ScrapBuzz

Home Sweet Home Saturday

Welcome to my new weekly feature, Home Sweet Home Saturday.  Right now my heart is really drawn to blog posts and articles that feature easy projects designed to add some flair to your home or make home and family life easier and more fun.  I may not always have time (or the right circumstances) to try out every cool idea I see but I want to keep these ideas at my fingertips for when the time is right.  Over time it will be easy for me (and you!) to click on my blog category "Home Sweet Home" to find that perfect project.

Here are some of this week's cool finds:

Jenn has a terrific post on her blog Clean & Scentsible with ideas on how to use clothespins in various projects.  This menu board was one of my favorites, and I know I'm going to tackle a project like this soon.  That and this too (below)!

When I saw this on Tattered Angels today it just made my heart sing.  Isn't it lovely?   

Thank you Jenni Bowlin for this adorable & compact way to track your cash purchases -- something small to fit in your purse or car -- I love it! 

This was a photo that Making Memories used to promote a giveaway (open thru the weekend!) and their blog banner ... but the minute I saw them I knew I'd be making these with my daughter to hang about the house.  So cute!

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That's it for this week.  Check back in with me on Monday for my next weekly feature "Inspiration Monday".  What better way to kick off the week than with something to inspire you?

Ciao! 

~Anne Marie

Friday Freebies & Giveaway Round up

Who doesn't love FREEBIES?  YAY!  Let's see what fun things I found around the internet this week ...

Teresa Collins is offering a free sheet of stamps perfect for March from TCStampmaker.

Jennifer Fehr has several for you to grab on her new blog, Simple Pleasures Designs.

Topsy-Turvy is sharing some fun blog freebies here. 

Jen Reed has a freebie AND a giveaway if you comment on her post here.

Webster's Pages blog is giving away an awesome digital collection here. 

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Have a fun Friday, and check-in tomorrow for my new weekly Saturday post "Home Sweet Home" that focuses on userful & fun home decor!

~Anne Marie

Purposeful repurposed crafts

purposeful = intentional
repurposed = to use in another format

Recycling with the intention of turning something into a bit of art -- I love it! Look at how these gals have "purposely repurposed" some garage sale or dollar store finds ... 

BRAVA! To Jan Hennings (blog Papercraft Pleasures) for her ultra-creative use of old tinker toys and spools! Click on the photo to get to her blog post with all the details ... simply amazing! 

Jennifer Ingle (Just Jingle) is one of my favorite queens of "purposeful repurposing", and her spool art piece is adorable!

LOVE Teresa Collins' new Design Team Blog! Check out DT member Colette's adorable take on an old suitcase.

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Hope you enjoyed the goodies I posted about today ... Stay tuned tomorrow for links to some fun Friday Freebies!

~ Anne Marie

Bright & Fun Projects

As I browse through my ever-growing Google Reader, I just love seeing bright, fun projects jump out at me such as these three.

I love the bright red, orange & blue of this Mini-Album by Annabelle posted on her blog Bits and Pieces.  I'm such a sucker for mini-albums! Be sure to click on the link to see more detailed pictures of the cover and the inside pages!

Emily Spahn is the Guest Designer over at American Crafts Studio, and she posted several striking layouts that you need to go see.  What really caught my eye were these cute, bright cards ... such a great way to use up scraps!

 

And finishing off today's finds, I just adore Jen del Muro's Pinwheel Home Decor that was featured on her Guest spot on Emma's Paperie blog.  This project just might show up on my own wall in the next few weeks!

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I just love being back at ScrapBuzz ... it brings a smile to my face pouring over page after page of crafty goodness.  I can't wait to continue to share more cute projects with you! 

~ Anne Marie

 

My first "Honey-of-a-Hero" ... Now THIS is a creative space!

I've had thousands of posts to weed out of my poor, neglected Google Reader files, and I very quickly realized that a lot of the blogs & websites I bookmarked are defunct or haven't been updated in a while. I'm also learning that my creative tastes have changed significantly over the last 2 years, so I'm on the hunt to add some new sources for bloggy inspiration.  

In the meantime, I ran across this post on Tami Mayberry's blog.  Here's a picture I grabbed from her post:

Don't you absolutely LOVE how real this is? Doesn't it give you hope that you can have an organized & functional "craft room" too?  I'm not knocking the perfectly decorated and well appointed craft rooms we've been seeing, but I know I'm forever grateful to Tami for showing us how to take advantage of the limited horizontal and vertical spaces that most of us are faced with.Be sure to click on the photo which links back to her post.  Tami has lots more pictures and great descriptions of how she organized her supplies.

Tami Mayberry,  you are a "honey-of-a-hero" to me and I'm sure to countless others.  Thank you! 

ScrapBuzz is back -- finally!

Wow, I hate those "I'm back" posts. Has it really been this long? Ouch.  A lot has changed since my last post. I'm not going to apologize.  I follow the BWO, "blog without obligation" philosophy.

I'm coming back to ScrapBuzz with a new eye and new direction.  I can't possibly try to catch up with all the changes in the crafting industry.  I did a quick glance at some of my pages and realized that quite a few links are broken, companies are out of business, bloggers no longer around, etc.  Too much for me to stay on top of.

So I'm going to focus on what I love and hopefully you will love it as well.  I'll be posting about things that strike my fancy as I surf around our crafting community, and I'll slowly start clearing out some of the old info on this blog, updating links, refreshing categories.  Over time you'll see ScrapBuzz transition away from being "just" a resource blog to something new and fresh, with new features, new categories, and new fun!

If you're following me ... THANK YOU! If you're new to ScrapBuzz ... THANK YOU! I invite you to bookmark or subscribe or add me to your Typepad list to follow my blog.  

Yes, I'm still here...

Many thanks to everyone who has posted so many supportive comments on my last post.  To say that this has been a difficult year for me personally is a huge understatement, but I'm still here ... pulling my bootstraps up ... and trying to figure out how to juggle too many balls!

Mom passed on not too long after my last blog post.  ScrapBuzz was moved to the back burner while I dealt with many, many issues that followed her death.  I have a very strong desire in my heart to get back to updating ScrapBuzz -- there are so many new resources I've discovered!  But I just have to take one thing at a time.  This is still a GREAT site (imho!) filled with resources, and I hope you'll keep it bookmarked and refer it to your friends who are searching for different stamping or scrapbooking topics.

I hope you are enjoying a fun, memory-filled summer with your loved ones!

ScrapBuzz Taking a Break

I hate to do this, especially since I've got a good momentum going of new readers every day ... but I need to take a break from all blogging & online chatting. 

My Mom has entered the final stages of her disease (Alzheimers), and I need to be there to support my father and help him make plans.  We've moved her to a wonderful Hospice care facility, and now we are simply waiting and praying for a swift end to her suffering.

I posted this picture on my personal blog several months ago.  These photos were taken in November, and they captured a very rare and joyous moment for my Dad and me to see Mom so alert. 

Please stay with me, dear ScrapBuzz readers ... I have two new advertisers lined up who are just itching to offer an exciting giveaway just for ScrapBuzz readers.  So please keep ScrapBuzz bookmarked and check back soon!

More Inspiration

More Melissa Phillips -- she has such a knack for creating lovely, soft, vintage-inspired cards using Melissa Frances products.  Just gorgeous!

Prima features a lovely new mini album on their blog ... love the look of those premade journaling pieces!

Jenni Bowlin releases her new April Kits here -- gorgeous!

Haven't heard from Daisy Bucket Designs in a while, and they just posted a new layout on their blog here.

Wow, I just found the following notes sitting as a separate "draft" post in my blog editor -- guess I forgot to post it last week!  So these might be a little old, but I figure it's never too late!

I was blown away by some of these lovely things ... enjoy browsing, and be sure to leave some love comments for those designers to thank them for sharing their talents with us!

8x8 Shadow box frames on Melissa Frances' official blog. Love the size!

Oh-so-cute layout from Sherelle using a digital kit found here .... but can't you just picture this layout used as a starter for a mini album?  Digital or traditional -- either way it spells A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E! (Thanks Sherelle!)

Cute-as-can-be vintage card by Melissa Phillips using Melissa Frances cardstock stickers.

Oh dear ... Debbie Olson is on an absolute roll with some gorgeous stuff the last few days! Monogrammed note sets ... and two lovely rose cards here and here.  What mother would love some of these goodies for Mother's Day?

Giveaways & Inspiration

Giveaways

This week KI Memories is offering a prize drawing on their blog if you link a layout you made using one of their 30 different lace cardstock papers.

Pink Paisley is having a giveaway on their blog -- just leave a comment on this post for a chance to win.

Inspiration

While you're visiting the Pink Paisle blog, check out the adorable wall plaque in this post.

Danielle Flanders has the most adorable birdhouse and butterfly cards in this post.

Betsy Veldman shares some awesome acrylic cards in this post -- the acrylic cards are available through Pageframe Designs.

Illustrating Stories has posted the first article of a new series on organizing your work space.