Debbie's Dare

Hi all! Welcome to my blog and thanks for stopping by. The project that I have for you is.............
Stitching. Break out your needles and stitch a border, a corner or a design (such as a flower, heart, bird, etc) directly onto your layout. Any kind of stitching counts so even if you sew on a button, it counts. You can use narrow ribbon, yarn, sewing thread or floss to add beautiful touches to your layouts. Easy right? Well there is a catch. It has to be on a layout that includes:

• 1 - 5X7 photo mat
• 3 - 4X4 photo mats
• 2 different patterned papers
• the color brown
• and a heart

Have a wonderful day!

Home Sweet Home

Aaaaahhhh. I am so glad to be home! I loved being at SSAT and I gotta tell you that I met some of the most wonderful, interesting and courteous ladies (and gentlemen) while I was there! SC rocks and I'm not just saying that because I am from here. Thank you to everyone that purchased from me or that stopped by my booth to say hi, it was great to meet you.

Well the little guy was as sick as sick can be all weekend. High fever, constant naps (that does not ever happen as he says that he is way to old to take a nap), upset stomach, not eating, on and on. He is home from school again today and he was home on Friday. And guess what else, he gave it to me. So I will not be posting any layouts today, as I am going back to bed. Just wanted to post a quick note. Have a great day and blog you tomorrow!

Off to ScrapStampArt

Hope to meet you there. The show starts tomorrow at 10 and the buzz has been great. Will take lots of pic and blog you about it later. Have a great weekend and scrap plenty. I will post new challenges on Monday. I will also post some pics of a new acrylic album that I am working on.

Glimmer Mist

Okay, this is the 3rd time today that I've posted but I could not wait to post this! I did some swatch cards of the glimmer mist (Candy Apple) for the ScrapStampArt Tour. So that folks can see how it really works (will also have a bottle for demos) and I have to say this stuff rocks!!!!! It didn't work well at all with the acrylic or the coated sticker, just beaded up (darn it, I had dreams of using this on an acrylic album). I put liquid adhesive on the back of the acrylic piece than sprayed the mist on and placed it on the paper (smushed it around a little and held it till the adhesive dried). The sticker is in the center of the silk flower and the mist is almost invisible. The silk flower also did not bling but the flower started out white so it had very good coverage.

but it was totally fab on the naked chipboard and the Prima flowers. I was completely surprised by how much different it looks on smooth and textured cardstock too.

Bizarre Hunger

My little guy got home from school right in the middle of me posting this and this is the conversation.

mom - Quentin before you do anything else, pick up your cars from the middle of the floor.

Q - Can I do my homework first?

mom - absolutely not, pick up the cars because I know that you will sneak outside without doing it.

Q - Well if I can't do my homework, can I at least take care of my bizarre hunger first?

mom - (lmbo, in my head asking myself bizarre hunger????????? How does he know that I can't say no to that?) If you must..........

I love that kid (he's 8)! Not sure if I love this page or not. Most of what I did on it was something that I would not normally do. From the flower layering to the hot embossing. But oh what FUN. The challenge was to use a mini-album, stamp and heat emboss on your layout. I used glimmer mist to spray the corners than heat embossed with white ink and glitter embossing powder. I used 2 sheets of the double-sided Urban Rhapsody paper (it has a good heavy weight that was great for the embossing and mist): The accordian album -

the actual layout -

I Love Busy Days.....

But I don't forget to scrap. Here is the sketch for the new challenge. Again, I just turned it to the right. On this layout, I challenge you to use a pull out mini-album, stamping and heat embossing.

Here is the pic of my completed layout for the last challenge.

I started out with some very basic supplies: 1 sheet of 12X12 CS, 2 sheets of PP, aluminum foil tape, silver brads, souffle pen, white luquitex glossy, ink pad, staples, stickers and some leftovers from old projects (I try to use them on every layout that I make and keep them in a basket by my work bench). It exploded from there! It was a lot of fun.

I missed the daily dose of scrap challenge last week! The first time in 5 weeks!!!! So bummed and I loved the sketch that she did. I get so busy on the weekends that I have to teach class that my sked and routines just go to pot. I need a planner for my planner.

ScrapStampArt Tour is this weekend and I am getting ready to go! Lots of goodies for those that are planning on stopping by. The fab jewelry by Debbie, paper bag albums, kits, lovely paper, inks and sprays. Lots of embellies. Look forward to seeing you there and if you get the newsletter, don't forget your coupon!

Have a great day and scrap you later.

New Challenge

My pic for the last challenge..... I used the felt swirl (I sewed it on & will definitely be using that technique again) My subject is the 08 election. I used Urban Rhapsody paper. I cut out the words in front of the fan and matted them on cs to cover the holes (you can also use a 2nd sheet). I then found some pics of the candidates on the internet, printed them off, colored the edges with artist crayon, wrote a couple of notes on them with my white souffle pen. Added the pics willy nilly to the layout, wrote my journaling, used the BG alphas to add the year and done.

Here is the next challenge. I turned the sketch one time to the right and this time I challenge you to find the oldest stickers that you can in your stash. You know the ones, the first ones you ever bought and use them on this layout as a mask. This is a tough one (but quick). Can't wait to see what you do. Here's the sketch:

Lazy Sundays

I love Sundays. We woke up this morning with good intentions to go to church (we love our church) but laziness won out and here we are vegging at the house and reduced to listening to a podcast of the service. It is so nice to be able to enjoy just being together. I truly love these guys!

And right in the middle of this post I got a call from a friend that I haven't seen for years. I have known her since 1988 but have not seen her since Dec 2002. We have not lived in the same country for years and years and now she is living here in SC. I am too happy (if that's possible). We got together and had a wonderful day catching up.

Here are my pics from the last 2 challenges. Sorry about the terrible pics, apparently I am regressing instead of moving forward.

#1 - I love this layout! Its not stellar or anything, it is just so totally my style and what I like (lots of stuff on a page, plenty of color, a ton of tearing and some stamping). I used Urban Rhapsody, Figgy Pudding Pepperberry, BG alpha stickers, FP botanicle die-cuts, lots of tearing and lots of inking.

#2 - This one definitely put the c in challenge but it was fun to make. I used the Urban Rhapsody Golden State of Mind (that line again but I am just loving that paper!) and the rest was just leftovers from other projects. A ghost frame, jotter, chipboard frame cut in half, leftover rubons all over the frame, ribbon and then a stapler to hold it all together. I loosely cut a circle. after I had decided where to put everything. Used the BG alpha stickers (there are so many on a sheet that I still have a ton to use) right on the frame to make my title. Inked all the edges with green ink to tie everything together.

Here is the challenge for today. Sorry to post it so late. Yesterday we did round, acrylic and rub-ons. Today it is going to be......felt and a current event. Use felt maybe as your photo mat, tag, another accent and make this layout all about something that is going on in the world, something in the news that is really on your mind, even something that is directly affecting you or that you want to remember your feelings about. I think that I am going to do one about the current Presidential race.

Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist and Crackle Paint

Love these new items to the store!

Gold, Candy Apple and Frosty Night Glimmer Mist

Shabby Shutter, Tattered Rose, Vintage Photo and Weathered Wood Crackle Paint (terrific names)

Lots of new double-sided spools of lovely American Crafts Ribbon. And all the Christmas Bobbin spools are on sale for $.50 each!

These incredible flowers from Petaloo. They are gorgeous and come in a reusable box that's perfect for a cute little mini-album.

Journal stamps from Heidi Swapp. Terrific. Love them! You get all of these in a package.

And this is just the beginning! We added 30 new items to the store today!!!!! Drop on by and take a look for yourself.

Here is a page that I did for the challenge to use paint instead of paper for a photo mat. I used Yellow cardstock, SandyLion paper, ModgePodge, Red Acrylic Paint, Black Ribbon and some paper and stickers that I had leftover from another project. I measured the openings that I wanted cut and than embossed an outline. I cut the paper out of the openings and set that part aside. To keep the paint from buckling my cardstock too much, I painted it with one coat of ModgePodge before applying the acrylic paint. I then assembled the page. Ok, here is the current challenge and the new sketch for the week. It's the weekend so this will be a bit more stuff than the weekday challenge.

1. Make this layout round
2. Use only 1 sheet of cardstock and scraps for the mats (if you have it together and don't have any scraps, well I don't know what to tell ya, you're going to have to use your pp).
3. Use acrylic or transparencies that have been altered with rub-ons or paint for your tags.

Have fun!!!!! I'm going to work on this right now.

Oh, here is the sketch courtesy of Becky of pagemaps:

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!!!!

And what a beautiful day it is here in Charleston. I got these from my husband.....

He is such a great guy. I absolutely adore this man. I can hardly believe that we have been married for almost 10 years and together for close to 13, it seems like we met just last week. I am still learning new things about him.

Debbie stopped by the studio yesterday with the jewelry she created for the Gifted Memories booth at ScrapStampArt and it is fabulous! Wow, this lady blows my mind with her creativity and talent. Love her! Here is a peek.....

Her work is even more beautiful in person. I can't wait to wear it.

Here is the next challenge: I turned the sketch and challenge you to use an advertisement, label, photo of a sign, etc as your title. Hand doodle the flourishes that surround the title (you can use souffle pens, gel pens, markers, paint, stickles, 3-D scribbles, whateva) Talk about outside the box fun.

I would love to see what you all are doing so make sure that you post a link to your work (don't be shy! We are all friendly here).

Have a great day!

New Kits, 17 Pages and completed layouts

Wow, today has been a fabulous day for Gifted Memories. You are all so good to the store and we sure do appreciate your support. Our goal is to grow Gifted Memories into a community where you can come and share, learn and play but we really need your help to do it. I know what I want to see in an online community and my staff knows what they want to see, but we want to know what you want. The most important thing that we need from yall is your honest to goodness feedback. If you love the store, spread the word. If you feel that there are some things missing or that could be a bit smoother, please let us know. We work very hard to make sure that when you stop by and visit, you have a wonderful shopping experience! That being said, I spoke with Michelle at Treasured Pages and she is going to be redoing the site (part of the reason for the call for feedback)! I am so excited about this. I took a look at the new store and it has a ton of features that are going to enhance the look and feel of Gifted Memories. I have to get back to her on Monday with a list of the things that I would like to see changed but to name a few that were already on my list (these are already part of the new store):

• message board
• gallery
• best sellers
• new items
• customer reviews

I am so excited and hope that we will be able to have everything moved over by March 1st (Michelle assures me that this is totally doable).

ScrapStampArt Tour is coming next week and those of you all that get the newsletter received a coupon for a percentage off your entire purchase from the Gifted Memories booth. I spoke with Debbie yesterday, and she is going to deliver the jewelry that she designed especially for the booth tomorrow! I can't wait to give you guys a peek.

Memories NJ is next month (time is flying) and the class registration is up and running. I will be adding a class section to the blog March 1st that has a list of the supplies that I used to build the pages and albums. The list will have everything that you need to bring (I'm naming names, manufacturer names that is) and will have a question and answer section to post some of the questions that I am receiving about the classes.

CK classes are supposed to post on Friday but I for one am hoping that they will post a little earlier.

Here are the layouts that I completed for the challenge. The first layout is using a brochure, in my case, I used the map that we travelled the city with. The trip was fantastic and I think that we might do this yearly. I was going to use pics but someone (my husband, not me) forgot to bring the battery charger for the camera so we didn't have any of the NY leg of the trip. Love the way the lo came out anyway.

The second one is called cold days and I used Basic Grey Jolly, Basic Grey Silent Night, Red Cardstock and Basic Grey Ornament Stickers. I placed the large snowflake on pop dots and used the CI snowflake brads to hold the ribbon in place. Your challenge for tomorrow (i'm early, i'm early!!!!) is to turn the sketch again and to use coordinating acrylic paint for your mats. If your worried about the paper buckling, you can use some other medium if you wish (or iron your paper once it dries).

There are 2 new kits in the store:

Ballerina Princess

and Spring:

Thanks for swinging by the blog. See you tomorrow and have a fabulous night!

18 Pages

The challenge today is to turn the top of the sketch to the right and replace one of the pics with a large embellishment. I don't know about you but I have a ton of chipboard and Jolee's stickers that would be perfect. Maybe I'll make 2 layouts. Hmmmm

Fancy Pants, Basic Grey, Creative Imaginations Oh My

Here is a small sample of some of the papers and other goodies that have been added to Gifted Memories:

Notice that I said small. We must have put in 25 new items today. Whew. Not only that but we've been listening and the biggest issue out there for a large majority of you is the rising cost of S-H-I-P-P-I-N-G! Well, we heard you and from this day forward, if you purchase $50 or more in the store, your shipping is on us. Totally, completely, 100% free to you. Just check out as you normally would and we will make the adjustment on our end. And as always, if you have a suggestion, concern, observation or request, please feel free to contact us. Our door is always open to you. Look forward to hearing from you.

I will be posting the newest challenge shortly. Have a great evening and blog you later.

19 Pages

I was cruising my photos to find pics of my little guy for this challenge and came across this. What were we thinking. The "good" photo is fantastic, ie we are all smiling and looking directly at the camera, but this, this is hilarious to me and made me laugh out loud.

A post for Julie Bonner. Yeah, 5 weeks in a row. I'm on a roll!!!!!

This is my lo for my own challenge. This is my first time using black and white photos but definitely not my last. Love the way this lo came out. Quentin is never called by his name. Everyone has a nickname for him but mostly we call him little guy. Probably because he is so much smaller than the other 2. Ariel is in college, Aaron is in High School and Q is in 2nd grade. Anywho, I don't think I would have used this paper if not for the black and white photos. I love the layout and think I will display it in the studio for awhile.

Speaking of little guys, what's he smilin at? This photo cracks me up! Hopefully this little crush will grow into a deep appreciation for art!

Very cool tip for you guys. I don't know if you noticed the state of my Basic Grey mat in the pics I posted of the accordian album, but it is in sorry shape. I figured that I was going to have to figure out a way to cover it or buy a new one every few months. Well, I found an easy way to cover it when I am doing messy work. I am an organization junky (but totally unorganized) and am constantly buying file folders. Well, I found a great use for the old ones. I placed a pile of them next to my mat and use them whenever I am gluing, painting, sanding, etc. It was so easy and convenient, pick it up - use it - set it aside. No more paint and glue on my pages or my mat and when the folder becomes unusable, I can just recycle it. Easy peasy.

For the next challenge, I dare you to use a brochure or souvenir as your focal point instead of a photo. So that big, large, huge space all the way to the left will not have a photo. I was going to challenge you to make a layout using only a brochure or souvenir and not pics but hey, we need to use those photos! I know that I do. Make sure that you leave me a comment with a link to your completed lo's, I would love to see what you are doing.