Vanessa Explains It All

National Scrapbooking Day

Hi everyone! I hope you are having a fabulous weekend! Friday night I worked on a page that ended up combining a ton of challenges that Studio Calico had going on. One of them was to use something from the internet as inspiration. 

 I found this picture on Tumblr and a vision popped right into my head:

I loved the colors and of course the lines, here is what I came up with:

 

It's a horrible picture I know but I'll admit I am too lazy to take another picture just yet. The other challenges? Well I managed to incorporate the following:

• scrap your mom ("Hi Momma!") That's the title, though hard to see
• use layered flowers
• use polka dots, brads, SC stamp, and four different patterned papers
• use mist
• use white space (not hard for me cos I ALWAYS use white space)
• use and old photo

I didn't intend to put so many together, it just happened and it was so FUN> I really need to do challenges more often!

If you are visiting from the Crate Paper blog, HELLO!! I am very excited to have won the iPod and I will put it to very good use! As many of you know I LOVE music.

What did you do for NSD?

ps-new playlist on the right!

  

The Key(s) to Happiness

    The month of January I was incredibly down and out. Therefore I created these two pages/things to help get it out. And making them really helped. It also turns out that these are two of my favorite pages, one is sans any journaling and the other without a photograph. Oh well. sometimes getting things down on paper is all I need. This is vastly supported by the amount of notes I take about any and everything. (click on pictures to make them larger)

    My mom says this is her favorite picture of me, possibly ever. And I know Mandi favors it quite a bit (she took it, so she should! haha). My mom and I had a 15 minute conversation/lecture about this picture and why she loved it so much. I was inspired by that lecture to use a larger size picture than I normally do. Really, for me, all the page needed was that one word "solace" because I understood what the rest meant to me. My mom said I just look so peaceful in the picture and at the time I was making this I really needed to feel that. I felt much better getting it down, journaling or not.

 

    This one, a misting idea, the January Jenni Bowlin kit, and some things I wanted to remind myself of, The Key(s) to Happiness:

• smile
• don't think
• surround yourself with friends
• give good hugs
• take risks
• play it cool
• don't judge
• love yourself
• call your mom

    Simple things like that remind me how precious life is and how lucky I am. I have this one hanging on my wall. The simplicity of it just really humbles me and reminds me what is really important especially when I am feeling down. I am not perfect, I am human. Things get me down but that's ok!

    As I mentioned before, these were from January. I am a bit behind in posting, but these were really important to me. January was a month of picking myself up after a heartbreak. Of course I miss him more than he knows or I will express but it's the little things that have made me smile and got me through to the new month (February). And now it's almost March!! All is well my loves.

Call your mom. (Hi Momma!)

The Best Housewife

I've made a few layouts so far with Mandi's kit.  She designed all the papers herself!  And lucky me got to see sneaks along the way.  She never ceases to amaze me.  

If you didn't know already, here is what the kit looks like:

And here is where you can get it.  I recommend you do, the papers are so awesome and versatile.  I am so proud of her!

Here are the LOs I have made with bits of it:

This one was made after she and I spent the day together.  Again, I was totally inspired by her. And I had this line "one singular sensation" from A Chorus Line (thanks to SYTYCD) in my head and knew it was so fitting for her.

This is a picture from college, hence the title.  The yellow paper behind the picture is "Tea Towel" from The Housewife collection.  LOVE! I also used a tag from Elle's Studio up in the corner.

Did you get yours yet?

Girl Next Door

Surprise surprise I'm obsessed with a song..."Two Doors Down" by the Mystery Jets. I listen to it every morning on my way to work, totally makes me smile.  But it is very rare I get an idea for a layout or title from a song and actually remember it when I could use it.  And even more rare that I make a LO about just myself.  So here it is:

I used a Studio Calico kit and a few other bits. Gessoed the background paper and misted a little.  Sewed and hand stitched! Picture by Mandi. Here are some detail shots:

Do you do layouts about yourself often? If so, what about?

Hey Tweetie!

I've had this idea in my head for a while, my tweets are perfect mini formulas to create something!  And then The Dares posted  a challenge that was just that.  SO here is what I made, and I hate to admit it, but this is only the second mini I have finished and made just for myself! And if you don't follow me on twitter you should! @VanessaMeryl

See more pages here

I also submitted this for the AC design team call : )

Have you made any minis lately?

SISiversary and some Layouts

Hi y'all!  So I'll do a short recap of my scrappy weekend in TN!  I had the best time! So many laughs, scrapping, and drinks with so many amazing women.

Next year I will know how to use my own camera and quit mooching off Mandi.  All of these pictures are hers and I haven't edited them cos I lost Photoshop when my laptop died a few weeks ago...not to mention I forgot everything Mandi taught me how to do.

This love was a fabulous surprise...oh the magic of twitter! I wouldn't have known her without it!

These ladies (Sandy, Jen, Danielle, Patty) are amazing!

and this was always around and delicious:

I wish the weekend was longer! There are so many fabulous women I didnt get to talk to but look forward to seeing next year!  And for sure I will see some of them before then cos I love road trips and have no problem inviting myself haha.

AND I made four layouts this year! DOUBLING what I did last year.  Part was due to the fact that I  had more space and so much inspiration around me! Michelle, Mandi, Beth, and I all jacked each others layouts which you can see right now over on ScrapJacked.

Here are two of the layouts I did.  Mandi jacked the first one and the second is a jack of one of hers.  You can see details here

PHEW!!!  So inspired! Maybe I will go make something! I loved the jack cos it made me try something new : )

What new things have you tried lately?

Video Blog #2!

The question is will there ever be a true reason for these random videos?  Who knows!!  But they are hilariously amusing when you have awesome, fabulous, crazy, scrapbooking loves to make them with you!

Don't say I didn't warn you!

Cards

I love making cards.  And sending them.  And giving people a little reason to smile.  And the good thing is, it doesn't cost me anything cos you know I have more supplies than I know what to do with!  So spending a few dollars on stamps to send a handful of cards out is something I am happy to do.  And I have gotten into making my own envelopes so I always have what I need.  They don't take long and I have been doing it for YEARS!  I wish I had pictures of cards I made a few years ago before I got into scrapbooking, those are totally different!  Anyway, here are some cards I have neglected to post over the last few months:

The last one is my fav!  I channeled my inner Mandi and Dina 

And it seems I love to use Hambly scraps for cards : ) makes it look extra fancy!  There are more that I sent out recently but I will wait to post those til I know people got them.

Are you a card maker?

Almost the Weekend!

So some bullets for you:

• so sad I didn't go to the Pete Yorn/Coldplay show.  too broke
• excited that Pete will be doing his own tour this summer 
• I am not so much a fan of Mandy Moores new album.  But I really loved the last 
• Things at work are finally moving along and there is a light at the end of the tunnel 
• I am newly dedicated to getting into shape.   
• I learned today that the treadmill is not my friend.  grrr 
• I FINALLY cleaned my craft closet 
• cleaning the rest of my apt cos ...
• MANDI is visiting tomorrow!!! (I haven't seen her since Oct when I visited her = EXCITED)  
• stay tuned and follow us on twitter @VanessaMeryl and @candimandi cos I'm sure we will be tweeting often of our adventures : ) 
• and some scrappy things to prove I'm still crafty: 

 

(about getting my behind in gear in parts of my life)

(our first time at trivia finals!)

I hope everyone has a great weekend!
  

What do YOU have planned?

NSD Freak Luck

Hi all!!

This past Saturday was National Scrapbooking Day.  And that means lots of contests, challenges and things of the like.  Due to the fact I have been embarrassingly broke these days I decided to comment on any and everything that was giving something away and to participate in most of the DT challenges over at Studio Calico to try to win some scrap goodies.  Cos anything I win means i am not tempted to buy it and thusly feel less cruddy that all my money goes to bills and rent etc. (and I am NOT blaming the economy, I work REALLY hard, I am blaming student loans. don't get me started!) 

I'm not kidding you when I say I devoted many hours to commenting and contesting.  And I always subscribe to wherever blog I comment on so I can easily find out if I won and if I did, to certainly continue reading that blog! I don't want to seem like a moocher!  Let me tell you...my efforts did not go unrewarded....

I have won SIX challenges and name pullings!!!!! SIX

I would like to pay homage to those who freakishly kept pulling my name out of the hat.  And also thank my mom for naming me Vanessa cos it means not many people have my name which makes everything easier.  

THANK YOU! to the these scrappy loves for allowing me to win the following goodies :

Studio Calico - an add-on from the March kit

A Million Memories - their April kit

Angie Lucas - A Simple Scrapbooks magazine

Selena Kimsey and Magistical Memories - some chipboard goodies

Red Oak Lines - an NSD RAK

Jamie - one of my favorite things

I mean WHO KNEW!? I am so humbled after being so lucky to win so much stuff!  I cant wait to get all the packages in the mail.  I chatted with some great people and had so much fun!!! THANK YOU!!!

What is the best thing you have ever won?