Simply Wonderful: PageMaps + Little Yellow Bicycle

I'm super excited to get to work with PageMaps again. I do love to design my own layouts but there's just something about sketches that simply the creative process and that's good to mix in as often as possible!  Little Yellow Bicycle and PageMaps teamed up this month and I was given this 12x12 sketch to design with.  Here's what I created, something Simply Wonderful in my opinion.

I used the Fern & Forest Boy collection that Little Yellow Bicycle sent me. The colors are so bold and striking. To create this layout, I painted Heidi Swapp mists on the paper with my fingers, adding in the Bronzer color between the colors.

I then stitched a circle over the dried mists and added banner strips under the photo as a sort of mat. I added additional elements, such as journaling cards and chipboard to give it added dimension.

Lastly, I used sticker letters for the word "simply" and then wrote the word wonderful using a sketchpad app on my iPad and then traced it in Silhouette Studio. Several of my fellow LYB DT members thought I had written the word with twine and I love that it kind of looks like that but without the fuss.

Thanks for the opportunity, PageMaps and Little Yellow Bicycle! LYB is doing a fun sketch challenge giveaway over on PageMaps so make sure to check it out HERE!

Let Your Light Shine

I snapped several photos of my girls at the park the other day and I just love this one. My daughter was playing with a bowl of sand on a wooden play set and I snapped this through the wooden slats. Isn't she just the cutest?

When I pulled out the Fern & Forest Girl papers that Little Yellow Bicycle sent me, I was immediately drawn to the woodgrain paper and the wood ring circles. And I just love the wishful words paper. I knew I wanted the wood rings and words to dominate my design. 

A little fussy cutting, distressing, and layering topped with the chipboard shapes and my layout was complete. 

Supplies from Fern & Forest Girl collection: FNG-102 Multi Wood Rings/Light Pink Dots, FNG-104 Twinkling Stripe/Green Chevron, FNG-105 Pixie Dust/Pink Geometric, FNG-107 Fairytale Journal/Dark Pink Chevron, FNG-108 Fanciful Forest/Tan Chevron, FNG-109 Wishful Words/Green Dots, FNG-134 Journaling Cards - with thermography (10 pieces), FNG-279 Chipboard Shapes - with glitter accents (28 pieces)

Head over to the Little Yellow Bicycle blog to see what Liz and Robbie created (and leave me a little scrappy love if you so choose).

Happy Silly Smiles

When my youngest sweetie isn't picking flowers or talking about picking flowers, she's picking berries from the bushes outside our house. She packs as many as she can into her tiny little palms of her hands until their overflowing. Anyway, I snapped these photos of her one day as she was picking those berries. The American Crafts My Girl collection was perfect for this moment!

American Crafts My Girl collection: Cute Chloe paper, Sunny Savannah paper, Precious Penny Paper, Marvelous Madeline Paper, Adorable Abby Paper, Tender Tessa Paper, Dress Up Bits, Swing Details, Noteworthy Stamp, Summersault Details, Amy Tangerine "Authentic Roller Stamp, Amy Tangerine Aspire Stamp, Gesso mixed with Mr. Huey's Bonny Blue mist, Tattered Angels Glimmer Glam "Lipstick Pink", Mr. Hueys Barnwood mist, Close to My Heart Grey Wool ink, 

I kept my layering a bit more simple than I usually do. I was focusing more on the photos of course but also the the My Girl Stamps. I started out with 2x3 photos a tag and a card that I cut from a 12x12 sheet of paper.

I wanted to add paint to give it a pop of color so I added pink Glimmer Glam to the stencil and then laid it down on the paper. I then mixed a batch of Gesso and blue mist to create a thicker paint. I applied it sparingly over the mask and laid it down over the paper again, alternating it over the pink. Then last but not least, I sponge painted grey mist from the center and outlined the mask.

My favorite part of the painted elements is the simple little Cloud 9 stamp. I painted the blue Gesso on the stamp and applied it to the card. It was a bit "gloppy", which is what I was hoping for. It make the perfect background for the inked image that I eventually stamped over it. I repeated these techniques for the arrow and the diamond stamped image at the top.

I'll be back tomorrow with a fun layout using the new Little Yellow Bicycle Fern & Forest Girl.

Love Adventures Together

My oldest baby girl is 9 at exactly 9:40 am today, when this post goes live! I am both excited and sad at the same time to see her growing up. I can definitely see that she is maturing a lot this year. She's more aware and she is actually really into clothes and shopping, something she's never expressed an interest in. That's just one example and I'm citing it today because it is related to this layout I recently created.

I took a several days off work before school started so I could spend some mommy daughter time with my girls. We went to tea rooms, ice cream factory tour, manis/pedis and other fun stuff.

I spent one of the days with just my oldest so we could do back to school shopping. We snapped this quick photo as we took off for our shopping spree.

Supplies: American Crafts Amy Tangerine Sketchbook.

Creative How To: I got these Amy Tangerine sketchbook goodies from American Crafts and quickly went to work. I started this layout knowing I wanted to use the chevron paper and the hearts but plaving the photo on the chevron was not gonna work since it just got lost so I added the grid and just layered away with paper from a 6x6 pad and scrap, die cuts, stickers, bits, journaling cards and more. Before I adhered it all down I took a step back and realized there was something missing from the chevron pattern - a bit of color. I pulled out my Mr Hueys mists and ran my finger across the inside of the nozzle and then dabbed it on the paper quickly spreading it across as it was quickly drying. Just a few dabs here and there and I was happy. Lastly, I doodled a bit and added journaling.

A little mist, two techniques...

 The journaling reads: We played hookie from summer camp and work to have a mommy/daughter day. We spent the afternoon shopping for clothes, shoes and back to school supplies. I had a great time & you said it was the best day ever!

Layers... 

Happy birthday to my oldest baby girl! 

The birthday fairy paid her a visit while she was sleeping. She was SOOOOO excited to wake and find this surprise.

Actually the door was open when she woke so she could see the sign and crepe paper. Her younger sister's room is adjacent to hers. Little sister woke up first and was soo worried that her sister was trapped, until we explained it to her.

The birthday girl busted through like a champ.

xoxo, Mommy!

Mad Hatter Tea Party

I want to show you a layout I did about a month ago but didn't post to my blog since it was for a challenge I was hosting. Anyway, I went to London in June for my job and the hubby was able to join me on the trip. We flew out a few days early to do some sightseeing, all at our personal expense of course!

We absolutely loved our visit to London but I was a little dissapointed with the fact that I could not find a tea room. We came across lots of pubs but seriously where are the tea rooms??? We finally found one in Bath and what do you know? It was an Alice in Wonderland theme. SCORE!

Supplies: Scrapbook Circle Let Freedom Ring kit: Pink Paislee Declaration - Block Party 00718, Declaration - Pinwheel 00715, Declaration - Element Stickers 00721, Declaration - Alphabet Stickers 00722, Declaration - Windsock 00720, Maya Road Chipboard Star, Maya Road Chipboard banners, Bella Blvd Red Washi Tape, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, Imaginisce i-rock, Mr. Huey mists

Although I accidentally smudged the journaling, it reads: I'll admit that I was a bit surprised to discover that they didn't have tea rooms on every corner in London. It wasn't until we went to Bath that we found one...and it was a great one! It was called the Mad Hatter Tea Room and it was all decked out in Alice in Wonderland decor. I got a ham & brie pannini and chai tea!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Big Daddy | Creative Scrappers Blog Hop

Hi there! If you're looking for the Creative Scrappers blog hop, you are in the right place and if you are one of my friendly loyal visitors who is stumbling across this from my blog, today might be your lucky day!

I'm taking part in the Creative Scrappers blog hop. We will be showing off some of our favorite Creative Scrappers Sketches and Layouts and not only can you participate in our hop but you have a chance to win a Creative Scrappers ebook of Sketches "Creating with Sketches" by Kristine Davidson. 

I created this layout of my daughter and her grandfather aka my dad. We call him Big Daddy. That's what I called my dad's dad and since my dad is a Jr., it was most fitting that he be a Big Daddy too! Anyway, we found this fun crazy hair hat and gave it to him as part of his Father's Day gift. He and Rheagan had a great time playing with hats and I was lucky enough to capture a few of them with Instagram!

 

Supplies: Scrapbook Circle June 2012 Field Notes Kit: Crate Paper Story Teller Archives, Studio Calico Abroad Continental, Studio Calico Abroad Boarding Pass, My Mind's Eye Caroline Curious Planks, Simple Stories Documented Chevron, Echo Park This & That Numbers, Echo Park This & That 12 x 12 Alpha Stickers, Bella Blvd Teal Washi Tape, Jillibean Vacation Soup Label, 7 Gypsies Travel/Date Stickers, misc star punch, misc circle punch (3 sizes), Janome sewing machine, Imaginisce i-rock & glam rocks, Mr Hueys Mist in Bonny Blue & Calico, Bazzil Tape Runner, Zig black pen in .5mm.

Creative How To: I used Creative Scrappers sketch 187 by Kristine Davidson. I created 3 little stories on the page with layers of paper and embellishments. I strategically placed certain words, like "misdirected", "historic landmark" etc around the photos. I then misted over the papers, punched stars and 3 different size circles. I splattered them out on the page and when happy with where they landed for the most part, I on;y had to move a few of them around.

Journaling reads: A classic case of the sillies with Big Daddy on Father's Day 2011.

Giveaway #1

Leave a comment here on this post for your chance to win the ebook of Sketches that I am giving away on my blog. This is a separate then the giveaway from Creative Scrappers and all the other gals you'll "meet" on the hop. Next, hop around to the design team blogs for a chance to win more goodies and increase your chances to win an ebook offered by each of them. Once you are done with the hop, please leave a comment and a link to your blog on our main Creative Scrappers Blog Hop Post. This ghope ends on September 8 and winners will be announced on Sept 10.

Giveaway #2: 500 Followers!
Follow my blog to be entered into my 500 followers giveaway! When I reach 500 followers I will randomly select a few winners from my follower list to get special RAKs from me! This will include random assortments of paper, stamps, alphas, embellishments or whatever I am in the mood to throw in the package. Some will be new and some will be "vintage". LOL To enter and become my newest follower just click "Join" in the upper right hand of my blog under my photo. This giveaway ends when I reach 500 followers so check back often. Winners will be announced on my blog. You don't have to become a follower to be eligible for the Creative Scrappers ebook giveaway!

1. Marilyn Rivera

2. Keren Tamir

3. Heather Leopard <--That's ME!

4. Juliana Michaels

5. Kelly Shults

6. Nicole Nowosad

7. Elena Olinevich

8. Chiqui Gutierrez

9. Johanna Rol-Middelbos

10. Stacey Apps

11. Olga Heldwein

12. Rita Ribeiro

13. Deanna Misner

14. Jenny Evans

15. Shannon Morgan

16. Marie-Josée Hamel

17. Elisabeth Bakken

18. Helen Tilbury

19. Ana Castro

20. Janice Daquila-Pardo

21. Debbi Tehrani

22. Michelle Buijsman
23. Kristine Davidson

I hope you enjoy the hop! You have until September 8 to leave your comments with winners being announced on the Creative Scrapper blog on September 10th. 

Now HOP on over to Juliana's blog!! Good luck and thanks for stopping by today!

Hello my name is Spot

I snapped this photo of my daughter and her dog Spot, while Spot was still a relatively new member of the family.  She's a rescue and we just adore her.  Anywho, there's no big story to share about this photo except that these two girls really adore each other.

Supplies: Scrapbook Circle True Stories August 2012 Kit: American Crafts Shoreline Belmont Shore (35736), Sea Isle (35732), Shoreline Bits - Sand Dollar (85585), Pebbles Sunny Side From Me to You (751282), Fancy Pants Country Boutique Barn Door (1596), Simple Stories Summer Fresh, My Mind's Eye On the Sunny Side decorative brads,  Elle's Studio Summer Lovin' Cutouts, aqua twine.

Creative how-to: I used this week's sketch from Creative Scrappers, sketch #221 as a starting point. First, I flicked some mist splatter on my background paper. I fussy cut the Shoreline fireworks looking paper and then layered the two background papers over it, adding the Hello label (I cut the red checkered washi tape so that I could adhere it over the photo), banners, photo and other embellishments. See the yellow and orange label with the brads? I cut that in half and tucked it under the background paper and then set the other half aside. I cut the banner labels from the Pebbles paper and then layered them on top of each other to make a cascading banner. Note that I had to cut the bottom and middle layer in the middle so that they would show on each side. I added it to the top right corner of the layout using the other half of the yellow and orange label, another banner and brad. Lastly was the journaling card.

Journaling reads: You love your dog, Spot and she adores you! I caught her sneaking in doggie kisses, something she does every chance she gets!"

Thanks for stopping by today. I think there might be ONE kit left over at Scrapbook Circle so I suggest you head over there right away and then stop by the Creative Scrappers blog to see the original sketch and what the rest of the design team did!

Joy Ride Kind of Day

I really love Crate Paper! It seems like every single collection is better than the next! I'll admit though that I was on the fence about the newest baby collections but...I do indeed have a lot of baby photos that desperately need to be scrapped so I took the plunge and got as part of my Memorable Seasons kit this month.

When I got it in my hands, my wheels started spinning and I quickly realized it's not just for babies!  This is what I created...

Supplies: Crate Paper Little Bo Peep Matilda paper, Clara paper, alpha labels, phrases, mixed brads, White Bazzill Cardstock, Gears Border cutting file, Silhouette CAMEO

Creative Notes:  Apply liberal amount of paint to background paper (I used my finger). Add enough paint so that it only covers about 1/3 of the page, right in the middle.Cut the gears using a die-cut machine and add different backgrounds to the negative spaces, using coordinating pattern paper. Add your photos on top of the paint and over some of the gears. Include a page anchor at the top right of the page for the names and date. Add a title, tracing around the words that blend in with the paint. Top it off with journaling!

Journaling: We never pass up an opportunity to ride bikes on a gorgeous fall day!

Thanks for stopping by today! Stay tuned for some baby layouts using this collection, coming soon!

American Crafts Guest Designer - Oh yea!

Can you tell how excited I am right now?  I JUMPED at the chance to guest design for American Crafts and the bonus was getting to work with Paige, whose work I admire and blog I stalk. Anyway, I got to work with the new Shoreline and Amy Tangerine Sketchbook collections.


I created 3 layouts, a card and an altered canvas with a vacation theme in mind.  Without further ado, please take a look...


Soak Up the Sun – I created this layout focusing on a day at the beach on a recent trip to the Gulf coast.

I wanted to create a series of suns so I cut circles using various papers and then cut them into 6 pieces each and made new circles of varying papers via paper piecing. I stitched over them and then bent some of the edges to give it dimension.

 

Supplies: Ventura Paper (35731) – Shoreline, Belmont Shore Paper (35736) – Shoreline, Carpinteria paper (35721) – Shoreline, Vero paper (35719) – Shoreline, Myrtle paper (35725) – Shoreline, Cambria paper (35726) – Shoreline, Manhattan Beach paper (35740) – Shoreline, Pacific Beach paper (35737) – Shoreline, Malibu (35722) – Shoreline, Venice Paper (35734) – Shoreline, Bits - Sand Dollar – Shoreline.


Create Adventure – vacation adventures don’t have to include zip lining, airplanes or water for that matter. This particular day, we had a staycation so we stayed and played with chalk.

 

We created all sorts of themes with our chalk but this one was a favorite. I sketched out a crown, wand and frog and my daughter colored it in. We created this silly princess scene and had soo much fun creating our own little adventure story.

Supplies: Veridian Wignette (35676) – Amy Tangerine Sketchbook, Ivory Impression (35677) – Sketchbook, Padma’s Pattern (35673) – Sketchbook, BITS DIE-CUT EMBELLISHMENTS 24/PKG SHAPES(77290) – Sketchbook, FLAT-TOP FABRIC BRADS 12/PKG (85578) – Sketchbook, REMARKS FABRIC STICKERS PAINT (42242) – Sketchbook, REMARKS STICKERS BOOK 8 PAGES ACCENTS & PHRASES (42240) – Sketchbook, BITS DIE-CUT EMBELLISHMENTS 4/PKG LAYERED TAGS (77289) – Sketchbook, Scene Glitter Foam Stickers (53340) – Amy Tangerine Thickers, Boardwalk “Pool” Printed Cardboard Letter Stickers (53361) – American Crafts Thickers


Always My Baby – We were away on Fall vacation when these candid pics were snapped of my daughter and I. She was snuggling up to me and my friend captured these moments. I just adore having such a snuggle bug.

 I used stamps for part of my titling and colored a couple of the letters to make them pop. My journaling is written on the two journaling cards tucked behind the green leaves at the top. 

Supplies: Padma’s Pattern (35673) – Sketchbook, Ivory Impression (35677) – Sketchbook, Harper’s Hue (35687) – Sketchbook, Paige’s Portraits (35691) – Sketchbook, REMARKS FABRIC STICKERS PAINT (42242) – Sketchbook, REMARKS STICKERS BOOK 8 PAGES ACCENTS & PHRASES (42240) – Sketchbook, BITS DIE-CUT EMBELLISHMENTS 4/PKG LAYERED TAGS (77289) – Sketchbook, (77290) – Sketchbook, REMARKS DIMENSIONAL STICKERS DOODLE (42243) – Sketchbook, “Muse” Printed Chipboard Letter Stickers (53343) – Amy Tangerine Thickers, Roxie Acrylic Stamp – American Crafts Stamp


Snow Cones Clear Card – Who doesn’t love a refreshing snow cone treat on a hot day in the sun? This was created using a clear card. I knew I wanted to create two scenes – one on the inside to write a message and the other on the front of the card. They would need to work together to be visually appealing when the card is closed.

I covered the inside with the blue paper and positioned the center of the circle behind the pinwheel on the front cover.

I added a journaling spot and flat embellies to the inside. Then I layered paper, fussy cut elements and the pinwheel over the front.
Supplies: Manhattan Beach paper (35740) – Shoreline, Carpinteria paper (35721) – Shoreline, Vero paper (35719) – Shoreline, Delights Seaside Pinwheels (85586) – Shoreline, Clost to My Heart Clear Card


You Are My Sunshine Canvas – I’ve been wanting to do this canvas for my daughter’s room and when I think of an ideal vacation, I think of the sun. This will be hanging in my daughter’s room so she can daydream of the beach and sunshiny days when she’s playing inside or if the skies are grey.

Can you see the grey skies (Indigo Inspiration paper) behind the main portion of the sun?

Supplies: Sienna Spirit Paper (35672) – Sketchbook, Crimson Charm (35674) – Sketchbook, Kristi’s Craft (35682) – Sketchbook, Charlotte’s Shade (35684) – Shoreline, Indigo Inspiration (35686) – Sketchbook, Harper’s Hue (35687) – Sketchbook, Large 16x20 Canvas from LSS, Folk Art Paint – mix of yellow and mustard, Silhouette Cameo


I had fully intended to create a photo tutorial but I only took one prep photo. I just really got into making this and was having so much fun that I forgot to take more photos. The good thing is that the photo I have is probably the most important! Anyway, I thought I'd at least offer up a written step x step:

1. Gather a canvas, multiple pieces of paper, adhesive - mod podge and glue dots, painter's tape, alphas (either store bought or cut from a digital file) and paint.
2. Cut your papers into strips and mod podge them to the canvas in whatever pattern you desire.
3. Make a large circle, you can you a plate - I used a drafting tool my hubby had. Line it up to the corner, making sure it's large enough to get all you letters in or make your letters smaller. Mod podge it to the canvas.
4. Make a 1/2" mask for the edge of the sun, using the same tool you used to cut the circular part of the plate.  
5. Using painter's tape, begin to tape down the rays for the sun. Keep in mind that the parts that aren't covered is where the paint will be and the taped parts are where the papers will be exposed.  You want the space between the taped areas to be wide enough to look like rays. Be sure to make the widths different sizes.
6. I struggled with the best way to do this next part. I'll tell you what I did but it was a little risky.  I applied glue dots to the back of my letters and before I laid them on the grey skies paper I took most of the tacky off of them, simply by pressing my fingers repeatedly on the side of the glue dot that would be touching the paper.  The last thing I wanted to do was to have it rip my paper when I peeled the letters off.
7. Once everything was laid out, I painted over the canvas. I went with a thin coat because I wanted to be able to see a faint pattern of the paper. You may choose to go heavier depending on your goals.
8. I set it aside to dry for a short while, peeled the tape off and carefully removed each letter.

I hope you enjoyed my creations and I hope I made the American Crafts team proud!  Thanks for having me, Paige! If you started here, please head over to the American Crafts blog and leave me some love! Make sure to check out all the CHA Summer sneaks going on over there right now!