Sketch Inspiration Inspires A Christmas Layout

I joined Sketch Inspiration recently, and this is my first time using one of their sketches. It was super simple, and perfect for the photos I had of a cookie making session my grandkids had with their friends. 

Products Used:  Patterned Papers: Bo Bunny Press and The Girl's Paperie - Circle, Tab & Word Sticker: October Afternoon -  Title Stickers: Stickopotamus & Provo Craft - Brackets: Heidi Swapp.


I am going to try to scrap as many of my past Christmas photos as I can the next couple of weeks. I plan on making a mix of layouts and a photo album scrapbook, (which I will share soon), for some of my photos. I have gathered all my Christmas product into a file where everything is all together and ready to go. 


I'm really glad I didn't take on a major Christmas album this year. I love Ali Edwards' December Daily, but I try to only make on every couple of years. Maybe I'll try Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas next year. What are your plans?


Hope your week has started off well. Time is flying by people, Christmas is around the corner. Take a moment to stop and smell the cinnamon sticks and spice . . . . . . . 

Moving Out Of My Comfort Zone

The "Pagerize This" challenge at Scrap Our Stash this month was loads of fun. I love it when I can go out of my comfort zone once and awhile and create something a little more edgy or playful. Go check out their challenges sometime. I'm a guest designer for this month and I have really enjoyed it. Here's my layout:

Products Used: Patterned Paper: Hot Off The Press & EK Success - Misting Mask & Glimmer Mist: Tattered Angels - Mesh - Magic Mesh by Avant Card - Tissue Tape: Time Holtz - Journal Card: Colorbok - Transparency: Fancy Pants Designs - Brads: Recollections - Letter Stickers: Making Memories - Paint: Delta - Circle Punch: Fiskars  - Cardstock, Ribbon & Ric Rac: Unknown.

This layout was created with photos of our niece Whitnee taken for her 18th birthday a few years ago. She's a very edgy, dress in black, stud bracelet kind of girl. So I knew they were the perfect photos to do a little creative play with. I used a misting mask on white cardstock for the background and painted the edges with paint to give it a more distressed look. I looked for distressed looking papers and embellishments to frame my photos. And of course I had to use silver brads to mimic the studs on her bracelets. It was very fun putting this layout together.

I'm thinking I may work on some Christmas layouts the next couple of weeks. I had started a project last year that was going to be an ongoing type of scrapbook, and I think I'll finish the basics up and share it with you soon. Maybe that will get me in the mood for the upcoming holiday. Even though I got the majority of my Christmas shopping done, I'm just not feeling it. 

"D" Is For Dog Park.....

Scrapbookers Anonymous has a ABC monthly challenge that I absolutely love. They are on the letter "D" this month, and at our house, "D" is for dogs. And where does our precious pet love to go? Where else but the "Dog Park". 

Products Used:  Cardstock: K&Co. & Bazzill  - Patterned Paper: Reminisce - Punches: McGill, Marvy Uchida, Fiskars - Corner Rounder: Creative Memories - Title Letter Stickers: Thickers by American Crafts - Word Epoxy Stickers: Making Memories - Distress Ink: Tim Holtz by Ranger.


I had run across these adorable pet papers a couple of weeks ago at our LSS, and knew it would be perfect for the few photos I had snapped at the dog park.


Our dog Shiloh is so spoiled. If he doesn't get to go to the dog park almost everyday, he will sit and whine and bark off and on all morning. If I take him for awhile to let him blow off his excess energy, he's good for the rest of the day. This was a super fun layout to put together. 


I used a two page layout sketch #4 from Sketch Support for my layout. 

Hope you all survived Black Friday shopping, if you participated. We did not. But today I did patronize my local scrapbook store for Saturday's American Express "Shop a small business day". I am very please to have done my part! lol!


Have a great weekend!

Creating More Two Page Layouts

I made today's layout for two different challenges. I missed the boat on one, but that's OK. At least I'm using up my product! Susanne at Snaps and Snippets has a challenge each week called In Good Company. She challenges you to create a layout or project using her featured company. Last weeks company was My Mind's Eye.  The patterned papers I used were from their Simply Delightful paper pack. This week's challenge is to use Crate Paper products. I didn't realize until now, I have zero in the way of their product. I may have to remedy that and go shopping. 

I also participate in the Library of Memories Community class at Big Picture Classes. Each Thursday we are given a challenge to keep our Library of Memories system going. This week was to pick photos from our oldest storage binder. My oldest starts at 2004, so I found some birthday photos that were waiting in there to be scrapped. I just love using older photos. The memories come rushing back and I just can't believe how the kids have grown.

Products Used: Patterned Papers: My Mind's Eye -  Paper Lace Sticker & Journaling Card: Little Yellow Bicycle - Nemo Stickers: EK Success -  Word Stickers: Making Memories - Border Punch: Fiskars - Punches: McGill & Fiskars - Die Cut Machine for Title: Sizzix Sidekick - Distress Ink: Tim Holtz by Ranger - Brads: Unknown.


I had so many photos that I wanted to use, so I found a two page sketch at Page Maps. It is November 2011 12X12 double sketch.

Hope you all have a blessed holiday. We all have much to be thankful for. 

Rework Wednesday on Friday With A Sketch

Sketchy Thursdays newest sketch caught my eye because I love to use three photos in a row quite often. I started off with thoughts of using smaller photos like the sketch did, but I came across the photos of our family that I decided to use, and wanted them to be larger. 

Product Used: Patterned Paper: Black Market Paper Society - Tags: Creating Keepsakes - Metal LOVE Embellishment: Making Memories - Ribbon: Unknown.


The layout used three different coordinating patterned papers to make the bottom border, top "Adore" strip, and the cut out flowers. I've had these papers for over a year and I'm surprised that I had three that matched. In the past I would grab any paper that caught my eye, but I really didn't pay attention to matching product that went with it. The more I have been scrapbooking, I realize that coordinating product lines really take a lot of the work out of mixing and matching and trying to find a matching embellishment. I'm trying to be more mindful in my shopping. I'm more likely to use it if I have an idea of what I can use it with and how I may use it. But I know there will be those occasional "I just have to have that" moments, and that's OK. I'm just trying to use my "thinker" when I shop. 


Also, the photos of our family are from an older layout that I had created years ago, and I reworked them into the layout above. Here's the original layout:

I wish someone would have confiscated my shape templates and corner cutters back in the day! I really did a number on old photos cutting them into shapes. Thank goodness for digital photography!!!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a Happy Thanksgiving  holiday to all of my U.S. friends. 

Disney and Sketches

I found inspiration today from Stuck! Sketches November 1st sketch. I took one look at it and I immediately knew what I wanted to do. I pulled out the next set of Disneyland photos I have in my storage binder to use for the layout. I am working on an album with photos from Disneyland's 50th Anniversary celebration back in 2005. I knew I would have to stretch the sketch into a two page layout. Here's what I came up with:

Product Used:  Cardstock: The Paper Co. - Patterned Paper: Creative Imaginations & Creative Memories - Circle Cutter & Mickey Punch: Creative Memories - Journal block: Sandylion.

I absolutely love this sketch. It was perfect for my Disney theme.


Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and our 3rd grader brought home a paper doll turkey that she had to disguise so it will be saved from it's dreaded destiny on Thanksgiving day. She decided she would disguise the little fellow as her favorite football player. I think she did a terrific job!

That's right, it's Larry Fitzgerald. I think it looks just like him.....well maybe not quite!

Happy Scrapping!

What I'm Working On Right Now

Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party has pretty much wrapped up, so I'm left to decide what to do. There are so many great classes starting up soon, but I think I'm going to take a break until the first of the year and work on some ongoing projects I've had simmering in the background.


First off, I'm going to work on the baby albums that I started for each of my granddaughters and my son a couple of weeks ago. The main design of these albums is from Talia Audenart and a class I took at Big Picture Classes called "Baby's First Year". It basically is a month in review type album with two pages dedicated to each month of life the first 12 months. It also will have two page spreads on their birth, their first birthday, and first holidays. I will give the albums to my granddaughters when they leave the nest, and my son can have his when I leave this world. I had made a photo album for him with all of the duplicate photos of his growing up, so he has that now. And back in the 80's I didn't take as many photos as I do now, so the review style works well to tell his story from my perspective. 


Here's some photos of the one I've started for my youngest granddaughter. All of the albums will have the same or very similar design, but I have purchased different patterned papers for each child. 

As you can see, many of the patterned papers and embellishments are used on all three layouts. I think I purchased 5-6 sheets of each patterned paper. And I think I also purchased 5 different patterns. And of course I got lots of pink cardstock!


Here's my son's album so far:

The second page of my son's album is inspired by Ali Edwards and her daughter's baby album. (Can you believe these are the only photos I have of my son's first month? I guess I was a bit overwhelmed and didn't take photos). But these albums will be simple and will have a very cohesive look to them which will make putting them together much easier. I can also then scrap my most favorite stories for myself in my other albums.


More later on "what I'm working on right now".

What Happens In Vegas.......

We had a great time in Las Vegas over the three day weekend. If you remember, I won a trip to Vegas at Donny Osmond's concert here in Phoenix the end of August, (see post here). The Flamingo Hotel put us up for a two night stay and we had front row tickets to Donny & Marie's show. It was fantastic! We had so much fun!
Here was the view from our suite's window:

We got to see the strip, and I got some fun photos. We also got to visit and spend some time with family who live in the Vegas area, and that was so awesome! They took us to a wonderful show called Le Reve at the Wynn Hotel in Vegas. It was a aerial acrobatic show along with diving and water. It was absolutely amazing!!!! I cannot recommend it enough if you ever get a chance to see it.

We got to meet Donny and Marie after the show. I have to tell you Marie is the sweetest person you will ever meet. She was just so adorable and kind. Donny isn't bad himself either. We brought back many fond memories and I most definitely feel a scrapbook page coming on! Or maybe a mini book!

Have a wonderful week!

Creativity Abounds

I've really been on a roll as of late, creating one or two layouts a day. I'm starting to feel sleep deprived, so it's a cue I should slow down. But as many of you know, I hit a wall about a year ago, and didn't create anything for 9 months. I'm so scared that will happen again, so I just keep going with the creative flow.


I really liked this week's sketch at Sketchy Thursdays. The sketch called for two photos, so I went to my binder where I have old layouts that I want to redo. I found a layout with three photos and decided that's what I wanted to work on. Here's the sketch.

I usually only do reworked layouts every other Wednesday, but for some reason, my rework binder called to me to find the photos I wanted to work with. And here is my new layout based on the sketch:

Products Used: PP's: October Afternoon & Making Memories - Glimmer Mist: Tattered Angels - Circle & Border Punch: Fiskars - Flower: The Girls' Paperie - Journal Circles: Creating Keepsakes - Foam Letters: Sticko by EK Success & Thickers by American Crafts.

Again, I followed the sketch pretty closely. I really need to work on mixing them up a bit more. I'm so literal in my scrapbooking most of the time. (And a note, I used product from my kit that I put together for Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party. I've made more than a half a dozen layouts with the kit and still have tons of product left!) Here's the old sketch done early 2000ish:

It's not a horrible layout. I probably should have kept it in my scrapbooks as is. By the way, I'm not redoing all of my old layouts, I just pulled some that really bothered me when I flipped through my old album.


My next layout was inspired by two challenges. The first being Shimelle's prompt for today. We were to incorporate some sparkle into our layouts, whether it be pre-made glitter products, bling, or adding our own glitter to our page. I knew I had a few glittery patterned papers, and picked the first I came upon. Also, the second challenge that inspired the layout was from Bird Is The Word. This is my first time submitting something to their site, but it looks like a super fun site with word challenges every two weeks. The latest word is "Adore". Here's my layout:

Products Used: Die Cut Background Paper: My Mind's Eye - pp's: Anna Griffin, The Paper Studio, My Mind's Eye & Making Memories - Journaling Card: Colorbok - Glitter Letter Stickers: Thickers from American Crafts Dear Lizzy - Border punch: Fiskars.


And last, but not least.....well least for today, is a layout that I created for Susanne's "In Good Company" challenge at Snaps and Snippets. Her selected company this week was K&Co. I have so much of their product it's crazy. But on this layout I just used their patterned paper and journal card. 

Products Used:  PP's: K&Co. - Letter Stickers: American Crafts Thickers & Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type - Word Ticket & Distress Ink - Tim Holtz - Journaling Cards: Fancy Pants Designs & K&Co. - Flower Punch - McGill - Decorative Brad: My Mind's Eye - Hemp Cord: Darice.


This is a photo I have loved and am so happy I finally got the story on paper. It is definitely one of those photos that evokes emotion every time I see it. Those are the photos I adore!


It's midweek and I hope you are finding yourself productive in whatever endeavor you are part of. Enjoy your time.

Finding Inspiration All Over and Another Reworked Layout

I've been finding my inspiration all over these days on the web. A little bit here, a whole lot there. I'm trying to keep up with old favorites, and finding so many new favorites that my head swims at times. I am so thankful for all of you who share your work. I get so inspired by others layouts, projects, and their passion for the hobby of scrapbooking. I feed off of others to keep my mojo going. It wouldn't be any fun if we were the only one who cared about what we were working on, right? 


My latest two layouts were inspired by two talented scrapbookers that I happened upon one day browsing. This layout is inspired by Stephanie Ackerman at Homegrown Hospitality. I love her style and all her doodles that she draws. Shimelle's prompt yesterday was to use smaller pieces of our scraps in a layout. I pulled reds, blacks and blues out of my small stack of scraps and punched all the circles to make the line.

Products Used:  pp's: The Paper Studio & Hot Off The Press - Title Letters: American Crafts Thickers - Journal Spot: Creative Imaginations Narratives - Epoxy Word Sticker:  Heidi Grace Fiskars - Inkpad: Color Box Chalk

Shimelle's prompt from today was to draw our inspiration from someone else's layout or project. I just randomly picked a favorite layout from my list and found this one. I loved the squares of patterned paper and photos in a grid formation. So I scraplifted the design and this is what I came up with:

Products Used:  Patterned Paper:  Sassafras Lass, Making Memories - Buttons: Paper Studio - Brads & Flowers:  Making Memories - Journaling Card: K&Co. - Rub On Letters: Heidi Grace Designs Fiskars - Circle Punch & Border Punch - Fiskars - Chalk Ink: Color Box - Blues Clues Clip Art: The Web.

This layout is a rework of an older layout that I put together a few years ago.  Here's the original:

I used a couple of the clip art images from this original layout for my rework. I'm much happier with the new layout and it's patterned paper goodness!

Have a wonderful day. 

Scrap Our Stash November Challenge & New Place To Play!

I'm super excited about being a guest designer for the month of November at Scrap Our Stash. I have come to love their challenges and feel very honored to have been picked. For the November Recipe Challenge I decided to go with the 5,4,3,2,1 approach. I used two epoxy circles, one epoxy water droplet splash, and two embellishment tags for my 5 embellishments. I used the word "Swim", which has 4 letters, for my title. 3 photos were used, 2 patterned papers, and 1 plain medium blue cardstock was used for a mat for the photos.

Products Used:  pp's: Swimming by Reminisce & Light Blue Wave by The Paper Co. at Hobby Lobby - Blue Cardstock: The Paper Co. by Hobby Lobby - Epoxy Stickers: EK Success & Cloud 9 Design - Tags: Paperbilities - Letter Stickers: EK Success - Paper Cutting System for Wavy Border: Creative Memories 

Also I'm so excited because I've found a new place to play! I was blog browsing last night when I couldn't sleep and I happened upon the DisneyScrappers blog. Those of you who know me know I am a Disney fanatic! I have been very OCD when it comes to creating Disney layouts in the past, wanting them to be perfect and so I haven't made too many. But I am going to spend some time with my fellow Disney fans and see if I can get past that and make some Happiest Place On Earth layouts! Wahoo!

Hope you all have a very productive and blessed week. Thanksgiving is fast approaching. It's going to get busy for many of us! Anyone started their Christmas shopping yet? 

Paper Folding and Going To The Dark Side

I have been enjoying scrapbooking and creating so much this last month. I'm really praying that my enthusiasm sustains itself for awhile. Last year about this time I started to wax and wain, and lost my zest for about 9 months. But I am finding inspiration at every turn for the present time. 


I must thank Shimelle for most of my inspiration as of late. Her Pretty Paper Party has really lit my fire. I just love her quirkiness and style. She is a great motivator for me lately.

A couple of days ago, Shimelle's prompt was paper folding. I skimmed over this one because the instructions for origami that I found were too confusing for me. But then all of the sudden it hit me, I know how to make pinwheels. In fact, the My Craft Channel just had a tutorial on how to make them, done by Embellish It. I just purchased this cute circus die cut paper a few days ago and knew exactly how I could use the pinwheels in my circus layout.

Products Used:  Brown Circus Die Cut Cardstock & Patterned Paper: TaDa Creative Studios - Red Cardstock: Die Cuts With A View - Journaling Paper: Little Yellow Bicycle - Chipboard Title Letters: K&Co. - Buttons: Paper Studio - Border Punch - Fiskars.

  

I used May's two page sketch #13 from Sketch Support. I stayed fairly true to the sketch with a couple of small changes. I really do love sketches, especially for two page layouts, as it makes putting together the layout so much easier!

Sketch Support two page sketch #13

I found the patterned paper and the die cut cardstock at my LSS this last week. I knew I had circus photos that I could use it for. When I found this sketch, I realized that the banner pattern was on the B side of the patterned paper that I purchased, and I could cut it out and use it for the free flowing banners. I don't use themed product much anymore, but when I find some that works so well, I can't resist.

Today's prompt was titled "Come to the dark side". We were prompted to use black cardstock as our base paper. I love black cardstock, so this was a piece of cake! 

I also combined this prompt from Shimelle with the November Challenge at Scrapbookers Anonymous. The challenge is to use at least 7 different ribbons on your layout. I didn't think about it too much at first, but then I spied a spool of 6 Prima ribbons that I had purchased some time back at Target. I wish I had taken a photo of the spool before I used up all the ribbon, because it looked so pretty sitting on my shelf. But I remember Shimelle talking about how sometimes people hate to use up pretty product, but it's more pretty on a layout than sitting unused. And I have to say she was right. And a side note, no patterned paper was used on this layout.

Products Used: Black Cardstock: Unknown - Journaling & Oval Sticker: Pink Paislee - Word Stickers: Bella Blvd. & Lily Bee Design - Ribbons: Prima - Border Sticker - Crate Paper - Brads: Basic Grey & Making Memories.

And this third layout was done a couple of weeks ago for Pencil Lines Design Team Call. I didn't make it, but I now have another layout completed that I'm very happy with.

Here's the sketch we were given:

I loved this sketch and knew immediately which paper and products I wanted to use. The background paper is from Pink Paislee's Queen Bee Collection. I loved it so much, but knew I'd be covering it up with layers of patterned paper and photos. So I used a straight edge and Xacto knife and cut a rectangular piece out of the middle to save for another project.

After figuring out my photo placement, since the photos I chose weren't in the same orientation as the sketched photos, the layout went together super quickly.

And here's the finished layout:

Product Used:  pp: Pink Paislee Honey Bee & Bees Wax, Bo Bunny Mama-Razzi Tabloid - Die Cut Paper: Pink Paislee Bee Hive - Journaling Card: Pink Paislee Queen Bee Collection punch outs - Chipboard: K&Co. Blue Awning Collection - Border Punch: Fiskars.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. We are suppose to have a major storm come through tonight. While we don't ever get snow here in Phoenix, (well, snow like you see in other areas, it's more like hail), we get massive dust storms, monsoon like rains, and they say 40mph winds are coming. But by tomorrow it will be 65 degrees. I know, we have it tough right now. Happy Scrapping!

Paper Stack and A Boy & His Dog

Today's prompt for Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party was to use up those scraps of pretty paper in a paper stack to mat your photo. I was very inspired by this prompt and went right to work. I just pulled some colors of paper that I thought would enhance the photo and started taping them down.

Products Used: pp's: Various unknown - Title Sticker: Fancy Pants Designs - Word Stickers: Making Memories & Reminisce - Brad: Bo Bunny - Glimmer Mist: Tattered Angels 

This layout took me less than 30 minutes.  Again, I took the most time picking what embellishments I would use. Maybe I need to use my embellishments to be my starting point of a layout??? I'm not sure how that would work unless they were themed. I just really struggle with putting embellishments together. It sometimes feels too forced. 

Today my grandson Coen spent the morning with me. He played Dogz Sports on the Wii and our lab Shiloh was very curious about all the dog sounds coming from the T.V. and the constant laughter from Coen. I feel a scrapbook page coming on!

Have a great day!

Rework Wednesday With A Shimelle Twist

My rework layout this week is with photos from 1989, and the layout was probably created around 1999 or so. Back then I sure loved Mrs. Grossman's stickers. I'm finding them everywhere in my older layouts!

Shimelle's prompt for yesterday was to work with smaller photos on your layout. Photos smaller than your typical 4X6 that is. I took the photos off of my older layout, cleaned the sticker residue off with Un-du and scanned them at 600 dpi. I also found a fourth photo in my cold storage box to add to the set of 4 photos. Here's the rework:

Products Used:  pp: Creative Imaginations, Bo Bunny Press, My Mind's Eye, My Little Shoebox, & Fancy Pants Designs - 

Balloon Stickers: Basic Grey (Life of the Party) - Bakers Twine: Farmer's Market - Letter Stickers: Frances Meyer - Distress Ink: Tim Holtz Ranger - Journal Card - Simple Stories.

Again, I'm much happier with the reworked layout. I used a sketch by Shimelle for this layout. Her "party" and her website is my newest favorite! 

My layout "Beautiful" is featured today at Scrap Our Stash. I based it on the Pagerize This Challenge #15.  Come on over and give it a try. 

And don't forget to check out Snaps and Snippet's In Good Company challenge. Susanne features a new company each Friday to challenge you to use their product that is in your stash on a project. This week is catch up week for any of you who missed the first three weeks. This Friday's company should be an awesome one!

Have a great rest of the week!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well one holiday is over, and now to focus on the fall, (that is slowly arriving in Arizona), and celebrate all of the things we are thankful for. 


I am thankful to start off the month as a November Guest Design Team member at Scrap Our Stash. Check the site out this month as they have just posted the new challenge for November. It's a fun one!


Yesterday afternoon inspiration hit me and I started two layouts using the patterned papers I pulled for one of the Pretty Paper Party challenges at Shimelle's site.

I finished them up this morning. Both are inspired by sketches/layouts that Shimelle posted to the party.

Product Used:  pp: My Mind's Eye Bohemia collection, Making Memories Je t'adore collection, & Scribble Scrabble - Journaling Cards & Flower Die Cuts: The girls' paperie - Letter Stickers: Sticko by EK Success - Rub Ons: Heidi Grace  & American Crafts - Border Punch - Fiskars.

Products Used:  pp's Jillibean Soup & Imaginisce - Flowers: Bazzill Basics - Cork Buttons: Pink Paislee - Rhinestones: Recollections - Letter Stickers:  Target $1 find - Circle Transparent Sticker:  Glitz Designs - Word Stickers: Reminisce.


I am thankful for my family and friends, and I'm thankful for this wonderful hobby we call scrapbooking. I hope my mojo continues. There is so much inspiration out there to soak up!


And a thank you to all of my blog visitors, followers, and friends. Thanks for stopping by. You all rock!


And what kind of grandmother would I be if I didn't share a photo of my little ghouls from last night? 

They received enough candy to make it until next Halloween!