Don't leave anything alone ;P

Why leave something alone when you can spend 2 minutes to alter it and make it better?

Natalie here :) I can't leave anything alone when I think I can make it prettier, more organized, more functional, or original for me.

This is short and sweet, and doesn't really need any instruction.

I found a little calender/planner at JoAnn's for .50 cents... (I bought 3 cause I had this idea instantly.) (They also had lots of great buttons on clearance/discontinued... might be worth knowing.)

I removed the puppy planner from it's clear plastic cover (like a check book cover) and I used double sided tape to attach beautiful paper over the puppies. (I have a thing for green)

I then trimmed the paper neatly and slid the new planner back into the plastic cover.

Big difference, and now I want to use it!

Plus... I don't like my stuff to have words on the front telling me what it is. Ya I might need that information when I'm looking to buy it, but from that point after... I know what it is.

Happy Altering :P

Blog Hop #2!

Hey everyone! We're having another inspirational blog hop today! C'mon and join in on the fun! You're sure to come away inspired to create something today!

Okay, here's the hopping order and the links:

1. Dee www.adashofdee.blogspot.com
2. Sheri (Fink) http://www.finkshappenings.blogspot.com
3. Library Bunny http://thumpster73.blogspot.com
4. ICutthescrap http://icutthescrap.blogspot.com/
5. Megan (Stampin’ Meg) http://www.peacockpaperie.blogspot.com/
6. Karen (Kpinsonat) http://www.fishingforscraps.blogspot.com/
7. Natalie http://www.getscatty.blogspot.com
8. Andrea http://imlivinonscraps.blogspot.com/
9. Charlene www.scrappinchar.blogspot.com
10. Tara http://purpleprincesstara.blogspot.com/
11. Teri http://terisplace.wordpress.com
12. Robyn www.herebygrace.typepad.com

*Be sure to leave comments because there's lots of candy involved! Hugs and see you there!

Outta This Funk Blog Hop!

Hello funkettes, we would like to welcome you to our blog hop! We have lots of people participating, and would love you to "Blop" on over and give us all a visit! Here is a little secret- if you leave a comment on every single person's blog involved in the hop, there will be a drawing for a nice little RAK! And if you are the only one that left a comment on every persons blog-- then there will only be one name in the hat huh? ;D I know some of the other gals are offering their own RAK's, so be sure and visit.
We want to share all the talent we have on our "ning" site, so everyone in the hop has posted a little eye candy to give you some inspiration, and hopefully a few ideas on some things you can incorporate into your own works of art. So without further adu we are sending you to Chris's Blog to start you off. Happy "blopping"! http://www.thoughtswithchris.blogspot.com/


If in your travels you find someone that forgot to post their hop, you can come here and find the next person in line. (just highlight, copy and paste the url in yoru browser) that way you can get to everyone. Have fun!

1. Chris: http://www.thoughtswithchris.blogspot.com/
2. Dee: http://www.adashofdee.blogspot.com/
3. Meg: http://peacockpaperie.blogspot.com/
4. Jen: http://scrappingnichols.blogspot.com
5. Nancy: http://anothermdcrabbie.blogspot.com/
6. Ashjoy: http://1Ashjoyl.blogspot.com
7. Sara (Library Bunny): http://thumpster73.blogspot.com
8. Teri: http://terisplace.wordpress.com
9. Joy: http://www.joyhager.blogspot.com/
10. Suzanne: http://whatsinalousyananut.blogspot.com/
11. Andrea: http://imlivinonscraps.blogspot.com/
12. Charlene: http://scrappinchar.blogspot.com
13. Karen: http://www.fishingforscraps.blogspot.com/
14. Wendy: http://www.paperinkandsmiles.blogspot.com/
15. Shellie: http://shellieh98.blogspot.com
16. icutthescrap: http://icutthescrap.blogspot.com/
17. Brenda: http://www.brendasscrappyblog.blogspot.com/
18. Becki: http://ckmommy.blogspot.com/
19. Sheri: http://www.finkshappenings.blogspot.com/
20. Sally Lynn: http://www.inkyheart.typepad.com
21. Tara: http://purpleprincesstara.blogspot.com/
22. Heather: http://heathercarpenter-organizedchaos.blogspot.com
23. Natalie: http://getscatty.blogspot.com/
24. Regina: http://www.reginaeaster.blogspot.com/
25. Robyn: http://www.herebygrace.typepad.com

Photo Albums Revisited

Hello, Natalie here. I have a fun idea that gets an event scrapped without all the time and expense... with just as much fun. This is great for those of us that want to accomplish more than we should expect to... I might just be doing this more and more since I find it so enjoyable.


Ever given a photo album by someone who knows you love photography and scrapbooking? I have. I used to get disappointed; thinking, what a shame I won't be using this... but now I see it as a fun project with just enough challenge to excite. Sure opening them you just see 4x6 slots looking very uninspiring, but since so many people print 4x6 photos, and it's easy to have them done quickly, this is a no-brainer for many people, but it felt like a light bulb moment for me :)

I started by deciding what was going into my photo album, and made me a mini title page. This took like 10 minutes! That's a die cut fish I had left over from a fishing page I did at a crop. (not my die)

Then I stuck in some photos, and cut some paper to fit.

I had a few photos I'd printed at home, and one 4x6, stuck in a piece of BG to journal on later, and moved right along.

While a passenger in the car, I wrote up some details about fishing on some 3x5 cards and scrap paper, these I will type up later and print them. If I hadn't been in a moving car I could have just written it to use. When I print it up, I will either matt it on scrapbook paper, or print it to cut out at 4x6.

It's crazy how fast an album builds when you're slotting photos into place, and leaving slots to tell the story. I have 2 events I'm still trying to finish large scrapbooks for... now I'm wishing I'd started them this way... I'd be done by now.

The big plus for me doing it this way -I'm not compelled to find ways to embellish each page.

~That's so liberating!

Maybe try this the next time you want to scrap an event and feel you have no time for it :)

Calendar Gift Bag

Jen here! I just wanted to share this bag that I made for my girlfriend's birthday. I just loved being able to personalize it with her birthdate...that was the first thing she noticed when I gave it to her! LOL!!!! I filled it up with some small cardmaking supplies. The bag was made with my cricut and I got the calendar stamp from The Cutting Cafe.

Just Frame It!

Have you ever used a frame on your cards and layouts? If you haven't I strongly suggest you do. It adds such texture and interest to your photos! Shellie issued this challenge to our guest designers. The challenge was to use a frame on a project. Here are some projects our guest designers have done using frames that I'm sure will inspire you!

Megan Peacock

Sara Repinski

Robyn Weatherspoon

Natalie GowardHave a wonderful week!

Quick Valentine Gift Idea

Just sharing a quick and easy last-minute Valentine's Day gift idea! Create a candle wrap with cardstock and patterned papers... Embellish with stickers, flowers, brads, rub-ons (whatever your little heart desires) and voila...quick and cute gift for your loved ones!

Check out the BoBunny Blog for more ideas!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hugs,

Dee

A little something

Morning everyone!!

Here's a little paper bag I created and used a stamped saying for the embellishment on the front.  It could be filled with a little gift or some baked goodies.

So easy & so fun to make!!  A great little valentine's project too.

Have a great day!!!

Cari

Another stamped card

Hi y'all!
Teri here.
Here's my take on the challenge to make something with a stamp or two.
The images are from HappyLittleStamps.etsy.com. The papers are from Making Memories and Crate Paper.
Have a great day!

Stamping Two Ways

Jen here...I love this new face stamp I bought recently. I keep trying to find more ways to use it. So here's two uses I've come up with... on an ATC for my background and over patterned paper for this card.

Here's mine

Wonderful job ladies! so inspiring. :D Here's mine. I used stamping ink to color the butterfly, then I stamped the design on it. Then I covered it in glitter. I also used a thanks alot stamp. The circle sentiment is a rubon. tfl.

Stamping Anyone?

Since we have such wonderful guest designers we're trying to challenge them in as many ways as possible! This assignment comes from the amazing Teri Anderson! Now, we all know how Teri loves stamping, so show her what you've got!

Here is the assignment: Complete a layout, card, or altered item where you use stamps!

Suzanne Austin

Kristy Cox

Meghan Peacock

Danni Reid

Sara Repinski

Robyn Weatherspoon

Absolutely gorgeous work ladies! I know there are a lot of people who are intimidated my using stamps, but after seeing these beautiful creations you've got to at least give it a try!

I don't know about you, but I'm inspired!

Color Challenge!

Hey everyone! Robyn here! I decided to give our guest designers a color challenge to see what amazing projects they could come up with sticking to the same color palette! Well, they definitely rose to the challenge! All I asked for them to do was to create a layout, card, or altered item using this color combination: So check out these fabulous projects!

Danni Reid

Kristy Cox

Sara Repinski

Toni Boucha

Meghan Peacock

Suzanne Austin

Natalie Goward

Robyn Weatherspoon
What did I tell you? Fabulous, right? I loved these colors so much I did it too! How about you? Have you ever done any color challenges? If so, link us up so we can be inspired by you!

Getting Myself out of my own Funk!

I hadn't scrapped a layout in months...since September to be exact! I've been in a card making mode and couldn't seem to scrap a layout for the life of me. It was definitely a creative block! It took some doing, but after being inspired by a New Year's Cropping Challenge, I managed to pull this layout out of me. This was for a sketch challenge over at Creative Xpress. Sometimes just forcing yourself to do something helps you get past your scrapping block.

Truely Hybrid

Hey everyone! There's really not much I love to do in my spare time more than stamp and scrap on my projects, but I also love to add digital elements as well. We all know that the term "hybrid" means mixing paper scrapbooking with digital scrapping. Well today I created this layout where I used paper, stamps, and digital elements together.

The base of my layout is all paper with a transparency over the photo with flowers and buttons in the corners. I used stamps to stamp the mushrooms and owls onto paper, color with markers and cut them out by hand. The digital part of this layout is in the journaling. I decided I didn't want to use my own handwriting on this layout so I decided to use my computer. The only thing was I wanted to use a color as my background and have the journaling in white. The best way for me to do this was to use my Photoshop Elements to create my white journaling with a brown background. It took me all of 6 minutes to create and print out of my printer.

The fact that I mixed paper scrapping, stamping, and digital journaling together makes this a truely hybrid layout. Try it for yourself! I bet you'll get hooked! Love and blessings to you all!

Robyn

Designer Challenge #1- "Saturated Shine!"

Hi, Natalie here.
I was given the honor of coming up with the first assignment for the Outta This Funk guest designers. I’m excited about this because I’ve recently been inspired by someone and want to share it.

My inspiration will translate into a scrapbook page. One that requires you to ‘think simple’. I’ve called it “Saturated Shine”

“Shine” is the name of Karen Jensen’s photography business. She has a website that beautifully shows-off her great talent as a photographer in a simple and colorful way!

Go to www.shinephotographybykaren.com
When you arrive click on enter site. (Go to the blog later, since that’s not part of the project.)
Before navigating the website watch the photos change and notice how she uses large blocks of vivid colors to compliment each photo. The colors she chooses enhance the beauty of the photo, not detract from it. Go ahead and click on galleries when you’ve seen all the intro photos. In there you will see 5 more galleries to be inspired by. (Cleverly named I might add!)

This was the project:
Use Karen’s wonderful photography skills to inspire you to use a new angle, how to pose your subject, or the location you choose. If you like, play with the colors of your photo in photoshop to increase the saturation before printing it. Then create a simple layout where the paper color(s) you choose enhances the photo. Avoid patterned paper where possible. It’s a distraction in this case. Title and journal as you wish keeping in mind the simple aspect.

Here are the Guest Designers takes on this project. We hope you like them and feel inspired by us and Karen both!! Have Fun!

Megan Peacock

Kristy Cox

Danni Reid

Sara Repinski

Suzanne Austin

Toni Boucha

Natalie Goward

Guest Designers

Outta This Funk is proud to introduce you to six incredibly talented designers! These ladies are full of enough passion for paper-crafting and inspiration to pull you out of any funk you might find yourself in! Check them out for yourself!

Toni Boucha

Hi everyone, I am Toni Boucha (aka Toni-SBDreaming) and I am so excited to have been selected. So you all want to know what gets me out of my funk. Well if we are talking about scrapbooking then it is one of two things………going to my room and just letting myself find inspiration either from photos that touch my heart, yummy products that just scream create with me or some kind of random combination of photos and papers/embellishments that get my imagination flowing. I have been known to just throw some of my new/old favorite papers and products on the floor and let my eye run wild with the colors and combinations. Then of course if this should fail me, there is shopping. I am an old-fashion kind of girl who loves to drive to my local scrapbook stores and immerse myself in the atmosphere. I love to admire other people’s creations and see what they have done with new products.
As for myself, I have been scrapbooking for 10 years and have seen it change in so many ways. Like many others, I started with a home party and quickly discovered that I wanted more. And that feeling of more has never left me. Over the years, I have taught classes, designed for different local scrapbook stores and manufacturers; and lastly, lucky enough to have been published in several different magazines. Right now, I am just doing my own thing for my family.
I am looking forward to meeting,learning and creating with others that share the same passion.

Suzanne Austin

Hi! My name is Suzanne Austin. I’m a SAHM living on the Gulf Coast in Mobile, AL. I’ve been married to my wonderful, but sometimes “joyfully unstable” husband for 12 years. We have a soon to be 2yr old son named Kennedy (KJ) and expecting a baby girl due in February of 2009. I started scrapbooking 5 years ago when my husband and I built our home here in Mobile; I wanted to document the process and thought that a scrapbook would be the perfect way to do so. Little did I know it would quickly become an addiction. I stopped for a couple of years, but quickly picked up interest again when I found out I was pregnant with our first kiddo. I’ve been a lost cause ever since! I’m thrilled that OOTF has given me this fun opportunity!
What gets me out of my scrapping funk:
I am so not the planned scrapper, therefore, it’s almost imperative that some form of inspiration is present in order to scrap a page I deem decent. There’s nothing better than a great picture to jump start the scrapping mojo within. Candid photos of my son and family are by far my favorites. Other things that motivate me out of my funk would include using color combinations in everyday life and challenging myself to implement them on a page, lyrics to a favorite song, board crops and challenges.

Sara Repinski

Hi my name is Sara Repinski, but my scrappy friends call me Bunny. I am an Acquisitions Librarian at the University of South Carolina School of Law as well as a scrapbooking and card making addict. I am married to my wonderful husband, going on ten years now, no children other then the furry kind so they are the main subjects of my scrapping. Some other things about me, I love football, all sorts of music and watching forensic type shows.What gets me out of my funk? Challenges!!! I love how they make me step out of my box and try new things.

Danni Reid

I am a sahm to 4 incredible babes, whom I absolutely adore. My children range in age from 14 to 4, so it's never dull :)

While I love ALL aspects of scrapbooking, cards are my passion, and I feel so blessed to share the reason behind that passion with you. I began creating cards 15 years ago, after receiving a gift from my grandmother. A gift for Christmas. A gift from her. It was a set of stamps, markers and embossing items (it's all they had back then), so that I could create the cards to send to her instead of having to buy them. My grandmother. A woman, who lived 2 states away from me and whom, if I was lucky, I was able to see once a year. BUT, she was my soul. I KNEW her, I LOVED her and I MISS her more than I can begin to tell you. I wrote to her, religiously, 2-3 times a week, sharing every big and little thing and she KNEW me. She would write back and I'd feel like a kid on Christmas, I could hardly wait to open the letter, and while turning it over and over in my hands, would finally do so. I would read those letters and "feel" her, "feel" my heritage, "feel" my soul. She's my grandmother and I miss her so much it hurts. I always create my cards with her in-mind, as if when I am finished creating the card, I can seal it and send it back to that place in time, a place of love, laughter and so many happy memories.

I generally find that a day spent looking through magazine ads takes care of any/all "funks", so inspiring.

Kristy Cox

I am currently a SAHM (former Army nurse). I started scrapbooking 4 years ago. I would call my style "real" and still evolving. my true passion has always been photography, so that is a main focus with my layouts. I love making homemade gifts for people and am always up for a good trial of altering something. I live in upstate NY (snow country). I have 2 little girls (abby-6, ella-3) and they are my everything. I married a soldier boy who is currently deployed for the next year. What gets me out of my scrapbooking funk: usually I need time to veg first. A good movie, a good book. Something to step away from the layouts and pictures. Then I look thru my paper. All my paper. Every. Sheet. And that starts the juices flowing. Then I start looking at pictures. I usually start looking at ones that are 6 months or older (because I tend to forget about those unscrapped ones)...and I usually come across many that are calling out to me to tell their story. So, that's how it starts for me. (new pretty stuff can make this process happen quicker many times:)

Megan Peacock

I've been stamping and scrapping for about 10 years now. My main love is stamping. I've been a demo for a couple different stamp company which has been a great learning experience in building up my stamping skills set. I love trying new techniques- bringing fine art supplies into crafty endeavors. I am currently a SAHM to my 17 year old son. My husband travels on business a lot which gives me a lot of time in my stamp cave.

Question- I find the best funk blaster for me is to start blog surfing ("blurffing").
I'll see a cute card or SB LO and think OK- I am just going to try to lift this.
I'll sketch it out, take it into my scrap room/stamp cave and start pulling out supplies. Usually by the time I am done ,it doesn't look much like the original but it gave my that nudge to get me going!

Look for inspiration from these designers in the upcoming month!