The Studio Challenges - Review of the Year

Hello, hello! I hope that you all had a Merry Christmas and are looking forward to the new year.  Have you thought about making any scrappy goals for yourself in the new year? I've been thinking about mine and hope to share those with you in a post in the coming days.

Today I am here to share my layout for this week's challenge at The Studio Challenges. This week our challenge is - Review of the Year - how was the last year for you? Was it good or bad? Was there a standout moment or maybe you would like to add something from each month - it is up to you!

We had a pretty darn good 2019 and there is no way I could use every single highlight on one layout, so I decided to highlight a few of the more memorable or funny highlights from each month on my layout:

I can't remember the last time I did a double page layout that wasn't a Project Life spread! It doesn't happen very often for me anymore, I just don't take as many photos as I used to, but it's fun to do one now and then. I was able to fit 14 photos on this layout!

Since I had a lot going on in the photos, I tried to keep my background papers and embellishments minimal. Here's a better look at each side:

The background paper, I believe, is from an older Crate Paper line. I forgot to write it down before I threw away the manufacturer's strip. All of the other papers and embellishments are from Simple Stories "So Happy Together" collection, with the exception of the enamel dots, they are from My Mind's Eye's "Splendor" collection, and the alphabet letters are from Felicity Jane.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I wanted to do something a little different with my numbers, so I die cut them out of navy cardstock and the mint green patterned paper. I then cut the mint green set on a diagonal and layered them over the top of the navy numbers for a two-toned, or color-blocked, look.

Since I had so much journaling for this layout, I needed to create a flap for it all to fit. I printed it all off and then created the flap by scoring about a quarter of an inch from the top of the front flap and folding it behind the bottom page. I added a little glue to hold it in place.

Head on over to The Studio Challenges for more great inspiration for this challenge. I hope you take on this challenge, too!

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

A New Challenge For The New Year

Do you have tons of pretty patterned paper and embellishments in your stash just waiting to be used? Do you feel like you collect more supplies than you use? Then this challenge is for you! My friend Lisa and I are committed to actually using our stash instead of just collecting it in 2020.

We've been talking about doing this for a while and decided to stop talking and start doing and kick off the new year with this challenge.

Here's how the challenge will work:

On the 1st of each month we will post a challenge prompt and the stash kit we have created following that prompt. During the month we will try to use as much of our stash kits as possible on different projects. Then, on the last day of the month, we will do a recap post showing what stash we were able to bash!

This will be a just-for-fun challenge so no monthly prize - but isn't the real prize using up our stash? You never know - if we still have a few unused stash items after a few months, then those items may just go into a giveaway. We hope you will join us in our quest to bash some stash in 2020. If you accept the challenge to play along - link up on either Lisa or Lori's blog (or both if you choose) so that we can see who is joining us each month!

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. 

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 - #lisaandlorisgreatstashbash2020

We would love it if you played along with us! Our first challenge will go live on January 1st, 2020 at 9 AM CST, so be sure to back with us then!

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

Merry Christmas - Sketch N Scrap Card Sketch #160 Take Two

Hello, everyone! Happy Monday to you! Christmas is just a couple of days away - are you all ready? For the most part, I am done, but until it's the actual day I feel like I need to do more!

I have another Christmas card to share with you today. I loved this sketch that Lisa created for our December 20th reveal at Sketch N Scrap so much that I had to make another card using it. And between you and me, I have another idea for a birthday card using this sketch...I'm just not sure when I will get it done! 

Here's a look at the sketch:

I have had this little tree stamp for years and have never inked it up. It's too cute to not put to use and now that I've finally used, I am sure it will be one of my favorites! It's a Studio G stamp set and the copyright is 2012 - which is probably when I bought it. 7 years is a long time to let something this cute sit and not be used!

I colored the image with my ShinHan markers - it's been a long time since I used any of those, too, die cut it into a circle and matted it with another circle. I also added a few gems and a wood veneer star to the top of the tree. 

I used my swiss dot embossing folder on the white panel and added my sentiment- which I just typed up on the computer using the Penelope Anne font - and punched into a tab shape. I added a green tab behind it so it would stand out from the white background. 

Be sure to check out the Sketch N Scrap blog for more inspiration. 

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

Happy Birthday - Scrap Our Stash Pick Your Side Challenge

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Hello, everyone! Happy Saturday to you! Do you have any big plans for the weekend? I still have not started wrapping my presents...guess that is my plan for the weekend!

Today I am sharing my take on this month's Pick Your Side Sketch Challenge at Scrap Our Stash. Along with choosing one side of the sketch, we were also to use 8 or more different types of scrapbook items on our layout. Here's a look at the sketch:

I chose the left side of the sketch for my layout:

For my 8 items, I have used - 4 different patterned papers, stickers, die cuts, a stamp, and enamel dots. 

I just loved this photo of Scott and Ada on his birthday last year. I had gone into the other room to grab something and Abby snapped this for me while they were waiting. And then the photo of Shane sneaking in to help blow out the candles at the last minute is priceless! He's good at sneaking in at the last second!

I have used a mix of Echo Park and Carta Bella papers for this layout. I think they all work together well. Here are a couple of close-ups:

I realized after I had taken the photos that I forgot to add the dot to the "i" and have made sure to add it since then. A lot of journaling was not needed here, but I do think I will go back and add in the names and how Shane snuck in there at the last second to blow out the candles!

Head on over to Scrap Our Stash to see how the rest of the design team interpreted this challenge. I do hope you are able to find some time to play along with us!

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

Warm Winter Wishes - Sketch N Scrap Card Sketch #160

Hello, everyone! Happy Friday to you! I hope that you have had a good week and are all ready for Christmas. 

It's time for the last sketch challenges of the month - and year - at Sketch N Scrap today. Lisa has created a great sketch that is definitely a favorite of mine and I am sure to use it again.

I decided that since the first day of winter is just a couple of days away, that I would create a wintery card for today's sketch.

I found these papers when I was going through my scraps box and thought they would be a cute match to that cute little snowman. I added a bit of silver glitter paper and a silver glitter snowflake to my card. I also added a bit of Wink of Stella to the snowman to make it look a little more like snow but it is really hard to tell that in the photos.

Head on over to Sketch N Scrap to see the fun cards from the rest of the design team. I hope you can find some time this busy holiday season to play along with us! 

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

Feeling Festive - The ScrapRoom - Mixing Up the Kits

Hello, everyone! Happy Hump Day!

Today I am on The ScrapRoom blog sharing the layout that I made for this month's 'Mixing Up The Kits' segment. The ScrapRoom offers so many great add-on kits each month that coordinate with their main kits.

Here is a look at the December Patterned Paper Add-on kit, the Embellishment kit, and the Shot of Life kit:

Nov/Dec Shots Of Life kit

December Patterned Paper Add-on Kit

December Embellishment Kit

For my layout, I have used the Carta Bella paper from the Patterned Paper Add-on kit, a die cut and the twine from the Shots of Life kit, and the enamel dots from the embellishment kit. I did add white cardstock, navy cardstock, and a scrap of green plaid patterned paper:

The Carta Bella papers and embellishments were perfect for these photos of Abby, Shawn, and Ada, and my sister and niece all in their fun holiday attire. 

Here's a better look at the embellishment cluster:

Be sure to stop by The ScrapRoom blog for more inspiration using the December kits every day of the week!

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

The ScrapRoom December Shots of Life Kit

Hello, everyone! Happy Tuesday to you! I can't believe that Christmas is just a week away! 

Today I am here to share my pocket page layout using the December portion of the Shot Of Life kit from The ScrapRoom. Here's a look at the Nov/Dec Shots of Life Kit:

And here is my spread:

I wanted to document our annual ornament exchange from last year and the December part of the Shots of Life kit was perfect for this. The colors in the Photo Play Kringle and Co and the Heidi Swapp Winter Wonderland cards were perfect for my photos. The Photo Play Kringle and Co cards are a bit more playful than the Heidi Swapp Winter Wonderland cards but I really think they work well together. 

My photos are pretty busy so I kept the embellishments to a minimum - using the Heidi Swapp Winter Wonderland stickers. I wanted a bit more green throughout my spread than just the one card and few green stickers, so I pulled a green plaid paper to mat a few of my photos and cards. 

Products used - Photo Play Kringle and Co cut apart cards, Heidi Swapp Winter Wonderland cut apart cards and stickers. 

From my stash - green plaid paper, grey patterned paper, white cardstock, and alpha stickers.

Here is a look at the left side layout:

For my title card, I used one of the cut apart cards from Heidi Swapp. I matted it with the reverse side of the same paper. I used a few of the stickers from the Heidi Swapp sticker sheet on a few of the photos.

Here is the right side of the spread.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I had so many photos from our ornament exchange and I wanted to include as many as possible, so I included an insert. I added the majority of my journaling in this insert and all of the photos of my extended family opening up their ornaments. 

For my insert, I cut down the Design B page protector. By cutting off the far right row of pockets it gave me just the right amount of spaces for my photos and journaling. 

Be sure to stop by The ScrapRoom blog to see more inspiration using the December kit's every day of the week!

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

Holiday Happiness - The Studio Challenges - Christmas Traditions

Hello again! I am back with my second post of the day. If you are looking for my Sketch N Scrap reveal, please scroll on down. 

It's time for a new challenge at The Studio Challenges today. This week we want to see a layout about those Christmas traditions. What is Christmas like where you are, is there something you do at Christmas time that is different to other people? Or maybe there's a tradition you have to do for it to feel like Christmas. Show us those Christmas traditions.

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is decorating the Christmas tree - it is the kick-off to our holiday season - and it is a requirement that every member of the family has to hang at least one ornament on the tree before they can be "done".   We typically decorate the tree over the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend but this year Ada's birthday fell on that weekend and we wanted to have the house decorated for her party, so we bucked tradition and put up the tree a week early - which pleased Shane immensely!

I have used an older Bella Blvd Christmas collection... I think it's called Christmas Cheer - for this layout. That cute tree paper was just what I was looking for this layout! The only "d" that I had left had an upside down heart on it so I just added an enamel dot over it to cover it up.

I wanted to get a photo of everyone hanging their ornament on the tree on this layout so I printed them each in wallet size and was able to get all of them on one page.  I did want to get the photo of Ada putting on the angel - with Uncle Matt's help - and to add some journaling, so I made a sort of flip out in order to include both.

I used a couple of different Elle's Studio stamps on my journaling card and I really like how it turned out. I will add my journaling (now that the photo is taken and I don't have to worry about messing it up!) and tell about how this year was a little different with the timing of when we put our tree up and why. 

Be sure to stop by The Studio Challenges to see Helen and Michelle's take on the challenge, too.

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

Sketch N Scrap #191 - 7 Months

Hello, everyone! Happy Sunday to you! I hope that you are having a good weekend. I had a busy day yesterday Christmas shopping with my two oldest kiddos and my granddaughter, and then we came home and decorated a gingerbread house. We had such a fun day yesterday and now today we are expecting some sort of wintery weather. We shall wait and see what we get - if anything!

It is the middle of the month and that means it's time for a new sketch at Sketch N Scrap today. Heather has created a fun 3-photo sketch for us to play with:

I have been making a few Christmas layouts lately and decided to take a break from those and do something a little different. I am definitely lacking in layouts of Matthew when he was a baby so I decided to pull out a couple of photos and use this sketch for those.

I have used Echo Park's 'Hello Baby Boy' collection for this layout. I know I still have several photos of both boys that I still need to scrap and when I saw this collection I couldn't resist it. It has such cute patterns and the colors are so fun for baby boys. 

I only had two photos of Matthew in his crib after a nap and one of the 4x4 cut apart cards in this collection was a great substitute for the third photo. The journaling on this reads - "Maybe it's because Matthew was our second baby. Maybe it's because we had tried for a while and pretty much given up on having another baby. Maybe it's because Abby was such a great big sister and a lot of help. Whatever the case may be - Matthew has always been the sweetest and happiest baby. He truly is our "Gift from God" and brings so much joy to all of us. Photos - August 1998 Journaling - December 2019"

Here are a couple of close-ups:

When I saw the little squirrel sticker on the sticker sheet of this collection, I knew I would have to add it somewhere. When Matthew got old enough to really start moving around his grandpa would call him his little grey squirrel.

It was nice to take a break from all of the holiday layouts and cards and do a baby layout. And it feels good to have a layout of Matthew as a baby done!

Head on over to Sketch N Scrap to see the wonderful layouts from the rest of the design team. I can't wait to see what you create!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! I will be back soon with another project to share with you!

TN Time With Lisa & Lori December Challenge

Hello, everyone! Happy Tuesday to you! It's time for the December Challenge here at TN Time With Lisa & Lori! I can't believe that we have been doing this challenge for a year now and it has definitely kept me motivated to keep working in my traveler's notebooks.

Here's how our challenge works - this is a monthly challenge that starts on the 10th of each month and ends on the 9th of the following month at midnight CST. If you complete my random challenge for the month - link your TN, bullet journal, or planner spread below. If you combine my challenge with Lisa's sketch challenge - link up here and on Lisa's blog  - My Creative Endeavors - and you will have two chances to win a prize. You can find the full list of rules here.

Now for this month's challenge. With the holidays just around the corner, we are going easy with an "Anything Goes" challenge.

Here is the sketch that Lisa has created for us:

Here is my layout:

I am back to working in my 52 Favorites TN for 2019. I still have a few weeks that I need to go back and fill in my first insert for this year so we are all the way back to Week 9. For this week, the photo is of Miss Ada. We had been shopping and the stores were putting out their spring clothes. When she saw this cute little llama shirt she decided it needed to come home with her!

I really wanted to crop my photo into a square and give it the polaroid look like on the sketch, but I just couldn't cut away that much of the photo, so we went with a full wallet-size photo.

Almost everything that I used on this layout is from the Simple Stories 'Oh Happy Day' collection or their 'Dream Big' collection. To be honest, I didn't know if I would ever use the banner sticker or the llama sticker but they were perfect for this spread!

My TN insert is getting quite full and with still needing to add a few more spreads I kept my embellishments pretty flat. Here are a couple of close-ups:

I hope you find some time in this busy holiday season to play along with us! I would love to see your take on our challenges! Link up below by January 9th for your chance to win this:

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

The Struggle Is Real - Sketch N Scrap Monthly Challenges

Hello, everyone! Happy Monday! I hope that you had a good weekend. Ours was nice and quiet - which was nice with knowing the next few weekends are going to be really busy.

Today I am sharing my layout for Sketch N Scrap's Monthly Challenge #3 in their Monthly Challenges Facebook Group. Here's a look at the sketch and along with the sketch there is an optional challenge to add a decorative border (border stickers, punched border, etc,) to your layout:

For my layout, I rotated the sketch and I added a decorative border of a scalloped border punch, gold glitter washi tape, and a border strip from one of the patterned papers.

I love these photos of Ada from last Christmas. It was the last day she was at our house before Christmas break and we decided to make some cookies. I just wanted to take a few pictures of her hard at work - she didn't even need to look at the camera - but when she saw me taking pictures, she thought she needed to look and this is what we ended up with - funny faces of her trying to smile and mix the cookies all at the same time, and somewhat blurry photos from me laughing at the pictures I was getting!

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I used Doodlebug Design's papers - I think I used from both the Here Comes Santa and Sugar Plum collections, and the little reindeer banner sticker is from an old Bella Blvd collection. 

Be sure to check out Sketch N Scrap's Monthly Challenges Facebook Group. We have 4 fun challenges posted every month and would love it if you played along with us!

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