Unity Sneak Peek!

Just a quick sneak peek of the newest release scheduled for Unity Stamp Company. This is the January Kit of the Month which will debut very soon. It looks absolutely adorable and if you haven't checked out Unity or joined their kit club this would be the perfect time to see what it's all about!

Unity Scrapbooking Design Team!

If you've read my blog before you know that I am a HUGE fan of Unity Stamp Company. They have the gosh darn CUTEST stamps that are so perfect for both card making and scrapbooking. They recently put out a call specifically for a scrapbooking design team and I am thrilled to say that yours truly will be a part of this amazing team. YAY! I love to both stamp and scrapbook so to be able to do both for a company that I love is like a dream come true. I am so excited! Congratulations to all of the other ladies who made the team - I am so excited to get to work with all of you!

And, of course, I can't have a post without some pictures so here is a layout that I created recently using Unity stamps. ENJOY!

Just a few more days ...

... and Santa will be visiting houses around the world! He actually visits our house first just in case you didn't know. ;) He comes to us on Christmas Eve morning since we are traveling on Christmas Eve night and Christmas Day. He makes his first stop at our house bright and early on the 24th so the boys have some time to play with their new toys before we head out to visit our families. Needless to say I have been one BUSY lady. Not much time to scrap at all! I did make 12 gift card holders for the boys' teachers and bus drivers but of course I was so focused on getting them done that I didn't even bother to take pictures when I was finished. Ah well! Since I've neglected my blog for the past week and haven't posted anything scrappy I thought I would at least post a card that I made for my in-laws anniversary. Their special day is actually December 25th! I put this card together pretty quickly using some older Making Memories papers that I still love. Simple but I like it!



Since I probably won't be blogging this week I just want to wish everyone out there a very Merry Christmas! ENJOY!

In case you missed it the first time around!

Due to a popular demand, we've decided to make our popular Got Sketch 101 & 102 classes available for those who missed the first go-around of the workshop series. While the original classes were interactive with teacher and student participation, prizes, forums and a gallery, these offerings will be more of a print-and-go format for your convenience. As usual, there's no homework, classes are self-paced and EVERYBODY gets an A+! We are offering all of the complete and original class content in an easy-to-navigate online classroom.

Click here for the GS101 & GS102 Bundle Info Page.
If you liked our GS Mini (freebie) class, you can now take 101, 102, or both !

We are closing the GS Mini site on Wednesday, December 17.
Thanks to those who joined us and gave us the opportunity to show you a tidbit of what our classes are like.
Have a wonderful holiday, everyone!!

Bring on the Holidays!

I finally got around to decorating the house yesterday and I am happy to say that we are now set for the holidays. Christmas is just sneaking up on me this year and I was feeling the pressure to get things going since everyone else I seem to talk to has already decorated and started (or even finished!) their Christmas shopping. So the garland and ribbon is hung on the staircase, the mantle above the fireplace is set, the tree is up and the ornaments are hung, heck we even have garland and bows on our lamp posts outside! LOL It feels good to be done with that big task but I am now stressing big time because I have not bought one single Christmas gift yet. Not even one! Yikes! So my goal this week is to at least figure out what I need to buy and then do any online shopping since the days are quickly dwindling between now and Christmas Eve! Ahhh!

And since I've been so short on time I have even had the opportunity to scrapbook much. This layout is actually one that I did a few weeks ago when my two gal pals Corey and Kristen came over for a girls night "in" of scrapbooking. Since I'm a boy mama I jumped all over the opportunity to use some pretty Noteworthy papers from Making Memories. Hope you all are having a great weekend! :)

Got Sketch MINI and a layout to share!

Morning everyone! Just wanted to be sure that everyone knows that today is the first official day of our Got Sketch MINI class series! YAY! This is a FREE "mini" class offered by my gals Val and Janna that I just know you are going to love. Sign up HERE if you haven't already and get ready to have some fun. I issued a challenge over on the "mini" forum for anyone who is up for it using the latest sketch from the Got Sketch? blog released today. There are prizes to be won so go ahead and give it a try! You can see my take on the sketch below. Hope to see you all over on the "mini" site - stop by and say hello! :)

The secret is out!

The secret is out!

Introducing Got Sketch Mini!

It's a week-long class just for you, our Got Sketch supporters!
Since this is the season for giving, we thought we'd give you our early Christmas present!
It's our way of saying thank you.
And yes, it is totally FREE!!
So, go ahead and share the news with your fellow sketch fan friends. The more, the merrier!

To those of you who have been curious but have yet to take one of our workshops, this is your chance to participate & get a glimpse of what our classes are about. It's a sampling of our Got Sketch workshop -- minimized into a 7-day program. We know you will enjoy it!

Here's what you can expect:

• TWO top-notch 12x12 sketches from Valerie Salmon & Janna Wilson
• The sketches will include a sample layout, supply list, instructions, and project notes which are delivered in high-quality printable pdf files
• 1 Sketch Challenge on Day 1
• 1 Tip & Trick Sheet
• An interactive community
• Inspirational gallery from your classmates
• A Live Chat session with Valerie, Janna, & community members
• Prize Giveaways
• A self-paced class: No deadlines, No homework, No tests

The community will open on Wednesday, December 3, and ends December 10.
Register ahead of time to join to be assured that your entry will be approved by Wednesday, 12/3.

or Click Here to join!

Woohoo!! Let the fun begin!

See you there!

Site link: Got Sketch Mini (Membership is required.)

How 'bout some Unity love?

I've posted before about my new found love for Unity Stamp Company but I just need to say it again ... I LOVE these stamps! They are just so adorable and fun to work with. And if you haven't checked them out yet now is the perfect time because they are having a killer sale now thru Friday morning for the Thanksgiving holiday. So I wanted to share a few things I created with my November Kit of the Month from Unity (yes! they have KOM - talk about HAPPY mail!). This little deer stamp just called my name and I had to put her to good use as soon as I saw her. And with Christmas right around the corner there's nothing like a little red rhinestone on her sweet little nose to transfrom her into everyone's favorite reindeer Rudolph!

Doesn't it look like her little nose is GLOWING? hee hee!

And here's a gift card holder tag that I created with the same basic design as the card.

If you do decide to give Unity a try with these fantastic deals they are running a little "refer a friend" deal right now. All you have to do is send an email to eryn@unitystampco.com with my name (Lynn Ghahary) as the subject. In the body of your email include your order number and the word BEAUTY, BLOSSOM, or SHINE and you and I will each get a free stamp (yours will be included in your order)! How cool is that!

And above all I want to just say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I am truly blessed and thankful for all of the wonderful family and friends that surround me. :)

Got Sketch?

Just wanted to share a new layout I did for Sketch 71 on Valerie's Got Sketch? blog. This was a really fun sketch to work with and I was excited to scrap these pictures I took of the boys playing in the leaves not too long ago. Of course our weather lately has been so cold it seems like ages since we've been able to get outside and play. I am soooo not a cold weather person ..... brrrrr!




I love this little leaf embellishment that I made. I cut some corduroy into a circle and then stitched a pre-punched felt leaf to the circle for some really nice texture and contrast. So fun!

WOW! A whole week gone by ...

... and I haven't posted. Geesh! It's amazing how time just seems to disappear into thin air around here. And I really don't have that much time right now as I should be finishing up laundry and getting my scrappy space all cleaned up for my two gal pals to come over tonight (woo hoo! SO excited to scrap with Corey and Kristen). I did just want to post a few cards I had made last week. I have actually been waiting to take pictures of these until the weather around here cleared up so I had some nice natural light to shoot in. Of course it's been raining and overcast nearly every day this week so I just took the pics and tried to lighten them up a bit post-process. You get the idea though. I decided that I should try to make a card or two after I finish a layout since I've already got all the coordinating supplies right out there on the table. Took to this idea after reading this is what my blog buddy Laura Vegas does. So these two cards were made after I made my "birthday hero" layout I posted below.

TGIF!

That's all I have to say! It's been a LONG week with the boys off school 3 out of 5 days this week. And for some reason Brandon is throwing quite the attitude around this week. So much so that even his preschool teacher said something to me yesterday since usually he is such an angel at school and reserves all that sassy goodness for home. Ah well, let's just hope it's a good weekend.

Now on to a fun layout to share that I just finished. Love these pics of Darian on the day of his fourth birthday party. That boy is so Superman obsessed it's not even funny! And even though he had a Superman themed party for his third birthday he wanted the same exact thing for his fourth. So even though his party was kinda like deja vu all that really matters is that he was happy right?

nature boy

I'm so excited to be able to finally share this layout I created as a contributor for Got Sketch? These are pics of my cutie-pie Brandon from last fall - I can't believe how much he has changed since then. Where has my baby with the chubby cheeks gone? *sniff sniff* I finally got to dig into my Cosmo Cricket Mr.Campy papers - I LOVE the colors and patterns on these papers and they were the perfect fit for these photos. We're having another challenge on the Got Sketch? blog so make sure you visit and play along. All you have to do is upload your creation using our latest sketch to the Got Sketch? blog gallery by Sunday, November 16th at 10pm EST and you will be entered into a random drawing to win a prize. Easy peasy right?

Got Sketch Express! Peek Sketch 5

This week's sketch is from Valerie. She scrapped her kids Halloween photos from this past Friday and it is such a fun and festive layout. Check out the sneak peek below! You can still sign up for Got Sketch Express! at any time and have access to all of our past sketches as well as see our new sketches as they are revealed. For more information click here.


Also please join us for a chat session this Thursday, November 6th at 9pm EST. Janna and Valerie will be there to answer all of your scrapbooking questions. Hope to see you there!

Halloween Pictures!

So these are a few days late, I know. But I just had to post these pics of my two little superheros right before we headed out to go trick or treating on Halloween. They had so much fun and were really into the whole spirit of things this year although Brandon is a bit of a scaredy cat and didn't like any of those Halloween decorations that moved or made noise ... which is basically all of them! LOL


Darian as Batman striking his superhero pose! He loved that mask on his face and didn't want to take it off even when it got really dark out and he kept tripping over stuff. Finally he took a pretty big spill on a set of steps and cut his nose and I insisted that Batman go maskless or we'd have to head back home. He chose no mask. LOL


Brandon as Spiderman throwing his webs. He couldn't quite get the spidey hand movements the right way so it just looks like he's throwing a "thumbs up" at everyone.


My two superheros! I seriously am the luckiest mommy in the world knowing I've got these two amazing little boys on my side. :)

And finally what would a post be without a layout. Here's one I did recently of an OLD pic of Darian from Halloween 2005. What a cutie! I can't believe how much he's changed in just 3 years. *sigh* We hope you had a great Halloween - we sure did!

Catching Up!

Just a quick post to catch up a bit - it's been a week since my last post ... bad blogger! We had a really busy weekend with my little brother's wedding and I am STILL trying to get back into the swing of things. And just to add to the craziness of this week is the fact that there are quite a few inches of SNOW covering the ground right now - when on earth does it snow in October in New Jersey?!? All I have to say is all of this white stuff better melt by the time we go trick or treating Friday evening - can you imagine? Trick or treating with snow on the ground? Here's a quick pic I took yesterday just to prove to my hubby that it really was snowing. He works about 30 minutes from our house and while it was just raining by him it was definitely snowing by us - so much so that they closed the schools early and I had to call him to go pick up Brandon since my car is useless in the snow. Crazy stuff I tell ya!


And what would a post be without a layout to share. This is one I did last week of the boys. I really loved these photos of them wrestling around on the ground and I couldn't wait to scrap them. Aren't they just the cutest? They are at such a fun age right now where all they want to do is be with one another. Of course this doesn't mean that they don't have their fair share of fights. But even when they're annoyed with one another they like to make sure that the other is close by - just so cute!

Got Sketch Blog is BACK!

That's right! Got Sketch? Blog is back with a new look and new features. Oh and guess who the new blog coordinator is? Yours truly! :)

Val has been so busy with the Got Sketch classes, other projects, and just being a busy mom of two that she has recruited me to help her keep all things "got" running smoothly. I am so excited about this since it was through Val's Got Sketch? blog that I first discovered her amazing talent and beautiful style. And now to think I get to help keep this amazing source of inspiration running smoothly for other scrapbookers out there? Too cool!

And to kick off the new Got Sketch? Blog Val has not only updated the look of the blog but we've added a new gallery feature through ning so that everyone can share the layouts they've created with the sketches. So now you can not only gain inspiration from our wonderful contributors but from fellow blog readers as well! And let me tell ya, we just opened the gallery today and there is already a TON of eye candy to be seen! You should definitely take a look if you haven't already. Plus we're doing a fun prize drawing as well for anyone who uploads their take on Sketch 69 to the gallery by Sunday, November 2nd. Now who doesn't like prizes?

Finally here is my take on Sketch 69. This was a really fun sketch and I got to use two of my new favorite additions to my stash - my Unity stamps and Basic Grey Offbeat papers. I've always loved stamping (was a stamper before a scrapbooker) and these Unity stamps are very cool and PERFECT for scrapbook pages. And the Basic Grey Offbeat papers are just so yummy - the bright colors and bold patterns are right up my alley. Love them!

So without further ado here is my take on our latest sketch.

Happy Monday!

Just a quick post to say Happy Monday and show a project that I did last night. This project was actually made with the Scarlet Lime project kit for September. Super cute with a nice vintage-y feel to it. It came together super quick and is now proudly displayed in my scrap space which btw I am in the process or re-organizing yet AGAIN! I really want to take some new pictures and post them but every time I think I have the room the way I like it I decide I need to change something else. Ah well, one of these days. In the meantime, enjoy your Monday (or what's left of it!). :)

Bad Attitude

So I am writing this post not just to share this layout that I created of Darian. Nope. I am writing this post to ask a question - since when do boys have attitude? Having two boys I seriously thought I lucked out in the "attitude" department since it is my understanding that girls are the attitude givers (having been one myself at one time). So I thought the trade off was having to deal with dirty, grimy, gross little boy things while escaping the "age of the attitude." Obviously I was wrong ... or just didn't get the memo that little boys can have attitudes too. And it seems that both my boys have been blessed in that department because all I am dealing with lately are sourpuss faces and grumpy comments from the peanut gallery. Ah, the joys of boys!

Got Sketch Express! Peek Sketch 2

I know I'm two days late with this post but this seriously just sums up how my week has gone for me thus far. Just not enough time to get everything done and so blogging falls by the wayside. I wanted to post this peek anyway. You can still sign up for Got Sketch Express! at any time - no need to worry about missed sketches as they will all be made available to you!

These sketches and downloads are just so amazing. I mean who wouldn't want a little weekly Val/Janna inspiration in their inbox? I know I do! :)

Stamford here I come!

I am heading off to Stamford early tomorrow morning to attend the Creative Photography Retreat! I am so excited (and a little nervous since I'm going by myself) for this event. There are some HUGE names that will be teaching there like Jessica Sprague, Candice Stringham, and Renee Pearson just to name a few. Not to mention a welcome by Lisa Bearson and lots of other well-known and talented people in the industry. This was a birthday present to myself and I am so happy it is finally here. I've got my camera bag packed, laptop all set to go, now all I need to do is pack my suitcase (nothing like waiting til the last minute!). I hope to learn lots and lots of great new camera and photoshop tips and tricks that will really spice up my photography and scrapbooking. See y'all on Sunday!

Got Sketch Express! Peek

So how about a little sneak peek? This is a little tidbit from our first delivery of Got Sketch Express! that hit inboxes across the globe today. It's not too late to sign up and let the inspiration begin (no matter when you sign up for GSE you will receive ALL of the sketches that have been delivered!).

Click here to read more about this amazing program!

Reminisce Design Team '09 Search

No I didn't make the team! LOL But I did get an Honorable Mention and for a gal like me who is just coming back into this wide world of scrapbooking from a 4 year hiatus an honorable mention is still very exciting. If you want to check out the projects I created for this call you can see them all here. A very happy scrappy day indeed! :)

Happy World Card Making Day!

Well since it's World Card Making Day today I thought I would share a couple of cards I have made recently. I love making cards since it allows me to play with more of my stash and often use things like flowers, glitter and bling that I don't normally get to use on my scrapbook pages about my two boys. Enjoy your day!

Inspired Blueprints is LIVE!

Are you ready to be inspired? Our new challenge blog is live today! Come see what all the fuss is about and check out what the design team has done with our first sketch. Just click on the blinkie below to get started!

Here's a look at my creation with this week's sketch - it's an oldie photo but one that I had never scrapped before. This is my little guy Brandon at just 6 months old in the pumpkin patch.

Also don't forget that with the first of the month there is also FREE shipping at AC Bailey. There are tons of new items in the online store - lots of those new releases from CHA we've all been waiting for - so now is the perfect time to buy. Just click here or on the link in my sidebar and remember to include my name Lynn Ghahary as your consultant.

Reminisce Projects to Share!

Reminisce is currently holding a 2009 Design Team Search and Contest and I thought I'd give it a go. I actually just bought a bunch of the adorable new Frosty line from Reminisce when we were in Hershey Park, PA in August so I decided to put it to good use with a layout of the boys, a holiday garland, and a cute card set with holder. I REALLY enjoyed working with these papers and embellishments. The glittery papers and stickers are just so fun and festive and I was so happy to do some projects "off the page" so to speak since I am so used to doing layout after layout. Thanks for looking!

"Snow Buddies"
supplies: Cardstock - Bazzill; Patterned Paper - Reminisce; Stickers - Making Memories (letters); Reminisce; other - pop-dots; various punches

"noel" garland
supplies: Cardstock - DCWV; Stampin' Up!; craft supply; Patterned Paper - Reminisce; Chipboard - Bazzill Basics; Jenni Bowlin; Making Memories; Stickers - Darice; Reminisce; Paint - Krylon; Glitter - Mark Enterprises; Wire - Making Memories; other - ribbon; pop-dots; various punches


"Frosty Card Set with holder"
supplies: Cardstock - DCWV; Stampin' Up!; Patterned Paper - Reminisce; Chipboard - Bazzill Basics; Stickers - Darice; Reminisce; Paint - Krylon; Glitter - Mark Enterprises; Wooden Box - Michael's; other - pop-dots; ribbon; various punches