Forever "Almost Summer" in Sunny Southern CA!

For those of you who may not know, I just LOVE the weather here in Southern California. To me it's always "Almost Summer" here:)

In order to remind me of our great weather, I recently completed two beachy layouts. Pictured at left is a layout featuring a picture of my grandkids and their friend taken in July 2008. I used my new Cricut Expression (my Christmas gift from DH...Thanks, Billy!!!...you are THE BEST!) to make the scalloped edge, the title (love that REAL SIZE function that makes upper AND lower case letters the same size), and the "homemade" flower.

To make the flower in this LO, I used homemade paper that I stamped with a swirl stamp before cutting it out with my Cricut Expression. I then used a stylus on the back side to make circular impressions on the paper so the flower would have dimension (and look more like the store bought flowers).

The photos in the layout to the right are from November 2008 when my grandkids visited for Thanksgiving. As you can see, it was definitely still beach weather:) This layout also includes some homemade flowers that I made using my Big Shot and a Sizzix diecut, some punches from my stash (and one store bought flower...can you tell which one it is?). I dressed the flowers out with ink and glimmer mist so they would match the layout colors.

Feel free to visit my LO gallery to the right (or here http://s394.photobucket.com/albums/pp23/frugalscrapperphotos/Frugal%20Scrapper%20Pages/) for close-up views of these LO's.

Enjoy;)

Christmas Day:)

For those of you who have known us for a while know that my husband, Bill and I are originally from Philadelphia, PA. We moved to Sunny southern California in 2005. Our oldest son Dan and his girlfriend Stephanie followed us out in early 2006. Our son Sean and his family moved to CA in early 2007. My daughter and her family still live in PA.

In the past, we have traveled back to PA for Christmas but decided to spend our first Christmas in California this year. Unfortunately, my daughter was not able to join us. She was able to spend Thanksgiving with us, though, so we had a very nice visit then.

This picture was taken at Dan's home where we had our Christmas dinner. This was the first time Stephanie cooked a holiday dinner and she did a great job:) Thanks, Stephanie!

Pictured from left to right are Billy, Lori (me), Dan, Stephanie, Dominic, Sarah, Sean, and Shane.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Happy New Year, too:)

Just the Trash and my Stash Heart Tag

So I was checking out projects using Tim Holtz items (specifically distress crackle paint and distress stickles) for an upcoming make 'n take for a book club I lead at http://everafterscrapbooks.com/. I wanted to make a tag with a vintage feel but had a little "creative block". Well let me tell you...the project on Tim's Blog here: http://timholtz.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/02/february-techni.html couldn't have been closer to what I was trying to invision:)

Since I wanted to incorporate this idea into my "Just the trash and my stash" area in my blog, I asked Tim for permission to use his idea as my inspiration. I sent along my take on his project so he would know what I came up with. Lucky for me, he said:

"Great job lori – of course you can post it. Thanks! -tim"

Whoo hoo! Thanks, Tim!!!

Now, pictured above are the items/products used in my project. Without the Crackle paint, and stickles (and of course Tim's idea), this project would not have been completed.

The "trash" in this project is the tag (throw aways from a bank I used to work for), the wire...not even sure where it came from, but I know I didn't buy it...I covered it with a red sharpie & staz on ink..., and some "chip board" from a box I cut up. Oh, and I also used some "throw away" fiber that someone gave me. Now some of these items aren't typically considered "trash", but all were head for the "can" before I rescued them.

Here is my finished project. Pretty "schnazzy" if I do say so myself:)

I know it's a bit early for a "Valentine" type tag, but New Year's always makes me feel romantic, lol.

Santa Visit #2

Well, I made my second and final trip to visit Santa at the local outlet mall. It was nice to see that even though there were many more people in line than the first visit, Santa was still a "jolly old soul" and was very patient with the kids. This is a picture of my grandson, Dominic. He was anxious to tell Santa he wanted a bike for Christmas.

I happy to report that I think Dominic's Christmas wish will come true:)

My grandson, Shane also enjoyed Santa. I'm sure all of Shane's Christmas wishes will also come true:)

Santa visit

While Jayden and Alayna visited for Thanksgiving, I took them to see Santa at the local Shopping mall. We were pleasantly surprised that we could take our own photos of the kids with Santa. I was able to take quite a few shots and thought I would share a few of them:)

Santa was very patient with all of the kids who were visiting and even made a point of saying that no kids would be rushed...they could spend as much time as they wanted with Santa. What a nice gesture on Santa's part:)

During this visit, Alayna asked Santa for a Hannah Montana guitar. Jayden asked for a remote control car.

Santa then ended the visit with a big hug for Jayden and Alayna. What a really enjoyable visit they had!

Thank you, Santa!

Another "frugal" project (no "trash" involved, lol)

So I was on my way home from work the other day and I thought....hmmmmm...I haven't been to the Dollar Store lately...(this used to be my "favorite" frugal place to buy unconventional scrapbook supplies, lol).

Since I've been OBSESSED with Glimmer Mist recently, I was pleasantly surprised to see some snowflake garland at the store that I thought would make the perfect mask for a scrapbooking project:) Of course, I had to dis-assemble the garland, but those lightweight plastic snowflakes were the perfect size to use on this card.

I started this card by punching out some scalloped squares, then I cut a square a bit smaller than the scalloped one to use as a "mask". I placed the square on the scalloped one with repositionable tape and sprayed Glimmer Mist. When I removed my "mask", I decorated the edges with a Zig Writer.

I then cut a square and layed a few of the snowflakes on it as another "mask". After spraying the paper with Glimmer Mist, I lifted the snowflakes and voila, my own patterned snowflake paper:)

I went around the edge of this paper with a silver leafing pen to add some shine. I then took one of the snowflakes and covered it with alchohol ink, added some silver stickles and I'm done:)

I didn't use any "trash" in this project, but that snowflake garland came with at least 20-30 snowflakes...plenty for sharing AND only $1. Oh, btw, the snowflakes used for the mask just washed right off and are ready for another project:)

P.S. I also bought some paper doilies (round AND oval), some larger snowflakes, some paper clips, tooth picks, etc...so look for more "frugal" projects!

Enjoy!

Just The Trash and My Stash Ornaments

Well scrappers.....I know it's been a while, but hopefully it's been worth the wait, lol:)

I just couldn't let the holiday season pass without making some "frugally crafted" ornaments!

After seeing a flower made from a Starbucks coffee cup insulator thingie....I couldn't get making a frugal project of my own out of my mind...

Then it hit me...I remember when I was a little girl, my grandmother's Christmas tree was covered with shiny Christmas ornaments with gold and silver stripes.

With the help of one of my old Sizzix diecuts, some paper clips, the foil from a poinsettia AND some Glimmer Mist and a silver leafing pen from my stash, I was able to create these adorable ornaments.

There is probably no need for instructions as they are a really simple project that is easy to complete during this busy holiday season...

My grandmother would be SOOOOOOO proud:) (where did you think I got my frugalness from, lol).

ProLiteracy - An ABC Book for Charity

Hello All:

I participated in a project for charity that involved making two alphabet books which are now being sold on Ebay. The funds raised from the sale of these books will be donated to ProLiteracy.

This is the page I created for the upper case book. The books are geared to children just starting to read.

Reading and writing are part of our creative scrapbooking, card making and journaling.

Using our passion for scrapbooking we hope to unlock the power of literacy in someone else’s life.

In the United States, 30 million people over the age of 16 - 14 percent of the countries adult population - don't read well enough to understand a newspaper story written at eighth grade level or fill out a job application.

There were over 100 applications to help make the books and over 50 crafters make two books, one is an upper case book and the other a lower case book.

Each page is unique and individual and is signed by the person who created it.

We are auctioning both ABC Books on Ebay and a brand new Mary Jane alphabet.

The links are below:

Lower Case Book: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380089891866

Upper Case Book: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380090107085

Mary Jane Alphabet: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380090140543

Tis the season for giving....

Happy Holidays!

Lori McCausland
Frugal Scrapper Extraordinaire

I have been having sooooo much fun scrapbooking Christmas photos recently. This is a layout I just completed using Little Yellow Bicycle paper and some Making Memories Fa La La embellishments.

I also used some new StazOn inks I just received to stamp the swirls on the background card stock. I did the title using a text box in Word that I filled in with green and used the "no fill" font color. Then I used one of my Martha Stewart edge punches decorate the title block. I love the way it looks like white rub-ons over green cardstock:)

I also like the way my Christmas tree embellishments turned out, using velvet ric rac ribbon for the tree trunks. The silver star for the bigger Christmas tree is from my stash...I probably had that for at least 6 years! I LOVE incorporating my stash into my projects:)

Enjoy!

Lori McCausland, FSE (Frugal Scrapper Extraordinaire)

December 2008 Dine-O-Mite Recipe

Hello fellow scrapbookers:) It's time to post the December 2008 Dine-O-Mite Recipe!

I hope you are all enjoying this challenge and will play along in December. As I mentioned in the last Dine-O-Mite post, I will now be posting the new challenge each month AFTER my TNT meeting (which is the 2nd Tuesday of each month). We had our holiday meeting last night, revealed our November Dine-O-Mite Recipes and had a wonderful time.

For those of you living in the San Diego area, feel free to join us at our monthly meetings held at Ever After Scrapbooks in Vista, CA. I am the current "Fearless Leader" and have been leading the group since June, 2007.

The meetings are on the 2nd Tuesday of the month from 7-9. For $20, you will receive a kit (retail value is $15) along with several challenges to choose from to be shared at the next meeting. There is also a "most wonderful and creative" make 'n take included in the class fee each month.

Feel free to contact me by leaving a comment on this post if you have any questions about the TNT Group.

Now on to the link to the December Dine-O-Mite Recipe:

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp23/frugalscrapperphotos/TNT%20DINE-O-MITE%20Recipes/DecemberDine-O-MiteRecipe.jpg

Remember to have a "blast":)

My reveal will be posted by January 14th (after the January TNT meeting).

Happy Holidays!

From your "Fearless" TNT Leader
and Frugal Scrapper Extraordinaire

Lori McCausland

Winner of CropStop.com Random Draw

Hey fellow scrappers!!! I hope this holiday season is going well for you all! I have received an early holiday "present":) I was just made aware that I won the Chuck Green contest at http://www.cropstop.com/.

For those of you who follow my blog, you will remember that I posted this image when I first submitted it in the "Chuck Green" contest. For the rest of you, the "Chuck Green" contest was issued at http://www.cropstop.com/. If you were interested in participating in the contest, http://www.cropstop.com/would send you a "Chuck Green" ("Chuck" because the item was something you would normally chuck, "Green" because you were recycling).

Anyway, we all received a plastic packaging that we were to change into a work of art. For those of you who know me well, this contest was right up my alley. My friend, Gloria Stengel hooked me up with this contest. Thank you Gloria! You can visit Gloria's blog at: http://www.gloriascraps.blogspot.com/

The contest winner was chosen by random draw. I have to say, all of the entries were both amazing AND very creative. If you want to take a peek at them, here is the link to the gallery: http://www.cropstopcommunity.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=134 . When you visit, you will quickly see that these projects were just awesome!

This is a great site, that I'm sure you will visit often:)

Happy Holidays!

Lori McCausland
Frugal Scrapper Extraordinaire

November's Dine-O-Mite Reveal!!

Well it's that time again......Here is my "vision" of the November Dine-O-Mite Recipe! A huge thanks to Teresa, one of my East Coast buddies for linking her recipe to the November post:) Your entry looks GREAT!

Now all you TNT members...I know alot of you have been doing this challenge, lol. All you need to do is take the next step and post your "reveal" on my blog:)

Thank you, Gloria for posting your October reveal on that post:) (Also a HUGE thanks to one my East Coast buddies, Robin, for also posting to the October post).

As this challenge grows, I do want to start "showing some love" by sending out RAK's by random drawing to one person who posts their reveal to the Dine-O-Mite Challenge during each month...I just need to get this up to AT LEAST 8 posts to make it more fun:) For every month there are at least 8 entries, I will do a drawing and will send out a RAK.

Feel free to spread the word about this challenge. The more the merrier, I always say:)

For those of you who don't know, I lead a LSS book club called TNT (Tips'n Techniques). The "TNT" was the reason for the name "Dine-O-Mite", the "Recipe: came from the fact that I think about food way too often, lol:)

Anyway, the reason I mention this is that the TNT meetings are on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. Therefore, I'd like to wait to reveal my "vision" each month until after that meeting starting with the December challenge. Beginning this month, The December Dine-O-Mite Recipe will be posted on December 10th. The reveal will then be January 14th.

If you have any questions about this change, please let me know. I will also remind you all of the dates when I post the December Dine-O-Mite Challenge.

As always, thanks for playing along:)

Lori McCausland
Frugal Scrapper Extraordinaire