Snow:

I loved making this LO!!  I didn't care, flowers were going on this boy LO.  All the diecuts, flowers and bling were handmade.  Only the word 'snow', the 'bracket', and the border are pre-made chipboard/sticker.  (I had them, might as well have used them). These days, my LO's tend to have a LOT of negative space.  I resisted doing LO's like that for most of my scrappy career. I just didn't "get it" why someone would leave all that space?  But this past year, I tried it and have been hooked ever since. It tends to keep your eye on the photo (to me the most important part) as well as taking in all the fun stuff.

Taking 'snow' pictures can be a lot of fun, especially if the flash is turned off.  If you aren't familiar with your manual settings, put your camera on a auto-macro setting, turn off flash and HAVE FUN!! Although these photos were taken last winter, I have been learning a great deal more about my SLR camera. It's a challenge, but I believe worth it! The macro setting and photos with small DOF (depth of field) I understand.  It's the "bigger shots" and moving target shots that are eluding me.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by!!

The snowflakes are punches with a touch of ink for dimension.  The roses in the top left corner are handmade.

Handmade flowers were created for this LO.  To learn how to make the crumpled carnation flower, go here to this video tutorial.  The other flower I will post a "how to", someday.

An up-close photo of the diecuts, all from Cricut Winter Woodland.  The bling is handmade using dimensional pearl paint.

HEAL:

I have a customer who likes for me to make cards with animals on them. Together, we try to match the right dog for the person receiving the card. Being a dog and cat lover, she also likes the word "heal" on her cards in reference to "heel".  So, this is what I came up with.  If you haven't figured it out yet, I don't put bows and lots of bling on my cards.  I love the cards that have all the "pretty stuff" on them, but I simply can't make it work for me.  I tend to stick to dimensionally accurate cards.  All square or rectangular shapes although I do want to venture into the world of nestabilities.

Dog is made from Cricut Create a Critter.  'Heal' is from Cosmo Cricket tiny stickers.  Machine stitched all around the card.  PP is from BG Max and Whiskers line (I think).

Miniature Shabby Ruffled Flower:

Last, but certainly not least.  I made a bunch of handmade flowers for my mom and sister's Christmas stockings.  This beauty is a smaller version of the ruffled flower I posted previously.  You can find the tutorial here.  I added my own bit of glamour to the flower with puffy dimensional paint and stickles.  This flower is a little bit more time consuming, but oh! so worth it!

Creating flowers is very satisfying for me.  It's appeals to the girl in me to make something beautiful and delicate.  It also satisfies that quirk of mine with needing to complete a task.  They don't particularly take very long to make, not like LO's do.  Also, my LO's tend to be mostly about my son, so this is such a nice outlet for that feminine side of me.  Giving them away to my sister is also rewarding because she compliments me when she adds them to her own gorgeous cards and tags.

Making all these flowers has taught me a few tricks as well.  The part of making flowers that bums me out the most is the "cutting" part.  Whether it is from my Cricut or punches, it feels like a drag of a step!  So, I've improvised.  I decide what I what to make and cut out a whole bunch of the shapes I need in one sitting.  Later, when I actually have the energy and time, I make the flowers.  It is nice to have the "cutting" phase over with and get on with the creative phase.  Hope that little bit of advice helps you get started with making your own flowers.

Dear Santa:

This LO has machine stitching (my all time favorite embellishment).  All the paper, except the background, is from American Craft Collection Christmas and Merrymint.

I almost didn't have fun making this LO.  The reason being is 'cause Santa's chair color bothered me.  But, obviously I made peace with this by using a very dark chocolate brown cs.  The "Dear Santa: Define Good" showed up everywhere in Christmas 2010.  This year it's "Dear Santa: I can explain." These quotes are perfect for any pre-schooler and all those little rascals out there who have way too much energy and imagination.

Once I got past the chair color, this LO was fun to make.  I decided which die cuts I was going to use and got them all ready.  Next, I knew I needed stitching to go somewhere on the LO.  That hurt my brain just a little bit figuring that one out.  Had to walk away from this project overnight then it all came to me by morning (my favorite and best time of day to scrap).  I do LOVE stitching on just about every project I make.  TFL!!!

"Dear Santa" is from Cricut Winter Frolic.  The flower is handmade by Anna Fearer.  I have since made my own version of this flower, but I still have some left by Anna herself.

The candy cane is an svg file from myscrapchick.  The bow was bought at M's.  The ticket is a stamp from the Inkadinkado collection.

More close up of my LO.  The star and holly are svg files from myscrapchick.  Used the polka dot embossing folder on the green star to give it more character.  I used lots of pop-dots on this LO for more dimension.

Rose within a Rose:

In case you haven't noticed, I have featured flowers this month stretched out over several days.  A couple of lucky ladies in my life will be receiving handmade flowers in their stockings this year.  Everything you have seen so far is a sample of what they will be getting.  Now I know your wondering if they are watching this blog and if I'm spoiling it for them?  Well, one of them is for sure!  Hi, Alissa!! Anyway, I'm just posting samples.  They don't know which ones they are actually getting!!  MUHAHAHA!!!!

Cream and Sugar:

I do love to make flowers!!  This one is an imitation of Anna Fearer's flower. She makes such beautiful roses as well as other flowers to compliment her roses.  I have recently bought her "pillow talk" collection and hope to use it on a LO featuring my wedding photo. 

Crumpled Daisy:

I had almost forgotten about these flowers.  I don't remember where I first learned how to make it, so I guess at some point I'll need to post a tutorial!! You can do most anything with the center, but for this flower I chose a button from the 'fancy button value pack' at HL.

Gingerbread Man:

Just another cute card featuring a die cut.  I personally struggle with decorating cards after spending time making a die cut.  On this one, I think the gingerbread is adorable, especially with the brad buttons but the card needed something more.  I love machine stitching, but my sewing machine is up on a high shelf at the moment and too inconvenient to get down.  The store bought poinsettia adds to the card I think, without taking away from the gingerbread man.

The gingerbread man is an SVG file purchased from  www.svgcuts.com

Elegant Ruffled Flower:

My scrap book pages usually feature my son.  BUT I love to make flowers!!  So, I either give them away, put them on my son's LO's or find a picture with a girl in it.  LOL!!  This flower is about 2 1/2 inches and rather puffy.  But it has so much potential.  Glitter, glimmer mist, puffy paint, etc could make this flower even more dazzling!

Go here to learn how to make this elegant ruffled flower.

My family:

Wanted to share a photo featuring my handsome men.  It isn't easy to get a photo of the two of them together without my son moving around or my husband having a not "quite so nice smile".  I am also super excited about scrapping this picture (next year most likely)!!

For this picture, I'm using a Nikon D40 set on macro, ISO 400 and no flash.  Using flash washes out the Christmas lights in the background.  I later used iphoto to edit the picture into this antique look.  My cousin is getting married next June and her access to a photographer in her area is non-existent.  I'm stepping up to the plate and it is giving me the boost that I needed to learn more about my camera.

Crayon Wreath

It's that time of year.  Betcha' you didn't see this one comin'.  (You are probably looking for reindeer and elves).  But I wanted to make something different for my son's teachers (yep, he has two preschool  teachers).  I do want to make one comment on this.  Hot Glue does not equal super glue.  This wreath is actually fragile but totally reparable if a crayon gets bumped "just right".

I had a lot of fun crafty time putting two of these together.   Really hope my son's teachers like them.  I got the idea from another blog here to learn how to make.

I really had fun making the worm.  He is from Cricut Create a Critter, but the face is from Peachy Keen Stamps.  For the glasses I used glossy accents. Just a touch of copics to fill in the mouth and nose, as well as doodled the edge of the critter for more character.

I also created the pencil, glue, and scissors from Cricut Nate's ABC's.  I doodled on all of them as well and am pleased with the results.  Thanks for stopping by!!

Winter Fun

I tend to be about a year behind when I scrap about events.  I order a whole bunch of photos at one time (about twice a year) and then don't get around to scrapping until the same time the following year.  I just gotta be "in the right frame of mind" to scrap about a winter scene.  I just can't do that in the middle of summer.  Anyway, this is my second winter LO this month.  The first one I will post much later because I submitted it for possible publication in January.  It's a lot more "glittery" for those of you who like that sort of thing :)

This one came together pretty quickly.  It only took me about 2 hours and a couple of interruptions.  The leaves are from CC "Storybook" and title is from "Winter Woodland".  I'm a little sad that I couldn't find a place for a bigger die cut of a boy on a sled.  Oh, I have it (having gone on a shopping spree this past week) but it just wouldn't mesh with this LO.  I usually don't scrap multiple photos these days either.  But the top photos tell a story of the sled tilting over.  The bottom two photos are favorites of mine.  My son is grinning ear to ear, his cheeks are rosy, his nose is bright red and it's all so precious to me.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Followed a sketch by Sketchabilities #59.  The circles are stitch with the help of a Bazzil template.   I added brads to this LO is honor of my sister, who is a "brad queen".   Snowflakes are from punches.

"No Peeking" really tested my color sense.  I loved the die cut of a little boy popping out of the present.  I also loved the sketch, by mojomonday.  Putting it all together was the difficult part.  The sparkly present doesn't EXACTLY match the Eskimo Kisses pp.  But, it's a slow love.  You have to get to know it first.  Walk away and think about it.  Come back and stare at it some more and admire how it just teases your senses.

As you can see, I stuck with it.  I think I will try to master this die cut with a card at another time too.  It's just begging for a little something . . . else.  It's a slow love.

The little boy is an SVG file provided by MyScrapChick.  I love this site and the complexity of the die cuts provided.  I did chalk around his face, cheeks and hands for dimension.  I also drew the closed eyes and nose with a black fine tip pen.

Thank You

This card is simple, once you get past the die cut.  Now, mind you, die cuts aren't hard to make, but they can seem time consuming.  The other obstacle is whenever I am researching sketches for cards, I usually end up with a sketch for stamped images.  I have to really dig into my buried artistic talent to make a die cut work in place of a stamped image.

My other obstacle, and this is completely personal, is that I seem to have a complete block when it comes to putting ribbon on my cards.  I just really shy away from that embellishment.  So, if you like what you see but feel like like it needs a ribbon, go ahead!!  I won't be offended.  I followed a sketch by mojomonday for this Thank You card.  Hope you like.

The scarecrow is from Cricut Cartridge Simply Charmed.  I also used a Spellbinder Nestibilities (Rectangle) underneath my diecut.  Nothing fancy, just wanted my little scarecrow to "pop".  Machine stitching on all the rectangles.  "Thank You" is a stamp.

Season's Greetings showcases a die cut Santa.  I have lots of them from various sources!!  This one is provided in a package of Christmas Cuddlies by svgcuts.  I know, not a very exciting name in the scrapbooking world.  It is, however, a site where I have purchased several svg files for my cricut to cut.  I'm not going to go into how I do that.  A very good starting place to find that information is at the website mentioned.

I didn't spruce up this die cut in any way.  No chalking, glittering, nada.  SVG files aren't like cricut cartridges.  You need to learn how they go together on your own (the jpg files provided do help).  That being said, once I get the hang of putting together a die cut, the next time around I usually give it some extra "polish".

Card sketch followed by mojomonday.

Little Doggie "Heal"

This card was a special order from a co-worker.  She wanted a "fluffy" dog and the word "heal" on the card.  The dog is an svg file purchased from My Scrap Chick.  It is accented with chalk ink to give it dimension. This card came together so quickly and I'm quite amazed how "cute" it is.  Of course it has machine stitching on the card (one of my favorite things to do). Another thing you may quickly assess, I absolutely love die cuts.  My sister loves stamping!  But she has definitely gotten me to take my cards to a new level!  She's the one who nudged me to get more punches :)

I realize the word "heal" is missing from this card.  I added it right before giving it to my co-worker.  I like to make cards that can be made into the occasion needed, keeping them neutral as long as possible.  The paper is from BG pyrus paper pad.

Apply Thank You Card

November has seen me extra busy making, creating, and scrapping.  October was a very busy month and none of it was spent doing my favorite hobby.  BUT, no worries, I have definitely made up for lost time.  This card is lifted from another blogger that I follow, the scrap farm.  I was so in love with the simplicity of this card I just had to make one for my son's teacher.  She doesn't have it yet, but I'll let you know her reaction!

The apples were cut using the Cricut cartridge "A Child's Year".  The paper is Jillibean Soup - Blossum Soup.  The words are rub-ons.

Me & You

I know I promised lots of boy layouts, but I am particularly fond of this page that I made recently.  One thing you should know about me, I'm in love with neutral colors.  All colors of "brown", including coffee, caramel, hazel, sepia, fawn, and sienna seem to find their way into my layouts.  So it is no surprise that this page featuring my husband and I is using the Et Cetera pages by BoBunny.  By the way, BoBunny and I are very old friends!

We celebrated 10 years of our marriage this year, 2011.  When making a page, it seems silly to not put some kind of journal onto the page.  But me being me, just couldn't because it's too personal.  You will just have to settle for the sentiment that I found.  "In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours.  In all the world, there is no love for you like mine."

The swirls are made using the Cricut cartridge "Storybook" on black paper.  I then completely covered with Distress Stickles Antique Bronze.  It gave it a nice aged look, don't you think?  Butterfly was cut using my SCAL program.

The "bling" is handmade using dimensional paint.  Some paints (and colors) are definitely better than others.  I also really like Liquid Pearls Dimensional Paint in all colors provided.

All three of these flowers were handmade by me.   The small blue rose is an example of quilling.  The flower in the foreground I made using the same technique as the yellow "carnation" in the background, only different base shape. 

Another example of a handmade flower.  The key and heart are from Tim Holtz's grungeboard accents colored with Distress Stains.

Welcome!

Hello, my name is Vivian.  I have been married to my wonderful husband since 2001.  I am also a very proud mother to my little boy, Joscelin.  I have been a scrapbooker since 1998.  My style has changed drastically over the years (for the better I'm sure!!)  With lots of encouragement from family and friends (my husband and sister are my biggest fans) I decided to start this blog featuring my scrap pages and cards.  My favorite subject is my son - yep, I'm biased.   Mostly this blog will be about the challenges that come with scrapping about a boy.  I also have a dog, Sky, and a cat, E.R. who occasionally become my scrappy subjects.  For me, the most difficult subject is myself followed closely by my husband.

But the inner girl in me loves making paper flowers too.  I'm constantly looking for new flowers to make and follow several blogs that I feel appeals to my artistic fingers.  I have also dabbled in the art of quilling and follow many blogs of very talented artists featuring this delicate art of paper rolling.

So, I hope you enjoy my pages and cards and can find inspiration for your own works of art.

Vivian Rose

"Vivian" was made with the BoBunny line Et Cetera following a sketch by Trisha.  The Cricut machine made the scissors, dog, cat, library card and title.  The bling is made from Liquid Pearls dimensional paint.  The flowers are handmade by myself as well as another talented scrapper from which I participated in a flower swap.  There is also hand-stitching (one of my favorite embellishments).

For future posts, I will be taking several pictures featuring different parts of the page.  For now, I will have settle for my first attempt at blogging.