Brandi ~fearfully and wonderfully made~

Hi!  This is a quick layout I did of my niece Brandi.  Isn't she beautiful?  Brandi is beautiful, funny, smart, and passionate...but like most girls her age...I don't think she really knows how truly wonderful she is!  So this is a page dedicated to her...

I actually saw more for this layout but I didn't start it until today and its for a scraplift challenge at sb.com thats due today so I to get it together kind of quickly.  the safety pins were inspired by Celina's layout for punkyscraps.

As always, thank you so much for stopping by!

The farm life...

Ok, so I have no clue what farm life is like, but I'm certain that I am way too lazy to have ever lived it!  For this canvas I did built a barn in one short night though, so hows that for lazy!!!  Lisa aka Feathers over at sb.com has an awesome chippie challenge provided by 3 tails craft.  She was nice and sneaky this month by making the chippies a surprise...and OH BOY!!! was I surprised!?  A Cow and a horse!  I seriously had no clue what to do???  I thought about making cards, but I stink at making cards!  Sooooo...I remembered that we had pics of the kids riding a pony at one of our friends (son's)birthday.  So at least I could use the horse somehow, but what about the cow???  I racked my brain for a week trying to get some kind of an idea and I was blank,  I just decided to invent my own farm scene so that I could use both chippies.


Like my bricks from previous layouts, I made the planks for the barn out of strips from an old cereal box.  Here is a pic of the back of it...not looking like much of a barn but very colorful!

And here is my layout/Canvas (Sorry for the poor pic quality...its been cloudy and rainy all week):

 I bought the fence from the holiday section at hobby lobby...a long strand about triple this size for $1.50.  Usually, I find this style of fence in the wood section of joannes for almost $4.  So I really got a steal of a deal!

 I embossed the black spots on the cow  and the mane and tale on the horse with Tim Holts embossing powder...oh and their feet...hoofs...shoes...????

 I thought that the canvas looked a little childish so I decided to make it look like I did it on purpose!  I bought some mini chalkboards, again, from the wood section of Joannes.  Then I  had my 4 year old son write his name on it.  It totally changed my feelings on the canvas...now its just kind of special! :)

 The background flowers are rub ons that I doodled over.  then I decided it needed more dimension so I took book pages and made teeny little flowers.

The pic of my son on the horse was terrible (it was takin from my iphone), but its the only one that didn't cut the horse off in some way so it was my only option!

Thank you for looking, and I hope your all having a great week!

Winds of Change (punky scraps challenge #29)

Hi all!  A new challenge is up over at punky scraps.  Today is the reveal of challenge #29 Get picky...my favorite challenge of the month.  Here is what team B chose for us to use:

  Michelle - Use canvas (anything canvas)

Nat - use this picture to inspire you

Elin - use chipboard
Camilla - use 3 staples
Mandy - B&W photo or image
Maureen - make it monochromatic

This is one of my nieces best friends.  She and my niece decided that they wanted me to take pics of them around town with their dresses on. I was torturing the poor girl making her give me a shot while facing the blaring sun.  I had to edit the photo in B&W because her eyes were so red that she looked like she was high!  It made for a cool, moody looking photo though.  I had no clue what kind of title to give this but while looking through chippies to use I picked up a flourish piece and thought that it reminded me of wind blowing.  So, since the layout seemed so dark and moody, I thought I would put a positive twist on it, and title it winds of change.  Then I was looking up scriptures about change and really didn't find anything I thought would fit with the page, so I decided to change my search to wind and found john 3:8

My main inspiration from the list above was definitely the image...thats why I added the tree, moth (instead of a butterfly to stick with my monochrome scheme), and music note tissue tape from tim holtz. 

punky scraps #28

Happy Friday all!  I'm so excited to share my first page as a new Punky Rebel!  This layout is inspired by a fabulously funky sketch designed by Camilla.

Such a fun and inspiring sketch!!!  I was really trying to stay as close to the sketch as I could. I love a good negative space layout and thought this would be the time to try one out for myself!  Unfortunately,  for the life of me I couldn't leave the space alone!

  Plus, I was dealing with some personal frustrations in my own life, so with scrapbooking being my "therapy" I decided to put my issues onto paper and it changed things a bit!

Hate that pic of me btw, but my hubby and I don't take pics often so its all I had at the moment.  It was taken a week after having my daughter...almost 3 years ago.

 In the beginning, this layout was about our frustrations of never being able to do right by certain people, and feeling like we are constantly the butt of their jokes...and the feeling that anything we do will be wrong!   So, originally the circles from the sketch made me think about targets and how we seem to be targeted often!  So, since I couldn't get my point across with a bunch of  little targets I decided to make one big target and then use darts to mimic the circles.  The darts  are the gossip, slander, accusations, etc., but if you notice they aren't even aiming for the target. Instead, all the arrow's are directed to my husband and I (and some of the real life stuff  is directed to my 4 year old son).  The bricks and title symbolize our strong foundation...that no matter what is thrown our way we will still stand strong together.   If you take a closer look at the target you will notice that the center of it is actually a mirror.  I believe (from experience) that in almost every instance if you have a problem with another person you really need to take a deep look inside yourself to see where these issues are originating???  If you are really honest with yourself you will find that the problem is usually because that other person is projecting something in them that you dislike about yourself...

Unfortunately, after making this layout I didn't like the feelings that I had.  It felt like it was done out of anger and that is something I don't want in my life.  So if you know nothing about me, one thing you need to know is that in the past I have been a girl who would react in a big way when I was angry!! Yep...a MEAN little drama queen is what I was!  I've really tried to change that about myself and now I'm hoping people realize I just don't react...unless its in prayer..

So with that said,  I took these uneasy feelings to God in prayer and I received a different perspective on this layout.  I was put in my place about judging those who attack us, because it hasn't  been that long ago that I was the one throwing the darts!  Plus, I saw the target a little differently as well. The grid on the target started to look more like  the cross...which  reminded me that I have to have the faith to trust that God will take care of things and will reveal His truth in His time! The mirror also reminded me that I need to keep my eyes on the target (knowing who I am in Christ...having His reflection) because the moment I lose focus, is the moment that I allow the arrows to penetrate and I stumble back into the same rut I had finally gotten myself out of!  Believe me NO ONE wants that!!! 
So there you have it..."Deep Thoughts" by Misty Russell... 

Shewww..I'm sure you're glad that all that rambling is finally over!  Now if you haven't already, head over to punky scraps and see how the challenges will inspire you!!!
 You could win an awesome prize from little yellow house kits, so come join us!

Exciting Announcement!!!!

First of all, this month marks my 1 year anniversary of my venture into the scrapbooking world.  It all started when I was googling scrapbooking ideas for a project at work.  The first site that came up during that search was sb.com.  I was in absolute shock as I gawked through the gallery!!   I had no idea that scrapbooking could be more than a craft...what I was seeing was true art!  From that point on I was hooked!  I had to know how they were creating such amazing pages!!!  So I started frequenting blogs and getting on youtube for tons of technique tutorials...I started learning the lingo (which was the most time consuming part! lol), and from there I decided to step out of my comfort zone and put into practice what I had learned. I have made wonderful friends and am constantly inspired!
My style has evolved quite a bit throughout this first year and I have to credit some of that to PunkyScraps challenges.  It was the first challenge site that I found that really let me embrace my funky side, and it allowed me to be more comfortable in my creating.

  With that said, you can only imagine how exciting it is for me to annouce that I am a new Punky Rebel!  I am just so honored to be among a team that has inspired me so much over the past several months!  If that wasn't enough, I get to share this experience with some of the first people to inspire me over at sb.com! 

This has been such a fun and exciting year, and I'm so thankful for all of your kind words and constant support!  You guys have really made it that much more meaningful to me and I appreciate you so much!!!

Hugs,

Misty

HUGE Dusty Attic Giveaway!!!

Hi all, just wanted to share that there is a big  dusty attic giveaway with 3 chances to win!!!  Hop over to Vicky Alberto's gorgeous blog,  Simply Paper for a chance to win!  I love Dusty Attic chippies...they are so detailed and durable!  They look gorgeous just the way they come, but if you choose to alter them they can really handle some roughin up...

So here's what she has to say about the giveaway:

3 ways to win Dusty Attic Chipboard GIVEAWAY!

I have teamed up with Jennifer Hedger at The Dusty Attic and will be giving away 3 chipboard packs, to be won 3 completely different ways and, shipping anywhere in the world!

PRIZE #1) I am the September sponsor for the fantastic Creative Scrappers sketch site.

 

 

TO WIN: All Creative Scrappers entries for sketches 172-173-174-175 (enter as many times as you wish) will be entered in a RANDOM draw to win this amazing prize containing brand new Dusty Attic and a few of the best sellers from my Etsy shop. Deadline is September 30th.

 

PRIZE #2) All orders that I receive from September 1st to 30th will also be entered to win a random draw for this awesome prize containing these newly released styles:

Visit http://www.etsy.com/shop/vickyalberto today!

PRIZE #3) For all my blog followers (and I still can't believe there are over 500 of you)... here is some blog candy containing some fabulous chipboard from my shop:

3 EASY STEPS TO WIN THIS:

1. FOLLOW my blog (if you don't already). This is how you will find out if you win the prize.

2. WRITE a short post about me being a Dusty Attic retailer - please include the blog candy prize image and my Etsy address - http://www.etsy.com/shop/vickyalberto - on your blog or Facebook page if you don't have a blog).

3. Leave me a message at the bottom of THIS post, with the LINK to your post, and tell me what DA piece is at the very top of your "wish list" (so that I know what you want me to carry in my shop).

All of these prizes are open to win by anyone, from any country. Thanks again to Jen for sponsoring the first two prize packs for this great September giveaway!

Winners will be announced the first week of October for all 3 prizes - good luck to everyone!

 

So go check out her blog:  http://simplypaperandcreativity.blogspot.com