Then . . . Now Layout

I have good news and bad news: I only have one more layout to do from my 2011 Grand Canyon trip (good news if you're tired of Canyon photos, but bad news if you want more Canyon inspiration)! Here's my second to last Canyon layout. I started with this sketch from Brenda Ragsdale, but I stretched it into a two pager and added a few more photos. I love it when I can take a sketch and adjust it to fit my needs, don't you? Speaking of sketches, my February week 1 sketch is posted on Splitcoast Stampers, so click here to play along!

Recipe:
Geometric Backgrounds stamp set
Huntington Level 2 papers
Olive, Desert Sand, Champagne, Saddle & Colonial White cardstock
Olive, Desert Sand & Saddle ink
Slate polka dot washi tape
Chocolate grosgrain ribbon
Garden Green spiral clip
Milepost Shapes stars & circle
Black label tape (Dymo)
Milan - Brown alphabet stickers (American Crafts)
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: tags
Cricut Artiste cartridge: file folder
Challenges: Rochelle Spears February tic-tac-toe challenge (I used letter stickers, two word title, file folder); Heart 2 Heart Home Is Where the Heart Is challenge (this is a stretch, but I scrapbooked pictures of the place the Ancestral Puebloan called home over 800 years ago!)

Pemberly Love You Card

My final card for my workshop, and it's my first foray into shaker cards. Yes, I am so behind the times, but I was never brave enough to try one of these. I started with the Peek-a-boo challenge from Little Red Wagon and tried various means to have a window or something you could peek through. Using my Cricut, I figured out how to add a heart cut-out to a shaped die-cut, but my original ideas all fizzled until I tried making it into a shaker. I love how it turned out with the heart cut-out and the small hearts inside the shaker!

Recipe:
4 My Friend stamp set
Pemberly Level 2 papers
Desert Sand, Bamboo, Indian Corn Blue & White Daisy cardstock
Vellum (Michaels)
Outdoor Denim, Indian Corn Blue & Desert Sand ink
Pearl Opaques
3-D foam tape
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: banner, shaped square, heart
Challenges: Little Red Wagon Peek-a-Boo challenge.

Caboodle Birthday Card

I'm all done with the cards for my workshop so I want to share another one with you all. This one went through many design changes before I was finally satisfied with the end result!

Recipe:
Joyful Birthday, Perfect Fit Birthday & Alphabet Solos "H" stamp set
Caboodle Level 2 papers
Sweet Leaf, Sorbet, Crystal Blue, Sorbet & Colonial White cardstock
Sweet Leaf, Sorbet, Crystal Blue, Sorbet & Chocolate ink
Baker's twine (Recollections)
Gold Stickles
3-D foam tape
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: scalloped circle
Pattern: Deconstructed Sketches #186
Challenges: Clear It Out Anything Goes challenges (Since this card is for a workshop, I'm using up lots of patterned paper that's been in my stash forever!)

Emporium Thank You Card

Another card for my workshop, and this one uses a cute sketch from Retro Sketches. I changed it up a little by tilting the tag. Hopefully my ladies will have as much fun coloring the flower garden on the tag as I did.

Recipe:
A Flowering Bunch & Have a Happy Day stamp sets
Emporium Level 2 papers
Olive, Smoothie, Buttercup & COlonial White cardstock
Olive & Cocoa ink
Lots of markers!
Cocoa grosgrain ribbon
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: Tag, Dragonfly, circle
Pattern: Retro Sketches #151
Challenges: 4 Crafty Chicks hand colored image

Loved Faces @ the Canyon Layout

Happy February, everyone. Hope you're having a fun day watching the Superbowl or scrapbooking, or whatever else takes your fancy. I was able to sit down and create another Grand Canyon layout that incorporated a few fun challenges.

Recipe:
Live Inspired, You & Me, Victory WOTG, Star Struck & Today's Date stamp sets
Lucky Level 2 papers
Outdoor Denim, Desert Sand & Colonial White cardstock
Outdoor Denim, Desert Sand, Sunset & Cocoa ink
Cocoa marker
Cocoa grosgrain ribbon
Brown sparkles
3-D foam tape
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: title, hearts
Pattern: EMS Sketch 22 + my creative brain!
Challenges: 4 Crafty Chicks Anything Goes challenge; Frosted Designs Directions challenge (arrows, @ symbol); Scrap It Girl Recipe challenge (arrows, numbers, blue)

Hey There Card

Yesterday I created a winter-themed card and today I moved on to the depths of summer with this card. Heart 2 Heart challenge blog asked us to create a project that features the color assigned to our birth month. My assigned color was Topiary, and let me tell you, there are not a lot of recent paper packs that feature Topiary. Since I'm still trying to deplete my pile of patterned papers, I dug through my stash and found the Splendor paper pack, which features Topiary and Goldrush. Using a cute sketch from Stick it Down allowed me to blow through a lot of paper, too, so I'm on my way to achieving my use-it-up goal! This card is really versatile because I can stamp whatever sentiment I need on the inside.

Recipe:
Hot Diggity & Balloon Talk stamp sets
Splendor Level 2 paper
Goldrush, Kraft & White Daisy cardstock
Topiary, Goldrush & Moonstruck ink
Goldrush marker
Color-Ready seam binding ribbon
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: banner, heart, circle
Pattern: Stick It Down January card sketch
Challenges: Heart 2 Heart Birthday Color challenge

Big Hugs Card

I haven't done a card workshop in months because I've been so overwhelmed with being a foster mom, but I finally decided to take the plunge and do another workshop. Since I have soooo many paper packs that are only half used, I thought it would be fun to do a hodgepodge workshop to use up some old paper. Here's my first card, using patterned paper from Wonderland. I paired it up with some new {to me} stamp sets that I purchased during CTMH's Deal of the Decade sale in December. The snowmen from Flakey Friends stamp set have been calling out to me since they first appeared in a CTMH idea book, but I couldn't justify purchasing them since I live in a snow-free zone. I finally broke down and got the set, and I'm so glad I did because the cuteness level is off the charts!

Recipe:
Big Hugs & Flakey Friends stamp sets
Wonderland Level 2 papers
Crystal Blue & White Daisy cardstock
Crystal Blue & Chocolate ink
Crystal Blue & Autumn Terracotta markers
Coffee marker (Zig)
Bronze Shimmer Trim
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: snowflakes
Pattern: Sketch-n-Scrap Card Sketch #41
Challenges: Heart 2 Heart Old is New challenge; Little Red Wagon Winter Blues challenge; Scrap It Girl Snowflakes challenge; Stuck on U Sketches Warm and Cozy challenge

Enjoying Nature Layout

As the new scrapbook sketch hostess over at Splitcoast Stampers, I have to come up with a sketch on the first and third Friday of the month, which is pretty easy to do, but it's a lot harder finding time to scrapbook a layout based on the sketch. I finally managed it for the sketch I posted last Friday! The scan doesn't do the layout justice, but I have to say I am in love with Thistle, one of the new colors from CTMH. I used it to frame the large photo, and it is so beautiful!

The sketch:

My layout:

Recipe:
Hodgepodge Alphabet stamp set
Babycakes Level 2 papers
Thistle, Slate, Whisper, Black & Sky cardstock
Black & Thistle ink
BLack marker (Zig)
Black corduroy brads & button brad
Mod Great Lengths stickers (CM)
Cuttlebug embossing folder: CTMH Stripes, Swiss Dot
Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge: flowers, flourishes, pennant
Cricut Artiste cartridge: title
Challenges: Use Your Stuff geometric shapes challenge (I used circles, rectangles & squares); Heart 2 Heart tic-tac-toe challenge (I used embossing, distressing, scrapbooking); Lasting Memories Life's Simple Pleasures challenge (enjoying nature is one of my simple pleasures, as is scrapbooking about it!); Splitcoast Stampers' Stashbusters challenge (use 2 types of metal accents = corduroy covered brads & button brad, a punch = circles, patterned paper as  main paper)

Bright Angel Trail Layout

Are you one of those people who always struggles with journaling? Despite getting my B.A. in English, the whole process of getting my life story on paper is a challenge for me. So for this layout, I used an old technique that I haven't tried for a while: I journaled on my photo before I sent it to be printed, so it was ready to go when I got around to creating my layout. This allowed me to use one more picture on my layout and to have the hard task of journaling already done - yay!

Recipe:
Timberline stamp set
You Rock Level 2 paper
Smokey Plum, Goldrush & White Daisy cardstock
Outdoor Denim, Bamboo & Chocolate ink
White Daisy brad
3-D foam tape
Artiste cartridge: title
Cricut Artbooking cartridge: arrows
Pattern: EMS Sketch 4

Walking the Rim Layout

Good news for those of you who have been missing my sketches: I have taken on the position of scrapbook sketch designer for Splitcoast Stampers! I'll be posting sketches there on the first and third Friday of the month. If you haven't checked out Splitcoast Stampers yet, come on over and introduce yourself. There is a great community of scrappers, and I love getting encouragement from my cyber-pals at the Scrapbook Goals thread. Here's my layout based on my latest sketch. I rotated and flipped the sketch, and made it a double pager. It's always fun to see what others do with the sketch, so if you want to play along, use the link at the bottom to check it out!

Recipe:
Hodgepodge Alphabet stamp set
Stardust Level 2 papers
Kraft, Bamboo, Pacifica, Whisper & Colonial White cardstock
Bamboo, Pacifica, Whisper, Baby Pink & Sorbet ink
Silver metallic marker
Embossed metal badge buttons
Wall Decor and More Cricut cartridge: tree, compass
Pattern: SCS Sketch15Jan1