Sundays at the Skatepark...

I've had these photographs that my husband took of our son and I just love the close up one but couldn't come up with a good layout for them.  Today I planned to work on Sketch #108 over at The Scrappiest so when I started digging through my pictures and saw that these two work with the sketch I was sold.  I changed my mind on the papers I was going to use several times before I remembered I had this Cosmo Cricket kit in my closet.  I dug it out and viola...it worked.  Here's the sketch...

And my interpretation with the ultra-cool pictures of our son...



All supplies are from the Joy Ride kit by Cosmo Cricket with the exception of the following:  Cardstock - American Crafts; Ink - StazOn in Jet Black and Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink in Charcoal; Stamp - Imaginisce



Why don't you pull out some photos and play along with us over at The Scrappiest this week?

A Special Wish and Papercraft Star Challenge

I made this card for a very special friend's birthday...happy birthday special friend!  The card is based on challenge #34's sketch over at Papercraft Star.  It's yet another sketch created by Liz Chidester (I know...big surprise, huh?)  I can't help it, I told you I loved her sketches.  Here's the sketch

And here's the card I created...



Supplies used: Cardstock - The Paper Company; Flowers - Prima; Ink - StazOn in Timber Brown, VersaMagic in Sahara Sand and Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink in Charcoal; Mist - Tattered Angles Glimmer Mist in Juneberry Wine; Patterned paper - Fancy Pants; Ribbon - Dear Lizzy by American Crafts; Stamps - Imaginisce (ticket) and Hero Arts (sentiment); Sticker - Fancy Pants; Transparency - Fancy Pants



I did a lot of distressing/altering on this one.  First I cut a 3 1/2" circle out of the cute polka-dotted transparency, I inked the edges in StazOn and then used my heat embossing tool to warp the edges a bit and set the ink.  Then I cut the triangles from patterned paper and inked the edges in VersaMagic to create the banner.  I misted the base patterned paper which was more aqua than purple to make it match the rest of the card elements.  I stamped the tickets onto matching patterned paper, fussy cut them and inked the edges in VersaMagic.  I love how it turned out...I hope my friend does too!

Sweet Peach Crop Shop and exciting news...

Another great sketch from Liz is being used for February's Sweet Peach Crop Shop blog challenge.  The sketch is round so I completed my round layout then mounted it onto a 12" x 12" piece of cardstock to put it in my album.  I felt like the circle was just floating there so...I extended my embellishments and journaling to anchor the circle to the square cardstock.  Here's the sketch...

And here's my layout...

Supplies used:  Cardstock - American Crafts (white); Patterned paper - Basic Grey (stripe and leaf print), My Mind's Eye (blue), Echo Park Paper Co. (Brown hounds tooth), and Jillibean Soup (kraft); Chipboard - Basic Grey (alphabets), American Crafts (number) and Cosmo Cricket (clouds); Felt - Fancy Pants; Ink - VersaMagic in Sahara Sand; Pens - Signo Uniball Broad in white and Marvy Uchida Gel in Black



Again I used a bunch of older supplies but I love how the colors worked so well with the photographs.  You really have to try some of Liz's sketches if you haven't already - they seem to be showing up everywhere these days.

So what is my exciting news you ask???  Well, I just got an email from Catherine over at Scrapbook & Cards Today and they want one of my layouts that I submitted.  I am over the moon about this as it will be my first "print" publication.  I've had several layouts picked up for on-line scrapbooking magazines but this one will be in an actual, I-can-hold-it-in-my-hands magazine.  So excited!!!

Another Scrappiest Sketch

Another great sketch from Liz over at The Scrappiest.  This is sketch #107...

And my interpretation...

Supplies used: Alphabet stickers - Provo Craft; Chipboard - Me & My Big Ideas (crown) and My Mind's Eye (journaling strip); Ink - Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink in Charcoal; Journaling tag - The Girl's Paperie; Patterned Paper - Basic Grey (kraft), Cosmo Cricket (yellow & red), Crate Paper (striped) & October Afternoon (red wood paneling) ; Rub-on - Basic Grey



Liz's sketches are just so easy to work with that I can pull together a layout in no time at all (well...no time for me is a couple hours but hey, I'm getting pictures and memories on paper so it's all good).  I just printed a bunch of new pictures and these photos of the old gas pump at my grandparent's farm were perfect for this layout plus I've had that crown chipboard for many, many years and it was ideal for this project.  I wish I could remember the price per gallon on this old pump - I do know it's something ridiculous in comparison to today's gas prices - it would help you see just how old this thing is. In my eyes it's beautiful and it always says welcome whenever we visit the farm.

Liz is looking for a new design team, you can see the details here.  The deadline is February 21st so hurry if you're interested. 

A Bit of Sketch Inspiration...

Sketch Inspiration has an appropriately "heart-y" sketch up this week that I decided to play along with.  I've had this Technique Tuesday "chipboard" type set full of hearts and borders.  Its a special cream-colored chipboard that absorbs inks and paints really well - they actually call them Technique Tiles.  Anyhow, I've had them for a least 3 years and the largest heart happened to work perfectly for this sketch.



Supplies used: Brads - craft supplies; Chipboard - (swirl) Basic Grey, (large heart) Technique Tuesday; Flourishes - (blue) Colorbok; Flowers - (small white) Michael's, (large white and small red) Basic Grey; Ink - StazOn in Blazing Red & Colorbox Fluid Chalk ink in Charcoal; Journaling block - Heidi Grace by Fiskars; Patterned paper - (kraft) Basic Grey and (blue polka-dot & red stripe) October Afternoon; Pen - Zig Writer; Stickers (heart) - Michael's and (title) EK Success

I inked the heart "tile" with StazOn in Blazing Red, let it dry and then attached it to the fun polka-dot paper by October Afternoon.  The colors of these papers were perfect with my little guys PJ's in the picture and I love how it keeps the layout bright and alive.  There is a lot of dimension on the layout since everything basically "sits" on top of that heart shape...tons of dimensional adhesive!  The blue swirls we an item I received for completing a Colorbok survey and I wasn't sure how I'd use them but I love how they look on this layout - the color was perfect and it adds just the right touch in my opinion. 

Hope you are having a blessed week - we are expecting temperatures into the high-60's today and even though it's supposed to be windy - I can't wait!

Better Late Than Never...

I have this lovely altered Valentine's Day project that I didn't get posted before our family arrived for their visit.  Time with them was precious so I waited until today to share this project. 


Supplies used: Alphabet chipboard - American Crafts; Die cuts - The Girls Paperie; Embroidery floss - DMC: Gems - craft supplies; Ink - Brilliance in Platinum Planet and VersaMagic in Sahara Sand; Patterned paper - 7Gypsies, Echo Park Paper Co. & My Mind's Eye; Ribbon - Michael's

I received the wonderful "LOVE" chipboard quite a while ago as a RAK but it was too large for a layout and I wasn't sure what to do with it...then during that twilight time between being awake and being asleep one night it hit me - an altered project for Valentine's Day!!!  I have made the rolled roses several times before but had recently seen them with the lovely glitter and loved the affect.  The frame was an old picture that has been stashed in a box in the basement for 6 years - I had it in my office back in the days when I worked full time.  It was a TJ Maxx purchase many years ago and I know I'll never hang the picture up in our house so I took it all apart and filled in the picture space with some pretty patterned paper then adhered my "LOVE" letters to the outside of the frame using my hot glue gun.  I am thoroughly enjoying the result.  Here are some close ups...

Sketch #106 at The Scrappiest

We got a lot of snow last night and it was bitter cold today so after spending my morning shoveling out from under the blanket of white stuff and getting my kids off to school (I had a little extra time to do this since they had a 2 hour delay) my youngest son and I baked a couple batches of heart shaped, sugar cookies - yummy!  With the dishes cleaned up, dinner warming up, and my house smelling of yummy goodness, I tackled Sketch #106 over at The Scrappiest. I'm telling you, Liz's sketches just get my creativity flowing and I can pull together a layout fairly quickly once I grab my materials and lay them out in front of me.  Both my younger boys even pulled up their little stool and crafted (made love notes for their Daddy) at their table beside mine.  I love when they do that!  So here is Liz's sketch for the week...

And my translation...

Supplies used: Brad - Basic Grey; Chipboard Alphas - American Crafts (brown), craft supplies (negative "U"); Epoxy sticker - EK Success; Flower - Prima; Glitter cut - Fancy Pants; Ink - StazOn in Timber Brown and VersaMagic in Sahara Sand; Journaling card - Fancy Pants; Patterned paper - Cosmo Cricket (Stripe & fleur de lis), Fancy Pants (sheet music), We R Memory Keepers (distressed teal); Tickets - Tim Holtz; Tools - Making Memories (sanding block and edge distresser); Vellum - Paper Adventures

I am trying to get into my older stash as I create these days and mix in what I find with what I have that is new to me.  My strategy in doing this is to pull out the papers that I want to use (some of which are VERY old) and then pull out anything and everything that matches.  I love how this is working for me...it doesn't all end up on the layouts but I'm certainly using more of what I have and buying less.  This is very good for the budget and I almost always love the results.



My Layout Over at Scrapbooking.com Magazine...

I got an email the other day from Jami over at Scrapbooking.com Magazine informing me that I had WON their Love Layout contest.  I was thrilled!  I love this layout of Paul and I...please head over and take a look at the article and the layout. 

Sketch #104 at The Scrappiest

So I'm making up for lost scrappy time by completing two layouts in TWO days!  This is huge for me but I really felt like I needed to give myself a break and enjoy the time playing with paper.  This layout is based on sketch #104 over at The Scrappiest...it was part of Liz's week-long celebration of reaching 100 sketches.  Here is the sketch I was working from...

And here's my take on the sketch using lots of Echo Park Paper...



Supplies used:
Baker's Twine - Your Scrapbook Stash; Brads - K & Company (metal snowflakes); Cardstock - craft supplies; Ink - StazOn in Timber Brown; Journaling card - Elle's Studio; Patterned Paper - Echo Park Paper Co. (Wintertime, Life is Good, and Everybody Loves Christmas collections); Pen - Zig Writer; Stickers - Echo Park Paper Co. (snowflake) and Frances Meyer, Inc. (small, pink heart)

Gotta dash...it's date night!

Timeless Friends for The Scrappiest...

I was finally able to carve out a slip of time to get crafty yesterday.  I've been so busy with work and working in the kids' classrooms that my craft table has been feeling terribly rejected.  Liz over at The Scrappiest celebrated her 100th sketch last week and in celebration, she created a sketch-a-day for everyday last week and I couldn't work on any of them...not to worry, they are all printed out and sitting on my table just waiting for some attention.  I did get to work on this week's sketch #105 though.  I don't normally work with 7Gypsies products (a little too vintage-y for me) but I had an online gift certificate and these Victoria Papers caught my eye...I added lots of bits and pieces from other product lines too and quite like how the whole thing turned out.  Here is Liz's sketch...

And here are my Timeless Friends...



Supplies used:
Acrylic stamp - Studio G ("friends"); Alphabet stickers - Cosmo Cricket; Brad - Basic Grey; Canvas tag- recycled from clothing; Cardstock - American Crafts; Die cuts - The Girls Paperie; Epoxy stickers - EK Success (circle sentiments) & Kelly Panacci for Sandylion (time sentiments & clock hands); Ink - Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink in Charcoal & Versafine in Onyx Black; Journaling tag - Shabby Chic Crafts; Patterned paper - striped pattern (7Gypsies),  My Mind's Eye (pink cutout circle), Core'dinations (yellow embossed), and The Girls Paperie (cream with black polka-dots); Pen - Sakura; Ribbon - crafts supplies



I love this photo of my dear friends, Melissa and David...it's from 2009 but it's been in my pile to scrap for a long time.  Melissa flew in for business and her husband joined her later in the week and then we were all able to meet up for lunch in downtown Denver.  Melissa was our maid of honor and it's always way too long in between visits ever since we moved.  Regardless of how much time passes though, the friendship remains so strong - some friends are just like that.  It was such a treat to get to share a few hours together while they were here and we are so blessed to call them friends.

A huge CONGRATULATIONS to Liz on reaching her 100th sketch!!!  I can't wait to see what the next 100 brings.