Graceful? Not so much

Here's another layout I made as part of my guest DT work for Scrapbooking from the Inside Out.  The monthly topic is "grace", so I did a page that talks about how sometimes I'm not very graceful. 

The journaling says:
What I lack in grace, I make up for in zeal and enthusiasm.  I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the most coordinated person in the world. In fact, I’m downright clumsy at times. Robert affectionately calls me “Lucy” (as in ‘I Love Lucy’) because I often cause minor calamities. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to embrace the silly, uncoordinated me. I’m not afraid to let loose and dance, jump and be playful. 

I also made a card with products from the GRACE kit.  I associate the word "grace" with being gracious and showing gratitude.  I'm a big believer in saying a proper "thank you" for acts of kindness bestowed upon us by others.  Often a verbal "thank you" or a "thank you" email will suffice, but I think sometimes it's nice to send a written thank you -- even better -- in a handmade card.   My mom does SO MUCH for me and my family.  Her love and generosity go above and beyond.  Sometimes spoken words just aren't enough to express my gratitude to her.  So I made this thank you card for my mom to thank her for all she does and to tell her how much we love and appreciate her. 

I haven't given it to her yet, so hopefully she won't see this blog post before then. Shhhhhhhhhh . . .

Another SFTIO layout plus the Creating Keepsakes magazine winner

First off, the winner of last week's giveaway for the March/April issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine is comment # 28:  Svetlana.  Congrats, Svetlana!!  I just sent you an email requesting your mailing address.

Before the month is over, I wanted to share another layout I created as Guest Designer for Scrapbooking From the Inside Out ("SFTIO").  The topic this month is "grace", so I created a layout about growing old gracefully.

This page features beautiful Pink Paislee papers and chipboard hexagons.  I made the two light pink flowers using the Begonia Petals punch made by Punch Bunch.  I made the two dark pink roses using one of my favorite paper rose techniques:  Paper flower tutorial.

Have a wonderful week!!

Creating Keepsakes' March/April 2012 giveaway!

The March/April 2012 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine is out!

 
This fabulous issue includes 286 must-try scrapbooking ideas, including:

• new style inspiration for layouts about your family,
• 8 cool techniques to help you "leap ahead" in your scrapbooking,
• clever ideas to scrapbook baby photos (taken recently or not),
• 5 new uses for pigment powder,
• heartwarming ways to celebrate friendship,
• easy-peasy scraplifting tips,
• and more.

Here's a layout I created for this issue:

Copyright Creative Crafts Group.  Posted with prior permission from the publisher.

I made the flowers out of Tim Holtz Kraft Glassine paper that I colored with pigment powders:

 
First I used my Slice to cut flowers from glassine paper.  I crumpled each flower slightly and applied pigment powders with a cotton swab (you can also use a paintbrush). I then used a heat gun on each flower to set the pigment powder.  Last, I layered the flowers and added a bit of Bazzill bling to the center of each layered flower.  Credit:  I saw this technique done on Tim Holtz' blog

You can find a copy of the March/April issue at your local newsstand/bookstore, or you can purchase a copy of the issue from CK's online store:  March/April 2012 issue.  Here's a link to the online extras so you can find the contests, downloads, and techniques that compliment this issue: March/April online extras.

Guess what? The generous people at Creating Keepsakes are allowing me to give away a copy of this issue.  To be entered to win, simply leave a comment here before Sunday night.  I'll announce the winner next week.  But wait, there are a handful of other bloggers who are also giving away a copy of this issue on their blogs.  Go visit the blogs below and leave a comment for more chances to win!

Linda Barber: http://milesofpaper.blogspot.com/
Scrapbook Society: http://www.lollipopscards.com/
Mou Saha: http://collagecollagecollage.blogspot.com/
Cindy Tobey: http://cindytobey.blogspot.com/
Laina Lamb: http://lifeonthelamb.blogspot.com/

Good luck!

Scrapbooking From the Inside Out - Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Scrapbooking From the Inside Out ("SFTIO") Blog Hop! If you are just beginning at my blog, make sure you go back and start at Melissa's blog.  As mentioned in my last blog post,  I have the pleasure of being the Guest Designer at SFTIO this month.  The topic for March is "Grace", and the monthly kit is just as "graceful" and beautiful as can be!  Here's one of the layouts I created with the kit:

I wrote about how proud I am of my girls and the respectful way they behave around other people -- with grace and good manners.

Now if only they acted that way all the time at home.  You moms all know what I'm talking about . . . but we won't get into that now. ;-)

Here's a look a SFTIO's beautiful GRACE kit:

And now is your chance to win the GRACE kit!!  Simply leave a comment here by 6:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time this Saturday and tell me how you define the word "grace".  Each blog you visit and leave a comment on gives you another chance to win (though only one kit will be given away). 

To continue on the Blog Hop, just head on over to Bonita's blog!

Scrapbooking From the Inside Out - Guest Designer

I'm honored to be the Guest Designer at Scrapbooking From the Inside Out this month!  The topic this month is "GRACE", and the gorgeous monthly kit really epitomizes the word.  The philosophy at Scrapbooking From the Inside Out is that it's important for us to sometimes tell our own stories on our scrapbook pages. This was a great exercise for me because I rarely scrapbook about myself.

Here's one of the layouts I created with the Grace kit.  I did some fussy cutting with the lovely Pink Paislee  papers. 

The story behind this layout:  A few years ago I read an interview with an actress and she talked about the importance of living her live with "grace". I had to stop and think about what this means in general, and more specifically, what it means for me personally. To me, living my life with grace means treating other people with gentleness and kindness. This has always been one of the rules I live by, and it's a value that I have tried to instil in my children since an early age. Of course I'm not always perfect, but I do strive to put the "kindness vibes" out there in the world.

I used a dinner plate to trace a circle onto the cardstock, then I painted the circle with gesso. While the gesso was still wet, I sprinkled on some white glitter. Next I cut out the center squares of the Pink Paislee trellis paper. I cut a circle out of the trellis paper and adhered it to the gesso/glitter circle with 3D adhesive. As a final touch, I added Viva pearl pen dots to the trellis design.

I'll be sharing the rest of my layouts and a card in the coming days.  Be sure to come back on Friday, March 9th, because I'll be joining the Scrapbooking From the Inside Out Design Team for a fun blog hop!