Thanksgiving with da Brills!

Here I am feeding the 'homeless' - including myself! All of our families are 'up north' - that is life in Florida. So I invite the kids from school to my house for Thanksgiving. Actually these girls are wonderful friends even though I could be their mother! Three of us have Bichons and the other 'big' dogs, are at home (probably tearing up the place!) So starting from the left is Kathy (with Kevin's Burton), Bruce, Kevin, Brian, Susan (with Harry - Kathy's dog) and me with Harley!
We had a wonderful time - I hope you did, too!

Love Show in Las Vegas and Groovy Stamp set!

I save tons of stuff - one of my students called me a pack rat! To me that is a compliment! Actually I save only important stuff - like this Groovy stamp set from CTMH. I am a child of the 60's - you do not sell a stamp set like this one because it is retired! SO check out this page from the "Love" show in Las Vegas - if you ever have a chance to go see it - DO! It is spectacular.

Club Scrap Bistro - Paris -Las Vegas

Perfect paper pack for our trip to Vegas this summer! I remember it was so hot outside that we went into this hotel to cool down! Beautiful photos and perfect paper match!

Robbie's 7th Birthday

So I am a little behind! Robbie's 7th birthday was in 1990 but I am years behind scrapping my photos. Rather than give up, I keep adding to his album and I reminisce each time I complete a page. Kevin hasn't changed much but I do wonder what the other children look like today!

11/23 Ybor City

A trip to Ybor CIty this summer and my husband's 'bad habit!'. This combination of events led to this inspirational page design - photos accented by the actual cigar bands! I was amazed at how well the bands and photos complimented this line of paper.

Enjoy!

11/20 Club Scrap layouts

A trip for Robbie and Liz to the Japanese Gardens and Niles Canyon in California. I am finally taking the time to do a few pages at a time to try and catch up! I love the quick layouts you can accomplish with the Club Scrap ALSB layouts. The two layouts are from the October kit - Great Outdoors. A perfect compliment to these photos from July 2006.

11/18 Faux Suede Using Liquid Applique technique

This card design has been 'bugging' me for over two weeks. I guess I seem to work best under pressure because I actually completed both of them the night before the technique club. Go figure!

My friend Kathy's card has LOTS of chooclate re-inker added to the liquid applique - mine does not. The technique card is simple but definitely explains the technique very well. Trust me when I tell you that it is really a suede texture - hard to imagine but do try this fun technique.

Perfect description of me!

You Are Cookie Monster

Misunderstood as a primal monster, you're a true hedonist with a huge sweet tooth. You are usually feeling: Hungry. Cookies are preferred, but you'll eat anything if cookies aren't around. You are famous for: Your slightly crazy eyes and usual way of speaking How you life your life: In the moment. "Me want COOKIE!"

The'>http://www.blogthings.com/thesesamestreetpersonalityquiz/">TheSesame Street Personality Quiz

After visiting April's blog, this simple quiz caught my eye. I laughed right out loud when this cute little blue guy showed up! Anyone who knows me, knows I am a huge candy and cookie lover. But the dr. said "no more, Mrs. Brill! But I do cheat sometimes. So what character are you Kevin?

Check it out and find out more about your inner self.

The "Famous' Devil Costume

My first challenge for this Cyber Crop was to use 3 colors, title, photo or mat and journaling. Plus add a witch's hat, black cat or ghost to the layout in one hour or less. So I decided to dig deep and I found pictures from my 2nd Annual Halloween Party in 1976 ( It did became a classroom traditon). My oldest son Kevin is the "Devil' on the floor in the one picture. This costume was then worn by additional family members untill we lost track of it in the 80's.

A New Experience - Cyber Crop

My weekends have been so hectic lately that I decided to be lazy this past Saturday. The weather cooperated with me and it was a dull and dreary day. A perfect day to spend inside scrapping my pages. Kit n' Kaboodles had a cyber crop on Saturday and so I decided to give it a try! What fun I had! One of the challenges was to use only black, orange and white paper - no printed paper and only these 3 colors. SO I dug up some old photos that needed to be scrapped and made this layout. I miss carving the pumpkins with the boys - actually I just took the pictures! Enjoy!

10/08/07 BIA Valentine's Day Mini Book

OK- I am alittle confused about the current holiday but I saw this cute project on Scrapbook Memories on Saturday and I only had the Smitten My Originals card set to play with. It was so quick and easy - the hardest part was reading the directions to the Bind It All :) - my new toy!

So if you order one of the bundles off of my website (check under My Art for more details), I will send you the complete directions to create one of these mini books. You do not need a Bind It All tool and can substitute rings for the closure. My next mini book is a Christmas theme book. More in line with the season!

MS Crop in Tampa this weekend

WOW - another busy weekend. I hope these end soon! Here is the layout I did on Saturday using CTMH Enchanted papers. I do miss "FAll" and my kids as children - is there a way to bring back these memories?

Fall in Florida

I miss the beautiful colors of fall. I will attempt to go back to Buffalo again this fall - last year they had a freak snow storm and my flight was canceled! To get ready for cooler temps, corduroy pants and sweaters, I created this card using the Rainbow Double technique from the Technique Junkies August/Septmeber newsletter. The card sketch is from the ctmhfriends yahoo group, but I tweaked it slightly and made it my own! Enjoy!

The Adventures of Harley D.

If you have read my posts before, you know that my dog Harley is a 'stampin' fool!" He is sitting on Susan's lap sanding paper with CTMH new 4-sided sanding block. He loves the paper and chews my scraps any chance he gets. If I could only teach him how to stamp, I would hire him as my First Assistant immediately!

National Stamping Day Celebration

Well, my Scrapbook Studio is finally set up! After three coats of paint and a trip to Sam's Club for the table and chairs, the room is somewhat finished. I still have plans to decorate the room in colors of honey, cranberry and chocolate but it may take a few more weeks to put the artwork up on the walls and finish the canvas cloth rug. SO check back for more photos when it is finished!

Here are the pics from the card class that I had on Saturday. I selected the colors of sunflower, goldrush and chocolate to coordinate with the colors of the studio. The cards are the designs from the kit - they have a fall feeling to them.

Groceries for "Empty Nesters"

Our first trip to the grocery store after Robbie left was indeed upsetting. I reminded my husband that we no longer need the LARGE size of any product ( well, maybe toilet paper!) Buy 1 Free, Get 1 Free is no longer a deal as it will probably spoil before we eat it. So here is our first bag:

4 green bananas - they ripen quickly in FL.

2 apples - one for me and one for Bruce

1 qt. of milk - I haven't purchased this size since 1974!

1/2 dozen eggs - I didn't even know they made this size!

Nutritious and good for you cereal - no more 64 oz. of Fruit Loops - yuk!

Fat Free Fig Newtons - good bye Oreos - I will miss you!

On the upside, there are not as many dirty dishes. Yes - Robbie - we are putting them in the dishwasher instead of leaving them in the sink for you! :)

Check out this photo oppportunity....

After traveling for two full days, they decided to take a side trip to the Grand Canyon. Neither Robbie or Liz had ever been there ( and I have only seen it from the air!) My kids are getting so good at taking photos that will make my pages 'pop'! The view is spectacular - so different from my Florida perspective! As always, my kids are smiling - it makes momma happy , too!

Not just any old road trip!

I am still missing my guys, but slowly getting used to the empty house. Robbie and Liz had a wonderful experience traveling from Tampa, FL. to Newark, California. Here are a few pics from their 'trip of a lifetime"! First stop - Marietta, GA where he picked up his brother's car.

Full of Distress!

Yes- this card has been distressed! My new themed gathering for the fall is "How to Take the STRESS out of Distressing! This card is a prefect example to showcase many of the products found in the CTMH DIstressing kit! Check it out!

What a "Nice" Surprise..

After working very hard this week at school to get ready for Monday, I finally had time to read some emails. A very sweet girl nominated me for the "Nice Matters Award". Thank you Korin!

"This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you've been awarded please pass it on to 7 others who you feel are deserving of this award."

My blogging world is indeed a creative space with tons of talent and inspiration. Please check out the blogs of my nominees - Kim, Susan, Nina, Kathy, Cheryl, Brenda, and Dawn.

It's time to start stamping again!

Travel Accordion Book Class

I belong to a swap group and Judy Witkowski creates the best artwork to share. This is her design using the July stamp of the month - D1220 Typewriter Keys and Expedition paper from Close to My Heart.. When I saw it, I realized it would be perfect for my pictures from the San Diego Zoo! I am teaching this class at Scraporium on Saturday August 18th from 10:00 - 1:00 pm. As always you create your own design using whatever papers and stickers you like following the kit guidelines. You notice that is looks like a 6 x 6" album from the front but when you open it, it expands into a uniquely arranged album - perfect for displaying your photos! If you are interested in the class, give them a call this week and sign up!

Sad and Blue....

Since my 'baby' left home. Robbie, my youngest son left home last week and moved all the way to California! I tried to be happy and excited but when it actually happened, I cried! Now it is just me, the big guy and Harley! So I started scrapping some of his pages for his "All About Robbie" book. These photos are from Berkley where "Miss Elizabeth" is an English major. The paper and embellishments are Club Scrap. Enjoy!

Addison Rae has arrived!

I am an 'adopted' grandmother again! Addison was born on July 19 and I decided to make a card to coordinate with the scrapbook I made for her. Nothing fancy - just darn cute!

Welcome to our world - my newest 'page model'!

Technique - Distressing cardstock with paint and re-inkers

This technique is so simple it doesn't require much explanation. Check out the photos I have included and I challenged you to play around with it and have some fun!

Distressing with Paint

CTMH will be introducing a new distressing kit in the fall. Look for it in the new Autumn/Winter Idea Book coming out in September. I finally finished the page that Harley and I were creating and I decided to add some paint to the plain cardstock. I used my coluzzle and the August SOM D1217 Free Spirit to embellish the page. I also used my Cricut and the "stamped" cartridge to add the wording. Liz was thrilled when she saw this sign in Monterey because she calls Robbie - "bubba"! From the east coast to the west coast - we all LOVE Bubba!

Memories of my Friend

Today we lost a very special lady - Teresa Barrett. I met Tre when I first started working at Julia's Sewing Center in 1995. Her specialty was working with the serger and mine was making vests! She was spunky and so crazy and we both loved chocolate! Then after Julia's closed, we moved across the street to work with Debra and Gregor Sidler at Bernina Sewing Center. As our creative world changed, I became known as "The Bag Lady" and she became "The Bead Lady"! Her patience and talent in creating beautiful beading projects and wearable art earned her the respect of many throughout the U.S. Gregor and Debra always had the best Open House in the Tampa Bay area and we always dressed up to some theme that Debra or Gregor concocted to make us look silly! But we all loved doing it and really got into it every time.

We both never really got into quilting but she was the "Ultimate Buccaners" fan and decided to make a quilt for her son Jeff for Christmas . It was absolutely stunning and her work was as meticiulous in quilting as it was in beading. She fought a hard battle against cancer but it finally won. The sewing world today lost a very talented and special lady. We all love you, Teresa and will never forget you!
Follow this link for addtional photos of this crazy lady and her fabulous work -

www.productsunshine.com

CTMH new paper pack- Life Delights

What a wonderful time we had creating this page and cards. I must admit these card samples took very little time using stickers and a few stamps.

This scrapbook page wwas so simple to put together as all we used were "My Stickease" from the brand new Life Delights design set. Beautiful Soul is a perfect compliment to Elizabeth's photo.

Altered Clipboard Mini Album

I took a workshop with Daisy D's in January and the Best Friends paper pack by CTMH was perfect for this project. I actually drilled the holes in the clipboard at the opposite end of the clip. Then I added ink, stamps and My Stickease to finish the mini album. All it needs now are photos!

I Finished a Swap Early!

I decided a long time ago that I work best when I have a deadline to meet! Otherwise I procrastinate - sound familiar? I wasn't always like this. I picked up this bad habit from my husband and children! Check out my Coluzzle Purse sample for Nanci Hatcher's Standing Stamp of the Month. The stamp set is D1217 Free Spirit. The colors for the swap are Sunny Yellow, Ocean and Topiary. This is my last purse swap sample. Thank goodness because I have officially run out of creative ideas in making these purses. Next year, my swap item is a "Novelty Item". So look for my first sample with the upcoming September SOM D1242 Doodle Alphabet coming your way in August!

The Adventures of Harley D.

We rescued a Bichon Frise in February and we can't imagine why anyone would give this wonderful dog away! In spite of his fleas and bad haircut, he has become quite lovable. He quickly found his way into my scrapbook room and in his first adventure he took off with a stamp pad in his mouth! (someone left it on the floor :)) The other day I was working on a page but got busy doing something else and a piece of paper landed on the floor. My husband heard him busily tearing paper and thought it was a magazine insert - he loves these! Yep - you guessed it - it was part of my page!

We both laughed so hard and I had to stage the photo to add to Robbie and Liz's page. Check out Harley in "Tearing Paper 101".

My friend Jan has a phobia about tearing paper, so she uses SU's scissors. She needs to take a few lessons from Harley - his is perfectly straight!

Who Knew?!

July would be so busy! Too busy in fact to post any new artwork. My huge Masters project is finished and submitted - yeah! We spent the July 4th holiday in Atlanta, Georgia and now I am off to CTMH Leadership in San Diego, California! Check out the July SOM below for some great artwork by a group of extremely talented ladies. Tomorrow - in between packing and getting ready - I hope to work on a few pages to share with everyone. But for now, I dig deep into my artwork files and pull something out ya'll might enjoy!