Monday, October 13, 2008

Mom's turn:What have I been up to?

Catching up on scrapping – WAHOOOOO! I have been super busy with classes and homework…they did NOT mention that when I signed up! It has actually been very productive, although after this semester is over I’m done for a while! So far I’ve done 6 classes and my favorite to date was the 6 pages in 60 minutes class. Although it was a whirlwind, I got lots of fabulous layouts accomplished! My least favorite would have to be either the Bring it Back class or the Floral Art class. Both produced fabulous layouts but with way too much time and stress attached to them! Unfortunately, I don’t believe I will use anything that I have learned out of either one again. I also loved the Hidden Photos class, I thought it was very creative and will save space by reducing the amount of layouts per vacation I have to do! I’m sharing some pictures of some of my completed projects; I don’t feel the pictures do them justice, though.

This first layout was done with a scrapbook kits from Memory Mania. It was part of the homework I had, and I think it turned out lovely. I used pictures from Mardi Gras of 1996...whew!
It was full of sparkly embellishments
and then of course I added stickles to make even more sparkles.
This was one of the original 6 layouts from the class.
more stickles:
and the technique was using your white gel pen to make things "pop" - I still loath my white gel pen. I don't care what brand you have, they never work smoothly.

Another of the original 6 - simple, yet elegant. Lots of layering for depth

and ribbons for detail.

and another one. I used this one for a tribute to my late uncle who passed away at Thanksgiving. Titled "One More Day", we used a clock transparency and lots of chipboard peaces for details.

along with a faux sewing technique requiring a template purchase for class.

another of the 6. This uses two 12x12 overlays.

using giant brads as flower centers to hold them to the paper. And more chipboard pieces & ribbons for details.

STICKLES...I love them. I used felt letters for the title.

first covered in crystal effects to decrease absorption and then stickles.

with added ribbons and stickles throughout the layout.

and the last of the 6 - perfect timing!

swirls & stickles...what more can you say for romance! This was our anniversary this year before we went to our bonsai class.
Okay - the Floral Class...tadah!
The art work was incredibly detailed, very difficult, and overly time consuming.
A tool kit was required and used to make all of the veins in the leaves & shapes of the petals from a punch, which we then painted and glued down.
Then we made our own flowers out of, you guessed it, another required template.
two gorgeous layouts...and I'm done!
This layout was taken directly from their Masterpiece book that I got for my birthday at our Birthday club...WAHOO, thank you Connie!

again, I used the crystal effects to make the words appear wet.
Another one from my super new book. This was homework for the Bring it Back class. I used our zoo trip
the idea behind this class was to refresh some old supplies - this was making a sticker 3-D, although he doesn't really show in the picture, he's mounted on pop-dots.

then I "painted" part of our brochure for the event with Pearl Ex, a fabulous product that Stampin' Up no longer sells. And the only way I've ever used floor wax ;-)

more homework from Bring it Back.

making chipboard pieces sparkly with emboss powder and the rest of the title was cut with my most awesome Cricut, that I got for Christmas a couple of years ago, then slathered in crystal effects for shine.

I also used the great new rub-ons from Stampin' Up and another technique learned from one of the greatest scrapbookers...reverse sparkling. You put tape on the back of a negative image, sticky side towards you, (again made with my fabulous Cricut) and then sprinkle on glitter. SMASHING!
Another homework assignment, this one from the class Hip to be a 1" Square using our moving day pictures and new address anouncement :-D
as you can figure out - different things to make with your 1" sqare punch besides a plain 1" square.
I made photo corners and covered them in my beloved crystal effects!

Okay - last one...and, unfortunately you get NOTHING from the pictures. This was the Hidden Photos class. I chose our Miami vacation because I have SO many photos from both times that we've been there.
This little accordian book holds seven photos when you pull it out.
and the chip-board slider...awesome. So much more is in the layout - it's just impossible to show online.
WHEW - hope you get some ideas and inspiration out of these pictures...I feel like I scrapped them all over again :-/ NAPTIME!

Mom's turn: Clever Closets

Life before Gustav…I had a closet evaluation from the greatest organization place ever – Ultimate Storage Systems. Needless to say, I was totally pumped to get my two closets organized and more functional. One of the quirks of living in an older house is the lack of storage space available.
Our closet:
CHRISTINA's Closet:
Amy, the designer, had some really great tips: lots of shoe space for my many pairs of shoes (that match my pajamas so wonderfully) and plenty of hanging space for Teeny! Then Gustav put everything on hold for several weeks. The true test of patience. Finally the day came when the installation crew could come and put in the closets I had been dreaming about.

First we had to clean out both closets. So what better time to go through your stuff and get rid of some out of date and unworn items?
can I eat them if you don't want them??
Then Travis decided he would get a jumpstart on tearing the old closet out (although this was included in the new installation process, he just can’t stand not doing something).
what 'cha doin' Daddy???
The guys came and managed two complete closet systems in just less than 8 hours.
OH MY GOODNESS...her door shuts! Any company that do THIS for a teenager's closet is a miracle worker in my book!
It looked great…until I started putting things back in and then realized some problems. But I will say their customer service is outstanding and I would still highly recommend them. They came back out to look at my concerns and then sent someone out to fix everything that wasn’t to my satisfaction. I also ordered 3 more shelves for my shoes. NOW it’s perfect!!