My First Attempt At Watercoloring

I decided today to play along with the SUO Challenge 19 of May Flowers.  I used the stamp from the On the Grow set and thought I would try water coloring the image.  I have never tried water coloring before, but I have had the aqua painters for a while now.  So I gave it a go.

Not too bad for my first try.  I really like how easy it was to start with the markers and use the aqua painters to push the color around the image.  I did learn that this is done best on watercolor paper.  It does not do as well when you try to use regular cardstock.

Stamps:  On The Grow
Ink:  Marina Mist, Daffodil delight, Old Olive, Basic Black, Stazon Jet Black
Paper:  Watercolor Paper, Very Vanilla, Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight
Accessories:  Stampin' Write Markers, Aqua Painters, Scallop Edge Punches, Sticky Strip, Daffodil Delight Ribbon
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My First Attempt At Watercoloring

Dad's Scrapbook Page

With Father's Day just around the corner, I thought that I would share the page that I made for Father's Day last year.  A good friend of mine designed the layout and I just loved it.  I was especially intrigued by the design at the top that we made using the bone folder, giving it the diamond tread effect. 

 The clean and simple design with bold colors made for a great masculine page.
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Dad's Scrapbook Page

Mosaic Snow Scrapbook Layout

As you have seen from my previous blog posts, I am in love with two types of scrapbooking.  I enjoy the traditional scrapbooking, but I also enjoy the mosaic side of scrapbooking, especially when I want to accent my pictures with other pictures that really show off the event I am scrapping.  Here the very first mosaic page that I ever made about two years ago when I first discovered this technique.  I wanted to scrap my son playing in the snow but I also wanted to put in pictures of the scenery covered in snow around the house.  This page is how I merged the two.

The Great Snow Of 2010

I centered my little angel making his snow angel in the middle of the page and the surrounded that picture with others that showed the excitement of winter.  The panoramic picture of the farm at the top is actually two pictures that were easily spliced together using the mosaic technique.  Can you tell where one picture stops and the other starts?  Mosaics allow for such creativity and you can still incorporate your stamps in the page.  I was pretty proud of my first attempt at this technique.
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Mosaic Snow Scrapbook Layout

Livin' Life Scrapbook Page

Before I became a demonstrator with Stampin' Up!, I was part of a stampin club with a great group of girls.  One of the projects we did each month was a border swap.  Each person would create a border that could be used to create a scrapbook page along with a journaling tag.  I have let my pile of borders build up and now I have time to catch up with creating the pages using them.  When I came across this border in my pile I just had to put the pictures of my son getting a ride on pawpaw's motorcycle at our volunteer fire departments annual poker run. 

He absolutely loves riding.  So much in fact that, he taught himself to ride his older sisters electric razor scooter.  He became so good at it the pawpaw and memaw got him his own scooter for his birthday last month.  He still cannot ride a bicycle without training wheels but he goes everywhere on his scooter.
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Livin' Life Scrapbook Page

May's Make-and-Take Projects

It is time to get ready for this month's make-and-take.  This month we will center our focus around Graduation and Father's Day.  We will be creating another set of two card and scrapbook page combos. 

The first set is the graduation set.  I chose Pacific Point (Blue) as our central color, maybe for a graduate for the nearby Chambers Academy Rebels :)  But this layout could easily be adapted to any set of school colors.  Our card will be a money holder for gift giving.

The second combo will Feature Father's Day and Family.  I chose a real masculine color set with Cherry Cobbler and Night of Navy.

I just love this Sense of Time stamp set.  I can't wait to see everyone on the 22nd.  If you are in the surrounding area and interested in joining our group, drop me an email to let me know.

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May's Make-and-Take Projects

A Gift for a Gift

Tis the season for bridal and baby showers.  Oh how I remember those days, and all of those thank you notes to write afterwards.  As the season for gift buying gears up, I thought I would share a secret that I have to help out the happy future couple or mother to be.  Whenever I buy a wedding or baby gift for some one, I also include a gift of thank you cards and envelopes packaged with my gift.  I usually place them in a cello bag and tie them off with a bow.  The recipient isalways tickled to see them in the gift; sometimes even more excited about the cards than the gift, go figure.  The pictures below are of part of the set of wedding thank yous that I am working on.  I usually put 10 cards in each gift.

To add one extra touch, I run the flap only of the envelope through the big shot. 

Paper:  Whisper White
Stamps: Afterthoughts, Bliss
Ink:  Basic Black
Accessories:  Big Shot, Tulip Frames Embossing Folder, Texture Plate, Envelopes

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A Gift for a Gift

2011 Summer Mini is Here

To view all of the great items just released in the new 2011 Summer Mini click here.  I just cannot wait to see all of the fun we will be able to create over the next few months using all of the new goodies that Stampin' Up! has given us in this Summer Mini.
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2011 Summer Mini is Here

Destruction in Alabama

Wow just when you think life gets back to normal from a busy week at work, mother natures throws a bomb.  Literally my home state of Alabama has been turned into a mangled mess.  I can say that we were spared this damage at my home, however just a few miles down the road from us the residents were not as lucky.  All I have been doing since Wednesday night is checking on my fellow teachers in other counties that were hit hard, and checking on my former students that are in Tuscaloosa.  We have been in a "how can we help" mode around here.  Just yesterday we were out in our pasture picking up pieces of others homes that were destroyed.  Please everyone continue to pray for those in the south that have a long road ahead in this cleanup effort.

This is all that is left of a home that once stood on the slab you see on the left.

Pieces of others home litter the sides of the roads.

Here the roof was taken off.

For miles all you can see around here are snapped tree tops from our pine forests.

This huge oak was uprooted and landed across a car and house.

The tornado took the tops of many trees around here.

We live in a very rural area that has had its beautiful forests completely destroyed.  

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Destruction in Alabama