jbs mercantile august sneak peeks!

the jbs mercantile august sneaks just went up and i'm in love with them all.  i'm telling you, you're going to see some great stuff come out of this kit.  you just wait.  here is my peek.  that's little me back in the 70s.  this kit really struck me as being great for school layouts and seemed to have a strong 70s vibe, so i dug out one of my old school photos.  i think this one is circa 1976.  what a towhead!  "oh!"  and can you tell i'm really having fun with the patterned paper this month?  i tell you, i just started happily cutting away with no plan in mind.  that was so refreshing.  and i love the results!  do go check what the other girls have done!  it's totally worth a looksee!

and the journaling for my sister (who apparently hasn't been reading facebook lately) - being the youngest of five, mom was a little worn out by the time i came along.  i had beautiful golden hair, but really no one took the time to brush it except once a year on picture day.  i did the best i could, but i had a semi-permanent rat's nest underneath till about fourth grade.

p.s. woe is me. ironically, i have to go back to school tomorrow. big BIG sigh.

get it scrapped!: crop combinations

we have another article up at get it scrapped!  it's "crop combinations that get both detail and context on your scrapbook pages."  it's a really good one; i thoroughly enjoyed reading it.  did i mention how much i'm loving stripes for journaling these days?  i'm also enjoying doing a few pages from new toys.  it's fun actually using the new stuff so i can allow myself to buy a bit more.  the supply list and my thoughts about this page are in the article, so i won't repeat them here, but i did want to mintion that i tinted all the wooden elements with my jbs ink pads.  love that look.

and the journaling for my sister - i've heard some people say they think hotels are icky.  well, i think they're divine.  what's not to love about clean sheets that you didn't have to wash?  no housework staring you in the face.  in fact, no responsibilities whatsoever other than getting a good night's rest.  i love them.  a hotel stay means i don't have to drive all day and i get to sit in a soft bed surfing the net or reading a good book and, of course, spending time with my favorite guy.

pinteresting: wipeout

the gman isn't prone to falling asleep like this; he must have been going through a growth spurt during the time period when these two photos were taken.  they crack me up but are also so very sweet.  kisses to my baby.  xoxo.

this layout was inspired by a piece i pinned on pinterest a while back.  wow.  that pinterest is an awesome place.  i hadn't been in a while and might just have to get lost there for the rest of the night.  i have directions and a supply list for this one posted on easy scrapbook pages if you'd like to know a little more about it.  i'm off to pin! 

edited to add the journaling for my sister - you're like me.  not much of a napper.  so it's always funny to find you falling asleep somewhere.  you've got a savage tan in these two pics, so i'm guessing they were taken in the summer, probably during cub scout day camp week or after a sleepover with blake.

lost. again.

shocker! she blogs again! i made this layout back in may right as i apparently fell off the blogging train.  i super love it (the layout, not the lack of blogging).  it's one of those rare ones that got made for no particular reason.  well, except that i had new goodies that needed justification.  shall i tell you about them?

anatomy of the layout - the base is a piece of studio calico patterned paper.  those clouds are amy tan (i will confess to collecting cloud paper).  I did quite a bit of layering under the photos with a large sheet of dear lizzy yellow dots, a studio calico chevron (punched with a fiskars border punch down the side), a sliver of amy tan hearts, and another sliver of heidi swapp map paper.  to the left is my journaling on a piece of canvas corp striped patterned paper.  i'm very much into striped patterned paper for journaling these days.  the bottom is a piece cut from fancy pants subway art paper.  i adore this paper and bought two sheets, something i rarely do.  and then the tiny bit of green dot bottom right, well, forgive me but i don't remember that one.  so then we embellish.  the thought bubbles are from marcy penner (hello forever).  i thought her packaging was so cute i used it too to make the little tab on the left.  i also cut an amy tan cloud out and pop dotted it for balance.  the gems are from queen & co.  a little sparkle is always good.  of course the chipboard alphas are american crafts thickers.  of course.  and the plastic are tim holtz.  i was stoked to find those.  anyone remember back in the day when heidi swapp did the plastic letters?  i bought them all (there were only three that i knew about) and am hoarding them to this day.  i'm sure seven years from now i'll be hoarding tim's letters too.

and the journaling because my sister likes to read the journaling - i try not to get frustrated with myself. i've gotten a little better at that through the years.  the thing i have not gotten better at is finding my way.  literally.  i have the worst sense of direction in the world.  i lose my car in the grocery store parking lot quite often.  at least i have you (gabriel) around to ask where i parked these days.  your sense of direction is so much better than mine.  you knew how to get to your little friends' houses by the time you were three.  i went to college in tallahassee for four years and after graduation i still could barely find my way around.  you have had to learn to be patient with your directionally impaired mom.  i am forever turning around.  you are realizing it's better to just not even ask as i get so frustrated and tense in those moments.  this week was worse than most.  i got lost two days in a row.  friday in downtown nashville trying to buy you a new cub scout uniform and then again saturday on the way to the memorial day flag planting.  and yes, i had directions both times.  oy.

the photos are of g looking at a zoo map several years ago.  i like finding non-related photos that fit my thoughts.  it's kinda fun.  and effective i think.  :)

congratulations Pascale B! you're a winner!

1. Pascale B.July 18, 2012 11:50 AM

   Love this tags and all the embellishments!!!

you're the winner of the $20 jbs mercantile gift card!  email me at doris.sander@gmail.com and i'll get your prize!

the zombies ate my brains . . .

the zombies ate my brains, but don't worry.  there will be no blood in this post. only ketchup.  seriously.  i don't even play video games.  well, i did play angry birds for two weeks back in october when i got my first ever smartphone.  and i did get hooked on marble lines back in the day when i first discovered facebook, but that was only at sherri's house as i didn't have a mouse.  but this.  plants vs. zombies.  oh my.  i stayed up till 5am playing it one night.  what else is there to say?  i need a 12 step program.

we spent the fourth of july on the beach in florida.  wow!  what an amazing experience.  we could see the fireworks show put on by the "townies" on our left and the fireworks put on by the "beach kids" on our right.  and everyone along the beach had their own stash to contribute, some even smuggled in from alabama.  so much fun.  ok, so some of the shooters may have spent a little too much time with jack to be using explosives, but overall it was an awesome experience that i hope to repeat next year.

and does anyone else wonder why . . . no matter how much you think you're going to get done on vacation . . . no matter how much you pack in the trunk of your vehicle . . . you never get anything done while visiting the 'rents.  i fondly refer to it as the black hole.  i get sucked into the lazy void and no productivity comes out.

upon returning home, i have tried to get back on track.  i made g and i to do lists.  we each tried to talk our respective kitties into tackling them.  neither one of us met with any success in that arena.  g actually managed to finish his while i only got halfway through before getting sidetracked.  that was last friday.  hmmm.  i think i'll give him another list tomorrow as a reward for all that hard work.

i haven't been much of a blogger lately, it's true.  oh, but i am an instagramming fool.  wanna know what i'm doing?  get on instagram and follow the minutia of my days.  yes, i'm one of those.  can't help it.  love putting little hearts on other people's happenings.  it's so easy to spread the love there.

oh look!  i have gotten a few things done this month.  the jbs mercantile july gallery went up.  i have four layouts there if you want to take a gander.

i got three projects done for jenni for cha too!  haven't edited those photos yet, but i'll get to it soon.  meanwhile, you can check out a great review of jenni's booth and new product on shimelle's blog.

i got a special deliverty from two peas in a bucket today.  pretty pretty.  really happy with the simple stories 6x8 album that i purchased.  i am actually contemplating a bit of project life action on a minor scale.  i'll keep you posted on that one.  you know i've been holding it at arm's length all year, but i think maybe.

one thing i am sure about.  salads!  bridgette, lisa, and i are on a salad a day challenge for the month of july.  so far it's going dang good.  i didn't realize i liked salads so much!  hoping that by eating it every day for 21+ days it will become a habit that i can stick with once school starts (shhhhh.  we don't want to talk about that last thing i mentioned just yet.  trying to pretend it's not really gonna happen).

Jenni Bowlin Studio Hotel Keyholder Blog Hop!

hello hoppers!  here is my version of the new Hotel Keyholder!  i made the beginnigns of a fourth of july display with mine.  i say beginnings because i would love to add lots more tags with fourth of july photos from various years.  i'd like it to eventually have a more layered look so viewers would feel the urge to come up and move tags around to see what's underneath.  interactive art!  i'm also tempted to make it a seasonal piece.  you know . . . a different set of tags for christmas, valentine's day, birthdays, easter, the beach, the four seasons.  so fun!

leave a comment here sharing your favorite summer adventure for a chance to win a $20 gift card from jbs mercantile.  then follow the blog hop below for lots more chances to win!  entries to this drawing end at 2pm cst on friday, july 20th.

Betsy Sammarco
Louise Nelson
Megan Klauer
Leah Farquharson
Corrie Jones
Lisa Dickinson
Jill Sprott
JBS Mercantile Inspiration Blog

i was lucky to be able to work with some of the new jbs cha summer 2012 release this week.  you can see the new flag tags, quilted star chipboard, and printed perforated label.  other supplies include - pearl charms in red and cream, cream doily flower, rhinestone brad, kraft diecut stencil paper, patterned papers from the wren line, red pearl button, and chipboard stars.  the rest is either vintage or from joann's.