color riot!

As promised, today I have more Amy Tangerine Sketchbook, but this time in a -- shall we say -- less minimal kind of way!

I have come to realize that I am the kind of photography nerd who will pull into  a parking lot somewhat randomly to take photos of a Ferris Wheel. That's what's documented here -- not a day at the fair, nothing about odd carnies or hot-pants-wearing fashion victims. Just a Ferris Wheel. Because it looked cool against the fading daylight.

I was super-happy to get my paws on the Stepping Stone alphabet stamps there in the "photo" part of the title (Hero Arts/Studio Calico) -- the set includes an outline and a solid image of each letter, making colorful words ever so easy. The hex stamp is Studio Calico, too (from a kit), and the tapes are from various sources, but almost everything else is Amy Tangerine. I (ME! Really!) fussy-cut both the stamped hexagons and the cameras (which are highlighted with an inkpad-blender pen combo). I think I might go back and add one more hexagon, right at the bottom edge. Hmm. Check out the top photo and tell me if you agree, eh? Thanks.

A little fabric-sticker date-stamping, a little doily-stamping-and-coloring, and I called it good. Man, but do I love color. If you can believe it, this layout is even brighter in real life! And as always, almost everything you see here is available at Scrappy Chic for local folks and the interwebs for the rest of y'alls.

Shall we have a card next time? Yes, I think we shall. Enjoy life until then!

Yep, another sketch!

Hey there, y'all!

There's a new sketch challenge blog out there called Retro Sketches, brought to you by some of the same talented ladies from the ColourQ challenge blog. They're cardmakers, but I was inspired to use their first sketch in a slightly different way....

...It's probably no surprise that this magically turned into a layout :). I've really been on a scrapping kick lately! So, here you go:

Aside from the change in scale, the only real way I changed the sketch is by replacing the focal point with a series of three little photos (in this case, photos of Simon snacking on some cinnamon roll crumbs -- sneaky cat!). Technically, there's also one additional layer:

...tulle! It's a little easier to see here, but feel free to enlarge the photo. The tulle adds really subtle texture, and I have to remember to use it more often! This is another layout using my first Studio Calico kit, along with a few bits and bobs from the ol' stash.

You have until the end of the day to play along with this challenge -- it really does make for some cute cards, too, as you can see over on the Retro Sketches blog. Have fun!

A Sunday sketch (on Monday)

Happy Monday!
A quick post for today -- in a bit, I'm heading to Ohio to visit a friend for the day. Hooray for Spring Break! But for now, I've got a layout I made just yesterday up at Scrappy Chic. (Please pardon the nighttime photos.) I used the Sunday sketch from Studio Calico (and feel free to check out their post -- the sample layout from Kelly Purkey is so fun!):

This also marks one of the first layouts I've made with my new Studio Calico kit subscription -- last month's kit (Daydream Believer - oddly timely title!) was my first one, and I dig it. Here's my take:

Yeah, that's me (pretending to) smooch a portrait of a very serious-looking dude. I think the title explains most of what you need to know. Andrew snapped this one after the Collage Concert at the University of Michigan, which means we were surrounded by both college kids and older folks in furs and stuff. Silly, indeed.

I had some kit and stash items I wanted to use, so I embellished the sketch a bit. Here, you can see some fabric trim from the kit, which I misted in aqua and then stamped. The epoxy circles are from the kit, but the little badge is ancient American Crafts.

I'm happy to see that sequins are trendy right now, especially since I already own some. I used gold sequins to accent the gold washi tape under my title (I think the gold tones down the minty-ness of the alphas somehow...which is good for me since mint is good on this layout but isn't normally a color I like very much). Both alphas and  the minty twine are from Scrappy Chic, and everything I haven't mentioned yet is from the kit (including that awesome woodgrain chevron paper, which is from the latest Dear Lizzy collection...I might need to stockpile a few sheets of that one!).

Anywho, I gotta pack a bag and get a few things in order, so I'll leave it at that. Hope you have a lovely day!