Christmas Tag

Hi all! I have a new project to share, this time it is a tag! I don't do tags often, but I made these to go in packages that were sent to my godchildren.

For the background, I started by stamping the stars in white ink (the tags are manilla, so off white). I heat embossed the stars with sparkle embossing powder. Then I used a blending brush and Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink and covered the background. I took a towel and wiped off the stars once I was done inking (the embossing resists the ink). I then stamped and heat embossed the sentiment. Finally, I cut the angels using my Cricut. I misted the blue and white layers with Perfect Pearls mixed with water for some shimmer (which you can't see in the photo. 

 I wrote the "to" and "from" on the back. I am entering this in the Bitten By the Bug 2 Any Holiday challenge. Thanks for stopping by!

Snow Cards

Hello! I have two new cards to share today! I used alcohol inks and Lift Off ink and this was the result.

First up is the card with the alcohol inks. I used purple, blue and teal inks and played around with layering them on glossy cardstock until I was happy with the result. I then took some snowflake, clear cling stamps and arranged them on my MISTI. I inked them up with Alcohol Lift Off ink and stamped. I then put my second panel in the MISTI and stamped the ink off (see that panel on the card below). I ended up doing that two more times to make the effect more visible. I still felt the snowflakes were pretty faint, so I rotated my card and stamped them again  with white pigment ink for more interest. I added some vellum to the top and bottom and stamped my sentiment on a strip of cardstock. I punched a few snowflakes to layer on top as well. One of them I heat embossed with sparkle embossing powder. To finish things off, I added some clear rhinestones.

To add more texture to my second card, I used a snowflake embossing folder. I then cut the snowflake using my Cricut. I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment on vellum and wrapped it around my card front. To finish off the card, I added Liquid Pearls around the large snowflake.

I am entering these in the Use Your Stuff- Snow or Winter challenge. 

 

January Calendar Page

Hello, I have my January calendar page ready to share! With this layout, I have used all three Stick It Down sketches this month! Here is the double page sketch:

I mixed and matched papers for this layout. I realized I was down to scraps in my winter collection. I started with the cream polka dot paper and found a light purple cardstock that went with the purple dots. I worked in some of the 3x4 cards as tags and cut a few others from patterned paper to go around my photo collage. I used my Cricut to cut the title. I decided to cover it with Stickles for some interest. I hand wrote my journaling on strips to go with the photos and a few extra events on the tag on the right page. I finished off the page with some stickers, brads, and flair badge.

 

Flower Girl Adventures

Hello! I got another layout completed! This time I used this sketch that is part of the Lasting Memories Flashback Sketch challenge:

I used the sketch for my left hand page. I then extended the design over to the right hand page. For the block on the background, I taped off a square and used mists to create an ombre effect. I then stamped over the spray ink with flower stamps and white ink. The title was cut using my Cricut. The words "flower girl" were cut from white cardstock and I sprayed it with the same pink ink I used on the background. The word "adventures" was cut from dark grey cardstock that I heat embossed with silver powder. I embellished the page with a lot of random bits and pieces that went with the colors of my layout. 

 Thanks for checking out my layout!

Fabulous Fall

I know, there's snow on the ground, it's nearly Christmas, but I had this fun fall photos to scrapbook! I started with this sketch from Scrap Our Stash:

This sketch worked great with my three photos. I cut leaves using my Cricut in place of the large circles. I had used plain cardstock, but decided they looked a little too stark next to the watercolored designs of this collection, so I drug a couple of Distress Oxide inkpads across them and spread the color with a wet brush. I fussy cut the smaller leaves and pumpkins from the collection. I used my Cricut to cut the word "fabulous" as well. This challenge also required the use of twine, ribbon or jute. I used some jute on my layout. I used one legth in the top left corner under the leaves and a second length to "hang" my banner for my title. I finished embellishing my page with washi tape, chipboard stickers, stickers, and sequins.

 Thanks for checking out my layout!

First Friends

Hello! I have a couple of new layouts to share over the next couple of days using this month's challenges from Scrap Our Stash. 

Today I am sharing my layout for the first challenge of the month which was to lift this layout: 

I decided to do hearts for my layout too, but found this cut file with them in circles. I cut the file from white cardstock and then splattered coordinating colored inks on it for some texture. I used a couple of the cut out hearts to layer on top. I colored those with using a blending brush and Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide ink. I backed some of the hearts with patterned paper and let others open to allow the background to show through. I used my Cricut to cut the title from a couple of patterned papers. I also cut the word "friends from thin chipboard for dimension. I kept the journaling simple with the names of my son and his friends. I embellished the page with a ocuple of flair buttons and a "buds" rub on. I finished things off with Dirty Bronze Nuvo Drops. 

 Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday Cards

Hello! I have a couple of new cards to share! 

First up is this masculine birthday card using the current card sketch from Stick It Down:

I started by running a piece of kraft cardstock through a woodgrain embossing folder. I then took some dark green cardstock and stamped evergreen boughs in an even darker green. I used the same color cardstock, as well as some dark green cardstock to cut out the tree with my Cricut. To add a little interest, I took a white gel pen and added snow to the tree. For the band around the middle of the card, I found a scrap of kraft patterned paper and inked the edges with brown ink. I took the same ink and rubbed it over my embosssed paper to make the embossing stand out more. I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment. To finish off the card front, I used Liquid Mercury Nuvo Drops.

My second card was inspired by last week's sketch from Sketch Saturday:

I also ran a cardstock panel through an embossing folder for this card, this time a snowflake folder. I cut a circle from white cardstock and blended a background on it. I was originally use a snowman stamp for this card, but found this cute stamp set in my stash and decided to go with it instead. I stamped the person in black ink and then colored it with markers. For the trim on the hood, I filled the space with glue and sprinkled white glitter over it. I used my Cricut to cut the swirl with white and blue glitter cardstocks. I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment and added dots of Stickles to finish off the card front.

 Thanks for stopping by to check out my cards!

Flower Girl Fun

Hello! I have a new layout to share! So often, sketches are for one page layouts. Recently, I have been using them as a starting point for two page layouts and I did that again with this layout. I started with the sigle page sketch from Stick It Down:

I used the sketch for my left hand page and then created a right hand page to coordinate with it. I love the circles on this sketch and it was the perfect opportunity to use my Stamping Gear. I have used it several times for cards, but rarely for layouts. I LOVE how this turned out! I found some coordinating inks to go with the papers I used and stamped two different stamps. I started by just doing the left page, but decided to complete the circle on the right side of the left page on the right hand page to pull the two pages together. I then used the smooshing technique to add some grey and pink Distress Oxide ink. Once all of that was dry, I added the photos and patterned papers. I didn't add much for papers since the stamping had already added quite a bit of interest. I found an old transparency journaling spot for my journaling. For the title, I cut the words "Flower Girl" using my Cricut. I pressed it into Versamark and heat embossed it with silver powder twice for shine and dimension. I embellished the layout with some stickers, washi tape, flowers, and a little flair heart.

 Thanks for stopping by to check out my layout!

December Calendar Page

Hello! I am finally posting my December calendar page! I finished it a little late, but it has been done for a while! I used the November double sketch from Stick it Down. You can see it here. 

 I reduted the number of photos again this month, but this time is was because I didn't have that many vertical photos to work with. Otherwise, I stuck pretty close to the sketch. I used a Christmas collection that I am getting down there on, but I was able to get creative. I fussy cut the trees, ornaments and lights for embellishments. I used my Cricut to cut the title. To add a little extra sparkle, I added some Stickles to the trees. 

Thanks for stopping by to check out my layout!

Birthday Card

Hello again! Today I have a card to share! I made this for my daughter who turned 15 last week. She is a dancer and likes the color teal. I started with the light green cardstock and the triangle Turnabout stamp from Concord and 9th. I did the silver heat embossing first, and then the white, and two different teal colors. The triangles didn't line up the way they were supposed to (I don't know why), but I think the effect is still cool. I kept the rest of the card pretty simple. I cut the dancer, using my Cricut, from white cardstock and layered it over a dark teal cardstcok. For the sentiment, I stamped it on a scrap of white cardstock and heat embossed it. I tore to end for some texture. It is hard to see in the photo, but I painted white pearl ink over the dancer for some shimmer.

This is definitely one of my favorite cards of the year, so I am entering it in The Card Concept's challenge. 

Rugged Maniac

Hi all! I have a few things to share over the next few days! First up, I have a new layout to share.

My husband did a Rugged Maniac race several years ago and I finally got it scrapped. I had to ask my sister-in-law for photos because I couldn't find them. I printed out 4 photos and used his race number for the layout. I went with a black sheet of cardstock for my background. I pulled out some October Afternoon mists because they show up on dark cardstock. I sprayed some brown randomly around the paper. Then I took a mask and sprayed some gray over that. I finished the misting with a few splatters of red. Once that was dry, I attached the number and photos. This layout didn't really need much more, so I pulled out a couple of corrugated arrows, a journaling spot and some letter stickers. That's it! 

 I'm entering this in the Lasting Memories Multiple Photo layout challenge.

Birthday Tea

Hi all and Happy Thanksgiving! I have a new layout to share today. I was inspired by this sketch from Sketches in Thyme:

I started with the fun patterned papers from Vicki Boutin's Color Study. The one paper reminded me a sprinkles so I thought it was perfect for a birthday layout. I used a few different papers and a couple of branding strips for my papers. I used my Cricut for the word "Birthday" and some really old punch out alphas for the word "Tea." I knew I had some stickers with a tea set, so I dug those out of my stash and used one for my journaling. For the arrows, stamped them using Versamark, heat embossed them with Stamp and Bond, and then sprinkled blue glitter over that. I finished embellishing my page with some puffy stickers and pink Nuvo drops.

 Thanks for stopping by!

MEA Trip

Hello! I've had a little time to create again! Today I have a new layout to share. I was inspired by a layout on Paper Issues.

I pulled out my scraps and cut strips to make my rainbow. Once I had all the strips adhered, I pulled out some mists and splattered them along the top and bottom of my layout. I found a splatter cut file on Cricut Access and cut that from a few colors of cardstock. I tucked the splatters behind my photos, along with some stickers and die cuts. For my title, I used my Cricut to cut "MEA" from patterned paper and chipboard. I used letter stickers for the word "trip." I finished off the layout with some flair, a wooden button, and puffy sticker for the Lasting Memories Stash Bash challenge to use wood veneer, buttons and flair.

 Thanks for checking out my layout!

November Calendar Page

Hello again! I'm back today to share my November calendar page. I started with the double page sketch from Stick It Down:

This month I had the opposite problem of what I usually have- I had too few photos! I ended up combining some of the photo spots and using larger photos! I won this beautiful paper collection a while back. It is different from what I usually use, but I was able to make it work for me. This collection has a couple of sheets of cut outs, so I used a bunch of those to embellish my layout. For my journaling, I wrote some on the journaling spot and some on strips to go with the photos. I added some gold splatters to my embellishment clusters and cut my title from gold foil cardstock. 

 Thanks for stopping by!

A Year to Grow

Hello! I had chance this week to make a couple of layouts. Today I am starting with this one I made for my daughter's album. I started with this sketch from Paper Issues:

I pulled out some pink and purple papers to go with some of the colors in the photos. I ripped the edges of some of the patterned paper and adhered that to my background. I used stamps to add some interest under where I attached my title. For my title, I was inspired to use that big chipboard "grow." I cut the other letters with my Cricut. I stamped and fussy cut the journaling spot. To embellish the page, I used washi tape, enamel dots, border stickers, a chipboard rose and flair. The chipboard and border stickers have been in my stash for quite a while, so it felt good to use them!

 I am entering this in the Stash Buster- punches, stickers, and washi tape challenge at Lasting Memories.

Thanks for stopping by, tomorrow I will finally be sharing my November calendar page!

Birthday Cards for Boys

Hello! I have two more cards to share for now. The first was inspired by this card sketch from Paper Issues:

I bought a couple of blending brushes a week and a half ago and I wanted to try them with a mask, so that's what I did for this card. I overlapped my cicles and used  a few different colors. I cut the balloons using my Cricut from scraps of patterned paper. While I was looking for paper, I came across the circle transparency and decided to use that under my sentiment as well. I also used my Cricut to cut the sentiment from white cardstock. To finish off the card, I drew strings for my balloons with a black pen and glued on some gold stars.

I used a similar technique on this card as I did on a card I shared a couple of days ago. I inked the cardstock and then embossed the paper. I used my Cricut to cut the lion and write the sentiment. To add a little fun to the card, I used googly eyes on the lion. I also colored in the word "Roarsome" with a gel pen. I finished off the card with gold stars.

 Thanks for checking out all my cards over the last few days!

Birthday Cards with Trapped Inking Technique

Hello again! Today I have a couple of cards that I made after watching this video by Jennifer McGuire (if you are ever looking for inspiration, she does some awesome videos!).

I have a similar stamp to one she used in her video, so I decided to use it for the same technique. I used a rainbow of Distress Oxide colors to stamp my stars and then heat embossed the stars with clear powder. I then inked over the whole background with a couple of colors of blue Distress Inks. I then turned them into a couple of different cards.

First up was a card for my daughter's 13th birthday. I used my Cricut to cut the sunglasses and numbers. It is hard to see in the photo, but I heat embossed the sunglasses with clear powder to make them shiny. To finish off the card, I used some glitter cardstock and cut a border from a scrap of specialty paper. I stamped the sentiment on a scrap of cardstock and cut it into a flag before attaching it to the front of the card.

I actually made two of this next design. I used my Cricut again to cut the unicorn from glitter cardstock and to write and cut the sentiment. I have been enjoying used the writing function of my Cricut to make personalized greetings for my cards. I attached the unicorn with foam tape and that was all this card needed!

Thanks for stopping by!
 

Birthday and Anniversary cards

Hi all! I'm back with some more cards. I was inspired by this video by Jennifer McGuire. I started by stamping with white ink on black cardstock and then went back with Distress Oxide inks over the top. The effect is pretty, but I should have stamped on the smooth side of the cardstock, not the textured. I embossed some coordinating shimmer cardstock to go across the bottom of my cards and covered the seam with coordinating ribbon. I stamped and heat embossed my sentiments and added a couple of silver Nuvo Drops to finish off the cards.

 

Happy Birthday - Tic Tac Toe Challenge

Hi all! I'm finally out from under a pile of photo editing! Over the next several days, I will be sharing some cards I've made over the last month. First up is a card inspired by the current board at Tic Tac Toe Challenge:

I used the center column for my card. I started by doing some inking over green cardstock. It didn't show up as much as I had hoped, but gave some variation in color. I then ran the piece through an embossing folder. I stamped and heat embossed my main image and sentiment on kraft cardstock. After tearing the edges, I used some brown ink and a blending tool to make the edges stand out more. I punched holes in the sentiment pieces and ran twine through the holes and around the background. To add some interest to the main image, I used glossy accents on the glasses and watch. I finished off the card with some brads.

 

October Calendar Page

Hello all! I'm late getting this layout posted! I have been busy taking and editing photos so I was just able to squeeze making this layout in between sessions. I started with this sketch from Stick It Down:

I stuck pretty close to the sketch other than where I turned one photo to a collage of 5 photos. ;) That beautiful woodgrain paper was part of a newer fall collection I have and it was begging to be used as the background on this layout. I used quite a few scraps of some older collections mixed with some newer. I printed my journaling and cut it into strips. I used my Cricut to cut the title from copper metallic paper (you can't see the shine in the photo, but it is really pretty in real life). To embellish my page, I used stickers, chipboard, brads and Dirty Bronze Nuvo Drops. 

 Thanks for stopping by to check out my layout!

Another Birthday Card

I'm back with another card for another challenge that needed to be posted before the end of the month! For this one, I used the current card sketch from Stick It Down:

I started with some corrugated cardstock for my card front. I had the ruler patterned paper and realized that it would be perfect as this was a card for my nephew's 6th birthday. I then went to work stamping the two panels with a ombre inkpad. I layered the stamped panels onto orange woodgrain paper and attached them to my card. I used my Cricut to cut the stars. The large star outline I cut twice to give it a little more dimension. To finish things off, I used some Stickles to give the stars some shine.

 

Happy Birthday- Tic Tac Toe Challenge

Hello, I have a new card to share today! I was inspired by the current board at Tic Tac Toe challenge:

I used the left column to inspire this card. I started with some kraft cardstock that I ran through an wood grain embossing folder. I did a little ink blending with a couple colors of brown Distress Inks to bring out the texture more. I layered that over some patterned paper scraps. I then went to work with my Cricut, cutting the leaves from copper paper and the "Happy Birthday"' sentiment from navy paper once and black (because I didn't have enough navy) twice. I layered the navy die cut over the two black die cuts to give the sentiment some dimension. To finish off the card, I used some Dirty Bronze Nuvo Drops.

 

Great Wolf Lodge Fun

Hi all! I have a new layout to share today! It is a two pager, but I used this sketch from Scrap Our Stash for the left hand page:

I ended up mixing lots of brands and collections on this layout. For my title, I found the Great Wolf Lodge logo online, downloaded it and turned it into a cut file using the Cricut software. Once it was cut, I left it on the mat, and used a piece of plastic to do the smooshing technique with some blue Distress Inks. I let it dry and then took it off the mat. I used the negative cut to get the spacing right. I also kept it for another layout, since I will be making layouts about this trip for all four of my older kids.  I finished off  the title with some letter stickers that I sewed down with my sewing maching. To add some interest to the background of my layout, I used a wave cut file and cut it from the same color of cardstock and glued the pieces onto my background. I am also saving the negative cut from that for another layout! 

For embellishment, I used my banner punch and made a banner next to my title. I pulled out some splatter stamps and added those around my layout in dark blue ink. I finished off my clusters with stickers, puffy stickers, enamel dots and some epoxy flair. 

 I am also entering this in the Lasting Memories Pattern Paper Play challenge to use striped paper. I used a couple of striped papers for this layout.

Thanks for stopping by to check out my layout!

Hello Forty

Hi all! I have a new card to share today! Yesterday was my husband's 40th birthday, so this is the card I made for him. He has gotten really in to kayaking (and shopping for kayaks in the last few months, so I went with that. For my background, I used the smooshing technique with some Distress Inks. Once that was dry, I stamped the stripes and gave them a spray of water to get the color to bleed a bit. I then took a paint brush and some metallic watercolors and added the splatters.

I used my Cricut to cut the sentiment and kayak. The kayak was then heat embossed with clear powder for some interest. I cut the kayak too close to where something else had been cut from the paper so the bottom edge was rough. To cover that up, I colored some molding paste with ink and spread that across the bottom of may card as water. I finished the design off with some navy enamel dots. 

 I was inspired by the current board from Tic Tac Toe Challenge:

I used the top row- enamel dots, watercolor technique and a large sentiment.

Little Miss Back to School

Hello, I have a new layout to share! It's back to school time and I have some (old) back to school photos to share. This girl just started 7th grade this year!

I was inspired by this sketch from Sketches In Thyme:

I started by smooshing some yellow ink on my background where I was going to put my photos. Then I used a stencil and ink blending tool to make the orange circles (I'm really liking this stencil). I finished the ink work with some splatters of blue ink. I laid out my photos and went to work embellishing. I ended up pulling out the October Afternoon Modern Homemaker collection. I'm getting down to scraps of that, but this design lended itself well to that restriction. I cut the pencil, apple, star and title with my Cricut. For my journaling, I used a journaling stamp and black ink and stamped off the page. I felt like I needed a little something between the title and journaling so I used a piece of washi tape. I finished off the page with enamel dots, brads and some puffy stickers. 

 I am also entering this in the Lasting Memories plaid/gingham/check challenge since I used lots of those patterns on here. 

Thanks for stopping by to check out my layout!

Beat the Heat- Sketches In Thyme

Hello again! I got another layout finished this weekend. I had time and I know busy photography season is just around the corner, so I took advantage! I started with this sketch from Sketches in Thyme:

I made some changes to this sketch to get some more photos in. I extended the longest strip of patterned paper and used six photos. I staggered the photos like in the sketch, which meant having them right up to the edge. For the title, I used a Paper Issues free cut file and cut it from patterned paper and then chipboard for dimension. I had some fun with some new embellishments. I got a new Elle's Studio tab stamp set that I used a bunch on this layout. I also used stamps, Stamp N Bond, and glitter for the stripes behind the title. I forget to use the Stamp N Bond, but it is such a cool product! The little cluster in the bottom right was an add on when I dropped an inked stamp on my layout. I decided to just cover up the boo boo with some washi tape, stickers and epoxy flair. I used some puffy stickers, acetate heart stickers and pink Color Shine ink splatters to finish off the layout. 

 

September Calendar Page- Stick It Down

Hello! It's the end of the month, which means I am sharing my calendar page for next month! I once again started with the sketch from Stick It Down:

I stuck pretty close to the layout for the photos, but I did split a couple of the spots to get a couple more photos in. I recently bought a bunch of papers from the Vicki Boutin Color Study line and that's what I used on this layout. I love the bright colors and distressed patterns! I wrote out my journaling on strips and attached them to the photos. I didn't have a ton of things to write about as we didn't do a lot last September because of COVID. To embellish the page, I used some gold Heidi Swapp spray ink to make splatters around my page. The rest of the embellishments are a mix of old rub ons, die cuts, stickers, epoxy accents and puffy stickers. I added a little more journaling to the tag in the center of the right hand page to talk about what consumed a lot of our time- soccer. 

 Thanks for stopping by to check out my layout.