First Day of Vacay

Good Morning!

It's been a few days, but I have another page to share.  This time, it's my submission to Scrap Around the World.  They are new to me, and I fell in love at first sight.  Their June mood board was SO unlike my usual colors and preferences that I wanted to try it out.  It's really quite lovely:

And here is my take:

Yep, I really departed from my comfort zone, huh?  The inspiration deatils are as follows:

• Okay, I give myself credit for at least breaking out the yellow, black and gray.  I have been holding onto that yellow patterned paper for a year, now.  It finally has a home.
• The striped paper straws helped me choose the chevron paper base.  I had meant to show only enough that it looked like just a stripe, but I guess I was my own special "helper" when trimming the paper.
• Those same straws inpired my choice of stitching with bakers twine.  I may not do that one again.  PITA is not just a tasty bread!

Beyond that, I was also inspired by this sketch, which is part of a Page Maps June challenge at scrapbook.com:

THAT's what's up with all of the stars.  Okay, that and I've been in a star-heavy mood lately.  They're on everything.  Also, I've been in a splatter and sequin mood.  This was extra-awesome today because it gave me a chance to use some highly unloved mists.

The light bulb!   I love that light bulb.  I bought it with dreams of using it all over The Boy's latest album.  This is the first time it made it out of the package  Even then, it was almost a no-go.  This was a final attempt to make it work, but even then, the mist ran under the mask and it was just a dark yellow, water-color kind of mess.  After it dried, the paper looked kinda cool, so I just traced the stencil bits onto the mess and fussy-cut it into something I kinda like.  I now have three more in my stash to figure out.  Somehow!  Some way!

The vellum!  I love my vellum.  That actually does get used; but I have a hard time letting any of it go un-seen.  The stamped quote above and below the photos was stamped on the cut-out center of the matting. 

That little bit of stamping in the background was basically a test run.  I started to assemble this page one week before school ended.  I knew I was going to use this sketch and those colors, so I figured I would start playing in advance  At that moment, I knew I was going with the vellum, but I wanted something black behind it.  That poor stamp has waited about as long as the yellow paper.  Why not?

Thank you for taking the time to look.  Thank you, more, if you took the time to read.  If you're interested in the list of things I used, here's a link to my gallery at scrapbook.com:

Since I'm writing the post early, I'll be interested to know if I can find the name of that yellow paper, too.  I know it's a Studio Calico print and I've still got the branding strip, just in case.

Pitch Perfect?

Good Monday Morning!

I have another page to share with you.  This is my submission to the White With 1 challenge; pomegranate.  This is what I came up with:

This was a fun (read: slightly crazy) page to put together.  When the prompt was first posted, I had no specific photos in mind.  While I really wanted to work with a nice dark red (again), I had to make myself wait until it all clicked for me. Finally, there was a moment of fun in the back yard....followed by some fun with my favorite photo editing app, PicsArt.  After messing with the Color Splash option, picking out the red in their shirts, I knew I was ready to begin this challenge.  Then came the....

Confession of a Challenge Junkie:  At the same time, I really wanted to use one of the prompts in the June Page Maps challenge at scrapbook.com.  Problem:  You can't combine other challenges with White With 1 prompts.  I had to make a choice.  Obviously, we can tell which I chose, but this is why I've got the woodgrain in the background:

It's actually a combination of stencil + modeling paste + mist (added to the paste for color) + a layer of ink on top to darken the red further.

Originally, the photos were supposed to print out smaller, to follow the sketch more closely, but they were cut off and just bad.  In order to see people, I had to print larger.  Grr!  Still, I like it, because I can actually see what's happening.

Aside from the buttons, all of the other elements were pretty much "findings" on my crafting table.  They've been lurking between several months to a year.  I've tried adding them to countless pages, but they never worked.  This was their day!

I believe that's everything I wanted to say.  The product list is so short and/or hard to find, I might as well share here:

• woodgrain stencil:  Prima Marketing
• mist (mixed with modeling paste):  Tattered Angels, Red Velvet
• ink (dabbed on top of dried modeling paste for more color):  Prima fluid chalk edger, Lady Bug
• red text embellishments:  Theresa Collins (I'm pretty sure on that one; they really came from a Scraptastic kit), Family (something.... I'm horrid here)
• other red text/arrow:  Basic Grey; (pretty sure) Bow Ties
• red label:  Studio Calico printable
• Title alphas:  Jenny Bowlin and October Afternoon
• Pinked circles:  Jenny Bowlin
• airplane strip:  Echo Park, That's My Boy

Thanks for looking.  Have a great day!

Hello Handsome Part 2 of 3

Good morning! As promised, I have the complementing page to share today.  This page will be my submission for two challenges at scrapbook.com AND another new site that I dig, Scrap & Play.

 The Scrap &Play challenge is to choose a column or row from their bingo card. I chose the vertical row of buttons, Fancy Pants product and chipboard. This is what I created:

 The Boy and I needed help with his tie on Easter Sunday. Papa to the rescue! While my dad cleaned up my attempt, I snapped photos. Later, when I reviewed the hundreds of Easter photos, I noticed all of these silly faces. I was equally amused and reminded of how much he complained. These photos told part of the story of being dressed up.

 The design is based on a Page Maps sketch, which is part of the Page Maps challenge at Scrapbook.com.

I stayed fairly true to the sketch and tried to keep to an almost monochromatic color scheme.


I used the collection, Be Different, by Fancy Pants. The monsters used in each cluster have been fussy cut from patterned paper.

I'm glad I have the title pieces in my stash. The Boy Oh Boy piece was really helpful (and easy) when filling the center with an interesting shape.  I added "funny" to this piece to keep with the point, that his faces crack me up.

Want more information about the products used to make this page? Here's a link to the gallery submission at scrapbook.com.

 http://www.scrapbook.com/galleries/376301/view/4234075/-1/0/0.html

Most of the items I've used will be listed there.  Thanks for looking!  You're more than welcome to return tomorrow to see the two pages together.  Personally, I think it looks better than having them apart.

The Tooth Fairy Came!

Good Monday morning!  Did you enjoy your weekend?  I certainly did; so much blue sky and sunshine made for an excellent mood; especially Sunday.

Confession of a Challenge Junkie:  I've been waiting a few days for May to hurry up and get over with.  It was a great month, I had a lot of fun with paper and paint, but I also started to find myself very drawn to a few specific challenge sites.  That's only a problem because the month was ending and there was NO way I was going to meet challenges that close to deadline.  Instead, I made a list of my Absolute Must Do's and Just In-Casers.  Sunday morning, I was in Scrappy Challenge Heaven, and the DH was willing to let me obsess and play with my paper and inks for most of the day.  He's the best!

That brings me to what I'm going to share today.  I have gained a little more interest each day in the site, Scrap Our Stash . For June, they are issuing a Monochromatic Challenge.  THAT rocked my bobbysocks because I LOVE making monochromatic pages.  It's a really comfortable way to play with a lot of different elements but still keep focused on the photo.  It's also usually how I give myself permission to play as much as I want.  Ergo, this:

To keep in line with the challenge at Scrap Our Stash, my five pre-packaged elements include wooden smilies, sequins, stickers, buttons and enamel accents.  The overall design was inspired by a sketch challenge at Scrapbook.com (and I'm SO thankful that I can combine the two!):

I moved the photo to the left and changed the direction of the strip elements:

The top-left and center elements are pretty basic.  I colored the Freckled Fawn (total coincidence!) smilies to match the page; though I look forward to using them bare someday. I cut the rocket ship sticker in half to use on either side of the photo.  I used the enamel arrow to point out the journaling to the right.

The bottom cluster includes a tail and banner, attached to the plane, It's actually part of the branding strip that was at the bottom of the airplane patterned paper.  I tried to get the strip to blend in more with the page by mixing water and a Tim Holtz marker as a fake watercolor treatment.

Beyond that, the background was initially going to be a bright white/ modeling paste brick pattern.  After I had looked at all of that white for a few hours, I just couldn't stand it anymore.  It was distracting me, so I started attacking it with every red ink in my stash.  I brushed a Distressed ink over the surface, then used a wet paint brush to spread the color.  That helped, but it was a little too pink.  More must be better, right?  I then tried a Prima chalk ink, which deffinitely helped add more red.  Still, I remembered that I needed to add splatters (a twist at sb.com) so I sprayed the background with mist.  Bingo!  Then I pulled out that same brush from before, dipped into the mist and splattered my lil heart out.  I was going to add a final light coat of glitter glue to select bricks, but I had decided I was done.  Done I shall be.

Curious about which products I used?  Since I'm entering this page in two challenges at scrapbook.com, here is a link to that gallery. Most products are listed there.

 http://www.scrapbook.com/myplace/index.php?mod=galleries&u=376301&m=view&id=4231021

Thank you for looking!  Thank you for the metric ton of inspiration.  This was fun; exactly as it should be.

Friday Finds 4

Good Friday Morning! I've done a little more wandering around the blogosphere and have a few bits and bobbles to share with you. Are you ready? Alrighty then!


First up (and I have NO idea how I wound up underlining everything!)Is a cute little sketch from Page Maps:




This month, Becky Fleck is giving away a very generous prize -- a whole lotta Basic Grey!!!! The goodies are mains from the Wander, Curio and Pyrus collections, which I love, so I've got my submission nearly done. I look forward to sharing it soon!

Looking to join a Design Team? Enjoy working with a variety of projects and challenges? Frosted Designs has put out the call for anyone interested in joining their Design Team. Truly, it's a great site and they have loads of inspiration every week. I do recommend checking them out!

Through a series of clicks, I've JUST recently come across a new site that I'll be checking out. Understanding a few trends that are out there right now, I think many others would be interested, too. The Altered Alice is all about the love of Alice in Wonderland. They are running a challenge this month, with a focus on "Changes In Form and Dress Forms." I think many would have fun with this.

One last share! I saw a really cute paper-crafting project on White Racoon's handcrafts. I'm normally a lurker on her blog, but love the ideas she comes up with. Because of being a lurker, I don't feel confident sharing a picture of her craftiness here. Silly me, I only asked for permission on Thursday morning, so.... Regardless, it's a cute project and I encourage you to check it out.

Sibs

Good Afternoon! I know, it sorta seems like I'm a blogging fool, huh? If it worries you, rest assurred it's only temporary. I'm loving the reveals at Maya Road....and Prima....and Tim Holtz. In fact, I'd love to share my faves from Prima and Mr. Holtz soon, too. I've already warned my loving and supportive husband that there will be a time coming when I have a solid case of the "I wants".

Despite those moments, I DO have a page that I wanted to share and I FINALLY got out the camera and took a few photos of it. The main inspiration comes from a color challenge at Bella Creations -- use only blue, brown, beige and salmon. Salmon was the tricky color to come up with, but this is what I've created:



The paper is Bo Bunny Mama Razzi (still loving this line). It's based on a 2010 sketch from Page Maps. Since I'm kinda geeked that I got this photographed and ready to share, I've also missed the step in saving the exact sketch to my computer....and have temporarily forgotten exactly which month. My bad...

The photo is based on a much crisper scanned version my family received from extended branches a few weeks ago. I say "based on" because I thought I'd play a bit with the photo. It's printed on shimmery cardstock; so when you look at it in person it glitters. That was a complete accident but pretty all the same. The children in the photo are (left to right) my Aunt Carol, my Uncle Tom and my Dad. Of course, I had to zoom in on my Dad:



This little beauty is a piece of Dusty Attic chipboard. I won this (and many more astounding pieces) as blog candy from an amazing artist commonly known as CraftySprinkles. She also has an etsy (where you can get some amazing Dusty Attic all your own) right here. I inked this piece with Momento Ink. The piece beneath it is cut from the Bo Bunny Mamarazzi collection.



both flowers are Prima. The one below is a Winter Rose...that was too clean for this page. It was driving me nuts (especially since it was already well attached!) so I found a way to ink the petals (Distressed Ink) and add more sparkle with Distressed Stickles, Straw.



The title alphas are from Cosmo Cricket. Since they match the background so well, I tried to bring more attention to them with a couple Prima Pearls:



The blue flower was created with Prima white flowers (the ones that come in the long tube) and a mix of Glimmer Mist and Distressed Ink on the creases. I also added a Tim Holtz clock face to the center.



And finally, the flower/ribbon embellishment. It is a technique I learned on Helen Croft's blog:



.....And this is all I have for today! Luckily, I've been able to take quite a few photos of some fun family moments lately, so I hope to have even more to share in the weeks to come. But for now, I'm getting excited about a novel I'm reading. It's part of the Dresden Files, as written by Jim Butcher. I blame my husband for getting me hooked on the series...and I think he's okay with that. Maybe that's another page to create, huh?

Carve With Care

Good November Afternoon! Can it really be November already? Add me to the list of people wondering where in the world October went! I lived it, but it certainly wasn't long enough for me.

Ah, well....

On the upshot, I have some proof of life. We had a blast on the weekends this past month. A couple times, I was even able to score an afternoon away from home; like to my Mother-In-Law's home. Often, I refer to her as Gramma Camm'ra (I'll have to go back and look for the blog post explaining that. It was among my earliest posts, I believe). She got a little too excited to buy pumpkins this year and had a ton of carving to do. Since she buys one for each grandchild (and my lil one is still a little too young to handle sharp objects) I went over to carve one for him.

For the life of me, I don't know WHY I chose to carve a spider on his pumpkin... Okay, it's because he was Spider Man this year, but still! It's my third ever attempt at carving. A spider was not my best choice. But then again, it wasn't the only questionable "best-choice" situation of the The very beautiful and confident Gramma Cam'ra thought otherwise. Happily, she was right... sorta... for the most part. No one was harmed...except the plastic carving knife.



Ooops!

Well, it was such a fun experience for all of us I simply HAD to be scrapped, so I did. I used this sketch from Page Maps as inspiration:




The paper is DCWV, Amber Autumn, with a bit of last year's autumn line, too.


The title spot is a fussy cut of a pumpkin from the DCWV paper stack AND a couple leaves from another sheet in the stack. the Carve bingo card is the display/back packaging from a set of Jenni Bowlin bingo cards. The cards themselves are 5x7 and I like using the smaller previews, too.

The flowers and the blingy centers are Prima; as are the rhinestones framing the corner of the focal photo. It's one of my favorite photos of my MIL, for the expression on her face. But to prove that she is so very beautiful any other time...


I've got a load more of scrappy goodness to share with you. Hopefully, this healthy feeling will hold strong long enough to get them all posted.