SCS Variety Challenge 180 - Consider the Cardstock

Time for another variety challenge for Splitcoast Stampers. Who wants to play along? Just follow the link below. This should be an easy one for anyone who is cardstock junkie (like me)!

SBVC180 - Consider the Cardstock
The final issue of Scrapbooks, Etc. had a list of ways to dress up cardstock. Your challenge is to use at least two of these ideas on your next layout.
1. Die-cut it.
2. Ink its edges.
3. Emboss it.
4. Paint it.
5. Spritz it with water, crumple, and ink it when it's dry.
6. Layer punched designs on it to create your own cardstock.
7. Punch or die-cut a border on it.
8. Sand its edges.
9. Spritz it with ink.
10. Stain it.
11. Stitch it.
12. Weave it.

My layout uses die-cuts, inking, borders, and embossing. I even inked the dots on my embossed pieces to add a little more emphasis.

Recipe:
Glamour Lowercase Alphabet stamp set
Perfect Day Level 2 papers
Cocoa, Desert Sand & Colonial White cardstock
Cocoa, Desert Sand & Tulip ink
Cocoa marker
Cocoa, Colonial White & Chocolate craft buttons
Tulip & Colonial White embroidery floss
3-D foam tape
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: star, scalloped border, frame
Cuttlebug: Swiss Dot embossing folder

EMS Sketch Challenge 40 - Hometown Holiday

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you are having a blessed time with family and/or friends. In case you manage to carve out a few scrappy moments while the kids are enjoying their presents, here is a 9 photo sketch to inspire you. Feel free to rotate pictures or switch up sizes to make it work for your photos, and don't forget to tell me about your finished page.

The sketch:

My layout:

Recipe:
Mistletoe Creative Basics papers
Cranberry, New England Ivy, Black & Colonial White cardstock
Cranberry & New England Ivy ink
Cranberry brads
Cranberry baker's twine
White wire (Artistic Wire, Ltd.)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: stars, scalloped border, title

Whooo's Your Valentine?

I know we are only days away from Christmas, but I want to skip to February for just a moment and share the sweet Whooo's Your Valentine kit from Close to My Heart! It's the perfect way to treat someone special (actually, 12 special people) on Valentine's Day. It can all be yours for the awesome price of $10 (plus tax and S/H) when you spend $35 on Close to My Heart Products between now and January 31st. Since it comes with a D-size stamp set (a $17.95 value), you can imagine what a steal of a deal this is! The kit includes:

• 12 die-cut boxes
• 12 treat tubes
• 3 cardstock sheets
• 1 sheet of silver glitter paper

Plus the exclusive D-size stamp set I mentioned previously!

 

Contact me ASAP to order this great kit. If you live locally, I can even help you put your kit together!

Dotty for You BIrthday Card

My mom's birthday is coming up very soon, so I sat down at my desk this morning and created a card for her using scraps from my Dotty for You paper pack, plus unused shapes I had cut out on my Cricut. Am I the only one who has a box of those? The result is perfect contrast to this gloomy, rainy day in Southern California!

Recipe:
Happy Birthday stamp set
Dotty for You Level 2 papers
Lagoon, Sunset, Smoothie, Tulip & Colonial White cardstock
Lagoon, Sunset, Smoothie, Buttercup & Sweet Leaf ink
Sorbet ribbon
Pearl Opaques
Sunset button brad
3-D foam tape
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag, butterfly, flowers, heart
Cricut Artiste cartridge: word balloon

SCS Variety Challenge 179 - Pick a Pocket

Considering all the layouts I have not created in the past two weeks, I really should think about renaming my blog Even Less Scrapping! Fortunately, I am in charge of posting a biweekly challenge for Splitcoast Stampers, so I really have to get my act together and scrapbook at least twice a month. Here's the latest challenge; please hop on over to SCS if you want to play this or any past challenges.

SBVC179 - Pick a Pocket
Does anyone remember the old thief Fagin singing, "you've got to pick a pocket or two" in the musical Oliver? I found myself humming that line the other day (no idea why!), so in honor of Fagin, today's challenge is to add a pocket or two to your layout.

For my layout, I created a pocket using vellum and a bunch of star brads to go along with my theme. I then added the program from the Christmas musical at which these pictures were taken.

 

Recipe:
Black, Moonstruck & Colonial White cardstock
Vellum (The Paper Company)
Silver star brads (from my stash)
Wishblade: title using Gabriola font

SCS Variety Challenge 178 - Seasonal Songs

Time for another scrapbooking variety challenge for Splitcoast Stampers! I'll be posting one every other Wednesday and you can play along on the SCS site using the link below.

SBVC178 - Seasonal Songs
I can't wait until December 1st when I can officially put my Christmas music CDs in the car and start singing along with some of my favorite songs! The challenge this week is to use the lyrics of a seasonal song on your layout. It doesn't have to be a Christmas song, just any song that you associate with a season of the year. For example, Peter Cottontail for Easter pictures, or maybe Summertime (from Porgy and Bess) for those sunny day memories, or even a hymn of gratitude for Thanksgiving photos.

For my layout, I chose lyrics from the Christmas production at which these photos were taken. My title is the title of the opening song, and then I used the lyrics from the first verse for my journaling.

Recipe:
Spot On Backgrounds stamp set
Jingle Level 2 papers
Tulip, Juniper, Creme Brulee, Olive, Blush & Black cardstock
Tulip, Juniper & Creme Brulee ink
Olive & Cranberry markers
DE Framed Fun photo corner
Clear craft buttons
White Daisy organdy ribbon
White Daisy brads
Liquid Glass
Prisma Glitter
Pattern: Let's Scrap 2-21-12
Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge: banner & title
Cricut Artiste Cartridge: poinsettias

Alpine Ridge Trail Layout

These days, it seems like I'm focusing on keeping things simple! Here's another simple layout that combines 9 photos into a basic design with a bold title and a paragraph of journaling. The trees were cut out using the Art Philosophy cartridge, and then I stamped them with background stamps to get the cute patterns.

Recipe:
Universal Backgrounds, Spot On Backgrounds & Diverse Backgrounds stamp sets
Animal Cookies Level 2 papers
Desert Sand, New England Ivy, Black & White Daisy cardstock
New England Ivy, Garden Green & Dutch Blue ink
Grey Wool marker
Black brads
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: trees
Cricut Artiste cartridge: sign
Wishblade: title
Pattern: "Love You" sketch from p.63 of Best of Becky Higgins Sketches

Holzwarth Historic Site Layout

Creating the embellishments for this layout was a fun challenge involving sand paper, a paper crimper, a paper piercer, Liquid Glass, and (of course) my Cricut!

Recipe:
A Typeface & Bingo Alphabet stamp sets
Dakota Level 2 papers
Whisper, Barn Red, Pacifica & Black cardstock
Antiqued Copper Designer Brads
Natural hemp
Cricut Artiste cartridge: belt buckle, embellishment
Pattern: Let's Scrap 2-29-12

Go Bug a Ranger Layout

I started this layout a couple of weeks ago and finally got back to it this morning! It's pretty simple, but I did do a couple of fun things. First, I created a mask using a cloud cut from the Artiste cartridge, and then I sponged around it using Heavenly Blue ink so the top of the page looks like a slightly cloudy sky. It's a really light shade, so it didn't show up well on my scan, but IRL, it looks really cute. I added a 12" x 8" Flip-Flap (not shown here) to the top of the right hand page; it holds 6 more photos and flips up so you can see the photos underneath. This is a great sketch for it, since it lines up really well with the patterned paper strip. I also included a large tag that slides out from behind one of the photos so you can read the journaling.

Recipe:
Urban Alphabet & Hot Diggity stamp sets
Splendor Level 2 papers
Goldrush, Topiary, Heavenly Blue & Colonial White cardstock
Moonstruck, Chocolate, Goldrush, Topiary & Heavenly Blue ink
Goldrush & Chocolate markers
Chocolate ribbon
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag
Cricut Artiste cartridge: grass
Pattern: Let's Scrap Sketch 10-27-10

SCS Variety Challenge 177 - Out of Plumb

I'm so excited to be taking over the Scrapbook Variety Challenge on Splitcoast Stampers! I'll be posting a new challenge every other Wednesday. (This post was supposed to go up yesterday, but I was sick in bed with stomach flu, so I had to post a day late). I'll post a link to the challenge on the Splitcoast site, so feel free to join in. I plan to make these challenges something you can use with pretty much any type of photos, so you won't have to have specifically themed photos to participate. Here's the new challenge:

Out of Plumb - SBVC177
A plumb is a lead weight attached to a line and used to ascertain a vertical direction. To be “out of plumb” means a line is not perpendicular. This week’s variety challenge is to create a layout that uses lines that are out of plumb. Not all lines have to be out of plumb, but at least two must be.

Here's my sample. My two "out of plumb" lines are on the tan strip on the left side of the layout.

Recipe:
Classmate Alphabet stamp set
Lucky Level 2 papers
Whisper & Colonial White cardstock
Outdoor Denim & Desert Sand ink
Outdoor Denim marker
Milepost Shapes stars
Pattern: Nuts About Sketches Week 92

Milner Pass Layout

Let's Scrap has a really fun challenge group called Scrap Your Stash. The idea is to use up product that's been in your stash for a while. With this layout, I managed to incorporate all the required elements for the current challenge, including 2 patterned papers, 4 colors of cardstock (I got in 5), 10 die-cuts (3 tags, 4 photo corners, 2 arrows & the title), 10 or more brads (2 Twilight, 3 Chocolate, 6 Colonial White), and inking (just about everything is inked). I used four pieces of patterned paper that's been in my stash since last fall, and lots of scraps of cardstock, so I'm happy I cleared out some great but neglected product with this challenge. Another challenge in which I participated with this layout is from Scrap It Girl, who asked us to use trees in our artwork. I had lots of trees in my photos, so it inspired me to add the tree tags to the corner of the layout.

Recipe:
Wonderland Level 2 papers
Crystal Blue, Twilight, Chocolate, Bamboo & Colonial White cardstock
Crystal Blue, Twilight & Chocolate ink
Chocolate embroidery floss
Twilight, Chocolate & Colonial White brads
3-D foam tape
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tags, photo corners, arrows
Cricut Artiste cartridge: title
Patterns: Let's Scrap 3-2-11

Pear & Partridge Card 1

I plunged right from designing my Moonlight card workshop into planning for my upcoming Pear & Partridge workshop, and here is my first card. Crafty Ann's Challenge Blog has a Christmas challenge going on right now, so I'm entering this card.

 AnnaBelle Stamps had a sketch challenge, and my card follows the basic design but I added an extra box to it, and I moved the circles to another spot on the card.


I wanted to accent the touches of pink in the B&T paper by adding the piece of Smoothie cardstock that I scored and sanded. I'm not sure it works, though. Do you think I should have just gone with the Olive green?

Recipe:
Very Merry Christmas stamp set
Pear & Partridge Level 2 papers
Cranberry & Colonial White cardstock
Cranberry, Desert Sand, Smoothie & Olive ink
Cranberry grosgrain ribbon
Pearl Opaques

Exploring Rocky Mountain National Park Layout

Here's the first of several layouts featuring Rocky Mountain National Park. We actually visited there on two separate days while vacationing in Colorado, but I accidentally left our camera in a parking lot in Steamboat Springs, so all the photos we took on the first day were gone. Sad but true. Fortunately, this national park is just beautiful, so the pictures from our second day (with a brand new camera) pretty much made up for the ones we took originally.

Recipe:
Dreamin' Level 2 papers
Autumn Terracotta, Pacifica, Bamboo, Crystal Blue, Chocolate & Colonial White cardstock
Autumn Terracotta, Pacifica, Crystal Blue & Chocolate ink
Pacifica marker
Durable Round Studs - Antiqued Gold
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: title letters, scalloped border, photo corner
Pattern: Let's Scrap 4-20-10

Flowers Whisper Layout

Someone on Splitcoast Stampers asked a while ago if every scrapbook layout needs to be titled. Although I generally do title my layouts so people can see at a glance what the main "theme" is, I think sometimes it's okay to not do a title. In this case, since this is a continuation of my previous Yampa River Botanic Park trip, I just used a quote where I might normally have added a title or journaled a bit.

Recipe:
Flower Pot & Limited Edition stamp sets
Dreamin' Level 2 papers
Autumn Terracotta & Buttercup cardstock
Autumn Terracotta & Chocolate ink
Autumn Terracotta brads
Pacifica brads
Autumn Terracotta ribbon
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag
Pattern: EMS Sketch 34

Yampa River Botanic Park Layout

I loved scrapping these photos because they are so beautiful! My hubby took tons of pictures of this botanical garden, and just looking at them makes me feel so peaceful. Hopefully my layout communicates the beauty and serenity of the place.

Recipe:
Glamor Lowercase Alphabet stamp set
Daydream Level 2 papers
Tulip, Spring Iris, Topiary & Colonial White cardstock
Spring Iris & Tulip ink
Fancy Cuts Botanicals
Craft buttons
Spring Iris & Tulip embroidery floss
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: flourish
Pattern: Let's Scrap 2-23-11

Moonlight Card 6

The final card for my Moonlight workshop. I decided to just emphasize the Smokey Plum on this one. The design on the patterned paper reminded me of crosses, so I thought the sentiment worked well with it. A special thank to my hubby who told me I needed to do something more with the butterfly (the wings were originally plain) and thus inspired me to stamp the design on it!

Recipe:
Card Chatter - Sympathy & Universal Backgrounds stamp sets
Moonlight Level 2 papers
Smokey Plum, Olive, Black & Colonial White cardstock
Smokey Plum, Olive & Versamark ink
Black marker
Black embossing powder
Olive button brad
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: butterfly

Moonlight Card 5

One more Moonlight card, and my workshop prep is almost done - woohoo! This card was a happy accident. I had tried using the pennant on another card, and it wasn't working. As I put it down on my desk, it ended up on top of a black scrap of cardstock and the green banner piece. I looked at it and decided to run with it.  Love it when that happens. The card background is actually a collage of stamps from different sets that I assembled on a block.

I have been trying to create a card with just black and orange all week so that I could play along with the Dynamic Duos color challenge.I do have a touch of green in there, but I'm going to enter it anyway, not because I think I'll win, but more for the fun of being able to say, "I did it!"

Recipe:
Artiste Birthday, For Every Occasion, Casual Expressions, Card Chatter - Birthday & Happy Birthday stamp sets
Moonlight Level 2 papers
Goldrush, Black & Colonial White cardstock
Goldrush & Black ink
Black button brads
Cricut Artiste cartridge: pennant, banner