Vintage Christmas

I am in love love love with Danielle Thompson's "55 Days of Vintage Christmas" over on her blog. She has such a great retro style!

The images of vintage Christmas ads, ornaments, Advent calendars, and more will get you in the mood for Christmas and they'll make you nostalgic for Christmases past. For example, this picture from her site is awesome because we had those plastic candles at our house when I was growing up!

Head on over to her blog and enjoy the retro goodness!

New blog and new projects

Before we get to my newest projects, I just wanted to let everyone know that I have started a new blog. It is more of a "personal" blog about little ol' me, without all the crafts. So if you want to hear about me -- and frankly, who doesn't? -- head on over to A Staggering Work of Absurdity. To get your craft fix, I will continue to post my crafty stuff here on this blog!

Now on with the show!

Today, my latest layout is featured over at the Basically Bare blog. This layout is all about my awesome friend Twhyla. She is the sports gal in my life. She is all about Braves baseball and Colts football, and she's not afraid to get out there and play a sport herself. Here she is playing on a kickball league!

Patterned paper: The Paper Studio, Teresa Collins
Cardstock: Archivers, WinWorld
Chipboard embellishments: Basically Bare
Stickers: Making Memories
Tickets: SEI
Ink: ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink in Charcoal and Alabaster, Krylon silver leafing pen

Doctor Who geek craft

For my second design team project over at Basically Bare, I decided to show off my geekiness. In case you were unaware, I am a big old nerd. One of the nerdiest things that I like is British sci-fi TV shows, the mack daddy of them all being Doctor Who (click here for more info about the show).

I first watched Doctor Who back in the late 1980's on PBS with Tom Baker as the Doctor. As a kid the show was confusing but I loved the concept and the terrible special effects! Now as an adult, I'm totally entranced by the storylines and the characters (and the same terrible special effects!). The show is now on its 11th Doctor, but Tom Baker still holds a special place in my heart as "my first Doctor." I included a ribbon to pay homage to Baker's multi-colored scarf!

I was so excited to make this little wall hanging featuring a TARDIS (the Doctor's special time-travel machine that is an old British police box) that I made by hand. I had so much fun making it and am so pleased at how it turned out.

Materials used:

• Paper -- DCWV, Reminisce
• Chipboard -- BoBunny
• Embellishments -- Basically Bare chipboard gears, The Paper Studio clock face, Tim Holtz metal washers, Recollections clear "dew drop", KI Memories ribbon
• Stickers -- Making Memories, My Little Shoebox
• Ink -- ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink in "Charcoal"
• Adhesive -- Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L, Glue Dots, GlueArts

Basically Bare design project

Today my first Basically Bare design team project is up on the blog!

It's a thank you card featuring the chipboard spool from the "Sew Vintage" embellishment set. I really like the vintage feel to the card!

My next Basically Bare DT project will be posted on the 16th so stay tuned!

You're gonna shine!

This is my latest DT project for Better Living Through Scrapbooking. Since a new school year has begun, our challenge is to create a layout using a school picture.

This layout is almost like a letter to my eight-year-old self. I want to tell her that she'll get past the hurts, the disappointments, and the sadness that comes with growing up. She'll grown into those teeth (eventually!). She's going to find love, happiness, and passion for life. Don't worry, kid, you're gonna shine!

Another exciting announcement!

I know it has been a while since I blogged. There's so much to tell! Since I last blogged 2 months ago, I have lost 13 pounds and had knee surgery... but those stories will have to wait. What I really want to tell you about is my new gig as a design team member for Basically Bare!

I am so delighted to join the DT for this wonderful company! As you may have seen in a previous post, Basically Bare makes really cool alterable items for paper crafting. It is a fairly new company, but their products made a HUGE splash at Summer CHA. Basically Bare products are now being sold all over the U.S. and in several other countries! I am thrilled to share my projects using Basically Bare products beginning on the blog in September. In the meantime, please stop by the blog and look at all of the fantastic projects that the other designers have made.

Warning: Lifestyle Change Ahead

If you have looked at any of my layouts, then you know that I am a chubby girl. Unfortunately, I have been a chubby girl for the majority of my life. In middle school, I was called all sorts of things by some terribly mean boys. Maybe this fat roll had something to do with it:

Me circa 1985. Nice stomach.

Nothing changed much in high school. Still much bigger than all my friends. Thankfully I don't have any pictures on hand to show. However, I must say that I am less embarrassed about my weight than my really really really big hair.  College was more of the same... way bigger than anyone else I knew.

As an adult, I have lost weight several times. My best efforts were back in 1998-1999 and then again a couple of years ago when I lost 40 lbs. But it always came back. I could never wrap my mind around the idea of "healthy living" vs. "diet". I could only see "diet" as a temporary thing. Then came turning 35. I began putting on weight in weird places that I had never worried about before. I've always had a lower stomach "pooch", but this upper stomach muffin top thing? That's new. Horrible fat pouch above my elbow? I had only previously seen those on old ladies. My knees hurt, my hips hurt, and I was miserable.

Me with my friend Twhyla and Atlanta Braves relief pitcher
(and 2011 All-Star!) Jonny Venters in 2010

See the terrible upper stomach fat roll? GROSS!

So about a month ago, I came to the realization that I needed help. I knew I couldn't lose weight on my own so I joined Weight Watchers. It's a great plan with lots of great success stories. The best part is that they promote a healthy lifestyle vs. "a diet". Then this week I did something even more incredible: I joined Curves. Me, the most anti-exercise person EVER, working out at least 3 times a week? Who would have thought?

I promise to keep y'all updated on my weight loss/lifestyle change as I go along. With about 80 pounds to lose, it's going to take a while. And who knows? This may be some great scrapbook material!

It's MY week at Scrapping Shoebox!

I am proud to be the newest member of the Scrapping Shoebox design team and I am totally psyched because it is MY WEEK! Yep, I get to post anything scrap-related so today I posted a very summer-y layout.

You can read about the materials I used and check out other coolness over at Scrapping Shoebox. Come back this week for more goodies from me!

June Challenge #1 @ BLTS

The first of the June challenges is up over at Better Living Through Scrapbooking. I loved this challenge because I got to do a layout about one of my favorite activities: sleeping!

The prize for this month is fantastic! The winner of this month's challenge contest gets $25 to spend at the Basically Bare store.... What? You don't know Basically Bare? You're going to love them! 

Basically Bare is a new company that specializes in making "alterable items for paper artisans" (that's their tagline... cute huh?). These alterable items are wonderful embellishments and albums that are designed for you to make them your very own. The products come "plain" and are made of corrugated cardboard, felt, acrylic, chipboard, or canvas. Then you can paint them, dye them, ink them, sand them, or do whatever you want to them! The bird in my layout is a Basically Bare felt bird that I inked with regular chalk ink. Below is an example of the felt birds as they come. 

 

(In full disclosure mode, I did receive free samples from Basically Bare to use in my DT projects. However, I was under no obligation to write about them here on my blog. I just am because I really like the products! I also like the fact that all of Basically Bare's products are made in the USA.)

So head on over to Better Living Through Scrapbooking and see what you can do with the challenge. We would love to see your work!

Exciting "official" news!

Back in April, I told you that I was going to be the guest designer for the month over at Scrapping Shoebox. For my tutorial, I showed you how to make a cute little mini-album using just one sheet of 12"X12" paper (which I still think is one of the coolest things ever!).

Well, I am happy to announce that the owner of the site liked it so much that I was asked to join the design team full-time! I've known for a while but wanted to wait until it was "official". I am so honored to be part of this site and to be representing the US (the site is based in Australia).

If you haven't visited Scrapping Shoebox, what are you waiting for? Every week, there will be Tuesday Tips and a new project from each DT member. It's a great little site that I am sure you will love.

Another exciting piece of news is that I have been asked to stay on as a DT member at Better Living Through Scrapbooking. This is great for me because I love the site and I love my fellow DT members. Beth and Jamie are so talented and make such wonderful projects. So stop by BLTS and participate in our monthly challenges. There are great prizes each month; this month's prize is a $25 gift certificate to Basically Bare (they make really cool alterable items from cardboard, felt, etc.). 

Finally I send out a big "thank you" to each and every one of you reading this. You have all been so great in supporting me as I pursue my dream of working in the crafting industry. Your comments and cheers have meant so much to me. Sometimes it is hard to "toot my own horn",so to speak, when it comes to accomplishments; however, I have learned that it really is OK to be proud of yourself when you do something well. Thank you for allowing me to do that here on this blog (and in your Twitter feeds, and in your Facebook feeds, and your emails....)!

Hot fun in the summertime

I don't know about where you are, but here in Georgia, it is crazy hot! Nothing but 90+ degree days for the last couple of weeks makes it hard to do anything but sit inside & enjoy the air conditioning. However, I have ventured out for some fun lately.

In May, I went to an Atlanta Braves double-header....

... the NHRA Southern Nationals (and got my picture made with my favorite driver, Tony Schumacher)...

... and a Native American Pow Wow!

Isn't she so stinkin' adorable?

What have you been up to lately?

No mojo + weeklong migraine = no blogging!

This month has been tough. I have had no desire to be crafty. Absolutely none. Is it the weather (around here it's at least 90 degrees every day)? Is it my terrible ADHD kicking into overdrive? Whatever the case, I have done nothing!

Add to that the fact that I have had a migraine for a WEEK and you've got one lazy blogger!

June will be better! I have made a promise to myself that I will get my mojo back this month!

New mini-album tutorial

The wonderful website Scrapping Shoebox has posted my tutorial today. In it, I show you how to make a mini-album with just one sheet of 12"X12" paper! I think the project is really cute and it is sooooo easy (and it would make a great brag book for moms or grandmas for Mother's Day -- hint, hint!).

So head on over to Scrapping Shoebox for the full step-by-step project instructions. If you like it, leave a comment!

YEE HAW! It's the April Roundup!

I was inspired the other day by a visit to Katie the Scrapbook Lady. Her site has all sorts of great ideas and I loved this one. It's "The Monthly Roundup" where you "roundup" the memories of your month! This makes it much easier to go back to do journaling for your pages later; it's also cool to see just what you did all month!

1. What books and/or magazines did I read this month?   I read issues of Scrapbooks Etc., Creating Keepsakes, All You, and the AAA travel magazine. I read lots of books including Bossypants by Tina Fey, The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith, and Left Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson.
2. What movies, television shows, plays, etc. did I watch this month? The most memorable things I watched were Michael Scott's goodbye in The Office, the Royal Wedding (of course!), and lots of baseball.
3. What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends? Went to Opening Day for the Atlanta Braves, eating lunch w/my friend Kerry and dinner w/my friend Twhyla, helping my friend Lauren unpack all of her craft crap after a move, going to an all-day crop, having my niece Ashley visiting, a Spring Fling Party (on one of the coldest days of the month!)
4. What gifts did I give and/or receive? Lauren gave me sooooo much craft stuff like a Yudu machine, paper, TONS of adhesive, and more clear acrylic than I can use in a lifetime! Twhyla gave me a cool t-shirt that says "Scrappers are acid-free"
5. What special or unusual purchases did I make? A UTEE melting pot!
6. What illnesses or health concerns did I have? A few days of sniffles due to pollen
7. What were my accomplishments this month?  See my April 7th post! I also got some more cool news that I can't share quite yet.....
8. What were my disappointments this month? Not being chosen as a DT member on a site
9. How did I do on my goals for the month? (Or any current short or long term goals) Very well (again see my April 7th post!)
10. Anything else noteworthy to include? Some of the deadliest storms ever hit the South on April 27. Numerous tornadoes hit places all over MS, AL, and GA (including my hometown).

April is my month!

All sorts of exciting things are happening to me this month!

• I am now a published scrapbooker! I have a layout in this quarter's issue of "Stamping, Stationery, and Scrapbooking." You can find the issue at all Hobby Lobby stores now.
• I am the guest designer of the month at "Scrapping Shoebox", an Australian website. Right now, my bio and a little Q&A are posted on the site; a tutorial will come later in the month.
• I am also the guest designer of the month on a Greek website called "Scrapbooking in Greece." I have a folded flower tutorial posted there that is so cute! There is a "translate" widget on the site so you can read it in English (however, the translation sounds wonky, of course!)

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Using patterned papers effectively

Are you sometimes intimidated by certain scrapbook papers? Do you like the color or pattern but you think,"Wow, that's a little "busy"?  No worries! The key to using patterned papers is to use in moderation.

In my early days of scrapbooking, I would use just one sheet of patterned paper as a background, no matter how bright or busy it was; now looking back, I see that my pictures were overwhelmed by the papers. I have learned that by pairing patterned papers with solid cardstock or with a related but smaller/cleaner pattern, I can use the "busiest" papers around, yet still have my photos be the focus.

A great example of a company that has wild patterned paper is Sassafras Lass. I love their paper and embellishments. It makes my heart sing to look at them. However, I know that I have to use their products in a different way so that my layouts are not overwhelmed. Here's one of my favorite layouts that I made using Sassafras products:

By using a black background and by using the papers as borders and accents, I was able to still get the fun, whimsical look, but my photos are still front and center.

Another company that I love is American Crafts. They too have some awesome papers that may need a little tweaking.

If I had used an entire sheet of the stripes, my pictures would have been lost. However, by breaking up the stripes with some solid cardstock, I was able to still get the fun pattern but without all of the clutter.

For more examples of patterned paper layouts, go to my "Gallery" page here on the blog!

So don't be afraid of those wild papers! Just use them in moderation and you will have a layout that you are proud of!

Wonderful Wednesdays #2

Today's "Wonderful Wednesday" site is not a scrapbooking or paper crafting site, but a photography site. The photographer, Irina Werning, has taken old photos of regular people and had the subjects re-enact the photos. The concept is so sweet and beautiful and she has done such a good job with recreating the original poses.

This would be a fantastic idea for a scrapbook page, don't you think? Find a picture of yourself as a kid, and then see if you can recreate it now!

New look

The blog has a new look! I decided to embrace simplicity and make my blog a little more open. Hope you like it!

(Thanks to Yummy Lolly for the template!)

"Hoppy Easter" card tutorial

 Since Easter is quickly approaching,  I thought I would share this card and how to make it with y'all! I think that the little 3-D bunny just makes this card adorable. Hope you like it!

(Fair warning -- I am more of an "eyeballer" when it comes to crafting so I don't include many exact measurements in my tutorials.)

Materials needed:

• 8 1/2"X11" cardstock or pre-made card base (any color)
• white cardstock at least 5"X4"
• various colors of cardstock scraps (for sun, bunny, grass, accent piece, and lettering)
• Bunny stamp
• Cricut "All Mixed Up" cartridge
• Pens in various bright spring colors
• black fine-tipped pen
• Glitter Glue such as Stickles
• Adhesives (your choice) as well as 3-D foam "pop dots'
• fine-tipped scissors

How to:

1. Start with the card base. If you do not have a pre-made card base, cut a piece of 8 1/2" X 11" cardstock in half (5.5"X8.5"), then fold that in half.
2. Ink edges of white cardstock if desired. Attach white cardstock piece to front of the card to make the background.
3. Cut narrow strips of card stock to go across the width of the entire card. Place strips with one on top of the other and adhere. Then place stitching over the seam where the two pieces meet. I know that some people like to sew on their projects, either by sewing machine or hand-stitching, but I am terrible at it so I just draw my stitches with a black pen!
4. Cut very narrow strip of green paper for the "grass" to the width of the white background. Then with the fine-tipped scissors, cut notches or fringe into the top of the strip to look like grass.
5. Stamp your bunny image onto a scrap piece of white cardstock. Since my bunny stamp was just the cute little backside, I didn't have to color him in, but if your stamp is a more-detailed bunny you may want to color it in with pens or Copic markers.
6. Using fine-tipped scissors, cut around the stamped image. Then using the 3-D foam dots, attach the cut-out bunny to the card so that he is standing on the grass.
7. Cut a circle and small rectangles out of yellow cardstock for the sun. I did mine free-hand so it would have a more whimsical look. Adhere sun and rays to corner of card and then cover with Stickles (I used clear "diamond" Stickles).
8. Using the "All Mixed Up" cartridge for Cricut (set at 1"), cut out the words "Hoppy Easter". Adhere to card using a fine-tipped glue pen like a Zig 2-way.
9. Get ready to doodle! Hand-doodled little flowers, the "hopping" dashes, and outline the grass using various gel pens.
10. Now enjoy your Easter card!

Materials I used:

Card base -- Die Cuts with a View

Patterned paper -- The Paper Studio (from Hobby Lobby)

Cardstock -- unknown

Letters -- Cricut "All Mixed Up" cartridge

Stamp -- Stampabilities (from Hobby Lobby)

Ink -- ColorBox Cat's Eye Fluid Chalk Ink in Blue Lagoon, Autumn Leaves Stampology in Onyx

Pens -- Sakura Glaze and Gelly Roll, Zig Millennium Writer

Adhesives -- Glue Arts Perma-Tac, EKSuccess 3-D Dots, Zig 2-Way Glue

Glitter -- Stickles by Ranger 

Wonderful Wednesdays #1

When I was a kid, a church in my town had a summer program called "Wonderful Wednesdays" where kids would come in each Wednesday and play games and do crafts with other kids. It was at Wonderful Wednesdays that I learned how to make a stamp with a potato (did you ever do that?) and make "stained glass" with tissue paper.

In honor of my early crafting days at Wonderful Wednesdays, I am going to begin my own Wonderful Wednesdays series here on my blog. Each Wednesday, I will feature one or two blogs that demonstrate different paper crafting techniques, have cool layouts, or are just pretty... well, wonderful!.

For the very first Wonderful Wednesday, I am featuring Amarilys's Little Corner. I found her website after she left a comment here on my blog, and I was so impressed with her layouts! Her work features lots of fussy cutting (which I am often just too lazy to do!) and girly elements like flowers and butterflies. She also has lots of great page and card sketches.

So please head on over to her blog and show her some love!

Happy Wednesday to all!

The story behind the layout

Too often in scrapbooking, we document only the good events. But how many of us have only good days? So today over on Better Living Through Scrapbooking, the design team girls (including yours truly) reveal some layouts about the things that didn't go as we had planned.

*One note about this layout. I know that most people see this picture and think, "What could be so terrible about going on a great vacation in the Caribbean? Are you that spoiled?" NO! As you see in my journaling, it was the fact that my plans were changed that led to this layout.

One of the elements that we were challenged to use this time was hidden journaling. The journaling on my layout is behind the picture so you have to lift the picture to see it. Since you can't do that on the site, you can read it here:

I admit it. I am a travel planning junkie. I plan every single little detail on every trip that we take. Where to stay, what to do, even where to eat are all things that figure out months in advance, and our cruise was no different. I had our entire day in Cozumel all taken care of. We had never been there before so I was kind of excited about it. I was even going to try helmet diving (a big deal for someone who is afraid of water)!

Then came the swine flu.

It hit Mexico first just a couple of weeks before our cruise. This was an illness of epic proportions and Cozumel was soon a hot-bed of disease. Of course, all of the cruise lines stopped going to Mexico and we were told (just days before the cruise) that we would be going to Nassau, Bahamas instead. All that planning down the toilet. All that work planning our trip was just wasted and I was completely thrown for a loop. Messing up my travel plans is guaranteed to totally ruin my day. I didn't want to go to the Bahamas. I had heard from many people that it wasn't that great. Boy, were they right. We were not impressed and I was still bitter about having my plans foiled. Oh well, at least we can say "Been there, done that". Maybe on our next cruise, it won't be during a flu epidemic!

So if you haven't seen the layouts from the other design team girls, go check them out. Maybe it will inspire you to scrap a not-so-perfect event!

I'm going international!

I've known about this for a few weeks now, but it is now official so I can share with you:

I'm going international!!!

I am proud to announce that I will be the guest contributor on not one, but two scrapbooking websites based in other countries. In April, I will be featured at ScrapGreece (a Greek website) and Scrapping Shoebox (out of Australia). I will be sharing some brand-new layouts and tutorials on both sites.

I am pretty excited about this opportunity because it opens up my work to a much bigger audience. It will also be fun to see how my tutorials translate into Greek! And don't worry if you can't read Greek; the ScrapGreece site has a handy translator function!

Now this news has nothing to do with the post from yesterday. I never heard anything so I will just sigh and move forward. As you can see, I have other opportunities to keep me busy!

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

I need a serious dose of patience!

If you all remember, my "one little word" for 2011 is BRAVE. I decided that this was the year to go big or go home. So in that vein, I have been actively pursuing my dream of being on a design team. I've been sending out submissions like a crazy woman.

But do you know what the worst part is? The waiting. Waiting for the email or call that you had what someone was looking for. Waiting to hear if your art is deemed "worthy". Waiting to see if this is the day that you are one step closer to your dream.

As those who know me can attest, I pretty much stink at waiting. Patience is definitely not my gift. I try every day to cultivate it, but most of the time, I fail miserably (I could never be a vulture, just waiting around till something dies! I'd have to go kill it myself!). I have to constantly remind myself that my life is not subject to my time line; it works on God's time line.

So today, I wait for an announcement that is supposed to come and try to be patient. If it is meant to be, it will happen. If not, then I move on and try again...but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

JOURNALING PROMPT: Are you a patient person? If so, how did you become that way? If not, do you want to change?

New card design

A little confession: I love to make cards, but I never send any of them out! They are always so cute that I want to keep them all to myself like little works of art. Does anyone else do this?

One thing that is great about making cards is that you can use products that are cute but you never knew how to use them before on a layout. For example, I have some really cute French-themed Creative Imaginations paper and stickers that I won at a crop. I never had an opportunity to use them on any layout so I thought, "What about using them on a card?"

Well, here's the new card I just made using the products and I think it's pretty adorable! Plus I got to "shop my stash" and not buy a single thing to make it.

 

 

Supplies used--

Card base:  Die Cuts with a View

Patterned papers and dress form sticker: Creative Imaginations

Letter stickers: Sticko

Flowers: Heidi Grace for Fiskars and Prima

Adhesive pearl: unknown

Adhesives: Glue Arts Glue Glider Pro PermaTac and Mini Adhesive Squares, EK Success Pop Dots

Ink: ColorBox Chalk Ink (Charcoal)

New "Better Living Through Scrapbooking" post is up!

My latest design team layout is up today on Better Living Through Scrapbooking!

Our challenge this time was to create a layout without words... no title, no journaling, nothing! I was totally apprehensive about how it would turn out since I always include at least a title on my layouts, but once I began working on it, it wasn't too bad. It really allowed the picture to be the focus, and it made me want to kick up the photo a notch so I experimented with making the pic black and white with just one little part left in color.

So head on over to the site and look at all of the design team's layouts. All of the my fellow team members are so talented and have such different styles so I am sure you will find something that will inspire you. And remember that if you enter your layouts in the February challenges, you will be entered to win a gift certificate from Queen Kat Stamps!

A free font for you

I changed the look of my blog a few weeks back. If you look at the sidebars, you will see the headings of each section (as well as my blog button) have a nice little handwritten font. Well guess what? That font is my handwriting and I want to share it with all of you!

I love using my computer to do my journaling for scrapbook pages, but I like the idea of having things in my own handwriting, so this is the best of both worlds!

Just click on the link below and download my handwriting for free (scroll to the bottom of the page to the button that says "Download Now with Filefactory Basic"). Then you can install the font to your computer and use my font! Hope you like it!

Lorrie's Hand

February challenge is up!

The new February challenge is up at Better Living Through Scrapbooking! Our fearless leader, Elizabeth, will be posting each of the design team's responses to the challenge throughout the day so you can see our takes on winter.

I want to encourage everyone to come join us for this month's first challenge. If you post a layout, you have a chance to win a $20 gift certificate from Queen Kat Designs Stamp Co.

If you have never looked at the QKD site, you are missing out. There are some adorable stamps over there!

Adorable stamps from QKD! Very SQUEE-licious!

So head on over to Better Living Through Scrapbooking and get inspired!

Review of "CHA Live" with Scrapbook Royalty

As you may or may not know, it is one of my big dreams to actually go to a CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) show. The thought of all of those scrapping companies and all of that new stuff just makes my heart go pitter-patter, but so far I have not been able to attend one. Just when I was feeling sad about missing CHA Winter 2011, I read about being able to watch it LIVE with Scrapbook Royalty!

So what is Scrapbook Royalty? Scrapbook Royalty is a volunteer-run non-profit organization (now under the umbrella of CharityWings.org) that helps crafters raise money for various causes. The group hosts and sponsors scrapbooking events all over the country to raise money for charities such as Susan G. Komen, American Heart Association, Boys and Girls Clubs, Autism Speaks, and more. The CHA Live event raised money for Crops of Luv, a charity that makes scrapbooks for terminally-ill children who have been granted wishes through groups such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

This year, Elena Etcheverry (founder of Scrapbook Royalty) and her team of talented ladies took on the daunting task of broadcasting live from CHA for all of us who couldn't attend the event. For three-and-a-half days, Elena did interviews with vendors and crafting "celebrities", ran all over the floor to show cool booths and products, and had fantastic make-and-takes that we could do at home (at-home participants got a BIG goody box with TONS of product!). We got to "chat" with other participants, ask questions to the vendors, and enjoy CHA without the hurting feet! There were minor technological glitches related to the site that was being used for the chat room, but Elena's enthusiasm and the opportunity to see so much of CHA more than made up for it.

I am so glad that I was able to be a part of this event. It was great to "virtually attend" CHA and the new products and websites that I learned about will keep my wallet empty well into the year! I can't say enough good things about Elena and all of the wonderful volunteers at Scrapbook Royalty for their time, dedication, and enthusiasm for this event.

Also thanks to Nikki Sivils, Flower Soft, Unity Stamps, Westcott, Clear Snap, Bazzill, Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L, Prima Marketing, Faber Castell, Maya Road, Mod Podge, and Copic Markers for donating products included in the "swag bag".

P.S. All of the vendors that Elena spoke with were more than happy to donate some of their products for eBay auctions to further benefit Crops of Luv. So head on over to eBay (Seller name: princesslanie) and bid on the cool things that are being auctioned for a great cause.

Busy, busy, busy!

Hello lovies! Just wanted to stop in and let y'all know that I haven't forgotten about my lovely readers.

I have been busy as a little beaver this past week. I watched CHA Live via the Internet thanks to Scrapbook Royalty (and it was FANTASTIC! I'll blog more about that this week.), I began my new job, and I've been applying to some more design teams and magazine calls!

 Can't wait to fill everyone in on all that's going on!

Journaling prompt --- A favorite item of clothing

Do you remember a favorite item of clothing from your childhood?

I have a phenomenal memory so I can recall lots of clothes and shoes that I loved as a child. In kindergarten, I had a pair of cowboy boots that I loved. I wore them on picture day with a pair of khaki pants so I could "look like JR" (yes, from Dallas!). I had a t-shirt in 3rd grade that was aqua and white that said "I love rock n' roll" on the front. In 5th grade, I had a pink sweatshirt with scottie dogs on it... and I think it was Swatch or Esprit or some other very 80's brand.

But these shoes are right up there in my memory:

They were house shoes with Snow White heads on the front. Oh, how I loved those shoes! They were pink and fuzzy, and the Snow White head smelled soooo good like plastic baby dolls. I remember wearing them until they got holes in the bottoms and in the toe where my big toe poked through. Just looking at these pictures brings back great memories of that Christmas and how it felt to be a little 3-year-old girl!

So think about your favorite clothing item from your childhood and make a scrapbook page about it. Don't have a picture of you in the item? That's OK. You can always include a picture of you from that same time period, or you can just not use a picture at all and focus on the journaling itself.  Either way, it will be a great page to have fun with!

I would love to see your work so upload your page to your blog, Photobucket, or some other gallery and send me the link!

Huge giveaway from Simple Scrapper!

The Simple Scrapper is having a fantastic giveaway on her blog. She is giving away a 1 year subscription to Simple Pages / Simple Projects (a $96 value)!

Simple Pages/Simple Projects is a wonderful product designed for busy scrapbookers. Each collection (released monthly) includes instructions for a project, .PSD templates that can be used as templates or as sketches, and a sheet of "story starters." While you can purchase each collection individually or as a 6-month subscription, Simple Scrapper is giving away all 12 collections!

Besides the great giveaway, the Simple Scrapper website has all sorts of wonderful tips about things such as digital photography, organization, and time management. So go check them out and tell them I sent you, then enter this giveaway for yourself!

Big blog giveaway!

Jamie, the lovely lady over at My Tiny Little Corner of the World, is having a huge giveaway on her blog!

She is giving away 84 sheets of paper from 7Gypsies and GCD Studios! And she just *might* throw in some Ranger and Prima goods as well!

Just go to her blog (which, besides the giveaway, has tons of great tutorials on making cards, ATCs, and other paper goodies), become a blog follower, post back on your blog/website, and leave a comment. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Here's the link: http://mytinylittlecorneroftheworld.blogspot.com

Good luck!

New Cosmo Cricket collections... and a favor to ask my dear readers!

I adore Cosmo Cricket. The people behind Cosmo Cricket (Julie, Eric, and Lindsay) are so sweet and lovely. Their collections are always so retro and fun and cute as can be. Well, they have outdone themselves this time with their new collections debuting at CHA in a couple of weeks. Just look at these!

"Social Club"

"Upcycle" (my personal favorite!)

"Salt Air"

Aren't those just the cutest? So go here to see all of the pictures of the papers and other goodies up close!

Now for the favor to ask all of you....

The same lovely people at Cosmo Cricket are doing something really cool. They are giving away these collections to some lucky people and one of the ways involves you! While winning this stuff would be great, this would be even better:

"And, the final way to win is to be nominated by your friends and family as one awesome person who would make a great addition to our design team. The top 10 people nominated will be featured here on our blog for you to vote on again. The winner of that vote will become the newest addition to our team for at least 6 months and they will also receive tons of Cosmo Cricket goodies including the new lines."

That's where you come in! You know you want me to be on the Cosmo Cricket design team. You know that it would be just too cool for school. Think of how popular you would be if you could say to your friends, "Hey! My friend Lorrie is on the Cosmo Cricket design team!" You would be making folks jealous left and right. So go on over to their blog and leave them a comment nominating ME! Or go to their Facebook page and nominate ME! Or go to Twitter and nominate ME! Or go to your email and send them a message nominating ME! OR DO ALL OF THE ABOVE!!!  Only the top 10 nominees are in the running so vote early and vote often!

(Seriously though, it would be an awesome opportunity so I would be so honored if you would nominate me.)

Hugs and smooches to y'all!

CHA Winter 2011

The CHA Winter 2011 Conference and Trade Show is coming up!

CHA is where the newest crafting products and lines are debuted. Just thinking about all of that crafty goodness in one place makes me giddy!

You'll be giddy too when you look at some of the CHA sneak peeks. The wonderful Nancy Nally, publisher and editor of Scrapbook Update, has gathered a list of some of the many companies and the lines they will be debuting at CHA. You can see them here. Thanks, Nancy!

After looking at all of the sneak peeks, I can see some definite trends for the new lines:

• Vintage/retro - Lots of papers and embellishments that look straight out of the 1920's-1950's (with a couple of 70's thrown in!)
• Circus/carnival (mostly vintage/retro) - Just as long as we don't have to see lots of clowns. Clowns eat people.
• Pastel/muted colors

All of the new lines are wonderful. I can honestly say that I didn't see a dud in the bunch (and believe me, I have seen some duds in past CHA releases!). However, these are the things that stood out to me:

GCD Studios: Melody Ross "Soul Food" -- OK, this one comes with a disclaimer... I love everything that Melody Ross does. She could poop in a bag, put a little vintage bird on it, and I would buy it. Seriously. But even if I didn't have an overwhelming "scrap crush" on her, I would still love this collection. The colors and the retro ladies take me back to the late 70's, sitting in Calico Corner and looking at sewing pattern books with my mom. (That's a true story -- Calico Corner was our local fabric store & I loved going in there as a kid, just looking at patterns!)

Echo Park Paper: "For the Record" -- Love love love this line. I would buy it for that vintage typewriter alone.

Sassafras: "Paper Crush" -- Sassafras Lass (I can't help it... that used to be their name and I will always call them that!) can do no wrong in my book. Their papers and embellishments just make me happy. Love the border strips on the edge of the papers. Love the 2-sided paper (but it makes it hard to choose what side I want to use). And the little chubby cannon firing hearts made me say SQUEE!

Webster's Pages: "Spring Market" -- Oh. My. Goodness. This collection makes me want to plant a garden and make homemade jam. No lie. And the fabric flowers? Shut up. I am dying over here.

So what are your favorites? See anything that you will just have to buy when it hits the stores? What collections make you want to run the other way?

How you like me now?

I've been playing around with this page lately and learning how to make my own blog elements. I made all of the little sidebar titles (like Archives, Blogroll, Links, etc.) and I made my header! I also learned how to add a signature line to my posts and added a blog button so that people can share my site.

Yep, I am a total dork.

So what do you think of the new layout and new elements?

First design team layout is up!

My very first layout for Better Living through Scrapbooking is up! It's a "mid-week inspiration" for the first January challenge about New Year's resolutions. I loved this challenge because it made me break out of my comfort zone -- I used paint (on something besides chipboard!) and I even did a little hand-sewing! I really like the results and I hope you do too.

And if you ever have any questions about a product or technique I have used, please feel free to leave a comment on the site or ask me here in my comments!

I did it!

It is "official" so I can now announce:

I have been chosen as a design team member for  
Better Living through Scrapbooking!

I am so excited to be a part of this site! Better Living is still a fairly new site so I feel like I am getting in on the ground floor of something big. I can't wait to challenge myself to try new things and share them with the readers!

So what led me to this wonderful experience? (Warning: long story to follow!)

I decided at the end of 2010 that my one little word for 2011 was "brave". Too often, I have let opportunities pass me by because I was afraid of something -- afraid of success, afraid of failure, afraid of even trying. That little voice in the back of my head saying, "What if you aren't good enough?" was often a bit too loud and it kept me from pursuing my dreams.

I have had several scrapbooking goals for several years now, namely to be on a design team and to have my work published in a magazine. However, though my friends and family have always complimented my work, I never thought it was "good enough" to be put out in public. I gathered up all of my courage and applied to one design team last year and was not chosen. I was devastated. My worst fears were confirmed. I wasn't "good enough."

In the last couple of months of 2010, I was getting quite depressed. I had no job (despite sending out numerous resumes and applications) and I was stuck in a rut. Then a wonderful thing happened: I took an online class called "Inspiration Everywhere" from the wonderfully talented Jessica Sprague. In this class, we made an art journal. Now that may not sound like a big deal, but for me it was. I sometimes have a hard time thinking "outside the box". I am a rule follower and don't want to rock the boat. I never considered myself an artist, so why would I need an art journal? Hesitantly, I bought my supplies and went to work.

Almost as soon as I began to work on it, I began to feel free. There were no rules. There was no plan to follow. I could use whatever materials I wanted. I could draw or write anything. No one was going to judge my efforts; it was all for me. So what if I "messed up"? I could rip it out and start over! It was there and then that I decided I liked this feeling of freedom. It was then that I felt brave.

The best part of the art journal was one of the first things that I put in it. On the dedication page, I dedicated my book to my inner artist. Up until that point, I never even knew I had an inner artist. I then found a sticker (from the lovely folks at 7Gypsies) with a quote from someone named Brian Andreas that said, "For a long time, she flew only when she thought no one else was watching." Wow. Just wow. My life in a nutshell.

After playing with my art journal and jumping headfirst out of my comfort zone, I decided that my goal for 2011 was to be brave. I would make no resolutions about losing weight or cleaning house more or any of the many other resolutions I had made in the past. I resolved to be brave. If I could stand up and be brave, everything else would fall into place. After all, it was my fear that kept me from succeeding at my resolutions before.

So I did it. I applied for a job that I knew would be difficult to get. The little voice said, "You aren't qualified for that," but I did it anyway. Guess what? I got the job (more on that later!).

I then gathered my best scrapbook layouts to submit to a design team call. The little voice said, "These are not as good as everyone else's layouts. Why would they choose you?" Guess what? I sent in my application and I was chosen.

I then made a few things for a call for magazine publication. The little voice said, "Do you really think these are good enough to put in a magazine?" Guess what? I sent them in anyway. I don't know if I'll be chosen or not, but at least I tried. That was more than I have done before.

Most of us, especially women, have feelings if inadequacy. We never think that we are "enough" and we let fear of rejection or ridicule control us. If you are one of the scared girls, the not-good-enough girls, the sidelines girls, stand up and be counted. Stand up and be brave. You can do it. You never know how it may change your life.

My word for 2011: brave

Free page sketches

I love using page sketches. While I can often come up with a layout on my own, sometimes I need a little creative kick in the pants. That's where sketches come in.

I recently found this website and the sketches are FANTASTIC! The artist's name is Allison Davis and she shares not only free sketches, but also variations on those sketches. Last year, she did "Sketch Week" each week (that must have been hard!), but now she is changing to "Sketch Month"; however, all of her previous designs will still be available in her archives. Allison also has another sketch site called "Sketch Support" and it features lots of card sketches as well as layout designs.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention some other sketch sites that I enjoy:
Page Maps
4X6 Photo Sketch Blog
Get It Scrapped!
Scrapbooks Etc.

So get out there and scraplift something!