Fancy Pants - Rough & Tough and more!

Got a little distracted and forgot to post the last layout that I did for Fancy Pants for CHA Summer. This fun line is all about boys and is so fun! It's called Rough & Tough. Lots of great colors and designs here! Here's a quick preview of the line.

Here's my layout:
You can see all of the great creations by the Fancy Pants design team by dropping by the Fancy Pants blog.

There are 2 other lines that Fancy Pants is releasing, but I haven't had a chance to use them yet. I can't wait, though, because they are so gorgeous. Here's Little Sprout:

I love the soft colors and the tone on tone designs of Little Sprout...and it's not just for babies, either. Check out some of the DTs designs here.

And last, but not least, is a beautiful Christmas collection, Christmas Magic.

Deep colors and festive designs with this collection. More DT work here.

I hope to get creative this week with these last two lines. Keep your eyes peeled! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

New Fancy Pants Dancing Girl!

Once again, I can share another one of my pages from the new Fancy Pants Summer CHA release. Since I am the mom of a boy, I don't often pull toward girly papers. I like deeper colors and more boyish designs. I do love the new Dancing Girl line from Fancy Pants, though. It is so fun and happy! Here's a little peek of the awesome-ness!

I like the colors of the tone on tone papers, and I think the doodley papers are adorable, too. Throw in some sweet rub-ons and notebook journal papers...and you've got a hit! I pulled out some pictures of my nieces for the page that I created.
This page turned out to be one of my most favorite that I have created recently. I used an acrylic page from one of FP's Mixed Media books as a home for all of my page elements. And, of course....I added my all time favorite buttons! It doesn't get any better than that!

Stop by the Fancy Pants blog for more pages and some giveaways! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Another Page Already???

Crazy, huh? I guess I was just feeling motivated and creative. I have to say that my main motivation for this page came right from the picture. My niece, Brianne, shared the picture on her Facebook, and I fell in love with it immediately. I knew that once my mojo came back that it would be one of the first pictures that I turned to!
The colors are a bit off in my scan, but the lumpiness of the page made it tough to scan at all. I got to use the new Kraft Kuts Girl line from Fancy Pants for this page. FP introduced some new letter stickers last release, and I was thrilled! I love the basic font that they chose. You can see them on my page---they're the letters in "this is." Like I mentioned the other day, Fancy Pants has 5 new lines coming out this summer, so keep your eyes open here and on their blog for some new scrappy goodness! I got my goodie box in the mail the other day, and I have been on cloud 9...you're going to love what Fancy Pants has for you this time around!

Click, Click, Click & a sneak of the new Fancy Pants

These Summer days are just clicking right off. Before you know it, it will be back to school. Things are finally starting to get back to normal for me. I have my motivation back, and I have been working around the house a lot. The one thing that I have not been doing is taking pictures, and that makes me sad. Unfortunately, I can't go back over the past 4 months and re-live everything with my camera by my side. All I can do is plan for tomorrow. So, I have made myself a promise to carry my camera with me and take more pictures before the entire year of 2009 is gone! So, I guess Ryan better watch out because I will surely be following him around a lot more over the next few months!

So, I took some time to sit down and actually do some scrapbooking. I pulled some photos out that I took on New Year's Eve. It was Ryan's first attempt at Guitar Hero! He was hesitant to play, but he ended up loving it. So, it was certainly a scrap-worthy event.

I used one of the more recent lines from Fancy Pants on this page. I am pretty sure that every single supply that I used was Fancy Pants...with the exception of my computer, cardstock, and a pen. The line is called Kraft Kuts Boy, and it is so fun! I just love Kraft so much, and the designs are awesome!

For those of you who have not seen the August issue of Creating Keepsakes yet, Fancy Pants is coming out with 5, yes 5, new lines for Summer CHA! I was drooling as I flipped across the ad. I scanned the page to share with you guys. I can't seem to decide which line I am loving the most so far. I'm diggin' the muted tones of the Little Sprout line...even though there are no babies in my life. I also love the Trick or Treat line and the Rough & Tough boy line (of course)!

I will be sure to share my new creations with you all once the new stuff arrives on my doorstep. I know that CHA time is so much fun with all the sneaks and stuff! I have my eyes open for what all of the awesome scrapbook companies have in store for us this summer!

Not scrapping quite yet....

....although the thought has crossed my mind several times. I have been trying to get some stuff done around the house here...you know those fun things like pulling weeds, painting, landscaping, etc.....My buddy, Ryan, is away this week with his Dad in North Carolina, so it has been perfect for getting things done that are hard to do when he's around. The weather has been a bit "iffy" at best...chances of rain almost every day for the past week or more...ick! Today was the first day that the sun actually was shining for most of the day....yippee! It's hard to sit in the house and do anything when the sun is out playing in the sky! So, I have my scraproom all straightened out and ready to go once my chores are done...LOL!

In the meantime, I have another layout to share that was published in the May/June issue of BHG Scrapbooks, Etc.
Lots of journaling here about how I finally got my first teaching job after 13 years of being certified! I had to get this story down on paper since it was such a HUGE deal to me. I'm pretty sure if you click on the picture that you would be able to read the journaling (if you are in the mood)! I was thrilled to have this published! Thanks for stopping by, and maybe you'll see a new layout from me....one of these days!!! Have a great day!

Back to our regularly scheduled program.....

I can't believe it has been almost 2 months since I blogged. Well, it has been a crazy 2 months, but my main reason for not blogging was because I was not feeling well. Not sure what it was, but I was just not myself. And worse than not blogging.....I have not scrapped in 2 months, either (gasp!). To make a long story short....I wasn't feeling well, and now I feel better. So, I decided that it was time to get back to "normal" if anything is normal!

School ended today. I will miss those crazy kids. My first year teaching Civics in the 8th grade could not have gone any better. They were a great group of kids, and I will miss them terribly. So, now the summer begins, and I will be taking a little break from anything that remotely resembles work!

I hope to be blogging a lot more and hope to share any new scrappy goodness with you....if anyone is still around! In the meantime, here is the last layout that I created with some Fancy Pants goodies:
I just received a bunch of new goodies from Fancy Pants.....Kraft Kuts Boy and Kraft Kuts Girl.....so I am eager to get creating! Hope everyone is enjoying their evening. Thanks for stopping by!

MIA!

It's not often that I share many personal details here on my blog. Not that I have anything major to say, anyway. I set up this little blog to share my scrapbook layouts, and I try to keep it that way. I do have some online friends who visit here, and several of you have e-mailed me to ask where I have been. So, I figured it would be okay to share just a tiny part of my personal life which will explain my absence over the past several weeks. Another reason why I am hesitant to share personal details is because I guess there is a part of me that is a bit superstitious...even if I try to deny it. Anyway, my absence as of late has been because I met someone. For those of you who know me, you may already be aware that I have placed the priorities in my life in a certain order....Ryan, school, scrapbooking. It's been that way for years. That has been my choice, and I have been very okay with that. Being a good Mom has always been #1. Everything else falls into place after that. Being a first year teacher and trying to scrapbook as much as possible left very little time for anything else. So, my free time was my free time, and I was not about to give up my "me" time for anything or anyone. I was adamant about that....up until about 2 months ago. I wasn't looking to meet anyone...it just happened. Isn't that how it usually works? I was so caught off guard, but yet it was okay. I found that I wanted to spend time with this new someone...even give up my "me" time to do it. Imagine my surprise. If someone would have told me that I would make that decision a few months back, I would have told them that they were nuts. Without boring you with any further details, let's just say that I'm actually allowing myself to enjoy time with him and think that I might just be falling for him. Pretty crazy, huh?


So, my hobby and my blog have taken a back seat for the time being. I have had a few layouts picked up by BHG, so I think that makes my lack of scrapbooking okay in my mind. I also tell myself that school will be out in less than 2 months, so I will have way more time for "me" then. In the meantime, I can actually say that I am happy with the way things are. I am knocking on wood as we speak...there's that superstitious streak once again. Wish me luck....maybe he's the one!


And because I always feel the need to share some eye candy here, I will leave you with this layout that I made earlier this year. It's another Disney one....my nieces in particular and the fun they had on our family trip.
I was thrilled to be able to use that little Minnie Mouse sticker from EK Success. It's not ordinarily something you would see on my pages, but I so fell in love with it and had to have it! It turned out to be the perfect embellishment for my page!

Spring Break is here in less than 24 hours, so maybe...just maybe...I will spend some time creating. Or maybe not. If I do....I will be sure to share here on my blog. I hope all is well with everyone! Thanks for stopping by!

Hello Tuesday!

Glad to have gotten Monday out of the way this week. I really do not like Mondays. I am not sure why, but they are just not one of my favorite days. So, I was glad to say goodbye to Monday for another week. The weather here is starting to get a bit nicer, and I have been itching to get outside. I finally took down my Thanksgiving decorative flag....talk about a little late! I did some yard clean up and then had to stop myself because I tend to want to get everything done right now! I have to realize that it is not possible, so I need to be happy with the little things that I can get done.

I finished up a Fancy Pants layout this past weekend. I used some random pictures of Ryan that I took a few months back...since I have been a slacker in the photo department. This was a quick and easy 8.5 x 11 one. It came together so fast, but I am happy with it.

I have been into using the chipboard letters raw lately. Not only does it save a bit of time, but I like the look. It's just another one of the little kicks that I get on. You know...from beads to buttons to fiber to chipboard to digital stamps....I seem to get hung up on one thing or another. It's all good.

I am amazed at how fast time has been flying by. It is hard to believe that we have already completed 125 days of school with only 55 days left! WOW! Summer will be here before you know it. Looking forward to it.....really looking forward to it! How about you?

I seem to have forgotten....

...that I have a blog. I cannot believe that it has been so long since I last updated. I guess I have been a bit preoccupied these past few weeks. Maybe because it has been feeling so "springy" around here, and I have been having a hard time sitting at the computer or in my scrap room. Not sure. Of course, we have more daylight hours, and I am looking forward to nicer weather. I'm done with snow days and cold temps!

I did have a chance to do a page last week. Wow...one page. That's pretty sad, huh? But, it is better than nothing. I tore out some of my Fancy Pants goodies for this one.

And, yes...those are pictures of me! Imagine me...in front of the camera! It happens so very rarely because I am always the one behind the camera. Of course, I have not even been behind the camera lately. I really don't think that I have taken a picture in over a month! It makes me kind of sad, but I guess there just has not been too much going on to take pictures of. I need to change that, so I am making myself a promise to drag the camera out with me more often this month. Now that I have actually said that out loud, maybe I will really do it!

I hope that everyone is well. I'm hoping to get some blog hopping time in, so I can see what you all have been up to! Hope you are enjoying your week...Friday is on it's way!

Finally!

Yes, I am done with my scraplift page! Funny how when I started it, things were moving along so slow. It sat alone in a cold, dark room for a few days, and then I returned. I swear, within less than 1 hour...I was done. Everything just seemed to come together so good! Don't you just love when that happens!

So, here it is....my page:
As I mentioned before, I was thrilled to use my BasicGrey Marrakech. I love the color scheme of this line. Mostly everything here is BasicGrey except for some tiny brads, a rub on, and a sticker. I am loving their chipboard micro letter stickers. I never had them before, but now I will for sure be getting more!
Here is the original page side by side with the new page. I really changed up the whole color scheme and made some small variations to the design. Love the freedom to do as I please! Funny thing...both pages use BasicGrey, and I did not even realize that until just now! How about that?

Hey, enjoy your week....here's hoping it flies by so we can enjoy another weekend!

Still no layout =(

Yes, I was all ready to scraplift one of my old pages. Real life just seemed to get in the way. I started it, but never finished it. It is sitting half done on my scrap table where I started it many, many days ago. Oh well, I guess there is always tomorrow. It's Thursday, and the weekend is almost here...yippee! I hope to have some time on Sunday. In the meantime, I do want to share a page that I did a few weeks back.

It was for a call, but I never heard anything...so I guess it isn't getting picked up. That's one of the things that you have to live with when you choose to put yourself out there in the publishing world...rejection. I have received so many e-mails regarding how to break into the whole publishing thing, but I never really have any special advice. All I can say is that you just have to submit, submit, submit. You also have to ready to handle the rejection. It is always great to get that call or that e-mail, but you have to be ready to just hear nothing. I am proud of what I have accomplished so far, and I do plan on keeping at it in the publishing world. It's fun, and it makes me some extra money to play with. I have also met a whole lot of wonderful people that I would not have known otherwise. So, if you even have the thought of being published, I say just do it! What do you have to lose?

So, this page here is another one for the Disney album. Our Miss Emily was crazy for all of the princesses at Disney, and I had to document that. I am really happy with how all of my Disney pages have turned out so far. I do one every now and again....when the Disney mood hits me! It was nice to do a girl page...I don't get too much of a chance to do that!

Well, off to do some more "real life" stuff...Hope everyone is well! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your weekend!

Pencil Lines!

Long time...no blog!

I know, I know. I've been absent for the past few days. I have no excuse. I guess I just didn't have anything interesting to say or share. I do have something interesting to share today, though, so I'm glad you stopped by. I am still in the process of scraplifting my last layout, and I hope to share it with you soon. I did, however, have the honor of being asked to be the Guest Designer over at Pencil Lines. I was thrilled when I was asked. I even went ahead and created my own sketch...go me! Sketches rock. I think I have mentioned that before. I am a huge fan of the ever-so-awesome Becky Fleck and her PageMaps. She just oozes talent! I have used so many of her sketches to jump start my creative self, but I never ever entertained the thought of creating my own sketches. When I was asked to guest design for Pencil Lines, I was psyched to try my hand at it. So, here is the sketch that I came up with:

Now, I know that it's no PageMap because Becky just has a special flair, but I don't think it came out half bad. Here is the layout that I designed based on my sketch:

I used some of my favorite Fancy Pants goodies, of course. The doodle/hearts design is one of their awesome transparent overlays...love it! What is even more cool about my sketch is seeing how other talented scrappers interpreted it! It is so neat to see someone else use my sketch. Hop on over to the Pencil Lines site to check it out! You will love it!

I am off to do some school work today! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Scraplifting myself again!

I really had fun lifting one of my old layouts last week. I just received my new BasicGrey Marrakech in the mail this past weekend, and I am itching to scrap once again. I had planned on doing some scrapping this weekend, but well....you know what they say about plans! So, I am going to try for this week. Maybe I will start while Ryan is at karate today with his Dad.

I decided to lift this layout that I did in October 2006: This is my niece, Emily, from the summer of 2006. Boy how time flies, huh? I remember taking this picture, and it feels like it was only yesterday! I think that using Marrakech with this design will be great...I'll be able to use a lot of the great patterns for the strips! Cool!

Once again...thanks for stopping by...keep smiling and enjoy your week!

It's a lift!

Well, I did it! I finally finished scraplifting myself. It would have been easy and done within a few hours had I not gotten sick! Yes...I ended up with a 101 fever and a sore throat! I am still not 100%, but I do feel tons better. I've been in bed for the past 2 days sleeping and watching TV. I have been ready to jump out of my skin. I am not a sitter. I need to keep busy, and it is so hard for me to lie around doing nothing! Missing school has been killing me, too....but I don't need to be dragging my butt into school only to spread germs to the kids!

So, anyway, here is my new page:

Here they are side by side:
I was looking for an excuse to use some of my BasicGrey stash. I am such a hoarder of that stuff, and I have no idea why. I think that I just love it so much that I don't want to use it because it will be gone! Since I am (im)patiently awaiting the arrival of their new Marrakech line on my doorstep, I thought it would be the perfect time to use the Offbeat that I have been hiding away!

Well, I am off to rest a bit more. I hope everyone is having a better week than me. Thanks for stopping by!

Scraplift yourself!

Sometimes I get into a sort of funk, and I feel like I don't have a creative bone in my body. It usually happens after a big assignment or a trade show that I design for. I guess I just kind of use up all of my creative energy and am left with nothing. So, instead of beating myself up for being so lame, I decided that I was going to find an older layout of mine that I wanted to re-create with new papers, pictures, and embellishments....a scraplift of myself.

I started browsing the scans of my old layouts and found this one that I like:

I still like this layout after about 3 years, and I thought it would be great to see how a scraplift of it would turn out. So, I am taking a few hours tonight to scrap. I deserve it! I spent the entire weekend either doing work for school or doing homework for my night class. Everyone needs a little break every now and then, right? If you are looking for some scrapping inspiration, give it a shot. Try scraplifting a layout of your own that is more than 2 years old...or you can even scraplift the layout of mine above!

Stay tuned in the next day or two for the results! Thanks for stopping by and have a super night!

A Disney Page

I am slowly, but surely scrapping my pictures from our Disney trip this past summer. Since I took almost 1,000 pictures, I am guessing that it will be a while until I am done. I am in no hurry, so no biggie. I am not creating an album that has any particular theme with specific embellishments or papers. I may, in the future, decide to do a mini, but no plans yet. Right now, I am just picking some pictures and creating pages. I do plan on putting all of my Disney pages into one 3 ring binder, so I guess it will eventually be an album of sorts.

This page is dedicated to our visit to Animal Kingdom. I have no intentions of scrapping every picture that I took, so I pretty much just chose some favorites from the day.

I used my Silhouette to cut out the jungle leaves underneath the title. I got the leaf design from a piece of clip art from the Internet. Did I mention how much I love my Silhouette? Well, if not...I love it! It saves me so much time. I love hand cut titles and shapes, but using the exacto knife took me forever. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it. It was sort of relaxing, but the time factor was an issue. But, not anymore!

Another awesome thing about the Silhouette is that I can purchase individual files online from Quickutz to use with it. They have all kinds of shapes and borders and things. Very cool!

I have another Disney page that is coming up in the March issue of Memory Makers magazine and one in the May issue of CK . If you're a subscriber to either magazine, keep your eyes peeled. I can't wait to see them in print myself! I still get excited about getting published...it's just fun!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. Thanks for stopping by!

Winter "Blahs"

I guess it has been a while (a week to be exact) since I have posted. It just ended up being one heck of a week. It started with my buddy getting sick last weekend....the dreaded stomach virus. I felt so bad for him. Since it is best for me not to miss school, he stayed with my Mom & Dad, and they took great care of him. Then, we ended up having 2 snow days from school. Yuck! I know that lots of kids and teachers love snow days, but not me. It only means that you are stuck in the house with nothing to do in the middle of the winter, and then you will end up staying in school longer at the end of the year when the weather is beautiful. Add to that the fact that my grades were due and the tons of homework that I had for my University class...and it was just a "blah" kind of week. So, I am optimistically looking forward to beginning a new week. Ryan is better now, and my glass is half full...LOL!

On the scrapping front, I do have another layout to share. This time, I used the new Fancy Pants Delight line by Nancie Rowe Janitz. It is very fun collection. I especially love the colors...they are so bright and cheerful. You can stop by the Fancy Pants Gallery to see some other great creations from the Fancy Pants DT.

I had this layout started before CHA, but the journaling just was not working for me. So, it had to sit half done while I figured out what I wanted to say. Journaling is really important to me, so I hate to rush it. After Ryan got sick and spent time with my Mom & Dad...everything just came together. In addition to my new Fancy Pants goodies, I also got a chance to use my new Cuttlebug swiss dot embossing folder. If you click on the picture, you will see that my circles are dry embossed with it. Fun stuff!

I hope that everyone is well and having a great weekend! I am off to finish some school work...and maybe do some scrapping if I work fast enough. Enjoy your day!

*NEW* Fancy Pants "On A Whimsy"

Another adorable line is being released by Fancy Pants at CHA this upcoming weekend. It is called On A Whimsy, and it is just so......whimsical. The talented Jackie Eckles created this sweet and playful collection. It has line drawings and pretty colors that I loved working with. And the acrylic stamps that go with the collection are so stinkin' cute! I cannot wait to create more pages and use more of the stamps.

I used some older chipboard from Fancy Pants to create my own little sunshine on this layout. If you click on the layout to make it larger, you can see a close up view of that sweet little lady bug stamp on top of the "m." It is just ever so tiny and ever so cute!
Once again, you can check out more of this collection in use by clicking on this Fancy Pants blog post. Keep your eye out here because I will be sharing an awesome mixed media book that I created for Fancy Pants. I am so happy with how it turned out, and I can't wait to show you guys!

Thanks for stopping by and Have a super day!

*NEW* Fancy Pants "Summer Soiree"

CHA Winter '09 is right around the corner. I had the pleasure of creating some items for the new Fancy Pants releases. My layout below uses their new collection called Summer Soiree. Can I just say that I adore the cheery colors and the fabulous designs?

This collection is so me right now! Created by the talented Michelle Coleman, it just screams summer fun! I created this layout with the new collection:
Please excuse my scan and all of its shadows. I am normally 100% obsessive compulsive when it comes to my scans. I usually play around forever until each layout is just right. With my time being so tight and the show coming up so soon, I had to scan my pages quick so I could get them in the mail on time.

You can see creations from some of the other girls on the Fancy Pants DT by checking out this Fancy Pants blog post. Stay tuned for more goodies from yours truly over the next few days!

Thanks for stopping by and for taking the time to comment. It's always nice to spread some cheer! Have a great day!

A favorite layout

I'm not sure if everyone feels this way, but my favorite layout is usually the one that I created most recently. When I create a page, I like to keep it out in my scraproom, so I could look at it and enjoy it. Now, that does not mean that I like every page that I make. I am sure a lot of you can relate to the fact that I don't always like the way some pages turn out. For one reason or another, they just do not turn out how I envisioned they would in my head. Usually, I just tuck those pages quickly away in my album and move on. After all, not everything turns out the way we plan.

I made this layout this past summer, maybe in July. I loved it when I was done and just could not stop looking at it. The good thing was that it was picked up by Creating Keepsakes for publication. The bad thing was that I had to mail it off to them right after I finished it, and I couldn't stare at it anymore....LOL! When I received it back in the mail, it was like love at first sight all over again. Of course, I saw it in the magazine, and I have a scanned image of it on my computer....but there is nothing like the real thing. Honestly, it's just one of those pages that you appreciate the most in person. I love the dimension created by the chipboard border and the fabric pleat. I love the flowers with the wire on them. I was just really happy with this then, and I still love it now.

So, what's your most favorite layout? Is it your most recent one? Or an oldie, but goodie? Feel free to share links with me in the comments. I love admiring other people's creations! Have a super day!

BTW....this page appeared in the November 2008 issue of Creating Keepsakes in the Hot Spot column. If you have that issue, you can check out the other beautiful pages in the column.