Happy November! Wow, I can't believe it's November already. It's been a crazy year up until now, and I expect the next two months to be the same. But that's ok. At least it isn't boring.

Well, I'm going to show you something today that is not boring...We have had the most gorgeous fall here.  Not only was the weather beautiful, but the changing colors of the trees as well. The past few falls, I kept meaning to take pictures.

This year I finally had the excuse I needed to take the pictures.  The Boy Meets Girl November 1 challenge is all about FALL.  I'd been trying for about 2 weeks to get some good photos, but it had been really gray out. Fortunately the sun came out one afternoon, so I walked around my neighborhood and snapped a few quick photos.

I chose some bolder print papers because I liked the colors . These are something different from the usual small prints that I use.  I kept the design simple because of the prints, but also so the photos could be the focus. The small bits of paper underneath the embellishments is actually a piece of bark that had peeled off a tree. I wanted to use it on the page, but it wasn't big enough to use as a matte for the photos.   

Thanks for taking a look.  Come on by and share your Fall projects with us over at Boy Meets Girl

Supplies:

PP, stickers and frame-Basic Grey

Alphas-American Crafts

wood veneer-Studio Calico

ink-prima, colorbox

mist-Studio Calico, Tattered Angels

sketch-My Scraps and More

Experimenting

Hi there. After an extremely busy week that left me with little time to myself, I was finally able to sit down for some much needed scrap time.  I finished up some DT assignments as well as a couple of pages for fun.

I'm experimenting by using Citrus Twist Kit club for 3 months.  This is a direct result of the BPC Art & Science class. Right brained people prefer to make their own choices.  I wanted to see if I could create pages that I like using products I did not choose for myself.  I will write up a review of my experience at the end of November, after I've received and used the Nov kit.

Well, I can say, so far so good. I did two pages yesterday. The first one, using some of the September Magical kit. Citrus Twist also has a blog with a sketch challenge. I decided to play along.

Your Favorite

I like that there are blues and greens in the kit along with all the pinks. I was able to create this page about my son and his favorite toy without it being too girly. I was even able to incorporate the use of the hearts to represent his love of the toy.  I could have recolored them if I wanted, but liked the contrast in color and how it helped move the eye around the page.

For the second LO, I used the October Celebrate kit. I am finding this one a bit more challenging to use, as some of the papers are theme specific and feminine, but I will find ways!  I love the embellishments so I know that will help. I can say, there is no way I would have ever bought the stickers and die cuts in this kit and I can;t believe how perfect they are for this page. I mean the cat and "still laughing"???

LSHI....(laughing so hard I...)

I got the design idea for this LO from another online Scrapper, Jennifer. You can find her original LO on her blog Midwest Scrapgarden, as well as many other ideas and wonderful projects.  She used all the strips from the bottom of patterned paper to create the burst.  I used some strips as well as some Washi tape to create mine. Some of the other ideas came from 123 Get Scrappy, chipboard, flowers and 3 or more photos. The turquoise heart is chipboard that I covered in ink and Stickles, and the flower sticker.  I saved and had the 2 memes printed on photo paper.

There is a long story that goes along with the photos.  I have not written it yet. It will either go on the back of this LO or on a companion page that has yet to be created.  In a nutshell, this is one photo of hundreds taken at an annual weekend crop.  In this particular photo, we were hysterically laughing while listed to...ummmm...forgive me, we have boys...silly fart sounds. We were tired, happy and in the moment, it just struck us and well, we were laughing ski hard we, snorted, cried and couldn't breathe...

Thanks for taking a look. I'll have more of my creative view in a few days. I'd love for you to follow me if you aren't already.

Supplies-Your Favorite:

PP-Carta Bella, Crate Paper, American Crafts, Echo Park, CS-Bazzill, Embellishments-American Crafts, MME, Alpha-Thickers, Mist-Studio Calico, Washi-unknown from CTK

Supplies-SLHI...:

CS-Bazzill, PP-Crate Paper, Pink Paislee, Washi-Glitz, MME, CTK, Die Cuts/Stickers-American Crafts, MAMBI, Dots-MME, Alpha-American Crafts

Hooray For Fall Blog Hop

Hi there and welcome to the ScrapStuffz' Inspired by first ever Hooray for Fall Blog Hop!  We have a lot of fun in store for you, but first let's get a little business out of the way.

You should have come here from Laura's Blog.  If not, please go back to the beginning at ScrapStuffz' Inspired by and begin from there.

Once again, here is our inspiration photo and sketch for this project

Now, I just want to say, I was stuck for a while. I had great ideas, but kept forgetting I had a sketch! well, I finally came up with an idea and wound up taking a totally different route.

I completely stepped away from the fall elements of the photo and went with the chalkboard!  I love the look of the chalkboard trend, but haven't been really sure how to use it. I didn't think I would use  full pieces of paper so I bought embellishments-tags, tape and washi tape. I figured I could work those in easier.  I love the way the chalkboard items look on the kraft cardstock.  I used a doily to brighten things up as well as white chalk through a stencil at the top and bottom.  This all worked really well together because the photo was taken outside of my boys' school.

Before you go, I have a small prize to give away.  Please become a follower of my blog  AND leave a comment letting me know and I will choose a winner on NOV 1.

Thank you for stopping here along your way. You are almost finished! From here, please hop on over to Stacia's blog

Supplies:

CS-Bazzill

PP-MME

tape-Fancy pants, WRMK

stitch template-Bazzill

twine, tags & pen-MME

Chalk-Crayola

stencil-TCW

brads-MME, Making Memories

clip-AC

Alphas-MME, Thickers, EP

borders punches-Fiskars

mist-Tattered Angels, Studio Calico

Momo

Hi Again. It's a double post day.  If you looking ScrapStuffz' Inspired by post, please go here.

I also have a reveal today at Child's Play Challenges.  This week is Classic Craft week, featuring wood stringing beads!

I used a lovely photo of my grandfather.  I just wanted to highlight the photo, so I chose some bright, colorful papers to do just that.

I used a literal interpretation by stringing the buttons through the twine.  I also scattered the brads around like beads rolling around.

Short and sweet today.  But please, join us at Child's Play Challenges.  We want to see the kid in you!  you have until 10/31 to link up your pages.

Supplies:

PP-Jullibean soup, unknown

washi-Queen & Co

brads-Making Memories

twine-Doodlebug

buttons-SEI and random

mist-Tattered Angels

alphas-Thickers

Silly

It's a two post day.  If you are looking for Child's Play Challenges post, please go here 

Hi there. It's my turn to reveal at ScrapStuffz' Inspired by...We have a lovely inspiration photo this month.

I have loved this photo for a long time.  It has so many beautiful details.  I see something new each time I look at it.  There is something about the light hitting the barn that says fall to me. Maybe it's  the color of the trees, even the colors in the photo. Maybe because it's red, I think of the red barns we see at all the apple orchards we've been to in falls past.

photo courtesy of Outdoor Scenics, photography by Allen Adler

I thought it would be easy to come up with a LO derived from this photo, but I actually hard a hard time getting started. I realized I was over thinking it.  I tried something different, and started by looking through my papers before I chose a photo. (another idea from the BPC art & science class).  I came across  some printed kraft paper and I knew that was the place to begin.  From there, it fell into place very quickly

The red on the kraft is what first caught my eye. It was kind of washed out like the red of the barn. Then I realized that there was green as well. As I was putting the page together, I saw that the shapes also mirrored the photo. The triangular shape of the roof of the barn, the squared openings in the front, even the chevrons as the hanging vines.  The kraft really picks up the natural colors in the photo as well. My subconscious was working overtime I guess.  (It also helps that another BPC art & science idea was to use 3 or more shapes harmoniously on a page).

So there you have it. Start to finish how I created my page.  I hope you will be as inspired by this photo as I am. THen show us how you were inspired by linking your LO at ScrapStuffz' Inspired by

The Devil Inside

A few weeks ago, while looking for some old photos I came across some others that I didn't even know I had.  I must be in the Halloween spirit (even though my boys aren't Trick or Treating *sniff*) because a title came to me right away and I HAD to scrap them.  Hmmm, they've been sitting on my desk since then.  I kept walking by them, threw a scrap PP over them, then a piece of cardstock under them, and there they sat.  Well, a terrific opportunity, presented itself (no, it wasn't free time) and the LO has finally been created.

The ScrapStuff'z Inspired by Design Team was invited to guest design at Sketch n' Scrap for their 10/15 challenge.  Here is the sketch we were asked to use:

and here is my page!

These photos are of my Dad from some time in the 80's I think. They used celebrate Halloween at his work. I have no idea how they fell in my lap, but finder's keepers and all that jazz...Like I said, the title came to me right away as did the flame stencil/gold mist, especially when I saw that was the Basic Training challenge over at SWAT!   Once I saw this sketch, the rest was fairly simple.  There is no other paper on the LO. It's all washi tape and ribbon, with a few scattered embellishments. I took a lot of creative liberty with the embellishing, but the photo placement stayed he same.  Over all a fun sketch and one that I could easily use again.

Be sure and head over to both ScrapStuff'z Inspired by  and Sketch n' Scrap. 

Thanks for taking a peek at my blog. If you aren't a follower, please follow me. I post regularly, but my stuff is far from regular. It's definitely my own creative view.

Supplies:

CS-Bazzill

Washi-MME, Queen & Co, unknown

Ribbon-unknown

mist-Heidi Swapp

Stencil-TCW

chipboard-Thickers

Alphas-Cosmo Cricket, Heidi Swapp, Thickers

3D embellishment-MME

bling-Hobby Lobby, Making Memories

Having some fun

Well, I just finished 2 classes in a row at BPC, Stashbusters Anonymous and Art & Science.  I have to say, those classes are two of the best I've ever taken.  As busy as I've been, they were a good excuse to stop and take a few minutes for myself.  I'm glad I did. I wasn't always able to keep up, but I got great new ideas, I tried new things, and I had fun.  I even created some new favorites.  Here are two of them.

This was a sketch challenge from the Art and Science class. I don't use a lot of smaller photos on my pages. I stick to my 4x6 photos for the most part.  I did not take a lot of creative license, because I was enough out of my comfort zone with the small photos.

Embellishment ideas came from Scrap Our Stash. They are using a tic-tac-toe board this month.  I chose to use washi tape, twine and decorative pins. I used a new border punch , then sewed the twine through the middle of it.  I love the feminine feel of the page, the floral papers supporting the subject of the page. Also something different for me.

This next one is for the final Art & Science challenge, creating a LO using embellishments in a visual triangle.  Athough the class has ended, I wanted to finish anyway.

As a result of this class, I joined Citrus Twist kit club for 3 months.  The theory being that I can stretch my creativity by using limited supplies.    The reverse theory is I'm not sure I'll like what I get so I don't use kits. Ok, challenge accepted.  

Again, my brain is on creative overload.  I needed a starting point. Sketches.  This one I landed on is October Week 1 at Let's Get Sketchy.

The kit arrived with a few things that no, I wouldn't purchase for myself. But after taking this class, I wasn't afraid of trying them.  I didn't look a them with my usual immediate thought of "nope, yuck, not going to happen".  Therefore, you see the flair and doily on my page.  I have more stuff from the kit. I'am actually looking forward to seeing how much I can do with it. Stay tuned, I may be on to something here....

Thanks for taking a look at my creative view today. Come back soon. I've got a lot of stuff I want to work on.

Supplies-Lovely Tulips

PP & Die Cuts-Crate Paper, Twine-Doodlebug, Punch-Fiskars, washi-Glitz, CS-Bazzill, enamel dots-MME, decorative pins-random, ink-Colorbox, Alphas-Thickers, mist-Heidi Swapp

Supplies-Just Chill

PP-Pink Paislee, Carta Bella, Die cuts-American Crafts, Fancy Pants, Flair & Doily-Citrus Twist, mist-Tattered Angels, Heidi Swapp, Alphas-MME, Thickers, wood veneer-Studio Calico, Washi-October Afternoon, ink-Colorbox, Prima, VersaMagic

Destructo Jon'z

Oh, where do I begin today?  Hmm, well, how about today if the inaugural post for Boy Meets Girl challenges. If you were a fan of About a Boy or About a Girl, we have joined into one fun new challenge blog. On the 1st of the month, the Boy challenge will be posted. On the 15th of the month, you will see the Girl challenge. Same great fun and inspiring challenges, just a new name.

So, with that, I will share that today's challenge was about being messy and grungy. Perfect for boys, yet not so perfect for me.  I am not one that embraces the mixed media phenomenon very well.  Oh, I'll use some mist with a stencil, and splatter some paint, but you aren't going to find it layered over paste anytime soon.

I knew what photos I wanted to use right away.  Lucky for me, these photos were going to work well with the messiness of the page. I chose a black background because I thought it was better for effect.  I started y using cotton balls to swoosh the paint out from the center of the page. Then I used the chevron stencil to give it some more energy.  After I laid the photos down, it diet need a lot of embellishing. The paint did a great job of telling the story along with the photos. Just a few arrows, also shooting out from the center with some energy shooting off of them as well. Lastly, a bright yellow title that you just can't miss.  

Part of the idea for the design of this LO came from the Art & Science class at BPC.  Our prompt was to use a pocket to house photos that support the story.  Here is a photo of the LO with the other photos and journaling pulled out of the pocket.

As you can see, this isn't a one time occurrence...One of the things with this guy is he's very curious.  He likes to explore in his own way. I was putting laundry away, and well, my drawers are different than his drawers so she had to check them out.  I know sometimes he thinks he's 'helping' me, but I guess he didn't like my clothes in the drawers...Destructo Jon'z (pronounced Jones): destroys everything in his path.

Please come join us this month over at our new home, Boy Meets Girl.  We want to see how messy and grungy you can be too!

Supplies:

CS-Bazzill

PP-unknown

Paint & staples-Making Memories

Stencil, Mist, wood veneer-Studio Calico

ink-Colorbox

alphas-Doodlebug, Thickers

pen-Souffle

journal tag-Echo Park

paper clip-Target