TSGT Week 2 Layouts

The Week 2 challenge for "This Scrapper's Got Talent" (check out the gallery of all layouts for this competition HERE) at Stuff to Scrap was just that: A CHALLENGE!! I had to create a 2-page layout using 10 pictures, and then create journaling listing a top-10 of sorts. I chose to do a layout on 10 reasons I love my son. :)

This challenge made me realize that I am NOT as far in digital scrapbooking as some of these ladies are. I still scrapbook quite similarly to how I paper scrapbook: I like layers, embellishments, and everything tends to be symmetrical and monochromatic. I am challenging myself into getting more colors into my layouts, as well as using different shapes. I tried to do this page with the pictures being all different sizes...and it seriously killed me! I changed it back to the pictures being lined up. I don't like it when the pages look discombobulated. However, other layouts done by gals look amazing that way! Mine just aren't there yet. (I started this layout on Thursday...took me 3 days of fiddling with it before I considered it "done" and ready for posting!).

I really have no idea if I'll make it through to next week. In some ways, I'm hoping the same thing will happen like last week: so many people didn't even complete a layout that we all got through (so they ended up "eliminating" 30+ people who signed up) so I can go one more week. Every week we stay, we get coupons and free stuff. So I'd like to make it to week 3. :)

The kit I used is called Muddy Buddies, and is such a cute kit for boys! The designer just released a kit similar to this for girls, called Muddy Girlies, so definitely look on STS for those kits! The brushes I used were ones I received in my recent Jessica Sprague class. I'm still having difficulty understanding the brushes...they aren't quite as easy as Jessica makes them out to be in her courses. Although I was impressed with myself for figuring out how to change the color...yep, that's how deep I am into things. I changed the color. WOOHOO! I tried to change the orientation, but ended up flipping the whole layout, so no clue what I did there. :)

June BAK

The June "Build A Kit" is available now on stuff to Scrap! Check out the wonderful kit that Colleen and us CT members helped to design for Pretty Pixel Designs! Colleen is so wonderful, she asked us for help and our opinions. I feel so important. :)




I haven't had an opportunity to play with this kit yet, as the weekend "festivities" in the E.R. with my son really dampened my creative abilities. I'll definitely find time later this week to play!

Also check out ALL of my designers who participated in the STS Blog Train, which is where designers contribute free stuff in one theme so, at the end, you have a HUGE kit that centers around one set of colors or themes. The theme this month was "Summer Romance". Check out

Flower Scraps

Jenasis Design

Pretty Pixel Designs


Once on these blogs, you'll see the entire list of bloggers who participated. Some really cute stuff!!

I'm Through to Round TWO!

So I have made it through to round two...although I'm lucky, because there was a slight mistake on my layout. The judges decided that they didn't give enough information on the rules, so anyone who completed a layout was pushed through to the next round. There were around 95 or so competitors at the beginning, but I guess a bunch didn't actually do the first challenge, so only around 60ish of us are through.

The rules for last week's challenge stated that we were NOT to use complete sentences. Well, I didn't feel that I did. But seeing the results, the judges felt that any sequence of words over 3 words could be deemed a complete sentence. NOW, I will say that the teacher in me says NO. It is NOT a complete sentence unless there is a noun, verb, etc. So my sentence of "full of adoration and love for my child" wasn't technically a full sentence in my opinion. I would have to have added the words "I am" to the front to make it a full sentence. But, apparently the judges felt otherwise.

In any case, the week 2 challenge will be posted tomorrow. Eeek! We'll see what it brings!

Nothing new. :(

I've been in Dallas visiting family this weekend, and my child got horrificly sick. His temp spiked up to 105 today!!! We immediately went to the E.R. where he was diagnosed with an ear infection, but they arent sure if its a virus that just hasn't shown symptoms yet. So he was given a ton of meds and some prescriptions, and hopefully we'll make it back to Oklahoma City on Monday. Ugh. This is soooooo not the weekend I had hoped for!

As long as I arrive back and can get all of my stuff ready, keep my blog bookmarked for some great stuff! Flower Scraps and Nibbles Skribbles are having a CT Blog Train and you'll get all sorts of freebies...I even made my very first QP (Quick Page!). The June BAK will be going live at Stuff to Scrap, and a new kit is coming up soon from Jenasis Design! A big week for all of us, yay!

Jenasis Design Memorial Day Sale!

Jenasis Design is having a HUGE SALE this weekend for Memorial Day!!

Check out this awesome sale HERE!!!

This Scrappers Got Talent Week 1 Challenge

So the competition has started! I was stalking the thread this morning so I could see my options and plan what I wanted to do. Soooo exciting!

(note, you cannot sign up anymore!)

So the Week 1 challenge was to create a layout with only 1 or 2 photographs, as well as lines of text, but no complete sentences or journaling paragraphs. The words "I Am" had to be somewhere on your layout, essentially talking about yourself. Ironically, I completed a similar layout to explain why I started digital scrapbooking for the "My Life" challenge a few weeks ago in a similar fashion, which can be seen HERE.

So here's what I came up with.

I freakin' LOVE how this turned out. Seriously. I'm proud of myself. I guess that's the point of this competition! I used a kit called Fresh Air Adventures by a designer named Scrapalicious Cereal, which is available at Stuff to Scrap. The kit is amazing, lots of wonderful colors in my favs (blues and greens) and I think I can use the kit quite often.

I decided to be ME for this layout. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a comedian. I love making people laugh, I'm the person people turn to when they are really upset and need to get a laugh to make themselves feel better. As you can tell by the photo (taken at Christmas when one of my sister's six-week-old 'goldendoodle' puppies was going to town on my hair like it was her long-lost chew toy), I enjoy even having a laugh at myself! Since I could only use one photo, it doesn't show the series of photos that I took at this time to chronicle the dog attacking my hair. Its pretty funny...and I have funny faces in each photo to go along with the crazed hysteria of the attack. :)

The rules of this competition stipulate that people must complete their layout by the Sunday of each week. The judges take Monday to judge and eliminate some, then Tuesday they tell everyone who made it through. My goal out of this was to just make it past week one. :) Seriously! I'm such a new digi scrapper that I considered making it past week one to be a great accomplishment! If I could make it to week 3....well, I don't know what I would do with myself. Someone would have to scrape me off the freakin' ceiling, that's for doggone sure. :)

Feeling Lucky

Colleen at Pretty Pixel Designs asked me to play with her kit called "Feeling Lucky" to showcase that it is NOT just for St. Patrick's Day. While lots of the elements focus around clovers and the general green-ness of St. Patty's, I managed to create a very nice layout without anything to do with that holiday. :)

I like how this turned out. My husband I were so proud of ourselves for planting this tree. The sucker is HUGE. Seriously, like 12 feet tall. We had to have our builder meet us at Home Depot because the tree was so big it wouldn't fit in our SUV. And then to dig the hole...oh.my.lord. Seriously, took forever. Both of us were exhausted after it...and we had two more (much smaller) trees to plant in the backyard!

We're still not sure if any of the trees are "taking" to their change of environment. Home Depot is about 30 minutes away, and we unfortunately picked a very windy day to go get the trees. So the trees actually suffered "wind burn" on the drive back to our house. We also realized after planting them that we didn't follow the explicit directions on how to plant them, so we're not sure if we supplied enough loose topsoil for the roots to dig into (the roots may have a hard time getting through the wonderful Oklahoma clay that is extremely tough!). So the trees are still looking slightly forelorn and droopy, but they haven't completely died. So there is still hope. :)

Stay tuned for two great kits from Pretty Pixel Designs coming up in the next few weeks! PPD will be participating in the May BAK through Stuff to Scrap, as well as releasing a brand new kit that has some wonderful colors!