A weekend crop continued... and my layouts that I completed or started while there, 14 pages in all! Utilizing mostly Inspired Inc and 3 Birds Design products.

Our AWESOME hostess, Jan!  Great smiles from a great lady!  The poor girl didn't get to play much, because she was always catering to us all weekend!

Sorry about the exit sign, Norma! lol  Great shot of you.

A highlight of the crop, for me, was when I was told Dakota could come for a quick visit!  I always miss my best cropping buddy when I'm away.  Thank you Michael and Wesley, for bringing her by on your way to the beach.

2nd evening's dinner... yum!  Pizzas and ice cream sundae bar.

The brownies with frosting were also killer!  How many hours do I need to walk,  in order to 'walk' this off???

Mary hand colored some gems to customize them to her project.

     If I haven't said it enough yet, we had a TON OF FUN during Jan's crop.  It was awesome that we had a variety of things to keep us not only crafting and enjoying a lot of great food, but throughout the weekend she held a lot of door prize drawings, plus a GRAND PRIZE drawing, a bag chock full of goodies!  She was also really generous with awarding us 'extra' tickets if we demoed a technique or a product, if we made something for someone (thank you teenagers!), if we brought chairs or snacks, and on and on.

Guess who won the GRAND PRIZE DRAWING... the scrapbooking NEWBIE!  I'm JEALOUS!

      Now for the layouts I completed, and some that I started...14 PAGES total!!!  Can you say "Who completed the most pages?"  HMMM?

Skating at Johnny's with the Cub Scouts.

The kit I used, which won't post in the correct orientation lol

Another Inspired Inc kit, this time for 4th of July, 2014.

Another celebration memorialized with a kit from Inspired Inc.  This time, it's Dad's birthday!

This still needs a little somethin' somethin'.... perhaps a doily, lace, and a few flowers.  It's in my bag for the next crop.

Thanks to Jan, who helped me amend my title.

      I mixed and matched products for the layout above, "Cats watching birds watching birds".  Some Prima flowers and branched embellishment, 3 Birds red tickets and flourish (more classics) on first page, and I believe the papers are from Around The Block.
   Now for some 'classic' (as in more than 5 years old?) 3 BIRDS products used to complete a few pages!  I used a sticker from the BLING EXTREME kit, one of the FIRST 3 Birds kits I ever purchased,  and papers from the SO MUCH SPARKLE kit.  The newest 3 Birds product that I used here was the white lace type border on the first page.  Even that is from a couple (or perhaps a few) years ago lol.  Let's just say I have a hard time parting with my 3 Birds products.  If you still love it, why sell or give it away, right?

      The photo above shows one of the papers I was considering for the layout below.  I wanted to feature Oreo. the tuxedo kitty we chose to adopt out after 13 months of trying to help him get along with our other 2 cats, and vice versa.  It still hurts my heart that we had to do that, in addition to the fact that the new family LOST him after only 2-3 days!  I reposted his adoption flier as well as other photos I had of him, Michael looked for him near their home on his way to and from work, he and Wesley looked on their way to their outings, and Michael and I looked on our way from Christmas dinner with his coworkers.  Finally, HE returned to them, nearly 3 months later! The husband had seen him 2 weeks earlier but thought it was the neighbor's cat.   I pray that if he is not comfortable with that family, that he finds someone who he IS happy with.
     Because I wanted to feature Oreo here, I chose to go with a black and white layout.  I knew I had a fair amount of papers and products from 3 Birds that might work well with the photos and story.

Yes, some CLASSIC 3 BIRD products!

More CLASSIC 3 BIRDS products used.

I decided to add a splash of orange to draw your eye to Squirrel, who Oreo was 'dusting' during his excitement!

I also wanted to work more black and white embellishments and a feather to help tell the avian-loving story.

     The only non-3 Birds products used on this layout were my adhesives (Hermafix repositionable dotto, and Glossy Accents for the heavier items, black pen for journaling, signing and dating my layouts, craft feathers from WalMart, and the perching chickadees which I cut out from a My Mind's Eye paper.   Even the foam adhesive that I used to lift the chickadees came from a 3 Birds kit.

   

   My last 2 page layout goes back a few years, to when Wesley's artwork was chosen to be used in the local library's CALENDAR!  More 'classic' 3 Birds products helped me document this, covering both the celebration theme and the topic of his artwork, our local CAR FERRY, which is the LAST coal powered ship on the GREAT LAKES and our LIGHTHOUSE.   I wanted to use the colors from his clothing as well as his sketch.  The "Celebrate" diecut title called out to me, plus it was RED, which worked perfectly for his shirt and artwork highlight colors.  I also had a BLACK version of the same diecut, so I layered them, again to highlight colors in the photos.  The marine life paper also contained the blue of the water in his sketch, as well as the blacks and reds.  Although it's not an artistic themed paper, I think it works well here, as it relates to the aquatic nature of his artwork.

    And there you have it... 14 pages! Ten were completed, 4 were started before I left!  WooHOO!

Here are links to some 3 Birds Design and Inspired Inc products, currently available on HSN.COM  .

http://www.hsn.com/products/3-birds-studio-all-seasons-themed-page-mat-kit/1826433 

 I used a 'classic' version of one of these kits just a few weeks ago, on my "MY HERO" Cub Scout layout.

     These can be used in either pocket scrapbooking or standard paper scrapbooking:

    

  http://www.hsn.com/products/3-birds-studio-for-all-seasons-themed-card-kit/7426366?query=7426366&isSuggested=True&

    

     Some of the kits that I've been using during crops to get a lot of pages done without having to search through my stash as much:

http://www.hsn.com/products/inspired-inc-top-page-layouts-kit/7310252

  

     What can I say?  I have a weakness for 3D embellishments, and 3 Birds and Inspired Inc have some great ones!

http://www.hsn.com/products/inspired-inc-3d-sticker-embellishment-kit/7426378

NEW PRODUCTS from 3 Birds Design!

     Two new products are available at HSN.COM and will be on air on Tuesday, September 2nd (just 4 days away)!
     Perfect for traditional or POCKET scrapbooking, the Seasons Themed Card Kit

http://www.hsn.com/products/3-birds-studio-for-all-seasons-themed-card-kit/7426366?query=7426366&isSuggested=True&

     Perfect for year-round scrapbooking and paper crafting, another GOODIE BOX YEY!!!
http://www.hsn.com/products/3-birds-studios-pearlescent-and-foil-goodie-box/7426364?query=7426364&isSuggested=True&
 
     As many of you already know, the color ways of all 3 Birds products coordinate back to their awesome kits, so get out your stash and create something new, and PROGRAM YOUR VCR/DVR for 10 am and 4 pm on Tuesday!

Two new ESTATE Collection by 3 Birds products are on HSN.com

More beautiful products are available from 3 Birds on HSN.COM, and are of course, already in my shopping bag lol.  I will patiently wait until next week to see what more they have in store for me.... or us!  The gorgeous stamps are recognizably coordinated with the beautiful papers from the Estate Collection paper packs and are, therefore, headed for my home asap.  More beautiful gems are also coming to join my stash of 5 other bling sets from 3 Birds!  Happy early Mother's Day to me.......

My 1st layout utilizing the NEW 3 BIRDS ESTATE COLLECTION TREASURED LAYOUTS V2

New ESTATE COLLECTION products from 3 Birds!

I spy with my little eyes....SEVERAL NEW ESTATE COLLECTION PRODUCTS ON HSN.COM!!!!! TWEET, TWEET, TWEET YOU'VE WARMED THIS LITTLE BIRDIE'S HEART!

New product from 3 BIRDS on HSN TOMORROW!

http://www.hsn.com/crafts-sewing/3-birds-cling-eeeze-rub-on-kit_p-6730929_xp.aspx
     A new rub-on kit, which coordinates with ALL the 3 Birds products currently available on HSN.COM!!!!  woo hoo!

3 new kits by 3 BIRDS arrived today! TWEET TWEET TWEET!!!

  I am very excited to get to play with 3, yes THREE, new kits by my fave, 3 BIRDS!!!   I already have plans to use many of the new shades of bling from the ESTATE COLLECTION JEWEL TONES PEARLESCENT GOODIE BOX on my many copies of the Gleason Girls baby albums that I am working on! 
  It has been a long time since I've had my hands on a new paper stack by 3 Birds as well, and several of the patterns & colors will also appear in the above mentioned project, plus there are tons that will work with the layouts for our ongoing annual family, 'dad and me', & 'mom and me' albums.  The bright colors & great patterns will appear on our summer layouts as well!
   Wesley is working on a smashbook summer project, as part of his 'kidding around 3' class via Big Picture Classes, & I already expect him to be asking to use some of the new papers to 'jazz up' his pages.  When I opened the package, he said "Look mom, a rainbow"!
   The 'pop-eze' predesigned pages are adorable & coordinate back to several of the papers & embellishments that I've been collecting from 3 Birds....lots of fun ahead for us!
    So why am I sitting here typing????  Let's go play with more 3 BIRDS goodies!!!!!!

HSN Haul: 3 Birds, Brenda Pinnick, Claudine Hellmuth & Anna Griffin!

     Woo Hoo!  It's an HSN Haul!!!!!!  BEAUTIFUL kits from 3 Birds (I LOVE all 3 Birds products), Brenda Pinnick (LOVE the PURPLES), Claudine Hellmuth (GREAT 3D Embellishments that match & coordinate with the other items in her new series that she launched on HSN last Tuesday)...see the pic of Wesley flipping through the little ADORABLE SUITCASE of goodies,  & Anna Griffin (need I say more?....NOT)!
     SORRY....GOTTA GO PLAY!

EXTRA Valentine's Day treats & Studio Update

  This year I received EXTRA Valentine's Day treats....a 3 Birds & HSN delivery!  This shipment contained the newest 3 Birds Estate Collection piece, their Estate Collection Doily Elegant Card Kit & Claudine Hellmuth's chipboard kit.  The doily card kit is GORGEOUS & I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE all the PURPLES & PINKS used in this kit, along with the 3 dimensional embellishments....they've even included TWINE!  I've been waiting to try this new medium....yey! 
     Claudine launched her first series of products on HSN recently, and of course, I HAD to try it!  The chipboard embellishments are contained within an adorable ICE CREAM TRUCK!  As I quickly sorted through the HUNDREDS of pieces in this kit, I quickly imagined several pages that I can create utilizing these adorable pieces.  In fact, I wish I had several of them to use on layouts I recently created.
     Both the permanent packaging & the shipping packaging of these two kits is AWESOME, some of the best I've seen in a long time!

          Now for my Scrap Studio update:  My new studio wall is becoming dusty lavender!  This is the first base coat with the second coat to be applied later this afternoon.  I hope to be able to stencil tomorrow.  I'll have to see if I'm happy with the colors first.  I didn't want to use too dark a shade since it's in the basement & I only have one window to supply any natural light.  That window isn't even on this side of the basement, so I dream of one day having a large fire-easement window installed, or maybe even two of them.
      Uh-oh...Michael just discovered that with some color on the wall, we can now see that the drywall seams need to be re-mudded.  The drywall is contoured along the edges & so he needs to make up for that.  I guess we should have gone with the non-rounded drywall.  Live & learn.  He thought that his seams were nice & smooth.  They were pretty smooth, but you couldn't see the wave in the wall before there was any color added.  Take 2.

Newest 3 BIRDS: "BEST OF NEW YEAR'S" kit is here!!!!!!!!

         My newest 3 BIRDS kit is here! IT IS HERE, IT IS HERE, IT IS HERE!  rotfl... I can't wait to play with it....in an hour or so actually!!!!  I immediately took some pics of the delivery! haha 
         I'll post more later...can't wait to play!

Expression 2 launch & 3 Birds are on my mind...

  As part of the launch of the Cricut Expression 2 Anniversary Edition on HSN, some sites have been given the opportunity to GIVE AWAY new machines!  AWESOME!
 http://www.everydaycricut.com/    will be hosting an E2 ustream tonight...several things already going on today as well.
      I would LOVE  to get this new machine into my little scrapping wings (I'm a 3 Birds Chickadee from NW MICHIGAN)!  My only concerns are the typical gliches that always occur with a new product launch, and then the possibility of not being able to use this new machine with MTC or SCAL.
  My hands are shaking, I'm sooo excited!  I already ordered all 3 of the new 3 Birds products several days ago, and am chomping at the bit to see Donna's demos...always great! 
  Hope you are scrappin' and craftin'...stay warm and dry!