Southern Girls

I made this layout for Shimelle's online crop a few weekends ago but never it loaded up, so no prize for me BUT I am super glad I got it done. This is my BFF Cassie, the mother of the other two little girls you see in my creations every so often. We are both Southern girls stuck "up north". She is from SC and I am essentially from KY area so we have a lot in common from that, but also with how we see things, the way we parent, a lot of the important stuff. This picture was snapped at my "annual" Easter Egg hunt.I love spending time with this girl and she is really a blessing in my life. We met on accident on the street on Halloween a few years back and I truly believe higher power/beings were at work. I will be so sad when they relocate next year :(

I used my Cricut, aren't you proud?

Good morning. There is the Kraft Card stock I am "famous" for LOL! I used my cricut and the new lite that hubby brought home for me from Wal-mart a few weeks back, Slumber party. Who knew I would use such a girl themed cart on a layout about J and C? I think I did a good job of not making it TOO girly! Everything was cut at 2/5 inches and colored with Bic Mark-its or Sharpies. Lots of corner rounding. I also made my own "thickers" using white self adhesive fun foam, my Big Shot and a Cuttlekids alphabet! I love how they turned out!

I love that J will do her nails and toenails, it is special time for them and apparently after trying to do them I do them wrong! LOL! That is fine, I think she is a very lucky girl to have a Daddy that will do her mani and pedi! He loves her so much and I think it is super sweet!

Mmmm....bluuue! CKCB Layout 14

As you are reading this I am on the road with my brother (who flew in to help me drive all the way to KY) and my daughter headed to stay with the parents while the house is finished being built. ALMOST THERE!

I am down to scraps with my kit but I think over 14 layouts is great out of this kit as it was smaller than I normally throw together. I love these pictures of C's second BFF, she has a lot of allergies so when the other kiddos were having cake at the party she got to have a yummy blue ring pop! She loved it as you can tell! Thanks to my wonderful hubby for the creative and cute title! It may be hard to see but I did some random misting (usually not my thing) but I need some color on the white background. Did you notice this month that most of my layouts were on white backgrounds instead of Kraft? Yep I am versatile like that HAHAH! How many creations did you get done this month with your CKCB kit?

Hop Hop Hop! Time to Hop along with CKCB!

The basic sketch that Allison Davis from Sketch Support made just for us at CKCB!

Happy counterfeit kit blog hop day! You should have come from our awesome and superbly talented guest designer, Julie Ann, if not please head on over to CKCB to get started on this awesome blog hop!

This is my take. I promise I started with the sketch and had all intentions of doing it EXACTLY like shown as I think Allison's style is just like mine in the sense of lots of photos, minimum embellishments. However it did not turn out that way and that is just fine. See I believe that sketches are a starting point for everyone (or at least me) and where you go from there is all up to you and your pictures. The bones are about the same but I did not want to crop my pictures this time around so I substituted those and moved the journaling from the top to the bottom portions of each page. I had quite a bit to say surprisingly.

These pictures are from our first ever National Cherry Blossom festival and I must say it will be a tradition as they were so gorgeous. Some of the shots we captured that day truly look just like the expensive post cards they were selling, only better! Lots of spray ink, soft pink, and stamping. The gorgeous cherry blossoms are from Wild Orchid crafts and a great friend (thanks Tiara) sent them to me knowing I had these pictures.

So now hop on over to and see what she has done with this amazing sketch. I bet no two creations are the same, that is another wonderful aspect of using sketches!

Now hop on over to the wonderful MELISSA to see what she came up with for you!

SoCal Scrapbooks: American Craft Thickers part 2

Hey there, I am back to share the second layout I did (CKCB layout 13) with the awesome American Craft thickers provided by SoCal Scrapbooks. I am running low on the papers in my kit, can you tell? I used scraps torn up and layered. The rest of the fantastic border sticker is used on the bottom and as a corner accent. I stretched that one border thicker far huh? LOL! Gotta do what you gotta do! See you next time!

SoCal Scrapbooks: American Craft Thickers

Good morning! Today I want to share a two page layout that I made using my CKCB kit AND some awesome American Craft thickers from SoCal Scrapbooks! This is layout 11-12 for CKCB! I am so impressed I got this many done this month, I think I may be trying to fit several months into one since next month and most of October I will be without many (if any) supplies. So here you go.

These pictures are from C's BFF's fourth birthday party back in May of this year. I thought the glazed thickers went very well with the theme. They are super sticky and dimensional so they were perfect for this layout! I used the cupcake on the bottom left, cut up a border one for the journal box top and bottom, and another cupcake in the center of the right page. What do you think? I think they add just the right amount of pop for these fun pages!

CKCB 9-10 Birthday Fun

Good morning. I am cranking these layouts out this month, before the move of course, it was my stress relief. At this point I was almost out of my main papers for the kit YAY! I need to focus on using more flowers though. I did sneak one in on here, see the "sun" yes that backing is a cut up flower. I did add the brads to this layout but the rest is the kit! Again started with a sketch and strayed so far it is not recognizable. I usually just use them for photo sizes/placements and go from there. I love the little "Happy B day Che" banner I made with the letter stickers and some other stickers in the Echo Park Walk in the Park line from my main kit. These pictures are from C's best friends fourth party this past summer. I will have at least three more layouts to cover all the pictures I took there! The kids had a blast! Have you noticed that I am doing more layouts on white? Nice change of pace huh? I had to go buy some at Jo-Ann's when it was on sale since I do not keep a lot on hand and needed the Coordenations for the heftiness. I will probably have to go get another 20 sheets or so while it is on sale since where we are going for a bit all that is there is a Michael's :(.

CKCB Layout 8

Yep more purple, it is actually the last scrap I had. I used some awesome tickets that my friend Jamie stamped for me, distressed and folded them to act as a bit of a border. The night I did this layout I was a little aggravated with hubby's credit cards being compromised, the stress of the move etc so I took it on my paper, can ya tell? I do love the photos tough! So sweet when she is sleeping, it is how God guarantees we don't hurt them LOL! Just joking!

CKCB Layout 6-7

These are pages 6 and 7 for this month using my main kit. I did add the thicker letter title. I used a sketch from Allison Davis but it really does not look like that anymore OOPS! LOL But that is why I love sketches, you can so easily make them your own. I also tried inking the edges of my pictures on the left page instead of matting, what do you think? I am not sold just yet! I like getting them printed with the border, saves me a step!

CKCB Layouts 4-5

Do you ever do page(s) that start in one direction but the journaling takes you somewhere totally different? Well that is what happened here. These pictures are of the first play date that C had with her BFF; whom we met on the street Halloween night. I was GOING to talk about how much fun they had and how this was the beginning of a friendship for them but somehow the journaling talked more about HOW we met and how things are now a few years later. Strange how that happens but it was good to get those words and that story down on paper since they do mean so very much to us! I used my main kit for these layouts also. The only thing I added was the SU shape that my great friend Jamie cut for me years ago! I love how the title block came out with the addition of those stickers.

Mix it up challenge one for CKCB

The first challenge at Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog is to use one of Allison Davis's sketches but not for the intended purpose. For example use one of her layout sketches to make a card or her card sketch to make a layout. I choose to do the later. I loved the soft curves and layering that was present in her Card Sketch 8. I used all papers/embellishments from my main kit this month. I am really into rounding edges lately so expect to see that for a little bit here. So are you up for the challenge? Can you look at a sketch and see the other possibilities? Link up on the CKCBlog so I can see what you did!

My nemesis and I try to get along

Here is another layout using purple. I did use a sketch from one of Allison Davis's book for the bottom portion. Again with the rounded edges, I warned you! MORE purple, GLITTER thickers WOW this is a feat in of itself! See all those little yellow flowers? I have had those for what eight years or so now? So glad I can use them up! Don't you love when you use up supplies? I do! Now don't go calling the CPS on me, she is in capris because it was pretty warm, however, the 80 plus inches of snow we got that year had not all vanished yet. I promise it was not cold out!

Purple is my nemesis!

This is the LEAST used color for me but the next few layouts I did required it. I don't own a lot in this color family so I had to stretch what I did own. I wanted to do a layout that was mainly pictures and had banners, so this is what I came up with. I sort of like it. And look I used GLITTER THICKERS! WOW! Purple AND glitter WOW! LOL!

CKCB Layouts 1-2

Oh man that shadow on the pictures is horrendous, so sorry. I was/am in a hurry as we pack and get ready to relocate until the house is done. I am not thrilled with this layout but I do like the way that the title section came out. I used a shaped journal ledger piece and some Doodlebug letters that matched pretty well with the Echo Park papers. And here again; like in the Lego layout I popped some circles up for a little lift. How are you doing on your kit? Made anything yet?

Lego Land Field Trip

I have wanted to scrap these pictures for quite awhile; however there were about triple this amount and it was daunting to me. I finally decided to pick my absolute favorites for this two page spread and I will insert the rest into my new love, divided page protectors, and be done. It may be hard to tell but I hand cut several areas of blocks and popped them up for some dimension. When we first arrived at this field trip she was NOT into it, she spent the first 30 minutes or so cuddled tightly in my lap but by the end she was over with the "teacher" doing it all by herself and showing off her tummy! Silly girl, she just takes awhile to warm up!

August-Are you stealing?

Good morning! It is that day, you know the day, the one you wait for all month long.....the fifth....OK so that was YESTERDAY but TODAY I am here to share MY version of the counterfeit kit. Since I am going to be packing/storing/relocating this month I went for EASY. Plus I really liked the creative/mini kit from My Creative Scrapbook Kit club AND I had all of the papers in my stash from a while back. I needed some bright and fun and easy, did I mention EASY!? Well here is the kit from My Creative Scrapbook and below that is mine.


And my take (Thanks Sherri for helping me do the collage, it looks great!)
So this kit is so bright and fun, I added lots of alphas, bling, journal spots and flowers. I don't usually use a lot of flowers so it will be fun to use them up. I also add some bakers twine, polka dotted ribbon (sheer and grosgrain) and tiny little clothes pins that I thought were super cute! Link me to your kit so I can check it out! I hope to get at least 10 layouts done but we will see how much packing takes up!

I am so excited! CKCB Sponsor!!!!!

YEEHAW!! WOOHOOOO! YAY BUDDY!!! lol! I am so excited to share who our sponsor for this month at Counterfeit Kit blog is.....none other than the infamous ALLISON DAVIS!!!! (yep I have a scrapping crush!). Not only are her sketches a staple in my scrapping but her design/style is right up my alley, bright, fun, linear and simple! She is also giving away two great prizes, that I don't even OWN yet! Man I wish I could win, these are drool worthy prizes!!!


So make sure you head on over to Counterfeit blog, all you have to do is either participate or comment on the blog hop at the end of the month for a chance to win!! I hope to see you over there stealing some kits too!

SoCal Scrapbooks-Nikki Sivils

Happy August! Is it really August? WOW! Well I need to get my butt in gear with packing this house up, and getting it ready to store while we are relocating.


Today I am sharing my August creation for SoCal Scrapbooks using the fun and cool colors of the Max and Mollie line by Nikki Sivils. I will admit, at first, I was LOST. I loved the papers but was clueless how to use them for pages of C. I mean they are designed for our pet babies (which we don't have) so there was the creative block there. Then all of a sudden while flipping through photos I came across these and the colors were just right. Everything but the twine, "fly", and white pen came from the collection pack. I have a thing for small letter stickers so I knew I wanted a long title. I choose "I hope you always FLY high." Again with the white pen, we all go through phases right? I think this is my white pen doodle phase! I had to AGAIN make a letter (the letter Y in fly) but I am using my stash and NOT going out and buying MORE letter stickers ( I have tons!). So what do you think? Did I successfully use pet paper for DD's layout?