Weekend Whimsy: Life in Florida - CRITTERS!

If you live in Florida, you soon learn that you must share your state with the Wildlife.  Our temperate climate makes our panhandle and peninsula optimal habitats for a whole lot of CRITTERS!

We (Suzanne and I) live in North Central Florida.  About 60 miles SW of Jacksonville and 25 miles W of St. Augustine.  My drive to St. Augustine takes me through potato and cabbage fields and the Ocala National Forest is just 10 miles S of Palatka.  So you are getting an idea of how, from time to time, we come in contact with Wildlife.

We live very near the St. Johns River and on several occasions we have discovered Alligators in the neighborhood.

This is our neighbor Allen.  He is from South Dakota originally.  A true Floridian would NOT have taped the Gator's mouth shut.

In the fall, Banana Spiders spin their webs everywhere.  Since we begin having foggy mornings in the fall, the Banana Spider's webs will glisten in the mist and are really quite beautiful to see.

My husband David is an avid hunter.  A few years ago, I urged him to take a camera with him in his tree stand because he would tell me of all the wildlife he would see during the day.

Black Bears - these are currently on the endangered species list but are making quite a comeback.

Of course Whitetail Deer.....this was either a Doe or a Buck too young to shoot.

How about some Wild Turkeys?  These guys are notorious for spooking so it's amazing that David got this great photo.

Feral Hogs are a real problem in Florida.  For a while, David was specially licensed by the Water Management District to hunt these animals.

North Florida is known for it's fresh water springs.  The springs maintain a constant 72 degrees F temperature year round.  Now, if we are having a particularly cold winter, and the St. Johns River cools down to below 72 degrees F, the Manatees start looking for these relatively warmer fresh water springs.

A few years ago, the Manatees were congregating in Orange Springs State Park near Deland.  We took advantage of the occasion to meet up with my Sister, Mother and Nieces for a wonderful photo opp!  The Park Rangers estimated there were 166 Manatees in the Spring that day!

These Critters happen to be my Mum and Nieces!

I hope you've enjoyed a little taste of Florida Wildlife.  I love living here and for the most part I enjoy my encounters with the Wildlife.........however, I don't do Snakes.

Stay tuned for some more Weekend Whimsies:  Life in Florida

Have a Great Weekend!

Spotlight On: Webster's Pages

We have new fabulous scrappy goodies in the store today!!!

Spring Market is here!!   Make sure you go visit the store to get it while it lasts!!
We thought it would be fun to take a quick peek at one of favorite manufacturers....

Did you know....
.....Webster's is based in North Carolina.
.....is co-owned by brother and sister team, Tim Meyers and Brandin O'Neal.
.....Brandin is a sweetheart!  We've chatted at both CHA's and she is so kind. :)
.....that there are 13 colors of Bloomers now...  would it be wrong for me to hoard all of them?!
.....that we have posted about Webster's 56 times on this blog!

My favorites...

My favorite layout I've made using Webster's (so far!).

My favorite new collection coming out is Yacht Club, specifically, this lobster paper!  (psst.... we'll be carrying this collection!!!)

And my favorite past collection? Seaside Retreat!

Susan's Favorites:

 A favorite layout of Susan's made using Webster's Seaside Retreat!

Susan's favorite new line?  Yacht Club.  Favorite past line?  Seaside Retreat.  Notice a trend?! Both are sea/ocean themed and they are the *same* as my favorites!  That is a common occurance behind the scenes, just so ya know! Susan is my paper twin! ;)

Suzanne's Favorites:

A favorite layout of Suzanne's using Webster's Hollywood Vogue!

Suzanne's favorite past collection?  Sweet as Cherry Pie!  Which coordinates well with.....

Suzanne's favorite new collection, Spring Market!! (psst.... go get some now in the store!!)



So now that we've talked all things Webster's, we want to know what is your favorite from Webster's Pages?  Is it Bloomers?  Is it a particular paper collection?  We would love to know and we would love to see your pages you've made with Webster's Pages!

Embossing, Quilting or Both?

I vote for both! I recently discovered this technique and I thought I would pass it along, just in case you haven't seen it either. :)

I started by making a grid of squares, inking the edges of my white squares:

This square measures 3" by 3", each square is 1".

Next, I embossed.  This is what makes it look quilted!

A quilt is layers of fabric held together by decorative stitching.  This is layers of paper held together with embossing - love it!  It's a fun, new-to-me way of using my embossing textures!  Here's my finished card:

From Flamingo Scraps:  American Crafts Dear Lizzy Enchanted Patterned Papers; Prima flowers and e-line bling, Tim Holtz Distress Ink

Other supplies: American Crafts cardstock; Stampin' Up! Stamp, Ink & Punches

And I had to laugh when one of my two scrappy helpers hopped into one of my pictures:

I think she was sniffing it to see if it was a toy or not! :)

So have you ever embossed together layers of paper?

Your Favorites!

We didn't do a look back at 2010, so we thought it would be fun to look back at our most popular blog posts.  Maybe you'll see a post you haven't seen before?! :)  Let's get started....

Flamingo Scraps has Prima Paintables!!

This layout by Suzanne of her great grandmother, Augusta Wood Waters, is by far our most popular post!  It's it beautiful?! :)

Guest DT Tiffany Morgan: Use Your Die Cuts in a Different Way!

No doubt that everyone loves our Guest Design Team - there are more than a few GDT posts in our top hits every day, week and month!!  Other popular GDT posts?

Guest DT Cindy deRosier: Mastering Multiple Photo Layouts
Guest DT Diana Fisher: Maya Road Chipboard Buttons
Guest DT Genie Smith: How to Make Your Photos Look "Professional"
Guest DT Janet Zeppa: Sassafrass Lass Indie Girl -- Not Just for Girls!
Guest DT Jill Sarginson: You Talkin' to Me?
Guest DT Jolaine Frias: Parisian Anthology Wedding Layout
Guest DT Tonya Gibbs: 2011 Calendars -- Office Gifts

Couldn't share just one - we loved all these girls and all their posts have been very popular! ♥

A few more favorites...

Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes

Aren't these little paper shoes to die for?!  One of my favorite Suzanne creations for sure!! :)

Altered Storage Box for E-Line Bling

I'm all about the organization!  Did you see how I turned a recycled flat rate postal box into that cute container for my Primas? :)

Found My Mojo

And finally, our weekend whimsy posts caught us off guard and are definitely one of our favorite features to write!

Weekend Whimsy: Olive Garden's Pasta e Fagioli Soup (one of Susan's favorite, tasty recipes!)
Weekend Whimsy: Christmas Traditions and Memories (Suzanne's fabulous Christmas tree!)
Weekend Whimsy: Life is Short (my favorite quote!)

What is your favorite post on our blog? I'd love to know! :)

Instant Love

I guess this is a week of love here on the blog! :)  I'm having fun scrapping pictures of my niece, but I need more pictures to choose from... all I have are from the first week!!

From Flamingo Scraps: Pink Paislee Sweetness Collection patterned paper and Cushies (alphas)

Other supplies:  Stampin' Up! very vanilla cardstock, border punches, heart punches, and linen thread; Making Memories Je t'adore patterned paper (pink polka dot); pink fine point sharpie; Studio Calico Polaroid Stamp

I keep seeing border punches to layer monochromatic strips of cardstock - been on my mind to try lately!  So I did that to make a full background as a base for my layout.  I fussy cut out the flowers from one of the Pink Paislee Sweetness patterned papers to use on the corners. 

I also ran out of the letter "s" and had to improvise by trimming the number "8" a bit.  I think it turned out okay, though I'm tempted to buy another set of that alphabet and replace it... I won't but I'm definitely tempted! ;)
Have you done anything like this with your border punches?!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

In honor of today's holiday, I thought I'd share a page about love today.... puppy love! :)

From Flamingo Scraps: Basic Grey Curio Patterned Paper and mini mono stickers

Other Supplies: October Afternoon Campground Patterned Paper; Sassafrass Lass Entwined Blooms (Rosey); Making Memories Je t'adore Patterned Paper; KI Memories Hot Strips Over the Rainbow border stickers; KI Memories 3x3 pockets; Stampin' Up! Black Journaling Pen; Stampin' Up! Scallop Border Punch; Studio Calico Love Stamps (January 2011)

This is my Scarlet with her boyfriend, Mr. Clark Kent.  They are too cute together!!  I used this week's sketch from Sketchy Thursdays - love it!! 

Happy Valentine's Day!! ♥

Weekend Whimsy: Cropulation

A long time ago, in social networking forum far, far, away, there lived a Scrapping Princess named Kia Beth.  Princess Kia was frustrated.  She had made friends with so many wonderful, witty and talented scrappers through this online forum but she wanted to meet them in real life!  She thought long and hard and decided to invite some of her new friends to her home state of Colorado for a weekend of scrapping........Princess Kia had just given birth to the first annual Cropulation!

Amanda and Kia at Colorado Cropulation

Five years later, Cropulation is still an annual event.  We have swapped the hosting duties around and each year has been in a different area of  the USA but the core group of scrappers remains the same and we remain fast friends too.  We call and text each other on a regular basis.

Kia and Sares eating S'mores!

Only four of us have been lucky enough to attend every Cropulation:  Kia Beth Kofron, Amanda Sevall, Suzanne Pickens and Susan Roe.  The other usual suspects include:  Sares, Snix, Crazy Deb, AndyPants,  Sandy and this year a new Cropulator.....Mandy!

Snix, Andy, Sares, Susan and Crazy Deb meet the Green Lantern at a Scrapbook Store in Indiana

Do we get a lot of scrapping done?........maybe - maybe not.   Do we have a great time laughing and giggling and catching up with each other........you betcha!

Amanda and Kia committing Moose Abuse!

Here's a run down of Cropulations so far:
2007 - Chocolate Moose Lodge, Fairplay, CO (In the Rocky Mountains near SOUTH PARK!)
2008 - Scrap and Spa, Union Pier, MI (Right on Lake Michigan)
2009 - Beach House, Aptos, CA (Monterey area) 
2010 - Beach House, St. Augustine Beach, FL (Need I say more?)

Amanda, Kia, Andy and Snix eating ice cream at Oink's in Michigan

We will be converging on our good friends Diane and Angie at Scrap and Spa again this year.  AndyPants is a new Mom and wants to be close enough to home just in case. ;-)  If you haven't checked out Scrap n' Spa you should.  Diane and crew are the best and they even went to Oink's with us!

Andy, Suzanne and Amanda at Monterey Bay, CA

I certainly hope we can continue our annual meetings of the Cropulators.  I never thought I would find such good friends through social networking but I have!  Viva the paradigm shift!

These are our naughty mascots.  Floracita and Carlosita sleep off a night of revelry at St. Augustine Beach, FL

Have a Great Weekend!

Guest Design Team Call!

So Flamingo Scraps has decided it's time to grow its flock again...  If you love to scrap and paper craft, and enjoy inspiring others, then we are looking for you!!

We are looking for eight people to be our next Guest Design Team members.  For a term of four months, we will feature two different artists each month -- one on Tuesdays, the other on Thursdays -- and here are all the details!!

The Requirements:

1. Answer a short Q&A biography we will send an outline and questions to our Guest Design Team members, so we can feature you on the blog for your first post. We will also include a picture of you, links to your blog, gallery, facebook and/or twitter, as well as 3-5 of your favorite projects to date that best showcase your style and use products from manufacturers we currently carry in the store (i.e. Prima, Pink Paislee, Websters, Tattered Angels, Fancy Pants, etcetera) in your introductory post.*
2. Provide two blog posts relevant to our readers. Required to use products from manufacturers we currently carry in the store (i.e. Prima, Pink Paislee, Maya Road, Websters, Tattered Angels, Fancy Pants, etcetera)*... but other than that, the door is wide open! Share your fabulous layout or your favorite mini album... your altered art... the sky is the limit. We look forward to working with you to develop your creative ideas for our readers!
3. Participate in our exciting new feature... Flamingo Four. Flamingo Four is a  feature on our blog that has been really popular. We will mail our guest design team members for the month a kit with four fabulous products from the store... you will create something with your kit using all four products for us to share on the blog!! Once posted on our blog, you can share it anywhere you want!! 
4. Promote Flamingo Scraps on message boards you frequent and your personal blog (if you have one) – we will give you a special blinkie to add to your blog and/or message board signature!!
5. Commit for a one month term.  Each guest design team member will be assigned a month between April and July, where they will be featured and participate in the Flamingo Four mentioned above.
6. Open to residents of the USA and Canada only.  At this time, due to shipping costs and time deadlines, we will only be able to accomodate residents of the US and Canada.  We apologize to our friends, customers and followers who live outside of that area.  We hope you understand and will reconsider in future calls.

*Please note that we are requiring use of products by manufacturers we carry in the store, not necessarily items we are currently selling in the store. This means you can use Primas from your stash that we no longer have in stock or older lines from Pink Paislee such as Hocus Pocus.*

So what will you get in return?

• A fabulous kit of four products from the store to participate in Flamingo Four for the month you are a featured Guest Design Team member.
• A one-time 20% discount at Flamingo Scraps on your next purchase made between the time you provide your blog posts and August 31, 2011.  Please note this discount cannot be combined with any other offers such as free shipping, but we welcome you to shop during sales!!!
• Exposure here on our blog, and by extension our Facebook Page, including special recognition on a separate page on our blog!

So if you are interested... Please send us an application!

To apply, please send an e-mail flamingoscraps@gmail.com, subject line "Guest DT Call", with the answers to the following questions and attach 3-5 photos of your favorite altered art, mini albums, cards or layouts that best showcase your current style (these will be used in your introduction post, so please make sure they meet the requirements for posts on our blog above!).

1. Tell us about yourself. Are you a kid at heart? Known for your witty jokes or amazing chocolate chip cookies? Please let us know a few of the basics and let us know why you would like to join our Guest Design Team. 
2. Are you (or have you been) on any other design teams? Please note that no previous design team experience is necessary!
3. If picked, what do you think you would like to share with our readers? Examples would be tutorials, layouts, altered art, cards, sketches... tell us what you got!
4. What message boards do you frequent, if any?
5. Link your blog (if you have one)?
6. Link to an online gallery? Please tell us where we can see more of your fabulous work!

***APPLICATIONS are due Sunday, February 20th, 2011 at 11:59pm EST ***

Acceptance e-mails will be sent before the announcement of the new Guest Design Team members. 
Our Guest Design Team for April - July 2011 will be announced Monday, February 28th.

Questions about the Guest Design Team?  Please send them to flamingoscraps@gmail.com and we will do our best to answer them as soon as we can.  General questions about the store and questions about store discounts, etc. should be directed to flamingoscraps@yahoo.com.

Now with all that said, we are SO excited and cannot wait to add some amazing designers to our Guest Design Team.... so please send us those applications!!!  We can hardly wait to see what ya got!!

Vacation day?

It's more like construction day around here!  While Suzanne and Susan are getting ready for new scrappy goodies behind the scenes... (hint, hint.... Prima and Cosmo Cricket will be here really, really SOON!!).... I'm going to be reformatting a few things on the blog.  So please pardon our "dust" and forgive us for the lack of something fabulous and scrappy today.  I promise it will be worth it! 
Now who's ready for this?!

Yep.... it's time for our next Guest Design Team call!!  Please check back tomorrow for all the details!!  :)

Guest DT Jolaine Frias: Sweet Munchkins!

These are my two muchkins so proud of the gingerbread house they made this year. They didn't seem able to keep their hands off the icing!

From Flamingo Scraps: Webster's Pages Sweet Seasons patterned papers and embellishments; Rock Candy Distress Stickles; Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distress Ink

Other Supplies: Glitter Snow; Jillibean Soup corregated alphabets.

These Webster's Pages papers were perfect for the photo. I covered the house images with Rock Candy Distress Stickles and added Glitter Snow for texture.

The alphas were painted white and inked with Antique Linen Distress Inks then topped with Glitter Snow.










More of Jolaine's work can be seen here on her blog!