I DID IT MYSELF...

 ...well, almost.  I did have an assistant and advisor.  I got this idea by seeing someone's video on U-Tube and thought this would solve my rubber stamp storage problem.  After all, if you can't see them you don't remember you have them and then you don't use them.  I thought this would put them on display so I might use them more often.

First I had to buy the wood.  I used 1 x 3s and some edging trim

Home Depot cut the trim for me free of charge. The 1 x 3s came finished in 2' lengths.  That was easy.  I then glued the edging to each piece.

 Then came the painting.  Luckily I didn't have to buy paint as we already had some enamel paint in the house.

 

 then used elbow shaped braces on each end and scewed them to the wall.  

And, this is the end result.  All of my rubber stamps are now in view with a little room for more. 

 

All Boxed In

I finally finished the trays I've been wanting to do of my daughters. I wanted each tray to reflect their differences.  These are 7 Gypsies trays that I found at my Jo-Ann's store.

Back with the next challenge from True XOXO Scrapbooking. 

This challenge #39 is all about houndstooth. So, here's how I incorporated houndstooth in one of my latest layouts.  There is a little bit of houndstooth in the second layout but it is yellow and under the word "surprise" and a bit hard to see.

This layout is all about the color combo of reds and yellows for Cocoa Daisy  I threw in orange as well because, well...because that's what you get when you mix red and yellow.  I also broke out of my "stamping box" and used my Cocoa Daisy leaf stamps to create some leafy embellishments.

And, as my m.o. right now, I'm really loving burlap on my layouts.  Thanks for stopping by!

FIREWORKS

New challenge at True XoXo!  I think this is my first one from this site.

It's called "Baby, You're a Firework".  That's it.  The inspiration is fireworks, plus you get to look through past posts and find a layout that inspires you somehow..

So, this is my response to this challenge:  my fireworks inspiration shows up in the bold pops of color in the strips and the sparkling gems. 

I was inspired by the layout in general- especially the multi photos and the journaling strips

And, this is the layout by Christa from which I drew inspiration:

TOP 10 OF 2012

Someone at Cocoa Daisy was asking members to pick their top 10 layouts of 2012.  I went back and counted and found that I made 28 layout and a mini album last year.  Then I had to go and narrow it down to 10.  

I picked these for various reasons.

 This one got me a red ribbon (second place) at the KY State Fair in the Birthday division.

  

This one because I scraplifted it from someone and I think it came out great! :D

 I liked this one because I stepped out of my comfort zone for this challenge.

I love the photos of my husband as a baby and I love the printed burlap.  I was really pleased with this one.

I just love how this one came out...the mixture of the burlap and the crispness of the blue and the chilly photos.

I won a challenge at Cocoa Daisy with this one of my little niece

 this layout used a photo of a message that my husband left in the sand for me.  I really like my layering here.

 this one because it reminds me of the long road I traveled with my surgery.

 I liked this one because, well...because it was in NYC! :D

 

 finally, this one because I re-did this layout that I did several years ago because I didn't like the papers I used on the first one.  I am much happier about this outcome.

Two For One

 I'm at it again.  One layout.  Two challenges.  The first is the October Sketch Challenge from Cocoa Daisy. 

Here's the sketch. While I didn't stick to it exactly, I think it gave me inspiration and it's pretty close.

 

Then comes the second challenge from The Bossy Scrapper  And here is the challenge: 

Since this is the 3rd bossy, think 3's.

It's all about 3's:

3 washi
3 twine
3 patterned paper
3 cardstock
3 buttons
3 punches

And finally, here' s the finished layout.  I love this pic of my husband and I've been wanting to scrap it for quite a while.  These challenges gave me a great incentive to do so.  

Thanks for stopping by!

BEFORE & AFTER

Several years ago I decided to go back in time and scrap some pics of my children from when they were small.

 BEFORE 

I did this layout of Tracy using all Pink Paislee products.  I can't remember the collection name but I was SO very pleased with it.  In fact, I loved it.  I thought it was the best layout ever.  But, as they years passed and I'd look at it over and over again I started to think that something was wrong with it.  I never could put my finger on what the problem was but I knew something had to be done about it.

AFTER

Earlier this year I was preparing to choose some layouts to submit to the Kentucky State Fair and I looked at the layout once again and decided that it was too monochrome and boring and I needed to redo it.  I think this layout is much better; brighter and stronger.  The papers no longer conflict with the photos and the photos pop in a better way.  Now, some of you might disagree with me, but that's how I feel.   I really love my do-over, now, and won't touch it again.

MOST RECENT LAYOUTS

The title of this layout, "We've really bonded together today, huh?" came from our young nephew and said to my husband during a family reunion.  We caught this picture of the two of them and created this layout.

This layout is titled, "I wish I could B As Carefree & Wild." It is a line from the song"Stray Cat Strut" by the Stray Cats.  This is actually a dual challenge layout.  Challenge #205A from Scrapping the Music and the September Sketch Challenge from Cocoa Daisy

MARCH PHOTO A DAY - PART 2

March 2012 is now history and I've actually completed my March Photo A Day project. So, here is the pics from the second half of the month.

March 16th -SUNGLASSES

March 17th - GREEN

March 18th - A CORNER OF YOUR HOME

March 19th - FUNNY

March 20th - BEFORE / AFTER

March 21st - DELICIOUS

March 22nd - KITCHEN SINK

March 23rd - MOON

March 24th - AN ANIMAL

March 25th - BREAKFAST

March 26th - KEY

March 27th - YOUR NAME

In my mother's memory, I dedicated this day, which would have been her 85th birthday, I posted a picture of my birth announcement.March 29th - TRASH

March 29th - FEET

March 30th - TOY

March 31st - WHERE YOU RELAX

Thanks for stopping by.

MARCH PHOTO A DAY - PART I

Thanks to the March Photo a Day site for all the inspiration. They gave you a list of subjects for each day and all you have to do is snap the picture. Here are my interpretations for the first half of March 2012. I already posted these on my Facebook page but I thought I'd post here as well so they are all together.

March 1st - UP

March 2nd - FRUIT

March 3rd - YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

March 4th - BEDSIDE

March 5th - SMILE

March 6th - 5 PM
Unfortunately, this photo was deleted by mistake. But, believe me, it was my best one!!

March 7th - SOMETHING YOU WORE

March 8th - WINDOW

March 9th - RED

March 10th - LOUD

March 11th - SOMEONE YOU TALKED TO TODAY

March 12th - FORK

March 13th - A SIGN

March 14th - CLOUDS

March 15th - CAR

So, that's my first installment. At the end of March I'll post the second half.
:D
Bye for now