This month really did not go as planned. I was really excited to be a part of LOAD. It's the only one this year I would be able to do. I quickly got side tracked and have found it hard to recover.  What I mean is, I found it hard to get back to a LO a day.  The good thing is, I've been able to scrap. I've even had large chunks of time to do multiple pages, just not a LO a day.  I decided that my goal was to still complete 28 LO's this month, and I will actually meet this goal.

One reason I will meet this goal is Sketches in Thyme.  I used all 3 sketches this month!  Here I used Sketch #103.  I had laid these photos out in 57 different designs, and never even thought to try them this way.

I used my standard 4x6 photos, so I chose to use photos in place of the multiple blocks of PP on the left side of the LO.  The last panel on the right became my journaling block.  I used some very old PP (some so old they have no manufacturer name on them) and my new banner die to create the banner under the photos.  I'm not a great sports photographer.  There were lots of busy photos and patterns, so I chose to leave the embellishing to a minimum.

Supplies:

PP-Echo Park, paper Pizzazz, Karen Foster, unknown

Title Sticker-Sports Company

Banner Die-Sizzix

die cut-Echo Park

CS-Bazzill

This LO is the Club CK Jan/Feb Issue Challenge #9-Shapes are Everywhere.  My shape to show is Stars.  I use stars all the time, but when presented with the challenge, I froze.  I had already decided to use Sketches in Thyme Sketch #101, but with my standard 4x6 photos.  I just had to figure out the rest.  Well, washi tape to the rescue.  I bought the coordinating tape that went with these papers, so the colors were perfect.  Not only that, the stars on the tape brought all the colors together.

These photos make me laugh.  He's always been curious, and a bit mischievous as well. 

Supplies:

CS-Bazzill

All other supplies-MME

Alphas-October Afternoon, Thickers

You & Me

I am so happy to say that not only am I now caught up on LOAD, I also got to participate in this week's Issue Challenge at Club CK, while using sketch #102 from Sketches in Thyme!   Woo Hoo for scrap time while I have family visiting. ok, the truth is, the scrapping is keeping me sane.

Here it is, the LO I created.  The LOAD prompt was a LO about your honey.  Perfect. That fit right into the Club CK Issue Challenge of creating a 'Valentine' page, with non-traditional product.

I used my phone to take the photo, so it isn't that great.  I love Sketches in Thyme sketch #102, and knew it was right for this photo.  After looking at the colors in the photo, I grabbed some leftover papers from my Scrapbook Generation kit.  To be honest, I didn't love them, and would not have purchased them for myself.  I guess that is part of the challenge of a kit club.  You don't always love everything that you receive, but try to use the stuff anyway. I combined them with some papers I had from the same manufacturer and am really pleased with the result.  A few small embellishments was all it needed.  Glitter is glitter, pink or not.  Being able to use some here makes me happy.

Supplies:

Papers and Twine-MME

Wood veneer-Studio Calico

Alphas-DIY Thickers

Glitter-Martha Stewart on Thickers

Stickles on the wood veneer

Are you Ready....?

Somehow I am managing to keep up with things.  I know that when I have more to do, I get more done...I'm even catching up on LOAD.  Counting this LO, I will only be 2 behind!  Woo Hoo

Anyway, it's time for another challenge at About a Boy.  Today's challenge?  Create a LO with an infant photo of one of the men in your life.  See, that's a challenge for me.  I've already scrapped them.  So I went back and scrapped a favorite photo of my older son.  The cool thing about this is the hobby itself has changed so much, that the products I used today, were not even remotely available when I scrapped these photos the first time.  And no, I will never go back and re-do my older pages.  He was about 4-5 months old in these photos and they just screamed this title....

For this page, I used sketch #82 at Inspired Blueprints.  A simple but really usable sketch.  The original had one photo, but I added a second, keeping the main design the same.  I just wanted to showcase the photos.  He was such a fun, happy baby. He let us do just about anything with him. Oh, and those huge, blue eyes are still a show stopper today, almost 13 years later.

So think about a favorite infant photo of your guy that you'd like a second chance to scrap and come on over to About a Boy to play along.

Supplies:

PP and twine-Jillibean Soup

CS-Bazzill

alphas/ words-October Afternoon, Authentique, Sassafrass

Footballs-MAMBI

Raspberry Bliss

Well, I am officially off my game. I got in the first 3 days of LOAD, then fell off the train. Something came up and that was that.  So I don't do a page a day, but I will be able to catch up and finish the month with 28 completed LO's.  They may not be on prompt, but they'll be finished.

That leads me to today's page.  It's my turn again at Child's Play Challenges.  It's the Art Supply Challenge: Doilies.  Yes, that's right. Doilies. I laughed. Thankfully, I had a kit I received from my Paper Mania group at Ben Franklin.  Between that and Inspired Blueprints Sketch #81, I had just the kind of things I needed to complete this assignment.

I even get to add it to LOAD #4, a smell.  We went raspberry picking last summer. I tried my hand at making jam and baking a pie. The house smelled so good.  I like to joke about my alter ego "Betty", and boy did she show up on that day. But I can't wait until this summer to do it all over again.

There you have it. Pink and doilies on a page I created. 

All supplies are MME except the washi tape-Darice and Alpha letters-October Afternoon

LOAD 2 & 3

Some unexpected things fell in my lap well after signing up to do LOAD this month. I'm going to do my best to keep up with both the LO's and blog posts, but it just may not happen.

LOAD2-  Describe your perfect day.  I did a page about my husband.  I didn't describe his perfect day.  I created a a page celebrating an accomplishment that was perfect for him. He was asked to work hard, and that if he did, he would be recognized for his efforts. He did, and he was rewarded in front of his peers and leaders.  He asked me not to post it online, so I have a portion of the page to share.

My idea was to take the same photo and print it 3 ways to show how he was trying to make a difference.

Supplies: 

PP-MME, AC; embellies-AC, word stickers-Theresa Collins; stencils-Crafters Workshop; spray mist-Mister Huey

LOAD3--Focus on an important but overlooked item.  I decided to focus on....ME.  I get so busy and focused on my family, that I don't take care of me. Oh, and yes, I did read The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin...

Again it was one of those days where I didn't get to begin until 7pm, but I was able to get 'er done.  Everything on the page is the Fancy Pants 'Be You' collection.  I purposely bought it to use for pages about me.  It's the only time I ever get to use pink!   I decided to try a new place this month, SWAT and their first challenge was to get out from behind the camera...so I did,

LOAD 1 / Summer Lovin'

Weekends.  Weekends are not for free time for me....so even though I have 2 LO's finished from Friday, this is the first chance I've had to sit down to write about them! One of them anyway...

It's Feb, which means my annual attempt at LOAD.  I got day one finished at 8pm.  The prompt?  a wordless page.  Use products that enhance the photo so words are not necessary. Yeah, you try that.  It was hard.  So I decided to challenge myself to create the mood on the page, but then I added a title and journaling afterwards.

Anyway, I was so happy to be able to use a sketch #99 from Sketches in Thyme. I loved this sketch when I saw it. Of course I had to use my signature 4x6 instead of smaller photos.  It worked out well. I  also put my own spin on Frosted Designs weekly challenge to use at least one heart and the word love  on the page. I'm not one to do pink and girly Valentine pages.  This is for sure different.

This is how it looked when I added it to the LOAD gallery. (like I said, 8pm, so very nad, very dark photo).  Happy photos needed some bright happy products. I think I accomplished this.  Lots of Washi Tape, bright background and fun bold colored polka dot paper.  I thought about creating a sun, but didn't want to fight with the banner, so I just created the twine circle instead.

I added a title and some journaling. I couldn't just leave it alone....

Supplies: CS-The Paper Co 

PP-Pebbles

Washi tape-Recollections, Queen & Co, WRMK, 7 Gypsies

Stickers-AmyTangerine/AC

Twine-Doodlebug

Alphas-Thickers/AC

beads-random