The King & Us

It is two-page sketch week at Sketch Support. And my layout just went up yesterday and I'm already blogging about it! Yay! ;)

I had so much fun with this sketch. I have a feeling this will be one that I will use again and again. That is if I find the time. One thing I love about this sketch is how you can use so many different patterns on it. Trying to figure out which patterns I should use and which ones should be next to each other took me forever! I'm so slow. (To see the layout in more detail just click on the photo.)

"The King & Us"

Supplies - Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper, Cardstock Stickers, Pearls, Circle Embellishments: My Mind's Eye; Alphabet stickers: American Crafts; Chalk Ink: ColorBox

These pictures were taken in 2009 when Kari and I went to see New In Town for the second time. We loved it so much and wanted to share it with our moms and so we went a second time. This statue of Elvis can be found in front of the Battle Ground movie theater. I'm always looking for photo opportunities and who wouldn't want to pose with the King of Rock & Roll. :)

Happy Birthday Card

From the title of this post you may think that it is card week at Sketch Support but it is actually add-on week.

How cute are these balloons?! I love them and they are so easy to put together. The sketch gives you the instructions and dimensions so visit Sketch Support to get a copy for yourself. I was going to use it on a layout but didn't have patterned paper on hand that I liked so I decided to put a birthday card together.

"Happy Birthday" card

Supplies - Patterned paper: My Mind's Eye, BoBunny; Chalk Ink: ColorBox; Pop Dots: Recollections; Beading Wire: Cousin; Floss: DMC; Circle Cutters: Creative Memories, EK Success

My Mind's Eye September Newsletter

My Mind's Eye sends out a newsletter each month. They typically showcase one of their newer paper lines. The design team shares layouts, cards, home decor ideas, etc. I have been getting them for the last few months and I really enjoy all of the inspiration.

I was asked to take the one-page sketch that was shared and turn it into a card and a two-page layout. At first I thought it would be a piece of cake because of all the projects I've been doing for Sketch Support. I take sketches almost weekly and manipulate them for my different projects. Well I really struggled with the layout because Sketch Support has spoiled me! Allison's sketches list all of the dimensions and most other sketches do not. So I finally had to ask for Tom's help to figure out what sizes every part of the layout should be to make it work. So THANKFUL for Tom and his support of my crazy hobby! :) He also helped me write up the instructions to make the card and layout.

These pictures are from last Halloween. Like I mentioned in the post below we make sure to carve a pumpkin every year. I guess that this would be pumpkin #6. :) We used a pattern from a book though I'm thinking this year we should come up with our own deisgn.

This card was much easier to put together than the layout. As you can see I used the witch again. :) I mailed this card to my sister, Brittany, earlier this month. She loves the witch too! So she is being enjoyed all month long by her.

If you are interested in seeing the newsletter let me know and I will send it to you via email.

My Style

As many of you know I was the guest designer for the month of September for My Mind's Eye. I had so much fun and really enjoyed working with all of their scrapbook goodies! I will always be a BIG fan of MME. They even sent me a bouquet of flowers to thank me for my time and talent. How nice was that?!

My last blog post that was supposed to go up on their blog at the end of September was supposed to be titled Melissa's Style. I share a couple of projects and talk about what I think my scrapbooking style consists of. Well my blog post didn't go up as scheduled because of some crazy mishaps and so this past Friday it was featured. :)

For both of my projects I used My Mind's Eye Halloween paper line Mischievous. Love it! I think the witch is so cute! Couldn't help but use her a couple of times.

This is a wooden sign that I put together. When I saw the vinyl saying I knew it would go so well with the witch. This was pretty easy to put together and I even made the broom. I definitely need some more Halloween decorations.

I've noticed these wooden coffins over the years and when I was at Ben Franklin Crafts looking for ideas I knew this was the year to buy one. Inside I am keeping a mini scrapbook that lists our Halloween traditions. I am sorry to say that we don't have too many. We always carve a pumpkin and the last couple of years we have bought the jack-o-lantern Papa Murphy's pizza. That is it!

What are some of your favorite October / Halloween traditions that you keep?
To see more pictures and to see what my style is all about visit the My Mind's Eye blog. :)

Happy Halloween Card

Last week was card week at Sketch Support. I love the card sketch that Allison created for this month. It can be used for so many different occasions.

When I was getting ready to work on this card I was already working on some projects for My Mind's Eye using their Mischievous paper line and thought that it would be fun to use this line to make a Halloween card.

"Happy Halloween" card

Supply List - Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye; Brad: My Mind's Eye; Floss: DMC; Chalk Ink: ColorBox; Pop Dots: EK Success; Corner Rounder: We R Memory Keepers; Other: Black Cardstock

Word of the Month

One of my assignments for My Mind's Eye was to pick a word that described my month and create a layout about it. I had the hardest time picking a word. This month has been filled with sickness, stress, scrapbooking, and work. Nothing overly exciting to scrapbook about. When I looked through the photos I have taken this month these ones caught my eye.

I got to spend quite a few days with these two cuties this month. They have some big changes happening in their life and even though they are too young to fully grasp the changes coming their way they have been troopers. In the photos above Josalyn was shedding some baby tears and Bryce immediately ran off and brought her back her binky. He knows just what brings her comfort. I can think of many times when he has brought her binky, blanket and Meow (stuffed cat) to her when she was sad or upset. Josalyn also comforts Bryce when he is sad or upset. I love it when she gives him a hug for no apparent reason. So cute!

They are both great examples to me of relying on those you love.  So my word for the month is together. They have been there for each other and it reminds me that I need to make sure that I'm there for those that I love and care about.

Forever & A Day

Earlier this month I participated in the 3 products / 2 ways challenge over on the My Mind's Eye blog. Jana Eubank and I had to use the same three products on our layouts along with anything else we wanted to use. I am the one who actually chose the three products so I guess it was more of a challenge for Jana than for me. Though I did have a hard time choosing three different products from three different collections that I wanted to use. :)

I have been wanting to scrapbook this photo of my grandparents for some time. I actually bought patterned paper that I wanted to use quite awhile ago but when I saw the Lost & Found 2 "Sunshine" collection I knew that it was the perfect match!

I have to say that this is probably one of my favorite layouts of all time. I had so much fun putting it together. When I scrapbook I don't think just about paper, adhesive, embellishments, etc. but what memories I want to preserve. The whole time I was working on this layout I was thinking about when my grandparents paid my parents a visit for two weeks and I joined in on the fun. This photo was taken by my dad during that visit.

Memories that came to mind while working on this layout:

•  I was a little nervous about seeing my grandpa when we first picked up my grandparents from the airport. It was my first time to see him knowing that he wouldn't remember who I was. Grandpa came right up to me and gave me a great big hug. He had been told that I was family and that was good enough for him.
• Grandpa and I playing cowboys and Indians. He would shoot me and I would fall to the floor. It always cracked him up. I ended up with a lot of bruises.
• Watching the salmon jump up the falls. It was beautiful and amazing seeing some of the salmon trying over and over again until they made it.
• Grandpa flirting with me all of the time. Ha ha ha!
• Grandpa flirting with the cross country girls running through the park. He actually whistled at them.
• Seeing my grandparents as much in love as ever. Even through all the trials that bad health and memory loss brings.

I am very blessed to have Grandpa & Grandma Shurtliff as grandparents. I will love them forever and a day.

Cherish Banner

A little over a year ago I created my very first banner for a design team that I was a part of. It was quite the challenge for me, but I loved how it turned out. The sad part was that I had to send it off in the mail never to see it again. I made a promise to myself then that I would make a banner for myself to display in my apartment. I knew right where I would hang it too.

When the original Lost & Found collection came out I was in heaven! I started to collect the Union Square line knowing that it would work perfectly for my banner. My kitchen & dining area is made up of the color palette red, black & white. I gathered all the products I wanted to use and set them aside knowing that I would start to work on my banner soon. Well months have gone by and finally my banner is complete! It feels so good to have it done and hanging up for me to enjoy.

To see more pictures and to find tips and instructions on how to create a banner like mine visit the My Mind's Eye blog.

Blog Challenge #27 @ My Mind's Eye

I found out Thursday night what assignments I would need to complete this month for My Mind's Eye. The first two were to use the sketches provided and create a layout and a card. Doesn't sound too hard right? Well then I saw that the deadline was yesterday (Sunday)! I am not a quick crafter by any means and so I started to feel a little stressed out. Plus I was also in charge of Sharing Time (teaching all the kids at church) yesterday. My anxiety levels haven't been that high in years! But I focused, worked hard and conquered!

The theme for the card is Friends. I completed it first since it didn't need as much planning as the layout. It was so much fun to go through the big box of goodies My Mind's Eye sent me trying to decide which products I should use. It felt like Christmas! Go here to see the sketch and what the other team members created.

The theme for the layout is Back to ____. I really really really struggled with this layout. I was asking everyone to fill in the blank to give me ideas for what topic my layout should cover. My first thought was Back to School but we don't have any kids and Tom doesn't start school for a couple more weeks. It was constantly on my mind and I didn't figure out what I wanted to do until Saturday morning.

I have been watching the White kids for almost a year now. I decided to do my layout about Josalyn and some of the things she has taught me this past year. I had a lot more journaling written out but I didn't have room for it all. Boy am I going to miss her when she moves! I'm trying my best to make the most of the time we have left together. Go here to see the sketch and other examples.

Sweet Serendipity

As many of you know I won a blog challenge on the My Mind's Eye blog over a month ago. The prize was a paper line of my choice. Well I sent the email off and didn't hear back from them. I thought maybe the prize would just be mailed without notification. Nope. Nothing showed up. I decided that I probably should shoot off another email but would worry about it after my birthday.

The eve of my birthday I received an email from Amber apologizing. She had somehow missed my email. I think it ended up in her spam. The paper line I was wanting was out and so she asked me to pick another one. She also asked if I would like to be the Guest Designer for September. I read that far and immediately started jumping up and down on the mattress that was on the floor. My mom and Kari got really excited for me though I'm not sure if they knew what it really meant. I didn't really know what that meant. But of course I said yes! :)

It got me thinking about the little things we do and how we don't always know what outcome they will bring. For a couple of months I had wanted to try out the blog challenges on the My Mind's Eye blog but never found the time. I almost didn't again but pushed myself to at least try out for the card challenge. It was very exciting to win but I didn't realize that guest designers are often chosen from past winners. It is a HUGE honor to be featured by such a successful company. I am feeling very blessed. Check out my info/bio here.

If there has been something that you have wanted to do for sometime just go and do it! Who knows what "happy accidents" will come your way. :)

My Mind's Eye Card Challenge

A couple of months ago I found out that every month there is a layout and a card challenge on the My Mind's Eye blog. I can't believe I didn't know that until now since My Mind's Eye is my favorite scrapbooking brand. LOVE them! The last two months I wasn't able to participate because of other deadlines and being out of town.

Here is the card sketch for this month:

The theme that they have given is celebration. It took me awhile to figure out what paper I wanted to use. When I came across the scrapbook line lil' robots a little over a year ago I fell in love with it. I used it on a layout for my entry for Craft Warehouse's Scrapbook Design Team. I had some scraps left over, so I decided to drum up a birthday card.

Here is my Happy Birthday card:

Isn't the robot cute?! I added google eyes and a tiny star brad to his belly. Now I just have to figure out who gets this cute card. :)