Stuck?Sketches Guest Designer

Oooooo... I'm so excited to share that I am a guest designer over at Stuck?Sketches this month! Thank you so much Laura Whitaker for asking me to play along! 

Please take time to check out this wonderful sketch blog if you are not already familiar with it!

So here's the cool sketch by Laura that I was given to play with.

Pretty neat , eh?

Here's what I did with it.

 I stayed pretty true to the sketch. My title is hand drawn on white  card stock and then fussy cut and raised with dimension dots.

My star embellishments were fussy cut and then painted with a layer of Glossy accents. Some were adhered directly to the page and some were raised  for added dimension.

All papers used in this layout are  Bella Blvd from the Sept Kit at SCRAPSHOTZ .... a great Canadian kit club that I have recently joined!

Thanks again to Laura Whitaker for inviting me to play along this month and thanks to you for popping by today! Toodles!

New Monthly Challenge at Unity Stamp Company

Soooo....here's an odd little fact about me. I love to draw and paint and I loooove stamping...but I HATE coloring!

Ironically , I have a gazillion stamps...ok...maybe not a gazillion but trust me when I say they number in the general area of a thousand ! 

One of my fav brands of stamps is UNITY STAMP COMPANY . I just love those red rubber stamps!

There's always a monthly challenge going on over at their UNITY BLOG . 

Here's this month's challenge.

I chose to make two projects based on this month's challenge. 

My first project is a card that incorporates the color challenge and the card sketch which I flipped.

The fairy is from the Nov 2014 KOM  and the sentiment { which is hilarious!!! I get such a kick out of it!} is an IttyBitty called "Happy Dust".

 I used TOMBOW dual tip markers for the dreaded coloring {just kidding}.

I also added a little Stickles to the wings for some glitter and fairy magic!

My second project is a tag that is based on the color challenge this month. My daughter has already laid claim to it to use as a book mark.

The sentiment stamp is from the kit called "Delightful Little Things" and the stars are from the "Jar of Mixed Sentiments" kit. I used the same Tombow colors on this tag plus a dab of Distress Ink in Dusty Concord for the edges. I simply scribbled the colors on my craft mat, squirt it with a bit of water and smooshed the tag around on it. I also added a few star sequins for a little added bling.

So why don't you pop on over to the UNITY BLOG and give their monthly challenge a go!

Thanks for popping by today! Toodles!

Summer's over already?????

What ??? What do you mean it's over already? I don't know about your neck of the woods, but summer was dismally short here in Nfld...practically non existent in July.Thank goodness August rose to the challenge!
So.....despite the lousy weather I spent most of the summer gardening, trying to repair the damage done by last year's "big dig" {the result of a basement leak}. As a result, I didn't do a lot of scrapping and have thoroughly neglected my blog! But let's face it, winter will soon be here and there will be LOTS of scrapping and blogging time then . 
In saying that, I have managed to do a couple of layouts and cards over the summer that I'd like to share with you today. 

First of all, I'll share a couple of layouts done for Canadian Scrapbooker Sketchy challenge. I am proud to say my awesome scrappy friend Kelly Klapstein has taken over design responsibilities for the Sketchy Challenge. Please make sure to check it out and give her some luv!

Here's August Sketch

and here's my take on it....

This is a layout that was hard to do...I've been trying to do it all summer. We lost our precious Jasper in June and I have wanted to scrap about it all summer but wasn't ready till now.
I switched out the diamond pattern in the sketch for hearts. I didn't have a heart stencil so I free hand cut one from scrap card stock and stenciled through that. 

I loved the cascade of leaves in the September Sketch...

 but I did something totally NON fall with this sketch ...

My son and I share a love of Minions {from the Despicable Me movies for the uninformed}. 
 I jokingly decorated with Minions for his 20 Th birthday {hoping that he wouldn't think I was too corny!}. He LOVED it and got a great kick out of it!
I love that he is comfortable enough in his twenty year old skin to  enjoy "kid' stuff and still be cool.
The minions were fussy cut from a sticker sheet that I picked up at Buck or Two earlier this summer.

So why don't you all give the Sketchy challenge an try and get back on your scrap booking track now that fall is setting in!

I also want to quickly share a couple of other layouts and cards I did over the summer. 

 Hubby and I were blessed to celebrate our 25 Th wedding anniversary in August and I wanted to do a soft,romantic layout to honor it. These stunning papers from Lemoncraft were perfect!!!!

 Here's a super cute layout featuring sock monkeys and my daughter's love of them!

The papers are from Daisy D {thanks to my buddy Susan who offered them up when I mentioned doing a sock monkey LO!}. The cute little monkey down in the corner is an IttyBitty stamp from UNITY Stamp Company . I wouldn't dare confess to you how many Unity Stamps I currently own { and I may or may not have another big order on the way ...shhhh... I can't resist a great sale! }

While in Georgia this past spring with hubby, I picked up a paper pack by Heidi Swapp that I realized afterwards was to be used with a day planner line she has out. Psshhhh... I don't have any plans for a day planner but I loved the paper. So far I have done a layout and two cards with it!

Yes...It's another "anniversary" layout...what can I say... I love the guy!

and two cards done with the same paper line...

I also purchased the Tim Holtz Bird Crazy line of stamps from ScrapShotz... a Canadian company that does awesome kits! I recently signed up for a six month kit subscription and can't wait to start playing with them!

Bird Crazy birthday card

 Papers used on this card are Madeline papers from Bo Bunny .

So that's about it for my creative endeavors over the summer. I think I may have done a few more cards but forgot to take pics of them. I hope you had an enjoyable summer whether you were creative or not and can't wait to see everyone's new creations now that fall has arrived and we are heading back to our craft rooms!
Toodles and thanks for dropping by today!

Madeline Bo Bunny Layout { and a little brag about my kitchen }

Seems like I never have time for scrapping anymore. Life just gets in the way.

I recently had two weeks off from work when I thought I would get sooooo much scrapping done but no such luck. I did however get my kitchen painted. It was badly in need of a freshening up . The cupboards were by far the most tedious part but I was pleased in the end. My family questioned my sanity when I said I was going to paint the tops and bottoms different colors, but I think it turned out nice!

Did you notice the one white chair at my table? That's a work in progress. These are 100 year old chairs that were my grandmother's. I decided to paint them with chalk paint and refinish the seats. Being 100 years old, they all need to have the tin in the seats replaced and also need to be re glued....a project for hubby. So as he does each chair, I will paint and recover them. I'm waiting somewhat patiently for him to do his part.

Here's a before and after shot of the one finished chair. Can't wait to get them done!

BEFORE

AFTER

But I digress. I actually did have time to do a little teeny bit of scrapping while I was off. 

I was asked to be a guest blogger over at CANADIAN SCRAPBOOKER a few days ago. 

I converted  their Sketchy Challenge from sketches for 12 x 12 pages to card sketches! You can check it out HERE .

I also,{in between all that dang painting}managed to squeeze in one 12 x 12 layout. I had purchased this gorgeous Madeline paper  from Bo Bunny last fall while visiting KELLY in Edmonton and finally got to play with it. 

This is a photo of Chelsea singing her first year with Stage West Theater in their production of " A Fine Tyme", a show of Newfoundland music. She's just been asked back for her fifth season!

Close up of the flower cluster. My 3 D flowers matched well with the flat printed flowers. I think my favorite sheet in this paper pack was the sheet of frames which I fussy cut this frame from.

Side view showing  the various layers and subtle texture added with a stencil and molding paste and a few enamel dots.

As I had doubles of all the papers , I cut out a couple of the birds along the bottom and popped them up with a few foam dots. 

I also added a zipper which I thought framed my peek a boo nicely.

I love shabby chic layouts and had so much fun playing with this one. Anyone who knows her, will recognize the influence of Gabrielle Pollacco on my shabby chic layouts. I just love her style so much.

Thanks for popping by today. I must get cracking and finish my Mother's Day gift for my mom. Happy early Mother's Day to all you moms out there. Toodles!

I was March Guest Designer at The Paperie

 So I'm posting this just a tad late LOL.  I was guest designer over at The Paperie in March and got to play with their awesome March layout kit. Thank you ladies for inviting me to play with you!

Sooo… I have to confess that I’m more of a shabby chic flowers everywhere  kind of scrapper and at first glance I was a little overwhelmed with the more graphic papers included in this kit…and no flowers!!!!!!!!! OMG! What was I going to do??? {Although I immediately fell in love with the cork star stickers in the kit. I’m going to have to get me more of those!} . I always love the more graphic layouts that I see displayed around the store yet producing that kind of layout does not come easily to me. I have trouble leaving negative space on my layouts!  Isn’t amazing how we all see and use supplies in such different ways?

Here’s my first layout using the cool Teresa Collins star paper in the kit. My family and I are big Republic of Doyle fans and were thrilled to have a chance to sit in Jake’s GTO while in St John’s last spring!

I mimicked the smaller banner in the kit when creating my photo mat/journaling block. All those letters on the back of the Webster’s “Hall Pass S is for School “paper were perfect for cutting out my title letters! The cork stars from the kit were the perfect embellies to finish off this page.

My second layout is this birthday page using the Echo Park “Days of the Week” paper from the kit. This layout was a real time saver as I got everyone’s birthday documented for the year in one layout. The buttons from the kit were perfect to spruce up the banners which were punched from the Fancy Pants True Friends paper in the kit.

Ok …that’s it …I gotta have me some flowers!  So what’s a girl to do? Break out the punches of course and make your own! 

My third layout uses the Webster’s Hall Pass "Building Vocabulary “paper. I know this was a school themed paper but I immediately thought eye chart when I looked at it. This reminded me that I needed to make an appointment to get my eyes checked again …which reminded me that I've had my glasses changed four out of the last five years …which reminded me of my fear of eventually losing my vision. Hence this very personal layout. The flowers were made with EK Success five petal punches, layered and then a drop of Glossy Accents in the center with some micro beads sprinkled on to finish. I am a huge punch fan and use them a lot on my layouts.

Next up is a very special layout of my parents. My dad is battling some very serious health issues at the moment but I love how I captured this very happy photo of them this past Christmas. He doesn't look sick and he and Mom are totally relaxed sharing a laugh together over Christmas dinner.

I’ll let you in on two little secrets. One: I rarely ever sew on my layouts anymore because I’m too lazy to pull out the machine …so I just doodle my sewing lines these days.  Secondly I tend to cut the centers out of papers that are my background piece if I’m layering another page over it. That way I have the frame I want but I still have most of the patterned paper for something else…in this instance the yellow flowers I made to decorate the layout. These flowers are similar to Tim Holtz die cut flowers but again , I’m lazy and so I just punch out circles and add five cuts  in a star shape to them { rounding the corners slightly} and ink and curl the edges. You can find a tutorial for how I did a similar flower HERE . 
    Do you recognize those letters in the title? No? Well they are the wood grain Thickers that are included in the kit. I simply altered them to fit this layout. I sanded off the top surface, pounced on some molding paste to give them texture and then painted them with black gesso once the molding paste had dried. 

 My final layout uses my absolute favorite paper in the kit. I just loooooved this flowery paper by Prima! Are you surprised? I only added a sheet of turquoise cardstock and a scrap of green cardstock from my stash for this, and of course I had to break out my punches again. Don’t you just love the vibrant colors in this beautiful paper?

What’s a birthday layout with some fun banners? The cute little clothes pins in the kit were the perfect touch for my banner. I also made the flowers for this layout… simple spiral flowers. Very easy to make but they add a powerful pop of color to this layout. Again, I actually cut the centers out of the card stock in the kit to have enough scraps to make my spiral flowers.

I’m trying to train myself to use up my scraps when I finish a layout by making cards and tags with them.  So here’s a card made from some of my leftovers.

Well that's it for today. I 'm going to try and blog a bit more frequently. Keep watching this weekend for another post on my first real attempt at a Project Life album .Thanks for popping by today . Toodles!