Little Yellow Bicycle Cycling Team Project

WOW!  How excited am I today??!!  I get to share the two layouts I created for Little Yellow Bicycle using their Hello Fall collection.  First off, let me say how honored I am and how completely blown away I was when I was chosen as one of the designers for Little Yellow Bicycle's Cycling Team.  I was chosen along with four other talented scrapbookers to use the Hello Fall collection to create projects or layouts using these fun products. Here is a little bit about each of the layouts I created:

"A Harvest of Fun"
 
One of the great things about working with coordinating products, is how quick and easy your pages can be.  You don't have to sit for hours trying to pick out the products you want to use and lose time working on your pages!!  That's what I loved about this fun page, using the Hello Fall line from Little Yellow Bicycle!  It took less than an hour to get my page completed.  I started by cutting a scalloped frame in the Burnt Orange Knit paper and attaching it to my background Autumn Tree paper.  I then cut 5 inch squares from Golden Flourish, Harvest Rings, Green Splendor, and Walnut Knit.  Then I inked the edges of each of the papers to add a little more definition.  I created a grid with the 5 inch squares and then placed my photos in the center of the layout.  There were a few scraps of paper after cutting, and I used those to create a few border strips under my photos.  There are some adorable alphas included in the Family Tree kit I received, and they were perfect for using in my title.  I adhered each letter to a scrap piece of the Walnut Knit paper to make them stand out a little more against my background paper. Finally, I started adding some of the adorable embellishments in the Hello Fall line.  The Chipboard Shapes worked great on the right hand side of my page, and I decided to add a little bling to my border strips with the Jewel Stickers.  I finished my title off with the word "Fun", which was included in the Chipboard Sticker Words package.  There are so many fun banners and penants also included in this line, and I decided to balance out the left side of my page by adding several of the pennants.  For a little fun touch, I added one of the Clear Cuts Shapes to the center of the yellow pennant and attached it with a brad.  For my journaling strips, I just used a Desktop Publishing program to type up my journaling and printed it out on a scrap piece of the Autumn Tree paper.

 
Products Used:
 
HF-101  Autumn Tree
HF-106  Golden Flourish
             Harvest Rings
HF-103  Green Splendor
HF-105  Burnt Orange Knit
HF-104  Walnut Knit
HF-279  Chipboard Shapes
HF-310  Family Tree Kit (Letters)
HF-135  Cardstock Favorite Pieces
HF-308  10 Things Pocket (Pennants)
HF-165  Chipboard Sticker Words
HF-197  Jewel Stickers
HF-230  Clear Cut Shapes
 
Other:
 
Font:  Plantagenet Cherokee
Brads:  The Paper Studio
Pen:  Zig
Ink:  Memento
 
"Little Pumpkin Picker"
 
Since I had so many fun products to work with from Hello Fall, I decided to do a double page layout for my second project.  I began this page by getting my papers cut and layered.  For the background paper, I chose Delicious Autumn Text and then used Burnt Orange Knit, Golden Flourish, Harvest Rings, and Walnut Knit for layering.  Then I placed my photos and added the title and journaling area.  There are some great shapes and embellies in the Clear Cut Shapes package and I used two of the orange flourishes near my title and journaling block.  Since the flourish on the right hand side was over the Orange Knit paper, I decided to add the Golden Flourish paper behind it, to help it stand out.  I used some of the cute little leaves from the Cardstock Favorite Pieces package to scatter across the two pages and I outlined thiem with a brown Zig pen for more definition.  I decided to add a little bit of Baker's Twine, in matching colors, to give another fun element across the layout.  There are some adorable banners in the Mini Banner package and I LOVE the little owls that are included here and there in this line.  This banner was the only one I had and it was only 12 inches, so I decided to use part of it under the photos on the left side of my page and then used the remainder, for a little emphasis, under the landscape photo on the right side of my page.  I finished off the layout by adding the cute little acorn and tree from the Chipboard Shapes package.

 

 

Products Used:
 
HF-107  Delicious Autumn Text
HF-105  Burnt Orange Knit
HF-106  Golden Flourishes
             Harvest Rings
HF-104  Walnut Knit
HF-161  Crepe Paper Lace Stickers
HF-279  Chipboard Shapes
HF-134  Journaling Cards
HF-309  5 Things Envelope
HF-310  Family Tree Kit
HF-230  Clear Cuts Shapes
HF-135  Cardstock Favorite Pieces
HF-307  Mini Banners
 
Other:
 
Pen:  Zig
Baker's Twine:  The Twinery
Thickers:  American Crafts

No Challenge...No Problem!

A lot of times I get caught up in all of the great challenges that are out there and once my layout for that particular challenge is done, I think "well, what am I gonna do now?".  How about doing a layout (or two) just for fun...just because you want to...no strings attached...no requirements...no prizes awarded!  And that's just what I did with this layout!

I think the Farmhouse collection from Crate Paper is probably one of my #1 top favorites out there right now.  The colors are Autumn colors, which is my most favorite color scheme and the patterns are awesome, but subtle.  I think I need a whole "crate" worth of these!!  For this layout, I worked with one of the sketches that I created (specifically for this page) and finally got to use it today.

I changed up the sketch a little bit, by moving my title down and adding a little bit of journaling at the top of the page.  The flowers are just fussy cut from one of the papers and I cut the letters for the word "UP" on my Expression using the Arial Black font.  I used some baker's twine to add the little stitched "x's" for some texture on the page and finished it off with one of the wild cards from October Afternoon.

Products Used:  

Paper:  Crate Paper
Wild Card:  October Afternoon
Thickers:  American Crafts
Baker's Twine:  The Twinery
Pen: Zig
Font:  Arial Black

So Transparent!

Do you ever use transparencies on your layouts?  They are a fun and easy way to add a new element to your pages.  You can layer them over patterned paper or plain paper for different effects and over white space in your photos.  One of the challenges this week at Club CK, was to use transparencies on a layout.  I have some great transparencies in the goodies I received from Little Yellow Bicycle for my Cycling Team project (which will be on the LYB Blog, this Thursday, November 17!!!).  Even though the transparencies are from the Hello Fall line, they blended in perfectly with the bright, fun October Afternoon Sidewalks papers that I chose for this layout.  If you've never used transparencies and are wondering how to attach them, here are several ways:  1.  Staple; 2. Use Brads; 3. Clear Adhesive; 4. or just use a regular adhesive and then add an embellie or something else over the adhesive to hide it.

I used the 11.10 sketch from Sketchy Thursdays for this page.  I moved the title under my photos and the journaling area to the side of my photos.  I had to do a couple of repairs on this page!  I added the cloud, because my pen slipped when I was outlining the paper strips, but I think it was a perfect addition.  My second fix happened at the bottom under my title.  When I stamped my flourishes, apparently some ink got on my hand and I didn't know it!!  So, next thing I know, I had a print of part of my hand on the page!  The "E" in Babe and the butterfly brad worked to cover it up nicely though!!  :)  Sometimes mistakes help bring out a little more creativity!! 

Products Used:

Paper:  October Afternoon
Transparencies:  Little Yellow Bicycle
Brads:  Bazzill
Ink:  Memento
Trim:  The Paper Studio
Thickers:  American Crafts
Pen:  Zig
Other:  Acrylic Stamps

Butterflies and the Beach!

Welcome to Fabulous Friday everyone!!  Frosted Designs has a great challenge this week!  Join us this week in adding Embossing (Dry or Heat) to you layouts or projects!!  Our family went to the beach to spend the day with some of our other family members who were visiting from out of town.  The funny thing is, that my husband's cousin and his wife (who are close to our age) have 3 children that are all within months of our 3 children...they have 3 girls, and we have 2 girls and a boy.  When I snapped this photo of our middle daughter along with her "Cousin Counterpart", I knew it would be a beautiful photo for a page and adding the black and white filter made me love it even more!!  I got to use some of the gorgeous Farmhouse papers from Crate Paper on this layout.  I had so much fun with this challenge and knew immediately that I wanted to use my Swiss Dot embossing folder to make some beautiful butterflies for my page.  I cut the butterflies on my Expression and then cut the smaller shape of the butterfly and adhered the two together, before running them through my Big Shot.  I used some bubble wrap and Tattered Angels spray mist to create the background on my white paper.  Once the spray mist dried, I started building my page by adding the 5x7 photo and lining up the butterflies and then adding my title and journaling.  I saved the centers from the orange, outline butterflies and used those to scatter across my page.

 

Whether you are new to Embossing or have it mastered, I hope you will come play along with us this week.  You will have to chance to win an awesome prize from our sponsor, MoldMuse!!

Products Used:

Paper:  Crate Paper & Bazzill
Baker's Twine:  The Twinery
Spray Mist:  Tattered Angels
Thickers:  American Crafts
Tiny Type:  Cosmo Cricket
Pen:  Zig
Brad:  The Paper Studio

Some BIG EXCITING News!

Today I received an email from the online Magazine Scrapbook News and Review telling me that 8 of my layouts have been chosen for publication in their November 16 Vol. #4 Issue #11/12.  I am so excited to be a part of their Publication.  If you are a subscriber to the magazine be on the lookout for my upcoming layouts!

Feature on You!

Finally I am getting around to posting some of the amazing layouts I've spotted using a few of my sketches!  I am still so honored to know that so many of you like my sketches and are using them for your pages.  Hopefully, at the first of the year, I will be able to post a Sketch Challenge and offer up a little scrappy prize to a random winner.  So be on the lookout for that!

The first layout is from Regina Castillo:

How cute is Regina's page??!!  I love how she used the banner up top and added the word "Ride" to her penants.  Her misting is beautiful and I love the use of the gears to go along with the bicycle theme.  You can stop by and check out Regina's Blog, HERE.


Up next is a layout from the very talented Mia Castrillo:

Mia did an excellent job switching up the photo placement to add room for the adorable photo strips of her little one learning to roll over!  I love that she kept the large circle element behind her photos!  You can visit Mia's Blog HERE!


One of my fellow Club CK Peeps decided to try her hand at one of my sketches!!  Here is what Robyn did:

Robyn rotated the photos to fit her landscape photos and extended the single page sketch into a double page layout.  I love the wintry feel she created on her layout by using the white and blue color scheme and the fun title she came up with for her page.

And the final layout comes from Missy Whidden:

This is Missy's second time using one of my sketches and she does not disappoint!  I love that she decided to use the less than perfect photos from her daughter's Easter photo shoot and the film strip look was perfect for the theme of her page!  Missy always does an excellent job using bright colors and this layout is no exception!  Stop by and check out Missy's amazing work HERE.


I hope you have enjoyed seeing the work from these talented Ladies and I hope you are inspired by what they did!  Since I haven't posted any new sketches lately, I will share one with you today.  Feel free to use it for your pages, but just mention my name as the Sketch Designer and add a link for my Blog.  Let me know if you use it (or any of the other sketches) and I would love to Feature You on my Blog!

Chinese Whispers Reveal

There is a fun challenge hosted by Adele, one of the CK Peeps at Club Ck, once a month called Chinese Whispers.  You may be wondering what in the world Chinese Whispers may be??  Well, did you every play the Telephone game in school, where the teacher told the first student a short sentence and they passed it on to the next person and so on until it had passed through each student.  The fun part was hearing what the end result was once it when around the room, compared to the original sentence presented by the teacher!  Chinese Whispers follows along those same lines and starts out with the Group Leader choosing a sketch.  There are usually 5 or so ladies in each group and the first person in the group receives the sketch.  Once she finishes her layout, she emails her layout (not the sketch) to the next person on the list.  So the object of the challenge is for each person to do a layout sent from the previous person and then see how much it changes from the original sketch.  Sounds fun, huh!  I have been playing along for a while now and I love seeing the reveal at the end of each round!  If you'd like to play along sometime, just head over to Club CK and keep an eye out for the Chinese Whispers sign up in the Forums section of the Club.  Here is my layout from this round and the original sketch from the challenge.  I was last in our group, this go around!  :)

 

Products Used:

Paper:  Bella Blvd

Stickers:  Crate Paper

Thickers:  American Crafts

Font:  Arial Black

Brads:  The Paper Studio

Pen:  Sharpie