Sneak!

Hi Everyone!
Here's something fun to look forward to, a sneak peek of the case file to be revealed this Friday at CSI. Here it is:

you'll want to visit CSI for all the details on Friday at: http://csicolorstoriesinspiration.ning.com/

;-)
Michele

Sweet Serenade

Here's CSI's case file #16!

There are gorgeous layouts in the gallery this week, be sure to check them out at http://csicolorstoriesinspiration.ning.com/photo

Here's mine:

I've been wanting to scrap this photo for a long time, and this case file was just perfect for it!

evidence: sparkly things (glitter) shiny things (metallic silver items) stacked elements (plates!) musical elements and something sweet (the kid and her goodies)
Testimony: I used the inspiration words sweet and sing

Journaling says:
Sweet Serenade
Well, here’s a sweet two year old. Looks like she’s in her own world again. What’s she doing this time? She’s dressed herself up, but she’s doing something else cute and silly. She’s singing and playing a drum. Where does this kid get these ideas from? I guess goofiness just runs in the family. What a sweet voice she has, and what delightful music she’s making with that drum. Well, at least her Mommy thinks so!
02.20.2006

stuff:
some items from the CSI coordiantes
Holliewood studios: sweet shoppe
The Sweetest Kingdom by Sussie M


If you like this case file and are in the mood for some inspiration; you can download the CSI coordinates I have been designing by clicking here.

Thanks for looking!

99%

Here's case file number 14 for Color… Stories… Inspiration… (CSI)  csicolorstoriesinspiration.ning.com

Here's my layout:  99%

I drew some animals and applied a paper texture to each section to give them a cut paper look. I was pretty impressed with myself since illustration is not my usual job. In the end, this layout took me completely by surprise. Ever start with one direction, and end up somewhere totally different? Bet that happens a lot! It makes for a nice surprise.

Testimony: I focused on the inspiration word “innocence”

Evidence: ruffles, animal accent, something sand-like

Journaling says:
99% innocent as a lamb
Owl: “Whoo is that little kid? She looks innocent, but I bet she’s a trouble maker.”
Bird: “I heard she can be mischievous, but she’s actually really tweet.”
Deer: “That’s Charlotte, she’s a dear.”
Lamb: “She’s like me!”

Stuff is made by me, some CU items, plus some items from the “re-creations” kit by Createwings Designs

Thanks for looking!

Backyard Explorer

Here's another fantastic case file from CSI!

Well I just love the colors for this case file. I'm always happy when I can make a blue sky and there's a green to use for grass or leaves!

Here's my layout:
Backyard Explorer

Evidence: make a pinwheel, string, map print, jewels, tuck a little surprise

Testimony: I decided to go with one central idea "Backyard Explorer" and make four tabs with the supporting details. The details are:
1. finding bugs, collecting rocks
2. climbing, jumping
3. hugging trees, enjoying nature
4. in her element.

I like this journaling concept, it's very simple and hits all the details in a concise way.

stuff:
Holliewood "Whos my gnome"
Kitschy digitals paper flowers
and some creative use stuff

Thanks for looking!

Bookmark challenge

Over at scrapbookgraphics.com they are having a bookmark challenge! The challenge is to use 100% Viva Artistry products. I looked through my stash and found a kit I had bought awhile ago called "Chakra." This was a fun little project!

The quote says:
Art is harmony parallel with nature. Paul Cezanne

Thanks for looking!

Great Expectations

Here's another fantastic case file from CSI! 

 When I saw this week’s case file, one thing came to mind instantly… my ultrasound image of my daughter.  I had not scrapped it yet, and she’s eight now!

Here's my layout:

 

Evidence: flowers, clouds, something fluffy, stars

Testimony: Document a journey; Inspiration words: magic, mystery

Journaling says:

Great Expectations

At the first ultrasound, they only saw the tiniest speck of a blinking light. The doctor told me not to get my hopes up. Waiting for the next doctor’s visit was agonizing. At the next ultrasound, the mystery was revealed.  Against the odds, that tiny blinking speck of light was your heartbeat. You were just a little peanut, hanging out… growing more every day. And this is the picture they took of you on that day. What a cute little profile you had even then.

Hope renewed, but anxiety was high. The doctors gave me a lot of medication to make sure you would stay in there. For the months that followed, the doctors watched you very closely. We spent a lot of time together in the doctor’s office; listening to your heartbeat, making sure you were okay.

We didn’t know until the day you were born if you were a boy or a girl. You were a mystery, and I wanted to be surprised! 

I was so hopeful that my dreams would come true. In the end, they did. What a blessing and miracle you are little girl!

Stuff!
Lorie Davison, “Baby bee garden”

Tumble Fish Studios, “odd magic”

Thanks for looking!

Good Eats!

Well, it's another Friday, and that means a new release at CSI! Here's case file No. 11, and it's fantastic!  I love the colors for this case file, I had a great time working with them.

Here's my layout: Good Eats!

Journaling says:

It was Mother’s day and we had brunch at our house to celebrate. You were just two years old. All eyes were on you! You had a plate of fruit, and you explored every piece as if you had never seen it before. Your sense of wonder made us all appreciate our own meals in a new way. If we ever want inspiration, all we have to do is look to you, Charlotte. It’s a wonderful thing to be able to see the world through your eyes.

Evidence: patterned paper with vintage elements, sprinkle letters, tearing

Testimony: scatter your journaling (I used my title), inspiration word: wonder

Stuff!
Several CU items, some stuff made by me.
Tumble Fish Studios, household items and household kit

Sherriejd, kitschy kitchen, altered states

Marta van Eck: Le Kitchen

Thanks for looking! I hope you all have fun with this case file, too!

Kid not included!

I've been wanting to create a storefront window for awhile, so here's little miss in her "spiffy" raincoat for TCR palette #101. 

Here's my layout:

Journaling says:
Raincoats on sale!
kid not included.
Here’s Charlotte at nine months, modeling her new raincoat. Doesn’t she look spiffy? She’s ready for any adventure the day may bring; be it shopping at the general store, or just splashing around in the rain!

Stuff:
Lorie Davison: window box from her "window to my heart" kit
Holliewood Studios "Where's my gnome?" and "Knock on wood"
Studio Manu: "Village Square"
Some stuff made by me!

Thanks for looking!

M-F

Here's CSI case file #10, I had lots of fun with this page!

Her's my layout:
M-F, a Mother’s morning ritual

Journaling is scattered throughout the page, here it is:
Kid gets up before me, I hear munching, I hear video gaming, I hear a loud kid! Let’s go! Out goes Max, throw some waffles in the toaster, throw some waffles at the kid, come get your hair brushed, go brush your teeth and wash your face, what are you going to wear today? Get your shoes on! Did your feet grow again? Do you have socks on? Stop playing that video game! Do you have your homework? Here’s your lunch money; grab a snack, put that video game down honey, where’s your coat? Get your backpack! Get out the door, get in the car, do it fast! We are off to school (I hear non-stop chatter from the kid) I get into the drop-off lane, have a great day kiddo! I love you Mama, I love you too bay-ba! Wash, rinse, repeat

Evidence: Fabric, metal, glass, create light and shadow, use contrasting textures

Testimony: Document a story about motherhood.

Stuff!
Several CU items, some stuff made by me.
Holliewood studios, Wish Upon A Star
Cosmo Cricket, honey pie
Pattie Knox, Acrylic clockworks
Tumble Fish Studios, Happy Place
Sherriejd, kitschy kitchen

Thanks for looking!

Design Team Call

CSI is looking for Designers! 
CSI is a friendly and fun place to be; I'm having a great time being on the DT. Check out the details by clicking here.

http://csicolorstoriesinspiration.ning.com/forum/topics/design-team-call

Magical dreams

Here's a steampunk-inspired girl layout using cues from CSI's case file #9.

Here's my layout; Magical dreams of adventure and flight

Evidence: Text pattern, stripes, bird accent, hot-air balloon, something translucent

Testimony: Write a six-word memoir (title, "Magical dreams of adventure and flight." And, four lines from the song "Wind Beneath My Wings" Plus, I tucked the word "Roam" into the graphics.

Journaling:
Magical dreams of adventure and flight
In Charlie’s world, reality, fantasy and dreams live in the same place. With a rich imagination, this makes for a fantastical life. It’s a glorious existence. She is always acting as if she is in some sort of storybook. She’s a cowgirl, or a bus driver, or a dancer, or whatever else strikes her fancy. Dressing up is almost always part of her adventure. She loves animals of all kinds, so they roam freely in her world. She has a special affinity for flight. Wings, airplanes, balloons, all are superb in Charlie’s eyes. I hope she can hold on to this charming place she’s created forever. We are trying not to muck it up for her… it’s a wonderful place to be!

Select lyrics are:
I could fly higher than an eagle
so high I almost touch the sky
You're everything I wish I could be
you are the wind beneath my wings

Detail of cute kid:

Stuff:
• Maya steampunk kit
• Finecrafted Designs "Wild rides"
• Holliewood Studios "Wish Upon A Star"
• Tumble Fish Studio "Winged Splendor" kit
• Lorie Davison "A Pioneer Story" kit (modified background paper
• D Rigdon "I dream of shabby" patio garden (flowers on balloon)
Everything recolored, warped, grunged up, and twisted into submission for this case file.

Thanks for looking!

Country girl at heart

Here’s a country-inspired layout featuring my sweet nature baby for The Color Room Palette #99.

TCR #99

Country girl at heart

Journaling says:
Charlotte may have been born in the city, but she’s a country girl at heart. She loves animals, and gardening with Grandma. She would stay outside all day if we’d let her. Sticks, rocks and dirt are wonderful things to play with. She would have loved to be born on a farm. I can imagine her making best friends with the farm animals and being quite in her element! She will always be a good friend to nature.

Digital bits from many sources:
Cosmo cricket odds and ends paper (re-colored and canvas texture applied)
Elements from Lorie Davison kits: “Rough to the touch,” “Window to my heart,” “A pioneer story,” and “Before the first snow”
Holliewood studios: “Knock on wood,” “Queen Bee”
Creative Victorian Designs: “summer wings” (fence)
K Pertiet Collageables No 4
Everything re-colored, flipped, shaded, highlighted, distressed, scaled and twisted into submission for this palette.

The Color Room is at palette #99, I can't wait to see what palette #100 will be!
Thanks for looking!

Squeaky Clean!

Here's little miss making a mess for CSI #8. I had so much fun with this case file!

Here's the case file:

Here's my layout; Squeaky Clean

Evidence: transparent elements, something that sparkles, embellishment slice (bubbles on the edge of the bath in two places)
Testimony: Inspiration words as a starting point: effervescent and indulge; I started with a paragraph that uses these two words and then twisted the story into the opposite direction. I think it worked out great!

Journaling says:
Indulge yourself in an effervescently induced tub of water from the Swiss Alps. Relax in peaceful bliss as your cares melt away…

No! That’s not the way to enjoy a bath! Jump in; splash all around… make a big mess! Slurp up some of the water in your mouth and then spit it out through your teeth with as much force as you can… make sure to get a bunch on the floor. Dump a load of toys and stuff from the kitchen into the bath water and get them all soap scummy. Then giggle and laugh at Mommy when she tells you not to drink that bath water. Funny lady, doesn’t she know this is a great two-in-one way to get your teeth clean?

Stuff:
Several handmade items, some CU stuff, plus Miss Mint bubble bath kit from pepermintcreative.com, everything recolored, skewed, flipped, twisted and warped into submission for this case file.

Thanks for looking!

Color Love

I know that a lot of scrappers use sketches, and I’ve only used them once or twice I think. But since I usually scrap color challenges, I thought it would be fun to try something different. So I decided to try a sketch from Creative Scrappers this week. I chose to work with #195.

Here’s the sketch: Creative Scrappers #195

Here’s my layout: Color Love

Close up of cute face:

I wanted to use a boatload of colors and not to be restricted by that, so I went a bit crazy with the rainbow. But if you read the journaling, you’ll see why that was appropriate for this page.

Journaling says:

For as long as I can remember, when I would ask Charlie her favorite color, she would say, “rainbow.” She just loves color, and not just one or two, she wants an entire rainbow. Don’t give her just a couple crayons; give her a gigantic box. Then she’s happy.

To understand this fully, you need to know another aspect of Charlotte’s personality. She is such a sweetie; she wouldn’t want to hurt any of the colors feelings by saying that she likes them less than others.

In these photos she is coloring at a local restaurant called “Dish.” Having a handful of crayons and a page to color just kept her happy as any kid could be.

Three years old • Feb 23, 2007

Stuff:
Holiewood  “Art Box” #1 and #2
Tumble Fish Studio “Random Favorites” kit
Kitschy digitals paper flowers, butterfly and two frames
Crowabout Studio “Dirty Words”
Beth Rimmer “Printers Blocks” alpha
Tangie Baxter Designs “Studio Remnants—The Portfolio” and “Quickity Split Snippets”

Thanks for looking!

My dress-up dolly

Here's a fun layout for
The Color Room Palette #98

This layout is about my daughter who is the best dress up doll ever.
My Dress-Up Dolly

Journaling says:

My Dress-up Dolly
Most little girls would delight in having a doll they could dress up in fancy clothes. Well how lucky I am to have a real live dolly girl of my own. She has a perfect little figure and abundant, bouncy hair… what a cutie! I told Charlotte she is my dress up doll, and she seemed to like that idea. At six years old she would say, “Here’s your dolly!” when she needed help with her clothes. My Mom and I both love to shop for fancy dresses and sweet girl things for her to wear.

I suppose my fascination with this has nurtured the little fashionista in her. She has always had a preference for dresses and skirts. And as she gets older, she expresses opinions on how she wants to look. When she was six years old, she would say, “Mommy, I don’t want to look cute, I want to look stylish!” At seven years old she would play school with her invisible friends. She told me there is a rule that you can only wear dresses and skirts at her pretend school, or you have to go home. Now at eight years old she says it’s okay to be both “cute” and “stylish,” and she has really developed an eye for fashion when we go shopping.

Stuff:
Kitchy digitals "Grandma's sewing basket"
Pretty little studio "Polly paper doll" (one dress and one flash card)
Marta Van Eck "Le Kitchen" (paper)
Tumble Fish Studio "Girl Whimsy" kit
Holliewood "Toy Box"
some CU items as well

Thanks for looking!

I Design For CSI!

I am thrilled to announce that I now design for CSI: Colors, Stories, Inspiration!

If you haven't checked out this new challenge site, please click here and see what
all the excitement is about! CSI is a weekly scrapbooking challenge that inspires
you to try new colors schemes and to tell your stories. Case Files provide inspiration
that will get you thinking about scrapbooking in a whole new way. CSI is all about
inspiration and sharing and, most important, fun!

Check it out and join me for all the fun!

Michele :-)

Let's Jump!

Well, here's little miss taking "jumping lesson's" from Mr. Bunny for CSI #7.

CSI #7

Let's Jump!

Journaling says:
Mr. Bunny’s jumping lesson
One day Charlotte decided that she was determined to learn how to jump. Well how much would it cost to take jumping lessons from Mr. Bunny? Looks like it’s ten cents. Here she is at almost two years old following Mr. Bunny’s instruction. Try as she might, she never
left the floor; she still looks cute as a bunny trying.
1. Let's Jump! Put both feet firmly on the floor.
2. Bend your knees and push up off the floor.
3. Your feet will leave the floor; if not, repeat steps #1 and #2.

Testimony: Grocery list (steps #1-3), The roots
Evidence: stripes, metals (springs), wood/woodgrain, cluster similar things, distressing.

Stuff:
Several CU items and some handmade by me, plus:
Emeto: "Independent spirit" kit (cones, lolly, two flowers)
Echo Park: "happy days" (paper)
Studio Baers Garten: "a little bunny told me"
Holiewood "Queen Bee" two butterflies

Thanks for looking!

Million Dollar Smile

Here's another layout for the color room!

TCR #97

 Million Dollar Smile

Here's little miss with an award-winning smile; she's only three years old here.

Stuff:
Holliewood "Queen Bee"
Lorie Davison "A Pioneer Story"
Hoots & Tweets by Laurie Ann
Sherrie JD basic journal spots
EmKa Have a nice day
Some CU stuff… and one gigantic photo of my kid

Thanks for looking!

She was Smart, Strong, and Brave

Here's a page for CSI challenge #6  (http://csicolorstoriesinspiration.ning.com/). When I first saw the colors, I really had no ideas. But when I started to work with them, they really came to life. So thank you Debbi for another fantastic palette that caught me by surprise!

CSI #6

Evidence: Transparent accents, wood, metals
Testimony: Tell three things, Transparent container to hold journaling, Illuminate your subject.

Smart, Strong, and Brave

Merging two photos:

My daughter had a sour look on her face in one photo (she was tired of picture taking as she hates the flash). But in the photo where she has a sweet face, you couldn't see her feet, which I wanted to show. So I merged the two photos.

Journaling says:
She was Smart, Strong, and Brave
Princess Radha was sent on a mission for the King. He enlisted her to find his magical lost treasure. Preparing for her quest; she practiced her fencing, read her books, and did thirty jumping jacks. In the morning she would set off on her journey, accompanied by her woodland creature friends. They would certainly show her the way deep into the forest. Many obstacles were in her future, but she knew she could do it. After all; she did have six-pack abs and buns of steel.

My daughter helped to write this little snippet of a story.

Digital items include:
Items from Lorie Davison kits: "Greymouse manor winter ball," "Before The First Snow," "falling leaves autumn tea." "feathers and mittens," "the artists' faeries"
Studio Ztampf: "nocturnal delights"
PinkLotty Designs: "Romeo and Juliet"
Holiewood Studios: "Knock on wood" and "Queen Bee"
Finecrafted Designs: "Medieval Paper Dolls"

Thanks for looking!

Be bold, scrap your inner oddball…

…that's what I tell myself when I launch into something like this:

She was curious.

This layout was done for CSI:

CSI #5

I wanted to do something different for this palette. I call this type of layout a flatty; a collage/layout that isn't 3D. This one has an ATC vibe to it. I have been making a lot of scrapbook pages for my daughter which are more of a story book. She loves how I put her in new scenes and likes to speculate as to what's going on in the scene. So this is just a fun page with some interesting "eye candy."

Journaling says:
Charlotte was shocked and surprised at the scene before her.
Her mind filled with questions.
She searched for clues.
She made assumptions; she came to conclusions.
She marveled at everything.
In the end, she decided just to enjoy the view.

Testimony: Journal around the perimeter, slice of life, bits and pieces.
Evidence: frames, leaves, create a border out of small objects.

Stuff: Digital items include:
C Renee "windows to our life" big house.
Tangie "she found her bliss" lots of items from this kit.
www.fuzzimo.com: free scrabble tiles
Google: one vintage cereal box
sherrieJD: Viva Frida
Tangie Baxter: Artist sheets, words around the page
Lorie Davison: airplane, Sofa and two teenie tiny curtains
Clementine Designs: "Mama's little babies" girl and dog, plus some toys
Everything recolored, warped, skewed and twisted into submission for this color palette.

Whew! That's a lot of stuff!
Thanks for looking!

Most Wanted at CSI

I just feel giddy to be featured over at CSI.  I'm so glad they liked that layout because it sure soaked up a bunch of time to do. Be sure to check out CSI if you haven't yet (http://csicolorstoriesinspiration.ning.com/)

Here's what they have to say:

You can see my layout and the color palette by clicking here.

Yay!

Bloomin'

Here's another layout for the glorious Color Room! To me, the colors this week were screaming for a baby page. But I didn't want to do one with cute baby things. So I chose the "pretty" route instead.

TCR palette #96

Here's the layout:

Journaling is fairly boring, but here it is in case you need a nap:
She Blooms (definition of "bloom")
Child development experts say that your baby’s personality will “bloom” at ten months old. Charlotte’s personality is really emerging now. Usually she so busy with what she is doing to notice people much, but does grant her share of smiles. Sometimes she is coy with the young men who are baggers at the grocery store. She can be quite a flirt! Her bossy and opinionated nature are in full swing at this age. She likes things how she likes them, and there’s no way she’s going to let anyone push her around.

Charlotte is in-between “baby” and “toddler,” not quite walking yet, but certainly done with crawling. In any case, she is a baby on the move; ready to experience all that life has to offer. She has growing curiosity and will taste, touch, see, stand and sit on everything.

Charlie the chatterbox: Charlotte is talking up a storm as well. Of course she’s been rambling since the day she was born, but now her ramblings are non-stop. She repeats the same word over and over and over again. She just loves repetition… I can’t say that I feel the same. She will make long rambling speeches, as if we can all understand what she is saying. And what she is saying is terribly important! She really commands an audience. She is at a magical age, and it’s fine entertainment to watch her explore her world and do so many funny things with such determination.

Stuff: Most items are from Lorie Davison, Under Dappled Shadows kit, plus: M zimm, one flower. One flower from SussieM "little piece of love." One studio-rosey-posey fragments piece. There are also a few CU items. Everything recolored for this palette. Definition of "bloom" courtesy Google!

Thanks for looking!

Couch surfing for CSI

Here's another challenge for the glorious CSI, I'm just loving that place. The challenges are staggered so you are always looking forward to the next reveal, or working on a layout. You get five colors to work with, which is fantastic. A lot of thought and effort has been put into creating the case files. Debbi Tehrani (http://debbitscraps.blogspot.com/) is just genious to create this forum for scrappers. If you've never been there, I highly suggest you check it out at: http://csicolorstoriesinspiration.ning.com/

This palette was just begging for a beach scene, so that's the route I took. Of course I didn't have a nice beach photo, so I did the next best thing. Faked it.  

CSI #4

Wonder
Oh this one took me forever to complete. Glad it's done now. For evidence I used frames (2), stripes, plus shiny and reflective items, and there are some rhinestones in there too. For the testimony, I used "wonder" as the title, but as an unexpected surprise, the journaling is about something you cannot see in the main photo. The journaling is also done in steps.

Journaling says: 10 Easy Steps to Seaside Bliss
1. Pop your favorite beachy movie into the DVD player. I suggest “Surf’s Up.”
2. Gather items that remind you of the beach… such as a towel, seashells, and fishies.
3. Pile up the sofa with all the blankets and pillows you can find.
4. Get your bikini on.
5. Put the items all around you, and your boogie board on top of all the pillows and blankets.
6. Practice surfing techniques by standing or kneeling on the board.
7. It won’t take long before you feel as if you are at the beach.
8. If you have a good imagination and the right atmosphere, you can even hear the waves.
9. It helps to make some sound effects, it adds to the experience.
10. Talk to all the penguins, birds, fish and other animals you come across; they can talk to you as well.
— According to Charlotte, Age: four, March, 2008

Digi items include:
SussieM Christmas by the sea; Lorie Davison, rough to the touch, ragged linen alpha, water spirit collection, and spunki charms kit. One frame by Christina Renee, Authentic Artistry Alpha. Several paper elements and one bow by paislee press.

whew! Glad that's done.

Love is in the air!

Here's another challenge entry for the color room! Looking at this palette, there are so many possibilities. Obviously it's begging for Valentine's day, but you could also do Christmas, or just a garden scene in general. I chose the love route, here it is!

The Color Room Palette #95 

I will love you…
I fussed around with this one until I couldn't see straight anymore. This photo is a portrait taken in a studio of my daughter at seven months old. I had a photo of her taken every month for her first year. It wasn't always easy, because she had other ideas. In any case, the photos always captured a bit of her little personality. In this one she has a little smirk on her face! That was as close as we got to a real smile that day. The journaling is a mushy love letter from me to her.

Lots of stuff from: Lorie Davison, Rhonna Farrer, and studio rosey posey. I made the swags of fabric using a file I had of a curtain. All of the elements needed recoloring for this palette. I used overlays to accomplish some of this. I also did some hand painting, filters and the usual photoshop magic to get everything looking as it does. Lots of work, but a true labor of love.

Thanks for looking!

Liebster Blog Award

I received a blog award thanks to Joyce at http://scrapsofelegance.blogspot.com/ Thank you Joyce! Joyce as been my one and only follower for the past few months, supporting me and encouraging me to work on my blog. I finally decided to take the plunge, and now I think I am on a roll!

About Joyce:    
For those of you that don’t know Joyce, I’ll tell you a little of what I know. First and foremost, she is the most kind hearted and sweet person I have ever known. I never hear her say anything negative about anyone in the many years I have known her. She is just the sort of person everyone wants to be friends with: creative, smart, beautiful, interesting, and she has an amazing sense of humor. You know, the kind of dry, sarcastic sort that makes you laugh and you can’t stop to breathe. Her paper crafting skills are amazing. She is a true fine artist and all-around top-notch crafter. She puts so much thought and detail into every aspect of her work. She just might be that next great designer, so keep an eye on her!

About the award:
“Liebster” is a German word meaning dearest, beloved or favorite, and the Liebster Award is sort of a chain letter among bloggers that’s intended to showcase exceptional up-and-coming blogs (typically, those with 200 or fewer followers). There’s no evaluation committee or formal award process for the Liebster, but in a way it’s even nicer – it’s recognition that a peer has noticed and appreciated your hard work.

And, now I am sharing and passing on the award to five up and coming blogs that I’m sure you will want to stop by for a visit and say hi.

Here are the rules:
• Choose 5 up and coming blogs of fewer than 200 followers to award the Liebster to.
• Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
• Post the award on your blog. Link back to the blogs you have given the Liebster to so everyone else can pay them a visit.

I haven’t been very good at being in-touch with the online scrapping community, so many of these blogs are also new to me. All of these ladies are super talented and inspirational.

So in no particular order here are my 5:

Lynnise: http://lynnisebowman.blogspot.com/

Adriana: http://abinspirations.blogspot.com/

Geraldine: http://afabricatedjourney.blogspot.com/

Tammy: http://myscrappingplace-tammy.blogspot.com

Fran: http://paperinkme.blogspot.com

And as a special thank you to Joyce, I have created a card for her. You can see it by clicking here.

Featured at The Color Room

I'm thrilled to be featured at the color room for last weeks' color challenge. Here's what they have to say:

Thanks to Kerry Murray, who is just one of the fantastic designers over at The Color Room. By the way, if you have never been to The Color Room, I highly suggest you check it out by clicking here. The ladies there (I haven't seen a guy yet… ha!) are so sweet and supportive, and inspirational!  There's a heck of a lot of creativity in that room.

You can see the palette and my layout by clicking here

Strut Your Stuff!

For this challenge I really wanted to capture the feeling of movement. I like the idea of making a "freeze frame picture" as if it's a still from a music video or something. This photo was a pain because of my daughter's hair flying in all directions, but also that's what makes it great. She was prancing around when I was taking photos of her one day.

CSI #3

Strut Your Stuff
I've used "instructions" as my journaling and also in the style of second-person point-of-view for "testimony." That was a great idea from CSI and it worked out well for this photo and concept. I also used circular elements (gold balls, and some swirls making loops), and gold metallic elements for the "evidence"




Original photo:

digital items include:
• Several CU items (flowers, background stuff)
• Carnevale studio mix 14 by scrapbookgraphics.com artists Lorie Davison and SussieM (all the gold stuff, ribbons, feathers)
• Pink Lotty's "Marie Antoinette" kit (bows, paper)
• most items recolored for this palette: floor (growing gray), flowers (cream and dusty pink), background and t-shirt (lilac), ribbons and feathers (tea leaves brown)
• I used some free-hand painting to make some atmosphere and added lighting and shadows.

Thanks for looking!