Autumn Is In The Air - Sketch N Scrap #309

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

Today I am sharing the layout I made for Sketch N Scrap's November 15th challenge. Here is a look at the sketch:

And my layout:

For this layout, I have used my November kit for Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash. The papers are from Imaginisce and they are from 2015! I only have the papers from this collection - no stickers or die-cuts, so I had to really dig into my supplies for my embellishments.

I kept my photos 4x6 instead of cropping them to 4x4 because I didn't want to cut out any of our pretty trees. I took these photos of Abby and Ada earlier this fall and it's a good thing we took them when we did because a few days later almost all of the leaves in these trees were gone!

Here are a few close-ups:

I fussy cut the title piece from a cut-apart card I happened to come across while reorganizing my scrap room closet. I'm pretty sure it was in one of my stash bash kits from last year that I never broke down and put back into my stash. I felt like it needed a little something besides just the the title, so I added in a leaf wood piece. 

This bottomo cluster is full of wood pieces! Thank goodness they are all relatively thin pieces! I love all of the different types of wood pieces and I think this may be my favorite cluster in a while!

I had so much fun digging into my stash looking for embellishments to go on my layout. It's always quick and easy when you have everything you need from a collection, but sometimes it's good to dig back into your stash and find some of the treasures you might have forgotten about!

Be sure to check out Sketch N Scrap for more inspiration for this month's sketches.

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

Sketch N Scrap November Crop Challenge #5

Happy Wednesday! I hope you are having a good week. 

Today I am popping in to share the layout I made for Sketch N Scrap's November Crop Challenge #5. The crop challenges can be found in Sketch N Scrap's Monthly Challenges private Facebook group here. The sketch for Crop Challenge #5 is always a smaller format sketch designed for a 6x8 layout, but you can adapt it for any size you like! 

Here is the sketch:

I have made a 6x8 layout for my 2023 December Daily:

Yes, here it is getting closer to December 2024 and I am still working on my 2023 December Daily! That's really nothing new for me, but I do think I need to set aside a day or a weekend to get this thing done! This layout is for Day 4 and is all about the tragedy of losing one of our most cherished Christmas decorations - a paper angel Abby made when she was in second grade. That sweet little angel sat on the branches of our Christmas tree for 27 years! But, sadly, that all ended last year.

I had just taken photos of my favorite ornaments the day before, and I am so glad I did! I had no idea that would be the last picture this little angel would be in. After supper, I walked into the living room and found bits and pieces of paper on the floor. When I started picking them up, I quickly realized one of the dogs had found the angel and had some fun. I have no idea what caused her to fall from the top branches of the tree, maybe a gust of wind when someone walked through the door, or maybe someone walked a little too close to the tree and caused a little breeze, whatever the case she wound up on the floor, the dogs found her, and I was heartbroken. Her story was definitely worth documenting in my December Daily!

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I had found this little angel on a piece of paper from Echo Park and there was also one on the sticker sheet. She was perfect for this layout!

I wanted to be sure to have plenty of room to tell the story so I made a flip-up with the photos. I stamped "This December story" and made it into a tab of sorts to lift up to reveal the journaling. I still have the bits and pieces of the angel and will add them in a little envelope on the top of the flap.

Here is the journaling:

If you haven't checked out Sketch N Scrap's November challenges - head on over and check them out!

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

You're So Cool... Sketch N Scrap #308

Hello, hello! Happy Monday to you! I hope your week is off to a good start! It's rainy here today with the threat of severe storms later this evening - yuck! - so I am going to keep this quick. 

Today I am sharing the layout I made using Sketch N Scrap's November 1st sketch. Here is a look at the fun sketch Lisa has created for us to use:

And here is my layout:

I had so much fun creating with this sketch and I pulled out a few supplies I haven't used in ages! I started with my everyday mini-kit in my Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash November kit. Then, I pulled out my gold color shine mist and sprayed it around on the background paper. I then stamped the zigzag stitch around the entire outer edge of the cardstock. I needed a way to add my title without covering up too much of the smiley face paper, so I cut a circle from some vellum to add my title onto. To help them stand out a bit more, I inked the edges of all of the vellum pieces.

I've had a pack of rub-ons from Shimelle for ages that had a row of gold hearts on it. The package says 2014 - so I wasn't sure if they would still work- but they worked beautifully! I added them under the photo and they go so well with the gold mist.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

The wood veneer pieces and phrase stickers have made a couple of appearances in my stash bash kits this year and I am so happy I was able to add a few to this layout!

I struggle with getting the "you're" centered right on the circle. I did end up pulling the stickers back up - yes, I had already glued them down - and rearranging them. They still are not perfect, but I am okay with that!

I love how this cluster turned out! It's nothing fancy but it makes me happy!

I will probably add a few lines of journaling under the photo to tell the story of the photo. Ada had gone grocery shopping with Abby and me, and we had to stop by 7 Brew for a quick pick-me-up. Ada had gotten a chiller, so it was nice and cold, and the store was super cold cause it was summer, and Ada was freezing while we were shopping. Abby took her to the clothes and she picked out a cute Mickey and Minnie hoodie and the cutest hat that was marked down super cheap. She put them on straight away and just looked so stinkin' cute hanging out in the cleaning supplies aisle!

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

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

Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash November Kit Challenge

Hello, hello! Happy Friday and Happy November 1st! Is it really already November?! October just flew right on by and it will be Thanksgiving before we know it!

It's time for a new Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash kit challenge! If you don't know what this challenge is all about, here is how this challenge works - on the 1st of each month, we will post a challenge prompt and the stash kit we have created using that prompt. Then, we will use as much of our stash kit as possible on different projects throughout the month. This will be a just-for-fun challenge so there is no monthly prize - but the real prize is 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. 

Now on to our November kit challenge! Here is the recipe for this month:

To create your kit, pull 10 papers, 3-4 embellishments, 5-7 scrap papers, and stamps are our focus items for November.

When November rolls around I feel like it is, "Tis the season to not know what I want to scrap!" Am I still in the mood to scrap fall photos? Am I ready to try to finish up last year's December Daily? It is always so hard for me to decide! So, I am going with 3 mini-kits this month - an everyday sort of kit, a fall-themed kit, and a Christmas kit. 

Here's a look at the everyday kit:

This kit is full of Jen Hadfield's Reaching Out collection and then quite a few random embellishments. I always like to have plenty of options in the embellishment department!

Here's a closer look at the papers:

My plan is to go mostly monochromatic for the layout I have planned, but the little smiley faces do have some color in the sunglasses, so I pulled a piece of red paper, and I do have a scrap piece of blue and a scrap piece of gold that did not photograph well, just in case I want to add a pop of color.

Here are the embellishments:

I have a couple of ideas for the layout I have planned - which is why I have so many embellishments. It will be a game-time decision, and maybe I'll make a layout one way and a traveler's notebook layout the other way!

Here is kit #2 - my fall-themed kit:

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I found these older papers from Imaginisce (2015) and thought I really needed to use them! They've been hanging out in my space for almost 10 years now! I have used some of the papers because I have scraps, but there are plenty there for a couple of layouts! 

Here is a closer look at the papers:

And here is the other side of those cute papers:

Here are the embellishments:

I could not find any embellishments for this collection in my stash, so I will be fussy cutting images from the papers and then I'll see what of these random embellishments will go with my layouts. Not everything matches, but there are bits in pieces in the sticker books and in the die cuts that do match. I also have a couple of stamps that I might use, too.

Here are the scraps that I found with the papers:

Here is my Christmas-themed kit:

I found these remnants from a kit from The ScrapRoom when I was on the design team. Now is the perfect time of year to see what I can get used up in my December Daily!

Here are the papers:

Here are the embellishments:

Lots of die-cuts, sticker sheets, and some wood pieces from another Pink Fresh Christmas collection.

I have pulled a variety of everyday-type stamp sets, a few fall stamp sets, and a few Christmas stamp sets:

I should have everything I need when I sit down to scrap!

Be sure to head on over to Lisa's blog - My Creative Endeavors - to see the beautiful kit she has put together.

Remember - 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 - #lisaandlorisgreatstashbash2024

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

Sketch N Scrap's WCMD Sketch #3

 Hello, everyone! Happy Saturday to you! We have made it to the weekend and it looks like it's going to be a beautiful one around here!

It is time for Sketch N Scrap's third and final card sketch of the month celebrating World Card Making Day. Here is a look at the sketch:

And here is my card:

I thought it was time I started my Christmas cards! I usually have them started long before now, so I will be busy the next month or so trying to make the Christmas cards that I want to send out this year!

For this card, I have used Bella Blvd's Santa Squad 6x6 paper pad and a cute little penguin sticker that I am not sure where he came from. It could have been Hobby Lobby, Walmart, or Dollar General. They all seem to have these types of stickers out this time of year and these particular stickers have been in my stash for a few years!

I moved the sentiment to below the focal point - mostly just because I didn't want to cover up any more of that cute patterned paper than I had to, and it also got lost against the busy pattern.

I am so glad to have my Christmas cards started! Maybe I will get into a good groove and get them all done sooner rather than later!

Be sure to stop by the Sketch N Scrap blog for more inspiration using this sketch.

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

Pumpkin Hunting - Sketch N Scrap's October Crop Challenge #5

Hello, everyone! Happy Sunday to you! I hope you are having a good weekend. It's been unseasonably warm for the last few days, and today is supposed to be around 80, but it looks like the upcoming week is going to feel a little more fall-like! Yay!

Today I am sharing the layout that I made for Sketch N Scrap's October Crop Challenge #5 over in their monthly challenges private Facebook group. Here is a look at the sketch:

This is a smaller format sketch but it would work well for any size - a traveler's notebook size, 6x8, 8.5x11, or stretch it out and make a 12x12 layout. The choice is yours!

Here is my layout:

I made a 6x8 layout for Ada's school album using this month's sketch. This layout is of her kindergarten class trip to the pumpkin patch. I had started out making her school album in a traveler's notebook and just adding her first day, school photo, spring photo, and last day of school photo. Mostly because I started back in 2020 or 2021 when school's were mostly remote. But, as I went back through some of my photos, there were so many other things I wanted to include - the photo of her kindergarten class with the first book they got to check out from the library, class trips (once they were a thing again), artwork that she had made and was hung in the hallways, Christmas concerts, fun things her class was doing, field day, etc., and I decided to change it up. Making it a 6x8 size and not working in a notebook has given me the freedom to work on whatever I want and not have to worry about counting pages and making sure I have left enough space to include everything that I want. 

For this layout, I have used my October kit for Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash. At first I had the hexagon paper for the strips on each side and I just didn't care for it. When I changed and put them together in the middle I liked it much better. Here are a few close-ups:

I was struggling with the embellishing since that hexagon paper is so busy and I did change up the placement of the embellishment clusters on the left side of the page and just made one cluster joining the two photos. I don't have any of the embellishments from Simple Stories Harvest Market line - just a few of the 12x12 sheets and the 6x8 paper pad, so I relied on fall-themed sticker books from Echo Park for my embellishments.

Luckily, one of the sticker books had this alphabet in it for my title. It was the perfect size!

I am really enjoy working in a smaller size lately, whether it's in a traveler's notebook or a 6x8. 

Be sure to check out the Sketch N Scrap Monthly Challenges group on Facebook and join in the fun! We would love to see you playing along!

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

Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash October Kit Challenge

 

Hello, everyone! Happy Tuesday and Happy October 1st! The calendar has turned to a new month which means it is time for a new Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash challenge.

First, I want to apologize now for the glare or shine in some of the photos but I ran out of daylight to get my kit photographed.

If you don't know what this challenge is all about, here is how this challenge works -  on the 1st of each month, we will post a challenge prompt and the stash kit we have created using that prompt. Then, we will use as much of our stash kit as possible on different projects throughout the month.

This will be a just-for-fun challenge so there is no monthly prize - but the real prize is 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.

Now on to our October kit challenge! Here is the recipe for this month:

To create your kit, pull 10 papers, 3-4 embellishments, and 5-7 scrap papers. Our focus item for October is 12x12 sticker sheets.

Here is my kit for October:

  I had a bit of trouble deciding on what I wanted to work on this month. Even though the season has changed to fall, it still feels very much like summer around here. We're supposed to hit 90 later this week! At least it cools down to the 50s and low 60s at night. I finally decided to stick with the season and this kit is full of fall feels! My plan is to work more on Ada's 6x8 school album - scrapping some of the Halloween parties and her trip to the pumpkin patch when she was in kindergarten. I'm also hoping to scrap a fall-themed layout or two, and I may even try to scrap a non-fall/Halloween layout with some of the papers. We shall see!

Here is a closer look at the papers:

All but three of these papers are from Simple Stories collections. The grey and white dot is from a paper pad, the black and white... check, I guess you could call it, is from Close To My  Heart, and the black with white stars is from American Crafts.

Our focus item is 12x12 sticker sheets. I have pulled the Boo Crew sticker sheet and the Cozy Days sticker sheet. Even though the fall papers I have added are from Harvest Market, I don't have any embellishments from that collection, I think I can make the Cozy Days sticker sheet work: 

Here are my embellishments:

Lots of fall-themed goodies here - sticker books, die-cuts, foam stickers, puffy stickers, labels, cut files, an over-sized chipboard word, and a few enamel dots. I will pull more of those when I need them.

Here are the Halloween cut-apart papers:

All I have embellishment-wise for the Halloween papers is the 12x12 sticker sheet so I have added the cut-apart papers for more embellishment choices. Lots of goodies can be fussy cut from those sheets if I need them. 

Here are my scraps:

I know, I know. This doesn't look much like scraps Technically there is only a scrap of yellow dot paper here. I have pulled a couple of 6x8 paper pads (with scraps inside) for any scraps I might need, and if I need more, I can always hit my scrap bins when I have more time to search for what I need. 

That's it for this month's kit. I am ready to get some fall scrapping done!

Be sure to head on over to Lisa's blog - My Creative Endeavors - to see the beautiful kit she has put together.

Remember - 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 - #lisaandlorisgreatstashbash2024

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

Sketch N Scrap #304 - Yes, Please!

 Hello, everyone! Happy Wednesday to you! I hope you are having a good week. Thanks to the long holiday weekend, I can't keep track of what day we are on!

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

And here is my layout:

I used my September kit for Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash for this layout. I think the donut paper is from an old Dear Lizzy paper pad, but I am not certain, and it was perfect for these photos of Abby and Ada's trip to Hurts Donut Co. I pulled four papers for this layout and only have a few scraps left. I also used quite a few of the embellishments that I had pulled with this layout in mind. 

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I had planned on adding a couple of tags for hidden journaling like is shown on the sketch, but when I tried that huge donut die-cut in that area, it was a perfect fit. I just moved my journaling over to the side of the cluster. I could have added my journaling to the bottom of the page, but it got lost amongst the busy patterned paper. 

I love how this bottom cluster turned out! Just a couple of donut stickers, a word phrase sticker, a chipboard heart, and enamel dots leading into the title. I love that the right photo shows the wall that says, "Wanna Hurts Donut?" The title is the answer to that question!

Be sure to stop by Sketch N Scrap for more inspiration using this sketch. I hope you have a chance to play along with us!

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

Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash September Kit Challenge

Hello, hello! Happy Sunday to you! We are in the middle of a long holiday weekend and I am enjoying every minute of it. It is the first day of September and time for a new Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash Kit Challenge!

Before I get to my new kit, I will give an update on my August kit. I only had one full sheet of 12x12 paper to go back into my stash, and that makes me ridiculously happy! I didn't work as much with my smaller format kit as I would have liked, but I will get around to it eventually!

Now, if you don't know what this challenge is all about, here is how this challenge works -  on the 1st of each month, we will post a challenge prompt and the stash kit we have created using that prompt. Then, we will use as much of our stash kit as possible on different projects throughout the month.

This will be a just-for-fun challenge so there is no monthly prize - but the real prize is 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.

Now on to our September kit challenge! Here is the recipe for this month:

Pull 10 papers, 3-4 embellishments, and 5-7 scrap papers to create your kit. Our focus item for September is enamel dots/bling.

Here is my kit for September:

I don't name my kits, but if I did, I would call this month's "The Hot Mess Express" kit! Isn't that photo a bunch of scrappy loveliness?! And I do have plans - or at least good intentions - for every piece of paper in this kit!

I took a different approach this month when I started pulling my kit. Instead of picking a collection to work with, like I have been doing for a long time, I went back to the roots of this challenge and went through my stash and pulled papers from a variety of manufacturers. 

I think one of the reasons I veered away from doing it this way is because I have a terrible time narrowing down my paper choices! It's so easy - and quick - to pick five or ten papers from a collection kit. When I have all of my pretties laid out before me it's hard to choose just ten papers! Which is why I have twenty!

I could have divided the papers into four mini-kits for you, but that would have been even more time-consuming and I was running out of time after looking through all of my papers! So, you get to see them all together, and the reason my kit would be called "The Hot Mess Express!"

Here are the papers:

All of these papers are more than a year old. The newest paper in my kit is that pink and white stripe from Photo Play. I don't remember when it came out and there is no date on it but my best guess is it is at least two years old. Everything else is much older than that! 

We have Elle's Studio, Sassafrass Lass, My Mind's Eye, Dear Lizzy, Close To My Heart, Lily Bee Designs, Chatterbox, Recollections, The Paper Studio, Amy Tangerine, I think, and maybe a sheet from We R Memory Keepers. I'm not certain about the last two. They were both from paper pads that had been torn down. That is quite a variety of manufacturers!

Since I am not working from any specific collections, picking embellishments was a bit more difficult than just throwing in the ephemera packs or stickers from the collection. I have several of these bins and 4x6 photo cases full of bits and pieces from past kits and items that didn't make it onto layouts. They serve as a catch-all. Instead of taking the time to put the embellishments away, they generally get thrown into one of these:

I went through several and pulled out items that were the same colors as my papers and that fit the theme of the layouts I plan to work on this month. My plans are for a school layout, a (maybe) 4th of July layout, a donut layout, and at least one traveler's notebook layout. I pulled the yellow floral paper from Sassafrass just because I love that paper and really want to use it! I don't have any photos in mind just yet, and I don't know if it will be a traditional layout or a smaller format layout, but I am really going to challenge myself to use it!

Here are the embellishments that I pulled:

And just in case I need something else, I pulled several of my neglected sticker books to use this month. I stuck to the ones that had a lot of the same colors or themes:

Here are the scraps that I pulled. If I need something more I can always dive back into my scraps folder:

Our focus item for September is enamel dots/bling. I tried to pull packs that were mostly used up and had the same colors. Not every enamel dot/shape will work, but hopefully I can get a few of these used:

I am super excited about my kit this month, even though it is bigger than normal. I can't wait to see what I can do with it!

Be sure to head on over to Lisa's blog - My Creative Endeavors - to see the beautiful kit that she has put together. She always has the best kits!

Remember - 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 - #lisaandlorisgreatstashbash2024

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