{They Say Imitation is the Highest Form of Flattery}

In the scrapbooking world, there's a term known as "scraplifting". In other words, seeing a layout you like and copying it. Not everyone looks upon scraplifting as a friendly term though. In fact some scrapbookers are downright against it, and heaven forbid you would make a layout that looks even remotely like theirs. It has caused drama on scrapbooking message boards, name calling and hurt feelings. I don't get it. After all, isn't that why we post new layouts on our blogs, facebook and submit to magazines? To inspire others??
This week when I got an email from my friend Sarah, with pics of layouts that another friend of hers had made, I thought it was pretty cool.

Tracy's Layout

My Layout

Tracy's Layout

My Layout

Yep, imitation is the highest form of flattery.

I love that someone I've never even met was inspired by me. Inspired enough to want to scrapbook her photos. Inspired enough to get them out of a shoebox (or off of a flash drive as the case may be) and record a memory.

As always, thanks for stopping by!
xo Mary Ann

{80's Style}

Today I've got a layout to share that I made for Scrapbook Daisies

Sometimes you run across a photo that you want to include in the family scrapbook, but have absolutely no idea what to do with it. That would be case with this photo of my hubby and his younger brothers. You gotta love those 80's fashions ;)  As soon as I saw this collection of papers though, I knew it was perfect. A little colorful, a little faded, some random stripes and it's all good.

As always, thanks for stopping by!
xo Mary Ann
Supplies - papers: We R Memory Keepers, alphas: American Crafts & My Little Shoebox

{Strike a Pose}

I've got a layout to share that I made for Scrapbook Daisies The colors in the Gardenia collection by American Crafts were perfect for this pic of Gracie posing.

The girl is all about posing for pictures. Seriously. She points her toe, puts her hands on her hips and smiles. I can't help but smile too.

As always, thanks for stopping by!
xo Mary Ann

{My Little Bit of Whimsy & Imaginisce Blog Hop!}

Hello and welcome to the My Little Bit of Whimsy and Imaginisce Blog Hop! If you have arrived at my blog first, be sure to go back to MLBOW to start.

Here is my layout I created with Imaginisce's Sole Sisters collection and Itty Bitty pins and buttons from My Little Bit of Whimsy:

I love the Itty Bitty pins, especially the sweet little birds! I even used the blue flower pin and the purse pin as centers of flowers by pulling out the pins!!

How cute is that darling lady bug!!

I also made this fun little card using a My Little Bit of Whimsy button and some twine to make a closure for the purse.

Next on the hop is the talented Anita's blog, hop on over to see her beautiful handmade creations. Oh, and you can win some great prizes too!! To win you

• must comment on each designer's blog INCLUDING the company blogs
• you'll get additional entries for following Imaginisce & MLBOW company blogs
• and another additional entry for following Imaginisce & MLBOW Facebook pages

Deadline to comment is Thursday, April 26th at 12 midnight EST.

(winner will be announced Friday, April27th on each company blog

As always, thanks for stopping by
xo Mary Ann

{Case File # 16}

I've got another new layout to share today! This one is for C.S.I. - Color Stories & Inspiration as a Guest Detective. Here's my layout:

And here's Case File # 16

For the "evidence" on my layout I chose to use the stacked elements challenge and stacked my punched circles, and for shiny things, added in the shiny silver stars.  My "testimony" uses the write a six-word memoir option, and I used Tiny Dancer as my title for the use a song title to inspire the journaling. The "scheme" was easy using Echo Parks Style Essentials Upscale and Runway collections. A perfect mix of pinks and grays!! Head over to C.S.I. for more inspiration and play along too, this challenge is open until April 29.

As always, thanks for stopping by!
xo Mary Ann

{Imaginisce is Wrapping with the Twinery...with giveaways!!}

Hello and welcome to The Twinery and Imaginisce Blog Hop!!

If you're just starting here and would like to hop along with us today, hop on over and start at The Twinery Blog, there are some great giveaways!!

For my project I made this fun Summer layout using The Twinery's Mandarin twine and paper and embellishments from Imaginisce.

For the cute sun, I punched a circle from cardstock, covered it with adhesive, then starting from the middle, wrapped the twine following the circle shape. When I got to the outside of the circle, I cut the twine and added a dot of glue to secure it.

 I also tried a new technique for the first time...I loved the color of the Mandarin twine, but it didn't quite match the color of the paper I wanted to use for the rays of the sun. I wanted a lighter orange color, so I thought why not try some bleach??  I let the twine sit for a few minutes in small cup of bleach and it lightened to just the perfect color!! Woo-hoo!!

Both Imaginisce and The Twinery will be having a giveaway this week,
The Twinery Giveaway
"I Dream in Twine" Packages (retail $32)
to 3 lucky winners!

and Imaginisce is giving away a "Makin' Waves" collection pack (retail $37) to 3 lucky winners!

In order to be entered to win a prize:

• you MUST comment on each participating blog on the hop throughout the week
• Deadline to comment is Midnight EDT, Sunday, April 22nd
• Winners will be announced Monday, April 23rd on each company's blog.

Now hop on over to Tiffany's DeGough's blog to see what she has created.
As always, thanks for stopping by!!
xo Mary Ann

{So Yummy!}

One of the places Gracie and I like to go when we are having a "girls day out" is a local cupcake store, followed with a trip to the library.  Of course I had to document the fun ;)

I used the April add-on kit from the Paper Bakery along with some twine and alpha letters from my stash.  Don't you love the sweet little cupcake!!  Now I need to make a layout about the library part of our girls day out. Yes, I have photos of that too ;)

As always, thanks for stopping by!
xo Mary Ann

{Monday, Monday}

Today I've got a layout to share that I made with a sketch and the April add-on kit from the Paper Bakery.

The cute little yellow feather from the kit worked perfect as an embellishment since the photo is of great great grandma feeding the chickens.  I know, I know, chickens don't have yellow feathers, but you get  the idea ;)

And here's Grace's sketch, also from the Paper Bakery:

As you can see, I followed the sketch somewhat, but changed it up a bit with the placement of the tag and the cute little Pink Paislee frame.

I hope your weekend was wonderful, did you find any time  to play with paper and glue??
xo Mary Ann

C.S.I - Case File # 15

I've got another layout up over on the C.S.I - Color, Stories & Inspiration blog as a Guest Detective:

and here is this weeks case file,  CASE FILE # 15:

This weeks "scheme" (color palette) of black, medium gray, light yellow, medium orange and white was interesting to play with and not have it look like it was a halloween page ;) Since the "scene" was a photo from Where the Wild Things Are, I went with a book theme. For my "testimony" (journaling) I used the "once upon a time" prompt, for the "evidence" (layout elements) I chose book pages for my background patterned paper, and for my something transparent, I tucked the the library card into a clear pocket.  I added in the cute chipboard piece with the boy reading, and the #6 since Tucker is in 6th grade.  This boy loves to read so it was a perfect layout for his school album!

Be sure to stop by the C.S.I website to see all the other great inspiration layouts. Case File #15 is open through April 22, so you have plenty of time to play along!!

As always, thanks for stopping by!
xo Mary Ann

{1947}

I've got a new layout to share today! I used the April "Sunshine Acres" add-on kit from the Paper Bakery with this black & white of my Dad in-law back in 1947. Check off another layout for the heritage album!

If you look real closely in the photo, there's chicken wire across the porch, it was there to keep the chickens out of the house. So funny!

I love the retro/vintage looking numbers, and used them along with some alpha stickers from my stash to  spell out the year. I really like mixing different fonts and letters together like this for a custom look.

I hope you're having a great day, and as always,
thanks for stopping by!
xo Mary Ann

{In the Studio}

My scrapbook studio is being featured on the Imaginisce blog today.  Head over there to see more photos, but here's a little peek of where I play with paper and glue.

As always, thanks for stopping by,
xo Mary Ann

Happy Easter!

xo Mary Ann

{CSI Case File # 14}

Today is reveal day over at C.S.I. - Color, Stories & Inspiration, and the super fun part...I'm a Guest Detective this month!!

This weeks Case File:

and here's my interpretation:

At CSI, as part of each Case File, you pick what "evidence" to use, (design elements of your layout), which type of "testimony" (journaling) and then you add those to "the scheme" (color palette).

For my layout, my evidence includes:
1. Use sanding as a technique: I sanded the edges of my papers.
2. Ruffles: I made my own ruffle out of patterned paper.
For my testimony, I chose the option of documenting a childhood memory.

The colors in this weeks scheme were fun to play with, and that's actually one of my favorite things about CSI, I love that the color palette is chosen for you, then I get to shop my stash of scrapping supplies as I put my layout together!  So very fun!

This weeks Case File is open though April 15, why don't you stop by and investigate ;)

Have a great weekend!
xo Mary Ann

{Lots to Share!}

Happy Tuesday everyone, I've got lots to share today!!I First up, a layout I made that's in the first ever issue of the GCD Studios magazine called The Paper Cut.

My layout is for the "Flip-It Sketch Challenge" using the brand new Bonjour collection and a great sketch:

For this fun layout I was to "alter" the sketch in some way, but still have my layout resemble the original sketch.  I used a large photo mat with 1 photo in place of the 3 photos, machine stitched the sweet little butterfly path to represent the banner, then added flower clusters instead of the single flowers. I love the colors in the Bonjour collection and I thought it was perfect for a big brother page :)

Next up I have this sweet little Easter tree that I made for the Imaginisce blog.

The Easter die-cuts in the Hippity Hop collection are just so cute and I thought they would be perfect as ornaments on an Easter tree! I was lucky to find the wire tree already in a clay pot, but you could easily make your own by cutting a little tree branch, spray painting it white, then adding it to your own clay pot. I painted the pot a pretty shade of pink and added a border I punched from patterned paper. Next I glued the largest bunny die-cut to the front of the pot. For the grass I cut green cardstock into narrow strips and crumpled it up just a bit to give it some dimension, and added it around the tree.

For the sweet little ornaments, I added loops of twine to various Hippity Hop die-cuts and hung them on the branches. I glued a few of the flower die-cuts directly to the branches, and also added some glam rocks for a bit of bling. Our Easter tree looks so cute sitting on our table, waiting for the Easter Bunny's arrival!

Be sure to stop by the Imaginisce blog, it's Easter project week and the Design Team is sharing some fabulous ideas and there is a giveaway too!!

As always, thanks for stopping by!
xo Mary Ann

{Sketch # 202}

I'm the Guest Designer this week over at Creative Scrappers using Sketch  #202. Here's my take on the sketch:

(Supplies - cardstock: Bazzill, twine: The Twinery, #5: American Crafts, everything else: Little Yellow Bicycle)
and here's the sketch:

I turned the sketch counter-clockwise, but still kept pretty true to the design with the three flowers on the bottom left, one flower on the top right and then added in the #5 where the last flower is on the sketch.  It's so fun to use a sketch to design a layout, and I always love changing it just a bit to make it my own.

Thanks so much to Juliana for your awesome sketch, and thanks too to the team at Creative Scrappers for letting me play along this week!

Happy Sunday
xo Mary Ann