The Secret To My Creativity...

I would fall over in a huge big puddle of nothingness if I didn't have caffeine. And cookies. But mainly caffeine.

It is actually extremely dangerous for me to have any liquid around where I am working, but I like to live dangerously. I once killed a perfectly good laptop with a glass of apple juice. I lived to tell the tale, the laptop did not.

I also absolutely require snacks while scrapbooking. Crumbs are really just embellishments, right? Alright, I am a little bit more careful than that, but I definitely think that snacks play a vital role in my creativity. Caffeine, snacks and Grey's Anatomy on DVD. In that order.

What do you snack on while scrapping?

(Oh, and you can find the Praline Cookie recipe here... happy snacking, um, scrapping!)

Sugar Pie

Good evening! Happy Tuesday... hope you've had a good day! I've got a few scrapbooking techniques & tips to share with you. Let me just go grab one of my favorite layouts from the September kit...



...awwww. I love that little sugar pie. What a sweetie. :)

Let's take a closer look at a few of the simple and effective techniques I used in this layout.

The first thing I did was print out this picture BIG, 8x10 to be exact. I'm very into big photos on my layouts lately. For me, they take the center stage and the details in the photo (like her blue blue eyes) are easier to appreciate when the photo is larger. Because the photo is sooo big I let the shape of the photo dictate a simple layout design on the Chocolate cardstock. Then I did some basic layering with the Lemonade patterned papers from the paper add-on and the Sweet Marmalade paper in the main kit. I just LOVE these two lines together. What a fun combination!



Once I had the foundation of the page down, it was time to add the fun details. This is my favorite part! The Jenni Bowlin border stickers with the opaline pearls layered on top worked nicely to bring a touch of femininity to the page. I used two borders on each side of the page to add some balance.



This page was just screaming for some of the yummy flower whimsies and blossoms in the embellishment add-on!!! I wanted then to have a more shabby appearance so I just crumpled them up. I put the diecut in my hand and just balled it up and then I smoothed it out again. The folded edges were raised a bit after I balled it up, so I lightly sanded the raised parts then I grabbed one of my small Martha Stewart ink pads and smoothed the color lightly over the top of the flower. I also created a large flower from the Lily Bee paper by drawing a flower shape and cutting it out. The ink pads were great for adding additional color to the edges of the flowers and on the crumpled areas. Then I layered the blossoms with buttons on top as centers. I added a few buttons and some ribbon from my own stash and the page was complete!

Oh wait! The title! A fun little technique is adding a little bling to the foam Thickers with a bottle of Stickles glitter glue. I just added it to the tops of the alphabets so it would look like it had a sprinkle of sugar on top.



NOW my page was complete! :)

Next time you're looking for a technique to try, crumple and ink it! It's addicting.

Back to the Daily Grind!

Hi there Mosh Posh fans! It's Monday, Manic Monday to be exact. If you are like me, right about now you are preparing dinner, doing homework, or bathing someone...sound familiar? Well, in our hectic lives it can sometimes be hard to fit in our most precious hobby. So tonight, amongst all of my craziness, I am going to let you in on one of my favorite secrets...the grid layout! I must say that at first I kinda thought that the grid was not my cup of tea. I believed it was too boxy and symmetrical for my taste. But after designing for Mosh Posh in June, I realized that when you are in a pinch, it can be a girl's best friend. See, I am a very slow scrapper, it truly has nothing to do with my IQ, I just love the details. I received my glorious June kit and got right to work. Details, details, details were everywhere...I was having the best time. But in the last days of marathon scrapping, I began to worry if I would make the deadline with ALL of my layouts complete. My BFF suggested, "Why not do a grid layout?" Seriously, that was all it took. Now, when I am in a rut...I scrapbook a grid layout. When I am in a pinch for time...I scrapbook a grid layout. When I am low on supplies...I scrapbook a grid layout!

Here is a look back to June when I scrapbooked a traditional grid layout.

"Got Class?"

I created the grid by cutting 2 X 2 squares of the beautiful Jenny Bowlin patterned paper, inked the sides, and added a touch of hand-stitching to make myself feel better about the details...remember? What really surprised me the most, was that the layout was not at all boxy and symmetrical. Yes, it is cleaner than my usual creations, but fun to boot. Here is a look at a different take on the grid layout...using the September kit.

"The Best of Friends"

That's the BFF that gave me the good advice. Learn to like her, were like peanut butter and jelly...we are always stuck together. This time, I actually choose to do this layout...a grid layout with circles, rather than squares. I believe it was the perfect way to accent the precious Lily Bee paper.

So, there ya go. I think ALL of the Mosh Posh girls did a variation of a grid layout. You can check them out HERE. So girls if you are pressed for time, in a rut, or have just never gave it a try...now is your chance. Let me see what cha got!

Psst... Want in on a Little Secret?

Hey Ladies. It's Friday and Jenny checking in. I'm looking forward to two big things coming up. One, my DH is coming home from his IA in 12 days. It's been a long 7 months! But, more importantly (only kidding) is Mosh Posh's October Kit. I thought I'd give you a little hint for today's Friday Fun.

Do you like Cosmo Cricket's Boyfriend Line? How bout Jillibean Soup paper and Sprouts and maybe some buttons? How about Lily Bee's glorious new Audrey line? Maybe even some fabulous LB rub-ons? Just sayin...

It's all about INSPIRATION

Hiya, it's Brook with our weekly dose of "Behind the Scenes".

Here's where I give you a little peek into how I create. Today I'd like to share how I find my inspiration for my layouts and photography. It's always important to me to have a constant stream of inspiration, otherwise I get scrapper's block. Big time. So, here's my 3 favorite sources of creative juice:

1. Clothing!!! Oh, my kiddos clothes are so adorable. They're colorful and they have such fun patterns and cutesy characters on them. I also get some inspiration from my own clothes & bags. The lace trims and trendy colors are such a source of ideas. Look at the hottest scrapbooking products. Look at the trendy clothes. It's all connected. Owls here, owls there. Also, because we're wearing clothes in the photos I take (thank God! LOL.), using them as a source of inspiration is a no-brainer. Here's a couple yummy photos to hopefully inspire you:


Can't you just see these cute Gymboree clothes inspiring a scrapbook page?

PS: A tip for using clothes as inspiration: Don't always be concerned about everyone in all your photos being matchy-matchy! The more color, the better. Also, don't think that your papers & embellies have to perfectly match the colors of the clothing in the photos. Using a photo with colors that complement (but not match) will help the subject pop off the page. For example, if the photo is of your daughter in a yellow dress, try using shades of purple in the layout! The same goes with green/red, and orange/blue. I'll go into color combinations in more detail in a future post...

2. Art!!!! Are you an art enthusiast? If so, you will find loads of inspiration looking at contemporary and postmodern art. A walk through the local art galleries or to an art festival is a fun way to catch the creative bug. I happen to love painting! I am a color junkie. Take this painting by Vincent Van Gogh...

I can totally tell that he would have made a GREAT scrapbooker. Can you just see those stars cut from Bazzil and the haze around them from a twist of yellow tulle stapled on? Maybe some stickles here or there? A Sassafras feltie thrown in there for good luck??? Also, just a quick spin through Etsy will bring up dozens of "pearls"... a treasure-trove of inspiration to right click and save away in that folder labeled "AWESOME STUFF: INSPO".

3. Music! Oh man, music can be such a rich source of ideas, emotions, memories... you name it. Music is the bomb-diggity of inspiration. The kind of inspiration that comes from within. Have you ever walked through a Disney theme park? Ever notice the music that's playing wherever you go? It's music that keeps our internal dialogue going and our thoughts become alive. My imagination kicks in when I'm listening to a song with lyrics or a sound that touches me. Or I'm remembering the last time I heard that song... when I was a kid... when I rode the school bus to school in the front seat right by the sweet bus driver (Mrs. Brown) and it came on the radio... when she turned the volume louder and started singing it in her rich vibratto... and when I got hit by a spit ball on the back of my neck right as the chorus started. Ah, music. Pure inspiration. Here's one of my all-time most inspirational songs:

"Together" by William Shatner on YouTube.

For the rest of my life, whenever I hear this song I will think of my oldest child, Benjamin, when he was just beginning to dance. Every time he heard this song he would dance. Mmmm... beautiful memories. Memories that deserve a place in one of my scrapbooks.


Which reminds me... remember last week when I mentioned Journaling Prompts? Don't forget your journaling. Don't forget to scrap the Misc. Memories that don't have a photo to match!

Happy Wednesday!!!

PSS: Check it out, Mosh Posh and our September kit layouts were featured on the Sassafras Lass Blog:Sassafras Blog. How cool is that?

One Last Summer Hoorah!

I know it is the first official day of Fall, but if you are like me, that doesn't mean you are finished scrapping the last of your summer pics. With Halloween knocking at our doors, the September kit was just what I needed to wrap up my Summer photos. My layout, "Live, Laugh, Love" was adorned with 2 sweet pinwheels, just perfect to make you smile. So this Tuesday's Technique is a breezy, bright, and fun pinwheel!

Step 1: Gather supplies...double-sided patterned paper, paper trimmer, pencil, scissors, and a brad.

Step 2: Cut your patterned paper in a perfect square. For this tutorial, I cut the square to 5 inches.


Step 3: Draw a big "X" across the square. With the cross in the center of the paper and the ends of the "X" in the corners.


Step 4: From each corner of your square, cut towards the center of the square. DO NOT cut to the center of the square. Stop cutting at about 1/2 an inch before you get to the center.


Step 5: Now...if you look at your square you should have 4 triangles. Punch a hole in left hand corner of each triangle and the center.

Step 6: Fold over each of the punched corners to the center securing with a brad.



There ya have it! And here is how I used 2 pinwheels on my layout...

Git R Done

Well Hello there Mosh Poshers and Happy Monday. It's Jenny checking in with this week's installment of Manic Monday where the design team shares the ways we fit scrapping into our over-booked, hectic busy lives. I know we each have a story of how we got here. How we got started on this scrapbooking journey. I know for me, it all started in a teeny tiny scrapbook/teacher store in the middle of nowhere in MS after the birth of my first child. At the time I could store ALL of my supplies and tools in a "pizza box".

Fast forward 8 years and my scrapping is an honest-to-goodness obsession that has its own room plus space in two other closets. (Shh about that last part-that's downright embarassing). Add to that five kids and a deployed husband, making the little time I have to scrap stretch is hard! But, it must be done. Over the years I've developed a system. The most critical part of that system is really quite simple. I NEVER work on one thing at a time. I always work on 4-7 pages at a time. That way if I get "stuck" on one page, I can move onto others. Fix a title here, add an embellie here, or write out the journaling on a few when the mood strikes. Here is one of my work stations with 4 layouts in varying stages of completeness...


And a close-up of one done except for the journaling.

This process of mine really helps me make the most of my time between runny noses and laundry. Here's a sneak peek of Tiffany's rak. It'll be in the mail tomorrow. Stay tuned for more fun raks in the near future. Happy Monday!

Do You See What I See?

It's Mosh Posh Sightings!!! I've been searching through the Scrapbook.com gallery and I found these gorgeous layouts. These ladies have been busy with their September Mosh Posh kits! Miracles_momma created this gorgeous multiple picture layout. Her gallery is full of Mosh Posh projects!

Cschissell created this amazing layout. Check out that stitching and the little elephant!!! Isn't this adorable??

Have you been busy with your Mosh Posh kit? I would LOVE to see what you have been up to!

(PS... The Grissoms Page - I accidentally deleted your email! ACK!! PLEASE email me again so I can mail out these buttons to you!!! EsteeLynn(at)gmail(dot)com. )

Journaling Prompts

Have you ever tried using a journaling prompt to get you started with a page? Most of us probably let the photos or a layout sketch guide our scrapping, but many times the story behind the photos (or the story that lacks a photo to go with it) gets left behind. Here's a personal challenge: for every 5 pages you scrap, make sure one of them begins with the story.

This is a tough challenge for me, because more often than not I'm seriously lacking in the journaling department. I look through my books and wonder how I left out so many important details. I have notebooks and journals filled with memories but I can't quite get them on the page. Funny, because I am so drawn to scrappers who tell the whole story with their pages, including lots of writing along with important dates and people's names. I admire it, but I haven't made it a priority.

So... try starting your scrapping with words instead of photos! Explore this by writing in a cheap-y notebook that you can keep in your purse. When you think of something or a memory pops in your head, grab that trusty notebook and jot it down... not in a fancy way or anything. Even a bullet list will do. Then, when you're ready to start a new page, grab the notebook. Here are a few prompts that I thought might help you get started:

• My favorite teacher in school was _____ because he/she...
  
• Every night before I go to bed I...
• When I grow up I want to be (kid version & revised adult version)
  
• My children bring out this (bad) thing in me...
  
• I believe in this very strongly:

I would love to do pages with all 5 journaling prompts. The fun thing will be taking those ideas and finding the photos to match. In my mind I'm imagining finding that one random childhood photo of myself or another one of a million cute theme-less photos of my kids, and pairing it with one of these prompts. It will bring those odd photos out of the shoebox and into my albums. And my memories will have a place to be seen as well. :)

Edited to add: Hey! I have an idea! Just for fun and to get to know each other better, in your comments why not tell us a little about yourself based on one of the five prompts above? I'll start: Every night before I go to bed I... 1. Pray 2. Apply Burt's Bees lip balm 3. Take all my jewelry off 4. Put socks on. ;)

After the Creative Storm!

Happy Wednesday Mosh Posh fans! It is "Behind the Scenes Wednesday," and I cannot even believe I am about to reveal what I am going to reveal. So as you know....wait do you know? THE DESIGN TEAM GALLERY IS UP!!!!! It is fabulous and you can check it out HERE. Anyhoo, I have to be organized. With 4 kiddos, a husband (the equivalent of 3 more kids), teaching school, and just plain life, I have to plan ahead. But.....there is one area that I just let loose, and that is scrapbooking. I just start with a little inspiration and before you know it, there are piles of paper here, a jar of buttons there, and ribbon around my neck...I just love it. However, in the end, it is a tad embarrassing. So here you go ladies...I am letting you all in on my "creative storm"!!!!

TaaaaaaDaaaaa!!!

Goodness gracious! That is terrible. Like I said the gallery went up last night and my scrapbook space was atrocious. What can I say that is the way I roll. Lets do a little recap.

1. That is my desk...a mess. I usually have piles ALL around my 12 X 12 layout. I always spend a ton of time looking here and there because of my many glorious piles...sigh...
2. Yeah...that pink box is full of my completed layouts. I have a phobia. I love to scrapbook, but I am not so good at putting my layouts in albums.
3. My paint basket...organized by...nothing.
4. My three jars of buttons, scrap ribbon, and velvet flowers. The pink merry-go-round can (?) is my most scrappy prized possession. I keep my pens, adhesive, distresser, glue, scissors, etc. in it...LOVE IT!
5. Shelves stuffed with magazines, brads and eyelets, and my sewing machine.
6. Cropper hoppers of patterned paper and unused kits.
7. Baskets of Thickers, more adhesive, and pictures to be scrapped.
8. The big picture...messy! (Did ya see that hot pink IPOD? Caaaa-ute!)

Pretty messy huh? But as your eyes scroll across my creative mess, you can focus on the one organized mecca...my calendar. I have a calendar just for my scrappy projects. I put all of my due dates for my design teams, challenges and contests I want to participate in, and just scrappy things that I am looking forward to (i.e. Mosh Posh kit reveal)!
There ya have it! Any advice? If so let me know...as you can see, I can sure use some tips. Hope you are enjoying the September kit! See ya soon.

Putting Inspirations to Work-Stitching

Last Wednesday on Behind the Scenes Wednesday, I shared with you how I often find inspiration in my childrens' clothing. Remember that darling shirt of my daughter's? You know, the one with the "argyle" hearts. Well, I used that shirt as inspiration for one of my September DT layouts. Here's a little sneakie...

Next up I've gathered some of the tools I use when I'm hand-stitching on my pages. Bazzill makes some great templates that I use on many of my projects. (See the circle and border templates). You just line up the template and poke holes where you need them using a paper piercer (I use one from Close to My Heart) and a squishy mat (mine's from Scrapworks). For this layout, I needed a shape (an elongated X) that I didn't havce a template for. So, I used my trusty ruler and a pencil with the paper piercer and pad. You'll see the rest of this layout at 10 PM when we do the big Gallery Reveal.


Here's a peek at a project I'm about to start using the bits and pieces of my "old" Mosh Posh kits. Stay tuned for this and maybe I'll even throw in one of my world famous webisodes (teeheee).

And just for reading this far, here's a sneak peek of yet another project from September's Gallery Reveal. See you at 10 PM EST!

A Little Ad Inspiration...

When I am completely drained creatively and in need of ideas, I flip through magazines that I have laying around the house. I also Google "Vintage Ads" to see what I can come up with. That is how I came up with this cool ad. I like the simplicity and how the text runs along the bottom. Such a clean, simple look. You will be able to see how I used this ad inspiration when the Design Team reveals our September Gallery tomorrow!

I would love to see how you would use this ad for inspiration for a layout or card!

Rak of Fabulousness Winner

*****Tffny email me your address at scrappinjen(at)verizon(dot)net. I'll get your rak in the mail. Congrats and thanks to all for playing.

For the Love of a Journal Strip!

"O DYMO, DYMO! wherefore art thou DYMO? Deny thy..." Oh...hey there! Just whispering a few sweet nothings in the ear of my most favorite scrappy tool. Yep, you guessed it...the DYMO! It's Thurday's Thoughts and I have a few "thoughts" to share about my secret love affair. I fell head over heals for this fabulous tool over a year ago and since then we have been click, click, clicking away ever since. When I can not find the perfect journaling spot, just don't feel like writing, or my layout calls for a very clean journaling strip with no fuss, I always reach for my DYMO. I actually use the embosser DYMO and he looks a little something like this...


Back off ladies...he is all mine, but you can pick yourself up one at any local office supply store. For the longest time I could only find the labels in black, but these days you can find an assortment of colors...red, green, yellow, orange, etc. Here is a couple of ways I used the DYMO when I was the Guest Designer in June.

One of my most favorite things about the strips, is that once you make the strips you can simply cut the strips to make them fit in any spot on your layout. I have also cut the strips to contain one word in each strip. This method makes the length of the strips grow, which can fill a bare space on your layout...love it!

But if you can't get to your local office supply store quick enough, you can never go wrong with a regular paper journaling strip. It adds the same effect as the DYMO, but more personal.

Hope you ladies are enjoying all of the changes and fun here at Mosh Posh...isn't the blog great? Stay tuned...the Design Team Reveal is coming soon! I'm off to explain my weird love affair of scrappy goodies to my hubby.

A Whole New Look at Butter

Happy Hump Day, Ladies!!! Jenny checking in today enjoying the sunny sunshine after yesterday's First Day of School rainout AND here to bring you this week's installment of Behind the Scenes Wednesday. I want to share with you some things that inspire me to want to scrapbook til all hours of the morning.

I don't know about you... but, there are two things I spend way too much $$$$ on: childrens' clothing and scrappy stuff. Now, what in the world could those 2 things possibly have in common?!? Well, I see scrapbook pages when I look at my kids' clothing, especially my girls'. See here? This cute line from Gymboree is called Rockstar Academy and I bought a pile of it to send Julia off to First grade in style this Fall. Take careful note of the hearts all in rows and the hearts with the argyle stitching, as well. I see this showing up in this month's Mosh Posh gallery. I haven't decided if I'm going for spray ink with hand stitching or patterned papers with machine stitching. But, it will be there on the 15th! (hint, hint).

Alrighty, so what the heck was that silly "butter" reference?!? Well, for the last several months, I've been a big fan of the color yellow. Yellow is so NOT a Jenny color, but alas, I dig it. Specifically, the color of butter. I talked about yellow back in June and you can see it in the card up top. Back then I like the butter mixed with robin's egg blue and cherry. Then, among came my 8 year old's new school clothes. Gymboree mixed my beloved butter with grey (think September's mp grey Lullaby Thickers) and a blue-grey. See here...

Me likey... Here's June's color inspo, still love this one, too:

Some pages I've done this summer also show that cool yellow color and one even has the grey. See here...

Hope you enjoyed a peek inside my little brain and how it works. Stay tuned for the argyle layout and also the butter/grey combination showing up in the DT gallery real soon. Thanks for stopping today.

*************Congrats to The Grissoms Page. You won Estee's button drawing. Please email her at EsteeLynn(at)gmail(dot)com and your butter, er buttons (ha ha) will be on their way!

Branching Out

Welcome to Tuesday Tips! I love this picture of Breuklyn. She is growing up so quickly. I really wanted to incorporate a tree into this layout, but I have used trees on my layouts time and time again. I needed a new approach. I really wanted to think outside of my traditional scrapbooking supplies to create something a little different.

I believe that sticks from my backyard definitely qualify as "branching out." Get it? ha ha ha ha. It really doesn't take much to keep me entertained. Really, it doesn't.

I used DMC embroidery floss to attach the sticks to my cardstock. I like the extra texture that it adds. I stitched all of the leaves onto the tree using the same floss. I had a lot of fun creating this layout and I really liked that it looks different than other layouts that I have created.

Think outside of your comfort zone, you might be surprised what you will come up with! Happy Tuesday!! :)

Sketch = Stress Relief

Hey! It's Brook here! Happy Labor Day to you all. :)

Well, thankfully, today many of us have some time off to relax at home and spend time with family and friends. But typically, Mondays are hectic because we have to get back to our normal routines... driving the kids to school, heading to work, grocery shopping... you know, the daily chaos kicks in again. :) Mondays on the Mosh Posh blog are all about fitting scrapbooking into our busy lives. The other DT gals and I will share some of the ways we get our scrapping done in less time, with less stress. We'll call them "Manic Mondays".

My life has certainly been crazy the past week! I went on vacation to a beach house with my family for a week and when we returned our whole downstairs was flooded! Yikes! So, now we are living at my parents house. It's crazy, to say the least! :) Now more than ever I'm looking for shortcuts in my scrapping. Even when life gets hectic I still need my hobby, I just have to make it work in my day-to-day.

One way I like to cut down on time and stress is to use a sketch. Sketches keep me focused and give me a starting point (which cuts down on time a whole bunch). Sometimes if I start from scratch, without a sketch, I can waste an hour or more just moving my elements around on a page aimlessly. LOL. With a sketch I can choose the pictures I need and the placement is already figured out for me. I can also flip the sketch horizontally or vertically to make it my own. For me, using a sketch is one of the ways I get my scrapping done quicker.

The Mosh Posh DT drafts up a sketch every month to share with you. This month it was my turn! Typically when I post the sketch I'll have some actual examples to share with you of how I used it... but we are all still working on our creations with the September kit right now. So keep your eyes peeled in the coming weeks for our layouts and cards using this sketch as inspiration:



This sketch makes use of 2 photos, a 4x6 and a 2x3. It is also great for using up random scraps of patterned paper you might have left behind from other layouts. So, use your scraps! Not having to do any cutting or searching for papers will make your scrapping even less manic and take less time. :) And that's always a good thing when you're busy or trying to catch up.

Have a fun holiday! Tomorrow is Tuesday, so look forward to some great tips.

Later! :)


PS: If you use this sketch, please link to it in the comments so we can all enjoy it!

I've Got a Winner!!

Hello ladies! Well, it's Sunday and I am back with a "Fun Friday" winner. But before I let one lucky lady know she is getting a fabulous add-on, I wanted to mention...Did you notice all of the fun going at Mosh Posh this past week? We had Estee on Tuesday and Wednesday with a RAK, Jenny on Thursday with a RAK, and myself on Friday with a RAK...Wowee! I really am sorry to have to break the news to ya...this FUN is here to stay! If you haven't left a comment for Estee and Jenny's RAKs, take a stroll on down the blog and leave your comment, but most importantly make sure you visit next week.

Ok, Ok...I won't keep my secret any longer. When I made up this challenge I actually did not have my kit, and I was a tad panicked. Kristen saved the day, and I am here to tell you that there are 613 precious little pieces of the September "Fabulous Finds" kit! Can you believe it! And if you take a look at our guesses...KateB is our winner with a guess of 600. So...

Congrats KateB!!!

Email your full name and address to me at fasylvia_6@yahoo.com and I will get your add-on in the mail ASAP! Thank you sooo much ladies for making my first challenge a success and happy scrapping!

It's Friday...Whoot! Whoot!

HELLO Mosh Posh!!! It's me...Frances Sylvia...Do you remember me? I was the Guest Designer for the month of July, but now, I am one of the girls. I am sooo stinkin excited and honored to be here at Mosh Posh and work with such talented ladies. I actually have been a long time lover of Mosh Posh...and that Kristen, she has been putting together fabulous kits for a while now, and I am grateful to be a part of it. Thanks Kristen!

Speaking of kits, did you catch a glimpse of the September kit, "Fabulous Finds"? If you haven't, take a look...

Ok, before I OMG you to death, I think we should all have a moment of silence to pay homage to the September kit...................................OMG!!! Is it not just "fabulous" (Sorry, I just couldn't resist)! That kit is full of Sassafras Lass, Cosmo Cricket, Lily Bee, American Crafts, Jenny Bowlin, and Basic Grey. I mean really, just how many more designers could she have mixed? I don't know about you, but one of my most favorite things to do is mix lines. It is like a scrapbook scavenger hunt. I take a little rummage through all of my cropper hoppers, jars, drawers, and baskets and just put "stuff" together. The only problem...it takes forever! Well, this month ladies, it is done for you...no rummaging! And if the kit is just not enough, the add-ons...goodness the add-ons! They are the perfect complement.

Friday's at Mosh Posh are strictly set aside for fun...yep, were gonna call it "Fun Friday!" "Fun" because each Friday of the month is gonna be a different dose of fun! This Friday...let's play a game! See, I love every ounce of this September kit. From the Sassafras Lass Sweet Marmalade Journaling Stickers to the amphersand in the American Crafts Lullaby Foam Thickers...EVERYTHING! Who remembers the game guess how many pennies are in the jar? Well ladies, that's the question...Can you guess how many little, itty-bitty goodies we are going to get in this kit? All you have to do is be the first one to guess the number correctly, or the closest, and you could win an add-on to match your perfect September kit "Fabulous Finds!" You have until 12 p.m., Saturday, September 5th to leave a comment with your guess and I will post the winner on Sunday. Good luck ladies, and happy counting!

A Closer Look at Pilfered Joy*Rak in Progress*

Happy Thursday, Girlies!!! Is anyone else a tad bit torn between being thrilled beyond measure that the kids head back to school next week AND being a bit weepy-eyed that the kids head back to school next week?!? Alas, I digress... today I'm here to introduce you to what we will be discussing on our blog each and every Thursday. Thursdays are "Thursday Thoughts". On these days we will chat about the stories behind the photos on our pages. I won't lie, journaling is my least favorite part of the story. I don't know what it is, but this is definitely my weakness.

But, for today, I'm going to go ALL the way back to my freshman year in hs and Mr. Levin's writing class. Besides getting an awesome creative writing assignment in which I got to pen a little ditty called "Jello" set to the tune of Lionel Ritchie's "Hello" (think Weird Al Yankovic parodies), I also learned a bunch about what makes for a good story. Since scrapbooking is all about telling a story through pictures and words, the title is really quite critical in the overall design. Mr. Levin taught us that the title of your story and the opening sentence is what will capture your reader... or lose her. I think this is where I get my personal need for the punny titles that I often use in my scrapbook pages. I love a little offbeat title that will draw a person into exploring my layout further. Take my August Mosh Posh layout entitled "Pilfered Joy". When my older children left a ride-on toy out, my youngest son took one look and was off. These photos captured his pure glee at his "found" treasure. See...


While I have you here I thought I'd also show you some closer looks at this page. After I handcut the June Bug paper on the right, I cut out some shapes from the scraps and added them on top of the same shapes with pop dots. Think K & Co 3d stickers. Also, I added various chipboard embellies to enhance the paper's patterns as well. Gotta love that little birdie.

I did add a smidge of journaling on little strips of white Bazzill. And, notice that I referenced the title in my journaling.

Besides punny titles, I also like to use titles that use my kiddos own words. Almost nothing is more precious to me, then capturing my children and the funny things they say when they are young, like I did in June's Mosh Posh layout here...

Here's another page title that leaves the viewer wanting more. She has to look past my title to see exactly what I'm trying to get across. The brief journaling in the corner with the picures from 2 different periods of time tell the story of my need for things to slow down... Not So Fast...

Thanks for stopping by the old blog today. Check back in tomorrow when our newest DT member will be here with Fun Friday. Stay tuned... Anyone want a chance for a big old RAK?!? Tell me something, anything, and I'll enter your name in a drawing for a package of fabulousness. We'll draw the name at 8 am EST next Thursday the 10th!!