(Erin) Guest Designer @ OUAS!!

I'm so excited to be joining the super talented team at Once Upon A...Sketch this month as Guest Designer!! Their January 1st reveal came out today and Nadia has yet another amazing sketch for everyone to work with, along with the journaling criteria/theme:

New Years Eve!
Our theme this time is New year's Eve. We would like you to journal about your feelings around this time of year, or tell us about your most memorable New Year's Eve. Where were you? Who were you with? What did you do? Why is this one memorable? Note: the photo that you use for this challenge does not have to necessarily be from New Years Eve. For example, if you spent New Years Eve with your family you can have a photo of your family taken ANY time of the year.
Remember that you are allowed to also create a card or altered project based on this sketch and instead of the journalling criteria you need to use a quote.
You must combine our journalling criteria/theme with this sketch.

And here is my take on the sketch:






















They have some great sponsors and incredible prizes to be won!!

Sponsors

We are so excited to welcome some new sponsors to our blog this month!

The Craft's Meow

The Craft's Meow offers a variety of photopolymer clear stamps designed by some of the best artists in the paper crafting world! This means there is something for everyone! We pride ourselves on great customer service and the lowest possible shipping cost. Come see what the buzz is all about! Visit our store blog and follow us on Facebook!

Feature Art

Feature Art is an art paper designing company located in South Australia.

CREATING THE UNIQUE DESIGN is our company mission. We offer unique patterned paper that help to develop the versatile craft projects for the craft industry. All our paper product is designed and printed in Australia. We will continue to provide our customers with excellent products and best service always.

Website: http://www.featureart.net.au/store/index.php

Vicky Alberto Etsy Shop

I am thrilled to be a sponsor for Once Upon A Sketch.Not only do I love the sketchesand the incredible design team interpretations, but I am also proud to sponsor a site that my scrappy friend Nadiacreated. It is one of the top sketchchallenge sites in industry and definitely embraces the true meaning of preserving memories. You can find a selectionof chipboard in my Etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/vickyalberto. Please note that I have ordered and will bereceiving the newest released chipboard styles towards the end of January.I will also be restocking my site with the most popular pieces at thistime. They sell out very fast so be sure to check back often! Youcan follow my personal scrapbooking blog at http://simplypaperandcreativity.blogspot.com where I post updates about chipboardshipment arrivals.

Prizes

How would you like to be our Guest Designer for February? This is the challenge where you have the chance to win a spot on our design team for the whole upcoming month simply by winning this challenge. As well as being our Guest Designer, as chosen by our Design team, you will also receive.....

An in-stock stamp set from The Crafts Meow of the winners choice..

*example of stamp set the winner could choose.

We also have 2 prizes to give away to two randomly chosen entries.

Our first RANDOMLY chosen winner will win 2 paper collections from FeatureArt.

Our second RANDOMLY chosen winner will receive this Dusty Attic chipboard pack from Vicky Alberto's Etsy Shop

Things to consider when playing along...

**This is an international blog, so anyone can enter

**You are allowed to create a card, layout or off-the-page item based on the provided sketch and additional journalling criteria. If you are creating a card or altered item you only need to include a quote.

**You are also allowed to flip or rotate the sketch or alter it to suit your needs, but please make sure its still recognisable.

**Post your creation on your blog or an online gallery and link it on the right hand side of this blog using the Link tool. Please provide a direct link to your post, not your entire blog.If the link tool is down, please leave a comment on the comments section and link your layout there.

** The deadline for this challenge is midnight January14th, Australian Eastern Standard Time . The Design Team will vote and the winners and the Top 5 project will be announced soon after the challenge has finished.

**You may enter as many times as you like and combine this with other challenges.

**Also, please consider turning off word verification for comments on your blog.

Make sure head on over and check out what their design team has done with the sketch- you're sure to find tons of inspiration!! Thanks for stopping by ;)~

(Erin) Guest FITGirl Spotlight!!

I recently won Weekend Warm Up #20 over at ScrapFIT and I'm their current Guest FITGirl Spotlight! Check out the post here. A big thanks to ScrapFIT for the feature!

(Kelly) "Moody"

**This is our 3rd post today (wow!) please scroll down to see a great layout by Erin, and another layout from me using the Artful Delight December kit**

I've noticed something about myself, over the past few months, I am almost completely unable to scrapbook "events" or holidays. All I want to do is scrapbook moments and personalities. I have yet to do anything with all the wonderful Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas photos I took. I really think that's ok, though, isn't it? I mean, my children are going to have these same holidays photographed again and again every year. But their personalities, likes/dislikes, and special little moments are ever changing at this young age. So, I have these fun photos of Lilah, all taken in one day, portraying her ever changing moods. I have documented this before, and I'm sure I will again and again, because I am so amazed by all the personality she has developed in the past 18 months!! Sketchy Thursdays has a new sketch, and of course it is AWESOME!! Yep, I love it!! So I used that, and I also was inspired by the Issue Challenge over at ClubCK to scrap a mood or feeling. I decided to document many moods!! I had a lot of fun with these gorgeous papers from 7 Dots Studio, The bright vibrant colors are so great!! Thanks for looking!

(Erin) "Heart Breaker" CS #188 & Scrap Our Stash "Anything Goes"

Good morning! It's been FOREVER since I've done a post it seems- a week already?? Wow. Well, we're getting to the end of the month and I'm just itching for the beginning of January and all the wonderful new challenges (scrapbooking challenges, that is) to come! I really loved sketch #188 from Creative Scrappers and used it to complete the "Anything Goes" challenge over at Scrap Our Stash (my first time participating there).

First off, I just have to say that KaiserCraft and Prima should date. Seriously. They are a Match.Made.In.Heaven!!! I pair the two quite often lately, and this layout is no different. The background paper is from the "Sweet Nothings" line by KaiserCraft and the rest is Prima. This model-esque photo of my little Gunner has been sitting by my computer for almost a few months now, just begging to be scrapped. I just adore his expression here- so serious, so handsome (and oh, does he know it!!). He is definitely destined to be a heart breaker! (And yes, ever since I settled on that title, I have had Pat Benatar stuck in my head, lol!!)~

(Kelly) "Impossible"

Good morning!! It's time for my last post using the December Artful Delight Scrapbook kit. This is my 5th layout out of just this one kit, and there are still some leftovers, pretty awesome, I think! There are still some December kits available, (soon to be discounted, I believe..) and the amazing January kit will be out soon, too! Well, we spent Christmas up north with Erin's family and my Brothers family. We decided to finally try to get a picture of all 7 of the kids together. (ages ranging 3mos to 10 years..) not an easy thing to do, as you can see from these photos! There were so many hilarious photos, but I chose these two to document this moment. Thanks for stopping by!

(Kelly) "Winter Wonder"

*This is my 2nd post for today, please scroll down and check out the previous post for today's Frosted Designs sketch reveal!*

Hello!! I didn't think I woud get time to do this sketch, but I am so happy I did!! It is sketch # 188 from Creative Scrappers. I have really loved all of their sketches this month!! It was perfect for this photo of Lilah playing in the snow yesterday. I did "take off" from the sketch a bit, and rearranged some things, but I think it works. I also thought this would be perfect for the current challenge at Bird is the Word, to use the word "Wonder." Since it is usually too cold, Lilah doesn't get to spend a lot of time out in the snow, so it is all still so new and exciting to her!! That's why I did a second photo to show a close up of the joyous expression on her face. I really had a lot of fun and spent a lot of time with the layering and the texture on this one. I used lots of leftover bits from my November AD kit.

Sketch Along Tuesdays 12.27.11

Good Morning!! It's time for the last sketch reveal of the year, for Sketch Along Tuesdays at Frosted Designs. We have a really great sketch to share with you, designed by the super talented Ashley Horton. Head over and check out the rest of the team's inspiration, and play along, you have a chance to win a kit from Burlap and Buttercups!!

Here's what the two of us came up with!

Erin:

Kelly:

GIVEAWAY WINNER!!!!

Sorry I'm getting this posted so late, it's almost midnight here on Christmas Eve...finally have the kids in bed and last minute presents wrapped and all ready for the big morning tomorrow! Kelly and I did have the chance to draw our randomly chosen winner, which is:

Jordan!!!!

A huge CONGRATS to you! Please email me (erin_divisionair@yahoo.com) with your information so we can get your package mailed out ASAP!! We hope you enjoy your new goodies :)!
Thank-you so much to all of you who took the time to comment and follow our blog. We cannot believe how great a response we had! Definitely a lot of fun...can't wait to do this again!!!!

We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and enjoy every little wonderful thing this amazing holiday season has to offer!

(Erin) "I Wonder..." BITW "Wonder" and CS #187

We're getting VERY close to Christmas and I have SO MUCH to do today! So this post will be quick~ I created this layout using sketch #187 over at Creative Scrappers to complete the current Bird Is the Word challenge to use the word "Wonder" in either your title or journaling. How can you not LOVE these photos of my ultra-adorable little Gunner...he is so gosh darn cute, I can hardly STAND it, lol...and I wonder if he knows it too ;) !! Used the totally fabulous "Farmhouse" collection from October Afternoon~ such an awesome, versatile line!!

(Kelly) "Enjoy This Time"

This is my 2nd post for today, scroll down to see my Artful Delight/Creative Scrappers project, too! I recently won a gorgeous C'est Magnifique Kit from Creative Scrappers. I LOVE all the gorgeous papers it featured, some from companies I'd never even heard of! They have such unique, gorgeous stuff in their store, check it out here. Anyways, I put together a layout using Creative Scrappers sketch # 186. I was also inspired by a challenge over at Bird is the Word, (this is my first time playing along with one of their challenges!) to use the word "Time" somewhere on your layout..this made me really want to use this wooden clock from the kit. Thanks for having a look!!

(Kelly) "18 Months" Artful Delight December kit

Good Morning!!! Wow, only 2 more days until Christmas, can't wait!! We get to spend Christmas up north with Erin's family, and my Brother's family this year, what a blessing!! Just a quick post to share with you another layout I made with the Artful Delight December Scrapbook kit. I was inspired by sketch # 187 over at Creative Scrappers for this layout. I had a lot of fun layering all the beautiful BG Picadilly papers and die-cuts behind the photos. The journaling tells of the difficult month Lilah and I have had, although the adorable photos sure don't let on that she seems to have hit the "terrible 2's" a little early...Anyways, thanks for checking it out, and I hope you all have a very safe, fun, and wonderful Holiday weekend!!

(Erin) "Tiny & New" Scrap the Girls "Babies" challenge

As many of you know, after having two boys, I recently had a baby girl this last September. And I've loved creating beautiful "girly" layouts of her, and this one is no exception! The current challenge over at Scrap the Girls is to create a layout featuring "babies". How hard is that? Lol! I LOVE scrapping baby pictures, and I especially love this ultra sweet one of her when we were still in the hospital. So precious...so new. I used the amazingly gorgeous "Sweet Nothings" line from KaiserCraft, which worked perfectly for my baby girl page...

(Erin) "Snow Play" CMH #13

I was a little hesitant to give the sketch for Challenge #13 over at Challenge Me Happy a try... not because it isn't a fabulous sketch, but because when I saw clouds, I thought whimsy... and although I love whimsical pages, they don't necessarily like me, just not my thing...

But I decided to have a go at it anyway. I used blue mist and white paint to create my "sky" background and made my clouds from tissue paper (I wanted to make sure I used the clouds on the sketch as I felt it was an important part of the sketch and should really be included). From there, I just continued to add "stuff" to go along with these adorable photos of my middle child, Gunner :). And this is what I ended up with...

GIVEAWAY reminder!!!

Wow, we have reached 101 followers!!!! That is amazing. Thank you all so much for stopping by to check out our blog and enter in our giveaway. Just a reminder to those who have not yet entered, check out this post and leave a comment for an awesome prize!!!

(Erin) Once Upon A...Sketch Dec. 1st Challenge WINNER!!

I was complaining to my husband about not being able to go to bed yet because I had to get the fire going in the woodstove (he works, so his sleep takes precedence over mine, lol), so I decided to get online and see if Once Upon A...Sketch had chosen their Dec. 1st sketch challenge winners yet. As many of you know, I have painfully slow dial-up internet, so I figured I'd let the page load a while while I got the fire going...I could barely see the very top of the page where they show pictures of their challenge winners and was trying to see if I could see mine in the top five...I almost couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the barely-visible "MILK, BUTTER, AND CREAM" heading of the OA paper I used on my "Putting on the Spritz" layout sitting in the first spot!!! I was almost going out of my skin with excitement- I even told my husband (even though he SO does not GET IT, lol) and called Kelly right away too (poor thing was trying to sleep...)~ WOW, I am STOKED!!! This is such a huge accomplishment for me...winning a challenge over at OUAS was on my scrappy goals for the year 2012 and am excited to be crossing that one off a little early! I'm incredibly honored and can't wait to join their outrageously talented design team as Guest Designer next month!!!
Thanks for letting me share my excitement...I suppose I'd better *try* and get some sleep now. My little girl Aspen is 3 1/2 months now and has always been a good sleeper until the last week...she must be growing because she's up every morning around 3 AM, stomach growling so loud I can hear her from my room! So I'm sure I'll be up in a few hours feeding her...good-night :)~

Kraft It Up! Honorable Mentions!!!

Wow, so excited to see that Kelly and I both had layouts chosen as honorable mentions for the November 2011 challenge over at Kraft It Up! It's always so incredibly fun when we both make it as favorites on a site :)~ check out the post here, and join in on their current Christmas-themed challenge!

(Erin) "Remember This" OUAS Dec 15th & Scrapbookers Anonymous "E"

It's been a busy weekend around my house with Christmas baking and getting the house ready for friends coming to visit for lunch today, so I was glad to be able to fit in a little scrappy time between last night and this morning! I almost never miss a sketch over at Once Upon A...Sketch as I not only love Nadia's gorgeous sketches, but I also love their great journaling prompts! This one asked us to journal about how we spend Christmas Day. I pulled out this photo of my oldest son Wyatt on Christmas morning last year, just staring at the tree and all the presents Santa brought for him! I thought it was classic- and to go with it, I used the Times & Seasons collection from Echo Park that I won through a Facebook contest! I really dig vintage, so I really enjoy this line.

My journaling on this one is hidden, you can see the pull tag to the right of the photo. It reads:

Christmas has always been such a magical day for me! I think I still get just as excited about it now as I did as a child. It's a day that starts out with opening presents with family. We follow with breakfast, which always includes eating sweet rolls hot out of the oven! Then it's visiting, watching Christmas movies, and eating treats and leftovers from the night before. I'm always sad when it comes to an end, knowing I have to wait another whole year for its return!

I am also entering this layout into the "E" challenge over at Scrapbookers Anonymous (using Echo Park)~ just love their A-Z challenges!

(Kelly) "Tour of Lights"

Another "Good Morning"!!! This is my second post for the day, so please scroll down to see my Artful Delight project in the previous post! I'm here to share a layout I made using the current Get Picky sketch!! This is also for the challenge over at ScrapFIT to use mini pictures, I thought these two challenges went so well together! Thanks for taking a look! Stay tuned for our awesome giveaway!!

It's GIVEAWAY TIME!!!!!

Happy Happy Friday to you all!! As promised, Kelly and I are doing a giveaway and anyone is eligible to be our big winner!! All you have to do is:

(1) If you are not a follower, become one! and (2) Leave a comment on this post. That's it! We are currently at 75 followers...if we reach 85, I'll throw in an extra pack of Thickers- so tell your friends!! The closing date of this giveaway is midnight December 23rd- we'll announce our randomly drawn winner on Christmas Eve (Kelly and family will be here to stay the night with me, yay!!)~

I've put together this fun Christmas-themed lot and Kelly has put together this awesome mixed lot! Lots of great goodies to be won (one of the many bonuses of sharing a blog- we can give away twice as much stuff!!)~ The best of luck to you all! Hope you are enjoying this wonderful holiday season :)!

(Kelly) "A Slice Of The Good Life" Artful Delight project

Good Morning!! It's Friday again, so that means I have another Artful Delight project to share with you, using the wonderful December Scrapbook kit. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE this kit?! There is so much gorgeous paper, and tons of fun embellishments. What I love best, is all the opportunities for fussy cutting! I have used fussy cutting on every project I've made from this kit so far, the floral patterns are irresistible!! I was sifting through photos recently, and found this priceless shot of Lilah and I taken on Mother's Day. One of our favorite games is "count your toes" which pretty much just involves me, counting her toes..she loves it!! Thanks for stopping by and having a look. There is still time to play along with this month's sketch challenge, for a chance to win January's kit..check out the beautiful sketch on the Artful Delight Blog.

(Kelly) "Adorable You"

Good afternoon!!! This is my first time participating over at Challenge Me Happy. I've been checking them out for awhile, and haven't had much time to scrap, but when I saw their new sketch, I was inspired immediately!! I had already printed these three small photos, and they fit right into this sketch. This layout it to document Lilah's rapid, constantly changing, moods..(these three photos were taken in a matter of minutes). I used some MME Kraft Funday collection and some leftover Simple Stories Yearography scraps. Thanks for taking a look!!

(Erin) "Snow Man" Get Picky Sketch #15

I really liked the newest sketch over @ Get Picky so I wasted no time getting it done! I took these pictures yesterday of Wyatt playing in the snow and obviously I couldn't wait to scrap them :). I used some goodies from the November kit from Artful Delight, including the Bo Bunny "Blitzen" papers and brads, and Prima "North Country" chipboard and flowers. The large white die cut is the reverse side of what I had leftover from my "Trust" layout using the Kaiser Kraft "Madame Boutique" line- thought it kinda looked like a giant snowflake!

Thanks so much for stopping by and having a look. Be sure to check out this great sketch from Get Picky and play along :)!!

(Erin) "Trust" BITW Trust Challenge & CS #185

I've been wanting to get this layout done for the Bird Is The Word "Trust" challenge (to incorporate the word trust into your title or journaling) and I'm so glad I finally got to it! I used Amarylis Doria's fabulous sketch #185 from Creative Scrappers to complete it and I really love what I ended up with. This is a photo of Josh and myself on our wedding day and I thought it was perfect for a "trust" challenge, since trust is such an important part of any marriage. The quote I included reads: "When I'm trusting & being myself, everything in my life reflects this by falling into place easily...often miraculously..."

I used the "Madame Boutique" line from Kaiser Kraft (LOVE!) and spent way too much time cutting out the paper flowers and arranging them with various Prima flowers, adding in random details here and there...it was one of those layouts where I didn't want to stop working on it because every time I added something else, it just became more beautiful! I really wanted this page to look as special as I felt on that day...thanks for letting me share it with you.

Sketch Along Tuesdays 12.13.11

Yep, it's that time again, a new sketch challenge at Frosted Designs!! You are playing to win a $25 gift card to Paper Secrets...go check them out! Then be sure to play along! Here's the sketch, and our inspiration for you:

Erin:

Kelly:

Thanks for stopping by!

(Erin) "My Girl" Sketchy Thursdays 12.8.11 & ScrapFIT WWU #20

Sketchy Thursdays had a great sketch out this week, and I chose to flip it to accomodate these portrait photos of my little Aspen :). I used Pink Paislee's "Snow Day" collection and I just love the pretty blues and pinks...perfect for a baby page. I am also submitting this layout for ScrapFIT's WWU #20: distressing & chipboard. (The little pink Jenni Bowlin heart by the title is my chipboard piece).