Product layout challange

okay the object of this contest was to scrap a layout based on a product ...from your pantry or just base it on an advertisement. This was very difficult for me because as you can see the layout is very basic ...to stay true to the product. It was hard to get over the desire to mat my photo. the little guy at the bottom is based on the actual "for dummies" guy ...he is a paper piecing ...not a copied picture. The letters written on the yellow paper were traced with a light box. The for dummies was writen with white paint pen then colored over with a yellow sharpie to make it yellow. I was really proud of this layout, but dont think I will be winning the contest because the competition is WAYYY too stiff

Punk Kiss

I created this one for my shop and as a trial for my punk swap. I like it because it has that bit of sexy and a little badness

Pigtails

I made these as a gift for a couple moms in the groups ...they needed some toddler little girl things. I had a really hard time finding something toddler like and then suddenly this came to me

Good times Layout (Liam's album)

It's funny ...since I have signed up for these online groups I feel as though I have learned soooo much ...and grown in sooo many ways as far as my techniques are concerned. Not only have a leanred alot but I have gained more confidence ...allowing me to create layouts faster ...without worry if I am doing things the "right" way. I have learned there is NO right way

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.

Scott Adams

Liam has really been growing alot lately....not only physically but mentally. He picks up the most random saying from the oddest of places. One of them has been "good times....good times!" I will never forget the first memorable time I heard him say it. The boys and I met Brian at Taco Bell for his lunch break ( we occasionally go have lunch with him when he is in town ) In their kids meal they got these little puzzle dice. Well for the next two days, they were liams favorite form of entertainment. A few days after our taco bell lunch, we were driving round town ( running errands) and Liam says to me " MOM guess what IIIII made ??? ( big pause ) I'll give you a hint ( another big pause ) It's not a pooper scooper!!! " LOL This statement just made me bust out in giggles. Liam starts laughing his biggest belly laugh ( he is in that phase, where they try out all different laughs ...) ...then he gives a big sigh ...and says " ahhh good times ....goooooood times!! "

So I created this layout

punk tags for swap

these are the tags I made for the punk tag swap

black, white and one accent color tag

...rules you can only use black white and an accent color for this swap ...I had noooo good black and white paper so I heat embossed dragonflies ...shaded the wings with a gel pen ...and inked the edges ....hand stitched around the tag ...and wrote fly in white paint pen ...cut a gerber daisy with my machine ...and cut it in half....topped it with a jewel ...thinking about next tag makin a teal flower ...and inking it black

Character tags for swap

I keep telling myself no more tag swaps ....because honestly I dont use them on my layouts ....but then another one comes up with a subject that is totally irresistable

...this was one of them

I thought another great version of this tag would be one that said "trashy"

adopt a family page 2

This is the second page to the adopt a family Christmas LO's I did

foster family pages

After watching Oprah the other day ( I know corny ) but I felt the need to come up with a "charity" project ( I hate that word ) I decided to start a swap within my scrap group online. The hostess ( me this time since I started it ) "adopts" a family in their local community. In this case I decided to adopt a foster care family from Liam's class. Well basically what we do is each person who signs up will make two premade scrapbook pages ( or more if they want ) for the family and then send it to the hostess ...the hostess then builds a premade scrapbook for them from the pages everyone made ( all they have to do is add their own pics ) . I chose a foster care family for a couple reasons . First reason ...is because I would love to be able to be a foster mom. However we lack the room to take responsibilty for anymore children. Second reason I believe that it is definately an underappreciated job. It's my way of saying thankyou for being such an unbelievable person to take care of a child who has next to nothing.

The third reason takes a little back up story ...Back before Aj was born I worked at a local clothing store as a front desk manager ( I guess you would call it ). When I first worked there I met the most unbelievable person.( Angela ) The kind of person that you looked forward to seeing everyday. When your day was really shitty she always knew the right words to say. When we first met it felt like she had been my friend forever. Well we also worked with another lady who had an adorable little grand baby .(krissy) Angela couldnt have children herself :( so she adored this little girl. On more than one occasion she told me that she would love to adopt her ( because her parents had a ROCKY relationship and both had drug problems ) . Well as many of you already know from other blogs ....Angela died in a motorcycle accident on 4th of July. ( about 3 or 4 years ago)

Well just recently when I volunteered for my sons field trip I noticed that krissy was in his class. I found out that krissy now lived with foster parents temporarily while her parents get things straightened out. so in a small since I did this for Ang ....I love you girl !! I miss you a ton !!

Anyway here is one page for the scrapbook

baby shower tag #2

This is the second tag I made for the baby shower for missy

baby tag for baby shower

In my online groups, we have "showers" that when someone is having a large event in their life ...everyone send them tags or scrap supplies for the event. Well Missy is having a baby ( unknown sex) and I signed up to do two tags for her this is one of the tags I made for her.

Altered Notebook front

Here is the front of the altered notebook that I did for the swap. I used the bohemia line of paper ...I love that paper The quote says : It takes a lot of courage to share your drems to someone else

Altered Notebook swap

Here is the latest swap I did. I have never attempted an altered composition notebook before. This is the back of the notebook ...I dont like my handwritting ...but other than that it turned out okay

Birthday card

Here is a birthday card I originally started for my dad , but decided to give it to my brother...the card was cut with my Craft robo ...along with the utensils ...the mustard and ketchup, and burger stickers are from creative memories. The kiss the cook was traced on with a light box. I hand sewed the border....the card below slips into the poscket

Challenged ----all about me

I decided to take a challenge this weekend in on of my groups. The rules were as follows :

This challenge is to make a page about yourself. The catch is you can't use any pictures, (unless you draw them) no embellishments: such as stickers, ribbon, brads, eyelets, etc, and no papers. Everything must be written in your hand using pens and/or markers.

When I took this challenge I decided to do it because it is something I have been meaning to do forever, but never have the time because I am always doing swaps or scrappin the kids. I decided to really put my whole heart into it and to challenge myself artistically....think outside my normal symetrical box. Everything I do ( with exceptions to my paper piecings) is always very symetrical and "neat"...so I decided to throw all of that to the wind and be very random ...and crazy.

second version ..easter tag

here is the second version of the easter tag ...I wasnt completely happy with the first one so I tweaked it

Easter tag for swap

Wow! This one is finally complete. Most of the time when I create something it just doesnt come out the way I pictured it in my head. This time , however, it was different. It turned out alot better than the picture in my head. This is the first full tag that was created with my craft robo http://www.graphteccorp.com/craftrobo/about.html . I never realized how much work actually goes into a project when you create something with the craft robo. EVERY little piece on this tag ( with exception to the ribbon, eggs, and eyelets) had to first be "created" on the computer and converted into the proper file. Then each and every piece was chalked, outlined, decorated, and pieced together. Despite all the work that went into it ...I would never want to do it without my machine

back to school embelished clips

these are my embelished back to school clips. The image in my mind was a bit different. I was hoping to put some kind of patterned paper in the back ...but the pattern didnt show much ....so I went with the stitching. This is my first ever project on the craft robo ...so maybe as I get more familiar with my machine I will be able to create better projects

travel paper piecing

This is a little paper piecing that I made for Amy ( on the groups) ...as a thank you for hosting soo many swaps and for all the hard work that she does ...notice the little tag says her name :)

baby shoe paper piecing

This is the last paper piecing that I have done for Amber and her baby. This one was fairly easy ...I wasnt sure about the colors at first but after it all came together I really like it

baby bottle paper piecings

I am sending some scrap supplies to amber for her new baby and I thought I would include a few little paper piecings before I send it off. The pink one is for her and I am keeping the blue. This one was really easy and I am really happy with the results

Little girl tag ( for scrap group)

This is one of my tags for Amber for her baby . At first I wasnt going to do the inking in the back but I made a smudge and had to cover it up

Beach tags ( for swap)

I wanted to do something entirely different for this swap but my idea just didnt work out. This is the finished project

Even though this one turned out pretty cute ..I am a bit disappointed in it. This isnt quite how I envisioned this tag in my mind. The paper I originally wanted to use was too large of font for a small tag ....but I want to recreate the paper ...so i reduced the image by 50% and then made a smaller version of it. I heat embossed the kiss ...and the stars were originally yellow so I colored them with a black pen...chalked and ripped the background paper. I set the eyelett and then tied the fibers. I oginally wanted to put the popcorn box on the tag ...but it really didnt work out so it will be included as a "bonus" I think the next tag I make like this I will move the kiss up....and put a red star and a black star

popcorn paper piecing

This little paper piecing was designed for my movie night tag. The popcorn container is made from the kiss and tell line by My Mind's Eye http://www.mymindseye.com/. The paper is called sugar stripe. It is actually red and pink stripes ...I colored in all the pink stripes with an English Red Marvy pen. The popcorn sign is just made from the same paper ( scraps ) turned around backwards. Each little kernel is cut out ...outlined with gold gel pen and chalked. I just used plain white printer paper for the kernels. The pattern is from 201 paper piecing patterns. http://www.paperwishes.com/products/2257 by Hot Off the Press. I reduced the size by 50% .

travel tag ( tag swap )

This is my trial travel tag that I just finished for my tag swap. I was a bit worried about this theme because it isnt a subject that really strikes me. However, I am very proud of how these turned out . I started out with the postcard template...from 7gypsies http://www.sevengypsies.com/store/customer/home.php
I wrote a little hand written message in pencil ( so that it didnt stand out too much ) message says : Missing you a Ton! Wish you were here! Will call upon return ...Love me
I used a glitter rub on ...by lil davis designs http://www.lildavisdesigns.com/
I chalked the edges with brown . I tore the edges of the little luggage, car, and camera that i got from my scrap calendar http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Scrapbooking-Crop-Day-Day/dp/1579393373/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201056609&sr=8-1
Then I hand stitched around the edge with blue embroidery floss . The postcard already had a hole punched in the corner so I put a brown eyelet in it and put a little ribbon through. I finished it all off by matting it all with a darker cardboard brown.

Flip flop PC's ( for swap )

This is another embelished paper clip I did for a swap. I got the idea from some tiny embelished stickers I bought. I made my own pattern. I used glitter flower paper from the glitter stack pack; Embelished it with a ribbon and an eyelet; outlined it with a glitter pen ; and chalked the edges . I used some 7mm ribbon on the clip to bring out the blue in the flip flop

This is the first page in a two page spread. I edited the pic in mircosoft photo premium ...changed it to b&W and softened the edges. I used the CM cutting system to cut the pic and the mat behind the pic . I made my own template for the petals of the flower ....I used oragami paper for the petals. I used a gold gel pen for the vines as well as the page border ...I first outlined the page with the glitter gel pen ...then I blended it with a q tip . On this page I used jolees mini velum flowers at the ends of the vines then put a gold jewel in the middle. Then I finished off the page with some self adhesive teal colored jewels. The second pages flowers are small primas

two hearts...one love (2 page layout )

This is the second page of a two page spread. It is for our 6x 6 romance/ wedding album. We dont have enough really good photos to fill our wedding album so we are also making it a romance album. I made this page to mirror the first. I really liked this layout because it was purely from my creation....I drew the little vines I cut out the petals. It wasnt a template or anything. As well as the journaling is all my own handwriting. I know you cant tell from the scanned image but I love the way it all sparkles ...from the gold around the pages ...to the little jewels everywhere. On this second page it was a little more difficult because the jewels were not self adhesive ...

Kyle's birthday invite (2007)

Okay so this is an old one. These are the invitations I made for Kyle's last birthday party. Done again the old fashioned way. The original pattern said something like boys only or something like that ...I changed it and decided to hang the sign with wire . I chalked the outside of the card, so it blended a little better.

Embelished Paper clips ( swap)

okay so now I am addicted...LOL I signed up for another swap. I told myself I was going to hold back on the swaps until we had more money coming in, but I just couldnt pass this one up. I have never used embelished paper clips on my pages but after seeing some examples I am going to. I absolutely love how these turned out and am considering making whole set for myself. I can not wait to see what everyone else is going to send me in the swap

Lucky me tag (tag swap)

Here is the tag I made for the "lucky" swap. I am not sure that I like it .....it was a lot of work for something that I am not sure I would put on one of my pages. I made the pattern my self. I tried three varieties of bears ...black and white ....cream colored with brown chalk ...and then brown with brown chalk ...I did a female version ...with a clover by her ear and a male version with a little hat

tag swap ...bonus treat

As I mentioned in my previous post I did a little extra treat for my tag swap. I dont have a die cut machine so this paper piecing was done solely the "old fashion" way ...pattern and scissors.

Tell me your thoughts

Tag swap for online group

Okay I finally broke down and decided to sign up for a couple swaps online. I signed up for a tag swap ( pet lovers theme) and a button swap. Here is picture of my tag . I also did a little bonus treat ( a paper piecing ) see next post for that

Christmas Joy ( christmas album )pg 2

okay I am doing this backward ...next time I will start with the second page. This is the second page in the two page layout. I basically did the same thing with this page ....to mirror the first.

The journaling breaks down each of the gifts the kids recieved and who they got them from....with the year at the top of the journal box

Christmas Joy ( christmas album ) pg 1

I found a little Santa in one of my scrapbook calendars and loved him. http://www.ecampus.com/bk_detail.asp?isbn=9781579393373&referrer=frgl

( I buy these every year and love them for little touches on cards or scrap pages ...and you dont feel guilty bout using them because they dont cost alot ) . At first I just wanted to make a card with this santa but then decided that he was good enough to make it into one of my albums ....lol

I used snoflake paper from my last years christmas paper stack ...and cream colored card stock for the embelishments background ...I did some tearing on the side and then chalked with brown around the borders of the paper. I used some glittery gel pens to make the santa and candy canes pop. I blended the blue glitter pen ( on the candy canes ) with a q tip. I used some basic green ribbon to vertically line the page ....then placed the embelishments on the ribbon. I outlined the squares with a dashed line ( to look like hand stitching ). As for the photos I matted them with the same cream paper and chalked the edges. Then wrapped the corners of the phtos to look like presents.

Grandmas Album ( Kyle page 2 )

This is page 2 of the kyle layout . With exception to the journaling that I did in Word, everything is pretty much the same as the first page

My grandmas album ( Kyle's page 1 )

I started this album as a gift to my grandma. She has never met any of the kids and I wanted to provide her with a beautiful introduction. This is page 1 in a two page layout. This page is pretty simple. Each page is matted with two mats ...one white and one green. I hand stitched with yellow embrodery floss on the white mat. I handwrote the title in navy. I embelished with a ribon folded in half and then decorated it with a swirly paper clip thingy.

Family and Friends Album ( Beauty)

This is a one page layout. I really loved this layout except there were alot of problems and headaches creating this page. I used watermelon striped background. The picture is matted on green paper I handstiched around the photo and then drew stitches around the matting. All of the flowers are cut out on my own on different papers. I used green ribbon for the "stems" bottons were used for each of the flowers centers. The only real stitching on this page is around the photo itself. Other than that, I used gel pens. The title was handwritten with glittery gel pen. I didnt journal on this page because I thought the title did it justice.

Aj's Album (Ultrasound pg2)

This is the second page in a two page layout . See the first pages info for details because I basically mirrored that page.

AJ's album ( ultra sound pg1)

This is the first page in a two page spread. Again I used a plain green cardstock for the background . I accented the journaling with a striped pattern paper. To pull all the colors together I chalked the edges of the striped paper with orange chalk, adhered the pages with orange eylettes in the corners. I wrote my journaling (description of the ultrasound pics and my feelings ) on velum. I used the We R Memory Makers My pregnancy embossed stickers, and used fibers and blue eyeletes to embelish them. I also used a little strip of magic mesh on the bottom of the striped paper. This is one of my favorite layouts. I am very proud of these pages.

Stephen's Album ( first page )

This is the first page of Stephen's album. I got this layout idea from someone online. I used plain green cardstock for the background. Matted the picture with a plain blue then a second mat with stripes. Three strips of different patterned papers behind the photo with little stitched accents.I used a little brown ribbed ribbon accross the middle of the page to accent the little circle embelishment. I used a velum quote sticker for the poem...matted on two different papers ( white and stripes ) then handstiched around the poem and the little squares accross the bottom. handstitching is alot of work but I really like the way it looks compared to a machine.

Christmas Album ( pickle page 2 )

This is page two of the pickle layout. The journaling was taken from the web ( explaination of the legend of the pickle) There is also additonal journaling behind the right picture. It slides behind the picture with a ribbon pull tab. The journaling behind the picture shares the details of the pictures and that years pickle prize winner and what he won.

Christmas Album ( pickle page 1)

This is page one of a two page layout. I decided to do this backward and put all the journaling on the second page ...to emphasize the pictures. I used basic brown card stock for the background. I matted the photos with a cream colored card stock ..and chalked the edges with brown chalk to blend it all together. I used the embossed pickle stickers from the We R memory keepers my pregnancy stickers http://store.scrapbook.com/wr-60661-1.html to edge the photos. For the right side of the page I used double sided patterned paper ( dont know who its by sorry ) . Then I made one of the pickle stickers to look like an ornament by coloring a gold "cap" on the pickle and putting a gold ornament string on it. I downloaded the pickle jar clipart and made it into another little embelishment. Then lined the layout with green and gold ribbon.

Christmas Album ( naughty )

This is the last page in our christmas album ( because it is only a one page spread) The ribbon says " santa, define naughty" The little white cards behind the pictures pull out for journaling.

The top one says the dictionary definition of naughty with an addition of " any direct discendant of Aimee Rohn ( ie Kyle ) . The second one is journaling about Kyles 3rd grade Christmas production. I cut out the dots on the background paper and popped them up with pop dots and chalked the edges and outlined them with glitter gel pens

Scrapbook ( Christmas title page )

This is the opening page to my Christmas Album. I love the simplicity of this page because the picture is the best part. I used chalked to "age" the mat and the slide frame. I used the slide frame to frame the word Joy on the patterned papper and then used a square swirly paper clip thinggy on the edge ( thats the technical term btw :)) The title was cut out from patterned paper in the christmas stack pack.

Pot holders

These are the potholders. They are great because they are thick enough to use as hot pads too. I used the pattern for the pumpkin pie potholder http://www.crochetmemories.com/archive/november6.html

I thought it looked like a flower too.

Towel toppers

These are the towel toppers that I have been making lately. I have a few of these types of towels myself and they were getting ratty. I didnt know anyone who really crochets soooo I thought ,"fine I will find a pattern and do them myself." I love these towels because they stay put. For drying your hands after washing dishes and such these are great. The Christmas towels were created as a Christmas gift for two friends who really love to decorate for the season. I orignally wanted to make the towels and matching wreath potholders, but the wreath pattern was really bad. So it's back to the drawing board for the potholders.

Christmas card

This is one of my homemade Christmas cards. Not one of the best ones ( The writing is off ) but this will give you an idea. The Santa is a paper piecing made out of out scraps and chalk. The nose and tiny tiny eyes are made from hole punch confetti. I embelished the card with ribbon and put a little gold ribbon slide ( to make it look like santas belt). The inside of the card says "much love from the Rohn home"