Monday, June 29, 2015

Sketch N Scrap Card Sketch #52

Hello again! This is my second post today, so if you're looking for my Use Your Stuff post, just scroll down or you can find it here.

I am back with another patriotic  card for you this afternoon. The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays, and it's always fun to make a card - or two - to celebrate it!

For this card I used this fun sketch by Lisa over at Sketch N Scrap.

 
And here is my card:
 

I embossed the background with the Tiny Stars embossing folder from The Paper Studio. I used up some more scraps from the Just Because 6x6 paper pad from Little Yellow Bicycle, and the little flag cluster is a sticker from Jolee's Boutique. You can't tell it in the photo, but the whole card front is popped up on some thin foam tape to give it a little more dimension.

This card came together very quickly and this is a sketch I will use again! I love it when cards can be so quick and easy, thanks to a good sketch!

That's it for today. Thanks for stopping by and I will be back soon!


Use Your Stuff - Anything Goes

Happy Monday and welcome to my blog!

There is a new challenge up today on the Use Your Stuff blog, and it is the last challenge for a while. We are taking July and August off for a summer break. We will be back with a new challenge on September 7.

This week's challenge is always a popular one - Anything Goes! Make any project you choose and link it up over on the Use Your Stuff blog. This challenge will be open all summer long and you can enter it as many times as you like. At the end of the summer, Tammy will pick 3 entries to win a small prize pack.

Since Independence Day is coming up here in the states, I decided to make a patriotic card.

 
I used the Just Because 6x6 paper pad from Little Yellow Bicycle. I am so sad that they are no longer in business - this is one of my favorite paper pads!
 
I also used this sketch from My Favorite Things card challenge blog:

My Favorite Things always has great sketches every Wednesday on their card challenge blog.

Be sure to stop by the Use Your Stuff blog and see the projects the rest of the design team have made. I hope that you will be inspired to play along with us this summer!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Lasting Memories #248 - So Happy Together

Good morning, everyone! I hope you all are having a good weekend. My hubby's vacation has officially started - yay! No big plans to go and do anything - just catching up on things around the house. We may fit in a trip to the lake if the weather is nice and warm!

Lasting Memories has a new challenge posted today over on the blog. We are starting a new group of challenges for July and they are going to be some really fun ones! The theme for July is "Together" and this first week's challenge is to scrap the theme.

 
I chose to scrap a layout of my daughter and her little family. I snapped this photo of them when we went to the zoo earlier in the month, and I just love it! The way they are both looking at Ada just melts my heart. They are the happiest when they are all together.
 
I used the Basic Grey Capture line for this layout. Basic Grey is another one of those companies that I am really liking right now, and when I came across this collection at Tuesday Morning for $5.99 I had to get it. I love the papers and the colors in this collection - they are just so pretty!
 
I used the newest sketch from ScrapMuch:


 
I love Laura's sketches and knew when I saw this one that I was going to use it as soon as possible.
 
I am also offering up the prize for July over at Lasting Memories. Play along with any, or all, of our challenges in July and you will have a chance at winning this:
 
 
Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic day!
 

Monday, June 22, 2015

Use Your Stuff #189 - Hello Beautiful

Hello, everyone! I hope that you had a good Father's Day weekend. The rain has finally stopped, the sun is shining, and it feels like summer!

This week's challenge is up today over on the Use Your Stuff blog, and this week Karrie is challenging us to use some wood on our projects.

I chose to do a layout and use some wood veneer pieces.


Wood veneers are one of my favorite embellishments to add to any project, and believe it or not, I don't have very many pieces of it in my stash. Hopefully I can add more to it soon!;)

 
I based my layout on an older sketch from Sketch N Scrap by Kelly Holifield. She had actually posted it in one of her birthday challenges last month for Sketch N Scrap's Birthday Bash. It was the perfect sketch for my layout. I just love the papers cut on the diagonal and all the layers behind the photo.


I used more Bella Blvd for this layout. I think I may have a slight obsession with them right now!

Kelly's birthday challenge was to use only 3 patterned papers, and technically, I did. I used the grey and the turquoise for my background, so that was 2 papers, and the navy dot, the pink grid, and the multi colored stripe all came from the same sheet of cut apart strips. The yellow heart paper behind the photo is actually the back of a candid card from the Molly collection, and my "Hello Beautiful" title card is also a candid card.

So, that's it for today! Be sure to check out the Use Your Stuff blog and see what kind of wood the rest of the design team used on their projects. I'm sure you will be inspired to play along with us.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Sketch N Scrap Design Team


I am so excited to finally be able to share that I have been asked to be part of the Sketch N Scrap Design Team! I have followed them since they first started and I always love the sketches that Lisa and Kelly create. I am just beyond thrilled and honored to be a part of this talented team.

My first reveal will be on July 1st - I can't wait!

You can meet the rest of  the new design team (and see the returning members) over on the Sketch N Scrap blog.

Buddies At The Zoo

Hello, everyone! Happy Thursday! We are one day closer to the weekend.

Today is my day to be up on the Sketches In Thyme blog with my take on the week 3 sketch.

Supplies used - Patterned paper - Bella Blvd - Color Chaos (orange stripe), Birthday Boy (green check, multi colored hearts), Summer Squeeze (yellow stars), stickers  - Bella Blvd - Color Chaos, Alpha stickers - Bella Blvd - Sophisticates (Buddies), alpha stamps (at the zoo) EK Success, Dies - Lawn Fawn - hearts, Paper Smooches - Stars,  We R Memory Keepers - Circles, Enamel Dots - Doodlebug Designs, Cardstock - Kraft - Close To My Heart, Navy - Paper Studio, White - Colorbok, Ink - Close to My Heart.

Last weekend we headed to the zoo for my birthday. We met Abby, Shawn, and Ada there and we had a great day. It was overcast and quite breezy and all of the animals were out and about - some even put on a show for us.

Not long after we walked through the admission gates, Matt picked up Ada and carried her around for a good part of the time we were there. After that she was Uncle Matt's buddy. Of course, she thinks Matt is all that, so having him carry her put her on cloud nine!

I loved this photo of them sitting down and taking a little break. It was just one of those special moments.

I used a few different collections from Bella Blvd on my layout. I have always been a fan  of theirs, and I love that all of their collections coordinate so well together. It makes it so easy to mix and match.

The sketch has a couple of places that showed some paper tearing with another pattern peeking through and I wanted to be sure and do that on my layout. I haven't done paper tearing in a long time, and let me tell you, kraft cardstock is not easy to tear! I couldn't stop there with the distressing, so I distressed the edges of all of the other papers with my scissors.

Here is Shawn's sketch for this week - #153:

 
 
 
 
 
If you play along with this sketch or any of this month's sketches and you link it up over on the Sketches In Thyme blog, you will have a chance at winning a $25 gift certificate from:
 

Here is the week 1 sketch:

 
And week 2:
 
 
The more times you play along and share with us, the better chance you have to win!
 
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! I truly appreciate it.
 
I will be back soon with some exciting news!


Monday, June 15, 2015

Feeling Sketchy #123 - Happy Father's Day

Happy Monday! Here we are at the middle of the month again. It sure seems that since summer has (unofficially) started, that time is going by twice as fast!

The new sketch is posted today over on the Feeling Sketchy blog and it is one of my favorites.

 
 
Kenny K Downloads is our sponsor this time around and they provided us with some images to use. Since Father's Day is right around the corner, I chose to use one of the Father's Day Sentiments for my card.
 
supplies used - Patterned Paper - Fancy Pants - Swagger Collection, Scalloped Circle die - Sizzix, Circle die - Quickutz nesting circles - We R Memory Keepers, Star die - Paper Smooches.
 
I love the Fancy Pants Swagger paper for masculine projects - whether it be for a layout or a card - and I knew it would be perfect for this Father's Day card.
 
Be sure to check out the Feeling Sketchy blog to see how the rest of the team used this sketch and to find out more about our sponsor.
 
I hope you can find some time to get crafty and play along with our sketch!
 
Thanks for stopping by and I'll be back soon!

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Lasting Memories #246 - The Journey

Hello everyone! I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. We have had a busy couple of days with a trip to the zoo, some shopping and bringing Ada home with us to spend the night so her Mommy and Daddy could go see Jurassic World. I don't know of a better way to spend the weekend!

The new challenge is up over on the Lasting Memories blog today. Our theme for June is Amusing Anecdotes/Inspirational Photos and this week's challenge is - The Journey.

 
Supplies used - Patterned Paper - pink flowers and dot - Doodlebug Designs- Sunkissed, green grid - Studio Calica - Snippets, stripe - Recollections, flair - My Minds Eye - Now and Then - Dorothy, enamel dots - Basic Grey,  small alpha stickers - Theresa Collins, "explore" - Lawn Fawn Coles ABC's die.
 
 
I fell in love with this photo of Ada that Abby had posted on Facebook. There is a great big world out there for Ada to explore and she is up for the challenge! She has a big journey ahead of her and I can't wait to see where it takes her!
 
I still need to add a little bit of journaling, but I need to find out some more details from Abby first.
 
I used the March 2 sketch from Let's Get Sketchy for my layout.
 
 
 
 
Head on over to the Lasting Memories blog and see how the rest of the team interpreted this challenge.
 
Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a wonderful day!

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Sketch N Scrap Card Challenge #51 - Think Happy, Be Happy

Hello, everyone!

I have a card to share with you today using Kelly Holified's June 5th card sketch at Sketch N Scrap.

 
 
Supplies Used - Patterned Paper - Fancy Pants - What A Wonderful Day 6x6 paper pad, Label Die - Carta Bella Labels Die Set #4, Enamel Dots - October Afternoon, Stamp - Studio G, Ink - Lawn Fawn Black Licorice.
 
I can already tell I will be using this sketch again! I just love the space for a long sentiment or a project life style card. I chose to use a bigger sentiment, but would love to make another card using a project life style card.
 
So, I told you about having an over abundance of 6x6 paper pads in this post, and that I was challenging myself to try and use up as many 6x6 papers as I could over the summer. (This will more than likely carry on to the end of the year!) This past weekend I worked on a pocket letter for a swap  that I am in and I pulled out the Fancy Pants - What a Wonderful Day paper pad. I had already used a few sheets from it and by the time I was finished with the pocket letter and this card to go with it, the paper pad is almost gone! I only have 8 full sheets left out of the 36 and a few scraps big enough to do anything with. At least it's a start!
 
Be sure to check out the Sketch N Scrap blog. Their sketches are always fun to play with and they have tons of inspiration if you need to get your mojo going!
 
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Monday, June 8, 2015

Use Your Stuff #187 - Sentiment

Happy Monday, everyone! It's the start of a new week and the start of a new challenge over at Use Your Stuff. This week Martha is challenging us to focus on the sentiment. It's very simple - just create a project using any kind of sentiment. You can stamp it, die cut it, paint it, write it - whatever you would like to do.

supplies used - patterned paper - Tattered and Torn paper pad - Recollections, cardstock and ink - outdoor denim - Close To My Heart, stamp - Jillibean Soup, gold vellum - Paper Studio, star die - Paper Smooches.

I chose to use a big and bold sentiment for this birthday card. My friend, Sandi, had told me about a WWII veteran that is about to celebrate his 100th birthday, so I thought I would make a card to send to him. If you want to read more about this and get more information, please visit Sandi's beautiful blog here.

I also used this week's fun sketch from the Paper Craft Crew Challenges (PCCCS147):



Paper Craft Crew Card Sketch 147. #stampinup #papercraftcrew
 
 
I just loved everything about this sketch - clean and simple, just like I like them!
 

Be sure to stop by the Use Your Stuff blog and see the rest of the design team's creations. I hope that you are inspired to play along with us this week!
 
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today - I truly appreciate it! I hope you have a fantastic day!

Monday, June 1, 2015

Feeling Sketchy #122

Hi everyone! It's hard to believe that it is June 1st! Summer break has started for us and we are enjoying some free time for a change. We are finally getting a break from all of the rain we've been having. The sunshine is a welcome sight and the grass is growing quickly!

The first day of the month means a new sketch is up over on the Feeling Sketchy blog. It's another fun sketch and one that translates well into a layout - which is what I chose to do.


 
 
I loved the tilted panel on the sketch and since I rarely tilt anything on my layouts, it was a fun change. The only thing that I added that wasn't on the sketch was a couple of strips behind the photo. I just felt like it needed a little extra color. I also really liked the  circle element, so I die cut some rings to make a frame of sorts for my photo.
 
I found some old bottle cap stickers in my stash (from 2004) and made a couple of homemade flair pieces to add to my layout. I love the way they look layered on the circles and scalloped circles.
 
 

 
Check out the Feeling Sketchy blog to see the beautiful creations from the rest of the design team. Our sponsor for this sketch is Creative Embellishments. You can read more about them and the prize on the Feeling Sketchy blog.
 
Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!
 
2015 Project 50 - Round 2 - #7/50