Crochet projects so far this year...

Grace asked for some new headbands several months ago...she really wanted a red bow like Snow White wears - so I found a pattern on pinterest.  Or I adapted one. I can't remember now it's been a few months.  The triple white one I thought looked fun.  And I've actually worn that one more than she has!

 This is a camo baby blanket that I'd been working on for awhile. I totally changed the border because what it was supposed to have was too girly. And then I adapted my little newsie cap to be like a little hunter's cap.  Totally love this blanket and hat set!

Dec. ST Technique Challenge - Ribbons & Bows

This is for the StoryTellers Club's December Technique Challenge - using ribbons. I used two ribbons for my border across the center of the page. I used a sketch I found from pinterest (http://pinterest.com/pin/44754590018947962/) for this - I don't usually use sketches, but this one was pretty simple and was perfect for my pictures of the kids with Santa.
I used the Winter Frolic Cricut Cartridge for the tag. The papers are from a Christmas SLab from DCWV or PC, I can't remember which. The buttons are from WM.

Pumpkin Head

I've been calling Grace that for ages :) And now she really is one. I adapted a Frankenstein Hat pattern and changed things, etc. and made a jack o'lantern hat. (Frankenstein ones are in progress). I used simply soft pistachio for the stem and red heart pumpkin (left over from Nathaniel's scarf) for the main part of the hat. And then felt cut outs for the facial features (I guess jack o'lanterns have faces). Grace loves it, but I wish I'd taken a picture when I first finished it and put it on her because she stretched it out so badly. Gotta' figure out how to fix that.

Another hat and a couple of layouts

 

I made this hat to go with a sweater my grandma knit for Grace for her birthday. I loved the colors...and I have fabric to make a dress for her that has flecks of of orange in it and will be nice and fallish with this hat and the sweater.

I knew what kind of hat I wanted to go with the sweater, but I had to find a pattern...preferably a free one. I finally found this one on Pinterest. The bow didn't work with what I had in mind, I wanted a pom pom on top (I think I'm going to go back and make a little bigger one though). I ended up making two...i thought this one was just too big for Grace, but the smaller one I made was too small. I looked at the original picture again and saw that it is really designed to pull down over the ears...tried it again and it's a little big, but it works :)

This was a really fun pattern - I love when I learn new stitches or something (I learned how to do two hdc together to decrease and a popcorn stitch...fun!)

The yarn is actually from my great grandmother's stash that my grandma has...old Dazzleaire - soft and fuzzy and fun!

 

These two layouts are for Nathaniel's baby book. I did them in July, but just finally had a chance to get out my Cricut and alphabet stickers and finish them up with titles.

The BROTHER'S KEEPER layout used bazzil CS, costco CS, the Zoo Day Cricut Cart. alphabet, CM journaling block & pen...and i can't remember the plaid paper -I've had it for ages.

DADDY'S BOY is done on some embossed brown CS (can't remember that either), some blue CM CS, the star punch is CM as are the little blue alphabet stickers (which I outlined in brown). The brown alpha stickers are Storyteller's Club.

The fiber is some I've had for awhile too...hopefully in the next week or so I'll get the other LOs I did in July finished up.

Another hat...

Here's another hat...this one was going to be for the craft fair collection, but Grace decided differently. She likes the flower :)

I made it from this http://www.etsy.com/listing/62815194/crochet-hat-pattern-flower-power-cap

pattern.

My flower looked like I had sewn it on higher on the hat at first, but when I got finished I realized that it had slipped...but she doesn't care a bit :)

I made two more of the butterfly hats in the past few days...used the same size hook for both of them, but different weight/size yarn and one is about Grace's size and the other is infant size.

I'm enjoying making hats!

MSD 20 Simple part 2



The Challenge for May 20th was title Rich Girls...and we were supposed to use embellishments, etc. that were "rich".  So I used stick-on pearls (joanns), a "jeweled" brad (costco), shimmery ribbon (repurposed from a package), fancy button (costco) and glittery chipboard tulip(a friend sent me).  The paper is from K&Co. and the vellum sticker title & journaling box/tag are Creative Memories.

MSD 18 Simple Wishes

May 18th challenge was Chopped...we were supposed to "fussy" cut something - around elements in paper or picture or something.
This is a picture I took of Grace a couple of weeks ago and I love it.
Love the way the whole thing came together.
My Mind's Eye paper, Creative Memories ink, photo corners from an old Storytellers Club kit (May 2004), Papyrus font for the quote I found on the internet and last, but not least, pop-up dots!

MSD 16



The challenge for May 16th was Don't Forget the Lyrics!  I've been wanting to use "Amazing Grace" for the title of a layout since she was born :)  These are some pictures I took of her last June...playing in the backyard, checking out a leaf and an earthworm one of her brother's brought her :)
I used the Lyrical Letters Cricut cartridge (and Design Studio) to make the title, the CS and journaling boxes and green mat are from Creative Memories.  The cut patterned paper I can't remember. 

MSD 13

May 13th Challenge was title X Marks the Spot...I have no clue what reality show that one is.  I wasn't sure how to use this one as we had to not only mark something with an X on our page, but also use "X Marks the Spot" as the title on our page.  I kept thinking pirates. Then yesterday afternoon we went geocaching for a bit...I realized that was a perfect use of X Marks the Spot.  So I scrapped some pictures for N's book of geocaching that we did last Augst.  The paper is older than he is...some I've had for probably 6 years that I got in a booklet by Hot Off the Press.  The metal Xs are from Joanns - bought about the same time.  The journaling box & arrow are made from CM paper.  He totally loves it...and I'm so thrilled to finally have used this paper that I never knew what I'd use it for, but just kept hanging on to it for some reason :)

National Scrapbook Day...

Storytellers, in addtion to their month long cybercrop for May, has all kinds of challenges & games on National Scrapbook Day. Here are the ones I've gotten done so far...I have a couple more I want to get done before the deadline tonight :)

Brian in a production in college.  This was for the Big Brother challenge (use a big photo mat).

I couldn't have found more perfect paper for this challenge - Cupcake Wars!  Someone sent me this paper quite a while ago.  The challenge was to have a cupcake of some sort on the layout and use the word SWEET in the title or journaling (i did both).  I saw a LO on another blog months ago titled this and knew I'd have to do a LO of Grace's adorable chubby cheeks some day.  I used the Once Upon a Princess Cricut Cartridge for the title ;)

This was the American Idol challenge - use red, white and blue...not necessarily patriotic.  These are pictures I took of Grace on her 10 month day.  I used Bazzil cardstock for everything, but the title - that was just some random white cardstock.  I added white ribbons and white flower brads. I used the Alphalicious cartridge for this title.

These are some pictures and postcards from my mission.  This was part of the Mythbusters challenge where we were supposed to use something architecural on the LO or pictures with need stuff like that in it.  So I immediately thought of Spain :)  All the papers, journaling boxes, pen were Creative Memories products.  The title was cut with the Lyrical Letters cartridge.  The pictures with tabs at the side have slide out journaling underneath.

MSD 5&6

 

The Challenge for May 5th was The Singing Bee and we were to use lyrics from either a song by Uncle Cracker or Bruno Mars (I still don't know who he is).  Both were songs I'd heard before.  I ended up using a line from Uncle Cracker and changed You Make Me Smile to You Make Us Smile and did a LO with pictures we took of the kids on Easter this year, and a family picture taken at the same time.  I used Storyteller paper, Creative Memories alphabet stickers and misc. flowers and brads.

May 6th Challenge was Trading Spaces.  We were given a sketch (I don't really like sketches) and told we had to flip it in some way.  I flipped it and then still moved things.  Here's Grace hunting Easter Eggs.  All Paper and stickers are fromPebbles except the CS - that is Creative Memories.  And the eyelet lace - I got that at a flea market in Arizona about 8 years ago :)

MSD 3 and Nurses Day

Well, lots was going on today and I didn't know if I'd get the MSD challenge done or not - it was called Plain Jane and we could only use cardstock (and pictures and adhesive) on the LO.  I used my Once Upon a Princess Cricut cartridge for the title and butterflies and did Grace's 2 month picture from November 2009 in a pretty dress her Grandma Lorrayne made for her.

 Then I pulled out my Everyday Paper Doll cart and made a card for my husband to take to class tomorrow.  He's in nursing school and tomorrow is Nurses Day (this will accompany brownies that I made also).

May Scrappin' Days begins!!

The Storytellers Club website has hosted a month long crop for - I don't know how long.  I think the first was in 2005 probably.  I've tried to participate every year and some years do better than others.  I always enjoy it and get quite a few pages done.  This year there's some tech issues and the gallery isn't up, so we're uploading our layouts to photobucket and then imbedding them in our posts on each contest/challenge.  I'm also putting mine up here - and whatever else I get done.  The May 1st challenge (that is due today) was called "What Not to Wear" and you were to use, polka dot print paper, striped print paper and two other prints.  That is hard for me to do, since I don't usually mix patterns too much.  I made it work on this layout of Grace - using a polka dot cardstock for the base, a print for the mat and then 2 additional prints for flowers.  I wanted to use some cute white rub-on letters for the title (Miss Grace), but cannot for the life of me find them.  But it works with out a title and if I ever find those letters, I can always go back and add it.

Also, here is the banner I made for Joshua for his birthday - using my Cricut.  The letters & horses are from the Old West cartridge.  The banner shape is from the Lyrical Letters cartridge.  He totally loved it.  Nathaniel wants one. Joshua says his name is too long for me to make a banner.  Nathaniel was heartbroken.  I told him it wasn't too long, I would be able to make one.

a few more pages....

first post

I've been scrapbooking for over 6 years now. I started when my oldest was 18 months old and he turns 9 tomorrow. I have a lot of my pages posted at storytellersclub.com. I've been playing with the idea of creating a blog just to post my layouts on and decided to take the plunge. I've been keeping up a family blog (well, sporadically keeping up) for about 4 years now, so blogging isn't new. We'll see how well I can keep up with a second one. I got a Cricut before my daughter was born, about a year and a half ago.  I haven't had a ton of time to use it, but little by little, I'm figuring it out.
Here's some of my favorites from the past year or so...