A New Challenge for Me (Play Date Cafe)

By Krissy Clark McKee

Well you know how much I love sketch challenges, but today I decided to s-t-r-e-t-c-h my gray matter a little and try something different.  What did I try?  I found a new site (through my newest obsession Twitter) called THE PLAY DATE CAFE, and they post a new color challenge every Thursday.  When I saw this week's colors, I couldn't resist and had to play along - see...

Bubblegum, Tangerine, and Pear - who could resist???  Not me!  So I pulled out my (ever-growing stash) of my AMERICAN CRAFT papers (along with one teeny tiny piece of Jillibean Soup because it was just the right pear-ish color), and I spent the next few hours happily cutting, gluing, and inking.

 

I did add some darker shades of green and orange as accents, which I think is okay as far as the challenge because the bubblegum, tangerine, and pear colors still retain the focus.  And - even if I failed the challenge - I LOVE my layout!

 

I had waaaaay too much fun playing with the different layers I created on this layout.  I inked my pages with similar colors of ink, but then I sewed (and doodled) on them using contrasting colors of thread.  That's right, I partied hard with my sewing machine and things got a little out of control - oh yeah. Here are a few close-ups.

 

I took a "chicken wire" mask and quickly (and messily) inked over it in several colors.  I like the way it connected the main grouping of papers to the small cluster of flowers at the top of the page. 

 

 

Another small cluster by my title just to add balance and, of course, dooding on everything that wasn't already stitched. 

 

That's it for me tonight - I've got a hot date with Pinterest before beddy-bye time.  Hope you liked my layout and hope it has inspired you to try a color challenge yourself. 

 

Unti next time, happy scrapping!

She's a Tween (Practical Scrappers)

Happy Friday everyone!  I'm off to the office this morning, where I will be gazing out my window daydreaming about my upcoming weekend of scrappy fun...doing a little online shopping...er, planning my next vacation...ahem, I mean diligently working hard at...work type...stuff.

So anywho, even though Friday is always an awesome day, it is even more so today because I am up over at the Practical Scrappers blog today - whoo hoo!  Want to know what the PS blog is all about?  Well, I'm not going to tell you - you will just have to check it out by clicking on the link right here -------> PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS.

 

Oh!  Before you go - want to see a few close-ups and find out a little bit more about my fun layout that I completed last weekend at my crop?  Here you go:

 

I used AMERICAN CRAFTS' Ready Set Go papers (which I lurrrrvvvvv) - the little word bubbles that I fussy cut were perfect for my layout about my tween.

 

 

Of course, my layout wouldn't be complete with a cluster of goodies somewhere.

 

 

I loved combining the images on my papers with stickers, rub ons and pop-dotted buttons and paper pieces to create layers.  No sewing machine at my crop - no problem!  I just doodled instead (on everything)!

 

 

That's all for me.  Now go forth and scrapbook!

Best Friends - More Practical Scrappers

Our challenge today over at PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS was to find 10 different ways to use ribbon.  Because I am obsessed with banners, I decided to make a small one using ribbon in place of twine to hold my banner together.  The "pennants" of my banner (along with every other piece of paper on this layout) are from TERESA COLLINS' gorgeous Everyday Moments Collection.  This line of papers was perfect for this snapshot of my two oldest daughters at the younger one's recent wedding shower.

Here's a close-up of my ribbon banner:

I loved using all the whites, light blues, and pale grays in this collection, but I wanted to make sure the layers stood out, so I decided to machine stitch my border and my ribbon in contrasting black and I outlined each piece of paper in black marker.  I love the added dimension the black outlines give everything.

I also added pop dots behind several pieces like this one to help them stand out a little more.

 

Can you tell how much I love layers on my layouts???

 

That's all for me today.  Want more inspiration for that ribbon stash you've been hoarding - be sure to check out all the other wonderful ideas at PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS!

Halloween Fun with Practical Scrappers

 

I love Halloween - it's probably my second favorite holidayof the year.  Because of that, I have lots and lots of Halloween-themed papers (in fact, I would almost go so far as to say I have too much - I know, that's preposterous, right?!)  So, it was pretty much a no-brainer that I was going to sign up when I saw PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS was doing a feature on Halloween cards and layouts. 

 

I decided it would be fun to make a few easy Halloween cards.  I will NEVER be a cardmaker, but I do enjoy making cards.  And these cards ended up looking pretty sweet, don't you think?

 

I discovered - after purchasing lots and lots (and lots) of stamps (and all the supplies that go with them) - that while I love the look of stamped images, I don't so much enjoy stamping and coloring.  In fact, I don't enjoy it even a little bit.  So I pretty much work with whatever papers and embellishments I have on hand - and that seems to work out just fine - especially when the papers are as cute as these!

 

I used papers from MY MINDS EYE's Blackbird Collection.  I only had a few pieces of paper left, one of which included these cute little kids.  So, I did what I always do when I really like an image on a piece of paper - I cut it out and put it on my card.  I included the Boo phrase from MME's Haunted Collection; added some twine, a border punched accent piece, a couple of bats, and a tiny button; and I was done.

 



For my next card, I mostly used papers from ECHO PARK's Apothecary Emporium; however, my tag and October 31st piece are both from MME's Haunted Collection.  I sewed several of my borders, as well as a small square of burlap behind my October 31st tag to add a little visual interest.  Although this card was super quick and easy to make, I love the final result!

 

That's it for me today, but stay tuned - I have more Practical Scrappers projects coming up this week!