Tuesday, January 31, 2012

LEAP AROUND THE WORLD BLOG HOP INFO

THIS POST WILL STAY ON TOP UNTIL THE DAY THE HOP BEGINS,
AT WHICH TIME ALL DIRECTIONS WILL APPEAR RIGHT HERE!
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR NEWER POSTS.


As one of the 50 international host blogs, I am gearing up now for the upcoming Let's Scrap "Leap Around the World" February blog hop!!  This fun event will start at 10:00am on February 1 and end on February 29th at 11:59pm according to the main page clock on the Let's Scrap website (your clock may vary, so check the time difference).

I would love it if you joined me in this big hop!  There are several things you can do RIGHT NOW to be prepared:
  • Make sure you are signed up as a follower on this blog.  Just scroll up to the right-hand corner and click on JOIN THIS SITE.  In addition, it's  convenient to subscribe via e-mail so that you will never miss one of my blog posts!  ;-)
  • Click here to join the Let's Scrap website.  It's free, simple and quick!
  • Find all those scraps of paper you have been setting aside for the last 5 years.  You will need them because the blog hop is all about making CARDS!
  • Clean off your scrap table and put the pizza delivery number on speed dial!  
  • Oh, wait, scratch the pizza delivery comment...you have all month to hop!!
OK, a few more details.  You did read correctly: there are 50 blog hosts!  Once you have joined Let's Scrap, at each blog, you will get two chances to win some blog candy (aka: booty, prizes)!  Do the math!  You will have 100 chances to win free stuff...and good stuff, too!  This is also the perfect opportunity to restock your card stash!  The first chance comes when you join/follow each blog and leave a comment.  The second chance comes when you use the card sketch on each blog to create a card, layout or other project based upon the card sketch appearing on each blog--they are all different! You then must post your creation in the Let's Scrap website gallery, then go back to each blog and leave a second comment linking back to your gallery post.  Don't be overwhelmed...you are doing only one card at a time!  Our hope is that you will visit every blog, but, remember, you have the whole month of February to do this.

N.B.  A few folks are experiencing some difficulty leaving comments on some blogs, so, to be sure you are able to do so without difficulty, be sure you are using Google Chrome or Firefox as your search engine.  Internet Explorer (IE) does not always "play nice" with Bloggers!  If you would like to test out my blog for compatibility with your search engine ahead of time, just post a comment here.  Just comment "TEST" and I will know what you up to!  ;-)

Cheers!  



WHEN IS AN RAK REALLY AN RAK?

Literally, an RAK is a Random Act of Kindness.  In the scrapbooking world, it has come to be synonymous with "prize," usually awarded to the winner of a challenge.  But, really, is that a random act of kindness?  I think not.  The following will describe to you what a real RAK is to me:


First, I would like to show you a card that was submitted by Heidi (pronounced Hey-De) to the gallery of the well-known international scrapbooking website Let's Scrap a few weeks ago.  



As a member of the Let's Scrap Design Team, I am in the site gallery almost every day commenting on the submissions.  Here's what I had to say about Heidi's card when it was published:

"What an incredible piece of art, Heidi...more so even than a great card.  You can often "feel" a card, full of emotion and sentiment.  But, this one, I want to reach out and touch to "feel" the texture!  You have masterfully represented your country in the elements you have chosen.  Awesome feathers!  ;-)"
Well, today, in the mail--all the way from South Africa, I received the original card from Heidi!  This would have been enough in itself to be an RAK, but inside, here's what I found:


These are turkey feathers, guinea fowl feathers, and porcupine quills along with some skeleton leaves--all now very hot scrapbooking and cardmaking add-on's, especially in vintage-themed creations.  That, my dear friends, in an RAK!

Thank you, Heidi--and cheers to my good friends who actually read my blog.  If you did, leave me a comment so I will know you were here....and don't forget:

THE LET'S SCRAP LEAP AROUND THE WORLD BLOG HOP starts tomorrow!!  Look for details right here on my blog at about 11:00am Eastern Standard Time!


Monday, January 30, 2012

THE LIEBSTER BLOG AWARD--WOOHOO!

I have received the Liebster Blog Award....
The word Liebster is German meaning ‘favorite’ or ‘dearest’.  That said, it is with humble thanks to Cathy van de Bruinhorst @ http://www.cathysobsessions.blogspot.com/ that I can now proudly post the Liebster Blog Award "blinkie" on my blog. 


In accepting the award, the recipient agrees to:
  • Thank the person who gave the award and link back to their blog (I just did that!)
  • Copy and paste the award to your blog (done!)
  • Reveal the 5 blogs you have chosen to award this honor and why, and then let those bloggers know they have been chosen by commenting on their blogs.
  • Hope they pay it forward by accepting and awarding it to bloggers they would like to honor.
Now I just need to choose 5 blogs that I love and think deserve a bit more TLC and definitely a visit from you.  The hardest part is to only choose 5!  The only limiting factor for the award is that the blog must have fewer than 200 followers.  Here are the blogs that I would like to award the Liebster Award:
So, these are my picks for this award.  I think you should go and check them all out to see for yourself and support them by becoming followers! These are girls from all over the world, but all belong to the Let's Scrap website.  If you haven't yet checked out Let's Scrap, you can do it right HERE.  Beginning February 1, Let's Scrap is hosting the LEAP AROUND THE WORLD BLOG HOP.  Check the site for details and join many talented and inspiring ladies who love what you love...scrapping and cardmaking!



Saturday, January 28, 2012

LETTERBOXING

While you might think letterboxing has to do with everyday mail delivery, it does not.  It is actually an intriguing pastime combining map-reading skills and rubber stamp artistry in a treasure-hunt style outdoor quest.  My husband and stepdaughter have been letterboxing for years.  They not only search out others' boxes, but have hidden their own and posted clues on how to find them on the internet.  By clicking on "letterboxing" at the beginning of this paragraph, you can read all the details and perhaps start a quest with your own children, although adults enjoy the pastime, too!

I created this layout based on this week's two-page sketch from the Let's Scrap website.  I guess I have kind of gotten away from two-page layouts recently, but thought I would give this one a "go."  Here's the sketch:


Once my layout was completed and I began to get it ready for posting, I discovered something very interesting:  I like each of the layouts (left and right sides) individually, but, together, not so much!  So, I will post them here for you to see as "singles."



And, here, of course, is some of the detailed photos--my favorite part:







Thanks for stopping by.  Please do leave a comment so that I know you were here--and, well, it makes me feel that all this is worthwhile!

DON'T FORGET TO JOIN THE LET'S SCRAP 2012 FEBRUARY LEAP AROUND THE WORLD BLOG HOP STARTING FEBRUARY 1!  CLICK "NEWER POSTS" AT THE BOTTOM LEFT TO TAKE YOU TO ALL THE DETAILS!

Cheers!


Friday, January 20, 2012

TAKING A SECOND LOOK

Hope everyone is having a productive January!  Things over at Let's Scrap, where I serve on the Design Team (DT), have been hopping busy!  Speaking of "hopping," let me first remind you that beginning February 1, Let's Scrap is serving up a blog hop involving 50 host blogs!!!  This will be such a fun time (being coordinated by DT member Mindi) for all who become involved.  You will have the opportunity to create 50 unique cards--which should replenish your supply of cards for this year!  You will also have the opportunity to win free stuff!  Check back in a few days, when I will post all the details here for you.

For now, I have been working on my DT creations, as well as participating in the January LOAD (LayOut A Day) challenge, coordinated by Cathy, another member of the DT on Let's Scrap.  I am falling dreadfully behind, but hope this weekend will allow me the opportunity to catch up!

In the meantime, let me show you the Let's Scrap card sketch (created by Sketch Artist DebbyD) for this week, with my two interpretations of this challenge.
Still working through my "vintage" stage, I took that route and came up with an invitation, although it might not appear so from the outside:


Inside it reads, ". . . but I *do* do lunch and would like you to join me!"

Many fellow Let's Scrap members don't make a lot of cards, so just skip doing anything on the third Wednesdays when the card sketches come out.  Other members, perhaps with more of a "vision," look at a card sketch and can see it as a layout sketch and off they go to their scrap tables.  This week, that happened to me!  One of my favorite photos of all time was given to me by Lorie, a dear friend of my daughter Michelle.  In fact, if I remember correctly, the photo may actually have been taken by my daughter!  Here's the photo of Lorie and her son Maddox.  If you enlarge the photo by clicking on it, you will see that Maddox has picked a dandelion and is closely examining its intricacies.  


I didn't start out with the idea of making this a monochromatic layout, but it turned out to be one--all about shades of black and white.  Before you check it out, take just a moment to scroll back up to the card sketch.  Now look at the layout with the card sketch in mind:


So, next time you look at a card sketch and think you don't want to bother making a card, take a second look and just imagine it as a layout sketch.  You just might create something magical!

Cheers to you, my friend!  Please join as a follower if you have not already done so (it's easy and near the top right), then leave a comment because it makes me feel REALLY good!  ;-)

Kay

Monday, January 9, 2012

TAKING THE PAPER TAPE CHALLENGE

Well, I have been challenged, and I think I just might have lost!  I want to share with you a layout I finished today.  The layout was created for my own pleasure from a Let's Scrap sketch, but I was challenged this week by Sue, one of the Let's Scrap Design Team members, to create a flower using paper tape.  You can find this tutorial and technique challenge on Sue's blog.  What seemed a simple tutorial was not at all simple for me--but I am going to continue to practice, practice, practice!  I will let you decide if I met this challenge!

First, let me introduce you to my mother, but as a very young girl!  I have always loved having this photo of my mother, yet, only in working with it to create this layout, did I discover that I really think I looked like my mother when I was a "bit" younger.  This realization led me to include a second, but smaller, copy of the same photo in my layout.


I usually show you the finished layout first, but, this time, I want to show you all the pieces'n'parts that make up the whole!  From time to time, I have been sharing more vintage-themed layouts with you--first, because I really am lovin' the look, and, second, because a lot of the photos I have and want to scrap are older photos, which don't look quite right on the newer, more trendy and vibrant papers.  Here we go:





And, here is that troublesome flower:


And, finally, the finished layout:


I am happy you stopped by so that I could share this layout--and its construction--with you.  Please leave a comment so that I will know you were here--and because it makes me feel good!  If you are not already a follower, please join others who come by from time to time!  

Happy New Year to each of you!

Kay

Sunday, January 1, 2012

FOREVER FAMILY

Well, it is the new year, and I have agreed to participate in a LOAD (LayOut-A-Day) challenge for the month of January!  This idea is the brainchild of Cathy, one the current Let's Scrap Design Team members, and she now has quite a following.  I am going to do my best here, especially since Cathy is allowing two-page layouts to count as 2, and cards as 1.  I was thinking 31 cards!  ;-)  Here is the direct link to the directions, if you are thinking you are "man" enough for this challenge:  http://letsscrap.ning.com/group/100-lo-s-in-2012/forum/topics/load-challenge-for-january.

I want to share here my very first layout for 2012, which also will be submitted for the Let's Scrap DT challenge 126, posted by Jeaunes last Friday.  I will first post the Let's Scrap sketch I used, then my layout, then all the detail--up close and personal.  Enjoy!


Remember, we are at liberty to use the Let's Scrap sketches as a starting point, copying them *exactly* or allowing the sketch, as well as our photos and embellishments, to lead us where they may:




Here are the "bits'n'pieces" of the detail:








Thanks for visiting!  If you have not already done so, please sign up to "follow" and do please leave a comment so I know you were here!  HAPPY NEW YEAR to all who pass through this blog.  May the next year provide you with good health, happy times and prosperity!