My Favorite card sketch from Sketch N Scrap!

Happy Sunday friends!! It's another day in our month long 8th birthday bash celebration at Sketch N Scrap and this month we are revealing the design teams TOP 8 sketches over the past 8 years!! The design team has picked their top 4 card sketches and their top 4 layout sketches from the past 8 years and we are revealing them one by one this month in our online crop.  Today was my turn to reveal my favorite card sketch from the past 8 years of sketches.  I picked card sketch #144!!  I have used this sketch numerous times and know I will continue to do so!  Here is the sketch:

Here is the card I created based on this sketch:

Supplies Used: Cardstock: Stampin' Up Whisper White; patterned papers: October Afternoon Cherry Hill, Simple Stories Domestic Bliss, & Carta Bella Oh Happy Day; doily: Unknown source; ephemera: Pebbles Along the Way; ink: Memento Black Tuxedo; stamp: Stampin' Up Simply Sketched

I just love doilies, so I think this is one of the reasons I love this sketch!! For this card I just dug into the scrap paper pile on my desk to find colors to match this ephemera piece I wanted to use on my card, it came together so fast and easy! Another reason I love this sketch is that you get a great look in very little time!!  Do you have an all time favorite go to sketch for layouts or for cards?  If you do share it with me, I'd love to give it a try!!  Make sure and head over to Sketch N Scrap's online crop to see what other sketches the DT chose as their favorites!!  We are cropping until May 31st so there is still plenty of time to join in the fun!!  Happy creating! 

Sketch N Scrap #158

Happy Sunday!  I hope you have had a wonderful weekend and found time to be creative and indulge yourself a bit!  Today I enjoyed some "me" time and decided to play with the August 1st sketch at Sketch N Scrap!  This sketch was created by yours truly, here it is:

Here is my layout using the sketch:

Supplies Used: Patterned Paper: October Afternoon, Echo Park About a Boy & Happy Camper; letter stickers: My Mind's Eye & Paper Trunk; Stickers: October Afternoon Campfire & Echo Park Happy Camper; enamel dots: My Mind's Eye; Journal Cards: unknown source (a gift from my friend Amy!)

I used up a lot of old stash on this layout! I was able to use up 1 and a half pieces of paper from my 100 paper Challenge as well as a number of old stickers that were in my Bashket!!  I have been hoarding my October Afternoon stuff since they are no longer in business, but the time has come to use it and make way for new stuff!!  I was inspired to create a layout with a camping/outdoors theme as I had recently been gifted some amazing journal cards with a camping theme and the colors are so soothing and inspiring I wanted to just use them up right away and not do my usual routine of hoarding it for the perfect project!!  Thanks to my buddy Amy at Paisley's Playhouse for such wonderful goodies!!  I love these photos of my brother, sister in law and nephew on their boat this Summer! I know they love it and it makes them happy like crafting makes me happy!  I hope you will find time to play along with us at Sketch N Scrap!  We have a Slice of Summer Crop going on until August 31st and of course our blog challenges are not ending to August 31st as well, so still plenty of time to play along!  Happy creating!

Sketch N Scrap #94

Happy December!!!  Hope all of my American friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  It's the first of the month so it's time to share a wonderful sketch by Heather with you!!! This is Heather's debut sketch with us at Sketch N Scrap!!! Isn't it just awesome?

Here is the sketch:





 

And here is the layout I created based on the sketch:



Supplies Used: Patterned Paper: Webster's Pages; Stickers: snowflakes & quote- October Afternoon;

Bows: Jenni Bowlin; Bling: Queen & Co; Letter stickers: Webster's Pages & Doodlebug; card: Elle's Studio

 

I made this layout for my sister to frame and put in her office!  I love how it turned out.  Pictures are from the Fort Worth Parade of Lights this year which is a fun event that is a family tradition for us!

I know how busy the holiday season can get but I hope you will find some time to play along with us at Sketch N Scrap this month!  You have until December 31st at 7 pm CST to upload your layouts or cards based on our 5 sketches for a chance to win some fun Christmas stamps!!!  I can't wait to see what you create!

 

Last birthday bash challenge!

Wow, didn't May just fly by?  It is hard for me to believe there is only one week of school left and June starts tomorrow!!!  I am up on the Sketch N Scrap blog today for our final third birthday bash challenge!  I wish we could keep celebrating all year long instead of all month long because this has been an awesome month!  Here is my challenge layout:



Supplies Used: Patterned Paper: October Afternoon, Scenic Route; cardstock: Stampin Up;

tags: Elle's Studio, October afternoon; bakers twine: American Crafts; Alphabets: October Afternoon;

enamel dots: My Mind's Eye; stickers: October Afternoon; ink: Memento; date stamp: Heidi Swapp;
based on a sketch by my friend Natalia.

 

Now for my challenge (should you choose to accept it!).  To mark Sketch N Scrap's third birthday I am making this a THREE challenges in one challenge!!  For this challenge you must use : THREE TAGS, THREE different alphabets, AND THREE photos!!!  And what is a challenge without a prize?  I will randomly draw one winner out of all submitted entries that follow the challenge guidelines to receive a pack of enamel dots as shown below

But remember you can't win if you don't play! Just follow these simple rules:

1) Create a LAYOUT based on the recipe above
2) Your card must include THREE alphabets, THREE photos & THREE tags
3) Your layout must be new as of today (no backlinking)
4) You may link up with other sites but you may not enter your card in other Sketch N Scrap challenges (including DT's birthday bash challenges- no double dipping!)

5) Due to high shipping costs and the length of time to receive international packages only those with US addresses are eligible (but you can still link up we would love to see what you create!)

6) Link up in the sidebar by June 15th at midnight CST

I hope you will find time to play along, I can't wait to see what you create!!

Paper Secrets challenge!

I was lucky enough to get some scrappy time yesterday and was able to complete a couple of challenges! Great way to start the New Year huh?  I always want to play along with so many of them but find that I just don't always have the time to meet deadlines.  One of the places I always stalk and hope to play along is Paper Secrets.  So when I saw their sketch and found out the challenge was to use washi tape (which I just got for Christmas) I figured I'd give it a go!  Here is the sketch:

And here is my take on it:

Supplies Used: Patterned Paper: October Afternoon Very Merry (music note & red), Echo Park For the Record; washi tape- Michaels;

Letter stickers: Paper Trunk; Embossing Folder: Stampin Up; Cardstock: STampin Up; chipboard frame: Maya Road;  Flair:

A Flair for Buttons; flower: Petaloo.

My washi tape is the row of music notes above the black border strip and I also covered a chipboard circle with this washi tape to make an accent to set off my journaling.   I am also entering this layout in the week 52 challenge at Personalscrapper which is "anything goes".  I am very happy with how this layout turned out.  I'd been hoarding these pics for awhile now and it felt good to get them on paper! I hope you will find time to play along at Paper Secrets, but if not at least stop by and see all the awesome inspiration from their DT!  Kind of sad the holidays are over, cuz now I will have to get back to the daily grind and most likely won't have a lot of scrappy time during the week ;(  Good thing the weekend is going to be here soon!  Enjoy your week!

Got Sketch 107

Howdy bloggy friends! Has anyone taken a Got Sketch class? If you haven't you need to! I have taken almost everyone of them that Valerie has offered and have never been disappointed. The current class is Got Sketch 107 and you can learn more about it HERE. This is my page based on sketch #1 from this class. I was able to use up some of my older October Afternoon Stash. This layout is a mix of Cherry Lane, Duck in a Row, Weathervane, and Thrift Store. I love the hexagons on this sketch (Valerie provides all class members with a template to make them) and it is a great way to use up a bunch of scraps! I think this template itself is worth the price of admission, some other classes out there cost a whole lot more so this class is definitely a bargain! I am working on some other assignments from the class and can't wait to share them with you. The other great thing about this class is you use your own stash, no "kit" to buy, no supplies to buy, and I am using up some older stash so far. The flower is from Basic Grey, the stickers are from October Afternoon's Ducks in a Row line and the letter stickers are by Making Memories (I got them at Target ages ago and this is my first time to use them!) All these items on this page have been in my stash over a year. The pics of course are of my sweet adorable nephew at four months old! He was such a cute chubster! Of course, he is still cute just not a chubster anymore, don't you love chubby babies? We have a busy weekend ahead so not sure I actually finish the rest of my Got Sketch projects before the end of March, but I will get them finished soon and share when I do! Have a wonderful weekend friends!

Scrapbook Bingo!

Time for another fun challenge over at Scraptivations! This is my week to host the challenge and I have come up with a fun game of scrapbook Bingo! I love Bingo and decided to combine two of my fav things: scrapbooking and bingo for this challenge! For this challenge you will create a layout or project using the four items in your "bingo" i.e. across, up and down or diagonally. You can use more then these 4 items but you must use at least those four items on your layout or project. On my layout I scored my bingo diagonally and used: one photo, twine, season and punch(used my wave border punch)! With Scrapbook bingo everyone's a winner! My layout uses papers and embellishments by October Aftenoon, their Seaside collection. I also had fun with some twine I picked up online awhile back, love the look of twine, it's all the rage now and you see it everywhere, in fact, I need to get some more to play with! Don't forget to link up your layout for this week's challenge HERE by July 5th for a chance at a very cool prize! Can't wait to see what you Bingo!

Pagemaps

Barbara's challenge over at Personalscrapper for October 5th was to create a layout based on one of October's page maps. This is the layout I created based on Becky Fleck's Page Maps sketch above. I just love Page Map sketches! October had so many fun sketches it was hard to just pick one, I plan to go back and use at least one more during the Croptoberfest L.O.A.D. crop. For this layout created for my newest nephew's scrapbook I used October Afternoon's Fly a Kite papers and "sweet" sticker, that I had won on the October Afternoon blog (YEAH! and thank you October Afternoon!), kite, heart date box and cloud stickers from Echo Park (Personalscrapper's Sept kit- you gotta get this kit, fun...fun..fun) and Letter stickers by Cosmo Cricket (thanks Erica!) and American Crafts. The punch I used to create the border under the pictures is from Stampin' Up. Hope you have a great weekend folks...I get to spend some time with my cute little nephew (the one in the layout above) so we have lots of activities planned for the weekend, but check back next week, I will have more scrappy goodness for you as I will have to play catch up on the L.O.A.D Crop!

Sketch 66

Happy Scrappy Monday! We are doing sketch 66 this week at The Scrappiest, and the prize for May is that awesome kit from It's Scraptacular! Only a week more left to win, so get to work on those sketches, any of them from the month of May qualify to get your name in the "hat" to win! The more you do, the better your chances! For this layout I used pictures of my little nephew with his dad (my brother) on his first lawnmower ride...so cute isn't he?! The papers are from October Afternoon's Weathervane collection that I have been hoarding for awhile now (yikes!). The chipboard accents are from Bella Blvd's Man of the House line and are in that yummy Scraptacular kit you can buy here! Letters are thickers (again). Hope you are getting ready for Summer...we made it official yesterday when we went to the pool for the first time! Fun for the kids, but the water was too cold for me! LOL! I've got some fun stuff in store for this week, can't show it yet, but check back again real soon!

Pratical Scrappers Sticker Challenge

Today is the big day, it is finally here, seems like a lifetime ago I created this sketch and this layout! LOL! This sketch was created for the April sketch Challenge over at Personalscrapper! Check it out here to see the lovely layouts the gals at Personalscrapper created with this sketch, just lovely! My layout uses October Afternoon's Good Cheer line of papers and stickers. For my title I used two OLD clear stickers from EK Success from my stash, a great way to make a long word like CHRISTMAS fit on your page! The tab sticker was great for my hidden journaling where I listed my son's Christmas gifts for last year. I also used some stickers by 7 Gypsies to make my own center for the felt (Stampin Up) snowflake. Simple page, used up some old stash...so all makes for one happy scrapper...ME! If you want to give my sketch a try I would be honored, if you do please post your link in the comments so I can go check it out! And starting in a few weeks I will be designing sketches for Practical Scrappers as well! So go check out what all the other DT members did to use up their sticker stash and don't forget to post your project on the Practical Scrappers blog so we can all see!

Sketch 62

Happy Monday, time for more sketch fun! Isn't that the best way ever to chase away the Monday morning blues? I just adored this week's sketch at The Scrappiest! I had been wanting to use the ever popular banners on a page, but really had no creative ideas to do so, so when I saw this sketch, I was so excited to use my new Jenni Bowlin banner stickers that I recently purchased, as well as my new October Afternoon Fly a Kite papers that I won on the October Afternoon blog! These papers are just divine, they just SCREAM Spring don't they?! And since no stores I have visited have these papers yet, I really feel lucky! This is another layout completed towards my year long goal of finishing my Disney album...I think the reason I didn't finish it is because I was trying to use only Red, black and yellow papers for my pages...but yet, this picture just needed more springy colors, and these papers were perfect! Hope you can participate with us at The Scrappiest this week, because it is your last chance to enter to win the awesome Paper Poppy Kit company kit! So what are you waiting for you better get busy! LOL! Have a great week everyone, I will be busy completing my DT work for my debut on the Practical Scrappers blog next week, so check back soon for some fun stuff!

My Little Sketch Book

I was so honored to be a guest designer today on Liz Qualman's sketch blog, My Little Sketch Book. I almost couldn't believe how today's sketch fit my style! I even convinced myself she must of designed it specifically for me! LOL! I have wanted to scrap these pictures for awhile now but was having a hard time doing a one page layout with all 3 photos, and stretching it to a 2 pager didn't work either, so when I saw this sketch I knew that I could use them FINALLY! All papers are by October Afternoon and are from my September 2009 Personalscrapper kit. The stickers are also October Afternoon from the Cherry Hill collection, that I won on the October Afternoon blog recently. Those mini letters stickers are the new October Afternoon stickers that were also in my prize package (lucky me huh?) The red foam stickers are Thickers. I hope you can take a few minutes and drop by Liz's blog and see what the other two designers did with the sketch, they are AWESOME, leaving me wondering "why didn't I think of that", just goes to show you how one sketch in 3 different hands can turn into something totally different! Enjoy the last few hours of your weekend and tune in tomorrow for another fun layout!

Sketch 54

Is everyone ready for a new week??? I'm not as I seemed have got nothing accomplished this weekend, but hey, I had fun and that's what counts right?? But nothing starts the week off right better than creative inspiration....and you have come to the right place for that today! Above is my take on Liz's sketch 54 over at THE SCRAPPIEST. You have got to hop right over to her blog to check out all the other DT's great creations, a HUGE variety this week, something that is sure to fit every taste and if not...well...that's what the sketch is for, so you can make it your own! Have fun with it and don't forget to put your link in Mr. Linky at The Scrappiest so you are eligible for this months prize package! Can't wait to see what you guys come up with! For my layout I once again used papers by October Afternoon from the Hometown collection (really digging yellow right now!)...letters are from American Crafts (Foam Thickers) and the flowers and chipboard are from some blog candy I have won in the past. The Daydream paper is a journal spot from Fancy Pants' Summer Soiree line, love these journal books! This picture was taken last spring right when the bluebonnets were starting to bloom...so ready for spring, aren't you??? I think this spot is perfect for pics and plan to use it again this year, its not to far from are house so its easy too! Happy Monday everyone, working on more DT stuff this week, can't share yet, but stayed tuned, I might just make something extra, you never know!

Keep on Croppin'

Even though it is a weekday I am still cropping. The Personalscrapper crop is still going on until today, and I am chugging away at all 10 challenges trying to complete them...so far I have done six and started on the seventh. I wanted to complete all 10 but it ain't gonna happen unless for some reason my boss calls and gives me the day off! LOL! I did want to share two layouts I did using my September 2009Personalscrapper kit The first one is of my son after his recent band solo and ensemble performace earlier in the month. This was his first competition and he sailed through it earning a ONE PLUS...the funny thing is we didn't know what the scoring was and if one was good or bad...until the teacher told us. Kind of funny, we were in the hall with his rating trying to decide if he did good or bad...he told me "Mom, I know I didn't suck that bad so a one must be good" (the ratings were 1-4) then we find out that a ONE PLUS is the best you can get! YEAH! I was so proud of him. The other pic is a scan of the rating sheet from the judge. This layout was done for the challenge to scraplift Erica's layout you can see here. The second layout was done for the alphabet challenge for which you were to use two or more alphas in your title...I used Scenic Route chipboard, Jillibean Soup letters (word- zone) and then the small black fabric thickers. This layout is using sketch one from Got Sketch 105..it started Monday...loving this class! It's not to late to join..check it out here. These photos are of my son and nephew Christmas day "zoning" out playin their new DS lites...can you tell they were in the "DS zone"? Thanks for stopping by to check out my layouts..gotta go to work so I can come home and crop some more!

Sketch #50

Here is my first ever DT assignment layout for The Scrappiest! I have had these pics for a LONG time and never done anything with them and since this month we celebrate President's Day, I thought it was a good opportunity to use them. The fun thing about these pics is the story behind them...my son had to do a Living Musuem project in third grade, and we together selected George Washington (well, I kind of picked it cuz I had a ton of info on him and thought he would be easy, my son wanted to do Emmitt Smith...) So almost every kid in the class rents a costume for their character...well, I am a HUGE cheapskate and I refused to pay for a costume. So I made one out of paper! The hat is made of paper with curly ribbon for his hair. THe shoes are my crocs with paper silver buckles and my knee highs. And the front of his shirt is paper that I curled. The suit jacket we already had...well, he to this day is totally embarrassed his MOM MADE his costume..but the teacher said it was the best one she had seen....so I think it turned out good. Just had to document this fun story for my grandkids! Don't forget to hop on over to THE SCRAPPIEST and check out the other DT members awesome layouts, great stuff, and if you want to try your hand at the sketch you can and maybe win a great prize, just link your project in Mr Linky on Liz's blog! Easy Peasy and TONS OF FUN! Can't wait to see your take on the sketch!

Sketch Inspiration

Don't you think baby photos are the most fun to scrap? I sure do, and of course, it is made super easy when the baby is so adorable! LOL! Not that I am biased or anything, but this little guy is way cute! Can't wait to meet him in person in March, and of course, by then he will be even cuter I am sure. Papers for this layout are from October Afternoon and Pink Paislee. The letters are Thickers. This layout is based on sketch #108 at the fun and oh so inpsiring sketch community called Sketch Inspirations. Go check it out, everyone there is super friendly and the sketches are fun too! Check back in tomorrow, cuz my first sketch for The Scrappiest will be posted, so excited about my first DT reveal, it will make Monday almost fun! LOL! You are gonna love this sketch!

Flash Back Friday

Seeing the pics of my new little nephew yesterday got me to thinking of my son when he was little. I have scrapped a lot of those pictures but some are still lying around waiting..(poor things) I made this layout for the 12 Days of Christmas Crop but never shared it on the blog and thought now was a good time. When I received the September 2009 kit from Personalscrapper and saw this veggie paper I immediately thought of these pics of my son when he was 5 mos old and then of course, thought "I knew I didn't scrap these for a reason"....yeah, that's right I had to wait TWELVE years for the right paper to come along! LOL! So here we have it. This layout made for the challenge at Personalscrapper to use a lot of white space on your page (I NEVER DO THAT) and this was a BIG challenge for me. I like the way it turned out even though its not my usual style. Papers are from the Farm Fresh and Report Card lines from October Afternoon. Journal stickers from American Crafts and Jenni Bowlin and alphas from Jillibean Soup (love these BTW). Layout is a lift of Lisa Dickinson's you can see her AWESOME work here. Looking forward to a good weekend of basketball and scrappin' two of my favorite things! TGIF!

Journaling challenge

I am back from vacation and starting to get my creative groove back. It seems I have gotten lazy with having so many days to do nothing but play! I enjoyed my time off SO much, and am finding it hard to get back to getting up early and going to bed early! LOL! So it's a good thing we are having Croptoberfest over at Personalscrapper, its great inspiration and easy to get the juices flowing. The challenge for October 14th was to create a layout with a letter to someone or do some creative journaling . I choose to do journaling about all the things I have done that I really never would have without my son as the driving force/inspiration. I used the Personalscrapper August 2008 kit and framed my journaling with a Scenic Route chipboard frame that I colored with an ink pad. Journaling reads: BECAUSE OF YOU:
I rode the Green Extreme Uphill watercoaster
I overcame my fear of heights and went parasailing.
I started riding roller coasters, like the Mummy ride at Universal
I became a reluctant movie buff
I learned how to play Bakugan and trade Yugioh cards
I saw Star Wars for the second time
I stood in line for hours to see a Harry Potter movie
I came to admire the loud blaring of a clarinet played by a beginning musician
I learned how to play Guitar Hero
I have become grateful for each moment, as they pass so quickly,
I am changed, stronger, and so PROUD to call you my SON.
Thanks Christia for a wonderful challenge! Now I'm off to work on today's challenge, it should be pretty easy as it is challenging us to scrap a holiday or celebration and I know exactly what pics I am gonna use! Check back tomorrow for Friday's Featured blogger, see ya then!

Lost in a Maze

Howdy everyone! Hope everyone is enjoying some cool crisp fall weather! We are loving it here in Nebraska! The colors are gorgeous and we have picked our annual pumpkin for this year and are ready to carve it later tonight! I will share pics when I get back. I did want to share this layout with you. This is layout using the October Afternoon Road Map papers and is from our harrowing experience in the corn maze last year at Vala's Pumpkin patch. As you can see this is a HUGE corn maze and I thought it would be fun to give it a try. No one else wanted to but I insisted. They told me "we'll never find our way out" I told them I had a wonderful sense of direction....well..forget that. I was lost within a few minutes! LOL! Good thing my wonderful SIL has a good sense of direction or we might still be there a year later! I will tell you it went much better this year and my DS was the leader this year and was able to get us through without a scratch in record time! Although we did have to text for help a few times! Isn't technology wonderful? You could actually text for directions at certain check points to get helpful hints! We had lots of fun at Vala's this is our SIXTH year to visit, so you can see we do like it! Happy Fall Y'all,we are expecting snow today, keeping our fingers crossed that we can pick a pumpkin one day and build a snowman the next!