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.

Pretty Little Studio - Sketch Play

I had my Saturday all planned out earlier in the week, complete with which crafty project I wanted to work on.  But when I was browsing through Facebook, chatting with my friends, on Friday afternoon I saw a fantastic sketch on the PRETTY LITTLE STUDIO Page that had me quickly revising my scrapbook plans and frantically hunting through my supply closet for some PLS goodies so I could play along.  Want to see the sketch that had me so happy?  Okay!  Just click HERE. 

 

Before I show you what I did, I want to tell you why I like PLS.  Yes, they have all sorts of C-U-T-E ephemera - and we all know how much I luurrrrve pretty paper bits and pieces.  But, most importantly (to me), they are located in my home state of South Carolina - just a hop, skip, and a jump away from my hometown, SUMTER, where I spent the first 19 years of my life (not to be confused with FORT SUMTER, which is actually located off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina and which is famously known as the fort upon which the initial shots that began the Civil War were fired.)  Bet you didn't know you were going to get a geography and history lesson in addition to a few pictures of my layout, did you?  Anyway, how can I NOT like a company that makes me think about my hometown and my roots every time I see its logo?  So - you clicked on the link to see the sketch (you DID click on it, didn't you?) and now, here is my layout...ta-da!

 

 

 I didn't have any of the suh-weet little tags featured on the PLS sketch, so I had to cheat and create my own using my Silhouette Cameo (Repeat after me:  I. Love. My. Cameo!). 

 

 

My papers are all by OCTOBER AFTERNOON (including the slightly crumpled background paper) because they have a similar vintage kind of feel to them as PLS.  Can you tell which OA collection most of these papers come from?  If you guessed the 9-5 Collection, give yourself a gold star.  Yep - proof that you can make just about anything Christmas-y if you set your mind to it!

 

 

My banner was made from some PLS pennant flags that I am almost certain I have had for about two years.  I remember I loved them when I first saw them and so I hoarded bought several packages.  I alternated sewing around the edges of each pennant with straight and zig zag stitches.  Then I added chipboard letters for my title and glued a coordinating button to the tip of each pennant.

 

I also had a LOT of small PLS Bingo Cards (again, that hoarding planning-ahead thing) in my crafty closet.  Remember when Bingo Cards were being used on EVERYTHING a year or so ago?  Yeah, that's when I stocked up.  Then I discovered - I'm not really a Bingo Card kinda gal.  But that's okay, because I AM the kind of gal who likes to use her Star punch.  And these Bingo Cards?  They make some wonderfully bright, festive, FUN stars! 

 

See?  They stand out and create a terrific top layer, especially with pop dots behind a few of them for added dimension.

 

And they, along with a couple of OA brads, compliment my cluster at the bottom corner of my photo perfectly!  Don't you think?

 

 

So there you have it.  The project that I HAD to drop everything for and complete RIGHT NOW.  And now I have a few more plans for those Bingo Cards that I can't wait to get started on.  Be sure to stay tuned...

Playing Along with October Afternoon

I spent the better part of my day creating layouts for calendar pages for one of my daughters, so after I had that all wrapped up, I was more than ready to try something fun for myself.  A quick perusal of the World Wide Web took me to October Afternoon's BLOG which is full of fun challenges, including a 9 to 5 Sketch Challenge (using a sketch made by Jill Sprott).

I didn't have any pictures of my family members that I wanted to use for this challenge, and my kids flat out refused weren't available for me to take some quick photos, so I decided to create a layout about something I enjoy doing in my spare time (when I am not scrapbooking).  What is that, you ask?  I'll tell you.  It's reading on my Kindle, in my favorite comfy chair, with a hot cup of coffee by my side.  It's one of my favorite ways to relax in the evening.

I followed the sketch pretty closely, but I decided to layer my photos and random embellishments on top of the grid pattern - something that seems to be pretty popular right now.  I placed pop dots under all three of my photos and a few of my embellies to add dimension.

Journaling was kept simple.  A little handwriting that incorporated my title into what I had to say.

And that's it.  I am really liking all these "office collections" that are coming out lately.  I think for a "real challenge" I may bring a few items back from my office and try to incorporate those into my next layout!  How do you feel about these collections?  Love them, hate them, or indifferent?

Let's Capture These Sketches and a First for Me!

Guess what? It's that time again - a new sketch over at LCOM!!! It's a great one by Natalie Roy and can be found HERE, along with wonderful layout ideas by the other LCOM sketch design team members!

I used some fabulous October Afternoon papers from the Farmhouse Collection on my layout that I recently purchased from the LCOM STORE.

I love the pack of ephemera included with the Farmhouse collection!

I also loved the banner paper. I HAD to fussy cut the images and sew them onto my layout, using two different types of stitches (straight and zig zag).

And now....onto the first for me. Last night, I was supposed to be working on a layout, but I couldn't find the right pictures to use. So, instead I ended up playing on my computer and on Photoshop. And...I created...my very first....

SKETCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yippee!!!! Here it is.

What do you think? Is it okay, considering it's a first attempt (and my knowledge of Photoshop is rudimentary at best)? I would love your feedback! And, if you decide to use it to make your own layout, it would make my week if you shared a link!