Pigtails!

I've been hoarding this set of Canvas Corp banners for months, waiting for the right layout to use them on. I found this photo of my oldest (was she really this little?), paired it with a Scarlet Lime kit and a LCOM sketch, and the banners just begged to be used :)

The banners were stamped with Distress Ink and some Glitz distressing stamps. I love love love how this turned out :)

This photo is really special; with the age difference between my girls, they don't always get along. The baby generally adores her big sister, but big sister often can't be bothered. I love these moments when they get along and have fun with each other. This layout was a lift from a layout I saw on scrapbook.com; you can see the original here.

LCOM Reveal #156 :)

The time changed today; I used to be excited about the extra hour of sleep. Then I had children, and realized that the time change works opposite for them. :) You can find the new sketch here, along with the work of the fabulous Design Team. And here's my take on it:

Thanks for looking :)

Let's Capture These Sketches #154

I had so much fun with this one!!!! You can see the new sketch here. I really went out of the box with this one, channeling a few of my favorite scrappers (Heidi Kelley, Miae Rowe, Melissa Williams...)
I set out to create my own background on a piece of white cardstock using a couple of template/stencils by Crafter's Workshop and Plaid, some Glimmer Mist, and modeling paste. I started out by using a cheetah print and some golden Glimmer Mist. After it was dry, I edged the pattern with marker. Then, I used a brick template and modeling paste mixed with Glimmer Mist. I glopped it on and let it dry. I LOVE how this turned out!! I love the texture, and the Glimmer Mist gave it a subtle shine that's pretty cool, too. I finished it off with bunches of fun washi tape, and a hand drawn simple title.

Let's Capture These Sketches #150

You can find the new sketch here.

This was serendipity! I had been using this sheet of cardstock for masking and for misting letters, etc, and the colors were just SO PERFECT with this photo!! Thank for following :)

Let's Capture These Sketches #148

A new sketch is live!! I really loved this one; so much so that I barely changed it. *blush* I knew these photos of my oldest and my friend Melissa's boys on the Fourth of July a few years ago would be perfect!

Can you believe I didn't have any Fourth/USA themed paper or supplies in my stash?? I took a quick trip to Hobby Lobby and found a few papers and some border stickers I liked. The white around the photos and the stars are doodled with my white Signo. :)

Let's Capture These Sketches, #146

I don't get to create boy pages very often; I have two little girls, and even our cats are girls. My poor husband has to suffer through an awful lot of estrogen-driven ruffles, frills and trims in his life. :) My aunt sent me a few photos of my cousin's little miracle, Maximus. He was born very very early, and weighed in just under two pounds. I had so much fun making a boy page! You can find the LCOM sketch here, and here's my take on it!

I am beginning to catch the washi tape bug, and I've used it here--some fun blue to create a mat on my background paper, and then some awesome woodgrain washi for accents. I added a rub-on (one of those things that I have a million of, but rarely use!) and some Basic Grey metal flowers. The wooden letters are by Pink Paislee, and I love how they took the Glimmer Mist; none of them are exactly the same. Thanks for looking!

Let's Capture These Sketches #144

It's that time again; check out the sketch and the gorgeous interpretations! Here's mine:

I used Glimmer Mist in Rum Punch on my Thickers to change the color up. The papers and embellishments are mostly Crate Paper Pretty Party. The background stamp is Glitz, and the green ink is Studio G. The Glimmer Mist in the background is Bazzill Piglet.

LCOM #142

The new sketch is live, and it's awesome! Please come by Let's Capture These Sketches to check out the sketch and the rest of the team's awesome interpretations! Without further ado...

I have a real "thing" for summer layouts...the colors and the patterns really seem to speak to me. Evie's birthday is in the summer, so her parties are usually a good opportunity to play with fun and summery things! I actually WON this WHOLE collection from a random draw on the American Crafts blog...it's Shoreline, and oh, I love it so! The wooden elements are Pink Paislee, and the ribbon was a RAK, but the rest is from the collection. I chalked the wooden pieces with some orange, and then messy stamped the letters/numbers on the banner using Distress Ink. I wanted to do something different with the banner, and I really like how it turned out. :) Thanks for looking!

Sketch #140 reveal!

Check it out here! Please click through to see the sketch and all the team's interpretations :) Here's mine!

This one was more about a story for me, so it's pretty simple. I used Glimmer Mist and my coffee mug to make the rings, and a couple of pieces of homey patterned paper to tie in with the photo of our home. I added a title, some doodling and journaling, and voila! Papers: SEI, Studio Calico Alphas: Thickers, Glitz Designs Pen: Creative Memories Misc: Glimmer Mist Thanks for visiting!

A little mouse, and little pants.

Two new layouts, both from my weekend of cropping bliss at Creative Passions 2 in Chesaning, Michigan, with my best scrappy girlfriends!

Our littlest loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so naturally, we had a Mickey Mouse birthday party. It was hard to get her to wear the ears (I made her a Minnie dress), but I got a few shots. :) I love the banner (such a fun trend!), and the diecut from the Mickey Mouse Font cartridge made a perfect journal spot. :)

I love this photo, but didn't really have anything to say about it, so I had fum with stamps on this one. I stamped each Jenni Bowlin chipboard heart with a differnt pattern, in three different colors of StazOn and Tim Holtz Distress Inks. The background "newsprint" is a roller stamp. I pleated and stitched the ribbon, and added a few pieces cut from Basic Grey Bittersweet papers.

Let's Capture These Sketches!

So you remember the layout I posted a bit ago?

I submitted it to the Design Team call at Let's Capture These Sketches and... I MADE THE TEAM! How very exciting! I love designing from sketches, and I can't wait to jump in!

Fun With Canvas!

I've learned that I looooove making canvases! My cousin got married over Memorial Day weekend, and I created this for her guest sign-in. I used a template for make the flourishes, and then diluted some Aleene's Tacky Craft Glue with water and used a fine paintbrush to fill in the flourishes. I sprinkled Zing! embossing powder on them and then heat set. The initials were free handed. I added in some buttons tied with twine (my cousin makes awesome button jewelry), some Thickers and Tiny Type letters, and a few Tim Holtz keys. I intended for her to replace the sign in information with a photo when she's ready. I was so happy to be able to make her something for her special day, and she loved it!

A Sad Announcement :(

I am sharing sad news today: Twisted Sketches is closing. You can find our final sketch here. The twist is "thanks;" any how, any way. While I am sad that my journey with Twisted Sketches is ending, I adore how this layout turned out. I wanted a photo of both girls with their Easter baskets, but the baby wouldn't sit still (big surprise--she rarely does!). My big girl tried to help, and "hug Sissie!" was our last-ditch attempt...I'll take it! The wood grain paper (Studio Calico) was so fun with all the wood floor in my photo, and I love the collage tag from Crate Paper. The chipboard, stickers, and borders are all Crate Paper, too, and the letter stickers are Making Memories. The heart doily is misted with a light pink (Shimmerz). I would like to thank Anam from Twisted Sketches for allowing me to be part of her awesome team over the last year; I've learned and grown so much, and I've loved every minute of it!

Twisted Sketch #156

A new sketch is live on the Twisted Sketches blog! You can find it here. This week's twist is "graduate;" any way, any how! Here is my take on it: After we moved and Ellie had her own room, we decided it was time for her to graduate into a big girl bed. :) She always calls it her "big girl bed," never just a bed. I misted the background with Shimmerz in Lime in da Coconut, and used some odds & ends from Crate Paper (cardstock stickers) and American Crafts (Thickers). The paper was a scrap, and the rub on is Basic Grey. This was made with a sketch from Let's Capture These Sketches, and you can see that here. The sketch fit the moody photo of my almost-nine-year-old, and I had lots of fun with mists (Shimmerz), ink (Studio G), stamps (ditto and Clear Snap), and rub-ons (Basic Grey) to create a grunge-y, tween-y background.

Twisted Sketches #154

This week's Twisted Sketch is live on the TS blog. I really like this sketch--so many fun ways to use it! The twist is "cloth;" any way, any how! I made a whole house full of curtains in March and April. It was quite a project, and I'm glad to be done with it (for now, anyway). It was honestly easier than I had expected, and I can totally see myself replacing them here and there. I had fun with this layout; it's pretty much all bits and pieces from my scrap file with a masked background (love the faint mask on top of the bold striped pp!) and a few Crate Paper stickers and layered elements to round it all out. :)

Twisted Sketches #152

This week's Twisted sketch can be found here. In honor of Mother's Day, the twist is "Mother;" any way, any how! I chose a few pictures of me and my mom from my first birthday. We're in the front seat of the car, parked in the Bill Knapp's parking lot. You other mid-westerners will remember Bill Knapp's; we must have had dozens of family birthday parties there while I was growing up! I love these papers for the photos; so simple, and somehow so vintage. I was so happy to find a color scheme that really suited these late 70s photos (pretend you didn't hear that I just dated myself, mm'kay?) And omgosh, I love love love these corrugated alphabets from sei!!

National Scrapbook Day!

It's been a terribly busy week. Yeesh; we had a slow leak from cracked sodder in the soffet above our fireplace. Thankfully, our home warranty covered the plumber, and is going to repair the hole in the drywall. I've been sneaking in some scrapbooking time, though. Last Saturday was National Scrapbooking Day! I made this for Twisted Sketches #150: twist Flowers! Any way, any how!

This is a mish mash of old and new; lots of goodies from my Scarlet Lime kits and some goodies from my stash. I've been holding onto those bunnies for years! This nest one was done for the sketch challenge at scrapbook.com, hosted on NSD. I didn't get it done in time to enter, but I still love it!

Again, almost all Scarlet Lime. Totally my go-to; with the limited scrap time I have, it's so nice to be able to reach into a bag and find delicious goodies that all coordinate! Until next time, scrappy buddies!

Has it been two weeks already? Boy, I tell you, this time of year seems to just FLY by! A fabulous new sketch is up at Twisted Sketches and this week's twist is Star...any way, any how!

This is pretty much straight out of the April Scarlet Lime kit, with a bit of help from Shimmerz (Enamelz in Sparklicious and Gold Digger) and Pink Paislee brads. I think I might be in love with washi tape, that was fun! Most of the paper and embellies are SEI; the chip and acrylic stars are from Basically Bare, as are the felt clouds. And the sweet smiley baby is my niece, who I love to pieces. Those cheeks are perfect for kissing :)

An oops and a Twisted reveal

I have been such a bad blogger, but I promise I have a really good excuse. Husband and I decided it was (finally) time to become home owners! We got prequalified and began searching in January. We were lucky to find THE house almost right away; we closed on March 16 and moved on March 17! In between, we ordered a suite of new appliances (I never knew it was possible to love my washer and dryer...and dishwasher...and refrigerator...and range...I love them all so much!), had to coordinate cleaning out and repairing the condo we were renting, I had my Confirmation into the Catholic church, my husband and I had our marriage blessed, AND we hosted a birthday party for my two year old (omgosh, I still can't believe she's two already!!) two weeks after the big move!
We've finally gotten more or less settled in, and are getting back into a routine. We found that our windows are all custom sizes, so I've been making curtains like mad...I'm almost done! One more Roman shade, three pairs of regular curtains, a tab top for a sliding glass door, and then I have to figure out what I want to do with the gorgeous bay window.

The first photo is the house; it was taken at the inspection in February. It's looking amazing with everything turning green. It's a tri-level, and everyone has their own room. It was a rehab, so all of the fittings, counters, vanities, etc, are new. We have nearly an acre of land, and two lovely wood-burning fireplaces. I love our house so much!!

I love love love Anam's sketches over at Twisted Sketches, and I'm honored to be taking on another term with the Twisted team! Sketch 146 is live, and it's so fun. I think this is my favorite take on a Twisted Sketch so far!

This week's twist is "brads"...any way, any how! I used some gorgeous Basic Grey fabric brads from a recent Scarlet Lime kit (I know I talk about these kits a lot, but man, I really love them!) I added some Pink Paislee pp that I machine stitched a messy circle on, and a few border punched strips of pp from Basic Grey and Crate Paper. The chipboard heart string is from Magistical Memories, and I used Shimmerz Coloringz in Heidi-Ho-Blue spray on it. The three little chippie crowns were purchased a while ago from an lss that, regrettably, closed down, and they were painted with Shimmerz Blingz in Hottie Pink. I finished it off with some Dear Lizzy Thickers (I think I need more of this font before they're gone!).
Head over to enjoy the fun! The first of my readers who links a layout based on sketch 146 to both my blog and the Twisted blog will get a little RAK from me. :)

Twisted Sketches #137

Check out the newest sketch over at Twisted Sketches. I really loved this one; love those little photos :)

This was created using a Scarlet Lime kit; I am so getting my money's worth from my kit subscription! With the limited time I'm able to scrapbook right now, it's so wonderful to have everything I need in one 12x12 baggie! Do any of you have a kit subscription that you particularly enjoy? This layout used my new MS edge/corner punch combo. Man, do I love border punches!!

I would also like to share this layout of my niece.

This was done for a scraplift challenge over at www.scrapbook.com. I used the pretty, girly purples because 1) it's her favorite color and, while she may race, fish, and four wheel with the big boys, she's still a sweet little girly girl at heart and 2) her car and fire suit have purple accents. Love that girl!