for inspiration.. and still is! I also design for Momenta and Scrap That Baby. I enjoy scrapbooking and altered art a great deal, but I also love photography. When I'm not flexing my artistic muscles, I love being outdoors hiking, fishing, swimming, and just being on the lake. I'm a Southerner through and through, and I love me some good ol' sweet tea! Monday is actually my birthday, and I will be 22. I've been married for 4 years to a soldier, Daniel. We've got a 13 month old son, Jonah, and he's the most awesome baby around! =) I love my little family!

Enough about me. Here's the sketch for the blog hop. I hope you all are inspired by the amazing talent of this DT to do this sketch! Ya know, because if you do the sketch and post it in the 'Hop On' section in the group, you could possibly win the new Pixie-Licious line from Cosmo Cricket!! EEEEEEE!!!

And here's my take:

I absolutely love this picture of Daniel and Jonah! I have said that I think that it's my favorite picture I've ever taken! And I'm happy to have paired it with the awesome Girl Friday line from Cosmo Cricket! See, just because it says girl in the name doesn't mean ya can't scrap boys with it! =)

And here comes the part where I'm green with envy! Everyone who posts a comment on all of the blogs in the hop will be entered to win the new Restoration line from Crate Paper! Oh my gosh, I love this line! I love Crate Paper too! Someone is going to be a lucky girl (or guy, I suppose)!!


In addition to that, everyone who joins the group this weekend gets entered into the drawing for a Prima pack, everyone who invites someone to the group this weekend, through the "invite" link on main page, gets entered into a drawing for a Prima pack, and there will be a fifth prize in the Hop On section!

Also, I will be giving a small RAK to someone who comments on my blog and becomes a follower. I will edit this post later with a picture.. it's still dark here and I didn't have a chance to take one yesterday. =)

Now hop on to the next blog! It's one of our new ladies.... Racquel!!