LOAD #30 - LOL!

It's my last LOAD of the month, and it isn't done. Today was just too crazy for me to complete my layout. It is in progress, though, and I will post it tomorrow. Hopefully Michelle and Linda had better luck with theirs. Thanks for participating, ladies!

******************************
Here's my final LOAD layout, finally finished. My week was insanely busy, which is why it took me so long to post this. It goes with my previous Laugh for Haiti layout, but this time I talked a little more about the comedy show put on by Michael Jr. He was absolutely hilarious! I was feeling a little sick from laughing so much by the time the show was over. The layout uses the You Rock papers again, and I think I'm in love. The colors are great, and I love the tough look! I also want to say thanks to Linda and Michelle, who scrapped along with me this month. You ladies did a great job with your LOAD! I will do the prize drawing as soon as both of you have posted all your layouts.



Recipe:
Starstruck & Headline Alphabet stamp sets
You Rock Level 2 papers
Indian Corn Blue, Cocoa & Goldrush cardstock
Indian Corn Blue, Outdoor Denim & Cocoa ink
White Daisy & Outdoor Denim grosgrain ribbon
Clear Sparkles
White gel pen

LOAD #29 - Laugh for Haiti

My layout for today is almost finished but I am too tired to post tonight! I'll have it up tomorrow morning. Good night, sleep tight.

***************************
It's tomorrow, and here's the layout - finally! Our church held a benefit to raise money for the people of Haiti after the recent earthquake, and this layout shows some of the great people who volunteered to set everything up for the event. The You Rock papers were perfect for this layout since their colors of Outdoor Denim, Indian Corn Blue, Garden Green, and Goldrush mirrored various elements in the photos. I also used the Just Be You stamp set from the You Rock Workshop on the Go (only available through today) to stamp the cool spirals and stars. Let me know if you want to order this stamp set, because once it's gone, it's gone!



Recipe:
Just Be You, Extreme Caps & Rustic Alphabet stamp sets
You Rock Level 2 papers
Outdoor Denim, Goldrush, Garden Green & White Daisy cardstock
Outdoor Denim, Goldrush, Garden Green, Olive & Indian Corn Blue ink
3-D foam tape

LOAD #28 - Celebrate

If you are looking for the New Product Blog Hop, please scroll down to the next post! For those following my LOAD challenge, here's a layout I created using photos from a cowboy birthday party. I had previously considered getting a Western themed stamp set, but never followed through because it seemed a little limited in use. I really needed something wild West for this layout, so I re-purposed two new stamp sets, A Twinkle (stars) and Boom (July 4th), to create my theme. Throw in a little hemp for rope, and I'm really happy with how this layout came out! Plus I have two great stamp sets to use for July 4th, bedtime layouts, and You're a Star cards, among other things. To see the details of the layout, please click on the picture.



Recipe:
Boom, A Twinkle, Homestead Alphabet, Tiny Typewriter Alphabet & Priceless Love Word Puzzle stamp sets
Splendor Level 2 papers
Sunny Yellow, Black & White Daisy cardstock
Sunny Yellow, Black, Desert Sand & Topiary ink
Tan hemp
Pewter brads
3-D foam tape
Liquid Glass

New Product Sneak Peak Blog Hop!

Welcome to our Close to My Heart New Product Blog Hop! Over 40 fabulous Close to my Heart consultants are celebrating the upcoming release of the Summer 2010 Idea Book by giving you a Sneak Peak of some of the great products available in the new Idea Book starting May 1st! If you have come here from Maranda's blog, you are on the right path!

This is simple do to- just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

I decided to create a garden of cards using the Summer Wishes stamp set, found exclusively in the Splendor Workshops on the Go (WOTG) kit (item #G1009). I also used the Splendor Level 2 papers, which can be purchased as part of the WOTG kit or separately (X7124B). Using only two of the papers from the Splendor paper pack, I made three cards and have plenty of paper left over to create even more! I love using the back of these double sided papers. As you can see, the floral pattern paper has either a vibrant focal side or a muted background side. I can't wait to give these cards, and also to dig into the rest of my paper pack to create more cards and some layouts!





Recipe:
Summer Wishes & Thank You stamp sets
Splendor Level 2 papers
White Daisy cardstock
Topiary, Moonstruck, Goldrush & Heavenly Blue ink
Topiary & Heavenly Blue markers
Topiary embroidery floss
Sparkles & Bitty Sparkles
Spring, Summer & Autumn Craft Buttons
3-D foam tape
Originals Patterns: Colors & Cubes, Sweet & Simple, Center Charms

Now "hop" on over to Karen's blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and see the great new paper packs and My Acrylix stamp sets!

Remember, the Summer 2010 Idea Book goes LIVE on May 1st!

**Link not working? Missed a Blog? Here is a list of all the participants in
the New Product Sneak Peak Blog Hop!

Erin Herring
Carla Ironside
Dawn Ross
Amy Edwards
Tresa Black
Dawn Heuft
Kimberly Smith
Jessica Moore
Leisa Hubley
Helen Onulak
Brae Montgomery
Wendy Kessler
Adeline Brill
Sherrie Thornton
Sheila Bennett
Terrie Dodd
Lisa Stenz
Jody Gustafson
Kathleen Rensel
Lori Scott
Beth Naumann
Teri Baxter
Wendy Fording
Laurie Newton
Meredith Burgess
Clerissa Lewis
Jennifer Kojder
Georgia Hauglid
Antoinette Herrin
Haley Dyer
Tanya Mae
Priscilla
Cassandra
Jean McNulty
Carrie Haines
Janelle Janish
Maranda Dickerson
Cheryl Even
Karen Johnson
Cindy Leek
Nancy Walters
LaJeania Hicks
Traci
Emma Hubert
Kristine Fowler
Amanda DesJardins
Tamra Meservey
Melinda

LOAD #27 - Hands of Mercy

Here's the second layout for our Mexico trip. A team of 15 adults from our church, plus 3 people from an organization called Hands of Mercy, built a loft house in one day for a needy couple who were expecting their first child. It was hot, tiring work, but totally worth it to see the look on the faces of that young couple. The layout came together a lot easier than the loft house, and will evoke happy memories in years to come. It's pretty simple, but I included a Flip-Flap that holds an extra photo and my journaling.



Recipe:
Field Trip Alphabet & Tool Time stamp sets
Topstitch Level 2 papers
Heavenly Blue & Bamboo cardstock
Desert Sand ink
Chocolate Ribbon Rounds
White Daisy Mini Medley

Just a reminder, tomorrow is the New Product Blog Hop, starting at 7 pm MT. Feel free to join us. I'll have a list of participants. You can start at the top or just come here and follow the links until you arrive back here.

LOAD #26 - Mexico Trip

First of all, no sketch this week. I am just too busy cranking out layouts to be creative about sketches right now. I really will try to get one posted next Monday. Second, on Wednesday, I will post a layout, but it will be part of the CTMH Summer Idea Book new product blog hop (wow, that's a mouthful). I will probably not use the LOAD header, but Linda and Michelle, feel free to post a layout anyway, but please indicate in the comments that it's for the LOAD challenge. That way people following the blog hop won't be confused. Thanks!

We've already "visited" San Francisco this month, so now we're heading south of the border for my next layout. Back in January, I posted a layout about pre-building a loft house for a family in Mexico. This is part 2 of that story, when we went down to Mexico and assembled the house we had built. I'll show the actual build tomorrow, but here is the layout with pictures from the drive to Mexico and the place we stayed.



Recipe:
Extreme Caps & Friendship Alphabet Small stamp sets
Bella Level 2 papers
Creme Brulee & White Daisy cardstock
Smokey Plum, Creme Brulee, Olive & Desert Sand ink
Desert Sand marker
White Daisy embroidery floss
Olive Connections Club Rewards

LOAD #25 - Downtown Disney

Only 5 more days left of this challenge, and we are still going strong. Linda and Michelle have turned in some stellar layouts, and it's been exciting to see what they will come up with next! Meantime, here's my layout for today, a little snapshot of an afternoon at Downtown Disney. This page will be opposite yesterday's layout in my album, so I decided to coordinate them for a change. I'm really excited about Zippidee, the new Disney paper pack that's coming out in the new summer idea book from CTMH, but I decided to wait and scrapbook actual Disney photos on that. I'll post some pages using Zippidee in May!



Recipe:
Playful Caps & Playful Lowercase stamp sets
Animal Cookies Level 2 papers & Creative Basics
Desert Sand, Sunflower & White Daisy cardstock
Desert Sand, Sunflower, Dutch Blue & Tulip ink
Dutch Blue marker
White Daisy ricrac
Spring & Summer Craft Buttons

LOAD #24 - Valentine's Day 2010

I finished this layout at a crop yesterday, so I'm posting early today. Enjoy!



Recipe:
A Little Everything & Tiny Typewriter stamp sets
Animal Cookies Level 2 papers
Animal Cookies My Stickease
Desert Sand, Dutch Blue & White Daisy cardstock
Desert Sand, Dutch Blue, Tulip & Sunflower ink
Tulip marker
Metal rimmed tag
Cranberry Ribbon Rounds
Heart punch
Scalloped scissors (Fiskars)

LOAD #23 - Lombard Street

Making this layout was almost as fun as walking down Lombard Street. I got to use a technique I saw in the upcoming CTMH summer idea book, alternating large and small brads in a row. I also formatted my journaling to create a curvy line on one side, hopefully evoking the idea of a winding street. This is my last San Francisco layout. The LOAD challenge has been great for me to finish scrapping this vacation!



Recipe:
Building Block Alphabet & Chocolate Alphabet Small stamp sets
Tinkering Level 2 papers
Sunny Yellow, Goldrush & White Daisy cardstock
Autumn Terracotta ink
Autumn Terracotta My Accents & Bigger Brads
Topiary My Accents
Autumn Terracotta Ribbon Rounds

LOAD #22 - Coit Tower

Today kinda got away from me, and now I'm finally posting my layout just before midnight! For this layout about Coit Tower, I used a lot of White Daisy textured cardstock, but I colored it using the direct to paper technique. Basically, you just take your ink pad and swipe it over the surface of the cardstock until the desired value is achieved. Handy when you don't have the right color of cardstock, you don't want to pull out your brayer, and you want the background color of the cardstock to show through a little. The layout design is based on a Becky Higgins' sketch.



Recipe:
Building Block Alphabet stamp set
It's a Guy Thing Level 2 papers
White Daisy textured cardstock
Cocoa cardstock
Barn Red, Desert Sand, New England Ivy & Cocoa ink
Barn Red, Desert Sand & New England Ivy markers
Barn Red Bigger Brads