Basic Grey 25th & Pine at Memorable Seasons!

Basic Grey does it again! They have created yet another collection that I consider timeless. 25th and Pine is the perfect Christmas collection for scrapping any holiday photos; it would work well with heritage photos as well as the photos you take over the holidays this year. It has an "old school" feel mixed with modern elements like chevron patterns and wood veneers. Love it all! And you can get some of this fabulous, festive collection right here in the Memorable Seasons store!

Here is the awesome kit I received...

And the backsides...

And my "must-have" extras...

And here is what I have created so far. In honor of our Sketch-a-thon this month, I used sketches from Inspired To Scrap for all three of the below projects. If you've never seen Stacey's sketches, I encourage you to check them out! I think you can tell from the two layouts that I really liked the chevron pattern on a couple of the backsides and I prefer to have ornament embellies "hanging" rather than "floating!" 

I'll be back with a reveal each Wednesday this month along with a Sketch-A-Thon challenge for you! Be to check out the Memorable Seasons forum because the Sketch-a-Thon is going on all month long!

Welcome Back Creative Scrappers!

I am so happy that Creative Scrappers is back! I've missed their awesome sketches and am just thankful that there was such a great archive of CS sketches to reference during their absence. But, Kristine came back with a bang with sketch #251. I had so much fun playing along with this sketch and I also pulled a little inspiration for it from Inspired To Scrap's crop challenge #3 to add a frame of some sort to your page. So I chose to add a twine border! 

Inspired To Scrap Weekend Warrior Class Recap

This past weekend was Inspired to Scrap's second Weekend Warrior Sketch Class. And we had some serious fun. Stacey started the class out with a fun pre-class challenge and then presented us with five brand-new fabulous sketches. If you missed it, the next class is slated for June 7th - 9th and the cost is only $5. You can sign up here! I am going to be spending some time later on today looking through the gallery at all the amazing inspiration from all the class layouts. But, I thought I'd share with you the six layouts I created for samples as I was the guest designer for this class.

I'm Guest Designing At Inspired To Scrap

Hi all! I am excited to share that I am the Guest Designer for the upcoming Weekend Warriors sketch class over at Inspired To Scrap. Class is from April 19th - 21st. You can check out the details here and also sign up - it's only $5! Oh, and check out the fabulous class prize so generously donated by Fancy Pants! We've got lots of fun planned for the weekend so I hope you'll join us!

Here are just a few of layouts I created during the last class...

Birds Of A Feather Crop Layouts!

So, my first crop at Birds Of A Feather has come to an end and I really had a blast! So of the nine challenges issued this past weekend, I completed six of them. And I am pretty happy with that! So, without further adieu, here are those six layouts...

(Supplies: Bazzill cardstock; Basic Grey papers, alphas, stickers, felt embellie and clip; EK Success leather tag; Studio Calico wood veneer; Dymo labeler; My Minds Eye washi tape; Sakura pen; StazOn ink; Inspired to Scrap sketch.)

(Supplies: Bazzill cardstock, Basic Grey papers, journaling spot, 3D embellies, fabric brads and rub-on sentiment; Prima flowers and chalk ink; Bella Blvd alpha stickers; Kaiser Craft rhinestones; Crafters Workshop template; Zig Photo Signature pen; StazOn ink.) 

* I also created the above layout for the third Last Scrapper Standing Challenge at Memorable Seasons. * 

(Supplies: Bazzill cardstock; My Minds Eye and Pebbles papers; American Crafts alpha stickers; DCWV Pressed Petals jelly alphas; Prima rubons; Jillibean Soup twine; Making Memories mini-brads; Zig Writer pen; StazOn ink; Inspired to Scrap sketch.)

(Supplies: Bazzill cardstock; Little Yellow Bicycle & Jenni Bowlin papers; American Crafts Thickers; Pink Paislee tiny alphas; The Paper Co vellum; Doodlebug pearls; DMC floss; Sakura pen; Inspired To Scrap sketch.)

(Supplies: Bazzill cardstock; Basic Grey papers, stickers, alpha stickers, clip; American Crafts Thickers; Darice sequins; Signo and Sakura pens; Inspired To Scrap sketch.)

(Supplies: Bazzill cardstock; Fancy Pants papers; Pink Paislee alpha stickers; Queen and Co washi tape; miscellaneous sequins; StazOn and Colorbox ink; Sakura pen; Cricut Expressions die-cutting machine.)

Hello Handsome.

Needless to say, we didn't have our camera with us when Liam was born. So we had to rely on the iPhones to capture the moment. One of the nurses did take a photo of him in the OR (which I have on another layout) but it's not great either. Oh well, it's about preserving the memory, not having the perfect photos. I created this layout for Memorable Seasons' Last Scrapper Standing Contest Challenge #2 which was to emboss your layout. I used both dry embossing on my pennants and heat embossing to create my circle accents. I also used a sheet of embossed cardstock as the base. Additionally, I used a sketch from the most recent Inspired To Scrap Weekend Warrior class.

(Supplies: Bazzill, Core’dinations and The Paper Company cardstock; Autumn Leaves and American Crafts papers; American Crafts alphas and ribbon; Cherry Arte chipboard sentiment; SEI tab sentiment; Gel-A-Tins circle stamp set; Inkadinkado embossing powder; Cuttlebug and Sizzix embossing templates; StazOn ink; date stamp.)

Liam's birth story is rather long and sort of personal, so I decided to tuck it behind the strip of photos...just pull on the "thankful for you" tab and it comes out from behind the photos. If you'd like to read the birth story, I just copied and pasted it directly from this post on my family blog.

Thanks for looking. This layout is obviously very special to me. :)

Weekend Warrior Sketch Class!

Anyone have plans this upcoming weekend? Well, if not, why not scrap the weekend away with the Weekend Warrior sketch class at Inspired to Scrap. Seven exclusive sketches, scrapbooking tips, friendly chit-chat - all weekend long for only $5! And, if you're worried that you won't be able to complete all seven sketches by Sunday night, don't worry because you have a the whole week following to finish the sketches! Sign up now! Hope to see you there!

A Scrappy November With Inspired To Scrap!

I know I was a bad blogger in November. But, I must say I did have a good reason - I was too busy scrapping! You see, I signed up for my first Inspired To Scrap sketch class and I cranked out 18 layouts in November - all based on sketches given during the class. If you are a sketch lover, you definitely need to check out Inspired to Scrap. I am not sure when the next sketch class will be, but I can tell you I am definitely signing up! And, if you need some sketches to tide you over until then, Stacey has some great sketches posted in the Inspired to Scrap gallery.

Here are the 18 layouts I created during the class!

Loungin' on the grass.

I love these photos of Liam. Probably my favorite series of photos I've taken of him to date. I just love how curious he is about the grass. And how he seems to just be chilling out, taking it all in, especially in that last shot. This was the very first time he experienced grass and I was surprised at how well he handled it. So, where did I turn for the insiraption for this new favorite layout?

Several places! First, I used sketch #153 from Let's Capture These Sketches. I was especially inspired by LCTS Designer Jody Rogers take on the sketch. She flipped the sketch and then I flipped it back but used a lot of the same design elements she did. Then, I was also inspired by Carol's challenge at Memorable Seasons to use a sketch. Hence, I went to Let's Capture These Sketches. Then, it was time to decide what supplies to use and Erika's Issue Challenge #6 on the Club CK forum was to use your favorite manufacturer on a layout. Well, lately I've been having a love affair with Fancy Pants, so I decided to pull out the beloved Childish Things collection for this layout. The background stamping originated from Stacy's challenge over at Inspired to Scrap to use a new (or long-neglected) stamp several times on a layout. I had a set of brand new Lawn Fawn background stamps that I had yet to use, so I christened one of them with some embossing ink and sky blue embossing powder. Finally, as I was getting to the embellishing stage of creating, ScrapFit's Warm-up Challenge #32 called for using buttons and/or bows. Well, I had the Childish Things buttons pulled out along with my Jillibean Soup twine, so decided to go ahead and use both buttons and bows on my layout!

(Supplies: Bazzill cardstock; Fancy Pants Designs papers, letter stickers, border stickers, glitter transparencies, buttons and rub-ons; American Crafts Thickers; Lawn Fawn washi tape and background stamp; Jillibean Soup twine; Basic Grey mini-brads; Inkadinkado embossing powder; StazOn ink; date stamp; Glue Arts, Thermoweb, Tombow and 3M adhesives.)

Playmat Fun!

So this layout was born from several inspiration points. First, I wanted to use up some Basic Grey Lime Rickey scraps I had lying around. And then there was this awesome sketch from Boys Rule I wanted to use. Then my wheels started spinning with a challenge on the Club CK to try a new endeavor. I decided to try hexagons for the first time. Yep. The FIRST time. And that was also spurred on by Sherri's hexagon challenge at Inspired to Scrap. Finally, Wendy Sue Anderson at TwoPeas challenged you to journal in list form. So, from all those creative starting points came this layout...

 (Supplies: DCWV & Bazzill cardstock; Basic Grey papers; American Crafts Thickers; Imagination Project journaling spot; unknown insect brads; Darice sequins; DMC embroidery floss; Zig Photo Signature & Sakura pens; StazOn & Close To My Heart ink; EK Success border punch; Glue Arts & Thermoweb adhesives.)

...and I love it. It is so bright, fun and happy. Just like Liam is when he's playing on his playmat. Thanks for looking!