Summer is here!

Oh yes it is. That magical, wondrous and warm time is in full swing. LOVE IT!

The July 3 Scrappy Boys kit, the kit that keeps going and going...LOTS of goodies in the Main Kit! I loved it!

Look at all of those Collage Press/Pink Paislee goodies! The perfect accent for fun pool pictures!

I sure do love instagram {and the winners}

I know I've posted before about my instagram love. A few more reasons why I just love it...

All selfies, all instant favorites. What a fun app! (Where's Cam? No idea. A few seats over, I guess)


And now, the winners! The winner for Tuesdays Stash Cash is:
Melanie of Mostly Crafty!




And the winner of Wednesday's stash cash is:
Joni Parker!

Please email me at AJ_McGarvey AT msn DOT com before Monday to claim your prize!

Thanks for playing along!

Catch a wave

There's just something so special about summer to me. It's about like Christmas.

The most magical part of summer? Setting out with the promise of the fun times you will have at the beach. You load the car (van, in my case!) with snacks, sand toys and boogie boards. You lather up with sunscreen and find a good spot to park your towels. Then, you hit the surf. If you are lucky you come home with some rashes to prove all of the fun you had. (Or, maybe if you are lucky you avoid the rashes! HA!)

Fun, right? A sketch from sketch support and some great Echo Park goodies. (And, the ever prevalent on my layouts, Thickers!) Simple, yet completely not void of interest.

Don't forget to enter the drawing to win some stash cash from the last two days! I would sure want $10 to your scrapbook stash!!

Your Scrapbook Stash BLOG HOP PT 2 {and a giveaway}

WOOHOO! Day two of the your scrapbook stash blog hop! I have another giveaway...so keep reading!

Things I love...my family, Southern California, all the important stuff. What else? The stuff that Erica stocks in the your scrapbook stash store.

I mean, seriously?! So much goodness. Including all of those gorgeous spring lines from Girls Paperie (oh how I wish there would be more...) and the kraft doilies from Maya Road. LOVE.

Love my boy, love this photo, love it all!

Oh my scrappy friends! I have another $10 in stash cash to give you! To win? Become a follower and leave a comment telling me YOUR favorite item in the YSS store. it's that simple! I will choose a winner on Friday, July 29!

Don't forget to check out the other blogs, as well. There's a chance to win everywhere!

Store blog

Erica Weinstock

Alyssa McGrew

Jennie McGarvey
Kristin Powell
Shellye McDaniel
Sharmandeswari Nidyanandan
Jessy Christopher
Yvonne Yam

WINNERS !! {my goal reaching giveaways!}

Hello!

Sorry for the delay but I am out of town. Have no fear, I have chosen the winners!!

FRIDAY'S winner of the 7 Gypsies tape is :
btsoi

THURSDAY'S winner of the Studio Calico stamps is:
Lisa Watson!

PLEASE email me at AJ_McGarvey AT msn DOT com before FRIDAY and I will get these out for you!

Your Scrapbook stash BLOG HOP! {giveaway!}

Woohooo! It's time for a fun blog hop! I'm so very glad you are here!! You should have ended up here from Alyssa's blog - lots of fun over there!

Anyway. I LOVE your scrapbook stash. There is not enough time for me to go on and on about the wonderful product and people. LOVE. One thing I love from my July kit? The paper in the Cosmo Cricket Odds and Ends line. LOVE.

I am NOT a card maker. I try lots and every time I think that the card looks wrong, and sometimes just bad. These papers though (and the kraft Maya Road tickets and tags!) make the card look okay, maybe even good!

Would you like a chance to win some stash cash?! Of course you would!! Anyway, become a follower and leave a comment -- it's that easy. On Friday the 29th I will draw a winner for $10 in stash cash!!

There's a chance to win on everyone's blog PLUS on facebook AND the your scrapbook stash blog! Enter and check back tomorrow!!

Store blog

Erica Weinstock

Alyssa McGrew

Jennie McGarvey
Kristin Powell
Shellye McDaniel
Sharmandeswari Nidyanandan
Jessy Christopher
Yvonne Yam

Always Adorable

I can't even tell you how much I loved these photos. We were watching brothers play baseball and I took these fun snaps. He's a clown, (among other things) that one.

Used lots of Pebbles and a fun sketch that was over at memorable seasons!

Splendid Summer

Over on the your scrapbook stash blog I had the pleasure of putting up the sketch of the week! LOVED IT! I chose this sketch from Sassy Lil' Sketches:

And here was my take on the sketch:

I used my July your scrapbook stash kit to put it together, along with my silhouette and a couple of tags. I LOVED how it turned out -- so fun, bright and SUMMERY!

Like what you see? Head on over to sassy lil sketches site or your scrapbook stash!

Don't forget to enter the giveaways from Thursday and Friday!

Getting Autographs {and another giveaway!}

Last week, my kids went to a baseball camp put on by a minor league baseball team. Needless to say, they LOVED it. For 9+ hours got to do what they love best -- place baseball. At the end of the camp, they managed to snag some autographs from some players who actually have played MLB. Pretty huge for a couple of 8 & 9 year olds!

This layout is based on a sketch by Jessy over at my scrapbook nook. I loved the sketch and thought it would work perfectly for these photos.

Now, another giveaway celebrating my 2nd scrappy goal reached!! A package of 7 Gypsies Victoria Paper Tape. (3 rolls. 3/4 inch x 5 yards. think washi tape!) SUPER cute, really fun and great in a multitude of crafts! To win, you MUST be a follower. leave a comment and I will choose a winner on Monday!

Squish Your Face {and a giveaway!}

I have this thing, and I am sure most mothers do, where you love your kids SOOOO much that you want to squish them, or kiss them all over or just eat.them.up. There does get to be a certain age where this passes, though the love certainly doesn't diminish.

Anyway. When I look at this photo of Harrison, I just want to squish his face!!

This is one of those layouts that I just love. I don't know if it's the combo of colors, the photo or what. I love it. It's based on the 07.10 Studio Calico Sunday sketch (though I followed Tina's take a little more closely!) and using the July SC kit, Mind the Gap.

Now, for the giveaway. I have reached my amended goal for pages in 2011! When I started my new scrapping way of life in January I set a goal of 104 pages this year. That was 2 for every week. I blew through that in April, I think. Now, I've gone past the revised goal of 208! Actually, I am much closer to 220 by now. (Can I make it to 312?! We'll see!!)

Anyway, to celebrate, I'd like to give away this brand new doily stamp set from Studio Calico:

I'm not much of a stamper, but I do use this one! To enter, you MUST be a follower of this blog. Leave a comment and I will choose a winner on Monday, 25! AND, check back tomorrow for another giveaway!!

Seeing the sea lions! {and an announcement!}

Back in May my family and I met a few of my cousins at La Jolla cove to see the sea lions! Due to some changes you can now get really close to the sea lions. This was certainly fun as you could really see their faces and their fun expressions!

I had been wanting very much to use this amazing Odds & Ends paper from Cosmo Cricket. I loved the vintage feel and the colors! Oh my the aqua and red, my favorite combination! Surprisingly, the vintage feel fit right in with those cute little sea lions!

I LOVED using the chalkboard glimmer mist, it is a yummy and soft french vanilla color that goes perfectly with Kraft and the vintage bingo card. It adds just the right amount of depth and shimmer.

LOVED these supplies and they were all part of my July Your Scrapbook Stash kit!

And, on another note, I'm now a proud new design team member at sassy lil' sketches! (I'm also in their new e-book of sketches coming out soon!!) Look for my layouts on their blog on the 3rd Tuesday of the month!!

a scraplift challenge!

Over on the 3 Scrappy Boys blog I put up a scrap-lift challenge. I think it's a great way to get a little scrapping done with the kids home. It doesn't require as much work, as some of the design leg work is already done!

Here's the layout I chose to scrap-lift: (by heather bowser)

And here's my take on the layout:

Fun, right? The scraplifting, I mean! Why don't you try it out and post your creation in the 3 Scrappy Boys gallery?

Will work for candy?!

On our recent travels to Las Vegas, we took the kids to M&M World. It's enough to drive a person crazy -- the activity, the prices, the whining...anyway. (My kids deserved it. They had been good for the babysitter the night before and that was the reward!)

Harrison was bent on getting candy. He didn't care about any of the other crap/goodies, he just wanted M&M's. Never mind that they were $13/pound!

Here's my take on the 07.14 Sketchy Thursday sketch:

Loved this one. Simple, clean and lots of white space. My favorite!

Celebrate Summer

To say that I love these photos is an understatement. I love the processing (Thanks Hipstamatic!) and I love the content. Add some fun My Minds Eye product and a sketch from them, and you have a fun, summer layout!

your scrapbook stash sketch!

Have you checked out the fun sketches that are posted on the www.yourscrapbookstash.com blog? If you haven't, you should. I loved this week's sketch and I had 2 photos sitting on my desk, waiting to go onto paper. Luckily for me, this sketch from 7-8 seemed perfect!! Even better? October Afternoon Rocket Age papers to go with my photos from SKY HIGH.

Slip Slidin' Away!

Hello, friends!

Here's my first "official" project for my design team gig at Your Scrapbook Stash. I'm having an absolute blast ... I love the store, I love the team, I truly just LOVE IT. Anyway...

I will admit, I have always really liked Echo Park. The fun colors and basic designs are always a win-win for me. There are, however, some lines I love more than others. Summer days is DEFINITELY one of those.

The colors are fabulous, the fact that there is a 6x6 pad (WOW!) and BRADS! I love them. They are colorful and super fun. I couldn't wait to use them on a layout.

Really happy with how this one turned out!!

Supplies Used: Patterned paper: Echo Park Summer days/Cardstock: Bazzill/Chipboard alpha and tags: Studio Calico/Brads: Echo Park Summer Days/Wood Veneer Heart: Studio Calico/Kraft Tags: Maya Road/Glimmer Glaze: Tattered Angels/Flowers: Sassafras Lass

down time

Sometimes when you go on vacation, there's a little down time. A few moments while others shower or a short rest after a super fun activity. Luckily for us, on this trip to Vegas -- Harrison had stuffed his pockets full of small cars and we didn't know it! He had many moments of fun playing with these cars in the hotel room.

I used this month's Sketchy Thursday guest designer sketch for the layout. The design was fun and totally fit the photos that I had!

I love this one

I'm not in many photos. It's completely selfish. I don't like how I look. I don't want it preserved for all eternity. However, I realize it's important that there ARE photos of me out there. So, occasionally I agree.

This one was taken of Sawyer and I a few weeks ago at the Long Beach Aquarium (Aquarium of the Pacific) and I LOVE IT. So much, I used the same photo twice on the same layout! That is definitely a first for me.

I used this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch...but I did vary it a bit. The biggest difference is that I left the banner off the top, I felt it was busy enough without it!

a fun layout and a woohoo!

The Elle's Studio sketch this week was a fun one that I knew I had to play along with. I had a couple of photos that were perfect -- and just the papers to match. These photos are from almost 2 years ago (seriously?! where does the time go?) and it was so fun to look at them again and remember the memories.

As if another layout getting picked up for publication last week wasn't enough...I am now a design team member at The Paper Bakery kit club!!!!

I'm so excited to get started and have fun!!

An oldie, but a goodie

I was just looking through this blog for a layout I thought I had shared. Guess what? I hadn't! And, I love it so I want to share. Here it is -- made back in February with my Candy Shoppe Studio Calico kit. (My first kit subbing!) Love this photo of Harrison!

My summer

My summer so far has been crazy, hectic and FULL. But I wouldn't trade it for a thing. I don't have many layouts to share, but I have a full heart and a lot of memories. (some, the ones that include fighting, for example are not so good!!)

I'm off to make more memories!

PS-All photos shown are taken with my iphone. Just so you don't think my photography is that bad. Because, once I read that the best camera is the one you have with you. I must agree.

Pumpkin

It's been a crazy month of working with loads of summery photos and supplies, I stepped back into something...different. A look forward to fall.

I used this sketch from Page Maps:

And made this fun, fall-ish layout with a photo I just adore.

I love that piece of grey paper from the Studio Calico Documentary line. So glad I have most of a sheet left to work with! Now, to come up with a project for it!!

3 Scrappy Boys July reveal!

This month I was fortunate enough to work with 3 Scrappy Boys main kit. And let me tell you -- it was a treat!! I *LOVE* Pink Paislee and Collage Press's Hometown Summer line. I thought that the black zipper from Maya Road was a treat and the Doodlebug buttons? Some of my favorite embellishments. EVER. (I'm completely serious on that. These are amazing buttons and I can't wait to have a package in every.single.color!)

I love the colors, the vibe and what one can create with this kit. Take a look!

Summer!

Happy 4th of July, scrappy friends. I hope you're enjoying your day relaxing with family and friends! I also hope you are remembering your freedoms and how lucky we are to have them.

Today I post my very first project that I made with my JULY Your Scrapbook Stash kit! Seriously, I'm so incredibly excited!! Unbelievably so. I had so much fun making my projects, so far I've done *8* -- that is how much fun I've been having.

Here's a look at my first project. I painted the whole thing off white and the little panels inside pop right out. I intend to make new panels for each season/holiday!

Smile

It's July! How did that happen? Not only is it the height of summer, it's the last official month of my term with My Sketch World! It has been a great ride...and I will think it's great as my first Design Team and all. WOW.

Who knew the first 6 months of 2011 would bring me such scrappy success? My first time submitting, applying and getting out there...I get 5 layouts picked up for publication in printed magazines and I manage to land spots on 4 Design Teams. I'm one happy scrappy girl!

Anyway. The sketch and my take:

I'll still be completing the August sketch, but THANK YOU My Sketch World...it's been fabulous!

It's July!

Whoa Nelly! How did it get to be July? Well, if it's July I must have a new challenge up at My Sketch World! My challenge this month will is a WATER challenge! Either use photos that include water (easy -- pools, beaches, etc) or elements on your page that remind you of or look like, water! (Think, papers that look like waves, clear embellishments or using diamond glaze to create glossy goodness that looks like water!!)

Here was my take on the challenge!

Would you like to play along? I'd love it if you would!

A tiny little thing...

I only have a couple of little words for now...more to share later today. BUT, for right now, a big wooohooo because I am now a creative team member over at Paper Issues! Sounds perfect, doesn't it? I mean, who reading this doesn't have paper issues?? ;)