End of Year Teacher gifts

For the end of the year teacher gifts, I had no idea what to do. This was my son's first year in school and seeing how I've never had to make a teacher gift before I was at a loss. I got several ideas from scrappy friends and this idea is one that I received. I bought the notebook with the design already on it from Hobby Lobby. While there, I picked up a wooden "L" and some black and pink acrylic paint. I painted the "L" and added the ribbon and we were all done!!! (The teachers first name is Louise).While walking around Hobby Lobby trying to come up with some ideas, I found this photo tray. I had heard about them before and wanted to try my hand at it. The Montessori school he goes to has 3K, 4K, and 5K all in the same room. The principal of that is the children will learn better from each other (the younger from the older). So the top left picture is all the 5K. The middle right is my son and his teacher and then the bottom left is all the 3 and 4K.

I can't remember since this came from my mothers stash but I'm thinking the key and lock is either Tim Holtz or K and Company. (I do apologize for not remembering!) The pearls are Recollections.

The box the photo tray came in had a sample image on it. The sample image had a corner cut out on it similar to this one. (The sample was flowers though) I loved the look of it so I mimicked it and put the Recollections Pearls on it. The paper is from Bella Bella.

On this one, the bird and flower are from K and Company and the tag is from Graphic 45. The twine came from my stash. Once again, Pearls are from Recollections and the paper is Bella Bella.

Scrabble letters with Aged Mahogany distressing! Who knew?? :)

The pearls around the photos I got on a roll from Walmart. LOVE them!! These photo tray was so easy to make and SO MUCH FUN!!!! If you have never made one, I challenge you to do so. I promise, you won't regret it. I plan to make some for Christmas gifts!!

Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog!!! Until next time, keep scrappin'!

Tribute for a friend

A close friend of mine recently lost her grandmother at an (in my opinion) early age. Her grandmother was only in her 60's but smoke almost her whole life and needed oxygen during the last few years of her life. Anyway, my friend and her grandmother was extremely close as was my friends mother with her mother. I will give names for the sake of confusion. My friends name is Mandy. Her mothers name is Wendy and her grandmothers name is Wanda. Wanda is Wendy's mother. Wendy is Mandy's mother. Okay, so Wanda has lived with Wendy most of her life. Wendy has helped take care of her mother all these years so losing her is still so very tender. Mandy asked me to create this layout for Wendy and present to her in a frame. Wendy cried and cried while hugging my neck. Said it was extrememely special to her. I certainly hope so. :)

The big picture is of Wanda when she was about 16 years of age. The small photo is of Wendy when she was around the age of 8.


I used a Tim Holtz ornate plate for the title.
This was Pink Paislee Artisan Elements in the Swirls that I colored with Rustic glimmer glam by Tattered Angels.

My friend Mandy wanted her grandmothers obit on the layout but it was such an ackward shape that I couldn't make it fit. So I made a tag using acrylic paint and glimmer mist and attached the obit to the back. Then I tucked it away behind the photo.

The door hinges that you can barely see I used Tim Holtz Grungeboard and embossed them with Tim Holtz distress embossing powder in Aged Mahogany. I then put Patina Stickles on them.

Thank you as always for stopping by and looking! Until next time, keep scrappin'!

Blog hop challenge---to create something handmade

During the blog hop April 7th-10th, I challenged the hoppers to make a handmade embellishment of some sort. I love hand making my own flowers and such so I wanted to inspire others as well. I said to email me their work and I would post it to my blog. These ladies did a fantastic job!!! Without further ado, here they are: This LO was done by Diana Auberle, she made the awesome rosettes.

And this sweet LO was done by Silvana:

Kimberly made this LO: She used a coffee cup from a coffee house and cut it apart to get the phrases off it. Then she painted each with a different color. She used a heart from a broken necklace, she used a playing card for the #2. She used some of her kids letters to make her title, used left over leather, straps and canvas as well. Pretty much everything on this page is recycled!! How cool!!!

This altered item was done by Lucila Ortega: The flowers and ribbons were made out of an old sewing meter she had. Fantastic job!

Ladies, I want to thank each one of you who participated in the blog hop and in the challenges whether it was mine or someone else's. These ladies that sent me your work, thank you again. You all nailed this challenge! I hope that it has inspired you to make more handmade embellies if you don't do so already. We all had a grand time I do believe. I have a small confession to make though. I did do some housework. UGH I know! But with 2 small children I had no choice. :) Forgive me?

Until next time, keep scrappin'!!!

What an Angel

Hello again!!! I hope everyone had a great Monday! I know I had a busy one!! Last week I was able to create a quick layout and thank goodness that it was quick. I have been looking at this picture, with these papers, and this title floating in my head now for weeks! I just never had the time to put it together. When I did have the time, something else would come up or I would have another project that trumped this one. So I finally put it together!! The scalloped edges under my diecut and picture was inspired by Gabrielle. This is also a lift of Willea's layout titled "Caress". I just rotated the layout for mine. *I would link it to here but it's temporarily out I'm guessing for publication* These are two VERY VERY talented women that inspire me with every single layout they ever produce! I used Queen and Company felt ribbon, large flower is from my stash as well as the brown ribbon and pearls. The smaller flowers are Prima as well as the bling under the butterfly. And thanks mom for giving me your butterfly to use on my page!

The title was done with letters from Websters. Thanks for looking! I do appreciate your comments and taking time to stop by for a visit! Until next time, keep scrappin'!!!!

Who's ready to hop????

It's finally here!!! National No Housework day!!! First order of business is you should have just come from Basement Chronicles. If you have lost your way, I've included the entire list of blog stops at the bottom. If you are just joining us from another site and want to join in on the fun then go back to If It's Groovy where the hop begins and start hopping!!! Remember to become a follower of each blog so that you can keep up with all the scrappy goodness even after the hop ends!! Welcome!!! So glad you came to play!!! If you are anything like me, you've been working your tail to the bone trying to get the house clean for this one special day of NOT cleaning it am I right?? I know that if my house is a mess, I would not be able to sit down to scrap even if I had "special permission"!! LOL Anyway, the one chore that I dread the most but that MUST be done usually on a day to day basis is LAUNDRY!!! The mundane task of washing, drying, folding, hanging and putting away clothes. It NEVER ends. I try to change my way of thinking by thinking to myself, "this mountain of clothes means that we are blessed enough to have clothes." Well that thought doesn't stay with me long. Especially when I just get finished washing all the whites and turn around to see a dirty sock laying in the floor. ERRRGGGGG. That makes me want to start throwing our clothes away!!!!!! LOL Anyway, my layout is based on just that. Laundry. I titled it "I can move mountains. Of laundry that is" I wanted to give this layout a fun feel to it even though laundry in itself is not fun. Not for me anyway. I stitched around the edges using orange thread. I also used orange glimmer mist for the background.

I thought this little "To Do" list went quite well with the layout. I have a journaling pad from Making Memories I believe. I cut the journal tag down to the size that I needed and loved how it gave the notebook paper look. You will not believe what I went through to get these clothes!! HA! Whatever happen to being able to buy a whole stash of Barbie clothes for one great price?? I guess that went out with the 80's huh? I remember being able to buy my Barbie a whole new wardrobe in one box. Well not anymore! And those prices for just one outfit is killer!!! I am so going to be learning how to make Barbie clothes for when my little girl gets into Barbie! Anyway, after racking my brain in the store for about 45 minutes, I saw these little bear families. They had clothes on of course. So I though, hmmm, I can buy this little family of 4 for $10 and have the clothes that I need! PERFECT!!! I came home, made my clothes line (out of wire and brads) and clipped my clothes on the line!! The little clippies came from my mom's stash but I believe she got them out of Hobby Lobby in the wood working section. So, are you up for a challenge? I would love to see something handmade on your layout. I love handmade embellies. Flowers, vines, clothes line (HA!) whatever your mind and hands come up with. Shoot me over an email with your creation and I'll post them to the blog when the hop is over! My email is mbrune04@bellsouth.net. Can't wait to see what you come up with!!!

I have included the full list of blog hop stops below for your convience. This way you can see where you are and how many blogs you have left. Or if you have lost your way and came in in the wrong order you can quickly right yourself again!!! Have fun everyone!!!!! 1. If It's Groovy (Groovy Deb) http://ifitsgroovy.blogspot.com/

2. Life With...(Julie) http://thetuckerwolekclan.blogspot.com/

3. Leading a Craftastic Life (Kristin) http://craftasticlife.blogspot.com/

4. Scrappy Side of Me (Jen T) http://jentscrappysideofme.blogspot.com/

5. Peg's Crafting Corner (Peg) http://www.pegscraftingcorner.blogspot.com/

6. All Things Crafty (Erica) http://www.allthingscrafty-erica.blogspot.com/

7. Scrapping the Guys (Heather) http://www.scrappingtheguys.blogspot.com/

8. Let's Get Peachy (Laura) http://getpeachy.blogspot.com/

9. Creating Sensations (Vanessa) http://www.creatingsensations.blogspot.com/

10. Everyday Me (Michelle) http://www.everydayscrapbook.blogspot.com/

11. Basement Chronicles (Maya) http://mayadahan.blogspot.com/

12. Love to Create (Misty) http://mistybrune.blogspot.com/

13. Scrappy Go Lucky (Darlene) http://scrappygolucky.blogspot.com/

14. Dragonfly Destiny (Jean-Marie) http://dragonflydestiny.blogspot.com/

15. Andrea's Metta (Andrea) http://andreasmetta.blogspot.com/

16. Red Car Productions (Krista) http://redcarproductions.blogspot.com/

17. Greets N Treats (Becky) http://greetsntreats.blogspot.com/

18. Paper Universe (Silvana) http://ununiversodepapel.blogspot.com/

19. The Limitations of Thought (Irini) http://thelimitationsofthought.blogspot.com/

20. Step Into My World (Becky) http://www.beckythackston.blogspot.com/

21. From the Owls Nest (Sharon) http://fromtheowlsnest.wordpress.com/

22. Creations with Becka (Becka) http://www.creationswithbecka.blogspot.com/

23. Crafty Go Lucky (Valerie) http://www.craftygolucky.blogspot.com/

24. Crafty Diva Lounge (Jen) http://craftydivalounge.blogspot.com/

25.Just a Glimpse...(Jenneke) http://jenneke-justwhoiam.blogspot.com/

26. Scrap it Girl (Kimberly) http://scrap-it-girl.blogspot.com/

27. These are a Few...(Julie) http://whatisyourfavething.blogspot.com/

28. Really? That Just Happened (Doreen) http://thefourvs.blogspot.com/

29. Nikki Sivils (Julie c/o Nikki) http://nikkisdoghouse.blogspot.com/

30. Marci's Scrapping Spot (Marci) http://marcisscrappingspot.blogspot.com/

31. Scrapbookers Anonymous (Theresa) http://scrapbookers-anonymous.blogspot.com/

32.Intrepid Thread (Julie) http://intrepidthread.blogspot.com/

33. Scrapbooking SOS (Michelle) http://scrapbookingsos.blogspot.com/

34. Flamingo Scraps (Amanda) http://flamingoscraps.blogspot.com/

35. Scrapbook Abundance (Jana) http://preprostobogastvo.blogspot.com/

36. Artful Delight(Leeanne) http://artfuldelight.blogspot.com/

37. Mommy of 5 Kidz (Misty) http://mommyof5kidz.blogspot.com/

38. Designs by Diana(Diana) http://designbydiana.blogspot.com/

39. Polka Cabana(Jeannie) http://polkacabana.wordpress.com/

40. A Day in the Life...(Kelly) http://kellyisascrapdiva.blogspot.com/

41. MarBare Scraps (Mary) http://www.marebearscraps.blogspot.com/

42. One by One...(Karel) http://kareljcreations.com/

New Page

Okay everyone! I've played with the blog a little and came up with something a little easier I believe for you. Up at the top of my blog I've added pages. There you will see "Tutorial". Click on that to see my tutorials and other tutorials that I will post in the future. That makes it a little easier for you rather than searching through the entire blog to find that tutorial that you may want! I hope this helps you!!! Thanks again to all my followers! You are the reason I keep blogging!

Distressed Tag Tutorial

Okay everyone! Here is the tutorial I promised you! I made a tag similar to this and it can be seen on my "Heavens Angel" layout. Supplies needed: Tim Holtz distress inks (Whatever color and as many as you would like) Tim Holtz dabber (not sure of "technical" name, tissue works fine too) Tim Holtz Acrylic Paint in Snow Cap Tag Stamp Water mister Piece of tissueStart off by dabbing the acrylic paint onto your stamp of choice. Of course since my stamp was bigger than the tag, I just painted a small portion of my stamp. Stamp it onto your tag making sure you don't press down to hard. Pressing down hard will cause the paint to smear and rub and we don't want that. We want it to be raised a little. Let your tag dry. I use my heat gun to speed the process since I'm SO impatient. Now you are ready to ink your tag. Have fun with this part. I didn't care for the colors I chose for this tutorial but that's okay. :) It still came out looking okay. Once you are satisfied with how your tag looks take a tissue and spray lightly with water. You don't want to use a baby wipe or anything like that because that is to wet. Just spray the water lightly onto the tissue and wipe over your tag. You see how the white shines through? The water does not mess with your inks at all. It just takes the inks off your paint. This is also another reason why white paint works the best. This step is optional. I like to spray mine with glimmer mist to give it that gorgeous shine! Just showing the shine here! And you are done!!!!! I would love to see your creations! Email me your creation and I'll post it to the blog! mbrune04@bellsouth.net Hope you enjoyed the tutorial and as always I appreciate your comments and taking the time to read my blog! Until next time, keep scrappin'!

Heavens Angel

A friend of mine who is very dear to me recently lost her grandmother. They were an extremely close knit family and their mother, grandmother will be greatly missed. My friend, Mandy, wanted me to do a layout of her and her grandmother so she could hang it on her wall as a remembrance. So I went on a search for a sketch (you know I LOVE some sketches!) I found one by Beggahuna (I LOVE Beggahuna sketches also!) This page came together so easily for me. I did some editing on the larger picture. I wanted the background to be blurred since it's not a flattering background and I wanted their faces to appear softer. I still learning Photoshop and I have a LONG way to go but I'm learning. So without further ado here is my layout titles "Heavens Angel". I didn't do much distressing except around the edges using Tim Holtz Brick Red Distress Ink.Flowers are Prima flowers while the smaller ones are Recollections. And can I just inject right here that Recollections is kicking butt in the scrapbook section???? I'm starting to LOVE some of their stuff. Think Prima just cheaper!!! Great for the scrapbookers like myself that have to watch what she spends!!! I also included her birth date and death date. My friend told me of this neat little thing the preacher said during the service. The birth date belongs to God as does the death date. The dash in between those dates represent our lives. Everything that we were on Earth is represented by that dash. That dash is ours so to speak. After hearing this I thought it was interesting that during my Sunday school class yesterday the poem "The Dash" was brought up. Basically saying the same thing. I have that poem in my email if anyone wishes for me to send it to you. Anyway, Mandy wanted her grandmothers Obit on the page but frankly it was just to long and narrow to fit. So I made a tag to house the folded obit. This way she can pull it out at anytime she wants to read it. I will be posting a tutorial on how I made this tag so be on the lookout! :) Picture is of the back of the tag with the pocket for the obit. I hope you enjoyed looking at my project as much as I enjoyed making it! As always, I appreciate your comments and you taking the time out of your day to spend some time with me on my blog! Until next time, keep scrappin'!!

Guest Designer

Hop on over to If it's groovy to see the amazing surprise they had for me!! I was asked to be thier Guest Designer for the month of April. I was also named the first "Best Kept Secret"!! Keep reading in the post below this one to get the full details!

Wow. The Best Kept Secret

I am truely at a loss for words. I am speechless! But most of all I am honored!!! I was voted the very FIRST "Best Kept Secret" over at If it's Groovy! Deb, blog owner, asked if I would accept the nomination and if so give a challenge to the ladies of the DT. I challenged them to do a boy layout using flowers and bling! The inspiration for this challenge came from everyone always commenting on how I add flowers and bling to my boy pages but yet keep it masculine. They accepted the challenge, some hesitant, some jumping right in but they ALL did a fantastic job!!!! Hop on over to If it's groovy to check out their layouts!!! But there is another challenge that I DID NOT know about! Those sneaky ladies decided to use a layout of mine to scraplift! I had NO IDEA!! This was such an honor to me!!!! I am thrilled that they did this. Of course, I wanted to do a layout based on my challenge as well and here is what I did. This is a layout of my oldest nephew being baptized. I bought a frame for him so that he could hang it in his room if he wanted to. I used the sketch "Lavender Escape" by the talented Beggahuna. I handmade this flowers myself. I LOVED doing this. It was so much fun. I'll be adding a tutorial for some things (including these flowers) on here very soon so be on the lookout for them. Wow. I just can't stop smiling! This was such a surprise and honor to me. Thank you so much for the Design Team members and to Groovy Deb for giving me this title this month, for giving me the honor of scraplifting me and for participating in my challenge!! As always, I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedules to come sit with me for a while. Until next time, keep scrappin'!!!