Tis The Season....

To start on Christmas cards! Hello, all! I had not known until yesterday that I was going to make Christmas cards for everyone. So here are just a few I got done in the past two days. They are simple but I think I'll add more to them as I go. Thanks for stopping by!

Blue Embossed Snowflakes card. I made this one using the Double Distress technique from Tim Holtz's Compendium of Curiosities. I used Faded Jeans and Stormy Sky Distress Inks and Picket Fence Distress Stickles.

Pink Embossed Snowflakes card. I used the same technique as on the above card but substituted the die cut snowflake with an inexpensive ornament.

Masked Trees card. I used a Tattered Angels Glimmer Screen for the mask and Peeled Paint, Forest Moss, and Pine Needles Distress Inks. Stamps, stickers, and Stickles round out the decorations.

Santa Stripes card. Made this out of paper I've had for a long time, added some Stickles, and the sticker Santa.

Peace & Joy card. Used some of my favorite holiday paper this year; Pink Paislee. Added some bling and some Stickles.

Gobble! Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello, all. Just wanted to pop in and wish you all a happy Thankgiving holiday! I hope everyone is spending it with family and friends and has an abundance of food and love! Here is a funny cartoon to get you in a chuckling mood!

1313 Wonderland Lane (and My 100th Post!)

Hello, all! Just wanted to share a little project I was working on. I got this project kit from Scraps of Darkness to create a little house. The papers included were the Graphic 45 Hallowe'en in Wonderland and so all of you who know me would also know that I couldn't pass up anything Wonderland related. So here is my little Wonderland house where the Mad Hatter, March Hare, Door Mouse, a couple of playing cards, and the Tweedles are being visited by Alice for tea. Enjoy!

1313 Wonderland Lane - Front. I actually created shingles for the roof from two different papers, and used the pom pom trim from the kit to trim the roof. I used Distress Crackle Paint in Fired Brick and Black Soot for the door and a shiny little bauble for the door knob. I also created an address plaque for the side of the door and colored Alice with Bic Markers.

1313 Wonderland Lane - Back. I used green rik rak from the kit to simulate grass around the bottom of the house and made window boxes for each side window that include some red roses (and white ones that didn't get painted yet). The chimney is covered in more Fired Brick Crackle paint and the bricks were drawn on with a black Sharpie.

And here are a couple of layouts I was working on as well:

Welcome Home Soldiers layout. I created this one for the From Screen 2 Scrap November Challenge; the inspiration poster for this month was Casablanca and the page had to include planes somewhere on the page, 2 photos or figures, and 2 colors in the title. I am also entering it the Military Challenge at scrapbook.com with the twist of doing something for a soldier. Here we are welcoming them back home.

Family Ties layout. This is for the Monochrome (Purple with twist of "I am blessed...") at scrapbook.com. I am blessed because my children are building strong family ties that I think are so important in life. The photo shows my eldest daughter, my son, and their cousin.

First Scraps of Darkness Design Team Call!

Hello, all! I am excited to pass this information on to you! Scraps of Darkness is having an open call for a Design Team Member. Here are the details for you to apply!

We are having our very first official designer call for the Scraps of Darkness kit club! If you love the alternative side of scrap booking or would love to venture into this realm, then I encourage you to try out!!

Commitment is important, so we want to be straight forward with what we are looking for. We want to see ambitious, outgoing, forum savvy scrappers that share in the same love as we do. The DT position will be from January through June of 2011 and we are looking for one more person for this term. At this time we are only accepting applications from US residents.

Here is what we will need from you:

1. You must complete 4-5 layouts/projects per month which will be ready to go by reveal day, which is the 15th of every month. These layouts need to be placed in the SOD gallery, blogs, scrapbook.com, and any other public galleries.

2. Daily participation on our forums and a daily check in on our Design Team forum as well as keeping up in the galleries is a must. Questions of the week and other DT some responsibilities will be rotated amongst our DT and we would also like you to start new threads that encourage posting.

3. You must complete at least 2 tutorials within the 6 months you are a DT for SOD. These can be either photo or video tutorials.

In return for your commitment, you will receive the entire main kit, as well as, two additional add-ons free of charge!! You will also have first dibs on any other additional add-ons, featured throughout the months you are a DT, at a 50% discount.

Here is how to apply:

Please send all applications and attachments to mandy@scrapsofdarkness.com

Please include the following:

1. Name, Address, Phone Number
 2. Submit three layouts total - Include two layouts that show us your alternative side or the darker side of you. For example: Grunge, Steampunk, Mixed Media, Dark, etc. Then also include a third layout that you would say is your favorite and this can be any style.

3. Tell us why you would like to be on the SOD team

4. Links to blogs, galleries, and any resume you may have

5. List of all current DT commitments

All submissions must be received by December 15th and we will have an official public announcement by December 25th!!

Good luck to all applicants!

November Scraps of Darkness Reveal

Hello, all! As you may know I am the newest member of the Design Team at Scraps of Darkness kit club! This is the first release as a team member. The November kit is called November Rain and as you can see below, it is a beautifully eclectic collection of papers and embellishments.

November Rain kit. So wild and fabulous!

SOD Sketch 105. This is the Scraps of Darkness November sketch.

Here are a few layouts I've come up with using the kit so far and the first is my version of the sketch.

Heart of a Jungle Cat layout. This is one of our cats. She went missing months ago but I miss her so I keep scrapping her photos. She was a lioness at heart and she was protective of her cubs, which were all the members of this family. Anyway...the background is a rich brown I wet distressed. I cut out leaves with my Cricut Expression and the Plantin Schoolbook cart, scored and inked them with Peeled Paint Distress Ink to give them some dimension. I inked the chipboard piece with Tea Dye and Black Soot Distress Inks and filled the inside of the heart with Cinnamon Stickles. I also inked the Thicker fabric alphas to make them a little darker.

Pre Teen layout. This is my oldest daughter before she reached her teen years; before she became moody and too cool to hang out with her family as most teenagers are wont to do. I stamped the LiveLoud impression in Staz-On Black and Broken China Distress Inks and inked the edges of the papers with Broken China as well. I used some ribbon I had in my stash and some rhinestone stars I received from NCYankee and filled them with Turquoise Stickles. I also used Stickles in Lime Green on the flowers next to the bottle caps.

Felicia layout. I created this simple enough layout for my grandmother's heritage album. This is my cousin and her granddaughter Felicia when she was a child. Sorry you can't really see her name in the photo since the Stickles had such a reflection. I used the Shimmerz Mist in Sea Monkey from my kit to color white cardstock and the pleated fabric strip from Pink Paislee. I added assorted flowers, flourishes, and butterflies to complete the page.

Full of Wonder layout. This layout I am especially proud of. Not only did I photo edit the picture but I really focused on the distressing with this page. I love these papers from the Bo Bunny Cambridge Collection and I knew I had to use them for a photo of my son. I stamped on grungepaper to get the wings and crown embellishements and the alphas in the title then inked them with Mustard Seed and Vintage Photo Distress Inks. I used some gruneboard swirls that I had all ready distressed but never used and a bottle cap that I filled with Crackle Accents with heart, key, and clock charms inserted inside. The griffin embellie was a super find at a scrapbook convention and in my stash for just this layout! lol! I also used a lot of Stardust Stickles all over the page!



Compendium of Curiosities Challenge # 21

Hello, all! This week's CCC challenge over at Studio L3 was to use the Perfect Distress technique. To see some amazing examples of this technique from the other participants please visit the Compendium of Curiosities #21 post. Here is my example and just in the nick of time!

Travel Quote Card. The quote says, "The world is a book and those who haven't traveled read only a page." ~St. Augustine. I used burgundy and white cardstock, brown ribbon, a Tattered Angels key and globe stamp, Vintage Photo and Aged Mahogany Distress Inks, and Copper Perfect Pearls.

Halloween Cuteness!

Hello, all! I know, I know, Halloween is over...But since Halloween is my favorite holiday, I tend to do Halloween layouts year round! I'm still in the Halloween mood, so using my Scraps of Darkness October kit, I created two layouts of my son at Halloween. The first is from this Halloween. He was a zombie killin' character named Ellis from the Left 4 Dead video game this year and so I decided to add some cute zombies in there with him. The second page is of his very first costume. Although, he didn't end up wearing the Tigger costume for Halloween that year because it was too cold out for it, I still took pics of him in it! Enjoy!

Zombies!!! layout. This is my son in his zombie survivor outfit. I used my Distress Inks reinker in Fired Brick for the blood on his shirt and Vintage Photo for the dirty smudges! lol! The zombies are from off the internet from a game called Plants Vs. Zombies. Everything else is from my Oct. Scraps of Darkness kit.

1st Costume layout. This is my son in his very first costume. He ended up wearing a different one because it was too cold for him to wear this one that year but I'm glad I got to take pictures of him in it. The papers and flowers are from my Oct. Scraps of Darkness kit. The jack-o-lantern is from my stash and is inked with Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink. The title is Thickers and I added the pom pom fringe, also from my stash. Stickles in Purple and Orange were used for the dots framing the papers.

At this point....

I wish I had a smaller family! Lol! Hello, all! I'm working on a heritage album for my grandmother and I am including all her children and grandchildren in it. That's a lot of people and each one gets their own page.So as I try to get this done in time for Christmas I kind of wish I had less family members to scrap! That's a joke though because I love them all! I just need to get quicker at cranking out these pages! Here are a couple to share with you all. Enjoy!

Rufina layout. This is my beloved great-grandmother, who passed on last year at the age of 94. She was such a serious lady, emotional and devout. This photo is one of the only we have of her when she was younger (her passport photo) and to take some of the seriousness out of it, I softened the exposure. The patterned papers are from DCWV, the aquamarine is Bazzill cardstock from my September Scraps of Darkness kit, the flowers are Prima and the chipboard alphas are Maya Road. I will be entering this page in the Heritage, Challenges, and Colour challenges over at scrapbook.com. 

Thankful... layout. This is a layout including some of the very important ladies in my family, who I am thankful for having in my life. Top row from left to right: My great-grandmother, Rufina; my grandmother, Anselma; and my aunt, Melly. Bottom from left to right: my aunt, Esmer; and my cousin, Alice. I used leftovers from my previous page to create this one. Lots of stickles in Black Diamond and Turquoise and Thickers.

News to Share!

Hello, all! It's been announced and I am so excited! I will be joining Scraps of Darkness as a Design Team Member starting November 15! I have to say this is wonderful news for me because I love this kit club! Each month's kit is always full of awesome and versatile papers and products that spark so much creativity in me! Can't wait to get started and share with you all that can be accomplished with these kits!  Stop by the Scraps of Darkness website or the SOD blog for more information or just inspiration! See you again soon!

November Challenge Examples

Hello, all! Boy, I've been miserable these past few days fighting a sinus infection and the flu. Finally, I've been feeling better and got to scrapping. These are a little late. I should have had these done before the month started but at least they aren't too late. These two pages are my example layouts for the challenges I host at scrapbook.com for November. Hope you like them!

Rose Red layout. I created this layout for the Darker Side Challenge at sb.com. The topic for this month is Fables, Fairy Tales, and Nursery Rhymes. I chose Rose Red and the journaling reads, "Just once... I'd like to have my own story. Just me and not my sister!" This relates to how I always wished they had written a story of Rose Red on her own, without having to share it with Snow White. The photo is of my second daughter, who I think sometimes wishes the same thing. I am also entering this in the D.I.Y. and Monochrome (Week 1 - Red) Challenges at scrapbook.com. I used ribbon for the roses, chipboard flourishes, Stickles in Christmas Red and Black Diamond, Bazzill Glazed Cardstock, and Distress Ink in Black Soot.

All Aboard layout. I created this layout for the Steampunk Challenge for November. The topic for this month is Travel. I chose some photos of my second daughter on her first train trip. I used masks and Distress Ink in Vintage Photo, Stickles in Copper, Tim Holtz Gears and Adage Tickets. I am also entering this challenge in the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge #20 which is using the Industrial Grunge technique (used on the alphas in the title).

Halloween Blog Parties Giveaway Winner

Hello, all. Feeling pretty miserable with the flu right now but had to stop in and let you all know who won the big box of goodies for the Halloween Blog Parties Giveaway!

Drum roll, please.......

.............KIKI..............

Kiki said..."Wow..gorgeous festive post! how dazzling..all your treasures and treats! we even have the same cream and sugar set..beautiful photos..thanks for this lovely post! yay..Thanks for visiting me too! Blessings and sparkles and yes i am a follower..what a super generous giveaway! Have a magical night Victoria~"

Victoria, please email me at forevervampress@aol.com with your address so I can send out your prize!

Thanks to everyone who participated and I hope to see you all around here again soon!