How about some Echo Park?

The thing I really hate about this time of the year is that it's virtually impossible to take good photos of layouts and cards. By now, it gets dark around 4 in the afternoon, and that's about when I leave work, and after picking up the kids and finally getting home, it's pitch black outside! There's absolutely no light, and photography business have to wait until the weekends, when I'm home during the day. But that is no guarantee that there will be enough light. Some days, the sun doesn't seem to be around at all, and all there is is a vary faint light that barely finds it's way through the windows that are still fairly dirty since the last storm passed by (I had just cleaned them! I was so mad!)

Anyway, I try to make do with my external flash and a cupcake liner, so I've managed to get a couple of half-decent shots this evening, of two layouts using the November kit from My Scrapbook Nook featuring Echo Park's LOVELY Times and Seasons. What's not to love about Echo Park?

The first one is about my sweet boy, and the second one is of my girlie, giving her little cousin a farewell hug before he took off with his family to the US. This is such a darling photo, and I've had it printed on my desk since August, trying to find papers to match the somewhat difficult colors of it. When the Nook kit landed, it turned out to be perfect for the task.

So, how are you all doing with your Christmas preparations? I thought I had it all pretty well covered a couple of weeks ago, when the kids were sick and we had to stay at home for a few days. I almost caught up with all the work that was overdue here. However, this place is once more a mess, and between all the grading I'm trying to get done at work, and all activities involving the kids (it's Lucia-time, with all the commotion that comes with it) I don't know how I'm going to be done. However, so what if the windows are still dirty after the storm? You won't notice since it's so darn dark all the time! I didn't send out tons of handmade Christmas cards last year, and guess what? Nobody died! I think I'll just stop here, light a candle and enjoy what Advent is all about - waiting, not wearing yourself out. Right?

I know I won't be able to do just that, though. I'm too deeply rooted in the traditions not to have my whole house spick and span in time for Christmas Eve. But I'm sure as h*** not cleaning the windows again!

Albin in 2nd grade

Am I the only one getting grey hairs because of Blogger lately? I can't put links in my texts, or at least not more than once in every blog post, I can't change the fonts, and it's acting really, really weird! My first guess was that it was my laptop that caused this disturbance somehow, but I've tried blogging from three different computers, and it's the same everywhere, so that's not it. These things are supposed to just work, and it's really annoying when they don't.

So, anyway, I'm going to use my only link in this post for ScrappTorget, a site that is hosting a cybercrop at the moment. I made a layout for one of their challenges last night, a challenge where you were supposed to make a layout with a lot of white space on. This is my take. Yeah, I know, there could be more white space, but I figured I also needed to keep it balanced.

The papers and decorations are from the Nook October kit, fabulous MME Lost & Found II. Love it!

Have a great week, everyone!

Sketchabilities #50

This is my take on the sketch #50 at Sketchabilities. A while ago we took a ride on a car ferry over lake Vättern from Gränna to Visingsö, and Albin stood in the front of the ferry the whole ride. Let's just say he got really wet, but he enjoyed it very much.
I've used the fabulous 5&Dime collection from October Afternoon, which was in the July kit from My Scrapbook Nook.

It's not as if I haven't been scrapping...

Because I have. A lot. I have my assignments to do, and my deadlines to keep. It's just the bloggin part that has been bothering me. I have had so little time on my hands, and I have chosen to use the time I have to create instead of writing about what I already have created. More creating, less writing. That's what makes me happy. It's as simple as that. However, although it has been really nice with a break from blogging and hanging out on the message boards and all, I've missed it all. And I've missed all of you people I get to meet out there. So here I am, determined to at least jump onto the MBs once or twice a week, and do something asbout this blog once in a while too.

And I have to admit, my blogging today has something to do with receiving a kit full of sheer beauty last week. It's the Nook November kit, with the Circa 1934 collection from Cosmo Cricket. This could very well be it - the BEST Nook kit ever. And what could be better than using it to make a couple of pages about the best children ever.
I had to pull out some old, already printed photos for these layouts, because sadly, my printer has died... or something. It just lost the connection to the computer, and I can't restore it, no matter what I do. Sad...

Anyway, this is what I have for you today, and I have tons of stuff on my computer to show you too, so I'll be back. Soon. :)

A quick little card

My little girl has a birthday party to go to on Saturday, and she wanted me to make a card for her friend. Also, I stumbled across a challenge at Love My Tapes, so I made this card for that challenge.

More August kit!

First of all, those of you who have arrived for the Nook bloghop, just scroll down to find the post about it. And yay, keep those comments coming! I love reading every one of them, and you can win a fabulous prize, right?

So, I have something huge coming up, and thus I need to really work on those assignments I have and finish up as many of them as possible right now. I don't have much time to actually write, so without further ado, I'm just going to show you what else I made from the fabulous Nook August kit:

My Scrapbook Nook bloghop!

You should arrive here from Nicole Martel's blog. If you didn't - start at the blog of Leah Killian and go from there, to make sure you don't miss out on a clue!

Check out the monthly inspiration from My Scrapbook Nook Kits AND YOU MIGHT EVEN WIN ONE FOR YOURSELF! Our kits are packed with the latest and greatest scrapbooking products, all perfectly coordinated to save you time. These kits are a great value, always only $28 and always with a $15 to 35% discount! This month's kit features brand new Sassafrass Lass Indie Girl, and matching goodies from Jenni Bowlin, Basic Grey and other brands you know and trust!

Our message board and gallery are hopping and loaded with ideas on how to create with your kit, as well as step by step instructions on tons of great layouts and cards!

Now, Here's how you WIN!

Leave a comment on each design team member's blog for your chance to win past kits, Quickutz dies and gift certificates to the Nook store. One winner from each blog will be drawn randomly. The more comments you leave, the more chances to win.

The prize that I am giving away to one lucky blog hopper is a $50 Quickutz collection!!!

Then, you collect one word from each blog to form a sentence that will answer this question:

What's the scrappy cure for the summertime blues?

My clue for you is: scrappy

When you've collected all the words, piece them together to form a sentence and then go to our message board and send a personal message (pm) to Leah with your guess.
One person with the correct answer will be drawn at random and win the grand prize, a 3-month subscription to the kit club here at My Scrapbook Nook. Now, how about that?

All winners will be announced at the message board after the end of the hop.

Good luck! And remember:
Don't wait to create!
Join the kit club today! If you sign up for a 1 year subscription you'll receive a free kit to start and after a year you will receive your 13th kit for free, too.

Now, the next stop on this bloghop is a very sweet and very talented girl: Amy Coose! Hop on over and se what she's up to.

And I'm leaving you with a brand new layout with the brand new August kit, with a brand new photo of my sassy, sweet and extremely funny and loving daughter. Let me tell you, this kit is totally droolworthy! Be sure to grab one and see for yourself! Here is the kit club page where you order your kits. And dont forget your chance to become a member of the DT. Read more about it at our message board.

What's up at the Nook?

There is surely a lot going on at My Scrapbook Nook right now. First of all, this lovely kit is on its way out. It's loaded with pretty stuff! Yes, it's Sassafras' lovely line Indie Girl. I really look forward to working with this kit. I haven't been into Sassafras for a long time, but this collection made me swoon.
Second, we're having a bloghop really soon! There are fabulous prizes, so be sure to tag along.And last but not least, definitely not least, the opportunity is once again here to apply for the wonderful Nook DT! It is the best DT to be on, really! Read all about the call here, and apply. APPLY! You have absolutely nothing to lose, and who knows, you might be the one who get to inspire us with loveliness from the kit for six months to come.

Card Sketch Tuesdays at The Nook

Today, we are kicking off with a card sketch at the Nook messageboard. We will post a new sketch each Tuesday, and would like to see as many takes as possible! I just posted the first sketch, and here is the card I made from it. with the fabulous July kit! If you want to join in on the fun, here is the thread.

Hello Sunshine!!!

You know, I'm not the bright-color-bold-pattern type of girl. Not in any way. I prefer soft, muted colors and find it extremely difficult to work with things that are too bright and busy. So let's just say I had mixed emotions about the July kit from My Scrapbook Nook. Until I dug into it, that is. Because now, after five (!) layouts, I don't have anything at all against bright colors. Not if they are in such a well-matched kit as this one.

First of all, here's a photo of my mischievous girl. Ste's often up to no good, and she often has that cheeky look on her face that I managed to capture yesterday on this photo. This is also a photo from yesterday. I just love to watch my little guy walking! He just strolls along like there isn't one single thing that troubles him in this world. Just imagine being so relaxed and light-hearted, and being able to look at everyone he meets with an open mind. There's really nothing that bothers him. He is so tolerant towards everybody, and doesn't even notice things about people that others might have trouble with. He doesn't get impressed with kids trying to be "cool" in one way or the other, those things just don't do it for him. He sees people for who they are, not "what" they try to be. The title translated to English is "There he goes".

Little sisters are not only annoying troublemakers. Once in a while, you can also learn something from them. Agnes, when she doesn't get what she wants, she bursts into a choir of PLEASE... It's please, please, please, please, with the cutest voice such a little creature can produce, and with a slightly tilted head, and she is almost completely irresistible... almost. So, big brother thought it might be a great idea to adapt that kind of approach to mommy and daddy when it's something he wants really bad. Accordingly, the word PLEASE is now heard a lot in our house. Sometimes, when it's something they both want, things can get next to unbareable. However, none of them seems to yet have realized that it doesn't work. A no is still a no even after 20-30 please...Here is a very old photo of Agnes on a carousel ride with daddy. She was only one year old, and it seems like it's ages ago! Look at her, how completely absorbed she was by the wonders of the carousel. She did not know where to look, she just tried to take it all in at once.And then the last one, for now, there might be more, with a photo of a blue-yellow girl eating a blue-yellow cookie on a blue-yellow day. The photo was taken on the 6th of June, our national day.

With all that made, I still have plenty of stuff left with my July kit. I guess that will keep me busy until August, when we will get some of Sassafras new Indie Girl to play with. Now, that is something I really look forward to, because that line is completely my cup of tea!

I hope your days are as sunny and bright as ours. I guess we will be hanging quite a lot by our new pool tomorrow. There will most likely be lots of opportunities then for more photos that I can use with what's left of my July kit.

A great deal from My Scrapbook Nook

Attention all scrapbookers! Right now would be a very good time to start subscribing to My Scrapbook Nook kits, because this deal is too great to miss out on!

If you become a member starting June 23, you will get a free June kit, for as long as supplies last. You must sign up for 1 year, but then you will also receive your 13th kit for free. That means 2 free kits for signing up for one year!

This is what the July kit contains:

Hello Sunshine papers from Lilybee (2 of each sheet!)
1 sheet of Hello Sunshine die cuts
1 American Crafts Thickers alphabet
1 Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type alpha in red
1 Maya Road Laundry Line chipboard
8 Maya Road Pins in Red & White (Flowers)
2 Sheets Black Bazzill
1 Jenni Bowlin Butterfly Banner Set
1 Jenni Bowlin Journaling Cards
Handful of Coordinating Buttons
1 Pink Paislee Ribbon Pleat in Black & White

The July kit is valued at over $36 and retails at just $28. So, have you ever considered subscribing to these kits, now would definitely be a great time. :) Sign up here.

And now would also be a great time to show you my second layout from the June kit, but unfortunately, when I started editing the photos I'd taken of it, they were all blurry... And now it's too dark outside. I just have to get back to you with that one :)

My Scrapbook Nook June kit

Spring term is finally over, and we are on SUMMER BREAK!!! It has taken a few days to wind down and regain the balance of everything, but now I look forward to finally having some time to actually blog the stuff I make. And since it's June, what better way to start than with the June kit from My Scrapbook Nook.

This month's kit features fabulous So Sophie from My Mind's Eye, lovely colours and fabulous patterns, perfect for Summer photos. The photo on this layout shows Albin at a playground in Karlshamn on June 6.
I also made this little box, Everything is from the kit, except for the butterfly, which is from the May kit, and the flower.

I used one of these vintage button boxes, the brown one in the middle, as a template. If you want to see how I did it, check out my class here.

And so, what's up for next month then? It's Lily Bee Hello Sunshine. At a first glance, I think it might be a little too bright for me, but I have never ever been disappointed at a Nook kit, so I'm pretty sure this will be a blast too! Leah is the greatest at combining things in these kits that bring out the very best in whatever pattern paper is in it.

I'll be back with more from this kit shortly :)

So, it was May...

...and hell broke lose. May is always a busy month for me, with my job at a school and all grading and stuff that is going on this month. Besides, I also managed to have both of my precious children in May. People said I was lucky to have them in May, because it's such a great month for birthday parties. Well, I don't know about that... that probably depends on your profession. May is not a good month for birthday parties if there are too many of them, and if you are a teacher on top of that. Let me just say, it was a long time since I really enjoyed the beauty of this wonderful month to the fullest.

Anyway, Dear Blog ended up way down on my priority list. But since it is May, I just have to show you a few layouts I've made with the May kit from My Scrapbook Nook, with the lovely October Afternoon line Fly a kite. It's perfect for May layouts!

Here's my girl with her most darling smile:
And my gorgeous boy, who just turned seven!

And my gorgeous boy once again:

And guess what my gorgeous boy got from a friend for his birthday? Yes, a KITE! So, as soon as the weather and the time allows, we'll fly a kite and take tons of photos to use with what's left of this kit :)

Go out and enjoy May, those of you who can.

It is time to get hopping!

It is time for the National Scrapbooking Day My Scrapbook Nook blog hop, and here is my little part of it! The nook is offering three prizes - the grand prize winner will receive the entire So Sophie line from MME as well as their other release, Meadowlark. Those are truly gorgeous lines. Two runners up will recieve a Jenni Bowlin kit and a SEI prize package. How about that?

Winners will be drawn on May 3rd. All you need to do is post a comment here and then hop to the next blog be sure to post on all the blogs - one blog will be chosen via random number generator to have three winners chosen from it, also via random number draw. The blog numbers are in the order of the hop.

I just have to share a sneak of the next kit with you. Here's June. It looks fabulous, doesn't it?

You can sign up for a subscription or order a kit on the kit page. Last month's kit, April, featured MME Little Boy Blue, and this is one of the projects I made from that kit.
The current May kit has a lot of "Fly a kite" by October Afternoon in it. It's totally colorful and fun, perfect for all those spring and early summer layouts. Here is one my fellow design team member Amy did. Gorgeous, huh?

So, the next stop on the Blog hop is Amy's blog. But before you go, don't forget to leave a comment on this post for a chance to win those fabulous prizes!!!

Have fun, and keep on hopping! :)

Introducing... THE MAY KIT!

This is what we'll be getting in May from My Scrapbook Nook. I can't wait for this kit to arrive. I just hope it won't bee too late because of that volcano in Iceland messing things up...
Still, I will not complain one bit even if it is late, because what is a late kit when you think about all the people in Iceland who fear for their land and houses, and the safety of their loved ones? Or when you think about all people stranded in different parts of the world who can't get home because of the volcanic ash in the air?

This kit will be a fabulous one, and I will be happy when it arrives, whenever it arrives. :)

Are you cropping this weekend?

The "What's cooking at the Nook" crop is taking place at My Scrapbook Nook as we speak. We have lots of members playing, trying to earn the prestigous title The Nook Chef, which also involves a really great prize.

And I've been busy this week with the April kit, creating this table setting as inpiration for one of my challenges:

This is an inspiration layout for another one of my challenges:

And this is a layout I made for Creative Scrappers this week, because the Nook DT has teamed up with Creative Scrappers this month, and sponsor with one of their fabulous kits. So, if you want to win a Nook kit, hop on over to Creative Scrappers and play along.

Enjoy your saturday, everyone!

Altered Maya Road Dressform album

I would like to have my own corner somewhere for my sewing projects. My scrap room is too small for that, but if I ever were to get a bigger room, I would place this altered dressform in my sewing corner. It's made from a Maya Road Dressform album. I glued all the pages together and dressed it with lovely Pink Paislee Bayberry Cottage papers from the March kit from My Scrapbook Nook.
I decorated with some of the adorable mini chipboards from the kit, and a piece of the ribbon pleat.

A paper measuring tape, and it's done.

Today, I also got the wonderful Nook April kit, and it is just as lovely as it looks in the photos! Let me say it's a great thing that we are having Easter holidays right now, because I'm craving to dive into it.

Beautiful

This little girl is the apple of my eye. She is the most adorable and gorgeous little creature there is - and a total urchin, of course. I spend most of my time scolding her and sending her to her room for timeouts. I get a lot of "I don't want you anymore, mommy" and "I'm moving out of this house because you aren't my mommy anymore". I get a lot of tantrums and high-pitched screaming when things don't work out as the little lady commands.

But I also get tons of hugs and kisses and "mommy I love you" and all of those adorable little things an almost-four-year-old say and do. And even though I'm so angry at times that I almost can't think straight, I feel joy and comfort in the knowledge that this phase she is going through right now will help making her into a strong-willed and confident young woman who will be very capable of looking after herself. And I make sure she knows that I love her no matter what.

Most of the supplies are from the March kit and add-ons at My Scrapbook Nook. This is most likely the best Nook kit ever! Until the April one arrives, that is, because then that one will most likely be the best Nook kit ever! It feels like that every time I open one. :)

It's soon April!

Earlier this week I posted my first class at the Nook message board. I'm showing you how to make these little pincushions out of vintage wooden spools, that I was lucky to find a whole bag full of in a thrift shop a few weeks ago. If you want to check it out, the class can be found here.
And soon, the April kit will land too. I have some really big plans for this one... I love all the greens and blues and browns in this kit, and I am absolutely thrilled that we will be getting some of the new Maya Road leaf pins too.

But until then, I keep working with my dear March kit...

Very soon...

...these goodies will land in my mailbox. Of course, it's the March kit from My Scrapbook Nook, and it's shipping right about now!!!! So soon, very soon we all get to play with it. And guess what? The April kit won't be far behind. So it's almost like waiting for Santa!

Do you see the pins? I have BIG plans for those. And the Artisan tape... yummy! The mini chipboards... Yep, this will definitely be a fabulous kit, well worth waiting these extra weeks for.
Haven't you ordered your kit yet? Well, hurry then, because they will probably run out soon.