The Big Announcment!

Well hello all my fellow SO members! It's a great day here! We took our kids to the circus last night and it was SO much fun! I would go again in a heart beat. Not sure if I had more fun or the kids. laugh.

The new DT was revealed yesterday if you didn't already know. It was seriously the hardest decision I have ever had to make - I think more so than what I would name my children. lol
I just want to publically thank the "old" DT for all that they have done to make SO what it is. I seriously could have not done it without them. They took the transition of new owners in stride and embrassed me as the new owner. They were great to go along with my new ideas and run with them. Words CAN NOT express how TRUELY Grateful I am to them. Thank you SO much ladies here is the retiring DT at the end of June:

Jennifer French

Brandi Pitts

Brandy Cumberland

Suzanne Wikstrom

Please take a few minutes to thank the retiring DT! Let them know how much you will miss them.

I am excited to work with these new ladies. I can't wait to see what kind of ideas they come up with.

Returning for another term:

Abbie Torroll

Trish Harwick

Ronda Simpson

the new Ladies

Anna Buis

Lindsay Gannon

Jodi Wilton

Sarah Eclavea

Hope you all stick around to see what the new DT has in store for you!

LOTW-Mette

For layout of the week I chose this layout by Mette. There is so much I like about this layout...the white space, the distressed look, and the use of embellishments. (it is cutting off some of the layout, so click on layout to see the whole thing)

Be sure to visit the messageboard on Wednesday to find out who is on the new DT!!

Journaling Made Easy!

Journaling….

For many, it is the most difficult part of scrapping… it is the reason I have so many unfinished pages sitting in the corner… they are waiting for the perfect story, written in perfect words… Yet, journaling is probably one of the most important parts of the page! The story of our lives, isn’t that what we are trying to tell? Seems that it should be easy since “we” are the ones living it, right?

Well, today I am hoping to be able to help you make journaling a little less painful and a lot more fun! (and to decrease your backlog of unfinished, need to be journaled, pages!)

Next to scrapping, I truly enjoy reading, which oftentimes leads me on expeditions to the bookstore to find a new story to occupy my average life. On my most recent trip to the bookstore I found a journaler’s treasure trove in the “self-help” and kid’s sections.

The first - journaling gem I ran into is, “My Listography” by Lisa Nola. I have two similar books called “List Yourself” and “More List Yourself” by Ilene Segalove but I picked it up anyway because it has a ton of fun lists, for example: List all the Cities you have been to, List the pets you’ve had and their names, List 10 Wishes you want to come true, List your favorite places to go in your hometown… and the “list” goes on and on (pun intended). Whether you use the list prompt and the list itself as the journaling or as a springboard for pages or narrative journaling, this book is sure to help you get started journaling your story!

While browsing further I came across, “The Book of Us” by David and Kate Marshall. It is a journal-style book with prompts about your relationship. It is listed chronologically beginning with “Before I Met you my Love Life Was…”, through “Starting out” and “The Middle Years” and ending with “The Later Years”. I have been wanting to document my husband and I’s relationship, but I am usually at a loss of what exactly I want to remember. This book is really stirring up my creativity which I am sure will lead to a beautifully journaled album later on!

In the kid’s section I found a series of “American Girl” quiz books, one in particular, “The Family Quiz Book” caught my eye, as I am always trying unsuccessfully to document our personalities and lives as a family. It is full of quizzes which compare and contrast, describe and zero in on the true personalities of your family members… and it is fun to boot! I have already given a couple of the quizzes to my kids and I am excited to turn them into great pages! Well, I hope my bookstore finds will help you as much as they have helped me! Having trouble journaling? These books can all help! - Just head to your local bookstore and pick one up!

Photography Challenge

I'm so excited to bring you the photography challenge this month!!!
I don't know about you ladies, but the summer has been so fast-paced!! I was really
expecting things to slow down when school was out, but we are still just as busy! So needless to say, with "busy-ness" comes stress!! One of the things that I LOVE to do when I need a break, is go to the gym! It is a time that I can do something that is good for me, and I can de-stress all at the same time.

So, my challenge for you, is to snap a photo of something that helps you get through your day! Something brings you relief or happiness, when everything around you seems so chaotic!! Whether it is a pet, a resturant, your favorite beverage...etc.

I chose to snap a photo of the outside of the gym where I workout! I decided not to take it in to take pictures! LOL! I didn't want to be the crazy lady that was escorted from the building because she was taking photos of people working out! LOL!

But anyway, hopefully you get my point! I know it's not that interesting to see the outside of a building, but it's just something to get you thinking "outside of the box", so to speak!
I would LOVE to see your photos, just upload them HERE , in the Photography section on the SO Message Boards! I'll start a thread! Can't wait to see yours!

~Ronda :)

Honoring the Men in our Life Challenge

This challenge comes from Guest Designer Jodi (luvalotmum) Perfect for Father's Day coming up on Sunday. Don't forget to take a picture of your husband, dad, brother, uncle or grandpa!

Flipping through my pages of my scrapbook albums, I realized I didn’t have a single layout dedicated to my husband. I probably speak for the majority of us : we always seem to be scrapping our kids , special occasions, and holidays. Since Father’s Day falls in the month of June, my challenge for you this month, is to create a layout solely about your husband, father, grandfather, uncle, brother… etc… Here are some jump start questions to help you gain some inspiration:
1. Something special your husband has done for you.
2. What your husband means to you.
3. What kind of father is he? What does he do? Anything special between your kids and him?
4. The “jobs” your husband/father does in your family
5. A special moment that you will never forget between you and your husband.
I got the idea for this challenge, when my son was having surgery . I remember looking over at my husband, and seeing him looking at my son… it was a very touching moment seeing him look at my son that way. So what does a scrapper do? I snuck my camera out of purse, and took his picture. I used that picture in the following layout and all the wonderful and not so wonderful “jobs” my husband does. Have fun with this challenge, and I can’t wait to see what you create! Be sure to link it up in the gallery! Here is the layout that I created for this challenge:

LOTW 6-13 ...flcropper (Naureen)

I chose this 2 page layout by flcropper (Naureen)! For one, I love the fact that she had bright, vibrant primary colors in the pictures and how she used the BG papers to compliment them. She also made the layout so fun by using circles..brings the fun from the photos out onto the layout.
congrats!

Brandi's June Kit Reveal & a Little Challenge

I really love the colors in this kit. They were perfect for this page of Drew on her horse.

It also matched this photo perfectly!

I altered the flower from the kit to match my layout a little better.


I used the Grungeboard piece as a base for this wall hanging. I dry brushed a bit of white paint on it allowing the natural Grungeboard to show through. I created the flower with the book paper & used a brad to hold all the layers together. I wanted the butterflies to appear as if they were flying so I only adhered them at the center. I added a piece of blue lace for the hanger.



My challenge to you is a super simple one! Create a card (or cards) using ONLY the scraps you've cut up while making your layouts.

On the card below I used the orange strip of cardstock that I cut off of my "Ride'em Cowgirl" layout. The red strip was leftover from the background of my 2nd layout and the flower pieces were leftover from my wall hanging. By using only what was already cut I still have plenty of "un-chopped" papers to use on future layouts and I don't have a pile of paper scraps that I need to find a home for!

Abbie's Reveal

Good Morning everyone!!

I loved this kit SOO much!! The first night I played with it I stayed up till 3:30 in the morning because I just couldn't put it down!

This first page "but goodies" as in "oldies but goodies" was inspired by a sketch at So Sketchy. This is a picture of me and two of my really good friends at a wedding a couple of weeks ago.

"Dip & Blow". Pictures of my son blowing bubbles:)

And this kit is SOO huge! After I had done those two pages I still had TONS AND TONS of stuff left. I just HAD to use every last inch of that kit, so I chose to do a mini. My husband is in the AF and I am really not very good about scrapbooking pictures of him, not sure why. But I was so inspired by all the red, white, and blue in the kit, that I decided to put a little book together of some of my favorite shots of him in his uniform:

This is picture of him a few years ago the night he found out what job he would be doing. "A.B.M" is Air Battle Manager.

Here are pictures from his Commissioning Ceremony. Aghhh it was only just beginning...

I took his class photos for them and this is what we did. I photo shopped a picture of them sitting on a couch on top of a jet wing. Turned out pretty cool. Anyway, "09 006" was their class number. To edge the side of the photo I used the JB paper in the kit as a template.
I added the overlay in the album just for fun:

Pictures of my husband graduating from his training school in Florida. He won some awards and we were really proud;)

And lastly I was so inspired by the grungeboard. The stripes reminded me of a flag, so I painted a whole bunch of red on it.

And lastly, just a little note to my DH thanking him for all he does:)


Hope you all have a great Thursday!!

Jennifer's June reveal

I absolutely LOVED working with this month's kit! The colors in this kit are just amazing!
The Jenni Bowlin Farmer's Wife papers and embellishments worked perfectly with my cow pictures from the fair.
"Mooments"


This layout is titled "Finally 5" Natalie couldn't wait to turn 5!


Here is a close up of the butterflies

and a close up of the fan flower


Finally, I think this is my new favorite layout.
"Laugh out Loud"


a close up of the flower

Ronda's June Kit DT Reveal

Happy Tuesday girls!!

Here are my creations with June's fabulous kit!!
"Got Milk?"
This is a LO of my DD when she was 4 years old. I don't know if you can
tell, but she has milk all over her face! The papers and embellishments
were perfect for this picture!

"Big Brown Eyes"
This is a LO of my nephew, Zach, on his 3rd Birthday.

"With Sympathy"

I added a wooden flower and letter stickers to make this card. I loved how vibrant the colors in this kit are!

Thanks for checking it out!! :)
~Ronda

Reveal by Trish!!!

Hey Everyone!

Phew! I am coming to you a tad late in the day due to technical difficulties! (those crazy DoDEA computers do NOT want me to blog at work.. LOL! -so my plans to load once I got there were foiled!)..

Anyway, if you haven't seen this month's SO kit, you should! It is jam-packed full of wonderful goodies! Graphic 45, Jenni Bowlin and some adorable Etsy finds... you should not miss it! This kit is fabulous! (and there is so much goodness that I was able to complete the three projects below and start 3 more! - which I will have to show you later!) Here are my creations:

I add some denim fabric strips I was gifted and a few flowers and letter stickers here and there, but the rest is ALL from this month's kit! Thanks for checking us out!

xoxo

Trish

GD Jodi's June Kit Reveal!

Here are Jodi's Fabulous creations with the Jenni Bowlin/Graphic 45 Kit!

Lotw 6/6

Ok, so I totally CHEATED this week!! I have been looking through the gallery for the last half hour and I could NOT decide on just ONE LOTW!!!! With SO has Talent going on right now, there is just TOO much eye candy in there to choose just ONE thing!

SOOOO, I chose..... TEN! he he he

ALLLLLLLLLL of these were submitted into the SO gallery in just this last week!! Can you believe it?!

There was this FUN one by Lisa!! She HAD to have chosen THE perfect paper for these pictures, yes? I also love how she includes pictures of the decorations. Too fun!!

There was THIS gorgeous page by Taryngirl. I LOVE how she chose soft colors that really match her daughter's dress perfectly!! Plus all the little feminine touches she add are just perfect! and it doesn't hurt that she has such a cute picture to scrapbook (she looks SO much like you by the way!)!

Ok, I am NOT someone who knows how to do a page with white space, so anyone who can do it and rock it like rajah1, has my interest immediately! AWESOME job girl!:

I adore this page by Shawneerie!! I just LOVE pages where there is just SO much detail that the more you look at it the more you see. Know what I mean? I mean, check out all the cool little touches she put into this:

LOOK at this one by Stacey Hansen. Her picture of all happy smiling kids is PERFECTLY scrapped with all these fun and happy touches she added with her layering, cutwork, and the fun stickles on the chipboard accents!

On this one by Oceanlover I fell in LOVE with these clear butterfly embellishments she sprinkled everywhere. They are such a sweet and subtle touch adding just the perfect amount of interest!

Adrienne got ultra crafty with us this week when she shared the cute Graduation hat she made!!! How creative and fun is this?!?

If ever there was someone who stalks DMisner's work, it would be me!! She always wows me with her cute pictures matched with perfectly placed details on her page. I LOVE this picture of her daughter, but my FAV part of this picture is the hand that is GINGERLY touching her daughter's back! It is such a small detail to the picture, but doesn't it just warm your HEART?!

There's this one by Elizbailey. As if her pictures aren't gorgeous enough, she has to go and scrap them to perfection in this awesome and simple design to really highlight their beauty! love it girl!

and this one by samanthasib. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE that cluster of gorgeous flowers she made!! and I thought it was clever to take a picture of it right next to the sketch!


And to all those family members, like Trace's son below, who did such a SWEET job scrapping with us this week!! Thanks for the inspiration!! Future DT member? I think so!

Does SO have the best gallery or what?!?! Thanks ladies (and gentleman) for keeping me inspired everyday!!

Abbie