SBC Sketch Crew

I started out the year like gang busters on Blogging!  Then it all came to a screeching halt on the 9th!  Larry had a gall bladder attack and spent a week in the hospital!  I spent all but one night with him.  On morning #2 I awoke with a sore throat and headed straight to the doctor.  The hospital's greatest number of patients were there for #1 Pneumonia and #2 the Flu!  Even though I had no fever my doctor gave me a round of really high powered antibiotics because of my now living at the hospital.  In the last couple of days I have finally gotten over that bug!  Larry is doing fine and will find out today when his surgeon will schedule his gall bladder surgery.

Just before this all happened I applied for SBC - Scrapbook Challenges Design Team!  Whoop!  I made it!  There are some fantastic creativity flowing in this group of ladies!  It has been a lot of fun getting to know the ladies who are on the team!  So stop by and have some fun with the terrific sketches and challenges Brynn creates!

I love love that I have spent every spare minute at my table this month!  I am still working on the Kathy Orta mini album, Also included are my design team work and Larry's Christmas Present is just about done, the Basic Grey Calendar!

I pulled my Counterfeit Kit Challenge January Kit to create my first two layouts for SBC!  The second layout will be shared on a later post next month.  Sketch #425 was right up my alley and loved working on some older photos!  My show steer my Senior year FFA Project along with a couple of other friends with their steers!  Dirty, Messy, was my theme and I think I hit the nail on the head so to speak.

SBC Sketch # 425

I especially love the Challenges for SBC!  My first mood board challenge and one I truly loved!  The colors and quote remind me of a spring thunderstorm in Central Texas.  I had no photos printed of the multitude of photos I have of spring storms.  I had one printed of a fall storm so colors didn't match.  I really need a photo printer!  Shifted gears and found a photo that seemed to pull me towards the mood board in the colors and eclectic nature of the sculpture and mood board.  I spent about 20 minutes just studying this sculpture!  Some older Heidi Grace papers were perfect!

Now back to my table.....it's calling me!  I am loving all the inspiration!

January Kit for CKCB!

I have spent the last half of 2014 really missing participating over at Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog!!!  With Mom's 80th birthday, I was creating her birthday most of the summer and fall.  I love making my own kit from my stash!  I have been going over the top large!  Yet again, I am in the middle of creating for a friend and I need some me time creating for me.  I forced myself into a quickly put together a kit to do several things.

Small kit!!!  I did it....it's small!

Enough embellishments to make me happy....did that, too!

Keep my 12x12 papers to 6 or under....did that, too, with five!  I do have lots of coordinating scraps!

Well I did remember I had a 6x6 paper from Dear Lizzy 5th & Frolic

At the same time I allowed myself one thing to go overboard on....I chose three alphas sets!

Best part it all fits nicely in a 13 x13 Ziploc with room to spare!

Now with that all said, I reserve several things I can use in my creations:

1)  Cardstock

2)  Flower Stash

2) Inks, mists, paints, twine, DMC Floss

3) Stencils

4)  Dies

I seem to be in a real matting mode of late with photos and just in general wanting more dimension.  I think it is due to working so much with G45 for Mom's birthday.  I also just stocked up on cardstock!  Couldn't miss the deal HSN had on Bazzill.  I've purchased two boxes!

So what inspired me....first the colors and second was Angela with this comment on her blog!

I need to get some serious stash busting done this year, and the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog is one way of getting that stash combined into up to date, fashionable, and appealing craft kits.

Thank you Angela

My Kit!

So where did my mind go for the kit.....after the paper......I needed some gold and I am not a foil, glittery, silver or gold person....then remembered I had some of the Pink Paislee Luxe Rubons.  Then the rest came quickly together!  I can get a fun layout from my kit or a wonderful detailed layout!

Thank you for stopping by and consider playing along with the Counterfeit Kit Challenge!

Until next time!

CKCB April 2014 Fab 5

How much fun to see my layout of Brazos County Courthouse make the Fab 5 at CKCB!  I am in good company and hope you will visit the other participants who made the Fab 5!

Until Next Time!

CKCB Challenge # 2 Pocket Page Inspiration

How delighted can one be to be inspired by Pocket Pages or Project Life as many scrap in this style!!!  I started PL this year.  Before starting Project Life this year I scrapped my first PL style albums with my Parent's New Zealand Vacation photos back in 2008.  Now I am also working on my Mother's and Grandmother's Alaska Cruise Album.  PL and PL Style Albums are supper fast and so easy.

I almost jumped for joy when I saw this challenge.  Perfect to do the third page in a series of photos Mom took of Zu and her son AC.  I can and sometimes do a double page spread, but I much prefer to a single page at a time for double page spreads.  Last year I did the first two pages.  The last one still needed to be done and this Challenge was perfect.

As written from CKCB Blog ~ Challenge #2: Pocket Page Inspiration:  Use a 3x4 or 4x6 card (does not have to be a pocket scrapbooking card, can be cutdown from your own paper) on your next project.  Use it as a sentiment on a card or as a layering element on a layout.  You can also bind a bunch together to make a mini album.

My 4x6 card turned out to be both title and journaling card!  No journaling as these photos come from my mother's horse album.  I love love the Studio Calico Farm Animal Veneers.  To my delight the silhouette veneers are of Arabians!!!  I also made a Yo-Yo for this layout for something Puffy in the CSI Case File #122 Evidence.  The Roller Doodle Stamp was just too much fun with a little Prima Chalk Inks.

Yes, the layout turned out to look somewhat like a pocket page, but the first of the three layouts was actually a sketch challenge last summer at ACOT to scrap a Becky Fleck sketch.  Second layout below is one to match the first and of course the above makes the third.

Thank you for taking a peek today at my blog.

Until Next Time!  Have a Blessed Day!

I've been.....

...absent from blogging!  But I've also been busy as a bee!  Ranch, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, seedstock cattle sales, scrapping and a host of other things.

This month I can finally return to participate in one of my favorite blog Challenges this month, Counterfeit Kit Challenge.  This month is a little switch on how to build your kit from CSI:  Color, Stories, Inspiration!  Here's Case File # 112 we needed to use to build our kit.

What great fun I had building my kit.  I promised my self once again I would keep it small.  Are you kidding!  Yet again very embellishment top heavy!  But oh....I ended up loving the colors and choosing embellishments from the list.  I didn't quite have the same colors of green in the pallet but I still love how the kit came out.  Will I kill the kit at the end of the month.  Probably not.  But lots of room in the kit to do layouts, cards and Project Life.  Yes, I decide to scrap this year's photos via PL style my way.  My way is both pocket and 12x12 layouts as well as taking photos when I want to take photos and not bound to a weekly layout.  I also allowed this kit to let me play with some of the other albums I'm working on like my mother's horse album, heritage album and ranching photos.

Meet my April Kit:  Spring Fling

Lynnette gave me the idea to hit my scrap box and I put scraps together from Carta Bella, Webster's Pages and scraps from long ago via Creative Memories.

Then off to the Cardstock for the kit.  Oh yes....got to use up that old die-cut cardstock!  Added some more Bazzill and Carta Bella.  Also a great way to display the stencils, washi tape and the 2x2 pack of Moda Simply Style Fabric squares that will be used for something puffy!

Then on to my Pattern Papers.  Oh my what an eclectic set!  Full pattern papers from Carta Bella So Noted as some of the scraps are from same.  Other manufactures include Basic Grey, Elle's Studio, October Afternoon, Webster's Pages, Bo Bunny, Crate Paper, Basic Grey, Amy Tangerine, and Fancy Pants.

Oh lets start off embellishments with stickers and alphas and stamps!!!  Also a great way to display a pocket for journaling since I get so frustrated trying to die cut vellum.  Also included something pleated....navy seems to be the new "IT" blue this spring.  LOL...don't machine sew as my fingers and sewing machine needles don't like each other!  This pleated cloth came in one of my Paper Bakery Kits.

As I said very top heavy on embellishments!  LOL....they do fit in one medium wicker gathering basket along with my Simple Stories Oh Snap cards and still room to spare.  Now the colors not in the pallet won't be used except for that wonderful "Lovely" word!  I do reserve that one word and the neutrals in the various embellishments!

And finally not shown but can and most likely will be included:  One embellishment from Jillibean Soup Corrugated Shapes Words I found looking at me on my scrap table after I took my photos.  I also include all of my Black and White Bazzill Cardstock, Dies, Inks, Mists and Art Anthology Paints!

Yes, Spring has sprung....calves are growing in the pasture playing calf games, the Texas Wildflowers are blooming and we had our first round of severe storms last week and more storms today into tomorrow.  Already have photos of a wall cloud last week!

We head for Ft. Worth for a meeting with Ft. Worth Livestock Show and Rodeo to see if they will accept the Lowlines into the show next year!  Keeping fingers crossed they go in as a beef breed and not specialty breed.  Kids are keeping fort at both houses on Friday so look for my first layout next week with my kit!

Until Next Time!

Pioneer Life

 I truly love the rural courthouses of my state.  Throckmorton County is located in just west of the Palo Duro Canyon.  The county has a population of 1,641 in the 2010 census a decline of 209 people since the 2000 census.  Throckmorton is the County Seat.  The population is 828 down from 905 in 2000 census.

Cattle, Cotton and Oil make up the economy of the county.  Some grains also are grown by farms/ranches.

Larry and I were in Throckmorton to attend the RA Brown Ranch Dispersal Sale in October.  This gave me the opportunity to add two more counties to mark off as having photographed their courthouses.  I decided to work immediately on the photos of  Throckmortion County Courthouse.

Already undergoing renovation the Courthouse Annex is completed.  One can visit Facebook to view what the renovation to the courthouse will look like.  I am thrilled to have taken photos of the courthouse before renovation.  Right now the courthouse stands empty waiting for the renovation.

With most of the family tree complete for both sides of the family I am reminded I have very easy life in comparison to my ancestors.  When Larry pulled into a parking place the first two things I saw was a park bench outside a business and a sculpture.  I was enthralled by the sculpture before me.  How many times had I done exactly what this women was doing.  Too many to count.  Has life changed that much for a woman who chooses to live a rural life.  Not a lot except maybe for electricity.  Our first home we built in East Texas was wood heated, no central heat.  I split more wood then I can even begin to think about.  Our new home we build at the ranch will have both central heat and wood heat.  Electricity is fickle and dies at the first site of wind or thunderstorm.  

A bucket in one hand and an axe in another.  Her chores never done.

I'll be working on Throckmorton County Courthouse photos over the next few months.

I'm using this layout as my CKCB Challenge #2 entry.  I had to change the color of something on my page.  I change two things.  My base paper is the "B" side of Fancy Pants Collecting Moments Inch by Inch is a graph.  I took three stencils to change the color of background using my Tim Holtz Distressed Inks.  Most of the Micro Burst Stencil is covered but you can see some of the green rays around the doily.  I also chose to use Crafters Workshop 6x6 Chevron Arrow Stencil.  Finally I took the CM Petal Multi-Maker Punch and made my own stencil with the results seen in the right above the photos.  Thought it gave a nice southwest feel.  A few more splats of Slate Glimmer Mist around the page and my background done.  From there I took the Jillibean Soup Poloroid Mat.  Took the "Life" Frame and went from white to aged pink with Vintage Pink Glimmer Mist and Vintage Photo Distressed Ink.  You can see a close up of the layout here.

I'd like to thank Studio Calico for their sketch as my inspiration found on my Pinterest Sketch Board!

Stay tuned.

Hello Fall

I remember vividly the fall season when our family lived in Niagara Falls and Wilmington, DE.  Beautiful rich colors of the trees and a trip into Pennsylvania for apples from the farm.  All those vivid pictures stored neatly in my brain from before the age of 10.  To my amazement the tree across our driveway at the ranch in 2010 burst forth color hardly ever seen from a native tree.  Had to document the tree in this glorious color!

I used Papers from Studio Calico, Echo Park and Ruby Rock-it.  Embellishments from Fancy Pants, Prima and Studio Calico.  Stencil from Crafters Workshop, Mists and Paints from Art Anthology and Tattered Angels.  Inks from Tim Holtz Distressed Line.

Looking in the distance across my neighbor's pasture is pretty green trees!  I thought while at the ranch this weekend I would take the photo of the same tree this year just a few days over three years.

This time you see dead trees in the back of the tree and water.  In 2010 our neighbor built a tank and chose not to cut the trees down in part of the area where the water would back up.  A common practice to allow cover for fish.  As you can see the grass is shorter and the tree just turning color.

At the same time I am reminded that the early fall rains we have had in abundance I might add have allowed for rye grass to come up and given the summer grasses somewhat a spurt of growth in the warm days of October this year.  Yet you do not see the tall summer grasses we had in fall of 2010.  2011 would put my world to a test that it had not seen since the droughts of the '30's and '50's.  The old timers around town would say the summer of 2011 was far worse then the Dust Bowl.  And it certainly claimed many trees.  Somehow this tree survived.

You can see the damage the drought caused as it fought to survive and did.

Living in my world at the ranch is an amazing one.  Like wishing I had the camera as I sat in the Kawasaki Mule and some movement caught my eye of a baby skunk within arms reach waddling by as if he owned the world back in 2007.  Or would have that youngster given me a spray I would never forget!  And I could list many more treats I get to see.  Life is very constant, my world moves in circles from one season to the next, one calving season to the next, from birth to death of a tree, an animal, or the garden. The cycle never ceases and the circle always begins again.  It's a constant I can count on never changing.  I wouldn't trade my life as a rancher for anything in the world.

I used my Mother Nature I put together for CKCB.  Do check what others have created with their kits.  I would also like to thank deanna13, a member of ACOT's community for the pointing me to the Creative Scrappers Sketch #255 for my inspiration.

May each of you have a blessed day!

Counterfeit Kit for November

My search for papers for this month's kit actually began last weekend.  Lynn and I went to Waco for lunch and it had been four month's since I have been to Crop, Paper, Scissors.  Love this small quaint store!  I love not having an overwhelming number of choices.  I was thinking so many kit clubs usually have gorgeous fall colors!  So I picked up some things I thought might fit the bill.  I was delighted to see Jenni Bowlin's Kits yesterday!

My kit as usual came out totally top heavy in embellishments so it's huge!

I have struggled with the name but decided on Mother Nature in honor of all the wonderful things that catch my eye at the ranch in the fall!  I don't get the color of the north but love the beauty in our Texas Fall!  And maybe another courthouse!  I was able to photo two more courthouses last month, Young & Throckmorton Counties.  Usually lots of green if we get early fall rains as we have this year!  We should have our first freeze by mid month though!

The colors I chose aren't as deep but certainly I was pretty close to the colors in the kit.  I started the kit with Jillibean Soup Polaroid Placemat which I can leave white or color with ink or mist.  I have paper(s) from Teresa Collins Memorabilia, Studio Calico Clasic Calico (didn't use last month so kept it for this month), Ruby Rock-it, Echo Park For The Record , Fancy Pants Collecting Moments and Pink Paislee Portfolio!  The choices are part of the old scrapper loving earth tones and the new scrapper that wants bright colors.

From there as usual I just went wild with embellishments from Vintage to new!  Washi, canvas, burlap, trinkets, frames, cloth, wood, and more!  I'm loving the embellies for this kit!  I have some ideas running in my head of some layouts so I need to upload some photos to print!  I think the first thing that came to mind as a must have when I saw the kit was my brand new still in Package Glitz Roller Doodle Floral Stamp!  Most of my flowers are at the ranch....sometimes just plain tough to have two homes and your supplies are split between the two!

I also found two mini's on the kit page at Jenny Bowlin's and as I progressed through the hop some of the ladies will be doing mini's this month!  I have three to do this month so out came the entire line of Little Yellow Bicycle's Feels Like Home line plus a few added embellies!  Christmas Presents for my Mother and Brothers this year. I call it Thanksgiving as it will contain last year's photos of our Thanksgiving together!  Fortunately it will be assembly line fashion!  I probably won't finish until next month.  My brother's don't live close by so they have to be done by the 10th of Dec.  I also love love the pie chart stencil and sadly I don't have one but chose a trio of hearts for both kits and Crafter's Workshop Mini Burst keep with a round pattern.

I apologize for the sunlight rays coming through the blinds!  Beautiful partly cloudy day!

Of course all of my inks, mists and Art Antholgy Paints are a must have and not shown!  I also might switch between the two kits!

If you have never tried this challenge I encourage you to do so!  In just two months I now can just grab papers and go with a layout.  Something that took me hours of  stress to decide!  It is one of those humps I just couldn't seem to conquer!  Now I have thanks to CKCB!  Thank you! 

Counterfeit Kit Club October Fab 5

I had an OMG moment this morning finding out I made the Fab 5 again this month.  I am so humbled as the layouts presented by participants are amazing!  I've only had the time for one layout with this month's kit as I'm still madly working on Mom's Cruise Album!  Her birthday is Friday!  On top of that it's our second busiest month of the year at the ranch:  Fall Working and attending three cattle sales (one online).

Thank you again!!!

I am looking forward to next month's kit!

If you have not participated in this great blog....consider hopping over to become involved!!!

Leon Cty Courthouse & Cattle Sales

I guess I have to call myself offically "plugged in"!  I felt totally out of the loop when the internet went down and had to do without for 48 hours!  Cell service in the house is terrible so no help there.  Drove me nuts!

Once I had my CKCB kit put together I had to dive in.  I created this layout with the only photo I have right now of Houston County Courthouse.  This is not the city of Houston, Houston County is located in East Texas and the county seat is Crockett.  Fortunately Crockett isn't to far away to return on a weekend to get some more photos.  This is the fifth courthouse for Houston County built in 1939 as a WPA Project and the cost was $120,000.  I digress ....the economist in me has come out!  In today's dollars it is just slightly over $1.9 million dollars.  And in my mind our government still has not learned their lesson!  I used the Becky Fleck Sketch Challenge #52 at A Cherry On Top to do the layout!  This sketch pulled me in because of the brackets.  They have been out of favor for about four years now and hope they are making a comeback! I pulled out my Archiver's Exclusive Patterned Brackets die.  If anyone is interested in them there is at least eight available right now on eBay.

From there I had a great time working in Project Life Style on the Cruise Album of my Grandmother & Mom's Alaska Cruise.  Below are the pages I completed this weekend.  I'm just under half done with the album.  The next six or seven pages will all be Glacier Bay Photos and because of the large number of photos the pages should work up pretty quickly!  I'm using Studio Calico Atlantic and Crate Paper The Pier collections with a few scattered papers and embellishments from other manufacturers.  I'm feeling a lot better about making the deadline to give to Mom on her birthday!

Until next time!

Explore Kit for CKCB

I literally had a disaster on my hands yesterday!  I couldn't find anything I wanted when I wanted it to scrap with.  My poor husband dealing with me not unpacking from a crop and stuff on every single available surface.  All scrapping put up and I'm just itching to play!!!

I just needed to get this month's kit together when I finished cleaning for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog.  I have way more then I need in this month's kit!!!  My goal two layouts with this kit.  One to do my 4x4 example for next month 4x4 Challenge which I will start on as soon as I post my kit and the second one to go in Mom's horse album(s).  I want the first album filled as a Christmas gift.  If I have time this month then a third with a courthouse photo(s).  The rest of the scrapping as I wrote yesterday is my Mother's Cruise album.

So here's the photos of my kit I call Explore.  My life is a never ending exploration living on a farm.  My job is never the same one day to the next.  Then I get to travel more then one would expect being a rancher.  We attend cattle sales, meetings, shows, field days.  It may be a short trip or it may mean traveling over a thousand miles and there is always something to explore and discover.  And then there is always that exploration into my love of scrapbooking.  This morning was a Russian scrapping blog!  With the help of Google the blog came alive for me.  Some already translated, too.  I smiled reading....as one has to really think since the translation is never in proper English.  Amazing creative artists on this design team and I'm loving the sketch on this challenge blog, Paper Dvizhnik Blog.

Yes, I do have one of the papers from the Cocoa Daisey's Main Kit.  Had to include it in my kit.

I have a little old and a whole lot new!  The contents of my kit starting with the paper and some embellies:

Making Memories Reverie Noir Paper:  Dlicate Brocade; Pattern Dot & Ledger

My Minds Eye Lost and Found 3 Ruby Red Fan Paper

Carta Bella Hello Again:  Hello Friend

Pretty Little Studio Nature Walk: Deer Tracks

Studio Calico Classic Calico: Botanical

Ruby Rock-it Nostalgia:  Quilt

I  know not many papers for the embellishments!  I'm not a paper hoarder....but I need embellishments like crazy!!!  And lately I can't seem to do a layout without at least having some Elle's Studio sitting close by! I HAVE TO HAVE lots of choices!  And here's the list!

Lighting went bad and had to turn on the light....welcome rain falling at photo time!

Prima Lyric: Note Metal Clips

Brads: Lost & Found 2 "Blush" and "Sunshine Forever"

Lost & Found 2 Layered Chipboard "Rosy Love"

Lost & Found Glitter Alpha Stickers

Lost & Found Glitter Die-Cut Accessories

Elle's Studio August Kit

Elle's Studio September Kit

Elle's Studio Cameron Frames

Studio Calico Atlantic Stickers

Pebbles From Me To You Library Pockets (by the way definitely a bargain at retail priced)

Pebbles From Me To You Photo Overlays

Studio Calico Farm Animal Wood Veneers

Fabric:  Bundle with no Manufacture, Moda Basic Grey Aspen Frost Mini Charm Pack, Moda SoHo Chic Mini Charm and Moda Basic Grey Sweet Sernade Charm Pack

Elle's Studio Stamp True Happiness

Fancy Pants The Good Life Boarder Stickers

Glitz Hello Friend What Nots

Glitz Hello Friend Paper Layers

Glitz Hello Friend Peek-a-boos

Glitz Hello Friend Title Stickers

Glitz Hello Friend Layered Stickers

October Afternoon Mini Market Gray and Cream Alphas

Jillibean Soup Alpha Beans Newberg Navy

Not Shown:

Quickutz Zoe unicase alpha dies & cardstock scraps

All of my 6x6 Stencils

All of my inks, Art Anthology Paints and mists!  Can't live without them!

Now I'm good to start scrapping today!  Whoop!  Hopefully first layout done this evening!!!  :-)

Until Next Time!

Leon County Courthouse!

I've had a busy last half of the month.  I didn't get a chance to scrap last week at all!  But I did get two layouts done today!  So Happy!

I love love the courthouse photos I take.  In July of 2012 I stumbled across Nuts About Sketches.  The first post I read was a design team call.  This was a layout I did using Sketch # 224 just before I made the team.  This is Leon County Courthouse before the restoration with a stock photo I found along with a photo I took after the restoration.  The link above will take you to Texas Courthouse for another view of the courthouse before it's restoration.

Then today I worked on the photos which lead me down the path to the undying passion I have for my state's courthouses!  Larry and I decided to take a different route to his mother's house in the winter of 2007.  As we drove into the square I was absolutely stunned at the courthouse.  It looked absolutely horrible.  Nothing like what I had seen the half dozen other times I had driven through Centerville.  I had the camera and asked Larry to stop.  I was a scrapper of six months when I took these photos!  When Larry and I got home I found Texas Courthouses.  As I started to read, then read some more as I looked at courthouses the passion began.  Texas Courthouses was the very first website dedicated to our state's county courthouses.  I think that is where the passion began on this website for so many who are now traveling Texas to capture the same photos I am.  And there is a huge push to renovate those that need it as many are historical buildings.  My love has grown as it's no longer just the courthouse that pulls me in as I visit them.  It's the history and people I learn about as I read the historical markers.  Each is a centerpiece of the county and each is a source of  pride for the county residents.  More so in rural counties in our state.

Tomorrow I'll get a better picture(s) and replace.

Unfortunately I didn't get it up in time to post it over at Counterfeit Kit Club Blog!  That's ok, this one is done and once again I turned to Nuts About sketches for the inspiration, Nuts About Sketches #288.  Used up more of my kit!!!

The next layout used the Bonus CHA kit.  Well sort of.....just the Glitz paper as the base.  Some of the items I pulled from the courthouse travel kit and some more items from special little goodies that arrived this month in my stash!

I started this layout two weeks ago and needed to fix it once my Art Anthology paint came it!  Now I love it!  It's a Misty Early May morning looking from the porch towards the road.  Our round hay is stored in my two acre lawn and the post behind the hay has one wet cold buzzard sitting on it.  We had one of those Central Texas Severe Thunderstorms accompanying a front around 2am.  This buzzard was just waiting for the sun to come out.  Of all the embellishments I have received lately I really love the Studio Calico Farm Animals.  There are at least four different breeds of horses.  I was so very thrilled they included the Arabian in the mix and actual cattle which don't look like Holsteins!  We have all three species of farm animals on this page:  Two Arabians, 200 head of beef cattle, 18 chickens and 4 guinea hens.

I think the thing I love the most about this layout is the Art Anthology Sorbet!  What total fun to play with!

I came into Blogger this evening to find I had made the FAB 5 at Counterfeit Kit Club Blog!!!  Wow, I'm thrilled!  Thank you so much!  I am humbled to be in such great company!  Congrats to the other recipients!

Until Next Time!

Unfinished Projects

Challenge # 1 this month at Counterfeit Kit Club Blog is super great!  That makes no sense but it really is great!  I'll let you read it.  But I did post about what my two unfinished projects were out of many!  Well both done this past week.  One finishes up a project....the other well not so much as I still have 238 courthouses to still take photos of.  At least I have one layout down and completes most of what I want to photograph on the square in Huntsville, Texas.  I have already finished the courthouse photos.  The square is so much busier then when I was in school at SHSU.  I need a Sunday morning before the students return from their weekend away to get a photo of the Cafe Texan sign.....yes that sign was there in the late '70 early '80's when I was in college. The sign is still there and there long long before I started my Freshman year in Fall 1978.  But there is so much more to photograph around town that brings back many memories of my college days.  Not to mention there is the historical significance of Huntsville being the hometown of Sam Houston.  This is the layout of 11th Street on the north side of the square in Huntsville.  I used my Courthouse Travel Kit to do this layout.

My next layout that I have been wanting to do for about six months is finally done!  My mother took the photo of Lynn and James.  Mom was her typical self with point and click without even realizing how the picture would look.  Sigh.....but this Mom just loves it!

For this layout I used the CHA Bonus Kit and that wonderful Anna Griffin Barnwood Paper!  I also drew some inspiration from this months Shape Challenge over at A Cherry On Top.  Gotta love Triangles!  I'm not sure I could use products outside the kit to count as just a regular layout on the blog, but I can for the challenges.  I also used some products outside my Courthouse Travel Kit to do the layout above.  This completes that project I have wanted the perfect paper as the base and some fun embellishments!

I have so enjoyed working with my kits.  I can't wait to dive in this week with my kits!  I'll probably work mostly with the Courthouse Travel.

Stay tunned!

CHA Kit - Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog

I was inspired by Trisha for the CHA Bonus Challenge Kit!  She made up an amazing kit.  Then made some amazing projects with the kit.  This is a must see!  Just click the link above!

YAY!  This kit made it in with what I would call small!  I got through with the kit the day the bonus was announced.  Except I let it sit overnight.  As I looked at the kit I realized I needed two things.  A sheet of paper with pink...Done.  Then I needed the right type of fabric for the kit.  A few dozen clicks later and the right fabric is on the journey to my house!  I have sat for two months wanting Anna Griffin's paper Barn Wood.

I finally ordered it a two weeks ago from ACOT and I have just the photo for this paper.  I included everything that is under a year old.  I just have too much paper to buy anything new....it's the one thing that shuts me down from buying.  So here's the smaller kit I'll work with on other photos then the courthouses!

I wanted pieces of fabric in the kit....but didn't have the colors I wanted.  So I ordered some two days ago.  When it arrives I'll replace the correct colors with the one in this kit....or may just add to the kit.

Contents of kit:

Paper

Anna Griffin Gabbie Barnwood Paper

Lily Bee Design Destination Souvenier

Webster's Pages Composition & Color Chalk Prints

Studio Calico Classic Calico III Timesheet

Glitz Color Me Happy Hearts

Imaginisce Love You More Heart Attack

Embellishments

Elle's Studio Limited Addition August 2013 Kit

Paper Bakery Flairs - That's My Bike

Queen & Co. - Candy Shop

Paper Bakery Kit Club - Happened Stamps

Prima ~ Leeza Gibbons Wishes & Dreams - Washi Tape

Crate Paper Party Day - Ephemera Pack

Jillibean Soup - Alphabeans Newburg Navy

fabric - purchased from Moda

Honestly I like this kit better then the first!  But I have different uses for each.

Then on CKCB Blog today is Challenge #1!  Fits me for both kits.  It is all about Unfinished Projects.  I'll start with the CHA Bonus Kit.  I have the cutest picture of Lynn and James on their bikes or big wheels that I have been wanting to scrap for months.  That's challenge #1.  The next project will take albums upon albums to get done.  Years ago I found Texas Courthouses on the web.  I had always loved the Hill County Courthouse.  Gorgeous!  I cried when it burned but the replica stands in it's place.  I found this whole world opened up when I went through the Texas Courthouse site.  Now there are many more sites dedicated to our state's County Courthouses.  I have since 2007 taken photos of 16 of the 254 county courthouses in our state.  I started to just put them in the family albums.  Now I want them in albums of their own along with some of the other notable landmarks around the state.  I have a photo of me the first time I visited the Alamo!  That will go in these scrapbooks.  Some counties I have checks by that very short list to return and photo again because of renovations at the time I photographed them.  It's a walk through history of our state and the people who live in each county!  I have a very short doable bucket list and this sits at the very top to photograph each courthouse.  Total square miles of our state:  268,601 square miles.  That is a lot of traveling.  No end date in site for this project!  Of course I had to get a WRMK Buttercup (Yellow Album) for the Yellow Rose of Texas although our state flower is of course the one and only Bluebonnet!  Plenty of those photos to go in this scrapbook!

He he....these are only two unfinished projects!  I have a boat load of projects for Christmas this year to fit in as well as my Mother's Cruise album and her horse album!  Best get started...

Until next time!

Courthouse Travel Kit

After I wrote my post yesterday I dived in to make my first kit for Counterfeit Kit Challenge.  I wanted it small and it turned out large.  I'm going to definitely have to work on that item.  When I started pulling embellishments is where I really went overboard...I do for every layout, too.  But never seem to use all I pull.  I also wanted to make this first kit easy for me.  I started with one of my oldest Paper Bakery Kits almost used up.  Then picked out some scraps and one full sheet from Carta Bella So Noted.  Then came two full sheets and a Large Die Cut from MME Stella Rose.

I call it Courthouse Travel!  When I do a layouts of the courthouses in my state I don't use travel paper or embellishments.  I'm focusing on the courthouse and the inspiration it gives me.  My inspiration came from the type of items in the kit. I don't do near the traveling I did before I was married, and now the kids are grown I sometimes make a day trip to photo some of Texas' County Courthouses.  Other times Larry and I are off to attend a cattle event or visit a friend's ranch and we stop to see the courthouses along the way.  There is an amazing amount of history and architecture in Texas Courthouses. I think this will make a perfect kit for my day trip adventures. 

Here are the kits we had to counterfeit from Citrus Twist:

And this is my kit:

The only item not shown is Studio Calico Wonderland Fonts Mistables (alphas).  I think they are buried in my Studio Calico Atlantic Collection.

Here's the list of Paper:

Bazzill Cardstock:  Bazzill Celery & a Yellow I don't know the name

Studio Calico:  Abroad 12x12 Paper:  First Class & Somewhere

MME Stella Rose:  Gertie Friends Forever, Hazel Lovely, Memories Woven Paper (large diecut)

Basic Grey:  Sweet Threads Knotted Shirt; Out of Print Mish Mash;  PB&J scraps from Toasted, Sunny Days, Raspberry Jam

Carta Bella So Noted:  Script & Scribbles;  Scraps from Inked Numerals, Musical Score, Dear Jane

I am a bit Embellishment OCD and actually pulled twice what I settled on!  Here's the list!

Basic Grey:  Sweet Threads Office Tabs, Wheels, Pieces;  Out of Print:  Pops;  PB&J Cardstock Stickers, Miscellany

Carta Bella:  So Noted 12x12 Sticker Sheet

Jillibean Soup:  Bakers Twine Mustard & Olive

Washi Tape:  Queen & Co.  Trendy Musical Notes

Little Yellow Bicycle:  Naturals Burlap Tags

Tattered Angels:  True Blood; Chalk; Sun Sisters

Studio Calico Wood:  Speech Bubbles; Farm Animals

Prima:  Song Bird Collection Tickets; Shabby Chic Treasures Baroque;  Musical Notes Clips

MME Stella Rose:  2 Frames, 2 Tabs Sticker Sheets, 1 Title, 1 transparency, Stars Trinkets, Buttons, Trim, and Layered Cardstock Stickers

Bazzill:  Die Cut Numbers - White

Paper Bakery:  Vintage Milk Cap #1, May Arts Yellow Chevron Ribbon, Simple Stories Folder, Vintage Milk Cap, Vintage Inspired Bag, Yo-Yo Flower

Jenni Bowlin Studio:  True Vintage Labels

Alphas:  See Above

I'm so looking forward to creating with this kit and playing along at Counterfeit Kit Blog!

Now to upload some photos for me to pickup tomorrow or Tuesday.