FWF Scrappin' Adventures

Happy FWF Day!

Here is a quick little scrapbook page I put together, featuring my son, Danny.

The page itself is 8X8, Kraft base and My Minds Eye designer papers. The "i love you" senitment comes from the Unity Stamp Co- March 2010 KOM. The birds are from the February KOM. The date label comes from the Unity Scrap Kit, "Favorite Things."

Check out the Unity BLOG today for the list of ladies who will wow you with their talent.

Dont forget to visit all the blogs, because someone has the hidden blinkie, which holds the blog candy- a grab bag of 25 random unity stamps.

Leave us some love as you enjoy the ride!!

Paper Maniac Inspiration- Scrapbook Pages

I was so happy when the Paper Maniac girls decided we would showcase scrapbook layouts for you this week. I have fallen so behind in my scrapbooking, and this was a nice little kick-in-the-butt to get some pages done. I have been wanting to scrap this photo of my daughter for the longest time, so alas, its finally done! Now to keep the albums going (especially now, with another little one in the mix) :-)

Unity Stamp Co also posted a really fun scrapbook sketch this week, as part of their new challenges. Its a challenge with a prize (Hodgepodge of Happiness kit). Check it out if you have the time!

Here is a close-up of the stamps and papers I used on this page:

Supplies: (All found in the Paper Maniac Store) Stamps: Unity Stamp Co- March Stampin Sotre Kit "Adventures in Happiness," Treasure to Me kit and Could I Be Any Cuter kit. Paper: Bazzil- White base, Teal circles. October Afternoon designer paper- Farm Fresh. Ink: Memento. Accessories: Copics. Finished size: 8X8" Sketch used: USCSSC1.

Thanks for stopping by, Happy Scrappin'!!

Sweet Smiles

WOW, I must have got my scrappin' mojo back or something. I have been working on pages all week, and moving right along in Amanda's baby book. It might also have something to do with a SUPER cool sketch site I recently found, called 52 Sketches 52 Weeks. They are AWESOME!! If you need scrappy inspiration....head there....NOW!!! :-)

This layout uses Sketch #3 from 52 Sketches. The only thing I changed on the sketch, was adding another row of photos since I captured soooo many "Sweet Smiles." I couldn't decide which ones not to scrap, so they all made it, for now. Above, you will see the details of the Sassafrass letters (sunshine lollipop), which I painted the outlines of with Marigold Shimmerz, and the Dragonflies from the Unity Stamp Co May KOM, also painted with Marigold Shimmerz and popped up on dimensionals.

Here is a close-up of the Fancy Pants transparency frame. I just love the way these flourishes extend from the frame. On the top of the page you will see "you light up my life" stamped- that also comes from the Unity Stamp Co May KOM. The word "Sweet" stamped at the bottom of the page is also from the May KOM.

Thanks so much for stopping by, have a great day!!

Page supplies: Stamps: Unity Stamp Co- May 09 Kit of the Month. Papers: SU- Friends & Flowers Kit, Celery and PTI- White. Ink: Memento. Accessories: Fancy Pants transparent frame overlay (doodles), Sassafrass letters (sunshine lollipop), Shimmerz- Marigold, Hero Arts- Silver pearls. Distressing layers.

HHH...Happy...

HAPPY HIP HOP HANGOVER DAY!!!

What's a scrapbook page without some UNITY?

I stumbled upon an amazing site called 52 Sketches 52 Weeks the other day, and I just absolutely love the sketches and friendly community there. This page is created from Sketch #6. I think the sketches on this site will really help me jump-start this baby book for Amanda, again and maybe I'll actually catch up...after all I'm only about 4 years behind. LOL.

Page supplies: Stamps: Unity Stamp Co- April 09 KOM, Confession i {luv} Unity.

Papers: SU Friends & Flowers kit, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron. PTI- White.

Ink: Memento.

Accessories: Sassafrass letter stickers (poket full of rosies), Hero Arts pearls, White Signo gel pen, Shimmerz (on butterflies). I distressed around all the edges as well.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your Friday.

**Scrapbooking Adventures** My Sleeping Baby

I am working on Amanda's baby book again...and this time I came across some really adorable photos of her when she was only a few weeks to a month old. She is sleeping soundly in most of them, so I decided to scrap about how peaceful she looks while sleeping. To this day, and she is almost 4 now, I still find that I have to just sit and watch her sleep in the middle of the night. I have a feeling I will be doing this for quite a LONG time....

Above, is a detailed close up of the page elements. Here is what I used for this page: Stamps: Unity Stamp Co- July 2008 KOM, Mix Up of Cuteness and Journaling Block- (Scalloped Details & Dates). Papers: Colormates- Medium Terrific Teal, We R Memory Keepers- Nonsense DSP, Rainbow DSP, Papertreyink- White. Ink: Memento. Accessories: Cosmo Cricket- Honey Pie Rub-ons, American Crafts-Thickers letters, corner rounder punch and I distressed the edges of the DSP layer.
Thanks so much for stopping by, hopefully I will have more scrapbook pages to share in the near future. HOPEFULLY.........Have a WONDERFUL day.

My Mojo is SLOWLY coming back...

My oh my, does anyone else have this problem right now: I simply cannot get my Mojo back after the Holidays. UGH! I have been completely wiped out from all the holiday hoopla, that when I go to my craft room and TRY to create, nothing happens. Today, I challenged myself. I just HAD to get something done! This scrapbook page is what I came up with. It's not quite what I envisioned going into it, but I guess it will do. LOL. I was happy to get to use some new Making Memories papers my hubby got for me for Christmas. This is the Fa-la-la collection. The page base is Bazzil Basics (chandelier) and the DSP, Letter stickers and big canvas letters are all from Making Memories. I journaled on the computer, using St. Nicholas font, which you can get at Kevin & Amanda. I inked around the edges of the journaling with Pure Pomegranate ink. Thanks for stopping by, hoping the mojo gets flowing real soon for everyone. HAPPY STAMPIN and SCRAPPIN.

U Are...

Yesterday, I spent most of the day in a vegetative state. I guess the holidays must have finally caught up with me. So, after sleeping most of the day away, I was WIRED late at night, and I created this page about my daughter. This photo captures the very essence of my daughter: fun, sweet, energetic, and the list goes on. That's when I decided I wanted to make a page describing how wonderful she is. The paper is Jenni Bowlin ("Numbered Die-Cut Label"). I used a Fancy Pants Design transparent overlay on the photo and then just dressed up the page with some journalling, using the computer and my Copic markers. The chipboard U is from Making Memories and the letter stickers are from Stickopotamus (which come from my stash-I wonder if these letters even still exist??) Thanks for stopping by. I hope you are all having a wonderful Holiday season, filled with family, fun, friends and most of all, LOVE!!
HAPPY STAMPING!!

Growing in Unity- Day 5

Today I had to bring you some scrapbook layouts. These are from an album that I created for my Mom, for Christmas. I had about 200+ pictures from her wedding in June, that I wanted to put in an album for her. I didnt want it to be just any old album, though.
Here, I used a regular "2-up" photo album, but embellished some of the pages as scrapbook pages and then left some of them remaining as the 2-up style, but just added a little decoration to the white spaces on the sides of the photo slots. This is a really quick way to put together an album if you have tons of pictures you need to scrap in a short amount of time.
I used various Unity Stamps throughout the whole book, since, Unity stamps are GREAT for both Scrapbooking and Cardmaking. On the pages you see here, I used the following Unity Stamps: Diva-lish, My Sister My Friend, Queen for a Day, and Fun Night Out. SO, if your in a hurry and need an album done, fast, try this out. Its FUN and quick. I could not believe how fast I scrapped 200+ photos!! Thanks for visiting my blog for Growing in Unity week. Check out the Unity blog to see who is next. There are such wonderfully talented Unity girls waiting to show you their creations. Happy Stamping!!

Amanda and Her Daddy!!!

These pictures are just so dear and precious to me. Eric was heading off to work, for his first day back, after being out with us on family leave for a few weeks after Amanda was born. You can just see it in his eyes, it was killing him to go back! I wanted to memorialize this moment for Amanda, for her scrapbook. I used Pink Paislee DSP from the Spring Fling collection (Green Lace). I love how this page has a unique edging to it. I layered the page with SU Close to Cocoa and Vanilla cardstock. I used the Unity Stamp Co September KOM and November KOM. The letters are recycled chipboard from K & Co. I also used paper flowers from Walmart, Stickles, colored rhinestones and my sewing machine to tie it all together. Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful day, and Happy Scrappin'.

My new favorite layout!!

I really just LOVE how this page came together. These were our first "family portraits" together, taken by our friend Doug. We went down to the pavillion on the beach so we had some shade, so the baby wasn't in the sun too long. Looking at these pictures, I really wanted to bring out the bright pinks that Amanda and I were wearing and that beautiful shade of navy in Eric's shirt. I found some awesome designer paper by My Mind's Eye, which matched perfectly. I was really happy to use my new Pixie (by Singer) sewing machine on the pages as well. The chipboard letters are from K&Co. They have a line of recycled materials so I wanted to try them out, and I have to say, I am quite pleased with the variety and quality. The large flowers on the page are cut from a piece of MME designer paper, and then glittered with stickles. Unity Stamps adorn my page: September KOM, Nov KOM.

Here are some close ups of the pages themselves. I LOVE the stamp in the November Kit of the Month (KOM) that reads, "Home is where your story begins." How true is that?? Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful day and HAPPY SCRAPPIN!!!

Fun in the Sun..........

More scrappy fun, and I'm lovin' it. I am so happy to finally be scrapping Amanda's first trip to the beach! What a great feeling. Accomplishment. Now I have the drive to do MORE and more. I pray that I can keep it up, I'm only 3 years behind. HAHA. Here is a photo of what the two pages look like together. Down below, you will see each page separately. I used My Mind's Eye designer paper with PTI Avacado layers. I tried to disress all my layers to give the pages the "beachy" feel. Unity stamps were used on both pages: Beach Day, Our Life Our Stories, and Everlasting Romance. I also used American Crafts letter stickers (thickers). Thank you so much for stopping by, have a wonderful day!!

Scrappin' Again....

SO, I am pleased to say I am FINALLY done with my pregnancy/birth/hospital album from when Amanda was born, and can now start on the next album. It starts with her first trip to the shore. This is the "cover" page, and I wanted to keep it pretty simple. The paper is a distressed pattern from My Mind's Eye. I used American Crafts letter stickers (thickers) for the title. These letters are so neat, they come in many different fonts, sizes, colors and really make pages come to life. I also had to use Unity stamps on the page. What is a scrap page without Unity?? This set is the newly released Our Life, Our Stories kit, specially made with LARGE stamps for scrapbooking. This is the main reason I was originally drawn to Unity, because their stamps were larger for scrapbookers. (The stamps are also quite suitable for cardmaking as well.) Unity has a wonderful variety of stamp kits that will be sure to please ANY stamper or scrapbooker. Literally, its LOVE at first SIGHT! I'm completely ADDICTED, and there is no turning back. HAHA. Check out the Unity site, now!! You will probably start to see a bunch more scrapbook pages from me, as I am starting to get back into the swing of it. Have a wonderful day!!

Scrappin' Again.....

Decided to do a little scrappin' tonight, as I have been doing a lot of cards lately. I had these photos from our trip to the Skylands Botanical Gardens on my desk, just waiting to be put on a page. The lilacs were screaming for purple paper, so this is what I came up with. This is a 12X12 page, and very simple to make. I lined the page on each side with photos, and made a scalloped border, which peeks out of each side. On the left side, I used SU Pale Plum paper and on the right side I used Basic Grey- Sugared Designer Paper. (There are little flowers on this paper that perfectly match the pale plum paper, and the lilacs theme) I used the following stamps on this page: Unity- Butterfly Beauty and Sentiments O' Simple. The journalling is done in white gel pen, with sentiments stamped in SU Vintage Violet ink. I then outlined the sentiments for detail. The butterflies are colored with copics and then glittered. I love the pictures on this page, it reminds me of what a great time we have whenever we go to the gardens. Its such a wonderful place, filled with color and wonderful fragrances. Its also where Eric and I met, when we first started working in the NJ State Park Service.....so there are many special memories each time we visit. Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Stamping!!!

Busy Bee June Sketch

Hello! This page was inspired by Busy Bee Scrapbooking June Sketch Challenge. I had a lot of fun doing this page, as it stretched my normally reserved scrapbooking style. I enjoyed the many layers this sketch called for. AND....I was able to use some of my new, wild, papers I just bought the other day. (I usually dont use "busy" papers, but I really liked the way this turned out!! Very Colorful) I need to stick with colors, and lots of them.
This is an 8X8 page, and I typed the journaling on the computer using "chachie" font. The journaling reads: "Amanda- you and i always have so much fun together. we are always giggling uncontrollably. you are my joy, sweet girl. i love and adore you, forever and always. these pictures are from mother's day, 2008. we visited the botanical gardens at ringwood and also cuddled at your mother's day show at school. i am such a lucky mom!"
Recipe: Page base is SU Pure Pomegranate. The flowers are from Unity's stamp Kit, Little Princess and are stamped in Pomegranate ink. The centers of the flowers are dotted with stickles, for a glittery touch! The Designer Papers are from My Minds Eye, Wild Asparagus collection and DCWV, Old World collection. "Together" is from the Unity Stamp kit Sentiments O'Simple and "Giggle" is from Unity Stamps Giggle Grove set. The journaling and "Giggle" are on SU Groovy Guava Paper. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Stamping!!

Scrappin' the Night Away.........

Here it is, I'm up late again, scrappin the night away, but its ohhhhhhhh so much fun!! I had a lot of fun making this page tonight, as I tried a few new things, such as photo hinges and hidden journaling. I also inked those brackets right on the picture, which I was so completely nervous about (afraid of getting smudgies on a good pic, EEEK!!). This picture is from one of our recent trips to Ringwood State Park in NJ. We went to the Skylands Botanical Gardens to view all the beautiful spring flowers. This is an 8X8 page- for some reason I have been sticking to this size lately. I used to do all 12X12 pages, but this size is sticking with me. I used SU Wasabi, Pomegranate, Vanilla and River Rock paper and SU Wasabi and Pomeganate Ink. Also used is the ticket corner punch and the sprial punch (notebook paper look). Stamps used are Unity's: Me Myself and I kit, and the Beauty of Dreams single stamp.
To do the hidden journaling, I scored the far right line on the "me, myself and I" stamped image (leave enough room when you are cutting it so there is a good 1/4 inch margin to score). When you are done scroing the line, fold it back. You will only put glue on this small margin when adhering it to the page. (Lightly trace a line underneath the image onto the base cardstock, this will help you keep your journaling under the image and not spill out on the sides.) I punched notebook paper with the sprial punch from SU down the left side. The image is connected to the base cardstock with the photo hinges and the small margin that is glued down.
I stamped the brackets right onto the photo, with pink chalk ink and sprinkled glitter on it before it dried. The beauty of dreams stamp was stamped in both Pomegranate and Wasabi ink on Vanilla paper and then cut strips of the stamp and adhered them to the page.
This was a real fun page for me to make tonight and I still cant believe I went beyond what I normally do with scrapping pages. So you may see some new innovations now that I'm not so scared (haha).
Thanks for stopping by. Happy Stamping.

Dont Grow Up So Fast, Kiddo!!

I have been wanting to make a page using this picture, since I took it, in early May. Today's scrapbook challenge on the Unity forum at Splitcoast made me do, just that.
So, I admit, I am having issues this year with my little girl's birthday. She is turning 3!! Where did the time go?? It's really freaking me out. I feel like we just came home from the hospital with her, and now she is climbing trees? Oh wow, I guess this is only the beginning. The journey is truly amazing and I thank the Lord every single day for bringing her into our life. The photo on this page made me reflect on this already 3 year journey and helped me journal on how amazing it's been and much we cherish our daughter.
For this page, I used: SU Vanilla CS as the base of the page... American crafts double sided designer paper for the pink circles (cut with the SU Scallop punch) and the PolkaDot layer and pink layer..... Unity Stamps: Flirty Flowers for all of the stamping on this page....a white gel pen for the faux stitching around the photo and the word "grow," and for the dots on the scallop circles.....Copics to color the images....little pearls for some of the small flowers. AND.....GLITTER on the cute little birdie's wings. The Flirty Flowers set is so adorable and so versatile. It can be used for cards, pages, altered projects, pretty much anything you can think of. Pretty much all of Unity's stamps are like that, and that's why I LOVE using them!!!
Thanks for stopping by and Happy Stamping!!

Dates to Remember Book

This is my take on Unity's Project Thursday, the Dates to Remember book, which the tutorial can be found here. This was such an awesome project posted by Design Team member Brooke Lein.
It was not as tedious as I thought it was going to be, and it was actually quite fun to make. I started working on it really late last night, and finished it this evening. (I think if I sat down and worked on it continuously, it would have only taken about an hour to an hour and a half)
I called the book "celebrate" because most of the dates you try to remember are celebrations of some sort: birthdays, anniversaries, etc.

The book covers are 6x6 and all the pages are 51/2 X5 1/2. I tied my book together with white organza ribbon, opposed to using binder rings as described in the tutorial (only because I did not have any handy at the time, and I really wanted to make this.) This is a really great gift idea for family and friends. The supplies used: SU Pure Pomegranate and Berry Bliss DP (on covers), Unity Stamp "celebrate" (form Sentiments O'Simple set), Paper flowers pieced together with Jewel Brads (brads and flowers from Oriental Trading), and white organza ribbon for the ties. For the pages, I used the calendar printouts that can be found on the tutorial, and I used SU colored paper with American Crafts and SU Designer Papers for the layering strips.
I have included some close ups of the inside pages, as well as a view of all of the pages.
I will definitely be making many more of these books. They are really cute gifts, oh yeah, I already said that! AND.....I LOVE Unity Stamps, oh yeah, I said that too. :)

Happy Stamping!!

Howdy Partners!!

I have been wanting to scrap these pictures since last halloween! Amanda dressed up as a cowgirl and just melted her father and I. The Big Red Hat and the scarf were some of the best features in my opinion. For this layout, I used Unity Stamps: I Wanna Be a Cowboy. I used SU paper: Real Red, Black and Vanilla. I put microbeads on the horeseshoe and also pierced around the horseshoe. I have a few more pictures from Halloween 2007, and I will definitely be using this set again. Thanks for stopping by.