Putting Pen to Paper...

What an AWESOME and much needed CHALLENGE for me...ahhhhhh, I get to use my "word of the year" here:)

Putting Pen to Paper...I've always thought scrapbooking, for me anyway, is an EMOTIONAL JOURNEY through the MEMORIES of this WONDERFUL life I'm BLESSED with!

Now, I have to admit...I find most of my EMOTION in the fotos I take...I LOVE IT when one of my fotos exudes EMOTION...but alas, I also need to realize that those who VIEW these FOTOS may not SEE the emotion as I SEE it...possibly because they weren't there with me to EXPERIENCE the emotion firsthand, possibly because they SEE things in a different LIGHT...and quite possibly, it's because I'm just CRAZY WEIRD in how I SEE things, lol...

Sooooo....sometimes, WORDS are needed to BRING the story and fotos to LIFE...Not always ALOT of WORDS, sometimes just a few well placed words will do it...

BUT...what IF there are NO fotos to TELL the STORY you want to TELL?  What if you just want to TELL the STORY?...BUT to add the right MIX of EMOTION, how about if you just use EMBELLISHMENTS and ALTERED ART?

OH YES, BABY....this IS gonna be AWESOME!!!!!

I'm gonna put a little twist on the Pen to Paper Challenge over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog...I'm gonna TELL a STORY...and let the embellishments I chose help exude the EMOTION!  Whoo hoo!  I'm SOOOOOO EXCITED!

Now, the hard part...I can't show you my ENTIRE layout just yet...because, it's also going to be my SKETCH CHALLENGE project!

Without further adieu, here's a sneak peek:) 



You'll have to wait until February 28th for the full reveal...but trust me...it's gonna be chock full of "Frugal Goodness", so stop back:)

Frugal Scrappin' Sneak Peek:)

One of the things I did notice at CHA was alot of flowers that LOOKED homemade...well you know me, why buy one already made when you CAN make it yourself?

With that in mind, shown above is just ONE of the cards we will make in the Febrary Frugal Scrappin' class that will held on Thursday, February 24th from 6:30 - 8:30 at Ever After Scrapbooks.

Now, if you're really perceptive, you may notice a cute little birdie stamp in the lower right corner...well, fellow frugal crafters, we WILL be making this awesome stamp in class, so you will be able to take one home with you!  Whoo hoo!  This is an idea I've been thinking about for a while, but my AWESOMELY talented co-instructor actually made this one for me as a gift.  THANKS, KAREN...you ROCK, girlfriend!

Since I'd been thinking about this anyway, and I do have the diecut to make this bird, I thought I'd just use this design for our class.  It's really cute and will help us start thinking about Spring which is right around the corner...well actually for us in Southern Cali, it's just Spring and Fall all year, but I'm sure you get the drift.

We will make 4 cards in class, some in a different shape (5 x 5) and we will also be using some other FRUGAL products to use with our cards...I just need to feel better so my creative mind can start workin' again:)

enJOY, and check back for more sneak peeks at the rest of the cards...as I design them, they will be posted...and as always, they WILL be AWESOME and will be FILLED with new TECHNIQUES to try:)