Fall back (or behind)

Maybe the time change has everything all messed up, but since the state fair, I've been doing a lot of cakes, and scrapping has taken more of a backseat.  And to top it off I missed a deadline for Color-Me-Scrappy!  Boo!  I had the thing ready for ever, and was just procrastinating on writing the post.  Ah well, enjoy it anyway!  :)

I love the new idea they are doing over there with a four or five challenges a month, and combining with more than just a color palette.  Fun Fun!

ScrapFit #79

I don't know that I would have tried this new tape trend had it not been for this challenge.  Not because I don't like it, but because, well, it's so damn expensive!  A single roll of cute tape was like, $9.99!  Without tax!  :)  It's about a million yards of tape, but still, a bit much if you're not sure you're going to be into it.  I found the cheapest roll, ($5.99) and decided to find a way to use AS MUCH OF IT AS POSSIBLE.  :)

Otherwise, I wanted to keep it very simple and let the tape do the talking.

The kids look cute, but I have to tell you, they were MAJOR BRATS that day!  You can practically see them planning their next stunt to piss me off in this picture.  :)


Also, the ladies chose my October submission as Runner Up!  Thanks a bunch!  It's an honor to be recognized by you!

Pre-Halloween Spooks

I'm in a mad rush today, since I have to complete two Halloween costumes by tomorrow night, so let's get right to it!

ScrapFit Workout #78

Who doesn't love a sketch challenge?  Not me!  Here's the sketch:

And here's my take, using a picture from my husband and my second anniversary dinner this month:

The words are from a transparency that I've had sitting around looking for a use for awhile.  The words are a little cheesy-ball-y for me, but my husband LOVES it (he leans a bit on the cheese ball side).

Paper Mixing Bowl - October Recipe

Time to get seasonal!  And just in time for it to get chilly around here.  Hurricane weather aside.

OK, it's silly I know, but my favorite part was hand drawing the spiderweb in the corner.  I think it turned out kinda rad.  :)

Happy Halloween!  May all your tricks bring treats!

Fair!

The state fair was a great success!  My cake took third place in its category (Novelty Design), and my scrapbook page entry took an Honorable Mention in the "Babies & Kids" category.  Very nice!  Here's me and my ribbons for posterity.

Now that all that craziness has moved on, I'm back to peacefully scrapping!  Here's this week's contributions...

Color-Me-Scrappy #14

Love the colors!  So bright and joyful, and perfect for our trip to the FAIR.  (It's the ongoing theme in my life this month, excuse me.)  And like the fair, I took the opportunity to be about as subtle as a sledgehammer.

It also gave me a chance to use these crazy cute bird stickers that I've hoarded for just the right moment.  

My Creative Sketches - October 

I started in on this sketch with this photo, not realizing how nicely the "Three Generations" idea fit in with the repeating threes on the sketch.  Serendipity takes such good care of me!

I'm thinking of framing this one up for my mum- she hasn't even seen the photos yet!  She complained a lot on that day about the photographer shooting too low; she didn't want anything below her bust to show up on the pictures.  Maybe a nice layout will make her let it go?

One more bit of good news: the ladies at Punky Scraps chose my September contribution as their fav for that challenge!  Thanks a million!  That layout was one of my most favorite this year.  It's amazing what you produce when inspired and driven out of your comfort zone!

Mi Familia

It's almost state fair time around here, which means scrapbooking is taking a backseat to my submission for the cake decorating contest.  But I do have this to show you all!  My in-laws came to visit, and I sat them down with the kids for some pictures.  Let me tell you, out of 100 pictures this was the best one; trying to get all four of them to both hold still and look at me was next to impossible!  But I took it and made them this as a souvenir of their visit.

I've had my eye on these 12x12 frames at Archiver's for quite awhile, and I've just been waiting for the magic combination of an excuse to buy one and a coupon. 

Oh, and I managed to get my Spanish spellings right this time!  Thank you google translator. 

One for each kid!

Taking this chance (while my kids do the magical double nap - SCORE!) to post these.  From my laptop on my front porch swing, in the GORGEOUS fall weather.  Lucky me, all around.

Two challenges, and turns out, one for each kid!  :)  You'd think I had no life... BUT last weekend I had a girls weekend, so I'll scrap some of that later this week, so we can all take a break from my kids.

Color Me Scrappy #11

Love these late summer colors:

 Especially the multiple grays; so elegant!  I swear I would decorate my house in these colors... if I could afford to redecorate my house.  Here's my entry for the challenge:

Does it make you want a Freeze Pop?  :)

Again I got to buy something I've wanted for awhile, the gray ruffle.  I also cut a piece of the ruffle to make the yo-yo in the corner. 

ScrapFit Workout #75

The challenge with this one was to use twine in a creative way.  Their design team had some GREAT inspiring ideas; I especially liked the way that Lynn and Leah wrapped letters with twine.  It got me thinking, is there any other way I could make letters with twine.  So this is where that got me:

Thanks for the spark of inspiration ladies!  Once again, thanks to both of these challenges, I went where I know I couldn't have gone thanks to you!

My first DT fav!

The ladies at Color Me Scrappy chose my layout from Challenge #10 as their favorite!  Wow- I love all their work and it's really cool to be recognized by them this way.  Especially cool, being that they are the first challenge blog I started playing along with! Thanks, CMS! 

Almost done with my entry for Challenge #11...  tomorrow!

Summer Vacation DIES HARD

Took a break when things got busy in the summer, but that's over, in a big way!  Let the fall begin, I present to you... six challenges!  :)

Color Me Scrappy #10

The color scheme this time around was a unique garden-cactus-inspired one.

We had just taken these photos of the Bean, and they worked perfectly, and even better, I was able to shop my own stash for most of the supplies:

My husband called me out when I got home: I spelled Mijita wrong!  Sorry, my Spanish spelling isn't so great.  

Scrapfit #73

The ladies at Scrapfit challenged us to use the words "I remember".  I began with my new best friend, Picasa, and blurred the edges of the photo, to ramp up that old memory feel.

The colors are more purple than brown in real life, but you get the idea.  I LOVE this ribbon, I now own it in two colors, as this page was the perfect excuse to buy more.  What I don't love: glitter.  The letters are the kind that are sticky on both sides, so you can add any color glitter, and then stick them on your page.  I used "holographic" glitter (I guess that crafty for clear? white? silver?).  And now that glitter is EVERYWHERE: my clothes, my bag, my scrapbook.  I have no choice with the unused portion of the letters, they will have to be holographic because it's all over the place.  I used a paint brush to get as much off of the page as possible for this picture.  When I was complaining about it, a friend told me about this post on Pinterest:

Amen to that.

ScrapFit #74

A challenge to work with this sketch:

And this is my contribution:

My journaling is barely visible in the scan... ah well, the better to hide my despicable handwriting!

Another Freakin Scrappy Challenge Aug 1

The challenge for the beginning of the month was to scrap a pet; really quite serendipitous, since my 10 year old pug was just recently diagnosed with cancer and given a couple months to live.  So I've been taking lots of pictures of him, the sweet old thing.  Here he is:

Love this bandana paper!  And I played with a little distressing ink around the borders, which I never do.  Now I want the little distressing tool to artfully tear the edges of paper.  Weaseled my way into another purchase.  :)

Another Freakin Scrappy Aug 15

And for their next one, this sketch!

My take:

Isn't she Hardcore!  And so fresh and clean.  

Punky Scraps #50

My fav for the week, a challenge to use this picture as inspiration:

I loved being pushed out of my comfort zone with this, and am really excited about the result.

Not to mention it's a sentiment I hope the Bean really takes with her.  

Til next time...