Come to Me Layout

Although I've frequently played along with the Scrappy Friends challenges separately, this was the first time I did all the challenges for one layout. I started with this sketch challenge from Brenda Ragsdale, but I used one large photo instead of two small ones.

Then I used Kelly's color challenge and managed to use all five colors!

Finally, I incorporated Rochelle's tic-tac-toe challenge by adding a tag, thread, and handmade flowers to my layout!

This really forced me to think in order to get all the required elements on my layout, but I'm glad I did it since it was lots of fun! I also played along with a couple of other challenge blogs, so check out the links below to see what else I added.

Recipe:
Finding the Words stamp set
Basics Paper Fundamentals cardstock
Black, Juniper & Kraft cardstock
Juniper, Cocoa, Desert Sand, Bamboo & Versamark ink
Cocoa & Juniper markers
White gel pen (Unibal)
White embossing powder
Jackson PML journaling card
Cork Color Ready Alphabet stickers
Milepost Shapes tag
Embossed metal badge buttons
Aqua Dots
Mocha Opaques pearl
Black label tape (Dymo)
Tan embroidery floss (Making Memories)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: pennant, flowers
Pattern: GrandDiva's Creative Corner December sketch
Challenges: Picture This December 15 challenge (1 picture + green + flower cluster + butterfly); Scrap Our Stash DIECUTS challenge (I used D - die cuts, I - ink, E - embroidery floss + embossed metal badge buttons, C - cork alphabet stickers, U - Unibal pen, T - tag, S - stamping)

Homemade Christmas Gifts!

Every year, my hubby pulls out the baking stuff and whips up several batches of banana bread to give to our neighbors and miscellaneous friends. My contribution to the gift is to make and attach gift tags to each loaf. This year, I chose to combine the Year Round Cheer and Frame It Up stamp sets with a die-cut from the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge to create my tags. I love using clear stamps because I can do fun things like stamp the image in one color ink and the sentiment in another color without having to mask or clean the stamp between usages!

Recipe: 

Year Round Cheer & Frame It Up stamp sets
White Daisy cardstock
Cranberry, Ponderosa Pine & Chocolate ink
Red Glitz glitter gel
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag
Challenges: Heart to Heart Gifts from the Heart challenge

The Three Pastors Layout

For week 2 of the December Lasting Memories challenges, we celebrated National Ding-a-ling Day (December 12) by scrapbooking about funny people or comedic things. Well, it doesn't get much funnier than the Three Stooges, so I created a layout memorializing the day our church threw a Three Stooges party for our three pastors as a thank you for another year of hard work and love!

Recipe:
Jackson Level 2 papers
Glacier, Cocoa & Colonial White cardstock
Barn Red & Twilight markers
Glacier, Barn Red & Cocoa ink
Jackson Picture My Life cards
Colonial White, Barn Red & Cocoa brads
Milepost Shapes (arrow, star, bracket)
Adornaments Fibers (EK Success)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: scalloped border
Cricut Artistry cartridge: title
Pattern: Savvy Scallops from StudioJ.com
Challenges: Heart 2 Heart Rewind challenge (I chose to re-visit the Give Thanks challenge, since this layout was all about thanking some special people)

Smell of Christmas Layout

I am so excited to have been chosen as a guest designer for Lasting Memories challenge blog this month. Lasting Memories posts challenges every Sunday, and this month, their theme is Funny Holidays. I have to admit, I hadn't heard of most of the holidays on the list, but it's fun to have the inspiration! For today's challenge, the inspiration is National Brownie Day, celebrated on December 8th. Although I love to eat brownies, I'm not much of a baker and didn't have any brownie pictures, but I did have a photo of the banana bread I made as Christmas gifts in 2013, so that became the centerpiece of my layout. Combined with the creative sketch from Stick It Down, and the White Pines scrapbooking kit from CTMH, it added up to a fun layout of a yummy memory!

Recipe:
White Pines stamp set
White Pines Level 2 papers
Chocolate, Cranberry, & Colonial White cardstock
Cranberry & Fern ink
Cranberry & Black markers
Red enamel gems
White Pines badge buttons
Cranberry ribbon
Cricut Artistry cartridge: title shape
Pattern: Stick It Down December sketch
Challenges: Heart 2 Heart 'Tis the Season: Seasonal Expressions challenge (I used the White Pines WOTG kit)

Rancho Simi Layout + November Single Sketch

Even though I posted the single page sketch on Splitcoast Stampers three weeks ago, I hadn't gotten around to creating a layout to go with it, so today I sat down and powered one out. Since all the photos are matted, this seemed like a good layout for a patterned paper background, so I pulled a full sheet from the Pathfinder packet and went to work. I was playing along with a Scrapbook.com stamping challenge to stamp a bird on your layout, and I can't believe I actually had a chicken stamp! I've been doing this way too long, right?

The sketch:

My layout:

Recipe:
Bingo Alphabet, Catch You Later & Today's Date stamp sets
Pathfinder Level 2 papers
Glacier, Chocolate, Barn Red, Champagne & Colonial White cardstock
Glacier, Chocolate, Barn Red & Olive ink
Olive marker
Chocolate baker's twine
Chocolate embroidery floss
Chocolate brads
Scalloped border punch (Fiskars)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tag, hearts
Pattern: Splitcoast Stampers Sketch15Nov1
Challenges: Lasting Memories Bingo / Thankful challenge - I used the diagonal row with brads, multiple photos, tag, and 2 alphas. I didn't actually use the word thankful on my layout, but I was truly thankful to sit down and rest for a while, so hopefully that counts!

Awards Layout + November Double Sketch

The pictures for this layout have been sitting on my desk for three weeks because I was busy with another project and couldn't find a sketch that worked for them. I finally finished my project and decided to create my own sketch, so here's the sketch and my layout. Feel free to pop on over to Splitcoast Stampers and see my other sketch for the month, too.

The sketch:

My layout:

Recipe:
Alphabet Solos "A," "W," R," "D," "S," "I" & "T" stamp sets
DCWV Summer Stack papers
Pear, Buttercup, Sky & White Daisy cardstock
Pear, Buttercup, Sky, Clover Meadow & Creme Brulee ink
Black marker (Zig)
Craft buttons
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: banner, stars, circles, rounded squares, "U"
Pattern: Splitcoast Stampers Sketch15Nov3
Challenges: Picture This November 1 (your choice of photos, scraps, die-cuts, buttons); Scrap Our Stash ALBUMS challenge (I chose A - Alphabet Solos stamp sets, L - layers, B- buttons & banner, U - die-cut u, M - marker, S - stars & sketch)

Awana Layout

For Virtual Scrapbook Night over at Splitcoast Stampers, I issued a challenge based on the old game of Twister. In honor of the level of physical fitness you had to exert in order to play the game, I asked everyone to see how many times they could touch their toes. If they ended up on an odd number, they had to use bright primary colors on their layout; an even number meant they had to use repeating circles. I won't tell you what my count was, but I decided to use both elements on my layout anyway.

Recipe:
Animal Cookies Level 2 papers
Clover Meadow, Tulip, Dutch Blue, Sunflower & White Daisy cardstock
Clover Meadow, Tulip, Dutch Blue & Sunflower ink
Irresistibles Lots of Dots stickers
Embroidery floss (DMC)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: circles, arrows
Pattern: Splitcoast Stampers Sketch15Oct
Challenges: Splitcoast Stampers Twister challenge; Use Your Stuff die cuts and punches (used electronic die-cutting machine plus star punch); Heart 2 Heart Cricut Capers

Happy Father's Day 2013 Layout

I've been MIA on my blog this past week, but scrapbooking actually has been happening! Here's a layout I finished for another Splitcoast Stampers VSBN challenge. In keeping with the Toy Story theme, this challenge was inspired by the Etch-a-Sketch, so I asked everybody to use a sketch as a starting point for their layout. I love designing sketches, but for this layout, I chose one from Stick It Down challenge blog. The cut out corners didn't seem to work for my pictures, so I switched it to photo corners for a bolder look, and of course I didn't use flowers for Father's Day!

The sketch:

My layout:

Recipe:
Glamour Uppercase, Playful Caps, Vintage Type, June Word Puzzle & World's Best Dad stamp sets
Kraft, Chocolate, Crystal Blue & White Daisy cardstock
Desert Sand, Chocolate, Crystal Blue & Star Spangled Blue ink
Moonstruck marker
Pewter eyelets
Chocolate baker's twine
Design Shop Father Stickers (MM)
Cricut Artiste cartridge: title, tie
Challenges: Scrap Our Stash INKS challenge ( I used Ink, Number 1, Kraft cardstock & Stamping - the "patterned paper" is actually stamped using a variety of alphabet stamps)

Recipe for a Happy Mother's Day Layout

Wednesday is here, and I posted three new challenges on the Splitcoast Stampers Virtual Scrapbook Night forum for any scrapper daring enough to participate! Here's my layout for the Tic-tac-toe challenge. I used the middle column with die-cuts, a sketch, and a stamped item (several, in fact).

Here's the board, just in case you want to play along:

And my layout:

Recipe:
Say It in Style, All the Details, Whooo's Your Valentine & Have a Happy Day stamp sets
Laughing Lola level 2 papers
Laughing Lola Yellow, black, Crystal Blue & White Daisy cardstock
Black, Thistle & Flaxen ink
Black marker
Durables Artisan Studs
White ric-rac (Wrights)
White Daisy embroidery floss
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: title box
Cricut Artiste cartridge: hearts
Pattern: Splitcoast Stampers Sketch15Sep3

Pure Joy Layout

I promised you yesterday I would be sharing layouts all week long based on the challenges I wrote for the Splitcoast Stampers Toy Story VSBN, so here's another one. For the Barbie Dream House challenge, I asked participants to show us how they built their dream layout from the ground up, something I don't usually think much about, so it was fun to figure out what my process was for this layout!

My layout:

The process;
1. I started with a sketch, which strongly influenced the elements I added to the layout.
2. I had originally picked some cardstock that matched my photo colors, but when I decided to use Washi tape instead for the diagonals, I just went with the assortment I had, so my color scheme totally changed.
3. In order to add a pop of brightness to my mellow color scheme, I searched through my paper stash for a bright patterned paper to accent my photo.
4. I found a journaling card to use in place of the notepaper on the sketch, and that led me to the stickers that coordinated with the journaling card - score!
5. The black stripe on the journaling card influenced me to make the banner and journaling black.
6. I couldn't find a star on my Cricut cartridges that had just an outline, so I had to learn how to use the center point function on my Cricut to get the star cut-out. Another score!
7. I wanted a title that reflected the excitement my dogs feel when they tear around the yard full speed, so "Pure Joy" seemed appropriate.
8. My final touch was a bit of journaling, just in case others didn't get the title!

Don't forget, the challenges will all be posted this week, but you have until the end of October to complete them, so jump in any time and play along!

Recipe:
Caboodle level 2 paper
Cashmere, Black, Slate & Honey cardstock
Sorbet ink
Juniper and Slate Washi tape
My Crush Besties Assortment stickers and journaling card
3-D foam tape
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge; banner, stars
Pattern: Stuck Sketches October 1