Monday, November 25, 2013

Gettin' Cows

About six months ago my cousin moved here to the beach and she gave me some old pictures of me and my family from years gone by. So I have been putting together a book of memories for us to share with the rest of our family for Christmas. This is one of those pages. The photo is of me and my dad "Gettin' Cows" off the mountain in the fall. One of my favorite childhood memories. Also you will see a lucky penny i found that day and a dried wild daisy that I picked and saved from the mountain that day. Yes, I am a die-hard collector with a passion for persevering memories and historic details.


Also I combined few challenges, so here are all the extras...
  • For the Creative Crew Challenge I use my photos of my favorite childhood past time.
  • For the Monthly scraplift, I cased eeddmm "Rehearsal"
  • For the Inspirational 146 Challenge I used my favorite saying and the colors and textures from the Pier1 table scape "Fall Shimmer" 




Keywords: CCREW1113SF CreativeCrew SUO SUM SIC146 sbc13nov SPLT13nov
Stamps: Weathered Background
Paper: Early Expresso, More Mustard, Very Vanilla, Soft Sky, Retired DSP SCraps
Paper Size: 8x8
Ink: More Mustard
Accessories: Ribbon, dried flowers, crimper, lucky penny

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Double Chocolate Fun

Our recipe today was Dori's Double Chocolate Cookies found on page 329 in the "Baking with Julia". Today we decided it would be fun to combine a little crafting and kitchen time together, so for this challenge I made my own Tag Boxes and Tags to go along with the cookies. These are fun little cookie boxes that I made to share with my Stamp Camp Ladies and a few friends from my church to celebrate Thanksgiving.




Love these cookies... simple and sweet goodness that works both as a drop cookie and a rolled freezer cookie. They make great gift or sack lunch cookies because the hold there shape very well and yet stay soft and chewy. We love to dunk them is milk!

Keywords: CCREW1113CF CreativeCrew SUO SUM
Stamps: Turkey Talk
Paper: Sweater Weather DSP, Chocolate chip, Crushed Curry,Green Garden, Very Vanilla, Tangerine Tango
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: crimper, markers, jute twine, cookies,
Techniques: Tag Box, Gift Box, Tags

Monday, November 18, 2013

Weathered Wreaths - TSSC289






Loved all the challenges for today and I just went crazy with them all... :)
I made my wreath using the Stampin' Up! three-in-one Dollie punch. I punched three whole ones and cut each in half, over lapping the edges and securing with a brad.

Keywords: CCREW1113DF CreativeCrew SUO SUM TSSC289 TLC456,
Stamps: Four the Holidays
Paper: Sweater Weather DSP, sliver glitter paper, Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky, White, Crushed Curry
Paper Size: A2
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Crimper, Dollie punch, brads
Techniques: Paper Bows,

Sunday, November 03, 2013

Blooming Candles

Yesterday at church, we talked a lot about the power of prayer and the light it gives in our lives. Also about the warmth we feel when we know that God has answered our prayers.

While I was looking through Kristine's awesome gallery, I kept being drawn to her very pretty candles, so that is where I got my inspiration from. Hope you all enjoy! :)


Keywords: FS352, 
Stamps: Mixed Bunch
Ink: Mellon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Lucky Limeade
Accessories: Wax paper, tissue paper, candle, markers, ribbon



Saturday, November 02, 2013

Thanksgiving Charm - IC413


Our Saturday Inspirational turned out to be one of my all time favorite cake decorators, Duff at Charm City Cakes. The Cake, I chose as my inspiration, was a great cake to celebrate a fall style wedding and brought out all the fun fall colors that I love from our SU! collections.






Also, many of you know, because of my limited stamping time, I often like to combine challenges... So with this card, I followed the sketch 275 challenge at "Creating with Connie & Mary".
Keywords: IC413CCMC275LNS234
Stamps: Turkey Talk
Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, DSP Scraps
Paper Size: A2
Ink: Early Expresso
accessories: Punches
Techniques: Paper Piecing,








Friday, November 01, 2013

Glittered Apples - F4A193

makes me really frustrated when the picture I take to up load does capture all the details of the card. :(

I used three different types of glittering techniques, only one of which you can see, the brads. For the other two, I sprayed the main background card with shimmer paint and then the apples are also glittered up with red liquid glitter glue.
Additional Info
Keywords: F4A193 MIX40
Stamps: Farm Fresh
Paper: Very Vanilla, Early Expresso, Lucky Limeade, Orchard Harvest DSP
Paper Size: A2
Ink: Raspberry Ripple, Mellon Mambo, Early Expresso, Lucky Limeade,
Accessories: Glitter (shimmer) Spray, Crimper, brads, glitter glue, chalk, jute ribbon, big shot,

Monday, October 28, 2013

BeWitched... TSSC286

In my pursuit of a great Halloween card this week, I feel in love with a couple of awesome challenges: 

CCREW1013DF, CreativeCrew, SUO or SUM -- DSP/Color Focus: Since we celebrate Halloween this month on 10/31, I had to choose Witch's Brew DSP on P 21 of the Holiday Catalog. If you don't have the DSP, use the color combo: Basic Black, Basic Gray, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Starfruit and Very Vanilla.

And TechnoStamper's "Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge TSSC286"... 
 http://technostamper.blogspot.com/20...lenge-286.html

so here is my take on the combinations... :)


Keywords: CCREW1013DFCreativeCrewSUOTSSC286
stamps: Spooktacular Greetings
paper: Witches Brew DSP, Basic Black, Summer Starfruit, Very Vanilla
Paper Size: A2
Ink: Basic black 
Accessories: chalks, ribbon, orange wire, scallop edge punch 
Techniques: Tags



Monday, October 07, 2013

Stashy Style Halloween - STASH13Oct1

Great Challenge... we were challenged to use 2 different DSP from our stash, letter stickers, wire or metal and vellum. I used wire mesh ribbon and metal brads, the little trick or treater is stamped on clear vellum and I used 2 different DSP. I didn't have any letters stickers, but I had this fun Halloween tag that I chose to use instead.
Date: Monday, October 7, 2013 GMT
Views: 180
Favorited: 3
Additional Info
Keywords: STASH13Oct1 sbc13oct, CCREW1013DF, CreativeCrew, SUO, SUM
Stamps: Festive & Fun, Booglie Eyes
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Early Expresso, Very Vanilla, Old DSP, Vellum
Paper Size: 8x8
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Early Expresso,
Accessories: Brads, wire mesh ribbon, crimper, chalk

Read more: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/2434181#ixzz2jMfGBVw7

Saturday, October 05, 2013

Inner Hope & Strength - HYCCT1301A

About a month ago I came a crossed a card that I fell in love with. It gave me peace at the end of a very hard day. So, after being very disappointed this morning to discover there were no "world card making day" challenges, I turned to the "Hope you can cling to" challenges and decided that I would hang out there today. When I read through the first challenge I knew what card I wanted to make (case). Here is my inspiration... http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/2417559.
Additional Info
Keywords: HYCCT1301A
Stamps: Strength & Hope
Paper: Raspberry Ripple, Primrose Pink, Summer Starfruit, Marina Mist, Gumball Green, Very Vanilla
Paper Size: A2
Ink: Raspberry Ripple, Midnight Muze
Accessories: Big shot, punches, ribbon,

Tuesday, October 01, 2013

Utah Mums - MMTPT270

Started out trying to complete a new technique with this card, but due to the lack of supplies while on vacation, my card turned out a whole lot different than expected, but I love it.
Additional Info
Keywords: MMTPT270,
Stamps: flower shop, whimsical words
Paper: raspberry ripple, Gumball green, summer Starfruit
Paper Size: A2
Ink: raspberry ripple, Gumball green, summer Starfruit
Accessories: Flower punch, buttons
Techniques: Inking with markers,

Friday, September 20, 2013

Smokey Mountains - SPLT13sep

Our challenge was to scraplift a friend and I was so excited when I got to case an awesome layout created by Cheryl [ SCS Motherload ]. The page I choose was EMS - Smart Mouth 

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Sept. Progressive Challenge - Task 3

        Task #3... I can't wait to SEE!

Add THREE unexpected things to your layout in the following categories:

COLOR - I added "Pool Party" & "Real Red"
SHAPE - I added more squares, one for journaling and
TEXTURE - I added brads & Embossed the red "GOOD"



Friday, September 13, 2013

Where Live Oaks meet Palmettos





        After spending the week enjoying the ocean view from my highrise condo retreat, it was nice to get back to cleaning out my jungle... I have always been amazed at the huge Live Oaks that share my front yard garden spaces with the South Carolina Palmettos. So, they are the inspirational leaves that I chose to use for my card today. And by adding in touches of Autumn Gold through the ribbon and embossing helps to create a warm welcome of fall here at the beach! :) 
Additional Info
Keywords: TLC446 F4A186
Stamps: Day of Gratitude
Paper: Gumball Green, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight
Paper Size: A2
Ink: Gumball Green, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Ribbon, Gold Embossing
Techniques: Leaf Stamping

Read more: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/2424028#ixzz2enzVptJm

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Sept. Progressive Challenge - Task 2

       Alright, so far so good. I woke up this morning excited to see task 2.  I pulled up the Challenge, Set my timer for 15 minutes and Voila'....


This weeks  for Task #2!

1. Add your photo(s) anywhere on your page (add mats, crop corners, and drop shadows if desired).
* I added my photo and the DSP mat behind it.

2. Add a stamp
* I stamped the word FRIENDS

3. Add a cluster (3 or more) of embellishments (they could all be the same or different embellishments).
* I added the pieces of ribbon and jute

Wednesday, September 04, 2013

Sept. Progressive Challenge - Task 1

        As many of you know I am not a big fan of Progessive Scrapbook Challenges, because #1. I am one of those OCD type people that can't leave a project undone and #2. my scrapping closet is so small, it is hard to leave projects laying around on my desk and get anything else done. But yesterday on my "A Run on the Beach" blog I talked about my Friend the FLyLady and the difference between Progress, not Perfection and how you can do anything even if you only work on it for 15 minutes.
       So I decided that I would try this months progressive challenge. My goal is to spend 15 minutes on each new part of the challenge and then put it away, up high so i couldn't see it. You know, "out of sight, out of mind" lol! Anyway.... Here is what I came up with for the first task.

Here’s Task 1 :

NOTE: We'll use ONE or TWO photos for this page. We won’t add them today, but keep them in mind when choosing colors for your page.

-Add a background paper--any kind you'd like.

-
Insert a large, wide rectangle in the middle of the page. You can alter the corners of the rectangle (ticket punch, rounded, etc.) but keep it a rectangle please! The rectangle is for a background item, not a photo mat, so you can use any paper you choose."

That's it for this week!




Thursday, August 29, 2013

August Angel -WT442

since my job and my family keeps me pretty busy during the week, my time to stamp is very limited. So I decided today that I would try to fit all this week's challenges into one card.






SO.... let's see, we stamped on DSP, using an awesome color combo, to be arranged to look like the sketch, depicting an image of an angel.


Keywords: WT442 TLC444 CC441 SC451,
Stamps: Season of Simple Grace,
Paper: Night of Navy, Cajan Craze, Soft Sky, white
Ink: Night of Navy
Accessories: Jute cord

Read more: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/2417500#ixzz2eo9cN2X0

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

CC41- Mountain Get-Away

I have always wanted to see the Smokey Mountains and this past weekend, a friend and I was able to get-away for a girls adventure. We had go much fun stamping, shopping and sight-seeing. So that mixed with the awesome colors from the color challenge today was my inspiration for this card. Hope you all enjoy my card as much as I did my get-away!! :)


Keywords: CC441 MMTPT265
Stamps: Summer by the Sea
Paper: Night of Navy, Cajun Craze, Soft Sky, White, DSP
Ink: basic black
Accessories: markers, jute


Monday, May 20, 2013

YCDI20 - Snowy Friends

I have a really hard time getting in the Christmas mode when everything around me screams "Welcome to Summer", but I have to admit... this was some cool relief to a very warm day here at the beach. :)  
 


I also combined this with the CAS219 Challenge from a couple of weeks ago. Here is the card I cased from bon2stamp - http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ga...;ppuser=186560
     

Read more: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/2373910#ixzz2Tw7FtkZf

Monday, May 13, 2013

A Week Worth of VSBN!

I am so excited to be lower on hours this week at work, because that way I may get a chance to complete some of the VSBN challenges this week. For those of you who like a good challenge but get overwhelmed with all the VSBN challenges packed into a two day period, this week is for you... We are going to stretch it out over the whole week post two new challenges every day. Here is the link on Split Coast, where you can find the challenges. MAY'S VSBN CHALLENGES

Here are my layouts for the first two challenges:

and of course, wouldn't you know it... I kicked off the whole VSBN as a Wild Child! It was the challenge that I liked best. :)

"the wild child will show mother what change really means.
- Go wild. Grab a piece of your wildest paper, a paper you wouldn’t imagine
using as a background or stamp a background page or papers, and use it on the background."


May13VSBN1A - Wild Child!  







I tried really hard to be a dutiful child, but golly geez mom, you just gotta have a little white!


- the dutiful child will embrace color.
Try making a layout without any white on it. Create your own “white space” without one drop of white.
May13VSBN2B - SNOW FRIENDS



Sunday, May 12, 2013

Happy Mother's Day!!!!!

Here is my Mother's Day Collection for this year...

Saturday, May 11, 2013

YCDI18 - Little Purple Pansies




Several months ago, some friends at Split Coast Stampers started a new challenge section called "You Can Do It" and I fell in love with the concept of what they were trying to do, but my life got so crazy that I haven't been able to hang-out of complete any of the challenges until now. I loved this challenge. And since I live with a household of all men... I thought it was a great way to use up some of my old original girly type scraps. I also thought it would be fun to see how many other challenges that I missed last week could I combine into one..


The YCDI challenge was to create a Pocket/Tag Cards using a #10 envelop as the base and you can find all the details for this challenge in  Post #4559


I used my favorite purple pansies as my inspiration and The 3x3 card and mini tags are part of my "Use-It-All-Up!" challenge.

Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Happy Birthday to my Boy!

It is Spencer's Birthday today and my friend Fran is hosting the Tuesday Teaparty Challenge on Split Coast. Spent a wonderful day out on a dolphin site seeing cruise with my hubby, my Son and his girlfriend, then we finished the day off with a wonderful family dinner at our local Japanese Steak House.

But I couldn't resist the chance to start my morning off with a chance to have a tea party in space with my best treky friend FRAN!




Read more: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/2368742#ixzz2Su00NPB6

Monday, May 06, 2013

TLC427 - Birthday Fruit for Joan






I needed to make a thank you card for a friend tonight and I decided it would be fun to see how many challenges I could squeeze into one card... And what to my wonderful surprise, one challenge was to make Joan a HAPPY BIRTHDAY card. What an awesome birthday idea. So I sort of cased Joan's... TLC427 Turn Your Face to the Sun which included making your own chevrons and I included some summer fruit which was the June VSNMINI challenge from a month ago

Monday, April 01, 2013

From THIS to THAT!

April is a very special month for me for many many reasons that I will share with you all here as the month goes along. And that is the reason that the theme for this month is going to be "Awesome April". I have had several people ask me lately how come I haven't been posting on my blogs anymore. I have been, sort of.... I just haven't been attaching them to my facebook page. I have been extremely busy at work since I got back from see my Kids in Missouri.

But I would like to share something that I will be creatively working on through the month of April...

I was really excited when Stampin' Up! released their new product line called "This and That". And I hope my "This and That" party will be very successful plus we have lots of fun.


So to start off my "Awesome April" here is my cover!

From THIS.......


                                                               
                                                        TO THAT.....
















Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Digi ~ Techniques ---- DGSC099

The Digi Challenge this morning on Splitcoast Stampers was to create a scrapbook page using small blocks of photos to create one large one. I am not a very good digi scrapper, but I was intrigued with the challenge, so I gave it a try and this is what I came up with. 
 


Friday, January 25, 2013

Beachy Fuzzy Wuzzies... F4A153 & CC411

We finally got our scrapbook/crafting group going again for the new year. We had a great time finishing up some old projects and planning and plotting some ideas for the months to come. Here is the "Free for All" challenge I was working on today...


The challenge was to show some Warm Fuzzy Wuzzies on your card today, whether it is a fuzzy sweater, furry animal, a piece of faux fur, or a heart warming sentiment...  I love the Fuzzy Wuzzies Challenge and there is nothing that brings me warmer fuzzies than "older" stamps and hanging with my kids at the beach, so I used both, the color challenge 411 and my kids at play as my inspiration. SO I decided to share some Beachy Fuzzy Wuzzies!

Stamps: Kids at Play
Paper: Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo, Daffodil Delight, white
Ink: basic black, so saffron
Accessories: Brads, Punch, Markers
Techniques: paper piecing

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Altered Notes

I was able to finally find a few minutes to finish up my January Altered Projects that I have been working on. Here are the note pads that go along with the gift bags that we were making last Wednesday.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Celebrating January!

These are some fun little gift bags that I made for my Hostesses and the ladies that I visit teach this month.

Stamps: Mixed Bunch, Calendar, Strength & Hope
Paper: Cajun Craze, Early Expresso, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Baja Breeze
Ink: Early Expresso, Baja Breeze
Accessories: White Embossing, Brads, Punch, Markers, Raffia
Techniques: paper beads

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Eloquence in Baja Coco - IC371


       
         I was looking for some inspiration this morning as I was trying to put together my make & takes for next weeks stamp camp and I wanted to stay with the same color combo that I have been using this week. I am also looking for a desk for my new office and so today's inspirational challenge was perfect. I chose the Eloquence Coco Madame Desk as my inspiration today. Hope you all enjoy! :)

Wednesday, January 09, 2013

PROGRESSIVE CHALLENGE 8 - TASK 1 (JAN. 2013)

  Today is a scrapping day, so I went and checked out some of  the new challenge that are floating around on Split Coast Stampers. I choose to take the  PROGRESSIVE PAGE CHALLENGE. For those of you who don't know what a progressive page challenge is...  

"The object is to complete one page over the course of four weeks by following instructions given in tasks posted each week. On the first Tuesday of each month, Task 1 will be posted, consisting of instructions for starting a scrapbook page that will then be built upon through additional instructions each week for a total of 4 weeks (Tasks 1-4.). The idea is to work along with the challenge as the tasks are being announced weekly, each task to be completed & posted prior to starting on the next task. (Once you post a week’s results, you’re finished. Don’t change your work for that week’s task.) At the end of the fourth week, you should have a completed page! It’s fine to start late or catch up if you miss a week(s). Just be sure to complete & post each task before you look at or start the next one. It’s more fun that way!"


 So here is my layout for task #1.

  The colors I have chosen to work with this week are... Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Vanilla

Saturday, January 05, 2013

Old Testament 2013 - SC#1

       The video for class tonight was very informational. I laughed because I knew ahead of time that I had all of the basic tools and supplies that I need to start scrap-booking, but I fell in love with the centering ruler. Got to find me one of those... :). Like any good crafter, always something new and got to have it!
        While I was watching the class video I decided to work on my first page of my new inspirational monthly flip chart, that I am making to set on my desk for next year. I will be studying the Holy Bible and I am so excited, I came a crossed my old seminary binder in one of the last boxes I needed to unpack and I found my sheet of Old Testament Riddles. I thought they would make good flip chart messages and daily motivation scriptures.
       The class challenge was to use all of the basic tools that they talked about to create a layout or page and this is what I came up with... I also combined it along with the SCS color challenge: CC390 and Jenn's "Tuesday Testimonial" challenge.

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

Warm Stockings / Cold Feet

I am not fond of the cold weather, but I do love to go bare foot and around my house you usually see me without shoes or socks 90% of the time. This year however, the girls attached to my boys have all taken up the art of crocheting.... so of course I had to prove that I to could do this "new found " craft. So here is my first craft of the new year.


 ta-da...... SLIPPERS!

Tuesday, January 01, 2013

Happy New Year!

     I am so excited to be jumping into a new year. As many of you know, I am not big on making NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS. I don't like setting myself up for failure, but I do sit down and evaluate where I am at the end of the year and I do set a few new goals and always pledge to craft more and try to do better. That way I know that no matter what happens I will not FAIL!!!

     This year I am trying really hard to decide if Stampin' Up! is still where my interests lie or if the digital age is making the paper world a thing of the past... I am just not moving to the technology side of the business very well, my boys are all grown and I have enough supplies stock piled to scrap for a hundred grandchildren, so I think it might be time to focus on a different avenue.That way I can relax and enjoy the crafting hobby side of things for a change.

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Ways to Shop at Scrapbook.com - SC#10

       Well... I knew this class was coming, but being a die hard Stampin' Up! Fan. I find it hard to shop anywhere else. I agree that there are many companies that offer a plithera of very unique and awesome products, but for me and the pantry we shop where my heart is.
       I did find a couple of shopping ideas enlightening though... When you start planning on your shopping spree, take into consideration what your scrapping personality is and what you are trying to achieve, then you can shop by any of the following:
  • Shop by Brand
  • Shop by Theme
  • Shop by Type
  • Shop by Color
  • Shop by Personality 

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Simplified Scrapbooking with Floorplans - SC#9

      Okay... well this class was not new to me but, I prefer to use the word "SKETCHES" instead of floorplans, but what ever word you use, a sketch or floorplan makes creating a layout simpler, faster and easier. Often we use these at crops as a way to spend the time getting a lot of pages completed in a short amount of time. There are lots of companies the offer pre-made sketches and all you have to do is place your photos, especially in the digital world. 
      Now me, on the other hand, enjoy playing with my paper and creating a layout from start to finish. Time spent on my layout is what we often joke about in the crafter's world as ART THERAPY.

Monday, September 03, 2012

Scrap By Color - SC#8

       Now we are getting into the meat of scrapping... my favorite part! I love color and to me it is a very important element of your layout, even a black and white layout has color. It has been stated that "Color is the most versatile and exciting design tool available to a scrapbooker". Your photos are usually the best source of color inspiration for your layout. Pick colors that highlight, accent and bring out the point in the photo that your want to draw attention too. Remember color often sets the mood of your layout, so pick the colors that stimulate the reaction that your are looking for.

Saturday, September 01, 2012

Find Your Focus - SC#7

        I was surprised when I started this class, I thought it was going to be more about selecting a starting point between a set of photos and your layout. And yet, I was sweetly surprised to discover that we were actually getting into the actual parts of scraping.
       This class was all about the Focal Point of your layout. Mainly talking about how to decide and use your photos or photo as the focal point. Establishing a focal point in your layout design is easy, you just need to figure out which photo or what part of your layout draws your eye in the most. And you want the viewer to know that the focal point is the most important thing on the page. Usually this is a picture, but it could be other embellishments or memorabilia. The key to a good focal point is how you design around it to create a balanced layout. The three tips that we talked about in class are Deliberate Placement, Create Contrast and Unique Matting. I usually try to use at least two of these ideas when I create my layouts.

Friday, August 31, 2012

Find Friendly Support in the Forums - SC#6

Scrapbooking for me is always a lot more fun when I share my table with someone. I love to blog hop, web search and spend time hanging out in the forums. I love the Stampin' Connection at Stampin' Up! and I like to spend time chatting with my all invisible friends at Splitcoast Stampers. There is always a new idea or challenge you can try.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Protecting Your Memorabilia - SC#5

      In class tonight we went over lots of really good facts about Protecting Your Memorabilia. All of them very true....

Fact 1:  Liquids destroy memorabilia ~ I found it quite humorous that the first picture we saw tonight was a can of split coke on a table full of scrapping supplies and photos. We do this in class and at crops all the time without even thinking.

Fact 2:  Digital photos are stored on computers. ~ They crash... HAVE BACK UPS!!! (enough said)

Fact 3:  Sunlight will eventually diminish photo, negative, layout, and album quality. ~ ahhhh... YUP!!! two of my album covers have faded in the afternoon sun.

Fact 4:  Extreme temperatures damage photographs, negatives, layouts, page protectors, and albums. ~ True again! Here in South Carolina, I have noticed that a couple of my album covers are starting to get a few mold spore spots coming on them. We live at the beach, so I know things here are a lot damper. 

Fact 5:  Although not immediately apparent, fingerprints on photographs, negatives, and layouts become visible over time. ~ GREAT!!! I have really oily fingers. 

Fact 6:  Handle and store your photos, negatives, and layouts carefully. ~ I learned tonight that it is a good idea to store your negatives separate from your photos.

Fact 7: Not all plastics are alike. ~ okay, so here's a great tip.... "do not buy materials containing PVC or its cousin polyvinyl acetate (PVA). Instead, look for acrylic or polyester (polyethylene and polypropylene) materials. They are chemically stable and will ensure encapsulation safety for your memorabilia. If you are uncertain of a product’s composition, you can easily identify PVC by its strong plastic odor."  Guess what plastic I use???? :)

Fact 8:  All paper and cardstock found in your local scrapbook store is not necessarily acid-free unless clearly stated. ~ And even then.... you have to be careful. One thing we talked about was checking our paper to see if it is  “acid-free” using a pH Testing Pen

Here are a few facts of my own that I shared with my class...

Fact 9:  Newspapers are made of acidic material which can harm your photos. Make a photocopy of your newspaper clippings 

Fact 10: If love using metal or acidic items for scrapbooking... Then you might want to consider using photo duplicates rather than your original photos. So if corrosion or damage happen, you still have your original photos on hand. Safeguard your originals. I know because I was shocked to discover that some of the brads on my layouts were turning rusty!

Fact 11:  Check to see if lumpy objects are rubbing badly onto the face of your layout. You might want to make sure that it's not rubbing onto some precious photos, especially if they are heritage photos. Use duplicate photos because if you are using original photos, the constant rubbing will harm your photos.

Fact 12: If you don't enjoy doing it, get someone who does to help you. that way things will turn out better in the end.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Photos: Sorted and Scrapbooked - SC#4

       Tonight class was all about the different way and means of storing your photos before, during and after, while you are scrapbooking. The class was very informational and I truly believe that you need to follow all the guideline and ideas that they shared. There are multiple ways of sorting, storing and protecting your photos and you just need to find a variety of ways that work best for you.
       I have tried several different ways over the past few years and now I just store them on my computer and on a flash drive until I get ready to print them. This way works best for me right now, due to the limited space I have at my house.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Creating a Layout... SC#2

On Saturday, I signed up for 24 free scrapbook classes at scrapbook.com, just to see what they were all about and to use them as a jump start for me to get back into the swing of things. Tonight was the 2nd class, which was to create our first layout. So I combined Thursday's Split Coast Scrapbook challenge with class and this is what I came up with... "Memories at Lake Isabella"

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Why & How to start Scrapping... SC#1

        Tonight, I signed up for 24 free scrapbook classes at scrapbook.com, just to see what they were all about and to use them as a jump start for me to get back into the swing of scraping again. The first lesson was all about why we scrap and how to get started and it got we thinking about all the scrapbook pages that I have put together over the past 35 years. I also started thinking about all the genealogy and family history stories and information that I have collected over the past 35 years.
       In our class, the instructors discussed the why and I really liked the reasons they gave... "There is one thing that all good scrapbook pages do: they tell a story. And for us, that is the heart of scrapbooking. It is storytelling at a precious, personal level. It is organizing moments of the past so they have meaning for future generations. Embodied in every scrapbook page is a celebration of life, a moment or moments captured that are especially unique to a person or family. Scrapbookers today are preserving yesterday for tomorrow."  Throughout the rest of the class we just went over ideas and things that help to make it easier to get started.
       One of the ideas that they gave us was to start small, so I thought it would be fun to start out with a couple of small 6x6 pages...

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Decorations & Dividing Wall - Davis Wedding




 We had a very wonderful and successful evening. It was our first official catering event here in Myrtle Beach and it went off without a flaw. We made all the food for the buffet, we also provided the new dividing wall and extra touches. Our menu included a Chocolate Fountain with dip-able goodies like, strawberries, cherries, marshmallows, pineapple, bananas and oreos. We also served chickens salad filled cream puffs, veggie tray, peel & eat shrimp, baked cheese & southern style pimento cheese ball with crackers, and our new peach wedding punch