Scrapbook Steals October Blog Hop

If you are looking for the PGCB Hop, click here.

Welcome to the October Blog Hop for Scrapbook Steals.  I was so happy when Melodee asked me to be a part of the hop.  I was even more excited when I was at their Retreat last weekend, and she handed me the steal to work with...My Mind's Eye Titles, Quotes & Die Cuts Mega Pack.  Let me tell you, when they say mega, they mean MEGA.  There was probably a stack more than 1" thick of tags, quotes and die cuts from some of my favorite My Mind's Eye collections, including The Sweetest Thing, Collectable, and Indie Chic.

I can't wait for you to hop along with some insanely creative designers.  Make sure you leave a comment on all the blogs for a chance to win a $20 gift certificate to the Scrapbook Steals store.  Comments must be left by October 6th at 11:59 pm MDT.  Here is the order of the hop:

ScrapbookSteals.com - http://scrapbook.steals.com/ <- Did you start here?  If not, hop back!
Kristina MacKeen- http://mamasanity.blogspot.com/ <- You are here!
Charissa Miller http://www.akihasmommascraps.com <- Hop here next.
Staci Jones http://scrapbookingischeaperthantherapy.blogspot.com/
Heather Conklin http://goldiecar.blogspot.com/
Erin Shultz http://trailofscraps.blogspot.com

And now, here is my project:

As I was looking through the all the tags, I thought it would be fun to make kind of a banner style hanging of all the titles.  After I laid out the ones I liked and thought would be good together, I glued them down and gave them a light whitewashing of gesso.  These tags are actually from all 3 of the collections.  Adding the gesso toned down the colors, and made them flow together nicely.  I added a light coat of Frost White Shimmer Paint from Stampin' Up over the gesso.  It is hard to see in the picture, but it added just a touch of shine to the background and tags.  I loved how you can still see the colors, yet they flow together nicely.  Instead of using the frame (also part of the Mega Pack!) in front of my photo, I added it behind.  This way you are able to see all my daughter's (and son's) animals, yet the pop of color is still there.  A quick trip to the sewing machine and some journaling around the edge, and I was done. 

I hope you enjoyed my layout!  Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win the gift certificate to the Scrapbook Steals store. 

And since it is almost my birthday, I feel like sharing a few presents with you!  I will choose one comment to win some of these fun My Mind's Eye titles, quotes, and die cuts.  Make sure you are a follower to win!  I will announce the winner on Oct 10th.

Cheers!
Kristy

Practical Scrappers: Emerald, White and Royal Blue

Today's feature at Practical Scrappers is to use Emerald, White and Royal Blue.  When I heard this, I KNEW I had to dig into my Kate & Co papers by My Mind's Eye.  The colors of the Oxford Lane collection is perfect for this challenge.  I also loved My Mind's Eye's July Sketch Challenge - make sure you check it out.  And the whole color scheme worked great with some more of the photos from our shoot with Stephanie Watkins.

Here is my layout:

I have a confession to make on this one!  When I was doing my masking/mist layout for Practical Scrappers a couple weeks ago, I had a lot of misfires before I got to that final layout.  This is background paper was one of them.  I used Studio Calico's Blizzard Mr. Huey to create the background, but it just wasn't working with what I had in mind so I set it aside.  I KNEW I would be able to work it into something.  ;-)  I think it worked great here.

Cheers!
Kristy

Kiwi Lane Design: Ink Your Templates!

Happy Tuesday!

I'm up today with a fun Tip Time Tuesday at Kiwi Lane Designs.  I was surprised that we hadn't done the tip of using ink with the templates.  The thought came to me when I was doing my blog hop page.  I love the look of moving a Post-it Note around a background and inking it to make a cloud background.  I thought the scallops would create a great background using the same technique.  Head over to the Kiwi Lane blog for more details on how I made this page:

Thank you Stephanie (Stephanie Watkins Photography) for the great photos to work with.  They worked perfectly with My Mind's Eye Oxford Lane!

I also made a quick birthday card for my grandma with leftover MME paper and my Brackets 2 template.  I have mentioned how quick KLD templates make things, right?

Cheers!
Kristy

Growing In Unity - Day 1

Happy Monday!  Today is my first day featured as the Growing in Unity guest designer.  Be sure to check on my blog all week to see some fun projects featuring Unity Stamps.  Be sure to leave a comment.  At the end of the week, I'll choose 1 person to receive 2 free Itty Bitty Stamps from Unity Stamps.

For my first project, I am featuring a birthday card I made for my grandfather.  Today is his 91st birthday - Happy Birthday Pompa! 

Recipe:
Unity Stamps - Worn Grid, You Did It, and Ticket to Life
Authentique Paper - Loyal Collection: Brave, Steady and Faithful
My Mind's Eye - Collectable Enamel Dot
American Crafts - Jute Twine
Pebbles - Metallic Cream Chalk

Layout based on the sketch from Paper Secrets, found here.

Thank you for visiting.  Remember to leave a comment for a chance to win 2 Itty Bitty Stamps of your choice.  (I would love it if you would follow my blog too!)  And check back tomorrow for another project featuring Unity Stamps.

Cheers!

PGC #23 - Ledger Paper

I loved Charity's Ledger Paper challenge on Paper Girls Challenge. It was fun seeing all the Paper Girls' projects...and we all used ledger paper in such different ways.

It seems like nearly every collection released in the last few years has at least 1 page of ledger paper, usually on the "B"side. I grabbed a piece from My Mind's Eye Miss Caroline collection for the background. A few other pieces from My Mind's Eye's beautiful collections, some Kiwi Lane templates, a few spritz of mists, and viola, a layout befitting maybe one of my favorite pictures of my son at the beach.

 

Paper and embellishments from My Mind's Eye Follow Your Heart, Miss Caroline, and On the Bright Side; Kiwi Lane Designs Templates:  Paisley Place 2A, Adorn 2A and Tags 7.

 

Thank you for visiting! If you aren't a follower, I would love it if you would join. I have some blog candy just waiting to go to a happy home.

Cheers!

Kristy