One Story, Four Different Photos

I don't really track how many photos I use. I print photos based on the stories I want to tell. Sometimes I have a single photo while other times I have many. There are times when I want to tell a story but the photos that tell it best really are not cohesive. The layout I am sharing today was one such case. The challenge becomes finding a way to make four distinctly different photos tell one story.

As a family, we take frequent walks around the island we live on. The inner part of the island is very different from the edges. We walk past the pond and wooded area in the center to reach the beach. On any given day, we may see ducks or hermit crabs. One never knows. I could have chosen to document each section of the island on it's own layout, however, I really wanted to show how our view changes as we travel around the neighborhood.

Island Walk by Christy Strickler | Supplies Patterned Paper: Sassafrass, My Mind’s Eye; Alphas: Pink Paislee; Other: Seashells, kraft paper, DMC floss, denim

I had four photos, each of a different size. I chose to arrange them diagonally from one another. I divided my page into thirds. The top third representing the pond and wooded section of the island. The bottom two- thirds would house my title and the photos of our beach walk.

I chose patterned papers in the color of the sunset. We often walk during the evening, so this subtle cue reminds me of the time frame. I used shells we find along our walks as an embellishment. The yellow paper has a floral pattern which represents the wooded area around the pond. The pink paper with the scallops remind me of waves. The page has enough elements that the viewer would know what is happening in my story. At the same time, there are many subtle cues which make the page more personal for me.

It was a challenge to find the write way to arrange the different photos. At the end, I found the method that best tells the story and the photos feel a little more cohesive, though all of the are different.

For more ideas to document your stories, check out these articles from Get It Scrapped:

 Ideas for Composing the Four Photo Page

Make Scrapbook Pages that Record your Everyday Places

Based Around a Quote

It's not something I usually do. Generally, the photos dictate the story. This time though, I had a quote  mind and I just wanted to use it on a layout. I found a not so great photo of my son who happened to have an awesome expression on his face. I converted it to a pop art style photo grid. Then I based the supply choices for the layout around the quote and the photo. I have to say that I am very pleased with the results.

Little Boys by Christy Strickler | Supplies Cardstock: Colorbok; Alphas: Paper Trunk, Pinks Paislee; Transparencies: Fancy Pants, Mists: Tattered Angels; Markers: Ranger; Other: Electrical tape, Sequins, Stencil

I completed this layout for  Get It Scrapped. For more ideas on using four photos in your page composition check out the article.

P.S. I am submitting this for some Linky Love from the Purple Mailbox.  Pop on over and share a project you love! There are some amazing projects to see and lots of ideas to be inspired by.

This Morning

I am playing along with the challenge on Ali Edwards blog to document your right now. I have a lot to do today, so I am hoping it will also get me thinking, prioritizing and motivated. My words and phrases for today are...

Exhausted- not sure why since I slept so much last night. The coffee does not seem to be helping.

Looking forward to- the moment when my husband comes through the door tonight. It means the weekend has started. I really like the thought of sleeping in on Saturday.

This weekend- nothing special, but I like that. Just wanting to scrapbook, hang out with the family, watch a movie or two and play some video games.

Enjoying- a cup of Island coconut coffee. It's a limited edition summer flavor from Kuerig and I am so glad I got a few boxes.

On my agenda today- major homeschool work for my son, tutorials for Scrapbook News and Reveiw Magazine, layouts for Get it Scrapped. Housework. I don't like the last one so much.

Hoping to- box up a few more books to donate. My son has outgrown them and empty shelves mean I would be one step closer to my someday scrap space. Also hoping to add more blog posts today.

Tales of a Craft Class Junkie:Kit-tastic and Critiques

  I can't believe it's already the end of September. Earlier this month,  I shared my class schedule with you. Many of the classes were wrapping up or started mid-month. Currently, I am in week two of both the Guided Study Critique and Kit-tastic classes. What I never expected was for the two classes to work so well together. This week, both classes are really focusing on the use of contrast.

Though I was somewhat aware of contrast in art, I never truly thought about it when I created kits or layouts. After this past week, I definitely will make a point to use it in my memory keeping. I do have some layouts to share with you from my Guided Study Critique class, but for right now, I would like to share my kits with you. I finally had time to sit down and create a couple.

I do plan to use up my JBS Mercantile Kits. I have been subscribing since the spring and am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the September kit.That may sound weird, but it does take a little while to get to me. The nice thing about these kits is how well they mix and match together.

The first kit I compiled took very little effort. I was challenged to break something open. I had the Geo-hectic paper pad and embellishments in my stash and have never used them. I think it will be a wonderful way to document my son's first ride n a hellicopter. I added some metal embellishments  to the mix. I like the contrast of the bright colors with the gold and the black.

 Kit two is my take of the Soliel collection from Basic Grey. It's on my wish list but not in my budget. I decided to go through some of my older Sassafrass products in the hopes I could get a similar set of papers to the Soliel collection. I added some Making memories ribbons and a roll of green polka dot washi tape.











Tonight, I have my second meeting for the Guided Study Critique class. I am learning more about myself as well as design. I am really hoping my internet connection cooperates!

Teaser Thursday 9-27 edition

Just dropping by to share a quick tease of some upcoming projects for Scrapbook News and Review Magazine and Get It Scrapped.

Sandcastles

Every Spring we build a sandcastle. For us, Spring is the best time of the year to hit the beach. I hate the heat of summer and the water gets so warm during June and July that it won't really cool you down much. I have a ton of photos of us going to the beach during the spring and building sandcastles. It took me rifling through them all to realize that I had a family tradition. You may have a hidden tradition of your own. Sift through your photos of each season and look for similarities. Are there things you do around the same time every year? This year, instead of documenting the event on it's own, tell the story of how it has become an annual family event.

Spring Sand Castle by Christy Strickler 
Supplies: Cardstock: Colorbok; Alphas: Basic Grey;
Punch: Martha Stewart; Button: TPC Studio; Mist: Tattered Angels; Other: Butterfly, twine, Sticker, tag, Glossy Accents; As seen in Scrapbook News and Review Magazine





More Ideas for Scrapbooking the Beach from Get It Scrapped

Quick Start Beach Images and Sayings

October Calls for Scrapbook News and Review Magazine

The October Calls have been posted over at Scrapbook News and Review Magazine. You have until October 6th to submit your projects. It's easy! All you need to do is to select a call, answer the questionnaire and click the submit button.

Remember...if you want to get published, the only way to do so is to submit to calls. You never know until you try.

Unplugged

Some of you may have been wondering where I have been and why so few posts since last Thursday. I thought I would leave a quick post explaining. I have been unplugged from the internet. We had a power outage last Thursday which caused damage to our cable box. Add to that the thunderstorms that have been passing through, and we have had a lot of island wide power and internet issues this past weekend. I am waiting on the cable repairman right now and hope to be back to posting regularly again very soon.

So, no, I did not have my epic weekend of video gaming fun that I tweeted about Thursday morning. However, I did enjoy a lot of family time. I have some layouts to share with you soon along with some Tales of a Craft Class Junkie. I also have a review of  a knitting loom for creating your own hand made flowers. The rest of the week should be jampacked! So stay tuned...

Teaser Thursday- Lead and I Will Follow

I have a layout featured today for Teaser Thursday at the Scrapbook News and Review Blog. I hope you will pop over there to hear the back story behind this layout.

Lead and I Will Follow by Christy Strickler Supplies Cardstock: Colorbok; Alphas: Chatterbox, 7 Gypsies; Tissue Paper and Badge: Pink Paislee; Border Sticker: K and Company; Gel Medium: Liqitex; Mist: Ranger; Other: tissue paper, crepe paper, electrical tape, sequins, glass beads, Glossy Accents

Faux Bois- the Phrase of the Day

Sounds a lot more fun then just saying wood grain, doesn't it? That's what it means and it's a hot trend right now. More than likely, I am pronouncing it wrong. I remember when I saw my first sheet of Faux Bois paper. I hated it. I had no clue what to do with it. However, as with all things that become trendy, you begin to see it everywhere and you get ideas. My current favorite faux bois product are wood buttons and wood shapes. I especially like those faux bois Pink Paislee Alphas. Today, however, I am taking you back to that paper I hated.

Happy Camper by Christy Strickler | Supplies: Patterned Paper: Bobunny, October Afternoon; Chipboard, Die Cut and Stickers: October Afternoon; Buttons: Basic Grey; Ink: Clearsnap; Ribbon: Cosmo Crocket; Modeling Paste: Liquitex; Stencil: Crafter’s Workshop; other: DMC floss

I have been challenging myself to use more patterned papers as a base canvas rather than using cardstock. The main reason being that, after over a decade of memory keeping, I have quite the stash of patterned paper. In the early days, I coveted the stuff. I used as little as possible, only using the paper if it was just the very perfect thing for the layout. Part of this stemmed from the fact that I was not as supply savvy as I am today. A good portion of my current layouts have hidden middle sections cut out. I can then use the patterned paper as my canvas while at the same time saving just a little to accent another layout. This has helped me to become a little less prone to covet the patterned paper so much. I must also confess that it feels really good to use a supply up. I can feel a little less guilty about hoarding it when I use more of it.

Heading back in the direction of the faux bois paper...it was sitting in a camping kit in my stash. I don't know why I got the camping kit. My family has camped a grand total of maybe one or two times. We are more of a hotel kind of family than a tent camping family.( though I love to hike- go figure). As is the case with many of my supplies, I got them simply because I liked them. I often have no direct purpose for the supplies other than that I believe I will find a use for the someday. My someday came for the camping kit when our upstairs AC unit failed. The faux bois paper and camping embellishments were the perfect set of supplies to compliment the story of how we camped out in the living room for several days. 

Long story short...anything works well if you use the right things to compliment it. Don't look at one piece by itself, pair it with other supplies in your stash and you may like it better. Overall, never be afraid to use your supplies. If you think it works for your layout, then it's the right thing to use right now. Don't save it for another day.

For more Ideas to use Faux Bois on your next page, check out the article at Get  It Scrapped.

Did you see the other trend on this page? It slyly fits in with the faux bois. If you aren't sure, you will find out in this Get It Scrapped Article.

My Lil' Traveling Man

I will admit it. I am a sucker for travel themed papers. I end up with a lot of them. I guess it's because I have a desire to travel. It's not like I get to go a lot of places. So when I do get a travel themed photo, I try to make the most use of my supplies possible. I truly need to quit collecting travel themed collections.I have enough to scrap a trip around the world.

My Lil Traveling Man by Christy Strickler Supplies Cardstock: Colorbok; Patterned Paper: Basic Grey; Alphas: Pink Paislee; Trims: Making Memories and Prima; Journal Spot: October Afternoon; Badges: American Crafts; Stickers,Brads and Transparency: Making Memories; Mist: Tattered Angels

I snapped this shot of my son on a plane trip several years ago. The lighting was bad due to being in the cabin with the full glare of the sun outside.I changed the photo to black and white, which paired nicely with the color palette.

I guess I should also explore more ways to use the flight motif rather than just the literal meaning for journey and travel. Using symbols in your layouts is another way to stretch your supplies wile adding deeper meaning to your layouts.

For more Flight motif inspiration check out:

Scrapbook News and Review's Fly into Inspiration post which features this page.

What's Your Motif: Using Machines in Flight On your Pages at Get it Scrapped

Easy Scrapbook Pages: Stitch

This page started with a happy accident. I inadvertently printed the photo to 8 1/2 x 11. At first I was annoyed. I print photos at home. I have to special order my printer ink as local shops don't carry it. So I really hate to reprint a photo if I don't have to. I decided to work with the larger size.

Stitch by Christy Strickler Supplies Patterned Paper: My Little Shoebox; Alphas: Pink Paislee; Chipboard: Love Elsie; Buttons: Basic Grey; Transparency/Overlay: Fancy Pants; Washi Tape: My Mind's Eye; Other: cardstock

I based the color palette around Stitch. I chose a flocked transparency. It reminded me of the fuzzy costume and the patterns are reminiscent of Hawaii. The page was done in a snap. It's a simple design. you can check out the steps to make a page like this one at Easy Scrapbook Pages from Get It Scrapped.

OLW,Sunday Football and Scrapbooking Tutorials

Wednesday, I wrote a little about feeling robbed of time. One of my endeavors this year has been to try to be more positive. I really hate feeling negative and so I came up with a few ideas to feel less robbed of my free time on the weekends. I wanted to give a little update. So far, so good. I watched a little football with my husband. After almost 20 years together, I still have very little clue as to what is going on in the game. Suffice it to say, he enjoys explaining it to me, time and time again. During commercials, I checked on emails, finished reading this month's Masterful Scrapbook Design Seminar and popped up and down the stairs to work on a tutorial.

Here is where my one little word comes in. As you may know, my word is Endeavor. Earlier this year, when I joined the Scrapbook News and Review Magazine staff, I knew that part of my duties would include writing tutorials. I was a little nervous about it. I had never written one before and quite honestly, I had no idea as to what I could offer the scrapbook community in this way. The very first one I wrote for my introductory article was no easy task. Then I wrote another and another. Pretty soon, I realized that I liked writing tutorials. I now have several assignments to write tutorials for them over the next few months. All I can say is that I am VERY excited. I wish I could share the full tutorial with you here and now. It's still a work in progress. So meanwhile, here is a little sneak peek. The idea for this came from a Kleenex package next to the pharmacy register. Yes...Inspiration truly does come from just about anywhere. I still have to choose the right photo to work with this but rest assured, progress is coming along quite nicely.

Want to check out a few of my tutorials? I have several published inside the magazine right now or you can view a few short tutorials from the SNR blog Workshop Wednesday Features.
DIY Banner Paperclips
Altered Bottle Caps
DIY Wood Accents

Meanwhile, the fourth quarter is underway. I guess I better head back downstairs. I might get to snap a few photos of my husband watching the game.

Tales of a Craft class Junkie: Gesso and Denim

I like to use scraps. It always feels nice to know that I got the most use possible out of something with a minimum of waste. I often hate throwing out scraps from my layouts. I am always on the lookout for ways to incorporate them into future pages.I learned a fabulous, yet simple technique in Gesso: It's not just a Primer.   I made a page base which utilized denim scraps and gesso.You might remember me saying you would have to stay tuned to see the layout I made with the page base...well, here it is! It was created for the Friday Color palette at the Scrapbook News and Review blog.

JuJuBee and Her Plastic Easter Egg by Christy Strickler 

Supplies CardStock: Colorbok; Markers: Bic Mark-It; Gesso: Grumbacher; Digital Frame: Pixlr-o-matic; Mist: Ranger, Homemade; Tape: My Mind's Eye; Flowers: Sassafrass, Maya Road; Ribbon: Maya Road; Tag: Making Memories; Brads: Pink Paislee; Stickers: Lil' Davis Designs; Rub-on: Imaginesce; Other: Denim; glass beads, metal buttons

My son's kitten decided that she loves plastic Easter eggs. We let her keep one and, months later, she still plays with it. We hide treats inside it for her. She loves batting it around and finding ways to break it open for the treat inside.

I chose to use the blue and green color palette quite simply because the egg is green. there are a few Easter themed embellishments to support the layout's theme. Once again, I find myself not using the Easter themed papers I have in my supplies. More proof that one need not buy themed papers. I will confess that I do not have plans to purge the themed papers from my supplies. I almost always find a use for everything!

You have seen two layouts today made with techniques I learned from Gesso: It's not just a Primer. there are many more and though I may not keep featuring the gesso class on my blog, rest assured that you will see lots of gesso based projects in the future. There were so many wonderful ideas that I gleaned from this class. I will definitely be going back and reviewing what I have learned so that I can incorporate more new techniques into my layouts.

Tales of a Craft Class Junkie: Gesso and Ice Cream

Today, I decided to share a project with you. Gesso really has nothing to do with ice cream other than that this layout was about my son and his friends eating rootbeer floats. One of the things I learned in Gesso: It's Not Just a Primer was how to add color to gesso. This sunshine was my first attempt. It's not quite as vibrant as I had hoped, but I guess that worked out for the best. The pastel yellow works well with the color palette.

Sweet Treat by Christy Strickler Supplies Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned Paper: American Crafts; Gesso: Grumbacher; Paint: Claudine Hellmuth; Buttons: October Afternoon; Other: Stencil

 I used paper from a 6x6 tablet for this page. I know some people don't care for 6x6 pads. I, however, find them both easy to store and budget friendly.I also had all of the matching papers right there, ready to be chosen. this made the page come together quickly. Once again, I chose to fussy cut some hand drawn letters for my title. I am wondering how long that technique will stick with me.






This layout was created for the Sketch of the Week over at Scrapbook News and review. The creative team have some cute projects for you to check out. So please pop on over!

Back To School: Science

School seems to be on everyone's minds these days. Personally, I am in the thick of it all with the task of homeschooling my son. I do enjoy snapping photos of him throughout the school day though I will admit to missing some key photos yesterday afternoon. This week's topic in his Botany class is Fungi. So we went on a mushroom hunt in the backyard. I was busy helping him look under leaves and detritus so I neglected to take any photos of him searching for Shrooms. We didn't find any, so my son resorted to searching the web for images to sketch in his science journal. I did snap a photo of him with his latest journal page.

Shrooms by Christy Strickler
Supplies:  Cardstock: The Paper Studio; All other items from JBS Mercantile except: Buttons and Brads: Basic Grey, Other: Glass beads.




I decided to challenge myself to create a mushroom themed page using my JBS Mercantile kits. I have plenty of brightly colored, whimsical style papers with mushrooms on them. However, they just didn't go with the instagram photo I had printed out. I resorted to drawing a few mushrooms by hand. I cut those out, hand drew and fussy cut the title, then outlined them all with marker.

 My budget is loving the hand drawn, fussy cut title trend I seem to be on right now. Plus, the hand drawn title adds a little more of myself to the page...kind of like hand written journaling does.

My budget also loves glass beads. For a just a few dollars, you can get a pack of them. I use them like this...sewn onto a layout. I also like to sprinkle them on and adhere them with glossy accents. They are great as flower centers, accenting a button or you can use them to create your own stick pins.











For more Back to School Inspiration:
- check out the JBS Mercantile blog
- Check out the Scrapbook News and Review magazine blog, The first week of September is Back to School themed.
- Ideas for Scrapping Back to School from Get It Scrapped
- Scrapbooking Themes QuickStart: School Images, fonts and Sayings from Get It Scrapped

Pattern Paper Mish Mash

Did you happen to see me tweet the other day about rainy days and making page bases? Well, there was a rainy day and for whatever reason, I seem to end up making page bases on rainy days. I also needed to clean my desk.  I had a ton of scraps and  a piece of white cardstock with  mist smeared on it. I decided to collage the scraps of paper onto the cardstock. I had no clue how it would be used or when. That same night, my husband treated us to ice cream and I snapped a photo.The next morning, I had a note in my inbox with a call which would use a collage of papers with the patterns all mixed and mashed up. That is the timeline of how this layout was born, in a nutshell.

Sweet Reward  by Christy Strickler |Supplies Cardstock: Colorbok; Patterned paper: Basic Grey, My Mind's Eye, Webster's Pages, K and Company; Twine: the Twinery; Mist and Marker: Ranger; Buttons: Nikki Sivils, Basic Grey; Snap: We R Memory Keepers; Epoxy Sticker: Pink Paislee

You don't need a purpose for the page base right then and there. However, you may want to plan out how the scraps are laid out. I like to create the possibility for visual triangles. For example, you can see the orange and yellow form a visual triangle with the colors in the title. I chose to orientate the layout this way, however, I could have also flipped it. I leave little "pockets' or " Shelves" for photos when I create collaged page bases.

Page bases are a wonderful creative exercise for me. I get to use up my scraps. I save time when I grab a pre-made page base for a layout. It's always a win-win scenario. . 

For additional ideas for how to use a mish mash of patterns on your next layout, check out Get It Scrapped.

P.S> It's a rainy day again today! Guess that means more page bases...

I've Been Robbed!

Now I bet I have your attention. Let me clarify. I felt as though I had been robbed. Time is a fickle thing and the weekend would always come and go so fast. A week ago Saturday, I had to go get my hair cut. I have decided that, while I do want to look nice, I don't come out of there feeling pampered. It feels like such a waste of time that could be spent in my craft space or with my family. Then, over the past two weekends, time has gone by so quickly and I have not accomplished many of the things I had hoped to do.  

So here I sit, on a Wednesday, tired and ready for the weekend. I don't have a complete solution for how not to feel robbed of time but I have made a few adjustments which I hope will add to my creativity.

 The salon has WiFi, so I decided to try evernote. I started looking through the design and fashion magazines, then would snap a photo of them using the evernote app and my tablet. it allows me to make a note about the design and I can share the image and my notes to my computer. So now , anywhere I go with my phone or tablet, I can capture inspiration and make notes about what I want to do with said inspiration.

 Did I tell you I adore my Samsung tablet? My lap top is older and our solution was to supplement it with a tablet. It has worked well for me. I LOVE it. It's creativity on the go. I downloaded the photoshop app. So now, while out and about in waiting rooms, I am perusing the tutorials and learning how to photo edit on the go. I also used it that day at the salon. I read several chapters of my homework for the guided study critique class. I can also check blogs, pinterest or read the Masterful Scrapbook Design seminar while downstairs watching football with my husband. AND...it has Tiny Farm. Nuf said!

I plan to make embellishments. For awhile now, I have had the intent to make more handmade embellishments for my scrapbook pages. Nine time out of ten, I will only make them when I need one for a specific page. I have many ideas saved to my pinboard. So, my intent is to bring the materials downstairs with me. When I am watching TV with the family, I can then make an embellishment.

I'll let you know how things go. Hopefully, I will come out of this next weekend feeling a little less robbed of time. We shall see!

Inspired by Infographics

Photo from Love Infographics

I never would have thought to use Infographics to inspire a scrapbook page.To be honest, prior to my assignment for Get It Scrapped, I never paid much attention to the design behind one. What I found is that, Infographics can be both page design and an idea for a journaling prompt.

In order to complete my assignment, I scoured the web for various images. I settled on this one. The speech bubbles remind me of the things my son likes to say right now. It's something I have been meaning to document for awhile. He tends to acquire regular words and phrases that trend in his vocabulary for awhile before he finds something new.

I decided that I liked the overall design of the infographic and I chose to mimic it with scrap pieces of cardstock. I even drew and cut out a building.I am not great at drawing so I simplified the silhouettes of the people in the window. 

The Things You Say by Christy Strickler | Supplies: Cardstock: Colorbok; Alphas: 7 Gypsies,My Little Shoebox, Sassafrass; Glitter Glue: Ranger; Other: cardstock

Now I have a collection of infographics to use for scrapbook layouts.I have more ideas than I have time. I'd love to use an infographic to track my son's favorite TV shows, for example. Perhaps there will be another layout like this one in the near future.

For more ideas on using Infographics in your next layout, check out the article at Get It Scrapped.

Botany

I have to say that Botany was never this much fun for me when I took the class. My son gets to keep an art journal and is encouraged to sketch throughout the on-line webinar he takes each week. I captured photos of him during his first day of class.

There are two things that I especially love about this layout.The first is that I stained wood letters with yellow mist and then stamped on them to create the title.I got the idea from a get it scrapped article. The second thing I love is how I created the leaves to adorn my page.I colored scrap cardstock with Distress ink, then drew them and cut them out by hand.

Botany by Christy Strickler Supplies Patterned Paper: Basic Grey; Alphas:Pink Paislee; Trim: Prima; Mist and Ink: Ranger; Stamp: SEI;Mask: Tattered Angels; Other: ribbon, buttons

This marks the final post in our back to school feature over at the Scrapbook News and review blog. It's based on today's color palette of the week. I hope you will stop over to see the other projects shared by the creative team.

Tales of a Craft Class Junkie: September's Class Schedule

The first week of September  has come and gone so quickly! I'm wrapping up a few classes and I have a few new ones starting, I thought I would share what I would be up to this month.

I am finishing up a few projects for the gesso class at the Art Studio. I have learned a lot, but I think I am going to have to go back and review a few things.I need a little more practice and playtime. Overall, I loved the class and am using things I never thought I would on my layouts. I find that, after I take a class, I need to use the techniques I have learned for about a month.Some will become a part of my routine while others I may discard as just something I experimented with.

Currently, I am trying to decide which class to take next from the Art Studio.There are quite a few selections!

This month's seminar at Masterful Scrapbook Design features the use of various Trends. I am looking forward to discovering why something becomes trendy as well as seeing if there are any new trends that I have not yet used on my layouts.

I had a gift certificate left over for Big picture classes.So I decided to take Kit- tastic with May Flaum. I am not really certain that I need help with making kits. I mainly took the class because I enjoy the classes May teaches. Plus, she always manages to surprise me with at least one or two things that I could be doing with my supplies.

I am really excited about this class. I am almost done with my reading assignment.Just a few more days until it starts! I think there might be a seat or two left if you'd like to join in. I am really curious to learn more about myself and how other's perceive my layouts. You can check it out at the Get It Scrapped classroom.


I will be checking in throughout the month, sharing my classroom experiences and some of my projects. Maybe I will see some of you in the classroom!

A Fish Tale

We live close to a beach and so, we decided to take advantage of it with evening walks several days a week. We've been going on these walks for months now and nothing much exciting has happened. We would find a few seashells and call it a day. After awhile,I had decided to leave my camera at home. I am so sorry I did. Last weekend, a stingray, of rather large diameter, followed us along the shoreline for a bit. That might have been the end of things, but the next thing we knew, there was a school of puffer fish swimming around us at the edge of the water. We were wading knee deep and there must have been at least 40-50 of them. Some were caught by the waves and carried to shore.We quickly grabbed them and tossed them back in. We saw puffer fish ahead of us, also accidentally being beached, so we combed the shoreline, saving the ones we found. I was truly sad I had left the camera at home.

For our next walk, I made sure to take my camera. Sadly, no puffer fish or rays appeared. I still wanted to document the story though,so I snapped a shot of my son scanning the sea for a school of fish. I went online and found a vintage puffer fish print then set to work creating this layout.


Puffer Fish Rescue Patrol by Christy Strickler 
Supplies Cardstock: Colorbok; Stencils and Stamps: JBS Mercantile; Ink: Tsukineko, ClearSnap, Patterned paper: My Mind's Eye;Image from The Rusty Hodge Podge; Other: Book paper, glass beads, cellophane; Most items from my JBS Mercantile kit

I experimented with stamping for this layout thanks to the Second Floor Challenge at the Balzer Designs Blog. A day or so ago, I had created a page base using my newest JBS Mercantile stamp and some cellophane. I sewed the cellophane onto the page. I then came back, inked up a JBS stencil and used a brayer to create a stamped image. I used the same stencil to fussy cut patterned paper which I then adhered the hexagons to parts of the stamped design. If you are wondering about the purple ink, well, the puffer fish were purple.I wanted to have the color association there for my family.I also used a JBS chevron stamp on book paper with purple ink. I used a stencil to create the letters, fussy cut them out and then added torn bits of the stamped book paper underneath while allowing bits of the layout to show through.

I liked the added touch of the torn book paper beneath it.The stamp is faint, but the hint of purple ties in nicely with the purple of the stamped stencil. The tiny bit of text means I can add this page to the Simon Says Stamp weekly challenge. Well...and it is Stamptember too, so the second floor challenge this month is really apt!

Teaser Thursday- 9-6-12 edition

Since Teaser Thursday is a regular blog post at Scrapbook News and Review magazine, I thought I'd play along on my own blog every Thursday. Here's a little glimpse of projects you will see from me at Get it Scrapped and at SNR magazine.

I am especially happy with the projects I submitted for this round of creative team assignments. I think that, at first, I was putting a little pressure on myself. I wanted to put my best foot forward. Inadvertently,i I think I was stifling my creativity somewhat. Now, I am a bit more used to being on both of these team and I think that being a bit more relaxed helped me put my best into my projects.

Get the Look for Less: Fabric Paperclips

I love the look of those little fabric banner paperclips that Studio Calico makes.I got a few in a kit club purchase, but wanted more. Honestly, it's quite easy to make your own and it's a great way to use up fabric scraps.Today's Workshop Wednesday post over at the Scrapbook News and Review blog features a tutorial I wrote about how to make them. I hope you will go check it out.

Paperclip Embellishments by Christy Strickler  Supplies Stamps: Jenni Bowlin; My Mind's Eye; Ink: Ranger, Tsukineko; Other: paperclips' canvas' denim 

American History

Songs are a wonderful source of inspiration.Today's inspiration piece at the Scrapbook News and Review blog features the song "School Days" by Chuck Berry. This layout is my interpretation. I hope you will pop on over to the blog to see the projects that our creative team shared.

American History by Christy Strickler Supplies Cardstock: Bazzil;Patterned Paper: Jenni Bowlin; Alphas: Colorbok; Sticker: October Afternoon; Wood shapes: Pink Paislee; Chripboard: Crate Paper; Other: Twist tie, button

My Son is homeschooled.This means he takes classes on-line.Sometimes this includes summer camp. This year, he took a short three day camp which reviewed the events of the Revolutionary war. I decided I wanted mix a traditional,vintage look with a fun vibe,so I turned to a  JBS Mercantile kit. I loved the traditional feel of the red and white floral paper. The stars and font of the title keep the page a little more fun than vintage.