It feels like April is flying!  I can’t believe it’s time for another Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge!   This is another great sketch to play with.  I had so many ideas for this one, but I wanted to make a birthday card for my daughter later in the month and I wanted to play with the CTMH Honey Bunny stamp sets a lot more!     I hadn’t played with the wreath stamp yet and I wanted to give that fantastic butterfly die a try.  I added some watercolors to some paper and let it dry before running the butterfly die through my die cut machine.  I just wanted som ..read more

This month’s challenge at the Challenge YOUrself monthly scrapbook challenge is a layout featuring your favorite animal!   I don’t currently have any pets, so I thought I would share my latest obsession…Iguanas! That’s right!  My latest hobby allows me to sit on the dock and look for iguanas sunning themselves in the mangroves across the canal. It is ridiculously challenging trying to find iguanas in mangroves.  The green iguanas really blend in well with the bright green leaves. It is also ridiculously satisfying to find them!  They can sit remarkably still much longer th ..read more

I absolutely love this week’s Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge sketch!  It’s so pretty, I actually want to use it in a scrapbook layout to create an Easter layout. Won’t this make a perfect title piece for a scrapbook layout? I didn’t even bother to add my creation to a card base.  I’m going to create a layout and share that with you tomorrow!     How pretty is this? It’s just a perfect Easter title piece for a 12 x 12″ layout. This combines the Honey Bunny Scrapbooking stamp set and the Honey Bunny Cardmaking stamp set.  I just could not resist these and I purchased ..read more

This month’s Challenge YOUrself scrapbook challenge is a sketch challenge…and as always, YOU need to be in the photo on your layout!     I had fun with this layout!  I pulled out some of my Vicki Boutin papers that I’ve had in my stash.  (Now that I know Close to my Heart is closing, it seemed okay to play with other goodies!)   I used the lagoon color to create a dark and moody base.  Then I layered papers from the collection and pulled out ephemera from my stash to add to my layout.       My layout is documenting my crochet journey! I started c ..read more

The name of the game is to USE YOUR STASH! That’s right!  Use what you have to create useful tools to help you on your creative journey. My organizing project of the month for February was to swatch my distress oxide inks.  I also needed to label the new ink oxide ink pads that I just got and I wanted to add a little swatch to the side of my ink pad so I could easily see the colors while the pads were in my ink storage unit from Stamp-n-Storage. There are some nice ink swatching kits on the market these days, but they are pricey.  Do I want to spend money on a kit when I have a ..read more

Calling all traveler’s notebook newbies!  I share how I go about creating my traveler’s notebook layouts with some tools that are quick and easy to create from your stash.  A little of that scrap paper goes a long way here!   I created a traveler’s notebook sketch template with a marker and a ruler to illustrate the basic rectangular shape of the page layout.  At some point, I will create this in Canva and make it pretty! I also used a couple of pieces of 6×6″ paper from my stash to create templates of various sizes.  I tend to use 3×4, 2×2, 3×3 and 2×3″ photos in my t ..read more

This month’s Challenge YOUrself scrapbook challenge is to create a layout with your favorite memory from 2023.   Of course I have to create a layout from our daughter’s wedding!  It was such a beautiful event and a nice getaway vacation with family combined!   For this layout, I used the CTMH Sweet Memories scrapbook workshop kit and coordinating stamp and thin cuts set.  I added some stenciling from one of the CTMH stencils I have in my stash to add a little extra dimension to my layout. While I’m not a huge fan of pastel papers, I do love the vintage romantic vibe of th ..read more

The Star Stampz Challenge for October is all about Autumn! I created a circular piece using the Autumn Gift digital stamp from the Star Stampz Etsy shop.   I’ve grown weary of making cards and I’m terrible about sending them.  I used my pretty little piece for a traveler’s notebook layout.  I’m working on clean and simple layouts and I’m super happy with this one! This sweet little digi is one of my favorites.  I’ve used it several times over the last couple of years.  I just really like it.  I added the sentiment above the digi in my Word document before I print ..read more

This month’s theme for the scrapbook Challenge YOUrself layout is to include your favorite quote. I have a few favorite quotes, but I decided to go in search of something new for my scrapbook layout. I found a quote that said, “Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day”. I LOVE this!  It’s so true and it worked perfectly for the layout that I had already made! I used some new goodies from Close To My Heart to create my page. I used the September stamp of the month, called Thoughtful Tokens, to do some background stamping, along with Sending You a Hug stam ..read more

This month’s scrapbook Challenge YOUrself challenge is to create a page about what helps you find balance in your life.   I found it very challenging to keep a balance in my life while I was working and raising kids.  I don’t think I ever really mastered making enough time for me.  I used to get up before 5 AM every morning to exercise.  For many years I did step aerobics, then I switched to using a Nordic Track, and then I ran a couple of miles every morning for almost 10 years.  Now I walk and ride my bike every day.  I also do a bit of Yoga to maintain flexibi ..read more