Happy Birthday to my favorite eldest son

 Who's rockin' the facial hair. 

I can't decide if I like it.

So I kinda got my Ashli on - watched her video over

on the flair blog.

I love how she uses the washi tape with paint.

I didn't do that. But I love her placement of it so I sorta

followed that and the stamping.

And the bits and pieces. She brings them all together

like they're supposed to be.

I'm working on it. LOL!

 I did get to use my big antlered animal stamp from Studio Calico.

I can't decide if its moose or elk (I really wanted to say squirrell). 

I didn't come up with that until my go to title maker

came up with the title.

It was obvious when you think about it.

Obviously I wasn't thinking about it. 

I tucked in a tag for hidden journaling and some layering.

Anyway favorite eldest will be umm.....older. While

I'm still really WAY young. Lots younger.

Happy Birthday Nicki-poo!!!

Have an awesome day!

Old Sassafrass Lass paper

I've been into using stash - not because it was stash, although it's always cool to whittle down the vast amount of papers and to not waste the tree that went into that stash, but because it actually

works for the photo and story. 

What you may not have been attracted to in the past actually rocks your little scrap world now. 

How cool is that.

I have subscribed to kits in the past and raise your hand if you DIDN'T love everything you received.

It really makes sense and I was okay with that because at times it made me spread my wings a bit.

Now the paper I used on this page isn't earth shattering out there and why I haven't used it prior to this I really can't say. I'm glad that as I was searching for something else this popped into my hands.

I love that I was able to use newer items like washi, wooden veneers, Simple Stories labels, mists, and twine and they all made the page. And maybe if I hadn't told you - you wouldn't remember how old this paper is. Or maybe you would. 

My philopsophy is 100 years from now no one is going to know I didn't use the latest and greatest on any given page.

However isn't great to USE NEW STUFF!

I love that stamp too, which is new from my Studio Calico kit. 

I just need to remember to keep an eye on my same brand of  inks when choosing inks and not just grab one. I wanted black and ended up with grey and didn't trust that I could line it up correctly.

ooooppps.....However, it really out well.

My entries for the Avacado Design Team tryouts

I didn't make it. And its all good. Win some-lose some.

So here's my card using their stamp sets.

There stamp sets are adorable by the way.

 I have trouble with cards. I don't know why but they baffle me and now I have to work on that skill.

I used the jar stamp from inkadinkadoo - and embossed the edges. And fussy cut the flowers for a bit of dimension.

I kept the inside simple.

Whooooooooo doesn't love owls.

I cut out and chopped down the tree from quickutz for it to fit and added some leaves from mulberry papers. Got carried away with the mists.

On the inside I used the mulberry paper and didn't like it - so I ripped it out and thought it added some texture along with more mists. Of course when I saw the word who - I went straight to the Who's song, "Who are you? who who who who." It really couldn't be helped.

And this sweet tea set worked totally perfect with this photo.

Love the Studio Calico papers and envelop and Dear Lizzy frames.

Anyway it was fun to do the challenges and work the stamps in. 

It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be and I love the outcome. 

I want to thank my pal Connie, check her blog out, she rocks the vintage and all

things country at Crafty Goodies for giving me a heads up.

Remember that tease with the bingo card....

I started with a challenge from Off the Rails Scrapbooking to alter

an item or items with mist, paint, ink etc.

Well these two items have been laying about forever.

Tea varnish and a card. I added the varnish with a foam brush

unevenly I might add so that it more resembles that

uneven aging.

 This unknown big flower I've also had forever and the

name is on the tip of my tongue and will it roll off -nooooooo

There's also some Ranger ink on there for a bit more definition.

 I picked up these new KaiserCraft embellies just the other

day and man did they work out perfect.

 Just brushing the tea varnish over changes the look

quite dramatically I think.

 I thought I might have been getting too carried away.

(As if that could happen) but when its all assembled it

looks like it aged that way.

 I love the layers. I did pull the twine off and aged that as well

because after looking at this photo it stuck out like a sore thumb.

And wa-la! Of course I had to go find a photo that would that wouldn't overwhelm

or be overwhelmed. That's my mom and I honestly can't

guesstimate a year on it. I think this will be one of my favorites.

Sadly I can't it sit around too long - FL does not lend itself in keeping the

photo from fading unless I frame it. hmmm.......

So your challenge is to alter an item or items; link it up over at 

Off the Rails and be eligible to win a prize.

Check it out here!

Thanks!

Sneaky peek & Reveals at Off the Rails Scrapbooking

Here's a sneaky peek of my project that will be revealed on Sunday 

so you need to return :)

In the meantime go HERE to check out

the amazing projects from the rest of the team!

The challenge? 

alter anything you want with mists, paints, inks, - 

on anything you want.

Link up your project at the OTR blog to enter to win a lovely prize.

This is me doing things I never thought I'd be able to do.

(photos by Shari Parker - who is a wonderful digital scrapper that hangs at scrapbooking.com)

I don't have any pages today - because I was hanging out with friends, enjoying their company and having a delicous dinner that I didn't have to cook.  I'm going to have a couple more days like this. And the mojo is rekindling so......... 

I haven't updated you recently about the fun I'm having at crossfit. This is me doing a handstand pushup - the modified version. One day I'll be on the wall or in the middle of the room standing on my hands doing pushups. And yes the snot does flow when your head is in this position. I can't begin to tell you how annoying that is.

And here I am pumping iron. Working my up in form and strength. Its exciting when the weight increases, the form is right and you can see the results. No flab under these arms baby.

And running I'm seriously not a fan of running. But when the WOD says run. I run. I'm in the red with pink shoes so if I ever face plant in a ditch I can be found. It always starts out like this. Running with the pack. And then ends up like this....and I'm okay with being lapped. I'm getting faster and one day.....

I won't be the lone runner. Or the last runner -  or the animal that will get picked off because the herd is thundering on. I ran my first 5K and I was dead last but my goal was to complete the run any way I could. I ran and walked it in 49:26. Next time I will run it all the way.

And there I am by the purple mat doing something physical. Maybe situps, or my personal NONfavorite - burpees. OR I could be tossing a kettle bell about. Its hard to say.

And instead of box jumping - I do step ups.

Baby steps in some areas and running with the pack in others. Whatever I do, I'm working just as hard as everyone else - but scaled just for me.

I really need to make a page. 

I love crossfit and I can't wait to wake up every morning and not only see what they're going to throw at me, but doing it and doing it well. Crossfit tests your limits and I love it.

 I'm making amazing progress and I embrace the challenge.

Owls for Halloween

And isn't Lou a hoot. (Seriously, :) )Apparently he was not fond of the costume. Most especially the mask. The ole owls are totally adorable and very fun.

A close up of the owls. I cut them out to make them 3D and the last 2 do not match what's underneath. And it really doesn't matter because it still works for the 3D pop dot look. I also popped up the tag and hopefully in a way that can be written upon as I'm not in charge of the journaling on this. 

Bella Blvd pattern paper and tags and owls and Studio G twine. Studio Calico other patterned paper and thickers of course.

Simple Stories Color Me Happy baby album

is finally completed. Yay!! Since the parents decided to not know the sex of the baby - it basically rules out the traditional colors. Not that I'm bound by that anyway. There was also the tried and true albums I've always done and you can check one out here or here. And I decided I wanted something different.

So I sashayed on down to Hobby Lobby to check out their papers. And they had blue and pink lines but no in between in 12x12. I then checked out their paper packets and stumbled across Simple Stories Color Me Happy 8x8 pack. 6x6 would be ideal but because it had primary colors and really cool cut aparts I decided 8x8 was good.

Therefore, another decision was required.

8x8 or 6x6. 

6x6 won - because its easy to store, not overwhelming and very cute and adorable. I also remembered I needed some less weighted chipboard for the pages - I have heavy weighted for the covers.

It was fun, I picked out some fun colors in the paint that matched the papers and painted the pages in almost every one of the colors. Every other one. I even painted additional chipboard to use as embellishments. 

The hearts and doily are the red painted chipboard punched embellies

 and have yellow paint on the backside so you can go either way.(The white doilies are Martha Stewarts. The papers are super cute and the colors work really well. 

I left a lot of space for journaling and a pocket for goodies. 

The photo size mats are iffy but I explain to just put the photo on don't worry if its not perfect or just use that for journaling or for other goodies, i.e. bracelets, lock of hair, etc. as well.

I'm extremely pleased how adorable it turned out and I like that its not "traditional" or my "tried and true". 

Sometimes change is good and lots of fun.

I have a blanket I crocheted as well that will go with the album.

And the don't necessarily match.

I'm becoming quite the rebel.

A couple of project teases going on...

Just to keep things interesting. Which means I've got nothing. LOL!

However, I was playing around whilst waiting for paint to dry and ta-da!! A couple of projects going on.

So stage left is some gesso and gel, awhite tag, medium and sweet potato bag mesh. Which is different from onion, potato, avacado mesh. They're great to have laying around.

So I laid out the orange mesh on the tag and slopped a mixture of gesso and gel around it.

I didn't have the presence of mind to photo the above - but below is

a photo of the texture the mixture made. Looks kinda neat although I either needed to use more or less. I'm not experienced enough to know at this point or any point really. I'm doing a lot of guessing.

 I broke out some adirondak alcohol inks and mists and some Heidi Swapp mist (which again you'll have to use your imagination because I didn't think to photo the process) because well I was playing around.

I really love the result - now all I have to do is figure out where to go from here.

Suggestions anyone? 

This bingo card has been laying about for centuries and felt the need to do something. Again.

So I broke out my tea dye varnish and went at it. Again, I know your imagination is by now running amok. :) 

As you can see I didn't do it evenly over the card because when paper and such ages it doesn't do it in an even fashion and I wanted that kind of look for the card.

THEN I had to wait for them to dry. Sigh. lol!

NOW I just need to figure out where to go from here. 

AND........

I visited HL tonight and picked up some chipboard and a new packet of paper to use for

the baby album. It'd be soooo much easier if I knew pink or blue LOL. 

However, I picked up the 8x8 of the Glitz Color Me Happy

and it has lots of happy happy happy primary colors and fun things

that I think will work well.

AGAIN.......

waiting for paint to dry - I painted the chipboard in colors I pulled

from the line and I'm not being a fraidy cat in 

slapping paint around.

I have a glass cutting board and under it I can't resist putting a lot of stuff
like tickets and cards and pamphlets and stuff.
It's distracting I know.
My bad.

6x6 size chipboard album

Conundrum. Which I'm sure shocks you. I started this little mini as a baby album using a 10 year old (at least) Basic Grey line-Periphery because I don't know the sex of the baby so it needed to be mostly not pink or blue.

 And somehow it all got out of control.

I cut down a 12x12 size chipboard and painted it.

and inked it and painted it some more.

It took 3 days to dry in this humidity and since it was taking that long I added more ink and paint to the covers and started in on the guts of it.

I cut down several different size and picked out music and on the back is like a library card. Added an envelop for keepsakes.

 Of course it still needs some more touches - ALOT more touches, but it was at this point that I was thinking this may not be a good idea as a baby book - especially if its a gift and its not a gift for another scrapper.

So NOW I'm rethinking.

Which is of course a scary thought.

 More birds and I love love love the papers.

I added the bluebirds - like the bluebirds of happiness. Which is baby-esque. This might be a cool album for heritage photos maybe.

ARRRGGGHHH...not sure. 

This is the back cover and the front sort of looks the same - with a bird on it. 

So my QUESTION TO YOU is - should I continue on as a baby album for a gift to a non-scrapper OR keep it for myself (unless you want it) and go back to the drawing board. 

I'm soooooo torn.