And the Winner is...

bfran55! Congrats and thanks for joining my blog! If you'll send me your address (either here or at ClubCK) I'll send a little something your way!

Hope you all enjoyed the Blog Hop -- there will be another one in the Fall with a leafy theme.

August Blog Hop

I'm SO excited. This is the first time I've been able to participate in a Blog Hop, since my blog is still pretty new. Here is the list of participants in the Blog Hop:

1. Amanda http://www.lovejoypaper.com
   
2. Ashley http://ashleyspaperdoll.blogspot.com/
3. Jennifer D http://scrapdrawer.blogspot.com/
4. Kathy K2S http://clubcreatingkeepsakes.com/blogs/goheels/default.aspx
5. Amanda Johnson http://asjmade.blogspot.com/ ******
6. *****Deletion here - please skip to next blog******
7. Laura (moongirl) http://happinessequalscreation.blogspot.com/
   
8. MBscrapping Cassie http://allsmilesandsunshine.blogspot.com/
9. Andrea Joy http://andrea-preciousmemories.blogspot.com/
10. Steffanie http://steffanies.blogspot.com/
11. Toree http://clubcreatingkeepsakes.com/blogs/nightsmile/default.aspx
12. Adele http://dleebug.wordpress.com/
13. Shanon http://scrappingandtraveling.blogspot.com/
14. Heather http://craftyscrapbooker.blogspot.com/
15. Mandi http://mjskraze.blogspot.com/
16. Kelly http://scrappin-sisters.blogspot.com/
17. Eternoly Yours Linda http://www.eterno-lyyours.blogspot.com
18. Devra http://mycreativeview.blogspot.com/
19. Lady of the Lake Andrea http://ladyofthelakeslog.blogspot.com/
20. Laurie (Tulip scrapper) http://tulip-scrapper.blogspot.com/
21. Veronica http://missonigur.blogspot.com/
22. Traci http://stitchstampandstir.blogspot.com/
23. Jackie http://www.scrapbangwallop.blogspot.com/
24. Laurie http://lalmack63.blogspot.com

If you did not arrive here from Devra's blog, please go back to Amanda's blog and start at the

beginning! Once you're finished here, you can head on over to Laurie's blog (Tulip Scrapper from Club CK). And be sure you check out Amanda's blog and sign up for a chance to win the overall blog prize. And if you become a follower of my blog and leave me a message, you'll be entered to

win an RAK of some random scrappy goodies from me.

So -- here is the sketch we were given by Amanda:

I have to tell you, I wasn't all that excited about it when I got it. I don't often do the narrow all around border edge and it just didn't excite me. Life was busy and I almost dropped out of the Blog Hop, but then decided I'd go through with it. I'm SO glad I did.

I pulled some pictures to work with and some papers (from my newest K & Co. stack, "Sea Glass" -- I'm so LOVING this stack!). I followed the sketch pretty faithfully -- and I LOVE the result! The photos are from a trip to Marina del Rey that we took on my husband's birthday. We'd walked and wandered around and found this koi pond behind a restaurant. It was like a hidden island hideaway LOL. So I had the kids take our picture (we don't get many of just the

two of us). It was so touristy but so fun. I think the photos worked great with these papers and are perfect for this sketch. I love the way the layout turned out!

Of course, after taking our pic, the kids had to take their own. Sigh. Here's the page that features THEIR self-portraits. Why do they have to do that?

Here's the full layout:

If you're a scrapper but haven't found Club Creating Keepsakes, let me tell you about it. I love this online, virtual community of scrappers. It is provided by the magazine, Creating Keepsakes, and is free to join. There you will find content from CK, message boards, weekly challenges, questions and answers, new techniques, ideas, product reviews, and friends. Check it out! I'll be hosting the weekly challenge the week of August 28 and I'll be using these layouts as a starting point -- come join us!

Don't forget to leave me a message and become a follower for a chance to win. And sign up on Amanda's blog! Now, if you're ready to leave me, you can continue hopping through the blog's with Laurie's blog. Have a scrappy weekend!

Bloom

This layout is a bit of a departure for me. I don't usually do so much pink and don't often use bling. But these photos came out beautiful -- the iris were so incredible. We went down to Northridge over Spring Break to check out the school, places to live, etc. When we came home, the flowers were in full bloom -- absolutely gorgeous. One thing I will miss from up there.

The sketch is from Sketchy Thursdays -- it was a one pager that I turned into a 2 page spread.

Here's my layout:

When I showed it to my YDS, his response was "It's kinda girly, isn't it?"

Sigh...