Using the Scraps

I went a little crazy (in a good way) with an abundance of patterned paper in my last layout.  Sometimes it's good to cut loose.  :)  I ended up with a lot of paper scraps, and I wanted to make sure to use those scraps right away.  So this is what I made...

Supplies: cardstock from Bazzill; botanical print paper from Magnolia; notebook paper from Cachet; zigzag & floral papers from Lily Bee; all other paper from Crate; "Cute" sticker from Simple Stories; all other stickers from Bo Bunny.

This is a page about an impressive yellow python that our family met at the Lake Superior Zoo last year.  When you are married to a reptile-lover, and you are also the mom of a reptile-lover, you end up making lots of reptile-themed pages...like this lizard page, and this older snake page.  Amphibians and pond creatures make scrapbook page appearances, too.  Now, with this newly-created python page, I have yet another layout that falls in the "scaly or slimy" category, LOL.  :)

That's it; just a quick share for today.  Have a good weekend!

A Week in the Life (SATW & OUAS)

Did you ever see the movie Framed?  It's one of my favorites.  In the film, a teenaged girl takes a photo of her baby brother every day for a month, in order to make an art piece that documents his growth.  With modern technology at my fingertips, I thought it would be fun to do something similar, taking a photo of myself every day for seven days in a row, then making a "week in the life" scrapbook page.  Unlike the baby in Framed, I of course did not grow or change much, but it was still interesting to chronicle the ups and downs of my week.

I took the photos in February, but I wasn't immediately sure how I would scrapbook them.  Finally, inspiration came to me in the form of a sketch from Once Upon A Sketch and a mood board from Scrap around the World.  Here is the sketch...

image source: http://onceuponasketchblog.blogspot.com/2014/05/may-challenge.html

...and here is the mood board.

image source: http://scraparoundtheworld.blogspot.com/2014/05/may-2014-challenge-13-celebratory-mood.html

In playing along with Scrap Around The World, I used the mood board in a number of ways.  First of all, I absolutely loved the overall color combo of red, pink, yellow, aqua/mint, black, and white, so all those colors appear on my page.

~journaling about what I did during the week and how I had a mix of good & bad days~

You gotta love the cute ribbon bows and the shiny elements in the inspo board, right?  I also used ribbons bows on my layout, plus I added some shine to my page by using rhinestones and paper clips.

I liked the multi-colored letters in the mood board's word art, so I made sure to use multi-colored letter stickers in my title work.

The repeated round shapes of the balloons on the mood board inspired me to also repeat a circle motif.  In my case, I accomplished this by using round label stickers.

The way that the gift boxes in the mood board were stacked, so that each just barely peeked out from the one above it, appealed to me.  I mimicked this look with my layered patterned papers.

And there we have it--a page that captures the ups and downs of a typical week in my life.  I enjoyed making it, and I hope you liked seeing it. Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Sunshine & Blue Skies

Hi!  I'm glad you could join me for my latest "T-Day" post, which I'll be linking up with Elizabeth and Bleubeard for T on Tuesday.  After my last post, in which I shared some of the beaded jewelry that I've made, I felt inspired to get my beads out again and make something new.  Since we had lots of sunny weather last week, I made a necklace that I call "Sunshine and Blue Skies."

Unlike last week, I do not have "soda pop beads" in this necklace.  Instead, this time I have a mix of beads from a variety of sources (too many to list).  The twisty yellow focal beads are Czech glass beads--some of my favorite ever beads.

This necklace opens and closes with a magnetic clasp, which is something new for me.  Adding the clasp to the necklace was a bit of a challenge, because it kept sticking to my pliers as I tried to crimp the crimp beads.  I finally prevailed, though.  I chose the magnetic clasp because the arthritis in my hands is getting a little worse, and it's getting harder for me to open and close regular clasps.  The magnetic clasp is working really well so far: it stays closed when I wear the necklace, yet it opens easily when I pull the two halves apart.

I've been having lots of iced drinks (water, juice, Gatorade, etc.) over the last few days, since the weather has been hot.  But today my glass is serving as a makeshift vase for a sprig of lily of the valley.  This is my favorite flower, and I'm so excited that it's finally blooming again here.  As you can probably tell, I am very happy that warmer days have come to Minnesota at last.  :)

Enjoy your day, and feel free to drop by Elizabeth and Bleubeard's blog if you'd like to see more arsty/beverage-related posts.

Root Beer Float, Anyone?

Today I'm going to take a break from posting about scrapbooking and instead write about one of my other hobbies: beading.
 

When you set foot in an arts and crafts store, do you ever feel like a kid in a candy shop?  At Bead Box of Brainerd, one of my favorite Minnesota bead stores, some of the wares are even displayed like candy!  There are probably about a dozen "flavors" for sale at Bead Box; this photo shows three.

Here is a necklace that I made mostly with the "Blue Raspberry Soda" bead mix.  I have shown this necklace on my blog before, but that was a long time ago, so many of you have not seen it before.  I am going to have to work on my "selfy"-taking skills; I could not figure out how to get both my necklace and my face in the photo, LOL.

Another bead mix "flavor" that Bead Box offers is Root Beer Float.  Since today is Tuesday, the day to share beverage-related posts with Bleubeard and Elizabeth, I thought it would be a good time to show you this bracelet, which is made mostly with "root beer float" beads.

I first got interested in beading at a craft retreat several years ago.  The women there were doing all sorts of crafts.  I was scrapbooking, of course, but I watched the beaders with great interest.  They were speedy, able to create dozens of projects per day.  Impressed, I decided to learn beading too.  When I got back from the retreat, I found an introductory beading class.  I would say that my beading skills are still at a pretty basic level, and I am certainly not as speedy as the beaders I met at the craft retreat, but that's okay, because I prefer simple jewelry anyway.  I don't wear a lot of makeup, and I seldom wear fancy hairstyles, so beaded jewelry gives me a way to add color and sparkle to my look.

What kind of jewelry do you wear?

Purple Cards, Purple Tea

Hello!  I hope that all the moms out there had a Happy Mother's Day yesterday.  Today seems like a good day to show some more Mother's Day cards that I recently made, plus a birthday card as well.
 

Supplies for all cards: cardstock from Colorbok; dark purple ink from Hero Arts; light purple ink from Clearsnap; shimmer paint from Smooch; foam tape from 3M/Scotch; foam flower stickers from Darice; chipboard word from Studio G; sentiment stamps from Lawn Fawn; rhinestone from Beads by Dee; corner punch from Creative Memories.

I was inspired by the book Stamp It!  DIY Printing with Handmade Stamps, edited by Jenny Doh.  One of the ideas in the book was to make a stamp out of foam tape.  The project in the book was to make a chevron stamp, but I put my own spin on the idea and made a banner stamp instead.  You can see the stamp in the above photo.  I also used a few Darice foam flower stickers as stamps.

For my first card, I used light purple ink for the stamped elements.  I've been putting tiny rhinestones on almost every project lately, and this one was no exception, as I used one in the center of the flower.

For the next card I repeated the same design, but I used a darker ink color.  I also restrained myself and used shimmer paint, instead of a rhinestone, in the center of the flower.

For my third card, I went for a Clean & Simple look, employing lots of white space and leaving off the banner.

For the last card, I went a little crazy and made a purple explosion of birthday happiness.  I really enjoyed making all four cards, and I'm eager to try using my banner stamp on more projects in the future.  Maybe next time I'll try it on a scrapbook page.

I'm also really enjoying the Stamp It book that inspired me.  It's fun to curl up with a book and a cup of tea and discover new artsy ideas to try.  After making all those purple cards, I just had to have a purple-ish tea: northwestern blackberry flavor.  Yum!  Wish I could share a cup with all of you.  If you're interested in more tea/beverage-related posts, do stop by Elizabeth and Bleubeard's blog for T-Day.  I'll be linking up there.

Take care and enjoy your day! 

10 on the 10th: Neutrals

Hello!  If you are reading this as it is going live, then I hope you're having a nice weekend so far.  Today is the tenth of the month, so it's time for the latest installment of my destashing series, "Ten on the Tenth."  This month I chose to work with ten neutral, go-with-anything supplies from my stash.  

 Supply list for May:

1. cardstock: kraft cardstock from Bazzill
2. cardstock: white cardstock from Bazzill
3. patterned paper: kraft dot/heart pattern from Elle's Studio (red striped B-side, not shown in photo)
4. patterned paper: graph paper from October Afternoon (red floral B-side, not shown in photo)
5. embellishment: border sticker sheet from Doodlebug Design
6. embellishment: alphabet sticker sheet from Jillibean Soup
7. nonconsumable: background stamp from Paper Inspirations
8. nonconsumable: hedgehog stamp from Skull & Crossbuns
9. throwaway item: denim scrap from torn jeans
10. throwaway item: wrappers from 4 Ferrero Rocher candies

And here are the three projects that I made from these supplies...

First up is a layout, which I have already shown in a previous post.  The layout uses the white cardstock, as well as bits of the kraft cardstock and patterned papers.
 

Additional supplies for card: ink from Tsukineko; paint from Ranger; household twine.

Next is a playful birthday card done in monochromatic brown/kraft tones.  Its long, tall shape would make it perfect for enclosing money as a birthday gift for the recipient.

To make the funky flower, I layered together two candy wrappers, trimmed fringe along the edges, embroidered a twine star in the center, and added detail with swipes of gold ink, dots of tan paint, and a twine bow.
 

~white pen from Ranger; black pen from Foray~

The hedgehog makes an appearance on the inside of the card, as do some of the Jillibean stickers.
 

Additional supplies for page: green cardstock from Bazzill; leaf stickers from Doodlebug; spray ink & title alphabet stickers from October Afternoon; green ink & black ink from Hero Arts; gold ink from Tsukinko; white pen & tan paint from Ranger; watercolor paints from Angora; black pen from Foray; tape from We Call Her Happydaks etsy.

For my final project, I made another layout.  I misted, stenciled, and masked with the remaining border and alphabet stickers, in order to create a mixed media background.  Then I layered up my remaining supplies for a casual, collaged page design.

I'll leave you with a foursome of detail shots from the page.  Hope you've enjoyed seeing how I use up supplies from my stash.  Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

CPC May Challenge: Scooby Doo

Hello again, friendly readers!  It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means that it's time for the Child's Play reveal.  During the month of May, we challenge you to create a scrapbook page inspired by this Scooby Doo cartoon image.

Supplies: all paper from American Crafts; buttons from October Afternoon; blue flower from C-Koop beads; burgundy flower from Petaloo; thread from DMC; rhinestones from Beads by Dee; pen from Zig; household stapler.

For my DT sample, I drew inspiration from the "groovy" tone-on-tone green background of the Scooby image.  I also chose to work with a pair of photos that have a "cartoonish" vibe.  I kept my page simple, in order to let the strong colors and fun patterns really pop.

For a chance to win these Fancy Pants embellishments, link your 
Scooby-inspired entries up in the Child's Play sidebar by May 30.  Have fun!

December Memories Wrap-Up

Hello, friendly readers.  You crack me up!  First you like my shirt, now you like my Christmas cookies.  (Thank you!)  I'll be sure to share the cookie recipe come December.  :)

Anyway, I hope you'll also like the December Memories mini album pages that I'm sharing today.  Since it's T-Day, I'll start with a beverage-related page.

Supplies: patterned papers from Simple Stories; stickers from Lily Bee; Candi dots from Craftwork; pen form Zig; household stapler.

Before we go much further, I want to say a bit about the album itself.  I'm just using a regular "brag book" style photo album (brand unknown) that I received as a Christmas gift.  I originally intended to decorate the cover of the album, but once all the photo/memorabilia sleeves were full, this is what happened...

Since the album no longer closes properly, I don't see much point in decorating the cover.  Instead, during the weeks of Advent and Christmas, when I'll be using the album as a home decor piece, I'll simply display the album open to a random page. 

Supplies: background papers from Fancy Pants; fussy-cut papers from Basic Grey; label sticker from October Afternoon; alphabet stickers from Lily Bee; decorative sticker from Doodlebug Design.

On one day, perhaps I'll leave the album open to the pages shown above.  These pages display my friends' signatures, which I have cut out from Christmas cards.  It's impractical to keep every single Christmas card (sadly), but it's nice to see all the names collected here.

Supplies: "Polaroid" paper from Pebbles; all other papers from Fancy Pants; alphabet stickers from Lily Bee; decorative sticker from Basic Grey; pen from Zig; household stapler; photo collage created at walgreens.com.

On another day, perhaps I'll leave the book open to these pages, which document some romantic holiday moments between my husband and me.

If you'd like to see more posts with pages from this album, you can find them here, here (toward the end of the post), and here.  I haven't blogged about all fifty album pages (again, impractical), but these posts comprise a representative selection of my December Memories pages.  Thanks for letting me share this project with you.  It has been fun!  With this album now complete, I'm hoping to work on completing a few more in-progress mini albums soon.