Sketch N Scrap Card Sketch #250

 Hello, hello! Happy Tuesday to you! I hope your week is off to a good start!

Today I am sharing the card that I created for Sketch N Scrap's September 20th card sketch. This sketch was created by me and here is a reminder of what it looks like:

And this is what I came up with:

I am still working on getting a few Christmas cards made before the holiday season rolls around. For this card, I have used Simple Stories' Holly Days 6x8 paper pad and puffy stickers. I struggled to find a second accent color for the circle mat and sentiment mat. The same color of green would have been way too much and I had already used red. I tried to use the darker green - like the leaves - but didn't care for that, so I just settled on black. The sentiment is a piece of washi tape. I have a roll that was just loose in my Christmas container that is made up of Christmas sentiments, so I cut off the one that I wanted to use and called it done. 

I used an argyle-patterned embossing folder to dress up the white background a bit and I went around the edges of all of the papers with Tim Holtz Black Soot distress ink - just a little something to help the layers stand out. 

This card came together so quickly and I already have plans for another card or two using this sketch!

Head on over to the Sketch N Scrap blog to see more inspiration using this sketch.

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

Good Times Together - Sketch N Scrap #281

Hello, everyone! Happy Sunday to you! I hope that you are all doing well. 

Today I am sharing the layout that I made for the September 15th sketch at Sketch N Scrap. Here is a look at the sketch:

For this layout, I used the oh-so-pretty Happy Days collection from Cocoa Vanilla. I snapped this photo of Abby and Ada on one of our girl's day outings in downtown Springfield. This flower garden that we found outside of The Discovery Center was too pretty to not get a photo of the two of them in front of it, and the Happy Days collection was just perfect for the photo. 

Here are a couple of close-ups:

When I bought this collection, I made sure to purchase a package of the floral die-cuts. Cocoa Vanilla's floral pieces are always so pretty and there are a ton of flowers in die-cut pack. I did not skimp on using them on this layout and I still have a ton left. I fussy cut the butterflies from the back side of the purple dot paper and added a few puffy stickers to finish out my clusters. 

I popped a few of the flowers up on foam tape for some added dimension and the tiny floral bits were fussy cut from the back side of the purple dot paper. I stamped the journaling box and fussy cut it out and added what little bit of journaling I had on it. I also used a wavy border die on the bottom strip of paper for something a little different. 

Be sure to check out the Sketch N Scrap blog for more inspiration. I would love to see your take on the sketch, too!

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

Sketch N Scrap Card Sketch #249

 Hello, hello! Happy Wednesday to you! I hope that you are having a good week so far. The weather the last few days has been absolutely beautiful with high temps in the 70s and lows in the 50s. Maybe, just maybe, we're done with the really hot weather!

Today I am sharing the card that I created for Sketch N Scrap's September 5th card sketch. Here is a look at the great sketch that Lisa created for us to use:

I decided that I had better get started on my Christmas cards for this year, so the next few cards that I share will probably be Christmas. 

For this card, I have used Crate Papers' Mittens & Mistletoe 6x8 paper pad and stickers. I loved this collection when it came out in 2021 and had to have most of it. Sadly, I think this may be the first time I have used any of it! For two years it has sat in my stash untouched! That is why, even though it was very hard, I told myself I could not buy any new Christmas collections this year. I have way too much sitting in my stash not getting used and it is time to change that!

This card came together so quickly and I know this sketch will be one of my go-to sketches. 

Here is a closer look at the focal point of my card:

I added a few pine sprig stickers around my poinsettia sticker to fill in a bit of the empty space. I typed up my sentiment on the computer and printed it out because a small sentiment could not be found on the sticker sheet and I didn't take the time to get out my Christmas stamps!

Have you had a chance to play along with us at Sketch N Scrap? We would love to see your take on our sketches this month!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! I know posting has been sporadic as of late, but I am hoping that changes going forward. You can always follow me on Instagram, too. Sometimes I post my projects over there but don't write up a blog post. You can find me here:

  https://www.instagram.com/lori_670/

Have a great day!

First Day - Sketch N Scrap #280

Hello, everyone! Happy Monday to you! I hope your week is off to a good start. We are enjoying the last day of our long holiday weekend. It's back to feeling like summertime today, so staying inside and doing a little scrapping in the air conditioning is definitely in order!

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

And here is my layout:

 It is that time of year for back-to-school photos and I was so excited that I got to get pictures of my girls on their first day. Miss Ada is in 4th grade this year and Abby is starting her 11th year teaching. 

I used my Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash September kit for this layout. The school themed papers helped to make this layout come together quickly. I was able to use a few items from my bashket on this layout, too. I used the Jenni Bowlin chalkboard alpha stickers for the title and the Jillibean Soup journaling bit with the number 4 on it since Ada is in the fourth grade. The apple was in the pack of school-themed chipboard, although it looks like I fussy cut it from a piece of paper. The red scallped border sticker was in my bashket from a previous month. Since the majority of it is covered up and I love it, I cut just enough of the sticker to show and saved the rest for a traveler's notebook layout. The off cut should fit on a traveler's notebook layout perfectly.

I used up quite a few scraps that I had included in my kit, and of course, I made a few more scraps. I am hoping with working on Ada's school tn that I will make a good dent in my school themed mini-kit this month.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

Be sure to check out the Sketch N Scrap blog for more inspiration using this sketch. I would love to see your take on the sketch, too!

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

Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash September Kit Challenge

Hello, everyone! Happy September 1st! Can you believe it is already September?! Fall is just around the corner and I am actually ready for it this year! It has been a long - HOT - summer, and while summer is my favorite season, I am ready for a little bit cooler weather. As I sit typing this, it is sunny and 77 degrees, the windows are open, and I am enjoying a beautiful breeze. Just a gorgeous day. I had better enjoy it. They are calling for 90s again this weekend - which is only fitting for the last hoorah of summer.

It is time for the September edition of Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash! Before I get to this month's kit, I will let you know that I only managed a layout and a card with last month's kit. To be fair, that is about all that I scrapped last month. I did work in my traveler's notebook and I did work on my Project Life pages - mostly printing of photos for those pages - and that was it. I will keep that kit by my desk since I already have pages planned with it and hopefully, will put it to use sooner rather than later. 

On to my September kit. If you don't know what Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash is all about - here is how it works - On the 1st of each month, we will post a challenge prompt and the stash kit we have created using that prompt. During the month we will try to use as much of our stash kit as possible on different projects.  This year we have added a bashket challenge to our kit challenge. Every month we pick 10 items that we want to get used up this year in a basket. We try to use as many of those items as we can during the month. If we don't use them all then those items stay in the basket and at the beginning of the next month, 10 more items are added. The object of the challenge is to try to keep your basket from overflowing!

This will be a just-for-fun challenge so there is no monthly prize - but isn't the real prize 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 the "recipe" for September:

To create your kit, pull 10 papers, 3-4 embellishments, 5-7 scrap papers, and our focus item for September is 6x6, 6x8, or 8x8 paper pads. Remember to pick your 10 items for your bashket!

 I had a hard time figuring out what I wanted to put into my kit this month. I'm not quite ready to scrap fall photos yet, summer photos weren't really speaking to me...I'm sure if my mojo was back in full force, I wouldn't have any problem figuring out what to put into my kit. I finally decided to go through my photos and pick out a few that made me want to scrap. By the time I was finished going through my photos, I had a page full of layout/project ideas. The majority of those ideas were school-related and Halloween-related, so I have two mini-kits again for this month.

Here's the first kit:

My first mini-kit is a school kit - full of Echo Park's First Day of School and School Rules goodies. Ada and Abby both started back two weeks ago. Ada starting 4th grade and Abby starting her 11th year teaching, so I have photos of their first day, and I have Ada's school traveler's notebook that I want to work on this month. Having all of this kit ready to go will make it easy for me when I sit down to scrap.

Here's a look at the papers:

When I chose the papers, I was mostly going by their first-day photos for this year, but I know I will be able to use them for Ada's school TN, too.

Here are the embellishments:

I have added both 12x12 sticker sheets, a sticker book, a die-cut pack, some random die-cuts left over from a kit from The ScrapRoom, and a couple of packs of enamel dots. 

Here are the scraps:

I tried to grab at least one scrap of all of the colors that are represented in the collection.

For my second mini-kit, I have made a Halloween kit. That's right, I skipped right over fall and went to straight to Halloween! (I'm sure fall will have its time next month.) One of the things on my projects list that I made was to create an album of Ada's Halloween costumes. I just hadn't decided on what size to do it in. I have now decided to do a 6x8 album with a full 6x8 page with the picture of her in her costume on it, and then a pocket page with any photos of her trick-or-treating, or going through her candy, etc. 

Here is my Halloween mini-kit:

This kit is full of Simple Stories' Happy Haunting collection. I loved this collection when it came out but didn't buy any of it. Then I found it either at Tuesday Morning or Peachy Cheap and got a few pieces of it. Then I got another one of the collection packs in a Simple Stories warehouse box - so I have two collection packs!

Here are the papers:

These are the papers I know I want to use first, but both sides are so pretty that I know you will be seeing the "B" sides, as well. Here are the "B" sides:

I went a little crazy with the embellishments, but when your talking about making an album you need a lot, right?!

I have included the 12x12 sticker sheet, chipboard, an ephemera pack, a couple of stamp sets, wood veneer, puffy stickers that I picked up at Walmart a couple of weeks ago, a few doilies and some metal dies. 

Since I will be making a pocket page album, I included all of the cut-apart papers:

Here are the scraps - (lots of pink!):

The orange in this collection is a unique shade - one that I didn't have any of in my scraps, so I am including the rest of the papers from the collection - which all happen to be orange! (The top photo is of the front side, and the bottom photo is of the back side.)

Our focus item for the month is 6x6 paper pads. I have also included 6x8 and 8x8 in my kit:

I tried to keep with my school and Halloween theme, but I did include a couple of fall paper pads, a summer paper pad, and a general-themed paper pad because I know how I am! I have school and Halloween planned but will want to work on something totally different! (And I totally reserve the right to pull any other 6x6 paper pad that I want!)

Here are my ten times for my bashket:

1. Making Memories Alphabet rub-ons from 2003 - I have probably six packs of these and they still work like a charm!

2. White photo corners that I have been floating around my desk forever.

3. Black Magic Mesh from the early 2000s.

4. Title cards...I guess you would call them that - from Sweetwater. Oh, do I miss Sweetwater!

5. Black alpha stickers from Sweetwater.

6. Black chalkboard alphas from Jenni Bowlin - two sheets with only one z missing.

7. Jack-o-lantern felt sticker from Rebeca Sower designs.

8. Halloween phrase stickers from Sticko from the early 2000s.

9. Journaling sprouts from Jillibean Soup from 2008.

10. School-themed chipboard, I think from Simple Stories.

As you can see, I tried to pick things that #1 have been in my stash for ages, and #2 that go well with my kit this month! Here's to a successful month using it up!

That is it! Be sure to stop by Lisa's blog to see the beautiful kit that she has created for this month. 

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 - #lisaandlorisgreatstashbash2023

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! I am hoping to post a little more this month than the last couple of months! Wish me luck!

Have a fantastic day!

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Click here to enter

Sketch N Scrap Card Sketch #248

Hello, hello! Happy Sunday to you! I hope you are having a good weekend. We are finally getting a break from the terribly hot weather and I am enjoying sitting with the windows open and the nice cool breeze.

Today I am sharing the card that I created using the August 20th card sketch at Sketch N Scrap. Here is a look at the sketch:

And this is what I created:

I used scraps from my Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash August kit for this card. The cake sticker is from a Crate Paper sticker sheet and the sentiment is from an older Close To My Heart stamp set - S1901 - Card Captions, and I stamped it in sapphire ink from CTMH. I popped the sentiment up on foam tape to give a little interest to the card. 

I truly meant to emboss the white portion of my background but got too busy sticking things down before I remembered to run it through my Cuttlebug! 

Be sure to stop by Sketch N Scrap to see more inspiration using our August sketches. The deadline to enter our August challenges is just a few days away, so get your projects linked up soon!

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

Face Off - Sketch N Scrap #278

 Hello, hello! Happy Wednesday to you! I hope that you all are having a good week! 

I wanted to pop in today and share the layout that I created for the August 1st sketch challenge at Sketch N Scrap. Lisa started the month off with a great sketch for us to try and I had so much fun with it! Here's a look at the sketch:

And here is my layout:

I stuck pretty closely to the sketch. The only things that I changed were the title/bottom cluster area and I added a double border piece along the side - making the top piece a little wonky. Since I moved my title piece down a bit - mostly so it wouldn't cover up too much of Miss Ada - I felt like having the bottom cluster below it just didn't look right. Combining the two areas worked out great!

I used my August kit for Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash for this layout. I used most of a full sheet of patterned paper and almost all of two of the scrap papers that I included. If nothing else, I have done a good job of using my scraps over the last couple of months!

Here are a couple of close-ups:

Since I didn't include a lot of embellishments for this mini-kit, I made use of some of my bashket items that I have been collecting. The cameras have been in my bashket for a while now and the puffy arrows were included this month. It kind of bothers me that the arrows are turning yellow, but not enough to not use them!

I also used the alphas that I included in this month's kit! That's a win for me already - actually using my focus item! I was a bit stuck on embellishing for this layout, so I just did what Janet from RTS Scrapbooking always says - look at what you did in one cluster and repeat it in the others - so cameras, enamel dots, and phrase stickers all around!

That is it for today! Be sure to check out Sketch N Scrap for more inspiration for their sketches. I hope you have a chance to play along with us this month!

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

August Counterfeit Kit Challenge

 Hello, hello! Happy Thursday to you! I hope that you are having a good week! I am popping in today to share the kit that I put together for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge August challenge.

I fell in love with their inspiration kit and had to play along! Here is a look at the inspiration kit that Lisa chose:

This kit is from a new European kit club called Pink and Paper and you can read more about it over on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog. 

I have the Cocoa Vanilla Happy Days collection that is included in the kit, but I am just not quite ready to use it, so I searched my stash and pulled a kit together and I am so excited to work with it! Here is my kit:

Here is a close-up of the papers:

I was really drawn to the teal-green papers in the inspiration kit. I knew I wanted to find something that was a close match to it, and even though I didn't have a floral paper, I did manage to get a few in my kit. I substituted a pink with red dot for the strawberry paper, a navy dot paper for the navy floral paper, plant paper in place of the floral stems paper, and hearts for the butterflies, and I added in a couple more black and white papers. 

 My papers tend to be a little more on the primary color side, but I think you can see the inspiration kit in there! 

While I was pulling papers I came across the My Mind's Eye Happy Days collection and the navy and teal colors really pulled me in! I went ahead and added it to my kit, as well.

If you've visited my blog at all this year, then you know that my friend Lisa and I have had a bashket challenge going on with our Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash challenge. Every month since January we have been pulling 10 items from our stash to try to use. It's a progressive challenge, meaning every month we pull 10 items regardless of how many we used the previous month. By the end of the year, we will have pulled 120 stash items, and the goal is to try to keep our bashket from overflowing. As you can see in the above photo, my bashket is getting really full!

This is another reason I decided to play along with the gals at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge. To try to get a few more of these items used up!

Here is a look at a few of the items in my bashket:

I love that Lisa and I are doing this bashket challenge! I am pulling things out of my stash that I have forgotten I even had and if I am going through my stash and pulling things - refreshing my memory - then they have a better chance at getting used up!

Life has been so busy this summer and I have not scrapped nearly as much as I would have liked, but I think things are starting to slow down, so hopefully, I will put this kit to use soon!

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

Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash August Kit Challenge

Hello, hello! How can it possibly be the first day of August?! Summer is in full swing and we are definitely feeling it around here in the middle of the US. We've been having quite a few close-to-100-or-100-degree days and that's a little hot even for me! 

The new month means that it is time for a new Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash Kit Challenge! As for my July kit - I did get two layouts made from my kit but that was it. Once again, I did not do a lot of scrapping last month. I'm in a bit of a scrappy slump as of late. I want to scrap. I even pull papers and photos to scrap, and then when I sit down to scrap, I struggle. I cannot seem to find my scrappy mojo! Even though I haven't been scrapping much, I have been planning out layouts - making notes about what I want to do and I am hoping this kit will help to jumpstart my creativity.

Let's get to it! If you don't know what Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash is all about - here is how it works - On the 1st of each month, we will post a challenge prompt and the stash kit we have created using that prompt. During the month we will try to use as much of our stash kit as possible on different projects.  This year we have added a bashket challenge to our kit challenge. Every month we pick 10 items that we want to get used up this year in a basket. We try to use as many of those items as we can during the month. If we don't use them all then those items stay in the basket and at the beginning of the next month, 10 more items are added. The object of the challenge is to try to keep your basket from overflowing!

This will be a just-for-fun challenge so there is no monthly prize - but isn't the real prize 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 the "recipe" for August:

To create your kit, pull 10 papers, 3-4 embellishments, 5-7 scrap papers, and our focus item for August is alphas. Don't forget to pick your 10 items for your bashket!

For August I am going with two mini-kits once again and here is my first mini-kit:

I came across the paper with the "Singing in the Rain" words all over it when I was trying to decide what to scrap this month. I remembered I have quite a few photos of Ada playing in the rain, plus we got caught in a rain shower on one of our walks last week, and I decided now is a good time to get those photos scrapped!

Here is a look at the papers - all from Echo Park's Sunny Days Ahead collection from 2015:

And here are the "B" sides:

Both sides of these papers have a good chance of being used this month!

Here are the embellishments:

I have pulled a couple of stamp sets, some random stickers with the rainy day theme, wood veneer, and enamel dots/shapes. Lots of rainy-day options here!

I pulled just a couple of scraps for this kit - two of which are the same papers from the collection and the hot pink is a Shimelle paper scrap:

Here is my second mini-kit:

The papers from this kit are from Echo Park's I Am Mom collection from 2018:

And the "B" sides:

I am sure I will be using both sides of the papers from this mini-kit! I love them all!

Here are the embellishments:

I pulled the 12x12 sticker sheet, a few wood veneer pieces, a few stamp sets, and enamel dots.

Here are the scraps:

A lot of these scraps will work with my first min-kit, as well, and I can definitely see myself using only the scraps for a layout all on their own.

I had a hard time weeding out these last few papers from the collection - especially the solids - so I am adding them to my kit as a paper add-on!

Our focus item for August is alphas. I tend to use my metal die alphas more for my layouts here lately, so I pulled these smaller alphas to use this month in my traveler's notebooks and in my Project Life albums. And you ever know, they may show up on a layout, too! 

Both of the Studio Calico alpha sets have been hanging above my desk so I will remember to use them, and I somehow still forget about them! Here's hoping I will be successful at using my focus item this month!

I am also making it a point to pull out a few stamps each month and put them to work. Here are the ones I have chosen to get inky with this month:

I NEED to start using my stamps more! I have so many stamp sets that never get used. I am hoping with pulling these and leaving them on my desk that I will get in the habit of reaching for them more often.

Here are my ten bashket items for August:

1. Simple Stories Summer Farmhouse Sn@p Cards pack. I'm pretty sure I somehow wound up with two of these. I am opening the package this month and sorting them out to use on a Project Life layout!

2. A small alpha sheet that I think is from an Authentique sticker sheet.

3. Stickers from a Shimelle - only two have been used.

4. A label sticker sheet from Crate paper - I think!

5. Puffy stickers from an old Gossamer Blue kit. These need to be used up!

6. Painted Wood pieces from Gossamer Blue.

7. Glitter enamel shapes from Shimelle.

8. Four flair pieces from Sweetwater - does anyone remember that company?

9. Bloom acrylic piece. I can't remember where it's from - maybe Gossamer Blue.

10. Puffy shapes from a Paige Evans collection. I received these in a ScrapRoom kit when I was on the design team. Here's hoping I can get them used up!

That is it! I am feeling pretty darned excited about using my kit this month. Here's hoping it has brought my mojo back and that it will kickstart my creativity!

Be sure to stop by Lisa's blog to see the beautiful kit that she has created for this month. 

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 - #lisaandlorisgreatstashbash2023

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

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter