I've had this black and white photo on our garage door forever (magnets don't stick to our fridge, so the inside door to our garage became our place to hang stuff from the kids). It was taken by their day care provider and framed in a little cardboard mat as a Mother's Day present back when Sophie was 1 and Livie was almost 3. It captures their loving relationship so perfectly, it has become one of my all-time faves. I've been wanting to scrapbook it so it didn't get lost in the shuffle of our lives some day (we take down stuff from the door and put stuff up all the time). The May Studio Calico kit (35mm and Lomography add-on) had such beautiful soft colours, I thought it was perfect starting point for a flash-back Mother's Day layout.
The title (created with Studio Calico and basic Grey for Studio Calico letter stickers) has double meaning in that the photo was one of the best presents ever, but also the fact that they are such loving sisters is really the best present I could ask for. The woodgrain background paper is My Mind's Eye and I splattered it with warm calico and opaque white Mister Hueys. If you watch the video you'll see I was a little overzealous with the warm calico!
I covered the plain white mat the photo came on with tiny chevron paper from the Dear Lizzy Enchanted collection (I cut the frame which I designed myself using my Cameo). I cut strips from the ruler paper (from the Echo Park This and That collection) so that 16 and 3 would be included. Then I used my typewriter to add journalling strips that document the ages of the kids when the pic was taken. I used October Afternoon Mini Market stickers to document the date of the photo. I added strips of washi tape from my stash and Prima buttons from the kit for added interest.
Using a yellow damask paper I cut and stamped a fancy label shape and layered it under a kraft paper tab from the kit. Then I stamped the date using my office roller stamp.
I created a pull-out journalling tag by adding a strip of patterned paper to one of the tags from the kit. I love how this gives me space to write my thoughts about the photo without covering that yummy woodgrain. I housed the tag in the cute blue-on-white grid paper bag that came in the kit.
This week's sketch at Nuts About Sketches features one large photo, some journalling, and lots of little rectangles. Although those rectangles would be the perfect opportunity to show off some pretty patterned paper (it would look cute with them cut into flags, which was my first idea for this sketch), I decided to make the rectangles into pictures. Here's the sketch:
Nuts About Sketches: #214
And here's what I came up with:
Can I just say, there couldn't be a better sketch for these photos? This is one of those layouts that started with a specific supply I wanted to use... in this case, it was that layered EK Success "Character Dining" sticker. Now, I don't use those layered stickers often (actually this was my first time!), and I don't do themed layouts often, so I thought this one would be a challenge for me, but I have to say, it came together quite easily. If you take a look at my other Disney Layouts you'll notice that none of them are themed, but I really wanted this one to have a themed look, so you knew at a glance it was a Disney layout. That layered title sticker really set the tone and the colour scheme for the whole layout. I went with the typical Disney colours: red, black, and yellow, with a hit of blue.
Many of the photos I used, especially the main photo, had a lot of black, so I framed the entire layout and the circle feature of the layout in black. This helps anchor the layout and balances off all that black in the photos. I also added some black splatters (using Warm Calico Mister Huey's) because I had a feeling I'd be using stars or fireworks, and I wanted a background in which they would't stand out. I outlined the yellow Bazzill Swiss Dots paper, and the red Disney themed paper (from the dollar store, many moons ago) to bring the elements together. The Dinsey paper is glossy, so I used my Lumocolor marker by Staedtler.
When I first placed the photos across the page, it looked very cluttered and random. Many of the photos were from different days, in different restaurants, with different lighting. And some were from my iPhone, while others were from Scott's DSLR. To bring them all together I once again used outlining, this time with a broad tipped marker, to give it more impact. I can't believe the difference it makes in bringing all the mismatched photos together!
The journalling piece was cut from the packaging of some Smash products (by K and Co.) and punched with a double Disney punch from Creative Memories that also includes that star/fireworks shape and the circle confetti pieces.
Thanks so much for visiting my blog. Process Video :
"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!" When I was a child I loved the tale of Rapuzel, but I was completely taken by the Disney version, Tangled. I loved how they made Rapunzel naive to the outside world, but still smart and strong-willed, but in a good-hearted way. My favourite scene is the one I like to use as an example of ambivalence when I speak to children about what it's like to feel two opposite feelings at once. You know the one... where she is elated to be finally free from the tower, but also struck with guilt about disobeying her mother. My kids get such a kick out of seeing her going from swinging and singing to crying and sobbing and back and forth. Yes, Rapunzel is the princess my girls would love to be when they grow up. And it doesn't hurt that she has long yellow hair. They are both mesmerized by blondes. Anyhow, on to the scrapping...
Meeting Rapunzel 12X12 layout
I know what you're thinking... "What, no Studio Calico kit? Gasp!" Yep, I waded into my regular supply stash for this one, and quite like how it turned out. Lots of layering and bits on this one:
The flags were cut from Basic Grey Olivia paper, which (gasp!) does't appear anywhere else on the layout. Throwing the rules out the window here, folks!
May Layout Sketch Challenge for Scrapbook Supplies Online
I love that this sketch used blocking and tickets. I kept the embellishments to a minimum because I wanted the photo and the title chipboard piece to really be the focus. I like to take this approach when I use blocking in a layout. Here is my take on the sketch:
I used a piece of We R Memory Keepers paper (the kind with 4 blocks of coordinating patterns) for the blocks and stuck a few things behind the pieces for added interest (parts of a paper bag- one of my favourite layering materials, and a piece of Sassafras paper from a Studio Calico kit). I cut the Sassy paper with my scalloped and note book border punches.
The tickets were made using my MFT ticket Die-Namic, and the coordinating Just the Ticket stamp set. I LOVE making my own tickets in whatever colours I choose! I made these from a piece of Crate Paper Story Teller collection and used Jenni Bowlin cough syrup and Versafine black onyx inks. I also used my Dear Lizzy roller stamp for the date.
That chipboard title is so amazing! I painted the flower with Smooch inks and Martha Stewart paints, then left the letters plain because I am in love with plain chipboard! I covered it in glossy accents to deepen the colour of the chipboard and give it a glossy finish.
ScrapFX chipboard is so fun to play with!
Here is my latest Quick Tips video for working with chipboard (painting):
(coming soon)
And here is the Process video for this layout:
And here is how I altered the chipboard piece for the title:
Hopefully lots of you got scrappy this weekend, in celebration of National Scrapbooking Day. I scrapped the entire day, taking a break only to go across the street for a beer and a slice of Carl's amazing BBQ pizza. Last year I participated in Scrapbook.com's all day challenges, and had so much fun I decided to partake again. Because of the time zone difference, SB.com's day didn't start until 1pm my time, so I spent a few hours in the morning at TwoPeasinaBucket.com where they also had some amazing challenges. The challenges at 2peas last all week long, so I just got 2 of them done on NSD and will go back and do more throughout the week.
The first challenge I tried at TwoPeas was Becky Novacek's Colour Challenge. She provided this picture and you had the choice of scrapping using the colour scheme in the photo, or create your own colour scheme using household items. This colour scheme really appealed to me, so I went with it.
Colour inspiration photo for the Colour Challenge at TwoPeas
These are the papers I pulled. The top 3 blue papers were from my scrap drawer, and the 5 full sheets were from a pack of paper Nicole (Scrapology on YouTube) sent me. I thought they were perfect for this colour challenge.
Papers pulled for the Colour Challenge at TwoPeas
This is the layout I came up with:
My entry for the Colour Challenge at TwoPeas
I used one of my circle punches to cut out the circles in the patterned paper (by My Mind's Eye), leaving a white border around them. I glued them down in the middle so I could curl up the edges for more dimension.
Mister Huey's in warm calico splattered on the background paper
I splattered Mister Hueys across the background paper (including the yellow polka dotted paper by Lily Bee Designs) and doodled some outlines around the edge, leaving 2 openings for added interest.
A simple title
I wanted the title to be smallish, and inconspicuous. Those Amy Tangerine Goodness Thickers were perfect, paired with the turquoise Tiny Type letters by Cosmo Cricket.
I've always been a sucker for a grid pattern
I love that the grid is made of circles, and that they aren't contained within the yellow background paper. I also love things hanging outside the grid. Linear meets organic... one of my favourite styles.
The second challenge I took over at TwoPeas was Amy Tan's Use Bold Colours Challenge, which is pretty self-explanatory, lol! I love red, and don't think I've ever used a red background before, so I grabbed a piece of Poppy Parade card stock by Stampin' Up! and added opaque white, custard, and heirloom blue Mister Hueys to it. This is what I came up with:
My entry to the Bold Colours Challenge at TwoPeas
I outlined the elements in a bolder line than I usually use, and kept the paper strips spaced apart so lots of red would show through between them:
Bold Outlines and Bold Colours
I wanted the title to play off the prominence of the iPhone in the photo. I would have liked to make it "iCE CREAM" but I didn't have capitals in a colour that would work. I like the white "i" and how it picks up on other white elements in the page.
A punny title
This cluster of chipboard elements allowed me to use up some old Basic Grey embellishments from the Lime Rickey collection, which was the first designer paper pack I ever bought.
Can you guess what the 4, 38, and 6 signify?
So by the time I finished those 2 challenges at Two Peas I had just enough time to gather my supplies for the Scrapbook.com challenges. They gave you a heads up of what kinds of photos and supplies you should have on hand to complete the challenges. The first challenge was an hour long card challenge that I didn't get a good photo of, so I'm not posting it here. It's in the share video at the end of this post, if you're interested.
The second Scrapbook.com challenge was called "There's no place like home" and you had to complete a layout in 2 hours that fit with a Home theme. Since every self-respecting scrapbooker always has a few pieces of floor plan paper lying around, I was well prepared for this one ;)
My entry to the No Place Like Home Challenge at SB.com
The floor plan paper (which, let's face it, I couldn't not use) had yellow, and the Instax photos had that bright blue, so a complimentary colour scheme it was! More Mister Hueys (custard, heirloom blue, white) had to be splattered, and the rest of the pieces were laid out in a block design with embellishments placed so they crossed lines and overhung boundaries (don't you love embellies that push the boundaries?).
Studio Calico floor plan paper=perfect!
I doodled the Thickers (Sprinkles in white vinyl- is there anything yummier than vinyl Thickers?) so they'd have a bit more impact, and drew a single outline around all the papers.
It's all in the details
I love adding subtle details to my layouts, like these vellum hearts which i made using the Fashionable Hearts embosslit. They add a bit of interest to the block design by overhanging the boundary of it, but because they are mostly transparent, they don't take away from the overall feel of the block design.
The third challenge at SB.com was a journalling challenge where you were required to include at least 5 sentences of journalling on your page. I found the journalling itself took up most of the time for this challenge. I didn't want to write so quickly about something meaningful or personal (I hate being rushed for those things, and I'm also a stickler for accuracy with those things, so that would not work well with the 2 hour time limit), so I chose to write about something easy and non-personal, but something I am still quite passionate about... the show Lost.
Yes, I'm the girl who scrapbooks about a TV show that isn't even on the air anymore
I composed the journalling on the computer and printed it up on vellum. I just typed off the top of my head, without looking anything up, so some of the quotes might be (are likely) inaccurate, but this captures most of my favourite Lost moments from seasons 1 & 2, the best seasons of the show.
Journalling on Vellum, attached with Air Mail striped washi tape
I used the grey air mail striped washi tape to hold down the journalling and the photo. Grey because it's industrial (think the inside of the hatch) and because of the air mail theme => airplane. I attached an Evalicious button on the side for interest and because it had an island map on it.
It would't be a Lost layout without the numbers...
I stamped the numbers on the top right corner and used a piece of paper with some mathematical-looking drawings on it (reminding me of Daniel's notebook in seasons to come, and Danielle's papers from season 1). I love using the Daquiri font is perfect for the word "lost" This layout is rather simple, but the journalling took up most of the first hour, so I didn't have long to put it all together. I think I like it simple, though.
The fourth challenge was to create a layout in 2 hours that used a mask and a mist. I used a piece of laser cut paper as my mask and white Mister Hueys for the mist, and this is what I came up with:
My entry to the Mask it, Mist it challenge at SB.com
Lots of Amy Tangerine on this one! The twine was really fun too!
I stapled the twine in place with my Tiny Attacher
more twine in the corner, along with a date stamp date stamp date stamp date stamp
Did I mention, I WON this challenge??!! Yep, I won me a $175 prize package from scrapbook.com!
Gotta love those Thickers and Sassy letters!
The final 2-hour challenge was a sketch challenge:
Here is my take on the sketch:
My entry to the Sketch challenge at SB.com
I used more papers from Nicole for this challenge... almost all the paper was from Nicole, actually... thanks, Nicole! That nifty top note shape was from Nicole and was the perfect place to put my journalling.
Yep, that banner caused me a bit of grief. Yep, I kinda hate it. But people tell me they like it, so maybe I'm biased. Anyhow, a banner was needed for the challenge, and it wasn't going to do any good crumpled up on the floor, so here it is, on my layout:
So all in all, I got 1 card and 6 layouts completed on National Scrapbooking Day, which is probably a record for me. Thanks to Scott for taking care of the kids, to Carl & Joanne for the pizza and beer, to TwoPeasinabucket for having a longer deadline so I can still do more of their challenges, and to Scrapbook.com for putting on such an amazing day, and for the generous prizes, of course!
This week's sketch over at Nuts About Sketches was perfect for photos from our evening at 1900 Park Fare at Disney World in February. We got to dine with Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine, and the fairy godmother. The girls even got to dance with Cinderella herself!! Here is the sketch, perfect for one standard print and one small print, which is exactly what I had:
Nuts About Sketches #212
And here's what I came up with:
I used my Studio Calico City of Lights kit with the Sorbonne add on, as well as stuff from my stash. I cut the doilies with my Cameo. That yummy woodgrain paper is by Sassafras for Studio Calico, and the wood frame is also Studio Calico. I used more strips from that colourful Kesi Art paper, which I can't get enough of.
I used Making Memories' Shopping Bag paint (mixed with clear glimmer mist) for the kraft-coloured paint splats. I often use a mixture of paint and glimmer mist for a couple of reasons. Firstly, when you add GM to paint, the glimmer seams to disappear, making the mixture more "current" looking than GM alone. I do still like the glimmered look for some projects, but I was getting a little tired of it, so this is a good way to use up some of my older supplies and still get the look I want. Secondly, I might be crazy, but it seems like the paint dries faster when diluted with GM than it does when diluted with water. Perhaps there is some alcohol in GM? I've tried diluting paint with alcohol too (I keep a bottle of rubbing alcohol in my craft room- every girl needs a secret stash of alcohol, right?). It works ok and dries fast, but if you don't get the ratio right it can leave a slight dark stain around the outsides of the splats. I've also used alcohol and reinker for splats and got similar results, but the splats don't have the opaque and slightly raised look that paint gives. Thirdly, I have a large collection of acrylic paints (mostly cheap ones) in a variety of colours, so it is much easier (and cheaper) to create the colour I want than to collect a bunch of new Mister Hueys or Sprinkers. On this layout, I also misted with some Mister Hueys in opaque white and cameo (a peachy pink colour). Mister Hueys certainly mist better than paint mixed with anything, and the splats you get with Mr. Hueys are different than paint splats- they don't have a perfect round edge... they tend to be rougher splat shapes rather than perfect circles.
I created a folded paper border around most of the entire layout but stapling paper strips in place. I've been folding paper around things quite a bit lately (especially punched borders), and loving the casual look of it. I threw in a doily here and there and discontinued the border altogether in a few places, for added interest. The title was created using my new favourite Thickers- Amy Tangerine's Goodness Thickers (from her last year's collection) in both slate and white, although it's a little tough to see the difference of the colours in the photos. It's a subtle look for sure.
There is no process video for this layout because my tripod was being used for something else when I made this, but I will be doing a few layout share videos, one of which will feature this layout, so check out my YouTube channel for that.
I didn't make a process video for this one, but here is my share video:
Thanks for stopping by, and stay tuned for a mega-post about my National Scrapbooking Day activities.
Last weekend I participated in a "Scraplift the person above you" challenge over at Studio Calico. This gave me the chance/excuse to lift a layout from the amazing Suz Mannecke (see her very cool layout here). I love her layout and although I stuck to her design pretty closely, I tried to put my own spin on this lift:
This layout features my beautiful sister and her gorgeous baby, Chase (Incidentally, my sister has a cool mommy blog here). They came to visit last weekend, arriving Friday night. After several hours in the car, and being off his schedule the day before, they were both all smiles, so I had to capture the moment. In creating this layout, I got to play with my Studio Calico City of Lights kit and Sorbonne add-on, as well as a few other supplies.
I am so in love with that chevron background stamp (by Jenni Bowlin), stamped here in Crumb Cake in by Stampin' Up! I also stamped the white grid-ish pattern on the blue cardstock scallops using the background stamp that came in the kit (I don't know its name but it's a super cool grid with triangles) and white staz-on ink. I love each and every one of those layered papers behind the photo. I don't know why, but seeing my favourite papers peeking out from under one another makes me so happy! And those cool letter stickers are giving this non-floral girl reason to love Prima!
I also layered some velum under the American Crafts chipboard frames (after running the vellum through my typewriter). I love how all the linear elements (chevron stamp and paper strips, grid stamp on the blue scallops, woodgrain lines, beaded lines in the green paper, and criss crossed lines on the blue chipboard frame) contrast with the paint splats, which have more of an organic/messy look. I think this is my favourite layout since Boy in a Bin!
And here is the process vid. Let me know if you have any questions about supplies used.
