Yay - Scrap Our Stash September What's My Challenge

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

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Today I am sharing the layout I created for the September "What's My Challenge" challenge at Scrap Our Stash. This month's challenge is all about school. Along with the school theme, you must include a 1 word title, 2 photos, and 3 of the same embellishment:

I made a layout about Ada's kindergarten graduation:

I used papers from the August Flavors of the Month kit and patterned paper add-on kit from The ScrapRoom. All of the embellishments are from the FOTM kit, the embellishment add-on kit, and from the Shots of Life kit. 

To complete the challenge, for my 1 word title I used the word, "Yay", I have 2 photos, and I used 3 wood apple pieces.

Kindergarten graduation was so different this year than in years past, all thanks to the pandemic. It was held on July 30th instead of at the end of the school year in May, it was split up into 3 ceremonies - one for each classroom - so there wouldn't be so many there, and it basically consisted of the kiddos saying the pledge, singing one song, and getting their diplomas. It makes me a little sad that Ada missed out on so many fun things that the end of the kindergarten year brings, but I am so thankful that they were able to have a graduation ceremony even if it was a little different. 

I based my layout on this September 2020 sketch from PageMaps.

Be sure to stop by the Scrap Our Stash blog to see the 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 hope you have a great day!

Challenge YOUrself #81 - Thankful

Hello, everyone! Happy Monday to you! I hope you are lucky enough to have the holiday off today and if not, I hope your day goes quickly!

It's time for a new challenge at Challenge YOUrself today and this is one of my all-time favorite themes to scrap - "Thankful" - goodness knows I have so much to be thankful for! 

I could make layouts for days with this theme but today I have gone with being thankful for my hubby:

These photos are from our very first selfie together - 7 years ago - almost to the day. I am so thankful that I have him by my side.  It's tough being the parents of a special needs child and sometimes it puts a lot of strain on a marriage. I know a lot of marriages that haven't lasted because of it, but somehow we keep muddling through. I mean, we've been married 30 years now and are at the point of saying the same things at the same time, doing the same actions at the same time...sometimes it's a little scary! Anyway, I am happy to have him by my side!

For this layout, I have used my September Great Stash Bash kit which was filled with Fancy Pants' - Family & Co - collection. The title is a mix of the chipboard alphas and some letters from an Echo Park metal die - my new favorite alpha right now! Everything that I used on this layout came from my kit - and I even managed to use some "round" items on here, as well!

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I backed this wood veneer with a piece of paper so the heart would stand out a little better. 

It wasn't until after I had already taken the photos for this post that I realized that the wood veneer at the top of the photos had the word "captured" spelled wrong:

Doh! And it is glued down so there is no taking it off. Not a problem - I haven't decided if I want to do something to cover it up, like add a phrase sticker over the top of it, or just wait to see who notices it first!

Be sure to stop by the Challenge YOUrself blog to see how the rest of the design team took on this challenge. I would love to see your take on it, too!

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

Sketch N Scrap Card Sketch #177

Hello, everyone! Happy Saturday to you all! It's the start of a long weekend here in the US and I am looking forward to it!

It's time for the first card sketch of the month at Sketch N Scrap today and Heather is getting us started with a great sketch:

This sketch has a lot of possibilities and here is what I came up with:

For my card, I have used an older birthday collection from Pebbles - Birthday Wishes. I just came across this paper pad in my stash and thought I would put it to use. It has so many great papers...I don't know why I haven't used more of it.

For the presents I used a metal die from Close To My Heart and for the sentiment I just typed it up on the computer and printed it out.

This card came together so quickly and I am sure I will be using this sketch again!

Head on over to Sketch N Scrap to see the sketch and the beautiful cards from the design team. I hope you have a chance to play along with us this month!

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

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #384

Hello, again! I am back to share one more post with you today.

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge has a new card sketch posted this week and today I am sharing my take on it. Here's a look at the sketch:

I have created a birthday card using Fancy Pants' Cake Smash collection. My daughter will be celebrating her 30th birthday next week and I thought this cake was perfect as it has 30 candles on it! It was like it was meant to be!

The sentiment is from an older Close To My Heart stamp set (S1803 Birthday Time). It was a tight fit on the circle - you can barely see the dot on the exclamation point but anything bigger would have been too big, so we are going with it! I thought the puffy dots on the sentiment and the focal panel mirrored the confetti paper in the background.

Be sure to stop by the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge blog tomorrow to see the wonderful cards from the rest of the design team and last week's Top 3. I hope you have some time to play along with us this week!

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

The Great Stash Bash - September

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

I am back to share my September kit for The Great Stash Bash challenge that my friend Lisa and I have been doing this year. We have made it our mission to try to use up as much stash as we can this year. I am happy to say that I did fairly well last month. I made 4 different projects - 2 Traveler's Notebook spreads, a card, and a 12x12 layout with the older portion of my stash bash kit, and I made a 12x12 layout with my new portion of the kit. I still have plans for my kit so I will keep it handy for when I get a chance to play with it again.

Here is how The Great Stash Bash Challenge works:

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 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 September challenge graphic:

We will be creating a kit of 10 papers (7 papers that are 3 years or older and 3 newer papers), 5-7 scrap papers, four embellishments (3 that are 3 years or older, and 1 newer embellishment), and this month we will be concentrating on using up our round embellishments - think buttons, brads, flair, enamel dots, etc. 

Here's a look at my kit:

If these papers look familiar - it is because I used the same collections in my Counterfeit Kit for this month. I am really hopeful that between the two kits I will get these items used up!

Here is a look at the older portion of my kit:

I came across the Family & Co collection from Fancy Pants in my stash last month when I was putting my stash bash kit together and set it aside for this month. I knew the colors would be perfect for a variety of layouts - masculine, family, and fall. For my embellishments, I have included the chipboard alphas, the die-cut pack, and some wood veneer. I also came across another die-cut pack that was a little more generic and added it to my kit, as well. Just something to add a little more variety.

Here's a better look at the papers:

I plan on using both sides of the papers as much as possible as I love both sides of all of the papers!

Here are the scraps and what's left of the 6x6 paper pad:

For the "new" portion of this month's kit, I have used Simple Stories' - Summer Farmhouse collection:

I've added the die-cut pack and since we are working on using our round embellishments, I also went ahead and included the brad pack from this collection.

Here's a better look at the papers:

You can't go wrong with a floral, plaid, and dot paper!

Here are my scraps:

I also added the sticker book since it has a page of round stickers in it.

When I was putting together my kit I had forgotten about including round items and then when I went in search of them I didn't find too much that matched - at least not like I thought I would - so, I reserve the right to add any round embellishments to my kit as I come across them! Here's what I have so far, most will work with my kits, some will not, but I am ready to use up what I can!

I am excited to work with my kit this month and I hope to get lots for pretty projects made!

Now for the rules - Since this is a just for fun challenge the rules are not set in stone BUT we have them to help you focus on what really matters using your stash & to help spread the word of our fun challenge so others may join in!!  You know you have at least one friend who needs to use her stash!! 

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 - #lisaandlorisgreatstashbash2020

Be sure to stop by Lisa's blog to see the kit that I put together for her. I hope you are inspired to pull out some of your stash and play along with us this month. If you do play along with us - be sure to link up below. We would love to see your kits and your projects.

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

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Counterfeit Kit Challenge September Kit Reveal and Blog Hop

Hello, everyone! Happy September 1st! It doesn't seem possible that it is already the start of a new month. It's been a bit since I've posted on my blog - I've been scrapping a lot - just not for myself! I've been commissioned to do an album for a local gal and it is taking up any and all of my extra scrapping time. I am hoping to have it all complete sometime this month so I can get back to doing a little more of my own stuff.

Anyway, let's get on with the Counterfeit Kit Challenge September kit reveal. Master Forger Cindy has chosen the inspiration kit for this month and I love it! I've done things a little differently this month with my own kit and I'm anxious to see if it helps me to get more of my kit used up. 

We have a fabulous guest designer joining us this month - Misty Murphy - be sure to stop by her Youtube channel and check out her work - Crafty Soup Video.

Here is the kit that Cindy has chosen - The ScrapRoom's August 2020 Flavors of the Month kit:

So many ways that you can take this kit! You can make up 4 individual page kits like The ScrapRoom does each month, you can make a summer kit based on the Doodlebug portion, a school kit based on the Fancy Pants portion, a masculine or fall kit based on the Simple Stories Bro and Co, or an outdoorsy/nature kit based on the Simple Stories Vintage Great Escape portion. Maybe you just want to go with the colors and patterns - it is all up to you!

I am a member of The ScrapRoom's design team so I actually have most of this kit left and all ready to go. But after working with some of these papers already, I also wanted to freshen it up a bit to give myself some new things to work with this month. 

First, we'll take a look at the kit that I put together using papers and embellishments from my stash, and then I will show you what I have left of my kit from The ScrapRoom. Here is my kit (warning - this post is going to be photo heavy!):

For my kit, I have put together 3 layout kits - a summer kit, a more masculine themed kit, and a fall kit - all in The ScrapRoom style of 2 pieces of cardstock, 3 patterned papers, and some type of embellishment.

Here is a look at each page kit that I have put together. The first I have based on the Simple Stories Bro and Co papers in the inspiration kit:

I have 2 sheets of black cardstock, a plaid (in place of the stripe in the inspiration kit), a gold patterned paper, and a colorful star patterned paper.  The colors and patterns in these papers are very similar to the inspiration papers.

Here is a look at the complete layout kit:

I added the puffy stickers and the die-cut packs from the Fancy Pants "Family & Co" collection along with a die-cut pack from Studio G, and alpha stickers from Simple Stories.

My next page kit is a summer-themed one based on the Doodlebug portion of the inspiration kit:

Again, I have added 2 sheets of cardstock and 3 patterned papers - a dot, an all-over print, and a stripe - all in the same colors as the inspiration kit.

Here is the complete layout kit:

I have added the die-cut packs and chipboard stickers from the same Simple Stories "Summer Farmhouse" collection, some doilies, brads, buttons, and badges, and a few Jillibean Soup beanboard alphas that I would like to put to use this month.

For the last page kit that I put together, I based it on the outdoorsy/nature feel of the Simple Stories "Vintage Great Escape" collection in the inspiration kit. I have already worked with this portion of my ScrapRoom kit and not only am I a little tired of it, but it's not really my style, so I went in another direction and pulled a fall-themed page kit:

This page kit is a bit bigger than the others - I included 2 pieces of Kraft cardstock, 2 pieces of woodgrain, and 2 pieces of white cardstock for some backgrounds and the rest are all 6x6 papers from Echo Park's "I Love Family" collection. I know the whole 6x6 paper pad might be a little excessive, but I have been playing along with the Allison Davis' Sketches for 6x6 paper pads class, and I had that in mind when I pulled this portion of my kit.

And the complete layout kit:

I have included several die-cut packs from Echo Park, an old pack (2015) of chipboard pieces from Pebbles, and a baggie full of different die-cuts, stamped pieces, wood buttons, etc. that I am pretty sure came from an old Counterfeit Kit that I put together last year.

Now for what I have left from The ScrapRoom Flavors of the Month kit. I also get the patterned paper add-on, embellishment add-on, and Shots of Life kit from The ScrapRoom so you might see a little extra than what is in the inspiration kit, and I do hope to get it all used up.

I have already used quite a bit from this collection but I still have lots of photos of my boys that I need to scrap and I think these papers could work for a fall layout, too.

I already have a layout planned with this kit - and lots of card ideas, too. Hopefully, I will be able to get it mostly used up this month.

With it being back to school time I know I will be able to get a layout or two done with this part of the kit!

Lastly, I have added a few tools this month. Maybe, just maybe, I will get a forgery or two made this month! Stay tuned!

Phew! That was a lot! I am going to be anxious to see if breaking down my kit into page kits helps me to use more of my kit this month. At the very least I should be able to do 6 layouts - 1 for each kit - and I know I will have enough scraps leftover to make even more. Now it's just finding the time to get it all done!

Be sure to check out the kits from the rest of the design team - here is a complete list of the blog hop:

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

Guest Designer Misty Murphy - https://www.youtube.com/user/CraftySoupVideo

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/

I hope that you are inspired to play along with us this month! I would love to see what you put together!

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

First Video Game - Scrap Our Stash August Sketch Challenge

Hello, hello! Happy Friday to you! We have made it to the weekend and I am ready for it! It's been a busy week with having my granddaughter and hubby having to work overtime so I am sure we will be enjoying a nice quiet weekend.

Today I am sharing my take on this month's sketch challenge at Scrap Our Stash. The sketch this month is a fun 3 photo sketch and the added challenge is to use striped paper and to add paint or ink to your layout. Here's a look at the sketch:

And here is my layout:

I can't believe that I have never scrapped these photos of Matthew with the first video game that he bought with his own money. I think it's pretty safe to say that we knew way back then that he was going to be a gamer! I love the photo of him holding his little piggy bank and the game - a Teletubbies game! 

I stayed true to the sketch and added a striped paper for my background and paint splatters for the added challenge. 

Here is a close-up:

I am so happy that I finally got these photos scrapped - it just took me 20 years to get it done!

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

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #382

Hello, everyone! Tonight I am popping on here to share my take on this week's sketch challenge at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge. This week's sketch is such a great one and I am sure I will be using it again. Here's a look at the fun sketch:

When I saw the sketch I knew I would be trying my hand at one of the sunburst type cards. I've made a few of these over the last couple of years and I always struggle with them being cut perfectly. This time around I decided to embrace the imperfections and just roll with it!

Once again, my cuts did not want to meet up perfectly, so instead of recutting my papers, I distressed the edges of my paper pieces to give them an intended messy look!

For this card, I have used scraps from my Simple Stories - Summer Farmhouse - 6x8 paper pad. The sentiment stamp (S2005 Time To Celebrate) and flowers (CC5202 Beautiful day) are both from Close To My Heart. I then matted the front panel onto a piece of red cardstock.

Be sure to stop by Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge tomorrow to see the full design team reveal and last week's Top 3. I hope you have a chance to play along with us!

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

The Paper Girls Challenge #206 - Emboss Like a Boss

Hello, everyone! Happy Monday to you! I hope you had a good weekend and are ready to tackle a new week! It looks like it could be a busy week for me - filled with lots of Ada and Nana time - and I can't wait!

There is a new challenge posted over at The Paper Girls Challenge and this week Brittany is challenging us to "emboss like a boss". I love to use my embossing folders on cards, and you know I had to pull out my favorite - swiss dot - embossing folder for the card I made for today!

Besides my swiss dot embossing folder, I used Simple Stories' Summer Farmhouse collection for my card. I did not emboss about an inch on the bottom of the front panel so my washi tape would lay flat. It looked a little plain with just the washi so I added a couple of stripes of the gingham paper above and below the washi strip. The sentiment is from Close To My Heart - For My Beautiful Friend (S2007) - and I stamped it in sapphire ink from CTMH. I added in a few flower stickers and enamel dots to finish off my card.

Here is a close-up of the embossed card front:

Be sure to stop by The Paper Girls Challenge blog to see how the rest of the design team took on this challenge. I hope you have a chance to play along with us!

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

Ready For School - LM #511 - Back To School, Halloween, or Thanksgiving

Hello, everyone! Good Sunday morning to you! I do hope that you are having a good weekend. Ours has been pretty quiet - which is how I like them! Abby starts back to work this week for teacher workdays so I will have Miss Ada most of the week, then she will start first grade on the 24th. Everything is so up in the air right now and I am a bit nervous about them - and Matthew - all heading back to school and college.

Today I am sharing my take on this week's challenge at Lasting Memories. Our theme for August is - scrapping special events - and this week's challenge is Back to School, Halloween, or Thanksgiving. I still have quite a few photos from all of these events that need to be scrapped, but since the start of school is upon us, I went with that.

This photo is of Ada last year after they had bought all of the school supplies that she needed. Oh, how different things are this year! I will not have a photo like this one for this year - a few local churches went together and bought all of the school supplies that all of the kids need and the supplies will be ready and waiting for them on the first day of school. What a kind and generous thing for them to do!

For my layout, I used an older kit from The ScrapRoom from a year or two ago. The papers are from Echo Park's Back to School collection and the embellishments are from Doodlebug Designs School Days collection. 

Here are a few close-ups:

I just love these cute little die cuts! 

Be sure to stop by the Lasting Memories blog to see the beautiful layouts from the rest of the design team. I hope you have a chance to play along, too!

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