Life is Sweet - Scrap Our Stash March Sketch Challenge

 Hello again! I am back with my second post of the day. To see my reveal for The Studio Challenges, please scroll down.

I am back to share my layout for the March sketch challenge at Scrap Our Stash. This month's sketch features 4 photos - although you could use less if you wanted. Along with the sketch, there is the added challenge to use washi tape on your layout. Here's a look at this month's sketch:

This is what I came up with:

These photos are of Ada when she was not quite a year old. Abby had snapped these photos while Ada was playing with one of her toys, and they are just too cute. I think she likes to show off those bottom two teeth with that smile!

I used Doodlebug Design's 'Made with Love' collection for this layout. I received this collection in my kits from The ScrapRoom and the colors could not have matched Ada's outfit any better!

Here are a few close-ups:

I must admit that I totally forgot all about using washi tape on my layout until it was already made. And I even had it sitting out on my desk, ready to be used. Then I had to try to figure out how to work it in without it looking like a random piece of washi tape stuck on there! I added it to a couple of the tags and under the phrase sticker (the green washi), and underneath the tag that I journaled on (pink striped washi).

I die cut a few hearts and stamped and die cut a few flowers for my embellishments. The clear gems came in my kit so I added them to the centers of my flowers. I added a few puffy hearts to the clusters to finish it all off.

Be sure to stop by Scrap Our Stash to see the layouts from the rest of the design team. I would love to see your take on the challenge, too!

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

New Babies - The Studio Challenges - New Life

Hello, hello! Happy Sunday to you all! I hope you are having a good weekend. We started our weekend off with a fun family pizza night on Friday with all of the kids, and we have been enjoying the warmer - sunny - weather yesterday and today.

It's time for a new challenge at The Studio Challenges today. Since yesterday was the first day of spring - we want to see new life on your layouts. Maybe it's the spring flowers coming up, a new baby or new puppy, etc. - it is up to you!

Growing up on a farm - when spring rolled around it meant lots of new babies being born. I always loved it when one of the cows would have a calf and we always had several bottle calves to take care of. They were always so cute running and bucking around the fields. I don't live on a farm now but our neighbor raises beef cattle so I get to see new little cuties like this every spring: 

For this layout, I used a paper pad from Die Cuts With a View - Spring Bloom. I thought these papers were perfect for a springtime page featuring a cute little calf. I didn't have any embellishments from this collection so I fussy cut several of the flower clusters from the patterned paper for my layout. I never dreamed I would make such a flowery layout about cows - but I like it!

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I added a few puffy dots around my layout to finish out the layout. 

Be sure to head on over to The Studio Challenges to see the lovely layouts from the rest of the design team. I hope you have a chance to play along with us!

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

Sketch N Scrap Card Sketch #190 - Happy Spring

Hello, everyone! Happy first day of spring! It's shaping up to be a beautiful day around here today and that makes me so happy! I am ready for the warmer days and spending more time outside. 

It's time for our last card sketch of the month at Sketch N Scrap today. I am lovin' this sketch that Lisa has created for us. I know I will be using it again very soon. Here's a look at the sketch:

Since it is the first day of spring, I decided to make a spring card to brighten someone's day:

Can you believe I made a spring card from Doodlebug Design's 'Made With Love' collection? The "b" side patterns were perfect for my springy card. I've had that fabric flower in my stash for ages. I believe that four came in a package and I think I have one more left and then they will be all used up. Maybe I should challenge myself to use it before the end of the month!

I didn't have any stamps or stickers that specifically said "Happy Spring" so I printed it off from my computer and cut it to size. I finished it off with a few puffy dots and now it is ready to go in the mail.

Be sure to stop by Sketch N Scrap to see the rest of the design team's take on the sketch. I hope you have some time to play along with us, too!

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

Sketch N Scrap #221 - Bubble Blaster Fun

Hello, everyone! Happy Monday to you! I hope that you had a good weekend. We had a lot of rain around here but that made it good to stay inside and scrap. 

It's the middle of the month and time for the mid-month sketch at Sketch N Scrap. This sketch is from Sketch Artist Lisa and I think I will be using it again!

Here is my layout:

I've used Echo Park's Little Dreamer - Boy collection for this layout of Matthew and Shane playing with a bubble blaster. I can't believe that these photos were taken almost 20 years ago! The boys were being unusually quiet in the other room so I went to check and this is what I found - Matthew entertaining Shane with the bubble blaster. He was - and still is - a great big brother to Shane.

Here are a few close-ups:

I am so happy to get a couple of older photos scrapped! I have so many and I hope to make a good dent in them this year. 

Be sure to check out the Sketch N Scrap blog to see the sketch and the beautiful layouts from the rest of the design team. I hope you have some time to play along with us!

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

Counterfeit Kit Challenge - Challenge #1 - Paper Addict

Hello, everyone, and Happy Friday!  We have made it to the weekend - do you have any plans? It's supposed to be super rainy all weekend and I'm hoping to get some scrapping and some stitching done!

It's time for the first challenge of the month at Counterfeit Kit Challenge. Our inspiration kit - The Paper Addict Kit from Mommyish - is all about our passion for paper, so our first challenge is to create a layout (or other memory-keeping project)  about a favorite hobby. Scrapbooking about scrapbooking is not compulsory, but it is fun!

I created a layout about one of my favorite hobbies - shopping for scrappy/crafty supplies!

My sister called me up and asked if I wanted to go to Springfield for a little crafty retail therapy - how could I say no to that?! We stopped by Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Tuesday Morning, and an antique mall to check out the "garage sale" that they were having that day - we both ended up with an armload of Disney VHS tapes for Shane! - and we finished off the day with a burger from Steak and Shake. I love that she shares my love of cross stitch and that we have such a good time when we are together. Retail therapy is great but spending time with my sister is priceless!

I included photos of our haul in her truck and most of the crafty goodies that I picked up that day. I think my favorite purchase of the day was the vintage-looking scale that I got for my kitchen. I am so glad that I finally broke down and got it!

I used four of the patterned papers that I had included in my kit and a variety of stickers and die-cuts, as well. It may look like I just used a hodge-podge of stickers on this layout, but I tried to use the crafty stickers that related to my hobbies - scrapbooking and cross-stitching. 

Here are a few close-ups:

For  my title, I used my favorite stamp and die set from The Stamp Market and a set of Thickers.

Here is a look at the journaling card. I love that it has little x's across the middle of it - perfect for a story about a couple of cross-stitchers!

Be sure to stop by the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog to see how the other Master Forgers took on this challenge. If you use your kit to create a project about one of your hobbies - be sure to share it with us!

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

TN Time With Lisa & Lori - March 2021 Challenge

 Hello, everyone! Happy Wednesday! It's the middle of the week and the weekend is in sight and I am looking forward to it! 

It is time for the March edition of TN Time With Lisa & Lori today. This is a just-for-fun 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 complete just Lisa's sketch challenge, link up over on her blog - My Creative Endeavors.

Here is my challenge for March:

Just use the color green somewhere on your spread - how little or how much is up to you - and include a tag on your spread. 

Here is the fun sketch that Lisa has created for March:

This is the TN spread that I created - using both my challenge and Lisa's sketch:

 

I am finally starting my 52 Favorites TN for 2021! My 2019 and 2020 are still nowhere near done, but that's okay. I will get caught up one of these days. I am going with a little bigger TN for my 52 Favorites for this year and using the insert that is 5 inches by 8.25 inches on as opposed to the 4.25 by 8.25 inches. It's only about three-quarters of an inch bigger on each side, but that makes quite a bit of difference! 

This photo is of Miss Ada just last Wednesday when I picked her up from school for her early out day. She spent the afternoon drawing me the cutest farm animals and vegetables for me to put up in the kitchen. I just need to figure out how I am going to do that! 

I used Echo Park's Little Dreamer - Girl collection for this spread. I am really lovin' both the girl and boy versions of this collection. It is taking everything in me to not order a second set of papers from each of them! 

For my part of the challenge - to use the color green and to add a tag - I matted the photo in green paper and then added in a few green stickers. I also added a tag from one of the die-cut packs to satisfy the tag portion of my challenge.

Here are a few close-ups:

I just think that billy goat that Ada drew for me is just the cutest!

mini alpha cuts 

I once again used my favorite little mini alpha cuts stamp and die from The Stamp Market. This size is perfect for my TN spreads and for my Project Life albums, and I just realized when I grabbed the links for the set that I have that it looks like they have a set that is a little bit bigger than mine. They look to be about the size of the old October Afternoon tile alphas...I may have to look into getting those, too!

After I took the photos I went back and added my date stamp right below the journaling.

Be sure to stop by Lisa's blog to see her beautiful spread. I hope you have some time to play along with us!

Even though this is a just-for-fun challenge we do have a few rules:

1.Create a TRAVELER'S NOTEBOOK, PLANNER, OR BULLET JOURNAL spread based on the CHALLENGE THEME and/or our sketch. 
2.Create a new, not previously posted project.
3.You are welcome to combine with other challenges.
4.If you have a blog please include the challenge graphic & a link to our challenge in your post.
5.You can link to social media if you don't have a blog. If you show your project on Instagram, please make sure to use #TNtimewithLisaandLori 
6.You can submit multiple projects but they must be posted to InLinkz or social media separately.
7. Most importantly have FUN!

I would love to see your take on our challenge and to leave you some love so be sure to link up below if you play along!

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

You're A Cool Kid - Scrap Our Stash March Remix Challenge

 

Hello, hello! Happy Monday! I hope that you had a good weekend! The sun is shining today and we are headed toward a 70 degree day...you just can't get much better than that for early March!

Today I am sharing my take on this month's Remix Challenge at Scrap Our Stash. For March we are scraplifting a layout from former DT member Michelle Mattie. Along with the scraplift we are to use a tag on our layout. Here's a look at Michelle's layout:

And my take on the challenge:

I "lifted" Michelle's layout almost exactly - only flipping it so it worked better with my photo. I love Michelle's work so this one was an easy one for me!

This photo is of Shane when he was 9 or 10. I need to double-check the date to be sure. He was just hanging out watching his videos and I can't believe that this photo is 10 or 11 years old! It just seems like yesterday!

I used the new Echo Park - Little Dreamer Boy - collection for this layout. After seeing how many photos I have of my boys that still need to be scrapped, I know I will be getting a lot of use out of this collection! I love it!

I used a stamp from Close To My Heart (D1660 - Ink Blot) for my "messy background" on this layout. I am really liking this stamp set right now. It makes for a great mixed media look without the mess and wait time for it to dry. 

I used one of the stickers from the sticker sheet - or maybe it was from the sticker book - and added foam tape to the back to pop it up off of the arrows that I cut out. It also serves as my title. 

Be sure to stop by the Scrap Our Stash blog to see the wonderful layouts from the rest of the design team! I would love to see your take on the challenge, too!

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

Be Amazing - Lasting Memories Challenge #538 - 2 Photo Sketch

 Hello again! I am back with my second post of the day. If you are looking for my reveal for The Studio Challenges, please scroll down.

I am finally getting the chance to play along with the challenge at Lasting Memories this week! The theme for March is - All About Sketches - my most favorite kind of challenge! 

Here is a look at this week's sketch, courtesy of PageMaps:

And my layout:

I have used Echo Park's Little Dreamer Girl collection. I just recently picked this collection up and I love every single piece of it! I have a feeling I might have to pick up another set of the papers. 

I moved around the title placement from what the sketch suggested, but I just didn't have enough room for the - Be amazing - sticker that I wanted to use for my title. 

These photos are of Ada from 2018. They are not the greatest photos - the sun was shining through the windows behind her and kind of washed out the photo, but she was being quite the daredevil and had such a cute little look on her face, I couldn't resist not scrapping them. I will add a few lines of journaling about this day under the photos. 

Here are a couple of close-ups:

Be sure to stop by Lasting Memories  to see the layouts from the rest of the design team. I would love to see your take on the sketch, too!

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

The Studio Challenges - Color Tic Tac Toe

 Hello, everyone! Happy Sunday to you! I hope that you are having a good weekend. Mine started off with a fun crafty shopping day with my sister on Friday, a scrappy day yesterday, and I am hoping to continue that today! 

It's time for a new challenge at The Studio Challenges and it's a fun one - color tic tac toe! Pick a row from the graphic below and use those colors on a layout:

I picked the bottom row - light blue, navy, and pink for my layout:

A few weeks ago I was looking for a particular set of photos that I want to use on a layout and I found so many photos of the kids when they were little and quite a few of Ada when she was a baby that I would still like to scrap. I decided to use these photos of Ada when she was 8 1/2  months old on this layout. About halfway through I got to thinking that I may have already scrapped these photos...

I've said it before - I really need to get my photos organized and figure out what has already been scrapped! Oh, well, it's not the first time I have scrapped the same set of photos unintentionally! Maybe one of these days I'll get my photos in order.

For this layout, all of the papers I used are from Close To My Heart, except the blue diagonal striped paper and it is from Echo Park. I fussy cut the strawberries from a Bella Blvd paper scrap. 

I based my layout on the March 1st sketch from Sketch N Scrap:

Be sure to stop by The Studio Challenges to see what color combo the rest of the design team has used on their layouts. I hope you have some time to play along with us!

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

Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash - March Edition

Hello again! I am back with my second post of the day. If you are looking for my Counterfeit Kit Challenge reveal, please scroll down.

 It is time for the March edition of Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash! If you don't know what the Great Stash Bash is - it is a challenge that my good friend Lisa and I do every month. We pull items from our stash based on a "recipe" (which you will see below) in an effort to get our scrappy stash used up!

For a little update on my February kit - I did manage to use some of it - mostly the scraps! With February being a short month I didn't have time to get to the layouts that I wanted to get made. The papers are still pulled out with the photos and I will get to them eventually. Everything is right there waiting for me!

Now, here is this month's graphic:

Our kit "recipe" is 10 patterned papers, 5-7 scrap papers, 3-4 embellishments, and our focus item this month is washi tape.

Here is my kit:

Once again I tried to keep in mind some photos I would like to get scrapped when I pulled my papers to hopefully get my kit used!

Here are the papers that I have included in my kit:

I have picked papers from Simple Stories' So Happy Together collection and Echo Park's Sweet Girl collection. When I reorganized my scrap room after the first of the year, I discovered I had two full collections of the So Happy Together line and some stragglers from a ScrapRoom Kit. Now, I absolutely love this collection and I know I will have no trouble using it up, but I would like to get some of it used now instead of letting it sit in my stash! The Sweet Girl collection only has a few papers left in it and I hope to use it all this month.

Here are the embellishments that I included:

The 12x12 sticker sheets from both collections, the small sticker book and die-cuts from the So Happy Together collection, and a few doilies. Lots of fun goodies to play with here!

Here are the scraps that I pulled:

These are all for the Sweet Girl collection since I don't have as much of it in my kit.

This month we are focusing on using our washi tape:

When I pulled these that are in the photo I had a different set of Simple Stories papers picked out, so a few of these won't match, but they are a representation and will help me remember to pull other washi when I work with this kit.

I look forward to using this kit this month! I just hope I can stay focused and get more of it used during the month instead of later in the year!

Be sure to stop by Lisa's blog to see the beautiful kit that she has pulled together for this month. This is a just-for-fun challenge, but if you 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. 

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 - #lisaandlorisgreatstashbash2021

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

Counterfeit Kit Challenge March 2021 Kit Reveal and Blog Hop

 Hello, everyone! Happy Monday and Happy March 1st! Aahhhh, March! The month when we start having more warm days than cold and spring is just a couple of weeks away. I am so ready for it!

It's time for a new inspiration kit and blog hop at Counterfeit Kit Challenge. Master Forger Clair has chosen the fun - digital - Paper Addict Kit from Mommyish. It's a kit full of bold colors and easy to "counterfeit" embellishments. Here's a look at the kit:

You can see more detailed photos of the kit on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog.

This is what I came up with:

I love the bright colors in the inspiration kit and found a few papers in my stash that was a pretty good match to them. The only papers that I did not have in my stash were the icon papers with the typewriters and office supplies on them, but I more than made up for those in my embellishments.

Here's a better look at my papers:

I kept my papers to a minimum this month! My goal is to try to keep my kits on the smaller size this year so I have a chance at getting them all used up, and so far I have done pretty well with keeping them small! 

I have a few different manufactures here - Echo Park, October Afternoon, We R Memory Keepers, Jillibean Soup, Basic Grey, and Crate Paper.

 I went a little crazy on the embellishments - at least it looks like I did! I pulled out a couple of random PinkFresh die-cut packs that went along with the theme of the original kit and picked out the ones that I thought I could use this month:

Along with the die-cuts, I pulled a couple of 12x12 sticker sheets and a few shaped paper clips. 

I also added in a 6x6 paper pad from Pink Paislee:

I pulled this paper pad solely for the typewriter paper. I have photos of my daughter when she was a junior or senior in high school doing an interview for the school's newspaper. I have been meaning to scrap these photos for so long - she graduated high school in 2009! - and have never gotten around to it. They have been in and out of my "to scrap" pile for ages. Now I just need to find where they are at! Since they were taken pre-digital...well, I will have to be going through my piles of printed photos!

I also pulled a couple of sticker books that I thought I could use this month and added them to my kit:

I already have 3 layouts planned for this kit and hopefully, that will put a pretty good dent into this kit!

 Be sure to check out the kits from the rest of the design team. I always love to see what everyone else has included in their kit! We have a super talented guest designer joining us this month, so be sure you check out Julie's work on Instagram. Here's the blog hop list:

Counterfeit Kit Challenge - http://counterfeitkitchallenge.blogspot.com

Guest Designer: Julie Kirk - https://www.instagram.com/withjuliekirk/

Cindy - http://cindyscreations-cinmfoster.blogspot.com/

Julene - http://julenebydesign.blogspot.com/

Leslie - http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com/

Lori - https://loriannie670.blogspot.com >>>>>You are here <<<<<

Tara - https://kryptonite72-rambles.blogspot.com

Tina - http://tinasscrapcorner.blogspot.com/

Tracey - https://3obsessions.blogspot.com/

Laura - https://www.instagram.com/mrsp_scrapsandtea/

There is so much inspiration to be found in the above blog hop! If you pull together a kit - be sure to share it with us! You can post them in our Facebook Community, or share them on Instagram (we are @counterfeitkitchallenge or tag us using #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcmarch2021).

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