I WIN! And Then I Keep Seeking to Win.

Well a nice Monday morning surprise for me is to learn that I have won Creating Keepsakes Blog Giveaway and I will be receiving this neat collection from Basic Grey.

Photo from CK Blog/Collection Sugar Rush from Basic Grey

Once I managed to get my email to actually work I was able to email them to claim my prize! I tried updating my blog several different times as well as visiting http://www.scrapourstash.blogspot.com/ where I am to be next month's guest designer but my computer did not want to be a team player and I figured I had enough things to aggravate me this weekend.

For example this is a double 12x12 layout I did for a theme of "I Love You" in which I wanted to get as many photos as possible on it so I could double dip it on another themed page request, "Lots of Photos." I managed 22 photos total! I am now on the lookout to see pages that feature that many or more, so if you have a page with 22 or more photos on it please share! Wll, I had only just finished this layout when it slowly began to come apart at every corner! I love "Glue Dots" and they are my staple adhesive, however, I always try whatever is new out there just so I am in the know about it. I will not give out the horrible product name which caused my layout to fall apart because maybe it was just bad luck for me, but I will say, when purchasing your adhesives stick with craft stores or scrapbook stores...I have learned my lesson and it shall be awhile before I get adventurous again. So, glue dots and my tweezers came out and I began sliding them under all the lifted corners...it is looking pretty much good as new.

By the way, this poem which is by an unknown author was revised by myself to suit my tastes and so the first 3 lines are original and the rest are rewritten by myself. I am sorry that I haven't any idea who wrote the original but thank you...you captured my sentiments so well. The poem reads:

You Are My I Love You

I am your parent, you are my child.

I am your quiet place, you are my wild.

I am your serious face, you are my giggle.

I am your slow down, wait, you are my wiggle.

I am your finish line, you are my victorious race.

I am your praying hands, you are my blessed grace.

I am your lullaby, you are my peek-a-boo.

I am your good-night kiss, you are my I love you.

-Unknown Author, adapted by Malina Rome

I have been working on some other projects but I won't be able to share them with you for a while so in the meantime I want to let you know that on 8-10-10 my submission for August's challenge at Scrap Our Stash will be revealed. I do not even know which one because the challenge this month is flowers and I LOVE FLOWERS so I submitted more than one. Flowers ar one of the embellishments I must remind myself does not need to be on every single page...I am sure I am not the only one. However, with a challenge that uses something so well loved by scrappers and done in so many various ways everyone should be able to have some fun with it. So, do not wait until tomorrow, just head over there today and see the great ideas the design team has posted and then submit your own.

August Challenge: Flowers! Already LOTS of great layouts to inspire you at http://www.scrapourstash.blogspot.com/. Learn new ways of making flowers too!

The last thing I want to share before I head out to solve a layout issue I am having is the talents of a special young person I know. I am not huge into making cards even though the 'business' I own produces them regularly (though this summer it has only been by request). I find that cards do not allow me to always get as expressive as I should like but because I have been working on more of them for some requests and submissions I will post those I completed over the weekend here during the week. Today I want to share the cards of Ms. Emily. P. M. who I have been mentoring in scrapbooking but who has been working with my business partner in cards. It seems she does not need much mentoring in cards because she has an innate gift for creating and completing them quickly. Currently she is using other designer's recipes or sketches but her talent shows through when she alters the design to make it her own, is able to select her papers or colors, or utilize just the right embellishment. Cards are a good hobby for her because they finish quickly, giving her a sense of accomplishment while she is learning about color, texture, techniques, and design elements. When you consider that Ms. Emily is only 12 years old and has been doing this only a couple months on and off, I am sure you would agree she has an amazing gift that if cultivated will be impressive!

I am Chosen as a Guest Designer & Offered a Chance to Teach...in the same week!

Wow! Didn't I say last week was going to be busy? I feel like I did not get anything done and yet I know I accomplished a lot in my scrap world as well. While I was busy doing my own designs I found myself helping my own daughter's friends with a few projects of their own and so this too added to my busy.

Well perhaps I will begin with the Monday morning good news right away, I apologize I did not post sooner but I think I might have needed to adjust. Scrap Our Stash owner, Kathy, chose me to be a guest designer for the month of September based on my submissions for the July challenge of brads and eyelets. I was chosen after the winners were chosen when she located some submissions of minew which had been sent to junk mail and she said she felt terrible and wanted to offer me a spot as an apology...which of course I jumped at. I will take it how I can get it even if it is by a default...however, I really hope that she also chose me for my work. The designers from her team seem to like my work based on her comments and so I am hoping I can meet her challenge expectations again in the future. I have provided a couple other submissions for the August Challenge which is using flowers! How great is that feature challenge? I cannot share those submissions with you right now but if your itching and interested you can visit http://www.scrapourstash.blogspot.com/ to view my submissions and others and then enter the challenge yourself!

In addition to my guest designer spot I was offered an opportunity to teach scrapbooking for a major craft retailer. I am interested in teaching and so very honored to have been asked. I haven't accepted, only said I was intersted and I would be back in touch after consideration. My issues are that I would prefer to teach for a local scrap-shop...if you want to be specific I would really like to teach for my favorite shop Rochester Scrapbooking Company because it will give me an excuse to spend more time there and call it "work." I think working for a local shop would be more personable, fun, and allow for creative expression and I imagine a generic retail craft store is going to be a bit different than that filled with people you may or may not work with again. I also strongly believe in supporting our scrap-shops because if they have good service, good product & prices with a strong following developed from these things, then they deserve all of our support to stay in our communities. After all, if they leave then where will all the scrappers escape from their children??? Seriously though, I feel as if I must accept the opportunity solely for the chance to have the experience. Up until this point I have only taught scrapbooking to youth groups and individual adults who have sought me out for a one on one of advice or guidance. All of those people seem to be doing OK LOL...if anyone reads this what would you do or think about it if it were you?

The 2 page 12x12 layout was just one of the several done this weekend. With it being summer, the time has come to think of the New Year and Valentine's Day. HA HA HA Isn't that funny? But it is what everyone is seeking right now for themes on calls. The journaling around the pages include various quotes about the New Year...So many people were scrapping a Christmas in July that I decided that July 31st was the perfect time to ring in the New Year, Memory Book Style! If anyone is out there I am really eager for some feedback on this page so long as it is constructive because when I walked away from it I "liked it" but felt as if I was lacking confidence in it.

Lastly, I had promised that I would be posting my version of Liz Chidester's sketch from the week previous to CHA. This was sketch 74 and while I do not follow sketches very often I really liked working this sketch from her page. She already has sketch 75 up so check it out at her blog "The Scrappiest."In the meantime I want to share the page with you because I was pleased with my take on it and when I sent it to Liz she said she also liked it and provided no criticism, inviting me to send my versions of her sketches more. My favorite thing is the sketch allowed me to use up a Cricut die cut from my business partner that I have been staring at for months! If you are interested in the recipe or have questions please email me direct. In the meantime, believe it or not I have some work on my table, including a project for my business partner's daughter a 2 page layout that features an impressive 22 pictures PLUS title AND journaling!!! So far everyone who has viewed it liked it...hopefully you will too when I next post it.