Merry Christmas

From a poem by G.K. Chesterton, I think this sums up the Christmas story!

"And our peace is put in impossible things
Where clashed and thundered unthinkable wings
Round an incredible star."

Benihanas Layout

For this layout, I got to combine an old and a new favorite. The old is my Wishblade, which I used to cut the title. After my computer crashed in October, I never re-installed the software for my Wishblade, and then I had to figure out how to make it work with Windows 7 - ouch! Finally got it up and running, so you can expect to see some more Wishbalde-cut titles from me in the near future. The new is the Art Philosophy cartridge for my Cricut, which I used to cut all the dragonflies. I then stamped the dragonflies using images from the "This Way" stamp set. Love that look. It's Christmas Eve and my hubby took our boys out for the day, so I'm off to create some more layouts. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Recipe:
This Way stamp set
Fanfare & Felicity Level 2 papers
Sky, Chocolate, Bamboo & Colonial White cardstock
Pacifica & Sky ink
Pacifica marker
Colonial White ric-rac
Chocolate craft buttons
Waxy Flax
Pattern: Creative Rhythm from Cherish

Heart 2 Heart Sketch Challenge 11

I finally climbed out from under my mountain of Christmas cards long enough to create this sketch and layout for the Heart 2 Heart challenge blog. It's simple, featuring only three photos, but you could always replace the long photo at the bottom with a series of 3" x 3" photos. It also uses some pennants, something I haven't experimented with much yet. I cut the shortest pennant out using the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge, and then, since you can't cut longer pennants using the cartridge without also having them wider, I used it as a template to cut the longer pennants. The title and snowflakes were also cut out using the AP cartridge. There are so many fun shapes on that cartridge that you could use to fill in the asterisks from the sketch. Have fun creating, and don't forget to link your artwork to the Heart 2 Heart blog so everyone can see it!

The Sketch:

My Layout:



Recipe:
Wonderland papers
Bamboo & Colonial White cardstock
Twilight, Crystal Blue, Chocolate & Bamboo ink
Twilight marker
Pearl Opaques
Stickles (Ranger)

Life is crazy but wonderful!

Okay, I haven't signed into my blog in so long I had to look up my password! How sad is that? Life has really been crazy lately, so I haven't had a chance to scrapbook yet this month. I am in the midst of a Christmas card making frenzy. I'm making our family Christmas cards that need to be done, addressed, and sent by Monday, and I am making cards to sell at a Christmas boutique tomorrow. Just wanted to take a moment in the midst of all the busyness to check in with my scrappy friends. The next Heart 2 Heart sketch will be posted on the 15th, so I'll complete at least one layout this month! If you haven't had a chance to try out last month's sketch, you can see it on my November 15th post. In the meantime, hope you are having a wonderful holiday season, and don't forget to take time to experience the wonder of Christmas.

Believe Christmas Card Workshop

I have a workshop planned for tonight and one for tomorrow in which we'll be creating these cards. I really love the Believe paper pack but it was harder to work with than I expected, maybe because it's so busy. After several weeks of experimenting, during which I created and discarded a whole set of cards because I wasn't satisfied with them, I came up with these cards. They are based on the Just Because card workshop found in Jeanette Lynton's book Wishes.

Each customer will make two each of five patterns. There are six cards pictured below because the tree and joy cards are actually two different options using the same patterns but two different sides of the same paper, plus different stamps. The ladies will pick which one they prefer, or they can make one of each style.

Like what you see? If you're in the Los Angeles area and want to book a card workshop with me, please contact me using the contact tab on the sidebar of my blog.





Recipe:
AP Seasons, Christmas Love, Say It In Style, December Word Puzzle, Holiday Magic, Shining Star & Holiday Wishes stamp sets
Believe Level 2 papers
Holiday Red, Topiary, Desert Sand & White Daisy cardstock
Holiday Red, Topiary & Chocolate ink
Olive Mini-Medley
3-D foam tape
Xmas Red Stickles (Ranger)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge
Paper crimper

Week 46 Layout Linky - San Cristobal

Another layout from our visit to Chile. I used the Sweet Symphony pattern from Imagine for this layout. For some reason, the layout looks unfinished to me, but I'm not sure what to add that won't clutter it up, so I'm leaving it for now. Hopefully inspiration will strike someday!



Recipe:
Chocolate Alphabet Small & Triple Play stamp sets
Magnolia papers (MME)
Bamboo, Desert Sand, Cocoa & White Daisy cardstock
Vellum paper
Indian Corn Blue, Sorbet & Desert Sand ink
Sorbet craft buttons
Tan embroidery floss (Making Memories)
Edge distressor

***If you are participating in the 52 Layouts Challenge, please use the link below to link your layout to this post. You have until Friday at 11:59PM PST to post your week 46 layout. The link will allow you to post a title and thumbnail that link to your site, where we can see the layout in all its glory!

Heart 2 Heart Sketch Challenge 10

I know we all have one: the bulk pack of paper that was too good to pass up but has now been sitting in our scraproom for two years. Consultants, what about the B&T Duos that we used for a workshop but we still have 10 sheets left? Now is the time to pull those out and use a big chunk. This sketch features an 11.5" x 6.5" piece of paper (I used patterned paper, but you could use cardstock) along the bottom of each page, plus a 6" x 4.75" piece at the top of each page. Depending on your pictures and the paper you're using, you could use two sides of the same paper to do the top and bottom pieces. I listed the smaller photos on the sketch as 4" x 3", but you could crop them to whatever size suits your pictures. Have fun creating, and let me see what you come up with!

The Sketch:


My Layout:


Recipe:
Rustic Alphabet stamp set
Emporium & Stardust Level 2 papers
Buttercup & Colonial White cardstock
Sweet Leaf, Garden Green, Desert Sand, Buttercup & Vineyard Berry ink
Twilight marker
Just Blooms Paper Shapes - Flutter
Liquid Glass

Week 45 Layout Linky - Leaving on a Jet Plane Layout

I can't believe I did it again. It's Friday already and I'm just getting this link posted! Apologies to my scrappy friends who are doing the 52 week challenge. I'll extend the deadline to Tuesday, and I'll make sure I get a layout done for next week so I can get that posted earlier.

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Update at 11:20 PM
I finished my layout before midnight, so I thought I'd post it! I decided to scrapbook our 2007 vacation to Chile since I finished the rest of 2007 already. The layout uses the Creative Rhythm pattern from Cherish, plus some really old patterned paper from DCWV and CTMH. The blank white space will eventually hold journaling.



Recipe:
A Typeface, Trinity Alphabet & Flyin' High stamp sets
The Summer Stack (DCWV) & Summer Celebration B&T Combo pack
Watermelon, Clover Meadow & White Daisy cardstock
Topiary & Black ink
White grosgrain ribbon
Craft buttons
White Daisy embroidery floss
3-D foam tape

***If you are participating in the 52 Layouts Challenge, please use the link below to link your layout to this post. You have until Friday at 11:59PM PST to post your week 45 layout. The link will allow you to post a title and thumbnail that link to your site, where we can see the layout in all its glory!

EMS Sketch Challenge 34 - The Looong Flight Home

Anyone up for a sketch challenge? I haven't done one for a few weeks, so here's one I came up with this morning! It's pretty simple, but I threw a couple variations into my layout. First, I rounded the corners of the large paper and the right hand photo so I wouldn't have as many straight angles. I also replaced the stars with clocks to reflect my theme. Since my journaling was way too long for the space I had designated, I cut an opening in the paper that holds the photo collage, and I inserted a journaling strip behind it. You pull up on the tab in order to reveal a little bit of the journaling at a time. Fun idea I got from Jeanette Lynton's latest pattern book, Magic. Except for a vacation that I will scrap separately, this is the last of my photos from 2007. Yay!

The Sketch:

My Layout:
 

Recipe:
Trinity Alphabet, Flyin' High, Make It Count & Notice the Details stamp sets
Animal Cookies Creative Basics papers
White Daisy & Sunflower cardstock
Chocolate & Dutch Blue ink
Tulip brads
3-D foam tape

Week 44 Layout Linky

Ooops, I forgot to post a layout linky this week for the 52 Weeks Challenge. Since I'm doing this soooo late, I'll leave it open until next Wednesday. Maybe I can even get a layout finished and linked by then!

***If you are participating in the 52 Layouts Challenge, please use the link below to link your layout to this post. You have until Friday at 11:59PM PST to post your week 43 layout. The link will allow you to post a title and thumbnail that link to your site, where we can see the layout in all its glory!