Easter 2010

I have been letting my pictures pile up and up and up! Seriously, I have stacks of pictures all over my scrapbooking desk! I know, unspeakable right! Well this week I am trying to get a few layouts done to help with my growing problem. =)
So I picked out a few of my fun Easter Photos from way back in 2010 of my three oldest babies! I have also always wanted to try a "scrap page" which is, for those of you that don't know, is a page that you try to use some of your favorite scraps from previous layouts. I think this one actually turned out cute for being my first time doing something like this.
Well, here is my fun and funky page!

Thanks for stopping by!
Have a happy crafty day!
~Virginia E.

Scrapbook Fun

I got the chance to work on a few pages last night. The first one that I have to share with you is actually a 12x12 double layout. About a year ago I was asked to help my Sister in Law out with her son's school project, I happily agreed because we never get to hang out and who doesn't want to play around with paper with friends! Well, as a thank you her son picked out some flowers and gave them to me with a few sheet of window clings to help me with a project that I wanted to do for Valentines Day. Well, I have tried 3 different times to design a layout for the photos of these beautiful flowers. I think I have finally found the perfect layout for it. I went with two simple colors. Light Blush Pink and Plain White I stayed away from the big sheets of patterned paper, I think that was my big mistake from the first few attempts at getting these pictures scrapbooked. So I decided to go with a sketch to help get things off a little smoothly. It turned out to be very helpful and has made this spread a keeper!

Super sweet isn't it!! =) Thanks for stopping by! Have a Happy and Crafty Day!
~Virginia E.

Inspiration Monday

Today is another wonderful Inspiration Monday! This week I have decided to join in on another  wonderful challenge blogs.
The first one I would like to list is where the sketch for the card came from. This week I have decided to join in on the CPS Card Sketch Blog. Its a really fun sketch that was fun to try and play around with. =)

Isn't that just fun? Well on top of that I have decided to join the fun gals over at Stamptacular Sunday Challenge blog once again. This week they are looking for Loads of Layers!
"“Loaded with LAYERS!”For this weeks challenge you will create a card that has 3 or more layers! Oh…and don’t forget to stamp! After all, we don’t call this STAMPtacular for nothing!"

Alright, lets take a peek at my little card.

I chose fun spring colors because that's just how I feel, its spring and things should be cheerful! =)
Thanks for stopping by.
~Virginia E.

Inspiration Monday

Well, here we have it, another wonderful Inspiration Monday! This week I have decided to join the wonderful fun over at three of my favorite challenge blogs!
The first one that I would like to mention is where the color inspiration came from. Over at CAS-UAL Fridays they are having and opposites attract challenge, they have given us a color wheel where we get to enjoy the colors of each side of the wheel. I chose Yellow and Purple.
Then over at Cute Card Thursday they want to see how these wonderful spring flowers influence your craft projects, for this I picked out a stamp that I have actually never used. A beautiful floral scroll which I colored in in the purple and yellow colors.
I'm also throwing this project into the Stamptacular Sunday Challenge, they are enjoying a FREEBIE week where they would just like to see the new projects that we have all come up with. =)
Well, what do you say? Are you ready to see my lovely card??

Thank you for stopping by! I hope that you enjoyed my lovely card!
~Virginia E.

Easter Fun

So how was your Easter? Mine was very lovely. My Hubby surprised me with a little basket of goodies, then I spent the day relaxing and having a lazy day. I took a nap and then when I got up I decided to work on a scrapbook page, I haven't done that in forever and my photo stash really shows it! I picked out a couple photos of my Little Girls and designed a layout just for them! A special sisters page.

As most of you know I enjoy the layout within a layout look, I love designing a 8x8 or 8x10 or even a 8.5x11 layout inside the 12x12 page. This one was no different. I used the two frames that I picked up at the DI a while back, I have been dying to use them I just had no idea what I was going to use them on.

This layout was fun and went together very smoothly! I love the colors and the photos of my 3 beautiful girls!

The boarder actually came from a gift set that I got from my friend! She found an amazing deal at Target and picked two of them up for me! Gotta love great friends!

Sisters really are a small Wonder! I love that stamp! The font was fun and fit perfectly into the layout! I stamped it in the Stampin Up Color Cherry Cobbler.


Then I took my little Brydda out for a nice walk in the wonderful weather! Its so fun to see how he jumps and bounces through the grass and stops to sniff and clean. He is getting so good on the leash that its hard to believe that he is a little Bunny and not a little Puppy! After an hour outside of running and jumping he was tired and ready to come in. So I brough him in and cleaned his bedroom. After that I gave him a treat and let him lay down. I took some time to make another digital layout while I watched a little tv. (Criminal Minds is going to be my down fall! Ha Ha Ha)

There you have it. A fun and funky layout. I love the colors and photos! That's my Hubby holding our new baby just days after he came home. I love my fuzzy family!
Thanks for stopping by! Let me know what you did on Easter! I'd love to see what my Fans are up to when they aren't online! =)
~Virginia E.

Inspiration Monday

Welcome to another Inspiration Monday!

For today's challenge I have decided to stop by Stamptacular Sunday Challenge and get in on the fun of a PHOTO Inspiration challenge. Their photo this week is amazing! Extremely spring!

Isn't that just beautiful!!! I picked out the two things that spoke to me most from their to, the fact that its a flower and the colors, the yellow and hints of purple! So those are what the main events are on my card! I also tried out a new technique. (Which I will be explaining a bit later on.)

I love how the colors compliment each other and really make it dazzle! I wanted to keep it simple, so I knew that the colors really had to make up for it all! So the new technique that I tried out was the main event!

First I dug into my stash of Cricut Cartridges and pulled out my Cindy Lou, I picked out one of the doily's and cut it out of a scrap piece of paper. Then I layered the cut doily over the white piece of paper and pulled out two ink pads. I lightly brushed the purple and yellow ink pads over the doily, once it was all covered in ink I peeled up the doily and was left with this beautiful piece of art! I love the grunge but sweet look that it has left! Then I inked the edges of the white paper and considered it done. I layered it with yellow paper and topped it off with a purple decorative strip. I chose the quote Warm Wishes because it seemed like the right fit! Then to add that extra spot of glamour I added 3 rhinestones!

On the inside I stamped the message "A lifetime of Wedding Wishes for you." And that there is my card!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderfully crafty day!
~Virginia E.

A Sweet Story

So on the 30th of March my very special friend Mrs. Rebecca brought home my new son, his name is Brydda and he is a mini lop/dwarf rabbit. He is such a sweetheart and I love having him home with us!

Well, not only did Mrs. Rebecca bring home my Brydda baby and the amazing starter kit to get us set up for our first bunny, but she also brought me some amazing scrapbooking products that she no longer needed. She used to be a Stampin Up demonstrator and had a lot of great stuff from Stampin Up that she was ready to let go of. She gave me so much that there is no way that I could take photographs of it all and show you, so you'll have to take my word on how freaking amazing it all was!
What I'm about to tell you will just add proof to how great it all was!
So, a day or so after Brydda and all the "new" goodies came home my Hubby was feeling a bit ignored and wanted my attention back on him. So while I was still sleeping in the morning he drove down to our local craft store which is JoAnns and stood in the stamping isle for a good 30 minutes (or so he says, but knowing him it was probably closer to an hour) staring at ink pads. I have been talking for a while about needing a new white ink pad. Every time I have the cash to pick one up I find that I always need something else more, usually paper.
Well anyway, there my Husband is standing in the stamping isle in JoAnns staring at ink pads trying to pick out the right one. (My Hubby has never been good at picking things out for me, when he does pick its perfect but most of the time he stresses too much and just feels miserable, so most holidays and birthday I get a gift card.) After the "half hour" of looking he finally picked one out. I love it! It really is perfect! He picked out the A la Mode pigment ink pad by Hampton Arts.
I love my husband and all the little and BIG things that he does for me on an everyday basis!
The though of my husband standing in a craft store actually looking at product really makes me laugh though.

What a Sweetheart!
How about sharing a super wonderful moment that your special someone went above and beyond just because they could. I remember my mom wanting a portable feed bag for her horse but decided to wait on it, my dad went back to the store later that day while she was out and when she got home there was a new feed bag waiting for her. What a fun day that was for her!
~Virginia E.

I love Thrift

 I really do, I love Thrift Stores, especially the ones that are here in my neck of the woods. I went on another fun trip to my Local DI (Deseret Industries) and found a few more great deals!
The first things that I have to show you are even going to surprise you! They are 12x6 MyWord Chipboard Album. I got two of them one that spells Party and one that spells Travel. They are both brand new right off the shelf! There were tons of other ones like Grade and Baby, but none that I could use.

I picked those up for a dollar each! I couldn't believe that these made it to the DI but I am so glad that they did!
The next items that I got were also a dollar each! The first one that I have to show you is a 2000 Stampin Up stamps set call Animal Valentines, brand new never been opened stamp set! They are so cute! I'm excited to use them!

Next up I picked up another Stampin Up stamp set, this one is a 2001 called Vogue Verses.

Isn't that amazing!!! I can't that believe all of these great items were brand new and had never been opened! All for only 1$ each! It just blows my mind away!

Happy Bargain Hunting, send me a comment about the ways that you save money when looking for new Scrapbooking items! One of my favorite things to do is sharing and trading with friends and families! I have no problem with "out of date" paper craft items, that's how I make it look easy to save money while getting new fun and exciting paper craft toys!
~Virginia E.

Crafting for a Cause

Did you know that the month of April is Autism Awareness Month? I found this out a few year ago when a beautiful little girl in my life was diagnosed with Autism. So last year I decided to make something fun to help share in this wonderful awareness campaign. I made a sweet little paper flower bouquet and I tried my hand at those fun toilet paper roll mini albums. All in Blue and White.

So this year I wanted to do the same thing once again, but before we get to what I did this year lets share a little bit about Autism which is why we really are here.
What is Autism?
According to the wonderful site Autism Speaks; Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and autism are both general terms for a group of complex disorders of brain development. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors. They include autistic disorder, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and Asperger syndrome. ASD can be associated with intellectual disability, difficulties in motor coordination and attention and physical health issues such as sleep and gastrointestinal disturbances. Some persons with ASD excel in visual skills, music, math and art.
Autism appears to have its roots in very early brain development. However, the most obvious signs of autism and symptoms of autism tend to emerge between 2 and 3 years of age. Autism Speaks continues to fund research on effective methods for earlier diagnosis, as early intervention with proven behavioral therapies can improve outcomes. Increasing autism awareness is a key aspect of this work and one in which our families and volunteers play an invaluable role.
How Common is Autism?
According to the Wonderful site Autism Speaks; Autism statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identify around 1 in 88 American children as on the autism spectrum–a ten-fold increase in prevalence in 40 years. Careful research shows that this increase is only partly explained by improved diagnosis and awareness. Studies also show that autism is three to four times more common among boys than girls. An estimated 1 out of 54 boys and 1 in 252 girls are diagnosed with autism in the United States.
By way of comparison, this is more children than are affected by diabetes, AIDS, cancer, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy or Down syndrome, combined.* ASD affects over 2 million individuals in the U.S. and tens of millions worldwide. Moreover, government autism statistics suggest that prevalence rates have increased 10 to 17 percent annually in recent years. There is no established explanation for this continuing increase, although improved diagnosis and environmental influences are two reasons often considered.

This is only a very little bit of the information that you can find on Autism from one of the many great resources for Autism. Please join the fight against Autism and help all of us find a way to make this stop!
If you are looking for an amazing book that gives you just a small glimpse into the world of living with a child with Autism try reading Louder then Words by Jenny McCarthy, she also has Mother Warriors which is another amazing book on the fight against Autism.

Now on to what I have made this year to help spread awareness.This year I have decided to make a standard 12x12 scrapbook page. It actually turned out great and I am very excited to share it with you. I chose Blue as the main color but felt that if I had done it all in only blue things might not turn out as cute as I wanted it to. So I threw in a blue patterned paper that had a couple other colors. Pink, Orange, White....... Well, why am I talking about it when I could just show you.

I didn't add an actual title because I would rather have the ribbon and the Mother's words be the main focus of what should be said.

That's all I have for this post. Thank you for stopping by for this extra special post.
~Virginia E.