Flurry Friend - Sketch N Scrap #288

Hello, hello! Happy Thursday to you! Here we are at the 4th of the month and I am getting my second post up! I am hoping I can get back to posting more often here on my blog this year.

Today I am up on the Sketch N Scrap Facebook page sharing the layout that I made using Sketch and Scrap's January 1st sketch. Here is a look at the sketch, in case you haven't seen it yet:

Isn't that a fun sketch?! Here is my layout:

On the 29th of December, we got a little bit of snow, just barely enough to cover the ground, but it was a nice wet snow and perfect for building a snowman. The first thing Ada did when she woke up was to meet Pops outside to play in it! They built a snowman, that they named Bernard, and took the sled out for a few runs down our little hill. There wasn't a lot of snow but they sure made the most of it. I loved it when Ada said, "Winter in the country is so much fun!" If the weatherman is right, we might be seeing more snow the first of next week. I am looking forward to more days filled with building snowmen, having snowball fights, sledding, and finishing it off with a cup of hot cocoa!

For this layout, I used my winter-themed mini-kit from my stash bash kit. I also used a piece of paper (the dark blue background) from my 100 Patterned Paper Challenge pile. (I'll be going into more detail about that in another post.) I managed to cut into three of the papers from my kit, and I even remembered to use a scrap on this layout! 

Here are a few close-ups:

I stuck really close to the sketch, only adding a tag to the top - mostly because I wanted to bring more red into the top of the layout. I had thought about journaling on it but decided to just add my journaling under the photos. The red puffy heart and blue puffy dot were part of the extra embellishments from last year's bashket that I added to this month's kit. 

I added foam tape to the snowman and 'stay frosty' die-cut to add a little dimension. Another stamped phrase, puffy heart, puffy dot, and snowflake stickers finished out the cluster. 

Instead of my usual black ink, I printed my journaling out in navy blue. Trying to mix things up a bit more this year, and it's just fun to use a color sometimes for your journaling. Just like using a colored pen instead of always using blue or black!

Be sure to check out the Sketch N Scrap blog and the Sketch N Scrap Facebook page for more inspiration using this sketch. I hope you find some time to play along!

And just for fun - here's a photo of me and Finnegan. He was being overly dramatic because I dropped my phone on the floor right next to him. Don't tell him, but he is kind of a big weenie!

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

Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash January 2024 Kit Challenge

Hello, hello! Happy New Year to you! Ah, a brand new year. A clean slate, a fresh start, a whole new world of possibilities, and I am ready for it. Let's kick things off with a new Lisa and Lori's Great Stash Bash challenge!

Can you believe this will be our 5th year doing this challenge?! It does not seem like it has been that long for me! Over the years some months I have done really well with using up my kit, and others, not so much, but I am so glad that we started this challenge. I know that I have used up more of my stash thanks to this challenge. Now if I could just quit adding more stuff to my stash, maybe I would make a dent in it!

If you don't know what this challenge is all about, here's 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. 

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. 

This year we have decided to drop the 10 bashket items each month. I still have my basket of items from last year that I will be pulling from every month to help supplement my kits and to try to get them used.

Here is the "recipe" for January:

 

To create your kit, pull 10 papers, 3-4 embellishments, 5-7 scrap papers. Our focus item for January is a favorite of mine - 6x8 or 6x6 paper pads.

I am starting the year off with two mini-kits. There are a couple of reasons for this. One, I like to scrap in the season we are in so I am hoping for some snow this month, or I will scrap snow photos from previous years. Two, this is generally a gloomier time of year with winter in full swing. To help me combat the wintertime blues, I have pulled a second mini-kit full of bright colors.

Here is a look at mini-kit #1:

Mini-kit #1 consists mostly of Echo Park's I Love Winter collection for those wintertime photos. Here is a look at the papers:

I did add a piece of paper from Simple Stories Feeling Frosty collection, too.

For the embellishments, I have added the two cut-apart papers and the sticker sheet from the I Love Winter collection, and then I went through my bashket items from last year and pulled what I thought I could use with this kit.

I also added a couple of snowflake punches. I have a few snowflake dies, too, if I should need them.

Here are the scraps for this mini-kit:

Here is the much brighter mini-kit #2:

I love the pretty, bright colors in the Cocoa Daisy Happy Days collection! Here is a better look at the papers:

There's a good chance I will use both sides of these papers, but I am more likely to use what is shown.

Here are the embellishments:

I included the sticker sheet, the die-cut packs, cut-apart paper, chipboard stickers, and alpha stickers from the Happy Days collection, and then I once again went through my bashket from last year and added what would match.

Here are the scraps for mini-kit #2:

Our focus item this month is 6x8 and 6x6 paper pads and here is what I pulled out:

The Happy Days 6x8 paper pad, Simple Stories Let's Get Crafty 6x8 paper pad (2022), Amy Tangerine's Plus One 6x6 paper pad (2013), and the 6x6 and 8x8 Document Life papers (2019) from Pretty Little Studio. All of these paper pads match mini-kit #2 really well.

While going through my bashket, I went ahead and pulled whatever would match my kits this month. I am more apt to use it if I have it out and ready to go:

This year I will be adding a few stamp sets to each of my kits. I love my stamps, and I love to use them, but I don't use them nearly enough. So, every month I will add a few sets that I think I can use with my kit that month and challenge myself to stamp on (hopefully) every layout.

Here are my choices for January:

I have all of my stamps and extra embellishments in this little bin and it will stay on the edge of my desk all month long.

I am ready to get this month started and I hope that it is a very productive scrappy 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 - #lisaandlorisgreatstashbash2024

I hope to have a blog post up sometime this week going over my scrappy plans for 2024.

Be sure to stop by Lisa's blog - My Creative Endeavors - to see her beautiful kit for January.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

FarmQuest Country Christmas Challenge Blog - Guest Designer

Hello, hello! Happy Thursday to you! I hope that you are having a good week.

Today I am so excited to share that I am the guest designer over at the FarmQuest Country Christmas Challenge Blog! This is a fairly new challenge blog run by my friend, Becca, and it's all about creating cards, tags, gift card holders, and package toppers for the holidays. The requirements for your project are to be Christmas/Winter Wishes related, and it also needs to have exterior/outside decorations and/or snowy/icy landscapes. You can find out all of the details on their blog.

 

Here is what I came up with:

I had a Farmhouse Christmas 6x6 paper pad from Echo Park that was perfect for this challenge. The barn and the sentiment were both on one of the cut-apart papers and since the barn is all decked out for the holidays, I just had to use it!

I created my card using the December 5th sketch from Sketch N Scrap:

This was a great sketch to work with and it is definitely going in my favorites folder to be used again soon!

Head on over and check out the FarmQuest Country Christmas Challenge Blog. Why don't you play along with us? The challenge runs from December 7th to January 5th.

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

Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash December Kit Challenge

Hello, everyone! Happy December 1st to you! It is hard to believe that it is already December and that 2023 is almost over. What a year it has been. I did not get nearly as much scrapping done as I had planned, but there is always next year, right?!

It is time for the Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash Challenge for December. This might be a longer post, so let's get to it! 

Here's 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. During the month we will try to use as much of our stash kit as possible on different projects.  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. My bashket has now overflowed into two baskets, but at least they are on the smaller side!

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 December:

To create your kit, pull 10 papers, 3-4 embellishments, 5-7 scrap papers, and our focus item for December, which is envelopes and file folders.  Remember to pick your 10 items for your bashket!

I went a little crazy with my kit this month. But it is December Daily time, and for the first time in a long time, I am so excited to document this holiday season and I really am going to try to actually make a December Daily album this year. Will it get completed this month? Probably not, but I am going to make an effort to do as much as possible this month!

Since I have such big plans, it was only fitting to have a big kit for this month! Let's just say it's a little extra!  I doubled what is normally called for, so you will see 20 patterned papers, more than 3-4 embellishments, and my bashket items are all Christmas-related! Here is a look at my kit:

(I apologize for the not-so-great photos. I, of course, waited until the cloudiest, gloomiest day to take photos!)

This kit is made up of all Simple Stories Holly Days collection and a mix of Crate Papers Busy Sidewalks and Mittens and Mistletoe collections. Let's take a closer look at my kit.

First I will show you the papers from the Crate Paper collections. I chose only the ones that would coordinate with the Holly Days collection, too:

I went with a lot of the light blue-green color since it shows up in the Simple Stories collection.

Here are the embellishments from those collections:

So much goodness right here! I added in a couple of the cut-apart papers and a couple of papers that would be perfect for fussy cutting.

Here are the papers from the Simple Stories Holly Days collection:

Guys, I have been hoarding this collection since it came out in 2021. Not only did I get part of this collection in a kit from The ScrapRoom, but I bought not one, but two of the collection kits because I loved it so much! Why have I been hoarding this for so long?! I have so much of it and it needs to be in albums - not sitting on my shelf.

Although I have my favorite papers shown above, I will likely use the back side of those papers, as well:

I also added the cut-apart papers and the 6x8 paper pad:

Here are the embellishments:

Here are the scraps for my kit:

And I remembered to add a few rolls of washi tape:

I have tons more Christmas washi, but this will stay right on my desk all month long.

Our focus item for December is envelopes/file folders. I don't have many of either of these things in my stash, but I did find a few envelopes that might work, and if all else fails, I will use them as a template to make some that will match my kit better. I also included a few bags here. I figure I can use them as a type of envelope:

Here are my 10 bashket items for December - all Christmas-themed:

1 - washi tape book that my friend Willa sent to me a few years ago.

2 - a pack of die-cuts that I received in a swap several years ago. They aren't Christmas-themed, but they will definitely work.

3 - wood veneer pieces from Pink Fresh

4 - gold jumbo paper clips

5 - die-cuts from Pink Paislee

6 - enamel pieces from Pink Paislee

7 - metal embellishments from Making Memories from the early 2000s

8 - random Christmas stickers from an RAK several years ago

9 - gold glitter heart stickers

10 - washi tape strips and stickers

And, if all of this is just not enough - I do have my DD cart all organized and ready to go!

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!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Sketch N Scrap Card Sketch #254

 Hello, hello! Happy day before Thanksgiving! I hope you are having a good week and that you are ready for the holiday. I know I am ready for it! It will be a nice quiet holiday with just us and the kids, but I am so ready to spend time with them and just relax.

Today I am sharing a card that I made using Sketch N Scrap's November 20th card sketch. Here is a look at the sketch:

Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I decided to make a card for the occasion. I used Simple Stories' - Cozy Days - 6x8 paper pad for this card. I die-cut the cute little squirrels from one of the cut-apart cards into a circle and since it already had a sentiment on it, I went with that instead of adding a sentiment to the card. I added a gold puffy heart to the circle to finish it off. 

Since I used a woodgrain for the background of my card, I felt like the other patterned papers were blending in too much, so I matted all of the patterned papers with an off-white cardstock to help them stand out a little better.

This card came together so quickly and I really like the way it turned out. Since it's too late to send it out for the holiday, I think it will sit in the middle of the table tomorrow, maybe with a little note to each one of my family members telling them all how thankful I am for them!

Be sure to check out the Sketch N Scrap blog or the Sketch N Scrap Facebook page for more inspiration for this month's sketches.

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

FarmQuest General Store Challenge Blog Guest Designer

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

I am so excited to be popping in today to let you know that I am the guest designer for FarmQuest General Store Challenge blog! If you don't know about FarmQuest General Store - it is a monthly challenge blog where all of the challenges are Anything Goes - with a farm/country theme. There is a huge range of possible topics - woods/forest, farm/ranch, mountains, meadows, orchards, produce stands, camping, fishing, boating on a lake or creek, frogs, mushrooms, wildlife, hiking, and much more. And, you can enter any type of paper craft - cards, tags, bookmarks, ATC cards, traveler's notebook layouts, planners, journals, or traditional scrapbook layouts. The challenges start on the 7th of every month and ends on the 5th of the next month, so you have lots of time to play along.

Here is the card that I made for challenge #10:

 

I am always in need of birthday cards and the cut-apart paper from Simple Stories Homegrown 6x8 paper pad worked perfectly for this challenge. Those cute little farm animals wishing the recipient a happy birthday are just too cute! 

Be sure to check out the FarmQuest General Store Challenge Blog - to see the beautiful projects from their design team. Are you up to the challenge? It's always anything goes with a farm/country theme. Why don't you play along, too?

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 November 1st! I cannot believe that this year is almost over! It always seems like once Halloween is over the rest of the year just flies by. 

It's time for a new kit for Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash Challenge! October was so busy for me, but I did get two layouts made with my October kit. I will keep it together for a while longer before I put it back into my stash. Hopefully, I will get a few more projects done this month.

Here's 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. During the month we will try to use as much of our stash kit as possible on different projects.  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 November:

To create your kit, pull 10 papers, 3-4 embellishments, 5-7 scrap papers, and our focus item for November, which is 12x12 sticker sheets. Remember to pick your 10 items for your bashket!

I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to include in my kit this month. I'm kind of ready to start thinking about Christmas scrapping with all the talk of December Daily going strong right now, but I decided to wait on that until next month. 

For November I am going with two mini-kits - the first one being a more everyday sort of kit, and the second being a fall-themed kit. 

Here's a look at the first kit:

Miss Ada recently got a new bike, and even though I pulled a summer collection, I think the colors are going to be perfect for the photos of her with her new bike. Here's a look at the papers:

I love the bright colors in this first mini-kit and I know it will be easy to use whatever is left over after Ada's bike layout is made. 

For the embellishments, I pulled the 12x12 sticker sheet (our focus item this month), some enamel dots, and wood veneer. I also have a few items in my bashket that I can pull to use with this kit.

Here is my second mini-kit for November:

This mini-kit is full of Echo Park's Fall Fever collection. I bought all of this collection last year and I think I've made one layout with it. it is time to get a little more of it used up!

Here's a look at the papers:

This is the side of the papers that I plan on using, but I may use the other side, as well.

Here are the embellishments:

I have included the 12x12 sticker sheet, the sticker book, a few die-cuts, and some wood veneer leaves. 

I also had some scraps from this collection that I included:

Here's hoping I can get a few fall photos scrapped this month!

Here are the ten items I have pulled for my bashket:

1 - woodgrain chipboard Thickers

2 - enamel word stickers

3 - Dear Lizzy Lovely Day washi tape book

4 - puffy stickers

5 - My Minds Eye chipboard stickers

6 - random die-cuts that I am sure are from an old kit that never got put back in my stash

7 - more chipboard stickers that I have no idea where they are from

8 - more enamel word stickers

9 - gold puffy hearts

10 - old Scenic Route label stickers - only 3 or 4 are left on the sheet

Be sure to stop by Lisa's blog to see the beautiful kit that she has created 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!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter