About Me

My photo
DFW, Texas, United States
I'm the luckiest woman out there. I'm blessed to be married to my best friend. I have two amazing children, one son-in-law and the most adorable grandson ever with grandson number two due February 2013!!! My passion is people and preserving their memories for generations to come.
Questions, Comments or Concerns:

Email me at craf_t_scrapper@yahoo.com

Photobucket Photobucket Scrapbook Design University Certified Instructor Photobucket
Powered by Blogger.

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Like a Cake........

.......done!!!! That would be the status of my participation in Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas!!! Tag 9 is done which was the last one needed to complete my first year of tags!!!!

I have to admit, I wasn't a big tag fan before. I've seen what Tim does and always thought it was neat but so not me. While I don't think I would have come up with the combos on these tags that he did, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience. Not only do I have 12 cute tags to use as a Christmas display for many years to come, I learned many new techniques that I hope to carry forward into my work AND, this is the fun part, I expanded my scrap supplies by investing in several new dies and stamps so I could complete several tags (on others I had to get my boss to cut, stamp or emboss for me since they were not available for purchase at our store at the time).

Enough jabbering, here is the final tag needed to complete the 12!!!

As always, thanks for stopping by, happy scrappin and


HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!


Tuesday, December 27, 2011

It's Over

.......thank goodness. This was by far NOT the best Christmas ever. Drama. Missing Mom. Missing my kids and grand baby. You know, growing pains of my family making changes.

But now that it is over I decided I needed to get my TH 12 Tags of Christmas done and behind me so we can move on with 2012.

Tag 12 here. This one was quite interesting to make. I improvised on many things that I didn't have but it works. I also hot glued the skin off BOTH, yes both, of my thumbs. It's quite hard to type on my phone with charred thumbs LOL.

Take a look at tag 12 and if you've joined in on the fun leave me a note. I'd love to visit your blogs and see what you have done.

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrappin!!!!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Tag 6

Finally!!! I am back to working on my TH 12 tags of Christmas!!! I've had so many other projects going that these had to be put on the back burner.

Overnight I was able to get this one whipped out - I state now, I am NOT a fan of this one. While the technique was fun and using embossing powder on top of metal was pretty cool, I just don't care for the overall look of tis card.

Regardless, tag 6 is done and now I only need to do 9 and 12 to be finished with 2011's tags. Then......I am gonna make an attempt at starting Christmas cards for 2012 since I failed miserably at getting them mailed this year!!!! In between that and the other bajillion projects I have floating around in my head I will work on past years tags just for the fun of it :)

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrappin!!!

Monday, December 19, 2011

Last Minute......

.......Christmas cards!!!

So, my dad comes home tonite and asks, knowing the answer is no before he asks, if we have any extra loose Christmas cards laying around. This year has been a tough year on us as a family and I'm guilty of not buying or making any cards to send out.

Regardless of that, my dad needed cards for work and he knew all he had to do was say the word and I'd get right to work on them.

My card features a new stamp company to our store and a new stamp company to me. LaBlanche stamps out of Germany have manufactured some amazingly detailed stamps including this jolly Santa on my card.

I kept the creation of this card simple since I needed 5 of them tonite. I originally reached for my Manolia stamps but realized all the coloring needed for those would make it near impossible to create 5 cards (I'm easily distracted LOL). Anywho, Bazzill card stock, KaiserCraft DP, scrap ribbon, Copic markers, TH Distress inks and a couple hours later, VOILA!!!

I'd love to hear what you think of this quick and easy card as well as the image - the minute I saw him I knew he had to be mine!!!

Thanks for stopping by, happy scrappin and Merry Christmas to you all!!!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Tag 10

Wow!!! I swear I've never thought of packing tape for anything but, well, yeah packing!!!! After this tag I have a whole new outlook on what I can do with it for sure now!!!!

Tag 10 was a bit of a challenge as the only supplies that I had other than inks and paints that matched perfectly was the letters for believe and the stamps!!!! I chose items as close as possible to achieve the desired affect and while this was way outside my box, I love it!!!!

We are now down to just 3, yep thats right 3, tags to complete this years set!!! How exciting is that????

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrappin!!!

PS my glossy accents are still wet which is probably making the word believe look a little off. I'm sure once they are dry all will be well!!!

Monday, December 12, 2011

Tag 11

Done like a cake!!! Loved trying a new technique with this one. If you don't have a melting pot and a jar of clear UTEE then you are totally missing out!!! I will tell you this much, 5 stores later I finally got my bottle of clear UTEE and will def pick up a bottle or two more to keep in reserve when I see them in stock at M's or HL after my long search today.

Anywho, combine UTEE and one of my favorite materials - shrink plastic - and it creates some super fab embellies!!! I remember shrink plastic from being a kid. I loved getting shrinky dinks and coloring them in then putting them in the oven as a kid. As I've grown I found more creative uses for them - my fav is using then when making jewelry - but today was an amazing discovery!!!! Did you know when you put shrinky dink material in heated UTEE ( ultra thick embossing enamel) it will shrink it AND give it a super thick coating making fun embellies for pages, cards and yes, even Tim's tags!!!!

Here's my tag and I hope you've been playing along learning new techniques and creating some amazing pieces of art. I think I have 4 tags to go and then I can officially say I've completed my first year of Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas!!!

As always, thanks for stopping by and happy scrappin!!!!


PS I wanted to share this super cute pic I got of my grand baby Tyler - he and grampa were playing CoD today!!!!

Tag 7.....

......is done!!!!

I had a blast making this one!!! I loved using the alcohol inks on the pearls and rolling the tag across the stamp to give the background a different effect was really cool. As you can see, I got a little carried away with the alcohol inks and colored my baubles for the top too. Little did I realize, more like I failed to think LOL, that the chain dangling down could still be wet with ink and I totally slopped it across my embossed sentiment. I guess I could just say it has more character this way right???

My boss gave me the leaves because I had no idea what the kraft glassine was LOL nor did I know where to find it. As of now, I've been educated that it is another type of crafting paper from you know who ( Tim of course ) and something I will probably never use again unless something Tim does calls for it. LOL

Enough jabbering, here's my tag. So now I need to do 6, 9, 10, 11 and shortly 12 ( it will most likely be posted before I go to bed ). Tag 6 def has to wait til I get to the store and so does tag 11 for sure. So, my next venture will be tags 9 and 10 but I doubt I will get another done tonite.

I have lots to do this week so here's o hoping I can keep up with at least one completed project a day or every other day if it is a big undertaking!!!

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrappin!!!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

25 Days of Christmas

Taught at our store by Dee Dee a week ago today!!! I have to admit this is the first ever mini album that I have completed just for me!! Yes, I've done theme albums for customers and even made a couple theme albums as gifts but I've never sat down and completed a mini album for myself so I'm a bit psyched about this one!!!

I have been taken pictures of my sweet grandbaby this month to fill it!!! His momma went with me and made one for herself (I'm so glad because I def did not want to have to part with this one!!).

I hope you like it and if you are in the Dallas/Fort Worth area you should check out our store and definitely our classes. We have some of the best instructors out there and an amazingly stocked store with just about anything scrappy your little heart could desire. Go to The Crafty Scrapper website and sign up for our newsletter to keep up to date on classes, crops, retreats and most importantly SALES ( 12 days of Christmas and end of year sales are both coming up quick).

Thanks for stopping by, checking out my album and as always, happy scrappin!!!!

PS my fav page is 3 with the bird on the branch. Not sure why but I totally dig that page!!!!

















Tag 8

Yeah, I skipped 6 and 7 for now. Tag 6 I don't have one thing I need to finish it and tag 7 was accidentally skipped so I will be off to work on it as soon as I post this one :)

I got a bit behind with work and life going on but I am ready to get caught up - or at least try!!!

So, here's tag 8. This one is def not your traditional Christmas - honestly it isn't really holiday themed at all except the word Joy added on and the holly leaves/berries. I like it though, def outside my typical box and lots of fun to put together getting to play with lots of different elements.

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrappin!!!

Friday, December 9, 2011

No tag........again

...........but I did finish the 25 Days of Christmas book I started last Sunday in a class with Dee Dee!!!!

Hopefully tomorrow will lead to at least one or tags getting done along with Sunday getting my Christmas cards ready to go out!!!

Here are a few pics of my album - not every page but some highlights. Thanks for stopping by and happy scrappin'!!!!!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Another cross....

No more tags finished but I did manage another cross. This one is for my cousin who is getting married next Friday night.

Maybe some tags or something done tomorrow :)

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Tag 5

Well, I'm a tad behind but that's ok. Yesterday proved to be a lazy day where the only thing I managed to accomplish was spending the day with my best friend just hanging out and going to lunch.

So, tonite I was determined to get at least one tag done - especially since I only have the stuff to do this one LOL. My boss texted me and told me she had the stuff for me for one of them so I'll get that from her and do Osama tag tomorrow but yesterday's tag is still proving to be a challenge because neither of us have the embossing folder used!!!!

Anywho, here is tag 5. I am off to work on something else - maybe another cross since I need it for next Friday because my cousin is getting married and I wanted to give them one as a gift.

Thanks for stoppin' by and happy scrappin'!!!!

Monday, December 5, 2011

No Tag.....

......today but I did get this done!!! I'll get both tags done tomorrow (and hopefully another cross as a wedding gift).

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrappin'!!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Tag 4

This tag almost whipped my butt tonite!!! I'm a terribly messy person when I create but mix in paint and distress stains and it gets really bad ( not to mention crackle paint....ugh ).

I am not thrilled with this tag as I don't feel the techniques Tim focused on came through on mine but I give up and call it a draw - no way I can let te tag completely win!!! LOL

I hope you are enjoying the tags this year and playing along too. I admit I never had any interest before because I just feel it was my style but I have stepping out of my box to be invigorating and really inspiring as I've been writing ideas down as I go along for projects in the works already and can't wait to dive back in since I'm off work this week!!!

In addition to this tag I would like to share this pic of my sweet grandson Tyler - I took it on Thanksgiving day and find him to be just adorable!!!

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!!!


Saturday, December 3, 2011

Tag 3........

........done in the nick of time!!!

I was sweating this one!!! I don't own a reinker one nor do I own anything to make my own stamp pad with but I managed to strategize with what I do have!!!

I used my embossing folder and then colored the raised sections with my Copic markers in colors similar to that of the stamp pad Tim made - it was a little more time consuming but I can say it worked!!!!


So here is tag 3 and now I am off to bed. I have a class tomorrow morning then gonna work a couple hours at most at the store then home to relax and tackle tag 4!!!!

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!!!

Friday, December 2, 2011

Tim Holtz Christmas Tag 2

Darn work got in the way of me getting it done earlier ***insert giggles here***!!!! No matter, it's done now!! Had to improvise with some stuff like the wreath on the neck ( I used MF tinsel and MR Mists to create my greenery) and the charm on his neck and the bottom border as well.

All I can say is I am truly addicted to the 12 Tags of Christmas ( http://timholtz.typepad.com/my_weblog/ ) and am seriously looking into doing the last 4 years worth now!!!

Anywho, here's my tag. I'm still learning this blogger app on my phone so my posts will be short til I figure it out!!!

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!!!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Tim Holtz 12 Tags of Christmas

Time has flown by the last 2 1/2 months since my precious grandson has made his entrance into our lives. I've been busy working, crafting and spending as much time with him as possible. I will update with some pics of what I've been doing and of course some adorable pics of him!!!

But........today's post is all about my very first time of joining in on the Tim Holtz 12 Tags of Christmas!!!! My first tag isn't perfect (I used the wrong side of the embossing folder on the front of the tag LOL) but it isn't as bad as I had feared.

I used most of the supplies listed on the TH blog but improvised on a few that I didn't have.

Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with Tag 2 but I have to work all weekend (taking an album class on Sunday the working a couple hours after that - I will def share pics of that too!!!) so Tags 2 through 4 may not get finished til Monday with Tag 5.

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!!!




(I know the lighting is horrible but I'm learning to use Blogger on my iPhone so hang in there with me, hopefully it gets better LOL)

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Just Call Me..................

.....................Grammy!!!!! That's right, I became a Grammy at 8:37 p.m. last night!!! We welcomed Tyler Dean Russell into the world via C Section after his Mommy went through many hours of not so productive labor. Tyler weighed 6 lbs 11.2 oz and was 20 inches long!!!

Here's a couple pics!!!

Will be back with more on my sweetness later!!!!


Welcome to the world our sweet baby!!!



The first time we got to see him - just minutes after his birth!!!


Mom didn't get to meet him (other than the brief time right after his birth) for the first 36 hours.  She had a C-Section and she had to be able to get out of bed and walk before she could go to the nursery as he was in the Special Care Nursery on IV's and monitors for the first 48 hours.



Great Grandpa meeting Tyler!!!  Sure wish his Great Grandma was here to meet him too!!!




Of course I look horrible here - that darn quadruple chin has come out of nowhere!!!  LOL





And grandpa meeting him for the first time!!!



Saturday, September 10, 2011

Happy Haunting



New LO using last year's Halloween pic of me from work.  Used the new line of Authentique Halloween papers as soon as they were unpacked!!!  If your local in the DFW area you can pick up everything I used to make this LO at The Crafty Scrapper!!!  Stop by on a Friday or Saturday and say hi to me!!!!







As always, thanks for stoppin' by!!!







Friday, September 9, 2011

Tangled

It's that time of year - for making Christmas cards!!! One of my favorite times of year is Christmas because I love to decorate!!   I've been known to go a little overboard with my Christmas decorations in some peoples opinions but I just love love love to go all out!!!

A funny story from when my daughter Cait was younger. My friend Lori and I lived in apartments in the small town we went to school in and for me, I grew up in. I lived on the second floor and she lived on the bottom floor and naturally our patios were directly above/below each other. Caitlin and Shaw, Lori's son, were about 3 or 4 so Lori and I decided we wanted to decorate and merge her patio with my balcony and have one large display between the two for the kids (really, it was for the kids ****wink wink****). We really got into it and when dark came we plugged everything in and it was just BEAUTIFUL!!!! We were so proud of ourselves. We had a small ice storm a few days later and had been out sliding around in our boots having a blast. Well, clumsy me slipped and fell and conked my head on the concrete. I went upstairs to my apt and checked to make sure I wasn't bleeding etc. Well obviously I conked out because Lori and a couple others had tried calling me to make sure I was ok and I didn't answer. Well she decided because I had passed out she was calling paramedics to make sure I was ok - awesome friend who truly cared.

Stay with me, I promise the ending will relate to the decorations lol.

Anywho, I was so paranoid and didn't want them coming with sirens so I had to make them promise to just come but no lights or sirens. If you grew up in a small town you know paramedics are usually firefighters too etc. Well they came and checked me out and told them to just keep an eye on me. Before they left they made sure to let us know, and I am not exaggerating here, that we were "a fire hazard" with all the lights we had going!!!!  We had to promise to only have them on if one of us were home and when we went to bed to turn them off otherwise we were gonna have to tone it down a few notches LOL!!!

Now you are probably wondering what in the world that story has to do with the post title of "Tangled" right??? Well, this darling Edwin stamp I got recently totally brought back the memories of Lori and I hanging lights and getting tangled up and having to unwrap ourselves, etc which led to us being called a fire hazard!!!  See, I promised it would all tie in together!!!

On to the reason I'm posting :)
This card is being used for the Just Magnolia challenge which is a sketch challenge this week!!

So, enough yapping, here's Edwin :)





And of course he's done in easel style - I am so addicted to these type of cards!!!




And then Copics used:


So I'm attempting my first post via Blogger for the iPhone and the photos were taken with my iPhone as well so if the quality is poor forgive me, I may end up back to the traditional way of posting if this doesn't work out for me!!!

Card Recipe:

Bazzil Carstock
Best Creations Christmas DP
MS Border Punch
Copic Markers (photo of ones used posted here)
AC Ribbon
Paper Studio Gems
Christmas Twinkle Lights from Buttons Galore
Edwin by Magnolia
Rub-on Bo Bunny Christmas Greetings

As always, thank you for stopping by and happy scrapping!!!

PS  Updated as I def have some learning when it comes to Blogger and the iPhone!!! 

PSS 9/10/11 Updated with better photos - need to wipe my iPhone camera off I think!!  LOL







Friday, September 2, 2011

Long Post - Be Warned!!!

Been a while since I've posted anything. Been vegging and enjoying my family. Missing my Mom. Wishing a few things were different in life but they aren't so.............we move on! As the title says - long post! Mostly pictures but random ramblings from me before I head to bed tonite. Been enjoying the pregnancy with my daughter - doctor visits, sonograms, kicks, hiccups, movement!!! We are now on the countdown. She is due around 9/21 so sometime this month I am going to be a Grammy!!! Her hubby is scheduled for RnR soon so hoping baby Tyler cooperates with us and waits for his daddy to get here before he comes to see us.....LOL Started a new job - hubby didn't really care one way or another if I went to work since I've been handling our household and my Dad's but sometimes life puts something right in your lap and you just have to go for it, so I did. I love love love my new job - it's at my favorite scrappy store in Waxahachie - The Crafty Scrapper!!! If you are local you should come by and say hi!!! We are having a great sale through Monday too - 50% off all stamps, Bazzill cardstock, ink (this includes paint, stains and COPICS!!!), albums and adhesives - what better time to come stock up on your basic supplies (not to mention Copics for an unbelievable price of $2.15 each for Ciao's!!!). Anywho, I've been doing a bit of scrapping prepping for my grandson's arrival. I figure I won't be spending much time with my papers when he gets here so I best get his album done now so I am not under pressure during his first year **wink**!!! After that the kids will be stationed elsewhere so I'll have more time to scrap every day stuff but I wanted an album documenting basics of his first year since I never completed this for my kids. I also did a layout using these adorable products from October Afternoon - I just love love love this line!!! Photobucket So enough random ramblings - I read this over and yeah, I'm really random tonite.....LOL. Here are my pics of the baby album (it's only the first 6 months so far ***gasp***) - again, LOTS of pics!!! PS These are in order of how they are in the album right now. I have blank pages between a few for pages on Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentines and Easter :) Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Whew, if you are still with me thank you!!! I hope you enjoyed the album I've been working hard on. It isn't totally my typical style but I chose to keep it more simple as I didn't want an album that I couldn't get his first year into. I like it but it will be much better once pictures fill the blank spots!!! As always, thank you so much for stopping by and I wish you HAPPY SCRAPPIN'!!!!!

Followers

Just to cover all bases...................

I am not the best scrapper out there. I don't claim to be totally original, I lift from many places and in many forms from color combinations, to product usage, to technique and so forth. I try to be fair to all scrappers out there and mention them when I lift from them - now keep in mind, there are so many people out there scrapping, card making and altering items that naturally more than one person will have similar ideas. When I mention lifting, or casing as some call it, I mean when you intentionally take a design you see and duplicate it exactly or only change up the coloring........KWIM???

With that said..........

All content, including text, photographs, and concept design elements are © Karen Brooks unless otherwise noted. Content within this blog is shared for personal, non-commercial use and inspiration only and shall not be used for personal gain or entry into contests or for publication. That wouldn’t be very nice now would it???

Thanks and happy scrappin'!!!!