Pumpkin Hunting - Sketch N Scrap's October Crop Challenge #5

Hello, everyone! Happy Sunday to you! I hope you are having a good weekend. It's been unseasonably warm for the last few days, and today is supposed to be around 80, but it looks like the upcoming week is going to feel a little more fall-like! Yay!

Today I am sharing the layout that I made for Sketch N Scrap's October Crop Challenge #5 over in their monthly challenges private Facebook group. Here is a look at the sketch:

This is a smaller format sketch but it would work well for any size - a traveler's notebook size, 6x8, 8.5x11, or stretch it out and make a 12x12 layout. The choice is yours!

Here is my layout:

I made a 6x8 layout for Ada's school album using this month's sketch. This layout is of her kindergarten class trip to the pumpkin patch. I had started out making her school album in a traveler's notebook and just adding her first day, school photo, spring photo, and last day of school photo. Mostly because I started back in 2020 or 2021 when school's were mostly remote. But, as I went back through some of my photos, there were so many other things I wanted to include - the photo of her kindergarten class with the first book they got to check out from the library, class trips (once they were a thing again), artwork that she had made and was hung in the hallways, Christmas concerts, fun things her class was doing, field day, etc., and I decided to change it up. Making it a 6x8 size and not working in a notebook has given me the freedom to work on whatever I want and not have to worry about counting pages and making sure I have left enough space to include everything that I want. 

For this layout, I have used my October kit for Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash. At first I had the hexagon paper for the strips on each side and I just didn't care for it. When I changed and put them together in the middle I liked it much better. Here are a few close-ups:

I was struggling with the embellishing since that hexagon paper is so busy and I did change up the placement of the embellishment clusters on the left side of the page and just made one cluster joining the two photos. I don't have any of the embellishments from Simple Stories Harvest Market line - just a few of the 12x12 sheets and the 6x8 paper pad, so I relied on fall-themed sticker books from Echo Park for my embellishments.

Luckily, one of the sticker books had this alphabet in it for my title. It was the perfect size!

I am really enjoy working in a smaller size lately, whether it's in a traveler's notebook or a 6x8. 

Be sure to check out the Sketch N Scrap Monthly Challenges group on Facebook and join in the fun! We would love to see you playing along!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! I hope you have a wonderful day!

Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash October Kit Challenge

 

Hello, everyone! Happy Tuesday and Happy October 1st! The calendar has turned to a new month which means it is time for a new Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash challenge.

First, I want to apologize now for the glare or shine in some of the photos but I ran out of daylight to get my kit photographed.

If you don't know what this challenge is all about, here is how this challenge works -  on the 1st of each month, we will post a challenge prompt and the stash kit we have created using that prompt. Then, we will use as much of our stash kit as possible on different projects throughout the month.

This will be a just-for-fun challenge so there is no monthly prize - but the real prize is using up our stash! We hope you will join us in our quest to bash our stash! If you play along - link up on either my blog or Lisa's blog (or both if you choose) so that we can see who is joining us each month.

Now on to our October kit challenge! Here is the recipe for this month:

To create your kit, pull 10 papers, 3-4 embellishments, and 5-7 scrap papers. Our focus item for October is 12x12 sticker sheets.

Here is my kit for October:

  I had a bit of trouble deciding on what I wanted to work on this month. Even though the season has changed to fall, it still feels very much like summer around here. We're supposed to hit 90 later this week! At least it cools down to the 50s and low 60s at night. I finally decided to stick with the season and this kit is full of fall feels! My plan is to work more on Ada's 6x8 school album - scrapping some of the Halloween parties and her trip to the pumpkin patch when she was in kindergarten. I'm also hoping to scrap a fall-themed layout or two, and I may even try to scrap a non-fall/Halloween layout with some of the papers. We shall see!

Here is a closer look at the papers:

All but three of these papers are from Simple Stories collections. The grey and white dot is from a paper pad, the black and white... check, I guess you could call it, is from Close To My  Heart, and the black with white stars is from American Crafts.

Our focus item is 12x12 sticker sheets. I have pulled the Boo Crew sticker sheet and the Cozy Days sticker sheet. Even though the fall papers I have added are from Harvest Market, I don't have any embellishments from that collection, I think I can make the Cozy Days sticker sheet work: 

Here are my embellishments:

Lots of fall-themed goodies here - sticker books, die-cuts, foam stickers, puffy stickers, labels, cut files, an over-sized chipboard word, and a few enamel dots. I will pull more of those when I need them.

Here are the Halloween cut-apart papers:

All I have embellishment-wise for the Halloween papers is the 12x12 sticker sheet so I have added the cut-apart papers for more embellishment choices. Lots of goodies can be fussy cut from those sheets if I need them. 

Here are my scraps:

I know, I know. This doesn't look much like scraps Technically there is only a scrap of yellow dot paper here. I have pulled a couple of 6x8 paper pads (with scraps inside) for any scraps I might need, and if I need more, I can always hit my scrap bins when I have more time to search for what I need. 

That's it for this month's kit. I am ready to get some fall scrapping done!

Be sure to head on over to Lisa's blog - My Creative Endeavors - to see the beautiful kit she has put together.

Remember - this is a just-for-fun challenge, but if you do play along and put together your own stash bash kit - add it to the linky below and we will be sure to check it out and cheer you on! Here are the rules:

1. Follow the challenge prompt to create a kit to work with throughout the month. You may use other items, but please concentrate on using your kit, and link it below.

2. Create new, not previously posted projects using your stash kit.

3. If you have a blog - please include the challenge graphic and a link to our challenge in your posts. 

4. You may link to social media if you don't have a blog. If you share on Instagram, please make sure to use - #lisaandlorisgreatstashbash2024

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Have a great day!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Sketch N Scrap #304 - Yes, Please!

 Hello, everyone! Happy Wednesday to you! I hope you are having a good week. Thanks to the long holiday weekend, I can't keep track of what day we are on!

Today I am sharing my take on the September 1st sketch at Sketch N Scrap. Here's a look at the fun sketch that Lisa created for us to use:

And here is my layout:

I used my September kit for Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash for this layout. I think the donut paper is from an old Dear Lizzy paper pad, but I am not certain, and it was perfect for these photos of Abby and Ada's trip to Hurts Donut Co. I pulled four papers for this layout and only have a few scraps left. I also used quite a few of the embellishments that I had pulled with this layout in mind. 

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I had planned on adding a couple of tags for hidden journaling like is shown on the sketch, but when I tried that huge donut die-cut in that area, it was a perfect fit. I just moved my journaling over to the side of the cluster. I could have added my journaling to the bottom of the page, but it got lost amongst the busy patterned paper. 

I love how this bottom cluster turned out! Just a couple of donut stickers, a word phrase sticker, a chipboard heart, and enamel dots leading into the title. I love that the right photo shows the wall that says, "Wanna Hurts Donut?" The title is the answer to that question!

Be sure to stop by Sketch N Scrap for more inspiration using this sketch. I hope you have a chance to play along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Have a great day!

Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash September Kit Challenge

Hello, hello! Happy Sunday to you! We are in the middle of a long holiday weekend and I am enjoying every minute of it. It is the first day of September and time for a new Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash Kit Challenge!

Before I get to my new kit, I will give an update on my August kit. I only had one full sheet of 12x12 paper to go back into my stash, and that makes me ridiculously happy! I didn't work as much with my smaller format kit as I would have liked, but I will get around to it eventually!

Now, if you don't know what this challenge is all about, here is how this challenge works -  on the 1st of each month, we will post a challenge prompt and the stash kit we have created using that prompt. Then, we will use as much of our stash kit as possible on different projects throughout the month.

This will be a just-for-fun challenge so there is no monthly prize - but the real prize is using up our stash! We hope you will join us in our quest to bash our stash! If you play along - link up on either my blog or Lisa's blog (or both if you choose) so that we can see who is joining us each month.

Now on to our September kit challenge! Here is the recipe for this month:

Pull 10 papers, 3-4 embellishments, and 5-7 scrap papers to create your kit. Our focus item for September is enamel dots/bling.

Here is my kit for September:

I don't name my kits, but if I did, I would call this month's "The Hot Mess Express" kit! Isn't that photo a bunch of scrappy loveliness?! And I do have plans - or at least good intentions - for every piece of paper in this kit!

I took a different approach this month when I started pulling my kit. Instead of picking a collection to work with, like I have been doing for a long time, I went back to the roots of this challenge and went through my stash and pulled papers from a variety of manufacturers. 

I think one of the reasons I veered away from doing it this way is because I have a terrible time narrowing down my paper choices! It's so easy - and quick - to pick five or ten papers from a collection kit. When I have all of my pretties laid out before me it's hard to choose just ten papers! Which is why I have twenty!

I could have divided the papers into four mini-kits for you, but that would have been even more time-consuming and I was running out of time after looking through all of my papers! So, you get to see them all together, and the reason my kit would be called "The Hot Mess Express!"

Here are the papers:

All of these papers are more than a year old. The newest paper in my kit is that pink and white stripe from Photo Play. I don't remember when it came out and there is no date on it but my best guess is it is at least two years old. Everything else is much older than that! 

We have Elle's Studio, Sassafrass Lass, My Mind's Eye, Dear Lizzy, Close To My Heart, Lily Bee Designs, Chatterbox, Recollections, The Paper Studio, Amy Tangerine, I think, and maybe a sheet from We R Memory Keepers. I'm not certain about the last two. They were both from paper pads that had been torn down. That is quite a variety of manufacturers!

Since I am not working from any specific collections, picking embellishments was a bit more difficult than just throwing in the ephemera packs or stickers from the collection. I have several of these bins and 4x6 photo cases full of bits and pieces from past kits and items that didn't make it onto layouts. They serve as a catch-all. Instead of taking the time to put the embellishments away, they generally get thrown into one of these:

I went through several and pulled out items that were the same colors as my papers and that fit the theme of the layouts I plan to work on this month. My plans are for a school layout, a (maybe) 4th of July layout, a donut layout, and at least one traveler's notebook layout. I pulled the yellow floral paper from Sassafrass just because I love that paper and really want to use it! I don't have any photos in mind just yet, and I don't know if it will be a traditional layout or a smaller format layout, but I am really going to challenge myself to use it!

Here are the embellishments that I pulled:

And just in case I need something else, I pulled several of my neglected sticker books to use this month. I stuck to the ones that had a lot of the same colors or themes:

Here are the scraps that I pulled. If I need something more I can always dive back into my scraps folder:

Our focus item for September is enamel dots/bling. I tried to pull packs that were mostly used up and had the same colors. Not every enamel dot/shape will work, but hopefully I can get a few of these used:

I am super excited about my kit this month, even though it is bigger than normal. I can't wait to see what I can do with it!

Be sure to head on over to Lisa's blog - My Creative Endeavors - to see the beautiful kit that she has put together. She always has the best kits!

Remember - this is a just-for-fun challenge, but if you do play along and put together your own stash bash kit - add it to the linky below and we will be sure to check it out and cheer you on! Here are the rules:

1. Follow the challenge prompt to create a kit to work with throughout the month. You may use other items, but please concentrate on using your kit, and link it below.

2. Create new, not previously posted projects using your stash kit.

3. If you have a blog - please include the challenge graphic and a link to our challenge in your posts. 

4. You may link to social media if you don't have a blog. If you share on Instagram, please make sure to use - #lisaandlorisgreatstashbash2024

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Have a great day!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Ada at 10 - Sketch N Scrap #303

Hello, hello! Happy Saturday to you! I hope that you are doing well. We got much needed rain this past week, it is hot  (but not unbearably hot) with the promise of cooler - less humid - air on the way for next week...life is good!

Today I am sharing the layout I made using Sketch N Scrap's August 15th sketch. Here is a look at the sketch:

Here is my layout:

Every year I do an "Ada at" layout and ask her what her favorites are in several categories. I think I started this when she was eight, and oh, how I wish I had started earlier! It's so fun to see how her favorites have changed and what has stayed the same from year to year. 

I used my Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash kit for August for this layout. I didn't buy a bunch of the Simple Stories Boho Sunshine collection and now all I have left is one full sheet of floral paper and just a few sheets left in the 6x8 paper pad. I'm kind of sad that it's {almost} all gone, but yet I am happy it is on layouts instead of sitting in my stash!

Here are a few close-ups:

I die-cut my title using a metal die alpha set from Close To My Heart. I die-cut all of the letters and numbers three times and stacked them together to make my own chipboard alphas. I couldn't resist using that cute little snail, too!

At first, I was really going to layer up the florals like is shown on the sketch, just have a big ol' cluster of flowers, but I really liked it so much better when I went down to just a few.

The label at the bottom of the photo serves as a tab to open the flip-up to reveal Ada's list of favorites at 10.

For this top cluster, I added tags behind the photos, that puffy sticker from an older Dear Lizzy collection from 2018, a mushroom, and a flower. I tried to keep the same things - mushrooms, flowers, and a puffy sticker in each of the clusters.

Here is a look at the journaling when it is opened:

I had a bit of extra room at the bottom of my journaling card so I added in one of the banner stickers from the sticker book. I love how it turned out!

Be sure to check out the Sketch N Scrap blog, and the Sketch N Scrap Facebook page for more inspiration for our sketches. 

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! I hope you have a fantastic day!

Smores - Sketch N Scrap's Crop Challenge #5

Hello, hello! Happy Wednesday to you! I hope you are having a good week. We finally got rain yesterday and I am hoping it will bring a little green back into our yard! Our grass was starting to look a little sad. 

Today I am sharing my take on Sketch N Scrap's August Crop Challenge #5 -  our smaller format sketch - posted in Sketch N Scrap's Monthly Challenges Facebook group. Here is a look at the sketch:

And here is my layout:

I am working in my larger (almost) 6x8-sized traveler's notebook. Earlier in the summer, Ada asked for smores, so when Pops and I went for our nightly walk, we gathered some wood for a small fire. We didn't need much for smores and Ada was so excited to see the fire later that evening. All three of us had a smores - YUM! I love this sweet treat and am so glad Ada requested it!

I used my July kit for Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash for this layout. Yep, I still have my July kit by my desk, AND, I was able to use up two full sheets of paper and a part of another from that kit! Yay!

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I was so excited to use the marshmallows on a stick and smores stickers on this layout!

I added my journaling to a stamped journaling spot from Elle's Studio. I love it when I can use my stamps on a layout.

Be sure to stop by Sketch N Scrap's Monthly Challenges Facebook group and join in on the August Crop Challenges. You don't have to make a smaller size. Adapt the sketch for a 12x12 layout - or any size you like!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Have a great day!

Sketch N Scrap Card Sketch #271

 Hello, everyone! Happy Friday to you! I hope you have had a good week and are ready for the weekend. I know I am ready for it!

Today I am sharing the card I created for Sketch N Scrap's August 5th card sketch. Here's a look at the sketch:

This is such a fun sketch to work with! Here is my card:

School starts here in just a couple of weeks and I thought I would keep with tradition and make Ada a card.

I used papers from my August kit for Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash for my card. That cute little snail is from a pack of Sticko stickers I picked up at Walmart recently. I had a hard time choosing which one to use, they were all so cute! I was pleasantly surprised to see how well they matched the Boho Sunshine papers. They are clear stickers so I had to put the sticker on a piece of white cardstock and fussy cut around it so it would show up against the background papers.

Be sure to stop by Sketch N Scrap for more inspiration using our sketches. 

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Have a great day!

Ready For An Adventure - Sketch N Scrap #302

 Hello, everyone! Happy Sunday to you! I hope that you are having a good weekend. It has been another busy weekend around here with celebrating Scott's birthday and later today I will be helping Abby get her classroom all ready for the new school year. It's hard to believe it is almost time for school to start!

Today I am sharing my take on the August 1st sketch at Sketch N Scrap. Here is a look at the sketch:

I had a lot of fun working with this sketch. I used my Lisa & Lori's Great Stash kit for this layout. I had minimal embellishments in the page kit for this layout, but I made what I had work and I love the end result! 

These photos are of a road trip that we took earlier this summer. It was the first road trip we had taken in years that the whole family was able to go. I do have a longer story to tell about it, so I added the photo on the right onto a card base that can be opened up to read the story.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

The "adventure" piece and the alphas were in the sticker book I had in my kit. I added the alphas onto some foam tape to add some dimension. Before I added them to my layout, I put down a strip of thin washi tape to help ground them - and to actually use the focus of this month's kit!

I needed something a little bigger than what I had in my kit for the above embellishment cluster, so I pulled out one of my stamps and made my own. The stamped piece paired with stickers and wood veneer makes for a nice cluster piece. 

I added phrase stickers to one of the photos and then added a cluster of labels with just the facts! I was happy that I had added the wood veneer to my kit. It was the perfect little extra to add around my layout. 

This is all of the paper scraps that I have left:

The paper with the geotags has 4x4 cut-apart cards on the back. One of the 4x4 squares has labels that I will fussy cut and one is a "Top 5" journaling card. I will be able to use those easily. The yellow piece and whatever is left of the geotag paper will go into my scraps bin. I think that is a win and I can call this page kit killed!

Be sure to check out Sketch N Scrap for more inspiration for this sketch. I hope you have some time to play along with us. I would love to see what you create!

Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash August Kit Challenge

 

Hello, hello! Happy Friday and Happy August 1st! The new month means that it is time for a new Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash kit challenge.

Here is how this challenge works -  on the 1st of each month, we will post a challenge prompt and the stash kit we have created using that prompt. Then, we will use as much of our stash kit as possible on different projects throughout the month.

This will be a just-for-fun challenge so there is no monthly prize - but the real prize is using up our stash! We hope you will join us in our quest to bash our stash! If you play along - link up on either my blog or Lisa's blog (or both if you choose) so that we can see who is joining us each month.

Here is August's recipe:

To create your kit, pull 10 papers, 3-4 embellishments, and 5-7 scrap papers. Our focus item for August is washi tape.

I am mixing things up here in August and have decided to go with three kits - two layout kits and a kit for smaller format projects. I have been working more and more on my Project Life albums and in my traveler's notebooks lately, and yes, I could always use my 12x12 paper for those as well as traditional layouts, but I have so many 6x8 (and even 6x9) paper pads and papers that I want to get used up. So for August - and maybe even the rest of the year - my kit will have a mix of 12x12 and 6x8 papers in it.

Here is my first layout kit for August:

For both of my layout kits, I have already picked the photos I want to use and only pulled what supplies I will need for one layout.

This first kit has papers, the sticker book, and enamel dots from Echo Park's Away We Go collection. Here is a closer look at the papers:

I have three full sheets of paper and a good sized scrap that I will be using.

Here are the embellishments for this kit:

I have the sticker book and enamel dots from the Away We Go collection. The labels and small enamel hearts were in with the scraps I have for that collection so I added them to this kit, as well. I also added wood veneer to my kit that will be carried across all three kits. The sheet of pink puffy hearts fell onto my desk while I was looking for something else, so I added those in hopes of getting a few more of them used. I would be so happy if I could use them all this month! 

Here are the scraps:

A few of these scraps can be used with my other two kits if I need them.

Here is my second layout kit:

This layout is filled with Simple Stories' Boho Sunshine goodies. Here is a closer look at the papers:

I'm not sure that striped paper will get used but it is there just in case!

For the embellishments, I added everything I have from the collection, puffy stickers from an old Dear Lizzy collection, and the enamel hearts and wood veneer will be used in this kit, too. 

Here is my smaller fromat kit for the month:

This kit is full of Pretty Little Studio's Good Vibrations collection.

Here are the papers from the collection:

All of these papers are 6x9 and will be perfect for a 6x8 layout or a traveler's notebook layout. 

I loved this collection when it came out and pre-ordered it from Pretty Little Studio the minute I saw it. I love Pretty Little Studio's embellishments but sometimes have trouble using their paper. I am hoping having it in my kit will help me get over whatever it is that makes me hesitate to use it.

Here are the embellishments:

So many fun goodies to play with here!

Our focus product for August is washi tape and here is what I pulled:

I recently went through my washi tape and gave quite a bit of it to Ada. A lot of what I gave her was doubles or tapes that I knew I would never use. She has a journal I gave her that she is using for a junk journal - drawing in it and decorating the pages. She was tickled to take some washi tape home to use in her journal!

I added the majority of what was left to a couple of boxes I found at Dollar Tree. They take up way less space on my desk than the basket I originally had my washi in and it's a lot easier to see what I have. I pulled a variety of washi that I will keep on my desk, but I am not limiting myself to just these rolls. If I find I need a different color, I will pull in whatever I need.

I will be the first to admit that I am horrible about actually using washi, but I am going to channel my inner Jennie Garcia this month and really try to use some! 

That is it for my August kit! I am looking forward to putting this kit to use!

Hop on over to Lisa's blog - My Creative Endeavors - to see the beautiful kit that she has put together. I always love to see her kits!

Don't forget - this is a just-for-fun challenge, but if you do play along and put together your own stash bash kit - add it to the linky below and we will be sure to check it out and cheer you on! Here are the rules:

1. Follow the challenge prompt to create a kit to work with throughout the month. You may use other items, but please concentrate on using your kit, and link it below.

2. Create new, not previously posted projects using your stash kit.

3. If you have a blog - please include the challenge graphic and a link to our challenge in your posts. 

4. You may link to social media if you don't have a blog. If you share on Instagram, please make sure to use - #lisaandlorisgreatstashbash2024

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Have a great day!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter