Banners and Arrows and Sketches, Oh My!

Today at PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS, we are playing with banners and flags - which is one of my mostest favoritest never-want-them-to-go-out-of-style trends!  I'm not kidding - just this morning there was a poll on Facebook asking what trend we never wanted to go out of style.  And my answer was, of course, banners!

 

I have had the Lula Bug with me all weekend, and the pool was calling our names, so my free time to scrap was pretty much set to zero.  But, you have to live life to be able to document it.  So that is what we were doing - living life! (and maybe getting a lil' bit sunburned in the process)

 

Anyway, what that means is that when I found a way to combine a fun June sketch challenge over at MY MINDS EYE with Monday's Practical Scrappers assignment to create a layout with banners and flags, I jumped at the chance.  In case you didn't see it, the sketch can be found HERE.  And you see my take on it above - a lot "fuller" than sketch, but that's what I love about scrapbooking.  Everything is open to interpretation!

 

I had so much fun creating all the details on this layout.  Want to see a close-up or two?  Why, of course you do!!!  Here you go:

This is my banner that I made with my Silhouette Cameo.  I love the fact that the banner file already included the word "today" as a cutout.  So that the word could be seen clearly, I layered a solid pink eyelet trim behind each cutout. I also machine stitched just about every sheet of paper on this layout, and I added pop dots in several places to further accentuate my layers. 

 

Here is an even closer close-up:

 I absolutely love all the rich detail of MME's Find Your Wings and Fly Collection!!!  And MME always has just the right ratio of shabby chic and trendy.

 

Part of the MME sketch challenge was to use arrows, so I made sure I included several of those in my layout, too.

 

That's it for me today.  Be sure to come back tomorrow to see a new reveal and to find out who has won prizes from this past weekend's blog hop!!!

A Nautical Layout - Practical Scrappers

Ahoy mateys!  I am catching up with a layout I should have posted last week.  Arrrggghhh - where has the time gone?  I feel like I have been stranded on a desert island with Gilligan's castaways, only my "island" is a tall office building that I got shipwrecked on after setting sail on the SS J-O-B!  But enough whining about the 9 to 5 routine, I obviously enjoy it or I wouldn't still be there.  And it does pay for my nifty scrapbooking supplies, like the wonderful Down by the Shore Collection by FANCY PANTS DESIGNS, which was perfect for this layout inspired by an instagram photo my oldest bebe sent to me.

 

I used my Silhouette to create the chevron cut paper behind my photo.  I then sewed a couple of the cut chevrons to the bottom of my layout and added bits of confetti that were still laying on my workspace from an earlier project.  They remind me of a spray of water, and I like the way these and my mist splatters help to fill up the space on my layout without making it feel cluttered. 

 

 

I also L-O-V-E the ephemera that Fancy Pants created for this line! Little pieces like these paper clips and brads are exactly what I tend to use most on my layouts. I added clouds (again cut with my Silhouette), a few buttons, and a piece of twine - and my clusters around my photo were j-u-u-s-s-t right.

 

 

That's it for me.  Want more nautical layouts?  Simply click here to see what inspiration other PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS have for you!

 

(Pssst - want to make my day?  It's easy - leave a comment!  I would love to hear from you!)

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?

Celebrating Friday at Practical Scrappers with a New Sketch

It's Friday, and it's my turn to blog over at PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS - yippee!!!  And to complete the trifecta of fun, I have created a new sketch, which is what I used to create this layout about my wonderful son who is about to turn 18 (gulp!).  Want to see it?  You do?  Well, click on the link to PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS (that's right, I linked to it twice), where you can see my sketch along with close-ups of this layout!

TTFN!

Remembering the Good Times...

We just came back from one of the best family vacations I have ever been on.  It started out with a long road trip, where we played the alphabet game, sang songs, napped, talked about anything and everything, and stopped at convenience stores and produce stands; and it ended in Florida on a beach with white sand, gentle waves, and beautiful turquoise water.  We didn't do anything particularly special once we got there, but that's exactly what made our vacation so wonderful.  We relaxed.  We played on the beach.  We spent time together.  And we didn't rush anywhere - not once.

Of course, a vacation means pictures, and I still managed to take lots (and lots and lots) of them.  For my first layout using my vacation photos, I chose to go with Heidi Swapp's Sugar Chic Collection.  I had just finished using it for another layout, one that didn't use beach pics.  I still had the papers out and being the completely lazy innovative person that I am, I decided they would do quite nicely for my beach-themed photos, too!

I used a punch to make my flowers - so simple and so pretty!  The small journaling tags were actually from October Afternoon's 9 to 5 Collection, but they matched perfectly so I decided to use them.

If one layer is good, five is better.  Add a little paint and some stitching, and it's practically perfect (in every way)!

I wanted to get Hunter's impressions and thoughts from our vacation, so I conducted a quick interview and typed out her answers.  I fashioned a pocket from the paper behind the pictures, and I made a simple little booklet to place in it, with a picture on the outside and my daughter's answers to my questions inside. 

Vacation may be over, but we have those wonderful memories filed away - just waiting for us to pull out and read (and remember) in the years to come.

Happy Summer, and Happy Fourth of July!

Practical Scrappers Wednesday

(Note:  If you are here for the Lori Whitlock Blog Hop, click HERE - or just scroll down to the entry right before this one.)

Today is water-themed layout day over at Practical Scrappers.  And because I am currently vacationing on a beach in sunny Florida, I thought it only appropriate that my layout should include a beach picture.  I love this picture of Sweet Little Lula and her friend running into the waves at the beach.  Although you can't see their faces, you can just feel the excitement they were experiencing!

I used American Crafts and Pebbles papers for this layout.  And even though I didn't use beach-themed papers, I primarily used blues and browns and other soft, faded colors to help provide my beach feel.  I think it works, don't you?

A close-up  of the cluster in the corner of my layout.  And simple, handwritten journaling was all that was needed.

Of course, I just HAD to add a banner.  And I really enjoyed cutting out a few of the hexagons and adding popdots behind them to add a little subtle dimension to my layout!

I am loving using these Mister Huey's masks!!!  Have you tried them yet?  They are so much fun, and I love the look they give my layouts!

That's it for me today.  Hope this has inspired you to celebrate summer and create your own water-themed layout! 

It's a Lori Whitlock Blog Hop!

Greetings from sunny Florida where I am on vacation!  Yep, we gathered up the youngest two in our brood, stuffed  loaded them into our overpacked vehicle and headed east on I-10 for about 10 hours to get to the land of sunshine, endless beaches, and white sand.  Even on vacation, though, I like to send out cards with a personal touch - a post card of Big Al's Gator Farm just isn't for me.  So...(insert sound of record screeching to a stop)...

Wait a minute!  First, let's talk about Lori's wonderful blog hop.  She has been up to some super exciting stuff lately, and we are celebrating - yippee!  Now, you should have arrived from JOY'S BLOG. Don't you love her condiment caddy?  If I could have fit one more thing in our car, I probably would have asked Joy to let me borrow it for our trip - it looks perfect for a little picnic!  If you are just arriving and want to start at the very beginning, click HERE.

Lori has had so much wonderful news to share with us lately - she has launched her new and improved shop, she has terrific new cutting files almost every day it seems, and she has teamed up with Jessica Sprague to offer us digital designs, too!  And to celebrate all this funliness - that's right, I said funliness - Lori is offering YOU this awesome free file available for download today only.  I love it when people celebrate something by giving US free goodies, don't you?

Now, back to my project - instead of sending those postcards of Big Al's Gator Farm, I like to send quick personalized cards.  Lori has quite a few suh-weet summer files out to choose from, but I really fell in love with her bathing suits on a clothesline - it's simple, it's cute, and it's FUN. 

I initially started just making the first card using Lori's clotheline swim suits file (I layered my twine over her clothes line) - my card was quick and easy to make, so I "mass-produced" it and plan to insert a few vacation pictures before sending to a few family members and friends.

As I was cutting my bathing suits, I realized I also had the perfect card idea for a dear friend of mine who is having a birthday.  She marches to the beat of her own drum, no doubt about it, and a ordinary card simply would not work!  So, I came up with this quick, fun card - the inside says, "Happy Birthday to a true original!"  Pretty clever, huh? 

That's it for me today - the beach is calling my name and I can't stay inside a second longer.  Don't worry though, Lori is having a sale on her new shapes in the SHOP, and there are so many fabulous new files for you to check out! I can't wait to play with them when I get back!

Your last stop is LISA! I know you are going to love what she made!  Happy crafting!

Funky Mixed Media (using Lori Whitlock)

Happy Monday everybody!  I was looking at Lori Whitlock's cutting files, which are all so wonderful and perfect for everyday home decor and projects.  But, this time, rather than doing the "usual thing" I decided to challenge myself and do something a little different (that I have been wanting to do for a LONG time) - a mixed media canvas.

First, since I didn't have a clue where to start (other than by looking at all the great projects on Pinterest), I let my fingers take me over to Youtube where I found a very helpful TUTORIAL on how to make a background on my Canvas. 

Next, I headed over to Lori's STORE, where I found her Summer Icons and Water Titles files, which were exactly what I needed for my mermaid art.

After I Gessoed and painted my background, I applied a Gel Medium to the backs of my shapes and stuck them in place.  I then brushed more Gel Medium over the tops of my shapes; it dries clear so I didn't have to worry about the vibrant colors of my papers getting diminished one little bit.    I used American Crafts papers this time because I wanted something super bright that would match my daughter's room.

My mermaid was a LOT of fun to make!  First, because I DO NOT DRAW WELL AT ALL, I found a simple image of a mermaid that I converted to black and white and printed out.  Next, I cut out a picture of my youngest child's head, and I simply glued it on top of the mermaid.  I wanted her tail to have scales so I used my paper hole punch and punched and punched and...punched some more.  Then I layered and layered and layered until I got just the right look I wanted.  I painted in spots around the body to help blend it into the painting.  The crown was hand-drawn (about the extent of my drawing skills) and added last.  Here's another close-up of the tale - because it took me for-ev-er to do...

And here are some close-ups of Lori's files that were used on my canvas...

And that's it for today.  Now it's your turn.  Go ahead - take a chance - do something you've never done before!  Go on!  I dare you!

Practical Scrappers - Summer Layouts and Cards

I have so much fun with PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS- especially when the challenge is to design a layout and card about one of my favorite seasons - summer! I created this using a recent CREATIVE SCRAPPERS sketch from its Sunshine Crop along with a favorite pic of one of my daughters and her guy taken last year when they were at the beach surfing

The sketch really caught my eye because of all the layering, and I am very happy with the end result!

I think muted papers are just about perfect for beach layouts.  And I really, really like the messy ink-splattered effect on these lovely patterned papers by We R Memory Keepers.  As far as I am concerned, a little messiness is always a good thing!

I thought the "name" of this paper - Down by the Sea - was perfect for my title.  So I cut it out and added it to my layout, on my picture.  See?  Some may call it laziness; I prefer to call it ingenuity.

I love summer SO MUCH that I also created a summer-themed card for Practical Scrappers two days ago.  Of course, it was a piece of cake.  I simply used the bright papers and the adorable stickers from my Echo Park Hello Summer Collection.  I added a few buttons and a little bit of baker's twine and I was done.  Quick and cute!

And that's it for the day!  Hope you are having a lovely start to YOUR summer!

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!