Almost Autumn

I am just popping by to say hello and share a quick & easy scrapbook page.  
 

Supplies: stamp & ink from Hero Arts, cardstock from Neenah Paper; stickers & enamel dots from October Afternoon; pen from Foray; journaling line template & corner punch from Creative Memories; twine, charm, & sequins from my stash, fabric tag upcycled from old clothing; household mini stapler.

I made this page to showcase a few late-summer photos from the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.  I love this time of year, when the rich, warm colors of autumn are beginning to appear, but the weather is still nice and warm.  It's the best of both worlds.

Into the Woods

Are you ready to go into the woods?  The theme this month at Berry71Bleu is "forest."  That theme perfectly fits my vacation photos from August, so I just had to play along.  Here is the scrapbook page that I made.
 

Supplies: green bokeh paper from Webster's pages; enamel shapes, alphabet stickers, spray mist, die cut arrow, damask paper, & ledger paper from October Afternoon; orange leaf paper from Doodlebug Design; all other patterned paper from Lily Bee; doily from Michaels; laser cut banner from Scrapmatts.

Below is the mood board for the challenge.  I see lots of greens and browns, with a few pops of orange and scarlet.

You may never have heard of Pine City, North Branch, Hinckley, and Sandstone, the places where I took these photos.  They are pretty, wooded places in the heart of Minnesota.  And they are beautiful to visit.  Here are a few detail shots.
 

This historic Ojibwe winter lodge is in Pine City.

The woodland fairy is cut from a greeting card that I recently received in the mail.

My family passed through a lot of doorways--both natural and constructed--while on vacation.

We had sunny weather on some days, but grey and rainy weather on other days.  It doesn't matter, because the forest is beautiful in any weather.

It was fun to get these vacation photos scrapped.  And I am so please that I was able to fit ten photos on the page!  Thanks for the inspiration, Berry71Bleu.

Summer Travel 2015: A Tale of Three Parks

Hello, all!  As I mentioned in my previous post, my family went on vacation earlier this month.  We traveled "up north" and visited three different state parks.  Today, I'd like to share some of my vacation photos with you.
 

Supplies: cardstock from Neenah Paper, orange patterned paper from Authentique, monster & plaid patterned paper from Bo Bunny, alphabet stickers from Lily Bee, enamel shapes from October Afternoon, paint from Deco Art, pens from Zig, upcycled bubble wrap & gift bow, household mini stapler.

Traveling north from the Twin Cities, our first stop was at Wild River State Park.  At this park we enjoyed taking in scenic views of the Saint Croix River and doing activities in the visitor center.  I have even managed to scrapbook my photos from this park visit already!

When we left the Twin Cities, we thought that we had left our library adventures behind; however, we discovered a delightful little library in the Wild River Park visitor center.  I love the rough-hewn book shelves with the bark still on them.  There was also a hot beverage station for the park's library patrons.  I imagine that this cozy book nook is a godsend for campers who experience cold or rainy weather at the park and want to warm up for awhile.  However, it was sunny and hot on the day that we visited, so we did not stop to read or have a hot drink.  We only stopped long enough to admire the charm of the library.
 

The weather did turn cold for us later in the trip, when we visited Banning State Park.  You can see that instead of shorts and tee shirts we're in long pants and sweaters.  I have already scrapbooked this photo as well.  I blogged about that scrapbook page in a previous post.

We got rained on lightly during our last park visit, which was at St. Croix State Park.  Luckily, this park has a scenic driving path, so we were able to enjoy the park from the car.  As you can see from the photo above, St. Croix State Park is a beautiful place for a country drive.  I haven't scrapbooked this photo yet, but I hope to get to it soon.  I'll be sure to share the finished page with you when it's ready.  Until then, take care!

A Sunny Yellow Page

Supplies: cardstock from Echo Park, Bokeh papers from Webster's Pages, sentiment paper from Bella Blvd, all other papers from American Crafts, stickers & enamel shapes from October Afternoon, tape from Scotch/3M, pen from Foray.

*Squeak, squeak!* That is the sound of me squeaking in with my Berry71Bleu entry, just a few days before the deadline.

http://berry71bleu.blogspot.com/2015/08/august-challenge-yellow-mood.html

Here is the mood board for this month.  It inspired me in the following ways:

• Yellow as the main color (of course)
• Yellow flowers
• "You Are My Sunshine" title
• Bokeh/dotted/speckled patterns
• Designer Tanya Palarmachuk's exhortation to "Try to add other colors..." 

This scrapbook page features a photo that is a recent favorite of mine.  The journaling lists three things for which I am thankful: my husband (in the photo with me), my son (who took the photo), and all the beauty of nature that our family experienced while on vacation.  It was fun to create this bright, sunny page.

Orange + Orange + Blue

Supplies: paper, mists, & enamel shapes from October Afternoon; pen from Foray; thread from DMC; chipboard from Scrapmatts; mask & button from my stash.

Hello!  I've finally managed to grab a moment to finish up with my sixth (and last) Summer of Color project, another scrapbook page.  The color combo this time around is 2 oranges + 1 blue.  Since the only mists that I own (!) are orange and blue, it was an easy choice to create a misted background for the page.  For the rest of the page, I went with a fun, eclectic look.  Here are a few detail shots.

This is the last year for Summer of Color, so I wanted to be sure to do all the prompts, even though it took me a little longer this year.  Thank you, Kristin, for organizing the Summer of Color--it's been great!   

Northwoods Summer

Hello!  I was recently looking back at my college photos (from the 1990's), and I decided to scrapbook some of them.  Here is a page dedicated to a northwoods vacation that I took with my family during the summer between my first and second year of college.
 

Supplies: background paper from Sugar Tree; lattice patterned paper & enamel shapes from October Afternoon; kraft notebook paper from Cachet; cardstock from Bazzill; die cut from Elle's Studio; alphabet stickers from Bo Bunny; pen from Foray; household mini stapler & staples.

I'm playing along with T is for Tuesday, so let's have a cup of tea while I walk you through the page.

My tea cup this week has a northwoods vibe, to go along with the layout.  The cup was handmade by a talented artist in Wisconsin.  Even though it looks like a birch trunk, it's ceramic.

Awhile back, I noticed that a trait of some of my favorite scrapbook pages is a mixture of hard and soft textures.  Ever since I came to this realization, I have made an effort to incorporate a variety of textures into my work.  On this particular page, crumpled and distressed layers of paper provide the softness.

Metal staples, placed in a row, provide contrasting texture.

The photos on this page are from before I ever had (or had even heard of) a digital camera, but they are still some of my favorite photos.  This one shows my brother, my mom, and me on a footbridge in Itasca State Park (the source of the Mississippi River).  My dad took the photo, and I love how he captured the reflection in the water.  

Well, that's all for today.  I hope you've enjoyed going "up north" and "down memory lane" with me in this post!  :)

10 on the 10th: Winter Colors

Hi, all!  Wow, time really flies.  It's already the last month of the year, and it's time for my final "Ten on the Tenth" post for 2014.  As always with these Ten on the Tenth posts, I put together a kit from my stash and challenged myself to use up the kit by making three projects.  Here are the supplies I chose for this month.  My kit has a "winter whites" theme for December.

10 supplies: items 1 & 2 (cardstock): kraft cardstock from Bazzill; items 3 & 4 (patterned papers): assorted woodgrain papers from KaiserCraft; items 5 & 6 (embellishments): rub-on alphabet from October Afternoon & foil butterflies from Dufex; items 7 & 8 (nonconsumables): penguin stamp from Savvy Stamps & nesting doll stamp from Stampendous; items 9 & 10 (throwaway items): striped twist tie from candy packaging & net bag from gift packaging.

Below is a peek at the flipsides of the patterned papers, as well as some of the smaller items from the kit.  Like last month, I decided to err on the side of caution and include in my kit more paper scraps, not less.  Again, that worked well, and I was really productive. 

The first thing I made with the kit was a light and airy card.

Additional supplies: airmail paper from Echo Park; corner punch from Creative Memories; ink from Autumn Leaves/Stampology; spray mist from October Afternoon; upcycled wrapping tissue & kraft price tag with jute tie; ribbon from my stash.

Next I made a scrapbook page, which you may have already seen, since I entered it in a couple different challenges.  (Knowing what a busy month December is, I made these projects well in advance.)

Previously blogged here.

Finally, I created one more page, entitled "Zoo-venirs," to use up the last bits of the kit.

Additional supplies: stickers from October Afternoon; stamping ink from Hero Arts; rhinestones from Dee's Place; pens from Zig.

As the title implies, this page houses photos and souvenirs from a winter trip to the Lake Superior Zoo.  I had fun creating "secret hiding places" for all the memorabilia on the page.

A couple of extra photos, along with a cute stamped penguin, hang out in a pocket at the top of the page.

Clear photo corners hold the snow leopard post card in place.  This makes it easy to remove the post card...

...in order to read the information on the back.  Beneath the snow leopard post card is--surprise!--a bear post card, which is also removable.

The alphabet rub-ons from my kit were getting brittle with age, so I thought it best to use them all.  I decorated a scrap of kraft paper with the rub-ons, then trimmed the scrap into a decorative tag.  The tag grounds the flattened penny souvenir that my son made for me at the zoo.

That's it for this post!  I hope you enjoyed seeing what I made with my kit of leftovers.  I plan to continue sharing my de-stashing efforts next year, but I'll have a fresh new format for 2015.  Watch for the first post in January!

Snow Bunnies

Happy December, scrapbookers!  Today I bring you new inspiration from Child's Play Challenges. 

Supplies: cardstock & scalloped paper from American Crafts; bokeh paper from Imaginisce; crackle paper from KaiserCraft; phrase stickers & dark blue paper from Bo Bunny; upcycled plastic packaging, alphabet stickers, & lined paper confetti from October Afternoon; flair badges & all other paper from Lawn Fawn; gingham ribbon from ReStyle; pom pom ribbon from Scrapbook Fantasies; rhinestones from Dee's Place; pen from Foray; sequins & snowflake confetti from my stash.  

This month we invite you to create a page inspired by the poster for the movie The Polar Express.  For my design team sample, I took my cues from the falling snow depicted on the poster.

In addition to scrapbooking photos from a snowy day on Lake Superior, I also created a shaker box page accent with falling "snow" inside.

The shaker box started life as a scrap from a sheet of cut-apart cards and the empty packaging from a used-up set of enamel shapes.  

To create the shaker box, I first removed the branding card from its plastic sleeve and used it as a template to cut the snow bunny card to size.  After placing the snow bunny card inside the plastic sleeve, I poured in a selection of sequins and confetti.  Like falling snow, these sequins and confetti can move about freely inside the plastic sleeve when the page is tilted and turned.  

I'd love to see your interpretation of this Polar Express challenge.  If you decide to play along, you can link up your layout in the sidebar of the Child's Play blog.

10 on the 10th: Autumn Colors

Hi everyone!  Today is November 10, so it's time for my "Ten on the Tenth" post for my monthly destashing series.  Even though meteorologists are predicting a massive snowfall for today, my theme for this post is autumn supplies.  Here is the kit that I put together for this month.

Supplies: items 1 & 2 (cardstock): teal & gold cardstock from Bazzill; items 3 & 4 (patterned paper): stripes from Doodlebug Design & polka dots from Simple Stories; items 5 & 6 (embellishments): journaling cards & border strips from Simple Stories; items 7 & 8 (nonconsumables): stamp set from My Mind's Eye & oak leaf stamp from Hero Arts; items 9 & 10 (throwaway items): empty masking tape roll & upcycled gift tissue.

That is the same My Mind's Eye stamp set that I used last month.  It has so many stamps that I just felt like I could get a lot more out of it by using it again for another month (and well into the future, I'm sure).  For the last couple months I came up a little short on paper in my Ten on the Tenth kits, so I made sure to include lots of paper this time.  Speaking of which, here is a photo that shows the flipsides of the papers.  It also shows a closer look at the tiny oak leaf stamp.

Making sure I included lots of paper in my supply kit this time certainly paid off, because the first project I ended up making was this double page layout called "Hello Fall."

Additional supplies: enamel shapes & puffy stickers from October Afternoon; stamping paper from Basic Grey; stamping ink from Hero Arts; pens from Zig; household twine.

It's always difficult to showcase a big, two-page layout on a blog, so feel free to click on the photo to enlarge it.  I've also included a closeup shot of the journaling.

Hip, hip, hooray for getting ten photos onto this layout!  I placed the photos in a basic grid design, and I used embellishment clusters to separate the photos (see below).

The Simple Stories products from my kit are basically made to go onto this sort of a grid layout.  I had fun using these supplies for their intended purpose, but for my second project I shook things up a bit.  My second project is a one-page layout, created on the back of the first page from the two-page layout.  Instead of creating another grid page, I made circular shapes the focus of this layout.  I used the empty tape roll as a template for cutting the circles from my photos and papers, and I also used the tape roll as a guide for adding chalk lines.

Additional supplies: ink from Hero Arts; pens from Zig; chalk from Stampin' Up; puffy stickers, enamel shapes, & flair badges from October Afternoon.

At this point you may be saying, "Wait, Denise, if your first project is a layout, your second one is supposed to be a card.  You made that rule yourself!"  Never fear, I made a card as well, and here it is (below).  As you see, I went back to a grid design for this one.  I thought about adding a sentiment or a small embellishment to break up the grid a bit, but in the end I decided to leave the card as-is.  I just love the patterned papers so much, I didn't want to do anything to take the focus off of them.  Plus, without a sentiment to "pin it down," this card can be for almost any occasion.

Additional supply: brown ink from Tsukineko.

Usually I make just three projects with each Ten on the Tenth kit, but this time I was able to make a fourth project.  Yay, bonus!  This one used up all the leftover bits from the kit.  I made it on the back of the second page of the two-page layout.  You may have already seen this one, since I used it as my October entry for the Berry 71 Bleu challenge.

~previously blogged here~  Additional supplies include 8.5 x 11" kraft cardstock from Neenah Paper, stickers from October Afternoon, die cut leaves from Doodlebug, and Candi dots from Craftwork.

All together, with this kit I was able to create one card, one double-page layout, and two single-page layouts.  I scrapped a total of two dozen photos, which felt very, very satisfying.  I'd say I definitely got the most from this kit.  And the best thing is that I made everything using supplies that I already had in my stash.  Thanks for coming to look at everything that I made.  I hope I inspired you!

CPC November Challenge

Hello, everyone!  After letting Princess Leia take over my blog for the last two days, I'm back--and just in time, because today is the November design team reveal at Child's Play Challenges!  Here my page, entitled "The Lions in Winter."

Supplies: cardstock from Bazzill; spray mist & leaf patterned paper from October Afternoon; die cut dotted paper from Graphic 45; chevron stamp & swirl patterned paper from My Mind's Eye; washi from Love My Tapes; pom poms & ribbons from Scrapbook Fantasies; crystal cabochon from Olla Podrida Etsy; brown ink from Tsukineko; black ink from Hero Arts; black gesso from Ranger; acrylic paint from DecoArt; lion sticker from PSX; glitter film from The Paper Company; pen from Foray; standard office hole punch; upcycled jumbo bubble wrap.

This month we have an exciting crossover challenge with the blog Pixels and Paper.  To play along, we want you to create a layout using the following inspiration image and a "recipe."  The recipe is: something gold + an animal + at least three patterned papers + "bling" + something from your stash that is over a year old.

The inspiration photo is a Christmas/winter scene, and it influenced me to scrap a winter photo.  

As far as the recipe goes, I used lots of gold ribbon for my "gold," my lion photo for the "animal," and three patterned papers (a yellow leaf print, a die cut dotted print, and a brown swirl print), all visible in the photo above.

For the "bling," I tucked a faceted cabochon into the layers to the right of the title tag.

Finally, for "something over a year old," I used this lion sticker.  I've had it for about ten years!  Speaking of lions, can you believe that these lions at the Lake Superior Zoo in Duluth, Minnesota, actually LIKE to be outdoors in the winter!  It's their choice to remain outside.  They enjoy their heated rock.  I was so surprised by these lions that I just had to scrap their photo and write their story on my page.

Are you ready to try this photo prompt/page recipe challenge?  If you make a page, you can submit it to BOTH Pixels and Paper AND Child's Play Challenges and be in the running for prizes at both sites.  All types of layouts--traditional, digital, and hybrid--are accepted at both sites.  I hope you'll play along with us this month!