Leaf Pile

One of the perks of being at home without any kids to worry about is that I can go shopping as I please. So it was wonderful to spend some time doing just that with my sisters and niece! Family really is the best and I just can't imagine going through life without them. Thanks sisters for a wonderful day!

We are now onto #6 of my scrapbooking weekend installments. This is one of my favorites. When I finished this one, my girlfriends all said wow you left it so simple...your style is changing. I will admit that sometimes I have a problem leaving space on scrapbook pages, but it was quite refreshing to make a simple page (besides the time consuming part of hand-cutting out all of those leaves)! Once again the layout is from Page Maps.

I just love Fall leaf pictures...the colors are just so vibrant and fun to scrap! I am the one out raking the leaves with a camera close by so that I can capture my kids playing in them. I thought the leaf stamp would be too detailed to use, but once I tried the tone-on-tone look with it, I LOVED it! Gave the leaves almost a texture or dimension. The little loopy strip was created with the Apron Border Die from the Cat's Pajamas and I gave the orange strip some texture with the Distressed Stripes embossing folder.

Only one more page to go, but plenty of cards coming up! Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Botanicals, Quirky Alphabet, other alphabet (SU!); Paper - Black & Ivory Fusion Paper Pad (K&Company), Crumb Cake, Crushed Curry, Ruby Red, Tangerine Tango (SU!); Ink - Crushed Curry, Ruby Red, Tangerine Tango, Always Artichoke (SU!); Accessories - Apron Border Die (The Cat's Pajamas), Cuttlebug Distressed Stripes embossing folder (Provo Craft), scissors, dimensionals

Yum

Coming at you with the 5th installment from my scrapbooking weekend. As I write these posts, it reminds me that I need to get the next scrapbooking session set-up. It felt so good to do these pages!

This one is one of the ones I really liked...even if there is a bit of an oops on the page. Don't worry I will tell you what it is...can't tell from a distance, only if you read everything! Anyway the layout is again from Page Maps...did I mention how much I LOVE the sketches there! They definitely help me get much better designs out of my scrapbook pages...my earlier pages just look kind of plain to me now...not that I don't love them too, but I just didn't seem to be very creative with my layouts! This sketch is one that I used before (seen HERE)...so you can see how you can get different looks with one sketch!

The baby food jar images are from an old Stampin' Up! set which the name totally escapes me. So when my kids were each infants, I was pretty diligent with recording firsts and such in a calendar, so I actually had written down the day that she tried each new food. Since the journaling area couldn't contain all of that information (and I wasn't going to scrapbook each new food, nor did I take pictures!) I wrote around the outside edges of the pictures the food and date. You can see it better in the detail shot. So here comes my oops...I started just above the single carrots baby food jar on the left side and continued clock-wise around the pictures. Well I ran out of room...so I had to jump down to below the single carrots food jar to get them all in. Why I didn't start down there in the first place I have no idea. So the oops is that if you were to start down there like I should have done, the foods will not be chronological...not a big deal for many, but my engineering mind is bugged by this!

I have started working on the March Release for Paper Makeup Stamps...super cute...can't wait to share with you...but you will have to wait until March 4th on the PMS Blog (March 5th for my first sneak peek). Will be back with some more scrapbooking too, but thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Unknown Baby Set (SU!); Paper - Banbury DSP, Certainly Celery, Whisper White (SU!); Ink - Dusty Durango, Lovely Lilac marker, Certainly Celery, Always Artichoke marker (SU!); Accessories - Sprinkles Thickers Letter Stickers (American Crafts), scissors, dimensionals

Bath Time

So imagine this for a second...and this is mainly for those that have kids (particularly young kids)...you clean your house and it stays clean! And not just clean for an hour or so, but for FIVE days! That is the dream I am living in right now! Granted the only way for said dream to come true was to send the husband and kids down to Florida (they get warm weather, I still have to shovel snow...didn't say it was all good!) for 5 days, but hey I am livin' the dream! Yeah I miss them and I actually miss the "noise"...although it is nice to have silence for a bit, but the dog is not the greatest conversationalist. So my enjoyment of my clean, peaceful house (and the photo album work...trying to finish 2008...yup that is how far behind I am...and the stamping) has delayed me from continuing my posts of my scrapbook pages. So before I head out for some errands, let me get back to it.

This is my 4th edition from the scrapbooking weekend. It was funny...I totally thought this one was going to be an easy one. I found the adorable duck and bubbles and the super cool paper and with my sketch (from Page Maps of course) I thought this would be the easiest page to complete. So wrong I was...this one felt like a labor of love. And honestly still not sure I "love" it...but it is done! Something about those naked babies in the bathtub...just can't get enough of them! Plus I need to have some pictures to embarrass her with later on in life, right?!

Hoping to stay on track and show you the final three pages in the next few days...my favorites are still to come. Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - None; Paper - Whisper White, Yoyo Yellow (SU!), Super Cool Glittery Wave paper (sorry I used the part with the name, but I got it from Archiver's); Ink - None; Accessories - Labels 14, Scallop Circle, and Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Scallop Border Punch (SU!), Rubber Duckie Stickers (PaperBliss by Westrim Crafts), Scrap Metal Self-Adhesive Letters (Pressed Petals)

Spooky Carvings

We are going from Christmas yesterday to Halloween today. See I don't scrapbook in order anymore. I found it to be very frustrating if I wasn't feelin' a page, but felt the need to do it just because it happened next chronologically. Now I take a sketch (such as these great ones from Page Maps) and look at what events I have that can be narrowed down to the number of pics in the sketch. Recently I actually went so far as to create a spreadsheet so I can track what pages I would like to do and the number of pics I can see for that page. So I look at the sketch, then at my spreadsheet, and decide which ones would fit the sketch best. So did I let too much of my engineering side out on that one?!

Anyway this is my 3rd edition of pages from my scrapbooking weekend. Once again I was able to make use of another retired SU! paper pack (Cast A Spell in this case). I knew there was a reason I bought these papers! I loved that I managed to keep the page to the two colors, Basic Black and Pumpkin Pie...although it got a little tough in there when I was doing the title. The long rows of rhinestones were in lieu of the stitching on the sketch...a fun but time consuming edition to the page!

So far managing to stay on track this week! Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - None; Paper - Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Cast A Spell DSP (SU!); Ink - Black marker for journaling; Accessories - Labels 16 (Spellbinders), Binding Edge Punch (EK Success), Velvet Ric-Rac Ribbon (Unknown), Rub-on Alphabet (Making Memories), Black Rhinestones (Darice and Bazzill Basics), dimensionals

Tree Decorating

This is the second edition of my scrapbooking weekend pages. They are not in any particular order. This one is one of my favorites from the weekend. The sketch (from Page Maps) was a bit intimidating with all of the pattern paper stuff, but once I realized my retired Merry Moments patterned paper from SU! would work great with my pics I instantly had many coordinating papers to work with.

I will admit this sketch took some measuring to get just right. Basically I started cutting down pictures and had to measure the last one (upper right) to make sure I took up the entire area I needed to. Really like how it all turned out.

Scrapbooking weekend edition #3 will hopefully be tomorrow! Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Wondrous Gift, Quirky Alphabet (SU!), alpha sets (unknown); Paper - Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Garden Green, Old Olive, Merry Moments Pattern Paper (SU!); Ink - Old Olive Chocolate Chip (SU!); Accessories - Red Rhinestones various sizes (Darice), Holly embellishments (Jolee's), Corner Rounder (SU!), Circle Nestabilities to trace out the large scallop border (Spellbinders), dimensionals

Big Rig Gig

I mentioned in my previous post that I completed 7 scrapbook pages in a weekend. That is a lot for me in general, but it feels even bigger when I realized that I haven't scrapbooked for 6 months or more prior to that. So I am pretty excited by what I made and since I over-prepared for the weekend, I now have a few more pages planned for future scrapbooking (which yes, girls, I need to set-up!).

I love Page Maps for scrapbook page layouts. I save ones every month for future pages. This is a great one for 5 pictures.

I am going to have to apologize immensely, but as good as I am at knowing what products I used on my cards, I am the exact opposite of that with my scrapbook pages. But if you have any questions, I am sure I can figure it out...just takes a little effort since that stuff is stored differently! I will do what I can based on what I remember.

Six more to come! Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Alphabet Set (Sassafrass Lass), Sanded Background (SU!); Paper - Basic Black, Summer Sun, Going Gray (SU!); Ink - Basic Black; Accessories - Construction Stickers (can't remember!)

Birthday Mojo

Man I tell ya...I need me some spring! We got a couple of warmer days, but they were super windy so we didn't get to enjoy them like we wanted to. But that little itty bitty taste of spring just is making me want it more. Or maybe it is the sore throat I have after catching my daughter's cold. Not sure what it is, but the stamping mojo is not with me right now. I want it to be...I have a list a mile long it seems if things that I want to make, but the thought of staying up past my kids bedtimes (my normal stamping time) is so tiring! Hoping it is just the cold...because if it is the weather, we have a bit more of winter to go before spring comes!

Well in an effort to do some stamping, I made a birthday card in celebration of Paper Makeup Stamps 2nd Birthday! This month (wow it is almost over isn't it?!) PMS turned 2 and there is a new fairy to help us celebrate! Natalie is all dressed up and ready to celebrate. She will only be a digi right now, but maybe (really hoping) she will be turned into rubber in the future. I always have issues with watercoloring digis because the lines bleed, so I printed her out on several pieces of paper and pieced her together. And it just so happens that there is a Paper Piecing Challenge over on Moxie Fab World in celebration of the new Stamp It! Techniques special issue. The layout I used was from last week's Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge #177. That angled panel caused me a lot of angst...just don't handle those well sometimes!

Well I did manage to make 7 (yes, 7...which is a lot for me) scrapbook pages during my scrapbooking weekend a few weeks ago. So hopefully you will be seeing all of those soon. Until then, thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Natalie Digi (Paper Makeup Stamps), sentiment (Stampin' Up, but I cannot remember which set); Paper - Pink Passion, Green Galore, Tangerine Tango, Very Vanilla, Early Espresso (SU!), Carolyn Gavin Greenhouse Mat Pad (K&Company); Ink - Early Espresso Marker, Green Galore Marker, Green Gable Marker, Tangerine Tango (SU!); Accessories - Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Pink Fairy Rhinestones (Bazzill Basics), Photo Corner Punch (SU!), Scallop Border Punch (SU!), dimensionals

Sweet Otter

So we went from almost spring back to full-fledge winter! Almost all of the snow had melted and now we are back with a new 8 - 10 inches! Pretty, yes...but not looking forward to shoveling the driveway! My husband had to shovel out his car this morning so he could go to work, so at least I don't have to do the whole driveway...although the snowplow came through so I get the fun job at the end of the driveway! We will see if I can get the kids to play outside for a bit while I do it. My daughter is not a fan (at all!) of wind and cold, so it may not happen until nap time.

Anyway, since we are on a Snow Day and I can't do my normal Monday routine, I thought I would take this opportunity to share a card I made for the February Sketch For You To Try by Jen Del Muro. I feel like this card is kind of a hodgepodge of colors, but they are all in the heart paper, so i went with it. Definitely more colors than I usually put on one card! The cutie Otter with a cupcake is Olive the Otter from Paper Makeup Stamps. She is part of the Retro Cutie Critters line...so love this line of stamps! The one thing I did like about this card was my ruffled ribbon with the twine over top of it...will have to use that again.

Well hope you all either are in warm weather or stay warm today! Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Olive the Otter (Paper Makeup Stamps), Flexible Phrases (SU! retired); Paper - Pretty in Pink, Orchid Opulence, To the Nines DSP (SU!), Heart paper (Unknown), watercolor paper; Ink - Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Sage Shadow, Pretty in Pink, Ruby Red, Old Olive, Orchid Opulence (SU!); Accessories - Circle and Big Scalloped Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon (SU!), Red and White Bakers Twine (Unknown), Striped Purple Brads (Making Memories), aquabrush, dimensionals

Happy Valentine's Day

I thought I would sneak this post in. My morning is busy today, but I figured this is my best opportunity to get this posted!

Sweet and simple for Valentine's Day. This was a card I submitted to Paper Crafts based on the sketch below for the January/February 2011 issue, but it was not accepted. I still love the sweet simplicity of the lips and of course the sentiment just gets you in the mood for love...ok that sounded corny in my head, but even worse after I typed it! The lips are from the Kiss and Makeup Set by Paper Makeup Stamps. The sentiment is a portion of one that is in the same set.

Oh I just realized that my project that is in the Stamp It! Techniques special issue is shown on the Paper Crafts Connection Blog!!! Mine is the Teacher Note Pad Holder! Check it out!!!

Hope that you all have a fantastic Valentine's Day! I am making some adorable Pizza Pockets with Heart designs on top for dinner with a Red Velvet cake with Cream Cheese frosting for dessert (in a heart shape of course!). But first I need to run out and get the kids a little something...totally forgot to buy something (besides candy) earlier...but hey I should get it on sale right?! Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Kiss and Makeup (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - Basic Black (SU!), Basic White (Papertrey Ink); Ink - Real Red, Melon Mambo, Cameo Coral, Pink Pirouette (SU!), Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko); Accessories - dimensionals

Things We Love Blog Hop

Ok I am back...back to reality...back to the blog...back to some stamping! I had a fantastic weekend scrappin' with my friends. We stayed up way too late both Friday and Saturday nights, talked a whole bunch, drank a little, and actually got some scrapbooking done! It was perfect (thanks for a great weekend girls!!).

But the main reason for my post today is Paper Makeup Stamps is turning 2!! That is right, we are celebrating PMS 2nd anniversary and couldn't be happier about it. And since we love PMS (Paper Makeup Stamps that is...hehe), we decided to have a "Things We Love" Blog Hop in honor of the anniversary!

But this hop is better than usual...the design team was asked to invite one friend to join us on the Hop. So you get to see lots of fantastic creations with Paper Makeup Stamps. To make sure you don't miss anything, make sure you start at the PMS Blog (there is a Master List there just in case you have issues hopping along).

So for my contribution to the "Things We Love" theme...I love flowers...the real ones...that make you put your nose to them so you can inhale that sweet aroma. And it appears that Caliope feels the same way! He (well I am guessing he is a "he") is one of the adorable monsters at Paper Makeup Stamps and he just can't himself from smelling that flower!

I tend to need cards 3 at a time (weird I know), so I did a Triple Play like I have done in the past and made three cards with basically the same supplies and three different layouts. Caliope was stamped and watercolored (with an aquabrush and ink pads) to match the plaid pattern paper from the High School Mat Stack by DCWV.

So now you need to hop on over to my invited guest of honor...the amazing Nicole Anderson of Gotta Have Paper. She is a blogger friend that I have had for a year or so and is just the sweetest thing...and let me tell you this girl can color! So don't take my word for it, hop on along over to Nicole's Blog to continue the celebration!

Then don't forget to join us for a Birthday Party over on the PMS Forum tonight at 9 pm EST. We would love to see you there!! Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Caliope with Flower, Little Moments Sentiments (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - River Rock, Garden Green, Ballet Blue, Cameo Coral (SU!), High School Mat Stack (DCWV), watercolor paper; Ink - Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Ballet Blue, Cameo Coral, Garden Green (SU!); Accessories - Clear Rhinestones (Darice), Various Dies (Spellbinders), corner rounder punch (SU!), Black grosgrain ribbon (SU!), striped black ribbon (unknown), aquabrush, dimensionals