Well, this has been a big secret to keep and I've been bursting with excitement for a while. I'm so happy to introduce myself today, as a new member of the Paper Issues creative team!

Here is a page I created using the sketch from the current Sketch Party. It was incredibly perfect for this page.

I used the Hello Embroidery Stitch Kit by Amy Tangerine on the large circles to give them some texture and a bit more animation. I loved the Echo Park Dots Washi Tape for this project as well. It added just the right amount of pattern, without overwhelming the photo.

A close up of the stitching and washi tape, as well as some of my favorite phrase stickers. 

Well, I guess that's it for today. It's always a good idea to browse the Paper Issues frequently. By frequently, I mean daily. The newest merchandise is constantly arriving. Since you don't want to miss out on anything, you may want to use this coupon code to save 20% on your purchase.

Supplies: CS-AMerican Crafts, Bazzill, Washi-Echo Park, Stitch template-American Crafts, thread-DMC, American Crafts, sequins-Studio Calico, Stencil-TCW, Mist-Tattered Angels, Stickers & flair-Freckled Fawn, Alphas-American Crafts, October Afternoon

The Play-Outs

I've been wanting to make this layout for quite some time. Well, thanks to the latest Link party at Paper Issues "Woodn't you know it's fall", I had my excuse. I used the idea of what fall means to me to  create the page about the baseball playoffs.

If you know me, you know I live for baseball. I have a love/hate relationship with fall because yes, it means baseball playoff and the World Series, but it also means the end of the season. These photos are from the 2008 NLDS, Dodgers vs. Cubs. We were super excited, thinking maybe this is the year for the Cubs. We had tickets to both home games, and sat there watching as the Dodgers won both games. The Cubs got swept in 3 games. That was the end of the season for us. My son coined the term "In Dusty we Busty", as the manager, Dusty Baker, just couldn't get the job done. From that day on, we called this the Play-Outs, not the playoffs.

Thanks for taking a look at my creative view today. Check back again tomorrow when I have more projects to share.

Supplies: CS-Bazzill, PP-Paper Pizazz, Echo Park, unknown, Embellishments-EK Success, unknown, Alpha-American Crafts

Checkmate

Good Morning and happy August 1. Wow. August 1. That kind of makes me sad. It means half of summer is over. But this blog post is all about a fun summer visit with friends.

I've had these photos printed for a while. I thought this would be a fun way to highlight them. But as my some told me, chess is only black and whet, not red. Well, It's a good thing they were playing checkers as well as chess! The background was so busy that I let it and the photos tell the story, keeping embellishments to a minimum. The blue paper did it's job, grounding the photos, as well as picking up the blue shorts so you can see the boys in the photos. 

 Thanks for taking a look at my creative view today!

Supplies: CS-Bazzill, cut files by A Cutt Above the Rest, brads-Freckled Fawn, Theresa Collins, enamel dots-MME, Doodlebug Designs, chipboard-Simple Stories, mist-Tattered Angels,Alphas-Jillibean Soup

We're In!

Good Morning. I'm up on the Get it Scrapped blog today with a LO created in one big giant cluster that spreads over two pages.

I created a LO that shows how we got into the Seahawks spirit, and their road to the Super Bowl.  I included some photos that made me laugh, such as signs in store windows, and the giant bin of Skittles.

To create the cluster, I printed photos in a variety of shapes and sizes. I placed them randomly into what turned out to be a stacked cluster across both pages.  I used the embellishments as the foundation for the cluster. This worked well to ground the photos.  Using a dark solid background also helped to give the page a cohesive feel, without being messy. 

As always, thanks for taking a look at my creative view. Go read this fantastic article about clustering, and learn about the Get it Scrapped Membership.

Supplies: CS-Bazzill, PP-Doodlebug Designs, SEI, washi & brad-Queen & Co, wood veneer-Recollections, Basic Grey, Buttons-The Button Co, Bling-Hobby Lobby, Alpha-American Crafts, Die Cuts-Silhouette, pen-Souffle, adhesive-Ek Success, photo printer-Epson.

More than a Hug

Hey there and Happy Monday.  Because this is the 5th Monday in the month, there is a bonus challenge at Let's Get Sketchy.   This week we would like to see how you are inspired by this photo.   

My first thought about the photo: triangles and green. So, I created this.

I used a Silhouette cut file on the white cardstock. I laid it over a piece of green ombre printed paper. Triangles and green. Done. It needed some contrast, texture and dimension, so I added the yellow, the border and the title. It's fairly simply designed, but has lots of detail. It took less than an hour to out together too.

Thanks for looking at my creative view. Now it's your turn. Create something and share it with us at Let's Get Sketchy.

Supplies: CS-Bazill, PP-Echo Park, Stickers-American Crafts, Simple Stories, Wood veneer-Studio Calico, Mist-Tattered Angels, chipboard-My Minds Eye, Alphas-Basic Grey

Water Play

Hello, Hello! I'm back with another creation that I think is super cool!  Today I am sharing another page created for Get it Scrapped. The assignment? Water Play.  I pondered this idea for only a moment. Beach? Maybe. Pool..Oh Pool! I have a swimmer!

In these photos, my son is racing the 100M Butterfly at a recent swim meet.  

The title is a play on words. It's something I like to do in my titles.  I had never seen him swim this race so well and so fast. He really was "fly-ing".  I chose to use colors and products that are motivating for an important event, rather than swim or water themed products.

Everything on the page has purpose and intent. The blue paper has silver 'bubble' like print. vellum with dots, wave print tape, motivational sayings, silver paper, paint drops, blue vellum title and paint drops. All to push the idea of the swimmer in the water.

Supplies:Papers-Doodlebug designs, Fancy pants, Bazzill, SEI. Washi-Queen & Co. Stickers-Simple Stories, Doodlebug Designs, Freckled Fawn, Alphas-Freckled Fawn, Mist-Tattered Angels, Heidi Swapp. Sketch-My Scraps & More.

 

Game Time

Oh, Hello, hello! It's a great day!  Today we are shaking things up a bit at Child's Play Challenges. That's right, it's Sunday and it's the 15th. Not only is it Craft Challenge time at CPC, but we are having a crossover challenge with Scrap Our Stash Challenges. They are a fantastic challenge blog focusing on using your stash. If you are unfamiliar with them, then this should be a great introduction.

As part of the crossover, there are 2 parts to this challenge. First, use the sketch provided by Scrap Our Stash Challenges. Totally awesome and fun to use!

Second, is to use our crafty inspiration photo. That's right! TIE DYE

We made tie dye shirts every fall. My Mom was a teacher and when school started, she made tie dye tees for her class to wear on field trip days. 

What I tried to do on my page was to create my own tie dye look.  I sprayed mist randomly and heavily all over the paper hoping it would drip and blend. It didn't. I used it anyway. Then I remembered I had some ombre papers. It works. The color in tie dye fades the further away from the center. Ombre can be used light to dark or dark to light. Not what you wold expect for a sports page? Me neither, but after added some yellow as a contrast color, I'm really happy with my results.

You should now head over to both Child's Play Challenges.  and Scrap Our Stash Challenges.  Create a LO and post it to both blogs for your chance to win the monthly prizes.

Thanks for sharing in my creative view. I'll be back before you know it.

Supplies: CS & border strip-Bazzill, PP-Echo Park, Crate Paper, Stickers-Bella Blvd, Brad & wood chip-Freckled Fawn, Washi-Queen & Co, enamel dot-MME, Alpha-American Crafts. foam shapes-School House.

Proud

Good Monday to you!  That means it's time for another challenge at Let's Get Sketchy.  

Great sketch right? I think so too. There is so much to do with it!  It was a great one for yet another Bar Mitzvah LO. I was able to keep it simple, like the rest of the pages in the album.  I'm almost done, I promise.

I flipped the sketch and added some extra vertical strips, as well as an embellishment cluster. The title blends into the papers on purpose, in order to keep the focus on the photo.  

Thanks for taking a look today at my creative view.  Now head over to Let's Get Sketchy  and play along.

Supplies:

CS-Bazzill

PP-Theresa Collins

Stickers-Fancy Pants, Theresa Collins, 

Twine-MME

Alpha-American Crafts

Mist-Tattered Angels 

Baseball, Hot Dogs & Apple Pie

Good Morning on this fine Memorial Day.  Seeing as it is Monday, that means there's a new sketch challenge up at Let's Get Sketchy.

Another fantastic sketch from the talented Laura Whitaker, but one, I have to say, that took me well out of my comfort zone.  I like my 4x6 photos all grouped together. I had a difficult time making this sketch feel cohesive to me. While I was working on it , I felt like it was disconnected. Don't get me wrong, I love how others can use sketches like this and create beautiful pages. For me it was a challenge, but I embraced it and am actually happy I did.

This page is all about me, my love of Baseball, and celebrating it's Opening Day.  We celebrate opening day every year with the same meal: hot dogs, fries, peanuts, with Baby Ruth candy bars and apple pie for dessert.  All of the word stickers are a play on that fact. The colors are bright, the background is playful and full of energy. I used the arrows and the stitched outline to help move the eye around the page. They were the last elements I added, and made me feel like the page was connected, and flowed together.

I hope you will give this sketch a try this week at Let's Get Sketchy.. Challenge yourself. You may be surprised with the results. 

Supplies: CS-Bazzill, PP-Basic Grey, word elements-Simple Stories, Basic Grey, Freckled Fawn, brads-Making Memories, enamel dots-MME, mist-tattered angels, studio calico, stencil-TCW, tape-Freckled Fawn, MME, chipboard-Bare essentials, wood veneer & alphas-Studio Calico, thread-DMC

Friends

Oh the joy of an hour stolen on a weekend day. I snuck up to my room, sat at my desk, and quickly, got this page together. It helps though, when I have a starting point.  I started with this sketch from Boys Rule Scrapbook Kits and the product choices from Scrap & Play for the Word Play challenge, use products for each letter in the word FLOWERS

I am still working on the Bar Mitzvah album, so this is another one checked off the list. The sketch was perfect. I am trying to keep things simple. I reversed the side of the page because the people in the photo are facing the other way. I made a layered banner to give the page some interest and added a snippet of paper in the corner. What an easy sketch to translate!

As for product, F-Fancy Pants, L-layers of papers, O-Orange card stock, W-wood veneer, E-enamel dots, R-recycled paper (the journaling that is hidden under the clip is written on the cardboard from the packaging of the enamel dots) and/or rectangle shaped photo, S-sequins

Thanks for looking at my creative view today. I have more stuff to share this week so come back again.

Supplies: CS-Bazzill, PP, clip & buttons-Fancy Pants, Wood venner-Studio Calico, word sticker-Jillibean Soup, ink-VersaMagic, twine & enamel dots-MME, sequins-Studio Calcio, Michaels.

Sick Pup

Hi there! It's reveal day at Child's Play Challenges. This week it's time for a Classic TV Challenge

One of my favorites as a child. Confession? If my boys are watching, I will sit and watch with them too.

ok, I could have done Halloween, but today, my LO is about our dog. Definitely related to Scooby right? Ruh Roh, he was sick and we took care of him. We were so worried! He'd never been sick before!

The papers are from a kit I received from a monthly class at my LSS. They were vey bold, so I kept the LO really simple. I do like the red as a contrast. I takes the photos stand out.

I hope you will head over to  Child's Play Challenges and join us in the Classic TV Challenge. 

Supplies: PP-BoBunny, CS-Paper Accent, buttons & alpha-AC, twine-Recollections, stencil-Bazzill, thread-DMC, bling-Queen & Co, mist-tattered angels

Scrappy Fridays

That's my new thing. Well, not really new, I just gave it a name. I've been reserving Fridays as my Scrap Day for a while. Today I begin blogging about what I do on Scrappy Fridays.  So here goes.

LOAD began yesterday. Layout a Day. Why do I do this? It gives me an excuse to take time for ME each and every day. So, for the months that I participate in LOAD, I scrap a bit more and read a bit less.  Today I did not follow the prompt and instead did my own thing.

We recently went to Hawaii. Our family's first time there. This is us just after arriving. 12 hours of travel, 3 hour time change, but still smiles on our faces. Most of our faces anyway. I used sketch #18 form the My Scraps & More April Sketch-a-Thon. Have you been over there? Their site is fantastic. Lots of inspiration.  I changed it up a bit by using a larger photo. The title and embellishments are moved as a result. Great sketch, easy to use.

I also used some stuff from the JBS Mercantile April kit. I wanted to see what everyone was raving about, so I decided to check it out and purchase a kit. Good mix of papers, even things I can't get at my LSS.  I like the exclusive stuff, but I don't see the need to subscribe at this time.

Supplies-JBS Mercantile April kit papers, Wood-Citrus twist, Studio Calico, Freckled Fawn, sequins-Citrus Twist, Doodlebug Designs, alpha and clips-Freckled Fawn, Washi-October Afternoon, stamp-Kate Spade, enamel dots-MME, mist-Studio Calico

Next. This makes me smile.

I am working on the photos of my son's bar Mitzvah. Slowly but steadily, I am making progress. This bis an absolute favorite photo. It is so rare to get a beautiful photo of them together. Pretty much nothing else needs to be said.

I used sketch # 79 from My Scraps & More.  I  used a larger photo, so I change the orientation of the papers, moved the title, created my own place for embellies. A cool sketch to use and can see myself using it again.

Thanks for stopping by. More new things to come as I attempt to create a Layout a Day, or as we say at Get it Scrapped, a Page a Day

Supplies: CS-Bazzill, PP, die cuts, buttons & brads-Theresa Collins, Wood-Studio Calico, AC, twine & washi-MME, clip-Freckled Fawn, bling Queen & Co, mist-tattered angels

Composed

Good Morning and happy Monday. Hmmm. Mondays. I like Mondays. Especially Mondays when I get to share a new LO for Let's Get Sketchy.  Here is this week's sketch:

I found this to be an easy sketch to work with. It's easily adaptable to may sizes and shapes of photos. Good thing. I used 4x6 photos.

I'm working on making an album of my son's Bar Mitzvah. I've decided to take a simpler approach in creating the pages. I want the focus to be on the photos and the event, not the product and techniques. Most of the pages won't have a lot of journaling on them. I also want to get it done!  Sketches are woking really well as part of this process.  I can keep them simple of jazz them up. I chose to keep this one very simple. I didn't vary from the sketch very much, and didn't add a lot of extras. 

These photos are just before the service began. He was visibly nervous, but working through it himself. Once the service began, you wouldn't have known how he was feeling.  

Come on over to the  Let's Get Sketchy blog. Get some inspiration from the rest of the deign team and join us in our newest sketch challenge.

Supplies-CS-Bazzill, PP, die cuts, brads, washi-Theresa Collins, Alphas-AC, ink-Studio Calico, Heidi Swapp, stencil-TCW

Take time to...

Good morning! It's Monday and that means it's reveal day at Let's Get Sketchy.  Take a look at this wonderful sketch created by our own Bev Code. 

I think it's great! It was so easy to use!

I chose not to change it very much. I liked the layers of paper. I did change the sizes and moved the embellishments.  The edges of the paper were so straight, I chose to add several circular embellishments to soften it up. That worked well with the colors and patterns of the paper.

My son was riding his bike and stopped to touch the flowers. All I could think of was "stop and smell the roses".  I just wanted to highlight a little moment, which is why I used the clocks.

Hope to see you creating with us this week at  Let's Get Sketchy.  Thanks for stopping by my creative view!

Supplies:

CS-Bazzill

PP, die cuts, buttons, chipboard-Fancy Pants

Wood chips-citrus twist, Recollections

Enamel dots & washi-MME

Twine-Doodlebug

Mist-Tattered Angels

Just Us

Good morning and happy April 1. Are you a big April Fool's prankster? It was never a big deal when I was growing up. I'm not about to change that now.

I like beginning the month with a new LO to share.  We are having a special event at Child's play Challenges this month. We are having a crossover event with ScrapStuff'z Inspired by. What does this mean? You will find the same inspiration photo on both challenge sites as well as a sketch to use. There are prizes available to you on both sites. Create and your project using the sketch and inspiration photo on both challenge sites and double your chance to win a prize.

So here goes!  This week at Child's play it is Craft Challenge week.  We decided SAND ART would be a fun challenge.

here is the sketch we used, created by the talented Laura Whitaker.

this is what I created

I liked the feeling of movement in the jars of colored sand and tried to recreate that with the chevron patterned papers. I did like the colors of the sand as well. Not too pastel, but not overly bright. The papers are in those shades and worked well not to over power the photo.  The sketch was fun and easy ti use. It was a great choice for multiple patterns of paper.  The circles for me are a nice contrast to all of the stripy lines.  Universal themed embellishments seemed like a good choice as well.

Thank you for taking a look today.  I hope you will stop by both Child's Play Challenges and ScrapStuff'z Inspired by this month and join in our crossover event. Head over to them now to see what prizes are up for grabs.

Supplies:

CS-Bazzill

PP, arrows, stickers, stencil-Fancy Pants

wood veneer-studio Calico

enamel dots-Basic Grey

mist-tattered angels

Fanatic

Super cool scrappy goodness is coming your way!  Let's Get Sketchy his celebrating it's 2nd Birthday! Come celebrate with us all month long.  We will begin with a blog hop on March 1 that is sure to be filled with terrific inspiration and a few prizes as well.

Oh, I have more pages to share from my weekend scrap binge.  This first one is using a sketch from Sketch -n-Scrap. I really need to remember to play there more often!

The sketch:

I did so many valentiney themed LO's this month. I decided to change this one up a bit.

I love this photo of my son. He's so silly when it comes to baseball. He loves the baseball parties and dinners, and all the fanfare he gets from his aunt, but he really could care less about the game itself!

I got brave and cut my own circle, then added the baseball stitch. I used a bunch of scraps for the rest of the page and a few baseball embellishments. I needed a contrasting color so I there in a  bit of yellow.  I love this page! But then again I do love my baseball....

I've got more pages to share. Stop by again tomorrow.

Supplies-

CS-Bazzill Swiss Dot

PP-Melissa Frances, Basic Grey

Washi-Queen & Co

enamel dots-MME

Die cut-basic Grey

Brads-Making Memories

stickers-unknown

mist-Studio Calico

Anywhere but your bed!

Good Monday to you! I like Mondays how about you? Oh I have a silly little page to share today, courtesy of Let's Get Sketchy and the Feb week 3 reveal.

Here is the sketch:

and here is my version.

Yup. Flipped it again. I wanted to accommodate a vertical photo. I used some busy and colorful papers, so I chose not to add a ton of extra elements. I freehand cut the papers off to the side, adding a small triangle in the lower right for balance. It felt kind of pale and lost, so I faux stitched to ground the photo.  I went a little overboard with the little bits, but all in all it looks pretty good. I even had a little fun by putting the title at the end of the journaling.

Come share your pages inspired by this sketch in the Let's Get Sketchy week 3 link.

Supplies:

CS-The paper company

PP-My Minds Eye

Wood veneer &n Mist-Studio calico

sequins-Citrus Twist

stitch template-bazzill

thread-DMC

stitched ink-WRMK

alphas-October Afternoon, American Crafts

D is for Daredevil

Oh yeah, ain't that the truth. AKA "who do you think you are? Evel Knievel? Yes, I had fun with this one and got to play along with a few more challenges. Today's LOAD prompt is to make your own embellishment. I did not play along with this prompt today. Short on time and needed to use it wisely.

But the ideas for this age come from 123 Get Scrappy and My Scraps & More.  The item I used from the board at 123 Get Scrappy are balck background, polka dots and more than 2 clusters. The title is from My Scraps & More.

Oh this title is perfect and the bold papers as well. They kind of add to the chaos of the photos. I haven't done a page like this in a while, but I was determined to use the photos I had, with out resizing and reprinting them. I did start with balk cardstock, but covered most of it in patterned paper. There are lots of polka dots and I did create 3 small clusters around the edge of the page. It was fun just putting random items together to create a cohesive cluster.

Come back again tomorrow when I post LOAD #13...

Supplies:

CS-Bazzill

PP-Basic Grey

Alphas-Thickers, Cosmo Cricket, Autehntique

Wood veneer, Studio Calico, Citrus Twist Kits

Buttons-random

twine & enamel dots-MME

Washi-Bella Blvd

stickers-Cosmo cricket, Simple stories

brads & die cuts-Basic Grey

sketch by Sketch Savvy, March 2013

Days 8,9,and 10

Well, I got a little off on writing, but the page creating is still on track. That's what can happen when there is a sick child in the house.  Oh well, so catching up on the last few days of LOAD...

Day 8-Create a photo less page. This gave me the push I needed to begin working on a project I've been putting off.  This is such a special event, I want all the pages to be perfect. I don't want to make a mistake. I know that isn't possible, so I just began.

Day 9-Ask someone else for your staring point. The photo, story, supplies. I asked my son to choose what I should do and he chose this photo. Again, it is part of the event and an extraordinarily special photo of he and his Great Grandmother holding hands. The title represents the older and younger, 1st and 4th Generation. There will be some words written eventually, but I have to sort through my emotions first.

I scraplifted a LO I saw on the My Scrap & More blog. I wanted something simple. The meaning needed to remain on the photo. I'm happy with the results.

Day 10-Use black and white only. No prompt for me on this page. Yesterday was quite the busy day. I'm fortunate to have had the 15 mint to put this together at all. Thank goodness for those unfinished pages I have sitting in my bin! I grabbed a Scrapbook Generation page kit, a few new photos, a set of letters, and called it a day. As Lain says "Done is better than perfect"

So, now I'm caught up and have to finish today's project. Stay tuned. It may be a 2 post kind of day!

Supplies Day 8-

CS-Bazzill, PP-Fancy Pants, bling-Queen & Co, washi-Glitz designs, mist-Heidi Swapp

Supplies-Day9-

CS-Bazzill, PP & stickers-Fancy Pants, Washi-Recollections, stitich template-Bazzill, thread-DMC, bling-Queen & Co, mist-Heidi Swapp

Supplies-Day 10

CS- Bazzill, PP & Alphas-Americn Crafts, 

Happiness is....

Pretty sure I've used this title before. It probably won't be the last time either.  Good morning and welcome to post 4 of the month of 28 posts.

Today's LO is for a plethora of challenges. I love it when that happens, and it hasn't happened in a while!

First and foremost, today is reveal day at Child's Play Challenges.  This first challenge for the month is inspired by one of my favorites special shows as a Child...Who doesn't sympathize with Charlie Brown???

I dont do a lot of Valentine pages, so I went with the boy and his dog. If we are on the couch, so is he, as close to us as he can be. I've decided our dog is more human than dog. If we go to the dog park, he goes and says hello to all the humans before running around checking out the other dogs. So yes, happiness is a boy and his dog.

I mentioned this is for a few other challenges as well. LOAD day 4 was to to a page in a short amount of time. Well, this took about 40 minutes.  Thanks to a sketch at Stuck! Sketches (my first time plating there), a recipe prompt from My Scraps & More and a self imposed stash challenge to use a lot of Basic Grey paper this month.  Go check out these blogs!

The recipe is tags, torn paper, an arrow and a frame.  The edges of the striped strips are torn, the frame is tucked under the corner of the photo. The tags are my journaling spot, and well the arrows...Here is the sketch.

So that's it for me in a very large nutshell today.  Please come join our Charlie Brown Valentine challenge at Child's Play Challenges! We want to see what you can create!

Supplies:

PP-Basic Grey

CS-Bazzill

washi-Bella Blvd

Wood veneer-Citrus Twist Kits

mist-Heidi Swapp