Four years with Jackson...
is four years of wonderful.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
celebration
A celebration is in order! I've been looking forward to this day for awhile.
Today marks six months of being smoke free!
I'm on easy street at this point. Even while going through a very stressful time, I don't, even once, think about smoking. That's huge for me!
Now I'm looking forward to the year long mark. I've already promised myself a big reward when I get to that point! :)
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012
pinwheels
It's add-on week at Sketch Support and that means another idea for homemade embellishments.
I love pinwheels and was just waiting for the perfect month to have an add-on sketch of one. Pinwheels remind me of my childhood, of sunny days spent running around outside. They also remind me of the time that a pinwheel stuffed in the top of my closet started spinning (the ceiling fan was on) and it scared me to death! I think that is what made me officially afraid of the dark!
I decided that instead of using the pinwheel as an embellishment on a layout, I could make a decoration for our home. I was hoping to kind of recreate that feeling of childhood fun with something I could look at everyday. I thought maybe if I was having a bad day I could look at it and smile. :)
Supplies - Patterned paper: My Mind's Eye; Brads: My Mind's Eye; Buttons: My Mind's Eye; Banner stamp: My Mind's Eye; Alphabet stickers: My Mind's Eye; Memory Thread: DMC; Twine: My Mind's Eye; Butterfly punch: Martha Stewart; Other: oval bowl, paper shreds, wooden skewers, floral wire
If you've never made a pinwheel before, let me tell you, they are incredibly easy to do!
1. Start with any size of square. I used a variety, from 4" to 2".
2. Start at each corner and cut a line towards the center of the square. Don't go all the way to the center though. I usually stop between 1/2" and 1/4" from the center.
3. Start with one corner and one piece of that corner and fold in to the center. Secure with adhesive. Continue this with every other corner until you have four pieces folded in to the center and four that are out.
4. Add a brad or button to the center.
You can even added some extra details like I did:
I added hand stitching to the pointed, unfolded pieces and some curled Memory Thread.
Another detail I added is a "smile" banner. I stamped the banner pieces, added the alphabet stickers and then adhered the pieces to baker's twine.
To finish everything I add a few pieces of floral wire with punched butterflies on them.
I love pinwheels and was just waiting for the perfect month to have an add-on sketch of one. Pinwheels remind me of my childhood, of sunny days spent running around outside. They also remind me of the time that a pinwheel stuffed in the top of my closet started spinning (the ceiling fan was on) and it scared me to death! I think that is what made me officially afraid of the dark!
I decided that instead of using the pinwheel as an embellishment on a layout, I could make a decoration for our home. I was hoping to kind of recreate that feeling of childhood fun with something I could look at everyday. I thought maybe if I was having a bad day I could look at it and smile. :)
Supplies - Patterned paper: My Mind's Eye; Brads: My Mind's Eye; Buttons: My Mind's Eye; Banner stamp: My Mind's Eye; Alphabet stickers: My Mind's Eye; Memory Thread: DMC; Twine: My Mind's Eye; Butterfly punch: Martha Stewart; Other: oval bowl, paper shreds, wooden skewers, floral wire
If you've never made a pinwheel before, let me tell you, they are incredibly easy to do!
1. Start with any size of square. I used a variety, from 4" to 2".
2. Start at each corner and cut a line towards the center of the square. Don't go all the way to the center though. I usually stop between 1/2" and 1/4" from the center.
3. Start with one corner and one piece of that corner and fold in to the center. Secure with adhesive. Continue this with every other corner until you have four pieces folded in to the center and four that are out.
4. Add a brad or button to the center.
You can even added some extra details like I did:
I added hand stitching to the pointed, unfolded pieces and some curled Memory Thread.
Another detail I added is a "smile" banner. I stamped the banner pieces, added the alphabet stickers and then adhered the pieces to baker's twine.
To finish everything I add a few pieces of floral wire with punched butterflies on them.
Monday, April 16, 2012
blog hop giveaway winners
Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the blog hop! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! I'm so used to getting an early preview of the Creative Team's projects and it was fun to be surprised as I went along to each blog. They all did such an amazing job with the sketch!
The two winners of my giveaway are:
ZoezMom said...
Oh Allison, you did it again! Took a great sketch and gave us more inspiration than we know what to do with! Thank you for all you do!
Sandy T said...
Allison, I love your conversion to a two page layout! I love all of your sketches, they have given me new inspiration.
If both of you could email me at allison@scrapbookgeneration.com with your shipping information and let me know which volume of Sketches for Scrapbooking you would like.
The two winners of my giveaway are:
ZoezMom said...
Oh Allison, you did it again! Took a great sketch and gave us more inspiration than we know what to do with! Thank you for all you do!
Sandy T said...
Allison, I love your conversion to a two page layout! I love all of your sketches, they have given me new inspiration.
If both of you could email me at allison@scrapbookgeneration.com with your shipping information and let me know which volume of Sketches for Scrapbooking you would like.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
"Meet the Creative Team" blog hop
If you are following the hop from Sketch Support, I'm the end of the line. If you are just starting here I recommend going to Sketch Support and starting there so you can enjoy the whole hop.
I've always loved one-page layouts but I would be lying if I didn't admit that my heart will always belong to two-page layouts. One of the main things I loved about this one-page sketch is that I saw immediate potential for a two-page layout!
How long have you been scrapbooking? It's been about six years now. I started scrapbooking soon after we opened Scrapbook Generation. I didn't immediately start in, but was definitely curious. It was hard not to be when constantly distracted by pretty papers and glitter!
Why did you start scrapbooking? Most of it had to do with Drew being born. I had a sweet little baby that I couldn't stop taking pictures of! Plus, I have always enjoyed creative activities so it was only natural that scrapbooking would come after having a baby.
Some of it also had to do with my dad's death. I realized that I could probably count the pictures I had of him on one hand. I would have given anything to have a scrapbook full of pictures and stories of him!
What is your favorite time of day to scrapbook? Whenever my boys can join me! Usually that means after school and on the weekends.
How often do you scrapbook? Almost every single day. I'm one of those lucky people that scrapbooking and creating is my full-time job.
Where do you scrapbook/what does your space look like? Last year at this time I was scrapbooking on my bed. Now I'm so lucky to share a room with my boys. I have my big table to work on and they have a small table to work on. They've also got a couple of shelves with all kinds of art supplies and activities.
My favorite times in that room are when all three of us are in there, singing along to music and making stuff. It's a small room and we might be a little crammed in there but it's so enjoyable I don't think any of us care!
When I'm not scrapbooking you can find me... baking cupcakes, chasing after the boys (not an easy task sometimes!), watching documentaries with Mike, helping with homework, listening to Drew read books, removing marker "tattoos", planning birthday parties for the boys, and lately I've been playing the piano a lot.
What is your favorite thing about using sketches? The time that they save. It's so nice to have what can sometimes be the hardest part, the design, all figured out.
What is your favorite sketch from Sketch Support? Two-page Sketch #26.
I hope you've enjoyed the "Meet the Creative Team" blog hop! Surely you're not tired of giveaways yet!
Today, I'm going to giveaway two copies of Sketches for Scrapbooking, volume choice is all yours! To be eligible, leave a comment on this post. I'll randomly select two winners and post them on Monday! Don't forget to check back and see if you won!
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I've always loved one-page layouts but I would be lying if I didn't admit that my heart will always belong to two-page layouts. One of the main things I loved about this one-page sketch is that I saw immediate potential for a two-page layout!
I used the general idea and design of the sketch and then extended it to cover two pages for my layout.
"A Day With Jackson"
Supplies - Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper: My Mind's Eye; Embellishments: My Mind's Eye; Alphabets: Jillibean Soup (jackson) and Lily Bee Design (a day with); Punch: EK Success (scallop circle); Embroidery floss: DMC; Ink: Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink; Sketch: Sketches for Scrapbooking, Scrapbook Generation
I saw this sketch as a great opportunity to use a lot of photos! I kept the design of the sketch exactly the same on the left page while moving everything to the right edge. Then, to complete the second page, I just repeated the pattern of four 2-1/2 x 7-1/2" columns.
For three of the columns I included three photos so I ended up with a total of 13 photos on the whole layout. The last column was filled with a 2-1/2 x 7-1/2" strip of patterned paper. I also moved my journaling over to the right page.
When it came to the details and embellishments, I used a chipboard frame to highlight one of my favorite photos on the page.
For the remaining embellishments I used a common theme that consisted of pre-made embellishments from My Mind's Eye and a few extra pieces that I added to some of them.
Here's a closer look:
I'm sure you've noticed that we are all answering the same questions during the hop. We figured this was a great way for you to get to know us better!
Why did you start scrapbooking? Most of it had to do with Drew being born. I had a sweet little baby that I couldn't stop taking pictures of! Plus, I have always enjoyed creative activities so it was only natural that scrapbooking would come after having a baby.
Some of it also had to do with my dad's death. I realized that I could probably count the pictures I had of him on one hand. I would have given anything to have a scrapbook full of pictures and stories of him!
What is your favorite time of day to scrapbook? Whenever my boys can join me! Usually that means after school and on the weekends.
How often do you scrapbook? Almost every single day. I'm one of those lucky people that scrapbooking and creating is my full-time job.
Where do you scrapbook/what does your space look like? Last year at this time I was scrapbooking on my bed. Now I'm so lucky to share a room with my boys. I have my big table to work on and they have a small table to work on. They've also got a couple of shelves with all kinds of art supplies and activities.
My favorite times in that room are when all three of us are in there, singing along to music and making stuff. It's a small room and we might be a little crammed in there but it's so enjoyable I don't think any of us care!
When I'm not scrapbooking you can find me... baking cupcakes, chasing after the boys (not an easy task sometimes!), watching documentaries with Mike, helping with homework, listening to Drew read books, removing marker "tattoos", planning birthday parties for the boys, and lately I've been playing the piano a lot.
What is your favorite thing about using sketches? The time that they save. It's so nice to have what can sometimes be the hardest part, the design, all figured out.
What is your favorite sketch from Sketch Support? Two-page Sketch #26.
I hope you've enjoyed the "Meet the Creative Team" blog hop! Surely you're not tired of giveaways yet!
Today, I'm going to giveaway two copies of Sketches for Scrapbooking, volume choice is all yours! To be eligible, leave a comment on this post. I'll randomly select two winners and post them on Monday! Don't forget to check back and see if you won!
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Friday, April 13, 2012
a sketch support layout
Today is the last day of Two-page Week over at Sketch Support. The week has been full of wonderful layouts from the SS Creative Team and the sketch is a great one for those of you that love using lots of photos and lots of paper too!
I simplified mine a little since I tend to use smaller amounts of patterned paper. I wish I could simplify my spending but for some reason, even though I don't use a ton of paper, I still get two sheets of each paper I like.
Supplies - Patterned paper: My Mind's Eye; Cardstock: Bazzill; Chipboard alphabet (grandma): American Crafts; Sticker alphabet (Mary Lou): October Afternoon; Embellishments: My Mind's Eye; Butterfly punch: Martha Stewart; Embroidery floss: DMC
Last year, when the boys found out we were going to a party at the store for Grandma Mary Lou (or Mary "Woo" as Jackson would say) they starting working on homemade birthdays cards for her. Jackson's mostly consisted of scribbles. Drew used the opportunity to practice some of his writing and spelling skills that he was learning in Kindergarten at the time. His special little note was so cute! I think Grandma Mary Lou really enjoyed the homemade cards!
Tomorrow we are having a "Meet the Creative Team" blog hop. You'll start at Sketch Support and hop along to each creative team member's blog. There's a new sketch, lots of giveaways, and you'll get to see how each member used the sketch! It's sure to be a lot of fun! :)
••••••••••••••••••••••
I simplified mine a little since I tend to use smaller amounts of patterned paper. I wish I could simplify my spending but for some reason, even though I don't use a ton of paper, I still get two sheets of each paper I like.
Supplies - Patterned paper: My Mind's Eye; Cardstock: Bazzill; Chipboard alphabet (grandma): American Crafts; Sticker alphabet (Mary Lou): October Afternoon; Embellishments: My Mind's Eye; Butterfly punch: Martha Stewart; Embroidery floss: DMC
Last year, when the boys found out we were going to a party at the store for Grandma Mary Lou (or Mary "Woo" as Jackson would say) they starting working on homemade birthdays cards for her. Jackson's mostly consisted of scribbles. Drew used the opportunity to practice some of his writing and spelling skills that he was learning in Kindergarten at the time. His special little note was so cute! I think Grandma Mary Lou really enjoyed the homemade cards!
Tomorrow we are having a "Meet the Creative Team" blog hop. You'll start at Sketch Support and hop along to each creative team member's blog. There's a new sketch, lots of giveaways, and you'll get to see how each member used the sketch! It's sure to be a lot of fun! :)
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Tuesday, April 10, 2012
it goes both ways
I think part of that gleam that you see in the eyes of grandparents partially comes from the thought of finally get some sort of revenge on their own children. I'm sure they take some sort of pleasure when those grandchildren give us a hard time. They sit back and laugh, even if it's only silently in their heads, as we struggle that same way they did when they raised us. It's the natural cycle of the parent/grandparent life.
But, it goes both ways.
I have learned this Easter that there will come opportunities to get back at our parents via those precious grandchildren that can do no wrong.
But, it goes both ways.
I have learned this Easter that there will come opportunities to get back at our parents via those precious grandchildren that can do no wrong.
Exhibit A - A harmless caterpillar, a plastic egg, and a cute grandson.
Exhibit B - Grandma falling for the cute grandson and opening the plastic egg to find the caterpillar.
There was no hope for her. There's no way she could refuse or deny either of her sweet grandsons!
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