Scrappin' the Details

Halloween Past

This Halloween was full of activity for us!  We spent the majority of the day at the local Pumpkin Patch.  It is small, but there is a lot of activities to keep the kids happy! Of course, we could not leave without picking out our pumpkins! This Halloween was even more special, because we had this special person with us! 
Macie with her Daddy:

It was a very excruciating hot day, but being together made it special! A few photos of our time at the Pumpkin Patch!

 

 
After the Pumpkin Patch, we had lunch and went home to begin carving their pumpkins! We spent Halloween night with dear friends!  Gabi had been invited to a Halloween party.  I kept struggling with, do I let her go, or do I keep her with me? The family that was hosting the party, is such a delightful family! That was not the issue. She has had sleepovers with friends, but I was not ready to let her go trick or treating without us! She is growing so fast, and for me holidays are special, when we can all be together. 
In the end, I was happy that she agreed to stay with us. I knew this was a big decision for her.  She wanted to be with us, but at the same time with her cheer friends.  When she knew we would be trick or treating with one of her best friends, this did help the situation!(She did end up spending the night after trick or treating, so not all was lost!)

This year all three of my kids loved their costumes!  Last year, Gabi was not too happy about the costume she had chosen.  She was a candy corn, and after about an hour, the costume came off!  This year she loved it, and she said she was a "fairytude." I think it means a fairy with attitude! LOL I took a few photos of them before we left the house, because once the trick or treating begins, I cannot catch them!
I love this photo of Gabi:

Roman, luckily was not a pirate again!  He has an infatuation with people that work in the service!  He wanted to dress up as a person that helps others.  He decided on being a fireman!

Roman wanted me to take my black ink pad, and rub it across the costume! He wanted his costume to look like he had just been in a fire!  I could not do it!  I was afraid of ruining it!  LOL
Macie was a ladybug!  This is the second year in a row, she wanted to be a bug! Super cute bug, though!
 
Fantastic day all the way around!  I love Halloween!
I am off now to get my day started!  Lots to do! 
Enjoy your day, and Happy Wednesday!!!

 

 

 

 

Pebbles Sketch Challenge

Happy Tuesday!  This year has flown by so quickly, but we are in my most favorite part of the year. Thanksgiving, and Christmas are my favorite times of the year!  I just wish the weather would cooperate.  We are blessed to have such beautiful weather, but sometimes, you just want one cold day!  This is what I miss about Texas!  Texas is known for their crazy weather, but I enjoyed all the cold, crisp days!   I love having a few days where we can spend quality time as a family, too. Yes, it is true, I am counting down towards Christmas Break!  I love the lazy days, simply being together.  It really does not take much to make me happy!  Well, maybe some new scrapbooking supplies! LOL 
I thought I better get my blog, back up and running!  I want to give you a reason to visit me!  There is simply not enough hours in the day!  I am still trying to find the balance. Thanks for hanging in there with me! 
I wanted to share a layout that went up on the Pebbles blog last week.  Deanna Kroll challenged some of the design team members to use her sketch, as inspiration for our project. Visit Here to see Deanna's sketch.  (I did not want to lift her sketch without her permission)
   
Here is what I came up with:
Sweet & Cuddly
 

These photos are of my daughter, Macie with one of many, favorite teddy bears!  LOL I snapped these photos on our way to her Preschool Family Night.  She insisted that her bear come too, since it was part of the family.  She even made sure he was secure in the car, by buckling her bear with a seat belt! Luckily, I was able to take these photos, because my camera died as soon as we arrived to her Preschool!  Not a good thing!
This layout came together fairly quickly, because half of the work was done!  I love using sketches because it makes everything come together!  Sometimes, I need a starting point, after taking a break from scrapbooking! (Not by choice, of course!)
Detail of the journaling block:

The journaling note is from Stampin Up!  I use this die quite frequently!  I printed my journaling, and then taped the journaling note over the printing, and ran through the printer!  Super easy, if you do not want to handwrite your journaling.  See the little flower charm hanging from the ribbon? It is from Pebbles ribbon packaging!  Love this charm, and have used almost all of them on a project!  Wish they made them to buy, separately too! 
Supplies:
Paper: Pebbles, Skipping Along Collection(my favorite)
Ribbon: Pebbles
Chipboard:  Pebbles Chips
Font:  Quickutz, Blossom
Flowers: Pebbles, Skipping Along Sticker Sheet
Flower Charm:  Pebbles Ribbon Packaging
Thanks for letting me share, and do not forget about the Pebbles Blog!  Every week there is a new challenge hosted by a design team member!  If you are looking for inspiration, bookmark the Pebbles Blog!  Some serious eye candy!  This week, Michele Beck is the hostess!  
Happy Tuesday!!!!

 
  

in2Scraps October Page Kit Now Available

Happy October!!!  I cannot believe it is almost gone!  I am back, and I hope to be blogging regularly!  I am happy to share that in2Scraps is releasing its first page kit!  It is called "Pumpkin time." It is a two page layout, and I absolutely love the paper that we chose for this line!  It is by, My Mind's Eye!  The colors are beautiful!  We design this page kit so you can use it for pumpkin patch photos, Halloween pictures, autumn shots, school parties,etc. 
Now, for the "details", of the kit.  Jeannette and I, wanted to design page kits for the beginner scrapper, as well as for the veteran scrapbooker.  We also thought of other scrapbookers that simply love to take a basic kit, adhere the details, and add their own finishing touches!  We make it easy for you!  All of our page kits are double pages!  I do love single pages, when I do not have enough photos for a two page spread.  However, we know as scrapbookers, we have way too many photos that need to be scrapped!  We need real estate!  All of our kits come with a photo of the finished layout, as well as complete instructions to adhere the kit.  You will have everything you need, outside of the "basic tool kit."  (Basic tool kit: paper trimmer, adhesive, pop dots, glue dots, scissors,ruler,thread, paint, etc.) We will list at the beginning of the kit, what you will need.  However, I promise it will not be much!  We do the diecutting, stamping, and design the page for you!  Our page kits are full of detail, and we hope to share a new technique or two!
We will have a new kit for you each month, and we are happy to begin with the first one:

"Pumpkin time"
 

Closeup of the detail:
 

To purchase this kit, simply complete the "Buy it" Option through PayPal.  If you do not do paypal, please e-mail me at susergi@me.com. Please put in2scraps in the Subject line.  We only designed  a few of these kits, so if you are interested, just click the Paypal button below. This month's kit is $18.00, and if you are local, we can arrange a pick up time.  If you are not local, let me know, and we will be able to ship this out to you.  Email me and I will let you know shipping charges.  
 

  

We hope you love our first kit!  We had such a great time designing!!  Have a Happy Tuesday!!!  

American Crafts Buys Pebbles Inc.

Oh, my stars!  I know it has been forever since I have blogged!  I miss updating my blog, and reading my favorite blogs, too.  I am so behind!  I rarely have time to log in to my laptop.  I did not anticipate the magnitude of my move.  I am still sorting through boxes.  Remember I am going through a year of items that have been in storage!  Luckily, the community is having a garage sale.  I am going to capitalize on this opportunity to get rid of a lot of items.  I am even purging through scrapbook supplies! 
I have found out two things about myself, (other than that I love scrapbook supplies). I love patterned paper, and I love the color green.  I have a ton of green cardstock!  Why, I do not know.  
Thanks to friends that already came to preview my items, and took a lot, in the process!  It is great to have friends that love this hobby, as much as I do!
I am working on my scrapbook room!  Yes, I have a room again!  I cannot wait to share my space with you.  Hopefully, it will be presentable this weekend.  I am so excited to see it come together.  I am looking forward to creating projects again! I am feeling inspired!  I will not have to scrapbook next to the watermelon. LOL ( I used to scrapbook in the kitchen of my apartment last year.)
Also, next week, in2scraps will be selling their first monthly page kit!  It is a Halloween double page layout!  I love the paper we used, and cannot wait to share this with you! We are only kitting twelve, and half of them are already spoken for!  (Wahoo!!!)
We are all doing fantastic here in California.  The kids have adjusted well in school.  We are now trying to get settled in the house.  I will be sharing back to school photos too. My girls are back doing what they love, Cheer!  I cannot wait for competition season to begin!  Lots happening ,but right now I just want to have a normal routine!
I did not plan to write all of this, but I am glad I am able to update you on my life.  I will be back blogging regularly.  Thanks for hanging in there!
I wanted to share the following!  This was one of the reasons I came on to my blog! Exciting news, so check it out!
Happy weekend!  I will be back soon!

 
From the AC blog...

We’re excited to announce the acquisition of Pebbles, an amazing scrapbooking brand that we’re certain will be a great compliment to the American Crafts product lines. Pebbles will remain a separate brand under the American Crafts umbrella. We will continue to offer their current products and plan to introduce new products over time. And the core of Pebbles design team will join us to ensure a continuation of their fun, fresh style.

Pebbles was created in 2001 as an extension of the Pebbles in my Pocket retail stores that are located in Utah. They make simple, cute, and easy-to-use products, including patterned paper, craft chalk and stencils, decorative Chips chipboard shapes, self-adhesive Candy Dots, themed die cuts, ribbon and more.

We’re so excited to welcome the Pebbles brand! If you aren’t familiar with them, check out their products featured on their web site. And make sure to visit their blog for regular ideas, inspiration, challenges and giveaways.

Moving Day

I am here in California, but life has been like a whirlwind!  I apologize for being absent this long!  In between settling the kids in school, I have been occupied with finding us a home!  However, today is the day, we are moving into a home!  I am beyond excited!
There has been zero time, or space to create.  It also does not help that besides a large tote, all of my scrapbook items have been placed in storage.  
I am not going to complain, because I am so thankful that my husband is with us full time!  The kids adjust well to anything, so it has been an adventure to them.  As of today, I will be without internet service for awhile.  You know how long it can take to schedule an appointment!  I do hope that I can be back, sharing projects soon!  Thanks for checking back, and I do hope to be back and posting by the end of next week!  
I have had such a great time visiting with old friends.  I do miss my family in Texas, and I hope I can see them soon.  I wish my sister was here to help unpack boxes!  LOL She is perhaps the most organized person I know.  She would have the house set up,and perfect in three days!  I will be thinking of her, as I am trying to settle into our home!
I do like moving, but I hope it will be awhile before I have to do this again!  LOL
Happy Thursday, and for me it will be like Christmas!
xoxo,
Suzanne

On A Short "Vacation"

Happy Monday!!  I wanted to write a quick post, letting you know that I will be gone from my blog for awhile! Today, is the day!!!!!  I am moving back to California, so begins the process of upheaval for awhile!  LOL I cannot believe it has been a year, since I left. It has been an adventurous year!  So many good things came from living in Texas.  There were some big sacrifices that we made, but we are here now!  I thank God for this blessing!  
So I will not be posting for awhile.  All of my scrapbook supplies are now boxed, and ready for the trip to California.  For those who visit my blog, (I hope there are a few of you that do!),please come back soon.  I am hope to be back up and running, by next Monday!  For our in2scraps fans, my layout will be late this week.
This week will consist of reacquainting myself with old friends, settling in a home, shopping for school uniforms, and supplies!  It is going to be a whirlwind!  I look forward to Friday, as I head to a scrapbooking retreat in Big Bear.  Good friends, excellent food, and soft pillow await me! 
Have a very Happy Week!!!  Woo hoo!!! My family will be TOGETHER again, and this is the true blessing!

I ♡ Disney!

In the midst of the boxes, and the craziness, I have not had any time to create! So today, I thought I would share a Disney Mini Album I designed last summer.  This was my last class that I designed for Timeless Treasures.  Unfortunately, I was not able to teach this class.  I recently moved to Texas, and I could not go back to California to teach. However, Karen was kind of enough to take over. 
I do not have any pictures in the book yet.  I want to put photos of our first trip back to Disney,after a long hiatus! I am looking forward to going!  The kids loved Disney, but who does not?  LOL
I used a black Bazzill 8x8 album that had a storage box.  I loved that the album would have a home!
"Let the Magic Begin" 8x8 Disney Mini Album

The front of the album.  I do plan on adding a couple of charms to the ribbon.  I love hanging elements on my projects! 
 A few of the pages inside:(Please note that I am showing you the double page layouts that are size 8x8)
First page:

Details of the brad work:
 

Tag:
 
2 and 3 pages:

This is the hidden journaling I included on this page.  You could either add a photo or journaling. (Or both!)

4 and 5 Pages:

Details of the mickey head designed with metal tags:

6 and 7 page:

8 and 9 pages:

10 and 11 Pages:

12 and 13 pages:

This is a pull out on this page.  You can add extra photos, and journaling.
Last page:

Thanks for letting me share some of my pages with you!  I hope they inspire you with your own Disney, or vacation photos. If you have any questions, please let me know.  I am not including a supply list, because this post would be longer!  LOL
I have to finish packing, and I am going to dinner with a couple of high school friends tonight!  I will be back Monday, with in2scraps September sketch, and layout! Have a Happy Weekend!

 

My Mind's Eye Page Map Challenge Goodness

I received some very Happy news yesterday!  I received an e-mail from Amber,at My Mind's Eye, that I had won the Page Map Challenge! Oh, my stars!  I could not believe it! How exciting to go their blog, and see my layout featured!  I was able to choose three of their collections!  How generous, and I cannot wait to play with the lines I chose! Thanks again MME for a fantastic challenge. You can check out all the entries by clicking on this link.  I saw that two of my friends also joined in the challenge, and I loved their pages, Maureen Banis, and Marcela! So check out their beautiful work, and others too!
Here is my entry that I shared on Friday:
"Best Friends"

Thank you for letting me share my good news with you!  I am off to pack some more! Wish me luck!  I was not very productive yesterday, due to feeling a little overwhelmed!One last thing, do not forget to hop over to Pebbles!  This week the challenge is being hosted by Beth Root, and it is all about ribbon! Hope to see you there!
Happy Tuesday! 

{CUP}Cake Art Love

It is Monday!!!  Wahoo!  Only seven more days, before I leave. There are many loose ends to tie up, but I do know we will be in California soon!  Steven comes in on Saturday, and I cannot begin to tell you, how happy I am to see him!!!  Once, I do see him, I know everything will fall into place.  I better stop now, before this post heads in an emotional direction!  LOL
I wanted to share a project I designed for Pebbles.  This project was part of last week's Hand stitching challenge on the Pebbles Blog.  I took an 8x8 frame and created a very SWEET project.  I really do love the way it turned out!  It is my current favorite project.  I have an obsession with cupcakes, not eating them, but using them in my projects. However, a cupcake sounds good about now!  My best friend,Jeannette,has a bigger obsession with baking, and designing with them.  For now, I will stick to papercrafting with cupcakes embellishments! 
The challenge was to create a project using hand stitching as an element. Okay, when I saw this challenge, I did not hesitate to sign up!  I love  hand stitching on my projects. It is such a great detail to add to any project, no matter how big or small you stitch. This is what I created for Lynn's  Hand stitching challenge for Pebbles: 

"Life is sweet" 8x8 Altered Frame:

Supplies:
Cardstock: Pebbles Downtown Collection, White Bazzill
Patterned Paper: Pebbles Downtown Collection
Candy Dots: Pebbles
Stamp:Hampton Art
Chipboard Flowers: Pebbles Chips
Note die and small scallop: Quickutz
Safety pin: Making Memories
Button: Basic Grey
Ribbon:Offray
Cupcake punch:  The ever favorite one by McGill!
I have used Downtown Collection on my last two projects.  I love the color.  Go Here  
to view the entire collection!
Few more details:

I "hand stitched" around the note to make it pop!  

Detail of the cupcakes.  I love the way the cupcake liners turned out.  I simply used the same portion of the paper to get it just right, on all three! The tops of the cupcakes were also embossed with my favorite Swiss Dots folder from Cuttlebug!
This frame will hopefully find its home in my scrapbooking area very soon!
Lynn shared hand stitching tips, and techniques last week.  You can find it all here. The other designers shared their projects, and I know I keep writing this, but they are all inspiring!!!
I am pretty much spending this week packing.  How a family of four accumulated so much stuff in one year, is amazing!  I came with seven boxes of scrapbook supplies, and I do not want to tell you how much I have now!  I may need to start giving some away, before my husband sees!  LOL
Happy Monday! 

 
  

 
 

My Mind's Eye Page Map Challenge

Well, time is running out on me.  There is so much to do, in such a short amount of time! I needed a distraction from the chaos in my apartment, so I decided to enter the My Mind's Eye Page Map Challenge.  I absolutely love all their paper, and the wonderful diecuts that coordinate with their line.  This year, they introduced brads! They are really adorable, and unique.  I placed an order for some of the new product at A Cherry On Top .  My local scrapbook store did not have it in stock, so I was happy to find what I wanted at this site!

The challenge was using one of Becky Fleck's page maps as a springboard. I really liked the sketch, and decided to create a double page layout.  At first, I was only going to use the left side of the sketch, but decided to make it double paged as shown.  I have not been creating many double page layouts.  I am not sure why.  Well, I do know why! Anyway, after the last challenge, I realized I did not have many photos of my two girls together.  So I had taken some recently that matched the Abbey Road "Best Friends" line.

Here is the sketch we needed to use as our guide:

My challenge entry using MME Abbey Road: "Best Friends":
 
As you probably noticed, I used only one big photo, on the right side.  I really am a big photo kind of scrapbooker, so I made this slight variation.  I really like that I was able to get four of my favorite photos on here.  So thanks Becky, for designing the sketch!(And of course, MME, for hosting!)
A few more details:
I used the nesting label from Quickutz.  I have been using it a lot lately.  I stamped, and added a chipboard circle, and attached a cute MME brad. The center of this brad says,"tweet, tweet." I did add a little bit of hand stitching to this page.   

The flower diecuts:

I really do like embellishing these flower diecuts.  I simply, cut out some scallop circles, and added brads, chipboard pieces, etc. Just to give them more dimension.  I used Glimmer mist again, and this gave my flowers a curled up look!  Loved it!

 
How cute is that bird?? 
Supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzill
Patterned paper: My Mind's Eye Abbey Road(Whirlybird"Best Friends" Tweet Tweet Paper,Whirlybird "Shine" Spunky Spots Paper,Whirlybird "Best Friends" Scattered Flowers Paper
Buttons: Autumn Leaves
Brads: MME Abbey Road Whirlybird
Ribbon:MME Whirlybird Ribbons
Chipboard: MME Whirlybird
Label: Quickutz
Corner diecuts: EK Success and Paper Shapers
Stamps: Technique Tuesday
Ink: Colorbox Chestnut Roan
I now want to buy more of this paper!  So much fun!  Well, check out all the other amazing entries at My Mind's Eye.  I am not certain when they will be posted, but their designers were introduced, and the projects are beautiful!
Enjoy your weekend!  I will be back on Monday to share my "favorite sweet", project at the moment!
Now off to pack! Happy Friday!
Suzanne♡