Smile - Sketch N Scrap #269

 Happy Friday and Happy St. Patrick's Day! I hope that you have had a good week and that you are ready for your weekend.

Today I am sharing the layout that I created using the March 15th sketch at Sketch N Scrap. Here is a look at the sketch that I created:

This sketch came about when I pulled my Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash bashket items for February. I found a bunch of 3x4 papers that I had gotten in a swag bag kit from Paper Issues quite a while back. Like, at least 3 years ago, but probably longer. I used to love getting their swag bags and doggie bags filled with tons of embellishments and paper cut-offs. I see they no longer offer the swag bags but still have the doggie bags...I may have to order one again!

Anyway, I had included several 3x4 papers in my kit and quite a few of them were black and white. I wanted to create a sketch where I could use those black and white papers on a layout and get them out of my stash. This sketch is what I came up with,

Here is my layout:

Since I was using black and white 3x4 papers, I knew I wanted to add lots of color by way of my embellishments. I pulled out my March kit for Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash and my bashket and went to work! I found the rainbow diagonal stripe paper and thought that would be a good way to add color. Then I went through the die-cuts that I had added to my bashket and was able to get quite a few used on this layout. 

This photo is of me and my girls on our girl's day back in February. We had so much fun that day and have plans for another one in just a couple of weeks when they are on spring break. 

Here are a few close-ups:

Since our focus item this month is enamel dots/bling, I made sure to get quite a few on this layout! 

I found this ticket on my scrap room floor. I thought the colors went well and I really liked what it said - perfect for our girl's day, so I added it to my layout. That ticket, the puffy hearts, and the title are the only things that were not in my kit.

This area here on the sketch showed three enamel dots. I turned it into another cluster area.

Have you had a chance to play along with us yet? I would love to see your take on the sketch, too! 

Be sure to check out Sketch N Scrap for more inspiration using this sketch.

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

Project Life - Week 2 2023

Hello, hello! Happy Tuesday to you! I hope that you are having a good week!  After having a very mild February and the first few days of March, winter has returned and I don't like it one bit! It should not have tempted us with all of those sunny - warm - days only to come back with a vengeance! Cloudy, dreary, cold days not getting out of the 30s when the average high is close to 60...not nice! Oh, well, I know the pretty days will return soon enough. At least the sun is finally shining today.

Today I am sharing Week 2 of my 2023 Project Life. Slowly but surely I am getting into a groove with it. For this week, I am using the January Freckled Fawn kits. I decided to try a subscription with them this year - at least for a while - to see how well I use their cards, papers, and embellishments. I have always loved their embellishments, so we are going to give them a try. 

Here's a look at the complete layout:

Here is the left side of the layout:

And a couple of close-ups:

For my title card, I cut down one of the 6x8 papers into a 4x6 card since the pocket card kit does not include the 4x6 size. cards. I cut the frame from one of the 3x4 cut-apart cards and added it to the 4x6. I fussy cut the flowers from one of the 6x8 papers for embellishments and a few of the adhesive-backed brads that I had included in my February bashket. The colors of those brads matched perfectly and I was able to get quite a few onto this layout.

I did pretty well using the chipboard that came in the kit. I think I only have three or four pieces left.  I am trying to use as many of the embellishments that come in the kit as I can so I am not adding much back into my stash at the end of the month. 

The photos and stories from the left page are - a photo of Shane when we actually went inside Wendy's to eat instead of taking it home. It had been so long since we ate inside and the food tasted so good! There's more to this story than what is told here, but that will be for a traveler's notebook layout!

I picked up a couple of sets of cute pens that I liked and that I thought Ada would like - they are some of her favorite things - llamas, unicorns, mermaids, narwhals, etc., and this picture just made me happy with them all laid out.

Abby sent me a photo of Ada with her first "coffee" and there's more to this story, as well. Another story for my traveler's notebook.

I shared two photos from our game cam - a squirrel with a nut in its mouth and a deer. I really thought we would see more action on it during the winter, but that has not been the case. 

We also got a little bit of snow. Heavy, wet snow that was perfect for making a snowman. Thankfully it hit after everyone was already at work and it didn't really stick to the roads.

Here is the right side of the layout:

The majority of the photos on this side was from Sunday when we had a family dinner. In fact, the only photo not from Sunday is the one of Shane playing his game. No special story there - just a typical day. 

The photo of Ada and Pops in the top pocket is them doing the Tortilla Slap Challenge. Ada had been after him to do it with her and he finally gave in. The photo of Ada below that one has another photo and some hidden journaling on it. Let's just say that the Tortilla challenge wasn't that fun for her! She started off strong winning the first few rounds and getting to "slap" Pops, but then her luck changed and it wasn't quite as fun for her! Her little cheek was red from all of the tortilla slaps that she took! I'm pretty sure she won't want to do the challenge anytime soon!

I had to dig into my Freckled Fawn chipboard stash to finish embellishing. I did get a few washi tape pieces on this layout, too. 

We were so excited when we found out that The Last Of Us was being made into a series. Scott and Matthew have both played it multiple times - and I always like watching them play it, so when it was made into a series, it was like a dream come true! This was the week of the first episode and it did not disappoint. We loved it!

This photo of Ada and Winnie is one of my favorites!

Another week in the books! My plan for this year's Project Life album is to show love to all of my pocket card subscriptions - so, one week I will use Elle's Studio goodies, one week will be Freckled Fawn, one week will be Ali Edwards, and the last week will be whatever - either finishing up one of the kits, digging into my stash, or finding a digital kit to try working with.

That's it for today! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! Have a great day!

Sketch N Scrap Card Sketch #237

 Hello, everyone! Happy Monday to you! I hope your week is off to a good start. It's sunny and 70 here today and I am loving it! I'd better enjoy it seeing as how our weather forecast for the rest of the week is the 50s and rain.

Today I am sharing the card that I created using the March 5th sketch at Sketch N Scrap. Here is a look at the sketch that Lisa has created for us:

This is what I came up with:

This card came together so quickly once I had decided on what papers I wanted where! I used my March kit for Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash - in fact, I used some of the same papers that I used for the layout that I shared yesterday - just in the 6x8 version. The heart die-cut and enamel dots are ones that I have included in my bashket last couple of months and I die-cut the flower out of a scrap of pink paper that I had included in my kit. I love it when I can use the things up that are in my kit!

Be sure to stop by 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 great day!

Happy Together - LM #640 - World Wildlife Day - and Sketch N Scrap #268

 Hello, hello! Happy Sunday to you! I hope you are having a good weekend. It's been another beautiful weekend here but they are calling for colder temperatures later this week. 

It is time for a new theme and a new set of challenges at Lasting Memories this week. We are celebrating some special days in March that you just might not know are special! March 3rd is National Wildlife Day and so our first challenge is to create a layout and add an animal to it in some way. This can be in the patterned paper, an animal in your photo, or an animal embellishment. You do not have to scrap about an animal, but you can if you want to!

This is what I came up with:

For this layout, I scrapped a photo of Ada and her puppy, Winnie. They were both just hanging out on our bed, enjoying each other's company.

I used my March kit for Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash. Everything on this layout was either in my kit or in my basket that is almost to overflow! I did have to go in search of a scrap of paper to mount floral paper onto so I would stand out on that white background, and I found a piece of mint from another Simple Stories collection - Sunkissed - that was perfect. 

I tried to add some stenciled hearts on the background but just felt like it didn't look right, so I stuck with the white background. 

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

I love sketches with big blocks of paper. I always try to find my favorite paper to use there to show it off.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I put a few of the items that I have added to my bashket the last couple of months to good use on this layout. I went through all of those die-cuts that I added in February and pulled anything that was yellow, pink, orange, or mint. I was able to get quite a few on this layout. The "You are pretty sweet" sticker was from one of the old My Mind's Eye sticker sheets. 

This "happy" die-cut has been in several of my kits over the last few years. I am happy to have it finally on a layout! When I found the "together" die-cut, I thought it was a perfect way to finish off the title.

I managed to use a total of three tags from the tag cut-apart paper in my kit. Now that I have actually cut into that paper, maybe I will get them used on more projects this month. I finished off each cluster area with our focus item at Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash - enamel dots.

I love how this layout turned out!

Won't you join us at Lasting Memories and at Sketch N Scrap this month? We would love to see your beautiful creations!

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

Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash March Kit

 Hello, hello! Happy March 1st to you! Ahhh, March! Spring is so close I can almost taste it! We have had a very mild February - yesterday it was 70 degrees - and I just hope the above-average temperatures stick around for a while.

It is time for the March edition of Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash. 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. Then, on the last day of the month (or in my case on the first of the next month!), we will do a recap post showing what stash we were able to bash! 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 March:

To create your kit, pull 10 papers, 3-4 embellishments, 5-7 scrap papers, and our focus item - which is enamel dots/bling.

Be sure to pick your 10 items for your bashket!

For March I have decided to go with a summer collection. The weather we have been having has me so ready for warm temperatures all of the time. That, paired with the fact that I have three new summer collections on my wish list right now, made me want to try to clear out at least one of the summer collections in my stash so I won't feel so bad about adding new ones.

Here is a look at my kit: 

I have chosen the Simple Stories Summer Lovin' collection to try to finish off this month.

Here is a look at the papers I have left from this collection:

The sides that are showing are the sides that I plan to use. Here is a look at the back sides of these papers - just in case I change my mind:

There is a very good chance that I will use some of the cut-apart papers!

Here are the embellishments that I have chosen:

I have the 12x12 sticker sheet, the sticker book, the ephemera packs, doilies, washi tape, twine (that I found when looking for my bashket items), washi tape, and our focus item - enamel dots. I forgot to add bling to my kit and I have a few packs that I think will go with it, so I will add those, as well. 

Here are the 3x4 cut-apart cards, the 4x6 cut-apart cards, and the tag paper. 

I have plans to make a couple of project life layouts with the cut-apart cards.

Here are the scraps that I added to my kit:

 

Now for my bashket items. I have not done too well at keeping my bashket from almost overflowing.I'm pretty sure when I add these items to it it will be at capacity - unless I upgrade to a bigger basket! I have used up a few of the items but I really would have liked to have used more than what I have, so I  made sure to pick items that coordinate well with my kit. 

I have lots of Freckled Fawn, Gosssamer Blue, and Studio Calico goodies for my bashket. I decided to subscribe to the Freckled Fawn embellishment kit, at least for a few months this year, so I want to use up some of what I have been hoarding! Lots of labels, lots of chipboard - lots of things that would work great with my kit!

I cannot wait to dive into this kit!

Now, head on over to 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 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 an awesome day!

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