School Pictures

I've said it before, and I know I'll say it again, at least for 8 more years, until the time the girlie finishes high school, but...I'm not a fan of school pictures.
The "pose awkwardly for 3 seconds, quickly, because the rest of the school is waiting in line too" school pictures. But yet I still buy them, every single year. Fall AND spring.
**and then I wait 2 years to scrapbook them.
But as of today, this layout is done and ready to go in her school album!

I just may pull another school picture from the stack and scrap it too!!

Pumpkin Princess

I'm back with another layout, this one is for my girlie's school album. Gotta document her Pumpkin Princess that she made for pumpkin decorating contest at school.

This one is such a mix of products from my stash, the background paper is an older Christmas paper that has snowflakes on the B side, and the fabulous chipboard piece is probably 5 years old. Since the photo is 2 years old, does that make the chipboard really only 3 years old?  Ha!

The pumpkin decorating contest is coming up again next week at school, I promise I'll get those photos scrapped a little sooner ;) 

As always, thanks for stopping by!!

Finally, a new layout!

I'm back with a new layout, it seems like it's been forever! 

First it was the fair, and all things 4-H, and animals, and then the end of school, then summer and vacations, and then some diy projects for around the house, and the next thing you know school has started again and it's the middle of September. I'm so happy to be playing with paper and glue again!

For this layout, I wanted to use these cute pictures of my girly at her school carnival, and these sweet little goat die cuts and fence from Doodlebug Designs. The die cut goats were originally gray with white spots, but I used a black marker to color in the spots to make them look more like the goats in the photo, and I love how they turned out! Add in the cute "gather" title, big ol' flower and some sequins and this layout was good to go!

Thanks so much for stopping by, I've missed you!!

Swag Bag! - The Banana Split

The April Swag Bag has arrived at my doorstep! 

As soon as I opened that cute little bag of goodness, I couldn't wait to start gluing, 

and that's exactly what I did! 

I started with the FREE Polka Dots background cut file, and then kept on layering! Under the photo of the HUGE banana split I even used a piece of the actual Swag Bag for an extra layer. I especially love the large tag and tag holder, so cute to do a bit of journaling and tuck it inside!

Get your Swag Bag here, they don't last long, so hurry on over to place your order 

in the Paper Issues store. Don't forget to use code: Mary Ann, 

it will save you 20% off of your Swag Bag and anything else you buy!!

Green Thumb - Scraplift Sunday

I love Scraplift Sunday's at Paper Issues, it's a quick and easy way to finish a layout. Sometimes I'll copy it very closely, other times I'll start making something that looks like the layout I'm lifting and then somehow takes a left turn and looks nothing like the original design. Either way, they're always a lot of fun to work on!

For this layout, I used lots of leaves from the You & Me Poppy Flowers FREE cut file from the PI store. Those leaves were a perfect embellishment to document my girls 4-H field trip where she planted succulents in a cute container to bring home. I also used lots of papers and embellishments from my stash, mixing and matching along the way!

Have you ever tried scraplifting?? Does it work for you??
Be sure to check even more Scraplift Sunday inspiration over in the Paper Issues {friends & fans} facebook group and play along for a chance to win a gift card to the PI store!!

And....remember to use code: Mary Ann in the PI store for 20% off your entire purchase!!

Old School Inspiration

There's a fun new challenge over at Paper Issues!

This one is called Old School, and is all about using a black and white photos.  

So what if you don't have an old black and white pic to use?? 

How about a current photo printed in black and white? That works too! 

As soon as I saw this challenge, I knew I had to play along. I have a ton of old family photos, and yep, you guessed it, most of them are black and white. I love scrapping the old pics, and recording the stories from so long ago. I used the brand new Pick Me up collection by Pink Paislee, the colors work so well with the old black and white!

I also used the fabulous Leaves & Laurels cut file that is available for FREE in the Paper Issues store. I used just the top half of the "laurel" to give the photo a framed look.

I also did some hand stitching, a back stitch is so quick and easy to do, it's my go to when I want to add a little texture and color.

Be sure to check out the Old School Challenge here in the Friends & Fans {facebook group} and join in on the fun! You could win a gift card to the Paper Issues store!!

**Use code Mary Ann at check out 
in the Paper Issues store for 20% off your entire order!!

Collins - Progressively Better Challenge

Have you seen the Progressively Better Challenge at Paper Issues? It's one of the new challenges, and it's a favorite for sure! You can follow along as the challenge is happening live, or wait and watch it when you have the time and play along then. Either way it's a lot of fun! I kind of worked on a layout as the challenge was live, but as usual, I get so busy watching what the girls are making, I didn't get a whole lot done on my layout. ha! I did finish it later though, and here's what I came up with.

Starting with a cardstock background was easy, but adding in all the items from the list can be a little tricky! For doodling, I added a few "xxx" marks, and since I didn't know the exact date the photo was taken, using late 1800's was as close as I could get, but it works!

There is still time to play along with the challenge, here is the Progressively Better list so you can join in too!

Start with a cardstock background 
Add 6”x7” patterned paper
Add 1 patterned paper layer any size
Add 1”x12” paper strip
Add 2 pieces of ephemera
Add 1 tag
Add doodling
Add 1 sticker
Add a big title
Add 2 layers anywhere. Can be paper can be embellishments. Anything.
Add enamel dots/shapes
Add twine or ribbon
Add a sub title
Add the date

***Use code: Mary Ann in the Paper Issues store 

for 20% off your entire purchase!!***