I am getting this layout done just in the nick of time! I did this last night for a Sketch contest being held over at Create My Keepsake. The sketch was created by the very talented Valerie Salmon. She has an AWESOME sketch blog called GOT SKETCH? If you get a chance….put it in your favorites! You will refer to it often I promise! Here’s some close-ups of this layout I did. It was A LOT of fun! I painted some Maya Road chipboard letters black then added some Glossy Accents by Ranger before adding the black glitter for texture and bling! The little wooden polka-dot hearts were ones I found in the dollar section at Joann’s! SCORE! I plan on creating a few cards with them too! I got lucky they matched this Scenic Route paper so well! I also had a ton of fun creating some more of my hand-drawn/cut hearts for this layout! I’m sharing the love by posting the patterns here for you. You can resize them however you like. I wanted to add some white to the layout so the hearts with stitching was a fun touch! It was a pain at first trying to get these hearts thru the sewing machine but I finally just cut the shape out then glued it down to some white cardstock so I had something solid to manuever while taking the corners carefully. After I was done sewing I just cut the big piece down to match the heart shapes. It worked great because it added some thickness to the pieces as the cardstock was doubled up. I hope that made sense. LOL

Okay…just for something different…I had a few questions asked in the last post that I thought would be cool to answer here in case anyone else has ever wondered the same thing about me. Yah right! LOL If not, you can disregard this part of the post and move on down to something that I’ve been waiting EONS for!!!

Okay… here’s a little Q & A for ya!

Question from Meghan: I was wondering when you do your albums, do you do theme ones only or do you do all different stuff in one album, and if so do you stick with the same paper collection? I love to scrap in 8×8 and I find for me, I like to keep each album in themes, for example an album on my son’s birthdays, etc.

This is a great question. I will probably disappoint with the answer because I WISH I was better organized but no Meghan, as I do layouts they all go in my albums in a random order. I don’t scrap chronologically at all so when you’re looking thru my scrapbooks it’s a whole new adventure with each flip of the page. This doesn’t bother me though like it might some people. I’m just glad to get them done. And for the other part of your question….I do occasionally do a mini or theme album as a gift or for fun or even to sell on Ebay. When I create these I do tend to find a specific line of paper and use that throughout the album.

Susan Says: Lovin’ your new creations. Girl, when do you have the time to be so scrappy? I only have 2 kids with one on the way and I have no time!! Do share your secrets!!

There’s no big secret here Susan! I scrap during naptime or after the kiddos are in bed at night if I’m not curled up on the couch with Shane watching a movie and chowin’ down on some kettle corn. I’ve learned over the years that I am much happier when I find time to create and make my family and friends smile with my projects! A scrappy mom is a happy mom in my house. My house might not be the most spotless place on the planet but I am leaving some priceless treasures behind for my children while creating some fun memories at the same time and I think that will be more important to them in the long run!

April says: Shanna, I browse your blog all the TIME and I LOVE all of your creations, especially your cards. I know a while ago I commented on how I LOVE the hearts you use in your cards/Layouts, and I know you mentioned they are hand drawn. Do you have any sort of template you use, because I LOVE how they turn out! Thanks!

Awwwww! (blush) Thanks April! This makes me happy to hear! I love to share my creations with people! Especially the things that seem easier for me than others out there! I’ve had a slight obsession with the “heart” for as long as I can remember! I love to draw them! I don’t use a template to create an original but I do create a pattern/template once I have made a new one. My collection of hearts and other shapes has gotten quite large! It’s a lot of fun to go through my file and find what I need. But if it’s not there then I just draw one up real quick and add a new pattern to the collection. I usually try and share the patterns as I make them here on my blog. (like the hearts above) So be sure and check back so you don’t miss out!

Thanks for the fun questions ladies!!!

THE COUNTDOWN IS ON!!!!!

It’s been waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long!!!!

Only 6 hours and 45 minutes left…….

UNTIL THIS.

I’m so stoked.