Button Up Challenge at Clear It Out

It is the 3rd Tuesday of April already, and that means a new Challenge at Clear It Out...

Our Challenge this time is Button up!  So We are challenging you to pull out those buttons you've been holding on to and use at least 2 of them on a project. 

Once again we have 2 sponsors which means 2 Prizes!

We have a new Sponsor, QKR Stampede. Check them out there are some adorable images!

And Digi Darla is back with more of her Gorgeous Digis! 




Here is my card:

This image is from QKR and it is called "Watching Together" Adorable right? I thought they looked like maybe they were gazing at the sunset together, so I used the gradient tool in PSE to make the sunset background.  As a matter of fact I digitally colored the whole thing in PSE this week.

I just love using buttons!  They really add pop to a project. Want to know my secret for threaded buttons that doesn't involve sewing them to the paper?  Glue Dots!  A couple tiny glue dots on the back of the button holds the threads.  Then I use Glossy Accents to attach them to the card, this give a little extra insurance, since I want them to be as flat as possible so I DO NOT KNOT the thread/twine (In this case size 3 crochet cotton).

 I also used another old standby of mine...Vellum.  The yellow rectangle in back, the heart overlay are vellum, and the sentiment is stamped using StazOn on a scrap of the yellow. 

So You know the drill right...Now It's Your Turn!!  Get Out that button box and Clear a few Out!  Oh How very punny... Oh well!

And if when you do, make sure and leave us a link so we can see what you make!   We really enjoy seeing everyone's projects.  It is so fun to see what people of different experience levels do with the same challenge.  Oh and You guys give me all my best ideas! You are so inspiring!

Next Week I'll be back with a digiDarla image for some mid challenge inspiration.  See you then!

A New Challenge at Clear It Out...Flowers!

Well it is Spring in Colorado and if you want some proof look what I found in my front yard:

Yay!!  Crocus make me so happy!  They were a little late this year. Usually I have some in February!  I guess they didn't like the cold either!

So in honor of Spring we have a new challenge at Clear it Out  The theme is you guessed it...SPRING and the stash item is FLOWERS.

And once again we have 2 sponsors which means 2 prizes!  My fellow Design Team member Karen of Karen's needle is donating 36 very cute crocheted flowers for one winner Yay! I love crocheted flowers.

Also,our wonderful sponsor Bugaboo is back with

 

Here is my card:

 I had so much fun with this one.  and I 'Cleared Out' a lot of stash.  I have had these flowers for a very long time!  As a change, I did use something new as well.  Lisa from Whimsical Musings sent me some butterflies...all the way from Germany!!  Thanks so much Lisa!!!! I just love them!  If you are a scrapbooker and haven't checked out Whimsical Musings I highly recommend it! I haven't been scrapping much lately, but their most recent challenge is calling my name!  Maybe my next CIO project will be a layout using Ombre...          

So now it is your turn!   Show us your "Springy"projects using flowers and you could be one of our next winners!

 Oh and I am so sorry this is late!!!!

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Anything Goes- http://www.craftdoormagazine.com/
Anything Goes-http://papertakeweekly.blogspot.com/

Vintage- http://bythecuteandgirly.blogspot.com/

Clear It out Challenge week 2

As promised I have another card for the Spring Challenge!

 

This week I used a Digi Darla image called Pansy Pots. Continuing with the Anything but A Rectangle" theme and spring colors, I cut apart a very old embossed card and made it an easel.  I had a lot of fun coloring the embossed parts with my Dusty Concord Distress Ink Pad. I took 2 4-petal  Prima flowers and made the pansy with an old plastic rhinestone in the middle.  When I was cleaning out a basket in my room, I came across a sheet of 3d butterflies that have been  there for at least 2 years, this yellow one was perfect to make the easel stand up. Of course tissue/washi tape is a fairly new addition to my collection, but much of it is still at least a year old. And the little metal "Spring" is a snap!  So it is SEVERAL years old as well. I will admit the crocheted butterfly is new.  But the thread used to make it is probably 5 years old. (Want to make your own?  I found this lovely instructional video (I did not make this video but it's really cool!) here) 

 I just love using up old stash!  Don't you?

So now it is your turn!  Show us what you can do with Spring colors in any shape but a rectangle.  And don't forget to share a link to your project with us on the Clear It Out Challenge Blog.  You have 1 week left!


(By the way, since it is after midnight while I am typing this, please comment below and let me know if you found any typos or I'm not making sense in this post.  Thanks!)

Clear It Out March Challenge #2

This challenge, we have 2 wonderful sponsors!















Digi Darla has generously returned to sponsor another challenge.  And Limited Runs Digital Stamps is joining us for the first time.  And two sponsors means...Two Prizes!!! The theme is Anything but a Rectangle. So get your Spring Color Stash out and show us what you can make. 

My card this week is using an image from Limited Runs called Morning Glory.

As Simple as it looks, a lot of technique went into this card.  Want to hear the story?  Of course you do... Why else are you here right?



Once upon a time (a couple weeks or so ago), in my studio, I was looking through my stash for things to purge.  I love doing that because I almost always find stuff I had forgotten about.  This time, I found these glossy paper fans.  One of my favorite things to do with glossy paper is resist.  So I pulled out my Ranger Clear Resist Ink, A Stampin' Up floral background stamp and a couple springy colors of Tim Holtz Distress Stain.  Dusty Concord and Honey.  After I dried the stamped image, I used my craft sheet to put down some stain, and here's where the problem started.  Instead of being patche of the 2 colors, I got one color of green.  And when I tried to use the Dusty Concord by itself, all I could get was a very interesting teal.  (Guess I get to buy another Dusty Concord).  So I decided the green didn't look too bad for spring and would work for the inside anyway. Especially with this Vellum quote from DCWV on top & a little purple striped washi tape (Trendy Tape from Queen & Co).
What  do you think?

  Since I couldn't use purple distress stain, I used my Milled Lavender Distress Ink pad over the Clear Resist Ink on the front.  A yellow brad coated on top with Glossy Accents and Yellow Flocking made the center of the flower at the bottom and holds the 2 halves together. allowing the back to rotate & "open".  A few of my favorite Copics for the image, a bow of twine and Voila.  All the same, I look at the front and it feels like it's missing something.  Any Ideas?

But that's not the end of the story...You get to make a fun shaped card in spring colors too! To be eligible for one of the prizes is as easy as 1, 2, 3.

 1. Check out our rules and challenge specifics, Here
 2. Play with paper & stuff from your stash
 3. Post a link to your project on the Clear It Out Challenge Blog.

I can tell it's going to be a fun challenge! I have another fun shaped card with a Digi Darla image to share next week...so check back in!

Green Challenge At Clear It Out

It's the second week of our Green Challenge and I have a card to show you. 

Our Wonderful Sponsor Bugaboo is back!  This image is called BBFF Boys.  I'm sorry I don't have a better image of it.  My trick for getting a good project photo at night is to take it in the bathroom because I have fairly good light there. Unfortunately, I left it in there and it got wet, so I couldn't take another photo because the card is ruined :-( I may be able to salvage it by coloring another image of the boys and replacing it (The black printer ink ran), but I can't today so this will have to do.
This K & Company embossed plaid is one of the first papers I bought when I started scrapbooking 12x12 in 2004(ish)! I found a 6"by 12"scrap in my green drawer and it was perfect for this challenge! 

Are you inspired to make something using your green supplies?  If so, make sure you link it up on the Clear It Out Challenge Blog.

 Also a little note: Please check the rules!  We've made a few clarifications and posted the rules at the top of the blog.  We've had to redraw a few times since people weren't following the rules.  This makes us sad :-(  We want you to have every opportunity to WIN.

New Challenge Time at Clear It Out!

Once again it its time for a new challenge at Clear It Out!  Our Stash Item this month is: Ribbon!  So Use 2 or more ribbons on your project.  The theme is Birthday...as you probably know by now, I don't celebrate Birthdays, so I made an Any Occasion Gift Tag.  Here it is:

What do you think? The Adorable image is from our Sponsor Digi Darla.

Our winner gets 5 Digis of their choice!!

Every ribbon & flower  is at least a year old.  I had a lot of fun playing with my new distress markers and metallic Distress Stains on the manila tag background, which I then splattered with a bit of Glimmer Mist to create the speckled look. 

So now it's your turn!  See what you can do with at least 2 ribbons and make sure you link your project on the Clear It Out Challenge Blog for your chance to win!

Clear It Out Red & White Challenge

This is my card for the challenge...You have until next Monday to participate. We can hardly wait to see what you can do with Red & White!

So this was a super easy-peasy lemon-squeezy card to make. Which is good since there is LOAD this month!  I printed the image (from our wonderful sponsor Bugaboo Stamps) 
on textured cardstock and colored it with copic markers.  Then I adhered it to an adorable red card from Doodlebug Design.   I used my white Souffle pen to do pen stitching, traced a scrap to make a thin little frame and the word Love.  Then I added a white flourish from Recollections and DONE!

I hope you like it and I hope you make something Red & White to share with us at Clear It Out!

It's that Time Again!!

Click Here!

LOAD 213 Hop Happier :-)

 

 

Does this remind you of yourself?  Even just a little? If it does, you need LOAD213.

Does this remind you of your family?  If so, you need LOAD213.

 

  If you are here for the blog hop, then you have probably already signed up.  If not, what are you waiting for? Enrollment is limited and there are only a few spots left!

 I am so excited...and so not prepared!  Now if you have read my PreLOAD posts before, (if not, check them out here, here and here) you are probably thinking: When are you ever prepared for LOAD?  And it is true I rarely put much effort into preparing.  For me, the joy of LOAD is going with the flow. I look at the prompt and it gives me an idea and I scrap it...no prep needed.  After all, goodness knows I have plenty of supplies!  The most I usually do is:
 1. Stock up on photo paper, ink and adhesive and
 2.  Clean my desk...
      I have plenty of adhesive. I bought ink cartridges today and I will likely never run out of photo paper.  My desk (at least the top of it) is clean... so what is the problem?  I can barely get to my desk!  And right now I have had such a busy couple weeks that I'm not sure when I will get it cleaned up.  But do you know what?

IT DOESN'T MATTER!!!

Clean room, messy room, old supplies or new ones...LOAD will be worth it! I will get so many stories told!

LOAD has changed my life.  And not just my scrapbooking life, my WHOLE life. Here are a few things I have learned from LOAD:

1) Done is better than perfect.
                  I tend to be the kind of perfectionist who doesn't like to start something unless I think it can be done perfectly...(no wonder I have a messy house!)  So  I am trying to embrace this in many different aspects of life. Like learning Nepali...Who would ever have thought that I would be able to converse with people from the other side of the world in their language?  (Certainly not my High School French teacher).  But I can and even though I can't speak perfectly, I can usually make myself understood to some degree.  And they are so appreciative. 

2) Color makes me happy.
                  Before LOAD I did not realize just how much difference a little color can make.

3) Scrap Therapy Works!
                 When I tell a painful story on a scrapbook layout, it is somehow easier to let go of the pain.  I used to do nothing but cry when I looked at pictures of my late husband, now the happy memories come through and I can smile and sometimes even laugh at his old jokes and the silly things he used to do. And the happy memories are stronger than the painful ones.  Here is a therapy LO I did during LOAD 1012:


 I love it so much.  It brings back all the joy of my wedding and honeymoon...And even though I will always miss him, I can be happy remembering.

3) Worry is counterproductive:
            Worry fixes nothing.  It only makes things worse!  In that spirit, I no longer worry about forgetting the little things that my DS or nephew said or did...because they have been captured.  I no longer worry about how little my son will know about his father...because the stories are in my scrapbooks.  And when life is overwhelming and I wonder if it is worth the work I put into it, I remember that things have been worse...and progress is being made.  If I need proof...it's on my bookshelf.  And even if some of our stories are missing, that just means there are more layouts to make!

4) There is no behind in scrapbooking! Or LOAD.
             We all take way more photos than we can possibly scrapbook in a lifetime! If we were to be "Caught up" there would be no memories to scrapbook, no more stories to tell. To me that would be a tragedy!  I need never worry that I will run out of things to scrapbook. After all I am continually making new memories...aren't you?   Also,  Lain's prompts always, always, Always, remind me of an idea or a story that hasn't been told.

5) Life happens only one day at a time. 
           So if I mess up today, I can do better tomorrow.  If I miss today's page, there is always tomorrow. So what if the vacuum gets a little dusty and some dishes pile up in the sink.  So what if the laundry hamper overflows... It will all  still be there tomorrow.   What is important is we are making and preserving memories.  It will all be worth it, whether we make 1 Layout or 28.


And in LOAD 213 we are going to learn to Scrap Happier and Be Happier...who doesn't need that?!

So Come on, Scrap Happier with us!!!



I would love to hear about how LOAD has changed your life...so leave me a comment, or better still, make a layout about it in February and share it in the Flickr Gallery.


And now back to the hop...here is the entire list:

Heather Dubarry: http://noexcusescrapbooking.com

Alison Day: http://adayinthelifeor5.blogspot.com/

Danielle Taylor: http://scrapperonthestreet.com

Alison Charlton: http://scrappinginsingapore.blogspot.com/

Christy Strickler: http://myscrapbookevolution.blogspot.com/

Lynnette Nagle: http://sassyscrapper2010.blogspot.com/

Julie Shepler: www.sheplerfamily.com

Joy McHargue: http://www.studiowowjoy.com/

Kelli Panique: http://scrapbookgirl71.com/

Cathy Holiday: pikespeakscrapper.blogspot.com

Leslie Smith: http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com/

Lori Martin: http://Www.chaosandcraziness.com/

Connie Hanks: http://ClickyChickCreates.wordpress.com

Betsye Erazo: betsyerose.blogspot.com

Marcia Fortunato: mfortunato.blogspot.com

Regina Huminski: http://ginabeth1.blogspot.com/

Beth Soler: http://www.scrappingwonders.com

Kristie Sloan: http://kristiesloan.com/blog/

Danielle Hunter: http://ecoscrapbook.blogspot.com/

Katrina Forman: http://k84mansramblings.blogspot.com You Are Here!

Jessica Baldwin: www.inkyaddict.com Go Here Next! 
Cheryl McCain: http://cherylmccainphotography.com 

Briel Schmitz: http://scrappingwindow.blogspot.com/

Marygail Mello: www.marygailscorner.blogspot.com

 Thanks for hopping over to see me.  I can't wait to see what Lain has in store to help us all Scrap Happier!!!  See you in the gallery!  Now go Visit Jessica Here and leave her some love too!

Clear It Circle Card Challenge

First of all I want to apologize for being MIA for the last couple months.  My Computer had a trojan and try as we might, my techie friends &  I couldn't fix it. I finally had to buy a new computer! I have also been having some health challenges and parenting dilemmas...those never end of course, but they seem to have calmed down.  I am so happy to be back!

And Now....
 It's time for a new challenge at the Clear It Out Challenge Blog. 
We are doing Circles!  Anything goes for the stash item so see what you can Clear Out of your stash.
 :-).  Our Sponsor is Digi Darla:

Here is my card:

Isn't she cute!  this image is called Hayley's Hat. Find it here. 

I've been experimenting with different copics for skin tones.  For some reason I never like the ones called Skin or Baby Skin...oh well. I used a couple of the really light yellow reds (YR000, & YR00 along with Brick White (E40) to give a little "tan" to the shading.  What do you think?

I decide to use some of my "newer" (aka purchased sometime within the last year or so. I think it was September or October...) stash instead of digging so deep.  I used some punch outs from Cloud9 Design's Specialty collection for the frames. I just traced them onto some white Wausau cardstock for the shape, and cut them out. All my embellies are from Colorbok's Antique Paperie. There are some glitter punch outs and a chipboard sticker.  A couple pop dots and a glue dot later...Hayley is smiling.  Why?  Because you are wonderful! This could be a "Thank You", "Thinking of You", a "Great Job" or even a "Hang In There" card. Can you think of any other possibilities?


I can hardly wait to see what you create with circles! Be sure to link your projects up at the Clear it Out Challenge Blog. 

Clear It Out- Ugly Sweater Challenge

It's that time again already!  We had so many wonderful images for our "Red" Challenge that it has been very difficult for the team to choose the top 3... so I really hope that you all play along with us this week so I can get some more great ideas!

This time our challenge is Ugly Sweater- so pull out those papers you put in the "Give away" bin or hid at the bottom of your stack and use them up! 

Our wonderful Sponsor is DigiDarla Designs.  

We had a tragic loss in our family just a few weeks ago, and I hope that this card brings some comfort to his grieving mother.

Isn't this image beautiful? It's called Dual Wild Roses and you can find it here.
The thin mat around the image is a really ugly brown/green/muddy looking paper, but it makes a very nice mat because it adds dimension and contrast.  The striped card base is another example.  I'm not sure I would call it "ugly" exactly, but it isn't one that jumps out and says "Look How Pretty I am! USE ME!"  (Or I probably would have used it some time in the last 5 years or so that it's been sitting in my stash) But in small doses, as it is used here, I think it looks quite pretty. What do you think?  And to add just a bit more to it, I stamped a couple small butterflies with my VersaMark Dazzle.  A little bit of sparkle can really pretty things up.  It's very subtle and you can only barely see one of the three in this scan...can you find it?

So now it's your turn!  Show us how you can make your "Ugly Sweater" papers look pretty again.  Be sure to post a link at The Clear It Out Challenge Blog. I can't wait to see what you come up with!!

Clear It Out "Red Challenge"

There are only a few days left of this challenge (Stupid computer...I haven't been able to update my blog in a couple weeks :-( sorry )...But there are already more than 75 images linked to be entered!!!

I have had such a great time looking at them and I know I'm not the only one who's having trouble deciding which ones I like best...

Our Fantastic Sponsor is:

 

I was given this beautiful image called India Honey. She is from the SMALL WORLD HONEY COLLECTION 2 you can find her here.

I cut the title out with my new Silhouette Cameo- It can cut any font...even Nepali!!! Which is perfect because I have a Nepalese friend who I think will enjoy a card that says "Thank You" in her language. and the image looks a teensy bit like her. 

You can still enter to win through Monday...So use that Red and show us what you've got!  Don't forget to add your link to our growing collection at the Clear It Out Challenge Blog...