Another day, another page...

I'm still working on my 1st mini album but it is going so slowly!  I think I am being too picky or trying to make it perfect and I'm not just letting it flow.  I tend to do that...it's the perfectionist in me coming out.  I am trying to work on that.  Anyways, I hope to finish it soon so that I can post it here even though I have very few followers.  It is still nice to catalog what I am doing on this blog.

In the meantime, here is another Musketeer 2-page layout.  This one is to introduce the 4 Musketeers individually.  I tried to make each panel unique and representative of each girl.  I was inspired by a layout that I saw in one of last year's Scrapbook, etc. magazine articles.  I used paper from the Basic Grey Sugar Rush collection which I love.  I love anything Basic Grey even though I tend to hoard it rather than use it.  I'm trying to get over that too.

For this layout I used Cindy Loo and French Manor Cricut cartridges for the frames and Lyrical Letters for "Wendi".  The other letters are Basic Grey chipboard letters.  I used chipboard pieces from Me & My Big Ideas and Oriental Trading Company bling.  I traced and hand-cut the flowers to bring in some old-school crafting.  My mom continues to remind me that "you could just use the Cricut to do that", but I find hand cutting to be relaxing.  It reminds me of all of the paper dolls that I cut out when I was a kid. 

I hope you like the layout!

Stephanie

The 4 Musketeers!

Okay, so back to the beginning...here is the intro layout of the Musketeers book that I am working on.  I'm actually nearly done with this book, but I'm working on my first mini-album right now so the 4 Musketeers are on hold.  But in the meantime I will post some of the layouts that I've already completed.  Maybe eventually I'll go back to the Jamaica book. 

It has been fun doing this book because I can make it more girly that the previous beachy book.  The 'Teers and I went to grad school together and completed a dietetic internship in Edmond, Oklahoma.  That was some time ago, but I am keeping the memories fresh by doing this book.  It has been so fun going down memory lane.  Anyways, we worked, studied and played together for about 6 months.  I had some of the best times of my life with these 3 special ladies--Amy-lou, Wendi-lou and Kristie-lou {a.k.a. The Lous}.  We gave ourselves a lot of nicknames...silly girls!

Page 1:  The 4 Musketeers!

For this layout I used We R Memory Keepers "Tiffany's" paper.  I loved the colors and the soft, yet distressed look of the designs.  I layered some Prima flowers and added some brads from Oriental Trading Company.  For the flourishes, I cut DCWV Rock Star paper using the Cricut Straight From the Nest cartridge.  The chipboard adhesive letters are Heidi Grace Midnight Kisses, which I found at Big Lots for $1.50. 

Hope you like it!
Stephanie-lou

Hmmm...maybe I'll blog today...

I've taken a hiatus from blogging, scrapbooking, baking...I guess life just happens and sometimes I forget to make time to do some of the things that really make me happy. So, a few weeks ago I snapped out of it! I decided to finish the layout that I started back months and months ago...I can't even remember when I started it--that's how long ago it was. I think it was before Christmas. All I had to do was bling it up and be done already!

So I did and that got the wheels turning and renewed my interest in scrapping.
Here is the layout that I finished. It is from an album that I am doing of me and the girls I hung out with in grad school. We called ourselves The 4 Musketeers. This is about the 4th or 5th layout of the book--it is so unlike me to drop this in without starting at the beginning of the book. But, maybe this is the new me! Jump right in and don't worry about being so "sequential"! {okay, we'll see how long that lasts}

"Night Life"
I used Me & My Big Ideas paper, Tim Holtz fragments to make the guitar and flower embellishments out of DCWV Rock Star paper, DCWV All Dressed Up chipboard pieces, and Oriental Trading Company black felt flourishes. I made the paper flowers by dipping them in embossing powder and heating them several times to make them thick and shiny. Then I blinged them up w/ some black and clear rhinestones.  The letters are Thickers.

Hope you like it! More to come! I am working on some new things and trying out mini albums. Oh my gosh! I'm having fun now!

Birthday Cards with Cute Asian Dolls

I have already posted these on my other blog, Lollipop Jubilee, but wanted to show them here as well.  I saw these Hero Arts Four dolls stamps and fell in love with them.  I made these for family birthdays, but was really hesitant to give them away.  I know that is the whole point of cards, right?

For this one, I used DCWV Summer Dreams paper.  I don't know of you have seen that collection, but it is FABULOUS!  I really, really stocked up at Joann's.  They had the paper stacks for $6.00 at one point.  Their website may still have some left.  Anyway, it is amazing paper.  You'll be seeing more of it in my cards and layouts in the future.

I used Oriental Trading Company Far East Paper for the next one.  I really love the muted pinks and greens and soft prints.  The Happy Birthday and flower stamps are also from OTC, as is the green sticky ribbon.  And of course the doll is Hero Arts.  I used the Provo Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder on the green strip of paper.