Into 2025

Hi everyone! 2025 is off to a challenging start for many...I'm fortunate that although the weather is cold and snowy, I have a safe and secure home. And plenty of time for scrapping! Here's a couple of pages to start off with:

First is this layout done for the Through the Lens challenge at Oscraps, You were asked to scrap one photo only, and it had to relate to travel. Here's my page:

I made it with the 365 Today Collection by Kitty Designs, which is FREE with any $10 purchase from January 5 through today:

I also did a layout just for fun because I couldn't resist this new release at Oscraps by Joyce Paul called Blooming Beginnings: 

I used it for yet another photo from my daughter's wedding this past October:

That's it so far! If you want to grab 365 Today for free, hop on over to the shop HERE today; otherwise, there will be a new FWP each week! Stay warm, and make sure you come back and see me soon!

Wrapping Up 2024

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and are looking forward to a Happy New Year! I've been so busy this month that I'm finally taking a few minutes this afternoon to catch you up on my layouts for the month of December, with an eye towards starting fresh in 2025!

As usual, much of my inspiration comes from doing challenges, and the 12 Days of December event at Oscraps filled that niche perfectly! While much of the event has ended, the challenges are open through the end of the month, and if you choose to participate, you still have a chance to win some prizes! Here's a peek at the ones I took part in:

First was the 12 Days of December  Day 4 - Same Photo Challenge. We were given this snowy scene and tasked with building a layout around it:

 

I used Frozen Dream Page Kit by Xuxper Designs, which was free with any $10 purchase at Oscraps through Dec. 7th. There is a new product free with purchase every week, so it does pay to pop into the shop often and see what's available!  

For two other challenges, I used Small Joys by Lynn Grieveson:

 

This first layout was done for the Day 1 - Secret Gift Challenge. You chose one of three "gifts", each of which gave you different requirements for how to complete your layout. The gift I chose mandated that you don't use any black or white in your page. It was harder than I thought!

 

Then, I used Lynn's bundle for the Day 6 - Chain Scraplift Challenge. These are fun - you choose a layout from the gallery of the person who posted in the thread above you, and scrap your take on it.  This is the layout I chose to lift-you can click on it to go to the gallery for credits:

 

I stay pretty faithful to the inspiration piece when I do scraplifts; here is my take on it:

One challenge I always look forward to in December is one that asks you to scrap a favorite holiday song. That was the case with the Day 12 - Christmas/Winter Song Lyrics Challenge, as well as a similar challenge at Just Art Scrapbooking:

 

I used the Sentiment All in One Bundle by natali design that I showed you last month, as well as bits from the Oscraps Jingle & Mingle Mega Collaboration Kit 2024 which was a free Daily Download earlier this month and will be available in store in 2025.

 

One more challenge layout to show you, although this wasn't for the 12 Days of December event. It was for the December color challenge at Just Art Scrapbooking, with this month's color being red: 

 

  

 

I used a couple of products by Joyce Paul, who is a brand new guest designer at Oscraps! Take a look at  Christmas Chronicles - Bundle:

 

 

 

I also used her August 24 - Templates No 1: 

I am so enchanted with Joyce's products I grabbed another bundle to scrap this layout just for fun:

 

 

I can see myself using this bundle, called Zoo Time, over and over again:

 

 

 

All right, that's a wrap! We are all caught up! Remember, if you'd like a chance at winning some prizes from the 12 Days of December challenges, check out the forum at Oscraps HERE. There are several nice gift certificates up for gabs, even though the chance for major prizes has ended. There are also a bunch of new designers that already have, and will be making, appearances at Oscraps in 2025, so check out the shop HERE!

Again, have a Happy New Year, and make sure you come back and see me soon!

12 Days of December 2024 is Here at Oscraps!

Hi everyone! Today is the last day of November, Thanksgiving is past, and just like that we are headed into the month of December with all that entails. Of course, at Oscraps that means the annual 12 Days of December event is here once again!

What that means is that you could win any number of Daily Challenge/Games coupons or one of the fabulous GRAND PRIZE PACKAGES!

And, of course, there will be free DAILY DOWNLOADS of our brand new and gorgeous digital scrapbook mega collaboration Jingle & Mingle:

 

 

Here's a couple of pages I've done so far with the collab. The first is fairly simple, as it was made for the Pre-Party Avatar challenge that's already going on:

 

Since it's still November, this next layout was a last-minute post in the November Border Only challenge at Oscraps:

 

While I've got your attention, I should mention that Oscraps is also currently running its Black Friday-Cyber Monday sale HERE! You may want to check it out before Monday night and hop on over to the forum for the 12 Days of December event. You just might see Yours Truly hosting an event, so check it out, and make sure you come back and see me soon!

Scrapping Along in November

Hi everyone! I was in such a scrapping slump in October that I didn't think I'd be doing many pages this month. However, there's nothing like a wedding and a trip out of state to get those creative juices flowing! My oldest daughter got married in Seattle on October 30th, and since I've been home, I've been inspired. Please take a look at what I've done so far this month!

My first layout was for the current Anna Lift challenge at Oscraps. Recently, Anna's creative team has been offering a combo color/lift challenge, instead of two separate challenges. This is the first such challenge I've participated in:

 

Here's my page for the challenge, documenting a memory from my trip:

 

 

To fulfill the challenge requirements I had to source from a wide variety of products, so I won't post images, but here are the links (where available) for everything I used. Everything is by Anna Aspnes except where noted:

 

main kit: ArtPlay Palette He
background text and bead wordart: Milieu WordART Mix No. 1
transfers: ArtPlay Palette Plage and ArtPlay Palette Natural Instinct 

Postage Frames No 1
flower and foliage: ArtPlay Palette Prismatic
foliage: Elegant by CarolW Designs
word strip: The Journey by Vicki Robinson Designs
Alpha: Grandcestors by Idgie's Heartsong 

 

Speaking of Anna Aspnes, she is retiring over 300 products at the end of the month, and everything that is being retired is on sale! If you're interested, take a look HERE at what's available! 

 

Okay, back to layouts! I love combining photos I want to scrap with challenges, and these next few pages check off both those boxes. First up is this page for the current Font Challenge at Oscraps, which did double duty for the Clean and Simple challenge at Just Art Scrapbooking:

 

 I used this seasonal kit by Mystery Scraps called No Fear: 

 

Here's a layout I just posted for another favorite challenge, the White Space Challenge, also at Just Art:

 

 

For this one I used Sentiment All in One Bundle by natali design:

 

 

If you're observant, you may have noticed these last two products have the Color Play logo on their previews; they are part of October's Color Play collection. I combined them for November's Color Play challenge at Oscraps, and ended up with this page:

 

All right, we're all caught up! We'll see how long this creative flow lasts! I've got a bunch more photos to scrap from the wedding trip, so make sure you come back and see me soon!

It's All About The Great Outdoors!

Hi everyone! In my neck of the woods, October means fall colors making their slow appearance. I love to get outdoors and try to capture all the golden hues, the end result being that I found myself scrapping mostly nature photos this month.  I'd like to show you a few wonderful products and what you can do with them!

 

First up we have Forest Path Collection by Palvinka Designs:

I used the collection for two separate challenges. First of all, both Oscraps and Just Art Scrapbooking have Big Photo challenges in October, and this is the layout I created for them:

A challenge I try to never miss is the White Space challenge at Just Art, and this is my page for that one this month:

Another bundle I grabbed is Wake Up Happy Digital Scrapbooking Collection by Lynn Grieveson, which is the focus of her Featured Product challenge this month at Oscraps:

 

I used it for the Color Challenge at Just Art, this month's color being orange:

...and then I used it for the Poems and Lyrics challenge back at Oscraps:

 

Isn't it cool to see how one can pull two different colors out of the same collection, even though the subject and general arrangement of the two layouts are similar? Here's another outdoorsy layout; this was made for Rachel Jefferies' Featured Product challenge at Oscraps:

It was created with Heathland Collection by Rachel Jefferies, which I've shown you before:

 

 

Both Heathland and Wake Up Happy are on sale through the end of October since they're the focus of their respective challenges!

 

Finally, we are at Color Play time at Oscraps! This collection of products by different designers, all created with the same palette, is on sale for 50% off through Monday October 28. I worked with this adorable kit from FeiFei Stuff called Woodland Walk:

 

 

I created two layouts. The first is for the October Rearrange a Template challenge at Oscraps. Here's a peek at the template in question:

 

 

 My take on the challenge:

 

Then, I did this page just because I thought the kit worked well for this photo from a couple of years ago:

And that brings us to the end of my scrapping for October! I'm headed out of town for a few days, so it will be November before I'm back to scrapping! Enjoy the autumn colors if you have them, check out the Color Play category at Oscraps HERE, and make sure you come back and see me soon!

Farewell to September

Hi everyone! It's the end of September and the season has turned to autumn. I'm always sad to see summer go, but you can't beat the colors and textures of this time of year. I embraced that concept in a couple of layouts I recently did for challenges at Oscraps. 

 

My first layout was for the Creative Techniques challenge. I scrapped some photos of my daughter and her fiance at this year's Renaissance Festival, always held in August and September:

 

I then turned to a photo I took a couple of years ago. The way the light hits the world this time of year always catches my attention:

For both of these layouts I used these products:

 

Nature's Notebook Collection by DigiARTventures:

 

 

and Blendy Goodness (one) by Joyful Heart Designs:

The end of the month always means Color Play time at Oscraps - designers create various products using the same palette, and all the goodies are on sale for 50% off for the weekend. I was captivated by the watercolor papers in this offering by Vicki Stegall called Worth It:

The colors were perfect for this photo taken at a family gathering last September:

The 50% off sale ends tonight, so check out the Color Play offerings HERE, and make sure you come back and see me soon!

Autumn Wings - mid-September Scrapping

Hi everyone! Halfway through September, and the the upper hemisphere is gearing up for autumn. I'm resisting a bit, though, because the weather in my neck of the woods has been very summery and I'm just not ready to let the season go.  I found a happy medium by finding this older kit by Vicki Stegall in the shop at Oscraps. Take a look at Autumn Wings:

 

I chose it to participate in the September Momma O challenge at Oscraps, which asked participants to use Vicki's products to scrap a layout with one of the many national "days" as inspiration. I chose Pet Bird Day, September 17 (tomorrow!):

 

I like the kit so much I used it for a second challenge at Oscraps, the September Quote It challenge:

And, coming to the realization that the first day of autumn is indeed just a week away, I decided to use this same kit for the signature challenge at Just Art Scrapbooking:

I hope you found a little inspiration for scrapping during this change of the seasons! Have a good week, and make sure you come back and see me soon!