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!