{ Friday free for all challenge - paper folding }

Every Friday we have a new challenge at Embellish-It Scrapbooking. Today's challenge is hosted by Michelle. Incorporate paper folding in some way on your card....besides the card fold(s).Use the folding as an embellishment; try Tea Bag Folding, Iris Folding, Pleating or any form of paper folding (besides the card folds) on your card for a change of pace. Please use keyword FC5 when you upload your projects to the gallery so we can all see your beautiful work! To see everyone's submissions click *here* For my card I pleated the patterned paper and sewed it to the card. The beautiful tree is from Impression Obsession called Branches of a Tree. I love it!!!! The sentiment is from Express Yourself set. Basic Grey patterned paper, bird is from Hero Arts, Prima flower and May Arts ribbon. I have received several blog awards/tags. Thank you and I really appreciate it. I am so behind on everything. I have 382 messages in my inbox. I read them all I just haven't filed or deleted them. I am still working on cleaning my room...I hope to have it done by Christmas. The first award is from Magda. The second one is "you inspire me" tag from my dear friend Deborah. The last one is from Kadee. There are different rules for each one, but to make this easier for me I will list five blogs that I love to read or that inspire me. I have 177 blogs in my google reader, so this will be very hard. It is 1:45 am and I need to go to bed. Michelle Wooderson, Stephanie Howell, Roree Rumph, Alli Miles, Carla Peicheff. Wow, what a challenge that was. I ended up catching up on some of the blogs that I missed today. I can get lost for hours reading and looking at all the beautiful creations. I am going to bed now. Have a great Labor Day weekend!

{ 2 Sketches 4 You - Laura's sketch 7 }

Here is my card for 2 Sketches 4 You. I am trying really hard to clean my room, so this card was made with scraps on my desk. It's a slow process, but I hope I get it done soon. I used Making Memories and October Afternoon patterned paper, October Afternoon and Studio G stamps. I found these cute party rub-ons and chipboard from DCWV (while cleaning). I made this card for CPS #78 last week. I used Teresa Collins papers that I received from a sweet friend Suzanne. The journaling stamp is from Impression Obsession. This is my favorite stamp. ***Laura is giving away some cute Impression Obsession stamps on her blog here. Here are some photos of my sweet baby boy from the other day.

{ Latest happenings at Embellish-It Scrapbooking }

Guess what arrived at the store? Yes, Pink Paislee Vintage Moon! I just love this collection. Check out Pop Fashion (brand new), Office Lingo and Spring Fling. Are you looking for the new Cuttlebug Embossing folders? Well, they are here, at Embellish-It Scrapbooking, and they are all on sale through Labor Day! So hurry and snatch them up before they are all gone. This week's Free For All Challenge Hostess is Heidi. Her challenge to you is to alter something in your home using your pretty papers and embellishments! Check out the gallery for all the beautiful creations. A new Free For All Challenge will be posted every Friday. Don't forget about our giveaway for August and September! You could win the NEW Haunted Halloween Cuttlebug folder and a package of rub-ons, brads and chipboard from Imagininsce Hallowhimsy Collection! It's a $30.00+ value so enter now HERE. No purchase is necessary, all we require is that you join our great community and be active in posting and/or uploading your wonderful artwork! Have a great night! I will be back tomorrow with new cards and maybe some photos of Alex!

{ 2 Sketches 4 You - Kazan's sketch 7 }

I was able to create a card for 2 Sketches 4 You this week. I found Making Memories Passport collection papers at Michaels last week. I just love the colors. Green used to be my favorite color, I don't know why it changed to pink. I found the cutest tree stamps at my, one and only, scrapbook store, left in the area. I found everything there to be way more expensive than online or other non scrapbook stores (Hobby Lobby, JoAnns or Michaels). Tree stamps are by Fontwerks, October Afternoon journaling tag, Offray ribbon, Stampin' Up stamp and punch. I added "friend" with my new little wooden alpha stamps from Michaels. This little " sweet " card I made long time ago with some new stamps that I got at a stamp show in July. The cherries are from DeNami Design. I used the small cherries stamp for my background and the larger one for the embellishment. You have to go and check out her stamps. I first found out about them couple of years ago at another show. Nami is so sweet and she makes beautiful creations with her stamps. DeNami Design and 2Sketches4You is teaming up for some fun prizes in September and October. You can read all about it on Nami's blog. Are you looking for the new Cuttlebug Embossing folders? Well, they are here, at Embellish-It Scrapbooking, and they are all on sale. So hurry and snatch them up before they are all gone. Come and check out the Inspirational blog, my card was featured today as inspirational.

{ Impression Obsession Design Team Challenge #6 - Monochromatic }

The challenge is to make a monochromatic card. I received these beautiful papers from a sweet friend Suzanne. A full box of Creative Imaginations and Jenni Bowlin. Thanks Suzanne. I used this beautiful Dandelion stem stamp with Dandelion Seed Background from Impression Obsession. I added little glitter to my dandelions. Have you noticed that I added a border to my photo? Carla posted a great tutorial on her blog. Her photos are always so pretty. Check out what the other DT girls created: Deborah, Laura, Julie and Penny. This next card is not for the challenge just one I had created and not shared. I used Basic Grey Euphoria paper and butterflies from Happiness stamp set. I used a frame from Journaling I stamp set. I only inked the border because I did not want the lines. Look what I saw at the store last week...my own baby frame on the cover of the new special issue by Paper Crafts, Paper Crafting 3 Ways.

{ Sketch challenges }

I haven't accomplished much this week, but I did make these cards the other night. Hero Arts had a sketch challenge all week long on their blog. I wanted to play with my new Ranger crackle paint that arrived from my sweet friend Ember (see the pink stars below). She sent me some grungeboard, too, can't wait to play with it. I love these scalloped notecards and I have decided to get the Nestabilities, finally. I haven't ordered them, yet. I know I want the circles for sure and maybe another set to start with. Any suggestions? What sets do you have that you love? I was going to get a Big Shot or Cuttlebug, but I found out that I can use them with my old Sizzix press machine (see this video). I will try that first and if it works I will save money and buy more nestabilities. What do you think?

This boy has been keeping me busy. Daddy is out of town so it's just the two of us. He is really close to crawling, but it's amazing how fast he can get into everything. He loves my scrapbook magazines, they are everywhere. He finds those little pieces of scrap (trash) paper on the floor and wants to eat it. The time in my scrapbook room is very limited with him getting into everything. Today he found a little Prima flower. It was way out of his reach, but he got it, eventually. It would help if I cleaned my room. Did you apply for the guest DT call? Let me know if you have any questions.

{ Paper piecing }

It is my turn to host this week's challenge at Embellish-It Scrapbooking. Create unique accents by stamping on patterned paper and cutting out. Pretty simple. I stamped the flowers (Kim Hughes) and the birds (Hero Arts). I used October Afternoon and SEI patterned paper. The white notecard I got at Paper Source and I embossed it with Cuttlebug embossing folder. I colored the branch with Prismacolor pencils. It would be wonderful if you could play. The keyword for the challenge is FC2. Please use this keyword when uploading your project in the gallery here, and post a link to your upload in this thread so we can see what beautiful work you've done! This week's challenge winner will receive a prize - you can see it here.

{ 2 Sketches 4 You - Kazan's sketch 6 and CPS #76 }

I can't believe that this week is almost over. It's been super busy around here. This first card is for Kazan's sketch 6. I got to play with my new kit that arrived the other day from Create My Keepsake. Making Memories, SEI and Cosmo Cricket patterned paper. Price tag is by pinkgrapefruit from Etsy, Chatterbox chipboard and the trim is May Arts (I think). This second card is for CPS #76. I finally got to play with my Weeds & Flowers stamp set from Impression Obsession. I visited a new store, Paper Source, last weekend. They were demonstrating different projects all day...the lady kept using clear embossing powder on every project and it looked so pretty. I haven't used my embossing powder for a very long time and I thought I would give it a try. So here it is. I even embossed the little butterflies before I cut them out. The sentiment is from Butterfly Counts stamp set and the little butterflies form Butterfly Bliss stamp set. Here is my little cutie. New trick this week is rolling all over the place, from his back to his tummy and vice versa, and he'll use his newfound skill to get around. He even rolls over in his sleep, but I think he gets confused and it wakes him up. He has been rolling over for quite some time, since May 18, to be exact, but he didn't like to be on his tummy. I think he is OK with it now, especially since he can roll over on his back whenever he wants to.

{ Back to school at Embellish-It Scrapbooking }

That is the theme this month for our DT projects. You have to come and check out our Back to school gallery, it is full of beautiful projects and wonderful ideas. This month I got to play with Basic Grey Boxer collection, 6x6 paper pad, chipboard sticker shapes and rub-ons. I have detailed instructions on all the projects in the gallery here. Every month we have a new project theme and the gallery will be revealed on the 5th of the month. Don't forget the September guest DT contest. Check out the August/September contest. You could win a package of rub-ons, brads and chipboard from Imagininsce Hallowhimsy Collection! Please read all the details here. Check out the store for all the new items Embellish-It Scrapbooking. This box is perfect for any gift, but I filled it with note cards and matching envelopes. The instructions for this box came in my Origami book. It is very easy to make and I found a perfect video by Kristina Werner (she said I can share it): http://kwernerdesign.com/blog/2007/10/tutorial-origami-box.html

{ My little family ! }

Here is my little family before we went out for our anniversary dinner. We have been married for three years! Baby Alex went with us and he was such a good boy. His hair is all messed up in this photo, but at least he was looking at a camera. He is getting good at that. We take many photos and hope that at least one is good.

These two cards I did for another Hero Arts blog challenge. I keep using the same three sets because that is all I have. I do have the little birds, I forgot about them. Today I received another set with my $10 gift certificate. I won that several challenges ago.
On the first card I used Kraft cardstock and Making Memories journaling note, SEI patterned paper, Chatterbox chipboard. I cut the flowers from Pink Paislee patterned paper. All the stamps and little jewels are Hero Arts.
The second card I made with one of my favorite color combinations. I added a strip of October Afternoon patterned paper. Scallops are made with Martha Stewart punch. I stamped the background first and then embossed using my Cuttlebug folder. I used Stampin' Up Close to Cocoa and Cool Caribbean cardstock and ink.

{ 2 Sketches 4 You - Laura's sketch 5 and a challenge }

Where did July go? I have a moment while Alex is napping.
Here is my card for 2 Sketches 4 You. I finally got to play with my Glitter, Foil and Flocking kit by We R Memory Keepers. I got it when I was still pregnant with Alex. I was buying all the baby boy stuff.
Making Memories, Sassafras Lass and American Crafts papers. Little elephant sticker is from Sandylion. I found it at Michael's one day. Journaling spot by Heidi Swapp. I used my glue pen and outlined the edges of the sticker and then I poured glitter...I wanted the edges to be sparkly. The glitter stuck to the elephant so it's all glittery. It like it! This second card is for a challenge at Embellish-It Scrapbooking. Today is my official DT start day. Every Friday we will have a challenge posted. Today it's all about the buttons, use buttons on your project. Check out all the details here. Since this is our fist challenge, the winner, will be our first guest designer for September.

Today's Friday Free For All Challenge is our very first challenge for the 2008-2009 Design Team!! To celebrate we are going to make the challenge winner our very first Guest Designer for September! That means you get the same goodies as the Design Team! You will need to make four cards with your goodies that will be published in the Design Team Gallery. Want to play? Here is what you need to do:
Make a new card for the challenge that plays along with the challenge rules.
Upload your card to the gallery using keyword FC1. You will need to be a forum member to do this - registration is free and easy. Judging will be based on how well you followed the challenge, creativity and execution. You may enter as many cards, layouts or projects as you wish.The winner will be announced here next Friday August 8!

Come and check out our little community at Embellish-It Scrapbooking.

For my card I used Creative Imaginations patterned paper, ribbon and sticker. It came in a kit. The buttons are from my craft supply.

I left without sharing photos of Alex. He is still sleeping! He is pulling himself up and trying to stand. The other one is from the other day when we went shopping after Gymboree.