Retro Sketches | Challenge #134

Good morning! Today I have a card for this week's RetroSketches challenge. It's based on one of my cards, and you can view the original here.

 For my card I pulled out a stamp set from My Favorite Things called Blissful Butterflies. I stamped the butterflies in Avery Elle's Mint to Be and Raspberry pigment inks. I just received an order from Joann.com with eight AE pigment inks and I LOVE them! They stamp perfectly every single time.

The mint patterned paper banners were die cut from Papertrey Ink's Double Ended banner die, and the cute black and white polka dot button is from Doodlebug Desings. I think I've had this package of buttons in my stash since 2006. Yikes. But polka dots never go out of style, right? 

That's it for me today! I'm off to get the boys from school. Thanks for stopping by. 

 

Right Now | Evan

Right now you are playing both soccer and baseball. This is the first time you are tackling two sports during the same season, and it's been a crazy way to start the school year. Unfortunately your first three baseball games were cancelled due to inclement weather, but you are hoping the play your scheduled games this week. 

Right now you love cold pizza, yogurt (without chunks), cheese sticks, granola bars, whole apples that you proudly eat to the core, ham and cheese sandwiches (no condiments), anything sweet, and cereal for breakfast. You are growing, growing, growing and eating a lot throughout the day. You also love cooked green vegetables (peas, green beans, celery, broccoli) and eat those first at dinner time. 

Right now you are excelling at school and brought home your first letter-grade report card. Gone are the "o's" and "s's" and "n's". You are getting all A's and one B... and very proud of your academic accomplishments. Unlike your mama, you are a very good speller. You are reading well above grade level, are fantastic at math, and your teacher noted that you almost always give the correct answer when you raise your hand. You go to ACE once per week, and I love hearing about your adventures with other exceptional students. 

Right now you are taking on more responsibility at home. You help unload the dishwasher, take Bailey for walks, clean your room, put your laundry away, do your homework without complaint, and take out the recycling. You are learning how to be a productive member of our family, and this year you have grown a lot in that department. You still leave your wet towel on your bedroom floor, forget to flush the toilet regularly, and leave your shoes all over the house, but you are navigating age 8 beautifully.

Right now you are 70 pounds and wear size medium pants/shorts, and (mostly) medium shirts. You wear a large shirt at Children's Place. Your shoes are a size 3.5.

Right now you want to play sports inside the house all. the. time. Throwing and diving for the football, playing catch with a baseball, dribbling a soccer ball. It's all sports, all the time with you. 

Right now your best friends are Brayden and Ethan.

Right now you are into Minecraft. You and your brother play the video game, have plush toys, and want to be Minecraft characters for Halloween (you are going to be a creeper). I was sure this obsession would pass, but it hasn't diminished at all. 

Right now you are so very eight. Full of funny jokes (that are guaranteed to be body-part related), sensitivity, love, compassion, curiosity, and purpose. You are shy and quiet at times, but love adventure and special trips and home time. You are so special, Evan, and I love you very much.

CAS(E) this Sketch | Challenge #94

Good morning! I am thrilled that Christine at CAS(E) this Sketch asked me to be a guest designer for her this week. Of course I said yes! 

Here is this week's sketch:

This sketch offers so many possibilities! Rather than cutting strips of paper or stamping vertical lines, I used a butterfly stamp from Papertrey Ink's Life is Beautiful stamp set in Avery Elle's Aquamarine ink layered with a die cut from vellum. I layered a button on top, then added a banner and sentiment from Wplus9. The gems are from Hero Arts. I've used the Life is Beautiful dies over and over, but this is the first time I've used the matching stamp set. I need to pull it out more often!

Thanks to CAS(E) this Sketch for having me this week! Thanks for stopping by.

CAS(E) this Sketch | Challenge #93

When I saw this sketch for the CAS(E) this Sketch challenge, I immediately thought of Papertrey Ink's Be Happy stamp set. It has the perfect sized square stamp (and matching die), butterflies, and cute accent flowers. 

I pulled out my Impress Fresh Ink (pigment) and my Avery Elle pigment ink for my card. I wanted my card to be bright and colorful, but maintain a clean and simple feel.

I used both border stamps from Be Happy and stamped them in AE's Lemongrass and Aquamarine. I stamped the flowers and frame in Impress Lemonade and Melon ink. I cut the butterfly from PTI's Limeade Ice polka dot paper and vellum, then layered them on the front of my card. I added a sentiment from Waltzingmouse and gems from KI Memories. 

That's it for me tonight! Thanks for stopping by. :)

Autumn | Digital Layouts

I was delighted when Scotty Girl Designs' newest kit, This Year 2014 Fall, popped up on my Facebook feed... it is absolutely gorgeous! 

We don't have traditional fall weather here, so I had to go through my photo archives to find photos for both layouts. The first layout features photos from our year in Ohio (2010). Mark's parents were in town and we visited an air museum with the kids. It was October and the leaves were turning colors... it was beautiful. 

My second layout features a Layered Layout V. 12 template from Deena Rutter and the same This Year 2014 Fall collection from Scotty Girl Designs. These two kits worked so well together. Digital templates were my initial draw to digital scrapbooking, and Deena's template is exactly the reason why.

On this layout I used photos from way back in 2005. Mark took the camera to campus and took some beautiful fall photos for me. I was pregnant with Evan (and very sick), but he knew I wanted photos of the campus in autumn. He is such a great husband. :)

You can check out Shannon's newest collection here, and Deena's template set here.

Paper Smooches Sparks | Anything Goes Challenge

Hello, hello and happy Sunday! I was thrilled when "anything goes" popped up on the Paper Smooches Sparks calendar... I really wanted to create a card with some new Halloween goodies! In my recent order I picked up the Falling for You stamps and dies, and the Halloween Icons dies.

I added lime green to the traditional orange and black color combo Limeade Ice mini polka dot paper and cardstock, and added a cute mini black and white paper clip that I've had in my stash forever. I used the Falling for You bat stamp and die in the top right corner, and used gray Copic markers to color him in. I glued on mini google eyes with my Martha Stewart glue pen.

I hope you can play along with us this week! You can check out the rest of the design team, and their awesome projects, here:

Alice

Angeline

Jenny

Savannah

Retro Sketches | Challenge #133

Happy Saturday, friends! I hope everyone had a great week. 

I am busy, busy, busy created cards for the upcoming Gossamer Blue October release (whoo-hoo!), but I took a break from that and created a card for this week's Retro Sketches challenge. How cute this is sketch?!? 

I used Wplus9's Valentine Wishes stamp set to create the white panel of my card. The flowers and leaves are one stamp, so I did a little selective inking with pigment ink (Avery Elle Lemon Grass and Impress Fresh Ink in Pink Lemonade). I used Impress Fresh Ink in Chamomile for the banner, and Archival ink in black for the sentiments. 

While I love the images from this set, I primarily purchased it for the sentiments... I really like the font of "love you still" and the other big sentiments... very whimsical and pretty. 

I hope you can join us this week at Retro Sketches! And check back tomorrow for a card for next week's Paper Smooches Sparks challenge. I'll give you a hint... google eyes! :)

Traditional Layout | Traveler Jack

My Studio Calico box has been sitting on my desk, neglected and unused, for almost two weeks. I know, I know... quite a shame considering all the neat products in this month's kit. I purchased the main kit (my monthly subscription), and the Whitman add-on. 

I used the gray triangle paper from the Poet Society main scrapbook kit for the left side of my layout, then stamped the triangles from the Whitman add-on in blue Memento Luxe pigment ink. The acetate star bursts are from the Poet Society Project Life kit.

 
When I created this layout, I really wanted to tell the story of Jack and all the time he spent in his car seat and stroller as a baby. Even now he has to tag along to soccer games and baseball practice several nights per week. The curse of being the baby brother, I suppose. Thankfully he's (mostly) a good sport about it now. 

This photo was taken after dropping Evan off at his very first day of pre-school, over four years ago. We were living in Ohio and Ev's school was 20 minutes from home. Most of the time Jack would fall asleep on the way home, and I would drive home and sit in the car for two hours while Jack took his afternoon nap, then drive back to the school to pick Evan up. Ah, good times. :)

My first two Chickaniddy posts are up on the Chickaniddy website. I created a couple of cards + a cute home decor project. You can view them here and here. 

My first blog post for Gossamer Blue is also up. I created three cards with the September printables, and you can view it here. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Papertrey Ink | Make it Monday #180

Hello there! Today I have a card for this week's Make it Monday challenge: paper weaving. 

I only used scraps for my card, which was a fun challenge. I have a huge stack of patterned paper scraps that need to be used up and this project is perfect for that. I used Raspberry Fizz, Tropical Teal, Hawaiian Shores, Soft Stone, and Aqua Mist paper for the weaving. 

I used some Studio Calico velum for the main leaves from Lovely Layers, then stamped the three building elements. I used a aqua enamel dot, from Basic Gray, for the center of my flower. 

The sentiment is from Fillable Frames #1, and the gems are from Hero Arts. I love how this turned out! Bright and colorful, and the weaving adds a really fun texture to the card. 
 

I am off to pick the boys up from school. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Paper Smooches Sparks | Picture Perfect Challenge

Good morning! Today I have a card for this week's Paper Smooches Sparks Picture Perfect challenge. 

I was inspired by the unique color combo and beautiful flowers from the inspiration photo. I used two very well loved Paper Smooches products: Blissful Banners stamp set and the Flowers dies.

The small flowers from the Flowers die set are great for layering and creating mini bouquets. I tucked several flowers and leaves behind the banner, then added enamel dots from My Mind's Eye.

I hope you can play along with us this week! Make sure to check out of the awesome creations by the rest of the design team:

Alice

Angeline

Jenny

Savannah

RetroSketches | Challenge #132

This week's Retro Sketches challenge comes from the awesome Laurie. This is Laurie's last week with us at Retro Sketches and I know I'm going to miss her inspiration each week! 

Here is the sketch:

For my card, I used the Studio Calico Penny Arcade card kit. The gnome, mushrooms, and sentiments, and red button are all from the Penny Arcade kit. I didn't use this kit very much when I first received it because I didn't want to fussy cut the various stamps, but I picked up the matching dies this month and now I'm a happy stamper. What did we ever do before dies? Clearly, I am addicted to them.

I used Copic and Spectrum Noir markers to color Mr. Gnome in. The mushrooms were stamped with Tropical Teal and Pure Poppy ink, and I used Summer Sunrise for the inside of the "yay" stamp.

I also have my first post up on the Chickaniddy blog! You can check it out here.This is a sneak peek of one of my projects:

That's it for me today! I hope you have a fantastic weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

CAS(E) this Sketch! | Challenge #92

Happy Friday, friends! I hope everyone had a nice week. We are getting into a great routine and this week was so much more relaxing than last week! I'm still trying to figure out a good work vs. play balance, and it's so easy to get sucked into surfing the web for hours... but I'll get there. Transitions always take time.

I had a chance to create a card for this week's CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge. 

I used Papertrey Ink's Scrolling Script stamp set for the sentiment, which I heat embossed with American Crafts' Zing in Aqua onto a vellum banner. I created the banners with Papertrey Ink's Banner Builder dies, and the chipboard hearts are from my Freckled Fawn Oh Deer Me August kit. 

My favorite part of this card is the super cute mini epoxy hearts. I picked these up as an add-on from Freckled Fawn this month, and they are adorable! I think the package was $2.99 and it comes with 242 heart stickers. 

The patterned paper that I used, for the background and the banners, are from Heidi Swapp's 6.5 x 4.5 Hello Today paper pad.

 That's it for me today! I'll be back tomorrow with a card for next week's Retro Sketches challenge.

Gossamer Blue | September Projects

Hey there! I had so much fun creating cards (and a layout) for the September Gossamer Blue release. I think the Crate Paper Notes & Things collection was created just for me... I love everything about it! The tags, 6x6 paper pad, ephemera... it all worked so beautifully together.

The Gossamer Blue gallery is full of amazing design team projects. You can visit it here. I'm posting my favorite projects here, but you can view the rest of my projects on the Gossamer Blue designer gallery.

Project Life Main Kit Only

 Gold and pink. I just love this color combo.

  These banner stickers are perfect for cards.

I used my Heidi Swapp Color Shine and a SC stencil for the background.

The "just go" wood veneer was perfect for these photos.

My October box arrived late last week and I've been spending way too much time in my office creating projects. I will be posting sneak peeks on my Instagram account all month!

Have a great week. :)

Retro Sketches | Challenge #131

Today I have a card for this week's Retro Sketches challenge. Here is this week's sketch:

For my card I used Pink Paislee's Switchboard stamps & die collection. When I purchased the stamps I didn't realize they were Made in China. I usually avoid Made in China stamps because the quality isn't the same as Made in the USA stamps. I knew die ink was going to be a problem, but I really wanted to use this adorable phone, so I pulled out my Avery Elle ink, and after a few unsuccessful attempts, I'm happy with the results.  

If you haven't tried Avery Elle inks, I highly recommend them. Great coverage and beautiful colors... and right now, they are 40% off at Joann.com. :)

Make sure to check out the Retro Sketches blog for more design team inspiration and to play along with us this week! Thanks for stopping by. 

 

ColourQ | Challenge #257

Good morning! Today I have a card for this week's ColourQ challenge. Here is the color scheme:

 

To create my card, I started out with a 4 x 5.5 inch panel of watercolor paper. I embossed a middle circle from Papertrey Ink's Scribbled Circles stamp set with white embossing powdered, then used my water brush to add Limeade Ice ink over the embossed image. 

The flower and leaves are from Papertrey Ink's Friendly Flowers stamp set, and the sentiment is from Altenew's Label Love stamp set. Label love is one of my new favorites... what an awesome set! I have been using it a lot, along with Painted Flowers set. 

My only regret with this card is I should have added some ink splatters in either Limeade Ice or Hawaiian shores... just to unify the look a bit more. But I'm happy with how the watercolor resist turned out. 

I added the diagonal stripes to the base cardstock before adhering the water colored panel, using Strawberry Slush and Night of Navy cardstock from Stampin' Up! and Aqua Mist patterned paper from Papertrey Ink.

I'll be back later today with a card for this week's RetroSketches challenge. Thanks for stopping by!

Back to School | Digital Layouts

Last year I created a scrapbook layout to celebrate Evan's first day of school. I love how that layout turned out (you can see it here), and I used that layout as a template to create layouts for this year's first day of school photos.

I used a new collection from Mommyish, called Scholastic, for Evan's layout. He has changed so much from last year! I used a color photo instead of a black and white photo, but the basic layout is the same.

For Jack's layout I used the same Scholastic kit, plus First Day - Journal Cards & Stamps. I also changed the layout size from 12 x 12 to 8.5 x 11.

I am going to upload these to Persnickety Prints and file them in their respective albums. 

I am off to take Bailey for a walk. She is getting so much better on her leash, but now we are working on the barking issue... she's rather protective of her new family and loves to bark at strangers. It's like trying to train a toddler! 

I'll be back in a bit with a card for this week's RetroSketches challenge. Thanks for stopping by!

CAS(E) this Sketch! | Challenge #90

Before I share my card for this week's CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge, I want to introduce everyone to the newest member of the Taylor family... Bailey! 

We adopted Bailey from a local shelter yesterday afternoon. She is a little timid, and definitely needs a trip to see a Vet (fleas, ear mites, and the incision from being spayed looks infected...), but I hope that once she's feeling better that she will be a great addition to our family. The boys adore her already, and the other animals (Rocket our Cockalier, and Lilly & Gabby our rescue kitties) aren't too upset by her. Lilly has hissed a few times, but Bailey doesn't seem to understand that is a "back off" noise... she just walks right past her! It's pretty funny to watch all four animals interact.

Here is the sketch I'm working with this week for the CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge:

I have a couple of dies that create a tilted square/rectangle, but I ended up cutting this one with my paper trimmer. After I trimmed it down, I used Papertrey Ink's Embellished Elegance stamp set, plus ink by Memento Luxe and Avery Elle, to stamp the white panel. I used Label Love from Altenew for the sentiment and the enamel dots are from My Mind's Eye. 

Avery Elle's Lemongrass ink matches Papertrey Ink's Limeade Ice perfectly, so I used Limeade Ice mini polka dot patterned paper for the background. 

We are off to a barbeque (hooray for three day weekends!). I hope everyone has a wonderful week! Thanks for stopping by.