Christmas time anytime

On a discussion board, someone mentioned they have a mental block to scrapping Christmas pictures.  I get it. Christmas to me is such an important holiday- the embodiment of my faith, family, generosity, good will. There is pressure to scrap those pictures JUST right. And I take soooo many on Christmas. But alas, I recently challenged myself to get all of 2010 photos done and those pesky, wonderful Christmas pictures need to be scrapped.

So I used the sketch #5 from Simple Sketches to capture the joy.

Tilting the vertical elements really added a playful touch to the page. 

I used a textured paper for the center strip that was pre-sewn with curly stitches. Then I added some older Basic Grey Figgy Pudding paper (which likely came out around when these photos were taken). 

Simply Sweet!

Simple Sketches # 3

What do I love about Simple Sketches- they are so easy to work with.
You can use parts to inspire you without being bogged down with the details.

Here is Sketch #3

And here is my take on it.

Cute kid, huh? The blue on the page really makes his little man glasses pop. 

The fun part of the page was creating those arrows out of washi tape. I wouldn't have thought to do that had I not been inspired by the arrows along the bottom of the sketch. 

Want to try your hand at the sketch? 

Check it out http://simplesketches.blogspot.com/2013/09/simple-sketches-3.html

Saving money by spending it!

Once a year, our local scrapbook store holds a scrapbook flea market. People are invited to sell their old, unwanted scrap goodies for a % of cash or store credit. I LOVE saving money and I LOVE buying scrapbook stuff. Although low in cash these days, I couldn't resist.

But check out these deals!! Flowers for under $1. Embellies for a quarter.

Many of the photos still have items in their bags with price tags so you can see the cost. Amazing!

A few of my favorites- a film transparency for $0.25, a word stamper (change letters) for $1 some Prima flowers for $0.50. I'm now stocked for the year. 

SCORE!!!! 

Now to create with them....

Simple Sketch #1

So over at Simple Sketches, she is posting some fun, easy to work with sketches.
Here is sketch #1

And my take

To create just the right splatter, I added paint to my brush and "flicked" it onto the page as if flicking a cigarette. Now I never smoked, but I felt kinda cool "flicking" the paint. Then I used a lid to stamp the rings. Use what you have! And have fun with it.