Thursday, May 31, 2007

My latest ATC's

Prompt: Note to self


Prompt: use a favorite symbol


Prompt: what do you find inspiration in today...


Prompt: something you miss...

These ATC prompts are from Emily Falconbridge's blog www.embers.typepad.com.
Dream, Design, Create
Nikki

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Yesterday...

...i made a list of all the things i needed to get done in the next week.
I had such a productive day cause more than half of the things I had on my list were checked off by the time I went to bed (there is something to be said about lists!) The last few things on my list I either completed this morning or am waiting for return phone calls. I just love the power of time management. It leaves you to do other things you enjoy.
Reading is one of my favorites. I just love getting sucked into a good book... so when I realized that I did not have a book to read, I stopped by the "book" Goodwill. It was the first time I had ever been in there, its located on Bee Ridge and Cattleman. All they sell in there is books...it is set up like a regular book store so books are VERY easy to find. I love a good murder mystery so I got a James Patterson and a Clyve Cussler book. I also went to Sam's and picked up The Best Life by Bob Greene (he is Oprah's personal trainer). I started 2 of them already and are enjoying them both.
One of the last things i have added to my list is updating my blog, my flicker pictures and my galleries...so off to work on those!
Thanks for listening to my rambling...
Nikki

Last weeks challenge winner

Last weeks K2 challenge winner was really hard to decide... so you need to go to both Charlene www.charleneemmons.blogspot.com and Jessi's www.scrapinmountainmama.blogspot.com blog to see their beautiful creations!
Charlene made this adorable 3 ring binder as a log for her triathalon training that she and her training partner Amanda are doing. (Speaking of Amanda...Amanda if you read this post I want to see what you made last week...and I know you made something cause Charlene spilled the beans) Who cares what the photos look like just take a picture of it and send it...i can always crop and change the size if need be.) And that goes for all you challengers out there, if you make a LO or an altered project PLEASE just send us a picture of it if you do not have a blog.

Jessi made 2 projects! An adorable altered mint tin as a gift for her sister in law, and she make this great "occasion card chipboard ring thingy" (ok, i made that name up :o)!)
Please take a look at their cute projects and check K2 blog

www.k2scrapbookstudio.typepad.com for the winner!
Dream, Design, Create
Nikki

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Fishing with Daddy

Sean and Riley go fishing a couple times a week off the dock in our back yard. They have re- named it "Riley's Pier". They caught this bass the other night on Riley's Finding Nemo rod...it was too cute. Riley came running up to the house yelling "Mommy get the camera, Mommy get the camera...LOOK at the Bass I caught!!!!"

Friday, May 25, 2007

School's out for Summer

...and there is so much to do in Sarasota (thank God!).

Here are some picts of Jungle Garden's.

Riley and I spent some much needed Mommy and Riley time while PopPop watched Brody.

This will definately be a family favorite for the summer.

Riley loves feeding the flamingos.




Mommy and Riley.



This is the first time Riley held one of the birds on his arm.

One of the huge tortoises' at the Gardens.

Monday, May 21, 2007

Weekly Challenge

Alright ladies my challenge this week is to make something other than a LO using your scrapbooking supplies. (There is an AWESOME book at K2 called "Great Gift Ideas using Scrapbooking Materials" if you are at a loss for something to make.) Get creative, I want to see some fun things this week. REMEMBER at K2 there are the Heidi Swapp playing cards which are FUN to play with! Scroll down a couple posts and you will see that I have made an altered frame, two teacher gifts, and I am working on some ATC 's which I will post as soon as I get them done.

Dream, Design and get CREATIVE

Nikki

PS don't forget to leave me a comment on this post with a link to your blog or online gallery or e-mail me a jpeg to nikkiclearypta@yahoo.com when you have completed this weeks challenge.

PSS the challenge winner's project will be posted on K2's blog next week!

More LO's...





TFL.
Dream, Design, Create.
Nikki

Graduation Frame

Karen (at K2) found a cute graduation frame made from Basic Grey papers and embellishments and asked me to teach a class on it. I really liked it except the quote so I went online and found a quote I liked better. Here is how my frame turned out.
I will be teaching this class on Saturday June 9th and Thursday July 19th. I hope you can join me, it will be a perfect gift for the 2007 graduate in your life. I made this one for my friend Meggan who graduated from the Physical Therapist Assistant program at MCC. Congrats girl I am soooo proud of you!!!


Dream, Design, Create

Nikki

End of the Year Teacher Gifts




Riley had the sweetest teachers Ms Connie and Ms Cindy for his first year of Parents Morning Out at a local church. They were so loving and nurturing... I wanted to make them something special for their homes. These are blocks of wood I covered in patterned paper, embellished with ribbons, buttons, flowers, glass rocks and dyed clothespins. TFL

Dream, Design, Create

Nikki

Sunday, May 20, 2007

I find it funny


I was sitting here thinking about the creative process... and thinking about when I am in the "zone" everything I touch becomes something beautiful to me...i get inspired by everything around me...my LO's turn out even better than i could have imagined THEN when I am in a creative "slump" I don't do much of anything. Well, I thought I was in a creative slump... but here I am 2 hours later still posting about all the things I have made lately (I have so many posts that I had to save some for later this week) and I just had to smile. TFL at my latest LO's I created in my "slump"...too funny huh cause they are some of my fav's.
Dream, Design, Create
Nikki

She said... He said.








This is one of my favorite mini albums that I have made lately. Sean and I wrote down our "top 10" favorite foods, TV shows, movies, date nights, songs, special days in our life, things we love about each other, places we like to visit and things we like to do in our spare time.


I used the 7 gypsies two sided accordian album (perfect for this type of mini album) and stamps, Reminisce patterned papers, tons of different Autumn Leaves stamps, Heidi Swapp stamps and chipboard letters, my sharpie markers (that I couldn't live without) for the doodling and hand drawn borders, MM tabs, K and Co stickers, metal embellishments and tags, Lil Davis chipboard sayings, foam flowers, Bam Pop letters stamps, AC thickers... TFL

Dream, Design, Create


Nikki

Each month...

...the K2 design team is going to try something fun and new to display on our "frames" at the store. One of us is going to pick a LO to scrapjack (or scraplift) and the three of us (Kim Bolyard, Jocie Stevens and myself) are going to display our take on the layout. This month I chose a LO by Sande Krieger (she makes those awesome stamps for Autmn Leaves) and here is her LO...

and here is mine...

TFL

Dream, Design, Create

Nikki

P.S. to see all our fun scrapjacks of Sande's LO... go to K2 and take a look at the design team frames at the back of the store

Jocies weekly K2 challenge

Thanks Jocie www.jocelynstevens.blogspot.com for the inspiration this week. Here is my take at using transparencies... I started with a piece of white cardstock. The paper on the left is Marah Johnson the transparency on top is Narratives and so are the word stickers , the gaffer tape is 7 gypsies (all found at K2), my own doodling. TFL
Dream, Design, Create
Nikki

7 Gypsies file folder

I started making this 7 gypsies naked file folder a couple of weeks ago. I just picked it up again...i am still not sure what i am going to use it for. possibly as a fun "idea" folder... i have added papers to the inside flaps as well... i like how it turned into a fun collage (i am really lovin the Heidi Swapp playing cards) i just started placing papers and ephemera and this is how it turned out. TFL
Dream, Design, Create
Nikki

Monday, May 14, 2007

Kim's K2 paint challenge and last weeks Winner!

Sorry Kim... I am behind with my challenges. Here is my LO. I took the new Teresa Collins Junkitz paper and cut out a flame and used it as a stencil. Then I got out my foam stamps and used paint to add the "2". Thanks for the inspiration. Check out Kim's blog http://itsallaboutme.typepad.com to see the original challenge.


Here is the pick for last weeks "circle" challenge posted on my blog last Monday. Thanks everyone for participating. Here is Amanda's LO!

Dream, Design and keep Creating!!

Nikki

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Muddy Buddy





Here are a few picts of yesterday's race. We had so much fun!!! It is a 6 mile race total with 5, 1.2 mile legs. You and your partner trade off between the bike and runnning. At each checkpoint you both complete an obstacle: rock wall, cargo net climbing with a big slide, balance beam, and the last one was a giant mud pit.

I owe my mother...

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE. "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."
2. My mother taught me RELIGION. "You better pray that will come out of the carpet."
3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL. "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"
4. My mother taught me LOGIC. " Because I said so, that's why."
5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC. "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."
6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT. "Make sure you wear clean underwear,! in case you're in an accident."
7. My mother taught me IRONY. "Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."
8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS. "Shut your mouth and eat your supper."
9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM. "Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"
10. My mother taught me about STAMINA. "You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."
11. My mother taught me about WEATHER. "This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."
12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY. "If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"
13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE. "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."
14. My mother taug ht me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION. "Stop acting like your father!" 15. My mother taught me about ENVY. "There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."
16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION. "Just wait until we get home."
17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING. "You are going to get it when you get home!"
18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE. "If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way."
19. My mother taught me ESP. "Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"
20. My mother taught me HUMOR. "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."
21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT. "If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."
22. My mother taught me GENETICS. "You're just like your father."
23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS. "Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"
24. My mother taught me WISDOM. "When you get to be my age, you'll understand."
25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE. "One day! you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you

My friend sent me this and I thought it was too cute. Thanks Tomi and Happy Mother's Day
Nikki

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Weekly K2 Challenge

OK, my challenge is to "get out of the box" and into circles. I just love them. On this LO I cut them out of Basic Grey paper, my embellishments (buttons, brads and flowers) are circles... I can't wait to see the creative ways you use circles.
Don't forget to leave me a link to your blog in the comment section or send me a picture of your LO to nikkiclearypta@yahoo.com and the fav will be posted on the K2 blog!

Dream, Design, Create

Nikki

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Happy National Scrapbooking Day (NSD)!

I can't think of a more appropriate day for me to celebrate!
I spent my afternoon at my LSS, K2 hosting a "tool tasting" with Karen.
We had a busy afternoon creating a beautiful make and take using all the tools sold in the store.
I made one for my mother in law for Mother's Day!
Happy Scrappin.
Dream, Design, Create

Girls Weekend on AMI





Here are some picts of our FUN girls weekend on Anna Maria Island. We had so much fun lounging by the pool, riding our bikes all over the island...going to see our favorite band ( Dr. Dave-which rocked by the way!!!)
I couldn't have asked for a better weekend (except maybe next time I won't forget all my clothes hanging in the closet! Thanks Megs for lending me the skirt and top.).
PS We missed you Tomi and Ashley!

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

ATC Art Journal

Prompt: use some ephemera from your week


Prompt: love

Prompt: shoes


Prompt: something you are proud of


Prompt: what is powerful to you
Prompt: I am...


Prompt: a symbol you love...right now it is birds

I was inspired by Emily Falconbridge's art journal challenges on her blog. She is currently on week 17, and I have completed these 7 so far. I am going to work on completing the other 10 so I will be up to date...then all I will have to do is 1 a week. I really love her prompts! TFL

Dream, Design, Create

Nikki