MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! *Winners of Giveaways*

I love being able to spread a little Christmas cheer today by announcing the winners of the two Scraptastic Club Giveaways! First, if you haven't taken the time to visit Scraptastic's site and blog, then you may have missed alot of great layouts and cards from our uber talented and inspirational Design Team Members. When you get a minute away from the holiday craziness, visit the Blog, Gallery, or Forum for a chat.

Now I am about to get back to the baking and watching football, but I just wanted to thank you guys for visiting my blog and wish you a wonderful week of holiday fun and a very happy 2014!

Now for the THREE lucky winners! My husband drew the numbers this time because my son is at work.

1st - The winner of the "Home for the Holidays" kit AND Add on kit is #15.... LAURIE!!!!!!!!

Laurie Zeller said...

How fun!! For a few years now, I've been considering creating a mini album of my childhood photos with Santa Claus to give as a gift to my parents. This would give me lots of fun goodies to use and give me the push I need to get it done!
Your tags are just adorable, Susan. They would be great gift tags for your Christmas packages!

2nd-The winner of the December This Life Noted kit is #17........LISA

Lisa P said...

Love this sketch. Your layout looks fantastic with all the layering. My favorite treat is the Christmas candy I used to make with my mom and now make with my kids. It is a must every year. We make turtles, wreaths, porcupines, peanut butter bark, mmm...

And now for an extra surprise I am picking one more number from BOTH entries to win the "Home for the Holidays" Stamp Set! How cool is that!? I numbered the first drawing names #1 - 31, and added the second drawing names #32 - 54.

 And the winner of the stamp set is #8 .......Kimi!

Kimi said...
WOW :-) I am a regular follower and love your layouts. These two Scraptastic giveaways would be ever so perfect fo use when documenting my upcoming DISNEY trip! This will be my first time going and sharing the joys withnmy sweet neice for the Christmas / New Year! Im so stinkin excited!!! Thanks Susan for the chance to win  

heres a peek at this awesome stamp set 
 

Congrats to Laurie, Lisa, and Kimi! Please email me your mailing address so that I can get that information to Scraptastic as soon as possible. Thank you so much for visiting my blog and entering these giveaways. Also a HUGE thank you to Scraptastic for hosting this holiday giveaway!!!

December Sketchy Thursday and a giveaway!

Are you all deep in cookie baking and gift wrapping??? Does anyone have time to slip away and do a sketch for a chance to win a gift certificate to Scraptastic?! Well today is Sketchy Thursday on the Scraptastic Club blog so hop over there and get the info and inspiration from the talented girls on the DT. We all used the same kit to do this sketch and the layouts are so wonderfully different. You have until Jan 1st to enter your version of the sketch.

The sketch is Sketch #110 from SketchSavvy HERE

This is my take on the sketch. I have to say this one is pretty fun because you can add more layers and embellishments to suit your photo or photos. I used the "Home for the Holidays" kit, Add on Kit and Stamp Set from Scraptastic. If you would like a chance to win those kits, visit the blog post before this one and enter to win.

 I stamped the snowflakes and embossed with gold embossing powder, then used the gold Liquid Pearls in the center with some gold glitter. I decided the reindeer needed some decoration too so he has the embossed snowflakes as well.

 Thank you guys so much for visiting my blog. Want another Holiday surprise?!  Well Scraptastic is also letting me draw a winning name for the December This Life Noted Kit HERE! Now aren't you glad you scrolled all the way down here :) 

For a chance to win, tell me what your favorite holiday treat is before Midnight Sat December 21st. I will draw names for both giveaways on Sunday and announce them here on my blog.

Home for the Holidays Tags and Scraptastic Giveaway!

Happy Holidays Everyone! I have a special surprise for you guys. Scraptastic Club has generously decided to let some of our Design Team members host a giveaway on our blogs! Seriously it's going to be like Christmas for one lucky reader on my blog. You know the gorgeous "Home for the Holidays" kit and Add on Kit that I used for my last two layouts? I am going to be picking a winner and Scraptastic will send those two kits as the prize! So first let me show you the two kits that you have a chance of winning. Click HERE for more details of these kits.

 

I will tell you how you can win those two amazing kits, but first I have to share these little tags that I just threw together with my kit. I have created 4 layouts so far and there are still so many die cuts, stickers, and other goodies left. I can probably do a few more layouts. Since I am out of time before the holidays, I decided to make a few little tags that can go on a gift, card, or layout.

 

Ok now if you want a chance to win BOTH of those kits, follow my blog by clicking follow or follow by email - here on the right, AND tell me what you would do with these festive goodies. You have until midnight Saturday night December 21st. I will be announcing a winner on Sunday. 

Also be sure to check back here on Thursday for another Holiday Surprise!!!

 

Pinterest inspiration Monday

At Scraptastic's Blog on Mondays there is usually something inspired by Pinterest. Today is my blog post and I decided to make an inspiration board on Pinterest just for my December "Home for the Holidays" kit, add on kit, and stamp set.  It was alot of fun to gather inspiration there and then it really helped me out when I started my layouts. Check out my blog post HERE for the details and inspiration photos I used, but I will share the two layouts.

Thankful **Scraptastic's Sketchy Thursday**

I am thankful for so many things and as sappy as it can be to do a thankful page, sometimes you just have to go with it. I thought I would make mine a bit lighter and more "me". Today is Sketchy Thursday at the Scraptastic Blog, using Sketch #109 from SketchSavvy, and the gorgeous November "Home" kit from Scraptastic. Visit the Blog here to see the other fantastic examples from a few of our Design Team members.

Merry Christmas *New DCWV Jolly Whimsy Stack*

As promised here is my layout using the New DCWV "Jolly Whimsy" Stack. Its just a really cute collection of papers, it has gold foil accents, and it even has a sheet of cut out tags and things. My brother's adorable Christmas puppy was one of my best subjects last Christmas, she didn't blink nearly as much as my boys did! LOL! Check out this Jolly Whimsy Stack at Michaels stores.

 

For the splatter in the background, I diluted a glittery Stickles and used a bamboo stick to fling it at my page. The two ornaments in the upper right are punched with my new EK holiday ornaments punch. It's like that cute bat punch.... you will be seeing more of it soon. 

Merry *DCWV Christmas Made Stack *

I recently got the New DCWV Christmas Made Stack and it made me want to push stuff off my desk and make a layout. :) I really love the designs and the bits of gold foil, but my favorite part is the tags! There are a lot of cool tags and cards to cut out - seriously a lot and I just used two for my page but this candy cane one is totally the cutest one, so I kind of worked my page around it. LOL!
 There is another fun stack called the Jolly Whimsy stack and I will try to take a photo my page for that one tomorrow, its a very cute stack. 

I got some glassine envelopes from a friend and I used one as a shaker bag with sequins in it and I cut strips from another larger bag and used a scalloped punch so that I could layer two strips for a border under my photos.

I used some super old chipboard alphas for my title and I used gold rub n buff and then added bits of glitter.

So Very Thankful *Scraptastic November kit

I have another fall layout to share today using the November "Home" kit from Scraptastic. I am thankful for lots of things - today its my weather, but my boys are right up there at the top of the list.  I love this photo of my son and Noel, he was at day 10 of No-Shave November last year and he was looking nice still - LOL! The colors in my photo work so well with these great products. I don't know about you guys but I like a light neutral background, not cardstock, but something with a bit of a pattern. When I saw the packaging for the Prima Resist Alphas, I had to use it for my background.

 

And speaking of using things in a non-traditional way, the Thickers were looking fun too so they got to be background as well. :) If you haven't used alphas or packaging like this on your pages, you just have to give it a go. I mean, who is going to use all those extra alphas - q, z, p,v, 9, .... you know what I mean. I actually use alot of v's because of Savvy and my friend has a son named Zane, so we do use some of those but look at your other alpha sheets that you have used alot and see what's left and you will know what you can afford to use up in a new set - or just use that old set.

 Someone was telling me that they like the look of the stitching I do thru alphas... well, I  have to be honest. I am not doing it because of the look, although I do like that. I do it because all the chipboard alphas tend to fall off over time! I can not tell you how many page protectors have alphas sitting at the bottom of them. Not cool. Those vinyl alphas are the worst for sliding down your page. It won't stop me buying them because I love them, but they have to be stitched. So many adhesives fail, sometimes its a bad lot, sometimes its a bad product. Stitching doesn't fail.

I love pumpkin everything!!! *Scraptastic Novemer kit

I have another layout to share using my November "Home" kit from Scraptastic Club kits. I have to tell you guys that this is just a really yummy kit! I have some of the Echo Park and BasicGrey products but putting them together with these other products is just making it really fun to do some fall layouts! Isn't it amazing when someone puts together a kit and you think, wow what a great group of goodies!

So here is just a simple page about one of the signs of fall for me - Pumpkin Chai Tea Latte and Pumpkin pastries of any kind. I am drinking a homemade version of it now. :) Anyway, one of my favorite things in this kit is the BasicGrey Persimmon embellishment pack and I have been wanting to do a row of embellishments. It's an easy fun way to add dimension, variety, and interest, just put a couple of things on foam squares and overlap slightly. Oh and these Maya Road hearts are awesome as is, but I painted them with Ranger Terra Cotta Color Wash and they match these papers perfectly. Mists and color washes make great stains for your wood veneers and there are some fun veneers in this kit! I will be back tomorrow with another layout using this kit

What is your favorite fall drink or snack?

November Page Maps

I know you guys love a good sketch and PageMaps does some great ones. This month they asked the BasicGrey DT to be guest DT members and create examples for some of the sketches. I will share my layout, but you just have to CLICK HERE to see all the gorgeous layouts that the rest of the team and the PageMaps team created for the November sketches.

So here is the super fun sketch that Becky sent me to play with. Its got lots of possibilities. I could have used one nice big square photo but I loved the way the sketch looked so I decided to stay pretty close to it. 

I was going to create a mountain of little triangle stitched banner to wrap around the background paper because it would be really unique, but then I pulled out all the fun embellishments for the BasicGrey 25th and Pine collection and found the gorgeous stitched banners and I just had to use those for my page. Oh and if you haven't looked closely at this collection and all of its goodies, you really should check it out HERE. I look at this collection and it reminds me of the cards and gift wrap, and decorations in the department stores when I was a kid. I just think of shopping with my mom and looking for trees with my dad. My big tree is a combo of handmade family ornaments and glass ornaments and this collection is ideal for photos of family Christmas and my main livingroom.

 

  I have an addiction to Christmas ornaments so I pulled out these chipboard ornaments and attached some gold bakers twine. I added some of the new Basic Grey Candy Buttons to the ornaments for a bit of texture, if you haven't seen all the new colors of these Candy Buttons this season, check them out. I am loving the neutrals including this ivory color. I am definitely going to need to pick up some more soon.

 

You may have some of the BasicGrey Wax Seals from one collection or another because they are super cool, but as they are, some of the fine details don't always show up that well, so I have rubbed white paint into the depressions and then wiped it off with a paper towel to give this sort of a look. I just love it!  So go see all the November PageMaps sketches and pick one out to use with your new BasicGrey collections and be sure to share your finished layouts :)

The "Home" kit from Scraptastic

Today I am going to show you the Scraptastic Club kit that I am going to be working with this month. It's the "Home" kit with the Add on and exclusive stamp set. I also have a layout on the Scraptastic Blog today. I really like the way it turned out.  But first, here is an instagram photo I took with my phone before diving into my kit. Lots of gorgeous Echo Park Reflections Fall and BasicGrey Persimmon, with Maya Road wood hearts and exclusive wood veneers and flair from Scraptastic.

 

I started out with a fun page showing what happens when you try to split the wishbone with Savvy! My husband thought it would be a great photo and Savvy loved the idea. He grabbed that whole wishbone and took off! It was hilarious! Of course we chased him down and got it back because its not a safe thing for him to have. Still, it did make for some fun photos :)

 

 I LOVE these cool Prima Resist Alphas that come in the Home kit this month. I wanted my title to be this deep rust color so I chose to use a color mist that is very bold and right away let me tell you guys that this is one of those times when you need to cover your work area and clothes, because I got mist on my layout and my hands are kind of stained. The alphas are stickers, so I placed the alphas on one of my acrylic blocks before coloring them. They do take some time to dry and you may just want to plan ahead and let them dry overnight. For my alphas and wood pieces on this page I used the Terra Cotta Ranger Color Wash dye mist

 

 I love the look so much that I pulled out one of the hearts and one little house wood veneer and made them the same color, mists or dyes have a wonderful stained effect on the wood shapes. Here are a couple of close up photos so you can see how cool they turned out. I hope you guys will give it a try. Visit the Scraptastic store to look thru all the great mists HERE.