Farewell Paper Poppy

As many of you know, our dear Aphra has decided to retire her days as a kit club owner and has sold Paper Poppy Kit Co.  That Aphra....  although it seems a little sad that we are disbanding our merry band of three, please don't worry about Aphra, Frances and I...  We are already onto our next adventure together, so please stay tuned.  I want to give a very heartfelt thank you to Aphra for including me in such a special club - it has been a real pleasure designing with both she and Frances.  I also want to thank many of you who purchased her kits every month and shared your work with us.  It has been such a wonderful experience.  As a farewell, I thought I might share some of my very favorite work with the kits...

Thank you so much for stopping by -

A Whole Lotta Corn

This is my last layout for the November Kit at Paper Poppy Kit Co. and I have to say it is one of my favorites. I'm sure you all know what a fan I am of Jillibean Soup and these Fagioli papers are wonderful. The colors just pop right off the page! This November kit has been such a pleasure to work with - you might think about heading over to the Paper Poppy Store to see if there are any left, once they are gone, they are really gone...

Absolutely love these Thickers from American Crafts and how fun they look with the Jillibean Soup. I thought the title was fitting since my daughter is standing in a corn field and acting a little corny herself. I added a little Woolie flower from AC to finish off the title.

How cute is this little chipboard pumpkin from Maya Road?? I colored it with an orange sharpie and then used some metallic cream chalk to add a little texture and shimmer. Love how light it feels on the page and even though it is really a large element. Tied some Jillibean Soup ribbon aroudn the stem and stuck a Little Bit of Whimsy custom straight pin through the bow.

Thank you so much for stopping by -

Clever Titles

Anyone been watching a certain Dragon movie lately??? How about over and over and over again??? Well...we are guilty as charged and I just love the title, How to Train Your Dragon - cracks me up when I think about the montage scene in the movie. Anyway - using pop culture is a great way to come up with clever titles. I totally robbed the concept of that movie to aptly name this layout of my husband trying to balance a pumpkin on his head. Especially since you can't tell from the photos how many tries it took him - LOL. What are things in pop culture that inspire you to create titles?

The November Kit at Paper Poppy Kit Co. is loaded again this month and I can't seem to get enough of the Jillibean Soup corrugated alphabets. Aphra included the red ones in the November kit, but I still had some of the kraft colored ones left from the May kit, so I just substituted - you get the idea. I also LOVE the American Crafts Bone alphabet. The size is perfect to pair with a larger alphabet.

Like Frances so perfectly told us yesterday there is something to be said about simplicity. So to complete my layout I added one of the Bella Blvd cutouts, a Jillibean star, and a button. Voila!

Thank you so much for stopping by - LIZ this

Paper Poppy November Kit - Sketch

It's my turn in the week to post my version of Aphra's AMAZING sketch over at the Paper Poppy Kit Co. and I have to say that I have been sweating this a bit, especially since Aphra's layout is the BOMB and Frances did a fabulous job on her interpretation.  I spent a few days mulling over how I might change or adapt the sketch and then in a moment of clarity decided not to mess with something that is already perfect.  I loved making this layout and since Aphra went the Bella BLVD route, I worked with the Jillibean Soup papers, which are such wonderful colors for Fall. 

I love how you can break up a title when you have different sized alphabets and these Bone Thickers from American Crafts are such a great compliment to the Jillibean Soup Corrugated letters.  In the photos we are making our way through a very fun corn maze - thus the title, "A Totally Corny Day"

Aphra included a lot of ribbon and twine in the package, so I decided to use the twine almost like it was corn silk and laced it throughout the layout.  I think adds a little extra effect to the sketch.  As always - Aphra knocked another one out of the park with this kit!  I say it is a must have....

Please come jump into the sketch challenge at Paper Poppy this month!

Thank you so much for stopping by -

A Boy and His Pumpkin

Never come between a boy and his pumpkin!  This is one of the pics I took of my son when we visited the pumpkin patch this month.  He had the time of his life and picked out a really pretty one.  The Lily Bee Catching Fall collection and especially the Pumpkin Pie Paper was also the perfect paper to scrap these photos, not to mention all of the other goodies that Aphra has loaded, yes I mean loaded, The Paper Poppy Kit with this month.  It has been a pleasure working with all of the wonderful materials.

The Lily Bee cardstock sticker flags are so darn cute!  I just inked the edges and pop-dotted the string of flags on the left and then stuck the off white flags on the right flat on the paper for some contrast.

I thought the journal tag and its hole would make a really good dot for my 'i' and like how the string embellishes the title a bit.  I also love the font of the foam Pink Paislee alphabet.

It wouldn't be right if we didn't use some of the absolutely awesome Lily Bee chipboard.  These are so easy and fun to add to a project.  Please visit the Paper Poppy store for a kit before they are all gone!

Thank you so much for stopping by - 

Roctober at Paper Poppy

I can't tell you enough how much I love the Paper Poppy Kit this month! Any time you combine Pink Paislee with Lily Bee and a tiny bit of Jenni Bowlin, there are bound to be creative sparks flying everywhere. How much fun do you think I had putting this layout together??? The deep, rich, Old School colors were perfect for scrapping my kids' school photos. Sometimes it is a bit tough to add more paper to a die cut, but if you look close, you can see how to mix and blend a lot of them.

I used my Cricut Plantin Schoolbook Cartridge, that came stock with my Expression, to cut the giant apple and the letter A. Then, I used the shadow feature to layer papers and make them stand out a bit more. The apple also makes a really nice mat for the photo of my daughter.

I was a little bit torn about the title and whether to use the awesome foam Pink Paislee alphabet or these super cool Jenni Bowlin sticker letters. Obviously Jenni won the battle and I think the smaller title letters add more interest than a larger title would by drawing you in a bit - especially so you get the humorous reference behind the title.

A little Jillibean Soup is always a welcome addition to round out a page. The corrugated cardboard buttons are a really fun embellishment. I love the versatility of this kit to scrap Fall or Back to School. Hope you all are enjoying it too :)

Thank you so much for stopping by -

Card Making Continued

Friday is the BIG day for Cardmakers! I whipped up this little friendship card to celebrate this National holiday. Can you not get enough of these gorgeous Sassafras papers and cardstock stickers in the September Kit at The Paper Poppy Kit Co.??? OMWord - I am so inspired by this kit!!! Please pop to the STORE to pick one up if you haven't already...

I just picked up the new Christmas Card cartridge for my Cricut and used it to cut the textured borders on my cardstock and the corresponding patterned paper. Then I found this Bo Bunny rub-on in my stash and added it to the Sassafras journal card in the kit and was super excited at how well they lined up. It was like they were made to go together. The numbered border is meant to show the "distance" in the quote on the card.

Thank you so much for stopping by -

Mess with Me and...

...I'll mess you up - is kind of the face I get from my daughter a lot these days.  Is this typical of a seven year old?  Somebody should let me know as this is my first born and we try very hard not to damage her as we figure out this parenting thing.  Isn't it amazing how fast kids can change their moods? My son is actually a Gemini, so we expect it from him, but our daughter can turn it on and off just as quickly.  What will I do when she gets to middle school?   But, enough of me ranting, because no matter what my daughter's mood, Aphra at the Paper Poppy Kit Co.  can pick a kit that clearly scraps the moment perfectly.

Can you say large doily, pink crepe paper and cardstock sticker journal cards?  It's a recipe made in Heaven!  This page came together so quickly, I had to check my clock to make sure that it was really the right time.

The felt flowers and blue Thickers are such a nice compliment to the soft and beautiful papers from Sassafras.  They just ooze femininity.  I also love the cool border strips that come with the Sassfras papers.

Thank you so much for stopping by - 

Flower Girl...Again

We think it is really funny that my daughter has been asked to be a flower girl 4 times. When in the world do these many opportunities come up??? Anyway - the joke is that by now she is a professional and someone to be counted on in a pinch - no danger of flowers going where they shouldn't, crying or wandering off :) She is really good at it!

This project was also created with the yummy August kit from The Paper Poppy Kit Co. and is based on the monthly sketch which is mine this month. Come join the sketch challenge over there and possibly win a prize.

I love these polka dotted thickers from American Crafts.  They were the perfect compliment to the Cosmo Cricket Delovely collection and the Jillibean Soup Summer Squash collection.  The kit is loaded with goodies that will not disappoint.

I can never get enough of Cosmo Cricket's Ready Set Chipboard.  They are high quality and super easy to add to a project.  These birghtly colored flowers were the perfect accent to my page.

Thank you so much for stopping by -

Summer CHA Part 1

I am at the Summer CHA show in Chicago. This is my first time and I am having a blast checking out the latest and greatest and meeting so many familiar online faces. It is a bit hot and muggy here compared to my Colorado standards, so the shiny faces are compliments of 88 degrees with high humidity...

This is Robyn Schaub and I working with the make and takes at the Imaginisce Booth. She is a doll and Imaginisce has some really fun collections still to share this season. Stay tuned...

I got to meet up with Aphra Bolyer from The Paper Poppy and Imaginisce. What can I say...she is a kindred spirit.

Then we went shopping for future kit contents and stopped by the Echo Park booth and got to chat with Madison. They are really onto something there...

I'll have more to share tomorrow... thank you for stopping by -

Paper Poppy July Challenge

I think many of you know how much I love circles and every time I create a new sketch with - you know - CIRCLES, I often think of Cyndi Lauper's song Time After Time and the line, "Caught Up in Circles." So when Aphra said it was my turn to do the challenge this month at The Paper Poppy, it was a no brainer for me, Plus, she has included so many really AWESOME circular elements in the kit..., buttons, chipboard, maps, balloons - need I say more. This layout is based on one of my June Sunday Sketches (click here) and these are my two little stinkers cruising around the hood in the Lego wagon. The Cosmo Cricket Joy Ride collection is a perfect theme for this moment.

I never thought I would be scrapping in yellow and orange, since I am a red, blue and brown kind of girl - yet here I am with a big huge SUNNY yellow, mustard kind of layout - thanks to Aphra. However, I REALLY like the look and as I said to Aphra the other day - her kits are pushing me to be better at scrapping. I would NEVER have tried this color palette if it wasn't all that I had left in the kit after my first two layouts - hee, hee. I completely adore the Cosmo Cricket Ready Set Chipboard car.

Aphra included a SUPER cool journaling stamp in the kit this month and I have to tell you that I try to avoid stamping like the plague! I just cannot get a good consistency with the ink and I usually get stuff everywhere except where I want it to go, BUT...I really loved this stamp, so I tried a little harder than usual (not even going to tell you how many attempts) to make it work on my page and the effect is perfect. You are going to love this stamp!

Buttons, buttons, buttons....

Thank you so much for stopping by -
LIZ