Let's Get Sketchy Guest Post - May week 4

I can't believe it is already the end of May? Here I am with my final Guest Design for Let's Get Sketchy.

And here's my interpretation: this one's of my hubby. I don't often scrap about David, mostly because all you can see are his legs in most of my photos!

I loved how the Authentique Original softened this photo. He seemed so intense, which is very much just part of him. Super goof or super serious...sounds like one of my boys, wonder where he could have inherited that? Anyway, there's lots of inking and a few eyelets and some glitter glue but I really wanted to keep this one about the layers of paper and David. There's journaling tucked in the little pocket too, a little lovey note so I won't share what it says. ;)

Now, head on over and see what the design team put together for you. I'm sure it's marvelous. 

Let's Get Sketchy Guest Post - May week 2

I'm back again for another Let's Get Sketchy Guest Post. This one took me a minute to figure out, but I love how it turned out. 

The sketch this week:

And my interpretation:

I used MME Ooh La La for this one, plus some paper tearing and stitching and it not only used up most of what was left of the kit but it turned out pretty cute. There's also some clear glitter glue and Ranger Enamel Accents. The title was done using a variety of Girl's Paperie, Jenni Bowlin, October Afternoon and American Crafts Thickers.

Now, since most of you won't be able to read the journaling I'll tell you why I took these selfies of my Monkey. When he wakes from naps (my scrappy time) while I'm finishing projects he climbs up the back of the chair and digs his toes into my pants, holding onto my back. He clings so tight that I can actually carry him around the house that way. Definitely the cutest sort of "monkey on your back."

Let's Get Sketchy Guest Post - May week 1

I was pretty excited when Let's Get Sketchy asked me to be their Guest Designer for the month of May.   I've been playing along with their weekly sketches (most weeks) since discovering them last fall. It's been so much fun having that extra level of inspiration in my crafty week. 

Here's the sketch for the week: 

And here's my interpretation:

This one got a lot of scrap attention! Love when I can pull that one off - everything is scraps (and solid at that! I never use solids). The bottom half of the page was created by clear heat embossing a large stamp and then resist inking over it.  The large "2" was cut on my Silhouette Cameo and covered with some MME washi. The other fonts are Jenni Bowlin and Girl's Paperie. The banners were also cut on the Silhouette. 

I hope you have as much fun working with this week's sketch as I did. 

Joy & Cheer

This one's for the Let's Get Sketchy March Week 2 sketch + Color combo challenge. When I saw the colors I wanted to rebel and not do a Christmas themed page, then my spidey sense kicked in and reminded me that naptime is only so long and going with the obvious would get the job done faster! 

These photos were taken Christmas Eve while we played Mario Kart Wii with my in-laws. Vance has a fascination for the game, but kind of stinks at it still (which is mostly because we don't let him play much!) so the grandparents had to figure it out on the fly. It made for an interesting evening anyway.

The papers and stickers are from Simple Stories. I finished off the page with some inking, DIY enamel dots, and some glitter glue. 

I'm also linking this up with the Paper Girls Challenge to use Snowflakes. 

Dear Santa...

When I saw this week's Let's Get Sketchy sketch I knew that I had to pair it up with the Scrapbooksteals.com MCM challenge to use rosettes on a project.  

A few weeks ago I'd pulled some floral-type embellishments that I rarely use and put them in a basket on my desk as a reminder to use those suckers! So finding a project where I could use a bunch at once was perfection.

 The sketch lent itself well to these photos of some of the antics of our elf on the shelf and I thought the rosettes would lend a festive vibe without going over the top. Most of them were spring colors so I misted them. I also removed or covered the center pieces/buttons on most (Halloween!) and replaced with stickers from the MME Dear Santa line. 

When Going Stops Going

The sun is finally shining here, after a dreary week and then getting a foot of snow in less than a day. Now, some of you truly northerners will say that's nothing for you, but we've been busting out spring wear since December so it was dramatic to say the least!

In those dark and dreary days I got a lot of scrapbooking done and all this sunshine means I can take some pictures and share them with you. 

This one is based on the Let's Get Sketchy Feb week 3 sketch.  

As soon as I saw the hexagons I wanted to play with MME Follow Your Heart. Then I had this feeling of being a little to copy cat because some of the design team used that line. So I busted out my Silhouette Cameo and made my own hexagon mask. I adhered it with my Repositionable Xyron. Misted, splattered, and removed the mask.  Then while all the bits were still on the carrier I misted those in another shade, and glued some back into the pattern. I hadn't used many of them so I stuck down some MME washi, and then piled up the tiny hexies and made "buttons" out of reverse side. The chevrons are the reverse side of that MME Follow Your Heart hexagon paper I was talking about. The heat embossed banner was stamped using Glitz Designs Love Games stamp set. More MME washi and a little heat embossing on the photo and I was pretty much done. 

London Bridge

You know the nursery rhyme. You're probably already signing it because of the title. Now that I've put that little diddy into your ear too, here's my most recent interpretation of a Let's Get Sketchy sketch, February week 2. 

I used lots of scrap bits from Echo Park's For the Record and For the Record 2. The spray mist, didn't end up quite like I wanted but I really like the splatters - and in the end, the two big mists splots could almost be smoke coming up from a destroyed house. Would work better if we'd burned it. Maybe next year if it collapses I will.

Brothers throw stones

Okay, in this case they were throwing pebbles. And into water. But the throw stones part was a witty thing I came up with as I was putting this post together, and will probably be added into the page in some manner at a later date. 

This layout was inspired by Let's Get Sketchy's January week 4 challenge. I also used the color blue for the Scrapbooksteals.com MCM Baby Blues challenge. 

And while this used mostly My Mind's Eye Follow Your Heart, there's also touches of Indie Chic Nutmeg, and a Miss Caroline wooden embellishment that I colored on with American Crafts Metallic Markers. The splatters and mists are from October Afternoon and Mister Huey's. The doily embossing folder is Lifestyle Crafts. 

Party Set Up - another Dec Daily post

I joked when I started my Dec Daily project that it might take me until February to finish that mini, and I might have been right. But here's one more for that project - Dec. 21. Vance's birthday, which we spent waiting for grandparents who were due in town at any moment, while we waited we decorated for his party.

My page was inspired by Let's Get Sketchy: January Week 3 Challenge.

I'm also linking this one up on: 

Use it Tuesday: Warm it up Red, Orange, Yellow. Hoarded items include Jenni Bowlin alphas and Imaginesce dotted ribbon are over a year old. The American Crafts Chap papers and yellow ribbon have been in my stash since last April. Paper clips are over 3 years old.

Paper Girls Challenge Blog: Wood/wood grain. I misted the wooden buttons to complement my page colors.

Dec 18 Cookie Baking

I avoid glitter like the plague. It gets everywhere, but when Use It Tuesday decided it was time to "make it sparkle" I knew that I really needed to bust out some Martha Stewart glitter that I'd had since I started scrapbooking! I used the glitter to make a little flourish in the background of the page (and still have way to much of just that one bottle). Also hoarded/seldom used, I don't think I've used that Sew Easy head since right after I bought it, about a year ago. The Jenni Bowlin mini alphas are about a year old as well.

For sketch inspiration I used Let's Get Sketchy's week 2 challenge.

Dec Daily - December 18 Cookie Baking

The papers are from the Authentique Festive and Peaceful collections. I inked them up with Ranger Distress Ink Peeled Paint.

One more page done in my December "daily" album. Only 23 more to go. ;)

Off

Wooohooo! 2013. We made it. Now it's time to get back to life as normal. I sure wish someone could tell me what that is. ;)

Day glow. Neon. Florescent colors. Whatever you call them, I have a love/hate relationship. You see, I'm a child of the 80s. I owned a *lot* of clothing in these colors and through junior high hot pink was my *favorite* color.

That might be why I tend to scrap in traditional colors, but love when others use them. Thankfully, I still have some of my Amy Tangerine Sketchbook that I won awhile back because the Paper Girls Challenge was to use that particular color range.

I also incorporated Let's Get Sketchy's challenge for this week - to use a photo that is Not Picture Perfect. This one is out of focus. I like the softness it gave the photo, but I'd given up on using it because it wasn't challenge worthy!

Not while I'm eating!

So this week I have jury duty. Now in my county that means that the night before you have to call in to see if you go to the courthouse the next day. Monday and Tuesday, didn't have to go in, so I dedicated the day to getting ahead on some things (like blogging and Christmas present making)- just in case I get to spend a couple of days doing my civic duty.

Without further ado, I present my December week 2 Let's Get Sketchy interpretation! 

I started with two groupings, like in the sketch. The elements just sort of morphed themselves. They're still sort of there. Sort of.

I used a bunch of mismatched Fancy Pants Designs papers, American Crafts Thickers, Jenni Bowlin Designs mini alphas, several Kiwi Lane Designs templates, a Lifestyles Crafts embossing folder, my sewing machine, and of course some good ol' inking. 

Let's Get Sketchy Dec. wk 2 sketch

And don't forget to checkout the Christmas present (aka giveaway) I have for one of my followers. 

Traditions beginning

If you're here to check out the Second Page 

of my Scrapbooksteals.com MWM sketch, head here.

_________________________________________________

We haven't spent a lot of time on Christmas traditions in our house up to this point. At first it was just us. Then the Vance was just to young to care. So this year, he's finally starting to catch on, which is why December Daily is something I wanted to attempt because this year is going to really set the stage for what he's looking forward to about Christmas in the years to come. Because this is the first year he's cared about a tree or presents or really wanting to help make fudge or you get the idea.

I started by making that advent calendar with my Silhouette. I filled it with candy and a daily activity (adapted from my crafty friend Kara's list). Things like afternoon craft or a Christmas movie or baking cookies. The movies and baking would have happened anyway, and I planned the date according to when the homemade goodness needs to be delivered. The craft times are sort of a new thing - he's really showing an interest in learning so they are my effort at non-spelling sorts of education (cutting straight lines, following directions, etc.). 

The other major player this year is our Elf on the Shelf.  We've never really acknowledged the man in the red suit so we're sort of talking about it. At this stage, as you can read in the journaling, he's quite skeptical about the whole thing.

For this page I used the current Let's Get Sketchy challenge sketch. Their sketch used three photos, but with the smaller mini book format I felt that the photos would be to small so I altered a bit. ;) 

Jeans

I don't know what inspired my choice to use a photo of myself, but I did it. It was probably a lack of printed ones of the kiddos that I felt were scrap-worthy. Anyway, for the Let's Get Sketchy Week 4 challenge I use photos that I think were from my parents bringing me home from the hospital. I'll check on that before I journal it.

I'd been seriously inspired by Stephanie U.'s interpretation which used a slew of buttons as part of a shape element in the background. I have tons and tons of buttons - and I never seem to use them.

And once I saw the pictures I knew that the title had to incorporate "jeans" in some way so I could use my gorgeous Authentique Original (and then enter the page into their Inspiration Color Challenge).

Authentique products used:
Original Organized,
Elements,
Compound,
Different,
Independent

Other products:
AC Thickers,
stash buttons,
Ranger Distress Inks,

Kiwi Lane Templates (Aspen Court mini 2A/2B, Tags 3, Nature 3T/5T),
sewing machine

Love those guys

I have a love/hate relationship with grids. I LOVE how they look when others do them. I HATE making my own, they never turn out "right." Read as "I can't keep the lines straight without going crazy with measuring so I give up."

So this week's Let's Get Sketchy's dominant element, in my opinion, was the grid background with a banner under the picture. I tried to keep with that and just make it look a little extra homemade to mask some of my less than perfect-ness. 

You can see threads dangling where I just stopped sewing, or where the thread tension was off and I lost stitches. Nothing is centered or straight, though the columns are fairly close. Close enough to call them columns. 

I think I might have to start an album and call it "Grandparents," and store all those pics in it because that's where this one belongs! And I have more of the other grandparents to scrap soon - and that doesn't include all the holiday events that loom in the near future.

Better go charge the camera!

How do you album your pages? So far I've got a book for each of the boys' years of life, plus one for things about me. I'm thinking to pull the Christmas pages from older books and start Christmas books for the family in general. Plus this Grandparents book. 

You are my sunshine

I often talk about the connection that my sons have with my father. In reality, they love both sets of grandparents, I just happen to photograph them playing with my dad more frequently. Part of that is that my mom loathes, hates, is passionately against being photographed. 

I happened to catch her hugging Vance one day and snuck a pic. She has seen it and of course hates it, but she's part of his story too so I wanted to document it. Hopefully she thinks the page is cute at least. 

I used the November week 2 sketch from Let's Get Sketchy for this page. I also got inspiration from last week's Practical Scrappers about using embossing powders - Charity had "inked" with it and I thought it gave a nice touch to this layout. 

Speaking of my mom, I was at her house over the weekend and "stole" back my Kiwi Lane Design templates. I've kind of missed them. See how cute they can be?! Especially when paired with Amy Tangerine Sketchbook!

Camera at the ready

With our close-ish proximity to the zoo we have taken the boys several times. It has been awesome to see them take in everything new and afresh each time, always discovering new aspects. My favorite trip is nearly always our most recent one, and this holds true yet again. 

New this time was the perspective we gave Vance. Armed with an old point and shoot (with an already scratched lens) he walked around the zoo grounds looking at the display and pausing frequently to take pics. None of them are really in focus or zoomed correctly on the animals, but he loved it!

I used the November week 1 Let's Get Sketchy sketch for this one and was so proud of myself for using a bunch of my washi.