The Inspired Scrapper

Father's Day by Virginia Wong

2011-06-17T09:34:00.000-07:00

This weeks' challenge is Father's Day. In looking through my projects and photos, I realized an error that I will correct immediately! There are oodles of photos of my girls and what we do but very few of my husband. However we "see" him in their activities as he is one of their biggest supporters.

Last year we gifted him with this mini album. It was a beautiful tribute to him and what he means to the girls.

Supplies: Urban Lily (mini album); American Crafts (alphas)

This year we have a collage in the works - I unfortunately cannot post it yet as the girls are STILL working on it!

I hope you celebrate Fatherhood with love and joy in your home this weekend!

-Virginia

Father's Day by Cari Locken

2011-06-13T05:00:00.001-07:00

Hi there!

Just wanted to share with you a card that I made for Father's Day. I love that we have a day set aside to celebrate & remember our Dads.

I love my Dad so much and he has been my biggest supportive since I was young. He's tender, strong and wise. I play piano and went through all the Royal Conservatory grades. After I finished an exam, then waited for my grade to come back my Dad would take me out on a date. Just the 2 of us! I loved those times so much as it made me feel so special.

Anyways, here's a card that I made for my Dad.

I stamped the sentiment using Black Stazon ink onto a transparency. I used an oval punch at the lower right corner of my card. I then cut it out into a square shape and adhered it to the inside of my card. I then adhered a scalloped oval punch (after punching out the inside) around the oval cut-out edges.

Supplies used: Core'dinations cardstock, Fiskars Border punch, EK Success (oval and scalloped oval punches), ribbon (Making Memories), Stamp (myStampBOX), transparency, StazOn Ink (black)

Happy Father's Day!!

Outdoor Activities by Virginia Wong

2011-06-10T14:54:00.002-07:00

Today's challenge is Outdoor Activities. We love the outdoors! In Calgary, our winters are ummmm....long. Rather than stay inside for 10 months of the year, we are outside and have learned to dress accordingly. And when the warm weather comes, we live outside for all hours of the day!

Here are some of my favorite layouts of our outdoor escapades!

Supplies: Bazzill (cardstock); We R MemoryKeepers (pattern paper); Heidi Swapp (alphas); ribbon (source unknown); Versamagic (chalk ink)

Supplies: Close to my Heart (cardstock); Echo Park (pattern paper, alphas, die cut stickers, journal spots); BoBunny (snowflake stickers); We R MemoryKeepers (corner rounder)

Supplies: Close To My Heart (cardstock); American Crafts (pattern paper, chipboard label, badge); Making Memories (mini alphas); Heidi Swapp (large alpha)

Thanks for letting me share!
-Virginia

Outdoor Activities by Cari Locken

2011-06-10T05:00:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone!!

Ah, I'm just loving this beautiful weather that we've been having lately. And it makes me think of all the different outdoor activities that we do ... from bike riding, hiking, playing in the park, swimming, camping, walking at the beach, etc.

I've created a few layouts that fit with this theme. Hope you enjoy looking at that and I hope that you find some inspiration to create layouts about the activities that you love to do outdoors.

"Take a Hike"

Supplies used: Imaginisce (papers, die-cuts, chipboard, Glam Rocks), Core'dinations cardstock, EK Success border punch & photo corner punch, circle punches

"Outdoor Fun"

Supplies used: Imaginisce (papers, die-cuts, chipboard, Glam Rocks), Core'dinations cardstock, EK Success border punch & photo corner punch, circle punches

"Greatest Show Ever"

Supplies used: Imaginisce (papers, die-cut, Glam Rocks, chipboard), Core'dinations cardstock, Fiskars border punch, Cricut machine (used to cut scallop circle), corner rounded punch (EK Success)

"Simple Pleasures"

Supplies used: Core'dinations cardstock, Imaginisce (papers, stickers, rub-ons, ribbon, flowers), Basic Grey chipboard alphas, Fiskars border punch

"Nature"

Supplies used: Imaginisce (papers, die-cuts, Glam Rocks), Core'dinations cardstock, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Fiksars Border punch, EK Success label punch

"Great Outdoors"

Supplies used: Imaginisce (papers, die-cuts, chipboard, Glam Rocks), Core'dinations cardstock, Cuttlebug embossing folder, EK Success label punch, Divine Twine

"H2O .... Pure Bliss"

Supplies used: Paper Trunk (papers & alpha stickers), Core'dinations cardstock, EK Success label punch, Fiskars border punch

Thanks for stopping by and hope you're inspired to create pages about those outdoor activities that you love to take part in (or just watch!)

Scraplift Challenge by Susan Tutt

2011-06-03T19:43:00.000-07:00

Good evening Ladies! Todays challenge is to scraplift someone who inspires you. There are many talented scrapbookers who I admire but one of my favorites is Tara Anderson. I love her style and all of the details that she includes in her projects. This is the layout that I created using one of Tara's as my inspiration.

I love her use of mixed media.

I hope this encourages you to scraplift someone who inspires you. Have a great weekend!

Daily Life Challenge by Susan Tutt

2011-05-27T16:33:00.000-07:00

The challenge for today is "Daily Life". This was a fun one for me becuase in January we switched to an i-mac computer which is equiped with a photo booth app. My middle daughter loves it and everyday she takes a picture of herself before she leaves for school. I love looking through them to see all of her expressions...they're hilarious! The layout I created showcases some of my favorite poses.

I had to add the crown, because she is a princess and she makes sure we know it everyday!

Couldn't resist using the princess from my stash.

It is so fun to document the things in our everyday life. Life changes so fast that these little moments are soon forgotten. Create a layout or project documenting your everyday! Be sure to link us to your work, we would love to see what you come up with!!

Sketches, Sketches, Sketches by Virginia Wong

2011-05-18T22:49:00.000-07:00

Firstly my apologies that my blog post is late. Last week, blogger was down and then the week started and well, life went awry!!! Nonetheless, here I am now...

The challenge was to use sketches and show my interpretation of the sketch. One of my favorite sketch artists is Valerie Salmon of Got Sketch? She has the most amazing sketches. They are uber versatile and SO easy to interpret.

For example, this sketch of hers led me to create the following layout. Sometimes, I create multiple layouts of a sketch. When I put all the layouts into an album, no one is going to notice that the layout was inspired by the same sketch.

Supplies: Bazzill (cardstock); Echo Park (pattern paper, die cut elements, stickers, alphas); Heidi Swapp (large number 5); American Crafts (pen for journaling)

Thanks for letting me share!

Teacher Appreciation Card by Susan Tutt

2011-05-16T09:41:00.004-07:00

Look for this card in the November 2011issue of Cards.

Today we are celebrating Teachers and what better way than with a wonderful card!

I created this card using a file folder cut down to the size of a 6x6 card. Using KI paper lace as a mask gives my card a fun background. I then layered a tag, patterned papers and 7 Gypsies gaffer tape.

To finish off this cute card I took some school themed brads that I had and turned them into charms. Simply bend the legs off your brads and punch a hole with your piercer and insert a jump ring and there you have an instant charm!

Show your child's teacher how much you appreciate all they do, with a card. I hope this gets the creative juices going! Be sure to share what you create with us...we would love to see your projects!!

Happy NSD - Celebrate Scrapbooking!

2011-05-07T09:50:00.006-07:00

Happy National Scrapbooking Day to all you crafters, artists and mamarazzi's! I asked the designers of The Inspired Scrapper to share some tidbits about themselves, along with a few of their all-time favourite projects.

Sonja McLean here to share a few of mine.

I scrapbook because I have a bad memory! Documenting the day-to-day is essential to recalling (and celebrating) our family life together. Plus, who can resist paper, stickers and pretty embellishments...flowers, buttons, ribbon...oh my!?! In addition to the craft itself, the friends and colleagues I've made are second to none. Scrapbooking is a small world, but a beautiful one if you surround yourself with inspiring people.

My organizational tip is not about organizing at all, but about keeping things visible. When I buy something new, I keep it on my desk. I'm more likely to use it if I use it right away. I keep a bin of stamps (ones I've bought but haven't used yet) on my desk, along with my new patterned papers. I bought them because they spoke to me somehow, so I try to draw on that inspiration right away rather than stashing it for later?

My must have tool is my corner rounder and sanding block. Can't scrap without them!

My favourite manufacturer for paper is Crate Paper, Echo Park and Basic Grey. My favourite embellishments are by Hambly, Jenni Bowlin and Prima. My all-time fave stamps are by Purple Onion...classic images and they're easy to store (and cheap to have shipped) because they're unmounted.

My most "out-of-the-box" projects are these baby shoes made from Grunge Board:

And this 4x4 photo sleeve project which I love because it allowed me to use bits and pieces of my favourite things in one place...like chipboard, stamps, rub-ons, flowers, lace cardstock and overlays. All the things I love to hoard!

My favourite altered item. A large canvas celebrating my youngest daughter's first year:

Also, this 4x4 album I made using printed tissue to cover the chipboard.

My favourite layouts: A sketch by Becky Fleck featuring photos taken by my "adopted" daughter, Gel and my oldest son, Isaiah.

A simple layout that I adore because it took me an hour to make and features my favourite patterned papers (at the time).

My favourite card using heart stamps by Purple Onion:

Happy Scrapping!

National Scrapbooking Day!! by Susan Tutt

2011-05-07T09:45:00.004-07:00

Happy National Scrapbooking Day ladies! I hope you're getting your scrap on where ever you may be today.

I discovered scrapbooking 16 years ago when my first child was born and I haven't looked back. I love documenting our lives the good, the bad and the everyday. I have met so many amazingly talented ladies through this hobby, many that I am fortunate enough to call close friends.

One subject that I find especially difficult to scrapbook is myself. That sounds ridiculous but it's true. I created this layout of myself and I love how it turned out.

My favourite organizational tip, thats funny because I have to be the most unorganized person I know! I blame it on my creative mind. I do keep my newest and favourite items on my scrapbook island so that I am sure to use them. You know, out of sight, out of mind, right?

One of my favourite tools is my sewing machine and a needle. I love, love, love to sew on my projects!
My all time favourite manufacturers are 7 Gypsies, Crate Paper and Tim Holtz. I am addicted to that grunge and vintage feel.

This layout of my Boy is one of my all time favourite layouts. I love all of the textures going on in this layout.
Favourite card:

This is my all time favourite project, Ever!! I love all of the details, textures and embellishments.
Thanks for letting me share all of my favourites with you today. I hope you have a wonderful day enjoying this fabulous hobby of ours!

Happy Happy National Scrapbooking Day - Virginia Wong

2011-05-07T08:36:00.000-07:00

A cheery good morning to Everyone and a very happy National Scrapbooking Day too from me, Virginia!!!

I scrapbook because I absolutely love every aspect of this wonderful hobby - the relationships, the sincere friendships, the joy of creating, the process of documenting our familial history, the photography and of course, all of those delicious scrapbooking goodies!!!

My most "out of the box" project is a tie between creating a layout about me and creating a "shabby chic" layout. These were created in response to a challenge and boy was it ever a challenge.

Supplies: Nikki Sivils (pattern papers), American Crafts (alphas, pen, chipboard accents)

Supplies: Close to my Heart (cardstock, paper flowers, buttons); Melissa Frances (pattern paper); American Crafts (alphas); BasicGrey (buttons); Tattered Angels (glimmer mist); ribbon (source unknown); Prima (bling)

My favorite organizational tip is store all your leftover alphas by letter. Yes there are 26 bags BUT you can quickly and easily find the letters you are looking for when you are creating a unique title. Plus, you are using all those precious alphas!

And must have tool is quilting ruler! I love having the lines of my photos, alphas and pattern papers evenly spaced and lined up neatly *blush* My quilting ruler does the trick because it is divided into 0.25" increments! Love it!

I have many favorite manufacturers so to pick just one is a real toughie for me but I adore Echo Park, Pink Paislee, American Crafts. BoBunny, Nikki Sivils and October Afternoon. They consistently bring fresh, innovative lines each season.

A few of my all time favorite projects are as follows:

Supplies: Close to my Heart (cardstock); BoBunny (pattern paper, chipboard accents); American Crafts (alphas); Chatterbox (gems); Kaisercraft (pearls)

Supplies: Doodlebug house template; Making Memories acrylic paint; SEI pattern papers and elements

Supplies: Urban Swank (pattern paper); EK success (circle punch); Glitz Designs (gems)

Happy National Scrapbooking Day!

Happy NSD!!!!

2011-05-07T07:45:00.004-07:00

Cari Locken

I scrapbook because I love to create. I love colors and have always loved paper. I’m thrilled that I can capture everyday moments & special memories on my camera and then preserve them through scrapbooking! I love this hobby!

I was asked to show my most “out-of-the-box” project … but I’m not sure that I really have one. Yes, I like to stay with what works for me. ;) But here’s a picture of a layout that was in the Spring 2010 Issue of Canadian Scrapbooker. We were challenged to use tissue paper.

My favourite organizational tip/item would have to be my Clip It Up. I love that thing (and wish I had another one as mine is VERY full)

Must have tool: I love my Imaginisce I-rock tool. I use it all the time to adhere the Imaginisce Glam Rocks and studs to my layouts, cards and projects!

My favorite manufacturer is Core’dinations Cardstock. I reach for this cardstock EVERY time I create a project. I can’t do anything without my cardstock!

All time favourite projects…

A layout:

A Card:

An Altered project:

Have a fabulous day!!!

Moms - by Cari Locken

2011-05-06T18:34:00.004-07:00

I think that being a Mom is one of the toughest jobs around! I really do. I often wonder if I'm doing the right thing , teaching them the right values, I wish I had more patience and more time in the day to get everything done. But aside from all that, there are so many rewards of being a Mom. And I love that part!!

Today's challenge was to create something that had to do with Mom. I've learned a lot about being a mom from my own mother and I'm so thankful to her for that.

Here's a page about her.

Supplies used: Prism cardstock, Making Memories (patterned paper & black alpha stickers), Prima flowers, butterfly stamp (sorry, can't remember who makes that :( )

This is a real old layout but thought I'd still share it.

Supplies used: Basic Grey (papers, chipboard, alpha stickers, rub-ons), Heidi Swapp flowers, prima Flowers, Bazzill Basics cardstock.

This layout was from Mother's Day last year.

Supplies used: Bazzill Basics cardstock, Paper Trunk (papers, letter stickers, journal card), Prima rhinestone, Queen & Co pearls (turquoise), Tattered Angels glimmer mist

And this layout is from last Mother's Day as well however, I just created it last week.

Supplies used: Imaginisce (papers, anhor & journal stamp, ribbon, Glam Rocks (black & hearts) adhered with the i-rock tool), American Crafts Thickers, anchor paper piece (my own design), Cuttlebug embossing folder

I, too, want to wish you a Happy Mother's Day this coming Sunday. But first I hope that you all enjoy tomorrow - National Scrapbook Day!!!

All About Moms Challenge - by Virginia Wong

2011-05-06T12:32:00.000-07:00

Today's challenge is All About Moms! One of the toughest jobs I have held is that of a Mom. When I was younger, I KNOW I didn't always appreciate everything my Mom did for me! Now that I am a Mom, I especially grateful for everything she has done and continues to do. I treasure my relationship with my Mom and I hope my girls will treasure their relationship with me in the years to come as well.

Here is a 2-pager I did showing the special relationship my Mom has with not only my 2 daughters but also my 2 nieces.

Supplies: Close to my Heart (cardstock); BasicGrey (pattern papers, chipboard accents, alphas)

And being a Mom means dealing with joyous moments as seen below and some of those not some proud Mommy moments too - I only hope that the great moments outweigh those not so great!

Supplies: Scrap Shotz Kit Take 2 (Making Memories)

I wish you all a wonderful Mothers Day - may you spend the day being honoured and honouring those you love.

-Virginia

Old School Tools Challenge by Debby Visser

2011-04-29T11:23:00.004-07:00

This week our challenge is to pull out those old school tools, like foam stamps, deocrative scissors, Dymo labeller and the list goes on..........
Basically pull out the old supplies you need to dust off and put them to work!

I pulled out my foam stamps by Making Memories and painted this sign for my bathroom. My bathroom is this colour.
The wood I found in the pile outside, I just dusted and washed it. You could stop at your local hardward store and see if they have a 'free wood' box, if you don't have scrap lumber at your house. I do cause hubby is in construction and always bringing something home. lol

To create a sign like this you will need:
- Stamps - the old foam ones by Making Memories work great!
- Paint - I used Making Memories paint
- Foam Brush
- Wood
- Pattern paper
- Edge Punch
- Chipboard alpha
- Heart Punch
- Sand paper
- Old Paper distress ink by Tim Holtz

Once you have your supplies, go ahead and stamp your title and let dry. Once it is dry you can add pieces of patterned paper. A small strip at the top and a bigger one at the bottom. Then take your sand paper and sand all the paper edges to help it blend in, look like it has been there for awhile. Then take your distress ink and ink all the edges and on top some too to give the paper an older look. After that was done I added the alphabet saying and sanded it, then distressed it too.

And just like that you have your own custom wall hanging. AND you used your old tools!
I hope you get a chance to play along, and if you do, don't forget to share with us!
Debby

Masculine Card Challenge by Susan Tutt

2011-04-18T14:37:00.004-07:00

Happy Monday Ladies!! Todays challenge is to create a masculine card. I created a quick and easy card that would be great for any guy!

I started with black cardstock and I sprayed it with a metalic silver spray paint. Once that was dry I added a strip of torn denim and stapled it to the edge of the card. The finishing touch was these stickers from My Little Yellow Bicycle. And there you have it a quick and easy masculine card.
Thanks for stopping by and I would love to see your take on the masculine card challenge! Have a great day.

Pagemaps Sketch Challenge by Sonja McLean

2011-04-15T10:44:00.005-07:00

Happy Friday, everyone! Today's challenge comes from Becky Fleck's Pagemaps.

Here's my version of Becky's amazing sketch. This 12x12 layout titled "Have Faith" is for my son's First Communion in May, which is why there are no photos yet. Hope you like it:)

Supplies: Patterned paper by Bo Bunny and Basic Grey, Maya Road chipboard butterflies, Prima bling, Jillibean Soup corrugated alphabet.

April 15th - Sketch Challenge

2011-04-15T08:13:00.005-07:00

Today's challenge is a Pagemaps Sketch, see Sonja's post for the sketch. I loved this sketch! A nice easy one.

And perfect for those 4x6 pictures where the subject is small. Just cut those 4x6 photos down to fit. I have tons of older and newer photos where this works. This sketch is in my fav's.

Instead of pattern paper, I used paint on the background, then stitched around it.
The little red felt maple leaves are from the dollar store brand Forever in Time scrapbook stuff and the larger ones I cut out using my Bigshot.

I hope you get a chance to play along, and if you do, don't forget to share with us!

Supplies: Bazzill, Scenic Route, Basic Grey, Making Memories, Forever in Time, Bigshot.

Celebrations by Cari Locken

2011-04-09T11:13:00.004-07:00

To be honest I have a hard time scrapbooking these kinds of events because I really prefer to scrapbook memories of my every day. I'm not sure why the "celebrations" photos are always hard for me to scrap ... probably because it's the same typical picture idea (i.e. cake, birthday person, presents, etc) and the lighting is never really that great.

But over the years I've tried to keep those photos up to date in my albums. Here's a few layouts that I will share.

Supplies: Imaginisce (papers, chipboard, irock tool and glam rocks), Core'dinations cardstock

Supplies used: Imaginisce (papers, rub-ons, chipboard, banner), Core'dinations cardstock

Supplies used: Core'dinations cardstock, Imaginisce (paper, i-rock tool & glam rocks), Paper Trunk (alpha stsickers), EK Success border punch

Supplies used: Core'dinations cardstock, Maya Road (sheer journal block), American Crafts THickers, Fiskars border punch, October Afternoon (papers)

Supplies used: Core'dinations cardstock, October Afternoon (papers), EK Success border punch, American Crafts Thickers, Paper Trunk (red alpha stickers)

Supplies used: Imaginisce (papers, rub-ons), Core'dinations cardstock, EK Success border punch, My Little Bit of Whimsy buttons), Divine Twine, Fiskars border punch

Thanks for stopping by and have a super weekend!!!

Celebrations with Virginia Wong

2011-04-08T21:42:00.000-07:00

"Ce-le-brate" - every time I hear this word, I think of that song by Kool and the Gang; am I dating myself????? :-)

Personally I find celebration-style photos to be very challenging to scrap. Why? Well, often I have ALOT of them and secondly they are not the best technically :-( For this challenge, I tackled it head on. Rather than scrap ALL the photos, I picked the very best ones and used only those photos that told the story I wanted to tell.

Here are my layouts...

Supplies: Close to my Heart (cardstock); Sassafras (pattern paper, border strips); Stampin' Up (notebook edge punch); Spellbinders (cupcake die); Rangers (liquid pearls); American Crafts (alphas); stitching. Inspired by a sketch from Valerie Salmon (Got Sketch? blog)

Supplies: Bazzill (scalloped cardstock); Echo Park (pattern paper, journal spot, banner flags, die cut stickers, mini alphas); Heidi Swapp (number 5); American Crafts (pen for journaling). Layout inspired by a Valerie Salmon (Got Sketch?) sketch

I'd love to see your Celebration layouts too! Thanks for letting me share!

Celebrations Challenge by Susan Tutt

2011-04-08T14:52:00.004-07:00

Happy Friday everyone! I hear we are in for a warm, sunny weekend...finally!!! Yay! Todays challenge is celebrations, so I chose to create a birthday layout of my son when he turned 5. He will be turning 9 in June and I am just now scrapbooking his 5th birthday. Am I a little behind or what!

For this layout I used Theresa Collins' birthday collection. I love the colors and simplicity of this line and I LOVE banners! I also used orange crepe paper to create a ruffle and bow for this cute little present.

I hope I have inspired you to create a layout showcasing a celebration in your life!

Have a great weekend.

Crazy About Quotes by Sonja McLean

2011-04-01T08:40:00.017-07:00

Each year, at our local craft fair, we visit Eileen Mosca's booth. She makes inspirational artwork. Her designs are inspired by Vancouver scenes and her quotes are amazing. Many of her magnets adorn my fridge and I read them nearly every day. A few of her framed prints are in my children's bedrooms as well. I adore her work (and she's a lovely lady also).

My point is, I love quotes. Here are a few projects I made using some of my favourite quotes.

This quote was taken from the television series "Firefly". This wall hanging is made from Technique Tuesday tiles which I've been hoarding for years. It's about 2' long and contains 4 frames connected by jump rings.

Supplies: Technique Tuesday tiles, Basic Grey pp and chipboard letters, Prima swirls and flowers.

This quote is from Lady Gaga's lyrics. Long before I heard "Born This Way" on the radio, my oldest son showed me this video on YouTube. I fell in love with the song immediately. These photos of my daughter posing for the camera while carrying her brother's wooden gun, Dora backpack loaded with toys & wearing a Christmas shirt long after the season, were perfect for the song!

Supplies: Bo Bunny pp, Echo Park & Adorn It letter stickers, My Mind's Eye diecut pp, Purple Onion Designs stamps.

This quote by Herm Albright (quoted in Reader's Digest, June 1995) is one of my all-time favourites. This 4x4 canvas is backed by a chipboard die-cut & magnets. It has a permanent home on my fridge.

Supplies: 4x4 canvas from dollar store, Crate Paper pp, Accucut die and black chipboard, Sojo Designs flowers.

Happy Friday! For all you locals, be sure to check out the Sewing & Crafts show happening this weekend at Trade Ex in Abbostford!

Cards - All Occasion

2011-03-28T07:00:00.001-07:00

So, the challenge for the cards this week is to create a card for any occasion with no sentiment. I realized that I most often have a sentiment on my cards but there were a few that I have done and taught in classes where I didn't bother putting a sentiment because I wanted to leave that for the student to fill in so that it would fit with the occasion.

Here's a couple of examples.

They're very simple but could work for a birthday, a grad, a wedding, an anniversary, a baby's birth, etc.

Supplies used: Core'dinations cardstock, Cuttlebug embossing folders, ribbon, Prima flowers

Thanks for stopping by.

Vacations and Getaways Challenge by Debby

2011-03-25T09:26:00.004-07:00

Susan and Virginia did wonderful samples with this challenge.
Susan that tray is so gorgeous and creative! What a FAB keepsake!
And Virginia, awesome pages and so many! Very inspiring!!

I did a couple of mini books with Basic Grey. They are so easy to create when all your papers and elements match like a Basic Grey kit.

I hope our creations today have helped to inspire you to bring out the vacation photos and get them scrapped in some way! And if you do, share with us!
Have a great weekend!

Vacations and Getaways Challenge by Susan Tutt

2011-03-25T07:56:00.002-07:00

For this weeks challenge I thought I would show you a different way to document your memories. Using your scrapbook supplies to create home decor is big right now. There are many options to create with such as canvas, artist trays, shadow boxes and receipt trays, which is what I used for this project. This receipt tray was super fun and easy to work with.

Not only have I included some of my favorite pictures from our vacation I also created a shaker box that houses some sand and shells from our destination.

I love that this project will be haning in our home for all to share.
Supplies: 7 Gypsies - Receipt Tray, tags and patterned paper, Tim Holtz - film strip, stamps, tissue tape, stick pin, medalion, word sticks

Vacations and Getaways Challenge by Virginia

2011-03-24T22:04:00.000-07:00

In my photo box are oodles and oodles of vacation and weekend getaway photos. Do you have vacation photos stashed in your scrappy area???

One of my favourite ways to scrap vacation photos is to create a multi-photo layout that in essence summarizes the highlights of our trip. Here are a few sample layouts...

Supplies: Close to my Heart (cardstock); BasicGrey (pattern papers, rubs); American Crafts (alphas and numbers)

Supplies: Close to my Heart (cardstock); Creative Imaginations (pattern paper, rubs, brads, chipboard alphas); brads (source unknown)

Supplies: Close to my Heart (cardstock); Disney papers (source unknown); BasicGrey (buttons); American Crafts (alphas); Queen & Co (acrylic stars and swirls)

Other times, I like to spotlight a specific aspect of my vacation.

Supplies: Bazzill (cardstock); American Crafts (pattern papers, chipboard label, badge); Making Memories (mini alphas); Heidi Swapp (alphas)

Supplies: Bazzill (cardstock); American Crafts (pattern paper, brads, acrylic layered accents, alphas); Maya Road (acrylic journal spot); ribbon (source unknown)

Supplies: Bazzill (cardstock); Echo Park (pattern paper, die cut stickers, die cut accents); American Crafts (pen for stitching)

Supplies: Bazzill (cardstock); Echo Park (pattern papers, sticker die cuts, chipboard swirl); BoBunny (snowflake, gems)

So please share your vacation layouts with me!

Congrats - by Cari Locken

2011-03-14T13:45:00.004-07:00

There's always time when we can celebrate with friends & loved ones for various celebrations or events like birthdays, the birth of a baby, graduations, etc.

Today I'm going to share with you 3 cards.

One is simply a "congrats" card for any type of occasion.

This next one is titled "celebrate" which could be used for a grad, a special birthday or the birth of a baby.

The last card is just left blank because sometimes simple can say a lot!

Thanks for popping by and have a great week!

It's Spring Break!!!

2011-03-12T09:31:00.003-08:00

School is out for Spring Break. I am happy and sad about it. Happy for the break from routine of early mornings and homework for the kids, and happy we can spend some time together. But I am sad too, I will miss my quiet mornings with no kids or hubby. Don't get me wrong, I love my family very much :)

So do you have plans for Spring Break? Any crafty plans?
I do, lots of crafty plans, now I just need to do them.

This weekend I hope to make St. Patty's Day cards. I don't think I have ever made one and my Dad is Irish! bad me!

Then I hope to get through a stash of about 10 photos I have picked out for a few layouts. These I hope to have done over the next 2 weeks.

And there are a few other things, we shall see if I get to them, like my mending and sewing pile.... oiy!

If you are looking for something crafty to do, how about making some St. Patty's Day cards, or breaking out last years Easter Pictures and getting them scrapped and into the book. I think I have only done 1 or maybe 2 years of Easter pictures, so will try to do it too!

I leave you with a layout I did a while back during spring.
Happy creating!
Debby

Monday, February 28, 2011 Card Challenge - "And I Quote..."

2011-02-28T11:58:00.000-08:00

Hello, cardmakers - this week's challenge is to use a quote on your card! Leave us a comment letting us know where to find your stuff...and I'll leave you with a quote, to kick things off..."You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." (Maya Angelou)

Happy Creating!!

Scraplift Challenge by Virginia Wong

2011-02-25T17:36:00.000-08:00

Scraplifting - the very sound of the word is ominous! When I first started scrapping I would never dream of lifting an idea or element from another scrapper. It subsequently took me ages to complete anything because I never wanted to be labelled with plagerism. Then I found out, everyone did it and it was perfectly fine as long as you gave credit where credit is due.

I often use Valerie Salmon sketches from her Got Sketch blog. There is something about her sketches that I adore. Now I can't remember which sketch it was but I know it was several months if not a year or more ago. My interpretation of the sketch is below - I rarely follow a sketch exactly as I am compelled put my own Virginia-ism on it!

Supplies: SEI (pattern papers, die cut stickers, glitter alphas); BasicGrey (chipboard alphas); American Crafts (ribbon of roses); Prima (pearls)

Over the years I have loved this classic design and find myself scraplifting myself over and over again as shown below.

Supplies: Bazzill (cardstock); The Girls' Paperie (pattern paper), Urban Lily (chipboard sentiment); Prima (flower, pearl); ribbon (source unknown)

Here I added a strip of pattern paper on the top and played with the die cut pattern paper.

Supplies: Bazzill (cardstock); Nikki Sivils (pattern paper); Heidi Swapp (chipboard alphas); Prima (bling heart and gems)

Here I added a third picture and fussy cut a few images.

Supplies: Close to my Heart (black cardstock); Cosmo Cricket (pattern paper, chipboard elements); American Crafts (Remarks alphas, pen for journalling); Basic Grey (large chipboard alpha); Tattered Angels (glimmer mist); Little Yellow Bicycle (chipboard square journal spots)

Here I had a swack of pictures showing my youngest learning how to roll into the water! To compensate, I shrunk the pattern paper portions and added extra pictures.

Supplies: Bazzill (cardstock); American Crafts (pattern paper); Quickutz (die cut alphas); Evalicious (felt accents - these are to die for!!!!)

These pictures just called for me flipping the pictures from the top to the bottom.

I hope you can see how fun and time efficient it is to scraplift. So what about you? Do you scraplift? Can you show me your creations?

Friday, February 25, 2011 - The 'Scraplifting - It ain't a crime!' Challenge...

2011-02-25T08:55:00.000-08:00

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery", so this week's challenge is to pick a layout, project, etc. that caught your eye on a blog or in a gallery - or maybe even something of your own creation that you are really pleased with, and scraplift it!! We'd love to see your inspiration piece and your own take on it so leave us a comment with a link where we can find you!

All About Me - by Cari Locken

2011-02-20T16:49:00.003-08:00

I'm a little bit late to the party. Sorry everyone.

I've been busy kitting and getting ready for the Great Canadian Scrapbook Carnival in Victoria, BC February 25-26th. This coming weekend! I'm so excited about it and look forward to teaching my classes and working in the CS booth. Hope to see you there if you live in the area!

I actually find it quite difficult to create layouts about myself. But I realized that's important for my children to know about me when they look through the scrapbooks later on in life. These layouts below have been created because of various assignments I've had to do ... not because I just "felt" like scrapbooking about myself. So I'm thankful for those assignments as they push me outside of my comfort zone.

I hope you're enjoying your weekend and this beautiful weather that we've been having!

Friday, February 18, 2011 - The 'It's All About You!' Challenge...

2011-02-18T17:00:00.000-08:00

This week's challenge is an 'AAM' (AKA 'All About Me')challenge. For all the scrapbooking we do, it seems that most of us are missing from our scrapbooks. Those of us who scrapbook are almost always the family photographers as well so pictures that include us seem to be hard to come by. We go to great lengths to document everything from the wonderful everyday moments to the milestones of our family members lives BUT we are missing from these pages, in photographs AND in presence or point of view...Sometimes I know I can feel a bit sheepish about shining the spotlight on myself. Not only am I very rarely ever happy with a picture of myself, but I also don't feel as comfortable focusing on myself as the subject of a scrapbook page or project...I'm hesitant to say, "Let's talk about ME now!". However, when I shift perspective just a bit and think about how much I would love to know more about my mother, or my grandmother, as a person beyond the role of mother or grandmother, or - the opportunity to get an inside glimpse of their thoughts or feelings about their role as mother or grandmother - wow! What an opportunity that would be. So then, I think of my children (or imagine my grandchildren) and realize - wouldn't they get a kick out of it? They would enjoy it. As well, how much might I enjoy it decades in the future, being able to look back at myself now? It makes sense, so throw off the cloak of modesty and declare, "Here I am! This is me!" I put the challenge out there for all of us, the family historians/photographers/scrapbookers...treat yourself, and your family, to a page (or an album!) all about you. To quote a well-known slogan, "Because we're worth it!"

All About Me Challenge By Susan Tutt

2011-02-18T07:37:00.004-08:00

Ok so lets just say that todays challenge was a bit of a challenge for me! I scrapbook everyone in my life except me. Now that is not on purpose there are just not many photos of me because I am the photographer. Creating this page made me realize that I need to be in front of the camera more often and that I need to document my feelings and thoughts more often!

I was thrilled to be using the newly released "For the Record" by Echo Park for this layout. Love, love, love it!!

So I know scrapbooking ourselves is difficult but I would love to see what you create with this weeks challenge.

Happy Valentines Day!!!

2011-02-14T13:42:00.002-08:00

I hope that you all are able to spend the day with the ones you love.

Supplies: Imaginisce (papers, ribbon, rub-on) Core'dinations cardstock. Prima flower & bling, Fiskars border punch

Supplies used: Core'dinations cardstock, Imaginisce (paper, chipboard, sticker and ribbon), Fiskars border punch

Cari

Love, Love, Love Challenge by Virginia Wong

2011-02-11T22:24:00.000-08:00

Do you remember the song, "Love is in the Air" by John Paul Young? Do you recall these lyrics?

Love is in the air

Everywhere I look around

Love is in the air

Every sight and every sound

To me, truer words were never spoken. I see little signs of love everywhere at our house. From the glimpses of sibling love (shown below) and not sibling squabbling...

Supplies: SEI (pattern papers, glitter cardstock alphas, journal spot); BasicGrey (chipboard alphas); Prima (pearls); American Crafts (ribbon)

to the heart shaped ham sandwiches I pack in their lunches, to the heart shaped cookies, to the impromptu dandelion bouquets and sweet heart warming love notes (seen below)...

Supplies: Close to my Heart (yellow cardstock); BasicGrey (pattern papers, brads, die cut journal spot, canvas tags, alphas, paper clips); American Crafts (pen for journaling); Versamagic (chalk ink)

These are examples of what love is; it is the everyday sweetness that surrounds us. I notice this everyday everywhere love so much more since I've started scrapbooking. I love this love, don't you?

Valentine Flower Wreath

2011-02-11T12:24:00.001-08:00

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I thought I'd share this project!

The flowers were made using Cuttlebug Quilling Dies, and the ones inbetween are Recollection flowers. The base is just a styrofoam heart (actually it was a solid one that I cut out the inside). And I punched some hearts out to add a bit of sparkle.

Supplies : pp Best Creation, Tim Holtz Tissue Tape, MS heart Punch, Cuttlebug Dies for the flowers.

The quote reads " Kindness in giving creates love" Lao Tzu

We'd love to see any of your valentine creations!

Love, Love, Love! By Susan Tutt

2011-02-07T09:40:00.002-08:00

February is always a month filled with love for us, as we celebrate our wedding anniversary as well as Valentines Day! My husband and I just celebrated 17 years of marriage on February 5th. Now the kids are looking forward to getting Valentine cards ready for their school mates. I have created two Love cards for your viewing pleasure.

The first card has a vintage feel to it. I used an old heart shaped doily, from my stash, to embellish my card as well as the new 7 Gypsies 97% complete stickers and heart stick pins from My Little Yellow Bicycle.

My second card is a super quick one as I just sprayed some maya mist over a heart stencil. I then sewed around one of the hearts and stamped my sentiment using a Heidi Swapp Stamp. To finish it off I used some decorative tape from Pink Paislee. This card took about 15 minutes to create, how is that for a quick card.

I would "love" to see what you create for Valentines Day!!

Monday, February 7, 2011 Card Challenge - Love, Love, Love!!!

2011-02-07T00:00:00.001-08:00

With Valentines Day drawing near, a 'Love' card challenge is the obvious choice, isn't it? You can never have too many 'love' cards though...after all, there are 364 other days every year that deserve a little love too! So, whether your focus is specifically Valentines Day, or any other day or reason to send a little love, leave a comment with a link where we can go to see your loving best!

Lunar New Year | Colour and Photo Inspiration

2011-02-03T22:08:00.001-08:00

In honour of the Lunar New Year and to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit,

I chose this art piece by Li Lin as an inspiration challenge this week.

I was inspired by the branch of blossoms and the colours to create a 5X7 canvas.

I started by painting over the canvas with some Dimensional paint, just to give it some texture and shine.

I cut out some branches from some very old Basic Grey pp.

I hand cut the hearts and added them to the branches to kind of be like the blossoms.

I added a quote, and finished it off with some pink stickles.

Supplies : Basic Grey, Best Creation, Echo Park, Stickles, Heritage Handcrafts Dimensioanl Paint

"There is no remedy for love but to love more" Henry David Thoreau

We hope you are inspired to create this week :) Happy scrapping!

New...Photo Challenges!

2011-02-01T17:59:00.003-08:00

The Inspired Scrapper now presents PHOTO CHALLENGES to get even more creative juices flowing. Challenges will be posted on the 1st of each month and will expire on the last day. Join TIS Photo Challenges on Facebook by clicking HERE. Add photos to your album and post a link on the group page. There's no limit to how many pictures you upload...the more, the merrier!

February's Photo Challenge (expires Feb 28th): Take photos that depict these words...CONTRAST, HARMONY, and/or SYMMETRY.

Here are my photos, just to give you an example:

Contrast
(sunset...a celebration of light and darkness)

Harmony
(two friends toasting to a fun day in Mexico)

Symmetry
(two Carnival cruise ships docked side-by-side)

Happy Snapping!

List It Challenge by Sonja McLean

2011-01-28T13:32:00.005-08:00

Every Christmas, my oldest son gives me a sketch book for the upcoming year to make notes, lists and sketches. This year, he bought me a blank journal by Ecojot. It's 7x10 in size and raw cardboard. At first, I was disappointed that it wasn't already decorated (Ecojot makes some pretty cool designs). But then I thought about the creative possibilities. I decided to list all the words that would inspire a positive and productive year ahead. Here it is:

The whole journal is done with stamps in my favourite colours. The background is done in faint musical notes. There are five symbols on my journal. The heart represents by oldest, Isaiah, who is always full of love. The smiley face is Charlie, whose smile lights up my life. The flower is Abby, my delicate blossom. And finally, Lilah, the hand print, because she's always making an impression. The stars represent me, the North Star in particular, the only star in the sky that doesn't move, which reminds me to be constant, unwavering...a guide for those who rely on me.

Hope you like it:) Happy Listing!

Supplies: stamps by Cornish Heritage, Hampton Arts, Fontwerks, Technique Tuesday, Stampin Up and Autumn Leaves, ink by Versafine and Stamping Up.

"List It" Challenge - by Cari Locken

2011-01-28T10:00:00.001-08:00

I love lists. I make them all the time. I mean ... ALL THE TIME!! However, I don't do it all the time when I'm scrapbooking. I do like the simple look of them though. Adding just a few points here and there is often easier than coming up with sentences of journaling. So if you struggle with journaling try making some lists.

Here are a few examples of layouts that I've done using this type of journaling.

Have a wonderful day!

Friday, January 28, 2011 - List It Challenge!

2011-01-28T06:00:00.001-08:00

TGIF! The kick-off to another weekend - hopefully one that allows for a little creative playtime!

Our challenge this week is to use a list format for journalling. 'Top Ten' list, 'Five Favorite', 'Reasons Why...' - the more I think about it, the more lists I can think of. Lettered, numbered, bulleted, point form - so many different ways to do it. Journalling can sometimes seem like a chore for some people, and sometimes it doesn't come easily. By writing information in a list format, it can ease the seeming 'formality' of writing and maybe make it easier to just jot down a few key points, details, or thoughts. A list-style of journalling can also look very stylistic.

Give this challenge a try, have fun with it, and share the end result with us by leaving us a comment with a url where we can go to take a look!

Card Challenge: "Hi" Clear Card

2011-01-24T11:53:00.003-08:00

Hi Everyone. Just a little card to brighten someone's day. Hope you like it:)

Supplies: Pageframes clear card, American Crafts Thickers, Jenni Bowlin journaling die-cut, May Arts ribbon, Prima flowers, Basic Grey Doilies/rub-ons/brad.

Card Challenge - Hello/Thinking of You

2011-01-24T09:45:00.005-08:00

Do you ever have the blues? (I know I do, in fact it's been that way lately for me because of all the rain we've been having). Do you find that you've lost touch with some dear friends or just don't get to see them that often? Well, we all need a pick-me-up sometimes don't we?

This card challenge today was to create cards with the theme of "hello" and "thinking of you".

Here are a few cards with that in mind.

Hope you're inspired to create these types of cards for a friend or family member.

Monday, January 24th, 2011 Card Challenge - 'Send A Little Sunshine'!

2011-01-24T08:06:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday! What better way to add a little sunshine to an often unappreciated day than by spending a little time exercising your creative abilities? In my little corner of the world, it is a very grey, very rainy morning and so what better excuse do I need to cocoon away with my scrapping supplies?

Today's card challenge is to 'Send A Little Sunshine' in the way of a 'Thinking of You' or 'Hello' card...in other words, a little bit of unexpected happy mail for somebody you care about.

Finishing Unfinished Projects Challenge by Virginia

2011-01-23T21:44:00.000-08:00

Firstly, I do apologize for my late posting. After weeks of dodging the stomach flu, I finally succumbed last week! Hopefully that will be it for the season!

Now the challenge...I have several unfinished layouts. They sit neatly in my 12x12 desk box...and they continued to sit in my desk box. All they needed was some journaling or a title or a special accent. But time passes by and there they sit. Here is a sampling of the unfinished layouts!

Some of my layouts are years old - that is how long they have been neatly stored. It is so long ago that my style has changed too! Here are a few that I completed!

Supplies: Close to my Heart (cardstock); BasicGrey (pattern paper); American Crafts (alphas); stitching; Versamagic (chalk ink)

Supplies: Urban Lily (folio, pattern papers and large number on the inside); Heidi Swapp (alphas); Prima (pattern paper for paper flowers); EK Success (punch)

Supplies: Close to my Heart (cardstock); Kiki Art (pattern papers, chipboard heart); American Crafts (alphas and numbers)

So that is 3 down and countless to go!!! Ha ha ha! Now that I am on a roll, I think I'll clean out my box of unfinished layouts! Are you with me?

Friday, January 22, 2011 - The 'Git 'er done' Challenge!

2011-01-21T11:32:00.000-08:00

Hello, and Happy Friday!! Today's challenge has been affectionately dubbed the 'Git 'er done' challenge because it's all about, well, getting it done! You know, the half-finished layouts and projects that you've got tucked away/set aside, just waiting for the perfect embellishment, or journalling, or that last spark of creativity to finish off with. I myself have a whole bin dedicated to partially finished stuff. If I actually finished even half of it, I would look like some kind of power scrapper - I could fill a whole album with stuff that's been started but not finished. Please tell me I'm not the only one?! (I KNOW I'm not!!)

So, don't delay!! This weekend, right now, pull out those masterpieces-in-waiting, pour yourself a hot beverage of choice, put on a little background music or a movie perhaps, and...you know what's coming, right? GIT 'ER DONE!!! Then post a comment with a link so we can gaze upon the fruits of your labour!

Friday Jan 14th - Old Photo Challenge

2011-01-14T11:59:00.003-08:00

This weekend our challenge is old photos. Photos from before digital cameras and digital editing. You know that box you have sitting over there, full of old film pictures? Pull them out and lets get them in the book!

If you don't have any of these laying around or stuffed in a box, because they are all scrapped; you are my hero!!! Seriously!!

I worked with some old heritage photos my MIL gave me. I did scan them - because she wanted them back - but I did not do any editing on them. I just printed as is.

I also left the journal spots empty for my MIL to fill in as much information as she recals.

I think besides being so happy to have these scrapped, I am also happy to have used up some OLD supplies!! Stuff I have had sitting around for years!!

I hope you have a wonderfully scrappy weekend!!
Debby

Blown out and bright?

2011-01-11T23:36:00.002-08:00

I was checking this site on a friends computer today and noticed that my cards looked VERY blown out and extremely bright in this POST. I was wondering if other people saw it that way too? When the images appear that way so much gets lost.
On my monitor, my images and the rest of the DT's images are fine.
I have calibrated my monitor with a program:

Calibrize

It is a free program for Window users. I like it, but not sure how other people are seeing the images on this site. Maybe my settings are set too dark?
Could you leave a comment on what you see when viewing our images, please?
Thanks so much! We want to make sure you are seeing the best version possible.
smiles!

Monday, January 10 - First Card Challenge of 2011...

2011-01-11T10:46:00.015-08:00

Hello, and Happy New Year!! I'm not a big New Year's Eve party person, and I'm not one for resolutions either, but I do feel a sense of renewal and rejuvenation on January 1st. That's the day we pack Christmas away around here, which gives a great sense of completion and closure to the season and allows me to turn my thoughts to what's ahead. I thought that a great card challenge to kick off the beginning of another year of birthdays is to build up a selection of cards ahead of time.

I am so guilty of being a last-minute person. In fact, one of my mottos is: If it wasn't for the last minute, I wouldn't get anything done! This posting is a classic example. Card challenges at The Inspired Scrapper come out on (every second) Monday. It's Tuesday today. Need I say more? Another saying I find myself using a lot is, "A day late and a dollar short". (Sigh...) If I were to try a resolution on for size, it would be to plan (and execute) ahead. It has been noted that it wasn't raining when Noah built the ark!

The wonderful Debby Visser was, of course, capable of getting her posting for this challenge done on time, as seen in her posting below. Debby says that her 'lady' cards are more available than masculine or child-friendly birthday cards. It is the same for me. I find it somehow easier to whip out feminine cards, but not so much cards suitable for men, and rarely cards for kids. So, I have feminine cards aplenty for this challenge, but NO cards for men or kids.

My plan/intention/wish is to spend some time today focusing just on cards for the men and the children in my family and my social circles whose birthdays are ahead this year. I find that once I sit down and actually get started, the mojo starts flowing pretty easily. Without making promises I can't keep, I will say that I hope to post those cards here soon.

In the meantime, I challenge you to get a great start to this year's coming occasions by getting going on your cards. One last saying that applies: Some people dream of success while others wake up and work hard at it! Be sure to share with us what you come up with by leaving a comment and a link on this post!

Enjoy the process!
Thanks,
Jillian.

Birthday Cards by Debby Visser

2011-01-10T11:54:00.004-08:00

Feels like forever since I posted here!
We had a very busy Christmas/New Year season, which left me with NO motivation or desire to create, or even step into my scrapbook room.
But I am happy things are back to normal and I am back to playing!
How have all of you been? Have you been creating or have you been like me and just too 'pooped' to play?

Today the card challenge was birthdays.
Birthday cards are always good to have on hand. For me I have lots of 'lady' birthday cards. You know flowers and frills, but kid birthday cards or male birthday cards are in short supply.
That is my goal this month!
So I have started with this cute little card for younger children/babies.

The bear paper I found at my local dollar store, the little squares of bears on one side and paw prints on the other; sooo cute!

When I create cards I always try to make 2 at the same time. I have the supplies out anyways and it puts more cards in the stash. Usually I try to change them a little, but sometimes I make them identical.

Here is another set I created

I used fabric and my big shot to cut out those flowers, then stitched a button in the middle. Very simple and easy.

I hope you get the chance to play along and create a few cards. And if you do, don't forget to share with us!
I am off to create some 'manly' cards! lol
Enjoy your day
Debby

Happy New Year!

2011-01-08T11:17:00.003-08:00

...and just in time too! By the end of each year, I am always ready for a fresh start! Without meaning to sound like I'm quoting from the latest and greatest miracle face cream ad campaign, there is just something about a new year that restores and rejuvenates!

Here at the Inspired Scrapper, we will be posting our first inspiring challenge this coming Monday - a great new card challenge for 2011. You won't want to miss it! Our scrapbooking-related challenges will resume the following week. In the meantime, sit down with a hot (caffeinated?!) beverage, and scroll back through the past year's worth of ideas and eye candy featured here, and get your creative juices pumping. Let's ALL get a roaring good start on 2011's creative pursuits!!

Year In Review Challenge by Virginia Wong

2010-12-31T13:19:00.000-08:00

As 2010 draws to a close and 2011 is emerging, I like taking the time to reminisce about our year. Sporadically throughout the year, I created Month in Review pages and doing a Year in Review page seemed to be the perfet conclusion to Project 365 for me.

Here is a look at my Year in Review.

As you can see, we celebrated birthdays, the first day of school, a kindergarten graduation, family, love, going to the Happiest Place on Earth and many many other events but these pictures seemed to represent our year. Sure there were some challenges but this another layout! On the whole, these pictures celebrated us, our family and that is how I will remember 2010 as we welcome in 2011!

Happy New Year everyone!

Not your standard size/shape Card Challenge by Cari Locken

2010-12-27T16:37:00.006-08:00

Hi there!

Cari here with another post for this wonderful card challenge - creating cards that are not a standard shape or size. First of all, I trust that you've all had a wonderful Christmas with your families. We had a great time here.

I love making cards! I admit, though, that I tend to stick to the same sizes when I make them. Probably because I like to get the most out of my paper. ;)

However, I can share one that I created in the shape of a party hat.

Supplies used: American Crafts paper, ribbons & rub-ons, Kaiser Craft rhinestone flowers, Fiskars border punch

And here's another one that measures 3" x 7". Not a typical size but it's a fun one.

Supplies used: Cosmo Cricket papers, chipboard, and "for you" die-cut, Prima (Flowers), ribbon, buttons, twine, Bazzill Basics Cardstock.

This card measure 4" x 5". Another non-traditional shape but it works.

Supplies used: Bazzill Basics cardstock, MME papers, Fiskars border punch, flowers (Prima and Kasier Craft), ribbon (May Arts), rub-ons (Pebbles)

I really should start making more with a unique shape because they are really fun.

This is an older one that I made with a card set. It's actually a pocket with a tag tucked inside. (sorry for the not-so-great photo).

Supplies used: Bazzill Basics cardstock, SEI papers, Melissa Frances rub-ons, decorative scissors, ribbon (May Arts)

I hope that we've challenged you to try some new shapes, designs and sizes when you create your cards. I'm definitely going to start using my Cricut for some of these as well because the possibilities are endless.

Have a great week!!

Not Your Standard Size/Shape Card Challenge by Erica Perkins

2010-12-27T14:05:00.000-08:00

I'm truly not much of a card maker, so when I started out making cards, they were the usual 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" card. Then I started to feel more comfortable and was inspired by other envelope sizes and things I saw around me. Now I have a bit more fun with my cards and have created ones like:

This fun octagon shaped card inspired by the shapes on a rummoli board.

Then there are those long A2 envelopes that had me making cards like these. What I kind of love about these is they really stand out among someone's cards, so everyone notices them.

My favourite sizes to make right now though are 5x5 and 3x3 cards. The envelopes for these are pretty available (I got mine from Stampin' Up, but I know there are lots of options). If you are like me and scrap 12x12 layouts for the most part, these are just a smaller version of that perfect square. I find them easier to do then the standard size.

And the trick to these circle cards is to not quite cut a perfect circle. You want to keep the fold edge flat and slice the smallest bit of the bottom so it'll stand up for you.

Now it's your turn to create some unique cards ... we challenge you to step out of the box!

Not your standard size/shape card challenge - Jo West

2010-12-27T09:00:00.001-08:00

Happy Day after boxing day! Now that the mad rush to the mall is over ... well almost over, some of those deals go on for a week, it's time to grab a warm beverage and get inspired to make some cards! This week we are challenging you to make cards that are not your standard 5 1/2 by 4 1/4 inch sized cards ...

The long and short of it ... I love making cards from scraps, and most times my scraps don't work with the standard card size ... so instead, i make cards according to the envelope sizes i have on hand ... in this case, i had some business envelopes hanging around the house, perfect for a tall skinny card and some very tiny square 3 1/2" envelopes ... great for gift cards ... the banners on the tall card were hand cut triangles again from scraps of paper. i cut them on the fold and glue dotted them to "hang" on the baker's twine.

The not so square of it ... and every once in a while, just for fun, i might make cards that have a different shape ... I don't have access to a lot of "shapes" so i tend to download templates from Stampington & Company when i want to make a shaped card. Both of the cards below are templates from there. For those of you with cricuts or other die cutting systems, you have access to probably hundreds of shapes from which to make a shaped card. I usually use shaped cards for special occasions and invitations.

This teacup was super easy to do ... I just traced the tea template, and cut every thing out except the top which i used as the fold ... the sentiment is stamped onto the tag which hangs in a "tea bag" on the outside of the card.

This little shoe card is cute when attached to a gift bag or wrapped present. You can stamp your sentiment write into the "sole" of the card, or you can write a little message, roll it into a scroll, tie with ribbon and slip it inside the shoe ... if the shoe fits!

We would love to see what you do with this challenge, please link up to us so we can visit your page or blog, happy shopping and have a wonderful New Year!

Traditions by Sonja McLean

2010-12-24T14:10:00.007-08:00

Hello Fellow Scrappers! Merry Christmas Eve...hope you are all enjoying your day! For today's challenge I decided to do a 12x12 layout celebrating one of my favourite holiday traditions: baking cookies and snacks with my family. This year my kids and I baked over 400 cookies and other snacks to give as gifts for teachers, friends and family. It's a gift that comes from our hearts, is made by our hands, and packaged with lots of love and appreciation.

Happy Holidays from my home to yours! Love, Sonja.

Supplies: patterned paper by Deja Views, die-cut paper by Jenni Bowlin, stamps by Technique Tuesday, chipboard letters by American Crafts, stickers and rub-ons by Adornit, American Crafts, Jenni Bowlin and 7Gypsies, ribbon by Maya Road, embellishments by Making Memories.

Traditions - by Virginia Wong

2010-12-24T12:43:00.000-08:00

Our family has adopted traditions from both my husband and my families over the years but as the girls have grown older, we have created our own traditions. I love these traditions and look forward to them every year.

Here is a mini album that celebrates our traditions. The album is titled "Joy" because these traditions bring all of us joy!

Supplies (for album): Clear Scraps (acrylic album); ribbon (source unknown); My Minds Eye (pattern paper); tags (source unknown); Basic Grey (red poinsetta pattern paper, chipboard alphas); Making Memories (mini alphas); Spellbinders (star dies); American Crafts (pen for stitching)

We start the Christmas season with our various advent calendars - ummm over the years I have collected a few! Each year it is a surprise to see what delicious morsel lies in the drawers of the calendar. My youngest daughter loves putting all the puzzle pieces together to create the wintery scene.

Next is the giddy anticipation of opening the boxes of Christmas decorations. Each girl has their own "special" ornaments that they lovingly place on the tree.

We often receive cards and special meaningful gifts from relatives abroad. No matter the item, my girls have these spontaneous joyful faces! And yes, sometimes during the days leading up to Christmas the excitement is too much - yes, we ask them to read about the Christmas story. Even though it is the holiday season, homework must still be completed.

No matter how many times we decorate the tree, each girl is excited and almost overwhelmed to put their first ornament on the tree. Daddy often is standing within arms' reach. (Mommy would too but who would take the photo?)

I also cannot forget our tradition of reading the Christmas Story advent calendar. Each day we read a mini book telling us the story of baby Jesus and the reason why we celebrate this wonderful season.

I always take a fun "head shoot" of the girls sometime during the Christmas season. Even though they have their "moments" they do really love each other. Our head shot poses vary from year to year and it is something they come up with.

How can I forget pictures with Santa? This is the first year that my youngest has not been scared by Santa!

Each girl makes a quick Christmas craft to share with close friends. Last year we made reindeer candy canes. We also always paint one ornament for the tree.

Each year we try to come up with new ways to dress our table. Last year we made placecards using upbeat non-traditional colours.

As well, no wintery day is complete without the "haute chocolate latte" devised by Moi! This is a family favorite for sure and is rarely available any time other than the holiday season.

Our last tradition is making sugar cookies. My recipe is tried and true. Each girl invites 2-3 friends who come and decorate cookies. It is a great time for all and one that is filled with many Kodak moments!

I thank you all for letting me share my family's traditions and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

-Virginia

Traditions - by Cari Locken

2010-12-24T09:00:00.001-08:00

I'm sure that many of us have certain traditions that we like to keep going every year throughout the holidays. Right?

We have a few. One of them is cutting down our Christmas tree. Since moving to the west coast it has been easier for us to find tree farms and the kids just love it!

Here's a couple of layouts that I've created capturing those fun times.

Supplies used: Core'dinations cardstock, Imaginisce (papers, rub-ons, flowers), Cuttlebug (trees diecut and embossing template), Basic Grey chipboard alpha

Supplies used: Imaginisce (papers, stickers, flowers, i-top brads, ribbon) EK Success border punch, Making Memories alpha stickers, American Crafts Thickers

Supplies used: Bazzill Basics cardstock, Cuttlebug (tree diecut & embossing folder),Fiskars border punch, Fancy Pants (papers), Making Memories alpha stickers

Supplies used: Core'dinations cardstock, Jenni Bowlin papers & circle stickers, Jillibean Soup ribbon, American Crafts brads, Queen & Co. felt

Another tradition that happens in our family is me trying to take a photo of the kids on Christmas Eve. Sometimes this task is easy and other times not so much!

Supplies used: Fancy Pants (papers) Making Memories alpha stickers, Cuttlebug embossing folders & diecuts, Fiskars border punch

Supplies used: Core'dinations cardstock, Imaginisce (papers, stickers, stamp, ribbon, flowers, i-top brad & tool, glam rocks (white) adhered with i-rock tool), American Crafts Thickers, Veramark

My mom also likes to make new pj's for the grandchildren each year. Last year she also made the girls some beautiful dresses.

Supplies used: Melissa Frances die-cut stickers, Quick Quotes papers, Kaiser Craft rhinestones, Piggy Tales ribbon, American Crafts brads, Pink Paislee chipboard alpha

Supplies used: Core'dinations cardstock, Basic Grey chipboard alpha, Fiskars border punch, Making Memories alpha stickers

I'd love to hear what your christmas traditions are. Have a blessed holiday!

Santa Photos - Challenge

2010-12-17T09:00:00.001-08:00

So what do you do with all of the photos of the kids on the lap of the mall Santa? I have a friend who puts then all out on her mantle... each and every year is on display, which works really well if you have a large mantle or area and you want to track the kids through the years.

Another option is to scrap them ... I don't know about you all but i have a hard time scrapping them ... so i choose one that was just a bit different ... and yes i remember it well ... at about the age of three my darling daughter learned to pout ... and she practiced a lot ... even with Santa ... This is the only year that i don't have a smiling child on Santa's lap, but it was a whole lot of fun to scrap ... So if you are having problems starting ... maybe try one where your child's expressions were something different ... or something funny or unusual happened... then tackle the rest of the stack of photos ... your kids will appreciate it so much when they are older!

now that i have one under my belt i am raring to get going at the rest of them ... and it is fun to scrap a yearly progression of Santa's and your kids!

Winter Fun and Frolic Challenge by Susan Tutt

2010-12-10T10:20:00.002-08:00

When I moved to Canada from California, 17 years ago, I really had no idea what winter was all about! I have to admit I wasn't impressed with -20 degree weather, but over the years I have learned to tollerate the winter. Since having kids I have experienced the fun side of winter, sledding, ice hockey, snowball fights and building snowmen, but drinking hot chocolate is still the best part of winter for me! This weeks challenge is winter fun and frolic. I have created two layouts that capture our winter fun.
Last winter we discovered a frozen pond in our neighborhood that was cleared for skating and hockey! My kids were thrilled, especially my hockey crazed son.

One of our winter traditions is to go sledding. I love capturing the exhilarated faces of my kids as they come down the snow hill.

It snowed again last night in Calgary, so we will be off sledding this weekend. Yay for hot chocolate!! Have a great weekend and remember to submit your challenge layout I would love to see your winter fun!

Sketch Challenge ~ Jo West

2010-12-05T16:29:00.000-08:00

Sorry to bring you this Friday's challenge so late in the week ... here it is Sunday afternoon, and I am just now able to post it ... I had a friend come over to look at my computer as it would not recognize my camera to download the pics ... turns out it was (and still is) a corrupted camera card ... who would a thought ...

Anyways, back to the main story ... We have this wonderful multi picture sketch to work with this week ...

and here is my interpretation of the sketch ...

The interesting thing about sketches is that they can be used as a jumping off point ... you never have to follow them verbatim ... I made several changes ... I overlapped the pictures and didn't leave the "whitespace" with the flower on it as shown in the sketch ... I added numerous embellishments, placed my title where the journalling was supposed to go and I cut down the size of the patterned paper that covered the left 1/2 of the layout.

I actually found this sketch quite fun to play with and i would used it again ... and I am usually a one photo on page type scrapper ... so go ahead, do give this one a try!

Bling it on!!!

2010-11-29T15:30:00.005-08:00

Glitter, sparkles and twinkling items are a huge thing on scrapbook pages and cards these days.

I've made some cards that use little bits of bling here & there.

I tend to use rhinestones/pearls as embellishments on certain design aspects of my cards or layouts. And I admit it is used sparingly at times.

Supplies used: Core'dinations Cardstock, SRM Stickers, lace & flowers(Prima), Rhinestones (Queen & Co.), twine, EK Success punch

Supplies used: Core'dinations Cardstock, Imaginisce patterned papers, chipboard and rhinestones using i-rock tool, May Arts (ribbon), EK Success punch

Supplies used: Upsy Daisy Designs (patterned papers and rub-ons), Rhinestones (Kasier Craft) ribbon, decorative scissors, Spellbinders (die-cut flower shape)

Hope you enjoy looking at these.

Have a great day!

Bling It On Card Challenge by Susan Tutt

2010-11-29T15:21:00.003-08:00

Todays card challenge is to bling it on!! I love bling on anything but especially a card. I chose to bling up my simple card with chunky silver glitter and Heidi Swapp chandelier jewels.

I love how the glitter gives the card a vintage glamour.

Glamour up a card today, maybe even a Christmas card.

Winter/Christmas Themed Challenge by Virginia Wong

2010-11-26T18:38:00.000-08:00

Well this past week in Calgary was a ccccccc-old! Not just a wee bit cold but frigidly cold...as in cold enough to take your breath away when you walk out the door. I am probably a bit unusual but I'll go out on a limb and say that I actually don't mind winter. Our family participates in traditional outdoor sports to make the winter more tolerable. We ski and skate...and I am an exemplary Lodge-Girl who happens to make amazing lunches (if I do say so myself!!!) LOL

Here are a few layouts celebrating Winter. (Did I also mention that we seem to travel to alot hills within a 7 hr radius of our home? THAT is how crazy we are!)

Supplies: Little Yellow Bicycle (alpha, pattern paper, die cut stickers; transparency stickers); American Crafts (journaling pen); Bazzill cardstock

Supplies: American Crafts (pattern paper, alphas); Prima (gems); Bazzill cardstock

Let's talk Christmas now...every single year, we make a gingerbread creation. One year it is a house, another a train and another is a ginormous amount of gingerpeople cookies.

Supplies: My Minds Eye (pattern paper, die cuts); American Crafts (alphas)

Supplies: My Minds Eye (pattern paper, die cuts); American Crafts (alphas)

We love counting down to Christmas with an Advent Calendar. Through the years I seem to have started a collection fo advent calendars - here is one of my newest advent calendars.

Supplies: Kaisercraft (advent calendar); Graphic45 (pattern papers, chipboard numbers); Tattered Angels (glimmer mist)

And I cannot forget Christmas morning!

Supplies: Fancy Pants (pattern paper, die cuts); Heidi Swapp (alphas)

Thanks for letting me share!
-Virginia

Challenge: Winter/Christmas Theme - by Cari Locken

2010-11-26T10:00:00.001-08:00

Wow!! I can't believe that it's already the end of November! Yikes!!

I still have so much christmas shopping to get done and was hoping to get it done this week however this winter weather we're having here in BC is not allowing me to get around in my van too easily (because I don't have winter tires on it yet!) I know, I know. You'd think being an Albertan for 10 years I'd be used to this white stuff ... but I'm not! I really don't like driving in it and would much rather stay at home - all nice & cozy!

Anyways, on to the fun side of snow - at least for my kids! ;) They enjoyed tobogganing today after school as the snow was falling. It was a perfect day for it. I didn't have my picture along with me 'cause I wanted to join in on the fun but I do have some layouts to share with you that involve winter and christmas.

Hope you enjoy them.

"Home Sweet Home"

My children had a blast building a fort from the snow that my husband had piled onto our front lawn.

"Snow Buds"

My son and his cousin enjoying a huge fort that my husband built one night in my folks backyard.

Supplies used: American Crafts (paper) Cuttlebug embossing folder and die-cut (alpha), Core'dinations cardstock, Fancy Pants felt embellishments

"Flakes of Fun"

I did some embossing on this layout.

"A Chilly Day"

A picture of my son last year when we were cutting down our christmas tree. It was cold out but we had a great time hunting for our tree. I tore the cardstock to make the little trees on my layout.

Supplies used: Core'dinations cardstock, Jenni Bowlin (ribbon, alpha stickers), brads (American Crafts), Queen & Co. felt

"Anticipation"

Christmas Eve is always so exciting for the kids. I love how giddy they get!

Supplies used: Imaginisce (stamp -used with Versamark on green cardstock; papers, stickers, ribbons, i-top brad, flowers, i-rock & white glam rocks), Core'dinations cardstock

"Our Tradition"

Growing up we would always cut down our Christmas tree and now that we live in BC we've enjoyed cutting down our own christmas tree.

Supplies used: Imaginisce (papers, flowers, snowflake sticker, rub-on), Core'dinations cardstock, Cuttlebug die-cut & embossing folder (trees), EK Success scalllop circle punch, Basic Grey chipboard alphabet

"The Perfect Tree"

After a quick look around (because it was chilly out) we found the tree that was just right for our family.

Have a great weekend!

Inanimate Object Challenge ~ Jo West

2010-11-19T22:08:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while i find myself taking pictures of inanimate objects ... and very random inanimate objects at that. The challenge this week is to dig through your photos, find a picture of such an object and scrap it ... that's right, scrap it! It doesn't have to be your best picture ... it doesn't have to be something in your home, as long as it is totally inanimate.

In this layout I scrapped my daughters new sneakers ... i just wanted to do this to capture a moment in time and fashion where these classic old sneakers were having a major fashion revival ....

This next inanimate object is a telephone pole downtown that was filled with flyers ... the art on the pole really caught my eye ... the journalling (which is almost always on the back of my layouts) is a commentary on communication styles from the old billboard to the current message board/social network. Sometimes scrapping photos such as this bring a lot of interesting thoughts forward, and they are fun to document ... i can only wonder what someone reading this 25 years from now will think of the evolution of communication. Sorry for the quality of this photo, I get very poor light into my home during the grey days of fall and winter. This page is actually done on white cardstock ... there are no yellow tones.

I did some old school stuff on this layout ... using paint around the edges of the photo & acrylic butterflies ... I also heated the acrylic butterflies so that the wings look like they are swooping in air. I also used a kraft shopping bag from one of my fave stores .... i just really liked the graphics!

I hope you all get a chance to get out and take some interesting inanimate object photos, enjoy documenting these little glimpses of your life & your opinions or musings ... cheers!

Winter Inspired Cards ~ Jo West

2010-11-15T15:41:00.002-08:00

Brrrr.... feel that chill in the air? Winter is coming ... Time to light those fires, cuddle up with a blanket, and a warm cup of hot chocolate ... but first, lets pull out all of our christmas papers and make some quick and easy winter themed cards! Having a supply of winter themed cards comes in really handy, especially if you find your November and December too busy to make cards ... Each of the cards shown here can be made in 10 minutes or under ... like i said "quick & easy"

Got strip scraps? I know i will want to send out some general cards later on in winter ... for this card i just used strip paper, punched the lower border, filled the holes with clear stickles, put a little bit of glossy accents on the cheeks of the faces and the blue dots. I punched out a tag, stamped "hello", added a ribbon boy and its ready!

Got leftover chipboard? I used a lot of little chipboard accents from last years Cosmo Cricket line ... they look so cute and add a great big punch to the card without having to do a more time consuming technique. I also used a little a die cut acrylic snowflake.

Got leftover packaging? try saving those clear acrylic packages that embellishments come in ... you can run them through your big shot to make inexpensive embellishments . Before I attached these three snowflakes to the card, i heated them for a few seconds with my heat gun to bend them a bit ... this gives the card a little more dimension and it creates more shine for the light to bounce off of as there are more angels to catch the light.

Got bling? I know i will be sending out lots of thank you cards come January ... and i wanted some glimmer and shine to my cards ... so to get the glimmer going I grabbed my smooch (glimmer glaze works really well too) and I painted the rim of a diecut tag and the coloured areas of the snowflake ... I then added three little self adhesive pearls and its all shiny & pretty ...

Got Birthdays??? Your left over Christmas or winter themed papers and embellishments can still work well for winter birthdays. In this case i used a snowflake themed paper, and a chipboard christmas present which can easily pass a birthday present once the sentiment on the card front is clear! ... I added some glossy accents and glitter to the outline of the diecut and the bows on the present, through on a hand made flower and ribbon and again, made a super quick and easy winter themed card.

Got Vintage??? Sometimes i just want to do something vintage looking ... to make this card, I just went to a free download site, in this case The Graphics Fairy ... downloaded and then printed the card for free ... stamped the sentiment in the bottom corner and painted the snow with smooch and stickled the border. Once dry I adhered it to cardstock, border punched the edge, added ribbon, a bow and a pin!

So dig out those leftover christmas papers and embellishments and whip up a few super easy and quick cards today! Thanks for reading!

2010-11-12T12:14:00.012-08:00

Hello, and welcome to another challenge at The Inspired Scrapper! This week's challenge is a colour challenge using this photo (taken from the Internet, source unknown) as inspiration:

Here is my layout, based on these colours:

The photos are of my beautiful little niece, Olivia, and were taken by the amazingly talented Karen Dyke, of Karen Dyke Photography. The colours in the inspiration photo are quite deep and bright. I used 'quieter'/more muted shades of the brown, pink, and green. I also based my layout on this sketch from Becky Fleck's August 2010 Pagemaps:

Sketches are such a great starting point if you are lacking your own creative mojo, or if you are pressed for time and want to shorten the design process. Sometimes I'll start with a sketch as a leaping point and the end result won't resemble the original sketch at all, but in this case, as you can see, I stayed very close to the sketch.

We would love to see what this week's colour inspiration brings out in your creativity - share with us using our November linky!

Colour Challenge by Karen

2010-11-12T07:50:00.000-08:00

I love a great colour challenge! It inspires me to go through my stash and find papers and embellishments that work. Instead of reaching for my newest papers or my favourite companies, I find that I end up using a mix of papers and in the end it feels great to use the supplies I have at hand.

This week we have this great photo as inspiration. I love how bold the colours are and seriously how beautiful is that arrangement.

Here is my take on the colour challenge. I stuck with the main colours in the inspiration photo, dark brown, fushia, red and green. Since the colours are so bold, I kept the embellishments to a minimum and just added a few buttons.

suppplies : bazzil, rouge de garance, chatterbox, prima, basic grey

We would love to see how these colours inspire you!

TFL

Imperfect Photo Challenge - Jo West

2010-11-05T14:41:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday everyone!!! scrapping imperfect photos is something i do on a very regular basis ... when my child was born there were no digital cameras ... I had an old point & shoot film camera that took poor quality photos ... so if I am scrapping younger years photos, they are almost always flawed in more than one way.

My daughter and her friends are always snapping shots of each other ... and thats just it ... snapping shots ... caught up in the moment, having fun, forgetting to change camera settings .... and the results can be horrible .... but the thing is ... they capture a moment ... a memory that is so good that the "not so perfect photo" becomes perfect as it encapsulates the memory, the sight, sounds and feelings of the moment ... And hey, like my daughter always tells me ... life is not perfect, either are photos ... scrap the ones that resonate with you (yes, all of this from a 21 yo non-scrapper ... gasp ... but that's a story for another time.)

The photo i used in this layout was one of her faves from a special night out with friends ... and as soon as she showed it to me i knew i would use it ... see how the photo is blurry going up and down ... totally reminded me of that classic old tv show Star trek and the whole "Beam me up Scottie" line that i ended up using as a title.

This photo is almost square in shape ... That's because i cropped off a whole lot of the rest of the picture. Cropping is a fave technique i use when working with imperfect photos. There are other little techniques i employ as well ...

For the tech minded people, try fixing your photo as much as possible through Photoshop or other similar program. You can also try painting out the background of an imperfect photo ... paint it out in a colour that matches the papers or embellishments you are using, or paint it white and journal on top of the dried paint. You can also use embellishments & rub ons to disguise a problem photo ... you can even place your title over a problem area. And my final technique is to just cut out the figure and use only it on your layout ...

so use those not so great photos ... remember that you are scrapping real moments in real life and not perfection and just have a whole lot of fun with it! Have a great weekend all!

Imperfect Photo Challenge by Erica Perkins

2010-11-05T13:17:00.001-07:00

When I saw this challenge, I knew it was made for me. If you are like me, you are on a mission to capture great photos of your little men. The problem is they don't stop moving do they? Even with my flash on,even with my ISO set on high, or shooting on the action setting of my camera, I still struggle to get a clear photo of my son that isn't blurry or a photo where he isn't missing a limb.

The photo I chose for this challenge is a little blurry, my son appears to be missing his extremities and the tip of his head, but it was perfect for a quote that I have wanted to use for along time. Trust me, there are a lot of imperfect photos in my photo box to choose from, but this one stood out. I loved that he was leaping so happily from something (see even that is missing in this photo). It's the look on his face that is perfect to me (and it's not even looking at the camera)...he was challenging himself to jump off something that was a bit high and he was overjoyed that he did.

Supplies used: Cardstock: Bazzil; Patterned Paper: Collage Press; Alphas: Basic Grey and Carolee's Creations; Punch: EK Success.

So next time you are looking through your photos and you say, "oh this would be perfect for the layout, if only ________________ (insert complaint here)", use the photo anyway, it's part of the memory making, it's part of your experience and sometimes, it is still the perfect photo to use.

Imperfect Photos Challenge by Susan Tutt

2010-11-05T08:21:00.003-07:00

Happy November everyone!! Todays challenge is using imperfect photos on a layout. I am the ultimate mamarazzi, but as many photos as I take sometimes I don't always get that perfect photo. Occasionally I use imperfect photos because they capture an emotion or a memory that I just want to remember.

On this Fall Days layout I used photos with heads cut off!! Oh my....I know thats bad right. But these photos capture the excitement and action of my kids playing in the fall leaves.

This Christmas layout uses snipets of photos that capture favorite pieces of our holiday season.

I cropped photos that I would not have used as full sized on a layout because they were not visually pleasing.

Today rethink about those photos that you have put in do not scrapbook pile. Use a photo that may not be perfect, but captures and emotion or an unforgettable event!

Card Challenge - Christmas inspiration by Cari Locken

2010-11-01T12:20:00.005-07:00

How many of you have started making your christmas cards? I haven't. :( I taught a class this past Saturday and was surprised at how many ladies are almost finished making theirs (if not done already!) That's wonderful!

However, if you're like me and haven't started yet OR maybe you never thought about making them before and figured you'd try it out this year then I hope that I can share a bit of inspiration with you right now.

Remember, you can keep them as simple as you want and then they're easy to mass produce.

Or you can make them all different if you'd like. You also don't have to make cards using the typical red & green combos. There's so many different colors that are being used to decorate christmas trees these days that you can use that for your inspiration as well.

I'm going to share with you a bunch of cards that I have made.

This 1st collection reveals 7 cards that I'm currently teaching. I've used product from Imaginisce and their new christmas collection called Cottage Christmas.

This second set were cards I made last year using Imaginisce's Polar Expression collection.

And these cards I did a lot of embossing using the Cuttlebug embossing folders and then just added a few pieces of cardstock here & there along with ribbons, buttons and stamped sentiments.

I hope that you're inspired to start creating. ENJOY!

November Linky

2010-11-01T00:00:00.001-07:00

Welcome to a whole new month of challenges here at The Inspired Scrapper! This month features two great card challenges as well as four scrapbooking challenges - jump in and share with us!!

Halloween by Debby Visser

2010-10-29T18:00:00.004-07:00

Wow Erica and Susan did fabulous jobs with this challenge! I love the house, might try that but for Christmas instead; as Halloween is too soon for me to get it done. And I love the mini book Susan did, such a great idea! I bet the kids love it.

Around here, Halloween can last all year, well the dressing up part anyways. All 3 of my boys have 'costume trunks' and they are always digging in them. They will even dress up any friends that come over, including adults! lol

Here is my youngest as 'Jaxonstein', this costume is too small this year. Makes me kinda sad when we have to say goodbye to some of them.

Getting good pictures at night can be difficult, so I had my kids dress up early and we took photos on the lawn before dinner.

Halloween also means trips to the pumpkin patch. Last year I went along and got some great shots, so many in fact that I created pocket pages so I could include them all on one double page spread.

I am working on another page right now from this years pumpkin patch trip. Hope to have loaded on my blog this weekend. I am using FAB papers by Magenta Style. They have such rich coloured papers.

I hope you get a chance to get creative this weekend! And stay safe while out trick-or-treating!!
Debby

Halloween Challenge by Erica Perkins

2010-10-29T16:37:00.000-07:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year...with so much mistletoeing and ... oh wait, wrong season. You wouldn't know it with the Christmas decorations all over the stores and the blitz of toy ads on tv these days. Halloween was always a blip on the radar as my eyes and wishes looked forward to Christmas, but since having children, my love of Halloween seems to grow bigger and bigger each year.

I look forward to picking out costumes with the kids and seeing what they thing is spooky enough or even cute to dress up as, I add more pieces to my witch costume, I add a few more decorations to our home's Hallween bin and I've even started to use my scrapping goodies at Halloween.

This year, I finally altered a corrugate house I've had for a couple of years for Halloween.

I started with the roof and scallop cut a bunch of 1" strips and layered them up the roof. I curled up the edges for a bit of dimension. I covered the outside of the house with two different colours (orange and green) and inked the edges just a tad. The windows looked awfully bare and I didn't want to get too fussy, so I cut up a few little "shutters" (purposefully crooked) and stuck them on. I used a cloudy plastic folder I had around and cut pieces to fit in the windows, but I pop-dotted them back a bit from the walls to give more dimension and shadow. I also added a couple of Colorbox glittered chipboard bats flying above the house.

From there I added some Dream Street rub-ons to one side.

And some Martha Stewards stickers on the other side and back.

The fence was done with a Martha Stewart sticker which I mounted by folding transparencies and creating space between the house and the fence....that likely doesn't make much sense.

I love how it turned out. I've put a flameless candle inside that flickers and makes it seem a little bit spookier too.

Halloween Challenge by Susan Tutt

2010-10-29T12:20:00.004-07:00

It is friday and time for another great challenge! This weeks challenge is anything Halloween, so get ready for some project overload!!

I created this layout of my daughter using My Minds Eye Halloween paper line . I love the muted oranges of this paper. Adding lots of dimension and texture to my pages is kind of my thing, I used buttons, tulle, chipboard letters, sewing, pleating of paper and an acrylic journaling spot from Maya Road to achieve this. I also added dimension to my picture by printing both a b/w and colored photo. I cut the pumpkin from the colored photo and adhered it to my b/w photo with a pop dot.

Lots of distressing with paint and an edge distresser, on this layout. I also love to add non scrapbooking items to my pages like these pipe cleaners that I sewed on to the edge of my photos.

Using non traditional papers on a themed page is another thing I like to do on my layouts. I used Sasafrass Lass on this pumpkin carving page.

These cute pumpkins were cut on the Cricut.

This cute little mini album was made using drink coasters! I modge podged patterned paper to the coaster to create this fun cover!

Using a mask can create a great page, I used Heidi Swapps bat mask on cardboard.

I hope I have given you some new ideas for scrapbooking all of those pictures you will be taking this weekend of your little trick or treaters! My kids are so excited for Halloween, this year I have a little warewolf and an 80's girl. I was a teen in the 80's and it is hard to believe we dressed like that!! Have a safe and fun Halloween!

All About Me Challenge by Virginia Wong

2010-10-22T21:36:00.000-07:00

"All About Me" - Really???

I can honestly say that I rarely, as in not ever, scrap about myself. Why? I don't know but it kinda feels a bit self-centred. *blush* However, a few months ago, my youngest daughter was looking through a scrapbook and said, "Mommy where are you?" I stopped for a moment and thought, "Yeah, where am I?" And that is how this layout came about.

Supplies: Nikki Sivils (pattern paper, paper die cuts), American Crafts (alphas); Making Memories (mini alphas); EK Success Writer (stitching)

Thank you for letting me share!

All About Me Challenge by Chriss Hird

2010-10-22T15:51:00.004-07:00

There are so many things we love to scrap...our kids, families, special occasions, the every day. But how often do we scrap ourselves? If you're like me, not all that often. But when you think about it, why don't we? We tell the stories or everyone else's lives in our scrapping, why not our own?

I thought long and hard about this challenge (and that's why I'm late in posting lol!). My inspiration was one of my all-time favourtie quotes. The thing is, that it highlights my "maybe not so good" traits...but its so true of me, at times ;) And why not scrap about who we really are, great and not so great?

So here I am:

I really had fun with this challenge and I hope it inspires you to tell your story, however you decide to tell it ;)

What About You Challenge ... Jo West

2010-10-22T09:00:00.001-07:00

... or as I like to say ... it's all about me! and that's what we want to inspire you to do this week ... something all about me ... but in your case, all about you! If you have never scrapped yourself before I urge you to consider starting ... no, its not something done out of vanity ... it's something that leaves a bit of you for future generations ....

I am blessed in that i have a lot of wonderful vintage family photos ... and i look at them an wonder .... wonder why my grandmother is smiling, wonder what my mother was thinking as she is sitting on top of that car ... wonder what their thoughts were at certain ages ... what they did on a daily basis ... what they felt, imagined, dreamed, wished for ... so let's record a little of that kind of information for future generations so that they don't have to wonder and they do have an idea.

I have done several All About Me projects ... from a one page layout ... just showing the events of a random day all the way to a complete 8 1/2 x 11 album, which is a compendium of me ... one page for each letter of the alpha, full of journalling all about ... yeah me ... that one took 26 weeks to complete ... I did one letter a week ... but it is comprehensive ...

One of my favourite projects was a box with a series of 10 teeny tiny books. Each book covered one subject, such as my favourite people, my music, my friends and family etc ... this was a wonderful little project and it was a snapshot of my fave's at the age of 50.

So take the challenge ... do an all about you project, be it a page or an album ... it's time to celebrate you and leave something for future generations to learn from ...

Monday Card Challenge! Embossing!

2010-10-19T19:59:00.002-07:00

No better way to conquer a Monday than with some creative output, wouldn't you agree? Join us for another card challenge - embossing! Dry embossing, heat embossing...or both! Show us what you came up with...

Monday Card Challenge - Embossing by Cari Locken

2010-10-18T15:11:00.004-07:00

I absolutely love the look of embossing. Whether it's been done dry (by embossing on cardstock with Cuttlebug templates) or by stamping and using embossing powders. I just love the end result.

I've done quite a bit of dry embossing and here a few examples.

Both of these I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder on Core'dinations cardstock (which I just love for embossing. It has a different core color so when you sand the embossed image it reveals the image just wonderfully!!)

Supplies used: Core'dinations cardstock, SRM sticker, Prima flower & lace, Queen & Co rhinestones, EK Success punch, twine, Cuttlebug embossing folder

Supplies used: Core'dinations Cardstock, Imaginisce paper, rhinestones used with i-rock tool & chipboard, May Arts ribbon, Cuttlebug embossing folder, EK Success punch

This last one is a card where I stamped the dove image and then sprinkled red glitter embossing powder overtop.

Supplies used: Gelatins stamps & embossing powders, Bazzill Cardstock, American Crafts paper

Thanks for looking and hope you have fun trying some embossing with your cards.

Monday Card Challenge By Susan Tutt

2010-10-18T12:28:00.003-07:00

My challenge this week is to incorporate a tag or tags and dry or wet embossing onto a card! Wow that's a lot for a little ole card. But look what I came up with. I made my card tag shaped and embossed it with a fun distressing technique that I am going to share with you! First of all here is the card I created. I love the urban modern look of it, it would make a great card for a teen.

There are a lot of textures going on here! First I started by sponging ink through a piece of metal screen. Next, I stamped my card with a Fancy Pants circle stamp and heat embossed with silver embossing powder. To create the distressed embossed look I placed a piece of printer paper over my embossing and ironed it with a warm iron. The iron melts off some of the shine from the embossed areas and gives it a flat or distressed look. I also added some color to random circles with colored distress inks. The last thing I did was to spritz a little glitz spray to the card.

I hope you enjoyed my distressed embossing technique today! I want to see how I inspired you today, so post your embossed tag card and link it to your comment.

Stamping Challenge!

2010-10-17T13:19:00.003-07:00

This week's challenge is to stamp it! Use your stamps on a layout, card, mini album...you decide! Acrylic, wood mounted, clings, or even foam stamps (don't we all have a bunch in our stash?!) Our design team has provided us with some very creative examples - now you share!

Stamp It Challenge by Debby Visser

2010-10-15T11:44:00.005-07:00

I love stamps and have quite a big collection. They are reusable and therefore a very smart purchase. Especially when it is an image or saying you can see yourself using again and again. Change the colour or direction of the stamped image and you have a totally different image. For example on this first layout I used a Stampin Up tree stamp and turned it to be a branch. Then stamped a bunch of flowers and added them to the branch. And because I love dimension, I pop dotted it all. The little bird is from Magenta; I love their laser cut chipboard!

For the next layout I used some circle foam stamps with paint and created a bit of a border around my photos. Was simple and easy.

The next couple of cards I created by stamping the image many times on different papers then cutting out each little design and layering it. The little boy and dog is a Magenta stamp and the lion is a Close to My Heart stamp.

So pull out those stamps and create!!! And if you do, share with us, we would love to see what you are doing!!
Have a great weekend and happy creating!
Debby

Stamp It Challenge By Chriss Hird

2010-10-15T10:54:00.003-07:00

Stamps...one of my scrapbooking weaknesses! I have a ton of them, they're so versatile! There are so many techniques you can try with your stamps. Sometimes I have difficulties using my stamps on layouts though, so I thought this challenge was great, because it got me thinking about how I could stamp on my layout in a way that was a little out of the ordinary. Here's what I created!

I love how this "Summer Hottie" layout turned out. I didn't do a lot of stamping at all, but what I did do is quite effective, I think. If you look at the close up photo below, you'll see script stamped right on the photo itself, yet there's not script over my sweet daughter's face...hmmm. Really, its so easy, and pretty cool. All I did was cut a circle out of some scrap cardstock and place it over the area of the photo I didn't want stamped - I masked it. If you want to stamp on photo paper you'll need to use Staz On ink - it dries fast so it won't smudge. So I inked up my background stamp with Staz On, then stamped the photo. Then I took the mask off and voila! I've added an interesting element to the photo!

Here's a card I created using a technique called "Reverse Spotlighting". Stamp your images on whatever size cardstock you are using on your card. Then, using a punch, cut out a few "spotlights". Whatever number of spotlights you've punched out, stamp the same number out on a different colour cardstock that has a good contrast. Cut out the image and place behind the spotlight piece, matching up the lines of the image. Tape it in place, then adhere to a background piece of cardstock. And that's it! I love this technique, and this particular card is a favourite of mine.

I hope this inspires you to pull out some of your stamps and play with them. And I hope you post some of your creations, we'd all love to see them! Happy Friday!

Stamp It Challenge - by Cari Locken

2010-10-15T10:00:00.001-07:00

Well, I have to admit that I actually started out this scrapbooking journey with some stamps. I went to a stamping party and immediately was hooked.

However, there was a BIG lull for me when I didn't want to use stamps at all. I was just quite content scrapbooking with all the new goodies & toys out there in the scrapbooking industry that my stamps began to collect dust.

But over the years I've acquired a love for them again.

Since designing for Imaginisce I've found that I've used them even more on my layouts (not just cards .... which is where I usually think to use my stamps).

Here are a few examples of how I've used stamps.

This one I stamped the image with Versamark.

Supplies used: Bazzill cardstock, Imaginise (Scooter's Vacation: paper, flowers, stickers, stamps), transparency, EK Success corner rounded punch, Versamark

For this layout I stamped the little robot image with black ink and then colored it in with Tombow markers.

Supplies used: Imaginisce (Live Loud: papers, stamps, stickers, chipboard), Tombow markers, EK Success corner rounded punch

On this card I used the word stamp with Versamark on the background card and then stamped and colored the main image in like I did for the layout above.

Supplies used: Prism cardstock, Imaginisce (Live Loud: papers, stickers, stamps), EK Success corner rounded punch, Versamark, Tombow markers

I used a flower stamp for this layout on some patterned paper and then just colored in the center of the stamped flower image.

Supplies used: Core'dinations cardstock (Black Magic), Imaginisce (To Love & Cherish: papers, flowers, stamps, i-top brads), American Crafts Thickers

And lastly, on this layout I used a tree stamp on patterned paper and then cut out all the trees and adhered them along the bottom section of my layout. Some trees I adhered with pop dots ... others just flat.

Supplies used: Core'dinations cardstock, Imaginisce (Apple Cider: papers, chipboard, rub-ons, stamps, i-rock tool and crystals), VersaColor ink (in brown)

Thanks for looking & I hope that you're inspired a little to play with your stamp collection today!

Altered Tray by Karen

2010-10-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

I love starting the fall season with Thanksgiving. It is a great way to appreciate the new season and to recognize all that we have to be thankful for.

Here is an autumn tray, each space has its own little mini theme.

supplies : 7 gypsies, elles studio, best creation, jenni bowlin

Wishing eveyone a warm Thanksgiving.

tfl

Giving Thanks - by Cari Locken

2010-10-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

I just love this time of year. I love the coolness in the air, the changing color of the leaves, hunting for the perfect pumpkin and making yummy comfy foods!

I also enjoy this time of year because we set aside a day to be thankful. (not that we should just do that one day of the year, don't get me wrong) but it is nice to have a day where we can actually sit down together and actually take the time to say what we are thankful for. I'm hoping to do just that this year at our dinner table before we dig in to our delicious turkey dinner meal.

In keeping with this theme of Giving Thanks I'd like to share a few projects with you that I've made.

I just made this layout this past week using one of my all-time favorite collections by Imaginisce, called Apple Cider. I love it. So rich & warm.

Supplies used: Imaginisce (Apple Cider - papers, ribbon, chipboard), I-rock tool (by Imaginisce), Fiskars border punch (leaf design), owl (My Little Bit of Whimsy), Core'dinations Cardstock

This little mini album is accordian style. I taught it last year at a retreat. It's so cute & easy to make.

Supplies used: chipboard, Bazzill Basics kraft colored cardstock, Scenic Route patterned paper, chipboard (Riff Raff Designs), flowers (Prima), stamps (Making Memories and Melissa Frances)

Here's another mini album that I've made. This one housing pictures of people and things that I'm thankful for. I'll be teaching this class again up at The Ultimate Scrapbook Retreat at Loon Lake in a few weeks.

Supplies used: Paper Trunk (papers, letter stickers), ribbon (Offray), punches (EK Success), Fiskars border punches, Bind-it-all machine and o-wires, Making Memories stamps

Have a blessed Thanksgiving everyone!

Monday Card Challenge - "For a Friend" by Erica Perkins

2010-10-04T13:07:00.000-07:00

I, along with several of my fellow Inspired Scrappers, just got back from the BC Crop 4 Kids where we spent 48 hours raising money for BC Children's Hospital. I knew I had this challenge to complete today, but would you believe that I left it until the last minute? In fact, most of the time I leave my card making to the last minute. I'm not as organized as Cari and Debby with their beautiful cards made and ready to go to a friend in need or special occasion. So this morning, when I was thinking about a card to send to a friend while catching up on Facebook, I came across the new sketch over at Imaginisce. And in about 12 minutes (which included setting up my sewing machine with black thread) made this card.

Supplies used: Bazzil cardstock, Imaginisce patterned paper and chipboard stickers, October Afternoon mini alphas and my sewing machine.

I love soft and pretty cards with lovely sentiments, but sometimes I need to rock it out too. This card will be perfect for those occasions.

I can't wait to see the cards you all come up with this week. Remember to link us up in the comments so we can check it out, leave ya a little love and get you hooked up in our random RAKs.

For a friend cards by Debby Visser

2010-10-04T11:53:00.004-07:00

General 'friend' cards is one I try to keep in my stash of cards at all times. They are perfect for those unique situations that are not birthdays, holidays or thank you's.
Here are some I have created with that in mind;

Supplies: Magenta papers and stamps, Cuttlebug embossing folders, Stampin Up sentiment stamp, DMC floss, Ranger stickles

Hope you find some time to create! Thanks for stopping by!
Debby

Card Challenge - "For A Friend" by Cari

2010-10-04T06:00:00.002-07:00

I know that there have been many times when my friends have needed a shoulder to lean on, a prayer said on their behalf, a listening ear and just a big comforting hug. However, if you live far apart those things aren't always the easiest to do but sending a hand-made-with-love card especially for them can be the best gift ever!

Here are some that I have created with this theme "For a Friend" in mind.

"Sweetest Friend"

Supplies used: Bazzill Cardstock, patterned papers (Daisy Bucket), stamps (Hero Arts and Stampin'Up), flower (KaiserCraft), ribbon (May Arts), corner rounded punch (EK Success). brads (American Crafts)

"Great Friend"

Supplies used: Bazzill Cardstock, Paper Trunk (patterned papers), Prima flower, twine, EK Success punches, stamp (Hero Arts), ink (Colorbox), button (unknown)

"Sending Sunshine"

Supplies used: Core'dinations Cardstock, October Afternoon patterned paper, American Crafts felt flower, ribbon (May Arts), punches (EK Success), stamps (Hero Arts)

So, I hope you'll try the challenge and create a card for a friend. It just may be the sunshine in their day! ;)

Cards, Cards and More Cards! by Virginia

2010-10-01T20:39:00.001-07:00

October 2 is World Cardmaking Day. It traditionally marks the day that cardmakers around the world begin creating their stunning Christmas cards. Myself, I have not been organized enough to start making Christmas cards in October! Because of my procrastination, I have gone to a digi card :-)

Cards are a challenge to me. I feel pressured to create an amazing card in a small space. It is actually easier and quicker for me to whip up a 12x12 layout than it is to create a 4.25"x5.5" card...yes that is true! But I also love love love to give and receive a handwritten card with a heartfelt message written inside. And that is the reason why I continue to challenge myself to make cards.

In honour of World Cardmaking Day, here are a few cards that I have made recently.

I would love to see your cards too!

-Virginia

Card, cards!

2010-10-01T16:08:00.007-07:00

I love making cards, however, I admit that there was a time when I couldn't stand them and didn't even want to think about making them. I thought it was a big waste of time. I know ... crazy huh? (*hanging head shamefully*)

But then, I found that they were a fabulous way for me to get my creative ideas coming especially when I was stumped and just not in the scrappy mood.

I always sketch out my designs (just like I do with my layouts) and I it's such a great way to use up your scraps from a layout/projects you just completed.

So, in honor of World Card Making Day tomorrow I thought I'd share a few cards with you now. One picture is actually a set of cards and box that I made.

Have a fabulous weekend!

World Card Making Day Challenge - by Erica Perkins

2010-10-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

All over the malls, I see card shops closing or moving to smaller locations. Is that because people are giving and sending less cards, or because more people are making their own? Well seeing that there is an entire day devoted to making cards, I'll go with the later option. I have to admit, card making is not my strong suit. I'm not that good at it, but it doesn't stop me, I just stamp a little here, glue some paper there and go with it. So we challenge you to make some cards this weekend, I know that I'll be doing that at the BC Crop 4 Kids tomorrow. And if you need some ideas of ones to make, well, October 5th is National Teacher Appreciation day and I'm sure the teachers in your life would love to receive a card from you and your family with a few nice words.

Or check out the card challenge back here on Monday for some more inspiration. Or heck, scraplift the ones Jo and I have posted for you today.

And remember, there are no rules to card making, they come in all shapes and sizes. Have fun, play with shapes, colours and layer them up.

World Cardmaking Day!!!

2010-10-01T09:00:00.001-07:00

Happy Friday! Tomorrow is world cardmaking day ... so why not celebrate by making a card! I love making cards ... and i don't have loads of stamps, so sometimes i make my cards without stamping a sentiment on the front ... this works for me as i can always grab a premade card and write whatever i want on the inside ... that way i'm not panicking trying to pull together a last minute card. I also use these little non stamped cards to randomly mail out to friends and family ... you know its one thing to email someone a greeting, but i find everyone just loves getting a random card in the mail with a cheery handwritten note inside. And speaking of hand written ... did you know that some schools are dropping cursive writing after grade 5? .... with all of our techy devices, we as a society do not write much ... except maybe the odd signature on a document or form ... so include some of that good old fashioned cursive writing on your handmade card and send some sunshine ... make someone know you are thinking of them and brighten a day!