Uniquely Yours ...Scrappy Val

Celebrating ..

Hello all,

It's been a busy time over here ..I celebrated a big birthday this past month and am still celebrating ..this past weekend I went to see a Bon Jovi concert as a gift from my hubby. It was a blast, needless to say Jon Bon Jovi was spectacular.  Here are a few pics that I of course will be scrapping soon ..

Also, as it is now officially Springtime, I am celebrating this time of renewal by committing to doing more crafting and stretching out, seeking my inner creativitie strengths.  I'm venturing into things I haven't done before which is both invigorating and fear invoking. If you get a chance, a quick prayer for successful outcomes would be appreciated :)

Happy Springtime,

Scrappy Val

 
 

Hi Paperlife ..
Here's my solution to embellies :)

Scrapping Weekend Fun

Hello friends,

This past weekend I was able to get away from it all and scrapped with some friends at my local scrapbook store, Personal Scrapbook  ( www.personal-scrapbook.com). We had so much fun on Friday and Saturday.  A few of us were fortunate to get in to Teresa Collin's specialty class at a PC Crop in Frisco TX and we were so excited to see her new collections called Timeless and Posh.  We were even able to see her new blingage and made a super beautiful scrapbook album. 

I had a fabulous time and was able to spend dedicated time working on various projects.  I was all set with way too much but always my fave's like Helmar adhesives, Rusty Pickle project kits, board books and lots of embellishments. It was amazing and so soul restoring ..

Today was a great last day of Spring Break .. I was able to do some net surfing and can't believe that The Original Scrapbox is having a contest .. yeah!!!  Here's the link so you can become a Facebook fan too : www.facebook.com/TheOriginalScrapbox

I hope you have a great week!!

Cheers ~ Scrappy Val

 

2011 : Prioritize

Hello again,

It's been awhile since I've posted and this 2011 year, I've decided that I am going to focus on whats important to me and make sure that I know what my priorities are and ask myself "Is this a priority?".  I have decided that in order to be happy, content and fulfilled, I need to prioritize the things that are most important to me and my family.

I think I went a bit overboard with my 2010 "giving" focus last year. I gave so much  that at the end of the day I often felt depleted and discouraged.  I knew deep down that I must find a balance and so this year I'm going to continue to give but will prioritize what, when and how I give and I will make sure that it is a priority to have fun and enjoy doing what I commit to. 

I've been a Stampin Up Demo for the last 6 years and as sad as I am to have to do it, I gave up my demonstratorship this week.  I finally came to realize that I wasn't happy and I was giving in to being a demo.  It was not a priority in my life and so an era has come to a close.  I will happily become a Stampin' Up customer instead and of course toot the wonderful products they come out with.  It just isn't a priority to me anymore.

So, I am excited to sort through and re-prioritize the things in my life with hopes that the year brings me a new sense of peace, contentment, fulfillment and happiness.

May you too have a year filled with these special things.

Cheers ~ Scrappy Val

 

 

Snow in Texas ??

Hello Special Friends,

The weather is making a huge statement in Texas - it hasn't snowed this much in such a long time. 

 Today is the second day that the kids are home from school and I'm off from work.  I am enjoying some desperately needed scrap time. 

As the Co-Historian for my son's high school's football "Gridiron Club", my main duty is to create scrapbooks to record the 2010 Varsity season.  As I scrap each page, I am just so proud of my son and all his buddies for their hard work and successful season.  Fall and football has to be my most favorite time of the year and it's nice to relive those memories as I scrap them.

I've also had a chance today to catch up on all the latest products released at CHA 2011. I have to tell you I am SO excited to see it all and cannot wait till it all starts shipping to the local scrapbook stores where I can get to see them up close and personal. 

Hope you are well and warm!

Cheers ~ Scrappy Val

 

My Creative Studio ..

Cheerful Hello today,

I am working in my favorite space, creating some fresh and fun layouts and altered projects for some online blog challenges.  I am blessed to have finally put together a space where I am comfy, where I can get creative and most importantly where I can keep an eye on my boys while I create.

The inspiration for my room came from many years of trying to get it right and seeing what others were doing in their scrap spaces.  You see this is my 5th scrap space :) and each time we relocate I get a new stab at making it better.  This time I was supposed to get my own detached space but it didn't work out that way so I made our study my studio.  

My creative studio is a girly pink & sage room, shabby chic to a point, vintage-ish yet with a mod vibe of black and white contrast.  I've incorporated my love of antiqueing by seaching out and finding vintage glassware to house my extra embellies as well as vintage books and photo decor to host all my fave photos. These are complimented with vintage photos of my great great grandparents that I  inherited when my grandmother passed away and my favorite framed scrapbook layouts.

I've loved having my ribbons and embellies so close to me on the back wall and all I have to do is turn around and see what I have and use it .. I have my paper stash close in IKEA boxes and my various tools, adhesive, chipboard, inks in my re-cycled chest and dresser drawers. 

Since this room is rather small, I was unable to incorporate my vintage library card catalog that will eventually house all my smaller embellies and sits in my garage for the time being or my architects drawers that house my Stampin' Up stamp collection sets or my re-cycled dresser that holds my foam stamps, more inks and my Tim Holtz product collection.  One day I hope to have all my stuff in one area :)

Well, I hope you have some time to create today. It's great for the soul!  

Happy Creating,

Scrappy Val

PS  Have you tried out Helmar adhesives? I've got a package of goodies today that I'm working with and will let you know how they come out ... 

 

Blinging ...

Hello there,

Today was a very somber day .. I just was lazy, didn't feel up to doing much, I even ate store bought salsa (I always make my own homemade version), the fact that it was Good Friday dampened my spirits.  To imagine all the pain and suffering that Jesus endured was just overwhelming ... On the other hand, I see why it's called "Good Friday" because it's good news for us and I am grateful !!

I'm grateful today because I have healthy children. I have not felt the pain of having a child in the hospital. My heart and prayers go out to Melissa and Satori Lewis.  May you recover soon and be blessed with energy and more special times together .. I hope my little postcard makes you smile  ...

http://postcardsforsatori.blogspot.com/

Cheers ~ Scrappy Val

Give ...

Hi all,

Hope you are doing great today! It's an awesome day!

So, the thought occurred to me today that I should share my Ali Edwards 2010 Inspired Word of the Year with you. 

As I contemplated what word would be best for me I decided it had to be : GIVE. 

After relocating last year from CA to TX, I realized how much I've been given and how blessed I truly am. It was then that I decided that I wanted to give more deliberately; give of my time through volunteering, give of my talents for event planning/ fundraising, give of my organization skills, give my creative talents, give small gifts, give large gifts, give RAK's, give "pay it forwards", give cuts in lines, give happy mail, give, give, and more give ....

So a week or so ago, my bff Kim sent out a facebook request asking for friends to contribute a crafty something that would be utilized for her friend's daughter that was going to be going into the Mayo Hospital called "Operation Cheerful Heart" http://kimgarner.blogspot.com/2010/03/for-our-friend-reese-we-love-you.html )   It was a perfect opportunity for me to do something and GIVE :) 

Here are a couple of pics of the Mini-Album gift I made for little Miss Reese.  I hope she loves it, I used a really sweet little girl poem for it called "Precious Girl"  on each page, K&C chipboard embellies and some DCVW patterned papers with distressed inking of course :)  

My upcoming give projects include sending a postcard for my old neighbors son's classroom for geography project and creating a postcard for another friends daughter Satori Lewis who had surgery at UC Davis Childrens Hospital yesterday.

Giving is good for the soul and my soul delights in it ..

Happy Day,

Scrappy Val

Dye-ing ..

Last week I found some small crocheted doilies at the local antique mall.  I need more pink in my scrap studio so today I took out my SU re-inker "Pink Passion" and dyed them.  I am pretty excited about how they turned out.  I was hoping for a deeper color but these are just perfect. 

Happy day,

Scrappy Val

Designing ..

Today a few things made me happy; 1. I arranged some flowers for my hubby 2. I reconnected with some really wonderful scrapping friends and 3. I got crafty .... I used a template from Laura Lauren Meador of My Time Made Easy for the Just Us Girls Challenge . I learned how to make the paper flowers from Dawn McVey at The Raspberry Suite http://dawnmcvey.typepad.com/these_are_a_few_of_my_fav/2010/01/new-raspberry-suite-sneakie-peek.html .. it was fun  :)

Happy Spring,

Scrappy Val

Sun is Shining

Today the sun is shining in Texas and it's a great Spring Day. After enjoying some sunshine, I came in to do some facebooking and even got a chance to do some baking. I made a Daisy birthday cake, a Bunny Rabbit cake and a fun Mini cake.  It was lots of fun!

Cheers ~ Scrappy Val