Not the best time for a cold...

The month of March has been a complete blur. I was up for my DT month with ScrapGoods and got my box of goodies at the end of February... but I didn't get to do a thing right away because I was Manager on Duty up at work for that weekend. I survived the weekend without any problems, with the exception of the start of a bad cold. I ended up being out sick part of the week... which is also the same week as our first DT meeting for my local Scrapbook store, Scrapbooks Plus, where we got our DT kits.

So, I needed to get at least 3 projects done for ScrapGoods by the 18th... AND... at least 4 projects done for Scrapbooks Plus by the 19th, all while trying not to ruin them during any given coughing spell. My usual method of laying everything out on several projects and fiddling for a bit before gluing everything down wasn't such a good idea. Everytime I'd start coughing, things would start flying! Yikes! Oh well... I'm starting to feel a bit better and took a couple of shots of some of my creations to show you what I worked on... here goes:

For ScrapGoods, this month's technique was Mitering Frames. It came with a cool tool, the name of which eludes me and some nice chipboard strips to make frames with. The tool is basically a ruler for measuring agles and you can set it where you want to mark perfect placement. I'm not so much a measuring kind of girl... so this was a bit of a challenge for me. I did have a fairly successful 8-sided frame... but the one corner that isn't perfect is hidden under the edge of the pic! :)

I also did this layout with large mitered corners... but used a craft knife to cut the angles in place instead of the ruler. It's a lot easier... and the corners are always perfect since you cut both edges at the same time. The background cardstock is an exact match for the outside of the Mimi's Cafe building. I thought the corners really echoed the window trim. I love the bold color combo and a few extras... it doesn't need a lot to make a statement!

Enough of mitering... so I used some of the chipboard borders to accent my linear layout of the ulta-popular "Windy Hill Homestead Tractor Ride", courtesy of my Shel-bel... and much to the delight of the little ones. It's not quite famous, but it should be. The screams as they ploughed through the tall grasses were definitely equal to an amusement park and it was much cheaper... and I think more fun. No line at all here! Aren't they cute?

Then on to Scrapbook Plus with beach themed paper from Reminisce. I didn't have a lot of beach photos and mom helped out in the search. I'm still working on the "rock collecting" layout that she found pictures for. I want it to be just right... so no rushing on that one!

First up is baby N~ with her toes in the water at about 9 weeks old. I love the look on Shan's face when the cold water hit them... Priceless! I added a lot of buttons and some felt pieces to give it a little-girly feel.

Here's a close-up:

Next up is S~ walking along the beach. I added some Heidi Swapp and Prima bling, K & Company paper and more buttons. It's simple, and really focuses on the beautiful beach and that cutie pie! I sewed so many buttons on these that my index finger was all messed up from poking through the paper. :)

OK, that's it for now. Hope you like everything. I'll post more this weekend to get everything back up to speed, ok? [I made a couple of cards too (both for SG and SP) as well as some altered items... but don't think I'll upload them here... this post is a long, catch up one!]

much love,

erin