One of our Scrap Madness challenges at www.bostonscrapfanatics.com was to alter an altoid tin.  I love to alter things - any thing.  As soon as this challenge was presented, I knew what I wanted to do.  A dear friend of mine had her first grandchild a few weeks ago and I wanted to do a purse-size brag book for her - something that would hold up in a purse while bumping up against stuff.  Because of this, I kept the cover and outside of the tin rather plain - intentionally.  I'm so happy with how this came out.  What do you think?

This was so much fun!  Measurements for cuts: 3 1/2 x 12, scored every 2 1/8 inches, corners rounded to 1/2".

Hey gang!  The new sketches are up at www.twistedsketches.org  Jump on over to check them out.  Here's my take on Sketch 142!  I had so much fun with this one.  The stitchwork was done using a design I copied off the web and then transferred to my cardstock.  The twist this time around was green, thus the green stitchwork.

It's official.  My term with Twisted Sketches has begun.  Here's the layout that got me placed on the team.  The twist related to this sketch was "feathers."  I chose to 'feather' out the journaling strips.

The next layout sketch will be posted on Monday, March 14th.  Stay tuned!  I'll give you a little hint - I had so much fun with it ... I did some 'twisted stitches.' LOL

To see the coordinating sketch for this layout go to:  www.twistedsketches.org

See you there!

I'm wanting to 'step up' my pages a bit, so I've decided to work on dimension and texture techniques.  For this layout, I ripped off random pieces of masking tape and stuck it to some chipboard.  Then I covered that with a light coat of Gesso followed by some ink.  It's a beginning ...

This photo of my daughter, and my dear friend Mary, is one of the rare occasions that Anna actually sat for a photo.  Thanks Baby Girl!

If you're like me you struggle with those around the page punches.  Here's a handy size guide to help lessen the confusion.  Not all punches work the same around the page.  Who knew? LOL

http://www.paper-castle.com/2011/05/31/martha-stewart-punch-around-the-page-paper-sizes/#more-581

And, while we're at it, how many folks have the awesome Crop-A-Dile by We R Memory Keepers yet have no idea how to use it?  Here's another handy tid bit I'd like to pass along:

http://weronthenet.com/File/View/4f07f2d2-0cc8-4e7f-b9cf-8bf64dcfe773

For other hints and tips, be sure to visit our forum at www.bostonscrapfanatics.com.  Our month-long Scrap Madness fiesta is full of great tips, ideas, challenges and other fun stuff!

See you there!

Scrap Madness is in full swing with games, challenges, helpful tidbits, sketches to get that mojo flowing and tons of other great ideas.  So if you haven't been to the forum, you're missing out on loads of great inspiration!  Hurry up - what are you waiting for?  www.bostonscrapfanatics.com.

One of the challenges posted by Tina is to create an ATC outside of your usual style.  Tina does not usually create vintage pieces so she challenged herself to do just that.  Here's a peek at her finished work.  Not too shabby, huh?

Great job, Tina!

So today I have some fun news to share with you all.  I've been accepted to the Layout Team over at Twisted Sketches!  Yup, that's right, me!  I love sketches and the sketches over at Twisted Sketches are so much fun.  Not only do we get great sketches to work with, but there's always a fun 'twist' to incorporate into the sketch.  My first layout isn't due until March 14th, but in the meantime why not zip on over to www.twistedsketches.org and check out the weekly layout and card sketches!  See you there on the 14th!