DT Call at Twisted Cards!

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Twisted Sketches #127

It's time for the unveiling of Twisted Sketches #127! You can view the sketch and the team's fabulous work here! This week's twist is chipboard; any how, any way!
Here's my take:

My chipboard comes from Magistical Memories; love that row of bubbles! It's painted from being used to mask on several other layouts...I almost hated to actually use the chip piece!
papers: American Crafts, Basic Grey
letters: American Crafts, Cosmo Cricket
date stamp: K & Company
embellishments: Basic Grey and American Crafts

Have you ever made a mistake on a layout and realized it after everything's thoroughly glued down? The first who can tell me what mistake I made will get a small RAK in the mail. ;)

Twisted Sketches #123

Time for a new sketch! Head on over to Twisted Sketches to take a gander at the sketch and the many interpretations of the fantastic DT! This week's twist is "envelope"...any how, any way!
Here's my take for the week:

This is my daughter and one of her best friends after giving each other makeovers. They have so much fun playing together :) I picked up this dress-up paper at Hobby Lobby a few years ago; with girls, I knew it would come in handy eventually :) I drew out the scallops and hand cut them. The photo mats are Daisy D's and I can't remember who made the foam letters :)
Thanks for looking!

Twisted Sketches #121

Another great sketch has been posted over at Twisted Sketches! This week's twist is "Punch"...any way, any how!
Here's my take on the sketch:

This was made with Scarlet Lime's August kit; Basic Grey (papers, fabric flowers, stickers), Glitz designs (papers), American Crafts (Thickers, papers). I border punched the three paper strips.
Happy scrapping!

Twisted Sketches #119

Another great sketch has been posted over at Twisted Sketches! This week's twist is "Start"...any way, any how!
Here's my take on the sketch:

I used a kraft base and some pretty pink Bittersweet papers (Basic Grey). Add in a few Cosmo Cricket and Prima flowers, a Making Memories journal spot, and some Thickers, and there you have it! This photo is of my oldest playing dress-up with one of our cats. This cat is soooooo patient; we like to say that she loves the abuse. Any kind of attention is good attention in Kung Pao's world! My twist is that this moment was the start of a long afternoon...for the cat ;)

Twisted Sketches #117

You can find this week's fantastic sketch here. The twist is long; any how, any way!

Kraft cardstock from Hobby Lobby, bricks from template by Crafter's workshop, Crate paper pps, K&Co brads, Prima flower, Fancy Pants alphas.
The photo is of my friend's New Orleans wedding in 2008. Link up your layout on Twisted Sketches so I can see what you've done!

Twisted Sketches #115

The new sketch is live, and the Twisted Sisters really did a great job on it! This week's twist is "clear"--any how, any way!

Here's my take on it:

I mostly used the July Scarlet Lime kit (papers from American Crafts, Sassafras Lass, Basic Grey, and Cosmo Cricket; Thickers from American Crafts; and embellishments from Basic Grey), and added a flocked transparency from Fancy Pants for my clear twist.

I hope you come and play along!

I am a Twisted Sister!

I have been holding this in for a couple of weeks now and I'm so excited to be able to announce that I am a Twisted Sister, designing for Twisted Sketches!! There will be a new sketch posted every Wednesday (with a new card sketch posted on Saturdays), and each one with have its own twist.
You can find the current sketch here; sketch 114 was the DT application and you can see everyone's super creative take on it! This was mine:

The twist is vintage, and my take on the twist is the photos--this is me and my paternal grandfather in 1978. I have so many fond memories of playing with Grandpa in the pool! He passed away nearly three years ago now, but I haven't been able to bring myself to scrap these yet. It felt really good--I sure do miss him!
The little fish were fussy cut from Fancy Pants Beach Babe papers, as was the big wave/flourish shape. I added some jewels and buttons, tore the edges of my white base and then added a blue behind; the edges of the blue were inked in a lime green (chalk in from the dollar bin at Michaels). Thanks for looking!

It's been too long!

Wow, we hit Spring Break, and then the end of school just smacked me upside the head! I've been busy busy busy juggling both girls with me at home AND at work. I've been stuck in that ridiculous Midwestern heat wave that's been deep frying us here in Michigan for the last week and a half, and boy, does that really take it out of you! I haven't been crafting as much as I'd like to, but I have a few projects that I'd like to share. :)

I made this mixed-media piece for my daughter's dance studio. They have a silent auction each year at the spring recital; the funding goes toward field trips, scholarships for dance camps and to bring in special instructors for classes. I used a lot of paint, Mod Podge, patterned paper (Imaginisce), ink (Staz-On, Distress Ink), stamps (Glitz), stickers (Jolee's)...oh, it was fun. And the best part was that it brought in the second largest amount at the auction!

My dad and his girlfriend decided to have a commitment ceremony rather than a traditional wedding last summer. We had a family reunion at my dad's campground (Long Lake Outdoor Center); it was a wonderful weekend! I used some heavy Distress Inking, bubble wrap painting and a bit of burlap under the photos. No patterned paper in this one! (Bazzill, Prima, Distress Ink)

Hmmm...ok, I think one more :)

The girls and I stopped for lunch one day at Panchero's and the baby was in such a happy mood! She was laughing and making faces at her sister. My girls love their Mexican food; Evie like quesadillas and Ellie likes beans! This layout was made with my June 2011 Scarlet Lime kit; all kinds of goodies from Sassafras Lass, Glitz, Basic Grey, and more. I added some Glimmer Mist and badges from American Crafts.

I challenge you!

It was 80 degrees in central Michigan just over a week ago. We had snow on Monday. It's not really been terribly cold (40s), but with the damp it feels so chilly. I think it probably has something to do with our minds knowing that it's supposed to be spring, too.
So who's with me in shaking the blues (and the chills!) with a little scrappy challenge? One of my favorite challenge sites is The Color Room; each week, they release a sketch with associated color palette. I love their sketches, and trying to stay within the palette is a real challenge. I almost never get them done on time, though, so I'm challenging myself (and you!) to tackle this week's palette:

Maybe these bright, summery colors will cheer me up!

I also have a layout to share with you; I won a prize pack full of the new Beach Babe line from Fancy Pants on Facebook a bit ago, and used it for some old summer photos of one of my sisters and me. I love how this turned out; the colors, papers and embellishments in this line are sooooo fun!

This collection has a whole package of the cutest, coordinating chipboard banners! I painted the edges of mine in a lime green. I was also super excited to finally use some teeny little clothespins that my friend Heidi gave me a while ago!

Someday...

I just love these photos of the baby...with the weather finally nice enough to go out and play, Evie has been spending time in the backyard. Ellie isn't jealous, but she loves to stand at the sliding doors and watch Sissy playing! She bounces, shrieks, bangs, and babbles at big sister. I love the bottom photo because you can see her cheeks all puffed up because she's grinning at her big sister. :)

This is based on a Page Maps sketch. I thought these Fancy Pants Road Show papers captured the mood I felt with the photos: joyful, because my babies are happy, but also a little somber because they're growing so fast. Before I know it, both of them will be running free out there. It seems like they need me a little less every day. I've been doodling a lot lately, and I really love how it works with this design.

Another little angel

Happy Monday?
I'm beating off my case of the Mondays with some scrap therapy! I made this for the May Guest DT call over at Sketchy Thursdays, using their sketch:

Most of this is just simple layering; I did use some decorative scissors around the border. The center is Puerto Rico Glimmer Mist underneath my "stamp"--a felt coaster and some white paint. I free-handed the clouds from some coordinating paper (all of these papers are Creative Memories Wishes & Dreams). The final touch was picking out some of the stars on the background paper with silver blending filament. :)

My Birthday Girl

I can't believe my itty bitty baby girl is a year old!
To celebrate, we had a one-derful (haha, aren't I funny?) birthday party with our family and friends. Ellie got to attack her very own chocolate cake. I'm sure you'll see photos in upcoming layouts. :)



I created this layout using one of my favorites from her one year photo session. I love that I can take my kids into the studio whenever I want!!
To create the blocks on the background cs, I used three shades of Glimmer Mist and four sheets of scrap cs/cardboard. I blocked off the areas I didn't want Glimmer Mist-ed and sprayed away, one block at a time. The patterns within the blocks were made by a napkin used as a blotter. After it all dried, I doodled the black lines around the blocks.
This design is loosely based on a sketch from The Color Room (Palette 51). I love their sketches, and need to make a real effort to get my interpretations on sketch and palette done BEFORE the deadline! ;)

Miss Art's Papercrafting School

If you haven't yet, check them out! The site will go live May 1 with exciting classes and kits :)