New Adornit Papers, Zva Pearls, & a Fond Farewell to So Sketchy

Adornit has just released two brand new collections: Lapreal and Family Heritage. Check out the Adornit Blog to see all kinds of amazing examples by some talented scrapbookers using these two collections.






Having three daughters I was immediately drawn to the colors in the Lapreal Collection. It's so beautiful paired with Kraft and brown, . . . my favorite neutrals! Swoon!

DAYTIME BUDDY - This first page is a picture of my daughter, Camryn. She is my last child and I am cherishing our cozy time together at home while the rest of the family is at school and work. She is just as much of a homebody as I am. Heee! The minute she gets home from Preschool she rips out the elastics in her hair, goes to her room to change back in her pajamas, and then she spends the day chillin' with her dolls, dress-ups, and favorite TV shows and DVD's. That's my kind of kid! Easy-going, and happy to be at home. :)


Page inspired by Sketch 100 from Sketch Inspiration.

HAPPY - This second page includes some photos I snapped in the Fall when the girls and their cousin were sliding down the hayslides at the Pumpkin Patch. They were having so much fun! I loved capturing their facial expressions each time they came down the slide . . . complete happiness! :D



I used pink pearl flourishes by Zva Creative to create a sense of movement and add texture to my page. The Heavy Silk florals and crystal brads are by Zva Creative as well.


This page is based on a sketch by Allison Cope of So Sketchy. Sadly, she is closing down her sketch blog at the end of December to make room for her next life adventure. But Ally knows how to go out in style! :) She has invited all the present and past So Sketchy Sistahs to each create a page during the month. This is the page I created based on the sketch Ally sent me.

I loved this sketch! Ally is such a talented sketch and scrapbook artist and I'm really going to miss visiting So Sketchy for inspiration. :( So don't hesitate! Head on over to the So Sketchy blog to participate in this final month. Lots of prizes will be given away. Check the So Sketchy blog for details.

THANK YOU to Adornit for letting me play with these gorgeous products!

And THANK YOU to Allison for allowing me to be a part of the final days of So Sketchy. Best wishes to you!

Hugs,
Jana

So Sketchy Birthday Blog Hop!!!

Welcome! Welcome! All of you blog hopping with us to CELEBRATE So Sketchy's First Birthday!!! WoooHOOOOOOOO!!!! :D :D :D I am so excited to be a part of this! I LOVE Allison's inspiring sketches and really enjoyed my time as a So Sketchy Sista! Thanks, Ally, for inviting me to celebrate So Sketchy's Happy Birthday!!!

I'm so glad to have YOU here!
You should have just arrived from CHERIE'S BLOG.

Or you can start at the very beginning at the So Sketchy blog which will take you to the first So Sketchy Sista, Kristii.



Here is the sketch and card I have for you today. Hope you like it! ;)
(Card created using the May kit from Urban Anthology)

In your comment, I would love to hear what YOU want for your birthday this year! :)




Just for being here as a part of the So Sketchy Birthday Bash, you can WIN some fabulous prizes! YUP! All you have to do to win is leave a comment on EACH of the participating So Sketchy Sista's blogs and then return to the So Sketchy blog birthday bash post and leave a comment with:

Your first name & last initial,

Your location (state/province & country) *open world wide* and

Some means of getting a hold of you (ie: email or blog link).

So make sure you have commented on all the Sista's blogs to be eligible to win.

The prize draw will take place on Thursday June 4 after 10pm MST so you have until then to complete the round of So Sketchy! Sista blogs celebrating our 1st birthday. The winner will be posted on the So Sketchy! blog sometime after the 5th of June. Good luck!

Okay! The next place to go from here is . . . LEAH'S BLOG!!!! Have fun!

Winter has hit again!

The last few weeks have been pretty warm, giving us a little taste of Spring. But over the weekend, we were hit with a wet, heavy snowstorm.

Last night, Kevin and I woke up to a startling *THUD!* We ran around checking the house to make sure we were safe. We couldn't figure out where the big crash had come from!

Then we looked out in the backyard. The snow was so heavy that it broke one of the trees in half. When it fell it whacked the corner of the roof, making the huge sound that woke us up. The roof is fine. But I sure hope those trees hang in there! Some of the littler ones are bent over touching the ground!

Here's a new So Sketchy! layout for you!
Supplies: Patterned Paper & Letter Stickers: Rusty Pickle; Die Cut Paper: Creative Imaginations; Rubons: Daisy D's; Journal Spot: Scenic Route; Flowers: Bazzill; Other: Ric Rac & buttons

Also, there is a new challenge up at Noel Mignon today! The Off the Bookshelf challenge! This was SUCH A FUN ONE!!! I hope you will come and play along! This challenge runs until 2/9/2009 and a random winner will be drawn at the end to receive a $15 gift card to Noel's shop. Hope to see you there!

The first sneak for Noel's next kit is up on the Message Board! :D :D :D Looooookin' Gooooood!!! I LOVE these colors! Can't wait to get this baby in my hands! :D


Keep watching this MB thread for more sneaks of Noel's next kit!

Enjoy your day!
Jana

Rising Star

Thank you, Nancy! for this totally cute award! :D I haven't seen this one yet! I love that fancy lady walking her little dog with sunglasses! LOL! THANK YOU!!!

The rules are to List 5 addictions and List 5 of your favorite bloggers.
So here ya go!

My 5 Addictions:

1) Peach Fresca
2) Chocolate
3) Internet
4) Buttons
5) Acrylic Stamps

And now my Five "Must-Visit-Every-Week" bloggers! And I know none of these people will even know who I am (LOL!), but I'm going to pass it on to them anyway! :D

1) Stephanie Howell
2) Sherelle Christensen
3) Sarah Jane Dawsett
4) Janine (Aline) Langer
5) Keisha Campbell

Today I have a layout for you using a recent sketch by Allison Cope of So Sketchy!

Supplies: I used the December BackPorch Medley kit featuring these fun Dream Street Papers. The orange check is Sassafras Lass. The rubon letters are by Cosmo Cricket. The chipboard letters are K & Co. The brown trim is unknown . . . I think it came in a Scarlet Lime kit.

I'll be back with another one tomorrow!

C-ya!

Jana

All Is Calm (Yeah, Right!)

So is everything calm at your house? LOL! Maybe you are one of those smart people who had all of your shopping finished before Thanksgiving. But if you are like me, you still have a few gifts left to get. Trips to the grocery store for recipe ingredients, cleaning up the house and keeping the kids happy while they are home from school is also on the agenda. ;)

But isn't it fun?! It's great to be together as a family making memories and celebrating the spirit and reason for the Christmas season! :D :D :D

I snapped this photo of my daughter the other night and had to scrap it right away. I used the Sold Out Noel Mignon Winter Weather kit along with some felt flowers, lace, and Making Memories Puffy Letter Stickers from my stash. (Sketch by Ally Cope of So Sketchy)



I hope you had a fun weekend! Mine began with laughs and giggles at the Noel Mignon Holiday Cocktail Crop. Thanks to all of you for such a fun night! Here is the layout I did for my Do or Dye Challenge.





Enjoy your Christmas week and take LOTS of photos!
Holiday Hugs to You!!!
Jana

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let It Snow!

It's been snowing on-and-off here in Utah all weekend. I just love seeing the fresh powdery snow coating everything . . . it really has put my Christmas mood in full motion. :D


Maryn and Camryn spent some time playing . . . well, okay. It was actually only about 15 minutes until they were cold! LOL! But they did have a great time and enjoyed their hot chocolate treat afterwards! :D

My puffy, little, marshmallow girl! Doesn't it make you think of that line from "The Christmas Story" . . . "I can't put my arms down!" LOL!
Every year we make Gingerbread cookies as a family. I love this recipe because it is very mild and makes soft cookies. We especially like to eat them when they are frosted with Cream Cheese frosting. Actually, I would probably eat anything that had Cream Cheese frosting on it . . . Mmmmmm!


Gingerbread Cookies

3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. shortening (butter flavor)
3/4 c. light molasses
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
1 egg
6 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. baking soda
4-1/4 to 4-1/2 c. flour

Beat sugar, shortening, molasses, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and egg. Mix in 6 Tbsp. water and soda. Mix in flour until like soft dough.

Roll out on floured surface to 1/4-inch thick (for soft cookies); thinner than 1/4-inch for crispier cookies.

Cut into shapes and bake at 375 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes. Eat plain or frost (we like cream cheese frosting).

This recipe is a MUST in our family. It's just not the Christmas season until we spend a day making these as a family!

****************************************

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. powdered sugar

Frosts 9-in. X 9-in. cake.

****************************************




This is my latest layout for the So Sketchy Blog. Owen was out on the driveway practicing his Indiana Jones moves with his whip and I snapped a few pictures of him. Doesn't that Heidi Swapp paper completely remind you of the movie!?! Love it!

Supplies: Kraft Bazzill cardstock; Patterned Paper: Heidi Swapp, Graphic 45; Embellishments: American Crafts Thickers, Basic Grey Border Rubons, Dymo Label Maker, We R Memory Keepers Large Eyelets, Making Memories Ribbon Trim and Decorative Brad, Scenic Route accent sticker, BoBunny Flower; Other: Book paper and jute rope from my stash.

If you love So Sketchy sketches, than you might be interested to know that Ally is holding a Design Team call right now. Wooot Wooot!!! :D CLICK HERE to get all the details!

See you tomorrow!
Jana

December So Sketchy!

I have my first layout for December So Sketchy to share with you today!
It's been a long time since I have done any colorblocking, so I had a bit of fun playing with this one! I filled two of the blocks with accents and then made my circle element a little more subtle by stitching it. I like the way it turned out!

Check out the sketch HERE on the So Sketchy Blog. :D




Supplies Used:
BackPorch Memories November Medley Kit (sold out) and Add-Ons featuring the LemonGrass collection by Crate Paper; American Crafts Thickers and mini brads from my stash.

So Sketchy!

Check out the latest sketch by Allison Cope of So Sketchy! I am never disappointed by the examples and sketches over there. Take the time to give it a gander! :D :D :D

Cheesy Grin


Supplies Used: Patterned paper by Sassafras Lass; Lettering: American Crafts and Pink Paislee; Chipboard flower by Magistical Memories; Brad from Michael's; Star Tag by Scenic Route; Other: Label sticker, time card, red tickets, and green embroidery floss (lifted that stitching idea from my friend, Noel Mignon :D )

Thanks for coming by!
Jana

Saturday! Is a Special Day!

How's your Saturday going? I'm just hanging out getting some scrapping projects done and then later today I will be taking the girls to see Disney on Ice. Should be fun! I can't wait to see how Camryn reacts to it all! This will be her first event like this. I sure hope she does okay! :D

Thanks for all the compliments on my room! And you bet! I'd LOVE to have every one of ya over! :D :D :D I honestly still can't believe Kevin let me go for it! Hmmmm. I'm wondering if he likes the fact that I disappear in here and entertain myself for hours on end! LOL!

Today is the last day to submit your layouts for the Harvest the Crop Challenges over at Noel Mignon . I have had a blast hanging out there this week chatting with all of you. I'm already looking forward to the next one!

Here are a few more layouts I completed for the challenges!

This was for Noel's challenge. The only requirement was that we use the word "Remember" somewhere on the layout. I decided to use it as my title. This picture of Camryn running down a path at the Homestead in her swimsuit cracks me up. It reminds me that I need to cherish every little moment of being a mom to these little sillies!

I used a sketch by Beggahuna Sketches. Go and check out her blog. She is AMAZING!!! I sure hope she continues drawing up these little goodies for us to play with!

This one was for Michelle's challenge where we had to use atleast 2 pictures, brown cardstock, handwritten journaling and ribbon. I used the Home Sweet Home kit for this one.

I realized that I haven't shared with you my Sketch This layout for this week! This is #74. It's been awhile since I have done a layout with one giant photo. That was really fun! I used Noel's Home Sweet Home kit on this layout, too. :D


And finally I have a 2-pager to share using one of Allison Cope's amazing sketches from So Sketchy!



Supplies:

Patterned Paper: Making Memories, Collage Press; Hambly Overlay; Heidi Swapp Chipboard Letters; Prima Flowers, 3-D cream paint, Misc. buttons from my stash.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a gorgeous weekend!

Jana

So Sketchy Catch-Up

I'm still working on getting my files and programs set up on my computer (why aren't there more hours in the day!). Thanks to Kevin for taking the time to help me! Vista is forcing me to have to upgrade the programs that I've been using. I use to work as a Graphic Designer/Typesetter 10 years ago (don't be impressed, it was 10 years ago! LOL!) and primarily used PageMaker & Photoshop for creating documents. I LOVE PageMaker. But it looks like I'm going to have to learn something else. I feel like an old-fogey set in my comfortable ways, who doesn't want to have to change. LOL! Who knows, maybe I'll like whatever it is better.

Here are a few So Sketchy layouts that I created in September. They are just getting uploaded to the So Sketchy blog now (Ally was busy moving, too! Only she was moving across Canada, WOW!), so I thought I would share them with you today. :D




The Hotel Birthday Supplies:Patterned Papers: Making Memories, Melissa Frances; Journal Spot: Making Memories; American Crafts Velvet Thickers; Basic Grey buttons; Butterfly: Sweet Pea Scraps Kit; Other: Embroidery Floss




Silly Girl Supplies: Patterned Paper, Thicker Accents, Various DooDads: American Crafts; Letter Stickers: Making Memories, Jenni Bowlin and Adornit; Other: Embroidery Floss

Have a great weekend!
Jana