A Few Favorites

Still playing catch-up and wanted to quickly share these layouts - all made with MY SCRAPS AND MORE SKETCHES.  Tammi makes some sketches that, apparently, really work well with my way of scrapping because each layout came together effortlessly and quickly, and I love the results!  I used CRATE PAPER'S STYLEBOARD COLLECTION to create this first layout, which features a photo of the Huntress who is just full of all kinds of attitude but still just as sweet as she can be.

My next layout:

I used an oldy but goody FANCY PANTS collection - Trendsetter - which coordinated perfectly with this photo of Little Lula who, at age 4, is already a little trendsetter with her own style and buckets of personality!

Finally, another of Lula and one of her Lala Loopsy dolls going beddy-bye:

I used my February PAPER BAKERY KIT and some random bits and pieces sitting out on my work table to create this fun layout.

That's it for me today.  Hope your Saturday is full of happiness and spent doing the things you enjoy doing most!  Until next time...

The Paper Bakery Sketch #20 Reveal

Happy Sunday folks!  I am up on The Paper Bakery's BLOG today showing my take on the latest sketch, by the wonderfully talented Juliana Michaels!  This is what the sketch looks like:

Sketches make me so happy!  They allow me to just sit down and get started without having to think overly long about a design.  They are invaluable and allow me to actually have time to get crafty, despite having children, cleaning, work, animals, cooking, and a husband all vying for my attention!  

As you can see, I stayed very true to Sketch 20, only changing a few minor things.  I really like this sketch and could see myself using it several times!

All my papers as well as my bits and pieces came from a couple of older Paper Bakery Kits that I purchased when they were having a huge sale at their SHOP.  I just put everything in a big pile on my desk and started crafting!  Here are a couple of close-ups:

Would you like to play along?  Just head to the PAPER BAKERY BLOG and link up your take on Sketch #20.  We would love to see you use Paper Bakery Kits, but it is not necessary.  And, if you are chosen as our random winner, you get a $10 gift certificate to the shop!  The deadline is March 1st at midnight!

Happy crafting!

Valentine's Cards

Today, we are sharing Valentines over at PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS.  I decided to take the challenge to create a Valentine project literally and made a couple of cards using leftover papers and bits and pieces from my PAPER BAKERY LOVE POTION #9 SCRAPBOOK KIT.  Yep, so far I have made four layouts and three cards from one kit.  AND, I have enough left over to make another card or two.  That's a pretty awesome kit, if you ask me!

Here is the second Valentine I made with my kit (the third card is an everyday card that I will share later):

I do not consider myself a "card maker;" however, this kit contained so many cute design elements that even my simple cards turned out absolutely adorable.  I am sure they will put a smile on my Valentines' faces!

Have you made your Valentine Cards yet?  Better hurry!  Only 7 days left to V Day!!!

P.S. - did you know that both PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS and PAPER BAKERY have sketches posted each month?  If you like to use sketches to create your layouts and cards, you are going to love these!  Be sure to check them out (and tell them Krissy sent you).

2014: The Year of Selfies

You know me, I am cuh-ray-zee about sketches - absolutely love them, even if what I create sometimes doesn't look anything even remotely like the sketch I used!  So, it was icing on the cake to find out that The Paper Bakery has not one, but two, sketch challenges this month.  The current challenge is HERE.  And this is what I created using that sketch:

Now, there is a story behind this layout - oh, yes, there is.  My 13 year old, that once sweet baby of mine who has turned into a teenager (and all that that implies), told me that I was too old to take selfies.  In fact, she said I was too old to even use the word "selfie."  Really.  Too old?  Hmmmm...I am in my mid to upper 40's and everyone knows that 40 is the new 30 so, in my book, that makes me practically a teen myself.  Okay okay, I may be a teen with some parts that are definitely more wrinkled than they were 30 years ago and other, more unmentionable things....  BUT - I now have the means to buy a cell phone with a camera feature AND I was able to purchase my own laptop AND I am the person who pays the bills every month that keep us connected to every form of social media that would know what the word "selfie" means.  Soooo - as I calmly and rationally explained to my daughter, that means I can take and post all the selfies I want.  And then, I did the most immature thing ever - I promptly took a few selfies and turned them into a scrapbook layout.  I also made a proclamation that this shall be the Year of Selfies for me.  That's right, 2014 will be all selfies, all the time!  THAT WILL SHOW HER - HA!

So there you have it - a layout created because of a major snit.  And, I love it - obviously.  

I used my Paper Bakery Love Potion #9 KIT to create this layout.  The feather and "news flash" stamp were included with previous kits; however, they were so cute, I had to include them.  Here are a few close-ups:

Want to play along with the sketch or maybe create a layout using your own selfies?  We would love to see them!  Simply link to the BLOG or the Paper Bakery FACEBOOK PAGE.

And, of course, feel free to leave a comment here.  I l-o-v-e feedback!

One Kit - Two Looks (Paper Bakery Kit Club)

I love scrapbooking - that is no secret.  And I love kits because everything is put together for me ahead of time so I can spend less time gathering supplies and more time crafting.  But - the sign of a really good kit is one that will let me achieve different looks with my projects, depending on how I use my supplies.  The Paper Bakery's January Kit, Love Potion #9, is exactly that kind of kit.  

Here is my first layout, which I had a blast making!  I adore bright colors so all the pops of yellow and teal made me a very happy girl.

Have a little too much blank space on your layout that's driving you crazy because you are NOT a minimalist clean and simple girl?  Well, if you are me, then you simply fill it up with a few ink splatters and a bunch o' sequins.

A-n-d if you are like me and have a sweet little glassine bag that is empty because you used all your sequins (or at least used all the ones that didn't end up scattered all across your floor), then why not add it to the layout, too?  I stitched around the edges of mine and tucked a journaling tag into it.  See?

Those little October Afternoon chipboard frames? Well, they just make me happy - plain and simple...

So, there you have one look.  Here is the second:

This layout has a softer, more vintage-y look.  And - rather than layering my papers like I often do, I instead layered my ephemera on this layout.  How did I do it?  Basically, I took every single bit and piece out of a bag full of bits and pieces from My Mind's Eye's Lost and Found Collection and moved each piece around on my layout.  If I liked it, it stayed.  If I didn't, it went back in the bag.  If I wasn't sure, it sat by the side of my layout until the end.  

Would you have guessed that these two layouts were made with the same kit?  I don't think I would have.

That's it for me today.  Do you like what you see?  If so, please stop by the Paper Bakery BLOG and let them know what you think!  And, of course, it would mean the world to me if you would let ME know what you think, too!!!

Playing with Paper Bakery and Dreaming Big

I am up on the Paper Bakery BLOG today with my first layout and tutorial for them using January's Love Potion #9 SCRAPBOOK KIT.  Can you guess what my layout is about?  If you guessed it is about my recent CHA trip (where I got to meet Sarah, the wonderful owner of Paper Bakery) - you would be correct!  But, my layout is about a little more than that, too.  

I was at a crop with two of my friends this past weekend, and we were involved in part of a discussion about the insecurity that seems to go along with scrapbooking, cardmaking, and mixed media - especially when we strive to be on design teams for the manufacturers whose products inspire us.  We allow ourselves to take a hobby or past time that is supposed to make us feel good about ourselves and, instead, we let it become a source of self-doubt.  We wonder what it is that makes someone else's style better than ours and we wrestle with the temptation to copy another style, another idea - in short, somebody else's dream.  And if we take a step back we see - that is crazy.  That is sheer stressful craziness.  And I don't want that.  

So - this layout symbolizes that.  It's a pledge to myself - a pledge that I am going to keep trying to make the dreams I have come true.  But while I am doing that, I am going to keep three things in mind always:

1. I will stay true to myself and I will keep my own style.  I may not know what my style is called (and anyone who does know, PLEASE tell me - I am pretty sure paper-hoarder is not a style!) but I know it is my own and I know it is consistent.  Even if I am the only person who likes what I do, the only thing that matters is that I like what I do!
2. I will only apply to teams or challenges that inspire me.  That means I will not apply to a manufacturer's team if I don't normally buy their products - no matter the temptation, the thought that I might be passing up my one big chance.  That's not making my dream come true; that's becoming a slave to an idea.
3. Most of all, I will enjoy what I do.  I fell in love with scrapbooking because it made me feel happy and creative.  I absolutely refuse to let it be a source of stress!!!

Okay, stepping down off my soapbox!  Back to Paper Bakery - I knew it was the right kit club for me because its collections were filled with items that I had already purchased on my own.  I tend to stick with one or two manufacturers' products when I am working on a project, so it is a refreshing change to have papers and supplies to work with from several different manufacturers at the same time.  And best of all, it's already all coordinated and put together for me!  Look how nicely everything comes together on this layout:

I never would have thought to include vintage-y My Mind's Eye Lost and Found bits and pieces with these papers, but it works!  That's what I like about kit clubs, and especially Paper Bakery - they combine things so that I use them in different ways than I may have on my own.

Oh, one last thing before I go - see that title?  That was created from my own handwriting and then cut out on the Silhouette!  Yep, that title is created from my messy lefty cursive writing.  Want to see how I did it?  Then check out my TUTORIAL on the Paper Bakery Blog!  (It's simple)  Oh, and leave a comment if you like it!

Happy Crafting!!!

SCRAPPING OUR STASH: PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS BLOG HOP

Welcome to the Practical Scrappers Blog Hop 

where we are Scrapping our Stash.

You should have just arrived from Nicole Laha's BLOG.  If, however, you just found me by accident and want to start at the very beginning (that's a very good place to start), then just click the link for PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS.

As I am sure you know, CHA is this weekend.  That means all the manufacturers we know and love are putting out all kinds of fabulous new goodies for us to play with. So what better time to kick off our new monthly series of Scrapping our Stash than now, when we are getting ready to get lots of new stuff in!   Right?  Right!!

Before I show you what I created from my stash, I want to give a special shout out to the sponsor of today's hop: Kiwi Lane Designs!

Kiwi Lane Designs creates templates that help take the frustration out of scrapbooking!  And one lucky winner today will get a border set and an accessory set from Kiwi Lane.  We at Practical Scrappers are big fans of Kiwi Lane Designs in fact, several of our Practical Scrappers are either currently on or have been part of Kiwi Lane's design team!  

 There's a lot of blogs to hop to, and we sure would love for you to visit as many of us as possible (and maybe leave a nice comment or two).  BUT - it is not mandatory to qualify for the Kiwi Lane grand prize.  

Want to know how to qualify for the grand prize? You can do any or all of the following for up to three entries!

1) Become a follower here

2) Become a fan on our Practical Scrapper facebook page

3) Become a fan on the Kiwi Lane facebook page and make sure to tell them we sent ya!

And one last thing, be sure to leave a comment on the Practical Scrappers blog to let us know what you did.

Speaking of stash, I have some new stash coming in from PAPER BAKERY, including some exclusive FLAIR that you cannot find anywhere else!  I have two extra packs to give away as candy at the end of this blog hop.  How do you win it?  It's simple -  become a follower on my blog (if you aren't one already) and leave me a comment.  I love feedback, and it would make my day to hear from you!

Here is what I created for this hop - a little layout using (mainly) Lily Bee's We R Family Collection:

Now you might be saying, "Krissy, the We R Family Collection is not that old.  How can this possibly be an example of you scrapping your stash?"  Well, it's like this.  I have been playing with my Lily Bee products and recently created two other layouts.  They can be found HERE and HERE.   By the time I finished with them, my work table was covered with lots of scraps and a couple of lonely Lily Bee papers that I had not yet used.  Rather than put them back in their little folder on the shelf, I took the lazy way out came up with the ingenious time-saving idea to go ahead and make one more layout, effectively using up all of my stash.  Now I have an empty paper folder just waiting for the new Everyday Collection, which I cannot wait to get my hands on! (Note:  I did use a few embellishments that were also sitting out on my table by Jillibean Soup.  But Jillibean and Lily Bee play nicely with each other on my layout, don't you think?)

Here are a couple of close-ups:

Well, that's it for me.  Your next stop on our hop is WENDI ROBINSON.  Happy hopping!!!

WINNER AND DESIGN TEAM NEWS!

Well, color me happy!  You all left such wonderful comments on my blog during the recent BLOG HOP, and I am so grateful and feeling a little blessed for all the kind words!  If I could, I would give out a PRETTY LITTLE STUDIO gift certificate to everyone who left a comment (because I l-o-v-e their products).  But I am afraid that might cause a little marital discord between the Hubster and me so I had better stick to the plan and just give away one.  And the winner is....drum roll please...chosen by Random.org...

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:11
Using my awesome college education, I was able to count and determine that Patricia is the winner of the gift certificate!  Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go Patricia!  Go Patricia!  You're the winner!  You're the winner!  I will send you the code for your gift certificate a-s-a-p.
Now, on to my newest happy news.  I have been wanting to join the design team for a kit club for a while now.  But I wanted to make sure the kit club was one that suited my style and was a good fit for me.  I have been drooling over THE PAPER BAKERY'S kits for some time now and...apparently they think I am a good fit, too!  (insert very big, huge grin on my face here!)

I am equally excited to be working with these talented crafty ladies!  Can I get a woot woot?!!
Be sure to stay tuned.  I have a little video tutorial to share with you...