Three More Layouts in the 50th Anniversary Album

This first layout is based off of SWAT Drill #14. 

The second one is based off of KiwiLaneDesign DT Doodle #32

And the last one is based off of Paper Bakery sketch #10.

Using one paper pack is definitely making these go fast!  Now to get the others done ASAP so it can be ready for their party!

Smile

The fabulous Kristy Lee challenged me to create a layout with the following "rules:"

• 1 page
• 1 4x6 photo + 5 2x2's
• Banner
• Washi
• Journaling in a circle
• Misting

That day my oldest lost her first tooth, and I decided photos from that would be perfect!  I knew I wanted to do the filmstrip for the 5 close-ups.  And I figured out the journalling and misting quickly.  But the rest sort of just mulled in my head for almost 2 weeks.  The colors, papers, etc weren't so easy since her outfit was just a white shirt (and black skirt that you can't see).  Last night I finally decided on black, white, and pink.  I got the film strip done, and then was stuck again on the papers to use.  This morning I decided to go with washi tape, but then I got stuck again thinking the layout was boring after getting the "basics" on.  So, I turned to some of my other favorite challenge sites - SWAT and TPGCB.  Over at SWAT, the challenge is a tic-tac-toe board.  Of the nie squares, I used 6 of then, but I only got one line (And that one is a little stretch).  I have 3 buttons (the little hearts below the title), stitching (at the top right corner of the photo), and 3 manufacturers in the washi (Downtown Tape, Freckled Fawn, and MME).  I also have doodling, which is also the challenge over at TPGCB, misting, and skip the pattern paper.

The best part of the challenge for me was creating a layout on y own without a sketch.  I so often use sketches, that I am starting to like the challenge of doing it on my own :)

Sunday Best

Here is my layout I did for the Artful Delight sketch challenge for April (excuse the not so great photo - a storm blew in making any outdoor photos impossible).  I used some homemade modeling paste for the first time on this.  I learned I need more practice!  I tried misting on top of it, but that became a mess because the ink took forever to dry.  So, I added another layer of modeling paste and "dressed it up" with some Doodle Bug hearts.  I used a variety of washis for the stripes, which was fun!  I turns out I have a lot of green and pink.  I then cut the butterflies out of scrap paper using my KLD template.

Here is the sketch:

I am entering this into:
Artful Delight's April Sketch challenge
S.W.A.T. Basic Training - Modeling Paste
Kristi B's April Challenge - Something that Flies (Butterfly)

{cousins}

This is my take on Amber 8 by Jessica L over at Scrapbook Steals.  The vertical and horizontal strips gave me the idea to pull out my hoarded scraps and make a rainbow weave with them.  (The current SWAT challenge is Dig Deep - using your hoarded items in a trendy way.)  The purple and orange are actually fairly new (Fall 2012 Nicki Silivis box), but that blue, green, and yellow are at least 2 years old (MME Hip Hooray and MLS Green and Simple Life .  The red if from last summer's MLS warehouse box (Sew Cute).  Then I pulled out my hoarded buttons and added some interest to where the papers cross.  Let's not talk about how many buttons I have in my stash!

The right side will get the journalling, but I don't want to post that online.  I might add something to the bottom right depending on how much I write.  I love how fast this layout came together - I put it together in less than 2 hours!

Here is the sketch:

Keep Calm & Ski On

Yesterday a new MWM sketch was debuted over at ScrapbookSteals.  Well, actually there were two since Guest Sketcher Michelle King decided to wow us with an extra one.  I decided to work with 5a to begin with, and quickly realized I wanted to use the Crate Paper Lillian papers I had out for another project I had just finished up.  They were perfect for the S.W.A.T. color challenge, so I got to work planning the layout.  The only problem - I didn't have any 12x12 pieces left!  So, I did something I had considered for a long time.  I took the MWM sketch and made it part of another sketch!  This week's Unscripted Sketches was perfect to pair with the MWM layout.  I made the MWM part an 8.5x8.5 square (as that was about as large as I could with what I had), and then used other scraps to finish the layout off.

 I am really loving rosettes these days, and this one worked perfectly to hide a little punching mishap.

The title is inspired by Brenda's March challenge - using the works Keep Calm &... on your layout.  

Here are the two sketches and the color scheme:

Get Crafty With It

 Here is another layout I created this week.  With my husband gone on a work trip, I spent most of my evenings after the kids were in bed crafting.  I had actually started this layout a week or two ago, but I just never finished it.  But, I wanted to clean off my desk, so it got done!

The photos are a few years old of my oldest painting some wooden ornaments for Christmas.  I plan on journalling on the plaid paper, but I just haven't gotten there yet.  I took inspiration from her clothes and went with some NS papers mainly for this.  The pinks and greens are just so fun!

I am not loving the misting - I am just not great at it!  But, I do think it gives a little more interest to the page and goes with the crafty theme to the layout.

Above is the sketch it is based off of - a Page Maps sketch for Kerys's March Scrappy Friends challenge.  And I used four photos for the S.W.A.T. Challenge (Four Focus Fun).  Finally, I made sure to use two shades of green when finishing it off for the ScrapbookSteals MCM # 17.

Too Good to Use a Little Spoon

Kerys had another fun sketch over at ScrapbookSteals this week - Amber 3.  This one I thought, and thought, and thought about!  At first, I "knew" I was going to mist and have it count for Kristi B's challenge.  But, then I second guessed myself because I only have three colors of mist, and I am not very good at it.  Then Saturday, I saw the new SWAT training using misting, and I knew I had to give it a go.  Two challenges asking for misting that I normally do is enough push to finally do it.  I used my Kiwi Lane scallop stencil and make some contact paper masks for my layout.  I then went to work misting the paper.  It got a little messy, but I figured out that if I cut out the scallop area (three colors connected still) and was careful with the photo placement, most of those "issues" were gone.  And the extra bit of green misting would work good at the top to help anchor it!  i then went to add the strips of paper like in the sketch, but I didn't like it.  But, I found there were good at the top, again for some balance.  Then I cut out some hexagons from some 6x6 paper I have.  I am not sure if the papers are OA or not, but there are from an Artful Delight kit that had OA papers in it (since the mists are OA, it is where I thought to start).  The title is a big mix of alphas - Thickers, EP, and A I think.

And as for the photos - they are of my youngest (about 17m old "here") using a wooden spoon to eat Chick Fil A sauce.  She grabbed it off the kitchen table and went to work when my back was turned to help her brother and sister.  Needless to say, she loves sauce!

Some Cards and an Upcoming Blog Hop

I got two birthday cards done this weekend - one for a nephew turning 9 and one for my dad.  The first one i used the S.W.A.T. sketch.  The papers are solid cardstock and MME FunDay.  I used the You are... sentiment inspired by ScrapbookSteals MCM.

The second card I used the Practical Scrappers February card sketch and some MME Sweater Weather (6x6).  This is the one for my dad who loves to ski, etc.

And finally, this weekend is going to be an amazing blog hop!  Let's Get Sketchy is celebrating its' first birthday!  There will be lots of prizes and fun, so come back on Friday to see the fun!

learning - A LGS Reveal

 This week's amazing sketch over at Let's Get Sketchy is by the amazing Bev Code.  I love that it has a mix of hexagons, banners, and arrows!

I recently sorted my papers by color, and decided I had a TON of blue papers.  So, I started this layout looking through my drawer with turquoise paper.  I was immediately drawn to the gingham paper with the pink, blue, and green on it (the back side is a blue and white polka dot).  Then I remembered Rochelle's color challenge for this month, and thought I could really make this work!  I pulled out some of my MLS papers to go with the MME Hip Hooray paper and the dug out a piece of light pink NS paper to use for my hexagons.  For the banner, I just used scraps of the hexagons - each triangle is about 1/6th of a hexagon - and stitched them together with twine.

For the arrows, I decided to try stamping them.  I made an arrow template out of scrap cardstock, and then I used my MME border stamp and the three colors of ink to make the arrows.  I topped them off with a piece of the gingham paper and some twine to bring it all together.   The journalling is about what I have learned from my kids - how they have made me grow in the last 5+ years.   The first ever S.W.A.T challenge made me dig deep and really think about myself.

For the embellishment cluster, I used some Crate Paper pieces mostly as well as a few other random pieces I could find.  The title I cut using my Silhouette and the French script font.