Washington, DC

Mr B and I just returned from a fabulous trip to Washington, DC and Virginia Beach. It was a much needed break for both of us and we had a great time.

I have always wanted to see the U.S. capitol and I was not disappointed in the least! In fact I was very impressed with how clean, safe and beautiful the entire area was. We actually stayed in Arlinton, VA, right across the river from Washington, so we took the subway in each day to the capitol area. From there we walked at least 10 miles a day as we toured the area! We also did a double-decker bus tour and we sat on the open upper level. It was a great way to see everything and to hear the history of area.

Here are just a few of the photos that we took in Washington.

:: Pennsylvania Avenue ::

:: the Capitol Building ::

:: North Lawn of the White House ::

:: South Lawn of the White House ::

:: Secret Service near the White House ::

:: Lincoln Memorial ::

:: Washington Monument ::

:: Jefferson Memorial ::

:: Supreme Court Building ::

:: looking up from the steps of the Supreme Court Building ::

:: the view from the steps of the Supreme Court Building ::

:: resting at the fountain at the Supreme Court Building ::

:: Arlington National Cemetery ::

:: a beautiful, peaceful and emotional place ::

:: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier ::

:: Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier ::

:: on the top of the double-decker bus with my handsome tour guide ::

:: Library of Congress ::

:: Federal Reserve Building ::

:: Federal Triangle ::

Despite our aching feet at the end of each day, we totally enjoyed our tour of the capitol. Our trip also included a number of Smithsonian Museums, the Zoo, the National Cathedral and some fabulous restaurants! I will be posting more photos in the next few days :)

Canadian Scrapbooker Summer 2012

Our copies of Canadian Scrapbooker Summer 2012 arrived at the store yesterday and it was a very exciting day! My layout, I ♥ Books, was published in this issue and it was awesome to see it in print!

The other awesome thing is that my BFF (Carolyn) has a layout published in the same issue! The Two Scrapbook Friends in the same magazine at the same time! Very cool :)

Plus, my other scrappy friend, Christa Uttley, has a layout on the facing page of mine, and two other scrappy friends, Sharlene Nye-Petrone and Laura Whitaker, are also in this issue! Congrats to everyone on making it into this great publication. It is wonderful to share the excitement with all of you!

Little Red Wagon #134

It's Wednesday and time for another fun challenge at Little Red Wagon! Judy has challenged us to make a Father's Day card - simple and to the point!

As I just returned from vacation a couple of days ago, I am a bit behind in my scrapbooking/card making. So for this week's challenge I decided to go with a CAS card. I was inspired by a card that I saw on Pinterest and this is my version :)

I simply printed a tie template onto three different pattern papers and cut them out. Then I printed a sentiment onto cardstock using my computer, added the three ties, that I popped up with foam adhesive, and then layered it onto some brown and grey cardstock.

That is about as simple as it gets, but I think it is perfect for a Father's Day card :)

Be sure to pop over to Little Red Wagon to join in the fun! We would love to see your creation!

Little Red Wagon #133

It's time for another fun challenge at Little Red Wagon!

Most of us purchase patterned paper for our cards or layouts. But our challenge this week is to create our own patterned paper for our project.

I decided to use some Washi Tape to create my card background. (Yes... I am totally addicted to Washi Tape!)

I just alternated strips of two different tapes and it created the perfect background for my little boy card!

The die-cuts are from Imaginisce.

Why not get creative and join in the challenge this week? We would love to have you join us!

Inspiration Elevator May 2012

Welcome to Inspiration Elevator!


IE is a group of like minded scrappy friends who want to raise the bar in their own creative process through unique challenges that we issue to each other once a month. These won't be run of the mill challenges and we hope you will join us each month and be inspired by the innovative designs we create.

This is not a blog hop, and there are no prizes, but we would love it if you would take a few minutes to see what the rest of the Inspiration Elevator team created. We are sure you will feel inspired to get creative:

Ann

Audrey

Carolyn

Cathy

Christa

Joanne

Laura

Laurel

Lisa M

Lisa S

Sue

The first challenge, issued by Christa, is two-fold: to create a new design that reflects your style, and to use a new product or technique that you find inspiring right now.

There are so many awesome products and techniques in the scrapbooking world, but my current love is Washi Tape. All the different colors and patterns just make my heart happy and I look for any excuse to use them! So, of course, I had to use Washi Tape on my layout for this challenge.

I also included some of my favorite techniques: paint splatters, accordion flowers, spool butterflies, and stitching.

In addition, I created an altered border behind my background paper. I simply added bits and pieces of patterned paper in a few places around the edge of the paper. I am happy with how it adds just an extra bit of interest to the whole design :)

My overall design is uncluttered with a bit of white space. I also like working with a single photo that can be the focus of my page.

Thanks for looking and do visit the blogs of the rest of the team. You are sure to be inspired!

Washi Tape

Every once in a while I discover a new product in the scrapbooking world that I just love. My recent addiction is Washi Tape! These fun rolls of color and pattern are perfect for pairing with scrapbooking papers to create amazing layouts and cards!

I created this single page layout using papers from Prima's Doodle Deux collection and fun decorative tape from Queen & Co. I included a small photo of my niece, Sarah, and it all came together perfectly!

I had fun creating a little banner using the tape and some bakers twine.

So there you have it! I am sure you will be seeing lots more of this fun tape on my designs in the future.

Thanks for looking :)

Little Red Wagon #132

I can't believe it is Wednesday already! Life is just so busy, that if it weren't for my Little Red Wagon challenges, I don't know if I would get around to blogging at all!

Anyhoo, our challenge this week is to use mist on our creation. Yippee! We just received some new Mister Huey's mists at the store, so I played with Opaque White.

I placed a chicken wire stencil (The Crafters Workshop) on my Kraft cardstock and sprayed the mist lightly. I love the pattern that it created :)

Then I added some bits and pieces of Follow Your Heart paper from My Minds Eye - love it! A bit of stitching, a pretty button and a little bow and my card was complete.

Thanks for looking and be sure to visit Little Red Wagon to join in the fun :)

Little Red Wagon #131

It is my turn to issue the challenge at Little Red Wagon this week and I want to see everyone 'stitch it up' on their layouts, cards or projects.

I created a card as inspiration.

I designed my card background and then I did some simple machine stitching around the edge. I love using my sewing machine to add an outline to my cards.

I also added a little zig-zag stitch - just for fun!

Why not join us over at Little Red Wagon? I would love to have you play along with my challenge and share your creation with us! See you there :)