Happy Moments . . . for Challenge YOUrself and Art Journal Journey Monthly!

 Hi everyone.  It's time for a new challenge at Challenge YOUrself!

Challenge YOUrself #120 opens today:

This month's theme is ANYTHING GOES!  You can make your project about anything you like and in any format that you want, but don't forget to include a photo with YOU on your layout.  And don't forget, it's not just a scrapbook challenge. Art Journal pages, Project Life pages, Digital Scrapbook pages are all accepted for Challenge YOUrself. They love creativity!

Here is the page that I created for the challenge:

I was on the Blue Fern Studios' design team a few years ago and still had this gorgeous paper in my stash:

So I decided to use it to make my scrapbook page for the challenge.  Because the paper is so beautiful, I had little to do but to add some extras:  snowflakes in the December sky, chipboard, ehpemera, and my vintage photo from 1961. I absolutely LOVE this photo of my twin sister(Karen), my older sister(Cathy), and me playing in the snow right in front of our house. What a wonderful memory.  It's amazing how scrapbooking can bring back such awesome memories!!

I hope you get a chance to check out Challenge YOUrself this month and play along with us!

I am also linking my page to Art Journal Journey Monthly's theme for December.   

This month is hosted by Wendy K, whose blog is Wendy's Craft Journal . Her theme for December is "Above us only sky," which is a line from a Beatles song.

 

Wendy says: "This give you loads of scope.  You could do night skies, sunny or moonlit ones.  Rainy or dull, snowy, cloudy or hazy skies.  The possibilities are endless." 

And as you can see, the centerpiece of my page is the great big December sky with all of the added snowflakes!

I want to thank Wendy and Art Journal Journey for this wonderful challenge. I also want to encourage you to participate in their challenge this month.  You will get a chance to meet so many talented and friendly artists from around the world!!

Thank YOU, so much, for stopping by my blog today.  I hope you are enjoying the hustle and bustle of the holiday season! 

I'm Just A Vintage Soul . . . for More Than Words!

Hi everyone! It's April and time for a new Main Challenge at  More Than Words:

Just to let you know, More Than Words is a monthly art journal challenge site that asks you to incorporate both a word inspiration and a creative challenge into your projects.

Here is the April  Main Challenge:

 

The word inspiration for April is VINTAGE and the creative challenge is COLLAGE. 

Here is my finished art journal page:

 

I knew that I would enjoy making my art journal page for this month's theme because I love anything VINTAGE!  My COLLAGE was made from a mix of Blue Fern Studios' cardstock and ArtStacks tissue paper that I had in my stash.

Here is a different view:

I hope that you get a chance to check out the Main Challenge at More Than Words his month. 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today!  HUGS!

Enjoy Every Moment . . . for Scrap the Boys!

Hi everyone! I am so excited to welcome April and warmer weather.  I can finally feel Spring in the air, which makes me very happy.  

And with a new month, comes a new scrapbook challenge. Today I am sharing my latest layout that I made it for the April challenge at Scrap the Boys:

Here is the challenge board for this month at Scrap the Boys:

 

It's a monochromatic challenge. Pretty cool mood board, right?

And here is my take:

I have been very nostalgic lately and have been using vintage photos from my mom's photo albums.  This one is of my dad taken on the boardwalk in Atlantic City in 1959!!  I used old Blue Fern Studios paper, chipboard and ephemera from my stash.  Thought they were perfect for this monochromatic challenge.

 Here are some closeups:

I hope you get a chance to participate in our challenge this month.  I had so much fun and I know you will, too.

Happy April!  I appreciate all of you so much. Hugs!!! 

Love!

Hi everyone!  It's the 7th of the month, and with that brings a new challenge at Challenge YOUrself. The main requirement for this challenge site is to use a photo with YOU in the frame.  

This month's theme is about celebrating love:

When I saw this challenge, I knew exactly which photo I wanted to use:

My daughter, Anne, snapped this one quickly when my hubby reached over to give me a kiss during our Christmas card photo shoot at the end of November last year.

I am also entering my page into the Reneabouquets Artists With An Edge February 2021 Mood Board Challenge:

For all of the details about this Reneabouquets challenge, please check out their facebook page here!

 

And I am linking page up to Art Journal Journey Monthly's February challenge:

 

Valerie is hosting this month and her theme is "Heavy Metal!"  I had Prima metal flowers in my stash and used 2 of them in my flower cluster under my photo!  Thank you, Valerie, for the wonderful challenge for February!

Here is the page that I came up with:

I love this photo of the two of us and think it depicts the love John and I still have for each other after almost 31 years of marriage.  Sure, we have our fights, but our love always endures.  I thank God every day for that blind date John and I had back in 1990!   

Enough of the schmaltz, now onto my layout details . . .

I used the Blue Fern Studio "Eclectic Charm" collection.  The chipboard frame is a "Lavender Lilac Heart Frame die cut" and is laser cut chipboard.  Both the Blue Fern Studios paper collection and laser cut chipboard were purchased at the amazing Reneabouets' Etsy store.  I also used cheese cloth, pearls, lace flowers, and Prima metal flowers that I had on hand.

Here are some different views:

I hope you get a chance to play along with Challenge YOUrself, Art Journal Journey Monthly, and Reneabouquets Artists With An Edge Mood Board challenge this month!

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today.  Happy February! HUGS.

Dream Big . . . for Scrap the Boys!

Hi everyone!

Can you believe that it's June already?  The first months of 2020 have flown by.  I think the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine made the months fly by even faster for me.  I hope you are all staying safe and healthy as things slowly start to open up again.  Our county in Pennsylvania is moving to the "yellow" phase on June 5th, which means certain businesses can re-open and our limitations will lighten up a bit.  I am cautiously optimistic!

Today I would like to share a scrapbook page that I made for the new, June challenge at Scrap the Boys:

This month is all about dreaming big:

Cut to You-Created by Gwen,  supplied us with some amazing cut files this month!  

I chose to use this one:

Since John celebrated the 35th anniversary of his graduation from West Point this year, I decided to make my layout about him!  Here are the photos that I used:

And here is my completed page:

With some close ups:

I also would like to mention that the moon dreamcatcher pieces and Blue Fern Studios "Eclectic Charm" paper are from ReneaBouquets.  

I hope you get a chance to check out Scrap the Boys this month.  We'd love to see your pages.

Also, I am honored and so happy to be returning to the Scrap the Boys design team for 6 more months!

Thank you so much Rachel!  I cannot wait to work with this talented group of women!

And thank you for stopping by my blog today.  Happy June!  HUGS!!

Happy Birthday . . . for Scrap FX

Hi everyone!

Today I am sharing a mixed media scrapbook page that I made for Scrap FX!

I used a photo of Katie taken on her first birthday:

I just love that photo!!!

And here is my completed page:

I used Scrap FX chipboard pieces, transparencies, stamps, and a stencil.  My background paper is made by Blue Fern Studios.  For more details about the products that I used and a step by step tutorial, please check out my blog post at Scrap FX!  I would love it if you did!

Here are some close-ups:

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today!  I am really happy that you did!

Feelin Groovy . . . for Challenge YOUrself!

Hi everyone!

Today I am sharing my layout made for the current theme at Challenge YOUrself:

It's their first challenge of the new year!!!  WOW!  2020 is upon us and I wish you all a wonderful year.

This month's theme is about using Ali Edwards' One Little Word  and incorporating your word on a scrapbook page.

My One Little Word chosen for this year is "Groovy."  I wanted to pick a word that reflects my personality this year.

The following photo was one that I chose to scrap - it is a family photo taken in a photography studio to celebrate my dad's retirement in 1983:

But as I was going through my photos, I came across this one:

My sisters and I were acting silly and showing off our legs after the photo shoot.  I decided that this photo was the best one to use for my page!!!

Here is my completed layout:

I used Cocoa Vanilla Studio paper that I had in my stash from their Bohemian Dream collection entitled "Wild & Free."  I embellished my layout with a chipboard piece from Blue Fern Studios and various pieces from that Cocoa Vanilla Studio.  I also used the lyrics and title from one of my favorite songs by Simon and Garfunkle entitled "Feelin Groovy."

Here are some close-ups:

I hope you get a chance to participate this month at Challenge YOUrself!  My hope is that you will find a meaningful OLW and have fun with it!

Also, you have a random chance to win this awesome and fun 12 x 12 paper crafting kit this month:

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today!  HUGS!

Blue Fern Studios sad news and 3 new pages for September

Hi everyone . . . September is here and with it came very sad news about the closing of Blue Fern Studios.  I know that the scrapbook world will never be the same.   Please take a moment to read Leslie's post here.

Today I would like to share 3 new layouts that I made with BFS products. Two of my pages were made with their newest collection, "Happy Accident 2," but first, I would like to share a layout that I made using the "In the Mood" collection, which is one of my favorites!

Layout #1:  Sweethearts

I used a photo of my mom and dad on their wedding day.  She was 19 and he was 21 when they got married.  The "In the Mood" collection seemed so perfect for this treasured photo.  

Here is a close up:

And another view:

Blue Fern Product List:

Paper: In the Mood "Pensive," "Flirty," and "Blissful"

Chipboard: In the Mood printed chipboard, Plenty O' Gems

Embossing Powder: Taupe

Flowers: Happy Blossoms, Heartland Blossoms, Remnants Blooms

Seedlings: Pink Topaz

Lace:  Lace 3, Lace 3B, Lace 10

My last two layouts were made with the newest and awesome Happy Accident 2 collection:

Layout #2:  Smile Because it Happened

I featured a photo of my daughter, Anne and three of her friends taken at "Chinese Camp" 

in 2012.  

Here is a close up:

And a different view:

Blue Fern Product List:

Paper: Happy Accident 2 "Suave" and "Tonic"

Chipboard: Arrow Words, "Smile because it Happened"

Embossing Powder: Ivory, Baby Pink

Flowers: Moody Florals

Seedlings: Sterling Silver

Stamp: Fleur Wallpaper

Lace: Ivory Braided Trip

Ephemera: Tattered Walls

Layout #3:  Be the Light

Once again, I used papers from the gorgeous Happy Accident 2 collection.  

For this layout, I scrapped a photo of my daughters, Katie and Anne taken when we were walking at Jacobsburg Park last summer.  I love how the light is shining through the woods in the photo, which inspired this entire pare.  

Here is a close up:

 I used the Scripture from Matthew 5:16 on my journaling tag from the Ephemera pack.

Here's a different view:

Blue Fern Product List:

Paper: Happy Accident "Smarty" and "Faux"

Chipboard: "Be the Light," Lovely Roses, Swirls and Twirls

Stamp:Accidental Collage

Embossing Powder: Buttercup, Blue Sky

Flowers: Wanderlust Lilies

Seedlings: Lemonade, Veridian

Lace: Lace 6

Ephemera: Tattered Walls

It has been a pleasure sharing my September pages with you!  If you have a moment, I would love it it you stopped by my blog post at BFS!! And it has been more than a pleasure and an honor to be on the BFS design team. 

Thank you for stopping by my blog.  HUGS!!!