Today's Forecast: Scrapbooking

One of the easiest ways to convey a mood on your layouts or projects, is by using Weather elements!!  And we have a challenge today at Frosted Designs for Fabulous Friday, to do just that:  use Weather (sun, rain, clouds, snow, etc.) on your layout or project!  How fun is that??!!

I had so much fun with my DT layout for this challenge!  I always love creating scenes with clouds and a sunshine...it just makes me happy!  I thought the Spring Flings & Easter Things line from Bella Blvd. would work great with this challenge.  The papers are really bright and fun and I love the raindrop patterned paper with this line!!  I did some masking/misting on this layout with an old scrap piece of paper, that I had cut some flowers from on my Expression a while back.  Sometimes it's a good thing to save those kind of scraps...you never know how you might use them later.

 
I also wanted to create a rainbow effect in my background, so I used a large plate to trace a pattern on my paper.  Then I cut out each of the pieces and overlapped them in the background of my layout.  I also fussy cut the cute, little rainbow embellishment from some of the Bella paper and added it in with my sun and clouds to reinforce the rainbow in the background.

So sit down some time this weekend and have fun creating Weather on your layouts or projects.  You can enter to win from our awesome sponsor this week, Boys Rule Scrapbook Kits!!  Make sure to upload your creations to the Frosted Designs Blog by Noon on Thursday, April 19!!

Products Used:

Cardstock:  The Paper Studio
Patterned Paper & Stickers:  Bella Blvd.
Spray Mist:  Smooch Spritz
Buttons:  Blumenthal Lansing
Baker's Twine:  The Twinery
Edgers:  Provo Craft
Embossing:  Sizzix
Thickers:  American Crafts
Brad:  The Paper Studio
Font:  Abadi MT Condensed Extra Bold & CK Journaling

Just a Head's Up!

I wanted to let all of you know, that Sketch Support will be hosting a Blog Hop this weekend, starting Saturday, April 14!  Each of the DT members will be offering inspiration on a sketch from Scrapbook Generations newest One-Page sketch book.  I am sure most of the Ladies will be offering giveaways...I know I will be offering one, here, on my Blog!!  You won't want to miss out!!  Plus, if you visit each of the DT members Blogs and leave a comment, you will have the chance to win a Grand Prize from the Sketch Support Blog.  This is a great time to find out a little bit more about each of the Ladies at Sketch Support, because we will all be answering several questions that Allison provided for us.

Here is a little sneak peek of what you will see on my Blog:

Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday!!

Broken Bubbles

We had a busy, busy weekend with all of our Easter festivities over the past two days!!  I am glad to be able to sit down and breath, without having to run from here to there!  :)  But we definitely had a great time...we invited friends over Saturday, so all the kids could dye Easter Eggs together, we had an amazing worship service and message at church yesterday morning, and then we spent the rest of the day with family yesterday afternoon.  One good thing about all of these activities, for scrapbookers, is all of the amazing photos that we get to take and look forward to using on upcoming layouts!!  :)

I snapped a couple of hilarious pictures of our little man on Saturday, during the Easter Egg dyeing.  He really doesn't grasp the whole egg dye concept yet, but he decided to have his own fun.  When I came out on the back patio, I found him trying to blow bubbles with the Egg Dipper and Easter Egg Dye!!  I was cracking up!  We went to blow bubbles a couple of weeks ago, so I guess he thought that he would give it a try with the dye and Egg Dipper!!  :)

I managed to work 3 challenges into this layout.  I used the new sketch that was posted today at Let's Get Sketchy for Challenge #6.  And I loved our March/April Issue Challenge #6 this week at Club CK.  We were challenged to use the above color combo and I think it worked so well with these photos.  The last challenge, was also a new one posted today on the MME Blog.  The April challenge is to use hexagons.  I love that their new Miss Caroline collections use so many hexagon shapes and I used one of the patterned papers to fussy cut several hexagons for the border across my page.  I also cut 5 smaller hexagons on my Expression to use at the top of the layout.

Thanks for stopping by and I'll have some fun things coming up over the next two weekends!!  On Friday, I'll be sharing my new layout for the April 13 Fabulous Friday challenge at Frosted Designs and on Saturday there will be some fun happenin's with a giveaway.  And, mark the weekend of April 21 on your calendar...you'll want to check back in for more fun and another giveaway!!

Products Used:

Patterned Paper, Stickers, Button, Brads, Twine, Journaling Spot:  My Mind's Eye
Thickers:  American Crafts
Punch:  Marvy
Pen:  Sharpie 

Submission Rejects

I'm sure we all have them...you know, those layouts we send in for Submission Calls and wait...and wait...and wait and finally realize that the "congratulations" email isn't coming!!  :)  But after several years of submitting and having some picked up and some not picked up, my philosophy is, "hey, well at least it's another layout finished that I can put in the album" (and that is my main goal above all other things in the scrappy world).  When I first started submitting, I'll admit it was a little hard to never hear back on a layout that I thought was really awesome, but I realize there is a small window of spaces to fill for the calls and probably thousands of talented Ladies submit.  But I have been lucky enough to have some published layouts in Creating Keepsakes magazine, which was one of my scrapbooking goals, back when I first started subscribing to them about 6 years ago.  Never thought it would actually come true though and was blown away when it did.  So you never know...it doesn't hurt to keep trying.

A few months back, I decided I would branch out and submit to a couple of the calls at Scrapbook Trends magazine.  I have never sent anything in for their calls before.  Well, of course, no email showed up in my inbox, so I think it's safe to say that these two weren't picked up!!  But I still think they are both pretty darn cute and I haven't shared them on my Blog yet (or at least I don't think I have!!), so I decided today would be the day!!

Here's the first...a single-pager:

  
I used some cute Jillibean goodies on this one and I had a lot of fun making some of the embellishments for my page.  I just free-hand cut several circles for each flower and then distressed the edges, layered them together and added buttons for the centers.  I die cut the umbrella and then cut out the pieces to trace out the different pieces and then placed them to fit back together over the die cut.  I added some stitching and the pom pom trim to dress it up and add some texture.  And even though this one didn't get picked up for publication, it was still featured on the Jillibean Soup Blog for one of their recent Soup Spotting posts, which is pretty stinkin' cool!!  :)

Products Used:

 

Patterend Paper:  Jillibean Soup & Bella Blvd.

Pom Pom Trim:  October Afternoon

Embroidery Floss:  Janlynn

Brads:  Bazzill & The Paper Studio

Acrylic Paint:  Apple Barrel

Thickers:  American Crafts

Baker's Twine:  The Twinery

Buttons:  Michael's

Tools: WRMK, Provo Craft, Sizzix

Pen:  Zig Memory System

Font:  Coaster

The second is a double-pager...I know, it surprises me too!!  :)

I used a mix of Simple Stories and Crate Paper on this layout and I distressed, rolled, and punched the paper to create the beach/sand and waves look.  I don't know about you, but I am loving the cute little banner flags that are so popular right now!!  I just created these, by using some toothpicks and scrap pieces of my papers, that I folded in half and cut to the shapes that I wanted.  I also used my Expression to cut the bucket shape and a few sand dollars and star fish to embellish the page.

So, these are two layouts that I am definitely happy with and they turned out exactly how I had in mind.  And just because they weren't picked up, it won't stop me from submitting to those calls, because who knows when it might just be the right one at the right time??!!  :)

Products Used:

Cardstock:  Die Cuts with a View

Patterned Paper:  Simple Stories & Crate Paper

Thickers:  American Crafts

Stickers:  Simple Stories

Brads: The Paper Stuio

Punch:  Marvy & EK Success

Embossing:  Sizzix & Provo Craft

Baker's Twine:  The Twinery

Other:  Toothpicks

What's In a Style?

If you've been scrapbooking for a while, I'm sure you've heard the term Scrapbook Style.  I usually don't have much of a problem picking out defined styles in other scrappers pages.  For example, I can usually spot a Kim Watson, Maggie Holmes, Elizabeth Kartchner, Laura Vegas (etc., etc., etc.) page from a mile away!!  :)  Their pages just have that certain "look" and you know it was made by them.  Most styles are placed into the following categories:  Shabby Chic, Graphic, Clean & Simple, Cutesy, Whimsical, Artsy, Eclectic...and I'm sure there are a couple of others I'm missing.  

Now after 6 1/2 years of Scrapbooking,  I think it's safe to say that I fall into the Cutesy & Whimsical style category.  Does that mean I've never tried or enjoy the other styles...no, but I think I do find that when I stay within those two styles, that's when I'm usually the happiest with my layouts.  I have dabbled in each one of the above over the past years, and I will give you a run down on why I have found they don't work as well for me:

Shabby Chic - These are always beautiful pages created by very talented Ladies and I usually oogle over them every time I see one.  Why it's not for me...First off I am layering challenged.  Try as I may, I just can't seem to visualize and execute it to make it look right.  Secondly, and most importantly, I am really cheap and stingy with my supplies...so I hate using so many of them on one individual layout!!  :)

Graphic - Two BIG reasons...White Space and Minimal Supplies!  I think I am more afraid of white space, than the Big Bad Wolf!!  HA!  And even though I am cheap, I still like to use a good bit of embellishments on my page.

Clean & Simple - See above under Graphic...extreme fear of the use of white space!!  :)  But the funny thing is, that at Club CK last year, they did a Style Swap feature.  We were challenged to take on a style that is not one that we usually work with.  I decided to try Clean & Simple and much to my surprise, it was one of the ones chosen as a favorite during the Style Swap week!!

Artsy - I am a first-born child, with Type A personality, so when I do a layout, I usually actually "layout" almost everything on my page the way I want it.  Then I take my adhesive and try to systematically adhere everything to the spot that it's in.  Now this just doesn't leave much room for a lot of distressing, misting, painting, and other mediums like that!!  :)

Eclectic - I think Eclectic Scrapbookers always find really cool ways to use every day items that aren't necessarily in the scrapbook realm, to use on their layouts and projects.  They have a great creative talent that gives them a new outlook on how to use things around their house or where ever they may find them...me, not so much!!  I am usually more black & white in my thinking and I don't have any trouble re-creating a cool idea or technique that someone else has thought of...but chances are, that I'm not going to come up with the idea on my own.

Now, for a little bit about why I think I work so well with the Cutesy and Whimsical style.  About 95% of may layouts are about my children and I think it is fun to tell the story of the photos, with the design on my page.  I like to use cute embellishments that work in with the theme of my photos and I love to create scenes that mimic my photos.  For example, doing a sun and clouds on a Summer layout or grass, flowers and a tree on an outdoor layout.  And to confuse you even more since we've already talked about the different Styles, I think I have a "signature" on my layouts also.  By this I mean, there is usually some kind of brown on almost all of my layouts, whether it's brown paper, brown pen, or brown in my embellishments.  I also like using some kind of scallop or punch and I love adding stitching to my layouts.

SO, with all of that said, I have a definite Cutesy layout to share with you that I created for Case File #13 at CSI.      

For the Evidence this week, I used a pinwheel, hearts, twine, and a map print.  I documented play from the Testimony choices this week.

Hopefully, I didn't bore you with the Style run down in this post, but offered a few helpful pointers.  And if you are still looking for your Style, you might want to try working with a couple of different ones, to find out where you're most comfortable.  If you are secure in your style and definitely know what you like, it might be fun to step out on a limb and do a Style Swap, just to see what happens with the end result.  It might not change your mind about your current style, but I think it helps stretch and grow us!!

Products Used:

Patterned Paper, Stick, Pins, Brads, Twine:  My Mind's Eye
Thickers:  American Crafts
Punches:  Anna Griffin & Marvy
Buttons:  Dill-Buttons
Edgers:  Provo Craft
Chipboard Circle:  Martha Stewart 

April Sketch It Out Challenge

No fooling here today, just another fun Sketch Challenge for the month of April!!  If you missed out during March or have no clue what I am talking about, here is a little info.  I have been on the Club CK (Creating Keepsakes) Message Board for around 2 years now.  There is a ton of inspiration here along with great friends and fun challenges, hosted by members and by Creating Keepsakes.  Last month, I decided as a member, to host a monthly Sketch Challenge...titled Sketch It Out.  This challenge is open to anyone who would like to play along and it's FREE and easy to become a member, or "Peep" as we like to call one another, at Club CK.  If you play along, your layout must be added to the Sketch It Out thread in the Creative Challenges Forum, which you can find HERE.

Here is the Sketch for this month's challenge and my sample layout:

 
And always remember, a Sketch is a jumping off point/inspiration for you.  Your layout doesn't have to follow the sketch 100%.  You can change it up to fit your needs or use it as is, if that works for you too!!

Along with the Sketch, I am throwing in a little TWIST each month.  Just a heads up, the Twist isn't a deal breaker on entering the challenge.  If you feel you just can't incorporate the Twist into what you are working on, don't stress over it.  Using the Sketch is the most important part of the challenge.  So here is the Twist for this month:  We are taking some colors from the latest Fashion for this year!!  :)  Pantone released their 2012 Color of the Year, which is Tangerine Tango.  Now, don't think you have to match this color exactly.  I say just find some Orange and go with it.  And for even more options, Navy and Yellow are a hot color combo this year.  So to clarify, you can use just one color of Orange, Navy, or Yellow...or you can use Navy & Yellow together...or you can incorporate all three colors into your layout, like I did on mine!!  Clear as mud, right??!!  :)

I hope you will play along and if you do, there is a chance that you could be the random winner selected for a RAK at the end of the month.  The challenge will be open until midnight (CST) April 30.  Remember to post your work in the April Sketch It Out post at Club CK in the Creative Challenges Forum.  Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!!

Products Used:
 
Cardstock:  Bazzill
Patterned Paper & Thickers:  American Crafts
Font:  Abadi MT Condensed Extra Bold & WM Arrows
Buttons:  Blumenthal Lansing
Embroidery Floss:  Janlynn
Spray Mist:  Smooch Spritz
Punch:  Anna Griffin
Stitching:  Singer
   

Double DT Reveal

This is the first time I've had this happen, with being on multiple DT's!!  :)  So I will be sharing a layout for today's Fabulous Friday challenge at Frosted Designs and my layout for Sketch Support based on this week's One Page Sketch #19.

Our challenge this week at Frosted Designs is a really fun one...Recycle/Upcycle!  This basically means finding something to use on your layout or project, that you typically wouldn't think about using as scrapbook supplies.  For example, you could use packaging, clothing tags, household items, etc., etc., etc.!!  Let your imagination take over for this one and have fun!  I'll share my layout and then tell you what I used for my Recycle/Upcycle elements:

I LOVE to save the cardboard pieces that come in the packages that I receive when I order Scrapbook supplies.  Sometimes I use it behind an element I fussy cut from patterned paper to give it more dimension on my page.  In this case, I just peeled the top layer off of the cardboard piece to reveal the corrugated look underneath.  I thought it would be a great texture to go along with the theme of the October Afternoon Sasparilla line that I used on my layout.  A second Recycle/Upcycle element on this page, is the tag on which I placed my title.  It is the back side of a tag from the Dry Cleaners.  Fun, huh??!!  So get creative this week and see what you can find laying around, that would make for some fun scrapping!  By playing along this week, you have the chance to win a great prize from our sponsor, Karlas Kreative Korner.


Products Used:

Cardstock; Die Cuts with a View
Patterned Paper, Stickers, Buttons:  October Afternoon
Spray Mist:  Smooch Spritz
Baker's Twine:  The Twinery
Brad:  The Paper Studio
Font:  Rustler
Burlap:  My Mind's Eye
Ink:  Memento
Embroidery Floss:  Janlynn
Other:  Cardboard, Tag, Staple


I hope you have been checking in everyday this week at Sketch Support, because the DT Ladies have been doing some amazing work.  I loved this sketch and decided to change it up a little bit for my photo.  If you've seen a lot of my work, then you probably have realized that I work with portrait photos 95% of the time compared to landscape photos.  So usually, when I come across a sketch with a photo spot for landscape photos, I flip it...which is what I did with this one too!!  :)  The sketch uses some cute patterned paper banner strips behind the photo, and I thought it would be great to change those to arrows, to go along with the theme of my page.

 
Since I turned the sketch, I moved the title underneath the photo, in place of the journaling area and then I just shifted my journaling down a little bit on the page.  Come over and see what's been going on this week at Sketch Support, and look for a new sketch this Sunday afternoon!


Products Used:


Cardstock:  Bazzill
Patterned Paper:  Pink Paislee
Brads:  The Paper Studio
Paper Clip:  Hobby Lobby
Adhesive Chipboard:  Cosmo Cricket
 Thickers:  American Crafts
Font:  CK Going Places
Stitching:  Singer
Ink:  Close to My Heart
Other:  Bubble Wrap