February Authentique Challenge

This month, I finally got to play along with Authentique Paper sketch challenge.  I guess it is a good thing February has 29 days in it this year.  I needed that extra day!

When I saw the Genuine line, I KNEW I had to use it for my favorite picture taken of my hubby and son the day he was born.  The colors were perfect!  Another thing I love about the Authentique lines of paper is how well they all work together.  I was able to find papers from Free Bird series of papers that blended nicely with the Genuine kit.  I was also able to use my scraps from the strips of Free Bird to make the flowers to the lower left of the picture.

For this layout I used:

• Genuine: Perfection & Forever (from the 6x6 bundle)
• Free Bird: Poised and Fair-Weather

Cheers!

The Paper Girls Challenge #2

Wow!  What fun it has been seeing the work inspired by the first sketch at The Paper Girls Challenge.  I loved seeing what everyone came with...and I'm even more excited to see what today's challenge will bring.

Using a filmstrip on layouts is a very popular trend in scrapbooking right now (my favorite sketcher, Kristy Lee at Scrapbook Steals even used them in her Garnet 10 sketch last week!).  Even with the popularity of filmstrips, when Erica Bass said that this would be the theme for Challenge #2, I got a little scared...I don't have any photobooth/filmstrip style photographs, so what was I going to do?  I decided to make my own.  I have to say, I like the outcome!!!

To make my own filmstrip look, I grabbed one of my favorite punches right now: EK Success's Circle Large Edger punch and some black paper and punched away.

After I punch the border, I cut most of the loops off to created the look of the edge of a filmstrip - and as a bonus, I have a border I can use on a future layout!  :-)

And here is the final outcome and my LO for The Paper Girls Challenge #2.  The paper, letters and flower embellishments are all from Echo Park's For the Record. This is actually part of my book about our trip to the Missouri Botanical Gardens in 2010, so you won't see my usual date and information I usually put on the page. 

I hope you enjoyed playing along with us. I look forward to seeing everyone's creations. Be sure to check back on March 5th for the next challenge (mine!). Remember, you can take the The Paper Girls with you wherever you are with The Paper Girls Challenge QR Code:

Cheers!

The Paper Girls Challenge

If you have arrived here from The Paper Girls Challenge, welcome!  I'm glad you joined us for our first challenge.  I had a great time working on the sketch from Judy Stech.  If you are starting on my blog, this is today's sketch - our 1st ever!:

This was such a fun sketch.  When I saw it, I knew I wanted to use a picture of my hubby and I from our Anniversary.  It was taken at my nephew's high school JV football game.  I know, what a way to spend our anniversary, but in truth, it was great.  After spending 4 years away from family, it was great to be able to go out and support him.  And being so close to Valentine's Day, it just seemed right to scrap about my honey.

To make this page, I grabbed some of my favorite Stampin' Up products:
Lap of Luxury Designer Paper, Full Heart Paper Punch, Mini Clothespins, Eyelit border punch, and Wisteria Wonder ink, pen and baker's twine. (All can be purchased at my Stampin' Up site: stampinkristy.stampinup.net).  The hearts at the bottom are 2 hearts layered together and hand stitched on to the paper to add a little deminsion.  I also punched 2 sets of hearts for the banner, and sandwiched the twine between the hearts.  You will see me use Thickers for my titles, as I did here, 9 times out of 10.  I love these guys!

I hope you enjoyed playing along with us today.  I look forward to seeing everyone's creations.  Be sure to check back on Feb. 20th for the next challenge.  Remember, you can take the sketch with you wherever you are with The Paper Girls Challenge QR Code:

Cheers!

Winter Blues?!?

Wow!  Sorry it has been so long since I posted here.  Life has kind of gotten away from me.  Since I last checked in, my hubby left the Air Force which sparked a lot of changes in our lives.  All for the best, I promise you.  One thing that helped keep my sanity is my crafting.  I have been trying to make at least a page or card a week.  So far, so good!

As I started looking through my pictures, I realized my go to color for January was aqua.  I think I like it so much because I can use it for pages for my daughter and my son.  So no, I don't have the winter blues.  It is just a really pretty color!  :-)  Here are some of my "Blue Period" works.

I am part of a Cricut Card making group.  For January, we were asked to make a birthday card.  Every girl wanted to be treated like a queen, so I thought this would be a fun card for a birthday girl.

Next up, my Christmas morning picture of my kids.  I loved this picture.  And thanks to www.scrapbooksteals.com's Garnet 7 sketch, I found a fun way to scrap it.  There were so many colors in the actual picture, that I wanted to keep the papers and embellishments simple.  We R Memory Keeper's Merry January paper seemed perfect for this to me.

In October, I had the chance to go to the Scrapbook Steals Retreat in Salt Lake City, UT.  It was an amazing trip, and I met a lot of WONDERFUL girls.  Of course, I had to make a page about it.  This picture was taken outside their warehouse after our tour.  Scrapbook Steals is truly my "Not So Guilty Pleasure".  Again, I used one of SS's wonderful sketches.  This one is Garnet 2.  There are 48 little brads throughout this page.  Let me tell you, my fingers hurt after setting all these!





Last but not least is a page about me and my kids.  This picture was taken on my 35th birthday.  I am usually the one behind the lens, so it is a rare treat to get a picture of me and my kids.  The pink vines running down the side of the page are actually the cut outs from the doilley on the layout above that I sprayed with Glimmer mist to add a little color and definition.  I like being able to take advantage of "scraps".  The brown background is actually a piece of kraft paper crinkled, sprayed with rubbing alcohol and then spread out to dry.  I remember doing this as a kid, so it was fun to incorporate it into my "grown up" work.

And now some of my biggest news.  I have joined up with 8 other incredibly talented girls to start The Paper Girls Challenge.  Starting Monday, Feb. 6, one of us will post a sketch, inspriation, or challenge for you to play along with.  Every other Monday there will be a new post.  I hope you join us. 

Cheers!

Wow! Me? Really?!?

Wow!  When Kristy Lee from Scrapbook Steals contacted me to be a guest sketcher for their MidWeek Mojos, I thought maybe she had the wrong girl!  The Scrapbook Steals community has so many talented girls involved with it, I couldn't believe it was me.  But it was, and I was given a challenge to work with with Pebbles Ever After papers and embellishments.  I don't usually work with princess paper, but I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly my design came together - and even though the kit was very, VERY girly, I was still able to do a boy layout too! 

To see more of this layout, check out the Scrapbook Steals blog:
http://scrapbooksteals.stealnetwork.com/wp/2011/08/10/pebbles-ever-after-mid-week-mojo/

There may even be some kits left in their archives if you want to try your hand at this collection.

Happy Scrappin'!

Happy Bearthday!

I was asked to create some invites for a 3rd year old's camping themed birthday party.  I had so much fun coloring all the elements to give them a little pop!  I even added a few mosquitos and a little "skeeter spray" to the inside for a little more fun.  I only hope the little guy has as much at his party as I had making these!

Looking Forward...

Wow!  I can't believe it has been so long since I have posted to my blog.  Life has changed since my last post.  Instead of moving to Arizona like we were planning, we are moving...well, we don't know where.  My wonderful husband is leaving the Air Force on August 23rd.  And we will be leaving Great Falls.  Right now it looks like we are going to be moving to St. Louis.  But that could all change.  I am Looking Forward to finding out.  Stay tuned for the final outcome!

In the meantime, I have continued to work on my scrapbook and cards.  It has been my sanity in all this craziness.  I can not believe that ScrapbookSteals.com has put out 52 weekly sketches - and that I have completed all of them.  WOW!  This was my interpretation of MWM 52.  I used 2 shades of blue and 2 shades of brown to make the background paper.  Then I used Stampin' Up Elegant Soiree paper to highlight 2 of my favorite subjects, my husband and daughter, looking out over the Pacific Ocean.  I also used a combination of Stampin' Up and We R Memory Keepers grommets, snaps and eyelets to enhance the layout.

Thank you for letting me take the time to share this with you.  I am Looking Forward to sharing more with you.  I hope to eventually get all 52 layouts posted for you here - as well as some cards I have been making.  I am also Looking Forward to having a giveaway or 2, so please come back!