Bright Sunshiney Day

It's gonna be a bright, bright, bright sunshiny day. I need some little music note emoticons. This page was created for the Scrap Your Stash Challenge over at Two Peas in a Bucket. If you haven't checked them out yet you should. (The link is above) Every year one of their free classes gets me and this year it's Scrap Your Stash. (Not that i have much of a "Stash" to scrap) 

Last Thursdays Video was all about using your stamps on a layout. I am not a big stamper, mainly because stamps intimidate me. I can never get a good impression OR once I put it on it doesn't look right. Unfortunately ink is permanent and once it is there...It's There! So, I took a step outside of my comfort zone and gave it a try. Lilith Eeckels...You really got me going and I have to say I am happy with the results.

Sorry for the dim photos but it had started getting cloudy.

That "Summer" banner you see there under the flower is a Pink Paislee Stamp, Stamped onto Vellum and then stapled to some card stock that I Printed a chevron pattern onto. It is actually a bit brighter in person but the wind was blowing and it would not stay down.

 So the hearts all around the page were stamped using a reverse mask. I simply cut my shape out of a piece of scrap paper and then taped it to the page with washi tape so that it wouldn't slide around and then stamped through it. All of the hearts were done with the same stamp I just moved it around a bit so that the pattern wouldn't be the same.

For the rest there is: Dear Lizzy 5th and Frolic, Amy Tangerine Sketchbook, October Afternoon Mini Market Alphas, Basic Grey Fact or Fiction Snippets and a Smash Journal Tag.

In Other News:

It was 60 degrees and sunny last Friday and it snowed Saturday. Granted it wasn't a lot of snow and it was gone in like 3 hrs but man did it leave us soggy!! Chloe did not like the snow...nope...not one bit!!! As evidenced by these next pictures. 

Mad because it was wet and she wanted in the front door.

 And nervous on the car ride because she didn't know what was going on when I let her stick her head out the window.

Let me know what you think. Do you like to stamp on your layouts? Have you ever tried stamping on vellum? Have you been inspired by a video on 2 peas lately? Let me know in the comments below. I love comments. 

~Ashley Crafty~

He Loves His Kindle

It seems every time I take out my camera in the house he has his Kindle in his hands. I have about 10 pictures from the last 3 months where he has that "book" in his hands. So this is my last layout from last week. I did manage one layout this week and I will have that up for you this weekend. But, I digress. Here you go--"He Loves His Kindle". 

                                                              

I love my new washi tape--I've never been a big fan of the Recollections brand from Micheal's but I couldn't pass up this tape in a geometric chevron pattern. 

I don't know why but I take a lot of  my pictures with a funny angle

I took out the scraps from my Christmas Mini Album and put them to use on this page. The graph paper in the background is from the Basic Grey Aspen Frost Line and the little map in the corner of the picture is Sleigh Ride by Crate Paper.

Since everything is very straight on this page I thought that to offset the washi in the corners that I would drip my mists diagonally across the page opposite the washi. 

So that is my super quick post of my last layout from last week.

In Other News

Jack is reading on his kindle 

AND

Chloe had a long hard day...as evidenced by the toys and chewy's surrounding her. 

Stay tuned this weekend for that tutorial that I promised on making your own Vellum Feathers as I will actually have time to sit and take the photos since.....I AM ON VACATION!!! Yes, I am yelling that out at anyone who will listen. Hehehe. (It's only a mini one but 4 days in a row doesn't happen very often in my life!

Hope Everyone has a great Thursday!

~Ashley Crafty~

Then and Now

THEN

Yesterday I sat down with one of my oldest scrapbooks and flipped through a couple of pages. I guess everyone has to start somewhere. I started with one of those "1,000 pcs!!" kits that they sell at Wal-Mart shortly after I found my first LSS (Local Scrapbook Store).I bought a few items and a pair of decorative scissors and I sat down to record history, My history. 

Those first few pages are not what I would call my "best work". Far from it actually and even though I am one of those people who will take the photos off of a layout and re-do it I just can't seem to do that to those first pages. Today I took one of them outside with me while I was photographing my latest layouts and took a picture. 

My husband in in his chubbiest of times. SHH!! Don't tell him, he hates that picture.

So, what do we have here. A very lopsided decorative circle in the corner with some vellum stickers and silver flourishes. A glassine type envelope with a quote on it. Very crooked plastic letter stickers and My handwriting because I ran out of letters. Oh yeah, Those squares on the side over there, Mirrored Mosaic Tiles...I don't even know where those came from. So despite my tendency to tear my pages apart and start from scratch this page will remain safely hidden safe.

NOW

Now, onto things of a more current nature. I have gotten Three layouts done in four days. I know, Right!?! That's Crazy for Me. This one here is one of me and Jack last summer while we were walking Chloe. (You can find her (Chloe) about two posts back, if you want to know her story.) So I started with a little inspiration in the form of this Layout by Marcy Penner.

And then I jumped in with both feet. I am still getting the hang of mists. Can't seem to make them look right but still use them all the time. Before I go through all the details, I guess I can show you the layout. ;)

Yes, Those are Jesus Jones Lyrics for the title!!                                 

So, I used some Amy Tangerine Sketchbook Thickers, Some paper from a Basic Grey that I have had for at least two years, October Afternoon Mini Market Alpha and a Mistable Camera sent to me in a swap from Ising.

The little green strip on the side is from a SMASH Pad.
It says Coolness Rating 1-10.

I tried to keep the same photo grid concept that Marcy used in her layout. I also added the heart tag in the corner so that the page wouldn't seem so blank. I wish I could have found some washi in one of the greens or close so that I could have added a border around the page *(top and bottom).

Stamping under the tag at the top made me realize that I need some new ink. Something that will leave a sharp image. I think someone said Versa Mark was good for leaving a crisp image. I am going to be sad when I run out of those Thickers. I think they are my favorite alpha EVER!!! 

Have you kept any of your first pages? Do you still have any of those old supplies in you "Scrap Pantry"? Do you know of an Ink that leaves a crisp clear image?
Leave me a comment below. 

Thats all for today Folks, and I hope you will tune in next week for the newest edition of Paper for People. ::Smile:: 

~Ashley Crafty~

My Chloe (Warning Sad Story With A Happy Ending)

I have never been one to talk much about my day to day life. Mainly because there is not much to say. I have no kids, so there are no silly sayings or crazy adventures. I work full time so when I get home it is straight to the PJ's, a little scrapping and bed.

That being said, I want to share a little bit of my life. Chloe. Chloe is my three year old Chihuahua and she has quite a story to tell.

One of my favorite pictures of a very sweet but goofy pup!!

One day a little over 3 years ago my fiancee's father went to pick out a building for the back yard. When he got back he started telling us of this little dog that was so happy to see him. She kept hopping in to his lap while he was talking to "guy".  Guy tells my fiancee's father that he can have "the thing" if he wants it. Well, not being in the market  not wanting a dog he tells the "Guy" no thank you and leaves.

Always so happy.

When he got home he decided that the dog needed a good home and that if we wanted her that he would call the guy and we could go get her. Of Course, I said yes. (being a sucker for dogs, especially small ones). I was not prepared however for what we would find when we got there. We came in and told "Guy" who we were and he proceeds to tell us about the 2 chihuahua's that he had that had gotten hit in the road in front of his house because they wouldn't stay in his yard. So he opens the backroom door and lets this 5 month old underweight chihuahua walking on a broken/deformed leg out of a room with a floor covered in animal feces excrement. She was so excited to be out of the cold room(no heat in December, metal building) she tinkled a little and jumped in my lap. So I proceed to ask the normal questions, Name, Age, Diet Etc. He tells me that she is 1 yr. old (later disproved by a vet) and that she will only eat Caesar's Wet Dog Food.

You can see her broken foot in this one. 

He proceeds to tell us that he had been trying to sell her but couldn't get rid of her.  We could tell there was something fishy and I was just glad to get her out of there. We get her home and give her a bath. She was not nervous at all about leaving. Which I found odd for a dog of that age. We took her to a vet the next day who told us she was 5 months old,  3 1/2 lbs. underweight. (for those with larger dogs that is a lot for a chihuahua) and that her paw/ankle had been broken about 3 months back and had gone untreated. We asked about correcting it but she told us that it would put her in a lot of pain since they would have to re-break it and that there was no telling if it would turn out for the best. That since it didn't seen to bother her that much that we should just leave it. We got her shots and took her home.She still wouldn't eat well until we switched her to dry food. Turns out the food was why she was so underweight. Being allergic to gluten and wheat ( a main ingredient in most wet food) she couldn't process it and was regurgitating most of it. After we switched to the dry food she put on weight like there was no tomorrow.

Any stack of pillows, Any freshly lain out blanket and she there.

So, This is the Story that Chloe has to tell. This is the story of the perfect dog from a man who shouldn't have had her. The love of our lives. Our Lovey Wuvey, Chloe Woey, Little Big Foot, Wuvey, Our Chloe. 

Our Photogenic Pup!!!

So that is the story of my Chloe.

~Ashley Crafty~