Just Us Girls and My Memories Suite

It's National Scrapbooking Day and Maria has aptly challenged us to make a layout.  She's offering a prize too so be sure and check out Just Us Girls for the details.

Check out the inspiration from the girls...

Elise
Maria
Vicki

I used My Memories Suite scrapbooking software to make this page!  I know my hometown scrapping friends are gasping but....I am slowly but surely converting to digital scrapping!  Surprise, surprise, I like it!  My Memories Suite is a super easy program you can use to scrap at your own computer.  Some of my favorite features are that I can take my scrapbooking anywhere on my laptop and work on pages without needing to have an internet connection.  This makes going to a crop a breeze!  I just need my laptop...instead of the trailer full of heavy totes I used to haul!  ;)  This program will also save your finished pages as .jpg images so you can upload your page to ANY online photobook printing service. (My favorite is Mixbook) Other great options are that My Memories gives you access to ALL of the fonts on your computer as well as any other digital papers and elements you may have regardless of which digi store you bought them from.  FYI- My Memories comes with lots of pre-loaded digital packages so you can get started right away even if you have never done digital scrapbooking before.  Check out the tutorials at My Memories for lots of easy ideas on how you make memory albums using the software.

For a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - $20 value!), please help yourself to my coupon code:

STMMMS9322

Here are a few more pages in an album of Italy that I have been working on using

My Memories Suite...

I can't wait to finish this album one day!

Thanks for stopping by!

Digital Scrap Software: My Memories Suite
Digi Elements and papers: My Memories Suite and The Digichick

Just Us Girls #100 plus Blog Candy! ...Ciao!

Ciao bellas!  I'm so tickled your here!  This week the Just Us Girls crew celebrates the 100th challenge!  Yipes!  How fantistico!  To honor the distance we've come, we are taking it back old skool...to the very first sketch!  Snap in for a wonderful ride on the Just Us Girls REmix!  Remember this gem of a sketch????

Yep, she's back and ready for more action!  I recently received some stamps from darling Kim of Wilson Designs.  Among the stack was this so FUN set called Scoot Away with Me.  From the day Kim released this set, I have been jones-ing to recreate this real life scoot-scoot I saw in Como, Italy last year...

Can't you just picture me scooting around on this aqua baby in my designer stilettos???  OK maybe not but I do adore a cool Vespa...especially in Italy!  I guess, for now, I'll have to stick to stamps!

Mee-owww!  Isn't she the cutest little scooter rider??!  DAH-LING really! How do you keep your hair "helmet-head" free?!  Kim hit this right on the money...there are absolutely ladies dressed to the nines riding their scooters in Italy.  *love*

The sentiments font in the set is super cute too!  I love the retro feel the script has plus there is a houndstooth pattern stamp too. 

*candy alert*candy alert*candy alert*

The JUGs girl have put together some custom blog candy packages for the 100th sketch week!  Be sure and hop to each blog and comment for your chance to win.  For my candy package, I've put together some vintage faves....bookprint, music sheets, old ledger paper, monopoly money, pearl trim and some hand selected mother of pearl buttons!  I've also included 4+ yards of twine from the Twinery in fall colors and 4 wood mount stamps from American Crafts!  If you like the sound of that, please leave a comment that says "I want it!" (or any other form of "gimme" that suits you) and you are entered to win.  If you are a follower here at Paper Daydream, give yourself another chance with a second comment. 

Just had to share a closeup of those buttons.  YUM-o!

Check out the girls.....

Pam Imholz

Maria Levine

Lisa Kind

Andrea Matthews

Kathryn Berthiaume

Elise Durenberger

PLUS the fabulous and wonderful Monique Hansen joins us this month as our guest designer!  Yay!

OK crafters, let's work this sketch OUT!  Can't wait! 

Can you guess what color my next stamped scooter will be?????

Paper: Cosmo Cricket, Papertrey
Stamps: Wilson Designs
Twine: The twinery
Glitter: Stickles
Punch: CM
Embossing: Swiss dots

Want2Scrap celebrates National Scrapbooking Day !

Welcome to the Want2Scrap, Nestabling Blog Hop. This is Want2Scrap's first blog hop and we are hoping you will have fun, be inspired and maybe even end up with some Want2ScrapTM Goodies! There is no better way of enjoying National Scrapbook Day! We are offering a Grand Prize of:

• Chipboard Album
• Baby Bling
• 72 Count Rhinestone or Pearl Bling
• SpellbindersTM Labels 11 Die Template
• Labels 11 NestablingTM
• $25 Gift Certificate

There will also be some hidden prizes including

• Chipboard Album
• Baby Bling
• 72 Count Rhinestone or Pearl Bling

Now all you have to do is leave a comment on the Want2ScrapTM blog and each of the design team members blogs...including our guest designer Julie Tucker- Wolek. You must comment on each blog to be eligible for a prize by Monday @ 4PM EST.

Heidi Blankenship
Elise Durenberger
Dana Gustafson (you are here!)
Mimi Leinbach
Terre Fry
Julie Tucker-Wolek

The next stop on the hop list is the sweet and talented, Mimi Leinbach! So sit back, grab a cup of Java and enjoy the NestablingTM eye candy these talented ladies have to offer and remember to leave a comment on each blog. The prizes will be selected by Random.org. The winners will be posted on May 11, 2011.  Good luck!

I decided to scrap some photos of my trip to Italy last year.  These are two of my favorites from Rome...my first siting of the famous Trevi Fountain and my first vino and pizza in ROME!...seriously, it doesn't get any better this!  Doesn't the Marquis Silver Rhinestone Design - Self Adhesive bling that I colored with a light blue sharpie look just like a fountain on the crystal clear 12 x 12 Decorative Sheet Style E - acrylic?

I was able to bling up my handmade paper flowers (using vintage sheet music and gorgeous papers from Graphic45) and my Want2ScrapTM Chipboard Embellishments - Pack of 5 - Style D using 72 Count - Black Rhinestones - Self Adhesive and 72 Count - Baby Blue Rhinestones - Self Adhesive.

I love layering up delicious trims and punched paper edges, don't you?

And the star of our Want2ScrapTM Blog Hop show......NestablingTM!  Here I used one of the frames from NestablingTM  Fancy Tags Two Black Rhinestones to highlight my page title that I printed with my computer and then die cut with Spellbinders Fancy Tags Two die.  I love the custom look that NestablingTM gives my die cut shapes!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog on Want2Scrap's first ever blog hop.  Good luck and I'm crossing my fingers for you!

Want2ScrapTM Supplies:
Marquis Silver Rhinestone Design - Self Adhesive
12 x 12 Decorative Sheet Style E - acrylic
 Chipboard Embellishments - Pack of 5 - Style D
72 Count - Black Rhinestones - Self Adhesive
72 Count - Baby Blue Rhinestones - Self Adhesive
NestablingTM Fancy Tags Two Black Rhinestones

Cross Promotional Supplies:
Spellbinders Fancy Tags Two die
Graphic 45 papers from Curtain Call and Le' Romantique
Beacon's™ 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue


Other:
Paper: vintage sheet music, Papertrey
Scallop die: Papertrey Ink
Glitter: Martha Stewart
Stickles: Ranger
Fonts: Engraver's MT and Freebooter Script
Craft Supply: acrylic paint, black craft feather

Venice, Italy ala Want2Scrap

 Hello!  Or should I say "ciao"!  I am sharing a layout over at Want2Scrap today featuring some of the newly released Nestabling line!  (I am counting down to the shipping date of April 1st with y'all!)    I hope you can spare a moment to hop on over there to say hi and tell us what you think about the new line. 

This layout showcases a special photo from my treasured trip to Italy this past October.  My sweet friend, Traci, snapped this shot of me on our first day in Venice.  Oh what a wonderful journey and discovery Italy was.  I miss it already!

Thank you for coming by my blog today.  I so appreciate your visit!

Just Us Girls #71 spotlight technique...2gether 4ever!

Hey friends!  Happy saturday!  Time for a new Just us Girls Challenge...this time it is a technique challenge called "Spotlighting".  There is a great tutorial over at Splitcoast Stampers on spotlighting.  As the tutorial shows, you can achieve amazing results with rubber stamps + spotlighting.  BUT, being that valentine's day was coming up and I had this special picture in mind for my hub's valentine's card, I decided to do spotlighting with a photograph!

This photo was taken in Florence, Italy along the walk of the Arno River near Ponte Vecchio.  It is a closeup of  some of the "Love Locks" we saw.  I used Microsoft word to turn my original picture black and white for the background.  I used a second copy of the color original to digitally crop the focal point into a circle with a black outline.  I could have printed them digitally layered from Word but I felt the need to do some actual cutting with scissors plus a scallop circle mat on my focal point.  The "sentiment" is my very own chicken scratch using a red permanent marker...I wouldn't go far as a graffiti artist eh?  LOL!

 How amazing was the sky and lighting the day we discovered the beautiful Ponte Vecchio bridge? 

So back to the love locks....apparently lovers lock their locks to this chain with their names written on the side.  They proceed to declare their eternal love and then throw the key into the Arno River.

Does that story not tickle your lovey dovey bone?

I made this trip to Italy with my very dear friend but I wanted to bring home this piece of the experience to my very dear husband :)  Somehow a padlock on a chain is sooooooo romantic in the city of Florence!

Thanks so much for stopping by this week.  I hope you'll join the JUGs in our spotlighting challenge this week.  For lots of juicy inspiration, check out our guest designer, Lori, and the rest of the JUGs DT!

Kristin Eberline

Pam Imholz

Maria Levine

Lisa Kind

Andrea Matthews

Kathryn Berthiaume

Grazie....and a smashing sale, bling at 88 cents!

Have you seen this?!!! If you follow the Want 2 Scrap blog, you've already loaded up your sleigh with half price items and 88 cent BLING after seeing the blog post announcement on monday! Oh my! I can hear the sleigh bells already! If you haven't, RUN don't walk on over to the Want 2 Scrap store! I do love a good bling sale and for that I say....

grazie! and thanks! Check out the teeny tiny pearl bling dotting the "i" in grazie above. For 88 cents, I can dot 72 "i's" with an assortment package of bling or 100 "i's" with a package of baby bling! (did I tell you bling was on sale at Want 2 scrap?) ;)

This card was made for a dear friend whose family roots are in lovely Lucca, Italy. She is incredibly passionate about her Italian heritage and was super supportive during the planning of my recent trip. I took the opportunity to share some of my favorite shots from Lucca on a thank you card I made for her. Lucca is a charming walled town that was full of beautiful old buildings, bicycles, families, churches and I hope some day I get to return with my friend so she can show me HER Lucca.

Ok friends, have to run....just wanted to share the hot sale news.  Happy shopping!