Without a Doubt

Without a Doubt...life has been busy. First a hurricane, followed by a move,starting back to homeschooling then a sinus infection coupled with muscle spasms. Despite it all I have had a little time to scrap. So today's post will be short and sweet. I made it for September's Mother LOAD. The prompt was to scrap about an emotion. Going back to the title( which is for the blog post and the page itself)...it's a lyric from Scrappin the Music's current challenge. Without a Doubt, I can always count on my husband to act silly and get my son laughing...so much so, that my son's infectious laughter will get me to laugh. Then, full circle, all of us will be laughing and joining in on the silliness. My husband's since of humour always gets me through everything.
I think this page is a nice way to end the month.

Materials: Echo park For the record
 papers,stickers, borders
Sassafrass flower
Artsylicious brads
Maya Road Sheer Calendar
Basic Grey paper clip
DMC floss
Sketch Support 2 page sketch

To See My World Before My Eyes

   This was one of those incredible photos that just begged to be scrapped in a special way. It captured my son as he beheld the beauty of the mountains around him, something that a kid raised at sea level could really be amazed by. I feel very lucky that I got this shot. I would like to say it was intentional. However, it's one of those pictures that are discovered and coveted, hidden like a treasure amidst the photos on the camera's memory card.
  So now, with this awesome photo in hand, came the job of figuring out just how to scrap it. I wanted it to stand out from others in my album. While I love the myriad assortment of winter themed papers and embellishments in my stash, they did not quite capture the spirit of the photo. This then, leaves me with an argument I find myself facing all too often lately...why buy such themed papers? I guess I will address that later. After all, I rarely let go of anything in my stash. I was drawn to it, and so, I eventually find a use for everything. Anyway, back to the photo...
  I have long been drawn to winter themed paper kits with unusual colour palettes. Sadly, I have none in my current supplies. Given a colour challenge at Club CK to use orange, brown and pink, I chose to reach for my Crate Paper Pink Plum collection. I figured that I could use my Martha Stewart snowflake punch as a way to theme the papers as needed. I also had some word art in mind for the page. The only problem...it was yellow and orange. The yellow completely clashed with everything else I wanted to use.

Original Marcella K chipboard word art before I altered it.

In the past, I would have sighed and put the word art away. I would have kept it for another day when I found the right paper to go with it.Now that I have figured out there are no rules with my stash, I grabbed some pink paint and a detail brush. Three coats later, the word art is looking more like it belongs with the papers I chose. The paint was a little dull and the orange was lost in the pink. So I used a woodsy brown bic mark it to edge the letters and then covered the whole thing in a coat of glossy accents.
  The page itself took form quickly thanks to the kit and a Sassy lil Sketch. Inspiration from Scrappin to the Music's challenge #178 shaped the title. I ended up with a page I loved. One with a variety of texture and tone which perfectly match the story I wanted to tell.

Sassy Lil Sketch 8-16-11
Crate paper pink plum collection-papers, brad, die cut and sticker
Making memories ribbon and trims
Martha Stewart snowflake punch
colorbox chestnut roan ink
American crafts rub on alphas
Acrylic paint-baby pink
clossy accents
Marcella K chipboard title

The warm, vibrant colours match my son's snow suit as well as conveying a bright happiness. The texture of the trims remind me of my son bundled into the snow suit. Snow flake embellishments remind me that we were in the snowy mountains. Best of all, despite the pink in the colour palette, I don't find the page to be feminine. I love when I get to use pink on a boy page!

Flowers for the Fourth? July Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog hop

Welcome to the July Blog Hop for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge!   You should have arrived here from Angela's Blog. If you are lost or arrived here first by mistake, hop on over to The Counterfeit Kit's website to find the right path. I hope you enjoy all of the projects being shared!

If you had come to me last month and asked me which papers from my stash would be used to scrap our family Fourth of July memories, Floral prints would definitely not have been on the list. Yet here they are on this next page! I got the idea from the counterfeit kit club challenge.If you don't know what it is( though most likely you do if you are hopping along)... The idea is to scraplift a kit from a kit club using what you have in your stash. One of the kits I saw had a lot of blue and red  floral papers in them. Since flowers are not always easy to use on a page for boys, I felt this would be a great opportunity to use them. Oh...and would you believe there are travel themed items on the page too!?!? The journal spot and the tab sticker on the corner of the photo are from travel collections.

page maps sketch For Counterfeit Kit's 4th of July sketch challenge
starburst paper- Cosmo Cricket
all other papers Sassafrass
sassafrass border
Prima flowers
foof a la buttons
7 gypsies tab sticker and paper clip
Journal spot unknown( Maybe K and Co.)
Making Memories rub on alphas
hand made denim flowers
Basic grey Border sticker-cut apart

Originally, this was going to be a page about sparklers. However, I kept looking at this photo of my son and a sort of, deeper meaning manifested itself. He doesn't have the "trying too hard,sicky sweet smile" that he has had lately. It's the real him...just sweet and pure. So I journaled about that. The title for this page comes from a song by Bob Marley called "three little birds" which is the current challenge at Scrapping the Music.

  I did manage to make another page about the sparklers. We have not had any at the fourth for several years. So it was a nice treat for my son to have some and to share the fun with friends this year. Once again, the floral paper came through for me. I think it gives it sort of a vintage, yet warm feel to the page.

Sketch Inspiration #229
diamond Stickles
otherwise, everything use are scraps are from the above layout

I printed out my photos in wallet size. They were so nicely done on the photo paper, that I trimmed it down and used it as a collage style block. It was a HUGE time saver. My rub on alphas did not go on perfectly. I used a black marker to fix the letters as best I could. The "f" is still a little wiggly though.

 The next time you are feeling a little blue about not having the right themed papers in your stash, check out a kit club or the counterfeit Kit challenge. It just might give you some ideas to help you rethink how to use products you already own. Now it's time for you to hop on to Emily's Blog.

Echo Park's Fresh Face Campaign

   Recently, I realized that I have a big love of Echo Park's paper lines. Each kit is so easy to use and most of them are very unisex. I love that a quick change of embellishments can make the paper have a masculine or feminine feel. Papers from one kit easily interchange and mix with other kits. Of all the paper kits I have, I find theirs to be the most versatile.Since I have such a big crush on everything Echo park, I figured I would give their new fresh face campaign a shot. How awesome would it be to be featured on their blog?!?! So wish me luck, sit back and enjoy some layouts I have created using some fabulous Echo Park papers!
   This first layout is one of my new favourites. I love the bold, bright feel and overall tone of the page. Every time I see " Swing Like a Demolition Ball", I immediately smile. I love how the rich colour and layered details  highlight these wonderful photos of my husband as he pushes my son and his friends on a tire swing. I hand cut all of the elements on this page.Inking the patterned papers and using the Bic Mark It's added subtle detail to the page. Lately, I have really been favouring my pens and stamp inks as an inexpensive way to add a more finished look. I used an EK Success punch along the notebook style paper. I wanted it to look as though it was really torn from a notebook, so I bent and ripped the tabs a little to provide that effect. Rolling the paper at the edges also gave it a more worn feel, adding another subtle detail.

Scraplift of Little Stingray by Amy Peterman for Club CK Scraplift challenge
Card stock: white- Colorbok,
 blue-Coredinations sanded slightly to show the core
Patterned papers: notebook paper-Basic Grey
all other papers from Echo Parks' Summer Days,Sweet Summer time and Playground collections
Ek Success notebook border punch
Alpah stickers- Echo park - green alphas from Echo Park's Playground collection
all other alphas from the Echo Park's Summer days collection
Arrow and yellow photo corner from Echo park's Summer days collection
Bic mark it's: Rambunctious red,Sunset orange,tuxedo black and Blue Skies Blue
SEI ink blue ink on patterned papers
Studio G orange ink on the sun's papers
DMC floss-white

  If you are wondering about the title...it came from some song lyrics. I love using song titles or lyrics on my pages. They provide some very interesting titles that jump from the page and capture your attention. This particular set of lyrics comes from " Write a Song" by the Dave Matthews Band. It's part of challenge#173 over at Scrappin' the Music.
  When you think of the colour pink, you don't immediately think of boys or fish. So this next page may surprise you a little. I chose pink as the base card stock, not because of it's feminine quality, but rather for how it reminds me of the Caribbean. It ended up being a nice compliment to these photos of my son feeding stingrays at the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island, Bahamas. The bright shade of pink with this fun combination of  Echo Park Papers screams out "summer fun". Papers cut into round shapes give the hint of bubbles floating on the page. I used a black pen to add a bit more detail and to refine the idea of a bubble. Hand cut fish also lend to the theme.

Scrapbook Challenges Sketch #240
White Acrylic paint
Card stock-DCWV
Bic Mark it-tuxedo black
papers,border sticker and Alphas from Echo Park's Sweet Summertime collection

   Since the title of this page is feeding frenzy, I chose fun alphas over a layer of white acrylic paint. The messy paint and splatters of glimmer mist add to the feeling of chaos amidst a feeding frenzy. If you are now wondering whether or not to ever participate in a stingray feeding, have no worries. The stingrays are really quite gentle and are more like excited puppies wanting a treat when they see you holding that metal bucket full of fish.
   The last page I will share with you tonight is one you may remember is you have been following my blog. It features the only other female in my household, my cat Sweetpea. This page is the perfect example of how a few embellishments can make a page more feminine. For " A Pair of Roguish Eyes", I wanted a fun,yet girly page. I chose pink and yellow papers paired with prima flowers to achieve that effect. the use of an orange pen adds to the fun feel of the page and provides the added detail it needs without adding bulk.

Scrapbook challenges sketch#252
plum pudding spritz
martha stewart border punch on vellum
prima flowers
making memories jewels
chipboard stamped with a studio g stamp in colorbox white ink
K and co, wood alphas
making memories tiny type alphas
bread tags
Echo Park Sweet Summertime Papers
Bic Mark it in Sunset Orange

My husband captured this photo of Sweetpea peering out of the bathroom sink. It's one of her favourite places. She loves to lay init when she's warm. She also loves playing with the water out of the faucet. She is quite the little imp, hence the title of the page.
   I hope you have enjoyed these pages featuring some of Echo Park's paper collections. Now it's time for me to cross my fingers and hope that just maybe you will get to see some of my pages featured on Echo Park's blog.

The Beauty All Around

For the counterfeit Kit blog hop, please click here.

  Well, today has been a busy day for posting. Can you tell my internet was out earlier this week?!?! It's amazing just how much one can rely on such a thing. Especially since that somebody remembers a time when there was no internet! Anyhow, after a hectic week and no internet, I finally got a chance today to sit down and play with my stash. I have been wanting to make a page for Scrapping the Music's current challenge. Music Lyrics make the best titles! Initially, I had intended to use the phrase " as big as the Ocean blue"...however, I switched things up and chose to use " the Beauty all around us." It was the perfect fit for these photos of last year's summer flowers.
  The funny thing about scrapping the flowers is that the current challenge at Scrap Our Stash is all about flowers. Earlier this month, I had been struggling with finding photos or a topic to use flowers with. I sure wish these flower photos had been found earlier! Either way, I shall be posting this page over there for show and tell Sunday. BTW, there's just a few days left to post flower projects over there and then a fun new challenge will begin! Now...for my layout...
  Months ago, I received this lovely mask in an RAK from Club CK. Today was the first time I got to play with it! As many of you know, I mostly scrap my son and husband. So I rarely scrap with pink or flowers. These flower photos afforded me the perfect opportunity to do just that. I chose to use Crate Paper's pink plum collection because the pink's mixed perfectly with the browns and oranges for a wonderful summer inspired palette.  I fussy cut the butterflies from some of the paper and added antennae made from curled wires. Adding the wire antennae and 3-d foam to the butterflies added some wonderful dimension to the page.

Pencil lines sketch 238
viva pink glimmer mist
Spun Sugar smooch spray
mask by Crafter's Workshop
Paper, brads, stickers, and chipboard from Crate Paper's pink Plum collection
wire for the antennae
Making Memories noteworthy alphas

The heat of the summer months may be upon us, but as you can see, the beautiful flowers and birds make up for that. So if the heat has you down, don't stop to complain. Instead, stop to search for some of the beauty around you.

Happy NSD!

  This will be my second year participating in National scrapbook day. I have a few pages done and more I'd like to finish. However, I thought I would stop for a moment to share what I have done so far.
My first layout was inspired by a photo over at Scrapbook Challenges. I was able to use the colour scheme of black, yellow and blue. I chose to use some of the fun Sassafrass papers from my Counterfeit kit.I felt the blue reminded me of a retro bowling sign and the yellow crosswords and black bingo numbers symbolized playing games. All perfect for a page about bowling. Not getting the fish eye effect in photos of two page layouts sis still a work in progress though. My page really is a little more flat and centered IRL.

Page two is a fun take on a 15 minute page from Creating Keepsakes September 2010 issue. I like trying out these 15 minute pages because they help me decisively choose components for my pages. I can work quickly but still never quite manage to make the page in 15 minutes. It's more like a 30 minute page for me.Nevertheless, I do often like the outcome.

Scenic Route PP
white gel pen
Studio G stamp with Colorbox white ink
Alphas-Making Memories tiny type and Karen Foster Funky white
Tim Holtz tickets

I chose to use purple for this page because of the hat colour. I like how it makes for a fun, yet not feminine page. Purple can be hard to work with when you have a boy. The title was taken from lyrics for Scrapping the music's challenge Challenge #171- Falling Slowly. I love how rich a title can be when you use song lyrics.

   Now I am off to scrap some more. I wonder how many more NSD challenges I can finish before the deadline...

Closer to Fine

  I don't normally scrap about the bad things. Scrapbooking, to me, is all about the happy memories. There are some times where the less than happy finds its way into my album. This was one of those occasions. Our family cat, Boo, is still quite young. He just turned two. Last fall, he was diagnosed with kidney crystals. We had noticed him begin to act a little odd. He is normally quite playful. On the night I took this photo, all he wanted was for my husband to hold him.I had no idea how sick he was.

Both pages made with items from my March Counterfeit Kit

Sketch Inspiration #212

The next morning,  he was in quite a bit of discomfort, barely able to walk. When I felt his abdomen, I could feel a large lump as though he had a blockage. I rushed him to the vet. The diagnosis seemed a simple fix...medicine and a surgery to remove the crystals. It should have been quite simple, but neither the vet nor I expected we would be embarking on a 4 month long stint of infections, surgical complications and extended care. At times, we were not sure he would make it. By Christmas, my son's big Christmas wish was for Boo to get better.

Sassy Lil Sketch 3-21-11

Through all of it, Boo remained sweet and loving. He was not always capable of keeping himself clean. He always purred when I sponge bathed him. At times, he had no bladder control. So we kept him in a pet diaper. I never thought in a million years I would be diapering a cat. Finally, mid-January, Boo got back his spark of life. He woke up one day, ate a huge meal and then started to play. It was then that we knew he would be just fine. He's back to his old self and has gained back all of the weight he lost. In fact, I truly believe he is even more affectionate than ever.
  During the months of not being sure, I was afraid to scrap about Boo's condition. It's probably silly, but I felt  that I might scrap he was ok and then we would lose him. He is a large part of our family, even if he is a cat. When I saw the current challenge for Scrapping the Music,I thought the song would be the perfect title. Finally, he fought through each day, each complication bringing himself and our family a little "closer to fine".

Chances Are...

only what we make them. Some people look at life and see the negative. Others, find the positive. I think perspective gives us the ability to make our own happiness and luck. I try to see the good and have a positive outlook. I feel very lucky to have my husband and my son. Our life isn't always easy...but we are happy together. My husband often says we live a charmed life. I think that is true
    The song for this week at Scrapping to the music was perfect for this page. The lyrics brought to life some of the journaling I used to talk about the wonderful chance my husband had in his job.

SEI mimosa papers and stickers inked with SEI lime ink
Basic Grey brads
October Afternoon mini market alphas
Making memories greenhouse alphas
glossy accents
Let's Scrap Sketch 3-2-11

The photo is of the hotel in which my husband works. The number was the number of his office at the time of the photo. I chose SEI's mimosa line. It's usually hard for me to work with pink, because I am the only female in the house(other than my cat). I loved how the Mimosa papers matched the tropical feel of the hotel.

Be grateful for everyday and for what you have. Don't forget to make the most of your chances and to share those in your scrapbooks.

In the Sweet Sunshine

As some of you know, I am participating in LOAD211. Inspiration does abound everywhere... though sometimes it's presence is overwhelming. For this next day's prompt, I was asked to find inspiration in a song. It sounded easy enough. However...there are so many songs...so many choices. In my search, I came across a little challenge spot called Scrapping the Music. The song choice for this particular day was to scrap the tune "New Shoes." I am quite enamored with shoes. I am not enamored enough to scrap them right now. ( maybe I need to buy some some). Anyhow, as I perused the lyrics of the song, the lyrics" in the sweet sunshine" caught my attention. It seemed the perfect fit for the title to my summer album.

Club CK one hour  challenge page
Two Peas in a Bucket Sketch

    I decided to use the Two Pea's In A Bucket January Stretch your sketch. It worked perfectly with the photos of my son and husband's shadows. I love how I captured them holding hands.The red happy pattern of My Mind's Eye's Penny Lane reminded me of the sun and the Lush Flocked chipboard was the shadow. I dotted the eye with a random sunshine button from my stash. It was so nice to find a use for it. It had been hanging out in my stash for quite some time. Since I did not have the perfect mini alphas, I made my own with a pen and some scrap paper. I cut a cream border using the reverse side of the paper and layered red tulle across the top. Kraft paper toned down the bright burst of red.My new favorite pens(Bic Mark it's) came to the rescue: tuxedo black for hand stitching and rambunctious red to color a Maya Road chipboard accent. A few stick pins(salvaged from the packaging of my husband's new shirt) added the final touch.