OLW6: Overlapping

Yo!
It's been a crazy-busy week around here as well as being super-hot for May. Blergh.
However, I have snuck in a little creating here and there. Here's one:

Another One-Layer Wednesday challenge from Susan! This time, our task was to overlap our image and sentiment. I went a little nuts, admittedly. Everything does overlap, however, so I think it counts! :)

By the way, this was not my first attempt. It's my third: my first two attempts involved a tree and were just too sad-looking to stick with. I went all girly and pink and it worked for me!

The chandelier (from SU's Grand Soiree) is stamped in silver on Papertrey's raspberry fizz cs, and then I laid out all the words right on top (From Papertrey's Top Ten and additions). Once they were where I wanted them, I just plopped my block down on top and then inked and stamped them all at once, using Staz-On. I figured solvent ink would stick to the silver a little better -- it isn't perfect, but it kinda looks mercury glass-like, which isn't a bad thing in my book.

Hope you dig it!  Off to brainstorm a little -- I made the semi-finals for the summer CAS design team at Splitcoast, so now I gotta figure out what to make next.  Hooray!

Time Flies...and happy mail!

Hey there -
I haven't posted in almost a week -- bad, bad blogger!
Anywho, I do have a couple pages I made for Scrappy Chic that I haven't posted yet, so I thought I'd share those with you today.

First up:

A fun, layer-y layout here, featuring my lovely husband working hard (as usual) in the orchestra pit. His school's musicals are always really good!
Almost everything here is Basic Grey -- one of their doilies (from an older line -- June Bug, maybe?), some Max and Whiskers, some Basics (the background, plus stickers and stamps). The fun houndstooth tape is Pink Paislee. That stuff is addictive. Thickers and Tiny Type round it out.

Next:

A very clean, simple layout featuring LYB's Snugglebug line -- there are really cute designs for boys and girls, and not all of them are child-specific (especially the B-sides). Here, I went with a couple of the geometric patterns -- I love that they feature orange in addition to the traditional blue and green. That Thickers font is one of my new favorites, though I wish I could get it in more colors!

Finally, I got some happy mail at the end of last week!

A Cosmo Kit is always welcome at my house -- and even better, it's one I didn't already have!! This was a little gifty from Cath at Moxie Fab for being a Moxie Fab winner!  You can see my post here. I gotta say, it's pretty cool to see my own work online. Kinda addictive, actually.

Thanks for stopping by!

OLW5: Faux Embellishments

Howdy!
Today's One-Layer Wednesday challenge at Susan's Simplicity blog is to use faux embellishments -- stamps that imitate dimensional embellishments. No layers, no actual dimension - just one layer and ink!
I looked in vain to find a little Technique Tuesday set full of cute little stitch images, but once I gave up, I thought, "Fabric"!
So, I grabbed my good old Bella Toile background stamp from SU, plus Say it with Style from Papertrey (again!). Here's the result:

Both of these babies are 3.5x5 -- that way, I don't have to stamp the background quite as carefully :)
The one on the left came first - black and riding hood red (my favorite red ink by far!). Then I cleaned off my stamp and went at it again with Lemon Tart from Papertrey and Not Quite Navy from SU. I got a surprise after stamping -- the yellow turned out peach! Kind of a gradation of peach, actually. Apparently my stamp scrubber itself needs a cleaning -- it didn't quite get the red out :)
So, peach it is. Probably my least favorite color. Can't win every time! It's still kinda pretty, though.

Thanks for stopping by! You should play along, too -- good times abound.

Glittery goodness

Howdy - happy Monday!
I have a few new layouts to share -- and this time, I actually have some detail shots for you. There are some gorgeous papers here, but I added a few glittery, shiny touches of my own.

So, here's #1:

This one uses some lovely, lovely Webster's Pages goodies. Their papers seem at first glance to be really subject-specific, but the ones I've used in today's post (from the garden-themed collection) are surprisingly, sweetly neutral. Here's how I jazzed it up a bit:

  

{Don't forget - click on any photo to see even more detail!}
In the top photo, you can just barely see that I added some glossy accents to the bird and all the flower centers. The banner is highlighted with Rock Candy distress Stickles, which I love for a subtle, chunky look.  Up there in the middle is one of the super-cool Webster's buttons, along with some pearls from Kaiser and a closer look at the glittery goodness of the Melody Ross birdie border strip. And finally, another button, along with more pearls and some rhinestones. I think clustering them around the border of the photo prevents all those accents from looking sticker-sneezy, if you know what I mean!

And next:

Aww, another sweet kitty picture. Again, not garden-specific, photo-wise, but it fits the theme. What else would Marty dream of but happy little birds? :) And for the details:

 

On the top, some LYB pins stuck through some crocheted trim knotted in a Jenni Bowlin chipboard button. I used wirecutters to trim the pointy bits after I added the pins - safety first! On the bottom, I used some very shimmery stickles on the banner. The blue birdies are stamped (Crafty Secrets) and watercolored with dye ink and a water brush. Super-quick, but snazzy!

I had a lot of fun with these - I hope you enjoy them! Someday soon, you can see them in person at Scrappy Chic (or just go there to get some goodies of your own!).

OLW4: Add a Ribbon!

Hi there!
Susan/Lateblossom's One-Layer Wednesday challenge this week is to add a ribbon...so I did!  Here's my card:

Turquoise and orange together make me happy. This, more specifically, is Hawaiian Shores (ink) and Orange Zest (ink and ribbon). The sentiment is from Say it with Style (PTI), the star is from SU's Starstruck (which rarely gets to see ink), and the little notebook paper-looking stamp in the background is from a new Basic Grey Basics set. Fun, quick, and a layout I turn to over and over again.
Feel free to play along! Susan posts a new challenge every Wednesday here on her blog.

I'm Moxie Fab!

No, really, I am!
Want proof? Go here and scroll a tiny bit.
I'm so excited! The other projects are awesome, too.

You can see my full description here.

That's it for now. Just had to tell someone!

Bunch O' Layouts

Howdy, people.
I have a half-dozen layouts to share today -- I made them a couple weeks ago, but due to several factors (mostly laziness, and also bad lighting), I hadn't gotten photos of them until the other day.

So, without further ado, here's the first:

Har. Fun photo here (I'm on a vintage photo kick these days, so get used to more little me pics). There are lots of products here: We R Memory Keepers paper, Making Memories letters, Sassafrass stickers and some other stuff. I kinda miss that bright-pink shag carpet.

Up next:

Yum. Little me and Papa, stealing some cookie batter. Tim Holtz paper, Sassafrass journaling spot, and more. Had to hand-cut those circles, yet they are surprisingly...round! Not too shabby.

Numero 3:

Aww. Mo and tiny me on a swing. I believe this was taken at a park by my aunt and uncle's old condo. The light is great, and my mom's hair rocks. I also used this photo in my mini-me mini-book. I just like it that much! October Afternoon paper and stickers, Lilibee and Sassafrass and Cosmo Cricket papers, etc.

Fourth:

Bright! Last one with baby me, promise. For now. Here, I'm on my new swingset. I love that there are so many details from the old house -- the little pool, zucchini plants, and the deck when it was new - no railing yet! The colors and papers are very 80's-little-kid -- the doodlebug goodies and Sassafrass banner sticker especially. Fun stuff.

Now, for a few current ones:

Really current. Like, last-month current. Andrew gave me a weird look when I laid down on the grass in front of the mower to get this shot, but I think it kinda rocks. Pink Paislee 365 papers, AC thickers, Cosmo tiny type. Nice and clean and colorful!

Finally -- 

Super-quick layout here - one photo, bits of paper, and some ribbon. The base is Core-dinations embossed goodness, and it really shines with a quick sanding to bring out the core color in the dots. Papers are from Pink Paislee (left over from the one above), Girls' Paperie, and Sassafrass; letter stickers are from October Afternoon - I liked the font so much, I got the stamp set. :)

You can find these layouts at Scrappy Chic -- in the store or online in the gallery.

So there you go -- I hope you like 'em. Enjoy your day -- it's been pouring buckets all day here. 

Three Cheers for Moxie Fab Chairs!

So, when Cath at Moxie Fab World issued this challenge, I thought, "cool, I'll totally do that!"
And then I forgot. Until tonight. But there's still time! So here's my chair card:

I love the chair and couch in On My Couch from Papertrey Ink - and I love them more now that there are dies to match -- no more trimming for me!

I made this card mostly with scraps that were on my desk (there are lots of them at the moment -- time to clean...again!).

I die-cut the chair from some Cosmo Cricket paper (Material Girl mini-deck), then stamped the outline image and little chair feet in black. The pillow is stamped on more Cosmo Cricket (Garden Variety this time, also the mini-deck). Since I was having fun with die-cuts anyway, I cut a couple ric rac bits and a few scalloped bits from the same papers. The background is also Papertrey - Background Basics: retro, in River Rock ink. The rug is from the same set as the chair, and the sentiment is from Cornish Heritage Farms. I kid you not, all this stuff was already on my desk - even the card base (which is PTI's rustic cream, btw).

So there you have it. Is it Moxie Fab? Who knows? But I like it!

Thanks for stopping by. More tomorrow - some Mega Meet pics and some layouts, too!

Where is the Groove?

Groove is in the heart, of course:

Hey look, it's me at the Scrappy Chic booth at Mega Meet!  Ok, so the booth next door played exactly two songs. All day. One of which was Deee-Lite's "Groove is in the Heart." It's still stuck in my head. Made for some fun dancing, though! Chris thinks we should create a little dance routine to it.  Get on that tomorrow, folks!

Other highlights:

"I will make the credit-card machine work. I will make the credit-card machine work. I will make the credit card machine work." Don't worry, folks, it works fine now!  I think we all got to talk to the credit-card-machine-company guy on the phone first, though.

Who can enthrall a large group of scrapbookers, even in the midst of a hall filled with distracting fun things?

Why, Tim Holtz, of course! There are some Scrappy Chic customers in that crowd, I'm told. The man is the rock star of scrapping. On my way out, I heard my favorite quote of the day from him: "When you staple, staple with conviction!"

And finally:

Stuff I bought. Yes, from Scrappy Chic. I did wait until I was done working, and I left plenty of goodies for the rest of you. Some DeLovely, of course, plus some Kaiser bling and a pack of Core-dinations cs.

I might go back tomorrow just to shop. And to pick up my water bottle, which I left there.

OLW3: Punctuation

Susan Raihala has been doing one-layer card challenges for the past few weeks; this is the first one I've been able to do (in a timely fashion, anyway).
This week's challenge is to use punctuation -- in ink only, no embellishments!  Here's my super-quick take:

Ha! This one cracks me up. The inside, which I neglected to take a photo of, is just an equally-large exclamation point. (Sorry about that dangling preposition.) Both punctuation marks came from an older My Sentiments Exactly clear set, full of over-large punctuation like this. I also used a new SU! set called rough type. Inks are basic grey and crushed curry (also SU). CS is PTI white, and the only extra thing I did was round the corners. 

I could see reusing variations on this design for anyone hitting a milestone birthday -- whether they like it or not!

Thanks for a fun challenge, Susan -- now maybe I'll catch up on the last two!

Enjoy your day.

Lovely DeLovely!

Cool factoid: Scrappy Chic will be selling the brand-spankin'-new Cosmo Cricket line, DeLovely, at Mega Meet this week! Cooler yet: NO ONE ELSE HAS IT YET! Probably anywhere. Coolest: I got to go play with it this afternoon and boy, is it awesome! It's really bright and pretty and fun and, well, delovely!

Here's what I made today -- and snapped exactly one photo of each, as my camera battery was very near dead :)

First:

A quick, fun layout that shows off  a variety of the new papers, plus one of the new Tiny Type colors (and it's a new font!), and one of the stickers. Note that 3/4 of the people in these photos are boys - I think this paper is bright and fun enough that it becomes gender-neutral, even though it's pink and flowery. 

Number 2:

Aww, aren't we cute? This photo is just from last weekend, at the gala dinner for Andrew's musical. One of the moms snapped this one for us. The layout is just strips of various papers, some cut from 12x12s and others from the borders sheet - including the title strip. I just added some Tiny Type and was good to go! I think the patterns are great together!

Third:

I gotta say, this one's probably my fave. The kitty is cute, sure, but those stripes! Those stripes! Love, love, love this pattern. Layered some ribbon bits under the photo to get some horizontal lines going, then used a trimmed-out element for journaling, a couple stickers as accents, buttons and ribbon for dimension, and even more Tiny Type to accent the title -- also made with Cosmo Cricket chip alphas. 

And, I couldn't leave without making some cards!

Snitched a bit of counter space in the crop room to snap this photo -- I didn't think the battery would last through 3 separate shots! The card on the left uses a bunch of leftovers that I pieced together, patchwork-style. If I'd lugged a sewing machine to the store, this would be awesome with some zig-zagging along the borders. The sentiment is from the elements sheet. 

The middle card uses a big scrap of my second-favorite pattern along with a border strip I cut up and distressed a bit.

The card on the right features a cute little birdie on yet another element -- gotta love those elements! Stuck a couple of LYB pins in a gingham bow for a bit of dimension.

So, what do you think? I think this whole collection is a must-have! Luckily, I'm working at the Scrappy Chic booth at Mega Meet on Thursday, so I'll do my best to snag a collection pack for myself. And a mini-deck. And the Tiny Type. I'm in trouble!

Later, dudes!

National (mini-) Scrapbooking Day!

It's true, the day is almost over...but it IS still National Scrapbooking Day, so I thought I'd share a mini-book I made recently. Here's the cover:

Yup, Me until 3. I thought I'd be a little self-indulgent with this one and include a handful of my favorite pictures of...me. Well, tiny me. Mini-me. Hey, mini-me in a mini-book -- cool! Just thought of that one!

Anyway, I used a mini-album from Kaisercraft -- their mini-albums and other goodies are made of MDF, so they are way sturdy -- and kinda hefty, too! I also used some Graphic45 papers from their On the Boardwalk collection. I painted the edges of each page, alternating between reddish and turquoise-ish acrylics. The paints actually have a bit of a metallic sheen, which is nice. Also, painting the scallops meant I didn't have to get all the edges cut precisely (lazy me!)

Now, before we move on, I warn you -- the photography of the pages isn't as superb as I'd like. I only have two hands, after all!

First spread:

Baby me with Dad (top) and Mom (bottom). Yes, I know I look just like my mom - well, not as a baby, of course! I layered up various patterns, and stuck to little flowers as accents. There's a little journaling on each page, too, but you probably can't see it too much -- if you're super-curious, clicking on the images might make them big enough to read. The flowers are also Kaiser, and the little fancy centers are prima. I used some plain old Tulip fabric paint for some of the centers, too -- I think it works just like Perfect Pearls, only it's about half the price! Frugal me.

Next up:

Slightly bigger me - with Mom in the park by my aunt's old condo (the lighting is just lovely in that one), and on the patio at my grandparents' house -- my Tshirt in that bottom photo reads "Future Fox." Ah, the 70s. I tried to keep it pretty simple, layout-wise. The photos are too fun to distract from! Plus, if I change my mind, there's still plenty of lovely white space to embellish or journal in someday.

And finally:

Pigtails and apple picking. The top photo is a preschool field trip to the petting farm, and the bottom is me and Papa picking apples. All of the photos came from a couple of old-school photo albums my grandma kept -- she gave them to me a while ago, and I scanned in a bunch of photos -- as an added bonus, I have a safe backup to those wretched old magnetic albums.

Oh, one last thing - I'll be re-doing the rings someday soon. These honking ones were the only ones around when I wanted to put it all together :)

If you're lucky, you'll be able to take a gander at this album in person at Mega Meet next week -- look for it (and me on Thursday!) in the Scrappy Chic booth -- enjoy!

Other stuff in it: Bazzill swiss dot cs, AC Thickers, Cosmo Cricket tiny type, some ribbony stuff.

Thanks for checking it out.