Third Quarter Top 5

It's that time again! Time to select my 5 favorite photos from the last 3 months and link up with Ashley, Amber or Sarah. This was no small task as I took A LOT of photos in that time! Here is what I chose:

This photo captures my children's personalities so well. The looks on my younger two's faces just crack me up!

This one is from our trip to Chicago. We rode the train into the city one of the days. The kids had fun looking out the windows and watching the scenery go by.

We had lots of fun playing in the water this summer, it was so hot! Here's one of my oldest playing in the splash pad at the zoo. This one is a good reminder to use the polarizing filter when photographing outside- look at that blue sky!!

We visited an apple orchard a couple of weekends ago. The kids had a great time picking and tasting apples. I love how you can see Will's dark, long eyelashes in this one!

This one is definitely my favorite from the last three months! I took it of the girls at the Renaissance Festival a few weeks ago. They were loving swinging in this ship. I love the joy in their painted faces, the angle, and the castle in the background.

Happy Birthday- Unscripted Sketches and BBTB2

I am back today with a card I made for my nephew who is turning 13 on Sunday.  I used this week's Unscripted Sketch as inspiration.

I also used my Cricut for the Bitten by the Bug 2 challenge for this week, which is called "Little Boy Blue."  The challenge was simply to make a "boy" project using blue.  For my card, I used the cap cut on the "Boys Will Be Boys" Cartridge.  The cut comes with the number 12, but I just decided to not use that part of the cut and cut the 13 in a smaller size to fit on the hat.  

Materials-

Cardstock- Bazzill

Patterned Paper- My Mind's Eye and Echo Park

Ink- Prima

Ribbon- Target

Brad- Doodlebug Designs

Stamp- The Cottage Stamper, Inc,

Die Cutter- Cricut

Cartridge- Boys Will Be Boys, Storybook

October Calendar page

I already have my October calendar page done- woo hoo! I pulled out my new Simple Stories Harvest Lane collection for this one- this collection is so awesome!

 I used Sketch #231 from Nuts About Sketches for this one. I loved that there were so many spots for photos, a great feature for a month-in-review layout like this!  I adjusted the photo sizes a bit and skipped the large circles, but otherwise I stuck pretty close to the sketch.

I also added some twine to my layout for the ScrapFIT Workout #75- Trendy Twine.  Instead of baker's twine, I used the rough stuff that reminds me of the twine used on hay and straw bales, very fitting for a fall layout. I used the lacing technique I tried a few months ago.  I added eyelets to my layout and then laced the twine in and out of them (if you look closely, you can see it in the wood grain strip near the bottom. One of the great things about Simple Stories collections is that they come with lots of ready-made tags and journaling spots in various sizes, so all you have to do is cut them out (or tear as I did for the title block) and stick them to your page.  They are beautiful as is or you can embellish them a little further as I did.

Materials:

Cardstock- Bazzill

Patterned Paper- Simple Stories, October Afternoon

Stickers- Simple Stories, K and Co.

Brads- Michaels

Eyelets- Making Memories

Gromlets- We R Memory Keepers

Ribbon- Michales, Targer, Robin's Nest

Rubons- We R Memory Keepers

Chipboard- Fiskars, American Crafts

Pen- Tsukineko

We're Gong to the Zoo!

It has taken me all week to finish this, but I had fun playing with my mists and a new technique. Molding paste has been showing up a lot lately on scrapbook pages (at least on the blogs I follow).  I finally bought some a couple of weeks ago and FINALLY used it on a project this week.  I decided to color it orange with some Glimmer Mist and use a mask with it.  I started by applying the paste over the mask, spreading it until I was happy with the thickness and texture.  I wanted to add another color to my layout, so I sprayed over it with some green mist.  The green mist covered up most of the orange, so while the green was still wet and the orange was even a little wet, I took a Kleenex and dabbed the ink off of the orange.  It added some texture while taking away some of the green color.  I then let that dry a while.  I started building on top of that.

The current "Step Class" at ScrapFit was to use mists with negatives and/or stickers.  I decided to try this technique with my title.  I cut the word "zoo" using my Cricut and Sure Cuts A Lot.  I first cut the word out "normal".  I then used the "shadow blackout" feature and cut it in the same spot.  That left me with the letters and a slightly larger negative.  I took the negative and used some scratch paper to mask off around it and sprayed with some black and red mists.  I attached my letters with foam adhesive to really make the word pop.

Here's a close up of the molding paste and spray ink work:

Materials:

Cardstock- Bazzill

Patterned Paper, journal spot, and die cut- My Mind's Eye

Ink- Ranger, Tattered Angels, Hampton Arts

Pen- Zig, Sakura

Molding Paste- Golden Artist Colors, Inc.

Gromlet- We R Memory Keepers

Stickers- American Crafts, Basic Grey, Echo Park, Die Cuts With a View

Rub ons- Plaid

Ribbon- Michael's

Mask- Crafter's Workshop

Font- MonkeyBoy

Die Cutter- Cricut

Software- Crafter's Edge

Scrapfest Projects

On Thursday night, a friend and I attended one the the "Kick Off Crops" for Scrapfest at the Mall of America.  In six hours, I managed to complete a layout and a card and get a pretty good start on another layout.  I know it doesn't sound like much, but we also got some dinner and did some shopping.

My first layout I did for the "Health" class challenge for the Back 2 Class Crop at My Scraps and More. For each letter of the word "BODY" you need to have an item that starts with that letter.

 I decided to use these photos of my friends and me and our babies who were born two years ago. For the letters of the word "body" I used:
B- buttons
O- October Afternoon
D- Die Cut Paper
Y- Yarn (it's twine really, but close enough)

When I was packing for the crop, I forgot to pack much for cardstock, so I had to dig a bit for background paper.  I ended up selecting this wood paper by October Afternoon that was included in my "goodie bag" for the night.

Materials:

Patterned Paper- October Afternoon, My Mind's Eye, Echo Park, Doodlebug Designs, Creative Imaginations

Die cut paper- KI Memories

Journaling Spot- Echo Park

Tape- Target

Brads- Oriental Trading Company

Punch- Marvy

Twine- Pink Paislee

Chipboard- KI Memories, Basic Grey

Ink- Prima, Ranger

Pens- Marvy, Sakura

Stickers- EK Success, October Afternoon, Me and My Big Ideas

Buttons- Fancy Pants Designs, Jesse James

Rub ons- Colorbok

Next I made this card for Rick since his birthday was the next day.  Also included in my goodie bag was a 6x6 pad of Jillibean Soup Country Pumpkin Chowder.  I pulled the green background paper from that and pulled the rest from my scraps.

Materials:

Cardstock- Bazzill

Patterned Paper- Jillibean Soup, Scenic Route

Stamps- Close To My Heart

Trim- The Robin's Nest

Ink- Ranger

Finally, I started this layout with less than an hour left in the crop.  One of the things I bought on my shopping excursion was the "Harvest Lane" collection by Simple Stories.  I have been wanting to pick up this collection since I laid eyes on it when they revealed it before CHA.  I am not disappointed!  The colors are fabulous and I love all the bits and pieces that can be cut out to make creating a page super quick and easy!  

I did this layout for the "Lunch" challenge for the Back 2 Class Crop at My Scraps and More.  So, for those who are keeping track, I managed to complete the recess, health and lunch challenges... Guess I'm not as ambitious as I was when I was really in school!  The challenge was to make a layout about food.  I figured Thanksgiving was a good subject for this!  

The papers are all Simple Stories, but I pulled embellishments from several different places.  The epoxy heart is from some stickers I've had for a few years and the metal flower was also from my goodie bag.  I changed the color of the the flower using some alcohol inks.  

I had a lot of fun at the crop and at Scrapfest in general.  I will be writing another post soon about that, so keep an eye out!

Materials:

Cardstock- Bazzill

Patterned Paper- Simple Stories

Ink- Ranger

Stckers- Simple Stories, K and Company, Karen Foster Designs

Metal Flower- Momenta

Flowers- Prima

Eyelets- Making Memories

Gems- Hero Arts

Glimmer Glass- Tattered Angels

Journal Tag- Pink Paislee

Trim- Making Memories

Die Cutter- Cricut

Cartridge- Walk In My Garden

Punch- Martha Stewart Crafts

Rub On- Pink Paislee

Collage- Scrapbooks Etc. Quick Collage #212

Nuts About Sketches #229

My term on the Nuts About Sketches design team is over, but I played along this week because the sketch worked quite well with the stack of birth announcements I had laying on my desk waiting to be scrapped.

I modified the sketch quite a bit to fit everything on.  I eliminated the large journaling area because I didn't have much to say and just made a smaller one under the title.  I moved over the photo on the right and added another.  I played a bit with the confetti concept suggested by the sketch.   I started by splattering mist on the cardstock, followed by a couple of spritzes to soften the splatters. I kept the pieces that punched out of the holes on the orange scallop paper.  Then I added some stickers and fussy cut a couple of animals from a sheet of Karen Foster patterned paper.

Materials-

Cardstock- American Crafts

Patterned Paper- Crate, My Mind's Eye, Paper Adventures, Echo Park, Karen Foster Designs

Specialty Paper- Making Memories

Felt Accents- Pebbles

Stickers- Me and My Big Ideas

Journal Spot- Jillibean Soup

Ink- Tattered Angels

Pen- Tsukineko

Font- Chubby Cheeks

Die Cutter- Provo Craft

Software- Sure Cuts A Lot

Recess!

My Scraps and More is have a Back to School Crop this week!  There are challenges for each "class".  I decided to start with "Recess" (not sure what that says about me, but that's what inspired me first!).  The challenge was to create a page using outdoors photos.  I had these photos of Ellie playing at the park from two years ago.  I also did this for Day 5 of the Big Idea Festival at Big Picture Classes.  The challenge there was to "Craft Happy" and just enjoy the process.  While this layout ended up being for 2 challenges, I was working with no parameters in terms of supplies, sketch, etc.  I just pulled papers and embellishments and played!  

I gave my Cricut a workout cutting out the title and the little girl on the second page.  I was realizing that I haven't used my Cricut much lately for my scrapbook pages, so I decided it was time.  It also made my title a breeze!  For the title, I used the "Live Simply" Cartridge and one of the phrases included.  It didn't quite fit as is, so I cut the words apart to make it fit better on the page.  The little girls is from the "Playtime" cartridge. The other thing that I played with that I haven't in a while is some adhesive rub ons and glitter. I usually skip these because of the mess, but I wanted the sparkle to add a little something to this page and they really weren't that bad!

Materials
Cardstock- Bazzill
Patterned Paper- Bo Bunny Press, Imagination Project, Provo Craft, Basic Grey, My Mind's Eye, Flair Designs, and Crate Paper
Transparency- Anna Griffin
Adhesive Rub ons and Glitter- K and Co.
Rub ons- Hambly Screen Prints
Stickers- American Crafts, Little Yellow Bicycle, Fiskars
Chipboard- American Crafts
Pen- Sharpie, Tsukineko, Creative Memories
Punches- EK Success, Martha Stewart Carfts
Die Cutter- Provo Craft
Cartridges- Playtime, Live Simply

Cards!

I've made a couple of cards in the last few days; a baby card for a friend who just had a baby and a birthday card for my niece whose birthday was Tuesday and I totally missed (oops!).

I'll start with the baby card. I did this one for a couple of challenge. I used the current sketch at Mojo Monday. I also made this for the Day 1 challenge for the Big Idea Festival at Big Picture Classes. The challenge was to send someone a handmade note. I made this card and hand delivered it today, along with a gift and dinner. Making dinner for new moms is something that I have come to really enjoy doing. When my son was born two years ago I had so many people come forward to bring us meals, it was such a blessing.  Since then, I have tried to do the same for as many people as possible.

This morning I glanced at the calendar to see if we had any birthdays coming up and realized that our niece's birthday was Tuesday and I had totally missed it!  So I set to work with the card sketch from Let's Capture These Sketches.

I hand cut the circles, but they were pretty rough, so I covered that up by distressing the edges.  For the center circle, I punched it with my scalloped circle punch and then stamped the flower on another piece of paper and fussy cut it.  I curled the petals a bit to give it some dimension and pop dotted the whole circle.  

Scavenger Hunt Sunday: 9-2-12

Well, it's been a while, but I got the photo scavenger hunt done this week! I've been taking lots of photos the last couple of days so I figured I should be able to fill the prompts this week! I also followed the tutorial Ashley linked this week in "Tutorial Tuesday" on how to make a watermark, so now my photos have a watermark! Here are my shots for the week.

Candid
Here is my busy 2-year-old climbing the rope ladder at the park earlier this week. He got all the way to the top and then needed help getting down.

Toys
Kids don't need fancy toys to have fun! My kids love playing with old empty containers in the water, sand, etc.

Any of the 5 Senses
We went to the zoo yesterday and finally got back to the butterfly garden. We were there early in the summer, but my camera had no battery... grrr. Anyway, I had a great time taking photos of the butterflies yesterday. The butterfly garden is very much a sensory experience with all of the beautiful butterflies, flowers and instrumental music playing.

Batteries
One of the other special exhibits at the zoo are these animatronic dinosaurs.  I don't know if they are really on batteries, but they get the power to move from somewhere!

Half
Today we went to the Renaissance Festival as a family.  Everyone but me went on this swinging boat ( I sometimes get a little nauseated on swings and being pregnant I didn't want to push it!).  Anyway, this was half of the boat, the half with my daughters in it- they LOVED it!