Paper Secrets - Sketches with a Twist

One thing I love about PAPER SECRETS is that, not only does it have a sketch challenge twice a month, but each sketch challenge comes with a fun twist.  The April 1st twist was to use ribbon or trim on our layouts (and that's no joke - ha ha!).  This time, our twist was to use something wooden on our layout - perfect for me since I love and have quite a few wooden veneer shapes from Studio Calico, including these sweet bird shapes from the Paper Secrets SHOP that I added to my collection!

 

I do have a quick confession to make - this layout isn't quite finished yet.  What's missing you ask?  Well, I haven't added any journaling yet.  I know that I want journaling; I even know where I want it (right abot the owl and the ribbon) - I just don't know what I want to say yet.  No sweat, I figure it will come to me.  And when it does, I will have have a lovely layout ready to write it on!

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I fussy cut and layered until I had just the look I wanted.

I painted each of my wooden veneer shapes with white acrylic paint.  My title letters were cut out from one of my papers from ECHO PARK'S SWEET GIRL COLLECTION and outlined in brown marker to add more definition.

 

That's it for me this Monday morning; however, if you are wanting an additional beginning of the week boost, head over to Paper Secrets and check out the fantastic sketch that inspired my layout!

It's No Joke - I am the Paper Secrets Guest Designer!

It's no secret, I do enjoy playing along with the challenges over at PAPER SECRETS.  So, when the ladies over there asked me to be their April Guest Designer, I was more than happy to say yes!  And when I saw all the wonderful goodies they sent me from their store, I was even more happy that I said yes!  You know me, I research things - that's a large part of what I do for the job that brings in the steady paycheck.  And this is what I found out about Paper Secrets:

1.  They have a very nice selection of the newest collections out there;
2.  If you play along with their challenges, you can win a gift card to their e-store (that's free money);
3.  They have great shipping rates; and - saving my favorite for last...
4.  You can shop in your pajamas and the store is never closed!!!  Yippeee!!!!!

So, what did I get from Paper Secrets this month?  I got the Echo Park Sweet Girl Collection, which I used to create this layout, using the April Sketch and the twist to use ribbon or trim:

 

I LOVE that this collection contains a varied combination of papers, such as these bold graphic chevrons and vintage-y flowers.  With the sketch and all the pretty papers and sticker sheets (and with a little help from my Silhouette and sewing machine), this layout practically put itself together!

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I used this trim that reminded me of a tutu.  It reminds me of Lula's dress-up outfits, so it was perfect for this layout that features her.

I also love the look of doilies added to layouts.  However, to keep my paper from getting overly bulky and weirdly wrinkled from having a chunk of doily tucked under it - I cheat.  I cut the tucked under part off and just tuck the very tip of the remaining portion under the edge my paper.  This gives me the illusion of an extra layer without the additional bulk.

That's it for me today.  Be sure to check back on the 15th, when we will have another sketch reveal!

***NOTE, IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE NATURE WALK BLOG HOP, IT IS THE VERY NEXT POST ABOVE - CHECK IT OUT!"

These Are the Days

Happy Monday! It is the typical gloomy, rainy Monday here that definitely makes me want to stay in my jammies and not leave my house for any reason. But - I had to brave the traffic and head in to the 9-to-5 that pays the bills - and more importantly, that pays for all my scrappy goodies! So, I figured if I can't see the sunshine, I can be the sunshine (Man, I should market that). That's right, I am going to be happy and cheerful today if it KILLS me (and it just might).  

 

Speaking of happy and cheerful, something that is guaranteed to put a smile on my face is these two girls. Little Lula has learned how to tell Knock-Knock jokes and she was clearly cracking herself up in this picture! The Huntress kept looking over at me and rolling her eyes at the "silliness" of it all (as if she weren't a 3-year-old herself just the other day), but she was clearly having a good time! I put this layout together using a great sketch found over at LET'S CAPTURE OUR MEMORIES. I like it so much that I already have plans to use it again (which is very unusual for me). My papers are a combination of ECHO PARK'S Sweet Day, Everyday Eclectic, and maybe another EP collection thrown in for good measure. Why did I use so many collections and patterns, you ask? Why, because I was playing along with the Cha '13 Online Winter Social Challenges found over at the TWO PEAS site. You know me - can't so no to a good challenge, and this one to use 7 different patterned papers was no exception! Want to see a few close-ups? 

 

Journaling and title combined (one of my very favorite things to do lately):

I liked this ribbon-flower-thingy embellishment, except the banners weren't the right color and I didn't like the little picture on the front. But I really did like it - really!  So - I made a few changes and embellished my embellishment - ha!

I may have stuck with EP for my papers, but October Afternoon and American Crafts made their way onto my layout via their wonderful bits and pieces that I had to use!

And, finally, my stars...which have machine stitching going across them because I am a machine-stitching junkie! (But I can stop any time I want! I just don't want to right now.)

And that's it for me today. I truly hope I have managed to brighten YOUR day - if only a little bit.

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!

A Lori Whitlock Wheel Card and Favor Box

I love celebrating birthdays with family and friends!  And, to me, nothing says "I am thinking of you" more perfectly than a handmade card or gift - especially ones made using LORI WHITLOCK'S files.

I don't know about you, but when I was little I used to love cards and pop-up books with little wheels on them that you could turn.  So, when I saw that Lori was designing wheel cards, I knew I wanted to make one; and what better time than a friend's birthday?!  Paired with this sweet little favor box, I had the perfect way to tell my friend I was thinking of her on her special day.

I want to start by showing you this favor box because it's one of the newest items in Lori's SHOP. 

At 2x2 inches, this SCALLOPED BOX is the perfect way to dress up party favors or a wonderfully cute way to wrap a pair of earrings, which I have done!  It took literally less than a minute to assemble, and it's so cute!  I used Echo Park's Hello Summer papers (designed by Lori, of course).  I dressed up my scalloped edge with a little bling and added a butterfly in place of a bow (that I cut out twice and layered) from Lori's RELAX SUMMER IS HERE files.

My card was also super easy to make!

To make this card, I used a combination of papers from Echo Park's Hello Summer and Dots and Stripes collections.  Those super cute flip flops that I LOVE and have been using a lot on my cards and mini-albums lately are from Lori's DON'T BOTHER ME files.  I just added a little bling to the flip flop straps - much like the staps of my flip flops in real life! Aren't they cute?

And that fun wheel on my card?  This is what it says:

That's it for me today.  What about you?  Have you been crafting more or less now that summer's here?  Is there any project you are really excited about working on?

My Improvised Heidi Swapp Memory File

I was sitting around the house yesterday morning, feeling to urge to create a mini-album using a few of the several hundred pics I took on our recent vacation.  But I wanted to do something a little different.  I had seen Heidi Swapp's Memory File system online and loved the concept, but I had never seen the actual file folders in my favorite scrapbooking store (I really need to have a chat with whoever orders the merchandise there!).  "That's fine," I said to myself, "I'll improvise."  And that's exactly what I did.  First, I found a (rather beat up) blue file folder that I had previously used to bring home work documents. Then, I dusted off my Silhouette and pulled out my Echo Park Paradise Beach Papers, my paint, my markers, and different bits and pieces from about 20 different manufacturers.

The concept of the Memory File is pretty easy.  It's an alternative to a mini-album in that you can create small flip albums or pocket folders to hold a collection of pictures and journaling (always important to me).  When opened, my memory file album looks like this:

The stickers included in the Paradise Beach paper pack made it super quick and easy for me to create this little cluster:

I created a pocket behind my main picture by sewing the paper I used for matting my picture to the paper cut out in the shape of the file folder.  The pocket was sewn on before the file-folder shaped paper was glued down to the folder.  It was the perfect size for holding extra journaling and a tag!

My flip album was super easy to make.  I started by cutting out four of Lori Whitlock's mini-album shapes.  Then I layered them along the back of the folder starting from the bottom and working my way up.  They are perfect for adding smaller photos, or even hidden photos or personal journaling that you may not want everyone else to see.  For me, it just means I can add one extra thing. Ha!

I used the "second page" to add even more journaling about our road trip to Florida, along with a few little pictures taken with my phone.  These are pictures that may not have normally made it into a mini-album or onto a layout, but I had plenty of room here!

I loved using my Silhouette Cameo and Lori Whitlock's adorable files to create this little car!  (Note: I also used Lori's files to create the palm trees and the sun on the front of my Memory File.) To add extra dimension, I created the tires from black buttons and circle-punched pieces.  I then added a Heidi Swapp journaling tag so that I could squeeze in just a little more additional journaling!  

That's it for today.  Before I sign off, I wanted to ask, is this something you would like to see a video tutorial for?  I could definitely see making more of these, so let me know!

Lori Whitlock End of School Projects

It is the last week of school in our neck of the woods, and that means making little gifts for favorite teachers and besties.  As always, Lori Whitlock makes that process easy - in fact, the hardest part is having to make a decision as to which cutting files to use - never a simple task when she has so many wonderful designs to choose from!

I chose to make small flower arrangements as well as little purses and boxes to hold treats and gift cards.

I fell in love with these small SCALLOPED EDGE PURSES as soon as I saw them in Lori's STORE.  The purse is cut as one piece, with fold lines that make it a snap to assemble.  Of course, I used ECHO PARK'S Hello Summer Collection (designed by Lori), which I thought to be quite fitting for end-of-school gifts!  To decorate this purse, I used Lori's Star tickets and Pinwheel files (which I L-O-V-E and plan to use again this summer!).



I made this purse a little over an inch larger than the original design so that it would be large enough to hold gift cards, which always seem to be a hit.

The original size purse looks like this, and I used it to hold some yummy skittles.  To decorate it, I used a brad from the Hello Summer Collection, a butterfly from the sticker sheet that comes with the paper pack (I just added a small pop dot behind it), and a flower banner from Lori's files.

The vases of flowers have Lori's cutting files used to decorate the small mason jars (Hello Sunshine Phrase, Dragonfly, Scalloped Oval), and her shapes are also glued to small bamboo skewers and inserted in the bouquets (Pinwheel, Sun, Bird Flourish).  The "Sweet Box" is actually designed to hold Snickers bars, and the file includes an optional wrapper to go around the candy bar.  I decorated mine with Lori's "You're Sweet" phrase and left off the "you're" on my project.  I also used the little star shapes left over from my star tickets to decorate the front.  

 

Because it is already so hot here in sunny Texas, I decided not to use chocolate.  Instead, I simply filled my box with more Skittles.  I don't think I will get any complaints!



That's it for today, but be sure to stay tuned as Lori and the gang (me, too!) will be having another blog hop to kick off the summer in just a couple of weeks!  Details to come!

Sketch #134 - Come Play with Us!

It's that time again over at LET'S CAPTURE THESE SKETCHES - a new fantastic sketch and a lot of wonderful inspiration by the design team members.  This layout is my take on Sketch 134, with a series of photos of my youngest showing me her newly acquired front somersault skills into our pool.  She doesn't yet have the rotation fully complete but, as often as she practices, it won't be long!

I used Echo Park's Hello Summer papers (totally loving that collection!) and embellishments.

I placed pop dots behind several of the (completely, totally adorable) stickers to add a little dimension.  The pinwheel sticker is attached to an ordinary tootpick and had a tiny button glued to the front - so easy to do and such a cute end result!

I doodled on just about every piece of paper and embellishment to make everything stand out.  Love the effect, and it was a lot quicker than machine sewing.  This little bird was fussy-cut from a scrap piece of paper.  Instead of worrying about cutting out his teeny-tiny legs, I simply cut them off and then drew them on my paper with a marker before gluing the bird to my page - much, much easier!



Some simple journaling and my layout was finished.

That's it for now, but be sure to stay tuned for some more fun crafty news later today!

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!