~Reveal Day for Scraps of Darkness~

Here is girlies!! This is an awesome kit and it's packed full with paper and embellies!! I just wish I had more time to play before the reveal, but I am going to dive in to this one some more when I get some more time. Scraps of Darkness always comes up with a really versatile kit and this one in particular is one of the best so far!! Here is the current months sketch :)

I love the colors of this kit!! This is my take on the sketch and I used a picture that my daughter took while up in the hills near our home. I used the Martha Stewar doily punch for around the edges. These flowers on this layout are some of my favorite Prima flowers ever. I just love them!

This is such a cute pic of Brooklyn! I used all items from the kit, but I added the vine that Katie777 made and sells in her Etsy shop. She makes some gorgeous vines!!

This is a piece of Dusty Attic that SOD included in the kit for this month!! I decided to use half of the chippies and I inked then wiped some gesso over the top here and there. Look at the cute little star that came in the kit :)

I was due for some major distressing, so I decided this would be the layout for that. I tore up some cardboard for the edges and used a lot of water distressing for this one.

The little red roses were from my stash but the gorgeous red leaves and fluffy feathers are in the kit. I made this little bouquet with them.

At our Coast there is rarely snow and this is a pic of an average winter day over there. My kids are bundled but it's really not that bad. It is mostly just windy and rainy. All the goodies on here are from the kit.

Thanks for stopping by and God Bless!!

Check Out This Dusty Giveaway!!

I wanted to be sure and post the details of this giveaway that my friend Jen Burns is doing on her blog. Jen and I are on the DT together for Dusty Attic!! It's really easy to enter and all you have to do is leave her a comment :)

Jen's Dusty Attic Giveaway!!

~New Dusty in my Etsy~

I just received my newest order of Dusty Attic and my Etsy is stocked once again!! I have everything from doilies, to botanic accents, and the newest fancy trims! Check it out!!

My Etsy

~Dusty Attic Advent Calendar~

I have had this calendar for quite some time and I never did anything with it, because I couldn't decide what matching display to put inside of it. Dusty has so many different ones and they are all really cute. Anyhow, Christmas snuck up on me and it became to late to purchase one for this year, so then it occurred to me that I don't need to have one of the matching sets. So with that, I decided to create my own little display and here. I went with a vintage style and I think it turned out pretty cool.

I decided to cover the bare wood with Ranger Walnut Stain. I dropped a small amount of Walnut Stain straight from the bottle onto a blending tool and covered all the bare wood that was still showing. Although I didn't get it pictured, I used a cream satin ribbon about 1 1/2" wide to go around the outside. I cut the letters for Merry Christmas out on my Cricut using the Storybook cartridge. The cute little vintage images were found off the Internet. There are so many royalty free images these days and vintage ones are extremely plentiful.

Thanks for Stopping By!! God Bless and Merry Christmas!!

~And The Winner Is~

#1 MommaSaid

Big congrats to MommaSaid for winning my Dusty Attic stash!! I used Random.org to pick my winner and #1 was it!! YAY! Please email me at FSOLprizes@yahoo.com with your mailing address, so I can get your prize shipped out to you!!

Scraps of Darkens Designer Call!!!

Scraps of Darkness kit club is having their very first Designer call!! If you love the alternative side of scrapbooking or would love to venture into this realm, then I encourage you to try out!!

Commitment is important, so we want to be straight forward with what we are looking for. We want to see ambitious, outgoing, forum savvy scrappers that share in the same love as we do. The designing position will be from January through June of 2011 and we are looking for one more person for our team. At this time we are only accepting applications from US residents.

Here is what we will need from you:

1. You must complete 4-5 layouts/projects per month which will be ready to go by reveal day on the 15th of every month. These layouts need to be placed in the SOD gallery, blog, scrapbook.com, and any other public galleries you participate in.

2. Daily participation on our forums and a daily check in on our Design Team forum as well as keeping up in the galleries is a must. Questions of the week and other DT responsibilities will be rotated amongst the DT members and we would also like you to start new threads that encourage posting.

3. You must complete at least 2 tutorials within the 6 months you are a DT for SOD. These can be either photo or video tutorials.

In return for your commitment, you will receive the entire main kit, as well as two additional add-ons free of charge!! You will also have first dibs on any other add-ons, featured throughout the months you are a DT, at a 50% discount.

Here is how to apply:

Please send all applications and attachments to Mandy@scrapsofdarkness.com

Please include the following:
1. Name, Address, Phone Number
2. Submit three layouts total: Include two layouts that show us your alternative side or the darker side of you. For example: Grunge, Steampunk, Mixed Media, Dark, etc. Then also include a third layout that you would say is your favorite and this can be any style.
3. Tell us why you would like to be on the SOD team.
4. Include links to your blog, galleries, and any resume you may have
5. List of all current DT commitments

All submissions must be received by December 15th and we will have an official public announcement by December 25th!!

~Reveal Day for Scraps of Darkness~

Grunge Baby!! This months kit from Scraps of Darkness is called "November Rain" and it's another awesome kit full of grungy goodness!! Packed with awesome papers from Glitz Design, Bo Bunny and Prima as well as tons of awesome embellishments!! This is really a fun and fantastic kit!! I tried making a more fun and funky sketch for this month!!

Here is my take on the sketch for November. I kept it pretty simple because I wanted to focus on Tyler's beautiful photograph. I just love the lighting on her face. This form of distressing is really easy. Just go around your page with an edge distresser then crumple your pp up a bit. Then lightly go over the raised creases of the pp. This will bring more dimension to your pages.

To get the black spots on the corners I found a template that I own and just inked over the top of it. Easy technique that helps give some extra details to a page.

I broke up my circle and lightly distressed around the edges. The pretty little flowers are Petaloo. Such pretty colors!!

This was a cool piece of chippie from the kit. I coated it in some black ink then used gun metal embossing powder, then squirted some clear crackle glaze on top. Then I took the heat gun and melted it all together and let it bubble up a bit here and there.

Here is a pic of me in a red wig lol. Lots of yummy distressed layers!! I did some cool machine stitching and it was easy to get it straight because of the grid on the pp.

Pink Paislee has these cool white embellishments that you can decorate or leave blank. I used some Pearl Ex on mine and used a black marker for the creases. I used grunge paper for the Tim Holtz flowers and added some beads I had on hand.

I love this layout. I love this pic of Brooky and although I added the Dusty Attic chippies and vine, then rest is SOD yumminess!! I used a full page template to get the scalloped edge and took a 1/2" hole punch for the holes all the way around it. The stitching is faux :)

This gorgeous vine was made by Katie777 and you can find her amazing pieces at her Etsy shop. The "inspire" chippie is new from Dusty Attic.

Another piece of some new Dusty Attic corners. They came out with some gorgeous new chippies!!

My sweet little guy!! This is my grungiest layout so far!! I had fun making it as always!!

I cut these stars from some of the pp. The bottle caps were coated with pearl ex copper powder and crackle paint.

This little trick was made with molding paste. I used a 6x6 Lego base to press into the paste to get the holes. To do this, you will want to dry your paste almost completely and then press in your mold.

Thanks for stopping by and God Bless!!

~ Another DUSTY Giveaway ~

I'm feeling generous again!! So I thought I would do another Dusty giveaway this month!! I just got my store restocked and it's already selling, so be sure to check my Etsy if you are on the hunt for Dusty Attic chippies! Here is the prize package!!

Chains 4pk

Butterfly Flourish

Spider Web 2pk

French Flourish Border

Leafy Stems 4 pk

Mini Ornate Gate

Corner Scroll

Scroll #5

The rules are super easy as usual!!

1. You must be a follower of my blog!

2. You must leave me a comment on this post about how much you LOVE Dusty Attic chippies!

The Deadline for entries is November 30th and I will pick a winner using Random.org that will be posted on December 1st!! Someone is getting an early Christmas present!!

Thanks for stopping by and God Bless!!

~The Softer Side of Me~

As you know I am a DT for Scraps of Darkness and a lot of my layouts can be dark or industrial, but I still love my soft subtle layouts just as much. This month over at Swirlydoos I am hosting a challenge called Curves! This just means circles lol, but below is my example of the layout I used for that challenge. The photo is of my dd Tyler dressed as a fall fairy. I photoshopped the wings on her and softened the photo for an ethereal look. The chippies are both made by Dusty Attic!!

I added a broach that was in some costume jewelry I picked up somewhere. I coated the chippie with distress ink and distress Stickles.

These vines were purchased from my good friend, Angelica's Etsy shop. Her handmade embellies are top notch!!

This next one is a pic of Brooky doing her current "go to" pose. I created a vintage look to the photo. I made this for the November sketch challenge, by Beggahuna, over at Swirlydoos. The stitching is faux. Here's a little something about me: If you see faux stitching on a layout it means I added it later, because the layout needed something. If you see real stitching then it was planned all along :)

Now you have to check out this technique that Lisa Gregory discovered. The technique is to create decorative circles. This has got to be my current favorite technique going right now. Here's the link: Decorate Circles

The vines from Prima cracked me up because they reminded me of q-tips and I had to add to them, so I stuck some light pink roses to the vines.

Thanks for stopping by and God Bless!!

~Scrapbook News and Review~

It's time!! The next issue of Scrapbook News and Review magazine has been published!! The staffers were granted the opportunity to give you a little peek of a layout of our own and one of another staffer's as well. This is going to be another great issue!! This first one is from an amazing artist and staffer, Lisa Valentine!! Her work never ceases to amaze me, plus she is such an awesome person and I just adore her so much!! Look at this gorgeous layout, titled Memories, which is featured in the masking and stencils section!!

This next one is one of mine that created using my son's photo. This layout was created for the dark and industrial section.

Again here is a link to the magazine!! Scrapbook News and Review!!

SOD Nevermore Kit Layouts

I still had so much wonderful stuff left in my October kit from Scraps of Darkness that I decided to make a couple more layouts. This first one is of my dd Tyler dressed as a fall fairy. There were a lot of gorgeous fall colors in this kit which made it nice to venture away from the normal Halloween theme. I always like to dress up my kids so new kits are a great excuse to get out there and take some pics. There are some close-ups below.

All items were from the kit and add ons. The florals were so awesome and I loved the variety of brands as well.

This second one is my dd Rylee dressed up as someone from the past. I added a gorgeous tree chippie from Dusty for this one. I haven't had the opportunity to use that piece until now.

I inked this tree with Ranger black soot ink and then embossed it with gun metal colored embossing powder to get this silvery metal look.

There are more kits available in the Scraps of Darkness Store!! Don't miss out on a great kit!!

Thanks again for stopping by!! God Bless!!